Of all the pictures in God’s word that describe the church of Jesus Christ, there are two that are surpassing in beauty and joy. The church is often described as the sheep of God, or the flock of Jesus Christ. The beauty of this description of the church is that it pictures the gracious and […]
On August 5, 1964, Rev. Martin VanderWal was born in Zeeland, Michigan. He is the son of Henry and Janice VanderWal. He lived in Jenison, Michigan until he was five years old and then moved to Zeeland, Michigan. Rev. VanderWal attended Borculo Christian School in Zeeland, Michigan, and then attended Allendale Public High School. He […]
Speech from the 1999 New Jersey retreat. II Corinthians 4:6, 7: “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the […]
We can all be agreed that liberalism, or modernism, is the enemy of all true theology, i.e., the true knowledge of God. But we must first understand exactly what liberalism is. According to the New Dictionary of Theology (Sinclair Ferguson, David Wright, editors), liberalism has the following features: A purpose of adapting the substance of […]
“The marks, by which the true Church is known, are these: if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein: if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ: if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin: in short, if all things are managed according to the pure Word […]
Glorification is the last step in the golden chain of salvation. Romans 8:29-30 gives us that order. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom […]
Dear Editor, Let me express my appreciation for your efforts as editor-in-chief of the Beacon Lights magazine. I am used to seeing fine Christian reading and scholarship within its pages. However, I am somewhat dismayed with the editorial you printed in the August/September 1993 issue (White Men Can’t Jump). I am convinced that it was […]
Since joining the Protestant Reformed Churches, some criticism has been directed towards me, criticism concerning special music. In my old church (Christian Reformed), I often accompanied special music on the piano and sang in the church choir. I also played synthesizers for a group of young people who presented a musical in various Reformed and […]
That we, being members of the Protestant Reformed Churches, insist on our own Christian Schools is beyond doubt. In this brief article, it is my goal to show why this is indeed the case. I would like to do this by showing that the existence of our own Protestant Reformed Christian schools is a matter […]