David. J Engelsma. The Belgic Confession: A Commentary. Vols. I-II. Jenison: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2019. Reviewed by H. David Schuringa Although at this moment you may not sense an inner call to become a minister, or the wife of a minister, you have a calling to be an “armchair theologian.” That endearing term […]
October 8 Read John 18 In verse 4 of this chapter we read that Jesus, despite knowing what the future would hold for him, “went forth” when the band of soldiers sought him. Jesus went forth willingly. He was well aware of the depth of suffering that awaited him, and still he readily submitted to […]
Guido de Bres, the author of the Belgic Confession, gave his life for the sake of the truth of God. Before he took his glorious, blessed place under the altar (Rev. 6:9), he penned a letter to his wife of seven years, saying his farewell. Facing death by hanging, the world knows nothing of the […]
The Wittenberg Hymnal was comprised of songs that were inspired by the Psalms and other parts of the Bible, but they were not as close word-for-word as possible. Nor did this songbook have a song and tune for every Psalm in the Bible. When John Calvin fled to Strasburg, Germany in 1538, he set out […]
The Belgic Confession of Faith, being a confession, begins with a heart-shattering confession of faith that ought to bring us to our knees. “We all believe with the heart, and confess with the mouth, that there is one only simple and spiritual Being, which we call God” (Art. 1). The article continues with a description […]
Outright hostility to a creed does not appear out of nowhere. Such hostility can be seen in a letter that was published in a Reformed magazine earlier this year. Writing in response to an article that encouraged commemoration of the Canons of Dordt, the letter writer stated that “The 400th anniversary would be an excellent […]
LETTER: August 6, 2019 Mr. Engelsma: I write to you regarding the book review printed in the June 2019 issue of the Beacon Lights, Union with Christ: The Way to Know and Enjoy God. In particular, I bring to question two aspects of your review. First, your quote from the book in review, Union […]
Great events in the history of the church are bolts of lightning from heaven. But they do not strike out of a clear, blue sky on a sunny day. They flash from storm clouds and are forecast by a darkening day. Such was the case with the writing, and adoption as a Reformed creed, […]
As a creed the Belgic Confession is doctrinal. It is a book of doctrine. The doctrine of the Belgic Confession is the doctrine of the word of God. Scripture is a doctrinal book. It is the revelation of the truth of God in Jesus Christ and contains all that is necessary for the believer’s faith […]