This Reformation article on Martin Luther's stand at the Diet of Worms (1521) first appeared in the November 1, 2021 issue of the Standard Bearer (Vol.98, No.3) and was written by Karl Dykstra, a teacher at Covenant Christian High in Grand Rapids, MI.

The Swan’s Triumphant Song: From Worms to the Wartburg

Martin Luther was not the first ‘heretic’ to stand before the collective might of church and state. He was just one of the few who lived to tell the tale.

Already some one hundred years earlier, the Bohemian pre-reformer Jan Hus, who endearingly referred to himself as “the goose” (the meaning of “Hus” in Czech), was similarly summoned to the Council of Constance in Germany and condemned. Just before his burning on July 6, 1415, Hus made a stirring declaration: “Today you cook a goose, but in one hundred years you will hear a swan sing—and him you will have to hear!” 1

Though he could not have known it, Hus was nearly a prophet. A century after the goose was cooked, a swan began to sing in the German town of Wittenberg.  That swan’s name was Martin Luther.

In Luther’s day, the cooking of “the goose” Hus was well remembered. By it, the Holy Roman Church had set the precedent for what she did with heretics. In early 1521, and in Hus-like fashion, the excommunicated heretic Luther had been summoned to the imperial Diet of Worms.

Now it was the swan’s turn to sing.

Already at the Leipzig Disputation in 1519, Luther had publicly identified himself with the Bohemian hero, Jan Hus. There at Leipzig the God of the Reformation used the skilled Catholic orator, John Eck, to back Luther into the corner of sola Scriptura. “A simple laymen armed with Scripture is to be believed above a pope or a council without it,” argued Luther. “For the sake of Scripture we should reject pope and councils!” 2

But exactly that was the “Bohemian virus,” maintained Eck, and he charged Luther with “espousing the pestilent errors” of Hus.3 Initially, Luther vehemently denied the charge. But having studied the works of Hus during a break in the afternoon session of the eighteen-day long debate, he came back and shocked all in attendance by boldly proclaiming: Ich bin ein Hussite! 4

With that proclamation in 1519, Luther stood exactly where God wanted him to stand: on the firm foundation of Scripture alone.

Next would come his stand at Worms.

The swan is summoned to Worms 

Pope Leo X had officially excommunicated the swan of Wittenberg on January 3, 1521, declaring him to be a heretic outside of the “one holy, catholic and apostolic church.” With that the “German problem” became the prerogative of the young, new emperor Charles V, who was under oath to remove all heresy from his vast realm.

The grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain was all too eager to deal with the heretic in Wittenberg.  On March 26, 1521, a letter from Charles V arrived in Wittenberg announcing the imperial diet, including an invitation to Luther that was all too similar to what Hus had received. “Come to Worms under safe conduct to answer with regard to your books and teaching,” the summoning read. And should Luther try to turn down the imperial invitation, Charles added the thinly veiled threat, “You have twenty-one days in which to arrive.”5

The situation for Luther was heating up, condemnation and death the inevitable outcome. Yet none of these things moved Luther. He had set his face toward Worms, willing to offer himself in defense of the gospel before some of the most powerful men on earth.

On April 3, 1521, Luther, accompanied by several friends and imperial dignitaries, began the three-hundred- mile journey to the Diet of Worms confessing that “He who saved the three men in the furnace of the Babylonian king still lives and rules.”6 Luther knew his outcome might mirror the fate of his fiery forerunner Hus.

Perhaps then Luther was spurred on by the confession  of Hus: “It is better to die well than live badly.”7

The swan’s triumphant entry

Luther’s travel to Worms was not without high drama.  Everywhere Luther stopped on his way to the diet  he was greeted by throngs of people who wanted to  see the monk who defied the pope and would stand  before the emperor. Luther had become the German  hero. Not only had his writings “spread as on angel’s  wings” throughout Europe, but his portrait did too,  thanks to illustrations created by Lucas Cranach, the  artist of Wittenberg. Luther’s face was as recognizable  as his writings. The nation wanted to see their  hero in the flesh. As Luther entered German towns  and villages, he found the streets packed with admirers,  many even scampering up on rooftops to get a  look at their hero.

But Luther became convinced that his ancient foe  was attempting to hinder him from reaching Worms.  When Luther preached in Erfurt—the place where he  had studied to become a monk—the church was so  packed with throngs of people that the balcony creaked,  threatening to collapse. Farther along, when Luther  preached again, massive stones crumbled off the church  tower crashing to the ground. Luther chalked these up  as the devil’s attempt to hinder the gospel.

In Eisenach, Luther became so ill that his travel companions  were concerned for his life. This too Luther credited  to Satan: “I know your tricks, you bitter enemy!”  Then adding, “But Christ lives and we shall enter Worms  in spite of all the gates of hell and the powers of the air!”8

Luther was a man on a mission. And he was going  to Worms, even if he were threatened by as many devils  as shingles on a roof.9

Luther rode into Worms on the morning of April  16, 1521. If Luther received a hero’s welcome in the  various German cities along the way, his entrance into  Worms became a spectacle for the ages. Trumpets  blared from the cathedral top as two thousand people  thronged to greet Luther with praise and singing.  Their hero had arrived. Luther, descending from his  carriage, triumphantly assured the throng, “God will  be with me!”

The reception Worms gave Luther dwarfed what she  had given the emperor. The Roman curia were more  than a little annoyed; it seemed the whole world had gone after Luther. “I suspect he will soon be said to  work miracles,” crankily commented one cardinal.10

The swan goes missing 

By the time Luther stood before the Diet of Worms, the  hype surrounding his triumphant entry had quieted. Just  as the Council of Constance had ordered Hus to recant,  the dignitaries of both church and state assembled at  the Diet now demanded that Luther retract his writings.  But with God’s help the swan of whom Hus prophesied  boldly took his stand and could do no other.

Charles V was not impressed with Luther’s stand. As  Luther was escorted out of the chamber, the emperor’s  Spanish guards audibly chanted what everyone, including  Luther, expected to be his imminent fate: “To the  flames, to the flames.”11 Later, one cardinal spitefully  sneered, “When [Luther] left, he no longer seemed so  cheerful.”12 It seemed the swan would soon be cooked.

With Luther out of the diet’s chamber, Charles V declared  Luther a heretic and outlaw in every corner of  his empire. Luther was granted 21 days of safe passage  back to Wittenberg before the sentence fell. “When the  time is up,” Charles declared, “no one is to harbor him.  His followers also are to be condemned. His books are  to be eradicated from the memory of man.”13 The hope  was that Luther would soon be eradicated as well.

Luther left Worms as a man with a price on his head.  As an enemy of the empire, many suspected he would  never make it back to Wittenberg. The route was long  and winding, and it would not take much for an assassin  lying in wait to put an end to Luther. Several  days into his journey, as Luther’s party passed through  a ravine, an eerily stillness settled over the dark forest.  Without warning, horsemen armed with fearsome  crossbows surrounded Luther’s wagon. The horsemen  dragged Luther to the ground, tied a sack over his head,  and then hoisted him on to a horse. While Luther’s  companions ran for their lives, Luther’s captors whisked  him away—but not before he had grabbed his New Testament  and Hebrew Bible.

News of Luther’s disappearance made waves  throughout Europe. The anguished artist Albrecht Durer  lamented, “I know not whether Luther lives or is  murdered…. If Luther is dead, who will henceforth explain  to us the gospel? What might have he written for us in the next ten or twenty  years?”14

Luther, renegade monk,  the “wild boar” of Wittenberg,  the hero of the gospel,  the so-called swan, was  missing. And as much as  anyone knew, the swan was  dead.

The swan sings from the  mountaintop 

But Luther was not dead.  Perched high above a sea  of sprawling German forest  rests a mighty fortress  known as the Wartburg Castle.  This would be the hiding  place of Luther, after the  “kidnapping” orchestrated  by Frederick the Wise and  friends who feared for Luther’s  life. In the Wartburg, Luther  took on a new look and new  identity, “Knight George.” No one must know he was  the Reformer of Wittenberg. His very life depended on it.

In the “realm of the birds,” however, the swan was  restless. Luther was a man of action, and being holed  up in the Wartburg was maddening. Longing to be  down in the heat of battle, he regarded the island in the  sky as his “Patmos.” And had he even done the right  thing, he wondered? “I have withdrawn from the public  and thus obeyed the advice of friends,” he lamented.  “I am uncertain whether with this action I have done  something which is pleasing to God.”15

Though above the fray, Luther was not necessarily  out of the thick of it. Writing to a friend, Luther admitted,  “I am both very idle and very busy here; I am  studying Hebrew and Greek and writing without interruption.”  16 For the first seven months, Luther busied  his quill hurling ink at the attacks of the devil on the  Reformation. Assaults against the Reformation came  from both without and within, and Luther determined  to save the church from Catholicism on the one hand,  and radicalism on the other.

But in December of 1521, the swan’s song rose to a  crescendo as Luther took up a mighty work that symbolizes  his work and stay at the Wartburg refuge. Luther released the New Testament from its Latin prison.  Though Luther himself was locked up behind a fortress,  it did not mean the Word of God had to be. Opening  his Greek New Testament that he had snatched from the  wagon before being “kidnapped,” Luther translated all  twenty-seven books of the New Testament into German  in a shockingly short eleven weeks.17 Luther’s superb  translation, simple and powerful in its literary style, still  today is regarded as the principal German translation.https://cdn.rfpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/27145356/map-768x525.jpg 768w, https://cdn.rfpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/27145356/map.bmp

Taken from Martin Luther by Simonetta Carr (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2016), 4. Used by permission

From the mountaintop, the swan trumpeted God’s  Word to the hearts of God’s people, arming simple laymen  with the triumphant song of the Reformation, sola  Scriptura. 

Ten years after he descended from his mountaintop  fortress, Luther reflected on the work of the Reformation.  He saw himself as fulfillment of his fiery forerunner’s  prophecy. “Jan Hus prophesied of me when  he wrote from his prison in Bohemia: They will now  roast a goose…but after a hundred years they will hear  a swan sing; him they will have to tolerate.

And so it  shall continue, if it please God.”18  And so the swan’s triumphant song does continue  500 years after Worms and the Wartburg. For it pleases  God that His Word stands forever.

_______________

1 Stephen Nichols, “The Goose and the Swan” in 5 Minutes in Church History (October 4, 2017). Ligonier Ministries: https://
www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/the-goose-and-the-swan.
2 Roland Bainton, Here I Stand (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009), 103.
3 Bainton, 102. 4 Herman Hanko, Portraits of Faithful Saints (Grandville, MI: Reformed Free Publishing, 1999), 112.
5 Bainton, Here I Stand, 201. Emphasis added.
6 Eric Metaxas, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World (New York: Viking, 2017), 201. 
7 Steven Lawson, Pillars of Grace (Orlando: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2011), 380.
8 Metaxas, Martin Luther, 206.
9 Metaxas, 206. 
10 Metaxas, 207.
11 W. Robert Godfrey, A Survey of Church History, DVD, episode 3, "Martin Luther and the German Reformation" (Ligonier
Ministries, 2012).
12 Metaxas, 212.
13 Metaxas, 230. 
14 Bainton, Here I Stand, 188.
15 Metaxas, Martin Luther, 251.
16 Metaxas, 247 
17 Upon his return to Wittenberg, Luther took up the sizable task of translating the Old Testament, completing the work in 1534.
18 Quoted in John Piper, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Books, 2000), 11.

This Reformation article on Martin Luther's stand at the Diet of Worms (1521) first appeared in the November 1, 2021 issue of the Standard Bearer (Vol.98, No.3) and was written by Rev. Jacob Maatman, pastor of Southeast PRC in Grand Raids, MI.

Here I Stand [Luther at the Diet of Worms]

What happened at Worms in April of 1521 was decisive in the history of the Reformation, yea, in the history of  God’s church, the fruit of which reaches to the present  and, by God’s grace, will reach to the end of the world.  Martin Luther risked his life and dared an appearance before the emperor that we might have the gospel that  sets us free, the heavenly word that God kindled to light  afresh through the labors of a monk who said, “Here  I stand.” This sacred, precious, life-giving deposit  has been passed down to us, and we revisit Worms,  not as disinterested historians, but as children of the  Reformation.

This article intends to relate briefly the history of Luther’s  stand,1 but with particular focus on aspects that,  although perhaps lesser known, are no less significant  in discovering to us not only the heart of the man, but  deeper, the power of God who had this man in His grip.  As the psalmist says, “Come, ye children, hearken unto  me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord” (Ps. 34:11).

Emperor Charles V cited Martin Luther to appear at  the Diet of Worms within twenty-one days, promising  safe conduct. But another emperor, about a hundred  years before, had promised the same to Jan Hus, man  of God, whose teachings Luther espoused. Hus was arrested  and burned alive at the stake. This history Luther  well knew. Nevertheless, the doctor headed to the  old city many miles away. After an eventful journey, he  entered Worms April 16, a hero in the eyes of many, a  heretic in the eyes of others. His presence electrified the  city to the chagrin of the papists. He was conducted to  his lodging.

The next day he was summoned to appear at the diet.  So great was the press of the crowd that the escort was  compelled to take the back alleys. At last they arrived,  and Luther stood before the council. “Never had man appeared before so imposing an assembly,” says one,2  at the head of which was the young emperor himself,  whose eyes met those of the monk from Wittenberg.  The spokesman on behalf of the emperor, John von Eck,  asked him two questions: first, whether these books  stacked on a nearby table were his; second, whether  he wished to retract them. In a letter written after his  departure from Worms, Luther summarizes the matter  thus:

 I thought His Imperial Majesty would have assembled  one or fifty scholars and overcome this monk in a  straightforward manner. But nothing else was done  there than this: Are these your books? Yes. Do you  want to renounce them or not? No. Then go away!3

Well, at this first appearing, Luther answered the first  question by affirming the books were his. He asked for  time to think and prepare an answer to the second. He  had not known in advance how the proceedings were  going to go; he wanted to make sure he answered rightly.  The request was granted, and Luther was given one  day. A letter he wrote shortly after he returned to his  lodging tells us the course upon which he was already  resolved: “With Christ’s help…I shall not in all eternity  recant the least particle.”4

Between his first and final appearing, an event of  great moment occurred, overheard and scribbled down  by someone in the right place at the right time: Martin  Luther prayed to His God and Father at a time that  one author says “was to him a little garden of Gethsemane.”  5 “This prayer,” says the same, “explains Luther  and the Reformation.” And, “In our opinion, it is one  of the most precious documents in all history.” In it, we  see a Jacob wrestling with God—“I will not let thee go,  except thou bless me” (Gen. 32:26); in it, we hear the  effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man that avails  much (James 5:16)—“O almighty and everlasting God,  how terrible is this world! Behold, it openeth its mouth  to swallow me up, and I have so little trust in thee.”  Further on: “O my God, where art thou?… Come,  come; I am ready…I am ready to lay down my life for  thy truth…. For it is the cause of justice—it is thine.”  And finally: “My soul belongs to thee. It shall abide for  ever with thee…. Amen…. O God, help me!… Amen.”

And help him God did. When the time was up, Luther arrived at the appointed time for his second appearing.  It was April 18. After a long wait in the foyer, the  evening drawing on and the candles flickering, he was  admitted into the packed hall. The same spokesmen  who had addressed him the day before got right down  to business, and put the second question to him again:  “Do you wish to defend all your acknowledged books,  or to retract some?”6

In his answer, Luther distinguished his books into  three kinds. In some of them, he said, “I have discussed  religious faith and morals simply and evangelically, so  that even my enemies themselves are compelled to admit  that these are useful, harmless, and clearly worthy  to read by Christians.” How should he disavow these!  “Another group of my books attacks the papacy and the  affairs of the papists as those who both by their doctrines  and very wicked examples have laid waste the Christian  world with evil.” If he should retract these, it would add  further fuel to the evil, and he would open “not only  windows but doors to such great godlessness.” As for  the third kind, written against individuals, Luther said,  “I confess I have been more violent than my religion or  profession demands,” but again, “It is not proper for me  to retract these works, because by this retraction it would  again happen that tyranny and godlessness would, with  my patronage, rule and rage among the people of God  more violently than ever before.”

He appealed to the example of the Lord: “If I have  spoken wrongly, bear witness to the wrong” (John  18:23), and pleaded with the emperor or anyone to  “bear witness, expose my errors, overthrowing them by  the writings of the prophets and the evangelists. Once  I have been taught I shall be quite ready to renounce  every error, and I shall be the first to cast my books  into the fire.” As for the “dissensions aroused in the  world as a result of my teachings…this is the way, the  opportunity, and the result of the Word of God, just as  He said, ‘I have not come to bring peace, but a sword’”  (Matt. 10:34). He concluded by warning the council  against condemning God’s Word for the sake of “settling  strifes,” for “it is he who takes the wise in their  craftiness” (Job 5:13).

The spokesman was not interested in an answer like  this. All he wanted to hear was, “revoco.”7 Yes or no,  Martin Luther? Do you, or do you not, retract? And then  the monk, before emperor, electors, lords, princes, and bishops, a silence filling the hall, breathless anticipation,  the eyes of all fixed upon him—then the monk spake those  words that reverberated through that assembly, and have  reverberated through the hundreds of years since:

Since then your serene majesty and your lordships seek  a simple answer, I will give it in this manner…. Unless  I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or  by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or  in councils alone, since it is well known that they have  often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound  by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is  captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not  retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go  against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand,  may God help me, Amen.8

Again an attempt was made to get him to budge, but  Luther remained firm. The diet recessed, and he returned  to his lodging.

Scripture—that was the refrain that continued to be  heard the days following, when various persons and delegations  tried to negotiate with him. “Then began the  attempt to break Luther down through a committee.”9  But he was resolute: he could only agree to submit his  case to the judgment of another, including a council’s, if  Scripture would be the standard of judgment and the final  authority. The negotiations fell flat. April 26, several  days after his second appearing, Luther departed for  home, the emperor honoring the promised safe conduct.

This history exemplifies that great Reformation principle—  and one that grated upon the ears of Rome during  Luther’s time at Worms—of sola Scriptura, of which the  Belgic Confession speaks in the seventh article:

Neither do we consider of equal value any writing of  men, however holy these men may have been, with those  divine Scriptures, nor ought we to consider custom, or  the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times  and persons, or councils, decrees, or statutes, as of equal  value with the truth of God, for the truth is above all.

Which is to say, God is above all.

Martin Luther stood in the fear of the Lord. Already  at his first appearing, we see it. Why did he  ask for time to prepare an answer? In his own words:  “Because this is a question of faith and the salvation  of souls, and because it concerns the divine Word…it would be rash and at the same time dangerous for me  to put forth anything without proper consideration.”10  He went on to quote Matthew 10:33, words that stood  large before him. Here is a man neither headstrong nor  cocksure, but one who feared God. He was confident,  but not self-confident. Listen to his prayer; he felt his  own weakness, but upon the Lord he relied. At the  diet, many and great were the faces and the power they  wielded, and what was he? But there was a witness that  day (though you would not have seen him with your  eyes), someone watching and listening who had more  hold on Luther than anyone else: the living God, to  whose Word Luther’s conscience was captive. “The fear  of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in  the Lord shall be safe” (Prov. 29:25).

God was at work that day. His power brought  forth Luther’s “I cannot.” Not, “I will not,” though  true enough, but even more significantly, “I cannot,”  because God would not let him do otherwise. In the  words of Merle d’Aubigne:

Luther, constrained to obey his faith, led by his  conscience to death, impelled by noblest necessity, the  slave of his belief, and under this slavery still supremely  free, like the ship tossed by a violent tempest, and which,  to save that which is more precious than itself, runs and  is dashed upon the rocks, thus uttered these sublime  words, which still thrill our hearts at an interval of  three [now five] centuries: thus spoke a monk before  the emperor and the mighty ones of the nation; and this  feeble and despised man, alone, but relying on the grace  of the Most High, appeared greater and mightier than  them all. His words contain a power against which  all these mighty rulers can do nothing. This is the  weakness of God, which is stronger than man. The  empire and the church on the one hand, this obscure  man on the other, had met. God had brought together  these kings and these prelates publicly to confound their  wisdom. The battle is lost, and the consequence of this  defeat of the great ones of the earth will be felt among  every nation and in every age to the end of time.11

What was loss and defeat for “the great ones of the  earth” was for the church of God, the cause of truth,  the gospel of Christ, victory, the blessed consequence of which has since been so greatly felt, and continues to be  felt, even by us.

Soli Deo gloria, “for of him, and through him, and  to him, are all things” (Rom. 11:36).

___________________

1 For a fuller treatment of this history, see Merle d’Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century, vol. 2. Grand
Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1926. (Also available online at www.gutenberg.org). And, Roland Bainton, Here I Stand. New
York and Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1950. And, Eric Metaxas, Martin Luther. New York: Viking, 2017.
2 D’Aubigne, History of the Reformation, 253.
3 Martin Luther, “Letter 73 to Lucas Cranach,” Luther’s Works, vol. 48 (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 201-202.
4 Martin Luther, “Letter 72 to John Cuspinian,” Luther’s Works, vol. 48, p. 200.
5 D’Aubigne, 258. The quotations of the author’s words, and the portions from the prayer are taken from pages 258-260.
6 “Luther at the Diet of Worms,” Luther’s Works, vol. 32, pp.
101ff. The document contains two accounts, one “prepared by the friends of the Reformation,” the other “the report of the papal
nuncio Aleander” (103). The quotations that follow are taken from the former.
7 Latin for “I recall” or “I recant.”
8 Regarding the last line there has been debate about both the order of words and whether or not Luther said more than “God help
me.” For an analysis, see Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 7 (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1980), 309-10.
9 Bainton, Here I Stand, 188.
10 Luther, Luther’s Works, vol. 32, 107.
11 D’Aubigne, History of the Reformation, 265-266.

Today, October 22, is the forty-third Lord's Day of this year of our Lord 2023. Below you will find special highlights of PRC and sister-church news. It is our hope that these reports not only inform you but also give you opportunity to pray for the needs of these churches and mission fields throughout the world.

If you are new to this website and the PRCA, we invite you to join us in worship today or on any of the Sunday's of this year at one of our local congregations near you, or listen online.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. ...Princes also did sit and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes. Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors. ~ Psalm 119:18-20, 23-24

CONGREGATIONAL NEWS 

• Today Rev. D. Noorman (SW PRC) declined the call to Lynden (WA) PRC.
  
  
• Today Rev. N. Decker (Grandville PRC) declined the call from Hudsonville PRC.
  
  
• *Last evening Loveland PRC voted to call Rev. G. Eriks from the Council's new trio that included Revs. Allen Brummel (Calvary PRC, IA) and Jacob Maatman (Southeast PRC, MI).
  
  
• Last month Rev. D. Kleyn marked 25 years in the ministry in the PRC (September 1998), which was also noted and celebrated last Sunday in Doon PRC at his installation. We thank the Lord for the faithful ministry of this servant and pray for continued grace for him and his wife Sharon as they serve Christ's church in Doon and the PRC. Today he preached his inaugural sermon in his new congregation.
  
  
• Last Sunday Rev. R. Smit accepted the call to Randolph PRC (WI). In her bulletin today we find this note re tentative plans: "All dates are subject to change but currently this is the plan. They plan to move here on December 22. This date works well for the children’s break from school, as well as the current employment of the older children. Reverend and Trisha Smit will be moving here with at least five children. Installation is set for January 7. Until then, Reverend Smit has agreed to fill our pulpit as needed as much as he is able. For this we are very thankful."
  
  
• Last Sunday Rev. M. Kortus (Hope PRC-Redlands, CA) accepted the call to Zion PRC (Jenison, MI).
  
  
• Rev. G. Eriks (Unity PRC-Byron Center, MI) is considering the call from Georgetown PRC (received Oct.8). He plans to answer next Sunday (Oct.29).
  
  
• Last Sunday Rev. D. Noorman (SW PRC) declined the call from Loveland (CO) PRC.
  
  
• Pastor-elect M. Koerner and his wife Sharon plan to move to Edmonton this week. Plans are for him to be ordained and installed as Hosanna PRC's pastor on Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 PM at St. Albert Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Special Congregational Notices:

• Loveland PRC (CO): "Covenant of Grace Fellowship Fund: [This] Sunday, October 22, we will be taking a collection for the Covenant of Grace Fellowship in Spokane. This will be the first of three collections we will be taking for the remainder of the year, the second collection scheduled for November 26 and the third for December 17, Lord willing. The funds collected will be used for the support of our council's and consistory's work and oversight of the fellowship that remains in Spokane, who now have their membership papers in the care of Loveland PRC. This would include funding our delegation visits to Spokane, pulpit supply, and any general expenses that the Covenant of Grace fellowship will need assistance covering. Please consider giving for this cause of assisting our fellow saints in Spokane. Our Council and the Covenant of Grace Fellowship covet your prayers as we continue the Lord's work in Spokane. To God be the glory!"
  
  
• Faith PRC-Jenison, MI: "Reformed Doctrines Class meets this Wednesday, October 25 at Faith Church at 7:30 PM, God willing. The vitally important subject is “The Fall of Man,” in Adam’s disobedience, as taught in Genesis 3 and in Romans 5. All are welcome to attend."
  
  
• Heritage PRC (Sioux Falls, SD): "Heritage PRC will be hosting the fall Reformation lecture on October 27, 7:00 p.m. Prof. C. Griess will deliver a speech entitled "Sexual Abuse in Calvin's Geneva." Refreshments will follow. All are encouraged to attend!"

• Randolph (WI) PRC: " Please join us next week Friday, October 27 at 7:30 PM at the Randolph Protestant Reformed Church for the fall evangelism lecture. Prof B. Huizinga will be speaking on 'Holiness in a World Filled with Violence.'”
  
  
• Pittsburgh PRC (PA): "Don't forget to reserve Friday, November 3 at 7 PM for our annual Reformation Day lecture. Pastor Bruinsma will speak on the subject 'Was the Reformation Necessary?'"

Classical appointments and pulpit supply for today in the vacant PRCs:  Prof. C. Griess and Rev. M. McGeown in Georgetown PRC; Rev. T. Miersma in Hosanna PRC, Edmonton, AB; Prof. B. Huizinga and Prof. R. Cammenga in Hudsonville PRC; Rev. S. Key in Loveland PRC; Rev. H. Bleyenberg in Lynden PRC; Rev. S. Regnerus in Randolph PRC; Prof. B. Gritters and Rev.  in Zion PRC.  May we count it a blessing of our church federation that we can help one another in these needs. Let us remember to pray for the men who supply these pulpits and for the vacant congregations. And may we continue to pray for men to hear the call to serve as pastors and missionaries!

PRC DENOMINATIONAL NEWS

• Synod 2023 appointed an Ad Hoc Committee to hire a third-party organization for a denomination-wide investigation of sexual abuse. The committee reports that it has been laboring since the meeting of Synod to come to a mutual understanding and agreement with Guidepost Solutions regarding the work. On October 5 the committee signed a contract with Guidepost Solutions and expects that the investigation will begin in the near future with the publishing of a survey.
  
  
• Home missionary speech: October 27 Rev. James Lanning will speak on the work of evangelism in the local congregations. Title: “The Church’s Calling in Evangelism.” To be held at SW PRC (Wyoming, MI) at 7:30 P.M.
  
  
• Classis East: Classis East met on Wednesday, September 13, at Trinity PRC. The delegates are scheduled to reconvene this week Wednesday, Oct.25. For a summary of the actions and decisions, visit this page.
  
  
• PRC 100th Anniversary: With gratitude to our faithful God, the PRCA look forward to our 100th anniversary. The celebration is planned for June 23-27, 2025, at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. The various committees of the 100th anniversary steering commitee are busy preparing for this historic event, including a special commemorative book. Watch for further notices and updates!

Rev. C. Haak led the chapels on the last two Wednesdays at the PRTS

PRC Seminary Notices:

• The PR Theological Seminary will enter its ninth week - a partial week - of the first semester 2023-24 tomorrow. Thursday and Friday (Oct. 26,27) are days 'off' for the "reading recess" break, which allows students 'extra' time to work on their special assignments and faculty an opportunity to travel for special lectures (Reformation). May the Lord bless the labors - and travels - of the week.
• This week Aaron Van Dyke will lead the daily devotions.
• Senior Sem. Arend Haveman is doing his internship this summer and fall (July-December) in Pittsburgh PRC under Rev. W. Bruinsma. He is busy with all aspects of the ministry, and is regularly preaching new sermons. This week he will travel to Hudsonville for the Classis East meeting at Trinity PRC. After the internship is completed, he will return for this final semester next year, Lord willing.
• Prof. C. Griess gave a speech at the pre-Classis West Officebearers' Conference on sexual abuse on Sept.26 in Crete PRC (IL). Prof. Griess' speech may be found here and on the seminary's YouTube channel.
• In connection with a special conference held online for interested people in Mexico, Prof. R. Cammenga recently prepared three lectures on the errors of the well-meant offer of the gospel and the truth of the Reformed-biblical call of the gospel. You may find these lectures on the seminary's YouTube channel.
• Seminary Convocation was held on Wednesday Sept.6 in Hope PRC in Walker, MI.  The video of the convocation program is now available on the PRTS' YouTube channel.
• The Fall 2023 issue of the PR Theological Journal is currently being worked on and should go to the printer this week. To read the last one (Spring 2023), visit the link provided here. If you want to be added to our mailing list (either print or digital) or wish to pick up a copy, contact Valerie Kleyn, the seminary secretary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). 
• During normal school sessions the seminary is open daily from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (holidays excepted), including the library and bookstore. PRC members and friends are welcome to visit and make use of these resources.
• For the latest seminary news and information, visit the seminary's website - and don't forget the blog!
  
  

SISTER-CHURCH/MISSION NEWS:

• Covenant ERC, Singapore and her Kolkata, India mission work:
  • Pastors J. Tan and M. Wee are faithfully serving the CERC. Pastor Tan preached twice as Pastor Wee has some planned 'leave' time this past week.
  • The CERC is planning a Reformation Day Conference for this weekend (Oct.27-28), with Pastors. S. Key and Tan speaking. The theme is "Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria - The Heart of the Reformation Gospel."

• Covenant PRC, N. Ireland:
  • Rev. A. Stewart continues to minister the Word faithfully in the CPRC.
  • The September 2023 issue of Covenant Reformed News was published earlier this month. Visit the link to read the articles on "Nehemiah's Godly Enquiry Concerning Jerusalem" and Rev. R. Hanko's answers to questions about the covenant of redemption.
    
  • The CPRC YouTube channel may be found here.

• PRC in the Philippines and her mission work in various places:
  • Berean PRC bulletin: Rev. V. Ibe led her worship services today. And, "The saints in All of Grace Protestant Reformed Fellowship (AGPRF), Gabaldon, NE will join us in our worship services via Livestreamed at our Facebook account."
    
  • Provident PRC bulletin: Deacon Ruel Dela Fuente led her worship services today.

REFORMED RESOURCES for EDUCATION, EDIFICATION, and EVANGELISM

Listen to the Reformed Witness Hour each Sunday - on a radio station near you, on Sermonaudio, or on your favorite podcast - wherever you are!

• This month (October 2023) the RWH continues the series on the return of Jesus Christ by Rev. W. Bruinsma, along with other special messages. Today's message is a special Reformation one and titled "The Scripture, God's Word" based on 2 Peter 1:20-21. For the October RWH Newsletter, visit this page. 
  
• The Reformed Witness Hour publishes each month's messages in an attractive booklet. These printed sermons are a great blessing to many and are distributed all over the world, including to many prisoners in the U.S. If you or your Evangelism Committee would like to receive these, let the RWHC know and they will add you to the mailing list (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Did you know that the great Reformation of the 16th century was a return to biblical worship? Find out how and why in this resource!

• In need of sound biblical and Reformed catechism materials for children and young people? Check out the PRC's full curriculum of materials here. Call the PRC Seminary for help with any of these materials (616-531-1490).
  
  
• For sound, distinctively Reformed literature on a variety of subjects and for all ages - including church history and Bible study materials - visit the Reformed Free Publishing Association website or stop in at their Jenison (Michigan) location.

• The Reformed Book Outlet (downtown Hudsonville, MI) is now operating out of its new store in downtown Hudsonville! The new location is at 3472 Harvey St. in Hudsonville. Visit the store and browse the variety of resources for your Reformed-Christian faith and walk, including many children's titles. They are open Tuesday-Friday, 10-5, and Saturday 10-1.

This Week's Thought for Contemplation

Luther’s "Here I Stand" Moment

"The spokesman was not interested in an answer like  this. All he wanted to hear was, “revoco.”7 Yes or no,  Martin Luther? Do you, or do you not, retract? And then  the monk, before emperor, electors, lords, princes, and bishops, a silence filling the hall, breathless anticipation,  the eyes of all fixed upon him—then the monk spake those  words that reverberated through that assembly, and have  reverberated through the hundreds of years since:

"Since then your serene majesty and your lordships seek  a simple answer, I will give it in this manner…. Unless  I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or  by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or  in councils alone, since it is well known that they have  often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound  by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is  captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not  retract anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go  against conscience. I cannot do otherwise, here I stand,  may God help me, Amen.

"Again an attempt was made to get him to budge, but  Luther remained firm. The diet recessed, and he returned  to his lodging.

"Scripture—that was the refrain that continued to be  heard the days following, when various persons and delegations  tried to negotiate with him. “Then began the  attempt to break Luther down through a committee.”9  But he was resolute: he could only agree to submit his  case to the judgment of another, including a council’s, if  Scripture would be the standard of judgment and the final  authority. The negotiations fell flat. April 26, several  days after his second appearing, Luther departed for  home, the emperor honoring the promised safe conduct.

"This history exemplifies that great Reformation principle—  and one that grated upon the ears of Rome during  Luther’s time at Worms—of sola Scriptura...."

~ Found in the article "Here I Stand" by Rev. J. Maatman

Today, October 15, is the forty-second Lord's Day of this year of our Lord 2023. Below you will find special highlights of PRC and sister-church news. It is our hope that these reports not only inform you but also give you opportunity to pray for the needs of these churches and mission fields throughout the world.

If you are new to this website and the PRCA, we invite you to join us in worship today or on any of the Sunday's of this year at one of our local congregations near you, or listen online.

Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! ~ Psalm 119:1-5

CONGREGATIONAL NEWS 

• Rev. D. Kleyn was installed as pastor of Doon (IA) PRC this evening, with Prof. B. Gritters leading the service. May the Lord grant him a faithful and fruitful ministry in that congregation. From Doon's bulletin today: "Today we celebrate the installation of Rev. Daniel Kleyn as our pastor! Rev. Kleyn has been our missionary in the Philippines for the past 14 years, and today will take up his calling as our pastor. We give thanks to God for providing a pastor for us! Installation is scheduled for the evening service. Coffee and cookies will be served in the basement following the service. At 7:00 P.M. in the basement, the council will make a few remarks as we welcome Rev. and Sharon to our congregation. 'How beautiful are of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!' Romans 10:15"
  
  
• Today Rev. R. Smit accepted the call to Randolph PRC (WI).
  
  
• Today Rev. M. Kortus (Hope PRC-Redlands, CA) accepted the call to Zion PRC (Jenison, MI).
  
  
• Last Sunday Georgetown PRC voted to call Rev. G. Eriks (Unity PRC-Byron Center, MI). 
  
  
• Last Sunday Rev. D. Noorman (SW PRC) declined the call from Loveland (CO) PRC.
  
  
• Rev. D. Noorman (SW PRC) is considering the call to Lynden (WA) PRC  (received Oct.1). He plans to answer next week.
  
  
• On Sept.24 Hudsonville PRC extended a call to Rev. N. Decker (Grandville PRC). He plans to answer next week.
  
  
• On Sept.3 Cand. M. Koerner accepted the call from Hosanna PRC (Edmonton, AB). On Sept.27 he was examined by Classis West, which met in Crete PRC (IL). He successfully sustained this examination and Hosanna PRC was advised to proceed to his ordination and installation. His application to the Canadian government for a work permit was recently approved, and he and his wife Sharon plan to move to Edmonton the week of Oct.23. We thank the Lord for this progress and pray for them as they prepare for life and ministry there. "The Ordination Service for Pastor-Elect Koerner will be held on Thursday, November 9 at 7:30 PM at St. Albert Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELC)." (Hosanna's bulletin today)

Special Congregational Notices:

• Loveland PRC (CO): "Covenant of Grace Fellowship Fund: Next week Sunday, October 22, we will be taking a collection for the Covenant of Grace Fellowship in Spokane. This will be the first of three collections we will be taking for the remainder of the year, the second collection scheduled for November 26 and the third for December 17, Lord willing. The funds collected will be used for the support of our council's and consistory's work and oversight of the fellowship that remains in Spokane, who now have their membership papers in the care of Loveland PRC. This would include funding our delegation visits to Spokane, pulpit supply, and any general expenses that the Covenant of Grace fellowship will need assistance covering. Please consider giving for this cause of assisting our fellow saints in Spokane. Our Council and the Covenant of Grace Fellowship covet your prayers as we continue the Lord's work in Spokane. To God be the glory!"
  
  
• Grace PRC (Standale, MI): "Grace PRC is hosting a speech, presented by the Trinitarian Bible Society on October 19 at 7 p.m. [This Thursday night] The topic of this speech is comparing the KJV translation of Scripture with other popular translations, and why a proper translation is needed. This presentation will be livesteamed but not recorded. We look forward to seeing you there!"
  
  
• Heritage PRC (Sioux Falls, SD): "Heritage PRC will be hosting the fall Reformation lecture on October 27, 7:00 p.m. Prof. C. Griess will deliver a speech entitled "Sexual Abuse in Calvin's Geneva." Refreshments will follow. All are encouraged to attend!"
  
  
• Randolph (WI) PRC: " Please join us next week Friday, October 27 at 7:30 PM at the Randolph Protestant Reformed Church for the fall evangelism lecture. Prof B. Huizinga will be speaking on 'Holiness in a World Filled with Violence.'”

Classical appointments and pulpit supply for today in the vacant PRCs:  Prof. B. Gritters in Doon (IA) PRC; Prof. C. Griess and Rev. J. Smidstra in Georgetown PRC; Rev. T. Miersma in Hosanna PRC, Edmonton, AB; Prof. B. Huizinga and Rev. D. Lee in Hudsonville PRC; Sem. A. Haveman in Loveland PRC; Elder led in Lynden PRC; Rev. R. Smit in Randolph PRC; Sem. A. Van Dyke and Prof. D. Kuiper in Zion PRC.  May we count it a blessing of our church federation that we can help one another in these needs. Let us remember to pray for the men who supply these pulpits and for the vacant congregations. And may we continue to pray for men to hear the call to serve as pastors and missionaries!

PRC DENOMINATIONAL NEWS

• Synod 2023 appointed an Ad Hoc Committee to hire a third-party organization for a denomination-wide investigation of sexual abuse. The committee reports that it has been laboring since the meeting of Synod to come to a mutual understanding and agreement with Guidepost Solutions regarding the work. On October 5 the committee signed a contract with Guidepost Solutions and expects that the investigation will begin in the near future with the publishing of a survey.
  
  
• Home missionary speech: October 27 Rev. James Lanning will speak on the work of evangelism in the local congregations. Title: “The Church’s Calling in Evangelism.” To be held at SW PRC (Wyoming, MI) at 7:30 P.M.
  
  
• Classis East: Classis East met on Wednesday, September 13, at Trinity PRC. The delegates are scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday, Oct.25. For a summary of the actions and decisions, visit this page.
  
  
• Classis West: Classis West held its regular meeting in Crete PRC (IL) on September 27. For more on this meeting, including the stated clerk's public report, visit this page.
  
  
• PRC 100th Anniversary: With gratitude to our faithful God, the PRCA look forward to our 100th anniversary. The celebration is planned for June 23-27, 2025, at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI. The various committees of the 100th anniversary steering commitee are busy preparing for this historic event, including a special commemorative book. Watch for further notices and updates!

PRC Seminary Notices:

• The PR Theological Seminary will enter its eighth week of the first semester 2023-24 tomorrow - just over the mid-point. Things continue to go well, for which we thank our gracious Father. The schedule and calendar have been posted here. ​The faculty, students, and staff covet your prayers as we continue our various labors this new school year.
• This week Joe Ophoff will lead the daily devotions. Rev. C. Haak will again lead the Wednesday chapel.
• This being Reformation remembrance month, the professors will be busy giving Reformation-themed speeches in various places in the PRC later this month. The professors and some of the students also keep busy teaching catechism and leading varous Bible studies during the week.
• Senior Sem. Arend Haveman is doing his internship this summer and fall (July-December) in Pittsburgh PRC under Rev. W. Bruinsma. He is busy with all aspects of the ministry, and is preaching a new sermon this evening in the congregation. Today he is leading both services in Loveland PRC-Colorado. After the internship is completed, he will return for this final semester next year, Lord willing.
• Prof. C. Griess gave a speech at the pre-Classis West Officebearers' Conference on sexual abuse on Sept.26 in Crete PRC (IL). Prof. Griess' speech may be found here and on the seminary's YouTube channel.
• In connection with a special conference held online for interested people in Mexico, Prof. R. Cammenga recently prepared three lectures on the errors of the well-meant offer of the gospel and the truth of the Reformed-biblical call of the gospel. You may find these lectures on the seminary's YouTube channel.
• Seminary Convocation was held on Wednesday Sept.6 in Hope PRC in Walker, MI.  The video of the convocation program is now available on the PRTS' YouTube channel.
• The Fall 2023 issue of the PR Theological Journal is currently being worked on. To read the last one (Spring 2023), visit the link provided here. If you want to be added to our mailing list (either print or digital) or wish to pick up a copy, contact Valerie Kleyn, the seminary secretary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). 
• During normal school sessions the seminary is open daily from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (holidays excepted), including the library and bookstore. PRC members and friends are welcome to visit and make use of these resources.
• For the latest seminary news and information, visit the seminary's website - and don't forget the blog!
  
  

SISTER-CHURCH/MISSION NEWS:

• Covenant ERC, Singapore and her Kolkata, India mission work:
  • Pastors J. Tan and M. Wee are faithfully serving the CERC. Pastor Tan preached twice as Pastor Wee has some planned 'leave' time this past week.
  • The CERC is planning a Reformation Day Conference for Oct.27-28, with Pastors. S. Key and Tan speaking. The theme is "Sola Scriptura, Solus Christus, Soli Deo Gloria - The Heart of the Reformation Gospel."
    
    
• Covenant PRC, N. Ireland:
  • Rev. A. Stewart continues to minister the Word faithfully in the CPRC.
  • The September 2023 issue of Covenant Reformed News was published this past week. Visit the link to read the articles on "Nehemiah's Godly Enquiry Concerning Jerusalem" and Rev. R. Hanko's answers to questions about the covenant of redemption.
    
  • The CPRC YouTube channel may be found here.

• PRC in the Philippines and her mission work in various places:
  • Berean PRC bulletin: Elders Umali and Penaverde led her worship services today. And, "Rev. Ibe and Elder Penaverde's travel and visit with the pastors in SNO [Southern Negros Occidental] went very well by the grace of God. Ptr. Ibe lectured on “The Necessity of Federation” based on John 17:21-23. In the evening on Thursday [Oct. 12], pastor and elder Alann met with Ptr. Elvis Olivares [Bata Community Christian Church] and two of their deacons. We have discussed the possibility of giving a lecture on the Reformed Distinctives. The initial plan is to give that lecture on our next visit to SNO in November, Lord willing." And, "The saints in All of Grace Protestant Reformed Fellowship (AGPRF), Gabaldon, NE. will join us in our worship services via Livestreamed at our Facebook account."
    
  • Provident PRC bulletin: Deacon Mitch Suarez led her worship services today.

REFORMED RESOURCES for EDUCATION, EDIFICATION, and EVANGELISM

Listen to the Reformed Witness Hour each Sunday - on a radio station near you, on Sermonaudio, or on your favorite podcast - wherever you are!

• This month (October 2023) the RWH continues the series on the return of Jesus Christ by Rev. W. Bruinsma, along with other special messages. Today's message is titled "The Final Sign of Christ's Return" based on Luke 21:25-28. For the October RWH Newsletter, visit this page. 
  
• The Reformed Witness Hour publishes each month's messages in an attractive booklet. These printed sermons are a great blessing to many and are distributed all over the world, including to many prisoners in the U.S. If you or your Evangelism Committee would like to receive these, let the RWHC know and they will add you to the mailing list (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

What does - and what should - the Reformation of the 16th century mean to the church today? Read this resource to find out! 

• In need of sound biblical and Reformed catechism materials for children and young people? Check out the PRC's full curriculum of materials here. Call the PRC Seminary for help with any of these materials (616-531-1490).
  
  
• For sound, distinctively Reformed literature on a variety of subjects and for all ages - including church history and Bible study materials - visit the Reformed Free Publishing Association website or stop in at their Jenison (Michigan) location.

• The Reformed Book Outlet (downtown Hudsonville, MI) is now operating out of its new store in downtown Hudsonville! The new location is at 3472 Harvey St. in Hudsonville. Visit the store and browse the variety of resources for your Reformed-Christian faith and walk, including many children's titles. They are open Tuesday-Friday, 10-5, and Saturday 10-1.

This Week's Thought for Contemplation

Luther’s Hammer

"If anyone in church history could swing a hammer it was Martin Luther. His primary hammer was not what he may have used to post his theses to Wittenberg’s church door on October 31, 1517. His hammer was Scripture: “Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” (Jer. 23:29). Because his voluminous writings were faithful explanations of the truth of divine Scripture, the powerful Word of God was communicated through those writings, making them many hammers to break in pieces the rock of Roman Catholic false doctrine lodged in the hearts of men. Luther’s writings were not like the fluff of many Christian publishing houses today. His writings infuriated the pope, served as kindling for the enemies’ fires, and continually jeopardized his safety. But the Reformer kept taking the hammer of God’s Word, swinging away in the service of the truth that salvation is of grace alone and, therefore, through faith alone in Christ alone.

"With his Ninety-five Theses of 1517 Luther smashed into pieces the lie of papal authority and the efficacy of indulgences captured in Tetzel’s famed jingle, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” This was only the beginning.

"With his “Address to the Christian Nobility” of 1520 Luther hammered away at the Romish doctrine of papal authority and infallibility, the sole authority of the Romish church to interpret Scripture, and the corruption of the distinction between clergy and laity. With the heavy “Babylonian Captivity of the Church” written also in 1520, Luther pounded away at the entire system of works-righteousness by smashing to pieces the Roman Catholic idea of the sacerdotal system and the sacraments—in particular the accursed idolatry that is the mass, so central to the life and work of the priests and of all the people. It is said that even Erasmus read this tract and declared that the breach with Rome was irreparable. Luther’s commentary on Galatians, published in 1535, was another heavy-hitting piece of writing."

~ Found in the article "Luther and Scripture" by Prof. B. Huizinga