“Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, ‘Pass through the host, and command the people, saying Prepare you victuals; for within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land, which the Lord your God giveth you to possess it.’” (Joshua 1:10,11) What a feeling must have […]
Once more Moses went to Pharaoh to demand that Pharaoh release Jehovah’s people so that they may serve Him in the wilderness. This demand came with the threat of a second plague. “And Jehovah said to Moses, Come to Pharaoh and you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Jehovah, Send out my people that they […]
“If the decree of election is unchangeable and therefore renders the salvation of the elect completely certain, what need have they of the gospel?” This is the way R.B. Kuiper phrased the question that has often been asked concerning the relationship between election and evangelism. To be more blunt, we might ask, “Doesn’t a belief […]
The year was 410. Visigoths were plundering and sacking Rome, the great city that was once the seat of the world’s largest and strongest empire. Many Romans saw this destruction as a direct punishment from the gods for the Romans’ departure from pagan religion. Many Christians despaired, wondering why God would send this pestilence into […]
Read Genesis 35 Introduction The sordid story of Genesis 34 reveals several things. The depravity of human nature is put on display, even coming to expression in the lives of God’s covenant people. There is also the constant lure of temptation that comes to God’s people to blend into the surrounding culture and thus lose […]
Scriptural Teaching In Genesis 17:10–14 the Lord restated His covenant promise to Abraham. To that gracious covenant He attached a sign and seal of initiation, circumcision. Those adult males who first entered the covenant assembly had to profess faith and receive the sign and seal of covenant initiation. Contrary to what the Baptist view might […]
The most important piece of New Testament evidence that bears upon the question of paedocommunion is undeniably 1 Corinthians 11:17–34. In this passage, the apostle Paul speaks at length about the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, its institution by Christ, and the manner in which those who sacramentally partake of Christ are to come to […]
We find within the broad community of Reformed churches a variety of views on the subject of the offices in the church of Jesus Christ. Some advocate a two-office view, maintaining that the church of our Lord has been given two permanent offices—the office of elder and the office of deacon. Others set forth a […]
Classis Western Canada of the URCNA met on January 11 & 12, 2007 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Many of the delegates arrived earlier in the week to attend the Winnipeg Conference on Reformed Theology; for many it was therefore several days of fellowship, learning, and praise. The agenda for Classis was relatively light with no candidacy […]