Thanksgiving does, indeed, imply joy and gladness of heart, but not in the abundance of earthly things, but in God who is really GOD, the Lord of all, who reigneth in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, who doeth all things well; who is, moreover, the God of our salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord, who forgiveth all our iniquities, who healeth all our diseases, and from whose fatherly hand we receive all things, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, health and sickness, joy and sorrow, life and death, and who causes all things to work for our salvation.

To give thanks means, to be sure, that we point to blessings received, and that we count them one by one, but not so that we exclude from these benefits anything that we received from the hand of our heavenly Father in this valley of death, so that we speak of “many things to be thankful for” while we know not what to do with those experiences that were contrary to our earthly desires; but so that we consider all things, by faith, and in the light of His promise, as gifts of His grace, for the which He is to be praised and adored.

It means that we praise Him and glorify His holy name because of the abundance of His mercy over us, but again, not in the vain imagination that by doing so we add anything to His glory, and oblige Him to us, but in the deep sense that even our thanksgiving and praise is a gift of grace, an unspeakably great privilege which He bestows upon us, and for the which we owe Him thanks.

And thus it implies that we deeply humble ourselves before Him, who is God, the Lord, and acknowledge that we are wholly unworthy of all His benefits.

To acknowledge Him as God alone, and to prostrate ourselves in adoration before His throne,—that is thanksgiving.

All of Him, none of self!

______________

This excerpt was taken from a meditation written by Herman Hoeksema in 1946. Read the full article at the Standard Bearer Archives: http://standardbearer.rfpa.org/articles/all-him.

NEW RELEASE!

What does the Bible teach regarding God’s attitude to the reprobate ungodly? What are the implications that God has an attitude of favor to the wicked? Do the Psalms support or give the lie to the theory of common grace? Does Zwier’s “triple cord” of biblical texts hold firm, or is it cut to ribbons? Read and gain new appreciation for the truth that God’s goodness is always particular.

• 144 pages
• paperback
• ISBN 978-1-936054-90-9
• also available in ebook format

Note: This book will not be automatically sent to our Book Club members.

Coming late January 2016.

This book accomplishes several purposes on behalf of the defense and maintenance of the gospel of grace with its accompanying Christian life of separation from the world of the ungodly.

First, the book recalls to the members of the Protestant Reformed Churches their doctrinal and historical origins: “Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn” (Isa. 51:1). Their doctrinal origins were the confession of salvation by sovereign grace, embedded in predestination, and insistence on a holy life of separation from the world of the ungodly—the antithesis. 

Second, the book exposes the popular theory of common grace as heretical. This theory consists of a well-meant offer of Christ to everyone in the preaching—preaching that has God failing to save many to whom he is gracious with a saving grace and that has those who are saved saved by their acceptance of the otherwise inefficacious offer.

Third, the book is evangelistic. With urgency, it calls, not only Reformed and Presbyterians, but also all Protestants back to their origins in the sixteenth-century Reformation of the church—the rock whence they are hewn: the gospel of salvation by sovereign, particular grace and antithetical holiness of life. And to martyrdom. 

By Henry Danhof & Herman Hoeksema, edited by David J. Engelsma
544 pages, hardcover

This book will be sent to Book Club members.

The RFPA is excited to announce that the first five volumes of the Triple Knowledge republication are now available! Found in these volumes is the most extensive commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism in English. This fine exposition on man's misery, deliverance, and thankfulness clearly sets forth the distinctive truths of the Reformed faith in a warm, personal way. These handsome volumes will make a fine addition to any library.

Volumes 6-10 will be available in August 2015. 

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The Triple Knowledge was originally produced in a ten-volume set by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company beginning in 1943 with In the Midst of Death. Putting this series back into the 10 volumes—the way Rev. Hoeksema divided them—will bring the reader closer to the themes represented in the Heidelberg Catechism. 

Found in these ten volumes is the most extensive commentary on the fifty-two Lord's Days of the Heidelberg Catechism in English. This fine exposition on man's misery, deliverance, and thankfulness clearly sets forth the distinctive truths of the Reformed faith in a warm, personal way.

 Order Today 

One of the RFPA’s exciting projects is the publishing of a series of books on Reformed Spirituality. These books contain meditations written by Rev. Herman Hoeksema and edited by Prof. David Engelsma, which are excellent for personal devotions. Currently I am reading through Peace for the Troubled Heart and decided to use it for my Monday morning devotions. Part I of the book is entitled Pilgrimage, and chapter 1 is entitled The Pilgrim’s Confession and based on Hebrews 11:13. I hope you will read the whole chapter. Here is an excerpt explaining the source of the pilgrim’s confession:

God makes his people pilgrims.

In his eternal counsel before the foundation of the world, he appointed them as foreigners, for he chose them and foreordained them in order that they should be made like unto the image of his Son, so that the Son would be the firstborn among many brethren. He chose them unto eternal, heavenly glory and unto citizenship in the heavenly Jerusalem. He also causes them to be foreigners temporally on the earth, for he gives to them the new, eternal life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and he calls them out of darkness into his marvelous light.

The new life is resurrection life!

It is differentiated from the life of the world not only because it is free from the law of sin and death, and thus free to express itself according to the law of the Spirit of life, but also because it is from above.

It is the life of heaven.

By virtue of having received the new life that is from above, they actually have become citizens of the Jerusalem that will presently descend from heaven as God’s blessing.

Their conversation is in heaven.

There is their real, eternal home.

And out of the principle of the new life springs forth the confession that they are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For here is not their continuing city.        

They seek the city that comes down out of heaven.

Contending for the Faith

Contending for the Faith presents the history of heretics that have troubled the church over the last two thousand years, treating errors from AD 100 (Marcion) to the present day (federal vision theology). What sets this book apart is its evaluation of every heresy from a consistently and unashamedly Reformed perspective. The reader will readily grasp the significance of the early heretics as Herman Hanko demonstrates the connection between their heresies and the errors arising later in history. The vibrant writing style brings the heretics—ancient and modern—to life. This trustworthy guide to the heretics equips believers today to "contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3).

Contending for the Faith is a companion volume to Hanko's Portraits of Faithful Saints, a book of short biographies of the defenders of the truth from as far back as AD 100.

Covenant of God and Children of Believers, The

The Covenant of God and the Children of Believers defends the Reformed faith of the covenant of God by exposing the view of the covenant from which the attack of the "federal vision" arises. At the same time, the book sets forth the doctrine of the covenant that safeguards and promotes the gospel of sovereign grace, demonstrating that this covenant doctrine is biblical, confessional, and traditionally Reformed.

Since the controversy centers on the inclusion of the children of believers in the covenant, this book emphasizes the rightful place of children in the covenant of grace and the proper rearing of them. The author gives consideration to the views of the Protestant Reformed Churches, Baptists, the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, and the Canadian Reformed Churches ("liberated") on this topic. Leading representatives of these churches and traditions join in the discussion. 

Mysteries of the Kingdom, The

The parables form a substantial part of our Savior's ministry, and this is ample reason for us to give good attention to them. With simple and familiar earthly pictures, Jesus tells us what the kingdom of heaven is like.

"The author takes each parable and by careful exegesis opens up its rich seam of spiritual instruction, and gives a faithful and solidly Reformed interpretation. He shows us gospel mysteries of immense beauty, power, encouragement, practical relevance, and everlasting worth for citizens of a kingdom that is not of this world."—Tamar Reformed Witness

Reformed Dogmatics: Volumes 1 & 2

This second edition two-volume set is a clear, systematic study and exposition of Reformed theology written by one who held the Chair of Dogmatics for some forty years at a Reformed seminary. Divided into the six generally accepted branches of theology (theology, anthropology, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatolog), this scholarly work is logical, scripturally sound, and faithful to the Reformed creeds and traditions.

For various reasons I have not written a blog post for a while, but it is good to be back again. I intend to write shorter and more frequent posts. And today I am starting with what may become somewhat of a regular feature: A Question from a Catechism Student. The future of this feature depends of course on the catechism students that I teach and the questions they ask. But I do not want to limit this to the students I teach. If there are children or young people out there who would like to ask a question please email me at spronk@prca.org.

For the answers to these questions I will attempt to point you to something published by the RFPA.

So here’s the question that came from a 5^th grade girl. What happened to Lazarus’ soul after he died and before Jesus raised him back to life?

For an answer to this question I point you to Rev. Herman Hoeksema’s Reformed Dogmatics (vol. 2, Second edition, p. 471). Rev. Hoeksema speaks of Lazarus in connection with what is called the intermediate state. The intermediate state refers to the state of the body and soul after death but before final resurrection. Rev. Hoeksema teaches that ordinarily the soul of the child of God goes to heaven immediately after death to the conscious experience of glory and fellowship with Jesus. This is the hope and comfort of believers. Our souls do not sleep after death but go to heaven.

But Rev. Hoeksema recognizes that the soul of Lazarus could not have gone to heaven to then return to “this present world of sin and death.”  So what happened to the soul of Lazarus and to others in scripture who died and then returned to this life? Rev. Hoeksema explains, “We must maintain that in those cases the Lord provided a special state in which most likely they were unconscious, and from which they were aroused into a conscious state in the present world by the wonder of what we would call a typical resurrection [a foreshadowing of the final resurrection of the body].”

Our new book, Just Dad: Stories of Herman Hoeksema, arrived this morning!

Note: If you are a Book Club member you will be automatically receiving this book.

If you are not a Book Club member, buy this book in paperback or in ebook format for only $9.95 each!