Welcome to the fifth annual association meeting of Reformed Believers Publishing. It is an absolute delight to see everyone here this evening. It is exhilarating to know that you gather here to give witness to the truth, that you are here for the support and the confession of that truth through the Reformed Believers Publishing media of Sword and Shield. It is an absolute delight and an encouragement to the editor, the regular writers, and the board of Reformed Believers Publishing.

Let us open with a word of prayer.

Prayer

Our gracious God and heavenly Father, who is so great a God as our God? Thou hast revealed to all creatures that there is none else besides thee. Thou art Jehovah, and there is none like unto thee. We confess that all thy works are perfect, and all thy ways are equity and judgment. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path is in the great deep. Thy footsteps are not known. Thou art the Lord of truth and art without iniquity. Thy word, O God, is truth. Thy word is as no other, for it is a word of power, light, and glory.

We thank thee, O God, for this meeting of Reformed Believers Publishing and for the many believers gathered here and those who are listening online in support of our cause of defending and proclaiming thy word of truth through the printed page. Lord, as we are engaged in the cause of thy truth, we intreat thee for thy blessing upon all our labors and endeavors. Let the beauty of thy face be upon us and establish thou the work of our hands. We beseech thee, unite us in thy truth and that we may be faithful witnesses, that we may confess thy truth and name before men, though all men deny thee. Work in us thy Spirit so that we may speak and write with boldness in a world where such boldness is slandered.

We thank thee that thou hast continued to uphold and strengthen our editor and other writers. Give them courage, wisdom, and all that they stand in need of to write for the cause of the truth. Preserve them in truth. We pray that thou wilt use our publication of Sword and Shield as a powerful instrument to set forth, defend, and spread the gospel of pure grace and that it may give a sharp, antithetical witness against all error that defiles thy truth. Our prayer, O God, is that our magazine will build up the elect in the truth and in their faith wherever thou dost hold them in thy care.

Send forth thy Spirit that he may give breath to our churches and to the believers represented here and in every land, so that they may give a witness to the truth without fear and weakness, that they may proclaim Christ in all his wonder, grace, power, and glory as the only way to the Father and of his perfect sacrifice for sinners. Give them thy Spirit so that the whole of their lives are testimonies of gratitude to God for his goodness.

Lord, all around us we hear the footsteps of thy coming. As thou hast spoken, upon the earth there are pestilences and diseases, and there are violent storms, turbulent seas, and roaring waves that cause massive destruction. Among the nations there are wars, rumors of war, distress, and perplexity. And there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. Send forth those signs with increased frequency and intensity, so that as men look upon these things their hearts fail them for fear.

Thou hast said to thy children, “When these signs begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption draws nigh.” Preserve us and our children, O God, until that day, until that great and notable day of the Lord.

Lord, bless our gathering and fellowship tonight. Be with our speakers, so that the words that they speak may be a great encouragement and a delight to thy people and to thy honor and glory. Lord, keep us from evil and pardon all our iniquities. Purge us, O Lord, of all our sins.

We ask all of this for Jesus’ sake.

Amen.

Thanksgiving and Praise

1. All people that on earth do dwell,
   Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
   Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell,
   Come ye before Him and rejoice.
2. Know that the Lord is God indeed;
   Without our aid He did us make;
   We are His flock, He doth us feed,
   And for His sheep He doth us take.
3. Because the Lord our God is good,
   His mercy is forever sure;
   His truth at all times firmly stood,
   And shall from age to age endure.¹

One Sound

The meeting of Reformed Believers Publishing tonight is a wonder and testament to God’s faithfulness and sure promises. Our gathering is also a testimony to you and to the world that our witness of the truth and the war that we have waged on the pages of Sword and Shield was a righteous cause. It was Jehovah’s cause for the recovery and proclamation of his gospel-truth in a new denomination, for the glory of his name, and for his love of the elect. All that was God’s work. It was God’s reformation, and it was a vital reformation for the office of all believers.

Nearly five years ago God called up a new army of believers and placed it on the front line of the battle for the truth. Authority was given to those believers by Christ himself because he had placed his Spirit in them. Christ gave those believers the right and liberty to confess his name before men, to take up the pen in a new magazine for this cause, to publish his truth, and to wage war against those who defile that truth. That new army was to contend with its own denomination—the Protestant Reformed Churches—because she was trampling on the office of all believers and smothering believers’ right and liberty to confess the name of Christ before men. And the denomination became pervaded with the theology of man and his activities and the denial of God’s absolute sovereignty in salvation, by embracing the lies of faith as man’s doing to receive blessings of God and of prerequisite obedience as the necessary way for the believer to experience fellowship with God.

The Protestant Reformed denomination was once a beautiful bride of Christ who boldly preached and antithetically maintained the doctrines of particular, sovereign, and free grace; salvation by faith alone; and the unconditional covenant. Now the denomination manifests herself to be an enemy of that gospel. She assaults and denies the truth that God justifies the ungodly and declares that if a man would be saved, there is that which he must do! She hates the truth of salvation by faith alone! She pollutes the glorious truth that salvation consists in the free remission of sins for Christ’s sake alone and sneers with derision at the believer’s forgiveness of sins without repentance. The Protestant Reformed denomination openly mocks the truth of faith as a bond to Christ—the real and living union—from whom proceeds all the benefits of salvation. Instead, she boasts that faith is man’s act, not God’s act. For the Protestant Reformed Churches (PRC), Christ’s work is not enough for salvation, so she attributes to man and his obedience a place and function in his salvation. And the PRC charges the gospel with being antinomian and plunges her people under bondage to the law. At every point of doctrine, the PRC robs believers of their full assurance of salvation by faith alone and instead professes that good works are not to be slighted in assuring one of his justification. By the PRC’s false doctrine, she adds to the perfect work of Christ, strips God of his sovereignty and glory, and steals from the wonderwork of the Holy Spirit.

The PRC is treacherous and an adversary of the gospel; therefore, she is our enemy. We must remain entrenched in warfare with her and her false doctrines. We must be battle-hardened and remain unflinching in our witness of the truth, never dulling or blunting the sharp edges of the truth to please the ears and will of man. Heeding the words of Romans 16, we must mark false teachers who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the truth. We will name them and cut down their false doctrine. And when a false teacher arises in our own midst, we will withstand him to the face. We cannot allow wolves to creep in unawares to ravage and devour the flock of Jesus Christ. We must remain steadfast in our purpose and contend against all adversaries of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must not heed those with itching ears, who desire and call for a different sound. We must resist the cacophony of opposition and revel in the howls and slander that the gospel is one-sided and antinomian. We must sound forth the truth in the face of fierce opposition—though churches, preachers, magistrates, and the edicts of princes be against us or the devil himself seeks to overthrow this righteous cause.

When Sword and Shield arrived on the battlefield, it did so with an explosive and unmistakable sound. It was a sound that had not been heard for a very long time. However, the sound was not new nor the product of modern invention. It was the same distinctive sound that has resonated in the hearts of God’s people throughout the history of the church. The pages of Sword and Shield are filled with the sound that is both sharp and unmistakable, ringing with the clarity of the truth that has been echoed through the ages.

It is the sound of Jesus Christ, who for our salvation came down from heaven, was manifested in the flesh, and dwelt under the curse his whole life to hallow God’s name and to live in perfect love for him. Jesus, who knew no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, in our stead took upon himself the condemnation of God’s righteous judgment. It is the sound of Jesus, who became obedient unto the death of the cross, where in his human nature he bore the full weight of God’s wrath and curse, so that he cried out from the pit of hell, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” On that accursed tree, Christ drank the full cup of God’s wrath to its bitter dregs until Christ shouted, “It is finished,” declaring that nothing more is required for our justification and that our salvation is secure in him alone. It is the triumphant sound of our risen Lord, who now sits at the right hand of power and has all things in subjection under his feet—where he proclaims absolute victory, that the battle is won, that our fight is over, and that the gates of hell cannot prevail against us.

It is the gospel-sound of free justification by grace alone through faith alone in the redemption of Christ alone. It is the sound of our living union with our savior, Jesus Christ, who imputed to us all his merits and so many holy works, which he has done for us. It is the sound of Jesus, our righteousness, that there is nothing we must do for our salvation. It is the lovely sound that those who possess Jesus Christ through faith alone receive all things and have complete salvation in him. Therefore, it is impossible that this holy faith can be unfruitful in us. It is the comforting sound that being justified by faith alone, God’s elect have all blessedness, happiness, forgiveness, hope, and peace.

Throughout all history, in every war for the truth and in every reformation of the church of Christ, that sound has rung forth and remains constant and unmistakable. It was the vivid sound of the prophecies of old; it was the sound of a lone voice crying in the wilderness of Judea; it was the same gospel-sound accompanied by a host of heavenly angels; it was the sound of fierce battle against the opponent Pelagius. It was the same sound of the triumphant voices of martyrs crying out from the crackling fires of persecution; it was the thunderous sound ushered in by the hammering on a church door in Wittenberg the Ninety-five Theses, which reverberated through five hundred years of history; it was the bold, distinctive sound that echoed forth from the pulpit of St. Pierre Cathedral in Geneva. It was the sound preached in the hidden fields near Ulrum, the Netherlands, in 1834; it was the same sound of a reformation one hundred years ago with a courageous defense of the truth of salvation and the defiant condemnation of the lies of common grace and the well-meant offer.

In 2024 the sound you hear on the pages of Sword and Shield is the same gospel-melody that stirred the hearts of the reformers and their congregations. It is a sound that is in complete harmony with the glorious symphony of scripture and the grand truths of the Reformed confessions. It is a sound that may not be confused with the grating noise of man and his activity or his part in the covenant, nor the dissonant clatter of a false gospel that mixes grace and works, nor any man-first theology. Rather, it is the beautiful sound of free grace—grace that flows not from human efforts or merit but of the pure love and mercy of our heavenly Father. When one reads Sword and Shield, there is no need to ask, how does that sound strike your Reformed ears? With every article, meditation, and instructive and defensive word, Sword and Shield carries the notes of God’s sovereign, particular, and pure grace. It is the voice of Christ himself, speaking words of free salvation, comfort, and peace to his elect people.

The association of Reformed Believers Publishing, together with the editors, regular writers, contributors, and supporters, must insist that that same sound continues to ring forth on every page of Sword and Shield. Whether you hear sounds of a trumpet blast from Zion’s walls, the clashing battle sounds of iron and steel, the victorious battle cry of faith, or the comforting and peaceful words of a shepherd, the sound of our magazine must always be the same. It must remain the clear, distinctive, and unmistakably Reformed truth that gives all honor and glory to God to the utter abasement of man.

Sword and Shield is the familiar and lovely voice of the almighty Shepherd, whose people know him because his word communes with his own Spirit in their hearts. It is the sound of his voice, calling his people out of utter darkness and into his marvelous light. The voice of Christ, speaking comfortably to Jerusalem and crying unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from his hand double for all her sins. Only his voice frees the conscience of guilt and shame, brings comfort to the weary, peace to the troubled, and assurance to the anxious soul. Only his voice makes the hearts of believers leap for joy and rejoice in their salvation, regardless of the cost.

And so after you run to the mailbox to get the next issue of Sword and Shield, and as you read or meditate on the words printed in our magazine, remember that you are not hearing the musings and fables of men. But you are hearing the voice of Christ himself, calling you to rest in his finished work, to take comfort in his sure promises, and to have peace in the knowledge that you are his, now and forever.

Stand fast in that truth!

Stand fast in Christ’s righteous cause!

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

May God be pleased to use our magazine to send forth that distinct, victorious sound that it may continue to echo through the generations, drawing Christ’s children to himself, until the day when we will hear his voice, not in part but in full, when he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and the voice of an archangel, and angels shall gather together all God’s elect from the four winds, from the uttermost parts of the earth to the uttermost parts of heaven into his eternal presence to dwell with him forever.

Thank you.

Introduction of the Keynote Speaker

The keynote speech this evening is titled “The Antithesis and Common Grace.” The speaker was ordained into the ministry of the word and sacraments in 2023 in the Reformed Protestant Churches. He is serving his pastorate at First Reformed Protestant Church in Hudsonville, Michigan. He is also the regular writer of the rubric Understanding the Times in Sword and Shield. 

Join me in welcoming Rev. Tyler Ophoff.