                                      he _-.. *<&,,$
                                              --. -, +:`.- --I 1

                         f7-Y tandard
                                                                    --
                                             earer

1 A   R E F O R M E D   S E M I - M O N T H L Y   M A G A Z I N E


~
  IN  THIS  ISSUE


       Meditation:
          God's Eternal Word

       Abortion On Demand
          (see: All Around Us)

       About Witnessing
          (see: Question Box)

       The Now Generation
          (see: Come Ye Apart...)



                                             Volume XL VII / Number 20 / September I, 1971


458                                                          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.
   God's Eternal Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458                       Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.
                                                                              Editor-in-Chief: Prof.  H. C. Hoeksema
All Around Us -                                                               Department Editors::.  Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof.
   Abortion On Demand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 I           Herman  Hanko, Rev.  Ro,@ert C. Harbach, Rev. John A.  Heys. Rev.  Jay
                                                                              Kortering, Rev. George C. Lubbers,  F&v. Marinus Schipper.  .Rw.  Gise  J.
                                                                              Van  Baren, Rev. Herman Veldman. Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
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Meditation
                                        God's EtemaP Word
                                                                 Rev. M. Schipper

                   `%br all flesh is as  grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass
               withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever.
               And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you. "
                                                                                                                        I Peter 1:24, 25.

   Regenerated, born again, and for the second time whereby we are born again, so we pointed out, is not
from above, and that by the Word of God which liveth to be identified with the Word of the gospel which is
and abideth for ever!                                                         preached unto you. Though it is true that the Word of
   Of this the apostle wrote in the preceding verse, to God is also preached, as our text for this time  abun-
which we called attention the last time.                                      dantly makes clear, there is a difference. The Word
   This Word of God which liveth and abideth for ever, preached is neither living nor abiding; but the Word


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  459



whereby we are regenerated is both. It is living because whether there ever was a time that stresses more the
it quickens. It is abiding because God continues to power of humanism than today.
speak it. It is the Word which God continues to speak            0, to be sure, it is true that man has always with-
through Christ, Who in Scripture is called the Word of stood, denied the Word of God, and attempted to re-
God.                                                           place God's Word with his own, as he is by nature. But
  It is on this truth that the apostle elaborates in the today this is most pronounced. Man seems to need no
words of our text. This the apostle does by first of all Word of the cross to save him. By human wisdom,
quoting a suitable passage from the Scriptures of the philosophy, science, etc., man will save himself and the
Old Testament, where Isaiah the prophet also contrasts world. But the Word of God says: all flesh is grass, and
the word of man with the abiding Word of God. Evi- its glory as the flower of grass that dies. Man's wisdom
dently the apostle is quoting from the translation of and word cannot endure; neither can it make alive
the Septuagint, and not literally from the Hebrew text.        and save.
(40:6-8). Secondly, we notice that the apostle also              But the Word of the Lord endureth for ever!
shows that that eternal and abiding Word is preached.            Peculiarly the apostle uses the term "word" in the
And finally, we notice how that that abiding Word sense that he refers to the word as spoken. Scripture
which is preached brings that regeneration which is uses two words which are translated "word"; but there
wrought in us to a conscious living experience.                is a difference in their meaning. The one refers to the
  All flesh is as grass!                                       word as the term denoting the idea, the reason of the
  When the apostle here, and the prophet Isaiah in his word. The oth.er denotes the expression of the word. It
prophecy, speaks of flesh, and all flesh, he is not refer- is the latter term which the apostle uses. God not only
ring to flesh in general. Though, no doubt, all flesh in has an idea or reason which He conceives in His mind
general is of a temporal nature, flesh in general is not       or counsel, but He also gives expression to it. He de-
especially referred to. In other words, the reference is clares it.
not to vegetation, or to the flesh of creatures in gen-          That  GodTs Word endures for ever, is difficult to
eral; but the flesh of man is compared here to grass.          explain, simply because it is most difficult to express
Plainly Isaiah asserts: "surely the people is grass." And the idea of eternity. There is really no word for eter-
Peter declares: "And all the glory of man as the flower nity in our temporal language. Eternity is a concept
of grass." It is plain, therefore, that the text as well as    which naturally lies beyond our comprehension. The
the commentary has in mind the creature - man, man, most we can say is that eternity is not time. It is this
whose breath is in his nostrils, but who also, in distinc- idea that the terms: eternal, forever, and everlasting
tion from the rest of creation, intelligently speaks.          mean to imply. The point here is that the Word of the
  The nature of grass and flesh is that it withereth and Lord never ends. He keeps on expressing it, while the
the flower of it falleth. If it is not blasted from with- word of man is like all flesh - it dies. It is upon this
out by the burning sun or drying wind, it dries up from abiding, this eternal Word of God, that regeneration
within. All in a little while. Today it stands in green depends. So understood, regeneration also abides for-
verdure upon the field. Tomorrow it is cast into the ever.
oven, and is no more. Such is also the nature of man.            That enduring Word of God is also preached!
For a time he stands in the power of his strength. He            Necessary it is in our day to ask the questions: What
appears to be some one to be reckoned with. But soon is preaching? and who is the preacher? Our day is char-
he is cut down. His power is diminished: His voice             acterized by gross ignorance relative to the preacher and
weakens, and he passes away. He returneth to his dust. his mission. In the thinking of many anyone can be a
  Because the nature of man is so temporal, it follows         preacher. Not only men, but also women, and even
that his word is also temporary in nature. The word of children. And because men *aspire to the sensational,
man dies.                                                      even the dumb creature, as the horse, is used in the
  The point of comparison in the text is between the preaching service, which has been trained to stamp
word of man and the Word of God. It should be clearly          rhythmically with his front hoofs the words of a text
understood that implied in the comparison is more              from Scripture. Societies, institutions, and even busi-
than a comparison between the eternal nature of God            ness associations hire, prepare, and send out preachers.
and the changing, fleeting nature of the creature. When And today the mission of the preacher seems to be a
the text speaks of the word of man in terms of its far cry from what Scripture understands by his mis-
temporal nature, implied is also all human attempts for sion. Preachers are hired as professionals to draw
the salvation and the life of man and the world being          crowds. They are given huge salaries to entertain, and
as vain and futile as the word of man itself. Moreover,        by emotional  carryings on are expected to sway the
implied also is all the attempts of the flesh to counter- multitudes. Many make better acrobats and circus per-
act and oppose the Word and counsel of God as vain.            formers than ministers of the Word. And in many in-
And seen in this light, the contrast in the text becomes stances a "good sermon" is nothing more than a forty-
emphatically important in our day. It is doubtful -five minute play on the emotions.


460                                                THE STANDlARD BEARER



  In the light of this, it is well to ask the questions: preaching of the Word, in other words, brings you into
What is a preacher? and What is his mission?                      contact with the living and abiding Word which God
  A preacher is a man through whom it pleases Christ, never ceases to speak, that almighty, creative, regenera-
the Chief Prophet, to speak His Word. If Christ does tive Word whereby we are saved.
not speak to you through the one who calls himself a                 Thus understood, you can also understand how that
preacher, you have no preacher. The preacher is an preaching of the Word is the Divine instrument to
ambassador of Christ, and sent by Him through His bring that life of regeneration in us to a living con-
church. As an ambassador has no right or authority to sciousness. The seed of regeneration is implanted in us
speak his own word, so no ambassador of Christ comes immediately, that is, without means. God simply
authoritatively with his own word. He is one who de- speaks and we are made alive from the dead. We have
clares with authority: Thus saith the Lord. And the the resurrection life of Christ implanted in our hearts
word which he brings is only the infallible Word of by this living and abiding Word of God. And that seed
God in the Scriptures.                                            of new life is incorruptible seed. Mysteriously and
  It follows then that the preacher is one who is sent. wonderfully God speaks, and that new life in seed
He must be officially commissioned to bring Christ's form is implanted in our hearts. So we possess the life
Word. And this commission comes to him by Christ of regeneration below our consciousness. So we are
through His church. The apostles were sent out di- born again, not of corruptible seed, such as that of
rectly by Christ, while ministers, preachers, are sent which I am born the first time physically; but of incor-
out indirectly by Christ through the church.                      ruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth
  As important as it is to understand properly the for ever. But that seed of new life God does not allow
significance of the preacher and his mission, so also it to lie dormant in me. He keeps it alive through His
is of prime significance to understand the significance of abiding Word, which He continues to speak.
preaching. Faith, that is, the activity of faith and the             Through the preaching of the gospel God brings that
experience of salvation depend on the preaching. Not seed of new life into conscious existence in me. That
on Bible reading or instruction, good and important preaching is as the rain and sunshine upon the seed
though they be, but on the lively preaching of God's implanted in the soil; it evokes the seed of new life
Word do faith and salvation depend. It is with this in into living consciousness, so that subjectively I know
mind that the apostle Paul asks the questions: How that I am born again from above. So He by the preach-
shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they ing brings me into living contact with the living Word
preach except they be sent? And the conclusion is: He continues to speak.
How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the                   So the preaching of the gospel is the chief means of
gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things. grace. Not the Sacraments, but the preaching of the
  Now the text informs us that the abiding Word of Word is the chief means.
God is preached.                                                     Were that Word not preached, we could have no
  Preaching is here the means whereby we come into living contact with the abiding Word. But God gra-
contact with the living and abiding Word. To be noted ciously causes that Word to be expressed in the lively
here is the fact that the apostle in the original text preaching of His Word, and He providentially brings
does not say: which is preached UNTO you, as the me under that preaching so that I hear it, not only
translation has it. This would mean that it preached in with my ears, but in the inner recesses of my heart.
your direction. This is, of course, true in itself. The And the life of regeneration whence is the life and
Word must be directed unto you, shall you hear it. But activity of believers in Christ, becomes a conscious,
this is not precisely what the apostle says. Neither does living reality in us.
he say: which is preached AMONG you. But emphat-                     Thanks be unto God for the living and abiding Word
ically the original text declares: which is preached whereby I am made alive from the dead!
INTO you. That is, the Word which is preached pene-                 And thanks be unto His holy Name for the preach-
trates into you, so that you hear it not only with your ing of the gospel, whereby I am consciously made par-
physical senses, but spiritually in your heart. The taker of the life of Christ Jesus my Lord!




       This is no time, in today's ecclesiastical world, to be an innocent by-stander. If you are a bystander, you are not
       innocent !


                                                                             TI-fE STANDARD BEARER                                                                       461


 AU Around Us
                                               Abortion. 6n Demand
                                                                                      ProJ: H. Hanko

    In the  last issue of  The Standard Bearer, we  began a                                                 specific human life begins is a question of ethical be-
discussion of this subject once again. We noted then                                                        lief rather than scientific conclusion. I am now not  SO
that the central question concerning the rightness or                                                       sure that this is true. Dr. Landrum  Shettles of Colum-
wrongness of abortion is the question of when the                                                           bia University states, "From the union of the germ
foetus becomes a person. If the unborn child is a                                                           cells there is under normal development a living defi-
                                                                                                            nite going concern. To interrupt a pregnancy at any
person at the moment of conception, then abortion is                                                        state is like cutting the link of a chain; the chain is
a violation of the sixth commandment. It is murder.                                                         broken no matter where the link is cut." Dr. Jules
Abortion can be defended only on the grounds that                                                           Carles of the French National Center for Scientific
the unborn child, either until birth or until some point                                                    Research also reports,  "This first cell, formed by
after conception is less than human; is, as a matter of                                                     sperm and egg union, is already the embryo of an
fact, only a mass of tissue and basically no different                                                      autonomous living being  with individual hereditary
from an appendix or one's tonsils.                                                                          patrimony."  The scientific community unanimously
    That the issue is a critical one is plain from the                                                      holds that  the tissue of a fetus from  the time of con-
number of abortions now legally performed in this                                                           ception has a unique nature, though it must be nur-
country. In a recent issue of  Newsweek  magazine some                                                      tured and protected by  the mother until viability. It
statistics were given. We quote a few pertinent para-                                                       is far more than simply a biological extension such as a
graphs.                                                                                                     tonsil or an appendix; every aspect bears  the attri-
           "Abortion," says Dr. Donald  Minkler  of San                                                     butes of individuality.
       Francisco's Center for Legal Abortion, "is finding its                                          While there are some aspects of this quotation with
       place as a perfectly acceptable and valid health meas-                                        which we agree,  we are very much inclined to believe
       ure. People no longer  think of it as a crime," The                                           that it nevertheless states the problem wrongly. And it
       statistics seem to bear out Minkler's contention.                                             is increasingly our conviction that this is quite usually
       Lawrence Lader of the National Association for Re-                                            the case with those who argue either the pro or the con
       peal of Abortion Laws estimates  that there were                                              of abortion. The question is phrased in such a way that
       8,000 therapeutic abortions  in  the U.S. in 1966, the                                        the problem is looked at from the viewpoint of when
       year before the  first liberalized law was passed.  This                                      the foetus becomes alive; or when the soul enters the
       year, he predicts, the number will reach 400,000.                                             body which is formed through the union of sperm and
           Interestingly enough, (it is estimated) that the                                          ovum. This seems to be a wrong way to approach the
       number of abortions is approaching  the number of                                             whole question.
       live births in  the New York city hospitals,  with 950
       abortions reported performed for every 1,000 chil-                                              It is also this viewpoint which leads Dr. Hem-y Stob
       dren born.                                                                                    to some erroneous conclusions in a recent article in the
    Those pushing hard for abortion reform  do not en-                                               Banner. We refer to this article quite at length because
                                                                                                     it touches upon many aspects of the abortion debate.
vision clear sailing ahead, however. There are road-                                                 In 
b l o c k s   o n   t h e   w a y .   P r e s i d e n t   N i x o n   h a s   s a i d ,   f o r             answer, first of all, to the question of whether the
                                                                                                     embryo or foetus is a human being, the article answers:
example : "Unrestricted abortion policies I cannot                                                             That is a large question, and we shall have to
s q u a r e   w i t h   m y   p e r s o n a l   b e l i e f   i n   t h e   s a n c t i t y   o f           pursue it for a while.  The thing first to be observed is
human life  - including the life of the unborn." Poten-                                                     that the fetus is an in-between-entity. It is obviously
tial presidential candidate Edmund Muskie has ex-                                                           not a simple ununited spermatozoon, nor a simple
pressed similar views. In some states the courts are                                                        unfertilized ovum. It is also not a  post-partem  baby
ruling  against unrestricted abortion and in many areas                                                     or infant. It exists somewhere  between.,tbqe   things.
of the country, groups of churchmen are organizing to                                                       That is why people have disputed about its exact na-
stop the repeal of present abortion laws which make                                                         ture or status, and about whether it can be destroyed
abortion a crime.                                                                                           without moral fault.
    But the debate goes on concerning the question of                                                  This, in our opinion, is stating the matter wrongly.
whether an unborn child can be considered a human And this incorrect statement of the problem leads to
being or not. Does it live? This is the question. In an the following conclusion:
article  in Christianity Today  by Kenneth J. Sharp, this                                                      Of course, the fetus is neither an infant, nor a
question is faced. He writes:                                                                               sperm, nor an ovum, but the last two together  - a
           The question inevitably arises,  what is life? I long                                            fertilized ovum. It is neither an actual human being,
       believed with countless others that the time when a                                                  nor  the mere bare potentiality of humanness (as are


462                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



       the sperm and ovum), but "something" in the process               In all these cases, and perhaps in others, there is
       of becoming human.                                             nothing to justify the taking of so sacred a thing as a
           It is this "in-between" status of the fetus  - this        life in process of becoming human.
       "becomingness" residing somewhere between "being"            The kinds of abortion which he approves are abor-
       and "non-being"  - that makes it hard to judge             tions calculated to preserve the life of the mother when
       whether or not we are here dealing with an "object"        continued pregnancy threatens her life. With this we,
       that the sixth commandment has in view.                    of course, agree. But then he goes on to say:
   It seems to me that this same misstatement of the                     Not every Christian will endorse my judgment, and
problem leads Dr. Stob to the conclusion, erroneous,                  among these dissenters are people whose friendship I
in our opinion, that Scripture says almost nothing                    cherish and whose Christian sensitivity and integrity I
about the question of the nature and status of the                    deeply respect.
foetus.                                                                  Although I am not as certain about any of these as
           Texts are sometimes cited to prove that the Bible          I am about critical abortion (already mentioned), I
       regards the embryo as human from the moment of                 am disposed  - on the ground that the value of un-
       conception, and that it therefore considers the de-            born life must be weighed against the value of the life
       struction of the fertilized egg as the destruction of          of the already born, and on the ground that we are
       human life itself. Cited are texts like Genesis  25:22,        not called upon to increase by our generative activi-
       where Esau and Jacob are said to have struggled to-            ties the increment of evil already in the world - to
       gether in the womb of their mother; or Jeremiah  1:5           classify as allowable abortions the following adcli-
       where the Lord declares "before you were born I                tional types:
       consecrated you"; or Luke  1:41  where John the                   Forecastive abortion,  that is, abortion calculated
       Baptist is reported to have leaped in the womb of his          to prevent the birth of a child who, because of the
       mother Elizabeth. But these texts, couched in the              occurrence of German measles or because of the use
       religious language of faith, do not, in my judgment,           of Thalidomide, and so forth, is likely to be horribly
       speak with any directness to the question.                     deformed or deranged.
  Just exactly what Dr. Stob means to say by the                         Social  abortion;  that is, abortion calculated to
expression, "Couched in the religious language of                     forestall dire personal and social consequences, the
faith" is not clear. The implication seems to be that                 pregnancy being due to criminal behavior on the part
these texts must be taken in some other sense than                    of the father, that is, rape or incest.
                                                                         Therapeutic abortion, that is, abortion calculated
their literal one; and this involves a question of inspira-           to preserve the  physical and mental health  of the
tion and authority into which we cannot now enter.                    mother when continued pregnancy will significantly
  Getting then to the point of the matter, Dr. Stob                   and continuously undermine these.
says,                                                                    I have named these three types in the order of
           Because of what I have called the "in-between"             their moral priority. I am  more certain of the  legiti-
       status of the fetus I do not regard its destruction as         inacy of the first and second than I am of the third,
       tantamount to infanticide. What is destroyed in abor-          but when all the conditions here recorded are
       tion is not a human being; at most it is "something in         maximally and assuredly present, I believe that these
       process of becoming human." This, of course, is a              kinds of abortion are to be Christianly permitted.
       great deal; and the fetus therefore deserves everyone's      We have noted above that our objection to this en-
       respect and protection. But one is not entitled to         tire presentation is basically the objection that the
       speak too quickly and too loudly of murder when the        problem is wrongly stated. It seems to us .that one can
       question of abortion is raised, particularly when it       get involved in useless argumentation when one asks
       concerns the embryo in the very earliest stages of its     when a foetus comes to life; oy, when the soul enters
       existence.                                                 the body. It is probably correct that the Scriptures do
 After this position is staked out, it is not difficult to not give any answers to these questions - at least, if
predict that Dr. Stob Will, at least under some circum- they are formulated in this way and limited to these
stances, favor abortion. He does precisely this. First of points. But we cannot agree with Dr. Stob that there-
all, he condemns various kinds of abortion. He con- fore the Scriptures have nothing to say about the
demns abortion when it is performed simply because a matter at all. It seems to us, in the final analysis, that
woman finds it inconvenient or otherwise undesirable Dr. Stob has rejected the Scriptures altogether as being
to  htiv&a  @ild;-=He s;ondemns abortion as a means to of value in the settling of this problem, and has come
restrict the size of a family.  He.,,goriGemns abortion to his conclusions on the basis of social, medical and
when it is a means of terminating a p&gnancy resulting psychiatric considerations. This leads to a cul-de-sac, a
from fornication and adultery.                                    dead-end street. This is finally situation ethics of one
  But. while these kinds of abortion are condemned, sort or another.
they have got to be condemned on grounds other than                 We must pbstpone  our discussion of this matter to
a violation of the sixth commandment. Dr. Stob does the next issue of The Standard Bearer. It might be of
not say very clearly why he condemns these types of some interest to our leaders to have before them a
abortion. He only says:                                           brief summary of what various denominations have


                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         463


  had to say in recent years about abortion. We quote                   tee's position is that abortion should be taken out of
  from  Christianity Today.                                             the  realm of the law altogether and be made a matter
         American Baptist Convention (1968): ". . . We . . .            of the careful ethical decision of a woman, her physi-
      urge that legislation be enacted to provide: 1. That              cian and her pastor or other counselors. In the later
      the termination of a pregnancy prior to the end of                stages of pregnancy, serious consideration must be
      the 12th week (first trimester) be at the request of              given to the competing claims of the developing fetus
      the individual(s) concerned and be regarded as an                 as well as to the increasing risk to the life of the
      elective medical practice and licensure. 2. After that            mother in surgical abortion. . . ."
      period, the termination of a pregnancy shall be per-                   Lutheran Church in America (1970): "On the
      formed only by a duly licensed physician at the re-               basis of the evangelical ethic, a woman or couple may
      quest of the individual(s).                                       decide  responsibily to seek an abortion. Earnest con-
         Episcopal Church (1967): ". . . Resolved, That the             sideration should be given to the life and total health
      33rd Triennial Meeting of the Episcopal Church                    of the mother, her responsibilities to others in her
      support efforts to repeal all laws concerning abortion            family, the stage of development of the fetus, the
      which deny women the free and responsible exercise                economic and psychological stability of the home,
      of their conscience. . . ."                                       the laws of the land, and the consequences for society     -
         United Methodist Church (1970):  ". . . We urge                as a whole."
      . . . that church-related hospitals take the lead in elim-
      inating those hospital administrative restrictions on            That major church denominations can take such
      voluntary sterilization and abortion which exceed the         stands as these is frightening. It is clear that they are
     legal  requirements in their respective political jurisdic-    based entirely upon the idea that the unborn child is
     tions, and which frustrate the intent of the law where         nothing but some tissue in the mother's body that can
     the law is designed to make the decision for steriliza-        be removed at will. Is this Scripture's teaching? We
      tion and abortion largely or solely the responsibility        shall have to look more closely at this problem next
      of the person most concerned. . . ."                          time.
         United Presbyterian Church (1970): "Our commit-

I1 Editorial
    About Confessing With Thy Mouth The Lord Jesus
                                                          Pro& H. C. Hoeksema

     Elsewhere in this issue, I have tried to answer sev- rate conditions of salvation, but they belong together.
  eral questions sent to me about our calling to witness. They are one. He that believeth in his heart also con-
  In connection with this subject, reference is made to fesses with his mouth. He that does not confess with
  Romans  10:9, especially to the words, "if thou shalt his mouth thereby shows that he does not believe in
  confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus." This refer- his heart. And that which the believer confesses with
 ence reminded me of some pointed remarks on this his mouth the apostle designates by saying: the Lord
  subject in a sermon on this text by the late' Rev.                Jesus. The believer confesseth the Lord Jesus. And this
 Herman Hoeksema in God's Eternal Good Pleqsure, pp. means the confession that Jesus is Lord. The believer,
  203, ff. These remarks are worthy of consideration - therefore, confesseth with his mouth that Jesus, Whom
 and still very up to date - by themselves. But they are God raised from the dead, is Lord!
 also helpful in connection with the questions about                   "What is the implication of this confession? What
 witnessing which I tried to answer in Question Box. We does it mean that Jesus is Lord? In its widest sense it
 present them here:                                                 implies that He has received from the Father authority
    "But the apostle makes mention of another charac- and power over all things. He has a name above all
 teristic of those that shall be saved, in fact, he men- names, He is King of kings and Lord of lords. He
 tions this  fast. If the word is nigh unto us, it is not stands at the very pinnacle of created things, and all
 only in our `heart; it is also in our mouth. Hence, the things are subject unto Him. Jesus of Nazareth, Who
 text calls our attention to the element of confession: If died and was raised from the dead, is exalted by the
 thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus . . . Father at His right hand, and now has power over all
 thou shalt be saved. Faith of the heart and confession things both in heaven and on earth, angels and princi-
 with the mouth cannot be separated. To believe in our palities and powers being subject unto Him. There is
 hearts that God raised the Lord Jesus from the dead nothing in all the world to limit His lordship. Even the
 and to confess Him with our mouth are not two sepa- powers of darkness, the devil and his hosts and all the


464                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



wicked, though they refuse to serve Him and to ac- ters that appear to be self-evident, in order that we
knowledge Him as their Lord, must nevertheless do His may realize their grave importance. It may be ever so
bidding and serve His purpose: the realization and final self-evident that confession must be made with the
perfection of the Kingdom prepared for Him and His mouth, and that it cannot possibly be made otherwise.
own from before the foundation of the world. This is, But in actual life we, nevertheless, frequently forget or
indeed, a mighty confession! Mark you, Jesus is Lord! find many excuses to evade this self-evident truth. Is it
The confession is not an exhortation that we make really necessary to say everywhere that Jesus is Lord?
Him Lord, that we crown Him King. He is Lord in Is it really necessary to explain that we do certain
heaven and on earth and rules the world in the name of things and refrain from doing other things because
the Father. He, Who humbled Himself deeply, is highly Jesus is our Lord? Do not actions speak louder than
exalted. The obedient Servant of Jehovah is become words? If we quietly go our way and walk as Chris-
Lord of all.                                                tians, cannot people, cannot the world see that we
   "But there is another, a more intimate relation of belong to Him and that we consider Him our Lord?
lordship expressed in this confession of the believer. It Must we really express this? You see, it is not quite so
is this, that Christ is Lord over His Church with a superfluous as it might appear to emphasize this truth,
lordship, not of power merely, but of love. The Church as the apostle does in the words of our text, that con-
belongs to Him, because she has been given. to Him by       fession must be made with the mouth. In the church
the Father from eternity, and He purchased her with and in the world, on the street and in shop or offfice,
the price of His own blood, the precious price of un- wherever we may be and whatsoever may be our daily
fathomable love. And having shed His lifeblood for His calling, we should at all times be prepared to confess,
Church on the accursed tree, and having been raised to express very clearly and audibly with our mouth,
from the dead and exalted in the highest glory, He that Jesus is Lord. You may not always put it in that
dwells in her by His Spirit, pours out heavenly graces very form, but the contents of your confession must
upon all His people, downs the throne of Satan in their be that Jesus is Lord. You do not have to have this
hearts and establishes His own, so that they become confession on your lips whether there is occasion to
sincerely willing to serve Him and have their delight in make it or not, but whenever it is plainly demanded
His precepts. His mind becomes their mind; His will is you should not hesitate to confess it clearly with your
their will. He is Lord over His Church with a lordship mouth, that Jesus is Lord. He that believeth in his
of grace and rules over them by His Spirit and Word. heart and confesses with his mouth the Lord Jesus,
And the confession that Jesus is Lord implies that He shall be saved.
is given unto the Church as a Head over all things.            "Let us take this very seriously. Not he who simply
   "And in this sense the confession assumes a very believes in his heart shall be saved, but he that believes
personal character. It means that I confess Him, to be in his heart and confesses with his mouth is heir of
my Lord. This implies that I belong to Him, that I am eternal salvation. If we do not confess with the mouth,
not my own but  His, with body and soul, in life and we have no right to appropriate the promise contained
death, for time and eternity. I profess that He is re- in the last words of our text unto ourselves. They do
sponsible for me, now and in the day of judgment; that not apply to us. Did not also the Lord Jesus Himself
He has the authority, the sole right to rule over me, to    plainly state that whosoever would confess Him before
demand of me that I shall do His will; and that this men He would confess before His Father in heaven?
lordship of Jesus has become my delight, so that with There is no third possibility. There are only two alter-
body and soul, with heart and mind and will and all natives. We confess Jesus the Lord, or we deny Him.
my desires, personally and in all the different relation- You cannot keep still. To keep silence with regard to
ships of my life in the midst of the present world, it is Jesus' lordship is to deny Him. The reason lies in the
my sincere endeavor to do what is pleasingto Him, to peculiar position of the people of God in this world. I
think as He would have me think, to do His will, to         have reference to the antithesis. The world has and
speak to His glory, to walk in newness and holiness of confesses its own lord, the prince of darkness. Over
life, and thus to fight the good fight even unto death, against this confession of the world that of the people
that no one take my crown!                                  of God must stand, clearly and definitely, so that there
   "This we confess if the Word is nigh unto us, in our is no room for doubt: Jesus, Whom God raised from the
mouth and in our heart, the Word of faith, which is dead, is Lord!"
preached unto us. . . With our mouth we make this con-        Then, after explaining the relation between con-
fession, the apostle writes. And, perhaps, you remark fessing with the mouth and believing with the heart,
that it is rather superfluous to say that we confess with the author continues:
our mouth. How else can confession be made except              "Now, what does this all mean for the practical life
with our mouth? And this is true, of course. Yet, the of the Christian in the world? It can signify nothing
apostle is not guilty of a tautology in this case. It is less than this: that in our entire life, in all our walk and
sometimes necessary to give special emphasis to mat- conversation, in every department of life, we shall in-


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                465


sist that Jesus' name shall be acknowledged, that His ness and commerce, and discover for yourself whether
will shall be obeyed and that we shall do nothing that these organizations of the world can actually boast of
is contrary to His precepts. `Jesus is Lord' is not an neutrality; Remember: you confess with your  mot&i
empty phrase. It means that we acknowledge Him as that Jesus is Lord! And not to confess is to deny!
our Lord in our personal life, Lord over our body and         "This confession implies, moreover, that you would
soul, our thinking and willing, our speaking and acting. never voluntarily appear in any place where it would
It implies that we acknowledge Him as Lord in our appear strange and awkward to confess Jesus as your
family-life, in our relations of man and wife, as parents Lord. It is well to remember this. To determine
and children, as brothers and sisters, and that in all whether or not it is proper to partake of certain kinds
these relationships we shall earnestly ask: `Lord, what of worldly amusements, we often proceed from the
wilt thou that I shall do?' It means that we acknowl- viewpoint of the question: what is wrong with it? It is
edge His lordship with regard to the education of our more salutary to remember always your positive calling
children, whether it be in the church, at home, or in to confess with your mouth that Jesus, in Whom you
school. In the Christian School we confess that Jesus is believe, and of Whom you believe in your heart that
Lord. It signifies that we maintain His lordship in our God raised Him from the dead, is Lord! And wherever
public life, political and social, and that we protest your very presence would be in conflict with that con-
against the denial of His name in every department of fession, so that it would appear absurd if you would
life. In business and industry, with regard to the rela- make it, you have no proper place as a member of the
tion of employer and employee, Jesus is Lord. In what- body of Christ.
ever relationship we may stand in any sphere of life,        "Conceived of the words of our text in this light,
we shall insist upon the lordship of our Lord Jesus the matter of our salvation does become a rather seri-
Christ!                                                    ous question, does it not? The way becomes narrow,
   "Negatively, this also implies that you shall never indeed! The gate through which you and I must enter
join yourselves to any association, union, lodge that is strait! In our light-hearted, worldly-minded, super-
refuses to acknowledge the lordship of Jesus in the ficially religious age we have almost forgotten the
proper sphere of its activity. 0, this confession that seriousness of the Christian faith. 0, just accept Jesus
Jesus is Lord is a serious matter! When we are admon- and you will go to heaven! That is all! That we cannot
ished not to join ourselves to such so-called `neutral' serve two masters, God and Mammon, we hardly un-
organizations, we find many excuses. These organiza- derstand anymore. They that profess to be Christians
tions have nothing to do with religion! They do not amuse themselves with the world, associate themselves
require of their members to do anything that is con- with the world, dance and sing with the world. Only,
trary to their conviction! They are very broadminded they insist that they do not go to perdition with the
and tolerant! But I would say: insist that the organiza- world! But why not, pray? We have forgotten, indeed,
tion of which you have voluntarily become a member that the word of the Lord concerning the narrow way
acknowledge in its constitution that Jesus is Lord, and the strait gate is still true. . . ."
Lord also in the sphere of labor and industry, of busi-


Question Box

                                About Witnessing
                                              ProJ: H. C Hoeksema

Question                                                   Just how far are we to extend our witness?
   From a young man among our Michigan readers I              "The example of the Christian's good works is a
received several questions about witnessing. He writes very important part of his witness. But by themselves
as follows:                                                these good works are not a sufficient witness. In
"Dear Prof. Hoeksema:                                      Romans 10: 9 we read, `That if thou shalt confess with
   "Your replies in the `Question Box' have shed much thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
light on some very pertinent and even disturbing ques- heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou
tions.                                                     shalt be saved.' Also in Luke 17:3 we read, `Take heed
   "I have a problem that disturbs me very much. I to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, re-
would like to know what exactly is our calling as Chris- buke him; and if he repent, forgive him.'
tians in regard to our effective witness for the Lord?        "It would seem an almost endless task to be  con-


466                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



stantly rebuking the evildoers round about us, but yet and our speech. You intend, I take it, to make the
this seems to be our calling. Ezekiel 3: 18 says, `When I point that we must witness not only by our actions,
say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou but also by our speech. And this is correct. However,
givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the our speech, or our "confessing with the mouth the
wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same Lord Jesus," belongs, of course, to our good works.
wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will And, finally, I would like to point out that the text
I require at thine hand.'                                   from Ezekiel 3: 18 is hardly pertinent in this connec-
   "When we read the work of a man or hear someone tion, for the simple reason that this passage has to do
who is a proponent of false doctrine are we to rebuke with the calling, or task, of a prophet, or preacher, and
this man personally? Think of all the articles in church does not refer to our Christian witnessing in general.
periodicals, all the `preaching' heard nowadays, most Besides, of course, Ezekiel did not have a general call-
of which contains downright heresy and blasphemy. Is ing to speak to all wicked men; but he was commis-
it our calling as followers of Christ to personally ad- sioned by the Lord to go and speak to the house of
monish such?                                                Israel at a particular time and place.
   "Then too, there is the evil which the Lord warns           But with these preliminary remarks out of the way,
against in Matthew 7:6, `Give not that which is holy let me address myself to your main question. This, as I
unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine,    understand your letter, is about the extent of our wit-
lest they -trample them under their feet, and turn and ness.
rend you.' Where is the line to be drawn? When are we          This question of the extent of our witness may be
being true witnesses for the Savior and when are we viewed, first of all, from the viewpoint of our position
casting our pearls before the swine?                        as witnesses. And then I would like to emphasize that
                               "Yours in Christ,            we are always witnesses and that it is therefore always
                                        "N."                our calling to witness. "Ye are the light of the world,"
Repb                                                        the Lord Jesus says. "Ye are light in the Lord," Eph.
   First of all, I want to say that it is encouraging to    5:8. This is our nature as regenerated children of God.
hear that you read the Standard Bearer. I always like And from this follows that it is our calling to bear  -
to hear from our readers; but it is especially encourag- witness. We must not put our light under a bushel, but
ing to me to hear that our young people - and if I am       let our light shine, that men may see our good works
not mistaken, you are a young man of high school age        and glorify our Father in heaven. We must walk as
   read our magazine. I am also happy to hear that children of light. I think it is well to bear this in mind.
a  t*
 ues ion Box has been helpful. I hope that it will also Too often this matter of witnessing has been given a
be helpful with respect to your questions.                  restricted kind of religious connotation according to
   Permit me a few preliminary remarks which may which we must all devote some part of our time to
serve at the same time to clarify your problem. First of witnessing for the Lord, to being little evangelists and
all, I am somewhat at a loss to know what you mean          to bringing the gospel to others. But this is not the
by "effective witness." To me, the term effective de- Biblical idea of witnessing. It certainly is not the call-
notes the idea of having effects, of achieving results. ing of any and every Christian to be a kind of evan-
And then I would point out that the effect of our gelist and to engage in some kind of religious work.
witness is not up to you and me. Whether. or not our        But it is indeed the calling of every child of God in
witness will have the positive effect of turning some-      whatever station the Lord may place him in life to let
one from his evil way or of gaining someone for Christ his light shine and to walk as a child of the light, and in
is, of course, not up to us and is not a matter of our      that sense to be a witness, to bear testimony, to show
achievement. That is the work of God Himself,               forth the praises of  Him Who has called us out of
through His Spirit, as He uses our witness as a means to    darkness into His marvelous light. Our entire life is
accomplish the work of His grace. Hence, I would pre- included in this calling to witness. Our deeds and our
fer to- speak of a faithful witness, or. a true witness,    words are included in it. No part of our life in relation
rather than of an effective witness. Secondly, although to others is excluded from this calling to witness. In
you probably did not intend the expression, in that this sense, you are correct in feeling that this calling to
sense, I am not very fond of the expression "for the witness is an endless task.
Lord" in connection with our witnessing. Too often in          In the second place, however, we may view this
our day this expression is used with the connotation of question concerning the extent of our witness from the
our doing something for the Lord; and this is, of viewpoint of the  objects  of our testimony. To whom
course, not a correct idea. I prefer to speak of our        must we bear-witness? I have really answered this ques
being witnesses  of  the Lord. In the third place, al- tion already in the preceding point when I emphasized
though I think I understand the point you want to           that we are always witnesses and are always called,
make in this connection, I would like to point out that therefore, to bear testimony in our entire walk in the
you suggest a false distinction between our good works midst of the world. But without trying to prescribe all


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 467



kinds of detailed precepts, let me make a few sugges- us imagine that the minister preaches a bad, Arminian
tions.                                                    sermon. When the service is over, the minister goes to
   And then I would say, first of all, that the general the exit to greet the people; and thus you are forced to
principle is that we must witness to all those whom the meet him. The Lord has put him on our path. What
Lord puts on our path in life. When the Lord brings us must you do? Would it be right to pass him by with a
into contact with anyone, in whatever sphere of our polite and cheery "Good morning" and to ignore the
life that may be (home, church, school, business, fac- fact that he has corrupted the gospel? You judge!
tory, amusement, etc.), and whether that person is a         Further, my questioner wants to know when we are
child of God or not, it is our calling in relation to that being true witnesses and when we are casting our pearls
person to manifest ourselves as children of the light. before the swine, in connection with the Lord's words
By this principle we must be guided and controlled in Matthew 7 : 6. Where is theline to be drawn?
always. Secondly, I would like to suggest that the           This is really a large question all by itself. But let
objects of our witness are not only evildoers. I say this me try to give a few brief pointers. That which is holy
because the emphasis in your letter seems to be on this and your pearls are evidently identical and have refer-
aspect. And this is certainly included. In fact, this ence to the truth of the gospel, the pure and precious
emphasis is very realistic. As witnesses we occupy an doctrines and precepts of the gospel. Dogs and swine,
antithetical position. We are called to walk as children as unclean animals, represent those who when they
of the light and to let our light shine in the midst of come into contact with "that which is holy" and
darkness. And it is well to bear this in mind, for the "your pearls" retain and reveal themselves in their un-
simple reason that it is exactly our tendency to be- clean and ungodly and spiritually filthy nature. And
come afraid or ashamed and to shirk our calling when "to give" and "to cast before" means to set that holy
we come into contact with evildoers. But at the same thing and those pearls, the various precious truths and
time, I would point out that this is only one aspect of precepts of the gospel, before these `"dogs and swine."
our witnessing. We are also witnesses in relation to our The Lord exhorts the children of the kingdom not to
fellow Christians and in a positive sense. Parents to do this. Notice that this presupposes that these wicked
their children, children to parents, children and young men have already revealed themselves in their wicked-
people to one another, believers mutually in the bonds ness. In other words, when you have witnessed of the
of the communion of saints, - all are witnesses of the precious truths and precepts of the gospel before
marvelous grace of the God of our salvation in Jesus wicked men and they reveal themselves as spiritually
Christ. Nor must this be overlooked. For one thing, filthy and vicious and impenitent, then you must not
this positive witness in the communion of saints must continue to expose that holy and precious gospel to
serve to strengthen and to confirm one another in the the vicious and vile treatment of such men. There
faith and in the assurance of faith.                     comes a time, therefore, when you shake off the dust
   Thirdly, whether in a given set of circumstances it is of your feet against them and have nothing to do with
one's personal calling to bear testimony over against them any longer. If I may use a concrete illustration,
heresy and blasphemy or other evildoing, it seems to you may witness to an ungodly person concerning his
me, is a matter of personal determination before the cursing and swearing when you come into contact with
face of God and in the light of the general principle him. And this is proper. But when your witness bears
that I laid down: that we must witness to whomever no positive fruit, and when, on the contrary, this un-
the Lord plainly puts on our path. This, it seems to godly man greets your witness with a vile stream of
me, too, depends `somewhat on the circumstances. invective and cursing, then you do not continue to cast
Thus, for example, you could drive yourself crazy if before him your pearls. But you turn your back on
your tried to bear witness personally to every false him and have nothing to do with him and his vile
preacher or teacher or writer of whose heresy you speech any longer. Bear in mind, however, that this
might gain some knowledge; and you would at the very action and attitude is also a witness against such
same time become an unfaithful witness by your fail- dogs and swine.
ure to devote your time and energy to your God-given         Finally, there is the point suggested by my ques-
work and calling - in your case, let us say, your school tioner that we may not be satisfied to witness only by
work. Besides, we may remember that the Lord does our actions, but that we must certainly witness by our
not call us individually to do all the witnessing to all speech as well. This is certainly correct. And it is a
evildoers all by ourselves. Not only does He have many point well made. For witnessing by our actions may
witnesses, but there is also such a thing as corporate, or never be used as an excuse for failing to confess with
group witnessing. The sending out of the witness of the mouth the Lord Jesus. And it is not an imaginary
our Standard Bearer or Beacon Lights is an example of danger, I think, that we excuse ourselves in this manner.
the latter. But let me use a concrete example. Let us       My, reply to these questions is already lengthy. But
say that you are on vacation, and that you are visiting my questioner's reference to Romans  10:9 reminded
in a church of another denomination on a Sunday. Let me of some very pointed remarks made on this subject


468                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


in a sermon by the late Rev. Herman Hoeksema in his remarks under a separate heading; and I recommend
book, God's Eternal Good Pleasure. I will quote these that you read them in connection with this answer.


The Strength of Youth

                   The Formula For The Christian Home
                                                  Rev. J. Kortering

   You teen-agers are well aware of the fact that some- time because the days are evil," verse. 16. This new life
times the domestic waters are troubled by petty bick- excites us to spiritual joy. It affects our singing,
ering, nagging conflicts, and even serious differences.      "Speaking to yourselves in  psalms and hymns and
We are not always riding the same wave with our spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your
parents.                                                     heart to the Lord," verse 19. It affects our praying,
   The climate is stormy: harsh words, lost tempers,         "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the
erratic behavior, and predictable remorse.                   Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ," verse 20.
   Many prayers are offered nightly on behalf of It also affects our conduct, "Submitting yourselves one
parents and teen-agers that such incessant conflicts to another in the fear of God," verse 21.
may be resolved, that peace may be in the family, and           Obviously this text has general application. It is the
that our homes  may  bear the seal of the covenant of principle that guides all human relationships. Neverthe-
grace.                                                       less, here it introduces the specific instruction for be-
   It is in the interest of family harmony that we con- havior in the home.
sider another phase of the subject, the Christian home.
So far we considered the elements that are important HOW IS MUTUAL SUBMISSION EXPRESSED?
for the founding of a Christian home, a proper under-           The question posed here is very serious. "Submit
standing of marriage, Christian courtship, mate selec- yourselves one to another in the fear of God." This
tion, and the wedding. Now we look at the home itself speaks of  mutual  submission. How can that be? Are
and consider what should characterize life within the not wives to be subject to husbands, children be sub-
Christian home.                                              ject to parents? How can parents be subject to chil-
                                                             dren, or husbands to wives? Does not the text imply
A FORMULA                                                    we all have equal standing?
   It may seem strange at first that Eph. 5 :21 should          To steer through this maze of questions, we might
constitute a Scriptural basis for such a formula. There      suggest that there are three possibilities concerning
we read, "Submitting yourselves one to another in the submission. It is conceivable that Paul refers to some
fear of God." I suggest that, since this text precedes       physical submission; there must be submission by the
the specific consideration of how wives are to be sub- weaker to the stronger. This might be maturity of
missive, how husbands are to love, how children are to       body or mind. Whoever is stronger physically or men-
obey, Eph.  5:22-6:4, we have here in these words a tally should be the lord of the home and the rest of the
formula. By this we mean that upon understanding and members submit to them. A second possibility might
following these words, we have the proper spiritual be a legal submission. Here enters the sphere of author-
disposition to put into practice specific instruction as ity; some members of the family have a right to be
members of the family unit.                                  obeyed and others have the duty to submit. Thus par-
   This can also be appreciated if we look carefully at      ents have the right over children, and husbands over
the preceding context. In these verses Paul reminds us wives. A third possibility is a spiritual submission, that
that we have been saved from sin. In verses 3-6 he is each member of the family is to be subject to every
describes the life of the wicked and reminds us that other member of the family whenever that member
our nature is the same, `6For ye were sometimes dark-        speaks out of the fear of God. Paul undoubtedly has
ness, but now are ye light," verse 8. We are converted, this in mind.
"Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,             The Word of God emphasizes that when we are
and Christ shall give thee light." The manner is spelled     united to Christ by faith there is no preference given to
out in verse 18, "Be not drunk with wine, wherein is         some people, we are all equal. This is a beautiful truth
excess, but be filled with the Spirit." This has a direct    that gives spiritual depth to our belief in the commun-
effect upon our whole life: expressed negatively it is,      ion of saints. In the context of Eph. 5, Paul emphasizes
"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of that spiritual union with Christ, "Be ye therefore fol-
darkness," Eph. 5: 11; positively it is, "Redeeming the      lowers of God as dear children," verse 1. Why does he


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   469


call us children? Because that is exactly what we are;          Life in America is a testimony that this is the only
no matter whether we are two years old or ninety-five         formula for a truly beautiful home. One in four mar-
years old, we are all children of God. We have princi- riages ends in divorce, with the rate climbing rapidly.
pally one Father: He is Jehovah of Hosts. He is the           The birth rate has declined by one half in the past 60
absolute Lord and Sovereign. Every child of God must          years. Each year one-half million teen-agers run away
submit to Him, to His Word and Testimony. We are              from home. And "Dear Abby" provides a running ac-
not the natural sons of God; there is only one natural        count of the sad condition in many homes.
Son: His name is Jesus. We are adopted children: le-             Even the world recognizes that the home is under
gally through the blood of the cross, spiritually             persistent assault. How foolishly man sows the wind in
through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. We         order to reap the whirlwind. Women's Liberation, birth
come to express this joy in the family of God when the        control, trial marriages, communal living all add to the
Spirit is in our hearts and we cry out, "Abba, Father," rubble of broken homes and wrecked lives.
Gal. 4:6.                                                        The fear of the Lord is God's own formula. When
   Paul makes a point in Gal. 3:28ff. That our equality       we have the fear of the Lord we will enjoy mutual
with one another is that fact that we are one in Christ,      submission, for no matter who speaks the Word of God
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond        in the sphere of the home, we will receive that and
nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all    follow it. It stands to reason, one has to fear God to
one in Christ Jesus." This is the spiritual principle of appreciate this.
unity. In Christ we are not lords and masters, we are            The fear of the Lord includes three things.
servants, I Cor. 7:22; we are not fathers and mothers,           First, one must know God as revealed in His Word.
we are children, Rom. 8: 16, 17; we are not princes and       By this we do not mean that we merely have some
rulers, we are citizens, Eph.  2:19; we are not elders,       intellectual understanding as to Who He is and what He
deacons and ministers, we are one body with one Lord,         has done. We need to have a thorough understanding
Eph. 4:4-6.                                                   of the Scriptures, to be sure, but we need more. We
   Applying this to the home, we are told that each           need to love that God. We must recognize that the
member of the family has equal spiritual standing             Scripture is His Word, and we will not distort that Word,
when we stand together before God in Christ. We have          but will humbly bow before it. By this reverence of
much to learn from each other. Christ  tells us, "Except      God's Word we will come to know Him as our God
ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall       through Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit.
not enter into the kingdom of heaven." The same                  Secondly, one must respond to that revelation with
Scripture tells us, "The beauty of the old man is the         a deep sense of spiritual awe. Here we understand that
grey head," Prov.  20:29. These two do not conflict,          fear of God does not mean wicked and sinful fright.
they complement each other. The old learn from the            The wicked have every reason to be scared of God, just
young  and. the young learn from the old as we alto-          as Eve fled before His face before she received the
gether are learning from Jesus Christ our Lord.               covering of blood. As children of God, we know that
   Let me illustrate. One time a young person came to         He is our God, He loves us, He sent Christ to redeem
me troubled about her parents: she thought they were          us, and therefore the thought that the holy, righteous,
not serious about their faith; they lived like hypocrites.    infinite, and eternal God is our Father,  is almost too
They insisted that she could not attend movies on             good to be true. We respond with reverential awe and
dates, but when she came home the TV had the late-            wonder.
late show. It was one time that I told parents to listen         Thirdly, by recognizing this revelation of God in
to their children. This text provides the basic principle.    such a way, it will arouse in us the proper response; we
It makes no difference how old one is or what one's           ask God to lead us in our lives. We confess our deprav-
legal position may be, whoever speaks truth concerning        ity, our sinfulness, and earnestly pray to God that He
the Word of God must be obeyed and all must submit            will guide our understanding, that we may be able to
to that word. We will do this only if we understand           know what is His will and that it may be the control-
this Scriptural principle. If a Christian wife confronts      ling power in our lives. In the fear of God we humbly
her husband with the Word of God, he cannot say that          bow and pray, "Teach me thy will."
she must submit to him no matter what; he has the                How can we obtain this fear?
sacred obligation to submit to the Word she brings.              The unbelieving world doesn't know anything about
   A truly Christian home is beautiful when this is put       this fear of God. You can't sit in its universities or
into practice.                                                colleges and take courses in sociology that deal with
THEPROPERATTITUDE                                             the family and expect to find it. Sad to say,you can't
   Where does one find spiritual strength to govern his       even sit in many Christian schools and find that fear of
life by this principle. Eph. 5:21 provides this answer,       God. If anything is sadly lacking in the apostate
"Submitting yourselves one to another, in the fear .of        churches and schools it is this: there is no fear of God
God. "                                                        before their eyes. They trample under foot the Word of


470                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



God, their prayers are mockery, they boast of their to spend more time confessing our sins one to another
greatness, but crumble because their foundation is of than boasting about our rights. This is true for parents
sinking sand.                                                 and children as well. If the fear of God is in our hearts,
   The fear of God is communicated to us through the we will readily confess our weakness and seek our help
lively preaching of the Word as The Holy Spirit applies from Christ, Who alone provides.
it to our hearts. When we meditate upon that Word,               At the same time we will be ready to be instructed
pray together about that Word, worship together at the as to our duty, whether of husband, wife, parents, or
feet of our Lord and do this as families, we come to children.
appreciate this formula and learn that the closer we are         Is the fear of God in us? Only then will we submit
to God the more peaceful our family life becomes.             ourselves one to another in the sphere of our homes,
OUR RESPONSE                                                  and thereby submit to Christ our Lord.
   Since this formula is so humiliating, we all do well


In His Fear

                           Hope For Our Fading Flowers
                                                 Rev. John A. Heys

  Last time we penned down a few thoughts in con- clares, "Surely the people is grass." He has people in
nection with the graduation address which we de- mind here and the word of our God for that people.
livered to the class graduating from our South Holland,         He sees a similarity between the grass of the field
Illinois, Protestant Reformed Christian School June 8, and the flower of the field and these bodies of ours.
1971. Since one of the principle purposes of this de- Certainly our flesh is not grass. It is flesh. Isaiah uses
partment is to treat educational matters, we would at the expression figuratively, for in one instance he does
this time like to give some of the thoughts of the grad- say, "All the goodliness therefore is as the flower of
uation address we delivered two nights later to the the field." That little word  as  is important. And the
graduates of our Adams' St. Protestant Reformed similarity that Isaiah sees between our flesh and the
Christian School, in Grand Rapids.                            grass is that both appear strong and healthy in the
  The class text was Isaiah 40:8, "The grass withereth, morning of their life but soon wither, fade, and are
the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand gone! Withering and fading are the beginning of death.
forever." Plainly the text contains two elements They show that the process has begun and cannot be
separated by the word but. After the word but we find reversed. It is not the same as drooping to say the `grass
the main part of the text. Here is the gospel, here is the    is withering. It is not simply a case of the flower losing
comfort of the Word of God, "The word of our God its rich color, lovely texture and delightful scent. It is a
shall stand forever." The section that precedes the but case of dying and of being no more. On the one side of
contains the background on which Isaiah would have that word but, therefore, we have the process of death
us see this glorious truth. The last part of the verse setting in upon our bodies.
contains comfort and hope for us. The first part tells          And at this time we would consider that these
us the situation in which we find ourselves and because flowers that fade are our youth. It is possible to con-
of which we need comfort and hope. The grass                  sider the rich, the noble, those of high social standing
withereth, the flower fadeth. But is that all we can to be the flowers of the field, the goodliness of the
say? Nay, in the face of this terrifying fact we find grass. These do stand out among the grass as far as
comfort in the truth that the word of our God shall man's judgment is concerned as being a step better
stand forever.                                                than the common run of the human race. But we
  Now it does not take us long in life to learn that          certainly may also consider our youth to be those
which Paul declares in his first epistle to the Corin- fading flowers. We may do this because they are beau-
thians, namely, that there are different kinds of flesh. tiful. The beauty of life and health and strength shines
There is the flesh of man, of beasts, of birds and of fish    in their faces and their well-built, capable bodies. They
which not only look different, but have a different do not yet have our wrinkles, our gray hairs, our
taste. And although it is true of all flesh that it is as stooped shoulders and our halting gait. They are a
grass, and the goodliness thereof as the flower of the        delight to behold.
field, Isaiah has only our flesh, the flesh of man, that        But let us also remember that it is the flower that
is, our human bodies in mind. For in verse 7 he de- brings forth the seed whereby the plant is perpetuated


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                               471



the next year. And in that sense also our children are But his word does not stand very long. For some fifty,
our hope for the human race not only, but for the sixty years he talks and seeks to encourage and give
Church of Christ to be continued after the withering hope. But tomorrow he is gone! And instead of the
process has removed us from the earthly field. Where diseases he has "conquered," the Spirit of God comes
we stand, they will stand. They are the flowers that with a dozen new ones;  while  over the whole world
will and do insure the presence of this "grass" tomor-      hangs not only the air pollution that threatens more
row and next year and until the end of time.                cancer and lung diseases but dreadful nuclear explo-
   But the Spirit of God is no respecter of persons. As     sives with fatal radiation to make our heart attacks and
the wind blows off the hot desert upon the luscious,        cancer look tame and relatively painless and mild. No
green, sturdy grass and withers it by nightfall, so our man shall stop the Spirit of God. No man can stand His
flesh which is grass is withered by the blast of God's tornado and hurricane, His lightning and His earth-
Spirit that comes out of the fire of hell! All flesh is quake. Let the boasting of man go in one ear and out
touched by it, for all have sinned and come short of that same ear. Do not even entertain it a moment as
the glory of God. All have died in Adam and become having any real value,
guilty before God. It is appointed unto all men once to       But the word of our God is worth listening to and
die.                                                        gives us hope when the heat out of hell begins to cause
  And it is well that our youth take heed and re- us to wither and fade. That word is His word of
member this. It does not look at the moment as promise in Christ that this flesh will be raised again in
though they are in any danger of withering. They grow the day of days. And then not to be brought back to
stronger every day, it seems. They go from strength to      this field as Lazarus came back only to die again.
strength. It might seem quite out of place to remind of Nor even back to Adam's glory in paradise be-
this at such a joyous occasion as their graduation, their fore he fell, but into the everlasting life of glory in the
attainment of this new level of their formal education, new Jerusalem. There we will know no sorrow or
by their strength. But it will not take them long to find sighing, no night and no death, no pain and no distress.
out that they too are only grass and fading flowers. All      And this is a particular promise. All flesh, indeed,
the men and women whose lives they studied, all the will be raised, but all flesh will not be glorified. The
authors and poets whose works they examined were at word of our God is a very particular word, even as He
one time flowers of the field. Where are they today? is a particular God. That He is called our God is not
Not one of them remained. And none living today will simply due to the fact that He is the God Whom we
escape that blast of the Spirit of God in the heat of His confess. But it means that He is our God in a special
holy anger.                                                 way. He is our God in Christ. He is not simply the God
  It is a matter of wisdom to consider this truth now Who created us. In that sense He is the God of all
before those days of the evidence of the fading are creatures. But He is the God Who saved us in Christ
there. We want our youth to be happy at their gradua- and is become our Covenant God, our Father Who
tion, but we also want them to be everlastingly happy loves us because of what He has made us to be in
and truly happy. Therefore it is quite fitting to listen Christ. Because He is our God in that sense, there is a
to this word of God and to speak it clearly and loudly word of promise to us from Him.
also in the midst of our rejoicing because of some            And that word of promise stands! He is the un-
achievement in this life. Then we can begin to give changeable God Whom no creature can change in the
them the hope they must have now, and when the least. What He promised, He will continue to promise.
fading makes its clear mark upon them.                      He never changes His word., He never goes back o.n His
  Pity then the graduates and, the youth who are de- word. And not only is He the unchangeable Jehovah,
ceived by speeches the world delivers. Pity those who He is also the Almighty God. Promising us this deliver-
are deluded into thinking that man by his achievements ance, through death, from death and hell He is also
will build a barrier against that wind from off the able to do it exactly as He promised. We may and do
desert, will insulate mankind against the breath of death change, for we fade and die. He does not and cannot
that God sends forth. Man's word about what victories change. We have strength as He is pleased to give it to
we will have over diseases and sicknesses is not worth the us. He has infinite strength in Himself and depends
breath with which they are uttered. You can hear man upon nothing or no one outside Himself. The withering
boast and claim his "victories" of heart transplants, and the fading do not deny His unchangeableness.
and new surgical methods, of antibiotics and therapy. Neither do they deny His almighty power. His word of
He has a long list of dreadful diseases which we hardly promise stands, not in spite of these, but through
need to fear. And he is sure that cancer also willsoon these.
be cured. He has set in order many programs that will         For that word of promise has aheady been fulfilled,
nullify the power of that wind with its withering heat not in us yet but for us. God sent His Son into the
and  flower-fa,ding power. He is sure that without the fiery blast from out of hell. God nailed Him to the tree
cross 1 which he despises - he will remove the curse. as our Head and sent forth on Him all the fury of hell
                                .,..


472                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



that our sins call for; and He endured it all till it was who cannot say that He is their God in Christ. Yea,
burned out, and He could triumphantly cry, "It is they will increase and be inexpressibly awful, because
finished!" Then God raised Him the third day from the the word of our God stands forever. His decree to
dead for us. Forty days later God took Him to His punish the unbeliever also stands forever. But we have
right hand in glory to prepare the way for us to come       the promise, and we have a standing word of promise
through death to this glory that death cannot touch.        that an end comes to our woes.
And because it is realized already for us, we may be          Read then all the books you can, but set the book
sure that it will also be realized in us according to His of God's Word first and as that in the light of which all
ever-standing word.                                         words of men are to be understood. Hold not to man's
  When the aches and pains of withering come, when word unless he is echoing the word of our God. Listen
the miseries and afflictions of fading make themselves not to the proud boasts of men who are withering and
known to you, remember this word of God that stands fading away at this very moment. Listen to the God of
forever. The aches and pains, the miseries and afflic- life Whose word is never broken and stands forever.
tions will not always stand for you. They will for those


Contending for the Faith

                            The Doctrine of Atonement
                                        THE REFORMATION PERIOD
                                            THE SYNOD OF DORDT

                                                Rev. H. Veldman

  Finally, the Great Synod of Dordt was about to be it was impossible for the Contra-Remonstrants or Cal-
convened. The moment had finally come when this vinists to call a National Synod. This leader urged both
august assembly would assemble in Dordtrecht, Neth- sides to assume the attitude of tolerance. The Armin-
erlands.                                                    ians and Calvinists should discuss their differences and
   The Remonstrants of Arminians had opposed this then learn to live together. To this, of course, the Re-
calling of a national synod. They constituted a minor- monstrants did not object. They favored this spirit of
ity party in the Netherlands. The Calvinists were the tolerance and compromise. The heretic never objects
national and popular party, and embraced the great to a name and place within the church of God. He
majority of the clergy. And they stood upon the solid always favors compromise. The' Calvinist, however, can
basis of the recognized standards of doctrine, the Heid- never agree to this. After all, in any compromise he
elberg Catechism and the Belgic Confession. The will invariably be the loser. Give the heretic any stand-
Remonstrants favored a conference, attended by repre- ing room within the church of God, and he will invari-
sentatives of their own party and of the Calvinists, the ably take over and assume full control. The Calvinists
issue to be settled by representatives of the  govem- insisted on a national synod,
ment. In the February 1 issue of our Standard Bearer          How did it happen that a national synod such as the
of this year, Rev. D. Engelsma has an article, entitled: great synod of Dordt was convened? This question is
The Concern of the Reformation for Christian Educa- answered by the late Rev. Hoeksema as follows ( he al-
tion (5). In this article Rev. Engelsma calls attention to so calls attention to how this synod was constituted):
the fact  that Luther advocated the position that the              The political  leader Odenbameveld sided with the
civil authorities were supposed to establish and main-          Arminians, so that it proved impossible for the
tain Christian Schools. He also makes the observation           Contra-Remonstrants to call a National Synod. But
that these civil authorities not only supported the             by a strange turn of events, plainly so directed by
school-teach&, but they also paid the pastor's salary.          Him Who has all things in His hands, the influence
Well, at the time of the Great Synod of Dordt, and we           of this politician was broken. Suddenly Prince Maurits,
can understand this, the government convened the                an able general took the side of the Calvinists. He
synod, and these civil authorities were also represented        took over the reins of the government, and gained
                                                                permission to call a National Synod. On November 13,
at this Synod of Dordt. Until shortly before this synod          1618, the National Synod of Dordt opened its
convened, the Calvinists had been unable to prevail             sessions.
upon the civil authorities to convene a national synod.            The constituency of the synod was as follows.
The reason was that the political leader, John van Old-         Thirty-four ministers and eighteen elders represented
en Barneveldt, sided with the Arminians, and therefore          the various synods of Gelderland, South Holland,


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        473


    North Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Overijsel,           And it was their desire that the findings or conclu-
    Groningen and Drenthe. Among these the name of                   sions. reached should then be submitted to the magis-
    Gomarus stands out as a long and consistent oppon-               trates for their approval. They, of course, objected
    ent of the Arminian errors and a staunch  Supralap-              strenuously to the fact that they had been called by
    sarian.                                                          this synod to defend themselves. But the synod main-
        Twenty-seven foreign theologians, representing the           tained that they had been convened legally, and that
    Reformed Churches of Great Britain, the Palatinate,              they, therefore; had authority to act).
    Hessia, Switzerland, Wetteraw, Geneva, Bremen and                   b. The Synod put up with this until even the
    Emden were at the synod. Delegates from France                   foreign delegates grew weary of it. On the 14th day
    were invited to attend but were unable because of                of January,. 1619, they were told by the thundering
    government interference. In addition, the synod re-              president: Dimittimini, exite! You are dismissed, get
    ceived advice from aged Dr. David Paraeus, from the              out! Appealing to the day of judgment, they with-
    University of Heidelberg, who by reason of age and               drew.
                                                                        c. On the basis of their writings, the objections to
    infirmity was unable to attend but gave written opin-            the errors were formulated. The Canons were finished
    ions. The foreign delegates did not merely sit in on             by the 18th of April and the meetings were ended
    the discussions, but took active part even in compos-            with the 130th session.
    ing the Canons, even though the delegates from
    Holland were the main body of the Synod. Undoubt-               Of course,  in our present discussion of the doctrine
    edly they exerted their influence in the formulation         of the atonement, we are primarily interested in the
    as we now have it.                                           second point of the Five Points of the Remonstrants.
       There were five professors from the Netherlands.          In this second point the Arminians set forth their view
       There were also representatives of the government.        of the work of our Lord  Jesus Christ upon the cross. It
    Although they did not take part in the discussion,           is well to  quote this point once more:
    they were the government watchdogs who exerted                      That, agreeably thereto, Jesus Christ, the Saviour
    influence on the delegates by their very presence.               of the world, died for all men and for every man, so
       As to the doctrinal position of the delegates, we             that He has obtained for them all, by His death upon
    may be sure that they were the very best representa-             the cross, redemption and the forgiveness of sins; yet
    tives of the church, capable men with a thorough                 that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins
    knowledge of the Scriptures. What an array of intel-             except the believer, according to the word of the Gos-
    lectual talent, especially as represented by the dele-           pel of John 3: 16: "God so loved the world that He
    gates from the Netherlands! This does not mean that              gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
    they all were staunch in the truth:                              in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
       (1) There were the supralapsarians, especially                And in the First Epistle of John  2:2: "And He is the
    represented by Gomarus.                                          propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but
       (2) There were the infralapsarians who also ex-               also for the sins of the whole world.
    erted influence. In fact, the articles are written in the      In this second article, the Arminians state their view
    Infra strain.                                                of the cross of Christ very clearly and unambiguously.
       (3) There were some who were doctrinally sympa-           `This cannot be said of the other articles of the remon-
    thetic with the Arminians, particularly the delegates        strants' although it is true that they declare in the fifth
    of Bremen, led by Martinus.                                  article that they are not ready as yet to say that the
       Finally, it would hardly do to  fail to remark that
    Johannes Bogerman was the president. Of him it is            saints will certainly  persevere to the very end. In Arti-
    said that he was courageous, tactful, decisive, and a        cle I they speak of an eternal and unchangeable pur-
    man of action. His piercing eyes were said sometimes         pose in Jesus Christ, His Son, that it is before the
    to emit flames of fire, his thundering voice demanded        foundation of the world, and that, according to this
    respect, and the wave of his arm expressed authority,        eternal and unchangeable purpose, the Lord has deter-
    He is said to have had the most attractive beard of aIl      mined to save in Christ, for Christ's sake, and through
    the delegates, gold-blond, wavy hair, extending to his       Christ, those who shall believe on His Son through the
    waist-line.                                                  grace of the Holy Ghost. And we may ask, "Is it not
  Finally, the Rev. Hoeksema gives us the following              true that God has eternally and unchangeably decreed
brief resume of the meetings of this great synod:                and determined to save those who believe in Christ
       a. The Arminians were called to the Synod to de-          Jesus and who shall persevere in this faith and obedi-
    fend themselves. But they only stalled for time. They        ence of faith?" And is it not also true that the Lord
    objected to the legality of the Synod, to the presi-         has determined to leave the incorrigible and unbeliev-
    dent, to the procedures. They refused to give their          ing in sin and under wrath and to condemn them as
   answers on paper and accused the Contra-remon-
   strants at every opportunity. (To this the under-             alienate from Christ? Do not our reformed fathers also
    signed, H. V., may add that the Remonstrants really          declare that the Lord leaves the wicked in their sin and
   accused this synod of being a "packed" synod. They            obduracy? However, we know what the Arminians
   wanted to meet with these  synod&l delegates on               meant in this first article on Divine predestination. Did
   equal terms. They wanted this synod to be a confer-           they mean that the eternal counsel of God has sover-
   ence between themselves and these various delegates.          eignly determined these things, and that their being


474                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



left h their sin and disobedience is the fruit of God's although Christ died for all men and for every man, the
eternal and unchangeable decree? Indeed, not! What actual benefit and fruit of that cross is dependent upon
they meant was that God foresaw this sin and contin- the believer. As far as Christ's intent is concerned, He
ued disobedience, and that the Lord, in His decree of died for all and would have all men be saved. But, as
predestination, election and reprobation, was deter- far as our actual salvation is concerned, that is not
mined by the. faith of those who are saved and by the determined by the work of Christ upon the cross but
unbelief of those who perish. But, their language in only by the sinner who determines his own salvation.
Point I is surely ambiguous and vague.                      And this is also the position of Professor H. Dekker of
  Their second point, however, is clear. Here they Calvin Seminary. The Arminians, therefore, believed in
declare that Christ died for all men and for every man. universal atonement, and, as we shall see later, this is
Here they state that the Saviour has obtained redemp- really no atonement at all. If Christ died for every-
tion and the forgiveness of sins for them all. And when body, then nothing really happened upon the cross of
they add that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of Calvary.
sins except the believer, then they surely mean that,


Come Ye Apart . . . And R.est A While

                            The  INow Generation
                                                 Rev. C. Hanko

  One hears a lot of talk about the "now generation." diseases have reached epidemic proportions in many,
It may be a bit difficult to determine what the expres- areas of our country. America is swiftly becoming the
sion means, but the general idea seems to be quite filthiest, most immoral nation of the world. The result
evident. Especially the youth of today wants to do is misery, disgust with living, while the institutions for
their thing NOW. They are unhappy with the "estab- the mentally ill are overcrowded, and suicides "to
lishment" and want to change it, and that right now. escape it all" are on the increase.
They express their resentment against the established         The now generation is not waiting to fill up the cup
order of things by wearing 1ong;unkempt  :hair, matted of iniquity at some future date. They are filling their
beards, filthy, tattered clothing, and show a complete measure as fast as they can right now. This is only
disregard for all law and order. They resort to demon- another sign of the times, warning us that the end of
strations, riots, destruction of property, and, if need the ages is upon us. For what can come of all this?
be, to revolution. Although they have nothing con- Only lawlessness, open defiance of all decency and
structive to offer, they want a change, and they want it    morality, internal revolution, and world wide chaos
now.                                                        must follow. The future looks very dark.
  Even that does not fully describe the NOW people.           Yet that is the righteous judgment of God upon
Many of them refuse to work. They want to enjoy life those who ruthlessly trample His law into the mire of
to the full; to get everything out of living that they sin. "Vanity of vanities," saith the preacher, "all is
possibly can. They may use beer and hard liquor, but vanity," even everlastingly into hell. (Eccles. 1.)
they even more readily resort to drugs. They try to           And because the preacher' was wise, he gave, under
escape reality by getting "high," by making a "trip," the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, sage advice to the
by bringing themselves into a state of "ecstasy." Many covenant youth of his day, which applies just as much,
of them rock and sway with their rock and roll music.       if not more so, today. He tells them that they may and
Some blasphemously associate themselves with Jesus, can do what no one else can do. They can "do their
Who is also regarded as being opposed to the establish- thing." They can live their lives to the full, following
ment of His time. As "Jesus' children" they add their freely the dictates of their hearts and minds. Just listen
"religious strain" to their sensual music. The pagans in to him: "Rejoice, 0 young man (and young woman,
their idolatrous. immorality could not outdo them. for that matter) in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer
Many of the now generation indulge freely in sexual thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the sight of
intercourse outside of marriage, yet refusing to assume thine eyes." (Ecclesiastes 11:9).
the responsibilities that normally accompany marital          A teen-ager is strong. In the strength of his youth he
relationships. They make free use of the pill, and, if can flex his muscles, work hard and fast, and even ffind
that fails, they want the freedom to,practice abortion. time to test his strength and skill in various sports. As a
They would like to escape the venereal diseases that young woman she is like a bud unfolding in her tender,
result from their promiscuous living, but already t.hese feminine beauty. She also stands in the virgin strength


                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                              475
I


     and vitality of youth. Covenant young people are, like-       being, could not even exist apart from Him, much less
     wise, spiritually strong. They are new creatures in           could develop into different creatures of various kinds.
     Christ with renewed, sanctified hearts. Their minds are       He spoke and it was; He commanded and it stood
     devoted to God and to His Christ, according to that           forth; for He called the things that were not as though
     new life of the Spirit. They are able to resist evil and      they were. We know that, trust in it, and rejoice in it
     the evil one; ready and capable through prayer to make        by faith.
     some of the most vital decisions of life.                        He created you. He formed you as. an individual,
        A teenager is alert. This is the time to learn, and the    with your own' personality, your own nature, your
     inclination of heart is there to probe deeply into            own peculiar gifts and talents, to take the divinely
     things, devour greedily more knowledge, absorb it, and        appointed place in life which only you can fill. You are
     stow it away in the most uncanny computer of all, the         a distinct masterpiece produced by the Hand of the
     human brain. In God's covenant he acquires knowledge Master-Craftsman, the living God in Christ Jesus. He
     of the Scriptures, of his God, and of his Christ. He          had His own purpose in making you exactly what you
     sees God's handiwork in creation, even as he experi-          are, so that, under the guidance of His Spirit, you can
     ences God's grace in his heart. He recognizes his walk in those good works which He has appointed for
     divinely appointed place in his family, in the church,        you. You have your own place in the church, to work
     and in the midst of the world.                                out your own salvation to the welfare of others, and
       The teen-ager is care-free. No, covenant youth is not       thus to the glory of His Name. (Eph. 2: 10). Com-
     careless or indifferent. But he is not yet burdened with      mitting your way to Him in prayer, He guides you in
     the cares of life. He may often feel as if he is carrying     all your decisions, so that you have the assurance of
     all the problems of the world on his young shoulders,         His "well-done."
     but actually he is not yet personally concerned about            Remember Him Who created you with the sole pur-
     the many perplexities of life.                                pose of re-creating you  in Christ as His son or  His
       He can remove from him the sorrow for sin by way            daughter, as a member of the family of God, to enter
     of repentance, and thus experience the joy of forgive-        into the assembly of the saints in heaven, to serve Him
     ness. He is able to fight sin, even the sin that works so     forever in the new creation.
     powerfully within his old nature. He knows that the              By grace you can follow the dictates of your sancti-
     paths of sin, as enticing as they may be, are slippery
        _     -                                                    fied heart. You can see with a spiritual eye all God's
     paths of worry, trouble, misery, yes, in one word,            mighty works. You can stand-in the strength of youth,
     death. For apart from God, childhood and youth are resisting all evil, defending the right.
     vanity. (Ecclesiastes 11: 10).                                   In that sense you are the NOW generation that can
       And therefore, covenant youth, you are the genuine,         do your own thing. And you must do it now. Don't
     the only proper NOW generation. As the wise preacher,         waste your time in sinful wanderings. Don't make rash,
     still under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, left you the     sinful decisions that burden you the rest of your life.
     sage advice: "Remember ylow thy Creator in the days           Do prepare yourself, like a runner training himself to
     of thy youth."                                                run a race, for life's demands. Even now work the
       Always keep in mind your Maker.                             work of the Lord, redeeming the time, so that when
       He is the living God, Who, some six thousand years          the burdensome days of old age are upon you, you
     ago, created heaven and earth by the word of His              may benefit still from what you acquired in your
     power. It was not necessary for Him to depend on              youth. And afterward, be ready to receive the crown
     some slow  .process  of. evolution within creation. He        of life.
     knew that the smallest microbe could never come into
                                                  .

     Studies in Election

                                            Its Implication
                                                            (continued)

                                                       Rev. Robert C. Harbach

       The previous article showed that angels are in God's        never fallen, all the angels were, in the decree of God,
     decree of reprobation. They have been ordained to             viewed neither as  yet. created, nor as yet fallen. It
     condemnation and to eternal judgment, a certain               ought to be readily understood that not first with
     definite number of them. Since the elect angels had           respect to the decree of the angels was their creation.


476                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



This is not true, even with respect to the plan of a          vessels of wrath. "And whom He justified, them He
man. He first plans to have a house before he deter- also glorified." Certainly not all are glorified. The
mines to build a house. When he decides (decrees) to vessels bf wrath were fitted to destruction and go into
have a house, then he may not only decide to build it,        everlasting punishment.
but also to build the most amazing structure you ever           Reprobation was determined sovereignly, and before
saw out of cast-offs and ruins. The church has always the fall. "For the children being not yet born, neither
been mocked by the world with some such ridicule as, having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God
"Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the according to election might stand, not of works, but of
rubbish which are burned?"  (Neh.  4:2). But that is Him that calleth . . . Hath not the Potter power over
exactly what God Himself will do in the building of the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto
His church. His church is brought out of hell's rubbish.      honor, and another unto dishonor?" (Rom. 9: 11, 21).
  But men, too, are included in God's decree of repro- Here mankind is viewed in the pure mass of creature-
bation. It is right here that the idea of sovereign repro-    ship. It is not viewed with sin, as corrupt and fallen, as
bation is so offensive. That some of the angels have though all men were originally fit for dishonor, some
been pre-ordained to damnation is not the cause of being left in that dishonor, while others were trans-
very much concern to us. That they were cast down to          lated from dishonor to honor. No, but all the vessels
hell, that they were even eternally damned before they are taken from the same unfallen lump, and some are
had done any good or evil, we can hear with very little made unto honor and some to dishonor. Also
emotion, and with not the least thought of charging Pharaoh's hardening was not merely a judicial hard-
God with injustice, cruelty and no mercy. But at just a       erring, because he despised and refused the truth. For
hint of the reprobation of man, and a great outcry is         "whom He will, He hardeneth." It is not man's hard-
made against the idea. The reason for this is because         ening which is first, but God's. We are not sufficient of
the matter now comes much closer to home. It affects ourselves to think anything as of ourselves (II Cor.
us! We are naturally partial to ourselves and to our 3:5). Even "the preparations of the heart in man, and
race. Yet God's decree of reprobation with respect to         the answer of the tongue, (are) from the Lord" (Prov.
the angels reveals a much greater severity: the fallen        16: 1). Yet "the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord,
were not spared, no grace was provided them, no savior as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He
brought to them. They were from eternity consigned will" (2 1: 1). Therefore, "for this same purpose have I
to everlasting ruin. Now there are not only elect men, raised thee (Pharaoh) up, that I might show My power
but also reprobate men. Jesus said of such a small body in thee, and that My name might be declared through-
as the apostolate, "I speak not of you all; I know out all the earth." (Rom. 9: 17). Calvin tells us that
whom I have chosen" (John 13: 18). He has a very here we have two things, the predestination of Pharaoh
particular knowledge of His chosen ones, a knowledge to ruin according to His eternal counsel, and the
that is beautifully expressed in, "I know My own, and purpose of this decree of reprobation, which was to
My own know Me" (John 10: 14, ASV). To the rest He            make known the name of God. The cases of Pharaoh
shall say in the day of judgment, "Never was I knowing and Esau are used in Romans Nine "to prove the
you!" (Matt.  7:23, Gk.). Never at any time did He doctrine of reprobation as the counterpart of the doc-
know them as His own. Their names were never trine of election." "It is written, `Jacob have I loved,
written in heaven. They never believed in Him to the but Esau have I hated' " (9: 13). Take your concord-
saving of the soul. Why not? Jesus Himself answers, ance and check the passages where  men are said to
"Ye believe not because ye are not My sheep." This            hate, and you will find that the meaning of the word
truth of reprobation is offensive to the natural man hate  is not according to Scripture softened to "loved
and to the flesh in the Christian. But it is Jesus' own less." Where you read that "He hath mercy on whom
teaching!                                                     He will, and whom He will He hardeneth," the word
  "Moreover, whom He did foreknow He also did hardeneth cannot be softened to "shows less mercy."
predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Paul in this chapter does not bother to defend the
Son." Not all are conformed to that perfect image of doctrine of predestination against charges of (God's!)
the Son. Some are and remain in the image of the injustice. His argument is that God in the cases of these
devil. They consequently imitate their father, the devil. reprobate men displayed neither justice nor injustice,
Further, "whom He did predestinate, them He also but His free sovereignty. "Whatsoever His soul desireth
called." But though many are called, few are chosen. (wills, decrees), even that He doeth."
Not all are called. Some are not even outwardly called.         God's sovereign acts are beyond all complaint of
They sinned without law, they perish without law. man. Paul in answer to a complaint that is always made
"Whom He called, them He also justified." Not all are replies, "Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth He yet
justified. There is a world to be condemned: I Cor. find fault? For who hath resisted His will?" The com-
11:32. Not all are children of God or heirs of Christ.        plaint is that election and reprobation are incompatible
Some are vessels of mercy, indeed, but some others are with human responsibility. Paul's thinking and teach-


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    477



ing here are inconsistent with the facts of man's re-        inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand,
sponsibility, and therefore Paul must withdraw and           or sayj.`What doest Thou?' We have obtained an inheri-
correct his position. It is saying too much, as Paul.had     tance; being predestinated according to the purpose of
said in verse 18, "He hath mercy on whom He will, and        Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His
whom He will He hardeneth." This only opens the way          own will" (Ps.  115:3;  135:6; Dan.  4:35; Eph.  1:ll).
for all kinds of fault-finding to be made against God.       God is the cause of it. He says, I hated! I raise thee up!
The argument is really saying, Why did not God have          I show My power! Then you read, He will! He hard-
mercy on all? Why did He not make all obedient? and          eneth! He haspower over the clay. He afore prepared
so put fault-finding once-and-for-all right out of court.    unto glory!  He  fitted to destruction! It cannot fairly
Paul does not concern himself with this objection. He be said that the reprobate fitted themselves this way.
does not bother to repudiate it. He does not say, for The tense of the verb is the perfect passive participle,
example, Oh, you misunderstand me; God does  not "having been fitted for destruction." Esau did not fit
find fault. Men may and  do  resist Him. Paul is not himself the object of divine hate. "Esau  I hated."
worried about being inconsistent with man's responsi- Pharaoh did not raise himself up a monument to God's
bility, as though that could ever be lost! and therefore     severity; I did, saith the Lord.
he must certainly withdraw his extreme position. No,           What is the moving cause of the act of reprobation?
Paul knows perfectly well what may be lost  - the            Nothing other than the will of God. Not man's sin, but
sovereignty of God, as held and maintained in the true the good pleasure of God moved Him to it. Sin when it
church. Nor is Paul concerned with the manufactured is finished bringeth forth death, for death is decreed
difficulty dumped into his lap, that of reconciling for sin. But sin is not the cause of God's decree. The
God's sovereignty and man's responsibility. Paul never decree of reprobation was before either sin or right-
felt any need for reconciling that which never needed eousness (Rom. 9: 11). The decree of God damns the
any reconciling. The two are perfectly good friends, reprobate. It damns him for his sin. Sin is the cause of
have always gotten on well together, never were sepa- his ordination to condemnation, but not the cause of
rated, nor can be, and so need no reconciling. What the ordination itself. That is, sin is the cause of the
Paul replies in verse 20 to this objection is that, You thing willed (condemnation), but not the cause of the
argue, not against me, but against God. For your objec- will. An aspect of divine election and reprobation is
tion you have no right, no reason. A  potsherd of the expressed in Jesus' prayer, "I thank Thee, Father, Lord
earth has no complaint against the almighty Potter, or of heaven and earth, that Thou hast hid these things
against  His sovereign will. "Whom He  will, He  hard- from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them
eneth!" God can and does do as He wills. The destiny unto babes." What is the most ultimate cause of this
of man is in God's hands. "It is not of him (man) that       two-fold effect of predestination is expressed in the
wiheth, nor of him that runneth." "Is it not lawful for following words, "Even so, Father; for so it seemed
Me to do what I will with Mine own?" (Matt. 20: 15).         good in Thy sight!" (Matt. 11:25f).
  This sovereign act of reprobation God works effec-           Here is abundant Scripture evidence for the doctrine
tually. The efficient cause of it is God. "Our God is in of reprobation, which we have given. For much, much
the heavens; He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased,        more, consult the proof texts quoted in Boettner's Re-
Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He, in heaven, in formed  Doctaine   of  Predestination  and Berkhof's
earth, in the sea and all deep places. He doeth accord-      Textual Aid to Systema  tic Theology.
ing to His will in the army of heaven and among the                             (To be continued)


Studies in Baptism

           Various Baptisms Exemplifying On-e Baptism
                                              Rev. Robert C. Harbach

  According to Hebrews 9: 10 (Gk), the Old  Testa-           lates in Hebrews  9:lO. We also examined ten  penta-
ment dispensation and its worship in connection with         teuchal instances of these baptisms which show them
the first tabernacle stood in exterordinances and "vari-     to be cases of "this the dipping in and sprinkling with
ous baptisms." These baptisms were plain types of the        water. . . ." Here, too, we showed that the administra-
New Testament's "one baptism." The Old Testament,            tion of baptism is neither  either-or,  i.e., either by
we saw previously, reveals that these baptisms were          dipping in, or sprinkling with water, nor a matter of
washings, as the King James Version correctly trans- both-and,  i.e., both by dipping and sprinkling. There


478                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



are neither two allowable modes of baptism, nor did prophesied that Israel would be troubled in heart
the dipping happen to the baptized. So that the act of "until the Spirit be  poured  upon us from on high."
dipping was not the act of baptism; the act of (32: 15) Third, through Isaiah the Lord promised, "For
sprinkling was. We saw, too, that there were old I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods
covenant baptisms that could be and were performed upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy
by anointing.with  blood, and by the pouring of oil on seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring." (44:3)
the head. Often it was that baptism was effected when Fourth, "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let
men did .wash, bathe, purify and cleanse.                   the skies pour down righteousness; let the earth open,
  No one seriously questions the fact that circum- and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteous-
cision was a sign of God's covenant. Circumcision also ness spring up together."  (45:8) Fifth, it is also
clearly revealed who belonged to God's covenant, prophesied how Christ himself should be the baptizer,
namely, true Israelites (Rom.  2:28, 29) and their and how He should effect His baptism: "So shall He
infant seed. But also these various washings and sprinkle  many nations." (52: 15) This was fulfilled in
baptisms were signs of God's covenant - certainly of the execution of His great commission, "Go ye,  (lit.,
nothing else or less - and revealed that the children no having gone), disciple the nations, baptizing them . . .
less than the parents belonged to God's covenant. That      and teaching them. . . ." Sixth, God through Ezekiel
is, they also belonged to His everlasting love. This is promised, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you,
plain from Deut. 29:9-17, where the covenant is said and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from
to embrace "all of you . . . your captains, elders, all your idols, will I cleanse you . . . and I will put My
officers, all the men of Israel, your little ones, your     Spirit within you" (36:25, 27). Seventh, in vision the
wives, for a people unto himself." Covenant people are      Lord saw the promised baptism as already fulfilled:
clearly identified as "the seed of Abraham," "all Judah     "for I have  poured  out My Spirit upon the house of
with their little ones, their wives and their children. (II Israel."  (39:29) Eighth, Israel was taught that this
Chron. 20:7, 13)                                            promised baptism of the Spirit included not only "the
  We know from the New Testament that passing people, congregation, elders, priests and ministers, but
through the Red Sea, the Israelites were baptized. the children, those that suck the breasts," so that they
They were also baptized in the wilderness, and that as all, including the infant seed of the congregation, were
families.  A family baptism took place in a dry land,       "Thine heritage." To  them  the promise was, "I will
when "the heavens also dropped at the presence of pour out My Spirit upon all flesh," including sons and
God . . . Thou, 0 God, didst send a plentiful rain, daughters. "In those days will I  pour out My Spirit."
whereby Thou didst confirm Thy inheritance . . . Thy        (Joel 2: 16, 17, 28, 29) Ninth, "I will  pour  upon the
congregation hath dwelt therein." (Ps.  68:6-10) The house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
families of Israel, by a plentiful rain, were baptized and the Spirit of grace. . . ." (Zech. 12: 10). You see, then,
dwelt (lived) in that baptism, just as we do now in how severely biblical the Heidelberg Catechism is on
ours. Referring to the baptism that took place passing baptism. It is quite in keeping with the Law, the
through the Red Sea, the psalmist praises God that He Prophets and the Psalms.
had  so. "redeemed Thy people." Then he says, "The            The theme we have really been treating is, Baptism
waters saw Thee, 0 God . . . they were afraid . . . the     With the Blood and Spirit of Christ (cp. Heid. Cat., Q.
clouds poured out water, the skies sent out a sound, 70). Under that heading the divisions are, I. The Old
Thine arrows (missiles: raindrops) also went abroad . . . Testament on Various Baptisms, and II. The New
Thou leddest Thy people as a flock." (Ps. 77:  14-20)       Testament on One Baptism. This brings us to the point
This throws light on I Cor. 10: 1, 2, with implications where we now give consideration to baptism in the
perspicuous and powerful.                                   light of the New Testament. Besides the beautiful ex-
  Yet these various baptisms all pointed to but one pression given to the doctrine of baptism as in the
baptism, still to come. "This external washing with Heidelberg Catechism, as noted above, it is also beauti-
water" pointed to the fact, now-realized, of our having fully put in the  Belgic Confession of Faith. "Our
been "washed by Christ's blood and Spirit." Baptism is gracious God and' Father . . . has commanded all those
a reality and has a sign of the reality. The sign of the    who are His to be baptized with pure water . . . signi-
real baptism is with the ablution of water. So that, the fying to us that as water washes away the filth of the
real baptism,.merely signified with water, is actually body when poured upon it, and is seen on the body of
and- only with the blood and Spirit of Christ.  (Heid.      the baptized when  sprinkled  upon him, so does the
Catec., Of Holy Baptism, Lord's Day, 26, Ques. blood of Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit,
69-74). This one baptism, still to come, was continu- internally sprinkle the soul, cleanse it from its sins, and
ally put before the minds of .God's people, especially regenerate us from children of wrath unto children of
by the prophets. A prophecy, of it is had, first, in God. Not that this is effected by the external water,
Proverbs 1:23, "Turn you at My reproof: behold, I will but by the sprinkling of the precious blood of the Son
pour  out My Spirit unto  ,you." Second, Isaiah of God, who is our Red Sea, through, which we must


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  479



pass to escape the tyranny of Pharaoh, that is, the devil the sea; not even in the sea, as we shall see. For they
     Therefore, our Lord gives  . . .  the  . . . washing, went through the sea dry shod and as on dry land.
cleansing, and purging our souls of all filth . . .-Neither They "were all baptized unto Moses," that is, in refer-
does this baptism only avail us at the time when the ence to  Moses, who as a type of Christ led them
water is poured upon us and received by us, but also through the sea in redeeming power. They were, as the
through the whole course of our life." (Art.  XXXIV) Ring James Version (the best Bible version in all the
   When you then look at baptism as taught in the New world) has it, baptized "in the cloud and in the sea."
Testament, you may expect that the New Testament The preposition is the Greek en, used with the dative.
doctrine of it will be in perfect harmony with what we It is properly translated  in  when it happens to be a
have already seen of its Old Testament setting and dative of place,  *as "in the Jordan." But when it
exemplifications. It simply could not be otherwise. happens to be a dative of means, as here, it is properly
According to the New Testament, there were two great translated  with.  Then it properly reads, they were
historical victories which were typical baptisms,  pre- baptized "with the cloud and with the sea." So it is in
figurations of the baptism with the blood (Mark the Greek Testament. The Dutch Bible has exactly the
10:38) and Spirit of Christ. These events were the same as the Greek Testament. The German Bible
Flood (I Pet.  3:21) and the passage through the Red correctly translates the Greek, "mit der wolche und
Sea. (I Cor. 10: 1, 2) With the Flood there was a mit dem meer," that is, "with the cloud and with the
baptism of the church in seed form, the baptism of a sea." It is not the place, but the means of baptism
family, and that on the faith-basis of Genesis 7:  1, which is emphasized. According to the text, they were
which see. In this instance, it is plain as can be that not in the cloud nor in the sea. They were under the
although the "world of the ungodly" (II Pet. 2:5) was cloud and through the sea. So that their baptism in this
immersed, it was not baptized, and that although Noah case was with the cloud and with the sea; one baptism
and his family were baptized, they were not immersed. with two aspects. Here occurred the baptism of a
Paul, writing of the other baptism victory, states "that nation, one of the many nations referred to in Isaiah
all our fathers were under the cloud," not underneath 52: 15. The Egyptians were immersed, but not
it; for the cloud was behind them, making separation baptized, whereas the Israelites were baptized, but not
between them and the Egyptians. They were under the immersed. According to Scripture, there is a great deal
cloud, under the dominance of its Presence, under the of difference between immersion and baptism.
guidance of the Faces, Persons dwelling in the cloud.
"And all passed through the sea," certainly not under                        (To be continued, D. V.)
I When we fail to learn the lessons of Church History and the History of Dogma, we sin against better knowledge. I
  Classis West of' the Protestant Reformed Churches                             ATTENTION !!!
will meet on Wednesday, September 1, 197 1, at Isabel,               ALL MEMBERS OF THE REFORMED
South Dakota, at  8:30 A.M., the Lord willing. Dele-                  FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION.
gates in need of lodging are to notify the clerk of the         Our Annual Meeting will be held, the Lord willing,
Isabel consistory of this need.                               on Thursday evening, September 30. The time  - 8
                     Rev. David Engelsma, Stated Clerk        P.M. The place  - First Church. Your speaker  - Mr.
                                              Classis West    Jon Huisken. His subject  - "THE STANDARD
                                                              BEARER FOR THE NEXT GENERATION." All
           RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                             members are expected to attend this meeting and pro-
  The Mr. and Mrs. Society of the Southeast Protes-           spective new members are invited!
tant Reformed Church expresses sincere sympathy to                                                       G. Bol, Sec'y.
our members, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Noorman, in the
sudden loss of his father,                                            THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL  OPEN12VG
              MR. BARNEY NOORMAN.                               The Theological School of the Protestant Reformed
  "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Churches will begin a new term, D.V., on Wednesday,
Christ; the Father of mercies, and the God of all com-        September 8, at 9 a.m. All students should be present
fort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we       at that time for registration and assignments. A public
may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,         convocation program (seminary night) will be an-
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted           nounced in the Grand Rapids area bulletins. We com-
of God." (II Corinthians 1:3,4)                               mend the seminary and its labors to the prayers of our
                                   Rev. M. Schipper, Pres.    churches.
                              Mrs. Robert Moelker, Sec'y.                                   H. C. Hoeksema, Rector


        THE STANDARD BEARER
                 P.O. Box 6064
       Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506


     ' 480                                                THE STANDARD BEARER



                                             News From Our Churches
          We may as well begin with information concerning a trial basis, since we feel that there are a number of
       couple of not very recent calls.' Rev. R. Moore was persons who might be interested in becoming regular
       chosen, from a trio which included also Rev. R. subscribers."
       Harbach and Cand. R. Miersma, <to receive the call to           Not all letters are favorable, of course. There are
       serve as pastor in our church innRandolph, Wisconsin. those who consider the truth of God, as it is revealed
       Rev. Moore has also received the call from Doon. Ac- in Scripture and as it has been understood by the
       cording to a late report, Rev. Moore has accepted the church of the reformation, to be irrelevant to today's
       call from Doon. Rev. D. Engelsma has ,declined the call world. From the Netherlands, for example, comes this
       to become the third professor in our seminary. And, at response. "I don't wish to receive any longer `The
       the time of this writing, Rev. R. Harbach is considering Standard Bearer.' It may represent the pulse-beat of
       the call to become our second missionary, a "Home your reformed heritage, it does not mine. In theologi-
       Missionary" to labor in the United States and/or cal sense it doesn't answer the religious questions of
       Canada. The trio from which he was chosen by Hope this modern world with its modern way of life."
       Church (Grand Rapids), the calling church, included             Compare that last reaction with this one from a
       Rev. Harbach, Rev. Heys, and Rev. Kuiper.                    reader in Hungary: "I am also glad to write you that
                                  ****cx                            the Reformed Witness Hour (printed message) and The
         Requested announcement: the newly appointed                Standard Bearer sent in an envelope are regularly arriv-
       Secretary of the Protestant Reformed Mission Commit- ing. I am thanking God that they are allowed to come
      tee is Mr. John M. Faber. His address is 1123 Cooper          in, because I am learning much of them. . ." And this
       S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507. He replaces Rev.         one from a U.S. reader: "Thanks for giving to me,
      G. Van Baren.                                                 through your magazine, an understanding of many.
                                  *****                             things Reformed. Would that my seminary training . . .
                                                                    had given me an appreciation for and an understanding
         Also from Isabel's bulletin we learn that the con-         of the Reformed concept of `Church' as I learn it in
      gregation of our Hull church, after the recent remodel- your pages." And from a Sunday bulletin of our Kala-
      ling of that church's pulpit area, sent to Isabel a pulpit mazoo Church comes the letter of appreciation for our
       chair "which will find its place behind the pulpit very      Reformed publication and the articles of its editors. Of
      soon." The thoughtfulness and brotherly concern, of them he says, `We need to have such strong defenders
      which this is evidence, was' noted in that bulletin from of the faith.' "
      Isabel.                     *****                                Our hard-working business manager is probably in
                                                                    as good a position as anyone else to know where our
         News from Hope Church in Redlands includes this            paper is going and how it's being received. So the last
      item: "The Reformed Witness Hour has obtained a work on this subject ought to be his. Here it is: "An-
      new station, especially clear in the Bellflower area. A       other country heard from! Egypt yet! From time to
      new and better time has also been obtained." That's           time The Board of The R.F.P.A. receives requests for
      station KHOF, at 2:30 P.M.                                    Protestant Reformed literature from individuals out-
                                  *****                             side our own country. This  time the request came from
                                                                    a pastor residing in Cairo, Egypt. Amazing, is it not!
         From time to time, and from various parts of the           Other requests received recently originated in Canada,
      world, the R.F.P.A. receives letters concerning its pub- Australia, Essex (England), Guyana (South America),
       lications, notably The Standard Bearer. We would like Budapest (Hungary),  Edenvale (South Africa), and
       to quote a few lines from several of these letters which New Zealand. For less than one dollar expended for
       have been made available to this writer for use in the postal expenses, a bundle of recent issues of The
       news column. This, from Australia: "It is a joy to hear      Standard Bearer, plus a copy of each of the Sunday
       of the work of the Protestant Reformed Church, but I         School pamphlets were sent to these interested people.
       would like to know more. We look forward to seeing Have you ever wondered how these Christian believers
       `The Standard Bearer.' " And this from South Africa:. .ever learned of our small Protestant Reformed denomi-
       "With reference to your letter regarding  the.distribu-      nation? We will inform you, D.V., in one of the forth-
      tion of The Standard Bearer in South* Africa, we have         coming issues of this paper ."
       decided to undertake the distribution of 10 copies on a                                                         D.D.
                                              . . . -.
                                       I.
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