Our apologies! A technical error on our part caused several “Ask a Pastor” questions (including this one) to go unnoticed. We have now corrected the problem. Thank-you for your patience as we work on this new project! Question At the beginning of this school year a girl befriended me, and we have been good friends for a few months now. I recently found out that she classifies as “bisexual.” Should I still be friends with her? Answer What a great opportunity for some personal evangelism! You do not say if you heard this from someone else – in that case it is gossip (slander) and might not even be true; or if she told you about herself – in that case it is an honest confession, and might even be a silent cry for help. In any case, maintain the friendship (with due care). Study up what “bisexual” stands for. When the opportunity is there, carefully open a discussion with her as to what she means by being “bisexual.” The common meaning of “bisexual” is romantic or sexual attraction to both males and females. It can simply be part of her “teenage confusion” sparked by the sex-education in today’s secular educational institutions. It can simply mean that she wants to be “with it” in terms of what is popular today, and (hopefully) just a passing fad. However, it can also be a transitorial identity towards something more defined as lesbian. In any case, open dialogue about it with her is best. Sympathize with her if she is simply in a confused state. But if it appears that she is genuinely attracted, romantically and sexually to both males and females, encourage her to consider God’s Word where it speaks in Genesis 2:27 “male and female He created them” and that He blessed them, and that He pronounced their differences as “very good.” Explain to her that God is wise in how He has created us, and that in His wisdom opposites in sexes attract, and that this as such is good and pleasing to God. We know from other parts of God’s Word that “same sex” romantic liaisons are not pleasing to God and ultimately call for repentance and forgiveness (which He is most graciously pleased to provide!) Finally, be well grounded in your faith in Jesus Christ yourself so that you will not be drawn away into the error which your friend may have embraced. Pastor Henk #Sexuality

Our apologies! A technical error on our part caused several “Ask a Pastor” questions (including this one) to go unnoticed. We have now corrected the problem. Thank-you for your patience as we work on this new project! Question Why does God only give us a small glimpse of what heaven and the world to come will be like? Answer This is a great question. I’m glad that you are thinking on the subject of heaven and eternity. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Colossians 3:2, where the Apostle Paul tells us, “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” But the question then is, “How do I set my mind on things above, if I know so little about heaven?” I want to answer your question in two parts: One, you’re right. God doesn’t give us a lot of detail in the Bible of what heaven or the new earth will be like. But, two, He probably does give more details than you might think. Let me answer that second part first: For example, in Colossians 3, after he tells us to set our mind on heaven, Paul seems to move on. But actually he doesn’t. He goes on to tell the Colossians what bad and sinful characteristics they ought to get rid of from their life, (fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness), and he calls them “members which are on earth.” And then he tells them to adopt new, good and holy characteristics, (tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another, and a forgiving spirit). The implication is that these good and holy characteristics are not from earth, but from heaven (from “above”). And he means they come to us from One who is above—when by His Spirit He puts a new heart and new desires within us. But surely he also shows us: This is what “above” looks like! This is what heaven is like! It’s a place where the creatures living there have these good and holy characteristics. So there heaven is described for us, though we might not realize it at first glance. And in Scripture God tells us a number of times about what the atmosphere and the character of people and angels in heaven are (and on the new earth will be) like. And He tells you and me: “Set your mind on that.” So He wants us to think of heaven in that way. But then back to the first part: Yes, God does not describe many things like, what we will look like, or wear, or what language we will talk, or how old we will look, or how and where we will live, and many details like that. And we would love to know them! (1) Perhaps He doesn’t, in order to create this longing within us! The surprise of it! (2) We will have an eternity to learn about all these (that is, if we repent and believe in Lord Jesus Christ here in this life). (3) What we are going to, is not as important as Who we are going to. God wants us most to look forward to Him, then to His gifts. (4) God’s Word is not concerned with detailing heaven for us and we have to conclude that in God’s wisdom we don’t really need to know (we’re not given an account of the angels being created either, for example). God’s main concern in His Word is for us—here and now—on this earth: To show us that we are sinners who need saving if we’re ever going to live on the new earth; and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to that salvation. The Bible is not a handbook about everything! It’s a handbook on how to be prepared for that day on which we will meet God. And so God gives us everything that we need to know, to get ready for that day. Sometimes He gives us glimpses at heaven and the new world to come. But most often He gives long looks into your and my heart. And long looks at Him, our Triune God, as Savior and Judge. Because that’s what we need to see the most. So all of that is to say: If you want to know more, continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and one day—maybe soon!—He will show it all to you. And as the old hymn goes, “What a day of rejoicing that will be.” Pastor Tim Bergsma #Heaven

Here is where we highlight a few of the sermons that were preached across the FRC this past Sunday, in a way to help us feel more connected to one another. Rev. W Klaver on “I Believe the Forgiveness of Sins” Rev. Klaver from our Hamilton FRC has come to Lord’s Day 21, Q&A 56 in the Heidelberg Catechism. And using Isaiah 43:18-25 & 1 John 1:5-10 he brought out that being forgiven is, “the most important gift of salvation from Christ.” Why? “Because each and every other gift from Jesus follows this one. All the treasures of salvation which are found in salvation, which are found in the Lord Jesus Christ, are given through the channel of the forgiveness of sin.” Listen here! Rev. Carl Schouls on why Jesus allowed Lazarus to die Rev. Schouls was preaching in our Vineland FRC (where he was pastor for 12 years, I believe from 1984-1996) and from John 11:1-17. He points out that Lazarus died just days before Jesus’ own death, and his theme and three points were: “Jesus Delays in Going to Lazarus”: 1. A heavy trial, 2. A bitter disappointment, and 3. A gracious surprise. Ultimately, Lazarus’ sickness (and resurrection), “was all used … to bring about the salvation miracle of the atonement.” You can listen to it here. Rev. Jack Schoeman on the David hiding in the wilderness Our Abbotsford FRC had a “preparatory service” this week, in anticipation of celebrating the Lord’s Supper next week (the Lord willing), and Rev. Schoeman compared our lives to David’s life during the time when he had to run and hide from his son Absalom’s treachery. In the middle of this difficult time for David he needed physical rest (1 Samuel 16:14, “now the king and all the people who were with him became weary”). For us, we need spiritual rest. Listen to how we may find the rest we need, here. Dr. Joseph Pipa on justification by faith alone Once a year, in November, Dr. Pipa, president of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, has been coming up to Ontario and preaching the morning service in our St. Thomas FRC, the afternoon service in our Chatham FRC, and the evening service in the local ARP church in Chatham. Yesterday he preached from Galatians 2:11-21, and addressed the most important question in the world: How can I be right with God? You can listen to the answer here! #Sermons

By Rev. Mark Kelderman & Rev. Maarten Kuivenhoven The question that plagues many who are seeking salvation is, how do I know I am saved? How do I know that the Spirit has made me alive? A pregnant mother will know that her baby is well when she feels kicking and movement. If there are a few days without movement, alarm and worry sets in. Something similar takes place in the life of a sinner who has been powerfully brought from death to life by the Spirit of God. There is life. There is movement. There might be times where it seems there is little life, but those who have been regenerated will have life and will show the fruits of repentance and faith. Old Cars Some of you might be into restoring old cars. You pick up old cars that are rusting and no longer working, and you begin to work. The engine gets new parts, crumbling tires are replaced, the body is patched, the car is repainted, and you see the effects of what you have done. The car is converted from a useless piece of metal into a road-worthy machine. We can use that illustration to begin understanding how God works in conversion. He takes useless, unworthy sinners and He breathes into them the Spirit of life. He begins to change them through conversion. He grants the gifts of repentance and faith. The car illustration breaks down because you do all the work on the car, but in conversion God works and He gives us the grace to repent and believe. In conversion, we become active by repenting of sin and believing in Christ. Both are works of God in us, and yet He enables us to repent and believe. Repentance Let’s begin with repentance and see what it means and what it ought to look like in our lives. Repentance in the Old Testament is often referred to as turning—turning from sin to God. In the New Testament, it has a similar meaning and focuses on the inner behavior of the mind and heart. When we hear the call to repent, it means that we are called to turn from sin to follow God and pursue a life of holiness. By ourselves, we are unable to, but when the Spirit regenerates, God turns sinners. He gives a new understanding so that sinners can grasp the truths they hear and read about in Scripture. He gives new emotions so that our love for sin is destroyed and a new affection is given for God and his people. He gives a new mind so that sinful thoughts are changed to God-honoring thoughts. He gives a new will so that old sins and habits are no longer desired and done, but God-honoring deeds are desired. In short, when a sinner repents, his entire inner being is changed and he is given power to turn from sin. Zacchaeus is a good example of this in Scripture (Luke 19:1–10). We do not know at what point he was regenerated, but we do know that he began to show the fruits of regeneration by repenting of his sins. Jesus called out to him as he sat in the sycamore tree. he came down and Jesus spent time at Zacchaeus’s home. After that, Zacchaeus went out and demonstrated repentance. “And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” How do we know this was a change of heart? Tax collectors had a poor reputation. They made money hand over fist at the expense of the taxpayers. They required much more than what the taxpayers actually owed. That is why Zacchaeus was rich; he was rich through dishonest gain. When he came face to face with Jesus, he was brought to see his sin. he was led to repentance by demonstrating a change of heart and restoring what he had wrongfully taken. He did so at his own expense and most likely even to his own disadvantage. God led him to repentance and worked in him the desire to make things right with God and with his fellow man. Are these fruits of repentance visible in your life? This is one way to know that you are spiritually alive. This article originally appeared in the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, January 2011, under the title, “How Do I Know I’m Saved?” Posted here with permission. #Luke #Repentance #Salvation

I want to be buried. Like I mean, I am looking forward to being buried. Don’t worry—not in some weird way. Like the trend that is happening in Japan, where you can pay to experience your funeral ahead of time. Complete with laying in your coffin, and the lid being shut over top. That’s strange. No thank-you. I’m not looking forward to being buried in that kind way. But the way the Bible describes a Christian’s death makes me look forward to be buried when I die. Although my prayer is that Jesus returns first before I die—that would be far better. But if I have to die, I want to be buried. Why? Jesus Has Transformed the Grave The Bible describes the Christian’s death in two different, and wonderful pictures: One, it says the body being buried is like a seed being planted, that will sprout and grow into new life (read: 1 Corinthians 15:35-44). And two, it says a Christian dying is like you have fallen asleep, and will awake with Jesus (read: 1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18). Jesus has transformed the grave for all who believe in Him. He’s taken away it’s sting (1 Corinthians 15:55). And He has changed it into a bed (did you know that “cemetery” means, “sleeping place”?). He did that by taking away His people’s sin and it’s penalty, by dying for them on the cross. And He has made the grave into a garden, where He is as the heavenly gardener (did you know in the Netherlands cemeteries are called, “Church Gardens”?). Being Buried is an Act of Faith Cremation is now around 70% in Canada. That means 7 in 10 people are choosing not to be buried. By 2020 they guess it will be up to 80%. Ashes (that’s what the body becomes in cremation—it’s burned in 1000 ’C fire, and becomes really, not ashes, but bone fragments)—that does not give the picture of sprouting to new life, nor of peacefully sleeping. At all. Instead the imagery of fire and the human body is used in the Bible as a picture of judgment (think of Sodom & Gomorrah in Genesis 19, or read what happened to Achan, in Joshua 7:25). I don’t want that. I don’t want that imagery used when I die at all. As a Christian, I want to be buried. I want the picture of sprouting to new life, and waking from sleep. I want to say, in my death, that I believe Jesus can do what He promised in grace, and give me new life. I also don’t have to fear the grave, because He has conquered it. Does this mean He cannot raise up those who have been cremated? No, He can. And let me be completely open: Burial is no where commanded in the Bible. God can, and He will, raise up everyone who has died, no matter what way they die. And burial in no way makes me more fit for heaven than if I were cremated. The gospel is clear on this: Only repenting from our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ as Savior, saves us. But: Jesus has prepared the grave for each child of God. He’s made it ready. He’s dug a furrow in the ground for the seed. He has, as it were, made the bed. And if I have to go to sleep, I want to sleep in that bed. Psalm 116:15 says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.” And I believe it. I see it even in the way He sent His Son to prepare the grave. Do you? #Cremation #Dying #Death #1Corinthians #1Thessalonians

Really, now! Have you ever tried it? Is that a way to answer such a serious call for help? It may be a little shocking to some but it is a method I learned from one of our pioneer pastors, long since in glory, who would ask this of people who said they couldn’t believe. “Have you ever tried it?” “Have you ever tried it?” The complaint, “I can’t pray”, may be born out of several grounds. Assuming this is a genuine concern and is reflective of a state of mind which obstructs prayer, we must look for causes. Let’s consider a few. Were you able to pray before this? If so, what has happened that you cannot now? Have you slackened off in spiritual “exercises”? I think now in terms of “exercise” as we do with physical activity: regular and repetitive efforts to perform a certain task. Prayer is not something to do only when we feel really “moved” to do so – in times of great need or exuberant joy; in times of sickness or grief. No, prayer is to be exercised – a regular spiritual event, even as we have such regular physical events to benefit our bodies. Are you “at war” with God? What a statement! Who would dare to be at war with God? Well, you and I do. Each time we sin it is an act of war against God. Sin is disobedience to His Law; pushing God out of the way; perhaps, at best, trivializing Him to be some flag of identity: we are “Christian” after all. But do we really love Him with heart, soul, mind and strength? And do we verify that by loving our neighbour as ourself? Whenever we sin, we plug the line of communication with the Lord. The result: prayer dries up. Unconfessed sin is perhaps the greatest obstacle to prayer You know how that goes: you have sinned—again. Perhaps it is the same (kind of) sin which you have confessed before. Perhaps you have been really hit with waves of guilt. You confessed. You even promised never to do, say or think this again. But you do and you have done many times. And now you are too embarrassed to come to the Lord because you know you are guilty and you’re quite convinced you won’t be able to walk in His ways on your own – so, you quit speaking to God. The details may vary from person to person but you know this is hitting close to home. Pride? Perhaps it is not “sin” at all—at least, not “sin” in the sense of what we call “bad” things. Maybe you have kept the 2nd table of the Law very carefully. Are you a bit like the rich young man of Luke 18? He thought he’d kept it all—but he missed the heart of it. Smug and satisfied, he was a godly person, but his inability to surrender his god, wealth, proved the great error of his life. You do not want to pray Above, I referred to lack of prayer being a “genuine concern”, but I may not bypass what maybe the chief cause in our society, thus, outside the church. “I can’t pray (and don’t want to) because if this is God, I want no part of Him”. And such see a cruel God who “spitefully slaps illnesses on little children; who wickedly allows millions to go to hell; who coldly has refused to answer my requests”, and so on. Telling them to believe and pray will seldom do any good but showing them in practice and in word and in a non-confrontational way something of the love of God may be used by the Holy Spirit to bring them to a different insight. Turn to the Bible We turn to the Bible. In Matthew 6 we read how the Lord instructed his disciples (in the Sermon on the Mount) in the heavenly art of prayer, in sharp contrast with the public and rather showy prayers of the “hypocrites”; He gave them what the Church has called, “the Lord’s Prayer”. This is repeated in Luke 11. Clearly, He gave this as a model, a template, for our prayers. This does not mean we must always recite it, word for word (although it may be done at certain times) but it is to lead, to instruct us in how we should build our own prayers. Follow the pattern of adoration, do tell God how great, how majestic, how powerful He is—not in throwing out some shop-worn and inflated terms which are also used in describing anything which appeals to us—but in using Scriptural terms with which we have become familiar through reading the many prayers in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. Turn to Jesus Always pray “in the name of Jesus”—not as a closing formula, signalling that we are nearing the end of our prayers—but as the sure pleading ground before God who has said He will hear us for the sake of His Son. Think of it this way: in prayer, we enter the throne room of God. His majesty is dazzling (think of Moses in the cleft of the rock, Exodus 33:22 and Isaiah in his vision, Isaiah 6) and then see the Lord Jesus Christ going in before you, speaking on your behalf, shielding you, dishevelled, dirty and tawdry in your rags, from this overpowering majesty and glory. He prays for us! Also, when we cannot! Just try it! Just one more thought: our Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 45, tells us prayer is necessary “because it is the chief part of thankfulness and … God will give his grace and Holy Spirit to them who ask them of him …” You can’t pray? Try it! Ask Him! To read more on our series called, “Help!” you can also click the tag “Help!” below. #Help #Prayer

LESSON 5: THE SECESSION FROM THE DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH IN 1834 BIBLE READING: Ephesians 2:1-10 (Click to display printable version) HENDRIK DE COCK The name of Rev. Hendrik de Cock is closely connected with the Dutch Secession of 1834. He was the first minister to secede from the official Dutch Reformed Church. Hendrik de Cock was born in 1801 and was brought up in a very liberal way. He studied to be a minister and became a very liberal one. He believed that man was in essence good and that man had a free will. He did not accept the truth of God’s Word. He was ordained and preached in a very modernistic way just as many others. Then in 1829 he entered his third pastorate in a little village called Ulrum in the province of Groningen, in the northern part of Holland. There Hendrik de Cock had various spiritual talks with a very simple labourer, who received catechism instruction from Rev. De Cock. This man was Klaas Pieter Kuipenga. He complained to Rev. De Cock about his indwelling sin. Kuipenga complained that he was inclined to all kinds of wickedness, but De Cock thought he was exaggerating. De Cock stated that man was quite able to do good and to overcome sin. Then the simple labourer, who had been instructed by God said: “Reverend, if I have to add one sigh to my own salvation, I will be lost forever.” These words struck Hendrik de Cock deeply. He could not understand what Klaas Kuipenga meant. A spiritual struggle erupted in De Cock’s heart. He had no peace. He saw that Kuipenga had something and knew things that he knew nothing about. Hendrik de Cock’s wife was also a converted woman and spoke to her husband of the necessity of receiving spiritual life from God. Then an old woman from the congregation brought him a copy of the Canons of Dort which had been ignored for many years now. These articles against the Arminians were like a revelation to him. Then, while visiting a neighbouring minister, he borrowed from his colleague a copy of the famous work of John Calvin, called: The Institutes of Christian Religion. That book was the means of a change in his heart. He was converted. He understood what grace was all about. He saw that salvation is all by God’s grace alone. Now he understood what Kuipenga had meant. From that time on, De Cock preached differently. He preached about man’s sin and that the only way to salvation was by the grace of God, through Christ Jesus. He preached the necessity of regeneration. His preaching changed radically. People heard of this change and many flocked to hear this changed minister. The church in Ulrum became too small. People were gathered outside listening to his sermons. Now they heard something that they didn’t hear from other ministers. They heard the old truth again. Many rejoiced in this. His fellow ministers became jealous. This jealousy was aggravated when De Cock even baptized the children of parents who officially belonged to other congregations but who always came to hear his preaching. His colleagues accused him before the board of directors of the Reformed Church. The accusations became more severe when De Cock also wrote a pamphlet against ungodly books written by liberal ministers in which they mocked the creeds. De Cock sharply criticized their writings. For this he was also accused before the directors of the church. The result was that De Cock was suspended from his office. He was no longer allowed to preach or to administer sacraments. Some years later he was completely deposed from his office. THE ACT OF SECESSION The people of Ulrum, however, gathered around him. They still wanted to have him as their minister. Then the consistory of Ulrum pressed their minister to secede from the Reformed Church. At first he did not want to do that. His people were adamant, however. The result was that on October 13, 1834, many members of the Reformed Church in Ulrum drew up an “Act of Secession or Return”. Thereby they seceded from the Reformed Church which had become a deformed church by allowing truth and deceit to be both preached and taught. These people wanted to secede and at the same time to return to the beliefs of the Reformed Church as stated and affirmed at the Great Synod of Dort. They wanted to re-adopt all the decisions of that synod, since many of them had been changed or dropped throughout the years. They also declared that they still accepted Hendrik de Cock as their own lawful minister. On the first Lord’s Day after the Secession, De Cock preached on Ephesians 2: 8, “For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” This text deals with free grace, which was typical of the main motive of the seceders to withdraw themselves from the Dutch Reformed Church. They missed this kind of preaching within the Reformed Church. When the Secession had become a fact, then many more groups of people throughout the Netherlands did the same. They also seceded from the official Dutch Reformed Church. They formed the Secession Churches in the Netherlands, which were present in many villages and towns throughout Holland. Around 1847, that is about 13 years later, the Secession Churches had about 47,000 members. Other Secession ministers were H.P. Scholte, A.C. van Raalte, S. van Velzen, A. Brummelkamp and G.F. Gezelle Meerburg. The seceders did not agree with the official Reformed Church on various issues. Their concerns were as follows: The Authority of the Creeds. The church should abide with her official confessions and act in agreement with them. Accordingly only the Gospel truth was allowed to be preached and taught and no false doctrines were to be tolerated. The Preaching of Free Grace. The church should maintain the preaching of free and sovereign grace. That is to say, the preaching should deal with the sinfulness of man and the Blood of Christ which alone can cleanse from sin and provide a full salvation. It could be said that the “slogan” of the Secession was: “free grace”. The Authority of the local Church. The church should not be governed by means of a hierarchy, but the local consistory is to have the highest authority in church life. The Singing of Psalms. The church should not indulge in the singing of hymns in the worship services but sing psalms exclusively. PERSECUTION The first years were very difficult for Hendrik de Cock. Immediately after the Secession, soldiers came and occupied the village of Ulrum. De Cock and his wife were forbidden to leave their house. De Cock was accused of revolution and had to pay 150 Dutch guilders, which was a large amount. In our currency that would be $15,000. De Cock was also sentenced to spend three months in jail. The seceders had to suffer persecutions, and imprisonments and pay heavy fines. They were forbidden to assemble. There was a Dutch law that prohibited any gathering in public of more than 20 people. Often there would be more present at worship services. Then the local police officer could disturb the meetings and impose fines upon the attendants. The seceders were mocked and laughed at by the people on the streets. They would be harassed. Rev. De Cock was also confronted with mockery. On one occasion, in the Dutch city of Groningen, there were students who tried to trample him with their horses. One of the elders of De Cock’s church, being a strong man, stepped forward and the students didn’t dare continue their assault. It happened that people from the streets would disturb the worship services of the seceders. They would smash windows, or climb over walls and over hedges to disturb the meetings which were held in the open air. They would shout and even throw firecrackers in the middle of these gatherings. The police did not do anything to stop these rioters from disturbing the worship services. Labourers lost their jobs because they had joined the Secession churches. Several politicians in the Netherlands opposed these persecutions, and eventually, after 1840 the situation started to improve. Yet they were still not able to organize schools for their children. They still did not have the full liberty they desired. EMIGRATION TO AMERICA Besides this, the majority of these seceders were very poor. The economic situation was bad in those days. In 1845 and 1846 there were major crop failures which were considered to be a punishment of God upon the nation. Poverty was aggravated. All these things together led many people to consider the possibility of emigrating to America. In 1846 Rev. A.C. van Raalte and 47 people emigrated to Michigan and founded the town called Holland. In 1847 Rev. H.P. Scholte emigrated with 800 people to Iowa and founded the town called Pella. Initially, they joined the existing Reformed Church of America. Later they left the Reformed Church of America and formed the Christian Reformed Church. In the Netherlands, the Secession church was plagued with many strives and disputes. Eventually, the church became stronger. There was a great shortage of ministers. In 1854 they instituted a theological school in the town of Kampen. Around 1868, there were already 220 ministers at work within the Secession churches. There was still not a thorough unity amongst these Secession churches. They were more or less independent of each another. In 1869 many of the Secession churches joined together under the name “Christian Reformed Churches”. But there were still various Secession churches which remained independent. They were present throughout all of the Netherlands. QUESTIONS: Explain how a sinner is saved by grace alone? Why is the confession of salvation by grace alone of fundamental importance to the church? How is faith worked in our heart and life? Discuss what the central concerns of the secession churches were. What kind of harassment can the churches now expect in the future? * This Bible Study was produced by the Youth & Education Committee of the Free Reformed Churches,1997, under the title, “Church History.” It is aimed at a Senior Young Peoples level. Click on the tag “Bible Study: Free Reformed Church History” below for more lessons in this study #FRC #FreeReformedChurchHistory #Ephesians #ChurchHistory #History #BibleStudy

“If Lucy found her teenagers plopped on the couch with some iThing (also bought with their own money) she asked for the hundredth time: “Is this contributing to truth, beauty, and justice? Is this contributing to your self-improvement? If not, put the …thing away. Now.” I thought it might be interesting to begin with some words of an unchurched mother instead of with a text. Later on mother Lucy explained to her guest, “The Internet has been a major disservice to the culture, because we are humans and we can’t control our impulses that don’t help us be better people, but they help us to be lazier, dumber, fatter. We need an edge, we need to be hungry. Then we’re healthier and smarter, and behave better.”1 The Internet: Who can do without it? How do you keep in touch? How do you send information (and selfies) quickly and cheaply? The Internet is there to serve us, is it not? Who says that I am its slave? Hold it, my iPhone just tinged, must be another email, have to check it, could be something I just have to know, I’ll just be a minute… Sorry it took so long. There was such a cute game advertised that I just had to look at it. What do you mean that proves it? Proves what? I could have just deleted it, sure. I am a free human. Every time I pick up my gadget, it is because I want to, not because I have to… I am perfectly able to leave it alone. See? But here is a confession of the author of the book I just quoted: “C. S. Lewis wrote of temptation, ‘No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good.’ What a prig! In my two decades as a bachelor I’d considered temptation a fuddy-duddy myth. I partook in whatever I wanted: drink, drugs, daydreams. When I witnessed friends become drunks or problem gamblers, I was mystified. Because to me the amount I drank and gambled and caroused seemed just about right. But now I saw that the reason temptation had never bedevilled me was that I’d never had reason to fight it. ‘Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is,’ wrote Lewis. ‘A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later.’”2 And if you do not know what it would have been like an hour later, then try to go through a whole day holding out against that temptation, whether it be beer or pot or texting. Why do you think so many people keep texting while driving? Then the urge or the push from within becomes so strong that you realize that you really are not a free person any more. Whether it is texting or Facebook or games, many people find that they are no longer free people. D.A. Carson writes, ”For Jesus,… the ultimate bondage is not enslavement to a political or economic system, but vicious slavery to moral failure, to rebellion against the God who has made us.”3 We may think it a little over the top to think of giving in to the Internet as rebelling against the LORD God. But think again of Lucy: Am I going on the Internet for something contributing to truth, beauty, and justice. Is it for my self-improvement? Could I not use my time more constructively? Now I am already getting itchy, saying that it is too pious to talk about going on the Internet as rebelling against the LORD God. For my thin skin already shows and the reason that I am getting upset is “shameful self-centeredness,” saying to myself, that there is nothing wrong with what I are doing, and that I have every right to do what I am doing. But the more I do it, the more I like what I am doing, the more I tell myself that it is alright to do this, I have had a rough day, I deserve this break, and so I am more and more sucked into this whole Internet world and atmosphere. And when I try to stay away from it for even twelve hours it is more than I can handle. Just play a game to relax, which turns out to be two (or three or who knows how many). Check out new videos on YouTube, although some of them are less than appropriate, for sure. And before I know it the Internet has become so much part of my daily life that I do not have the strength to break free from it. That means that my Internet connection now really has become sin. For as a Christian believer I am to have only one Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. But now there is this other master, the Internet, with which I am continually involved. “Characteristic and continuous involvement in sin not only shows that one is a slave to sin, but also that this sinful behaviour actively enslaves. Such a person finds it impossible to break away from that slavery to sin by even the most determined unaided human effort.”4 It is good to listen here once again to the paraphrase of Romans 12:1–2 by J. B. Phillips: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves toward the goal of true maturity.” For that is the great danger these days. Except for SermonAudio and some Christian websites, the Internet is basically the world. And much of the stuff we expose ourselves to does not present to us the Lord Jesus Christ, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. “Conformity to this world involves being continually moulded by this present evil age with its standards of values. Pressures to this conformity are constantly present, powerful, and often seemingly attractive.”5 Perhaps you are not convinced of the danger of becoming enslaved to the Internet. But if there are no dangers, why as of 2015 were there fifteen hundred clinics opened in China to treat people with Internet addiction? Why are more people killed these days on Canadian roads because of texting behind the wheel than die because of drunk driving? “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1). Or as The Message puts it, “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand. Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” To read more on our series called, “Help!” you can also click the tag “Help!” below. Sundeen, Mark. The Unsettlers. In Search of the Good Life in Today’s America (kindle locations 1378-1382) Penguin Publ. Group. Kindle Edition. ↩ Sundeen, Mark. The Unsettlers: Kindle Edition. Loc. 406 ↩ D.A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 350. Quoted in Eldon Woodcock PH. D.. Hell: An Exhaustive Look at a Burning Issue (Kindle Locations 5719-24). WestBowPress. Kindle Edition. ↩ Ibid ↩ Eldon Woodcock PhD. Hell: An Exhaustive Look at a Burning Issue (Kindle Locations 7009-7011). WestBowPress. Kindle Edition. ↩ #Help #Technology

Who can guess what this acronym means? Anyone? Hojoamobjominahazehazema Answer: It is a handy way to remember the name and order of the minor prophets in the Old Testament. HOsea, JOel, AMos, OBadiah, JOnah, MIcah, NAhum, HAbakkuk, ZEphaniah, HAggai, ZEchariah, MAlachi. If you sound out the big ‘word’, and break it into section it can be easily memorized: “hojo-amobjo-mina-haze-hazema.”

LESSON 4: LIBERALISM IN THE NETHERLANDS BIBLE READING: Romans 7 (Click to display printable version) IMMORALITY AND RATIONALISM During the 1500’s the church in Holland had to fight and struggle to survive. But by the 1600’s she was firmly established. It even became the accepted trend to belong to the Reformed church. To be able to be a civil servant in those days, one had to be a member of the Dutch Reformed Church. The consequence of this development was that many joined the church who actually were not sincere at all. They lived in sin, while many of the church members who were sincere, did not really know what it meant to be reformed in the practice of their daily life. Many had come from the Roman Catholic Church and had not received much instruction in the reformed principles of doctrine. In fact, we can say that the Reformed Church in the 17th century was reformed in doctrine but not reformed in the daily conduct of their members. That is why many ministers started to preach the necessity of having living faith and the urgent need to live in the practice of daily life according to these reformed principles. They emphasized the need for personal regeneration and conversion. They also stressed the necessity of a personal walk with the Lord. These ministers were called the Dutch Puritans. They did much to spread the reformed doctrines in daily life among the church people. During the 1700’s the Reformed Church developed slowly but steadily in the direction of liberalism. Many in the churches denied the truth of Scripture. They had become influenced by a movement that later would be called the Enlightenment; that is a movement that emphasized human reason. They taught that we can only believe from Scripture the parts that we can understand. The miracles performed by the Lord Jesus for example, are things we cannot understand with our sense and therefore, they said, we do not have to believe them. This enlightenment disrupted the church. THE SPREAD OF ARMINIANISM People rationalized that salvation must be dependant upon man and upon man’s works. Then it didn’t take long or the Canons of Dort were forgotten and hardly mentioned anymore. In the 18th century nearly all the protestant churches throughout the world were Arminian, in Scotland, America, France, England, the Netherlands. In those days the revival preacher John Wesly proclaimed: “I am an Arminian”. He was editor of the Arminian Magazine. Holland was overall Arminian and liberal. In America George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards and a few others still preached the doctrines of free grace; in Scotland Thomas Boston, the Erskines and some others; in Holland Alexander Comrie and a few more. In the 1700’s Arminianism was preached and taught freely again. As we saw in chapter 3, the Arminians taught that election is based on God’s foreknowledge. God rewards those who believe. Man is fully responsible but he is also the cause of his own salvation. Man has a free will whereby he can also fall away from grace after he has come to faith. Man is in focus and that appeals to man’s pride. That is why the Arminian heresies gained entrance again into the Reformed churches and also now are so plenteous. If we look around us today, we must say with grief and shame that the vast majority of churches are in fact teaching Arminian doctrines. This is even the case in churches which were originally of a Reformed persuasion. Many teach free will. At the heart of all this lies our view of man: Is man totally depraved or not? That is the cardinal issue. The vast majority of churches today do not uphold the doctrine of the total depravity of man. With this doctrine stands or falls all true Biblical teaching and preaching. Yet we must say that throughout the history of the Church the preaching of free grace has always been the true preaching. This doctrine of free grace, including the total depravity of man and God’s sovereign election, is not a novelty of Reformed churches. It has been the preaching of eminent men of God throughout the history of the Church. Augustine preached these truths. Likewise the reformers. Luther and Calvin upheld the sovereignty of God and the free grace of God. This was the Gospel that men like Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards preached. Spurgeon preached these truths. He once wrote: “The old truth that Calvin preached, that Augustine preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be false to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth. I know of no such thing as paring off the rough edges of a doctrine. John Knox’s gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again.” This was also the truth which had originally been adopted and preached by the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. These truths had been ecclesiastically adopted and declared in the Canons of Dordt. They had been initially upheld by the churches, but during the 18th century spiritual decay entered the churches in the Netherlands. The overall trend was Arminianism. Liberalism poured into the church. The church in Holland was greatly weakened. In the 1700’s many Dutch people again emigrated to the new world and settled down in the eastern states such as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Many joined and strengthened the existing Reformed Church of America. A famous Dutch minister of those days was Frelinckhuysen, who worked in the town of New Brunswick in New Jersey. OPPRESSION AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL At the end of the 18th century, Napoleon and his armies conquered Holland and oppressed the Reformed Church. There was no real opposition to Napoleon from the clergy since the church had become very weak. In the beginning of the 1800’s in Holland, the church had come under the direct authority of the government. The government wanted to control the whole church. The king and some secretaries of state had complete authority in this church. They proclaimed that every member could believe what he wanted and every minister could teach what he wished. They could teach liberal Bible criticism, but also the reformed doctrines as they were declared at the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619. In this way, false teaching and true teaching were both tolerated. Officially, the church denied the truth of the three confessions that had been adopted by the synod of Dort. During these days in several places throughout the Netherlands there were simple God fearing people. They understood the truth. They had come to know the power of the grace of God. They had been converted by God. They studied good “old writers” like Brakel. They came together during the evenings to discuss the dealings of the Lord with His people. They didn’t pay much attention to the false teachings they heard from the pulpits. They stuck with the old truth which they had known from their childhood and which they read about in the old religious books. These common people would later become the backbone of the Dutch Secession movement. These simple people were even of great service to certain ministers by explaining to them in all simplicity the way of salvation. These people had experienced grace, while many minsters had not. During the 19th century the Reformed Church in the Netherlands was going to experience two major splits. They were called the Secession of 1834 and the Doleantie of 1886. QUESTIONS: What is total depravity? Describe the relationship between the old and the new man within the believer. Why do churches always tend to draw back from the total depravity of man? Should reformation be a continuing matter in church? Which dangers are facing the church in our day and age? * This Bible Study was produced by the Youth & Education Committee of the Free Reformed Churches,1997, under the title, “Church History.” It is aimed at a Senior Young Peoples level. Click on the tag “Bible Study: Free Reformed Church History” below for more lessons in this study #FRC #FreeReformedChurchHistory #ChurchHistory #History #BibleStudy #Romans

“Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason — I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other — my conscience is captive to the word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.” – Martin Luther What are the five “solas”? The “Five Solas” are short Latin phrases that together served as foundational principles of the Protestant Reformation. In a time of corruption and false teaching in the Roman Catholic Church the Reformation was a movement that returned to the Scriptures, and there they found the doctrines of grace and salvation. Instead of indulgences, the Mass, the Pope, Mary, purgatory and other superstitions, the Reformation rediscovered the “old paths”: The gospel (lit. “the good news”) of Jesus Christ. The Five Solas were the Reformers’ summary of biblical teaching—not on everything—but on salvation. “Sola” is the Latin word for “alone.” They taught that salvation is: By God’s grace alone, on the basis of Christ’s work alone, received through faith alone, to the glory of God alone. And they said: The Bible alone is the ultimate authority for understanding all of this—and not the Church. What follows below is a brief description of the Roman Catholic Church’s position, the Reformation’s response, and then some key Scripture texts that support the Five Solas. The Roman Catholic Church taught: Scripture + sacred tradition + teachings of the Pope + church councils are authoritative for salvation Grace + our cooperation is the reason we’re saved Faith + our own works is what justifies us Christ + Mary + all the saints work to save us Glory to God + the Mary and the saints + us The Protestant Reformation gave these Five Solas in response: “Sola Scripture” (Scripture Alone) “Sola Gratia” (Grace Alone) “Sola Fide” (Faith Alone) “Solus Christus” (Christ Alone) “Soli Deo Gloria” (To God Alone Be the Glory) Key Bible Texts Sola Scriptura: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Galatians 1:6-9 1 Corinthians 14:37-38 Jude 1:3-4 Sola Gratia: Romans 3:23-25 Romans 11:5-6 Ephesians 2:4-10 1 Corinthians 15:10 Sola Fide: Romans 4:4-5 Galatians 2:16 Romans 5:1 Ephesians 2:8-9 Solus Christus: John 14:6 Acts 4:11-12 Romans 8:1-3 2 Corinthians 5:21 Galatians 2:21 Galatians 5:2-4 Soli Deo Gloria: Ephesians 1:4-6, Ephesians 1:11-12 Romans 11:33-36 Isaiah 2:12-17 #Reformation #Solas #Theology

Help, Help, Help! 2 Chronicles 14:11: And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, “LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” Help, help, help! Don’t we say that, or something like it, whenever we are in great trouble? Maybe we don’t express it out loud, or maybe we don’t explicitly say “Help, help, help.” But who doesn’t know about being in difficulty and distress and somehow, somewhere, looking for assistance? The critical question every time is: to whom do we look? To whom do we cry for help? How important that we learn in life and with everything, always to go to the Lord above all. For “our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 124:8). King Asa’s Cry for Help One man who knew that, at least early in his life, was King Asa. In 2 Chronicles 14:9, we read the amazing account of King Asa having to respond to an enemy invader coming with one million soldiers and three hundred chariots. What did Asa do? He assembled his soldiers, more than 500,000—quite an army too, but not nearly enough—and then he prayed. “Help us, O Lord” (v. 11). From Asa’s prayer we learn several things about crying to the Lord for help: Remember: God is Almighty Asa in that moment leaned ultimately on the Lord’s power. He started his prayer by saying, “Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power…” What Asa meant is that the Lord doesn’t need our armies, big or small, in order to help and assist. He is able to rescue and deliver all on His own. He is, after all, the sovereign and almighty God. Shouldn’t we always recognize that in our times of need, and shouldn’t that drive us to pray? No matter how qualified or capable or not we are (and of course, ultimately we are never capable enough), none but the Lord God can help. Remember: God’s Covenant Promise Something else Asa did was plead the covenant. Several times he referred to the covenant name LORD—or Jehovah—that name that God had revealed way back when He set Israel free from Egyptian bondage. LORD means that He is the great faithful God who has covenanted with His people, and above all else, He is always true to His Word. He will be Israel’s God. And so Asa noted that. He said, “Help us, O LORD our God” and “thou art our God.” This should remind us of the baptism form, part of which says, “And if we through weakness fall into sin, we should not despair of God’s mercy, nor continue in sin, since baptism is a seal and undoubted testimony that we have an eternal covenant of grace with God.” Special mention is made there of sin, although to that we could add every form of trouble we meet. And about it all, we can go to the Triune Lord God and we can say, “Help us, Father, for Jesus’ sake, through the Spirit, O help us, for hast Thou not pledged and promised to be our God?” It’s like what we sometimes sing from Psalm 81, the words of the Lord to us: “I will, if thou plead, fill thine every need, all thy wants relieving” (Psalter 431:4). Remember: To the Praise of God Notice too from Asa’s prayer that Asa, in praying and asking for help, aimed at the praise of God’s name. Asa was concerned for more than himself and his people. He was concerned for the glory of God. “In thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord … let not man prevail against thee.” Thee! So Asa was thinking about the Lord: His name, His reputation. This too is a helpful and challenging point for us. As much as our need is about us, and as much as in our need we can and may and should cry out to God for us, let us do so for His sake and to His praise. Isn’t that the longing of every true Christian, that in all things, also in God’s help and deliverance in our life, His name may be praised, and His fame extended? King Asa Helped by God When are we not in trouble? And how great especially our greatest trouble, that of being sinners by nature and apart from the intervention of the Lord, destined for eternal judgement!. There is, after all, no help like the help He gives. And how He loves to give it—also, and especially, in answer to prayer. That is also what Asa experienced. In 2 Chronicles 14:12, right after Asa’s prayer, we read that “the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.” Once more, the Lord proved true, and in answer to prayer, in answer to a cry for help, He worked, He helped, He saved. It is true, not every time does He work in this way, and that’s why also we must learn to pray in all things, “Thy will be done.” But that said, how many times do we have not, because we ask not (James 4:2)? And even if we ask and there is no help, or no help like we requested and expected—maybe it comes in other ways—but even so, let’s not forget the greatest saving help the Lord has given through Jesus (who, don’t forget, was in His greatest need, left alone, not answered, not helped!), and the promise of the Holy Spirit to all who ask, and the anticipation of an eternity in glory when there will be no more cries for help because there will never again be any trouble or distress. Until then, “Help us, O LORD…” To read more on our series called, “Help!” you can also click the tag “Help!” below. #2Chronicles #Help