                                          -* * A~ .,.
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                         tandard


A  REFdRMED  SEMI-MONTHLY  MAGAZINE



IN THIS ISSUE


    Meditation:
      The King on the Cross

    Editorials:
      Credibility Gap (and others)

    All Around Us:
      Request For A New Confession

    Although The Mountains Quake
      (see: Come Ye Apart...)

    The Strength of Youth:
      Obedience To `Parents

                                                          -Volume XLVIIjNumber 13/Aprill,  1971


290                                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



                             CONTENTS:                                                                THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                                   Semimonthly, except monthly during June, July and August.
Meditation  -                                                                      Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
   The King on the Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290                      Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.

                                                                             Editor-in-Chief: Prof.  H. C. Hoeksema
Editorials  -
   About Our New  Catalogue Folder . . . . . . . . . .  .292 Department Editors.;  Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof.
                                                                             Herman Hanko, Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A.  Heys. Rev.  Jay
   Credibility Gap . . . . . .T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293 Kortering, Rev. George C. Lubbers. Rev. Marinus Schipper, Rev.  Gise  J.
   An Open Letter to the Reformed                                            Van  Baren. Rev. Herman Veldman, Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
       Churches of New Zealand . . . . . . . . . `. . . . . . . .295 Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
                                                                                                1842 Plymouth Terrace,  SE.
All Around Us  -                                                                               Grand Rapids. Michigan 49506
   Request for a New Confession . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .297              Church News Editor:       Mr. Donald Doezema
                                                                                                       1904  Plymouth Terrace, S.E.
Come Ye Apart . . . And Rest A While  -                                                                Grand Rapids, Michigan 49598
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ibdhtion

                                   The  Kirmg on the Cross
                                                                Rev. M. Schipper

               "And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF
              NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the
              place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and
               Greek, and La tin. "                                                                                    John  19:19,20

   And they took Jesus, and led Him away!                                    cross, above the head of the central figure at the scene
   And He bearing His cross went forth into a place of                       of the crucifixion, for with Him were two other
a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha.                             crucified, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
   Where they crucified Him. . .  .!                                             A comparison of the gospels reveals that they do not
   And Pilate wrote a title, and had it affixed to the                       agree as to the precise wording of the title. Matthew


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 291



has: This is Jesus the King of the Jews. Mark has may change it.
simply: The King of the Jews. While Luke tells us            The hated Nazarene is indeed the King!
the title was: This is the King of the Jews. And, as         0, true, He is not the earthly king of the Jewish
stated above, John tells us that the title was: Jesus, the people. Such a crown and such a people the Lord
Nazarene, the King of the Jews. For more than one repeatedly had disclaimed during His earthly ministry.
reason we believe John's interpretation should be At the beginning of His ministry He had withstood the
accepted as the correct version. He alone of the gospel temptation of Satan to accept the kingdoms of the
narrators was present at the crucifixion and was there- world for the mean pittance of bowing only one knee
fore an eye witness. The others therefore must have to the prince of darkness. And at the height of His
received their information from others. Moreover we earthly ministry, after He had performed the miracle
accept it on the grounds that it is the longest title and of feeding the five thousand, He totally rejected the
therefore the more difficult to explain.                   proposal of becoming the king of that nation which
  Jesus, the Nazarene, the King of the Jews!               had sought Christ only for bread. Though the title
  It was this title that the chief priests of the Jews might be construed by the readers as indicating that
rejected. They say: Write not, the King of the Jews; Jesus was to be identified with the nation of the Jews
but that He said: I am the King of the Jews. In no         as their king, such was not the divine intention in the
sense did they wish to be associated with Jesus, as the title. Just as the question of the Magi from the East
title Pilate prescribed clearly indicated. More impor- must be understood as meaning: Where is He that is
tantly, however, they objected to this title because King born out of the nation of the Jews, and hence out
they conceived of the disastrous effects this title might of the royal line of David; so must the title be under-
have on those of their own nation who were visiting stood, according to the divine intention.
Jerusalem during the feast days. These came from             Moreover, the term Nazarene must also remain in
every part of the world and would be able to read the the title. Out of Nazareth which never had a good
title, whether they were of Hebrew, Greek, or Latin reputation, God would present His King. Out of the
background. Should they be converted to Christ land of darkness God would command His Light to
through the reading of the sign, as evidently was the shine, and that, too, with the usual two-fold effect: on
case with one of the malefactors, the cause of Christ the one hand, that those into whose hearts the Light
could only be enhanced, not crushed, as the Jewish has fallen may see in Him the light of their salvation,
leaders had hoped. Moreover, should the title remain and their King come to deliver them from the power of
unchanged and be understood as it was written, it darkness, sin, and death; on the other hand, that those
could only be interpreted to mean that the Jews were who remain in darkness might only reject Him, and
crucifying their king, and this would forever make impose on Him all their reproaches. Indeed, the King
them slaves of Rome. Though they had cried out in on the cross, Who arose out of the darkness and
rage before Pilate during the trial of Jesus: We have no obscurity of Nazareth, is God's eternal King. From the
king but Caesar, they never meant it. They were look- everlasting decree He was appointed to rise to the
ing for such a king, who would liberate them from the throne of Zion. Of the Israel of God, according to the
yoke of bondage.                                           election of grace, the Nazarene is God's appointed
  Pilate, however, was of no mind to bow to their King. Through the awful reality of His cross would He
petition. His answer was: What I have written, I have furnish His throne and establish His dominion.
written. This he said, not because he was unable to          Awful fact!
change  fhe superscription. If Pilate had so desired he      The King on the cross!
could easily have changed it, and for that matter, he        Devilish mockery !
could have ordered it taken down.  -Pilate, however,         Instigated by the chief priests and elders. It appears
remained adamant. Whereas during the trial of Jesus he that when Pilate refused to change the wording of the
had given much evidence of weakness, allowing himself title, the leaders of the Jews were determined to
to be pushed around by the Jews, now that he had destroy any possible good effect the title might have
given sentence that Jesus should be crucified  - while on the people, who, reading the superscription, might
in his heart he was convinced that Jesus was innocent be converted to the cause of the Nazarene. While at
- he will take a stand, if for no other reason than to first they apparently had no intention to attend the
pester these hated Jews.                                   crucifixion because of the feast days, lest they should
  However, we ought to see that there was a deeper become polluted, and thus unable to serve in the
reason why he would not alter the title. God, Who had religious services at Jerusalem; they now, in spite of any
so overruled in the trial and conviction of Jesus, and pollution that might fall on them, were determined to
according to Whose will that title should-appear in the not only be in attendance at the cross, but especially
three different universal languages, also had deter- with a view to mixing in among the people and
mined that the title should be written precisely as it arousing in them the spirit of hatred, and evoking from
was. Neither Pilate nor the chief priests, yea, no one, them the devilish mockery that followed. Hence,


292                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



Matthew informs us: "And they that passed by re- from the Word of God concerning Him, all that you
viled him, wagging their heads, and saying: Thou see is helplessness and defeat. Beholding Him thus, you
that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three see neither form nor glory, but a bruised and crushed,
days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come emaciated and ghastly figure of a man, hanging help-
down from the cross." In this connection notably lessly on a cross. None is there who will deliver Him.
we read: "Likewise also the chief priests mocking No armies, no power of the sword to respond to His
him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved command. Rather, He appears accursed of God and of
others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King men. Lifted up from the earth, as not worthy to stand
of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and in the company of men; but also, as it were,
we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver abandoned of God, and allowed to suffer the torments
him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son       of hell. Apart from the Scriptures, that divine revela-
of God."                                                      tion concerning Him, and beholding Him only with the
  To know that He will die on the cross does not              eyes of our flesh, all you can see in Him is utter defeat.
mitigate their devilish rage.                                 There is nothing that could ever make you believe that
  Before He yields up the ghost, they cast at Him their He is the Redeemer and Deliverer of His people. Small
cruel mockery and evil sarcasm.                               wonder, then, that the world of the wicked mock and
  Never would they own, nor would they have the deride Him!
people believe that He had done good when He healed             But thanks be unto God!
the sick, cleansed the lepers, gave sight to the blind and      We know better of Him!
hearing to the deaf, and when He raised up the dead.            With the light of infallible revelation shining upon
The thought must be rooted out of the minds of all Him, and with eyes of faith, given to us of pure grace,
that He actually saved others. For if He was unable to we are able to penetrate with our vision through the
save Himself, He had no power to save at all. He must veil of His flesh and behold in Him the God of our
be branded as an imposter.                                    salvation, the King in His glory, battling all the powers
  Also the soldiers, coming to Him and offering Him of sin and death and overcoming them, while He pays
vinegar, mocked Him, saying: If thou be the king of the penalty of our guilt in our stead. In each groan and
the Jews, save thyself!                                       twinge of pain, He drinks more deeply of the cup of
  In word and deed they deride Him; for to them also the wrath of God which is poured out over our guilt
a king on a cross was pure folly. Their only conception which He assumed. Unto the last drop of blood that
of kingship was envisioned in one who sat on a throne, poured from His veins, He satisfies completely the
clothed in royal array, and holding in an iron.fist the justice of God, and merits for us the sentence of
symbol of absolute dominion. An apparently impotent righteousness.
man, with perhaps no other garments than a tattered             Glorious King!
loin cloth, and whose hands and feet were nailed to a           Completely victorious!
cross, militated against every human conception of              Making even His enemies to be His servants, and
kingship. And the language they speak is reminiscent using their service to lay the very foundations of His
of the very speech of the devil. "If thou be the Son of kingdom, against which the very gates of hell shall
God," was the repeated language of Satan in the temp- never prevail.
tation. And this is precisely the terminology the               Out of the wild and frenzied cries of the mocking rab-
adversaries use before the King on the cross  - If thou ble shall the plaintive prayer arise from the lips of one of
be the king of the Jews, save thyself.                        His penitent subjects  - Lord, remember me when thou
  Yet the truth of the title is factual, and the King on comest into thy kingdom. One there was who by grace
the cross is God's anointed!                                  was able to read that little Bible above His head, and
  Though apparently the King is vanquished, yet see in Him the King eternal.
paradoxically as it may seem  - He is the King victori-         And His soul shall be satisfied that  - not the host of
ous!                                                          darkness has prevailed  - but He through His cross has
  Beholding Him only with the natural eye, and apart established forever His kingdom that shall have no end.


Editorials
                      About Our Mew Catalogue Folder
                                               Pvof: H. C. Hoeksema

  Enclosed with this issue our readers will find what         folder containing a complete listing of Protestant  Re-
we believe to be an attractive and handy  catalogue-          formed literature available from various organizations


                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER                                            293
F                                                                                                                            I

     in the Grand Rapids area.                                     The committee in charge of this project is now busy
       If I may say so, this catalogue is an example of what with plans for distribution of the folder. Our intention
     cooperation can accomplish. Several organizations  - is to get a wide distribution, both within and outside
     the R.F.P.A. Board, the R.F.P.A. Publications Com- of our Protestant Reformed Churches. Already we
     mittee, the Reformed Witness Hour Radio Committee, have laid plans for the distribution of some two thou-
     the Sunday School Mission Publishing Society of First sand copies, and efforts are under way to reach as
     Church  - and several individuals working on a commit- many more addresses as possible. Naturally, there may
     tee have cooperated to prepare this folder. And besides be some overlapping in our mailings. If you should
     the above-named organizations, several societies and in- receive more than one copy, please pass any extra
     dividuals have cooperated in financing its publication. copies on to interested friends. We also solicit any sug-
     The result of this cooperation is a complete listing of gestions or help which you may have to offer with
     literature available in our circles and published in the respect to wider distribution. If you have addresses to
     Grand Rapids area. (In parentheses, I may note that which you would like a folder sent, send them in to us.
     there is other literature available in our circles, but that Or if you wish to have a supply of folders for personal
     for purposes of efficiency in distribution we did not distribution, write to our box number and we will send
     include or try- to include literature published by organi- them.
     zations in some of our western churches. This was not         Our readers may also be interested in knowing that
     intended as any kind of slight, but was done solely for the printing of this catalogue is serving a double pur-
     purposes of efficiency.) But to return to my subject, pose. The first four pages, containing the recent books
     this catalogue represents commendable cooperation. published by the R.F.P.A. Publications Committee,
     The result is that this vast treasure of literature is avail- were also printed separately and with the imprint of
     able to anyone by means of one order blank and from two commercial book dealers in quantities of several
     one central address, that of our Publications Commit- thousand in order to advertise our books more widely.
     tee. Hereafter it should not be difficult for anyone to       There is, of course, no sense in publishing literature
     find out what is available and how to get it.              unless we also make it known and make it available.
       For the benefit of our  Standard Beaver  readers we We believe that our publications are distinctively Re-
     have enclosed this folder. We hope that you will feel formed, that they are sound, and that they answer a
     free to make use of it. Some of the literature is of great need. We believe, too, that they are worthy of
     rather recent date, some of it is older. Some of it is wider distribution than they have sometimes received.
     free, some of it will cost you a small amount. But all of One way to achieve such wider distribution is to adver-
     it, we believe, is worthwhile. And we hope that our tise the literature and to make it easily available. It is
     readers will check to see whether or not they already our hope that this catalogue-folder will help to achieve
     have the literature listed here, and that they will order our goal of wider distribution. We ask your co-
     accordingly, whether the literature is free or not. We operation.
     promise efficient service on your orders.



                                          Credibility Gap
       Some months ago there appeared in  The Banner  an that they "accept the inspired Scriptures as the infalli-
     "Open Letter to the Christian Reformed Church" ble rule of faith and practice" and that they "endorse
     undersigned by the Faculty of Calvin Theological            the Confessions to which we have in all honesty
     Seminary and its several members. Apparently this           affixed our signatures."
     letter was motivated by concern about the image of            Negatively, they "deny and repudiate those charges
     Calvin Seminary among the Christian Reformed con- and insinuations which call into question our dedica-
     stituency. It alleges that "For some time now writings tion to the Lord and our commitment to Scripture and
     and rumors circulating in the church have called into       the Confessions  - charges which undermine the confi-
     question our united commitment to the Scriptures and dence of our people in the Seminary."
     our common loyalty to the confessional standards of           Now it is not my purpose in this editorial to call
     our church." And it states, further, that "increasing attention to the fact that this letter itself and the very
     concern and sadness" about "the distrust, suspicion,       fact that the Faculty apparently felt the necessity of it
     and anxiety these writings and rumors have created" might be considered as face-value evidence not only of
     have moved them to "speak out" in this open letter.        a confidence-gap and a credibility-gap, but also as
       Positively, the Seminary Faculty in this letter          evidence of reason for it. Nor do I intend to call atten-
     attempts to reassure the Christian Reformed Church         tion to the fact that a good many items from the


      294                                              THE STANDARD BEARER


      rather recent past might be mentioned as reasons  -          less to restore confidence, in the loyalties of the
      and not mere rumors and insinuations  - for this confi-      Faculty on the part of the discerning observer and
      dence-gap. Nor will I deal at length with the fact that      reader. The fact that the Faculty could even nominate
      this confidence-gap undoubtedly extends not only to          Dr. Smedes is no recommendation of the Faculty's
      the Seminary but to the Synod which is responsible for       loyalty to Scripture and the Confessions.
      the Seminary. I need only mention in this connection,          First of all, in general, there is the fact that Dr.
      for example, the fact that there never was any proper        Smedes has long been associated with  The Reformed
      doctrinal resolution with respect to Professor Harold        Journal,   and is, in fact, an editor of that magazine.
      Dekker's rank  Arminianism,.' and that the Synod is          This in itself is sufficient to indict Smedes as a liberal,
      responsible for this.                                        and also to indict the Faculty for nominating him. In
        What I want to emphasize, however, is the fact that        the second place, specifically  The Standard  Beare?  has
      a mere open letter of this kind will not be sufficient to    in the past called attention more than once to errant
      close the confidence-gap and the credibility-gap for the     views of which Dr. Smedes has given expression.
      discerning observer and reader. Not only is there more         But, in the third place, not long after the  above-
      than one item from the past which cries out to be set        mentioned report of the meeting of Board of Trustees
      straight; but also all the loud declarations of faithful-    appeared in  Calvin  College  Chimes  (and I believe the
      ness to Scripture and the Confessions and the solemn         matter of this nomination was not reported elsewhere)
      repudiation `of "charges and insinuations  -which  call      Dr. Smedes broke out in print in  The Reformed
      into question our dedication to the Lord and our com-        Journal  -(February, 1971) with an article entitled "A
      mitment to Scripture and the Confessions"  - all these       Modest Proposal To Reform The World." Now even
      will never serve to restore confidence and credibility       that very title should raise grave doubts in the mind of
      unless the actions and expressions of the Faculty and        a Reformed man. Yet one could let this pass if a bad
      its several members are in harmony with these asser-         title were followed by a good article. But the article
      tions of faithfulness. In other words, actions speak         itself certainly would cause one to wonder how a
      louder than words. And it would seem to this observer,       Faculty which asserts its loyalty to Scripture and the
      in view of certain very real past events and in view of      Confessions could nominate a man who can give ex-
      certain current writings and expressions, that one must      pression to such thoroughly un-Reformed inanities as
      be either ignorant or gullible or careless in order to       those which appear in the said article of Dr. Smedes.
      have his confidence restored merely by such an open          Not only does one look in vain for a single distinctively
      letter as the Faculty published.                             Reformed note in the entire article (one hardly expects
        Of this I was recently reminded, first of all, when in     this from  The Reformed Journal  any longer); but it is
      Calvin College Chimes I read a report of the meeting of also a fact that the article can, charitably speaking,
      the Board of Trustees. It was reported that at this          hardly be called evangelical.
      meeting the Seminary Faculty presented a nomination            Here is just one example  - and the article is replete
      for the department of Ethics, with the expectation           with such expressions:
      that the Board of Trustees would approve said nomina-           "(2) Preach Christ as the Reclaimer of Man's Lost
      tion and submit it to the coming Synod of the                l%unanity.   Some people have given up on humanity in
      Christian Reformed Church, of course. It was reported,       the name of Christ. Others have given up on Christ in
      further, that the nominees of the Faculty were Dr.           the name of humanity. In the past, the two rejections
      Theodore Minnema, of the College, and Dr. Lewis B.           have usually complemented each other and often the
      Smedes, formerly of the College and now of Fuller            one has arisen in reaction to the other. Herein lies the
      Theological Seminary. Moreover, it was reported,             ironic tragedy of our secular time. The way out must
      though not explained, that the Board of Trustees de-         be that Christ is the  Restorer  of authentic humanity to
      clined to present a nomination to Synod. And there           man. Cliche? Sloganeering? Not if we take hold of it
      was, finally, an intimation -that the President of the       and follow it to its roots. (No, then it is modernistic
      Seminary, Dr. John Kromminga, was dismayed at this           jargon or gobbledygook. HCH)
      failure on the part of the Board of Trustees.                   "Jesus Christ came with no other purpose than to
.-      Now it is not my purpose to enter into any possible        make men truly human again. He is the gospel's answer
      reasons for this difference of opinion between the           to the question that underlies every cultural crisis: how
      Trustees and the Faculty, nor to speak of the compara-       are we to find man's humanity in the midst of the
      tive merits of the two nominees.                             dehumanizing of man by political, technological, and
        But it struck me that here is a concrete example of        natural forces? The goal of redemption is the restora-
      the reasons for the confidence- and credibility-gap          tion of humanity; the work of the Spirit is humaniza-
      which apparently troubles the Faculty. The very fact         tion. Not a humanistic gospel, to be sure, but a
      that the Faculty can place the name of Dr. Lewis             humanizing gospel surely. The world does not need a
      Smedes in nomination for the Chair of Ethics at the          message about a Savior who will do no more than turn
      Seminary is not calculated to inspire confidence, much       us all into uptight, all-white, middle-class, comfortable


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  295



champions of the law, order, and proper religion. What gospel of salvation from sin and death by grace only,
the world needs is the gospel of One who can restore         according to the Reformed faith.
men to total and authentic humanity  - no more, no             I submit, secondly, that the Reformed allegiance of
less, no other."                                             a faculty which can nominate a man from whose pen
  Notice, please, Dr. Smedes' emphatic and exclusive such modernistic tripe flows is  - to put it mildly  -
characterization of the gospel:  ". . . no more, no less,    suspect. Open letters cannot cover this up.
no other."                                                     The recent question posed by Editor De Koster in
  I submit that there is no similarity between Smedes' The Banner  may well be directed to the Faculty, I
Christ and Smedes' gospel as here set forth and the          think: "WHAT FOR?"



              An Open letter to the Reformed Churches
                                         of New Zealand
Dear Brethren and Sisters:                                   history. When the present writer (Dr. van Til) called
  It has come to my attention that Prof. Dr. K. Runia attention to this by using Calvin's distinction between
has addressed to the Sessions of the Reformed ultimate and proximate causes, Hoeksema replied that
Churches of New Zealand a rather lengthy letter in this position was tantamount to maintaining that there
which he attempts to discredit some of the criticisms is a change in God. (By the way, this is the same
which have been directed against his views by the accusation Prof. Hoeksema in the three articles levels
brethren of the Reformed and Presbyterian Fellowship against me, K.R.  ). . . . With all our great admiration
of Australasia and their paper, the  Reformed Guardian.      for Hoeksema as a preacher and as a teacher of
Now apart from the fact that I find this method of a theology we must, none the less, maintain that how-
secret answer to public writings about public matters ever true he was to the idea of the sovereignty of the
highly unusual, to say the least, I am greatly perturbed grace of God, he did not advance its proper form of
about Dr. Runia's blatant misrepresentations con- expression in his works on theology'."
cerning three articles which I wrote in the  Standard          Thus far the quotation from Dr. Runia's letter to
Bearer  and which were reprinted (with our permission) your Sessions in so far as it concerns my articles.
by the Reformed Guardian.                                      In reply to the above, let me call the following to
  First of all, let me quote what Dr. Runia has written your attention:
in his letter to your Sessions:                                1) The articles to which Dr. Runia refers were first
  "Added to this issue of the Guardian is `Documen- printed in the  Standard Bearer  in September and
tary Evidence from the writings of Professor Dr. K.          October of 1969. These three articles, entitled
Runia'. It starts with the reprint of three articles from "Topsy-Turvy Joy from `Down Under,'  " reflected on
the `Standard Bearer', the publication of the so called an article by Dr. Runia in the Christian Reformed
Hoeksema church in the U.S.A. In an article in `The magazine  The Banner,  entitled "The Joy of Systematic
Banner' I had used the Rev. Hoeksema  Sr.`s view of the Theology." At the time when I wrote these articles, I
decree as an example. In the three articles this is was not even aware of any differences of opinion in
rebutted by his son, Prof. H. C. Hoeksema, who in            the Reformed Churches of New Zealand. In fact, at
defence of his father's and his own position accuses me that time I had never had any contact with anyone
of existentialism, etc.  - But is this proper evidence?      from New Zealand. I knew little about your churches
Hoeksema's view on the decree and his  `supralapsarian-      and little about Geelong Theological College. In fact, I
ism' have always been rejected by Reformed theolo- knew very little of Dr. Runia's theological position. But
gians. Therefore, if one disagrees with Hoeksema, this it is the practice of the  Standard Bearer  to reflect on
is no evidence that one is no longer Reformed. On the various significant theological items. And thus it came
contrary, it is rather proof  that- one defends the Re- about that I also reflected on Dr. Runia's article which
formed position. Yet, by adding these articles as            appeared in  The Banner.  Now this is, I think, signifi-
`Documentary Evidence' the impression is created that        cant for this reason, that it means that as far as your
I am a heretic indeed. Perhaps I may quote here from         situation in New Zealand is concerned, I had no "ax to
the lengthy review of the Rev. Hoeksema's `Reformed grind." The fact of the matter is that it was only  after
Dogmatics' by Dr. C. van Til in the Westminster these articles were published that an American reader
Theological Journal: `In his great desire to do full         of the  Standard Bearer  called them to the attention of
justice to God's final, controlling counsel, Hoeksema        some of the brethren in New Zealand, and that thus,
fails to do justice to the genuine significance of           providentially, I began to have contact with the


296                                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



brethren, who eventually asked for permission to                               was in this same connection that I expressed regret
reprint my articles because they considered them                               that "Dr. Runia does not make positively clear what he
pertinent in their situation. Besides, it means that I                         understands to be the meaning and the task of dog-
arrived at my conclusions in those articles entirely                           matics." And it was in this same connection that I did
independently  of the controversy in your churches.                            not make an accusation, but asked the question: "Is
   2) It is neither accurate nor kind of Dr. Runia to                          there a tinge of  Barthian existentialism and  dialecti-
speak of us as the "so called Hoeksema church in the                           cism in his ideas? Who can tell?" These are simple
U.S.A." We are neither "so-called" nor "Hoeksema" facts. It is certainly true that Dr. Runia's view of God's
churches. We are the Protestant Reformed Churches in                           decree is erroneous and that he openly criticizes the
America, a small (like your own denomination) and                              Canons of Dordrecht  in  the book  Crisis in the Re-
vital and faithfully Reformed denomination. Our formed Churches.  But about this I was not writing at
origin dates to 1924 and the so-called common grace                            that time. It is only recently that I criticized Dr.
controversy in the Christian Reformed Church. We                               Runia's view of God's decree of predestination at
acknowledge the infallibly inspired Scripture as our                           length in several articles in the  Standard Bearer.  I hope
only rule of doctrine and life; and we acknowledge the                         that the  Reformed Guardian  will also reprint these
Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the                           articles: for in them I show beyond a shadow of a
Canons of Dordrecht as our subordinate standards. Our                          doubt that Dr. Runia openly contradicts the Canons of
Standard Bearer  is not a denominational paper, but a                          Dordrecht and agrees with those who do so in the
free, society-published magazine, which has also been                          Netherlands. I invite you to read those recent articles;
in existence since 1924. Our churches operate a small                          they are enlightening.
seminary. We have a radio ministry. We are engaged in                            4) Dr. Runia injects the matter of supralapsarianism
mission work, both at home and in Jamaica. Our                                 into the discussion as follows: "Hoeksema's view of
people are devoted to covenantal education, and we                             the decree and his `supralapsarianism' have always been
operate several of our own Christian schools. In other                         rejected by Reformed theologians." Let me point out,
words, though small, we have a full-orbed denomina-                            in the first place, that supra- or  infralapsarianism  has
tional life.                                                                   nothing whatsoever to do with this matter. It was not
   3) In the paragraph quoted, Dr. Runia blatantly                             so much as discussed or mentioned in the articles re-
misrepresents the content of both his article in  The                          ferred to. Let me also add immediately that it has
Banner  and my three articles. As far as my articles are                       nothing to do with my recent criticisms of Dr. Runia's
concerned, any of you who have read the reprint                                views of the decree of predestination  in Crisis in the
published in New Zealand would be hard pressed, I am                           Reformed Churches.  The fact of the matter is that in
sure, to recognize my articles from Dr. Runia's descrip-                       that book Dr. Runia is not even a good infralapsarian,
tion.                                                                          but denies the eternal decree of reprobation and
   In the first place, it is not true that Dr. Runia used                      militates against the Canons. Dr. Runia is using
as an example in his article Rev. Herman Hoeksema's                            "supralapsarianism" as a bogey-man.
view of the decree. It is not even true that the subject                         In the second place, I freely admit that the Rev.
of God's decree was discussed at great length                                  Herman Hoeksema was a supralapsarian. So am I. How-
either by Dr. Runia or by me. Dr. Runia used as an                             ever, it is not true that supralapsarianism has always
example in his article the Rev. Herman Hoeksema's                              been rejected by Reformed theologians. The fact of
description of the attribute of God's  immutability,  or                       the matter is that it has always been officially allowed
unchangeableness. About this he wrote at length, and                           by Reformed churches. There were supralapsarians at
about this I wrote at length in reply. And in that                             the Synod of Dordrecht; and they also subscribed to
connection, in my first article I accused Dr. Runia of the Canons, by the way! Reformed Churches have
literally teaching that God changes. I stand by that                           always allowed the supra- view under the infra- confes-
accusation.                                                                    sions.
   In the second place, Dr. Runia wrote at length, and I                         In the third place, as far as God's decree is con-
wrote at length in reply, about his understanding of                           cerned, our churches recognize and subscribe to the
what constitutes systematic theology and about his                             infralapsarian, Canons of Dordrecht. Infra- is soundly
"dynamic-relational" method over against what he                               Reformed. More than once I have said to my students:
c h o s e   t o   c a l l   o u r   "static-ontological"  m e t h o d   o f    "When it comes to the doctrine of God's eternal and
theology. And with respect to Dr. Runia's method, I                            sovereign decree, over against Arminianism, give me a
had several grave reservations and criticisms.                                 good infra- any day !" I stand by'that statement. But I
   In the third place, it was only in my third article                         insist that Dr. Runia is not even a good infra-. His
that I wrote one paragraph about the subject of God's                          writings contradict the Canons.
decree in connection with Dr. Runia's reference to                                5) Dr. Runia uses this matter of supralapsarianism as
Romans 9-l 1. It was in this connection that Dr. Runia                         evidence that we are really not Reformed and that he
himself referred to theology as being "existential." It                        is Reformed. In the first place, this is not correct in the


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                            297



light of what I have just written. In the second place,        lose your Reformed distinctiveness as churches, as is
he tries to leave the impression that Dr. C. van Til is on     happening all over the world in our times. In the
his side. Let me point out that Dr. van Til does not say       second place, you must not be afraid of healthy con-
in that quotation that Hoeksema is not  Re.formed. To          troversy. I do not enjoy controversy for controversy's
my knowledge, he has never said this; and, though he           sake. Neither, I believe, do the brethren of the Fellow-
may speak for himself, I doubt whether he would say            ship and the  Guardian.  But if that controversy involves
this, even though he has frequently disagreed with us.         our Reformed heritage, then, before God, we may not
In the third place, no one besides Dr. Runia has ever          shirk our calling. In the third place, there are certain
suggested that we are not Reformed. In fact, when our          things that I find difficult to understand. I cannot
original leaders were cast out of the Christian Re-            understand the bitterness against the Fellowship. I can-
formed Churches in 1924, they were given the testi-            not understand how elders can be disciplined for
mony that they were "fundamentally Reformed, with              having a part in the Fellowship and in the publication
a tendency to one-sidedness."                                  of the  Guardian.  What is grossly sinful about this?
  But why, instead of writing in secret and instead of What is sinful about their public discussion of the doc-
blatantly twisting the facts and dishonestly attempting trines which are the common possession of the
to discredit his critics,  - why does not Dr. Runia            churches? What is sinful about their defense of those
address himself to the  issues?  Why, if he is wrong, does     doctrines over against the public writings of Dr. Runia?
he not admit it? And why, if he is convinced that he is I cannot see this. It is not my intention to discuss in
right, does he not show this from Scripture and the            detail Dr. Runia's attempts in his letter to discredit the
Confessions? On my part, I hold no personal grudge             Fellowship. I only want to point out that while these
against Dr. Runia. How could I? I do not even know             brethren may have their weaknesses, and while they
him personally. I am interested in only one thing:             may have made some mistakes in their writing efforts,
Scripture and the Reformed Confessions. But this one           nevertheless they have, in my opinion, done the
thing is of the utmost importance to me and to the             churches a favor by sounding the alarm in Zion and by
Protestant Reformed Churches. And it ought to be of            calling attention to the dangers which threaten. As I
the utmost importance to Dr. Runia and to the Re-              see it, the criticisms published by the Fellowship are
formed Churches of New Zealand.                                fundamentally correct and sound. As I see it  - and I
  In conclusion, brethren and sisters, let me address a        am willing to discuss these matters with anyone  - the
very earnest word of warning and exhortation to you. I         churches ought to take warning and face up to the
sincerely hope you will receive it. Through reading and        issues. The churches in New Zealand must not go down
through correspondence, especially during the past             the path followed by the Reformed Churches in the
year, I have made it my business to become as                  Netherlands.
thoroughly informed as possible about the matters                 Finally, it is my hope and prayer that you may have
which are troubling your churches. I want to tell you,         grace to stand in defense of the heritage of the faith
in the first place, that I see these as very, very serious once delivered unto the saints.
matters which concern your very position as a  Re-                                                          Yours in the cause
formed  denomination. These matters must be settled,                                                               of the truth,
and that, too, without compromise. Otherwise you will                                                    Homer C. Hoeksema


All Around Us

                           Request for a New Confession
                                                       ProJ: H. Han ko

       REQUEST FOR A NEW CONFESSION                                Reformed Church to declare that "It is necessary and
  In various Church publications it has been reported              desirable to re-express the faith of the church in a
that the Christian Reformed Synod, at her next session             new Fonfession  which will replace the Belgic Confes-
                                                                   sion, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of
in June, will have to deal with an overture which re-              Dort as a statement of the Truth and as our standard
quests the Church to draw up a new confession. One                 of unity ."
notice of this appears in the  RES NEWS EXCHANGE                     The classis appended 5 grounds to the overture:
from which we quote.                                                      1. This action is necessary because the framing of
      Classis  Chatham (Ontario) decided at its January            the Three Forms of Unity was historically condi-
    meeting to overture the annual synod of the Christian          tioned: they cannot be understood without a knowl-


298                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER


       edge of the doctrines of the Roman Church, the              called The Confession of 1967.
       Anabaptists and the Remonstrants of the 16th and              But the writing of new confessions is always danger-
       17th century. The confessions state the Truth in a          ous business. We are not saying that it is wrong to do
       way that was influenced by the heresies they had to         this; certainly it is not more wrong for the Church
       oppose. Today the Creeds need the interpretation of
       theological and historical- experts; they cannot serve      today to write new confessions than it was for the
       as an adequate expression of the faith of the ordinary      Church in the years immediately after the Reforma-
       members of Christ.                                          tion. But it is dangerous business nonetheless. For a
         2. This action is desirable because the Holy Spirit       confession belongs to the whole Church. It is a confes-
       has given insights since the Synod of Dart, and the         sion which must express the living and earnest faith of
       evil spirits have planted heresies since that date,         all the people of God for whom the confession is
       which are neither expressed nor addressed in our            written. It is not the work and may never be the work
       present confessions.                                        of a few theologians. It is not the work exclusively of
         3. Every church member is not only expected to            an ecclesiastical assembly  - although they may be
       agree with the Confession, but he should intelligently      ultimately responsible for its formulation. But it is the
       and enthusiastically share in it. Therefore it is de-       work of the whole Church of Christ. The whole
       sirable to have a statement of  the Truth which is          Church must be actively engaged in a very real way.
       more obviously relevant.
         4. It is desirable to re-express our faith in confes-     But if this is true, then the Church of Christ must also
       sional form, because the present documents, which           possess a lively faith which is deeply and profoundly
       have served us for centuries, are in danger of venera-      ihterested  in the truth of the Word of God; it must be
       tion, due to their antiquity and our ignorance.             a Church which loves that truth, studies it, discusses it,
         5. It is desirable to re-express our faith in confes-     and has that truth as the pulsing and vibrant principle
       sional form, because a paralyzing unbelief keeps            of her whole life. It is the lack of this within today's
       telling us that the Church of the living God cannot do      Church which makes writing confessions so dangerous.
       today what it was called to do in the tties of the          I well recall that Rev. Hoeksema, in Seminary, was
       Reformation.                                                wont to make the remark: "The Church today is not
         The Wallaceburg church, which initiated the               spiritually strong enough to write confessions." This, I
       action, recommended that the Synod seek the assist-         am afraid, is true. If it persists nonetheless, what it
       ance of all church denominations which subscribe to         produces is something less than God's truth.
       the same doctrinal standards or adhere to a similar
       tradition for the re-expression of faith in confessional      But the overture referred to above does not merely
       form. The Classis  did not accept this recommendation       ask for a new confession. It asks for a new confession
       on the consideration that it would entail a committee       which will "replace" the present Three Forms of
       of twenty years. It was observed however, that the          Unity. This is something else. And to evaluate this
       rules of correspondence among churches would re-            rather startling request, it is necessary to take a long
       quire contact with `sister' churches in the formulation     and hard look at the grounds. For, after all, even the
       of a new creed.                                             Presbyterian Church which adopted the Confession of
         The classis also proposed to the synod "That its          1967 did not go quite this far.
       position on the necessity and desirability of a re-ex-        The overture makes, I think, two points in ground 1.
       pression of our faith in confessional form, may in no       The first point is that because the Confessions were
       wise be construed either as an acknowledgement that         historically conditioned, they cannot be understood
       the Three Forms of Unity are not in harmony with            apart from a knowledge of the times in which they
       the Scriptures or as a weakening of the binding             lived. The result of this is that the Confessions need
       character of the Three Forms of Unity. All members
       and officebearers are bound to uphold the unabridged        the interpretation of experts and are not any longer of
       content of the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg            any use to "ordinary members of Christ." In a limited
       Catechism and the Canons of Dart, until a new con-          sense this ground is true. There are parts of the Confes-
       fession of this faith has been endorsed by the              sions which make references to existing conditions,
       churches."                                                  existing heresies, existing circumstances within  the
         It was reported that the overture did not arise from      Church. But this is not true of all of them by any
       a spirit of anti-confessionalism, nor from disagree-        means. And there is no truth in the assertion that  -this
       ment with the confessions, nor from the spirit of a         fact removes them from the understanding of the
       new theology.                                               "ordinary" people of God. At least, if it is true, it
         The annual synod of the Christian Reformed                ought not to be so. For, on the one hand, the truths
       Church will meet in June.                                   set forth, even in opposition to existing conditions and
  The Christian Reformed Church is not the first heresies, are truths which stand in their own right and
denomination either in this country or abroad which can  be understood even apart from the historical cir-
has faced the question of whether or not to write a cumstances under which they were written. But on the
new confession. In fact, the United Presbyterian other hand, every child of God is (or, at least, ought to
Church has already written such a new confession be) a student of the past. He need not be an expert;


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                299



but if his faith is to be a faith which binds him in confessed the truth, as the  Classis which dealt with the
communion with the saints with whom he shall dwell overture insists, then the Confessions which were
in glory, he ought to know that faith and know the written at that time are relevant today too. The
history.. of the Church as she struggled to express that trouble is not in the Confessions. If the Church today
faith. If it is true that most members of the Church do does not "intelligently and enthusiastically share" in
not know the past, this is but a sign of the fact that the the Confessions, the fault is with the Church, not with
Church today is too spiritually weak to write confes- the creeds.
sions. It is proof against a new confession; not for it.      The fourth ground speaks of the fact that the
  The second point which the ground makes is that present Confessions have become the objects of venera-
the truth was influenced by heresies of the times. It tion. Two reasons are given for this: the antiquity of
seems as if this ground is saying that the truth set forth the Confessions and our ignorance of them. This is a
in the Confessions, insofar as it was influenced by         strange ground, and several remarks could  b,e made
heresies then existing, is not the truth of the Scrip- about it. First of all, it is an unproved assertion that
tures. This is not true. It is true, of course, that the    the present Confessions are being worshipped. To me,
truth was then set forth, as it always is, in opposition    quite the contrary seems to be the case. In the second
to attacks against it. But this is historically always the place, if by veneration is meant honor, what is bad
way truth develops. It does. not develop by the re- about this? These creeds are indeed from antiquity.
search of some man sitting alone in some ivory tower But this is in their favor. They have stood the test of
of theological contemplation far removed from the life      the years. They have proved to be what the Church
of the Church. The truth is developed and set forth as needs for over four centuries. They have expressed the
that truth comes under attack. It is hammered out as a faith of the Church in ages gone by and serve to unite
weapon of warfare by saints who stand on the battle- that Church with the Church of today. In the third
field of faith. Or, to put it a little differently, God uses place, if the creeds are being worshipped out of ignor-
the persistent and unrelenting attacks of Satan to spur ance, the cure is not to write new confessions, but the
His Church on in the development of the faith. Hereti- cure is to call the people of God to know their creeds,
cal attacks against the faith force the people of God to so that these creeds may once again be the living con-
go again and again to the Scriptures to find what God fession of the saints.
has said concerning the truth. And this truth is set          The fifth ground speaks of the fact that "a paralyz-
forth in Confessions. This is the way it has been ever ing unbelief" charges the Church with an inability to
since the ancient  Nicean Creed.                            live as the saints did in the days of the Reformation.
  The second ground speaks of the fact that new This t.oo is a strange ground. In the first place, I have
heresies have risen and new truths have been developed not heard such a charge brought by unbelief. The
with the passing of the years which are not incor-          charge most often on the lips of unbelievers is just the
porated into the Confessions or answered by them.           opposite. They say: Your confession and life is out-
This is, no doubt, true. But this is not an argument for    dated, old-fashioned, belonging to a dead era, not in
Confessions which replace the old ones. This is an keeping with the temper of modern times. But apart
argument  ,for the writing of an additional confession from this point, and in the second place, I do not
which takes cognizance of the fact that doctrine had really care what unbelief says to me  ; nor should any
developed.                                                  Church which wants to be faithful to the gospel.
  The third ground states that a new and more rele-         Surely, whatever unbelief has to say to the Church
vant  Confession is desirable because only this will        ought not to be the motivation to write a new Confes-
guarantee that every church member makes the Con- sion. Surely, unbelief does not have the final say in this
fession of the Church a living Confession in his life. important matter of the Church. Surely, unbelief is not
There is an assumption here which is quite dangerous. going to tell the Church what she must do with the
That assumption seems to be that the truth as set forth truth of God. To insert this as a ground strikes me as
by our fathers is not relevant to our modern age. And most peculiar.
if this is the assumption, then the additional assump-        The general impression is left with me that this over-
tion is that the truth itself is changeable. This is rather ture is once again an expression of dissatisfaction with
commonly asserted today even in Reformed circles. the truth of the Scriptures. The  Classis affirms that this
Witness, e.g., what is happening in the Reformed is not the case. But the grounds suggest this strongly. If
Churches in the Netherlands. But this is false. The this is true, then it is only one more attempt to follow
truth of God is eternally relevant. It is just as relevant the way of a Church which rapidly moves down the
today as it was over 400 years ago. If the Church then slippery road of apostasy.


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300                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


Come Ye Apart... And Rest A While

             Although The Mountains Quake
                                                   Rev. C. Hanko

   6 a.m. on Tuesday, February 9, 1971. The moon arrival of the new creation, in which righteousness will
was setting in the west just as the sun was rising in the dwell. In a very special way, these are the groanings of
east. This was the day for the return of the astronauts which Paul speaks in Romans 8. Have you never heard
from the moon with the proud boast of what man had           the rumblings of the bowels of the earth which accom-
once more accomplished. This was also the day for a pany an earthquake, especially painful to the sensitive
complete moon eclipse visible in this entire area. But ears of dogs, so that they whine in bitter anguish?
something quite different became the headlines in the Earthquakes are the labor pains that increase in in-
news and occasion for concern for many.                      tensity as the time of our deliverance approaches. "For
   Only a few people were stirring about at this hour. we know that the whole creation groaneth and  travail-
Most of southern California still lay enwrapped in           eth in pain together until now. Because the creature
quiet slumber. But their sleep was suddenly disrupted itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of cor-
by a violent shaking and rolling of the earth. Actually ruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God."
the earthquake lasted only a minute, and yet in that As you might conclude from Hebrews  11:40,  we with-
one minute more than sixty people were killed, many out them cannot be made perfect.
hundreds injured, a hospital, homes and many other             I can well remember when something like this was
buildings were damaged or demolished, highways referred to by the world as "an act of God." If I am
buckled, overpasses collapsed, bridges crumbled, water not mistaken, insurance policies carried a clause about
mains spouted water, gas mains spewed forth flames,          calamities of this sort as an act of God. True, I do not
and a break in a dam sent many thousands of evacuees         like the expression. We can only smile a bit when
to seek refuge wherever they could. Only a minute people speak of special calamities as an act of God, as
passed, and yet it took days to dig bodies out of the if sunshine and rain, summer and winter, seed-time and
debris, and it will take an estimated three years and harvest, health and sickness, and everything else were
hundreds of millions of dollars to restore the damage.       not acts of God. It is of inestimable comfort to us at
God has but to touch the earth with the very tip of His all times to know that these things come not by
smallest finger, and puny man trembles in terror, for        chance, but by God's fatherly hand. Lord's Day 10.
even now, two weeks and more than two hundred But I do want to point out that as the world develops
after-shocks later, every one wonders whether more in wisdom there seem to be less "acts of God" than
destruction might still follow in its wake.                  ever before. Modem scientists find natural causes for
  This was actually a minor quake compared to many           everything. Although it has eluded them thus far, they
others. The San Francisco earthquake took almost five are working hard to be able to predict exactly when an
hundred lives and destroyed nearly thirty thousand           earthquake will come. The more man finds natural
buildings. The Long Beach quake of 1932 left one hun- causes, and the more glibly he can speak of freaks of
dred twenty dead, several thousand injured, and              nature, the less he fears the hand of the Almighty that
wrought forty million dollars damage. The more recent brings judgments upon the earth. He likes to banish
earthquake in southern Alaska took one hundred four- God from all his thoughts, in order to continue defi-
teen lives and caused seven million dollars damage. And antly in his wickedness and exalt himself as god upon
then we are still only speaking of what happened             the earth. It becomes increasingly true: "And they re-
within our fifty States. One in Chile in 1960 took six       pented not!" Revelation 16: 11.
thousand lives. One in northern Iran in 1962 left ten          It only seems natural that our thoughts should turn
thousand dead, while in 1963 in Yugoslavia slightly to the cross of Calvary, where Christ triumphed over
more than a thousand were killed.                            the powers of darkness. "When Jesus knew that His
  What is significant is the fact that earthquakes are       hour was come that He should depart out of this world
the outstanding sign of the speedy coming of the Lord.       unto the Father, having loved His own which were in
Jesus refers to this when He ties them in with famines       the world, He loved them unto the end." The apostle
and pestilences, and assures us that these are the begin-    John places this in a slightly different context in John
ning of sorrows. Matthew  24:7. Just take a look at that     13:  1, but it fits here also. Jesus had triumphantly cried
passage a moment. The word for sorrows actually              with a cry that reechoed through the heavens, "It is
means `birthpangs.' Earthquakes are the first labor          finished." Then, "when He had cried again with a loud
pains of a creation that looks forward in hope to the        voice, He yielded up the ghost.. And behold, the veil of


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     301



the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bot-          to the grave only to find that the grave was open and
tom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; and an angel awaited them to bring the glad tidings: The
the graves were opened." Matthew 27  :50-52. Just Lord is risen! Is risen indeed! Already then the voice
think, at the moment when the Lord of Glory gave up            from heaven proclaimed: "Behold, I make all things
the ghost the earth quaked. Rocks were rent. Graves new!"
were opened, soon to produce a sort of firstfruits of            The old must pass away to make room for the new.
the resurrection. While children's mouths were stopped           "For thus saith the Lord of hosts: Yet once, it is a
in awe and horror, the very rocks cried out that Christ little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth,
is Lord, to the glory of the Father, triumphant over and the sea, and the dry land. And I will shake all
death.                                                         nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I
  And then there is that other familiar passage in the will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts."
28th chapter of Matthew, "In the end of the Sabbath,           Haggai 2:6, 7.
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,            To the world God says: I am God, and beside Me
. . . there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the       there is no other. But to His Church: Behold, I make
Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled                all things new! To which we can respond in faith:
back the stone from the door, and sat upon it."                         God is our Refuge and our Strength,
  6 a.m. That was somewhere near the time when Lot                       A Helper ever near us;
had finally been led out of the city of Sodom, and                      We will not fear tho' earth be moved,
"the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah  brim-                          For God is nigh to cheer us.
stone and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and  over-                  Although the mountains quake
threw those cities, and all the plain, and all the  inhabi-              And earth's foundations shake,
tants of the cities, and all that which grew upon the                   Tho' angry billows roar
ground."                                                                 And break against the shore,
  And it was also about 6 a.m. when the women went                      Our mighty God will hear us.


The Strength of Youth

                            Obedience To Parents
                                                Rev. Robert D. Decker

  Perhaps, youthful friend, you recall that in my con-         ond table of the Law of God. Jesus told us that the
tributions to this column I am attempting to answer            basic principle of the entire law is the love of God.
certain questions presented to me by the young people          This first and great commandment is that we love the
in my congregation. It so happens in the providence of         Lord our God with our whole being; the second is like
God that I have just finished a sermon for the coming          unto it and is that we love the neighbor as ourselves.
Lord's Day on the Fifth Commandment which is also,             (cf. Matthew  22:37-40) This does not mean that God
as you can gather from the title of this article, the          has given two different commandments; the first re-
subject of the question we wish to answer. The ques-           quiring love to Him, and the second requiring love to
tion reads: "How far does obedience to parents go?             the neighbor. Rather, Jesus means to say that there is
Must we allow ourselves to be so completely domi-              one basic principle involved in the whole law, in every
nated by our parents that we are not able to think, act,       commandment, and that is that we love God. The sec-
or believe independently? If personal conviction inter-        ond is like unto, that is, the second is rooted in and
feres with parental beliefs must we give up our own            derived from the first and great commandment. This
beliefs in the name of `obedience'?"                           means that we are to love the neighbor with the love of
  We may begin by paying attention to some basic               God and for God's sake. Apart from the love of God in
principles involved in the Fifth Commandment of                our hearts it is impossible for us to love the neighbor.
God's Law. The commandment in question literally               Still more, our love for God is exactly revealed in our
reads: "Honor Thy father and thy mother, that thy              love for the neighbor. Paul says in Galatians 5 : 14:
days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God            "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:
giveth thee." We are interested in only the first part of      Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (cf. Romans
this commandment; Honor thy father and thy mother.             13:8-l 0) Because this is true, the Apostle John writes
To understand the meaning we must remember that                in his first letter, chapter 4, verses 20  & 2 1: "If a man
this commandment stands at the beginning of the sec-           say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. . .


302                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



and this commandment have we from him, That he                 because it pleases God to govern us by their hand! The
who loveth God love his brother also." The first prin-         Heidelberg Catechism (not nearly as outdated as some
ciple of the 5th commandment, then, is the love of             would have us believe!) is dead right when it says in
God. More specifically, it is the love of God as revealed      Lord's Day 39 that the 5th Commandment requires:
in obedience to Him through obedience to our parents.          "That I show all honor, love, and fidelity to my father
  It is the authority of God that is at stake here. We         and mother, and all in authority over me, and  submit
ought to be very clear on this. It was argued once in          myself to their good instruction and correction,  with
my Young People's Society that the commandment                 due obedience;  and patiently bear with their infirmities
says "Honor" and does not say "obey"; hence, one               and weaknesses, since it pleases God to govern us by
must honor his parents but is not required to obey             their hand." (emphasis mine, R.D.) Very bluntly, this
them. This, however, is not the case at all! It is true, of    means that to disobey parents is to disobey God. And,
course, that we must honor in the sense of respecting          what is more, to disobey parents and thus God is to
and loving our parents,  an.d that, too, for as long as        hate both parents and God!
they live. It ought to be evident at the same time that          This has terribly serious implications for our par-
the commandment requires more than proper respect.             ents, implications that ought to make every  God-
In fact, it may be said that honoring and respecting           fearing parent tremble.1 The Lord addresses these
one's parents is possible only in the way of obedience         words to parents: "And, ye fathers, provoke not your
to them. That this is what God intends with this com-          children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture
mandment is plain from His Word in Leviticus  19:3,            and admonition of the Lord." (Eph.  6:4) Provoking
where He says in no uncertain terms: "Ye shall  FEAR           our children to wrath means more than just being un-
every man his mother and his father." Under the infal-         reasonable or unfair or tactless and thus making our
lible inspiration of the Holy Spirit the Apostle Paul          children angry. It means that; but more, it means we
teaches the same in Ephesians 6: 1-3, where the Word           must not put our children on the road to hell. Pro-
is: "Children obey your parents in the Lord: for this is       voking to wrath is the opposite of bringing them up in
right. Honour thy father and thy mother; which is the          the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It is failure to
first commandment with promise. . .  ." Hence, if we           do that! Bringing them up in the ways of sin and the
are to love God according to the 5th commandment               world, failing to instruct them in the fear of God; this
we must obey our parents.                                      is making our children liable to the wrath and punish-
  But we said above that it is the authority of God            ment of God. Parents must not do that! They are
that is at stake. That is true very simply because all         called to train up their children in the way in which
authority is God's. That we can understand when we             they ought to go (Prov.  22:6). Passages like Deuteron-
know the true nature of authority according to the             omy 6, Psalm 78, Col. 3 and others all emphasize the
Bible. Authority is not sheer power as the man of the          same truth. It is the solemn duty of parents to rear
world would have us think today. It's not "might               their children in the fear of the Lord, in His command-
makes right." This is how the world operates, but not          ments and precepts and judgments. And that is a full
the church and the child of God. Neither does author-          time task, according to Deut.  6! That is not done by
ity come from the "will of the majority" or the "con-          mere word of mouth but by the very example of our
sent of the governed," as American democracy teaches.          day-to-day living.
That may be the  MEANS  God uses to establish rulers             And when parents are faithful to that calling they
but that is not the  SOURCE  of authority. Authority is,       have the God-given right to expect total submission
briefly, three things: 1) The right to declare for others      from their children and youth! The Bible tells youth as
what is right  & good, 2) The right to demand of others        well as children to obey their parents. That word obey
conformity or obedience to that standard, 3) The right         means to follow up a call or to yield to someone. That
to judge and execute judgment (rewarding or punish-            means youth must follow up the call of God that
ing) others. Now that authority belongs exclusively to         comes to them through their covenant parents. They
God, because He is the Creator and Sustainer and               must yield to them totally. To use the language of the
Ruler of all things.                                           question: obedience to parents goes all the way! Yes,
  That authority God has conferred upon Christ. Jesus          we must allow ourselves to be completely dominated
said: "All power is given unto me in heaven and on             by our parents so that we do not think or act inde-
earth." And the Bible says in Eph. 1:  19ff that God has       pendently. And  MOST CERTAINLY  if our personal
put all things under Christ's feet. Thus before the ex-        convictions interfere with parental beliefs we  MUST
alted Christ every knee must bow (Phil. 2). And that           give up our own beliefs in the name of obedience. We
same authority of God in Christ is conferred upon our          MUST for  God's sake and out of love for Him! Any-
parents. Parents have the right to declare for us what is      thing less is disobedience to the Lord God!
right, and demand unquestioned obedience to what is              The ONLY exception to this is when parents are
right and punish us when we do the wrong, not be-              remiss in their calling and teach or require of their
cause they are older or wiser or stronger, but only            youth that which is plainly contrary to the teaching of


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        303


the Word of God! Then, obviously, we must obey God way.
rather than men. But as long as parents require what            Youth of God's covenant hear and do the Word of
God requires and as long as they are bringing us up in God! Honor thy father and thy mother! They are
the nurture and admonition of the Lord we must obey God's friends and they bring you God's Word and they
and yield ourselves totally to them.                          rule over you because they know you are God's heri-
  Youth often forgets that. The world's rejection of tage (Psalm 127) entrusted to them by Him to be in-
the authority of God has more influence upon us than structed in His fear! There is no generation gap among
we probably care to admit.         Youth tends to think of covenant parents and their children and youth. The
parents as the "old man" and "old lady" who belong Bible is the eternal, never changing, always relevant
to a bygone age and are just a bit (to say the least) out TRUTH of God!
of touch. This they call in the world the "generation           For God's sake obey them. Do not be a friend of the
gap." Parents are too old-fashioned. The old ways are world. Love not the world! Refuse to be led astray
no good for the "NOW generation." Youth today needs with the radical youth of today's world, the hippies
a "new morality" (which is no more than the same and  yippies. Do not join the Godless revolutionaries of
OLD IMMORALITY called in the Bible "the lust of today's young people. Do not be fashioned according
the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life"  - to their drug and alcohol oriented life style.
cf. I Jphn 2: 15-17); in fact, youth wants an entirely          Rather, love God by loyal and willing obedience to
new "life style" according to which youth does "his your God-given, covenant parents. In this way  lies
own thing." With all of this parents are simply "out of God's blessing for you, your parents, and your church.
tune!" So youth refuses to listen and goes his own


Contending for the Faith

                               The Doctrine of Atonement
                                             THE REFORMATION PERIOD

                                                      Rev. H. Veldman

   We have made the remark in preceding articles that             show by a brief explication that they are not at all
Calvin, in his discussion of the  ddctrine of the atone-          inconsistent with the foregoing doctrine. A passage is
ment in his Institutes of the Christian Religion, does            produced from Ezekiel, where God says, "I have no
not emphasize the particular character of the suffering           pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the
and death of Christ. This, however, does not mean that            wicked turn from his way and live (Ezek. 33: 1 l)." If
the truth of the particular character of the grace of             this is to be extended to all mankind, why does He
                                                                  not urge many to repentance, whose minds are more
God and the sovereign character of God's election and             flexible to obedience than those of others, who grow
reprobation were not burning issues in the day and age            more and more callous to His daily invitations?
of the  Genevan  reformer. They certainly were. It is             Among the inhabitants of Nineveh and Sodom, Christ
well known how Calvin, in his "Calvin's Calvinism"                Himself declares that His evangelical preaching and
refutes the teachings of Pighius and also of a certain            miracles would have brought forth more fruit than in
Georgius, a follower of Pighius. That Calvin certainly            Judea. How is it, then, if God will have all men to be
believed in the particular nature of the atonement                saved, that He opens not the gate of repentance to
must be evident from his  defence of the particular and           those miserable men who would be more ready to
sovereign character of God's election and reprobation.            receive the favour? Hence we perceive it to be a
It may therefore be of benefit to our readers to call             violent perversion of the passage, if the will of God,
attention to this. We will be brief. We will quote from           mentioned by the prophet, be set in opposition to His
                                                                  eternal counsel, by which He has distinguished the
Calvin's Institutes, although we hasten to add that the           elect from the reprobate.
sentiments expressed in this quotation are also found
in his "Calvin's Calvinism." We now quote from Book             In this quotation Calvin denies that the will of God,
                                                              mentioned in Ezek. 33: 11 must be understood as in
II, 194-l 95 :
       But as objections are frequently raised from some      conflict with God's eternal decree of election and rep-
    passages of Scripture, in which God seems to deny         robation. What the reformer says here is clear. Why is
    that the destruction of the wicked is caused by His       it, he asks, if God would have all men to be saved, that
    decree, but that, in opposition to His remonstrances,     He did not cause His gospel to be brought to others,
    they voluntarily bring ruin upon themselves, - let us     such as the inhabitants of Sodom and Nineveh,  con-


304                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER



cerning  which cities Christ Himself declares that His                Art. XI. This article bears the title: "Of Jesus Christ,
preaching and miracles would have brought forth more                  being true God and Man, and the only Saviour of the
fruit than in  Judea?                                                 World." From this article we quote the following:
  Of interest is also the following quote, Book II, 195 :                   Moreover, we believe and teach that the Son of
          Another passage adduced is from Paul, where he                  God, our Lord Jesus Christ, was from all eternity
       states that "God will have all men to be saved";                   predestinated and foreordained of the Father to be
       which, though somewhat different from the passage                  the Saviour of the world.
       just considered, yet is very similar to it. I reply, in the          Moreover, we believe that our Lord Jesus Christ
       first place, that it is evident from the context, how              did truly suffer and die for us in the flesh, as Peter
       God wills the salvation of all; for Paul connects these            says 1 Pet. 4: 1). We abhor the most impious madness
       two things together, that He "will have all men to be              of the  Jacobites, and all the Turks, who execrate the
       saved, and ta came unto the knowledge 6f the truth."               passion of our Lord. Yet we deny not but that "the
       If it was fixed in the eternal counsel of God, that                Lord of glory," according to the saying of Paul, was
       they should receive the doctrine of salvation, what is             crucified for us (1 Cor. 2:8); for we do reverently and
       the meaning of that question  of Moses, "What nation               religiously receive and use the communication of
       is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them as               properties drawn from the Scripture, and used of all
       we have?" How is it that God has deprived many                     antiquity in expounding and reconciling places of
       nations of the light of the gospel, which others en-               Scripture which at first sight seem to disagree one
       joyed? How is it that the pure knowledge of the doc-               from another.
       trine of piety has never reached some, and that others           In this article, thus far, the question in regard to the
       have but just heard some obscure rudiments of it?              universal or particular character of Christ's atonement
       Hence it will be easy to discover the design of Paul.          is not asked, although it is true that the article speaks
       He had enjoined Timothy to make solemn prayers in              of Christ as the Saviour of the world. But we believe
       the Church for kings and princes; but as it might seem
       somewhat inconsistent to pray to God for a class of            that this question is answered, perhaps not as clearly as
       men almost past hope, - for they were not only                 is  stated in the Canons of  Dordt, in the following, and
       strangers to the body of Christ, but striving with all         we again quote from the same article:
       their power to ruin His kingdom,  - he subjoins, that                Furthermore, by His passion or death, and by all
       "this is good and acceptable in the sight of God, Who              those things which He did and suffered for our sakes
       will have all men to be saved"; which only imports,                from the time of His coming in the flesh, our Lord
       that  God-has  not closed the way of salvation against             reconciled His heavenly Father unto all the faithful
       any order of men, but has diffused His mercy in such               (Rom.  5: 10); purged their sin (Heb.  1:3); spoiled
       a manner that He would have no rank to be destitute                death, broke in sunder condemnation and hell; and
       ofit... For if they obstinately insist on its being said           by His resurrection from the dead brought again and
       that God is merciful to all, I will oppose to them,                restored life and immortality (Rom.  4:25;  1 Cor.
       what is elsewhere asserted, that "our God is in the                15: 17; 2 Tim. 1: 10). For He is our righteousness, life,
       heavens; He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased."                 and resurrection (John 6:44); and, to be short, He is
       This text, then, must be explained in a manner con-                the fullness and perfection, the salvation and most
       sistent with another, where God says, "I will be                   abundant sufficiency, of all the faithful.  .For the
       gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show               apostle says, "So it  pleaseth the Father that all full-
       mercy on whom I will show mercy." He Who makes a                   ness should dwell in Him" (Col. 1: 19), and "In Him
       selection of objects for the exercise of His mercy,                ye are complete" (Col. 2:lO).
       does not impart that mercy to all.                                   For we teach and believe that this Jesus Christ our
   This concludes our quotations from the writings of                     Lord is the only and eternal Saviour of mankind, yea,
John Calvin. Of course, we could quote more to show                       and of the whoIe world, in Whom all are saved before
that John Calvin was a strong advocate of the doctrine                    the law, under the law, and in the time of the Gospel,
of sovereign predestination, election and reprobation.                    and so many as shall yet be saved to the end of the
The  Genevan  reformer wrote profusely on this subject.                   world. For the Lord Kimself, in the Gospel, says, "He
The first part of his book, "Calvin's Calvinism," which                   that entereth not in by the door into the sheepfold,
                                                                          but climbeth up the other way, He is a thief and a
is also the larger part, deals  exclusively with God's pre-               robber" (John  1O:l). "I am the door of the sheep"
destination.  But,  in the first place, in this series of                 (verse 7). And also in another place of the same
articles we are dealing with the doctrine of predestina-                  Gospel He says, "Abraham saw My day, and rejoiced"
tion but with that of the atonement.  And, in the                         (John  856).  And the Apostle Peter says, "Neither is
second place, it lies in the nature of the case that one                  there salvation in any other, but in Christ; for among
who stresses so strongly the doctrine of sovereign pre-                   men there is given no other name under heaven
destination must surely believe in the particular charac-                 whereby they might be saved" (Acts  4:12).  We
ter of Christ's atonement.                                                believe, therefore, that through the grace of our Lord
                                                                          Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as our fathers
                 THE PROTESTANT CREEDS                                    were. For Paul says, that "All our fathers did eat the
  The Second  Helvetic  Confession (A.D. 1566) speaks                     same spiritual meat, and drink the same spiritual
of the suffering and death of our  Lord Jesus Christ in                   drink: for they drank of the spiritual Rock that


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    305


     followed them: and that Rock was Christ" (1 Cor.            We remarked that this article does not perhaps set
     10:3, 4). And therefore we read that John said, that      forth the particular character of the atonement as we
     "Christ was that Lamb which was slain from the            read it in the Canons of Dordt. But we must remember
    foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8); and that John        that the Arminian controversy still lay in the future
    the Baptist  witnesseth,  that Christ is that "Lamb of     when this second  Helvetic  Confession was composed in
     God, that  taketh away the sin of the world" (John        1566. However, we do read in this article that our
     1:29).
       Wherefore we do plainly and openly profess and          Lord Jesus Christ reconciled His heavenly Father unto
    preach, that Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer and         all the faithful  (incidentally, we surely prefer to say
     Saviour of the world, the King and  H&h Priest, the       that Christ reconciled us to the Father), and I believe it
    true and looked for Messiah, that holy and blessed         is plain from this article that when the fathers here
     one (I say) Whom all the shadows of the law, and the      speak of Christ as the Saviour of the world they mean
    prophecies of the prophets, did prefigure and              that He is the Saviour of all His people as out of all
    promise; and that God did supply and send Him unto         peoples, nations and tongues, from the beginning of
    us, so that now we are not to look for any other. And      time, even to the end of the world, not only as under
    now there remains nothing, but that we all should          the law but also as in the dispensation of the gospel.
    give all glory to Him, believe in Him, and rest in Him
    only, condemning and rejecting all other aids of our
    Life.


In His Fear

                                     Fear-Filled Sheep

                                                      Rev. John A. Heys


  Although one of the four freedoms that have been             among the numbers of those who retain membership,
promised to us is freedom from fear, it is a gross under-      and remain faithful in attendance (though not neces-
statement to say that we have not yet attained to it.          sarily in and with attention), interest in a discussion of
Larger and larger sections of our bigger cities are being      spiritual matters is hard to find. Such discussions often
marked off as territory through which one ought not            prove well nigh impossible to be initiated; and when in
travel, not even in broad daylight, for safety's sake.         progress are soon terminated or channeled into another
More and more college and university campuses are the          direction. Church attendance is more a matter of habit
scenes of the violence of riots. The number of students        than of hunger for the Word.
in certain colleges and universities that seek police pro-     The words,
tection while at school is on the increase. Two  so-             My heart was glad to hear the welcome sound,
called world wars were fought to put an end to the fear          The call to seek Jehovah's house of prayer,
of war and to make this world a safe place to live in,         may be sung lustily, and from a musical point  df
only to find that we are preparing in great dread for          view even beautifully. All too often, however, it is
what will be a real world war. Two attempts, the               without much sincerity and personal application. Many
League of Nations and the United Nations, have failed          times it should in all sincerity be followed with the
miserably in slowing down an armament race that will           words,
produce the most horrible devastation to man and his             If the sermon is not too long;
land that any conflict, since Cain killed Abel, has              How longs my heart to hear the welcome: Amen!
brought forth upon our globe.                                    But in the midst of all this there is also noticeable a
  The church world likewise is far from having at-             certain unrest and dissatisfaction, not because the
tained to any freedom from fear. But part of that fear         sermon is too long; nor even because it is too strong,
is encouraging, as strange as that may sound. For we           but because it emits a sound that is wrong! Fear there
live in a spiritually indifferent age, and few there are       is that doctrinal purity is being lost, and that faithful-
who would care to deny that, or would dare to claim            ness to the Confessions  - even to the so-called, or
that they have evidence to show that this is not true.         what is called, The Apostolic Creed  - is being threat-
Church membership is on the decline, and markedly              ened. Pamphlets, brochures and even books dealing
so. Church attendance has fallen off to an alarming            with that fear are being published in abundance and
degree. Particularly where two services are held, the          are being distributed in goodly numbers. In that same
second one is usually very poorly attended. Even               fear protests and appeals are being filed with  ecclesias-


306                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



tical bodies concerning these matters. At the same time         thing that is happening today when He speaks in
other pamphlets, lectures, editorials and speeches are          John 10: 1-18. You do well to read this passage in con-
prepared to reassure the troubled and restless that all is      nection with these lines. It is too lengthy to quote
well, and that there is no real room for fear. To the           here. But take note especially of verse 9, "I am the
fearful it is pointed out that  all  change is not necessar-    door: through me (the correct translation) if any man
ily a departure from the narrow way. One can change             enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and
his clothes while on that narrow way and then still             find pasture." Now, if we take these words in their
walk in the right direction. The new appearance has             setting, we will see that Jesus speaks of Himself as the
nothing to do with the direction and the place where            door through which the  shepherd must go  to reach the
the feet are placed.                                            sheep and to lead them to green pastures. Indeed, the
  The serious-minded child of God, who is not at ease,          sheep must go through Christ, the door, at night to
and who definitely is disturbed, does not always under-         enter the sheepcote for safety, and must go through
stand what is going on and why he has this fear. He             Him again in the morning to pasture. But by all means
knows that something is wrong, but he cannot get to             note that He says,  ". . . shall go in and out and  find
the heart of the matter and pinpoint the matter which           pasture." Now sheep never  do, that. They do not go
brings his restlessness and fear. This is true so often,        out. They are led out. They do not find pasture. They
because it is not a question of what is said, but of what       are led to it by the shepherd. Besides, in the whole
is not said. It is not always a case of not quoting Scrip-      passage Jesus is contrasting Himself as the Good
ture and of not using it as proof for the stand. So often       Shepherd with the thieves and robbers who climb over
it is the failure to say ALL that Scripture says on the         the wall. And the expression, "Door of the sheep,"
subject, and the quoting of a text out of its context and       means the door unto the sheep. You see, a sheepcote
with an interpretation that is in direct conflict with          sheltered various groups of sheep. In the morning a
what Scripture says elsewhere. It is so often  - if not         particular shepherd would come through the door and
always  - the case of Christless sermons. And we do             call his sheep. They would know his voice, separate
not mean sermons in which the name of Christ is not             themselves from the other groups and trustingly follow
mentioned. A Christless sermon may use His name very            to pasture. Now Christ's sheep know His voice and are
frequently, with some very endearing terminology, and           at ease and free from fear when they hear Him call
with strong emphasis upon the love of God manifested            them. Let a man come any other way than through
in Him. And yet these sheep go home hungry and                  Christ and they become restless at first, and then be-
thirsty. They hear words, but they have not heard  The          come filled with fright.
Word  become flesh. They have heard the  Hame of                  Now, that one comes to the sheep through Christ
Christ dozens of times, but they have not met  Christ           certainly means that he has an office to which Christ
and found Him as the-Bread of life and Water of life            called Him. Otherwise he is climbing over the wall. But
for them in that preaching.                                     it also means that he comes with the truth, that He
  It is important that the sheep hear HIM and meet              speaks exactly as Christ speaks. Approach His sheep
HIM face to face in the preaching. Jesus says in                with men's philosophy, and they will not recognize
John  10:27,  "My sheep hear my voice, and I know               you as Christ's undershepherd. They know Christ, be-
them, and they follow me." And Paul writes in the               cause His life is in them. And that life will respond
Greek, (not in your King James version of  Ro-                  only to Christ, Whom they hear through the man
mans 10: 14) "How shall they call on Him in Whom                Christ has officially sent, when he speaks HIS Word.
they have not believed? and how shall they believe in             Leading these sheep through Christ as the door to
Him Whom they have not heard; and how shall they                green pastures means that the shepherd searches the
hear without a preacher?" The King James ver-                   Word  - for Christ is that Word become flesh  - for his
sion incorrectly inserts the word "of" before the word          message to deliver to the sheep. He does not gather his
"Whom" in the phrase,  ". . . how shall they believe in         material from magazines and the writings of news an-
Him Whom they have not heard?" We certainly must                alysts, the social disorders in the world, and the solu-
hear of Christ and about Christ; but we must hear this          tions that men propose as a way out of these problems.
fvom  Him  He must say it in our hearts even while man          He gets his message from  Christ  by going to Christ. He
says it in our ears. Otherwise not only will we receive         gathers His message from the Word. He does not form
no spiritual food, but what is worse, we will never be          an opinion and then use the Word as one would use a
brought to the faith or be strengthened in the faith            dictionary to prove that his spelling is correct. He be-
which He has already given us.                                  gins with the Word, listens to Christ speaking in that
  Many sheep today do not even hear of Him, that is,            Word; and then he brings Christ to these sheep,  and- the
they do not hear of the Christ of Scripture. They hear          sheep to Christ, in his preaching of that Word.
the philosophy of men that makes use of the name of               That means, of course, that his preaching is exposi-
Christ but does not speak-His Word.                             tory preaching. It means that he does not use a text as
  Jesus gives us a beautiful explanation of this very           a springboard to jump into some subject upon which


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     307



  he would like to have the sheep chew, but that he lets          matter that our salvation and comfort rests fully upon
  that text speak to the sheep by explaining it in all its        that cross, it is Christless preaching.
  parts, and by applying it to them in their circum-                Admittedly there is so much of that Christless
  stances and in this day wherein they live.                      preaching today. And the sheep hear a new sound of a
    Christless preaching, as the very expression indi-            social gospel that finds no place for that cross, because
  cates, is preaching that leaves out Christ. This can be         it sees nothing more than sin between men and not sin
  done boldly and bluntly by preaching not The Christ             before God. It looks for a solution that can be worked
  but a  "christ," who is not the Son of God essentially          out by men and between men, and though it will find
  but a mere man, who was the best man that ever lived,           value in portions of passages of Jesus' words, it never
  a marvellous social reformer, one who taught us to die          leads to the cross. It militates against Jesus' own words
  for our principles, and one who lives only in the sense         through Matthew and the angel Gabriel, "Thou shalt
  that he lives in his teachings and in the lives of his          call His name Jesus, for He shall save  His people  from
  disciples of today. It denies a Christ born of a virgin,        their  sins.  " (Underscoring ours) Instead they call Him a
  raised from the dead and coming again in judgment.              social reformer Who has something for ALL men,
     But consider further that in the measure that any            and came to right  this  world by such reform. That His
  preaching leaves Christ out of our salvation, it is  Christ-    cross and Spirit realize an entirely  new kingdom  .and
  less preaching. Any part of that salvation it leaves for that He comes in holy wrath to destroy this world they
  us to do, it takes away from Christ, and in that sense          ignore or deny.
the preaching is Christless. If faith is our gift to Him,           It is well that the sheep are restless and afraid. It
  our work of giving Him the green light to save us, the          shows that they belong to His flock. But let that fear
  condition we fulfill, then it is not His gift to us, and we     be rooted in the fear of the Lord, in which Solomon
have less of Christ in our salvation than what He de-             declares, "is strong confidence." Proverbs  14:26. Let it
  clares Himself in Ephesians  2:8.                               not be in a fear of losing property and of numbers, of
    And, by all means, Christless preaching leaves out            losing prestige and honour, or even of losing friend-
  His cross. Any preaching `that does not center in it is         ships and love of father and mother, brother and sister.
  Christless. If the preacher does not show you the cross         Let it be the fear of the Lord, and not the fear of men.
  in the text somewhere in his sermon, or so present the


  From Holy Writ
                               Exposition  of Hebrews
                                                       Rev. G. Lubbers

  THE ELDERS OBTAINED A GOOD TESTIMONY                            which was set before him! (Heb.  12:1, 2) The writer
 BY FAITH  (Hebrews  11:2)                                        selects some outstanding and representative cases of all
    That faith is indeed the substance of things hoped            these who form the "cloud" of witnesses.
  for and the evidence of things not seen is proven by               The writer here simply is content with the general
  the testimony which the elders received from God                statement that these elders "obtained witness." They
  Himself through this faith! The writer in speaking here         were witnessed, attested to on every page of Scripture,
  of "elders" is not referring to elders as office-bearers in     receiving this honorable mention from the lips of God:
  the New Testament Church, nor exclusively of the                "Well-done! thou good and faithful servant." They
  elders of the people in the Old Testament, but rather           received this witness only in the sphere of and in the
  of the ancient fathers generally. It need not be neces-         power of faith, the mysterious gift and power of God
  sarily true that the writer here limits these "elders"          in the inner man. This is the power of the Holy Ghost,
  who obtained a good report to the elders whom he                Who empowers us from on high.
  selects here in Hebrews 11. All the elders, the entire            From this general statement concerning faith and
  Old Testament church in every age of the long period            the participants of this faith, the writer now will turn
  from Abel to Christ, is here referred to. The witness is        to the particulars.
  boqu? to all whose lives were "by faith." These all are         THE GIST AND OUTLINE OF THE EXAMPLES OF
 ._ the "cloud of witnesses" which surround us, and cheer         FAITH CITED  (Hebrews  11:3-40)
+::`us on in the battle in which we must look to Christ             Many writers have written expositions and given
 Who endured the Cross, despised the shame, and is set            exegesis of the book of Hebrews in the past. We have
  down on the right hand of God because of the joy                profited from their studies, particularly from those of


308                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


Westcott. Dr. Westcott gives much food for thought in                          "By faith we understand," says the writer. We do
his careful analyses of sentence, words, grammar, etc.                      not understand to believe, but we believe to under-
We found his outline of the contents of Hebrews 11,                         stand. Such has ever been the basic starting-point of all
particularly penetrating. Writes Dr. Westcott (page                         theism which holds to the revelation of God from
349, "The Epistle To The Hebrews"):                                         heaven. Hence, not only in the matters of sin and
         The development of the work of Faith appears to                    grace, Christ and the world to come, do we walk by
       follow an intelligible and natural plan. The writer first            faith. We walk by faith also in relationship to what
       marks the characteristics of Faith generally  (v. 1) and             may be called the Logos in creation, as unfolded by
       its application to the elementary conceptions of                     the Lord in the Prologue of John's Gospel account.
       religion (v. 3, compare v. 6). He then shows that the
       spiritual history of the world is a history of the                   (John 1: l-l 8) For this Logos is the true light that
       victories of Faith. This is  indicated,by  the fragmen-              enlighteneth every man that  cometh into the world.
       tary records of the old world (4-7) and more particu-                For "the heavens declare the glory of God and the
       larly by the records of the growth of the Divine                     firmament sheweth his handiwork; there is no speech
       Society ( Hee Eccleesia).   (the church, G.L.) This was              nor language where their voice is not heard. Their line
       founded on the Faith of obedience and patience of                    is gone out through all the earth, and their speech to
       the patriarchs (8-16); and built up in the faith of                  the end of the world." This speech of God in the
       sacrifice, sustained against natural judgment (17-22)                things made, even his eternal power and Godhead,
       and carried to victory by the faith of conquest                      transcends the barriers of the languages caused by the
       (33-31). The later action of Faith in the work of the                confusion of tongues at Babel. (Psalm 19; Rom.
       people is indicated up to the last national conflict                 1:  ISff.) Yes, this truth, which is manifested to the
       under the Maccabees (v. 32-38); and is then declared
       that all these preliminary victories await their con-                entire world of men, evil men keep down in unright-
       summation from the Faith of the Christians.  (39,40)                 eousness  - by which they become without excuse
         The contents of the chapter may therefore be                       before God. It is sufficient for their final and eternal
       arranged thus:                                                       condemnation. The entire, awful reality of idolatrous
             1) w. l-2. Preliminary view of the characteris-                image worship can only be explained by man's trying
                tics and work of Faith.                                     to "touch or find" God. (Acts. 17) Poets of the
             2) w. 3-7. Faith as seen in the prophetic                      heathen speak of it. Yet, they do not understand.
                 records of the old world.                                  They do not see the sparks of Divine glory in every
            3) w. 8-22. The Faith of the Patriarchs:                        creature, whereas they will not bow before the Creator
                   ( a )   pT~r;nc~aith  o f   O b e d i e n c e   a n d    God. They do not believe in God. They do not even
                   (b)  Thae Faith of Sacrifice.                            worship God ignorantly. Paul does not say, "Whom ye
            4) w. 23-31. The Faith of Conflict and Conquest.                ignorantly worship, Him I preach unto you," but says,
             5) w. 32-38. Faith active in national life.                    " what  ye ignorantly worship," ("ho  - touto" in the
            6) w. 3940. Conclusion.                                         Greek text in Acts 17: 23b) Surrounded by the glory of
  A careful reading of this chapter will indicate that                      the Creator, His power and Divinity, the unbelievers do
the outline here given by Dr. Westcott is most instruc-                     not understand. They even worship the creature, and
tive and helpful to obtain a bird's-eye view of the                         attempt to explain the things seen out of the things
whole, and showing the progressive pattern of Faith in                      seen.
the entire Old Testament History from Abel to the                              Now faith in God does not do such. Let us remember
Maccabees! One may differ with this outline on minor                        that this faith by which we understand the framing of
details, but in the main this outline, in my judgment, is                   the worlds,  that this faith is  saving  faith. This is faith
quite correct.                                                              which we have in God through Christ. Apart from
                                                                            Christ there is no faith in the Creator of heaven and
FAITH'S UNDERSTANDING OF CREATION'S earth. The first Article.of the  Apostolicurn  is  Christo-
MYSTERIES  (Hebrews  11:3)                                                  logically dated. This is faith in our heavenly Father,
  Here we have the "key" to the proper understanding                        who is our God and Father for Christ's sake. (Confer
of the revelation of God in  Genesis 1 in regard to the                     Question 26, Heidelberg Catechism) The writer here is
origin and nature of the visible world about us. The                        not speaking of a general faith which is for  al1 mankind
proper understanding of our world is not simply by                          m general, a faith which believers and unbelievers
sight, by empirical experience. Also in the matter of                       would have in common. Or, if you will, a certain
the visible world, the certainty concerning the things                      "common grace" of God. Not at all! For faith here is a
which we see does not rest on what our senses observe                       faith by which "we understand!" This we must keep
and our rational interpretation of the same, but is only                    ever in mind. This "we" does not receive any special
understood and interpreted by faith. We must first                          emphasis in the text. It was not contradicted in the
ascend to the Creator God in faith, before we can be                        days of the writer. However, the writer had empha-
certain concerning the origin, meaning, and purpose of sized this "we" in distinction from unbelievers who
all things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." slip back into perdition, in Hebrews  10:39. And this


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  309



emphasis, therefore. is understood. That only the                things which we see were not in their finished product,
church understands this language and revelation from             (gegonenai)   now already for 6000 years, to be ex-
God is also the clear position of the Belgic Confession          plained out of the creature. The light came from the
which is a confession "which we believe with the heart           creative word of God. And when God put this light in
and confess with the mouth." (Article I) And in the              the sun and moon and stars on the fourth day, then He
next Article we read:                                            fashioned this in such a way that faith sees that the
       We know him by two means: first by the creation,          light and the sun both must be explained out of the
    preservation and government of the universe; which is        will of the Creator God.
    before our eyes as a most elegant book, wherein all             We span the "ages," the world, in our text. And we
    creatures, great and small, are as so many characters        see that there is the creation and providence of God.
    leading us to contemplate the invisible things of God,       Moment by moment not a blade of grass grows but by
    namely, his power and divinity, as the apostle Paul          the hand of the invisible God, who demonstrates His
    saith, in Rom. 1:20.  . ."                                   power and divinity in the flower of the field and in the
  This  "we know" refers to the Christian believers,             blade of grass. Then we get a consideration of faith. We
and to no one else!                                              "consider" the lilies, how they grow: they toil not,
  Thus it is here in this text. We know the world's              neither do they spin, and yet Solomon in all his glory
mysterious creation and preservation, its beginning and          was not arrayed like one of these! That is simple
end  - by faith! And in this faith we understand how             Christian faith which understands that flowers are not
the Lord fashioned the entire world in the Six Days of           to be explained out of the power of flowers, or from
creation as given in Genesis 1. Each part was fashioned          some other creaturely phenomena, but that flowers are
by the Builder and Creator. And when this finished               a direct product of the fashioning hand of their Maker,
product stands before our believing eyes,  with  the             God. Very simple, isn't it? It is revealed to the babes,
Scriptures in  ow  hand, we  say: I believe in God! We           and hid from the wise and prudent.
see God the Builder and Creator. And we see that the


                                      BOOKl3EVIEWS
                                                        Prof H. Hanko

LETTERS TO POLLY. . . on the gift of affliction; by              THE HOLY TRIANGLE,  by Joel Nederhoed; Baker
Melvin Schoonover; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,               Book House, 1971; 143 pp., $1.25 (paper).
1971; 106 pp., $3.95.                                              When this country is experiencing a decline in
  The author of this book suffered the rare and                  morals which touches upon every aspect of courtship,
dreaded disease of  osteogenesis imperfecta,  a disease          marriage, sex, child-bearing, child-rearing, etc., a book
which leaves the bones so brittle and fragile that they          like this could be very helpful and influential. One
can be broken by the slightest jar. In time the author           would hope that the radio minister of the Back to God
married. After being assured by many doctors that                Hour would provide just such a book. Yet it is a dis-
there was almost no chance of any children he might              appointment in many respects.
have being afflicted with the same disease, a daughter             It is a very practical book, with a good part of it de-
was born to this couple. But the daughter also was               voted to warnings against such things as abortion, state
born with the same disease as her father.                        control of education, etc.; and in this respect the book
  In the book the father writes several letters to his           is worthwhile. But the approach of the book is wrong.
daughter in which he tells  -her a great deal about his          In the discussion of the question of divorce and mar-
life, his struggle to adjust to his affliction, the spiritual    riage, the approach is not that divorce is sin, but how
turmoil the disease wrought in him and his efforts to            best can a marriage from a practical point of view be
come to peace with God. He writes about how he over-             held together. So often various actions are condemned
came his handicaps, graduated from college and Semi-             or advocated, not because they are right or wrong ac-
nary to become a minister, travelled over much of the            cording to the principles of Scripture, but because of
world and lived a comparatively normal life.                     the consequences of the act. Thus the book becomes
  It is an interesting book and well worth reading.              rather like a social tract with some religion added.
However, his theology is less than Biblical and the final How, for example, is it possible to discuss marriage
resolution of his spiritual turmoil is not the resolution from a Christian point of view and never mention
of the believer who commits his way into the hands of Ephesians  5:22-33?  Yet this book manages to do
his heavenly Father.                                             exactly that.


310                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



  The author forgets that sound Christian "practice" brought together in this volume, there is a great deal of
is based upon principle and doctrine. If not, it is re-    duplication also within the book itself.
duced to morality. It is a book which is more than           The title, not particularly attractive, is taken from
moral homilies which the Church needs in this day          an essay about the difficulties of trying to present the
when the Christian home is threatened by so many evil      Christian Faith to modern unbelievers.  .The paragraph
forces.                                                    from which the phrase comes gives a taste of what the
GOD IN THE DOCK, by C. S. Lewis; Edited by Walter book contains.
Hooper; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970; 346                 The ancient man approached God (or even the
                                                               gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For
pp., $6.95.                                                    the modern man the roles are  reversep. He is the
  Walter Hooper brings together in this newest volume          judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge:
of the writings of Lewis a large number of papers, ar-         if God should have a reasonable defense for being the
ticles, and letters which were culled from Lewis' writ-        god who permits war, poverty and disease, he is ready
ings. The papers cover a wide range of subjects and            to listen to it. The trial may even end in God's acquit-
were written over a period of twenty-four years. They          tal. But the important thing is that Man is on the
deal with theological, ethical, and philosophical ques-        Bench and God in the Dock.
tions and with many issues of the day to which Lewis         While the book will not add measurably to an
addressed his powerful writings. Most of what appears      understanding of Lewis, his theology and views, it
in this book has not been published before in a form       makes for good reading if one reads knowing that
available to the general public. But one will recognize    many of Lewis' views are not Scriptural. He is always
in them many themes which are developed in other           provocative, and his skill in the English language is a
writings of Lewis and which have been on the market        pleasure in its own right.
for a  long time. In fact, because  of the many papers



                An Evening .Prayer for Covenant Youth
       JESUS, THOUART EVERYWHERE,                          NOW THATIMUST GO TO SLEEP
           LISTEN TO MY E VENING PRAYER.                        GUARD ME STILL AND BLESS AND KEEP.
       THOU HAST GIVEN ME FOOD TODAY,                      IN THE DARKNESS BE THOU NEAR,
           THOU HAST KEPT ME WHILE AT PLAY.                     KEEPMYHEARTFROMEVERYFEAR.
       ID0 THANK THEE FOR THY GRACE,                       THOUGH I HEAR NO ANGEL'S TREAD,
           WHILE I CHOSE A SINNER 27 PLACE.                     BID THEM WATCHAROUNDMYBED.
       PARDONALLMYSINSIPRAY                                STILL BESTOW THY CONSTANT CARE
           THAT WERE DONE BY ME THIS DA Y.                     ANSWER THOU M Y EVENING PRA YER.
       IN BAPTISM THOU DOST 0 WN,                                                                           AMEN.
           I BELONG TO THEE ALONE.
       GIVE ME COVENANT BLESSINGS, LORD,
           WHICH THY SEAL DOTHME ACCORD.
       0, HOW GOOD THOUART TOME;
           JESUS, LET ME WORSHIP THEE.




                 ANNOUNCEMENT                                                    STUDENT AID
  The faculty of the Theological School of the Prot-         Students needing financial aid to attend the  Protest-
estant Reformed Churches announces with pleasure           ant Reformed Seminary this coming school year
that Seminarian Mark H. Hoeksema has been licensed should contact Mr. Theodore Engelsma, 2333 Clyde
to speak a. word of edification in the churches under Park, S.W., telephone Ch 5-4706 or Gerrit Pipe, 1463
faculty supervision.                                       Ardmore St., S.E., telephone Ch 5-6145, Grand
                         Prof. H. C. Hoeksema, Rector Rapids, Michigan.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                       311



                   A TTENTION!                                         RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
  All Standing Synodical Committees are reminded              The Ladies Society "Ruth" of the Hope Protestant
that their reports for the Synodical Agenda must be         Reformed Church expresses sincere sympathy to one
sent to the undersigned on or before the April 15 dead- of their members, Mrs. Peter Zandstra, in the passing
line. Supplemental reports may be submitted later, but away of her father.
material for the Agenda must be submitted by April                          MR. PETER DE VRIES
15.                                                           "The Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee;
                                     Rev. D. H. Kuiper He will not fail thee nor forsake thee." (Deut. 3  1:6).
                                 Stated Clerk of Synod
                                      13 14 Main Street                                              Mr. Alvin Rau, Pres.
                                     Pella, Iowa 502 19                                           Mrs. J. De Vries, Sec'y.



News Feature

                           Protestant Reformed Church
                                       of South Holland





  Recently with a loud thunder and many sad faces              Even though the "old church" was not used for
our "old church" building  was torn down.                   some time, many could not help but feel sad when it
  No doubt many STANDARD BEARER readers at-                 was no longer there.
tended a lecture or church service in the South Holland       Editor? Note: The building is gone, but many a
Protestant Reformed Church. The "old church" was            memory lives on! Our thanks to brother Gilbert F. Van
built in 1928, remodeled in 1933, and hit by fire in        Buren for this ",,rews featzrve. "
1970.



                             News From Our Churches

  A couple of our churches which are presently with-        call from Southwest.
out undershepherds have extended calls again in the  re-                            ********
cent past. That from  Doon, Iowa, has gone to Rev. G.         Members of the Society for Protestant Reformed
Van  Baren, while Rev. H. Veldman has received the          Secondary Education decided, at their annual meeting


                                       --  ------   ~.~--


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

312                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER


on March 11, to proceed with construction of a 70' by                our church as well as  Doon and Edgerton."
52' addition on the east side of the existing building.                                    ********
This addition will include two classrooms, each 26' by                 In  glancing over the many Sunday bulletins received,
26'. A 20' by 26' section will be used for additional                we notice different types of. after-recess activities of
storage and office space. And the remainder will be                  various societies. One of the societies in Loveland is
used for boys' and girls' shower rooms, each 26' by                  using  The Chaos  of  the Cults  for after-recess study.
16'. The two new classrooms will alleviate the over-                 Another society in that same church uses A  Histov~  of
crowdedness which is presently a way of life at the                  the Christian Church.  A society in Southwest makes
school. As was mentioned in "The Crier," the school's                use of the "Studies in Biblical Doctrine," a study sheet
weekly news-sheet, the addition will mean that "the                  program authored by Rev. Woudenberg and provided
library will be available all day; no classes will be held           by the Lynden Church.  Another studies the "Canons";
in the library on a regular basis."                                  another,  various church doctrines; still another the
  It seems that work on the project will begin shortly.              "Church Order." Several, also, as we've mentioned be-
It's expected that the completion date  migh't be in the             fore, deal with a variety of special subjects, such as,
egrly fall of this year. A hopeful, howbeit somewhat                 "Current Events," "Separation of Church and World,"
skeptical, writer in "The Crier" added, "But don't                   "What Constitutes the True Preaching of the Word,"
count on it too much!"                                               "Final Judgment," "Abortion," "The Intermediate
                        ********                                     State,"  "The Morality of Heart Transplants," etc.
  About a month ago we noted that the congregation                                         * * * * * * * *
in Hull had decided to rebuild the pulpit area in the                  We have a little news concerning the work of the
church building. According to the February 28 Sunday                 Radio Committee. Perhaps you know that the commit-
bulletin of that church, they're going to get some new               tee has been providing spot announcements to be used
furniture to go with the new front. The Consistory                   by all the radio stations carrying our program. The  i
reported that it had gratefully accepted "offers from                little announcement is in the form of a question based
two families of the congregation to purchase a new                   on the radio sermon, and is designed, of course, to
pulpit and baptism font." With that beginning, `the                  draw the attention of radio listeners  to  our program,
Consistory decided to go the rest of the way and pur-                and to generate some advance interest in the sermon.
chase, also, a new communion table and collection                      Do you wonder what work is involved for those who
plate stand.                                                         are members of the Radio  Commiktee?  If you do,
                        ********                                     you're not alone. Others have also  exljressed  interest in
  Another building project was mentioned in Love-                    learning about their work, so the  commit$ee  de%ided to
land's bulletin. There are plans afoot to build an addi-             produce something which would acquaint people with
tion to the parsonage. No reason was given, but there's              what transpires behind the scenes, as it were. They
an outside possibility that the size of the pastor's grow-           decided to prepare a set of slides showing the various
ing family had some bearing on the decision.                         activities which are a normal part of their work, and
                        ********                                     then to prepare, also, a tape to be used in conjunction
                                                                     with the slides, giving the story behind the  p'ictures.
  Another thing we reported a while back, was the                      It sounds as if  this. will make a  fascjnating  after-
formation of The Reformed Witness Committee.  It's a                 recess program for many of our societies,  ,Ip fact, we
combined church extension committee including                        understand that it was that very thing that motivated
Doon, Edgerton, and Hull.  We learn from a recent Sun-               the committee to begin work on this  t@-oduction.  It
day bulletin from Hull that the committee has pre-                   seems that a society investigated concerning the possi-
pared another pamphlet for mailing. This one, written bility of an after-recess program, of-an informational
by Rev. D. Kuiper, is entitled "The Pre-Millennial                   nature, provided by the Radio Committee; and, as a
Error." According to the bulletin announcement, these                result, the above plan was born. The material will not,
pamphlets are mailed to individuals in different neigh-              certainly, be ready for the current society season. Mr.
boring communities, including Manhattan, Montana,                    Don Faber is still preparing the set of slides. Next soci-
and seven towns in Minnesota. They already have a                    ety season they'll likely do some advertising of their
mailing list with 2000 names, and "in the coming                     own, but in case you miss it or have some advance
months new areas will be considered." They add that                  questions, Mr. Duane Gunnink, the chairman of the
"the approximate cost of the monthly project is                      publicity committee has all the answers.
$80.00, which is to be raised by monthly collections in                                                                     D.D.


