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Peace PRC Receives Decline from Rev.R.Kleyn; Doon PRC Calls Rev.D.Holstege

PeacePRC2012On Sunday, February 15, 2015, Peace PRC of Lansing, IL received a letter of decline from Rev.R.Kleyn (Covenant of Grace PRC, Spokane, WA), whom they had called on Jan.22, 2015.

May the Lord of the church and of His servants assure the congregation of His provision for them in their time of vacancy as well as of a pastor to labor among them once again.

Daniel HolstegeAlso on Sunday, Feb.15, 2015, the congregation of Doon PRC, the calling church for the PRC mission labors in the Philippines, voted to issue a call to Rev. Daniel Holstege to serve as second missionary. Rev.Holstege currently serves as pastor of the First PRC of Holland, MI.

May the Lord of the harvest make His way plain to this laborer and grant grace to follow it.

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Covenant Reformed News - January 2015 Issue

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Covenant Reformed News

January 2015 • Volume XV, Issue 9

*[Also attached here in pdf form]

The Voice Crying in the Wilderness (4)

The message declared by the voice crying in the wilderness is summarized by the prophecy of Isaiah 40:3-5, which is quoted in Luke 3:4-6: "As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God."

The imagery here is that of a great king travelling in his royal chariot to part of his realm. But the road is poor, for it is crooked and bumpy, with many hills and dips. The way must be fixed since the sovereign is coming. Level it, straighten it and fill in the potholes!

Who is the coming One? Luke 3:4 refers to Him as the "Lord," who is Jehovah, rendered "Lord" in Isaiah 40:3, which also identifies him as "God." Thus, Jehovah God is coming! This proves the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Second Person of the Holy Trinity incarnate.

Luke 3:6 calls Him not merely our Saviour but "the salvation of God." This fits perfectly with the annunciation of the angel Gabriel: "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21).

Isaiah 40:5 hails Him as "the glory of the Lord." Thus, the message of John the Baptist is centred on the glory of God revealed in Jesus Christ and His salvation.

What did John the Baptist command? He commanded the people to prepare the way for the coming king, like those who fix the road before the visit of the sovereign. They were to prepare the way for Jesus Christ, who is the Lord, Jehovah salvation, the glory of God.

But what is it to prepare the way of the Lord? What is the truth conveyed by this attractive imagery? It is summed up in one word: Repent! Matthew 3:2 encapsulates John’s message: "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

What is repentance? First, repentance is a radical change of mind and thinking with regard to ethical and divine things. You no longer imagine yourself to be a good person, for you realize your own sinfulness. As regards your works, you discover that they are not virtuous, never mind meritorious, for they are all "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). You understand that Almighty God is infinitely holy and not to be trifled with. You see that your security is not to be found in external religious observances or mere church connections. It finally grips you that you deserve to perish in hell for your sins.

Second, true repentance results in fleeing from the wrath to come, in the language of Luke 3:7. The sinner is gripped with a fear of divine judgment and punishment. He no longer loves and rejoices in evil attitudes, speech and deeds, but hates and detests his iniquities as evil that deserves God’s wrath. Thus he earnestly turns from his transgressions, and seeks salvation and eternal life in the cross of Christ.

Third, true repentance issues in confession of sin (Matt. 3:6). No longer do you excuse your iniquity, but you confess sin as sin, worthy of God’s righteous judgment. With grief and sorrow, sins are confessed to God and, where appropriate, to those whom you have wronged or to the church (Westminster Confession 15:6).

Fourth, true repentance brings forth good fruit, what John the Baptist calls "fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:8). Where there is repentance, there is always faith, for these two are inseparable so that you cannot have one without the other. Faith and repentance are produced by regeneration, the new birth, which makes the tree, and therefore its fruit, good, to use the language of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 7:17-18; 12:33, 35). Thus, those who are really repentant bring forth good fruit: they break with sin, they live according to all God’s commandments in principle, they are humble before God and man, they produce good works, they persevere in the truth and they suffer for righteousness’ sake by the irresistible grace of the Holy Spirit. Where there is no good fruit, there is no real repentance, merely hypocrisy.

Fifth, there is an important connection between repentance and baptism, both real, inner baptism and external, ritual baptism with water. This is the testimony of Luke 3:3, concerning John the Baptist’s ministry: "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." John proclaimed an inward, spiritual baptism which renewed God’s elect people so that they would be brought infallibly to repentance and receive the forgiveness of all their sins. This spiritual transformation and acquittal was signified and sealed in water baptism.

In John’s day, the kingdom of God was at hand, so he called people to repent and so prepare for the (first) coming of Christ. In our day, the kingdom of God has come, with the incarnation, cross and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Those outside the kingdom must repent and be converted, humbling themselves as little children to enter the kingdom of heaven, and those who are already citizens of God’s kingdom must continue in the way of repentance and faith (Matt. 18:3-4; Col. 2:6)!

This is the first of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses: "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent’ (Matt. 4:17), He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance." This was also the message of John the Baptist, as we have seen, and it is and must be the preaching of the true church today! Rev. Angus Stewart

God’s Foreknowledge and Man’s Free Will (1)

One correspondent writes, "Do you realize that God has no foreknowledge outside His creation? He can’t have foreknowledge of His own actions. Remember, He had no beginning and foreknowledge only exists prior to a beginning."

Although the question proceeds on a misconception and has an air of arrogance about it, when it suggests that those who believe in God’s foreknowledge really do not understand what foreknowledge is, the question is worth our consideration.

Another questioner has obviously given the matter considerable thought, but continues to have some problems with the idea of foreknowledge. He writes,

"I understand the passages about ‘before the foundation of the world’ in the light of foreknowledge.

1. What is that foreknowledge? For those He foreknew. What did God foreknow?

2. If the elect are chosen before the foundation of the world outside of foreknowledge of the individual, then, at what point were they ever condemned? I do not see how one can be simultaneously condemned and saved at the same time.

"As Moses raised up the serpent—

1. Numbers 21:8-9, I am sure we will agree that Christ Himself used this passage as a picture of what He was doing on the cross [John 3:14]. Well, in this picture, all of the people that were bitten had to use their free will and simply looked upon the serpent to live, and all who didn’t died. How can this be a picture of Christ in the Calvinist eye, when looking is an act of conscience and of will?

2. This cannot be an accurate picture, if the consequences are not applied in the same manner.

3. The serpent was never kept away from those who were bitten so that [they] would never be able to look upon it. If salvation is not available to those who are bitten, then it is not an accurate picture."

This last question does not have foreknowledge in mind, but it is so closely related to the subject of foreknowledge that it is well to treat the two together.

First of all, we ought to be sure of what the Bible means by "foreknowledge."

The word is not frequently used in Scripture. It is found only in Acts 2:23 and I Peter 1:2. Its verb cognate, "foreknow," is used only in Romans 8:29 and Romans 11:2.

In Acts 2:23, the word is used to teach us that Christ’s death and all the circumstances of it were brought about by God’s sovereign and eternal counsel. The word "foreknowledge" is, in fact, identified with His counsel.

In the other three instances, the word is used in relation to God’s people: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate;" "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father;" "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew."

Although foreknowledge is distinguished from both predestination and election, it is closely associated with both concepts.

In the Middle Ages, many theologians, committed as they were to the Pelagianism of Rome, defined foreknowledge in the sense of prediction. God was able to predict accurately who would, by his own free will, believe, and, on the basis of man’s own decision to believe, he was elected. The Reformers, without exception, condemned this view as being contrary to the Scriptures and a denial of God’s sovereignty.

But the heresy arose again. It arose in the hypothetical universalism of the Amyraldians in France and in the Arminian heresy of Jacobus Arminius and his followers in the Netherlands. Amyraldianism was condemned in the Formula Consensus Helvetica(1675) and by the Westminster Assembly (1640s), although the Amyraldian position or views like it were defended by a few delegates. The Arminian position was condemned by the Synod of Dordt (1618-1619).

The confessions that arose out of the Reformation are unanimously opposed to a conditional predestination and man’s free will. The Scottish Confession (1560) says, "So that the cause of good works we confess to be not our free will, but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus …" (Art. 13). Regarding free will, Article 10 of the Thirty-Nine Articles(1562/63) of the Church of England states, "The condition of man, after the fall of Adam, is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself by his own natural strength and good works to faith and calling upon God." The Lambeth Articles (1595), intended to be added to the Thirty-Nine Articles, though never officially adopted by the Anglican Church, is strong on the doctrine of predestination (www.cprf.co.uk/articles/lambeth.htm). All the other Reformed confessions teach the same truth: the French Confession (1559), the Belgic Confession (1561), theHeidelberg Catechism (1563), etc.

It is faithfulness to the confessions to confess and maintain these truths, and to oppose the heresies that basically arose out of Rome. That most of the church today is unfaithful to her heritage makes no difference; these churches have simply repudiated what lies at the heart of Reformation thought. In doing so, they have rejected Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, Knox and all the later Reformed theologians. Defenders of later heresies must not come up with their denials of foreknowledge, predestination and election, along with their notions of free will and attempt to palm this off on the church as the truth of the Scriptures. Let them do their homework and read Luther’s The Bondage of the Will or Calvin’s God’s Eternal Predestination and Secret Providence. They will soon learn that they stand outside the stream of biblical thought.

If they claim that the Reformation came with novelties, let them go back to Augustine (354-430) and Gottschalk (c. 808-c. 867) to learn that these are ancient truths held by the churches’ greatest theologians.

The only explanation for this consistent emphasis on God’s foreknowledge and the bondage of the will of man is that these doctrines that the Reformers taught are thoroughly scriptural and must be maintained.

We will enter into the subject itself more completely in the next article and answer some of the objections of the gainsayers. I urge our readers to save this issue of the News so that you can refer to it when the next issue comes out to refresh your memories of the questions we are dealing with. Prof. Herman Hanko (emeritus, PRC Seminary)

Covenant Protestant Reformed Church
83 Clarence Street, Ballymena, BT43 5DR • Lord’s Day services at 11 am & 6 pm
Website: www.cprc.co.uk • Live broadcast: www.cprf.co.uk/live
Pastor: Angus Stewart, 7 Lislunnan Road, Kells, N. Ireland, BT42 3NR • (028) 25 891851
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Rev.R.Smit Accepts Call to First PRC, Grand Rapids, MI; New Trio for Missionary to the Philippines

GrtCommissionMapOn Sunday, February 8, 2015 Rev.R.Smit (missionary to the Philippines) informed First PRC, Grand Rapids, MI that he had accepted their call to serve as her next pastor, following the retirement of Rev.J.Slopsema last summer.

We rejoice with the First PRC congregation and with the Smits in God's provision of a new place of labor for them. May the Lord provide them with special grace as they finish their labors in the Philippines and prepare to "come over and help" the saints in First PRC.

Also on this Sunday, the Council of Doon PRC announced to the congregation a new trio from which to call a missionary to the Philippines, following the recent decline of this call from Rev.W.Langerak (Jan.25, 2015). This second missionary will be for the replacement of Rev.R.Smit, who along with his family plans to return to the States in March of this year.

The trio consists of Revs.A.Brummel (Heritage PRC, Sioux Falls, SD), N.Decker (Trinity PRC, Hudsonville, MI), and D.Holstege (1st PRC, Holland, MI).

The congregation of Doon plans to call on Sunday, February 15, 2015.

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New Issue (Jan.-Feb., 2015) of Salt Shakers YP's Magazine - CERC "Covenant Keepers"

SaltShakersLogo"Covenant Keepers", the youth ministry of the Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church of Singapore (our sister church), has just published issue #30 of "Salt Shakers" (Jan.-Feb. 2015), their youth magazine.

Once again the "SS" is packed with interesting and edifying articles, and our PRC young people especially are invited and encouraged to read it. Below you will find a note from the "SS" Committee introducing the contents of this issue.

You are encouraged to visit the"Salt Shakers" webpage where you will find a downloadable e-copy for your reading and spiritual growth. Or you may find the full copy attached here in pdf form.

Dearest Salt Shakers Readers,

Greetings in Christ on the behalf of the Salt Shakers team! We are thankful to be able to bring you the first issue of Salt Shakers for 2015. This is a milestone for Salt Shakers as we reach issue #30, and we thank God for His sustaining hand and grace in our work as a witness of the Gospel.
Chinese New Year celebrations are upon us, and many of us are surely looking forward to enjoying reunion dinners with our families. What special significance do reunion dinners have for Christians? Find out in "The Reunion in Heaven (CNY Special)"! In "Hyper-Calvinists? Hardly!" Pastor Andy Lanning addresses the charge of "Hyper-Calvinist" and refutes the Arminian Well-meant Gospel Offer (WMGO) teaching. The fearsome Ebola virus is discussed in "God's Sovereign Hand in Ebola".
Do check out the many other interesting articles. Blessed reading and remember to pass the Salt!
In Christ
Chua Lee Yang
On Behalf of the Salt Shakers Committee
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Reformed Book Outlet - February 2015 Newsletter

ReformedBookOutletThe Reformed Book Outlet in Hudsonville, MI has published its February 2015 Newsletter, with a special focus on discounted cards, music CD's (Psalm Choir - including a quiz!), overstock/close-out books, and Hendriksen/Kistemaker NT commentaries.

Read the RBO newsletter below (also attached in pdf form), check out their website (also to check on business hours), visit the bookstore, and benefit from the good Reformed literature, music, cards, and other resources available.

RBO Newsletter Feb 2015 Page 1

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Reformed News Asia - February 2015 Issue

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The fourteenth issue of "Reformed News Asia" has been released by the Christian Literature Ministry (CLM) of our sister church in Singapore, the Covenant Evangelical Reformed Church. Once again you will find an issue filled with informative and edifying content (for information on the previous issue, #13, visit this page)!

RNA Feb 2015 DevotionsOne of the special resources made available in this issue is the daily devotions, which continue a series covering the Heidelberg Catechism (LDs 6-9 - see pdf attachment). Written by Rev.J.Kortering and Rev.G.Van Baren, these devotions on the "HC" take you through the month of February and into March (Feb.5 - March 4). You will find great spiritual profit in using these devotions day by day (By the way, you may also find these same HC devotionals on the PRC website.).

Some of the upcoming events (2015 Church camp and Chinese New year) as well as activities of the past are reported on too - with plenty of pictures, such as the annual church retreat and "open Sunday", where the church theme and plans for the year are introduced.

To watch and hear a couple of special numbers the young people recently sang for the "open Sunday" program, see these YouTube links: Psalter 268 and “How Deep the Father’s Love For Us.”

Be sure to check out all the details of "Reformed News Asia" by subscribing to this important newsletter from our Singapore sister.

For more information on these events, visit the "Stories from Singapore" blog of the Lannings - lots of additional pictures and descriptions, for example on the recent anniversary celebrations of the "Covenant Keeper" (CK) youth groups.

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Philippines Mission Update: Seminary Videos Used for 7M Classes

7M Catechetics class 2015 1

This past week Missionary-pastors D. Kleyn and R.Smit once again held their 7M pastors' training classes in the Metro Manila area. Rev. Smit is teaching a class in OT exegesis and Rev.Kleyn began a class in catechetics (how to teach catechism to the youth of the church).

What made this time unique is that for the first time the missionaries used videos of one of our own Seminary courses - videos that had been made with this very purpose in mind. Rev.Kleyn used and will be using videos of Prof.B.Gritters course on Catechetics taught just last Fall (2014) in our Seminary. Some thirty lectures were saved on a flash drive and sent to our missionaries in the Philippines through Prof. (emeritus) D.Engelsma who was just there for a special conference.

This was exciting for both the missionaries and for the faculty here, as we have been taping other classes with this in mind (Dogmatics, church history, church polity, etc.). Both missionaries testified to the great value of this for themselves and for the pastors being trained there. One of them made this comment by way of email as a follow-up:

I've looked forward to what happened on Tuesday for a long time: having lectures of a complete course from our Seminary courses used in a pastor's training setting, like 7M. It was indeed a thrill to witness what I regard as no little accomplishment and a significant cooperation between our seminary and our mission work in the Philippines, addressing a concrete need.

We thank the Lord that this modern technology can be used in this way. May we continue to pray for God's blessing on this kind of cooperation between our Seminary and our mission labors in distant lands.

7M Catechetics class 2015 2

Rev.Kleyn also sent along a couple of pictures of the class, for which we thank him.

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