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Book Review - "Pastoral and Relevant"
The following review was written by Rebecca Huffman Givens on the book I Believe: Sermons on the Apostles' Creed (2023) by Herman Hoeksema. This review was originally published in the Vol. 68, Issue 1 (2025), of The Christian Librarian.
Herman Hoeksema (1886-1965) was a Dutch Reformed theologian. He served as longtime pastor of the First Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was one of the founders of the Protestant Reformed Churches and Professor of Theology at the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary in Grandville, MI, for forty years.
Between 1951-1955, Hoeksema delivered a series of radio sermons on each of the articles of the Apostles’ Creed, which were broadcast on the Reformed Witness Hour radio program.1 In this volume, Marco Barone has compiled and edited the transcripts of those sermons, which he obtained from the library of the Protestant Reformed Theological Seminary in Wyoming, MI. Barone added explanatory footnotes and scripture references and corrected obvious typographical or grammatical errors. He also included an introduction on why Christians should study the Creed and why Hoeksema preached on it, a foreword outlining his own editing work of the transcripts, and a broadcast timeline of the sermons. He states in his introduction, “Through his exposition of this important document, Hoeksema guides the reader to the life-changing contemplation of the triune God and his work in Christ. Hoeksema very often expresses awe at the beauty and spiritual glory of the divine truths conveyed by the Creed, sometimes in a contagious way. In fact, he has communicated that awe to this editor too, and it is my hope that his sermons may also be a blessing to the reader” (page xii).
The book’s opening sermon gives a brief introduction to the Apostles’ Creed and addresses the first phrase: “I believe in God.” Each sermon thereafter proceeds through the Creed phrase by phrase, for a total of thirty-eight sermons arranged under the twelve Articles, followed by two additional related sermons.
In each sermon, Hoeksema shows how a particular phrase of the Apostles’ Creed relates to what the Christian believes. The sermons are pastoral, and they pull the reader into the basics of what a person should believe if they are a Christian. He quotes relevant scripture, and his love of the Creed, the Bible, and the people of God is apparent. This title is relevant for anyone wanting to study the Apostles’ Creed in particular, or for any believer who wants to better understand what they believe.
1 As of this writing, these are still available at https://reformedwitnesshour.org
- Rebecca Huffman Givens
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The content of the article above is the sole responsibility of the article author. This article does not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Reformed Free Publishing staff or Association, and the article author does not speak for the RFPA.
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