           The
      STA-ND.Rf)
           BEARER
             A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE
       Go.d's word is more unalterable than
     the law of the Medes and Persians and
     mountains  1 of brass. Christ Himself was
     foreordained before the foundation of
     the world. All the people of God were
     chosen in Him before the foundation of
     the universe. -Every event in history,
     every circumstance in the church is fixed
     in God's preordination of whatsoever
     comes to pass. All things were taken into
     account and settled, not on second
     thought in the fleeting seconds of time,
     but in the decrees of eternity.

     See God's Eternally Founded Word

b                                                Volume LVI, No. IO, February 15, 1980 1


218                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER



                           CONTENTS:                                                                T H E   STANDARD  B E A R E R
                                                                                                          ISSN 0362-4692
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MEDITA TIO N


                                                The Son of `God
                                                         Our Savior
                                                                 Rev. C. Hank0



                Ques. 29. Why is the Son of God called Jesus, that is Savior?
                Ans. Because he saveth us, and delivereth us from our sins; and likewise, because we
             ought not to seek, neither can find salvation in any other.
                Ques. 30. Do such then believe in Jesus the only Savior, who seek their salvation and
             weljare  of saints, of themselves, or anywhere else?
                Ans. They do not; for though they boast in words, yet in deeds they deny Jesus the only
             deliverer and Savior: for one of these two things must be true, that either Jesus is not a
             complete Savior; or that they, who by a true faith receive their Savior, must find all things
             in him necessary to their salvation.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                               219



  Amazing Savior!                                           as spokesman for the other disciples, "We believe and
  In this Lord's Day our fathers concentrate their          are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the
attention on the first three words  ,of the second          living God" (John 6 :69). And after the resurrection
article of our Apostolic Creed, "And in Jesus." The         Thomas addresses Him as "My Lord and my God."
confession we make here is, "I believe in Jesus." Our       How very important it is that we maintain that God
Catechism proceeds very slowly here, taking each            came to tabernacle among men. God was in the
name of the Savior separately, in order to show the         womb of Mary, lay in the manger of a cattle stall,
significance and importance of each name. Therefore         walked and taught and showed His power among us,
the first name that is discussed is Jesus' personal         shed His own blood on the cross, entered into our
name, which He received at His birth, by which He           death to conquer death and the grave and to bring us
was known and addressed by His family and                   into eternal, heavenly fellowship with Him in glory.
acquaintances. He is Jesus.                                 Only God could bear the burden of wrath against our
                                                            sins, deliver us from it, and merit for us a place with
  What makes this name so very important is the fact        Him in His glorious kingdom.
that, not His parents, but God determined what He
should be called. The angel Gabriel informed Mary,            Yet at the same time, the name Jesus is such a
"Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring         lowly name. It expresses so completely the fact that
forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS" (Luke           He became like unto us in all things, sin excluded.
1:3 1). Later Joseph was also informed that Mary had        Evidently His parents, brothers and sisters, and
conceived a child by the Holy Spirit, and he was            disciples referred to Him as Joshua, a name that was
instructed, "Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he         by no means uncommon among the Jews of the old
shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:2 1).     dispensation. This name appears sometimes as Isaiah
Joseph and Mary faithfully carried out this mandate,        or Hosea, but always expresses the idea that salvation
for in Luke 2:21 we read, "And when eight days were         belongs to the Lord. Jesus became like unto us, flesh
accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his         of our flesh, and bone of our bone. He was born of
name was called JESUS, which was so named of the            Adam. He came forth from the loins of Abraham, out
angel before he was conceived in the womb."                 of the tribe of Judah, and from the royal line of
                                                            David. He was born in abject poverty as the poorest of
  This name is so very rich in meaning. The first part      the poor. From the moment that He  .was born, He
"JE" refers to Jehovah, the almighty, unchangeable          was rejected and hunted like a beast-of the forest. He
God Who keeps covenant forever. The second part             came unto His own affairs, to which He had a rightful
"SUS" means "saves" or "salvation." Thus the name           claim, and yet His own people did not receive Him.
means that the almighty, unchangeable, covenant             Scornfully He was referred to as "Jesus of Nazareth,"
God saves His people from their sins in the person of       since no one expected any good to come from
Jesus.                                                      Galilee. He was the Man of Sorrows, the suffering
  What an amazing name! This is especially true             Servant of God. Joshua, who led Israel into the
because the Scriptures always teach us that salvation       promised land, was His type. The Joshua who
is of the Lord. The Psalmist sang of Jehovah as his         accompanied the Jews back to Jerusalem from
Rock, and Fortress, and Deliverer (Psalm  18:2).            Babylon- as their highpriest was a predecessor,
Through the prophet Isaiah Jehovah declares, "I, even       announcing His coming. The prophets, such as Isaiah
I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior"           and  Hosea, saw in Him the realization of all their
(Isaiah 43: 11). Therefore this' name declares to us        prophecies. He was the Great Servant in God's
that Jesus is none other than the Son of God, even as       House, prepared from eternity, as our eternal
Gabriel had prqmised to Mary, "The Holy Ghost shall         Prophet, our exalted Highpriest, and our Glorious
come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall          King, Who through the way of deepest humility and
overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing             suffering enters into His glory.
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of        At the same time, Jesus is righteous man. He never
God" (Luke 1:35). And as the angel told Joseph in a         had had any sin. Because He had no earthly father,
dream, the Scriptures were being fulfilled, "Behold, a      the guilt of Adam's sin could not be reckoned to
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son,    Him. Therefore also the Holy Spirit could preserve
and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which is             Him from sin in the womb of Mary. The Holy Spirit
being interpreted, God with us" (Matthew 1:23). The         came upon Mary, and the power of the Highest
expectation of the church of the shadows was that           overshadowed her during the nine months of her
the Messiah would be none other than God Himself.           pregnancy, preserving her offspring from her deprav-
Therefore when Nathanael met Jesus he cried out in          ity and the depravity of the human race. Jesus could
adoration, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God: thou art        challenge the whole world to try to find sin in Him.
the King of Israel" (John 1:49). Peter later confesses      The whole world tried its utmost to do just that.


220                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin,  Herod, and Pilate          before the Father in the innermost sanctuary of the
strove together to expose just one evil in Him, in          heavens declares as Highpriest of His people: "I never
order that they could justly condemn Him to death.          knew them. Thou hast not given them to Me. My
The harder they tried the more convincingly they            blood was not shed for them. I never gave them My
proved that no sin could be found in Him. Only then         grace and Spirit. They believe not because they are
did God take His spotless Lamb and offer Him as a           not of My sheep. They justly perish in their sins."
sacrifice for our sins on the accursed tree.                Those who deny Jesus reject Him in unbelief and
  Amazing Name! Wonderful Savior! God was in                experience already in this life the condemning
`Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, never           testimony of the Spirit. For whosoever believeth not
reckoning our sins against us. There is no other name       the Son of man, upon him abideth the wrath of God.
under heaven whereby we can be saved!                          On the other hand, those who by God's grace
  The Only, Complete Savior!                                confess that, "I am not my own, but belong to my
                                                            faithful Savior Jesus Christ," also receive this as-
  During His earthly ministry Jesus openly declared         surance that Christ claims them as His sheep and
that, "Whosoever shall confess me before men, him           intercedes for them before the throne of God.
will I confess also before my Father which is in
heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men,                Blessed Confession: I believe in Jesus!
him will I also deny before my Father which is in              "It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him,
heaven" (Matthew  10:32,33). The obvious implica-           we shall also live with him: if we suffer with him; we
tion is that there is only a twofold possibility, we        shall also reign with Him" (II Timothy 2:  11,12).
either confess Jesus as our Savior, or we deny Him. A       Often the saints of the early church must have
third possibility, that of neutrality, is ruled out. Our    repeated these reassuring words to each other on sick
Catechism warns us in no uncertain terms against            beds, in times of distress, in prison, or even in the
those who deny Jesus. There are those who deny Him          face of death. We belong! We belong to Jesus, becau-se
outright; unbelievers who want no part with the             God gave us to Him, has chosen us in Him even from
Savior, and who possibly even curse His holy Name at        eternity. We are members of His body, so that when
every opportunity. But there are also so very many          He died the accursed death of the cross to atone for
who profess to believe in Jesus, yet in reality deny        our sins we died, when He arose we arose, when He
Him. This Lord's Day refers to those who seek their         went to be seated at the right hand of God in glory,
salvation and welfare of saints. This refers to             we were included in Him. Therefore He now pleads
members of the Roman Catholic Church who still              for us before the face of the Father, even night and
today worship mother Mary and seek the help of              day presenting our needs and asking for blessings on
saints in heaven to make their appeals to God.              the basis of His atoning work. The Father hears the
Moreover, the fathers refer to those who seek their         Son always, and Christ Jesus pours out every blessing
salvation and welfare in themselves or somewhere            for body and soul, for time and for eternity,
else. There were the Pharisees of Jesus' day who            according to our'every need. We are in the palm of
professed `to be sons of Moses and very religious, far      Father's hand, under His watchful eye, so that His ear
above the average Jew, who also professed to be             ,is always attentive even to our weakest sigh. We know
expecting a Messiah, yet who openly rejected Jesus          that God is for us, and nothing can be against us. The
because He condemned them in their self-righteous-          cross we bear is part of the sufferings of Christ, which
ness. There is the Roman Catholic heresy, still             God uses to prepare us for glory. In the midst of
prevalent today, that ,teaches that the one sacrifice of    severest trials we can still say, "More than Conquerors
Christ on the cross was not sufficient to atone for our     are we!" Christ lives, and we shall live with Him in
sins, but must be supplemented by a repeated                His glory!
sacrifice in the mass. And there are those who would           For at the name of JESUS every knee must bow,
maintain that Christ did not actually atone for sin,        of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
but only made salvation possible for all men by His         under the earth; and every tongue must confess that
death on the cross. He opened the way of escape, but        Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father
man must still accept that way of escape in order to        (Philippians 2:  10,1-l). Christ is Lord of lords and
be saved. Our Catechism points out to us that a             King of kings, over all the creatures of heaven and
partial Savior is no Savior at all. Either Jesus            earth for .our sakes, even to carry out our salvation.
completely saves, or He failed to save. Either we           He reigns supreme over all. Soon He will return to
believe in Him as our only and complete Savior, or we       establish His kingdom in the new creation, and we
make ourselves guilty of denying Him. All those who         shall live and reign with Him forever, that all praise
deny Him receive this condemning testimony from             may arise from our hearts and lips unto all eternity,
the Lord Himself, that He declares before His Father        and God may be all in ALL..
in heaven: "I know them not." Jesus, Who stands


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                               221


E D I T O R I A L S



                                        Pseudo-Westminster

                                               ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema



  Several months ago I called attention in these             cannot properly be established; but even this does not
columns to a proposed new chapter which the                  preclude contact and limited fellowship and the
Presbyterian Reformed Church of Australia wanted             further exploring of differences on the basis of a
to add to the Westminster Confession of Faith, one of        mutual commitment to the Reformed faith. But
the three creeds (along with the Larger and the              when a church begins to add to the creeds on its own
Shorter Catechisms) which Presbyterian churches              hook, so to speak, it goes the way of individualism
hold in common. This was to be Chapter XXXIV of              and separatism.
the Confession, under the heading "Of the Offer of             But the situation is even worse. For by this
the Gospel and God's Grace Therein." At the time we          addition to the creed the PRC of Australia has
quoted the entire proposed addition and gave a few           officially and creedally committed itself to an
general comments by way of initial criticism, promis-        intrinsically non-Presbyterian, Arminian doctrine. As
ing to write more later. Since that first editorial other    long as this doctrine of the free offer was not made
things. required editorial attention, and so we post-        into an official confession of the church, there was at
poned further. comments. Meanwhile, we have re-              least hope of being Presbyterian. It was at least
ceived word that the proposed new chapter has been
approved and has become part of the  PRC's creed.            possible to militate against the doctrine of the free
This simply means that the Presbyterian Reformed             offer within the PRC. Now this is impossible. The
Church of Australia has confessionally separated itself      doctrine is binding. It is not open to question, not
from all other Presbyterians and no longer holds the         subject to debate and negative discussion. This is sad.
Westminster Confession of Faith, but its own private         It simply means that with respect to the crucial
creed. This is the more true in the light of the nature      matters involved, matters of fundamental Reformed
of this new chapter, which conflicts with the spirit         doctrines, the doctrines of grace, the Five Points of
and letter of the Westminster Confession. The PRC of         Calvinism, the Presbyterian Reformed Church has
Australia now has a Pseudo-Westminster Confession.           chosen to be conservatively` evangelical. It has chosen
                                                             really to join the hordes of evangelical churches
  I am sorry about this. When I first became                 which are content to be somewhat conservative rather
acquainted some years ago with the Presbyterian              than liberal, fundamentalist rather than modernist.
Reformed -Church of Australia and with the liberaliz-        And if Presbyterian or Reformed churches (and
ing trend toward a united church among the mainline          people) deny or lose their distinctive Reformed
denominations down under, I had high hopes that              (Presbyterian) character, they deny or lose their very
here was a group of churches which was willing to            right of existence. When I read this article on the
buck the modern trends and was striving to be                offer of the gospel, I am inclined to ask, "Is this why
uncompromisingly Presbyterian. This was one of the           the Presbyterian Reformed Church went down the
reasons, too, why I was deeply disappointed when,            hard road of separate denominational existence? It
shortly before our visit to Australia, they so abruptly      isn't worth the struggle and the sacrifice." And do
and unjustifiably decided not to,receive and to confer       not forget, by the way, that if you check back into
with us. On our part, we are always willing and eager        the history of the mainline denominations which have
to have contact and fellowship with those who show           today become completely modernist, you will find
themselves to be genuinely and sincerely concerned           that their present-day liberalism had its beginnings in
about being uncompromisingly Reformed or Pres-               Arminianism.
byterian. In such a case there may be differences, but         And now let us consider the new chapter. I do not
these can then be discussed in an atmosphere of              intend to go into great detail and to consider all the
mutual trust. And differences may even persist and be        references to Scripture which were added to the
of such a kind that a full sister church relationship        chapter. This would probably entail writing a book


222                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



longer than that of the Rev. Stebbins, whose Christ         on the acceptance or rejection of the offered good by
Freely Offered  was the study behind this new               those to whom the offer is made. Further, even in the
chapter. I merely intend to offer some criticism of         form in which the promise is stated in paragraph 1,
the chapter itself.                                         that promise is strictly particular. It is not a promise
  First of all, I have already remarked that the            that all sinners shall (or may) not perish but have
chapter is out of place in the Westminster. If a            eternal life, but a promise that  "whosoever truly
chapter on the subject of the preaching of the gospel       repents of his sin and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ
were to be added, it should not have been added at          shall not perish but have eternal life." And note that
the very end, following the doctrine of the last things.    a statement like this is not conditional; it simply
This makes a patchwork out of the Confession. Such          identifies the heirs or recipients of the promise by
an addition does not indicate much respect for              their spiritual marks: they are those who repent and
the Confession and its careful organization and             believe.
pattern. Perhaps the Westminster Confession is too            This is a fundamental mistake in this chapter. A
silent on the subject of the preaching of the gospel.       confessional statement should be clear and well
Our Reformed creeds as a whole have much more to            defined, especially in our day. Such clarity is
say on the subject. Especially the Canons offer             generally characteristic of the Westminster Con-
significant instruction on the subject of the preaching     fession, but this new chapter is pseudo-Westminster
of the gospel in all five heads of doctrine. Neverthe-      even in this regard.
less, I would suggest that if a chapter on the                Secondly, the chapter is characterized by an
preaching of the Word were to be inserted in the            ambivalence and ambiguity throughout which is due
Westminster Confession, the logical place would be          to the fact that it jumps back and forth from the
immediately before Chapter XXVII, on the Sacra-             Reformed to the Arminian track constantly.
ments. Then, at least, all the means of grace would be
treated together.                                             Paragraph 1 begins on the Reformed track. Notice:
                                                            "It pleased God to commit to the church the
  In the second place, I characterized this chapter as      preaching of the gospel wherein the whole counsel of
one of the slickest statements of two-track theology
that I have seen in  `a long time; and I stated that        God, including the accursed state of man on account
                                                            of sin, the eternal plan of redemption, the redeeming
it outdistances the Christian Reformed Three Points         work of Christ for sinners, and the effectual
and the Murray-Stonehouse presentation. Let me              application by the Holy Spirit of the benefits of His
illustrate this contention.                                 death, is to be preached to all men without
  First of all, the chapter is totally lacking in clear     distinction, together with the solemn command to
definition of what is supposed to be the key concept        repent and believe." Then we jump to the Arminian
of the entire chapter: the offer of the gospel. It          track: "God's earnest entreaty to be reconciled to
speaks of God's "free offer of full salvation to all        Him and His free offer of full salvation to all sinners."
sinners" (pgph. I), of "this offer of life and salvation    And then we jump back once more to the Reformed
unto sinners in the administration of the covenant of       track when the paragraph makes reference to the
grace" (pgph. 2), of "the free offer of the gospel" and     particular promise, as noted above. Note also, by the
"this most gracious offer" (pgph.  4), and of the           way, that throughout the chapter there is a wavering
church's warrant "to offer salvation to men" (pgph.         at crucial points with respect to definite atonement.
6). And yet nowhere does the chapter hint at a              True, paragraph 2 speaks clear language on this score.
definition' of "offer" or make any kind of statement        It speaks of "all the saving benefits which Christ has
explaining this important concept. Still more, it           purchased for them (the elect) by His death." And it
confuses this general offer of salvation with a             speaks of the fact that God sent Christ "effectually to
particular promise, as though offer and promise are         redeem all those and those only, who were from
the same and as though both are general. For in             eternity chosen to salvation." But paragraph 1 speaks
paragraph 1 it speaks of "God's earnest entreaty to be      vaguely of "the redeeming work of Christ for
reconciled to Him and His free offer of full salvation      sinners," leaving those "sinners" unspecified. And
to all sinners" and then immediately adds: "whereby         paragraph 3 states that "redemption has been
He promises that whosoever truly repents of his sin         purchased certainly for each who will receive it." The
and believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall not perish      former expression is at best vague, and the latter
but have eternal life." This plainly confuses the           expression as a specification of the atonement is
concepts ojfer and promise, while the two are readily       downright false; it characterizes the heirs of redemp-
distinguishable and differ widely. One of the chief         tion in a manner in which any Arminian would do so.
differences is that a promise is strictly and only          But a Reformed confession, especially when it is
dependent for its fulfillment on the one who                going to set forth an allegedly Reformed doctrine of
promises, while an offer is in its very nature dependent    the free offer, a Westminster doctrine, ought to be at


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  223



pains to speak very specific language which leaves not      life and the repentance of all who are called.
a hair's breadth of an opening for the Arminian                In paragraph 4 the cat finally comes out of the bag.
doctrine of general atonement. But in this regard           Behind all this two-track theology is a form of
again, we have two-track, pseudo-Westminster                common grace. "Therefore" - and notice that this
theology.                                                   "therefore" refers  to-hat has just been said
  Paragraph 2 is a classic case of two-track theology.      concerning God's having "no pleasure in the death of
For the most part it speaks language to which any           the wicked but rather it is His nature to delight that
Reformed man will say "Amen." It speaks thorough-           those who are called should come to Him in
ly Reformed language about the gathering of the             repentance and faith" - "Therefore the free offer of
elect, about the conferring of the benefits of salvation    the gospel also serves to manifest the goodness of
upon them, and about definite atonement. But the            God, particularly His kindness and longsuffering in
paragraph does not begin on this Reformed track. It         extending to sinners a season of grace." In vain does
begins on the Arminian track with the following             this paragraph try to get back on the Reformed track
language: "The Holy Spirit employs this offer of life       by speaking of God's holiness and righteousness and
and salvation unto sinners. . . ."                          of the wickedness of the unbeliever.
                                                               The result of all this is that in paragraph 6 this new
  In paragraph 3 the two-track theology is again            chapter speaks of the church's commission as its
evident. This paragraph begins by speaking the same         "warrant to offer salvation to men." Again it speaks,
Reformed language as does Canons III, IV/A/8: "Yet          without limitation, of God's having  "no pleasure in
as many as are called by the gospel are unfeignedly         the death of the wicked." At the same time, the
called. . . ." But then it again switches to the            paragraph strives to leave the impression of being
Arminian track. It does so, first, by giving as a reason    Reformed by speaking of the fact that "It is to the
the following: "for redemption has been purchased           praise of the glory of God's grace or justice that His
certainly for each who will receive it," - a statement      word shall accomplish that which He pleases."
to which we have already called attention. And then
it proceeds to corrupt in typical Arminian fashion the         The whole effect of a chapter like this is confused
teaching of Ezekiel  18:23  and 33: 11, as follows:         and confusing. The final result is that the church
"and not only that but God has declared most                which follows its teachings will run on the Arminian
sincerely and truly by an oath in His Word that He          track, not the Reformed track. For to run on both
has no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather       tracks is impossible. And the result, therefore, will be
it is His nature to delight that those who are called       that the pure preaching of the gospel will be
should come to Him in repentance and faith." The            corrupted.
passages teach a particular gospel, as Calvin already          This is the  first time, to my knowledge, that a
made plain. God does not desire the death of  the           Reformed or Presbyterian denomination has officially
wicked who turns.  He delights in the life of the           elevated the error of the free offer to confessional
wicked inasmuch as He delights in their repentance.         status and has actually inserted it in a creed. How
But this paragraph teaches that God delights in the         sad !

                              An Endorsement and a Review

  We do not often carry book reviews in the editorial       should be limited to Dutchmen. The story itself is
department. But the review below, by Rev. C. Hanko,         very interesting and has much human appeal. And the
is worthy of special attention because, in my opinion,      style is interesting. Nor, by the way, is it spoiled at all
the book reviewed is worthy of special attention.           by the excellent translation. When one reads the book
  Having read the book myself, both in Dutch and in         in English, there are very few points at which one
English, I want to endorse Rev. Hanko's review and          would even guess that it is a translation.
thereby endorse the novel.                                    We live in a day when there is much literary trash
  This was a very popular story in the Netherlands,         on the market, stuff that we do not care to have in
though the story came from an American, a                   our homes. Here is a good Christian story. You need
transplanted Hollander. The Dutch edition went              not hesitate to have your teenagers read it. They
through eleven printings. This is understandable: the       should find the story captivating. I hope that Paideia
story is about mystical Zeelanders and would be of          Press will find a good market for the -story and that
interest to Dutch readers.                                  they will find it possible to furnish more such books.
  But there is no reason why interest in the book             Buy the book, and see for yours@
                                                                                     -


224                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



HE GATHERS THE LAMBS, Cornelius Lambregtse                   cares, and describes the manner in which God is
(translated by Harry der Nederlanden); Paideia Press,        preparing him for an early departure from this world
St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada; 290 pp., $7.95              to be gathered into the arms of the Good Shepherd.
(cloth). (Reviewed by Rev. C. Hanko)                         Especially those who have experienced the loss of a
                                                             child will realize that here a father is giving expression
  This is a recent translation of a book that appeared       to his own bitter fears and sorrows at the loss of a
in  the. Dutch under the title  In  Zijn Arm De              small child, for, as the author tells us in the
Lammeren.  Those who have read the book in the               dedication, this book is written, "In precious memory
Dutch will also enjoy the English translation. Those         of my only son Calvin John who at the age of three
who are interested in the background of our                  years and seven months had finished his earthly
forefathers in the Netherlands will also find a keen         sojourn and on the day of his departure said: `I am
delight in the descriptions of that part of the              going home to Jesus. Don't cry, Daddy.' "
Netherlands that belongs to the province of Zeeland.           Although the religious background of the  West-
One enjoys the simple, hand-to-mouth existence of            strate family is different from that of most of us who
the pious Weststrate family, can appreciate their            are of Dutch parentage, we can appreciate the sincere,
sincere godly walk and take interest in their peculiar       spiritual devotion of this family and its friends. The
religious customs and, practices. It is a pleasure to see    book is edifying, as well as enjoyable reading. We are
the main character, Fransje, develop into a four year        thankful for the English translation and urge those
old, as the author tells us of his many questions and        interested to read it.

FROM HOLY WRIT





                              Exposition of Galatians
                                                 by Rev. G. Lubbers



THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT IN THE CHILDREN                     which is called longsuffering. This is evident from
OF LIGHT - Continued (Gal. 5:22-24)                          Ephesians  4:2 where longsuffering is a walking
  However, here in this verse we are dealing with            worthily of our Christian, upward calling in Christ
"longsuffering" as God gives this in sovereign mercy         Jesus. Here Paul connects longsuffering with the
as a fruit of the Spirit in our lives, to fulfill the Law    other virtues of "all lowliness of mind and meek-
and thus walk in spiritual freedom of adopted sons in        ness." The longsuffering Christian is basically very
the light. In this "lo&suffering" which is manifested        lowly and humble before God! He is also very meek
in the saints, we have that law, which in one word is,       and looks for the help and final vindication of God
"love the neighbor as ourselves," being fulfilled in the     Himself (I Pet.  5:5,6). The fruit of the Spirit in the
                                                             longsuffering saint, is that he in profound thankful-
midst of all kinds of cruel opposition and duress.           ness to God for his efficacious calling (I Cor. 1:26-3 1)
  There is much longsuffering required to live in an         now manifests himself very longsuffering over his
evil world that lies in' darkness, but there is ever the     erring and often irritating brother or sister in Christ.
need of being longsuffering in the midst of the              It is the prayerful and constant and spiritual attempt
imperfect saints, of which we are a fellow-saint, and        to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace
that, too, very sinful and imperfect. Shall we truly         (Eph. 4:4). It is the manifestation of love as the bond
walk worthy of the efficacious calling wherewith we          of perfection. Longsuffering is God's energy in us
have been called out of darkness into God's mar-             whereby we work out our salvation with fear and
velous light, then we must have the fruit of the Spirit      trembling (Phil. 2: 12, 13). For then we imitate God


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   225



in His longsuffering love to His own elect who cry              a way that by the goodness of our hearts we manifest
unto Him day and night, and whom He speedily                    bowels of mercy and patient longsuffering toward our
hears! This is the love which suffers long and is full of       neighbor.  Gnly thus do we suffer long with him as
kind usefulness in.God's church. It is interesting and          God does with all His children. It is remarkable that
also rather sobering to notice that in the list of virtues      Paul writes in Romans 15: 14 that these  christians
of love, which excels all knowledge and wisdom of               there are "full of goodness." Because of this goodness
men and angels, longsuffering is the first fruit                the Romans are filled with all knowledge to admonish
mentioned as operating-love in the imperfect body of            each other. This requires much longsuffering, as Paul
Christ (I Cor. 13:4). It leads the list also here in the        admonishes Timothy (II Tim. 4:2b). From the foun-
practical demonstration of love to the brother,                 tain of goodness, in the bowels of mercy, Christians
upholding this imperfect son of God, in tender                  admonish each other in great longsuffering. What a
affection, which is slow to wrath and kind!                     beautiful triad of graces, fruit of the Spirit in the
  The second perfection (fruit) of the Spirit here is           adopted sons, who cry Abba Father! Now they will
called  gentleness!  The Greek term is  chreestotees.           not consume each other any longer (Gal. 5 : 15).
This means: usefulness of persons to others. The KJV               We still have one more triad of graces to consider.
translates this noun: gentleness, mild of disposition.          These too are fruits of the Spirit. They are:  faith,
In other New Testament passages the translation is:             meekness, temperance.
kindness (II Cor. 6:6; Eph. 2:7; Col. 3: 12; Titus 3:4).           The term "faith (pistis) seems at first glance not to
Here the term has the meaning of tender affection               fit in this triad. The term  pistis  is predominantly a
and beneficence. The Holland S. Vert. renders this              New Testament term. It occurs no fewer than some
term throughout by the very expressive goedetieren-             two hundred thirty-nine (239) times in the New
heid, which is akin to the English: bowels of yearning          Testament Scriptures. Paul states rather clearly in
mercy, mercy for the helpless and the wayward                   Galatians  3:23 that, in the fulness of times, "faith
children of God. The German. translation of Luther              came." The whole Christ in all His rich and
gives the term  Freundelichkeit,  that is, friendliness.        law-fulfilling grace is now set before us in the
That seems to be the contextual meaning in                      `preaching, evidently set forth in the preaching of the
Colossians 3: 12 where the term "kindness" is                   Cross (Gal. 3:  1,2). Paul uses the term "faith" some
connected with friendliness, bowels of mercy, inner,            twenty-one (21) times in Galatians. And it is then
deep, spiritual compassion and understanding. Here              ever used in the sense of justifying-faith, or, more
blooms the precious flower of heavenly fragrance in             exactly, the faith by which God justifies us in Christ's
the garden of the great Husbandman, Who would                   merits. Thus we are righteous before God and heirs of
have much fruit in our lives (John  15:8). Is He not            eternal life (Gal.  2:19-21;  3:5,6). Yes, indeed, it is
glorified in our bearing much fruit?                            also the faith which works by love, and by which we
  It should be remembered that this kindness                    expect the hope of justification in the day when all
(gentleness) is, first of all, in God, as the eternal           shall appear before the judgment-seat of Christ (Gal.
perfection of His sovereign will, and that, in His              5:2-5). It is by faith that we keep the law of God:
outgoing works in Christ, it is the manifestation of            thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. This faith is
the superabundant riches of God's grace, now and in             both justifying and sanctifying in the Holy Spirit.
the ages to come (Eph.  2:7). But, secondly, this                  However, a term must be explained in the light of
gentleness is also a gift of God to us by the Spirit of         the immediate context. That is very important here in
Christ, so that we are imitators of God as dear                 the context of the entire triple triad of virtues.
children. When it is the fruit of the Spirit, it is a fruit     Contextually the term "faith" must mean: the loving
of the Vine in us, because the Spirit takes it out of           trust  and confidence which we have in our  fellow-
Christ and gives it to us (John 16 : 15). Perhaps we            saint, who has but a small beginning of the perfect
may say that this "kindness" is the  spiritual-                 and new obedience. Here is a "faith" which is the
psychological impulse of being long suffering. Kind-            fruit of love; it is energized by love. It is a living and
ness is the root, and longsuffering is the fruit. Surely, it    not a dead faith. Yes, it is a faith which believes all
should be obvious that there is not a law against such          things, hopes all things, and endures all things, and in
kindness, for it is the fulfilment of the whole law.            believing trust covers a multitude of sins (I Cor. 13:7;
Here we see men and women "under grace" and,                    Prov. 10: 12; I Peter 4:8). In this faith we recognize
therefore, free in the Lord.                                    the fervent love and trust of those, who have their
  The third perfection mentioned in this second triad           souls purified in the truth, and thus love each other
is: goodness.  It ought to be rather obvious that               with fervent love (I Pet.  1:22). Here is a love and
goodness (agathoosunee) is the abiding fountain of all          trust which excels all knowledge, even the giving of
of both the gentleness and longsuffering in our                 our bodies to be burned, as martyrs who have not
Spirit-led lives. The Spirit joins .these together in such      love. It is, once more, the infallible earmark of true


  226                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



  discipleship! (John  13:35)                                  in the greatness of His justice and power takes up the
    The second term in this triad is "meekness"                cause of the afflicted, and casts the proud down, so
  (praoutees).  This is truly a virtue in which love is        that his place will be found no more (Ps. 37: 11; 76: 9;
  most beautifully and manifestly set forth in our lives.      147: 16). The meek man waits for the LORD to
  It is in meekness that we have another aspect of love,       avenge. Such meekness we see in Moses, who gave the
  which is the fulfilment of the whole law. Here is love       matter of Miriam's accusation over to the Lord, as did
  as it comes in contact with all the brethren and with        Christ at the Cross, in the highest sense. The Son of
  all who are outside of the communion of saints (Titus        God, while he learned obedience from that which he
  3:2). For the sons of Sarah, who are born from               suffered, was meek and lowly in heart, and gave it
  heaven, are the meek who shall inherit the earth (Ps.        over into the hands of God. When He was reviled he
  37: 11; Matt..  5:5). And "meekness" is one of the           reviled not again (Num.  12:3; Matt.  11:29; I Pet.
  choicest fruits of the Spirit in our life. For meekness      3: 13-17) Here in this meekness we see faith as it
  is another aspect of love, which is the fulfilling of the    conquers the world. Abel lies dead in his blood; it was
  whole law in one word. If ever there is a man who            the blood of a meek man, who shall inherit the
  does not bite and devour his neighbor, it is the meek        world! Here we see men and women of whom the
  man. He has learned to roll his burden upon the              world was not worthy (Heb. 11:32-39).
  LORD, not to fret or be envious of his neighbor who            Let it be underscored that we see in these last
  seems to prosper while he walks in iniquity, but. to         three, as in all the other triads, a threefold strand
  wait patiently for the Lord as the righteous judge to        which cannot be broken. We hope to see this once
 vindicate his cause (Ps. 37: l-6). Here we find a man         more when we consider the third of these Christian
 who had learned the deep secret of God in the midst           graces, fruits of the Spirit in our life. This fruit too is
  of the raging storms. He has a healthy soul and a            for those who are legally sons of adoption, born from
 victorious stance in the midst of troubles that come          above, the children of the free-woman, Sarah. The
 upon him. He is taught of God, and is guided in his           Fruit of "temperance" is not given by the Spirit,-is
 judgment. A meek man is strong, and he stands in his          not wrought in the hearts of the reprobate un-
 position like the rock of Gibraltar. In Ephesians 4: 1,2*     believers in the world, and who are not drawn by
 Paul connects this meekness with "lowlimindedness."           irresistible grace (John  6:44). Such have not the
 A little study of the Greek word for lowlimindedness,         Spirit and are none of Christ, and, therefore, are not
 which is tapenophrosunees, shows that it is basically a       Abraham's seed. For this "temperance" is a beautiful
 being humble (near the earth) before God! God alone           Christian grace which is qualitatively different from
 is great for the lowly man, who is the meek man. He           all worldly, natural self-control.


  THE DAY OF SHADOWS



                                       That Troublesome
                                      and Sinful Triangle
                                                   Rev. John A. Heys




    Try to appreciate Jacob's embarrassment and                Rachel and that he had worked seven years for her.
 pathetic situation after  Laban had mocked him by             The great love that he had for Rachel could not be
 having a big feast for his wedding with Rachel only to        hidden from anyone in Haran. And to Laban's shame
,  find that he had taken Leah into his tent that night.       is the fact that after the seven years he did not give
 Well could he feel that he was the laughingstock of           Jacob his daughter Rachel, but Jacob had to ask for
 the whole neighborhood. All knew that he loved                her even after he had worked hard for seven long


                                                THE-STANDARD BEARER                                                 227


years for her. And when we read that they seemed as            He had promised. No matter what  Laban agreed or
only a few days, so great was his love, it certainly           decreed to set as the wages so that Jacob would come
means that more than the family of  Laban were                 out on the short end, God turned things about and
aware of so great a love. And how sheepishly Jacob             Jacob always got the greater share of the cattle and
must have come out of his tent to confront his                 the goods. One cannot outguess or outwit the living
father-in-law that morning. How could he face the              God. And Laban would have done wisely to cast his
whole neighborhood?                                            lot in with Jacob and assist him, and so - even as he
       Let us not excuse Leah for her trickery. She            had said  - be blessed for Jacob's sake. One cannot
undoubtedly loved Jacob and was happy to be                    tight God's people and prosper. One can share in that
married to him. But that does not make her part in             blessing when one allies himself with those whom
the deception right. He who deceived his father is now         God blesses. Unless you are allied with God's people,
deceived by his father-in-law and uncle, and by the            you are standing in opposition to God Himself. The
woman he had taken as his wife under the impression            Church is the apple of His eye, His beloved; and you
that she was her sister. And undoubtedly Jacob was             cannot oppose her without incurring His fierce wrath.
by God reminded in this of his own deception before            It makes no difference whether you attack her in the
his blind father. That, at least, seems the best way to        truth she maintains or in her walk of life, you oppose
explain his mild attack upon his deceptive father-in           God when you oppose His Church. And His blessing
law. "What is this that thou hast done to me? Did I            rests upon you when with those who hold the truth
not serve thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou            you walk in sweet communion, and when you pray
beguiled me?" can hardly be called a strong rebuke.            for the peace of Jerusalem.
One would expect some rather nasty name-calling and              But it is the lack of peace in Jacob's family, the
a stronger flare of temper and anger than that.                many troubles he had, to which we particularly call
                                                               your attention at this time. The truth of Scripture
       Crafty Laban suggests seven more years; and Jacob       that a man shall leave his father and his mother, and
in that great love agrees. He fills his week with Leah
-                                                              cleave unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh,
        and some "honeymoon" that must have been!              is powerfully demonstrated here. In more powerful
Jacob's mind throughout that week is upon Rachel               language than simply the statement that polygamy
and not upon Leah, while he lived with her as his              and bigamy are sinful, the Scriptures demonstrate, in
wife. The seven years may have seemed like a few               the lives of those who practiced it, this very truth in a
days; but this week seemed like seven years as he              way that it stands out so clearly that it cannot be
looked forward to getting Rachel as his wife. And              denied.
when Leah's week was up, Jacob did get Rachel. That              What a troubled life Jacob had! What a fierce
must be the meaning. He did not have to work                   rivalry is presented in Genesis 29 and 30 between
another seven years before he could take her into his          Leah and Rachel! And, if we may anticipate, how
tent. The account of the children born to Leah and
Rachel makes that impossible. Jacob worked for                 clearly we see that this spills over into the four sets of
Laban six years after the second seven for Rachel              children born to Leah and her handmaid and Rachel
were over, and the ages of the children - particularly         and her handmaid when Joseph is sold into Egypt;
Joseph's age in connection with Benjamin's - makes             and Jacob has created the very situation in which he,
it                                                             who deceived his father, is deceived as father by his
       plain that Rachel got many of these children, and SO
did Leah, before the last six years of work for Laban.         own sons.
When we say children, as far as Rachel is concerned              Jacob did not treat fairly and decently Leah whom
we mean those of her maid as well as Joseph.                   God had given to him as wife. Let it not be
                                                               overlooked that God did this, be it through the
       And after Jacob had fulfilled his second seven          trickery of Laban. But it was no accident; and let it
years for Rachel he did work for  Laban another six            not be forgotten either that it is to Leah that God
years in which  Laban changed his wages ten times.             gives the honour and privilege of bringing forth
God blessed everything that Jacob did. He did,  n.ot           Judah, who brought forth David, who brought forth
have a "Midas touch" that caused everything he                 the Christ. No, God had this all planned, and had
touched to turn to gold. God was with him, and                 covenant considerations in mind when, according to
this  Laban even confesses in Genesis  30:27, "And             His eternal, unchangeable counsel Jacob received
Laban said unto him, I pray thee if I have found               Leah for his wife. And loving Rachel as much as he
favour in thine eyes, tarry, for I have learned by             did,. Jacob should have loved God more and been
experience that the Lord hath blessed me for thy               content with God's choice of a wife for him, as
sake." Yet  Laban does foolishly in spite of this              strange as that may sound in modern ears that rate
insight and tries to trick Jacob and tries to get the          the love of man and woman above the love towards
advantage by changing the wages those ten times. The           God. Today love for mankind is elevated to the point
only explanation of it is that God was with Jacob as           where, in hatred against God, the doctrines and the


228                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



preaching have to be changed to gain men and lose         becomes angry. And although he thinks of God and
Go.d. He is belittled and insulted and denied His         says, "Am I God?" all use of God's name does not
sovereignty in order to accommodate and elevate           manifest necessarily a spiritual attitude before Him.
man.                                                      Be not deceived by every mentioning of His name, as
  And a fierce competition arose between Leah and         though this always reveals strong faith and piety.
Rachel to supply Jacob with sons and have the             Satan used God's name twice.and seemed to believe
pre-eminence as wife. As we said, Jacob clearly           that Jesus is the Son of God in that temptation in the
showed, if not contempt, then dissatisfaction with        wilderness at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry.
Leah as his wife; and she sought to gain his favour by    But it showed no faith and no piety. Jacob should
producing sons for him. Rachel became extremely           have instructed his fiery tempered wife of the
jealous. She had Jacob's love. She knew that,             sovereignty of the God against Whom she was
although she may have feared losing it in the long run    rebelling.
because she could not ,fulfill the purpose of a wife,        But that troublesome and sinful triangle is there.
namely to be a mother and provide her husband with        One man and two wives. And the trouble stems out
seed. She gave Jacob her handmaid when she saw that       of the sinfulness. Jesus said in Matthew 19:5, `"And
God would give her no children and had given Leah         they twain shall be one flesh." He did not say that
and her handmaid several, and undoubtedly saw that        one man and two women would be one flesh. He did
this. meant ,much to Jacob and that he treated Leah a     not say that three would be one flesh. He, Who is
bit better. We read in Genesis  29:31 that the Lord       God Himself, interprets His own word in Genesis
saw "that Leah was hated," and that means by Jacob,       2:24 that a man leaves his father and mother and
not by Rachel. The names Leah gives to her sons and       cleaves to his wife and "they shall be one flesh."
those of her handmaid indicate that she was fighting      They in Genesis 2:24 means one man and one wife.
for Jacob's affection. She even states after the birth    Never mind the fact that the saints did not heed this
of her firstborn, "Now therefore my husband will          and took many wives. Jesus, the Son of God, said
love me." After her second son she said, "Because the     that twain make one flesh  in God's judgment.  And
Lord hath heard that I was hated, He hath therefore       with that we must deal. To Him we must listen; and
given me this son also." And after the third son,         when we see those who ought to know better go
"Now this time will  ,my husband be joined to me,         contrary to His Word, we must still take Him at His
because I have born him three sons."                      Word and condemn what we see in men who
  And Rachel? In a rage of jealousy she blames her        disregard it.
barrenness on Jacob and cries out, "Give me children,       Nor must we argue from the fact that Christ came
or else I die!" And now we read of Jacob's anger at       in the line of David and Bathsheba, which was a way
this woman that he loved so much. Yes, anger is not       of adultery on two counts. It was adultery since she
the same as hatred. He still loved her, but he was        was Uriah's wife when he went in unto her. But had
irked by her accusation as though he had been             she been a virgin or a widow, it was still adultery in
keeping her from having children.                         that he had a wife, and with her he was one flesh
  Jacob was a miserable comforter, because he was so      before God. Indeed, it pleased God sovereignly to use
unspiritual about the whole matter. He did not seem       David in his sins to bring us the Christ; but let us say
to sympathize very much with his wife who wanted          then that it was sin. It was also sin that brought
children and was denied them by God. Let that be          Christ to His cross. With wicked hands they crucified
understood before we, go on with the matter. It was       and slew Him. And that God saved us by that cross
God Who did not want Rachel to have children till He      does not mean that therefore the crucifying was not
was ready to give them. And Rachel's use of               sin. Neither was it a nullifying of sin that Jacob took
mandrakes (Genesis 30: 14-16) did not increase her        Rachel after God had given him a wife. A triangle like
fertility. It was, as we read in Genesis  30:22, "And     that always is sin, and always produces trouble, for
God remembered  Rac,hel, and God hearkened unto           God is not mocked. Even though this sin also can be
her, and opened her womb." When it pleases Him He         forgiven, and Christ went to His cross that it might be
gives those whom medical "science" says cannot have       forgiven in all of God's people, we must not try to
children the children they desire; and when it pleases    talk it right. And let us learn from the troubled life of
Him to keep those, whom medical "science" says are        Jacob that God does not approve of a man having
in every sense capable of bringing forth children,        more than one wife at a time, that is, two women
from having children, they will not have them. Jacob      who are his wives while both are living. Romans 7: 1-3.
did not remind Rachel of this. Jacob did not in           is still in the Bible; and it was given by an
sympathy with her suggest that they make this a           unchangeable God Whose will in the Old Testament
matter of prayer before the God Who decides how           in regard to marriage was the same as in the New
many children we shall or shall not have. No, Jacob       Testament dispensation.


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                               229



CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE





                                      God's Eternally
                                      Founded. Word
                                             Rev. Robt. C. Harbach





  This is the theme of Psalm 119: 152 where we read,      directly. In fact, He did, on occasion, even calling the
Concerning Thy testimonies,  `I have known  of  old       men He spoke to by name, as in Abraham,
that Thou hast founded them,for ever. Here we have,       Abraham!(Cp. Moses, Moses! and Samuel! Samuel!).
I. Principle Truth, II. Permanent Foundation, and III.    Not once, but twice, at our Lord's baptism and at His
Personal Experience. These words appear in the            transfiguration, the Father spoke in an audible voice
nineteenth of the twenty-two octrains of Psalm 119,       directly from Heaven. This heavenly testimony was
that section in which each of its eight verses begins     well-attested by no fewer than six witnesses. But we
with the Hebrew letter  q8th.  This octave may be         have a more sure word of prophecy in the scripture (2
entitled, "Prayer Memories," as over and over the         Pet. 1: 17-21). We are on much surer ground with
suppliant's cry, voice, and meditation are evident        scripture than we would be with a voice from heaven.
throughout. First, he states  fiow he prayed: I cried     The Lord no longer guides by such a voice, but by the
with my whole heart. Heart cries are the very essence     testimonies of holy scripture. Voices from the blue?
of prayer. Second, he tells what he prayed for: Save      We have a more sure word! Visions? We have a more
me! Third,  when  he prayed: in the dawning of the        sure word! Dreams? Who needs them? We have a
morning. Fourth,  How long  he prayed: through the        more sure word! The breviary? We have a more sure
watches of the whole day; not merely of the night.        word! Golden plates? We have a much more sane and
Fifth, what he pleaded: Thy. lovingkindness. Sixth,       sure word ! Ecclesiastical traditions? Religious
what happened: his enemies threateningly drew near.       opinions? All tossing winds .of doctrine which sweep
Seventh, how he was rescued: Thou art near, 0 Lord.       away in deception only the child-mentality of the
God is nearer than his enemies. Eighth, what was his      present age (Eph. 4: 14). Hindu Puranas? the Koran?
conviction and conclusion of the whole matter: I          or Mormon book? All the devil's imitations, counter-
have known of old from Thy testimonies that Thou          feits and deceptions. Canonical scripture alone pro-
hast founded them for ever.                               vides unerring certainty.
  Testimonies are the declaration of God's mind and         How may we be sure where God speaks? Look into
will to man; that is, divine' revelation, the whole       and read the standing authentic record. To the law
standard and rule of truth. The term is an amplifica-     and to the testimony! if they speak not according to
tion of v.  151b, all Thy commandments are  truth.        this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isa.
The ark of the covenant was. also called the ark of       8:20). We must always go back to the testimonies of
testimonies, for there were kept the two tables of the    scripture. For it is  "from  Thy testimonies that I
law, or the tables of testimony. The tabernacle itself    know" anything. "Concerning Thy testimonies" is
was called the tabernacle of testimony, all this          literally  `Ifrom  Thy testimonies," indicating the
testifying to the great, glorious fact that the God of    source of all wisdom. Here we have: (1) the
truth dwells among His people.                            testimony of the Spirit, who testifies of Christ, and
  God could speak His testimonies immediately and         bears witness with our spirit that we are the children


230                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



of God, and (2) the testimony of Jesus. Search the          new slant on things, having invented an effeminate
scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life;      god, a womanish "Christ" who offended none, except
and they are they which testify of Me. (Jn. 5:39).          the sensibilities of the manly. The old side church is
  Thy testimonies  - Thou hast founded them for             as old as the hills, more solid than Gibraltar, fixed as
ever. Thou hast ordained (same word as in Hab. 1: 12)       the eternal mountains. Canaries could peck down
them for ever, or  established  them forever. God's         Gibraltar sooner than the Word of God could be
testimonies are, to get to the root meaning, estab-         undermined. The things which are eternally estab-
lished in "a sitting together in council" and covenant.     lished on the impregnable rock of holy scripture are
The picture is that of the Lord and His bride on a          the delight (v. 143) of true saints. The wicked world
love seat sitting together in the secret intimacy of His    blasphemously and thoughtlessly sings, When the
covenant friendship. God's word then rests on the           "saints" go marching in! But the "saints" (those
foundation of His covenant of IoK                           "saved" in their sins, not from their sins) shall never
                                                            go marching in. The saints (not the "saints") go
  God's testimonies are founded to eternity. So they        marching in! For they have not been chasing bubbles,
will remain firm and unshakable through all ages. All       but seek first the kingdom of God, the only solid and
the doctrine of Scripture, found expressed in our           substantial reality with a rock bottom foundation
Reformed confessions were ordained and settled              whose Layer and Builder is God.
before the world began. Forever, 0 Lord, Thy word is
settled in heaven. This 89th verse of Psalm 119 might         David said, and that when he was well on in years,
be rendered, Forever Thou art, 0 Lord! Thy word is          I have known of old, from Thy testimonies, that
settled in heaven. God's word is more unalterable           Thou hast founded them for ever. Paul also knew this
than the law of the Medes and Persians and                  to be true of Timothy: From a child thou hast known
mountains of brass. Christ Himself was foreordained         the holy scriptures. What a life-enduring blessing to
before the foundation of the world. All the people of       have been raised in a Christian home where family
God were chosen in Him before the foundation of the         worship prevailed and where the sound doctrine
universe. Every event in history, every circumstance        grounded in eternity found a repository and was
in the church is fixed in God's preordination of            firmly established in our hearts and lives! In our early
whatsoever comes to pass. All things were taken into        days, one of our ministers habitually prayed that God
account and settled, not on second thought in the           would write the eternal truth of His word in our
fleeting seconds of time, but in the decrees of             hearts. God's word is grounded and founded to
eternity. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one        eternity. By grace He has founded it in our hearts. An
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be       old seminary professor, nearly four decades ago, gave
fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My         me a Bible in which he had written the words, Hide
words shall not pass away. Nothing of God's word has        thou in thine heart His word lest thou sin against
ever changed. Impossible it is that His word should         Him. A treasured Bible is so because its contents are
ever change. For God's word is as His mind,                 heart-treasure. David in his advanced years looked
immutable, unshakable (Job  23:13), grounded and            back to his childhood saying, I have known of old
laid as a foundation on solid rock, forever established.    that Thy word is the eternal foundation of all things.
He states, I change not. Therefore our prayer               This is to him familiar truth; he knew it long ago. He
memories are dotted, like diamond stars on the velvet       knew it ever since he was able to memorize a sentence
of night, with confidence in Jehovah, the Ancient of        of scripture. It was not an old truth lately discovered.
Days, the Rock of Ages.                                     He knew this great truth since the time that he had
                                                            learned anything about God. David proved this truth
  Never mind the new school philosophies, or the            over and over, not by one or two sensational
new thought schools. Our stand is on the old                experiences, which are no test of truth. But he made
theology. Like fizzling Roman candles, the latest           proof of the eternal truth of God's word not only in
pretended neology rockets up brightly for a moment to       recent, but in old and time-tested experiences.
suddenly expire and merge with its proper origin and        David's place on the truth and immutability of the
end, the world's darkness. Those of the modern              Word was one of long standing. David saw that the
church come out with their new light, which Jesus           covenant was in the line of his ancestors, including his
said, as compared to the old light, is as darkness          parents. He rejoices that he was born of a covenant
(Matt. 6:23). So there are old lights and new lights.       mother. From infancy to old age David experienced
But the new lights are doomed to disappointment if          the firmness of God's covenant, the certainty and
they imagine the new light will extinguish the old          comfort of His providence and the blessedness of His
light. There is the old side church and the new side        salvation. Thou art He that took me out of the
church. The old side church is of the party of God,         womb; Thou didst make me hope when I was upon
on His side, and is no new party or new side over           my mother's breast; I was cast upon Thee from the
against Him and His side. The new side church has a         womb; Thou art my God from my mother's belly (Ps.


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                           231


22:9, 10). Indeed, what David always knew, learned                 ing great and precious promises. Do you possess
 from childhood, and was also,always known through-                these spiritual and eternal riches? Do you greatly
 out the generations of his fathers before him. He                 esteem them? Or are you so attached to this presen`t
knew the experience of the truth  that goes back to                world that your philosophy is, A bird in the hand is
his father, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. So we            worth two in the bush, meaning that which is to
possess psalters, confessions, and liturgies passed on             come is all conjecture and uncertainty? Or do you
down to us from these former generations. We, too,                 believe with the certainty of true faith that, Thou
 can say, Our fathers trusted in Thee; they trusted and            preparest a table before me in the presence of mine
Thou didst deliver them; they cried to thee and were               ehemies,  and so surely goodness and mercy shall
delivered; they trusted in Thee, and were not                      follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in
confounded. (Ps.  22:4,5). To you are given exceed-                the house of the Lord for ever?

 ALL AROUND US                                               -_



                                          Creation and Biology
                                                      Rev. G. Van Baren


   It becomes increasingly true that the faithful child                  School board members, fearing the curriculum
of God has no place in the world - and especially in                  could violate a student's First Amendment right to
the world of education. While government maintains                    religious freedom, have tried to fire Mr. Dale, a
a "neutrality," it is a neutrality which allows only for              fundamentalist preacher.
secularism and atheism. An article  in Liberty,  a                       "Churches and parents have the right to teach
Seventh-day Adventist magazine, January 1980,                         their children religion," said Ruth Berg, board
makes this plain:                                                     president. "And that's  what`we're trying to protect."
       LEMMON, South Dakota - A high school biology                      Mr. Dale  teaches his students  that a superpower
    teacher, Lloyd Dale, may lose his job for exactly the             created life about 10,000 years ago, a concept that he
    opposite reason that John Scopes was tried in                     said is better supported by scientific evidence and
    Tennessee a half century ago.                                     fossil records than evolution.
       Mr. Dale continues to teach creation in his                       Last spring, the board voted to fire Mr. Dale, who
    sophomore biology classes as an alternative to the                has taught at Lemmon High School for fifteen years.
    theory of evolution, which  ~became  standard in                  They rehired him, but changed textbooks, adopted
    biology textbooks since the Scopes "monkey trial" in              guidelines for the course, and warned the teacher to
    Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925.                                       follow the guidelines or face the loss of his job.
       "I maintain that evolution and creation  are both                 The guidelines allow Mr. Dale to spend one week
    philosophical views," said Mr. Dale. "Neither is                  presenting creation and evolution theories.
    provable."

                                              To be a Minister

   Now-a-days one wonders just what is required to                    USA (UPCUSA) are growing increasingly restive as
become a minister  - at least within the major                        their denomination moves toward openly tolerating
denominations of our day. It appears that the heretic                 the denial of Christ's deity. The specific case is the
is accepted and honored - but one who still insists on                reception of the Rev. Mansfield Kaseman by  Capital-
maintaining some of the principles of Scripture is                    Union presbytery after he openly denied that Jesus is
`rejected. But such is also the testimony of Christ that              God. An appeal to the Synod of the Piedmont was
this should be in the last days. Two reports are given                turned down by the Permanent Judicial Commission
                                                                      of the Synod. The issue will now come before the
in the R.E.S. News Exchange, December 4, 1979:                        General Assembly's Permanent Judicial Commission
       Conservatives in the United Presbyterian Church                which is expected to render a final judgment


232                                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



       sometime after the  f&t of the year. Meanwhile the                                           The same periodical presents the opposite extreme:
       presbytery has proceeded to install Mr. Kaseman.                                         a refusal to ordain a man who holds to the historic,
          Commenting on these developments, Dr. John H.                                         and we believe Scriptural, position of ordination of
       Gerstner, professor of Church History at Pittsburgh                                      women to office:
       Seminary, feels that the possibility that the denial of                                            On a vote of  5047  the Presbytery of East
       the deity of Christ may be upheld by the  UPCUSA's                                             Toronto of the Presbyterian Church in Canada
       Permanent Judicial Committee threatens the very                                                refused to license Mr. Daniel  MacDougall  for ordina-
       essence of the Church. By permitting the denial of a                                           tion. The applicant, a graduate of Westminster
       central Christian doctrine, the denomination formally                                          Seminary in Philadelphia, indicated that, while being
       will have made apostasy legitimate. That may well                                              able to affirm the Ordination Vows and to work with
       lead  - if it happens  - to the "legitimate withdrawal                                         ordained women, his conscience did not permit him
       of a block of conservativeS from the UPCUSA."                                                  to participate in the ordination of women as ministers
          Dr. Gerstner sees this issue as potentially far more                                        or elders.
       threatening than the issue of women's ordination.                                                  Those opposing Mr.  MacDougall's  application
       With such an issue conservatives can live. The open                                            argued that his stance might lead to an attitude of
       espousal of the denial of Christ's deity, however,                                             discrimination against women. Those supporting him
       constitutes apostasy. And though the conservatives                                             argued that since he could answer the ordination
       are a minority, pressures arise within congregations to                                        questions affirmatively the Presbytery had no right
       throw off their UPCUSA affiliation. The 2.7 million                                            to deny him licensure. The decision will be appealed
       member church has 8,600 congregations.                                                         and stands to become a test case on the issue.


                                                              Christian Rock Music

    The  Outlook,  December 1979, quotes from Calvin                                                  keeps. Rock music has been fostered and embraced
College  Chimes  that treats the subject of "Christian                                                by those segments of our society which are "into"
rock." T h e   s u b j e c t   $ose   i n   c o n n e c t i o n   w i t h   t h e                     drugs, illicit and perverted sex, and rebellion. Another
cancellation of a "public relations tour" of a Calvin                                                 kind of association includes movements, postures,
m u s i c a l   g r o u p   c a l l e d   "Kyro." It appears that the                                 and facial expressions. These are usually sensual and
"rock music" of the group was the cause of this                                                       obscene, sometimes subtly so, more often blatantly so.
                                                                                                      I see a fittingness in both kinds of associations with
c a n c e l l a t i o n .   A n   i n t e r e s t i n g   d i s c u s s i o n   o n   ."rock          rock music, a fittingness which makes it unlikely that
music" is presented by Calvin Stapert, of Calvin's                                                    the associations are accidental and which says
music department.  ThoSe  who might have inclinations                                                 something quite clear about the ethos of the music.
towards this -sort of music ought to read the entire                                                      ,The most obvious stylistic features of rock music
article. Occasionally,  one finds that our young people                                               are incessant repetition and consistent use of  ex-
find pleasure in this sort of "music." The- professor                                                 tremkly high levels of volume. I have already
concludes by stating:                                                                                 indicated that I think this is symptomatic of its
          I will approach the question from three different                                           artistic impoverishment, but I also think it reveals
       angles. First, I will list some of the adjectives which                                        something fundamental about the nature of rock
       must immediately come to my mind when I hear rock                                              music. It is a music which bombards the senses to the
       music. Second, I will call to attention those segments                                         point of insensitivity; it is an incantation; it is a drug.
       of our culture which have most readily embraced                                                    I have stated my case forcefully in the hope that it
       rock music as their own. Third, I will mention the                                             will stimulate more discussion of a crucial problem.
       most prominent stylistic features of rock music. I                                             The contemporary music scene needs transformation.
       think the reader will  n&ice some connections among                                            Are we transforming the contemporary music scene
       the results of these three approaches.                                                         when we simply accept it and baptize it with
          Adjectives that come to mind when I hear  rock,                                             Christian words? Can we enter into the job of
       music are frenzied, violent, angry, sensuous, vulgar,                                          transformatioli  assuming that in music surgery is
       and so on. Of course, all this might merely be in the                                          never necessary?
       ear of the listener;  :andther  listener might hear
       something quite different in the music. Clearly we will                                      The apostle Paul said in II Cor. 6: 14, "Be ye not
       not  -get  very far with this approach alone. We need                                    unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
       some way .to check on the reliability of the ears doing                                  fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
       the hearing.                    .:                                                       A n d   w h a t   c o m m u n i o n   h a t h   l i g h t   w i t h   d a r k n e s s ? "
          My second' approach is through association. Al-                                       Living out `of that principle, the Christian ought to'
       though this is hardly an infallible way of getting at                                    have no difficulty with the kinds of music which this
       the ethos of music, I think something can usually be                                     w o r l d   n o w   p r o d u c e s . A r e   w e   l i v i n g   o u t   o f   t h a t
       learned about music by, if you will, the company it                                      principle?


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  233


QUESTION BOX





                              About the Fifth Commandment

                                                  Rev. C. Hanko



  Allow me, first of all, to offer an apology to those             friend-servant whereby He is impelled to reveal
who have sent in questions and have not yet received               to Abraham the secrets of His heart.
an answer. Although the Standard Bearer appreciates           2. God had appeared to the father of all believers
receiving questions, and always invites more, circum-         in the form of a Lord with two of his servants,
stances forced us to delay in answering. We appreciate             that is, as the Angel of Jehovah with two angels;
the patience of those who have had to wait, and                    had feasted with Abraham and had revealed to
sincerely hope to answer your questions as soon as                 him that the promised son Isaac would be born
possible in the future.                                            within another year.
  A reader writes,                                            3. The Angel of Jehovah, which is the Old
     I would like to ask a few questions on the 5th                Testament manifestation of the Christ, also
   commandment, Honor thy father and thy                           informs Abraham of the destruction of Sodom
  mother. . . .                                                    because of its great wickedness, arousing in him
                                                                   the prayer for righteous Lot, and teaching him
     I would like to ask the following questions based             that the church is delivered through judgment.
  on Exodus 2q: 12, Ephesians 6: 1-3, Proverbs 20:20
  and Lord's Day 39.                                          4. In that connection God declares that He knows
                                                                   Abraham as only God can know, with an eternal
   1. Can we teach our children in our homes and                   love,, to take Abraham into His covenant
  schools that if they are obedient and honor their                fellowship and bless him with every spiritual and
   father and mother, as a general rule, it will be well           eternal blessing, to be his God and, the God of
   them and they will live long on the earth?                      His seed forever.
     2. Why is this the only commandment that has             5. The purpose of God's knowing Abraham is, that
   a promise? Could it be that it is the hardest of the            Abraham may receive the grace to command his
   ten to follow?                                                  children and household after him; an instruction
            sincerely, an interested parent and teacher.           which God will use to cause Abraham's true
  To answer these questions I prefer to refer to a                 spiritual seed to do justice and judgment, that is,
significant passage in the Old: Testament that speaks              to maintain God's law both in their hearts and
emphatically of the promise of God to covenant                     their lives.
parents, in the light of which the promise of the fifth       6. The outcome will be that God will bestow on
commandment must be understood. In Genesis 18: 19                  Abraham that which He has spoken of him. That
God says of Abraham, "For I, know him, that he will                is, God will use the covenant training to be the
command his children and his household after him,                  God of Abraham and of his spiritual seed even
and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice             throughout the ages to come, until the multi-
and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon                         tude as large as the innumerable stars of the
Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." A few                   heavens is brought into glory.
remarks,                                                      In answer, then, to your first question, we
   1. This is a part of the divine soliloquy in which       certainly can teach our children that if they are
     God speaks of His covenant love for His                obedient and honor their father and mother they are


 234                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



 walking in the way of God's covenant, and a sincere,            In answer to the second question, this command-
 godly walk is blessed with spiritual blessing both in         ment carries the promise just because of its rich
 this life and in eternity. It is not true that rebellious     spiritual significance in regard to God's grace and
 children who heap dishonor on their parents die               covenant. God uses God-fearing parents to instruct
 young, and that God-fearing children live to a ripe old       the covenant seed, and that covenant seed experi-
 age,#not even as a general rule, and not even in the old      ences the blessing of God's promise through a loving
 dispensation. It may be said that Israel did not remain       obedience to God and thus to all those whom God
 long in the land of Canaan, the typical land of               places over them. The opposite is also true. Exodus
 promise, because of their disobedience, but that again        20:5, Proverbs 20:20.
 has its typical significance for the spiritual and eternal      I hope I may have succeeded in clarifying this
 covenant faithfulness of our God.                             matter a bit.



                              About the Keys of the Kingdom

   From a reader in Australia we received for                  against them. If anyone sins against us we must tell
Question Box:                                                  him personally of his fault. If he fails to listen and to
        "Please give an explanation of Matthew 16: 19,         confess his sin, we must approach him, possibly again
   Matthew  18:18, John  20:23. I have heard a                 and again, with witnesses. If he fails to confess his sin,
   number of views expressed on the above verses,              even after repeated admonitions, we must tell it to
   and none seems to' satisfy completely the texts;            the church, that is, to the ruling body of the church,
   they either fall short or go too far. I would               the consistory or session. To that the Lord adds, but
   appreciate some help."                                      if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee
                                                               as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto
   Matthew 16: 19 reads, "And I will give unto thee            you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound
the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatsoever              in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;             shall be loosed in heaven.
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven." Compare also Matthew 18: 18 and               This can only mean that to the ruling body in the
John 20:23.                                                    church, the elders, is entrusted the key power of
   In the context of this passage in Matthew 16 Peter          Christ. Christ preaches the Word through His or-
had made the confession "Thou art the Christ, the              dained office bearers. Christ also administers the
Son of the living God." With a play on the name                sacraments through the office in the church. And
Peter, which means Rock, Jesus answered that upon              likewise Christ opens and closes the kingdom of
the Rock of that confession He will build His church,          heaven through His ordained office bearers. The
 "and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."         preaching of the Word declares to the sincere believer
                                                               by the testimony of the Spirit in his heart that he has
   Thereupon Jesus informs Peter, as spokesman of              his own place in the kingdom of heaven as citizen and
the rest of the apostles', that He will entrust to Peter       heir of the world to come. By that same preaching of
the keys of the kingdom of heaven. In John  20:22,             the Word all unbelievers are declared outside of the
23 Jesus endows the apostles with the gift of the              kingdom by the testimony of the Holy Spirit in their
Holy Spirit, whereby they were able to speak the               hearts. The proper Christian discipline, which is also
Word of God infallibly even as the Spirit of Christ            one of the three earmarks of the true church of God,
would give them utterance. Thus the power to remit             assures the repentant and confessing sinner that his
and to forgive sins was entrusted to all the apostles as       sins are forgiven him through the blood of Jesus
Jesus declares, "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are             Christ, and that same discipline declares to the
remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain,            unrepentant sinner that he is outside of the kingdom
they are retained." The power to open and close the            and is excommunicated from the church of Jesus
kingdom of heaven was given into the hands of the              Christ until he shows sincere repentance of his sins.
apostles as ambassadors of Christ.                             Thus Christ exercises the key power through His
   Turning to Matthew 18: 18 we find that this power           church.
is entrusted to the church. In the context of this               If you have any other questions, be sure to contact
passage Jesus is speaking of the calling of the
individual believers  to, forgive the sins committed           us again.


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                235


SIGNS OF THE TIMES





                                         The Last Time:
                                `How Are We Living?

                                                   Rev. R, F'likkema





  Are we, you and I, living in these last times with          Church of Jesus Christ, you and me. We shall be
hearts that are filled with fear? Are we afraid: afraid       persecuted. No longer will we be able to worship our
of what the future ,might  bring; afraid of what lies in      God as we have in the past. No longer will we be able
store for us who are members of the body of Jesus             to buy or sell. That will all come to an end. That is
Christ? Are we? I dare say we so often are. If we read        what the Bible says. Does what the Bible says make
the headlines of our daily newspapers we discover             us afraid? Many times our answer to that question is
that there is much unrest in the world: nation is rising      yes. Yes, of all that we are afraid.
up against nation and people against people. If we              But wait! The Bible tells us more. Not only does
glance at the cost of material things, food and               the Bible tell us that things will be getting ever
clothing, etc., we discover that the cost of those            darker. Not only does the Bible tell us that the Man
things is ever and'always going higher and higher. And        of Sin, the Son of Perdition, the Antichrist shall arise
we say to ourselves, when will it ever end? It seems as       to make all nations subject to him. Not only does the
though there is no end in sight. Things are getting           Bible tell us that we shall be persecuted and that we
worse and worse. The future looks very dark, very             shall not be able to worship or buy or sell. But the
dark indeed. We are afraid.                                   Bible also tells us about a little stone: not a very big
  To be sure, the future looks very dark. And too,            stone, but a very small stone. Well, you say: what of
not only is it true that the future looks dark, but it is     that? What is so important about a stone? Oh, that
also true that the future is dark and will be getting ever    stone. is so very important. It is the most important
darker. We know that. For the Bible-believing child of        thing imaginable. For it is exactly upon that stone
God there is simply no question about that. And               that all our hope in the midst of the darkness that
there is simply no question about that because the            surrounds us rests. It is exactly that whereby all our
Bible tells us that the future will be getting ever           fears that rise up within us as we live in these last
darker. The Bible tells us that the Man of Sin, the Son       times  -are dispelled. What of that stone, you say?
of Perdition, the Antichrist shall be manifest in all his     What is so important about that very little stone, you
fulness. He shall unite all people under his sway.`For        say? That stone is none other than our Lord Jesus
a time there will be no more fighting amongst the             Christ Who has come and Who is coming to dispel the
nations of this world, but all shall be subject to his        darkness of these last times and the fears that rise up
bidding. And then for the Church of Jesus Christ              within us as we live in these last times. That stone is
things shall be dark indeed. For you understand,              Jesus, Who, having removed all our fears, shall set us
when all fighting amongst the nations of this world           upon the rock which the Bible says is higher than you
ceases, when all nations are subjugated to the bidding        or I. Where do we read of that stone, you ask? Turn
of the Antichrist, then the fury and wrath of the             with me to the second chapter of the Book of Daniel.
Antichrist and all nations shall be loosed upon the           There in the second chapter of the Book of Daniel


236                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



the Lord our God tells us about that stone. How               Daniel was also to die. But such was not according to
striking it is that the Lord our God tells us about that      the good pleasure of our God. Daniel according to the
stone by means of a dream which God sent to                   good pleasure of God was not to die. But rather, he
Nebuchadnezzar: Nebuchadnezzar we must remem-                 was to be used by God exactly to interpret the dream
ber who was himself an Old Testament manifestation            which Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed.
of the Antichrist.                                              Daniel is brought before King Nebuchadnezzar,
  We read in the first verse of the second chapter of         and Daniel tells and interprets the dream. He says to
the Book of Daniel this: "And in the second year of           King Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou o king, sawest, and
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar                   behold a great image". A great image! That image
dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled,            stood before thee! Its brightness was very great! Its
and his sleep brake from him." If there is one thing          size was tremendous and the form of it was terrible to
that that verse says to us, it is this, namely, that there    behold! The head of that image was of gold. The
came a night in the life of mighty King Nebuchad-             breast and the arms of that image were of silver. The
nezzar when Nebuchadnezzar was utterly afraid. As             belly and thighs of that image were of brass. The legs
he did every night, so also on this particular night,         of that image were of iron. And the feet of that image
Nebuchadnezzar had gone to sleep. He had gone to              were of part iron and part clay. It stood there before
sleep filled with confidence: confidence in his own           your eyes dominating and subjugating everything and
arm of strength; confidence that simply nothing or no         anything. But soon you looked and behold a stone!
one could frighten the mighty King Nebuchadnezzar,            Not a big stone, merely a small and apparently
king of Babylon. He was, after all, king. By his hand,        insignificant stone! But a stone that was cut out
so he thought, he had subjected nations and                   without human hands! That stone came rolling down
conquered them. By his hand, so he thought, he had            and smote the great image. That great image toppled
established a glorious, invincible kingdom that would         over. And not only did it topple over, but that image
last forever. Confident Nebuchadnezzar was.                   was crushed by the stone. The stone ground that
  But then one night God sent to Nebuchadnezzar a             image to powder, causing what was once so dominat-
dream. Or more accurately, God sent to Nebuchad-              ing to be made like unto the chaff of the summer
nezzar a whole series of dreams. All of which dreams          threshing floor which the wind driveth away. And
culminated in the most real and the most vivid and            then, having crushed that image to powder, that stone
the most fearful dream of all. All of a sudden in the         grew! It grew into a great mountain which filled the
dark of night Nebuchadnezzar awoke. And he had                whole earth.
good reason to awake, for that last dream which he              That is what Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar.
dreamed had frightened him. He was, the text states,          What does that mean, you ask? Who and what did all
"troubled" as a result of that dream. Literally, we           of that represent, you ask? With respect to that
read that Nebuchadnezzar was "agitated," all shaken           image, that image represented as a whole the kingdom
up as a result of that dream. So shaken up was                of the Antichrist. And with respect to its parts: the
Nebuchadnezzar as a result of that dream that he              head of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly
simply could not get back to sleep.                           and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet of
  The next morning came. Still shaken up by that              iron and clay, those parts represent so many
dream Nebuchadnezzar called all his wise men before           historical manifestations of the one great kingdom
him. He told them that he wanted them to tell him             of the Antichrist. The Babylonian Empire, that head
the dream and the interpretation thereof. Yes, not            of gold; the Persian Empire, these breast and arms of
only did Nebuchadnezzar want his wise men to tell             silver; the Empire of Alexander the Great, the belly
him the interpretation of the dream, but he also              and thighs of brass; the Roman Empire, those legs of
commanded his wise men to tell him the very dream             iron; and the one final manifestation of the Antichrist
itself in all its details! No, it was not the case that       which yet shall be, those feet of part iron and part
Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream, and that              clay. And the point is that as representations of the
now he wanted his wise men to tell him what he had            Kingdom of the Antichrist, all of them without
forgotten. With respect' to a dream the likes of which        exception stand in the place of and overagainst the
Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed, how could he possibly             Kingdom of our God and of His Christ. They hate
forget? But rather, it was the case that Nebuchad-            Christ. They hate the cause of Christ. And therefore,
nezzar remembered his dream, and that now he                  they hate the Church and the people of Christ. By
wanted his wise men to :tell him what he remembered,          means of their wealth and riches; by means of their
and if they could not do that they would be put to            technology and learning; by means of their earthly
death. But no dream could the wise men relate to              might and strength, all of them without exception
Nebuchadnezzar. They simply could not. They were              seek to destroy the Kingdom and people of Christ!
all to die. And that necessarily included Daniel.             They seek to cause us to be afraid. They want us to


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                237


be afraid. They desire that we, the Church and people        that little stone, but oh such a wonderful stone, we
of God, may grovel in the dust in our fear, and that         with the eyes of faith see.
we may lose all hope and comfort. That is what the              He is coming! He is rolling down the mountain,
Antichrist desires.                                          and in His path the kingdoms and the times in which
  But wait! We see a stone. And as we live in these          we live which seek to cause us to be afraid, are as
last times, with the eyes of faith we see that stone         nothing and less than nothing. He comes to establish
ever more clearly. We see a stone cut out without            a mighty kingdom which shall  filI the whole earth,
human hands. We see Jesus. Jesus the author and the          the likes of which the world has never seen.
finisher of our faith! Jesus the mighty conqueror Who           Are we still afraid? How can we be when we have
goes forth conquering and to conquer! Jesus Who was          the firm assurance of the coming of that little stone?
born in the fulness of time without human hands!             And that assurance we have. What is that assurance?
Jesus Who went to the Cross to crush forever the             That assurance is Jesus' promise to us who live in the
power of sin and death! And Jesus Who is coming              last times. We live in the last time. But the question
again to judge the quick and the dead! That Jesus,           is: how are we living?





                                          Book Reviews


GOD'S MAN (a novel on  the life of John Calvin),             temporary biographer, and in his writings, prodigious
Duncan Norton-Taylor; Baker Book House, Grand                as they were, disclosed almost nothing of an intimate
Rapids, Michigan; 298 pp., $8.95. (Reviewed by Prof.         nature about himself. But between the lines, especial-
H. C. Hoeksema) *                                            ly of  The Institutes  of  the Christian Religion,  he
  This reviewer has a partiality for historical novels.      revealed much."
In this instance it was possible to combine work and            People's tastes in novels differ. To me, this is a
relaxation, and during the Christmas recess from             well-written, interesting, fast-moving story. An indica-
school I read this book for personal enjoyment and           tion that to me this is an interesting and well-written
relaxation as well as in preparation for writing a           story is the fact that I read the story through in two
review.                                                      sittings.
  This is not a biography, but a novel. It could be             My one negative criticism is the fact that there
called a biographical novel, because it traces the life      seems to be an undue and, I think, inaccurate stress on
of John Calvin from childhood to death. But it is            Calvin's character trait of a hot-tempered man,
more than biographical; it is a historical novel as well,    difficult to get along with.
due to the fact that Calvin was so deeply involved in           Our schools and our homes would do well to add
the history of the Reformation. The author himself           this volume to their libraries. Recommended.
states in a note of explanation: "Few biographies can
be wholly true, while novels may wholly bear their
own truth. In the events I have described I have not
deviated significantly from history; and except for          THE FINAL CURTAIN,  Studies in Eschatology; by
one or two minor characters and a fanciful Hans              John H. Bratt; Baker Book House, 1978; 118 pp.,
Hoch, aI1 the people in this book existed and in their       $1.95 (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko)
various ways impinged on Calvin's life. How much of             This brief book is a part of Baker's "Contemporary
John Calvin himself have I imagined? I have `filled in'      Discussion Series." For that reason it is particularly
what was not recorded yet appeared to me to be               suited for discussions in discussion groups, societies,
truthful or at least plausible. He had no con-               catechisms and Sunday Schools. It deals in short


   238                                           THE STANDARD BEARER            -



   chapters to which questions for discussion are ap-          really be; it has much more homiletical application
   pended with all the subjects in the doctrine of the last    than a commentary usually has; the scope of the
   things. While generally speaking the book is quite          thought is much more extensive than a verse-by-verse
   sound, there are some elements in it with which we          exposition can be. This latter advantage is especially
   are not satisfied. To cite a few examples: death is said    evident from the fact that constant attention is called
   to have been present in the original creation; a wrong      to other passages in Scripture both in the Old and
   view of immortality is included; there is only doubt        New Testaments which deal with the historical
   expressed concerning the salvation of pagan children        material related in Genesis. This immeasurably en-
   who die in infancy; the refutation of premillennialism      riches the exposition.
   is weak and indecisive. The book must be used with            The book is a thorough treatment of the material.
   c a u t i o n .                                             It is written in an interesting way. It is conservative in
                                                               the sense that it is not affected by the destructive
                                                               teachings of higher criticism and the devastating
   THE TIME IS FULFILLED, by F. F. Bruce; Wm. B.               influences of evolutionism. It will be of help to those
   Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1978; 128 pp., $2.95               who wish to have a good volume to study in
   (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko)                       connection with Society discussions; but it makes
                                                               also for fine devotional literature. We highly recom-
      The contents of this book were originally given as       mend it to our readers.
   the 1977 Moore College lectures in Sydney, Australia.
   The book contains five examples of Old Testament
   themes which are fulfilled in the new: 1) The Time is       TO BE NEAR UNTO GOD,  by Abraham Kuyper;
   Fulfilled; 2) It. is They That Bear Witness to Me; 3)       Translated from the Dutch by John Hendrik De
   Abraham Our Father; 4) A Shadow of Good Things              Vries; Baker Book House, 1979; 679 pp., $8.95
   to Come; 5) The Spirit of Prophecy.                         (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko)
A-' _  F: F. Bruce is a New Testament scholar of                 This is a translation of Kuyper's popular book
   international reputation and of great ability. His          (popular, at least, to those who read the Dutch),
   writings are usually worthwhile. Nevertheless, the          "Nabij God te Zijn." It contains 110 meditations
   approach to the Scriptures is not always that of a          which have as their unifying thought the expression
   man who is determined to learn from Scripture the           in Psalm 73: "As for me, it is good to be near unto
   meaning of the Holy Spirit; there is too much of the        God."
   meaning of Paul, John, Peter, etc.                            These meditations present a side of Kuyper with
      The book is somewhat technical and is mainly for         which most people who know anything about him are
   ministers.                                                  not familiar. Kuyper is known as a profound
                                                               theologian, a mighty preacher, a leader of church
                                                               reformation in the Netherlands, the founder of an
                                                               important political party, editor of a Dutch news-
   STUDIES IN GENESIS,  Expository Messages, by
   Robert S. Candlish; Kregel Publications, 1979; 844          paper. But few know that Kuyper had what I would
   pp., $14,95. (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko.)                  almost call a mystical side to him. It is this which
                                                               comes out so clearly in this book. I do not think that
      Robert Candlish was a Scats pastor and theologian        Kuyper's "mysticism" is of the wrong and sickly kind
   who lived from 1806  - 1873. He was part of the             - although you may not always agree with what he
   movement in the  Scats Churches which resulted in           has to say in this book. Kuyper's "mysticism" is more
   the Free Church of Scotland and he served, towards          balanced. But here it is set forth in clarity in these
   the end of his life, as principal of New College in         meditations. One who has read a lot of Kuyper will be
  Edinburgh. Kregel Publications has made this relative-       surprised that such writings as these could also come
   ly old commentary available as a part of its "Kregel        from his pen.
   Bible Study Classics" Series. It is indeed a worthwhile       It is good that these writings too are made available
   addition and Kregels is to be commended for making          in the English language. These too have to be read to
   this volume available once again in a new reprint.          understand the man. But they make for fine reading.
      The book is not in fact a commentary on Genesis          You will not read the book without being profited by
   but is rather a collection of a lengthy series of           it. His observations are often astute and his medita-
   sermons which the author preached during his min-           tions on the Christian life are often a spur to
   istry: The disadvantage of this is that the book does       godliness. They will give the reader a desire to read
   not offer a verse-by-verse explanation of Genesis. But      more  of. this kind of literature which came from
   there are also certain advantages in this type of book.     Kuyper's pen. Perhaps more will be translated in the
   It is more warmly pastoral than a commentary can            future.


                                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                     239


JESUS AS THEY SAW HIM,  by William Barclay;                                            THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER,  An Exposition of
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing ,Company, 1978; 429                                         Ephesians 6: 10-20; by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones; Baker
pp., $4.95 (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko.)                                      Book House, 1977; 363 pp., $8.95. (Reviewed by
   This book was originally published in 1962 in                                       Prof. H. Hanko.)
England and is now published for the first time in this                                   Dr. Lloyd-Jones continues in this book his studies
country. The author treats the doctrine of Christ                                      on Ephesians by treating the section in chapter 6
from the viewpoint of the many names given Him in                                      which deals with the Christian warrior. As with all his
Scripture. He discusses more than forty of Christ's                                    books on Ephesians, the chapters are reprints of
names and uses this as a means (as the title itself                                    sermons originally preached in Westminster Chapel.
indicates) to indicate what, in the author's opinion,                                  The book is interesting reading, for the most part
Jesus' contemporaries thought of Jesus. It is quite                                    written from a Calvinistic viewpoint, and is an
obvious that, because the source of his information is                                 insightful examination into the Christian's life and
Scripture, the approach of the author is the approach                                  calling in the world. The book must not be purchased
of higher criticism. It is not surprising then to find                                 and read as a commentary - although it is that too. It
many errors in the book; but it is surprising to find the                              must be read as good and sound devotional literature
author denying Christ's divinity. Although it is not                                   which will enable the reader to understand better the
easy to tell with certainty, it seems the author comes                                 Scriptures and understand himself as the truth of the
closest to the position of Arianism. This puts him in                                  Scriptures is reflected in his own spiritual conscious-
the camp of those heretics of whom Scripture says                                      ness. We urge our readers to purchase the book. It
that they belong to antichrist. About the only value                                   will bring many rewards.
of the book is that it contains some interesting word
studies.


                                                                            NOTICE!!!
                                                                          T E A C H E R   N E E D E D
                                                 Hull Protestant Reformed Christian School  isin need of  ateacher
                                         for Grades 4, 5 and 6 for the  198081 school year. Teachers interested
                                         in filling this position should contact Mr. William Kooiker, Route 1,
                                         Box 39, Hull, IA 51239.



                               NOTICE!!!                                                                             NOTICE!!!
   All students enrolled in the Protestant Reformed Seminary who are                      Classis  West of the Protestant Reformed Churches will meet on
in need of financial assistance are asked to contact the Student Aid                   Tuesday, March 4, 1980, in South Holland, Illinois at  8:30  A.M., the
Committee, Mr. David M. Ondersma, Secretary, 6761 Brookwood Dr.,                       Lord willing. Delegates in need of lodging should notify the Clerk of
Grandville, Michigan 49418 (phone 616457-1417). This contact should                    the South Holland Council.
be made before the next meeting of the Committee on March  10,198O.                                                          Rev. David Engelsma, Stated Clerk




                WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                                                                   RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
   On February 20, 1980, the Lord willing, our dear parents, MR.                          The Ladies Society of the Randolph Protestant. Reformed Church
AND MRS. WILLIAM C. STURSMA will celebrate their 50th wedding                          mourns the loss of its beloved member, MRS. JEANETTE SOODSMA,
anniversary.                                                                           whom the Lord took to be with Himself on January 12, 1980. We
                                                                                       express our sympathy to her children in their grief and pray that the
   May our heavenly Father, in His grace, continue to bless and keep                   Lord of all comfort will bless them in His Everlasting mercy.
them and fill their remaining days with joy and happiness.
                                                                                          "For the light affliction, which is but for a moment. worketh for us
   It is our prayer that they may confess with the Psalmist: "The Lord                 a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory."  (II Cor.  4:17).
is the portion of mine inheritance and of  mycdp:  thou maintainest my
lot. The lines are fallen unto me ih pleasantplaces; yea, I have a goodly                                                     Rev. Koole, Pres.
heritage:" (Psalm  16:5,6).                                                                                                   Barb Fisher, Sec'y.
                                            .
                                  T h e i r   c h i l d r e n ,   '                                      RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                                       Mr. and Mrs.-Donald Stursma
                                       Mr:and  Mrs. Vernon De Vries                       The Consistory of the Protestant Reformed Church of Hull, IA,
                                       Mr. and Mrs. Gene Kamerick                      expresses their sympathy to our fellow office-bearers, Elders Alvin
                                           1'3 grandchildren                           Kooiker and Tim Kooima in the passing of their father and
Pella, Iowa                               8 great-grandchildren.                       father-in-law, MR. NICK  KOOIKER.
                                                                                          "For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide
                                                                                       even unto death." (Psalm  48:14).

                                                                                                                              Rev. Ronald L. Cammenga, Pres.
                                                                                                                              Mr. Henry Hoekstra, Sec'y.

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


                                                    ~___ ~.-~--..  ~--. _~
240                                           THE STANDARD BEARER             -



                                          Report of Classis East
                                                  January 9, 1980
                                             Holland Prot. Ref Church

  Classis East met in regular session on January 9,         implementation procedures for the  .establishment of
1980 at Holland. All the churches, except Kalama-           classical funds does not exist, since all funds are
zoo, were represented by two delegates. Rev. C. Haak        synodical. Holland Consistory, as a result of the
had his initiation as chairman as he was called upon        overture of Mr. Casemier, and through its responses
to preside.                                                 to him, also submitted an overture to synod re
                                                            student aid. The concern of the Holland overture is
  The business of  classis centered about four main         for the increased support of married seminary
things: voting, the impending retirement of Rev.            students. Holland requests the revision of Article 5 of
Heys, overtures to synod re student aid' from Mr.           the Constitution of the Student Aid Committee to
LaVerne Casemier and Holland Consistory,. and               allow for the increased financial support of married
subsidy requests.                                           students. Holland's overture was forwarded to synod
                                                            without prejudice.
  Classis did grant approval to the request from
Holland for the emeritation of their pastor, Rev.             Classis also expended a good deal of time in voting
John A. Heys, effective June 1, 1980, on the grounds        for membership on the Classical Committee, for
of age (which even at this time was not divulged) and       delegates  ad examina,  and for synodical delegates.
health (Rev. Heys has had heart surgery recently and        Elected to the Classical Committee was Rev. M. De
his doctor has advised him to slow down a bit). The         Vries; elected as delegates ad examina: Rev. C. Hanko
request will be forwarded to synod for approval. It is      (three-year  primus  term), Rev. G. Van  Baren  (two-
significant to note that the "older" generation of          year primus term), Rev. C. Haak (three-year secundus
ministers has now retired. God has been good to us as       term); synodical delegates elected are as follows:
churches in giving us these men all these years, many       MINISTERS:  Primi:  M. De Vries, J.A. Heys, M.
of which have been years of "stun-n und drang," and         Joostens, G. Van  Baren;  Secundi:  W. Bruinsma, C.
they continue to be a blessing to the churches by           Haak, C. Hanko, B. Woudenberg; ELDERS: Primi: G.
reason of the fact that all are still preaching some and    Bouwkamp, J. De Zeeuw, J. Kalsbeek, G. Kuiper;
teaching catechism classes in various churches in the       Secundi:  H. Boer, E. Cammenga, R. Van  Baren, H.
Grand Rapids area.                                          Vander Vennen.
  Classis also considered two overtures re seminary           Subsidy requests for 1981 were submitted and
student aid. The first' was submitted by LaVerne            granted for Kalamazoo for $9000.00 and for Cove-
Casemier via Holland's consistory. Mr. Casemier's           nant for $7500.00. These requests must be forwarded
proposal is to abolish the synodical student aid            to synod for approval.
committee and that these funds be distributed instead         Hope requested classical appointments for the
by a classical committee. The motivation for his            evening service only. The following schedule was
overture was the increasing practice (because of the        adopted: January 20  -  -Woudenberg, January 27  -
limited funds available to students from synodical          Bruinsma, February 3  - Van  Baren, February 10  -
committee) of individual congregation's establishing        Joostens, February 17 - Haak, February 24 - Houck,
their own student aid funds, a practice which Mr.           March 2  - De Vries, March 9  - Heys, March 23  -
Casemier believes to be contrary to the presbyterian        Woudenberg, March 30  - Bruinsma, April 13  - Van
form of church government. Mr. Casemier's overture          Baren, April 20 - Joostens, April 27 - Haak, May 4 -
was sent to synod with the disapproval of classis. The      Houck, May 11 - De Vries, May 18 - Heys.
grounds cited were these (summarized): 1) it would
be difficult to classify students from  Classis West          Expenses for this session were $658.94. Classis will
since all students eventually hold membership in the        meet next on May 14, 1980 at Southeast.
churches of  Classis East, 2) the overture does not                                     Respectfully submitted,
solve the problem of supporting married students, 3)                                    Jon Huisken, Stated Clerk


