                                  e



                                       earer

A   R E F O R M E D   SEMI-M~N'THLY  MAGA%INE



IN THIS ISSUE


    Meditation:
      Divine Ordination Unto Salvation

    Synod of 1971  - A Summary
      (see: All Around Us)

   Editorials:
      Letter to the GKN  fro& our Synod
      Two Major Decisions of Synod
      Dr. K. Runia To  Kamp:en

   "The Devil Is Dead"
      (see: In His Fear)


                                           Volume XL VII / Number 18 / Jtdy I, 19 71


410                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



                           CONTENTS:                                                                     THE  STANDARD   BEARER
                                                                                    Semi-monthly, except  monthly during June,  July  and August.

Meditation  -                                                                       Published  by the Reformed  Free Publishing  Association,  Inc.
                                                                                            Second  Class  Postage  Paid  at  Grand   Rapids,  Mich.
   Divine Ordination Unto Salvation . . . . . . . . . . .4 10 Editor-in-Chief: Prof.  H. C. Hoeksema
                                                                             Department Editors::.  Mr.  Donald   Doezema,   Rev.  Cornelius   Hanko,  Prqf.
All Around Us - Synod of 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . .412 Herman  Hanko,  Rev.  Robert   C.  Harbach,  Rev.  John  A.  Heys,  Rev.  Jay
                                                                             Kortering,   Rev.  George  C.  Lubbers,  Rev.  Marinus  Schipper,.Rev.   Gise  J.
                                                                             Van  Baren.  Rev.  Herman   Veldman.  Rev.  Bernard   Woudenberg
Editorials -                                                                 Editorial Office:  Prof.  H.  C.  Hoeksema
   Letter To The Gereformeerde                                                                     1842  Plymouth   Terrace,   S.E.
       Kerken From Our Synod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415                                  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan  49506
   Two Major Decisions of Synod.. . . . . . . . . . . . .416 Church News Editor: Mr.  Don&Id Doezema
                                                                                                          1904  Plymouth   Terrace,  SE.
   Dr. K. Runia To Kampen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .421                                          Grand   Rapids,  Michigan  49506
                                                                             Editorial Policy:  Every  editor  is  solely  responsible  for  the  contents   of  his
Question Box -                                                               own  articles.  Contributions   of  general   interest  from   our  readers   and
                                                                             questions  for  the  Question-Box   Department  are  welcome.   Contributions
   About "Close" Communion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .422 will  be  limited   to  approximately  300  words  and  must  be  neatly  written
                                                                             or  typewritten.   Copy  dea'dlines  are  the  first  and  the  fifteenth   of  the
In His Fear -                                                                month.  All  communications   relative  to  the  contents  should  be  sent  to
                                                                             the  editorial   office.
   "The Devil Is Dead" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423        BusineF Office:  The  Standard   Bearer,
                                                                                                   Mr.  H.  Vander   Wal.  Bus.  Mgr.
The Strength of Youth -                                                                            P.O.  Box  6064
                                                                                                   Grand  Rapids,  Michigan  49506
   The Church Wedding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . -425           Subscription Policy:  Subscription   price,$7.00   per  year.  Unless  a  definite
                                                                             request  for  discontinuance   is  received,  it  is  assumed   that  the  subscriber
Come Ye Apart . . . And Rest A While -                                       wishes   the  subscription   to  continue   without   the  formality   of  a  renewal
   The Communication Gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428              order   and  he  will  be  billed   for  renewal.   If  you  have  a  change  of  address,
                                                                             please  notify  the  Business  Office   as  early  as  possible   in  order  to  avoid
                                                                             the  inconvenience  of  delayed   delivery.   Include   your  Zip  Code.
Studies in Election -                                                        Advertising Policy:  The  Standard Bearer  does  not  accept  commercial
   Its Scripture Proof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .429      advertising  of  any  kind.  Announcements   oi  church  and  school  events,
                                                                             anniversaries,   obituaries.   and  sympathy  resolutions  will  be  placed  for  a
   Its Implication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .429    $3.00  fee.  These  should  be  sent  to  the  Business  Office   and  should  be
                                                                             accompanied   by  the  $3.00  fee.  Deadline   for  announcements   is  the  1st
News Of Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 1         or  the  15th  of  the  month,  previous  to  publication   on  the  15th  or  the  lpt
                                                                             respectively.

                                                                             Bound Volumes: The Business Office will accept standing orders  for bound
                                                                             copies   of  the  current   volume;   such  orders  are  filled  as  soon  as  possible
                                                                             after  completion  of  a volume.   A limited  number  of  past volumes   may be
                                                                             obtained   through the  Business Office.




Meditation

                              Divine Ordination Unto Salvation
                                                               Rev. M. Schipper

              "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of  the Lord,
              because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
             Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of
              the glory of our Lord JesusChrist. "
                                                                                                            II Thessalonians 2: 13, 14.

   In sharp contrast this portion of Holy Writ stands not the objects of His love. And in the way of their
with relation to the immediately preceding context. unbelief and unrighteousness He destroys them. Under
There the apostle describes, in no uncertain terms, how the direction and deception promoted by the man of
God had no pleasure in them that are lost. They were. sin, many shall be led astray and fall away through this


                                                THE  ?TANDARD  BEARER                                                  411



son of perdition who opposeth and exalteth  h&nself                It is God's work from beginning to end!
above all that is called God, or that is  worshjpped.              It is He Who wills our salvation in His eternal
Moreover, God shall send them strong delusion, that counsel, and according to His sovereign good pleasure.
they should believe a lie, that they all  mig;ht be It is He Who also wills the way in which He works out
damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in           that salvation; namely, through a real righteous Man,
unrighteousness.                                                 through the way of sin and grace, through the way of
   But. .  .!                                                    the cross. It isGod Who saves. And He is pleased to do
   In sharp contrast to that the apostle declares:: "But this through Christ Jesus. That is why He is called
we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, Jesus, that is, Jehovah salvation!
brethren beloved of the Lord!"                                     Jesus saves!
   Who were loved eternally by God!                                Through His suffering and death, through His resur-
   Whom He has chosen to salvation!                              rection and ascension, through His mediatorial work at
   Whom He also called in sanctification and belief of the right hand of God, through His Word and Spirit,
the truth through the Word of the gospel!                        through His saving work in us by faith. He delivers us
   For this the apostle gives thanks to God. Not be- through His atoning sacrifice, through His perfect
cause they were better than the lost, but because God obedience He justifies, through His Spirit He sanctifies
had chosen them to salvation.                                    us, and leads us unto eternal glory.
   Glorious salvation!                                             This work of salvation is realized in us in connection
   Always in Scripture, and certainly also in this con- with, in sanctification of the Spirit.
text, salvation of God's beloved stands in sharp anti-             Sanctification is the sphere in which we are saved.
thetical position over against the destruction of the Never outside of that sphere are we saved. And sancti-
wicked.                                                          fication is entirely a work of God, never a work of
   The latter are described as perishing, as having been man, or a work of God and man. It is that work of
condemned. And this is precisely the opposite working God whereby He delivers the regenerated and justified
of salvation. Those perishing are lost. Those con- sinner from the corruption and power of sin, as a
demned are relegated to the state of the lost.        :          spiritual-moral power; whereby also He renews him in
   In salvation you have the antithesis of this. Instead conformity with the image of Christ; and enables him
of perishing, it is rescuing. Instead of misery, it is'bless-    to walk in all good works which were before prepared
edness. Instead of condemnation, it is justification and in order that he should walk in them.
redemption.                                                        Sanctification has its root and beginning in regenera-
   Implied in salvation are three very definite elements. tion. It is not an instilling of a certain holiness of
There is, first of all, deliverance. Salvation is deliver- Christ, but that work of God through the Spirit of
ance from the greatest possible misery and evil. This Christ whereby out of the principle of new life a new,
state of misery is the plight of every natural man out- spiritual-moral direction is given to our thinking, will-
side of Christ. It is the state also of every child of God ing, desiring, and the action of our whole being. And
into which he is conceived and born naturally as a because we are saved now in principle while our old
child of Adam. Out of that state salvation delivers. nature still clings to us, sanctification is a two-fold
And this deliverance is possible only through redemp- work of God consisting, in the first place, in the morti-
tion. In the second place, salvation also implies the            fication of the old man of sin in us; and secondly, in
element of' safety. Salvation is safety in a state of the giving of life to the new man. This is precisely the
freedom          and blessedness. Safety implies  : free- work of the Holy Spirit of Christ.
dom from misery, and with no possibility of ever re-               When the apostle speaks of the sanctification of the
turning to that misery. And safety is possible/ only Spirit, he does not refer to the spirit of man, as some
through deliverance, complete deliverance,  so! that would aver. 0, indeed, there can be no question but
there is no danger that the delivered one should be that also the spirit of man is sanctified. But this is not
plucked from the state of freedom and plunged once the intention of the text.
more into bondage and fear. In the third place, isalva-            Rather the apostle refers here to the Spirit of Christ,
tion also carries with it the element of preservation. the Holy Spirit of God, but which on the day of Pente-
Salvation is preservation in a state of eternal glory. cost is given to Christ and operates out of Christ in the
And preservation is possible only when one is perfectly church as the Spirit of Christ.
safe.                                                              This Spirit is He Who causes us to be brought into
  When one is saved, therefore, he is completely:deliv- the sphere of sanctification, and there He works sancti-
ered in body and soul from eternal death and misery. fication in us. Not in anything external. Not in mere                    1
He is kept safely in that state of deliverance, and so external reformation of life. Not in a mere outward
preserved that no one can pluck him out of thei hand obedience to the code of the law, nor in a mere out-
of God.                                                          ward submission to gospel ordinances. But in an inter-
  And this is entirely the work of God in Christ!                nal holiness and spiritual renewal in the soul, in the


412                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



understanding, in the will. So that we earnestly will the men. Wholly undone and corrupt. Who by nature
will of God, know Him with the knowledge of faith, reveal ourselves as unbelieving, totally depraved. Who,
and we desire to walk in a way pleasing to God.              like those who walk in all unrighteousness and who
  So we are saved!                                           received not the love of the truth, but despised it and
  But there is more!                                         trampled upon it. Yet beloved of the Lord. And who
  The apostle adds: "and belief of the truth!"               were chosen in love from everlasting. Chosen unto
  The truth is the truth of God in Christ Jesus, objec- salvation in sanctification and belief of the truth.
tively revealed in the Scriptures. Centrally the truth is      And called with a divine calling!
always Jesus, Who declared: "I am the way, the truth,          That is, the effectual calling, not to be confused
and the life." And He is revealed in the truth of the with the general preaching of the gospel. That preach-
gospel.                                                      ing is not the divine calling, though it is true that the
  Belief of the truth is faith in the truth. Not a mere calling comes to us through the preaching. Rather, it is
historical faith or an assent that the Word of God is the the saving calling that comes to our heart, so that we
truth, but a cordial embracing of it, a receiving of the hear not only with our ears, but in the deepest recesses
love of the truth, the experience of the power that it of our being the divine call. So that when He calls -
saves. Accordingly it is a faith that embraces Jesus, we come to Him, we respond.
relying, hoping on Him as the complete Saviour.                Called by our gospel!
  Thus, in this way, salvation is realized in us. In           That is, the Word of God, the good news of salva-
sanctification and belief of the truth is the only way tion  - preached! The gospel which Paul preached to
there is to salvation. This is the way God has chosen, the Thessalonians, and which is still preached by faith-
and He has chosen us to salvation in this way.               ful ministers of the Word. Never apart from that Word
  Sovereign election!                                        does the Lord call. So that the efficacious call is con-
  God has chosen you! Triune, Almighty God and veyed to us through the outward sound of the gospel,
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!                             which the Holy Spirit of Christ brings to the heart of
  Sovereignly He did this! Irrespective of the faith, the chosen in Christ, so that they hear Him speak.
holiness, or goodness of its object. All of which are          The purpose of which calling is that we might obtain
fruits of, never the condition to or cause of electing the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
grace, of free and sovereign grace. He chose us, in order      Note how the complete Mediator is designated in
that His only might be all the glory.                        His names. He it was Who Through the way of His
  Not merely as so many individuals did He choose us perfect obedience attained unto the heavenly glory and
out of a mass of fallen humanity; but He chose us in majesty at God's right hand.
Christ. He chose us to be the body of which Christ is          To obtain that glory is to come into the possession
the chosen Head. And He predestinated the non-elect of it, to bathe in its radiance, to be filled with its
to serve as a shell which must serve the election of beauty, to be glorified with His perfections.
grace.                                                         Unto this the preached gospel calls us!
  From the beginning!                                          This glory is the end, the perfection of our
  Not, you understand, from the beginning of time or sanctification!
creation of the world, nor from the beginning of our           And so, also, the beloved of the Lord shall forever
sanctification, nor from the beginning of the preaching give thanks unto God, Who loved them, has chosen
of the gospel, did He choose us. But from before the them, so that in the sphere of sanctification and belief
foundation of the world, yea, from all eternity.             of the truth they might be called efficaciously into the
  Objects, in themselves most unfit. Ungodly, sinners very glory which Christ has merited for them.
we were, even as others. Not a wit different than those        And forever they shall exclaim -
who perish. Equally wicked as the most wicked among            Thanks be unto God!


All  Aror1n.d Us
                                         Synod of 1971
                                                    Pvof H. Hanko

  It is not too often that the Protestant  Reformed the year. The rolling countryside with its acres and
Churches meet in Synod in the Mid-west. And yet it is acres of lush farm land presented an ever-changing
a rare treat. The Midwest was beautiful at this time of panorama of beauty to those who took the time to


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                            413



look. The corn and alfalfa, the oats and soybeans, the      nary student. Usually these examinations are con-
pasture land and cattle reminded one of the bounties ducted in the Grand Rapids area. Especially since Mr.
of God's earth. Repeated rains during the Synod Miersma is himself from the Mid-west, the occasion
brought much needed moisture to the land. In some was especially memorable.
areas in Northwest Iowa some eight inches of rain fell        Something unusual was also the fact that there were
while Synod was in session. But it was the hospztality many ministers and students in the area over Sunday.
and warmth of the people which especially lingtrs on One of the members of Doon Church remarked to me
in the minds of the delegates. Some of the delegates        that he was struck by the fact that in Doon's pulpit it
stayed in Edgerton, Minnesota where Synod's sessions was either feast or famine. Many times throughout the
were held. Some stayed in Northwest Iowa and,drove          year the congregation was required to have reading ser-
back and forth each day. The ladies of Edgerton served vices. But the Sunday of Synod there were no less than
dinner and supper in the Church. But Western hospi- six in Doon congregation who were able to preach.
tality is hard to beat. One cannot help but believe that      The Synod was a busy one. Many matters of  far-
Synod's meeting in the Midwest served to strengthen reaching importance were discussed and decided upon.
the bonds which tie us together in Christ Jesus.            When these matters of such importance to the
  The pre-synodical prayer service was held in Edger- Churches were discussed, the Synod was very deliber-
ton Church on Tuesday evening, June  2.' Rev.               ate, in no hurry to cut off debate or to be rushed into
Schipper, president of last year's Synod preached on        decisions without careful consideration. I cannot
Rev. 3 :7-l 2, the Lord's letter to the Churkh at Phila-    remember a Synod where discussions were so open and
delphia. It was to this Church that the Lord prqmised frank, with each delegate feeling free to express him-
an open door; and Rev. Schipper beautifully applied self fully and speak of matters that were close to his
this to the Church of today. The pre-synodical prayer       heart. All arguments on issues, pro and con, were care-
sermon will be re-printed in the Acts and all our people    fully weighed; and the decisions which were reached
will have an opportunity to read it. By the way, Synod      were only after mature thought and thorough discus-
decided this year to give a copy of the printed Acts to     sion. In this connection a word should be said also
every member of our Churches. Our people are urged          about our elder delegates. Increasingly, the last years,
to read the AC& for the decisions of this Synod were        the elder delegates have taken a more active part in the
important ones.                                             deliberations of Synod. This is reason for gratitude to
  Wednesday morning the new officers of Synod were God. One could not sit on Synod very long without
chosen. Rev. G. Van  Baren was chosen as President;         being left with the distinct impression that God has
Rev. J. Kortering as Vice-President; Rev. D. Engelsma,      blessed our Churches, both in the East and in the West,
First Clerk; and Rev. R. Decker, Second Clerk. The with able and God-fearing elders who have the love of
rest of Wednesday was given over to meetings of the the cause of God in their hearts and who are men of
Committees of pre-advice who studied the material of strong faith. Their part in the discussions of Synod
the agenda and prepared advice to guide the Synod in played a vital role in the decisions which were finally
her deliberations, discussions and decisions.        I      made.
  Most of Thursday, Friday and part of Monday was             To turn more specifically to the decisions of Synod.
given over to the examination of Student Rodney A great deal of time was spent on mission matters. We
Miersma. He had completed successfully his cotirse of are able, in this report, to give only some of the high-
study at the Seminary and had been recommended for lights. Some aspects of these matters, along with
examination by Synod. The student is required to matters dealing with our Theological School, will be
preach a sermon before Synod and is examined in             commented upon by our Editor in this issue. There
Dogmatics, Old and New Testament Exegesis, Old and was one fact which Synod took into account again and
New Testament History, Church Polity and church again in its deliberations. This fact was that for many
History. This is a trying time for the student, but the years our people have been praying to God to provide
Churches may be thankful that the Lord has provided us with young men to study for the ministry of the
another minister for the Churches. The Synod decided Word. The Lord is answering these prayers and giving
to declare him candidate for the ministry of the; Word us that which we have so long sought. We have one
in our Churches, and he will be eligible for a call after student graduated this year. Next year, the Lord will-
July 7. Graduation exercises were held Tuesday eve- ing, tie will have seven students in the Seminary, four
ning in Edgerton Church. Candidate Miersma spoke of of which hope  .to graduate next June. And there are
the subject "The Minister and the Church Order" and many, presently in High School or in college who are
Prof. Hanko spoke on "The Glory of God," Musical seriously considering the ministry. One cannot help
numbers were provided by Mrs. H. Huisken and the but be impressed with the fact that the Lord is calling
children of the Free Christian School of Edgerton.          many laborers into His vineyard, and that He is show-
  It was also a new experience for the West to be able ing us that we have much work to do in these days of
to witness the examination and graduation of a Semi- general apostasy and unrest in the ecclesiastical world.


414                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



The Synod was far-sighted enough to realize this and                         The need of more preaching is underscored by the
make decisions in preparation for this work.                              fact that during the past few months two new
   Special attention was paid to the work of Rev. and                     churches have asked admittance or indicated their in-
Mrs. Lubbers in Jamaica. A lengthy and informative                        terest. . . .
report from Rev. Lubbers was read on the Synod since                         It is for this reason that I place a high priority on
Rev. Lubbers himself could not be here personally.                        the school here. . . .
Synod was deeply impressed with  the faithfulness of                    Much, much more is in this report. It will be printed
our missionary and his  yife in their work  - work in the Acts.
which is so strenuous and arduous; and publicly                         Synod also paid attention to our calling in this,
recorded its thankfulness to God for what was being country. It decided to call a home missionary who
done among our brethren there. It is impossible to would work in the United States and Canada. Hope
quote Rev. Lubbers' complete report. A few excerpts Church was designated as the calling Church. Our
will give a taste of it.                                             Churches are urged to pray that the Lord will provide a
          Rev. Harbach was with us in Jamaica for five Sun-          missionary to work also in this country that the lost
       days. He gave instruction in "Discussions" and also           sheep of the house of Israel may be gathered. Radio
       preached where and whenever possible. . . .                   work was continued as an aid in this work.
          We might also mention at this juncture that Rev.              A great deal of' time was spent on matters of the
       Dale H. Kuiper was with us in the island too for a            Theological School. The -whole question of our pre-
       week or more. He accompanied brother Cecil Vander             seminary instruction came tip for final decision at this
       Molen here during the month of January. While here,           Synod. The Synod was faced with the question of
       Rev. Kuiper preached twice on Sunday, and he gave             whether to continue our pre-seminary studies; and this
       instruction on a Tuesday in "Discussions". . . .
          Perhaps I should also state here and now that the          question, in turn, forced the question of whether -we
       labors were joyful and, if indeed often arduous both          should call a third professor. The matter was discussed
       physically and psychologically, they were and are             at  great length from every conceivable viewpoint:
       appreciated by the congregations. . . .                       Would the finances of the Churches permit it? What
          We may report that the car is doing well. The car          about our current shortage of ministers and our vacant
       registers now 24,000 miles. . . . This fact of the mile-      congregations? Could we offer instruction which was
       age points up what an enormous amount of energy it            equal to the instruction given in existing colleges and
       requires to labor here. . . .                                 universities? Did we have a particular calling in this
          Mrs. Lubbers took charge of the distribution (of           respect in the light of the apostasy of the churches and
       clothing from the last clothing drive). . . .                 the sorry spiritual content of instruction in colleges
          We have used a little more than  $2,000.00 of the
       building fund (Jamaican Churches) during the                  which were even of Reformed Churches? All these
       year. . . .                                                   questions, and more, were carefully considered. After a
          (In our school in Lacovia) we have four students:          great deal of study it was learned that many of these
       Trevor Nish, Alvin Beckford, Leonard Williams, and            problems were not as great as would be anticipated.
       Kenneth Brown. . . .                                          The total synodical budget would not go up a great
          The students have made marvelous progress con-             deal even if the Lord would give us a missionary to
       sidering their background and the level of their educa-       labor in this country and a third professor for the
       tion which they had enjoyed in the past. . . . One of         school. The amount was only three or four dollars per
       the students is outstanding, a hard worker. He also           family per year over what the budget was the year
       made, with his brother, 6 chairs for the students to sit      before last. The shortage of ministers was a short-term
       at. We pay him for the material and a bit for his
       labor. . . . He and his brother also made eight church        problem in the light of the students God is sending us.
       benches, very strong and nicely constructed. They             We have a calling to provide places for the men whom
       made them right in back of the church in Lacovia.             God calls so that they may labor fruitfully in God's
       This is a side-effect of the teaching there.                  vineyard. And so Synod decided to proceed forward in
          Looking at the field here I am ever burdened with          faith. The Synod instructed the Theological School
       the conviction that there are too few preachers here          Committee to institute on a permanent basis the pre-
       to thoroughly indoctrinate the people. Those                  seminary course which would consist of three years of
       churches which enjoy more preaching are the sturdi-           pre-seminary work. And, in order that this program
       est and make progress in the teaching. One is ever            may be carried out, Synod decided to call a third pro-
       impressed with the incipient holiness background of           fessor., Rev. Van  Baren received this call, with Rev.
       these churches. . . . I consciously place the positive        Engelsma as alternate. We commit Rev. Van Baren to
       teaching in such a way that it always and again gives         the prayers of the Churches as he considers this diffi-
       the lie to perfectionism and the errors of  Pente-
       costalism, by emphasizing that the fruit of the Spirit        cult call.
       is: love, joy, peace, etc. . . .                                Perhaps the details of the program can be reported
          I believe that the ministers preach the Reformed           to our people at another time. At any rate, all the
       faith as best they know how. . . .                            material will be in the Acts.


                                        I

                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                             415


   One other important matter is worthy of comment in                   Rev. M.  Schipper struck the keynote of the Synod
this article. It has to do with the work of the' Com- in his pre-synodical sermon by reminding the audience
mittee for Correspondence with Foreign Church&.  The and delegates that the Lord had given us an open door
matter came from a report of the committee  &d re- also and that the promise made for the Church of
ferred to the fact that our Churches have  nu&erous                  Philadelphia was made also to us. In the confidence
contacts both in this country and abroad with beople                 that this was true, Synod moved ahead in these vital
outside our denomination and who are eager for areas and faced the future before the Lord returns in
material published by our Churches. The Comtiittee,                  the assurance that the Lord has given us much work to
under its present Constitution, does not  have the do. May this same vision capture the hearts of our
authority to broaden these contacts. Synod deciided to people in the faith that God will establish the works of
give the Committee authority to engage in suchilitera-               our hands upon us.
ture distribution and referred the whole matter jof the                 This report has, in the nature of the case, touched
Constitution back to the Committee for  ext'ensive only the most important decisions. A careful perusal of
revision so that these many contacts can be followed the Acts will be a worthwhile project for all our
up and broadened.                                                    people.


Editorials

letter To The Gerefornjeerde Kerken From Our Synod

                                                     ProjI H.  C Hoeksema

   For several years our synodical Committee fc$ Cor-                   1. The  Gereformeerde Kerken  have shown little inclination
respondence with Foreign Churches has been in con- to seek contact with us, as is evident from the fact that we have
tact with the Deputies for Correspondence of the Gere- heard nothing further from the Deputies ad hoc. We can hardly
formeevde Kevken with a view to some kind of dfficial escape the conclusion that there is really very little interest on
relationship. Last year, however, upon advice `of the the part of the Gereformeerde Kerken in maintaining any con-
Committee, our Synod decided to break off  thkse ef- tact with the Protestant Reformed Churches and in establishing
forts. At the same time, the Synod instructed th$ Com- any official ties.
mittee for Correspondence to draft a suitable letter of                 2. Official contact with the  Gereformeerde Kerken  would
admonition to the  Gereformeerde  Kevken.  This; letter have very little meaning in the light of the fact that their Synod
                                                                     has changed its mode of meeting to one of extended and con-
was presented to our 197 1 Synod and approve+ It is tinued sessions. This would make virtually impossible the ex-
being sent by our Stated Clerk in behalf of Synod.                   change of fraternal delegates: it would be a practical impossibil-
   Because we believe this letter will be of genkral in- ity for a delegate visiting the Netherlands to remain and to act
terest to readers both within and outside of our in an advisory capacity for the lengthy sessions of synod. In
churches, and because the stand of our churchqs  is in explanation of the preceding, we realize that up to this point
sharp contrastwith the position, or lack of positi;on,  of our discussion has been only concerning limited corres-
others, we publish this letter in full. It is as follovls:           pondence. Nevertheless, ideally such limited correspondence
                                                                     would look forward to eventual full correspondence; and such
Synod of the Gereformeerde Kerken,                                   full correspondence as it involves the exchange of fraternal dele-
c/o Deputies for Correspondence                                      gates would, under the present arrangements as to synodical
with Foreign Churches                                                meetings in the Gereformeerde Kerken, be a practical impossi-
Dear Brethren:                                                       bility or a meaningless formality.
   For some years now we have been in correspondence with               3. Above all, it is our conviction that the  Gereformeerde
your Deputies ad hoc concerning the possibility of  offic$l rela-    Kerken have increasingly revealed themselves as an apostatizing
tions between your denomination and ours. There has been             denomination, so that from the point of view of the Protestant
some discussion between us concerning the question  vjrhether        Reformed Churches correspondence is no more desirable as an
this contact should take the form of what we call "limited cor-      expression of responsible ecumenicity. In substantiation of this,
respondence" or what you call correspondence in the  "liroader       we point, in the first place, to the fact of the reversal of
sense." As of this date no conclusion has been reached about         Assen-1926 by the Synod of Amsterdam 1967-68. In the second
these matters, and no official contact between our  deriomina-       place, we point to the fact that the Gerefovrneerde  Kerken  have
tions has been established.                                          decided to join the World Council of churches. We see this as an
   However, our Synod has now reached the co&lusion  fhat we         act of apostasy and as an expression of false ecumenism, as a
shall discontinue the seeking of contact with the Gereformeerde      making of common cause with apostate and apostatizing
Kerken.  Our reasons are as follows:                                 denominations, as the putting on of an unequal yoke with  un-


416                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



believers. In the third place, there is the fact that various liberal    Confession (Art.  27-29),  and particularly not in harmony with
and heretical teachings are tolerated by the  Gereformeerde              the article concerning the marks of the true church. We would
Kerken.  In this connection, we may point to the decision of the remind you, too, that your present course of action is not in
Synod of Sneek, November, 1970, in which the Synod declared              harmony with the strong provisions for purity of doctrine in the
that the denial by Dr. Kuitert of the historicity of the  falI is        Formula of Subscription.
contrary to a portion of the decision of Amsterdam, 1967-68,                Finally, we would point you to Scripture itself in this con-
and thus contrary to the Heidelberg  Cathechism,  Lord's Day 3           nection. We would point you to the fact that your present
and 4, and the Netherlands Confession of Faith, Articles 14 and          denominational conduct is not in harmony with the description
1.5. We point, further, to the fact that according to this same          of the church of the living God, as "the pillar and ground of the
decision Synod recognized that even at the very Synod of Sneek           truth" (I Tim.  3:15). And we would point you to several pas-
there were those who agreed with Dr. Kuitert's views. And we             sages of Scripture which emphasize the calling of the church and
point, too, to the fact that Synod nevertheless failed to take any       of the saints to maintain the truth of the Word of God and not
disciplinary action with respect to these admitted errors. In the        to depart along the path of false doctrine  - a calling which is
fourth place, we point to the fact that the  Gereformeerde               the more urgent in the light of the fact that we are evidently
Kerken  have officially repudiated parts of our Reformed creeds,         living in the last times. Does not Scripture warn "that we be no
the creeds which are not their private possession but the com-           more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every
mon heritage of all Reformed churches. Specifically, we make             wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,
mention of the decision concerning Question and Answer 80 of             whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Eph.  4:14)? And does not
the Heidelberg Catechism and to the decision concerning the              Scripture teach us to speak  tile truth in love (Eph.  4:15),  that
teachings of the Canons of Dordrecht with respect to eternal             we may grow up into Christ our head in all things? Does it not
reprobation.                                                             teach us to "hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast
   In the light of the preceding, it appears to us that the  Gere-       heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus" (II Tim.
formeerde Kerken  have already departed and are continuing to            1:  13)?  Does it not admonish us to "contend earnestly for the
depart from the true Reformed position and in the direction of           faith which was once delivered unto the saints," and does it not
false ecumenism. And whereas correspondence, even of limited             warn against the creeping in of false teachers (Jude:3,4;  II Peter
scope, surely requires that there be both a basis of essential           2:  l-3)? Does not Scripture warn us also not to receive and not
confessional agreement and also the hope and possibility of              to bid Godspeed to him that brings not the doctrine of Christ  (II
moving closer to one another, we can no longer, in all serious-          John:9-I  I)? And does it not admonish us not to put on an
ness, see the desirability and the propriety of having or seeking        unequal yoke with unbelievers (II Cor. 6: 14-1 S)? All these
official correspondence with the Gerefowneerde  Kerken.                  warnings are the more emphatic in the light of the fact that we
   However, we would not leave matters at this bare statement            are evidently in the latter time, which, according to Scripture
of position. We also want you to know that we of the Protestant          shall exactly be characterized by departure from the truth of
Reformed Churches are both deeply saddened and sorely of-                the Word of God and by the rise of false teachers and false
fended by the turn of events in your denomination  - the more            Christs (I Tim. 4:l; II Tim. 3:1-5;Matt. 24:4,5,  11, 12,23,24).
so, because of the rich heritage which we have inherited from               And so, in conclusion, in all humility, as we declare that we
the Reformation by way of the Netherlands, and also because of           cannot in good conscience continue to seek correspondence
the fact that for many years the  Gereformeerde Kerken  have             with you under the present circumstances, we feel duty bound
been recognized as a bastion of the Reformed faith. And there-           to admonish you urgently in the name of Him Who walks in the
fore we also feel called to admonish you earnestly concerning            midst of the golden candlesticks, to repent and to return from
your serious apostasy from the true Reformed position. We                your present course of apostasy to the tried and true way of our
would remind you of the fact that according to the Heidelberg            Reformed faith according to Scripture and the Confessions.
Catechism (Question and Answer 54) the church gathered by                                       Yours in the cause of the Reformed faith,
the Son of God is a church "agreeing in true faith." We would                                          Synod of the Protestant Reformed
point you to the fact that your present course is surely not in                                                       Churches in America
harmony with the articles concerning the church in our Belgic                                              Rev. Dale Kuiper, Stated Clerk



                             Two Major Decisions Of Synod

                                                        Puof. H. C. Hoeksema

   We had a wonderful Synod!                                             our president,  Rev. G. J. Van  Baren, Synod worked
   From every point of view, our  synodical meetings                     persistently and discussed and debated matters to the
this year were some of the most pleasant that this point that there was a large degree of unanimity. In
writer can remember. Our churches have much reason fact, there were very few matters which were decided
for gratitude to our covenant God in this connection.                    by a close vote, and no decisions of major importance
The delegates worked hard. They worked carefully and                     were reached by a narrow margin. In other words,
thoroughly. Under the capable and firm guidance of there was like-mindedness of the healthiest sort at our


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  417



1971 Synod. Moreover, this year's synod was positive given us more students (potential ministers) than we
and forward-looking. Sometimes, unavoidably, a have had in many years - going back all the way to the
synodical agenda can be loaded with  matteri  of a early 1950s. And let me say right here and now: they
rather negative and unpleasant nature. That  was not are good, dedicated, hard-working young men, too!
the case this year. There was much before the 1971           There is reason for gratitude, but also for sanctified
Synod which pertained simply to the work of our optimism in this respect. There will be, the Lord will-
churches in common - chiefly matters connected with ing, four more graduates from our seminary in June of
our mission endeavors and our seminary. To the latter        1972, and two more in 1973; and we already have a
Synod devoted a large amount of careful attention. new student enrolled for the beginning of school this
And after thorough discussion and debate - a discus- fall. Yes, the outlook is good!
sion which was at all times objective and brotherly, but       But our seminary also exists for other reasons. For
which nevertheless met argument with argument  - one thing, replacements in and additions to the faculty
Synod reached two far-sighted and far-reaching deci- must come from within our own churches and from
sions of major importance. The first was to call a among the trainees of our own seminary. In this re-
second missionary, who will labor in the United States gard, the seminary must be self-sustaining. But I have
and/or Canada. The second (closely related) was to in mind the fact that we cannot go out in the home
make the addition of a pre-seminary department to our mission field and labor toward the organization of new
seminary permanent, and therefore to call a third pro-       congregations without the seminary. Not only must
fessor.                                                      missionaries be trainees of the seminary, but we must
   There can be no doubt about it that these two de-         be able to say on the mission field, "If you organize as
cisions were some of the most significant decisions of a Protestant Reformed congregation, we can and will
our 1971 Synod.                                              supply you with faithful men who will be your pastors
   There can also, I think, be no doubt but that these       and who will faithfully preach the whole counsel of
two decisions will come as somewhat of a shock to            God and instruct you according to the Scriptures."
some of our people. Perhaps some might even be in- This is, of course, necessary for any congregation; but
clined to characterize these decisions as being bold to it is especially necessary for newly organized congrega-
the point of being foolhardy.                                tions. No congregation likes to organize unless there is
   But there can also be no doubt but that Synod, hope that eventually they will have their own pastor.
after having weighed these matters carefully, was fully Hence, our seminary must serve as the source of supply
able to say, "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to        of ministers also in this regard. We must have a broader
us" thus to decide.                                          outlook than that of our own internal and parochial
   I could wish that all our people might have had the needs. This is also one of the reasons why our churches
opportunity to be present and to witness the proceed- have for years been offering urgent prayers that the
ings and discussions of Synod, particularly with respect     Lord will give us young men. And mind you, the Lord
to these mission and seminary matters. I believe that has heard and is continuing to hear our prayers! Not
there would have been the same degree of unanimity only will we have seven young men in the seminary
among our people as there was at Synod, had they             next fall, the Lord willing; but there is a goodly num-
been present.                                                ber of young men in our churches who are either com-
   But since all could not be present, I will try to shed    mitted to attend or are seriously considering attending
a little light on the decisions and on the thinking of the seminary in the future.
Synod behind these decisions.                                   On the other hand, the future of the seminary is
Preliminary Observations                                     closely tied in with our mission work. To put it
   It should be borne in mind that there is a very close     bluntly, there is a certain law of supply and demand at
relationship between our home mission work and our           work in this matter. This is due to the fact that the
seminary. The two go hand in hand in a large degree.         Lord works through means. It goes without saying that
This was very much in the thinking of Synod also, and        if the only function of our seminary is to keep our
was brought out in the course of the discussion.             presently existing churches supplied with ministers,
   On the one hand, our seminary does not merely             then there is only a very limited demand for students.
exist for the sake of our established congregations. Its     In fact, in the foreseeable future that demand will be
purpose is not merely to maintain the status quo as far      met and could conceivably be filled for several years to
as the supply of ministers is concerned. The latter is, of come. The result of this would be that there would
course, necessary; as the old warriors fade from the         simply be no room for more seminary graduates. And
picture, there must be replacements, so that as much as      the result of the latter would be that there would be
possible all our congregations may have their own pas- no incentive for new students to begin their seminary
tors. In this respect, the outlook for our churches is training. In other words, our churches and our semi-
favorable at the present time. The Lord has heard the        nary would then be turned entirely inward; and the
prayers of our churches; and in recent years He has          final result would be stagnation.


418                                               THE STANDARD BEARER



       But if our churches are obedient to their mission give more attention to home missions. I will quote the
calling, and if the Lord grants us an open door, and if,          proposal as adopted by Synod. Advisory Committee
therefore, new fields are opened and new congrega- No. 1 proposed the addition of the fourth ground
tions are organized, then there will obviously. be the quoted below:
need of more ministers. And then there will be incen- "B. We propose to Synod that a man be called to serve
tive and encouragement for young men to train for the as missionary to labor within the area of the States
ministry of the gospel: for then they will know that and/or Canada. We request the approval of Synod.
once they have completed their training, there'will also Grounds:
be room for them to labor in the ministry of the Word.              "a. Our calling as churches is to send forth the
       Hence, these matters go hand in hand.                      Word outside of our Churches.
       There are a couple of other considerations which             "b. There is the rapidly worsening situation within
should be mentioned.                                              the church-world in our land.
       In the first place, there is the fact that our churches      "c. There is the probability that shortly, additional
have in the past never allowed themselves to be de- men will be graduating from seminary - and if we wish
terred either in mission action or in seminary matters to encourage additional men to prepare for the min-
by the so-called minister shortage. That minister short- istry, there must be prospective fields of labor.
age is, of course, a varying thing. Right now, for                  "d. This proposal is in harmony with the  Synodi-
example, some might call it a severe shortage - though tally adopted Preamble of the Constitution of the
this again depends on the point of view. But if my Mission Committee:  `. . . our present duty lies pri-
memory serves me correctly, there has been only one marily in the field of church extension and church
occasion in our history when there were more candi- reformation.'
dates for the ministry than there were vacant churches "C. We propose that Synod designate the Hope Prot.
- in 1947. And yet we called missionaries at times Ref. Church of Grand Rapids the calling church for
when we had churches without pastors; and these calls this second missionary ."
were accepted also, thus adding to the shortage. Of                 I believe that the above grounds speak for them-
necessity, both of our present seminary professors selves.
were called at times when there was a shortage of pas-              But I wish to emphasize that Synod did not simply
tors; yet neither the synod nor the congregations con- rush pell-me11 into this decision.
cerned nor the ministers concerned were deterred by                 First of all, it was discussed at length and from every
this. And although our 197 1 Synod gave long and care- conceivable angle in the Advisory Committee. In fact,
ful consideration to this problem of a minister short- the Advisory Committee spent more of its time on this
age, also this Synod came to the conclusion that the one proposal than on any other single item that was
shortage might not be a deterrent to these  forward- before it. Next, the matter came before Synod itself.
looking actions.                                                  There was a lengthy discussion of the proposal on the
       In the second place, it should be kept in mind that floor of Synod. I believe it is correct to say that every-
there is something healthy about a certain amount of one was in favor of the proposal from the outset, pro-
shortage. Not only does this allow room for change in vided  it was workable. No one doubted that if at all
our churches and among our ministers; but it also possible, we ought to have such a missionary  in the
serves as an incentive for students. I realize that every         field. In fact, it was emphasized by more than one
congregation desires to have a pastor; and no congrega- delegate that especially today, in view of the rapidly
tion likes to be vacant for a long time. This is to be            increasing apostasy round about us, it is our God-given
expected, and it is quite understandable. In due time,            duty to let our voice be heard in testimony to the
too, our vacant congregations are supplied with pastors Reformed faith outside the pale of our churches. It
- with the result that another congregation must be was felt, too, that the best possible way to accomplish
without a pastor for a time. But anyone can see that a            this witness was through a second missionary. It was
certain degree of shortage is a much more healthy situ- recognized that asking churches to release their pastors
ation than a situation of surplus. More candidates than for this work for a couple months does not enable our
vacancies would be an unhealthy and abnormal situa- churches to accomplish the kind of consistent and
tion for our churches and for our seminary.                       persistent work that is necessary. But the question
       These observations should serve as the back-drop which received lengthy consideration was: is it possible
against which we view Synod's decisions to call a from a practical point of view? There was lengthy dis-
second missionary and a third professor.                          cussion of this question in connection with the fact
                                                                  that we already have several vacant churches. There
The Decision To Call A Second Missionary                          was also discussion of the financial feasibility. The
  Why and how did Synod reach this decision?                      facts were weighed. Our calling was weighed. The dele-
  The proposal came from our standing Mission Com-                gates spoke freely.
mittee, which last year had been urged by Synod to                  The result? Synod passed this proposal without dis-


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    419



senting votes!                                               the most important, if not  the  most important, step
  Personally, I am very happy with the decision. I           that our synods have taken in many a year. It was,
believe that our churches have taken a step in the right moreover, something that was under consideration as
direction, and that the Lord will bless us as we imple- long ago as the late 1940s and something which was
ment the decision.                                           strongly favored by our two original professors (Revs.
  But let us not imagine that from now on this is            Herman Hoeksema and G. M. Ophoff) down through
merely a matter for the Mission Committee and for the years.
Hope Church.                                                    But let me present the matter before I say more
  In the first place, let us continue to pray that the about it.
Lord will give us an open door, and that He will in due         Three years ago the faculty and Theological School
time point out one of our men for this labor, a man          Committee proposed and Synod adopted on a trial
who will then go out and labor vigorously. The task          basis the addition of a basic pre-seminary program to
before us is no easy task! The cause of our Reformed         our seminary. It was understood and stated already at
faith, the truth of the gospel, is not by any means          that time that no two-man faculty could handle the
becoming more popular in our times. One of our complete teaching load of the new program on a
churches will have to give up its pastor for this work       permanent basis. But it was decided to give the thing a
eventually. And one of our men will have to devote           trial.
himself to this work and will have to sacrifice con-            This year the major portion of the trial period was
siderably to go out into the field. But if we go in completed; and the Theological School Committee
obedience to the Lord of the church, we may also go          began a thorough study and evaluation in order to
in the confidence that He will prosper us.                   report to the 197 1 Synod and to make recommenda-
  In the second place, let all our consistories give full    tions for the future. The result was that the Committee
cooperation to our Mission Committee in seeking areas        came to Synod with a rather carefully worked out
where interest may warrant contact by our missionary, Master Plan concerning pre-seminary courses. This plan
and where possible definite fields of labor may be ex- included some grounds in its introduction; and these I
plored and developed.                                        would like to quote. They are as follows:
  In the third place, let those outside the pale of our         "Whereas the Synod of 1966 has gone on record
churches - such as may read this - be assured that in        favoring the establishment of a pre-seminary depart-
the midst of the apostasy of our times our churches ment in our seminary, and adopted proposals for
stand ready to provide assistance and leadership in the operating such a department in our seminary, and
work of church reformation. This decision is concrete adopted proposals for operating such a department on
evidence. And above all, our churches stand ready to a trial basis, Acts of Synod 1966, Art. 29-30; Acts of
provide what has become an extremely scarce item in          Synod 1967, Art. 67; Acts of Synod 1968, Art. 77-79;
the ecclesiastical marketplace: the pure preaching of Acts of Synod 1969, Art. 33-36,
the Word  - good, sound, Reformed, expository                   "And whereas the trial period for this  presem in-
preaching of the Scriptures! Do not hesitate to turn to struction shows that it is feasible; and that the quality
us with your cries for help. By the grace of God, we of instruction is equal to, or better than, that obtained
will come over and help you. And if congregations are in local colleges,
organized, we will be able also to provide you with             "And whereas the urgency for such pre-sem instruc-
young men with a sound and thorough seminary tion, in light of the apostasy of our day, is greater now
training, young men able and willing to preach the than it was only four years ago,
Word purely and with zeal! This is the pledge of our            "Therefore, we propose. . . ."
Protestant Reformed Churches.                                   These are really the grounds for the entire decision.
                                                                From the above, it is plain, in the first place, that we
The Seminary Decision                                        are interested in having our students under our own,
  The decision is only partially and incorrectly re- Protestant Reformed, instruction also in their prepara-
ferred to as a decision to call a third professor. Fact is tory work. Synod recognized that the pernicious in-
that the decision under  dis$ussion  is much broader, fluences which are at work even in religiously-oriented
and its implications are much more far-reaching for our colleges today are cause for increasing alarm. This was
school and for our churches. And the decision to call a stressed again and again on the floor of Synod. Besides,
third faculty member is but a logical and necessary even from a positive point of view, what is more con-
consequence of that broader decision.                        sistent for us who believe in Protestant Reformed edu-
  The broader decision is to enlarge the seminary cur- cation than that our future ministers also have Protes-
riculum and add a pre-seminary department perma- tant Reformed education at the upper levels?
nently. From my seminary vantage-point and- my                  In the second place, we want our students to have a
acquaintance with our students' education and educa- high quality education from an academic viewpoint as
tional needs, I would not hesitate to call this one of well. We want them to be well-founded, for example,


420                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


in the languages. We do not want academic slouches.           ceived two reports, one in favor of the above proposals
Even in this respect the products turned out by some land one which recommended that Synod reject the
of the colleges are far from ideal. Personally, I told the    entire pre-seminary proposal.
Synod that I would not talk about my own instruc-                I wrote "fortunately" because this compelled the
tion, but that I would not hesitate to recommend delegates of Synod to consider carefully all the argu-
highly Prof. Hanko's instruction in New Testament ments which could be marshalled against this proposal.
Greek from observing the results firsthand. And it was        Again, space does not permit quotation of the entire
the judgment of the School Committee that even report. I will cite the three main grounds adduced by
under the adverse circumstances of a heavy load the           the negative report, without supplying the details.
trial period was a great success also from an academic They were as follows:
point of view.                                                "1. Calling a third, full-time professor would be an
  Hence, if we want to have good students in our over-reaching of the limitations of our churches, as far
seminary; and if we want to have students with posi-          as the availability of ministers is concerned.
tively Reformed instruction even in their pre-seminary        "2. Calling another professor would be the imposition
subjects; and if we do not want to run the risk of of an additional, sizeable, financial burden upon our
having our students corrupted or even to fall by the          people, many of whom are now laboring under a
wayside before they ever reach the seminary, it was           financial load that strains their capabilities.
strongly felt by the Committee and by the Faculty,            "3. Much, if not all, of the pre-seminary (college) in-
and finally by Synod, that the introduction of our own        struction of our students, which makes a third pro-
pre-seminary program must be begun.                           fessor necessary, can be obtained by them in existing
  Space does not permit the quotation of the entire           colleges."
program proposed. Let me sketch the highlights.                  How did Synod proceed when faced by these two
  First of all, the committee proposed the establish- reports?
ment of a 4-year pre-seminary program for entrance               First the positive report, which followed the recom-
into our seminary. Of the total of 125 credit hours to mendations of the School Committee, was considered
be required, 85 hours of various basic pre-sem subjects       and debated  for a considerable length of time. Then
will be stipulated, and the additional 40 hours will be       the positive report was tabled, and Synod took up con-
electives. As a beginning, 71 of the 8.5 required hours       sideration of the negative report. This was debated in
will be included in our curriculum and taught in our one of the most thorough-going debates of the entire
own school; for the time being the rest will have to be       Synod, but, let me hasten to add, in an entirely objec-
obtained elsewhere. But this is a beginning, and a tive and brotherly spirit: there was no hint of rancor
rather large and important one. In the second place,          whatsoever. When the debate was finished, the report
the committee proposed some regulations as to                 was`overwheh-ningly rejected - I believe, by all but one
entrance requirements for our seminary. In the third          vote. Then Synod returned to the positive report, gave
place, the committee proposed the calling of a third          it further discussion, and adopted it without dissenting
professor from among our ministers. This third pro- votes.
fessor will, like the others, teach both pre-seminary           Thereafter, as many already know, Synod proceeded
and seminary subjects. And he will begin his instruc- to vote for a third professor. The Rev. G. J. Van Baren
tion in September of 1972, the Lord willing, with a was elected, with the Rev. D. J. Engelsma as alternate.
year granted for preparation  - a luxury the present          Our hope and prayer is that the Lord may soon pro-
faculty could not enjoy because of the circumstance vide our seminary with the man of His choosing for
that they were called on short notice as replacements.        this important post. I know by experience the crisis
In the fourth place, in a supplemental report the com-        involved both for the minister and the congregation
mitt ee proposed some guidelines for an orderly               concerned in a call of this nature. So also does my
division of the various subjects among the three-mem-         colleague, Prof. Hanko, know. But again, the need is
ber faculty. And, finally, the committee proposed that great - the greater because it involves the school of all
Synod instruct the School Committee to make                   the churches. For the good of our churches in
necessary revisions in the constitutions and in the           common, some man will have to take his place in the
school catalogue, subject to approval at  the= 1972           school; and some congregation will have to bid fond
Synod. It also, of course, recommended a budget in            farewell to its minister!
connection with all this. (For the full details of the
proposal, some of which would undoubtedly be of The Financial Picture
little interest to our readers, you will have to wait for       Much concern was expressed at Synod about the
the printed Acts.) This is the substance of the matter.       possible increase in synodical assessments occasioned
  Now what happened at Synod?                                 by these two major decisions. Nor was this matter
  Fortunately, the Advisory Committee was divided taken lightly. Appreciation was expressed at Synod for
on this proposal; and the result was that Synod  re- the dedication of our people in meeting the financial


                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        421


     needs of the work of God's kingdom. It was felt that our What About The Building Program?
     people have always showed themselves willing to give                This is a question several have asked me personally. I
     when the need was there, when that need was im- will leave it to the Drive Committee to furnish details.
     portant, and when the Lord provides the means - as I will only say here:
     He always has. This has been characteristic both in the          1) That this program is outside of our assessments and
     sphere of church and school.                                     is to be met by voluntary contributions.
       Yet when the figures were tallied, all were surprised.
     The total annual per family assessment for the coming 2) Synod authorized the School Committee to prepare
     fiscal year is $154.50, only $11.50 more than the and submit plans to the 1972 Synod for final approval.
     budget adopted by the 1970 Synod. This is about the This means, by the way, that more time is provided to
     average increase one might expect from inflation only. meet the goal of our drive also, and that contributions
     And yet this will amply meet our denominational can be spread over a longer period, thus lightening the
     needs. And remember: last year the budget was cut. In burden.
,    comparision with two years ago, the new budget of 3) There is no question about it that the expansion of
i    $154.50 represents an increase of only $4.00. This is            our Seminary, apart from any other considerations,
     amazing when one considers that this will provide for a makes it important to go full speed ahead on this
     second missionary and a third professor.                         program also!



                                        Dr. K. Runia To Kampen
                                                        ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema

        Dr. Klaas Runia, who occupied the chair of dogma-                 As far as the Dutch churches are concerned, we
     tics and ethics at the Reformed Theological College in note that the conservative Waarheid en Eenheid in an
     Geelong, Australia, has accepted an appointment to               article by "E.M." (June 1 issue) congratulates Runia
     the chair of pastoral studies at Kampen, the seminary            and expresses the expectation that he will help to show
     of the Gereformeerde Kerken in the Netherlands. Our them the right course and will perform his task accord-
     readers will recall that it was especially the views of Dr.      ing to reformational conviction. We cannot understand
     Runia which came under attack in the churches of how the conservatives in the Netherlands can harbor
     New Zealand and Australia, particularly from the                 such hopes, unless they have been unduly influenced
     quarter of the Reformed and Presbyterian Fellowship              by correspondence from Runia's supporters down
     of Australasia and their organ,  The Reformed under who have misrepresented the work of the Fel-
     Guardian. The Standard Bearer has not only reported lowship, and unless they have themselves failed to do
     events down under, but has also reflected critically and their homework. No Reformed man could be aware of
     at length on Dr. Runia's views; and, as is well known,           Runia's views on reprobation, for example, and still
     has placed itself on the side of Dr. Runia's critics with have any expectations with respect to his Reformed
     respect to the various doctrinal issues down under.              convictions. Dr. Runia is a friend of Berkouwer and
        Now Dr. Runia is moving. A strange turn of events!            Polman. He will not aid the cause of the Reformed
        As far as Dr. Runia's views are concerned, the fact faith in the Gerefornzeerde  Kerken.
     that the  Gereformeerde  Kerkerz  can appoint him cer-               As far as the brethren down under are concerned,
     tainly constitutes no recommendation of his ortho- the departure of Dr. Runia is reason for rejoicing in a
     doxy. On the contrary, it merely confirms what we sense. But the issues have not been settled down under,
     have maintained all along, that Runia - though there             and Runia's supporters are still there. It is to be hoped
     may be a difference of degree between him and some               that the brethren do not relax in their battle for the
     of the adherents of the new theology - is in essential truth!
     agreement with the liberal trends.



             The doctrine of the anti-thesis is so corrupted today that were His Satanic Majesty to make an appearance in all
             his "glory," chances are we could even say some nice things about him.


422                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



QU estion Box

                    About "Close" Communion
                                                ProJ H. C. Hoeksema

Question                                                      course, this committee reported, and their report was
Mr. Editor:                                                   adopted by  Classis East. Both because of the general
  Would you please explain  in  the  Standard Bearer principle involved and because of the concrete case, I
why we speak of "close" rather than of "closed" com- will quote this very instructive report and decision. It
munion in the Protestant Reformed Churches?                   is as follows:
                                                A Reader
                                                                       Report of the Committee ill re Protest
Reply                                                                    Against the Consistory of Holland.
  Briefly, the different possibilities with respect to ad-
mission to the Lord's Supper are as follows:                  Esteemed brethren: -
  1) Open communion, according to which there is no             Your committee, appointed to advise  classis  in  re
supervision by the consistory, but it is simply left to       protests against the Consistory of Holland, in regard to
everyone's individual conscience whether he partakes .its action of permitting a member of the Christian Re-
of the Supper or not. Members of the church and non- formed Church to partake of communion in their midst,
members alike are invited to come to the table.               reports as follows:
  2) Closed communion, according to which only con-             The protests against the Consistory of Holland and
fessing members in good standing are admitted to the          the latter's reply required of your committee to inquire
Lord's table. In the strictest sense, this would even into two matters:
exclude members visiting from a sister congregation. I           1. The particular, concrete case of Holland, ad-
wish to emphasize that this is  not  the stand of our mitting a member of the Christian Reformed Church
churches.                                                     to its communion table; and
  3) Close communion, which means that the  con-                2. The general question involved, whether it is prin-
sistory exercises supervision with respect to admission       cipally correct to admit, under given circumstances,
to the Lord's table. Or, in other words, it exercises the members of other denominations as guests to our com-
keys of the kingdom and guards the sanctity of the munion table.
table. This is in harmony with Heidelberg Catechism,
Lord's Day XXX, Qu. 82: "Are they also to be ad-                I. As to the general question, concerning the princi-
mitted to this supper, who, by confession and life, ple involved in the case of Holland, your committee is
declare themselves unbelieving and ungodly? No; for of the opinion that members of other churches, not in
by this, the covenant of God would be profaned, and all respects agreeing with our Protestant Reformed
his wrath kindled against the whole congregation; Faith, may be admitted to our communion table upon
therefore it is the duty of the Christian church, accord- their request:
ing to the appointment of Christ and his apostles, to           A. Provided:
exclude such persons, by the keys of the kingdom of              1. That such members are at such time, and most
heaven, till they show amendment of life." probably will be for some time, deprived of the oppor-
(Incidentally, there is a typographical error in the late tunity to celebrate communion in a church of their
Rev. Herman Hoeksema's commentary on this Ques- own denomination.
tion and Answer; the word "closed" is used instead of           2. That proper request be made by such member at
the word "close.") Article 61 of the Church Order the earliest possible opportunity, at the Consistory, in
likewise maintains this position of "close" com- order that the latter may be in a position properly to
munion.                                                       investigate the faith and walk of the petitioner.
  All of this brings to mind a very interesting~concrete        3. That upon proper inquiry the Consistory is satis-
case which was appealed to Classis East from Holland          fied that such member:
in 1945. This case involved the Consistory's admitting          a. Know and repent of their sins, and trust for for-
a member of the Christian Reformed Church to its giveness and salvation only in the blood of Christ; also
communion table. By way of the process of protest             that they seek the Lord's table for the strengthening of
and appeal, this matter came to  Classis East; and a their faith, and are desirous to lead a holy life.
study committee consisting of Revs. H. Hoeksema,                b. Reveal' themselves as believers in their walk and
G.M. Ophoff, and R. Veldman was appointed. In due conversation, and are not defiled with any of the sins


                                             THE STANDARD  BEAqER                                               423



mentioned in our Form for Communion.                         Supper on that particular Lord's Day, this would not
   c. Do not belong to any secret society or worldly have been sufficient reason for him to seek and for the
union, membership of which bars our own members Consistory of Holland to grant him admission to the
from the table of the Lord.                                  latter's communion.
   d. Are not under discipline in their own church.            2. The difference between our Churches and the
  B. Grounds:                                                Christian Reformed is-not merely one of doctrine, but
   1. The bread and wine are, according to Scripture, also one of discipline and walk: by a deliberate act of
the communion of the body and blood of the Lord; to expulsion they declared that we have no place in their
refuse guests under circumstances as above described communion.
would be tantamount to excommunicating them from               3. By admitting the party in question to their
the body of Christ.                                          Lord's table, the Consistory might expect to give oc-
   2. The conditions stipulated above are in accord casion for offense in the congregation. It would seem
with all that our Confessions teach concerning the that, in view of the relation between the Protestant
Lord's Supper and the worthy partakers thereof. Cf. Reformed and the Christian Reformed Churches as
Heid. Cat. questions 75-82; Conf. Belg. Art. 35. And referred to under 2 above, a public declaration would
the same conditions quite satisfy the demands of our have been in order that the Christian Reformed appli-
Form for the Administration of the Lord's Supper.            cant did not agree with the action of his own church
   3. This custom has been followed in the Reformed whereby they expelled us from their fellowship.
Churches, and is in accord with the opinion of its lead-       B. Advice:
ing theologians, since the time of the Reformation.            Your committee advises:
  C. Advice:                                                   1. That  Classis adopt the above judgment of the
  Your committee advises classis to adopt the above as committee  in  re  the concrete case of Holland as its
a general declaration of the principles involved in the own.
matter.                                                        2. That Classis declare:
                                                               a. That the Consistory of Holland, although in the
                                                             abstract it has the right to admit guests to its com-
  II. Your committee, however, is of the opinion that munion table, erred in its application of the general
the action of Holland's Consistory does not in all principle involved to a concrete instance.
respects agree with the above declaration of principles;       b. That the protestants, only in as far as their com-
for:                                                         plaint has reference to the concrete case, and not the
   1. First of all, there appears to have been no urgent general principle involved, had occasion to be offended
need for the particular member of the Christian Re- at the action of their Consistory.
formed Church that applied for admission to the                3. That Classis so advise and inform both the  Con-
Lord's table in Holland's Prot. Ref. Church, to do so: sistory of Holland and the protestants, by furnishing
  a. There are several- Christian Reformed Churches in them with a transcript of the above declarations and
Holland where applicant could have celebrated com- decisions.
munion.                                                                                     Respectfully submitted,
  b. Even if he could not have partaken of the Lord's                                              Your Committee


In His  Fear
                               "The Devil Is Dead"
                                                 Rev, John A. Heys

  Your reaction to the statement that forms the title        Satan's tools and representatives here upon this earth.
of  .our contribution to this department of our mag-           Most of our readers, we trust, because of the nature
azine for this month will depend upon who you are.           of those who seek such a magazine as ours, will
  This title will make a different impression upon the respond with a, "Brother, you could not be more
believer than it will upon the unbeliever. It will bring wrong!" There may be those who are ready to pick up
forth a different reaction on the part of the conserva- pen and write a strong challenge: "Prove it!" There may
tive believer than it will on the part of the liberal. It    even be those who shake their heads, not only in com-
will bring forth a different reply from one who loves plete denial of the fact stated in this title, but also in a
God and His kingdom than from one who is one of certain pity for the one who could make a statement


424                                              THE STANDARD BEARER



of such blatant heresy!                                      ness; the complete lack of power to serve God con-
  Yet there may be some with a somewhat milder sciously and willingly in love. In that sense the devil is
reaction, who would only respond with the criticism dead indeed! And in that sense our title will stand, and
that this is a lot of wishful thinking rather than actual the whole Bible stands behind that statement and re-
fact. The statement might even move some of these to veals it in all its awfulness. But in the sense that he is
ponder on the matter, harboring in themselves some- powerless to do his satanic work, to tempt, to seek to
what of a desire that the devil's life be snuffed out for destroy the church of God, to lead men in the develop-
the good of the Church. This in turn might lead them ment of sin, and to hold man in the way of the lie, he
to some wonder as to the result and advantages for the is far from dead. He is a very powerful force. In fact he
Church to have the devil put to death.                       has never had a sick day in his life. He has never had to
  There are, as well, those who are in full agreement curtail his work because of some physical affliction. He
with the statement and would be no more shocked by is a spirit who slumbers and sleeps no more than the
it than by that more awful statement of blasphemy holy angels of God do in heaven. And in his devilish
that "God is dead!" These  - and they are in the work he would exactly like to have you and me believe
church - have for years been saying that "the devil is that he is dead. That is the diabolical part of it all. He
dead," employing different words and coming with an- is willing to decrease and appear to be dead in order
other approach to the matter. These have boldy de- that his cause of hatred and rebellion against God may
clared that the first eleven chapters of Genesis are mere increase in the human race. He would like to have us
myth, and have presented their own philosophy of a believe that he is dead as far`as the true picture of him
"Theistic Evolution" whereby man was not created as as found upon the pages of Holy Writ is concerned. He
the Genesis account has it, but evolved from the lower would like to have us see him as the friend he posed to
animals through divine guidance over a billion some be unto Eve, full of concern for mankind and of good
years.                                                       advice for us. That "wicked-old-devil" picture he
  In this connection we cannot help but ask, since would like to have destroyed; and he would have us see
Scripture says that man was created a little lower than him as one who can improve our lot and bring us to
the angels, where the origin of these spiritual beings those higher heights that the pride of life within us
fits in that whole theory of man's origin. If we were craves.
created a little higher than the angels, they could, per-      But, really now, does not the position that God is
haps, be the missing link. It would be a little more dead mean that the devil also is dead? If God is dead,
honourable and less humiliating to believe that than to then certainly the devil is also dead. Otherwise we take
have to speak of a great-great-great grandfather who the blasphemous position that the devil is God! If the
was an ape! Or, we ask, Have the angels evolved from holy, supreme Being Who brought all into existence
man? Are we the link between them?                           lost His life in the struggle to make something good
  But calling these first eleven chapters of Genesis a out of a fallen human race, then that unholy spiritual
myth rather than actual fact denies the fact of a devil being who introduced sin to the human race is now in
being there in the serpent to tempt Eve. That the devil His place as God! If God has failed, and now is dead,
actually is a person, and that this person ever lived is His enemy has taken over and is in His place as God. If,
then ruled out completely. No, all this is myth. It is however, God is dead because there really are no spir-
fiction, not fact. The devil is dead, yea, rather, there itual beings, either good or bad, then again Satan is
never `was such a creature. And the title albove is dead, yea, really never existed except as a myth that
wrong, then, because one who never existed cannot be the first eleven chapters of Genesis moved some "silly"
said to have died.                                           people to accept as fact.
  Please note, anyway, that we placed the statement            Yet the very appearance of these heresies only show
in  -quotation marks. We did this, not because we can how full of life the devil really is. It likewise reveals
quote anyone as ever having said this about the devil, how urgent the call of Paul that we put on the whole
but because there is so much taught today - besides armour of God that we may be able to withstand the
this "Theistic Evolution"  - that in effect does say wiles of the devil. It is, after all, his work that has
exactly that. And the purpose of these lines and reason brought us to this "new morality" and "situation
for our title is to show that many maintain today doc- ethics" which likewise as to their implications say that
trines which do imply that the devil ig dead.                the devil is dead.
  Of course the statement is not true! Unless you are          Nothing is wrong anymore. The situation determines
speaking of spiritual death. The devil is spiritually what action one is wise in taking so that his flesh may
dead. Created as a sinless angel he fell into sin in enjoy its lust. The law of God is an antiquated thing
heaven before man was tempted by him to do so here that really never worked, and in fact never should have
on this earth. And by spiritual death we mean the utter been accepted by man. There really is no sin. There are
inability to do anything that is pleasing in God's sight; inconvenient and foolish deeds. There are actions of
the incapability of doing what He considers righteous- men that bring sorrow to some and deprive them of


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   425



their possessions and even of their loved ones. There is           We must also be very careful of that much-used
crime. But this is not sin before God. This is not some statement, "Christ is the Answer!" There is truth in
activity within man because he has fallen under the that statement, but it is a very misleading statement,
power of the devil. No, God is dead, and Satan is dead; and as used by many it is the lie. The answer to all
and if we do not want to be dead, we had better ignore of man's problems is in Christ, and apart from Him
all these laws and rules and regulations and live it up,         there is no hope for lasting peace and true joy. But let
get high, get our full fling out of a life, which is all too us beware first of all of the idea that He is the answer
short, for all the pleasures that the flesh craves.             for  aZZ  mey1, or that He came to present the whole
  And the "Social Gospel" that many in the church human race with a way out of the mess into which this
are preaching is likewise a denial of the devil's exist- very-much-alive devil tempted us, and we willingly
ence. Sin as an act of rebellion against God is ruled plunged ourselves. And by all means let us beware of
out as the cause of all our social injustices and inequal- falling into the error of "preaching" Christ as the
ities. The cross, which, according to Colossians 2 : 15, is answer  on this earth and in this world. Just listen to
the victory over the devil and his host, is covered up much that is spouted forth today by those who have
with a lot of so-called psychology that finds some situ- closed the Word of God and taken the position that
ation, some environment, some experience in a per- the devil is dead. Christ is the answer to our economic,
son's early life that has set him on a course that brings political, social problems, and if we only give Him a
him to violence and criminal acts against man. The chance we can get lasting peace in this generation, put
solution to the problem of the misdeeds in the world is down crime in our streets, do away with hunger and
not traced to the fall of man, is not found in the poverty. The Kingdom of heaven, then, is coming on
removal of guilt by the blood of the cross and in power this earth rather than, as Scripture teaches, on the new
of the Spirit of Christ. Instead it is found in some            earth, in the new Jerusalem that comes down from
counseling that will bring out that horrid experience, God out of heaven. See Revelation 21: l-3. That is the
slay that "devil" that plagues a person, fills him with new post-millenial view. We prepare this world for
obsessions and fears and criminal tendencies. The solu- Christ to return to it. We by our education, science,
tion to the problem is found in giving that man what social reforms, peace programs and arms or disarma-
his flesh craves. Do not bring him the Word of God and          ment talks bring forth that kingdom of heaven and
its truth that we are all conceived and born in sin,            make this earth ready for Christ's return. Actually, of
deceived by Satan and under the power of the lie. Do            course, all this serves to bring forth the kingdom of the
not bring him the. infallible counsel of God's Word to Antichrist which acknowledges no devil, no sin before
be content, to be patient in adversity and to look for God, but has the Antichrist sitting in the place of God,
the same Christ Who died for the sins of His people to calling himself God, II Thessalonians 2:4.
return and usher in the perfect kingdom. Instead pro-              Say not by your deeds then that the devil is dead.
pose billions of dollars and free gifts to satisfy - what Then in your life he is not dead but actually the con-
cannot ever be satisfied - the cravings of the flesh of queror, the victor. Stand in the awful consciousness
these who threaten to riot and perform deeds of vio- that he is alive, and heed then the words of Paul, "Put
lence to get what their flesh craves.                           on the whole  armour of God that ye may withstand
  The devil is not behind it all, not at least as a spir- the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6: 11. By all means
itual person. Man is the devil. We need go no further or see him defeated by Christ, but recognize him as the
deal with no deeper problem than the nature and power that still rules your flesh; and rejoice in the
"character" of man alone. There is no spiritual world promise of God that we find in Romans 16:20, "And
of sin behind all man's misconduct and "inhuman" the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet
deeds against mankind. Conquer the man, win him shortly." And you can have that joy and the hope of
over by your gifts and education and social reform that promise only as you reject the idea that the devil
programs, and you have solved the problem.                      is dead, and instead see him as the prince of this world.


The Strength of Youth
                              The Church Wedding
                                                       Rev. J. Kovtering

 The subject of church weddings is admittedly not tion to promote this kind of a wedding, see Art. 70 of
very popular. Not only are we under the sacred obliga-           our Church Order, but there is every advantage for our


426                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


young people and the church in general if this would      mentary on this article, change came at the time of the
become the accepted way for marriage.                     French Revolution when the government claimed the
THE INFLUENCE OF SECULARISM                               right to control marriage. They claimed that marriage
   The road of apostasy is strewn with the skeletons of was a legal affair and therefore belonged exclusively
discarded Isms. Skepticism has been a favorite tool of within the domain of the government. The Reforma-
the devil to cause young people to doubt the Scrip- tion emphasized the need for marriages to be solem-
tures. The skeptic is "ever learning and never able to nized in the church (Geneva 1547,  Register,  p. 75).
come to the knowledge of the truth," II Tim. 3:7. He The Dutch government struck a compromise in 1848
raises questions, but does not turn to the only Source when they recognized the role of the government in
Book for correct answers. Soon Skepticism is discarded solemnizing (actually joining in marriage according to
and replaced by Humanism. Man becomes the only the law) the marriage, but also recognized that the
reliable agent for the establishment of truth. All things church was interested and therefore the marriage was
begin and end in Man. If there is a God, He must serve to be confirmed before the church. Hence in our pre-
man or the existence of such a God is useless. It is      sent article of the Church Order we have the idea of a
easily understood that such a view of God in relation marriage being confirmed before the church.
to man is soon discarded and man ends with Secu-             Subsequently however, things have changed still
larism, he can get along without God. For the bold this more for us. Today the government regulates marriage;
means God is dead, for the more timid it means the it does this through the issuance of a license (no longer
relevancy of God is no longer a reality, man can live requiring an oath in Iowa), and grants the privilege of
without God. Man becomes his own god. The focal officiating to licensed ministers or officials of the
point of human life is man and the only worth while       court. It is customary today that solemnization of mar-
things are those that give man the comfort he seeks. riage takes place privately, whether in a home or
Under the influence of Secularism, the only measure of church, and the minister acts as a servant of the state
success is financial gain (Materialism), and the only real rather than the church. He is required to sign, and
pleasure is that which titillates the senses (Hedonism), record the pertinent details with the court and keep a
and the only religion is that which "turns on" (every- file for future reference.
thing from the Jesus Freaks to Neo-Pentecostalism.)         We believe it is more Scriptural that both solemniza-
  How does this affect marriage? Under the influence tion and confirmation of marriage should take place
of Secularism, marriage is not a divine institution in before the gathering of the people of God as they are
which a man and woman are called by God to serve          assembled in worship.
God through the union of body, soul, and spirit.          WHAT IS A WEDDING?
Rather, it is a private contract in which two agree to      There are three things involved in a wedding. First,
live together as long as they are happy with each other it is the joining in marriage of two individuals. When a
and reserve the right to terminate it when they think young couple secure a marriage license, they are not
happiness would be greater with someone else. Such a yet married. The solemnization takes place at the wed-
view of marriage is man centered and measured only ding. The license indicates to the man and woman, as
by the selfish desires of man.                            well as the officiating person, that they have the right
  Evidence of this Secularism can be seen in the to become married. At the wedding the person who
emphasis placed upon the traditional wedding. If mar- has the legal right to join people in marriage performs
riage is honorable in all things, Heb. 13:4, the honor- this act upon those two individuals. Secondly, the join-
able character of marriage should be reflected in the ing in marriage is accompanied with the speaking of
wedding. How much of our present day wedding cus- vows. The man and woman call upon God as their
tom is directed by Scripture and how much is in- witness that they take each other to themselves as
fluenced by Secularism? Covenant young people husband- and wife and promise to live together as hus-
should examine this carefully so that we have the band and wife until death separates them. After these
proper emphasis at our wedding.                           vows are spoken, and usually sealed with a visible
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCHAND STATE INMAR-                    token, the ring, they are declared husband and wife.
RIAGE                                                     Thirdly, this takes place in the presence of witnesses.
  Article 70 of our Church Order states, "Since it is There can be no such thing as a secret wedding. The
proper that the matrimonial state be confirmed in the law requires two persons to serve as witnesses and sign
presence of Christ's church, according to the form for the special legal document.
that purpose, the consistories shall attend to it."       WHAT IS A CHURCH WEDDING?
  Prior to the French Revolution (1789) the church          A church wedding must be distinguished from a
through the influence of Roman Catholicism con- wedding in a church. It is a wedding that takes place
trolled marriage. The state had little if anything to do during an official church service when the congregation
with it. According to Van Dellen and Monsma's com- is joined together in worship of God.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   427



  This involves the following procedure. First, a young      whose church they will attend to officiate. Secondly,
couple desire to be united in marriage during such a         by being married before the congregation at a public
service and they request the consistory to make ar-          worship service, the whole congregation not only
rangements for this. The consistory must act upon this       speaks approval: they also have opportunity to join in
request and regulate this service as they must all ser-      prayer seeking God's blessing upon the marriage. We
vices. Secondly, the consistory issues a call to worship.    need this in our age when young people, who are
This is particularly true if this is to be a special mid- joined in marriage, are tested and tempted. In the com-
week service. If this will take place on Sunday, the         munion of saints we pray for God's grace and the pre-
consistory simply announces the fact that such a wed-        sence of the Holy Spirit upon them, that they may be
ding will take place. Thirdly, the congregation is in-       faithful to their vows and be blessed by God so that
formed in the announcement of the impending mar-             His purpose will be furthered through their marriage.
riage, that if there are. any lawful objections, these         In addition to this, the preaching of the Word would
should be presented to them. The congregation ap-            be recognized as necessary at such an occasion. Who
probates the marriage. Finally, the service is a regular     would dare to say that marriage is to be taken lightly?
service of worship and includes the proper salutations,      No, we must not go to the other extreme and make it a
doxologies, prayers, sermon, congregational singing,         sacrament, as if God will communicate special grace
reading of the official form for marriage. If it is on       through the marriage union if it is officially begun be-
Sunday, an offering would be received for the an-            fore the church. One of the means of grace, however, is
nounced cause.                                               the preaching of the Word. Through the word
                                                             preached, God by the Holy Spirit gives the necessary
ADVANTAGES OF CHURCH WEDDINGS ON                             strength to overcome Secularism. We need more of this
SUNDAY                                                       in our day.
  It is the influence of Secularism that makes young           Why should this be on the Sabbath Day? First, a
people imagine that their marriage is their own busi-        church wedding without the congregation is worse
ness and no one else's. Not only parents are very much       than none. The ones at which I have officiated or been
interested whom their children marry, but the entire         present, indicate this lack. The young couple that de-
church is interested. Marriage must be viewed in the         sires a church wedding is right, but the congregation
context of the communion of saints. Just as surely as        fails. To overcome this we either must realize as people
the entire church is interested in the birth of children,    of God that a church wedding is an obligation, and
the education of these children, the sickness and death      therefore attend, or preferably have our weddings on
of her members, so also is she interested in the mar-        Sunday.
riages of her membkrs.                                         Secondly, there is the problem of sufficient seating
  It is this sincere interest that should be allowed         space. We suggest that a wedding that is to take place
expression. We as young people should recognize that         at the Sunday worship service be announced to rela-
we desire the approval of God upon our marriage. This        tives and friends. There is no need to invite every uncle
approval is expressed through the consistory's and con-      and niece to one's wedding. If the wedding takes place
gregation's approval. Private weddings do not allow for before the congregation at a worship s&vice, only the
this at all. It becomes a hollow ring, when the minister ones who desire to worship will be present, and that
intones, "I take you all, who are met here to witness        should be paramount.
that there is brought no lawful impediment," at a pri-         Thirdly, a Sunday wedding would help a young
vate ceremony. It takes on special significance when it      couple place proper emphasis on the spiritual signifi-
is part of the divine worship service.                       cance of the event. Wedding music, the attire of bride,
  How does the congregation become active partici-           groom, and attendants, the church setting, the charac-
pants at a church wedding? In three ways. First, by          ter of the witnesses, would be placed in proper focus.
either vocally or silently approving the announced             In this way the bride and groom would have their
union. This would solve a difficult problem for the proper place in the midst of God's people; their begin-
minister who is asked to officiate at a wedding of ning would be indeed in the name of the Lord.
young people who haven't even decided whether they             What about the reception? Why not have that on a
will attend church or where it will be. Sometimes a week night, either before the wedding or after. Send
young person has decided to leave our church and still       out invitations to relatives `and friends, receive gifts,
asks the minister of the church they will leave, to offi-    have a short program, and make that special evening of
ciate. It would be obvious that church membership            commemoration.
must be resolved before marriage if the church wed-            Tradition is hard to change. Wedding tradition is a
ding would .assume its proper place. If one has no reli-     matter of imitation. Whom are we imitating? It is not
gion, why ask a minister to officiate; let them be           first of all a question of what friends, relatives, neigh-
honest and go to the civil authority. If one will leave      bors will think; rather we should ask, how can we
the church let them also be honest and ask the minister glorify God on the most significant day of our lives.


428                                               THE STANDARD BEARER



  The answer is to be joined in marriage in thankful will carry through this emphasis that God is first in our
worship of God.                                            lives. Such marriage receives divine blessing and
  The fruits will become evident in a marriage that strength from the God who hears our vows.


Come Ye Apart... And Rest A  ,While

                        The Communication Gap
                                                     Rev. C Hanko

  God has given to us an invaluable gift; the gift of         So often we say "yes" when we should say "no,"
speech or communication.                                    and "no" when we should say "yes."
  The Most High God Himself speaks to us, His                 That was the first sin of all mankind committed
people. We hear the voice of Jehovah in the cheerful already in paradise.'"God has told our first parents to
song of the birds at break of day, in the wild dashing say "yes" to the tree of life and "no" to the tree of the
of the waves upon the seashore, in the rumblings of the knowledge of good and evil. At first that created no
thunder. Jehovah our God also speaks to us through problem. Happily they went together to the tree of life
His infallible Word. Take that from us and even the to eat, as it were, out of God's hand in intimate com-
testimony of the Spirit within us is silenced!              munion of dependence upon Him. As they walked past
  And God has also given to us ability, along with the the forbidden tree they shook their heads in an em-
desire to respond to Him in prayer, worship, and phatic "no," because they loved their Sovereign
adoration. We can tell Him all our troubles and our Friend. And then Satan came to make things so very
woes, all our needs and cares, even our joys and hopes, complicated. He presented the proposition that they
our longing and expectation, as we worship before Him could say "yes" to both trees. Why not? What harm
in the beauty of His holiness.                              could it do to try? The fruit did look very appetizing.
  We can even speak to one another. The strongest And surely they had a right to some independence.
bond of communication is the bond of faith in Christ. They would not die. And so they said "yes" to the
How readily we sense the intimate, spiritual oneness forbidden tree, and by doing that they said "no" to
with those who speak the same language of faith and the tree of life. For they had said "no" to God by
hope that is ours in Christ Jesus. In that bond of faith saying "yes" to Satan; "no" to life and "yes" to death.
we make our vows to God and, to one another; before           We know the story so well, and yet we repeat that
God and before one another.                                 same fatal rebellion every day. Often we deliberately
  Young people profess their faith in the presence of say "yes" when our conscience warns us that we must
God and of His Church. Bridegroom and bride say "no." We whisper "yes," maybe to Satan, maybe
exchange vows before God, promising love and fidelity to the world, maybe to a friend, and to our old
until death them doth part. Parents present their chil- nature. But in doing so we say "no" to God every time.
dren for baptism, vowing to bring up those children in        And then there is that "yes-no" that crops up so
the truth of the Scriptures to the utmost of their often in our lives.
power. Wonderfully solemn, richly blessed is the word         That was the sin of Israel in the days of the prophet
of promise given. It binds us to our word, and creates a Elijah. The people were not quite ready to give up
mutual confidence and trust in one another.                 Jehovah, the God of their fathers. Tradition still had a
  The rule of the kingdom that binds our hearts as one rather strong grip on them, and "one just never
is actually very simple. Jesus spells it out for us as only knows." There might be a time when Baa1 would fail
He can do it: "Let your `yes' be `yes,' and let your `no' them. And Baa1 never did give an answer to the inevit-
be `no'." And remember that anything less or more than able question: "After death, what?" Jehovah became
that is of the devil. (Matthew 5:37). James in his epistle somewhat like an insurance policy, convenient to hold
repeats this simple kingdom rule and adds the warning: in reserve while they were living, and a security when
"Lest ye fall into condemnation." (James 5: 12). If you they died. But  Baa1 was so attractive. Could all the
were to ask James what he means with that, he would nations be wrong about their gods, and only this small
tell you: Your hope of eternal life depends on your Israel right about Jehovah? Baa1 was the popular god
"yes" and your "no." It is as serious as that.              of the day. You were a "square" not to put your trust
  And yet how readily we violate that simple kingdom in him. And the Baal worship was so appealing, be-
rule of "yes" and "no."                                    cause you could satisfy all the pleasures of the flesh
  Bear with me while I point out a few examples.           even while dancing around him. And so the people


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  429



halted between Jehovah and Baal, never quite giving up         And then there is the evil of the "yes-but" or the
Jehovah, but actually surrendering themselves with "yes-if."
soul and body to the bondage of sin and death in the            Readily we profess: "All that I am I owe to Thee,
service of Baal.                                             Lord." And again, "Whom have I, Lord, in heaven but
  We know all these things. Yet somehow we never Thee?" But it must cost us no sacrifice. We are not
learn.                                                       ready to join Daniel in the lion's den for our convic-
  We have been taught that the Bible is infallible. If tions. We are not made of the mettle of Daniel's three
we would give up the Bible, what would we have left? friends who allowed themselves to be cast into the
Nothing. That is obvious enough. Yet this is a scientific fiery furnace to meet Jesus there. We do not feel like
age. It is drummed into our ears that these scientists giving up our good times, forsaking our friends, much
are not ignorant either. Surely Moses did not know less taking a cut in salary or losing a job for our con-
about the hidden fossils, the distance of the stars, and victions. We talk glibly about cross-bearing, but that is
the like. He likely thought the earth was flat. But the actually not for us.
moment we try to harmonize the revelation  qf  God             And in the meantime we profess to say "yes" when
through His Holy Spirit as we have it in His infallible we are actually saying "no." We join the company of
Word with the wisdom of the world, we have already the "no" Christians who are rich and enriched, and
lost the struggle. If it is a question of unbelieving have need of nothing; and know not that we are
science or God, it becomes once more a matter of God wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
or Baal. And you know what happens.                          naked. (Rev. 3: 17).
  And then there is the problem of our Christian walk          Yet the rule of the kingdom is so very simple. And it
in the world. Of course, we go to church on Sunday. gives peace with God, joy of salvation, blessed fellow-
We pray and read the Bible in our homes. We send our ship with one another, confiding in one another, trust-
children to a Christian school. But at the job the situa- ing one another in the Lord.
tion is so different. There religion seems so irrelevant.      It can never be stressed too often, "Let your `yes' be
So we dress up in our religion  on Sunday morning, for `yes,' and let your `no' be `no'; anything short of that
the day, and we carefully hang it up again in the or beyond that is of the evil one and leads to condem-
clothes closet on Sunday night.                              nation.
  "Yes-no" Christians, always leaning strongly in the          The vows we make become an essential part of our
direction of Baal.                                           every day living in the world.


Studies in Election

                                       Its Scripture Proof
                                           Its implication
                                               Rev. Robt. C. Harbach

4. It's Scripture Proof (concluded)                          and friendship existing previous to the estrangement.
  As has been shown, Scripture places strong and con- These terms siniply cannot be understood apart from
stant emphasis on the truth of election. In the New the doctrine of election. And if the non-Reformed
Testament, God's people are called "believers" twice, reader does not find this body of biblical proof suffi-
"Christians" only three times, but "elect" four- cient, it would be useless to furnish him with more.
teen times, and "saints" sixty-two times. Where there        5. Its Implication
is no specific term denoting election, then there is one        The unavoidable implication of election is reproba-
which necessarily and inescapably implies it. Redemp- tion. Since there is an election of some, there is a
tion  presupposes eternal election, as it implies a pre- rejection of others. Reprobation is not, as it has been
vious possession. The Son purchased those who were by its antagonists portrayed, a perversion or exaggera-
the Father's from all eternity. Regeneration implies a tion of the doctrine of predestination, like a piece of
previous spiritual  sonship  which had become lost in        foreign matter deliberately blown into the eye of elec-
Adam's fall. The Holy Spirit renews those who are the tion. It is the direct implication of election. As one of
seed of the woman. Reconciliation implies not only a the greatest preachers put it, "God has an elect people,
previous estrangement, but also a relation of fellowship     and there are others who are not elect, the  non-


430                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



election." Of course, there is more to it than that. God sovereign, or is it on a leash to free will? Shall we say
has foreordained certain ones to eternal life. Then it        that election is determined by God's sovereign will, but
necessarily follows that He has also foreordained the that reprobation is determined by man's own free will?
rest to eternal damnation, unless you would want to No, we had better say, if we want to be in line with
suppose for the rest neither heaven nor hell, or annihi-      Scripture, that reprobation is just as sovereign as God
lation. But God decreed that the elect, though in time        himself, therefore, absolutely sovereign. The secret of
dead in sin, should be made alive and choose life, while      -God's sovereignty is that "God is God." He is the
He also decreed that the reprobate "should choose the Maker of heaven and earth, the Creator of the saint,
course they follow." Of the elect it is said, "For God the sole Author of the all-embracive decree from eter-
hath not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salva-        nity of all things from everlasting to everlasting. As
tion by our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thess.  5:9). There         concerning sin, God is the supreme necessity of it. "I
must, it follows, be others who are appointed to wrath,       form the light and create darkness; I make peace and
and to a fatal stumbling; for Christ is "a stone of create evil; I, the Lord, do all these things" (Isa. 45:7).
stumbling . . . to them who stumble at the Word, being There you have God presented as He is. God as He is, is
disobedient, whereunto also they were appointed" (I adorable! The trouble is, many, not satisfied with God
Pet. 2:8). They were foreappointed not to obtain salva-       as He is, try to improve on Him, and so make of Him a
tion. "The election  obtained  it; the rest were hard- monstrosity. Scripture says, He hath mercy on whom
ened" (Rom. 11:7, Englishman's Gk N.T.). Some God He will, and whom He will He hardeneth..As for sin,
gave to Christ: "all that He hath given Me" (John God's relation to it is not merely prescient, but causal;
6:39). Others He did not give to Christ: "I pray not for active, not merely passive or permissive. God is always
the world, but for them whom Thou hast given Me" first, also in hardening. God hardens the sinner first.
(17:9). Some have their names written in the book of Then the sinner hardens himself. God's hardening is
life (Rev. 21:27). There are others "whose names were the cause of the sinner hardening his own heart. But
not written in the book of life from the foundation of how bitterly this truth is opposed! The vile sinner can-
the world" (17:8). There are some whose welfare we not tolerate an electing and reprobating God. So he
are to seek (Neh.  2:10), while there are others con- conjures up an idol, a god who is like a puppy on a
cerning whom Christ commands, `"Let them alone" leash or a puppet on a string. It has often been claimed
(Matt. 15:14). Please alsoread Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:ll        that God must love all men in themselves because God
and I John 5 : 16. Some have been made accepted in is a holy and just God. But the truth is that a holy and
Christ (Eph. 1:6); others, "natural brute beasts, made just God cannot love any men in themselves. God can
to be taken and destroyed. . . and shall utterly perish" only love men in Christ Jesus. Men who are in Christ
(II Pet. 2: 12). Of some, the unconverted elect, God has      Jesus, He loves. Men who are not, He hates. There is
sworn with an oath, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I         never any objection to a nice god who consults man
have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that         first before he plans or acts. There is never any objec-
the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezek. 33: 11). tion to reprobation if the reason for it is in man, and in
Of others, reprobate idolaters, God has sworn with an man as a sinner, as an obstinate rebel.
oath, "As I live, saith the Lord God, surely . . . neither                        (To be continued)
shall Mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity"
(5: 11). Understand, that with respect to the one oath
"the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper .in His hand"
(Isa.  53:10), and in the other, "Mine anger shall be             Sin (also denominational sin) pays a guaranteed wage;
accomplished" (Ezek. 5 : 13).                                    there are no cuts in pay and many an unexpected bonus.
  So Scripture is very outspoken on the doctrine of
reprobation. Also this truth has been so well known
that it has been more admitted than denied. Rarely is
it that any one acquainted with Scripture denies it. An
even greater rarity is it to find a Puritan, who shall                   RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
remain unnamed, who was, like all the Puritans, well            The Ladies' Aid Society of the First Protestant Re-
acquainted with Scripture, yet was terribly confused formed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, mourns the
with the strangest reasonings on the subject of reproba- loss of a faithful member,
tion. But the facts of Scripture are plain enough. They                     MRS. PETER HEETHUIS,
cannot be validly denied, nor need they be tortured whom the Lord took home on Tuesday, May 25, and
with confusion of thought. Reprobation is an indis- hereby express our sympathy to the bereaved family.
putable fact. There is no question that Scripture               "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my
teaches reprobation as well as election. The question is, fortress: my God; in Him will I trust." (Psalm 9 1:2).
what kind of reprobation does Scripture teach? What is                                             Mrs. T. Newhof, Pres.
the character of that reprobation? Is it supreme and                                              Mrs. C. Pastoor, Sec'y.


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    431


           RESOLUTION OFSYMPATHY                                            RESOiqTION OFSYMPATHY
  The Mary-Martha Circle of the Southeast Protestant              The Ladies' "Society `Eunice' of the Southwest
Reformed Church wishes to express its sincere sym- Protestant Reformed Church expresses its sincere
pathy to Mrs. Scholten and her family in the recent             sympathy to our president, Mr. Herman Kuiper, and to
loss of their husband, father, and grandfather,                 three of our faithful members, Miss Elsie Kuiper, Mrs.
                 MR. HENRY SCHOLTEN.                            Herman Kuiper and Mrs. Clarence Kuiper in the pass-
  "Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of ing away of their mother
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,                                MRS. HENRY KUIPER.
shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, but             "The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and
also to all them that have loved His appearing." (II            their inheritance shall be forever." (Psalm 37: 18).
Timothy 4:8).                                                                               Mrs. H. H. Kuiper, Vice Pres.
                                        Mrs. G. Pipe, ,Pres.                                   Mrs. D. Lotterman, Sec'y.
                               Mrs. J. C. Flikkema, Sec'y,
                                                                            RESOLUTION OFSYMPATHY
              NOTICE OF CANDIDACY                                 The Men's Society of the Hope Protestant Reformed
The Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches, hav-             Church extends sympathy to its member, Mr. Jacob
ing examined Seminarian Rodney G. Miersma,  ,1134               Kuiper, Sr., in the death of his mother
Franklin St., S.E., Grand Rapids,  Mich. 49507, de-                                MRS.`HENRY KUIPER.
clares Mr. Miersma to be a Candidate for the Ministry             May the God of all grace comfort the bereaved
of the Word and Sacraments in the Protestant Re-                brother and family by His Word and Spirit.
formed Churches. He is eligible to receive a call on or                                                    L. Lanting, Pres.
after July 7, 1971.                                                                                     G. Korhorn, Sec'y.
                                        Rev. D. H. Kuiper
                                    Stated Clerk of Synod                   EXPRESSION OF SYMPATHY
                                                                  The Men's Society League Board East expresses its
                       IN MEMORIAM                              Christian sympathy to their Board Chairman, Clarence
  On Monday, May 17, 1971, our beloved wife,                    Kuiper, in the passing of his mother
mother, grandmother and great-grandmother                                          MRS. HENRY KUIPER.
           MRS. HENRY H. KUIPER, SR.                              May the God of all grace and love comfort the
was removed from this life. We are comforted by the             hearts of the husband, children and grandchildren with
knowledge that she has entered her heavenly home and            the peace that passeth all understanding.
is now in glory. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is            "Let not your heart be troubled - I go to prepare a
the death of His saints." Psalm 116: 15.                        place for you." (John 14: 1,2).
                        Husband                                                                            P. Koole, Sec'y.
                         Henry H. Kuiper, Sr.
                        Children                                            RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                         Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Kuiper, Sr.           The Choral Society of the Hope Protestant Re-
                         Mr. and Mrs. Herman Kuiper             formed Church expresses its sincere sympathy to Mr.
                         Miss Elsie Kuiper                      and Mrs. Jacob Kuiper, Sr. and families in the recent
                         Mr. and Mrs. Albert Brunink            death of their mother and grandmother,
                         Mr. and Mrs. Peter Petroelje                             MRS. HENRY KUIPER, SR.
                         Mr. and Mrs. Henry Kuiper, Jr.            "The Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with
                         Mr. and Mrs. L. William Plowman thee; He will not fail thee nor forsake thee."
                         Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kuiper           (Deut. 3 1:6).
                           and her loving grandchildren                                            Mr. Roger King, Pres.
                           and great-grandchildren                                          Miss Leeta Hendricks, Sec'y.



                                News From Our Churches

  We have an abundance of news again - more than                which most of our churches supply this writer with
we can handle, in fact. That's due partly to the fact           Sunday bulletins. This month, in addition to the
that the Standard Bearer appears less often during the          "regulars,," we've also received bulletins from one of
summer months, and partly to the regularity with                our churches from whom we haven't heard for about a


 THE ,$TANDARD BEARER               L
        P.O.  Box 6064
Grand Rapids, Michigan'.49506


                                              ~.  _.  ~-~
432                       :                                                    '
                          `
                          .                   THE STANDARD BEARER


year, and from another whose bulletin we have never decision of the Synod to call a second missionary  -
before seen.                                                 this one to labor in the States. Hope, Grand Rapids,
   A helpful member of our Edgerton congregation not was appointed the calling church. The other is that.
only sent a bulletin but also some past news items, Synod decided to establish a permanent pre-seminary
concerning which she suggested that we "pick it over department in our Seminary, and to, therefore, call a
to choose what is fitting" and "of interest to readers." third professor. Rev. G. Van Baren was called for this
Well, it was all fitting and.of interest, so we would like position, and Rev. D. Engelsma was chosen to serve as
to use it almost verbatim.                                   alternate.
  The Edgerton congregation planned a 25th Anniver-                                  *****
sary celebration for Rev. and Mrs. Lanting. The inter-         With the exception of Rev. Heys, who was this
esting program and the social hour following it were year's alternate from his  Classis, all the ministers
held in the church on May 12.                                (including both professors) of  Classis East went west
   Rev. Lanting declined the call from Doon, Iowa.           for the gathering of Synod in Edgerton. That left a lot
  The Free Christian School (Edgerton, P.R.) graduat-        of pulpits to be filled. Needless to say, June 6 became
ing class of two chose as its class motto, "Seek ye the      seminary student day. One of them, Seminarian J.
Lord while He may be found." Rev. Lanting spoke at           Slopsema, preached three times 2 9:30 in Southwest,
the commencement exercises on-May 27.                        5:00 in Southeast, and 7:00 in First.
  The Free Christian School Board recently purchased                                .  *****
the first individual school desks the school has ever          This requested announceme$?  from Isabel: The tele-
had.                                                         phone number of Elder Milton H. Collman, clerk of
  In the last few years Edgerton Church members have the Consistory of Hope Church, Isabel, South Dakota,
been remodeling the auditorium of the church. And is 499-4522.
this spring, new carpeting was added to the main room                                *****
in the basement.
  The pre-synodical sermon (June 1, in the Edgerton            Our Loveland congregation seems to be busy, as
Church) was preached by Rev. Schipper,  who chose as usual, in its church extension work. The consistory
his text, Rev. 3:7-13.                                       scheduled a public lecture for May 5, and asked Rev.
                               *****                         D. Kuiper, of our church in  P>lla, to speak on the
                                                             topic, "The Preservation of the Church by God's
  Many thanks to our friend in Edgerton, and to all Mercy."
those who supply news. Much that is found on church                                  *****
bulletins is of local interest only, of course. But every
now and then, something of general interest appears,           More on church extension: The Reformed Witness
and it's that sort of bulletin news that provides the Committee (of  Doon,  Edgerton and Hull) has made
                                                             arrangemefits with Radio Station KDCR, Sioux City,
almost sole source of information for this column.           Iowa (91.3 on the F.M. dial), to b&in broadcasting our
                               *****                         Reformed Witness Hour on Sunday at  11:30. Along
  The Council of Grand Rapids Hope Church an- with that announcement in Hull's bulletin was an ex-
nounced a trio consisting of Rev. R. Harbach, Rev. G.        pression of hope that "the Lord will use this effort as a
Lanting, and Rev. B. Woudenberg. At the congre- distinctive witness of the glorious gospel concerning
gational meeting, Rev. Woudenberg was elected to the sovereignty of our God." We have more informa-
receive the call to become pastor at that church.            tion concerning the work of that committee, but, for
                               *****                         lack of space, it will have to wait till next month.
  The meeting of Synod in  Edgerton from June 2                                      *****
through June 9 was described in Southeast's bulletin as        One short note, yet. The Mission Committee has
"one of the nicest synods we have attended." Rev. Van        asked the Permanent Committee for Publication of
Baren presided at the meetings. Some of Synod's time Prot. Ref. Literature to republish  The History of the
was spent with routine matters, of course; but there Protestant Reformed Churches. The book will not be
were also several items of special interest. This is prob- published as is, however. Prof. H. C. Hoeksema has
ably already of general knowledge, but we'll mention been asked to bring the history up to date. It looks as
them, briefly, anyway. One was the successful exami- if a well-deserved vacation is going to be spent  a-
nation of Seminarian R. Miersma, and of his subse- writing.
quent graduation on Tuesday, June 8. Another was the
                               :                                                                                     D.D.


