RFPA Blog News

Ignited by the Word - A New Children's Magazine!

Now Available! Ignited by the Word is a new quarterly children’s magazine from the RFPA. Standard Bearer subscribers are receiving the first two issues at no charge. Others who sign up for Ignited by the Word will also receive these issues for free. To learn more, visit ignitedbytheword.org. Click on the image below icon to read a sample.  

"All declare the glory of God"

“All creatures reflect God's glory and tell us something of the heavenly kingdom ... all creatures in the universe, great and small whether telescopical or microscopical, are so many characters, signs, letters, or words which lead us to contemplate God! The whole universe is God-environed and God-oriented. The things of God are understood by the things that are made. Study such a great object as the sun, or consider the infinitesimal creatures in a drop of water: each one of these...

Depravity and Regeneration (11): "In the way of a holy life of obedience"

The Unforgiving Servant

The relation is reciprocal: if we fail to forgive our brother, it is only because we have not been forgiven by God. We have not known forgiveness for our sins. There is a subtle nuance here. We do not know forgiveness, because we do not confess our sins. We do not confess our sins, because we do not know them in our pride. It is precisely that pride which is the reason for a sense of superiority over against our brother and an unwillingness to forgive him.

Likewise, when we fail to forgive our brother, we do not experience forgiveness ourselves. We cannot hold grudges against our brother, refuse to forgive him, and then expect God to forgive us. This is making a hollow mockery of God and his mercy. God will cast us into the place of torment if from our hearts we do not forgive our brother his trespasses.

Therefore, only in the way of forgiving our brothers will we experience the blessed peace of forgiveness. Experiencing this forgiveness, we will sing, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (Ps. 32:1, 2). Forgiving one another, we will live in the rich blessedness of the communion of saints who together have salvation in the cross of Jesus Christ.

Through Many Dangers – a Civil War story…preorder today!

August 1862. Eighteen-year-old Harm van Wyke finds his quiet life in the Dutch Reformed community of Holland, Michigan upended by the American Civil War. Harm’s minister, Rev. Albertus van Raalte, encourages the young men of his community to join the Union army. Harm hesitates to leave his home, but when his friends portray the war as a grand adventure, he gives in and joins them. As Harm and his friends travel to army camps in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and then Louisville, Kentucky,...

From the RFPA Board—A Letter Re: Copyediting

From the RFPA Board—A Letter Re: Copyediting Dear RFPA Supporter, Members of the Board and staff of the RFPA have recently received questions concerning some of our books. In response to these questions, we have carefully researched the titles in question and have found that some of these books were improperly copyedited. We are deeply sorry that this happened and are working as quickly as possible to correct this. Our in-house definition of copyediting is as follows: “The purpose of copyediting...

The Threat of Hyper-Calvinism

Another betrayal of the spirit of hyper-Calvinism is embarrassment and hesitation, that is, fear, over giving the call “Repent! Believe!” and over declaring the promise “Whosoever believes shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” This language is not suspect. It is not the language of Arminian free-willism. It is pure, sound, biblical language. It is as much a part of the Reformed heritage as is the statement of divine, double predestination. We must take care that we do not concede precious elements of the gospel to the Arminians. Because they have seized on certain elements of the scriptures, have wrenched them out of their proper setting, force them into the service of their false gospel, and thus wrest them to their own destruction, we may not abandon those elements. Rather, we must continue to honor them as part of God’s revelation and must continue to give them their necessary place in the proclamation of the word. There is no Arminian text in the scriptures nor one Arminian word. No more than we renounce love because the liberals abuse it do we downgrade the external call of the gospel and slight the promiscuous publication of the promise because heretics construct a message of salvation by the will of man from a perversion of them.

Depravity and Regeneration (10): The Exhortations to Good Works

What follows is the tenth entry of a series of articles written by Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma. The ninth entry is Depravity and Regeneration (9): The Nature of Good Works. _______________ Each morning I bow before God and ask him to give me strength to walk in a way of holiness and obedience. He knows my sinful thoughts. “Thou understandest my thought afar off” (Psalm 139:2). God knows the particular sins I have a struggle with in my life, my pet sins. I bring...

RFPA Bible Study Guides

God calls the people to return (Mal. 3:7). See Jeremiah 31:18 for the relationship between God’s grace and our turning from sin. One of the evidences of true spiritual repentance is seen in bringing in the tithes and offerings. Where grace has touched the heart, the hand is opened as well. (Luke 19:8; 2 Cor. 8:8).

The promise of God is twofold. First, “I will return unto you” (Mal. 3:7). That is, in the way of sincere stewardship we are given to enjoy the lovingkindness of God. Second, God will richly supply our earthly needs, often beyond our imaginations (v. 10).

Depravity and Regeneration (9): The Nature of Good Works

Communion With God, by H. Hoeksema, SALE EXTENDED TO JUNE 30!

This is an extract from chapter 42 of Communion With God titled Put on Love, by Herman Hoeksema, pages 327-329, published by the RFPA. Hoeksema discusses Colossians 3:14: “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” _______________ Put on, therefore... Holy and beloved, elect of God, above all put on love. How strange an exhortation. How apparently paradoxical an admonition. How utterly impossible it appears to heed it. For how shall we put on love? Can a man put on love as...

Depravity and Regeneration (8): "Created in Christ Jesus Unto Good Works"

Sanctified sinner: are you able to do works that are good, works with which God is pleased? Mind you, I am not asking whether these works justify you. I am not asking whether these works merit anything in God’s sight. I am simply asking you if you are able to do works that are good? The answer to this question is, according to Scripture: yes! Ephesians 2:10: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” Or again, Titus 2:14: “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” These good works the sanctified believer performs. God does not perform them for us. The Spirit of Christ that works in the hearts of his people does not perform them for us. That Spirit who has cleansed us in the blood of Christ and who restores to us the image of God has renewed our minds and wills in order that we are able to perform good works.

Herman Hoeksema on 2 Peter 1:10

Oh, certainly, blessed it is to know that once we were called from darkness into light, that the Lord did break our hard heart, that he did bend our stiff knees, that he downed the pride of our natural existence and taught us to bow in contrition and humiliation of heart and mind before him, until we were assured that our sins were washed away in the blood of the Lamb and that we might be called the children of the Most High. But that calling in the past, if it were genuine indeed, could be only the beginning of a constant struggle to walk as children of light.

Only by bearing constantly the fruit of our calling can we make our calling and election sure.

For, brethren, he who called us is holy; and unto holiness we are called!

Depravity and Regeneration (7): Good Works

What follows is the seventh entry of a series of articles written by Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma. The sixth entry is Depravity and Regeneration (6): Sanctified. _______________ We are thankful that the proper truth of sanctification is faithfully and fervently taught and preached by ministers of the gospel in the PRC. We are thankful for elders who discharge their office in the protection of this truth in our midst. We are likewise thankful for members who also have a proper understanding of this...