# Rev. G.H. Kersten: Facets of His Life and Work



## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 18, 2007)

_Rev. G.H. Kersten: Facets of His Life and Work_ (2007) by Rev. M. Golverdingen is available at Reformation Heritage Books. 

Kersten's commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism is available online here.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Nov 27, 2007)

M. Golverdingen, _Rev. G.H. Kersten: Facets of His Life and Work_, pp. 252-253:



> It was the great attention given to the work of the Holy Spirit which knit Rev. Kersten to Calvin, and particularly to the men of the Dutch Second Reformation and their English and Scottish contemporaries. Calvin's _Institutes_ unfolded the doctrine of the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit, who seals the Word of God in the hearts of men. There was no other work of Calvin which Kersten read with "more acquiescence and greater blessing."[275] He was very much of one mind with men such as Boston, the Erskines, Watson, Justus Vermeer, and Van der Kemp, who so eminently described the work of the Spirit in the spiritual life of the regenerate, as well as with Comrie, who was one of the few orthodox theologians of stature from the eighteenth century. Numerous times in his sermons and writings he refers to Comrie, a kindred spirit. He also took the initiative to reprint his works, which were frequently advertised in _De Saambinder_ and _De Banier_ during the 1930s. The old writers are the spokesmen of the "old, proven truth"; the views of the neo-Reformed contradicted these truths.
> 
> [275] _De Saambinder_, 25 February 1932.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Dec 28, 2007)

There is an extensive bibliography of Kersten's writings in the aforementioned biography. Some that are currently available include:

_Reformed Dogmatics_
_The Heidelberg Catechism in Fifty-Two Sermons_
_Treatise on the Compendium_
_Night Visions of Zechariah_
_More Than Conquerors_
_A Brief Historical Survey of the Reformed Congregations in the Netherlands and the United States of America_


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## Mayflower (Dec 28, 2007)

Dear Andrew,

Have you read Kersten yourself ? if so, what do you think ?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Dec 28, 2007)

Mayflower said:


> Dear Andrew,
> 
> Have you read Kersten yourself ? if so, what do you think ?



Yes, I have read some of his works (on the HC and Compendium, particularly) and I enjoy reading him very much. I differ with him on some aspects of worship, but have high regard for him as an experiential minister and theologian.


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## Mayflower (Dec 30, 2007)

VirginiaHuguenot said:


> I differ with him on some aspects of worship, ....



Can you explain, what he believes ?


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Dec 30, 2007)

Mayflower said:


> VirginiaHuguenot said:
> 
> 
> > I differ with him on some aspects of worship, ....
> ...



In the context of exploring whether ecclesiastical ties could be formed between the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the _Gereformeerde Gemeenten_ of the Netherlands, Kersten's position favored the usage of form prayers, the observance of festival days from the ecclesiastical calendar, the non-psalms approved by the Church of Order of Dort, and instrumental accompaniment, all things that the FPCS opposed on the basis of the regulative principle of worship, as do I. 

Nevertheless, Kersten expressed his heart's desire to be united as much as possible with his Scottish brethren, and loved the old Scottish / Puritan theology, and that I think is greatly to be commended.


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## VirginiaHuguenot (Jan 13, 2008)

VirginiaHuguenot said:


> _Rev. G.H. Kersten: Facets of His Life and Work_ (2007) by Rev. M. Golverdingen is available at Reformation Heritage Books.



Finished reading this. Highly recommended.


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