                                          Iie

                                tandlard

                                    iI           earer


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




IN  THIS  ISSUE:

      Meditation: Unworthy of All God's Blessings


      Editorial: The Nature of the Atonement:
                    Limited or General? (2)

      Stephen's Apology Before the Sanhedrin

      Arminianism

     Vatican Council - Third Session



                                           Volume XLII/ Num belr 5/ Decem bev 1, 1965


98                                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER


                                   CONT.ENTS                                                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
Meditation -
      Unworthy Of All God's Blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                 98      Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August
            Rev. M.  Schipper                                                                               Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association
Editorial  -
      The Nature of the Atonement:                                                                                        Editor-- Prof. H. C. Hoeksema a
      Limited or General? (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100                     Communications relative to contents should be addressed to
            Prof. H. C. Hoeksema                                                                        Prof. H. C. Hoeksema, 1842 Plymouth Terrace, S.E., Grand
From Holy Writ  -                                                                                       Rapids,  Mich.      49506. Contributions will be limited to 300
                                                                                                        words and must be neatly written or typewritten. Copy dead-
      Stephen's Apology Before The Sanhedrin . . . 104                                                  lines are the first and fifteenth of the month.
            Rev. G. Lubbers                                                                             All church news items should be addressed to Mr. J. M. Faber,
In His Fear  -                                                                                                1123 Cooper, S.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507
      The Beginning of Wisdom (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
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                                                                                                        be mailed 8 days prior to issue date, to the address below;
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            Rev. R. C. Harbach                                                                                             Grand Rapids, Michigan 49507
The Lord Gave The Word  -
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                                                                                                        received it is assumed that the subscriber wishes the sub-
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            Rev. C. Hanko                                                                                             Subscription price: $5.00 per year
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      Thankfulness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
            Rev. G.  Vanden Berg
All Around Us -
      The New Morality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115               Martin Luther once said: "I am much afraid  the
                                                                                                        universities will prove to be the great gates to hell,
            Rev. H. Hanko                                                                               unless they diligently labor to explain the Holy Scrip-
Examining  Ecumenicalism  -                                                                             tures and engrave them upon the hearts of youth. I
      Vatican Council  - Third Session (2)                                                              advise no one to place his child where the Scriptures
      "The Constitution on the Church" . . . . . . . . . . . 117                                        do not reign paramount.           Every institution in which
News From Our Churches  -                                                                               men are not unceasingly occupied with the Word of
          . Mr. J. Faber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120      God must become corrupt."



               MEDl7'ATlON

                            U n w o r t h y   o f   A l l   G o d 's   B l e s s i n g s

                                                                                       bi, Rev. M.  Schippev


                                             "I am  unworthy   of  the least  of  all the  mercies,  and  of  all the  truth,
                                      which  thouhast   shewed  unto thy servant;  for  with  my  stuff I passed over
                                      this  Jovdun;  and now I  am  become two bands."
                                                                                                                                Genesis  32:lO


      This text is part of a prayer!                                                                    forgotten his old grudge? Will he attempt to carry out
      A prayer uttered by Jacob near the Jabbok as he                                                   his- old threat?  iacob  is perplexed and afraid!.-How
returned from his uncle Labanl                                                                          shall he meet his brother? What shall be done with all
      There he had fled some twenty years before for                                                    his possessions, his wives and his children?
fear of his brother Esau who threatened to kill him.                                                       Jacob flees to God in prayer!
There he had. labored hard for his wives. and his sub-                                                     A prayer most worthy of consideration1
stance.         Now returning to his own country, he is again                                            -. In the latter part of the prayer he raises the actual
faced with the problem of Esau. Will his brother have                                                   petition  .for divine help.. In the first part, however, is


                                              THESTANDARDBEARER                                                       99


the acknowledgment and recounting of Jehovah's bless-        his fear of Esau.       Rather, he is pointing to his great-
ings !                                                       ness ! He is pointing to his cattle and sheep which he
    A prayer of thanksgiving!                                had gained while he labored for  Laban. He is mindful
    Striking it is that the prayer should begin thus !       of his wives and his children. The Lord had kept His
Would we not expect that it would be an outcry for im-       word to Jacob I He had exceedingly blessed him  1 Where
mediate aid?       Lord, help  mel Yet, he recounts Je-      once he was alone and poor, having only his staff; now
hovah's mercies, and his own unworthiness!                   he is become rich indeed 1 He is become two companies 1
    Instructive is this prayer1                              Once he was outside of Canaan, now he is back in his
    Wonderful example !                                      own land; not  Esau's,  but Jacob's by birthright and
    Not only is prayer the chief part ofthankfulness, but    promise! Canaan with its milk and honey1 And all this
thanksgiving is the pre-requisite of good prayer. And        earthly in connection with its heavenly counterpart!
true thanksgiving is possible only when self is negated1     Salvation, heaven, God's covenant fellowship!
    Thanksgiving is not a mere rejoicing in things I Nor         Note, too, the evidences of this blessedness for  usl
is it only to recount all of Jehovah's mercies I True            To be sure, earthly riches no longer are of typical
thanksgiving is to humble ourselves before Jehovah in        value for us. They are no longer for us a special sign
the acknowledgment that we merited none of them1             of God's favor. Just because we have had a big harvest
    Unworthy of all God's blessings!                         is no sign of special blessing to  usl Nor can America
                     *********                               today boast that God has especially favored her because
    0, the magnitude of those blessings !                    she had waving fields of grain and great abundance. It
    Of all the mercies !                                     may very well be that God looks down in wrath and is
    And of all the truth!                                    setting her on slippery places. On the other hand, it
    Wonderful combination  1 Closely related 1               may be a blessing if the Lord would deprive us, His
    Note how they appear together in other Scriptures1       children, of even our daily bread.
"And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of my master               Earthly abundance given by God in His favor is a
Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his        blessing!      But the blessing lies not in the things them-
MERCY AND HIS TRUTH . .  ." Genesis.  24:27. "He             selves.      Rather, it lies in the attitude of favor toward
hath remembered HIS MERCY AND HIS TRUTH toward               us I Then only is it true that abundance of wealth works
the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen     for our good. We who are God's covenant people truly
the salvation of our God." Psalm  98:3.                      acknowledge Him as the Giver of great abundance, and
    Mercy and truth belong together I                        we thank Him for it, while we look not on the-things
    Mercy is that strong Divine desire to bless! So it       which do appear, but on the unseen!
is in God Himself. He seeks and desires to find in the           We, therefore, behold the spiritual realities of God's
blessed trinity perfect blessedness. And when it is di-      covenant, and all things in the light of these1  And these
rected to objects outside of Himself, it is always di-       God, in Christ Jesus, has revealed to us in a far greater
rected to the miserable! Then it is the strong desire        and higher sense than He did to Jacob. Jacob had to see
to make them blessed as He is blessed1                       them in the type, in the shadows. We see them in the
    Truth: literally, faithfulness  1                        antitype, in the fulfillment  I Hence, we see first the
    When related to a given promise, it is the  truth1       spiritual, and then the natural in the light of the spir-
When He gives His promise, He speaks the truth. When         itual I
He keeps His promise, He is faithful1                            Then, also, like Jacob, we must exclaim: 0 God,
    Jehovah's truth or faithfulness is closely related to    how great are all Thy mercies and Thy faithfulness
His mercy1 In these two is bound up all the covenant         to  us1 Thou didst give us Thy only begotten  Son1 In
blessings1      In His mercy He bends down to the elect      Him Thou didst cleanse us from all our guilty stains1
sinner to redeem him from misery unto eternal  glory!        In Him Thou didst declare that we are righteous before
This purpose of God is declared by promise to His            Thee, so righteous that we appear before Thee as
covenant people! And faithfully He realizes that prom-       those who have never committed one  sin1 In Him and
ise to them in Christ Jesus1                                 with Him we are heirs to a great and eternal inheri-
Apart from God's covenant there is no blessing,              tance I      Besides, Thou dost cause all things to work
only curse I                                                 for our salvation1 Health and sickness, prosperity and
    And we should note first of all the evidences of this    adversity, peace and war, life and death, yea, Lord,
in the experience of  Jacob! When he fled to his uncle       all things are our servants  ! And we acknowledge all
Laban, he had only his staff. 0, to be sure, he had          Thy gifts as good, because they come from Thee, the
also the promise of God at Bethel. His God would be          Father of Lights, with the purpose to bless us!
with him, and make of him a great nation. The bless-             Indeed, Father, Thy blessings are very  great1
ings of Abraham and Isaac would truly come to him.                                *  * * *  * * * * *
But for the rest, he was poor, helpless, miserable               Humble confession I
Jacob! With only a staff in his  hand1                           I am unworthy!
    NOW,  however, he is become two bands, two com-              Literally, I am small  ! I am of little worth !
panies 1      This does not refer to the sadness of his          And this is not an over-pious statement of Jacob
plight, as might be superficially concluded. When he         whereby he sought to gain more favor  withGod Some-
exclaims that he is now become two bands, he is not          what like we might say to our fellowman when he is
lamenting his poor and helpless condition because of         about to give us something, or has already made us the


100                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


recipient of a gift. We say, "0, you ought not to do               We will confess that we are worthy only  to,be cast
this;" or, "You shouldn't do this to me, I didn't de-          out of God's sight! When we stand in the light of His
serve it."       While all the while we did not want our       holy presence, we will confess our sins before Him!
benefactor to withdraw his gift, but we wanted him to            0 God, how great and how numerous are my sins
feel that he has given it to the right party. Jacob was        and my transgressions! How I transgressed all Thy
not trying to draw the Lord on to more giving by the           good commandments ! How I grumbled and fretted when
ruse of piety or humility.                                     things looked dark and it appeared that all was against
       Rather, what we have here is a deep sense of guilt,     me1 How often I sought the things below, not the things
and therefore of unworthiness1 Jacob was deeply sen-           which are  above1 How often I forgot that apart from
sitive concerning and wholly aware of his sins! His            Christ Jesus all things are curses, and that in Him
past life flashes before him: the deceit whereby he            only I am  blessed1       0 God, be merciful, for I am un-
sought to trick his brother and his father, the mistrust       worthy of the least of all Thy benefits !
of Jehovah's continued guidance and care in the face of            Such a confession will be pressed out of us when we
danger and the threat of death at the hand of his brother,     behold the greatness of the blessings1 When all that
the impatience he manifested respecting the fulfillment        great mercy passes in review! How God has blessed
of the Lord's promises.                                        us in Christ Jesus with spiritual and heavenly benefits !
       By grace, Jacob is truly humbled by the knowledge       How daily He has laden us with His lovingkindnesses!
and consciousness of his awful corruption1 He ac-              How when all seemed to go wrong, He made it turn out
knowledges that there is no merit in him ! Hence, the          to our good !
confession: I am not worthy of the least of all the                Then the child of God has nothing in self whereof
mercies and all the truth which thou hast  shewed unto         to boast1
thy servant!                                                       Then, indeed, he is swallowed up of mercy1
       And what shall we say?                                                        ********+
       What shall we say when we behold the luxuries in            Thus we are prepared for the proper attitude of
which we bathe?         When we take inventory of all the      thanksgiving I
abundance with which we are surrounded? When we                    Thanksgiving !
contemplate the richness of the spiritual gifts which              That is to count Jehovah's mercies1 To name them
flow to us as to no others?                                    one by one!         To read Jehovah's Name upon each of
       And pray, let us be honest about it!                    them ! That is to give thanks I
       Shall we boast in what we have accomplished? Shall          Thanksgiving 1
we gleefully run our fingers through the wheat and the             That is to praise Jehovah for His goodness I To en-
corn we have harvested, like the miser who lifts the           numerate His virtues as they manifest themselves in
shiny silver pieces with his bony fingers and proudly          all His lovingkindnesses ! To say that He is good I
rejoice in the fruit of our ingenuity and industrious              How necessary that proper attitude is I
labor?       Shall we perhaps with a semblance of piety            Divinely necessary, because God alone will be
confess that with God's help we are what we are and            glorified!
have what we have?                                                 Also necessary from our point of view, because
       Or, shall we admit what little and miserable mi-        there can be no real, true, spiritual satisfaction with-
crobes we are?                                                 out it!
       Shall we not rather cry out: 0 God, be merciful to         Then indeed, the grace of God is reflected and re-
us who are sinners?                                            turns unto God Who gave it, in the form of praises
       By grace, that is exactly what we will say]             that glorify His Holy Name!


          EDITORIAL-  by  Pvof.   H. C. Hoeksema

                       The Nature of the  Atonement-
                                     Limited or General?


       We are now ready to enter into the discussion proper    inition of the atonement and to state in clear-cut
of the question: what is the nature of the atonement?          language what elements belong to the  nahve  of the
       It has been a fundamental fallacy in the entire dis-    atonement.        The narrower question whether the atone-
cussion  of the so-called Dekker Case by Dr. Daane             ment is in its very nature limited or general can be
that he failed utterly to furnish his readers with a def,      answered only in the light of the broader question as


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                       101


to the entire nature of the atonement. This, therefore,
is a very important question. What is the atonement?          TheAtonementIs  Satisfaction of Divine Justice  Accovd-
It has always been a fundamental question in Reformed         ing to the Catechism
theology,  - so fundamental that it was exactly at this           If there is a single term that is crucial in our un-
point that the Reformed `and the Arminians came to the        derstanding of the nature of the atonement, it is this
parting of the ways as far as the death of Christ was         term  satisfaction.       The fact that it is a dogmatical
concerned.       The narrower question for whom Christ        rather than a literally Scriptural term does not make
died had very deep roots in this broader question con-        it less crucial. All theologians speak of Christ's death.
cerning the very idea, the essence, the structure of          Many theologians will even speak of the atonement,
Christ's atoning death. And it soon became clear that         the atoning character of Christ's death, whether rightly
when Reformed and Arminians spoke of the death of             or wrongly. That term  atonement  has come to be used
Christ and even both used the term atonement, they            rather loosely. Some there are who lay great stress
were speaking fundamentally different language. In            upon the term  vicarious.  Vicarious  atonement  is  sup-
fact, it became clear that the Arminians had no real          posed to be one of the fundamentals of fundamentalism.
right to speak of  atonement  at  all.  `They denied the      And I would be the last to deny that this vicariousness
atoning  chavactev of the death of  Christ; and they had      of the death of Christ belongs to the very nature of the
to do so in  ovdev  to maintain  the@ second  article,        atonement. But the  term satisfaction  is even more cru-
namely, that  Christ  died  fov all men and  every  man.      cial.    It is the first and most fundamental element of
   Hence, it must be emphasized in the strongest              the  nature of the atonement. It is possible to speak of
possible  terms  that we must have the entire picture         vicarious atonement very loosely. One must even ask
and must take note of all the elements in that picture        of those who speak of vicarious atonement what they
when we discuss the nature of the atonement.                  mean by that. And the Shibboleth at which all deniers
   My method in this discussion will be two-fold.             of genuine vicarious atonement stammer is that element
   First of all, we shall turn to our Reformed confes-        of  satisfaction.
sions in order to discover what is the current teaching           Permit me, first of all, to demonstrate at length
of all our confessions concerning the nature of Christ's      how both the term and the idea of satisfaction permeate
atonement.       Dr. Daane has not done this. True, he        our Reformed creeds.
made an occasional reference to the confessions; but              In the first place, we turn to the Heidelberg Cate-
he never presented the  line,  the current teaching, of       chism, which, I dare say, is famous for its emphasis
our confessions concerning Christ's atonement. But            on this idea. The Catechism almost becomes tedious
this is the tried and true Reformed method. Those             on this subject, except that the subject is so crucial
who avow loyalty to the Reformed faith and who do so          that it is well-nigh impossible to over-emphasize it.
without any reservation, expressed or mental, should              The Catechism, without introducing the term as
always turn first of all to the creeds. These creeds          such, begins to lead up to the subject of satisfaction in
are the test.      This test must be applied in order to      Lord's Day IV. It makes plain that satisfaction is a
determine whether any doctrine is Reformed or not.            matter of strictest divine justice, thereby emphasizing
                                                              from the outset that atonement and redemption are
   Secondly, we shall turn to Scripture in order to           matters of strict justice. The approach in this Lord's
show that the teaching of our Reformed confessions is         Day is that of  God"s  justice in relation to man's sin.
authoritative and binding just exactly because it is in-      I have reference especially to Questions 10 and 11,
deed the teaching of Scripture itself. This also is the       which are as follows:
tried and true Reformed method. Reformed theologians
do not by-pass the confessions in order to make a di-                  Q. 10. Will God suffer such disobedience and re-
rect appeal to Scripture; but as those who have, ac-             bellion to go unpunished?
cording to the Formula of Subscription, a fundamental                  A. By no means; but he is terribly displeased with
commitment to the confessions, they appeal to Scripture          our original as well as actual sins; and will punish
in support of those confessions.        We must always           them in his just judgment temporally and eternally, as
                                                                 he hath declared, "Cursed is every one that continueth
` `theologize" within the confines of that commitment.           not in all things, which are written in the book of the
The only exception to this is the case of one who comes          law, to do them."
to the conviction that the confessions are in conflict                 Q. 11. Is not God then also merciful?
with Scripture. Even then, however, one does not follow                A. God is indeed merciful, but also just; therefore
the course of either privately or publicly militating            his justice requires, that sin which is committed against
against the confessions; and he certainly does not               the most high majesty of God, be also punished with
follow the course of tongue-in-cheek signing of the              extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment of body
Formula of Subscription; but he follows the course of            and soul.
filing a  gYavumen against the confession on the matter          Notice the view of the Catechism here. Sin is guilt.
in question. This every Reformed officebearer must vow        Guilt is liability to punishment. Punishment is neces-
under the penalty of  de facto suspension from office.        sary because of God's justice. This requirement of
   This, therefore, shall be the method followed  inthis      God's justice is so strict, so inexorable, that there is
discussion.                                                   no other channel for divine mercy than the channel of
   And now let us turn to the question: what is the nature    perfect *justice. God's mercy, God's love, God's grace
of the atonement 7                                            (all closely related concepts in Scripture) can never


102                                                THE STANDARD BEARER


be  in conflict with His justice. God's mercy is always         God's wrath,, so that by it righteousness and life are
a just mercy; and His justice is a merciful justice.            obtained for and restored to others. Read these two
But for that very reason the divine mercy that reaches          questions and answers, and see for yourself that these
us in the channel of divine justice is also a  suve mercy!      elements are taught:
It effects a sure atonement and a sure redemption. Once                  Q. 16. Why must he be very man, and also per-
the demand of God's justice is completely met, that de-            fectly righteous?
mand, i.e., the punishment of sin, cannever  be imposed                  A. Because the justice of God requires that the
again: such would be in conflict with the divine justice.          same human nature which hath sinned, should likewise
Bear -this in mind with a view to our future discussion,          make satisfaction for sin; and one, who is himslf a
please. This is a fundamental principle.                           sinner, cannot satisfy for others.
   The Heidelberg Catechism next proceeds to intro-                      Q. 17.    Why must he in one person be also very
                                                                   God ?
duce the term  satisfaction.  In Lord's Day V it em-                     A. That he might, by the power of his Godhead  -
phasizes the necessity of that satisfaction, first of all.         sustain in his human nature the burden of God's wrath;
In this connection it again emphasizes that this neces-            and might obtain for, and restore to us, righteousness
sity lies in God's justice with respect to sin. Then,              and life.
after this necessity is established, the Catechism sets            It is this key element of the satisfaction of the
forth the creaturely impossibility of such satisfaction,        justice of God with respect to our sin that occurs again
in order, finally, to set forth the pattern of the mediator     and again throughout the Heidelberg Catechism. It is
that we need in Question 15. I will quote only Questions        this element of satisfaction which makes the atone-
12 to 14 in this connection.                                    ment and the redemption accomplished thereby an
                                                                objectively real thing, something that was historically
        Q.  12.     Since then, by the righteous judgment of
   God, we deserve temporal and eternal punishment, is          accomplished nineteen hundred years ago, something
   there no way by which we may escape that punishment,         that is a real, objective accomplishment before the
   and be again received-into favor?                            bar of God's own justice, a fact that can never be un-
       A. God will have his justicesatisfied: and therefore     done by  anything that you or I or any man may do or
   we must make this full satisfaction, either by our-          fail to do, a fact which, reverently speaking, God Him-
   selves, or by another.                                       self could not possibly ignore or deny. If the atone-
        Q. 13. Can we ourselves then make this satisfac-        ment is satisfaction, then it can never beundone. Then
   tion?                                                        such satisfaction can never be demanded anew. If it
        A. By no means; but on the contrary we daily in-
   crease our debt. _                                           was demanded and furnished by Christ, then it can
        Q. 14. Can there be found anywhere, one, who is a       never be required of anyone for whom Christ died.
   mere creature, able to satisfy for us.                       Satisfaction for sin cannot be twice required; such
        A. None; for, first, God will not punish any other      would be the height of injustice. It is this key element
   creature for the sin which man hath committed; and           of satisfaction for sin in the nature of Christ's atone-
   further, no mere creature can sustain the burden of          ment that accounts for the language of the Heidelberg
   God's eternal wrath against sin, so as to deliver            Catechism at many other points in its exposition of
   others from it.                                              the only comfort, even when the atonement is not under
   Notice, by the way, that especially Q. 14 of this            discussion and even when the term  satisfaction  is not
Lord's Day and also Q. 11 of the preceding Lord's Day           used.     Let us run through the Catechism with this in
shed light on another element in the nature of Christ's         mind.
atonement, namely, the element of the infinite value of            Question and Answer 21 speaks of the elements of
Christ's sacrifice. We will return to this later.               true faith, including the confidence "that not only to
   Lord's Day VI continues in the same vein, elabor-            others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting
ating on the requirements of the Mediator and on the            righteousness and salvation, are freely given by God,
reason for these requirements, in order to lead us to           merely of grace,  only  for the sake of  Chvist's  meyitstrr
the  identity of that Mediator according to the holy            (italics mine) Those "merits" of Christ are the same
gospel. Pertinent are Questions 16 and 17. The for-             as Christ's satisfaction.
mer continues to speak literally of satisfaction. It em-           Question and Answer 30, in speaking of Jesus as a
phasizes the requirement of God's justice that satis-           complete Savior, speaks of the fact that such as by a
faction be made by the same human nature that has               true faith receive this Savior "must find  all things in
sinned; and at the same time it teaches that satisfac-          him necessary to their salvation." Why'? Because all
tion can only be made by one who is perfectly righteous;        things necessary to their salvation  ave  actually, ob-
that is, without guilt and without corruption. Notice           jectively in Him. He has obtained all things necessary
that we have already been led in this and in the pre-           to their salvation by His perfect satisfaction. These
vious Lord's Day to another element in the nature of            things are an objective reality in Christ.
the atonement, namely, its vicariousness. The Cate-                Question and Answer 31, in speaking of the Christ
chism speaks of one satisfying  for  others:  hence, of a       as our only High  Priest;.speaks  of the  "one sacrifice
substitute.        Question 17 does not speak literally of      of his body"-  by.which He "has redeemed us." Notice:
satisfaction; but in emphasizing the need of a Mediator         that redemption is -an accomplished fact1 He  has re-
who is very God, it points to the nature of such satis-         deemed  usl How? By the one sacrifice of His body,
faction: it is. a sustaining, an active enduring, a bear-       that  .is, by  His perfect satisfaction. The  s.sme  language
ing up under, (in the human nature), the burden of              is found in Question. and Answer 34:


                                                     THESTANDARDBEARER                                                           103


     Q. 34. Wherefore-callest thou him our Lord?                    answer  - is that once Christ has died for a man and
          A.  Because he hath  yedeemed  us, both soul and          made satisfaction, there is no more satisfaction for
    body, from all our sins, not with gold or silver, but           sins to be made! Question and Answer 43 speaks` of
    with his precious blood, and hath delivered us from all         the further benefit of Christ's sacrifice and death on
    the power of the devil; and thus hath made us his own
   property. (italics mine)                                         the cross. Notice its factual and objective language:
                                                                    "That by virtue thereof, our old man- is crucified,
   Question  and Answer 36 speaks of the profit of                  dead and buried with him. . . . .  ." Finally, take note
Christ's holy conception and birth. This profit simply              of the beautiful 44th Answer. It also speaks of an ob-
consists in the fact that He was able to make satisfac-             jective accomplishment, something that therefore never
tion for our sins: "and with His innocence and perfect              need be and never can be repeated and which God can-
holiness, covers in the sight of God, my sins, wherein              not justly require of anyone for whom Christ died:
I was conceived and brought forth." This satisfaction                 .       That in my greatest temptations, I may be assured,
of atonement, or this atonement by way of satisfaction,                    and wholly comfort myself in this, that my Lord Jesus
means that my sins are covered, so that I do not have                      Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pains, terrors,
to cover them or- so that I am not exposed to God's                        and hellish agonies, in which he was plunged during all
wrath.                                                                     his sufferings, but especially on the cross,  hath de-
                                                                           livered  me  from the anguish and torments of hell.
   AS  might be expected, Lord's Days XV and XVI                           (italics mine)
speak more directly of this idea of satisfaction.
   Notice, first of all, how the 37th Question and                         Even when it speaks of the profit of Christ's res-
Answer lays the entire idea of satisfaction in Christ's             urrection, the Catechism does not miss the oppor-
suffering.          It is very plain, by the way, that "all man-    tunity to inject this idea of an accomplished purchase.
kind" cannot mean every man  inthis connection: for                 But remember that once a purchase is `accomplished,
this would simply mean that every man is freed from                 it need never be accomplished again; nor can it be un-
the wrath of God by Christ's suffering. But if the suf-             done.      And this purchase was accomplished for all for
fering of Christ has the meaning ascribed to it by the              whom Christ died nineteen hundred years ago. I say
Catechism here, and it has, then it simply means that               again: God Himself must and does recognize this as a
all those for whom He suffered are, as an accomplished              valid purchase. He cannot and He does not require the
fact according to God's justice, forever freed from that            price of everlasting punishment of anyone for whom
suffering ever since Christ suffered. Christ actually               Christ died and paid that price. Notice this idea in
bore what those for whom He suffered were obligated                 the first part of the 45th Answer: "First, by his res-
to bear; and therefore they cannot be held responsible              urrection he has overcome death, that he might make
to bear it any more.              This is the plain teaching of     us partakers of that righteousness which he had pur-
Lord's Day XV in its entirety:                                      chased for us by his death. . .  ."
                                                                    - In Question and Answer 52 a connection is  .es-
          Q. 37.      What dost thou understand by the words,       tablished between our looking- for Christ's coming as
   "He suffered" ?
          A. That he, all the time that he lived on earth, but      Judge and His death for us on the cross. Wherein
   especially at the end of his life, sustained in body and         lies that connection? Again, in Christ's accomplished
   soul, the wrath of God against the sins of all mankind;          satisfaction: "That in all my sorrows and persecu-
   that so by his passion, as the only propitiatory sacri-          tions, with uplifted head I look for the very same per-
   fice, he might redeem our body and soul from ever-               son, who before offered himself for my sake, to the
   lasting damnation, and obtain for us the favor of God,           tribunal of God, and has removed all curse from me,
   righteousness and eternal life.                                  to come as judge from heaven. .  ." And here is a good
          Q. 38. Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate, as         question: if Christ died for all men, and therefore
   judge?                                                           made satisfaction for all, how is the distinction made,
          A. That he, being innocent, and yet condemned by
   a temporal judge, might thereby free us from the                 and attributed to Christ as Judge, (Note well: the same
   severe judgment of God to which we were exposed.                 person who supposedly died for  theml)  - how is that
          Q. 39. Is there anything more in his being cruci-         distinction in the last part of this answer possible:
   fied, than if he had died some other death?                      "who shall cast all his and my enemies into everlast-
          A. Yes (there is); for thereby I am assured, that         ing condemnation (even though He died for them,
   he took on him the curse which lay upon me; for the              H.C.H.), but shall translate me with all his chosen
   death of the cross was accursed of God.                          ones to himself, into heavenly joys and glory."
   This same solid emphasis is found in Lord's Day                         The note of Christ's satisfaction as an accomplished
                                                                    fact forms the very basis of our faith concerning the
XVI. Question and Answer 40, in speaking of the death
of Christ, states: "Because with respect to the justice             forgiveness of sins in Question and Answer 56:
and truth of God, satisfaction for our -sins could be                         Q. 56. What believest thou concerning  `!the for-
made no otherwise, than by the death of the Son of                         giveness of sins"?
God." Moreover, in the light of the fact that Christ                         A. That God, for the sake of Christ's satisfaction,
by His death made satisfaction, the 40th Answer can                        will no more remember my sins, neither my corrupt
                                                                           nature, against which I have to struggle all my life
state: `-`Our  death is not a satisfaction for our sins,              long; but -will graciously impute to me the righteous-
but. only an abolishing of sin, and a passage unto eter-                   ness of Christ, that I may never be condemned before
nal life."          Notice that the plain implication of this              the tribunal of God.


104                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER


       The very foundation of the beautiful description of              righteousness before  God;  and that I cannot receive
justification by faith, as distinct from all work-right-                and apply the same to myself any other way than by
eousness, is that objective accomplishment of  thedeath                 faith only.
of Christ. Notice that in this description the Catechism                It is well known that the Catechism emphasizes
does not refer to Christ's death as a possibility of                this same objective accomplishment of Christ's death
righteousness, but as a  fact.  And, according to Ques-             in connection with the sacraments. The sacraments
tion and Answer 60, this fact that was accomplished by              more fully declare and seal to us "that he grants us
Christ is just as though I myself had accomplished it.              freely the remission of sin, and life eternal, for the
It was accomplished long ago on the cross; but I be-                 sake of that one sacrifice of Christ, accomplished on
come  assured  of this accomplishment in my own con-                 the cross." (Q. and A. 66) And through the sacraments
sciousness through faith. Consider this language of                  the Holy Ghost assures us "that the whole of our sal-
Lord's Day XXIII:                                                    vation depends upon that one sacrifice of Christ which
                                                                    he offered for us on the cross." (Q. and A. 67) And
           Q. 60. How art thou righteous before God?
           A. Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ; so that,        this same note is sounded throughout the Catechism's
       though my conscience accuse me, that I have grossly          treatment of the sacraments.
       transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept               This same element occurs again in Question and
       none of them, and am still inclined to all evil; notwith-    Answer 86, which speaks of "Christ having redeemed
       standing, God, without any merit of mine, but only of         and delivered us by his blood," - an objective ac-
       mere grace, grants and imputes to me, the perfect             complishment.     It is hinted at in Question and Answer
       satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ;           115, which speaks of becoming more earnest in "seek-
       even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin:        ing the remission of sin and righteousness  in  Christ."
       yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience        It is briefly referred to in connection with the Fifth
       which Christ has accomplished for me; inasmuch as I
       embrace such benefit with a believing heart.                  Petition in Lord's Day LI:  ". . .be pleasedfor the sake
           Q. 61.    Why sayest thou, that thou art righteous       of Christ's blood, not to impute. . . .  ."
       by faith only?                                                   From all of the above evidence it is abundantly
           A. Not that I am acceptable to God on account of         clear that the key to the understanding of the nature of
       the worthiness of my faith; but because only the satis-      the atonement, according to our Heidelberg Catechism,
       faction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, is my        is this element of satisfaction.



                FROM HOLY  WRIT-

                           Stephen's  Apology

                                                        Before  the  Sanhedrin

                                                          by Rev. G. Lubbers


The  Starting Point in Stephen's  Addvess   Acts  7:2,3             servants? (Matthew  24:49) These are not some women
   That the calling to the ministry is not one of weak-             grinding at the mill. They are the "fathers" in Israel;
ness but that it is most emphatically one of power and              they are the "brethren" as were the jealous brethren
of sobriety is evident in every sentence of Stephen's               of Joseph in the latter's day; they are men who should
address. What sober self-control is exhibited  here1                quit themselves like men and be strong, and who should
What a viewpoint here to address the Sanhedrin as                   have done all things in the love of, Christ 1
"men, brethren and fathers". Do they not sit upon the                   To them is rehearsed the history of Israel from
"Cathedra" of Moses? The fact that they "say", but                  the time of Abraham till the moment of the close of
"do not" does not change their position in Israel; To               Israel's national existence.        It is their history, its
them were the oracles of God entrusted. (Matthew                    proper starting-point, the gradual unfolding of the
23:2,3; Romans  3:2) Even though they "say, but do                  promise, the purpose of the law-giving, and meaning
not', does not change their position in the nation of               of Israel's history for the world. To them Stephen
Israel.       They are here fully recognized as those to            says "Give heed." This will be no mere theological
whom much had been entrusted and of whom much                       treatise, no mere arguing about genealogies, no Jewish,
would be required.           Are they not the evil servants,        legalistic casuistry in the fine, hair-splitting matters
who, when their Lord  cometh, are found beating His                 of what is permissible and what is taboo. It will be


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    105


the salvation and the judgments in Israel of the sov-          Stephen stands here on trial.         His is a mighty
ereign Lord of heaven and earth: the God of Glory.          "apology" for the Gospel and for the Gospel of the
   Stephen's starting-point here is the last and only       Promise made to the fathers and fulfilled in the death
ground: the author of all things as given in Paul's sum-    and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
mation in Romans  11:36 "Because out of Him and                What Stephen significantly underscores here is that
through Him and unto Him are all things; to Him be          the promise of the land of Canaan cannot possibly have
the glory forever, Amen!" Truly this is the theme           meant for Abraham and for his seed that they would
here in Stephen's defense. Hence, his real  starting-       merely have the earthly land of Canaan. Chiliasts can
point is "the God of glory".       He is the God who is     find no comfort in this apology. The evidence here ad-
characterized by glory, that is, the outshining of all      duced by Stephen to the Sanhedrin is so conclusive that
his glorious virtues and majesty. He is the sovereign       {here is not a member of the Sanhedrin who can gainsay
Lord; He is exalted above all the history of the world      it. Stephen argues from two basic premises. The first
in general and of Israel in particular. None can say        premise is: the  promise  of God. And the second is:
to him, the sovereign Lord: what doest Thou? His is         tihe  ,facts  of history! If this place, this land is so im-
the power, the kingdom and the glory forever. Of him        portant, pray why did God in all of the life time of the
sings the Psalmist in Psalm  29:3, 9. "The voice of         patriarchs, from Abraham even through the twelve
the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thunder-      patriarchs never give them so much as a piece of
eth: the Lord is upon many waters." And "the voice          ground upon which to set their foot? This was during
of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth      a period of some 550 years, from about 2000  BC. till
the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of      1450  B.C.       It was at the latter date that Israel took
`his glory." This is the glory of God as revealed in all    possession of the land under Joshua.
creation: his power and majesty. But Scripture often           On the contrary, the Lord came to Abraham about
speaks most emphatically of this glory as it is mani-       eight years after he had come to the land of promise,
fested in the Word made flesh, the Christ of God in         and tells him in a vision that his people shall be af-
his death, resurrection and in his ascension and final      flicted for four hundred years in the land of Egypt. If
return with the clouds of heaven. Immediately after         the land of Canaan, the earthly country, were so im-
Christ's birth, we read of this "glory of the Lord"         portant, why could there be such a long time by the
which shines about the shepherds; for in the manger         Lord's direction, before Israel would actually possess
lies the "Lord of glory"1 (I Corinthians  2:8). In him      the land? To this question the Sanhedrists had no more
is revealed the "glory of the only-begotten of the          a solution than do the modern-day Chiliasts.  Isvueli
Father, full of grace and truth." He is God in the          certainly is not the fulfilment of the promise! What
flesh! He i Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. (James         blind zeal to make ado over the land as such whereas
2:l)           !
        Where ore we read in Ephesians  1:17 "That the      the clear direction and intent and design of God in all
God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the  Father of glory,  may    of Israel's history was to give Abraham the heavenly
give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the    land of Canaan, to wit, a new heaven and a new earth.
knowledge of him.".                                         The writer to the Hebrews `makes much of this when
   What a grand starting-point for a man who stands         he says, "For they that say such things declare plainly
accused as a blasphemer and a desecrater of temples.        that they seek a country. And truly if they had been
No doubt, Saul of Tarsus must have later remembered         mindful of that country from whence they came out,
these words of Stephen when he uttered such grand           they might have had opportunity to have returned. But
truths as "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, in-         now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:
visible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever,     wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God:
Amen."                                                      for he hath prepared for them a city". (Hebrews 11:
   This God "appeared" to Abraham in Mesopotamia!           14-16)
   Abraham must have seen a Theophany. Possibly it             For the Abrahamic promise is not carnal, national
was some glorious manifestation of the invisible God        and earthly. On the contrary it is very spiritual, en-
in a visible form.     Thus did the Lord "appear" to        compassing the church universal, and is heavenly as
Moses at the burning bush at the Mount of God, in the       is evident from the  covenant of circumcision.  This
fire and in the form of an angel. (Acts  7:30,35) Abra-     shows that not the carnal seed is counted as inheriting
ham did not simply decide to leave his country; God         the promises, but rather the spiritual seed who are
came to him, "appeared" to him and spoke to him as          justified by faith. For he is not a Jew who is one out-
to His friend, and Abraham believed and obeyed, and         wardly, but rather he is a Jew who is one inwardly,
"went out not knowing whither he went".                     whose circumcision is a matter of the heart. (Romans
   That Stephen emphasized this "appearance" of the         2:28,29)  The children who are born to Abraham: Isaac,
God of glory to Abraham is indeed significant for his       Jacob, the twelve patriarchs are in this covenant of
argument. From here on he will show the great design        circumcision.      And with this covenant of circumcision
in Israel's history of a God of glory who cannot dwell      does not belong the earthly land, except as a type and
in a mere tabernacle and temple, nor is He limited in       shadow of the heavenly. The element therefore of the
His gracious dealings to one nation: the Jewish  nation!    "covenant of circumcision" is introduced by God to
The Argument  From  The  Abvahamic Promise                  reveal the  Yedemptive   natuve   of the Promise: it meant
Acts 7:3-16                                                 to save His people from their sins, to justify the god-
                                                            less, to sanctify a people unto the  Lord1


106                                                   THE STAND&D BEARER


       Thus, and thus only, is it evident that Israel must          he stands on the Mount of God receiving the lively
go into Egypt through the providence of the Lord: to                oracles of God. He is speaking of the historical Moses
keep a great people alive.                                          spoken of in the book of Exodus.         And after he has
       Stephen makes the point convincingly that there was          made it abundantly clear in the record that he is speak-
a promise of God and  the.Covenant  of God long before              ing of the very Moses concerning whom he is accused
there `was such a thing as "this place" at Jerusalem,               of gainsaying, he goes on to show that he is in perfect
the temple made with `hands, and that the place of                  accord with the word of God to Moses.
Moses will needs have to be subservient to the Cove-                     He most emphatically. speaks of Moses as "this is
nant of circumcision. He who understands and honors                 that Moses".      See verses 35-38 where no less than
the promise of Abraham concerning the land, the cove-               five times Stephen in rapid succession speaks of "this
nant of circumcision, and all that this implied, he and             Moses", "this one", etc. Well, this Moses whom God
he only honors Moses and this place, and will be in a               raised up to deliver Israel stated clearly and explicitly
position to see that Moses and this place have a great              that he, Moses, was not the end. The law-giving was
value, but then a passing value, to make room for the               not the final and gracious form in which God would
things which abide forever.                                         speak to Israel. That form at Sinai was so awesome
       The law which came 430 years after the promise               and terrifying that Moses said "I exceedingly fear and
cannot disannul  itl (Galatians  3:17)                              tremble". Nay, there would be a better covenant based
       The Promise to Abraham is the pattern set by God!            upon better promises. This very Moses said to Israel
       It is the eternal reality of the things of salvation1        "a prophet shall the Lord raise up from the brethren
                                                                    like unto me". That referred to the Christ to come.
The  Argument   From  God's  Wovd To and  Concerning
Moses Acts  7:17-38                                                 Then would the promise of God to Abraham be for all
                                                                    the heirs, also from among the Gentiles.         And well
   In every court the historicity and factualness of the           may the' Sanhedrists give heed. For this is the very
evidence is of paramount importance. The evidence                  Moses who stood before God in the holy mount.
must be fact and not fiction. So too here in this court                  Moses himself spake of the change which would
before the Sanhedrists. Stephen is accused of speaking              come by God Himself. Stephen does not speak against
against Moses and the temple, saying that the temple               Moses.      He honors Moses and rightly interprets the
ordinances had been changed.                                        Scriptures.
                                                                         Thus the law serves only till the Seed should come.
   Stephen meets the charge head-on. He first of all                     And then the temple will be indeed be destroyed but
gives the history of Moses from birth till the time when           will be built without hands in three days.


                IN `HIS FEAR-

                          The Beginning of Wisdom
                                                                I4  I

                                                        by Rev. J. A. Heys

   The beginning of wisdom we receive from God.                    physicians know so much about the bodv and the func-
   Even as the rays of the sun are the rays that pro-              &n and structure of its members and organs. Scien-
ceed from the sun; so the fear of the Lord is the fear             tists know the elements from which the objects round
that proceeds from the Lord and is instilled in our                 about us are made; the course of the stars in the sky;
souls by His Spirit and grace.                                      the conditions of our weather and the line where  tor-
   Even that which we call natural wisdom, or if you                nados and hail are apt to strike; the strength of metals;
will, wisdom in the sphere of- things natural, comes                the nourishment of foods; and a host of other items of
from God. There are talented men and women in the                   truth and how to use them for the physical good of man.
world. There are those who have brilliant, minds, eve-n             There -are brilliant statesmen. There are men who
.thqugh they are under the power of sin. The,y know how             are mathematicalgiants. Men there are that can delve
to get that which they seek. Theydesire`earthly carnal             with their minds into deep and abstract problems-and
objects and know what means` to employ and how to em;               matters. There are l-e&l -minds and judges who have
ploy them to get *their ,goal. -         mb     -,       ._        great  ability to ferret out ,the truth'and to get `from the
   There are men who understand  the'laws according                 criminal that which he has been trying to  hide.`*:`Here
to which  God- has created this  world;.  Surgeons and             and there men are  found%,ho stand head'and shoulders


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     107


above the common man in his mental ability and  so-            which. they would stand in awe before Him and not dare
called natural wisdom.                                         to ascribe. any of His power and, prerogatives to the
From whence comes all this ability and these                   creature1 0 that men would cease to elevate the crea-
talents? Surely we do foolishly if we attribute this to        ture above the Creator in the matter of salvation.
man.       And such fools there are in goodly number in           That is one of the follies of false doctrines. Many
the world today. How wrong and how foolish it would            are ready to ascribe to the Almighty God every breath
be for the moon to boast of its light. It is full of light     of our earthly life. The church-world on the whole is
such a small part of the year. The rest of the time it         ready to agree that physically in God we live and move
has, even from our point of view only part of its light        and have all of our being.      But when you come to the
and in varying degrees.          And always it is half dark    matter of living spiritually before Him as children of
because the light of the sun never strikes what is its         His Kingdom, they insist that man has something that
back side, from our point of view. The moon is a               he can give to God. In Him we do not live and move and
creature that receives light and has no light in itself.       have all of our spiritual being, according to their stand,
No different is it with man either as far as natural light     whether they want to admit this or not. Their ALL is
or spiritual light is concerned. Man has no light in           not in Christ.     The will to be saved they have apart
himself and can never boast of producing light. Of The         from Christ. And the folly of this is apparent in that
Word Which became flesh John says in John 1:9, "That           it disagrees with Christ, the light of the world and
was the true light, which lighteth every man that  cometh      second person of the all-wise and triune God. Jesus
into the world." And John is quick to inform us that           says in John 15:5, "I am the vine, ye are the branches:
he himself is not that Light but was sent to "bear wit-        He that abideth in Me, and I in Him, the same bringeth
ness of the Light." John  l:6-8.                               forth much fruit: for apart from me (that is the or-
   The Apostle Paul asks a pointed question of those           iginal) ye can do nothing." Nothing is exactly  NOTH-
who were puffed up with conceit and pride, as though           INGI    The branch always comes out of the vine, owes
they were suns which did not depend upon anything or           its life to the vine and has nothing - not one piece of its
anyone outside themselves and as though they did shine         fruit  - to give to the vine that the vine did not supply
with their own wisdom, knowledge and talents.         Paul     it with the power to produce. And we would be bigger
asks them in I Corinthians  4:7, "For who maketh thee          and mightier than The True Vine? Nay, all that we
to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou           are spiritually,  all  OUT  desire  to  be  saved, our knowl-
didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost      edge of our guilt and sin, of the way of salvation we
thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?" Conceit         receive, and for it we owe God everlasting thanks.
and pride are folly. We sing from the Psalms so beau-             Let us, for the sake of argument, say that we do not
tifully and correctly:                                         deny that the sinner receives from God the power to
        All that I am I owe to Thee,                           desire salvation. Let us say that we concede that man
    Thy wisdom, Lord, has fashioned me;                        receives every spiritual breath from God as well as
    I give my Maker thankful praise,                           every physical breath of life. When, then, we say that
        Whose wondrous works my soul amaze.                    man must first will salvation and pray for it before
        Ere into being I was bro't,                            God does anything, we are not denying that this comes
        Thy eye did see and in Thy tho't                       from God.      We simply do not believe that man lost
        My life in all its perfect plan                        every spark of spiritual life. He retained some glim-
        Was ordered ere my days began. Psalm 139.              merings of natural light, as the Canons of Dordrecht
   The fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of             state it in III, IV article 4.       0, but read the whole
wisdom, never puffs a man up, as though he or his              article1 Let us quote the part that is usually left off
children have anything in themselves or are anything           but explains the first part: "But so far is this light of
by themselves, but stands instead in awe of the great          nature from being sufficient to bring him (man, since
and majestic God of our salvation. The lie is always           the fall) to  a saving knowledge of God, and to true con-
folly. False doctrines are characterized exactly  bythe        version,   that he is incapable of using it  aright even  in
fact that they belittle God, ascribe His power and glory       things  natural and civil. Nay, further, this light, such
to the creature, are bold to place the creature before         as it is, man in various ways  vendem  wholly polluted,
God and to change the Lord of all into a servant of the        and  holds it in unrighteousness,  by doing which he be-
creature.       And even though Scripture clearly states       comes inexcusable before God." The underscoring is
that we are saved by grace and not by works, insomuch          ours. One can have his own opinion as to why this was
that faith, which is the means whereby we are saved,           left unquoted in 1924 in the "common grace" contro-
is the gift of God - so that we are but the moon that re-      versy, while the first part of the article was quoted to
ceives it from Christ the light of the world-there are         try to prove a certain "civic righteousness" on the
those who foolishly speak of that frail, dependent crea-       part of the unregenerated.
ture of dust, dead in sins and trespasses, as having              Even `then, apart from this Confession, with which
some light in himself so that e can see the wisdom of          many do not agree, is it the fear of  the'lord,  is it awe
the salvation in Christ and can either frustrate the living    and reverence before Him to call Him a liar? He told
God in His desire to save or give Him the permission           Adam that in the day that he ate, he would DIE1 Adam
to do so. THAT we state unequivocally is not the fear          did not become spiritually sick and weak and even
of the Lord and is utter folly as well as blasphemy1 0         paralyzed.    He  DIEDI He became utterly incapable of
that men would have that fear of the Lord according to         desiring. anything spiritually good anymore. He could


108                                              THESTANDARDBEARER


not will to be saved. He became a fool. The corrupt,            ceive from Him. The life in that seed is put there by
impossible goal of becoming like God he continues               Him. The warmth and the moisture come from Him
foolishly to seek. He thinks that with the creatures            and must be sent at the right time and in the right
God has made for His own glory, he (man) can succeed            amounts.    Yet He calls us to sow and uses us to in-
in robbing God of that glory and obtain it for himself.         struct our covenant seed.        Whether the seed shall
And in spite of inevitable death he views his works and         sprout in the hearts of our children, whether they will
achievements here below and deceives himself into               believe, whether there shall be a harvest all depends
thinking that he has succeeded to a degree, until he            upon God. He must give that fear to our children, or
opens his eyes in hell !                                        they will never have it. It is the fear of the Lord in
       The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.         every sense of the word.
Wise,  is the man who knows Him as GOD and stands                  And wisdom depends upon knowledge. Facts and
in awe and revernce before Him.                                 the truth are the tools that wisdom must use. Even as
       But that fear of the Lord is the fear that we receive    the gifted artist can do nothing without his brushes,
from the Lord.         As we pointed out at the outset, by      paints and canvass, so a man born with  - or rather
implication, the rays of the sun are the rays of light          more properly  reborn with-the fear of God must
that come from the sun. Thus the fear of the Lord is            know the Scripture. He must know God as He is re-
the fear that proceeds from the Lord and lights us up           vealed in Scripture in order to stand in that awe and
as the moon is enlightened by the natural light of the          revernce before Him that produces obedience and
sun.      Our only hope of having the fear of the Lord is       child-like trust in Him.
that it pleases God to shine down upon us. As the                  These facts of truth, this revelation of God as our
psalmist puts it so beautifully --for he had the fear of        Creator -- and as the psalmist declares it in Psalm
the Lord and was not tainted with Arminianism and its           19:14,  o u r "strength (or rock) and redeemer" -we
lie  - "Turn us again, 0 Lord God of Hosts, cause Thy           must teach to the child with the power which God has
face to shine, and we shall be saved." Psalm  80:19.            given us. No unbeliever can do that, and no unbeliever
The beginning of wisdom begins with God and not with            ever desires to do that. Hedoesnot want your children
man.                                                            to have the fear of the Lord. He does not, therefore
       Whether, therefore, our children will receive that       desire, nor is he able, to see your children have the
beginning of wisdom depends entirely on Him of Whom             beginning of wisdom. He wants - as a tool of Satan -
James says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of          to end all such wisdom.
God Who giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and           You see him at his satanic work in banishing all
it shall be given him." James  1:5. Here is the fountain        prayer from the class room. You see him operate
of all wisdom. If we have it, we will have to receive it        behind the scenes when he strives to put another bur-
out of God.      And we will receive it from Him through        den on the churches by taking away their tax exemp-
Christ, for "In Whom (Christ) are hid all the treasure          tion and tax-free holding of properties used for re-
of wisdom and knowledge." Colossians  2:3. Again, of            ligious purposes. You see him do that in Evolutionism
Christ it is said in I Corinthians  1:24 that Christ is         and Atheism. You see him do that in barring the be-
"the power of God, and wisdom of God." It all de-               liever from jobs and work unless he reveals fear of
pends, then, on whether God has chosen us in Christ             the godless organizations that trample God's laws
and whether He sent Christ to die for our sins. Other-          under feet and practice the evil that might makes
wise we do not deserve it, have not right to it and will        right, and that revolt and rebellion are wise and good.
not receive it. Therefore James tells us to pray or                And you still send your  child(ren) to men who have
"ask in faith". And that means in the name of Christ            not the beginning of wisdom? That certainly is not a
and in faith of what He has done.                               wise move to make. In His fear means in true wisdom.
       Nevertheless, we have a calling. It all depends          Let that fear be the principle that guides you in your
upon the Overflowing Fountain of all good. But He               own behaviour, and certainly in seeking instruction and
does not treat us like stocks and blocks. He speaks             a training for your children by seeking an educational
to us. He exhorts and admonishes us. He calls us to             system that has at least the beginning of wisdom. It
sow the seed. The seed -- which is the Word - we re-            will reveal that you have the beginning of wisdom.



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                                                                                                1326 W. Butler Ave.,  SE,
                                              Gift Subscription                                 Grand Rapids,  Mich. 49507
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                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    109



                   TRYING THE  SPIRITS-

                                        ARMINIANISM

                                                by Rev. R. C.  Havbach

   The system of religion known as Arminianism or-               "That God, from all eternity, determined to bestow
iginally came from Rome. It was also meant to, and            salvation on those He foresaw would persevere unto
does, lead to Rome. Indeed, Arminianism is the point          the end; and to inflict everlasting punishments on those
at which Romanism and Pelagianism meet. But then              who should continue in their unbelief, and resist His
Arminianism is also the back alley to Atheism. It re-         divine  succours, so that election was conditional, and
ceived its notorious sobriquet from its namesake Jacob        reprobation in like manner the result of foreseen in-
Arminius, pastor of the Reformed church in Amster-            fidelity and persevering wickedness.
dam, and later professor of theology at Leyden. He               "That Jesus Christ, by His sufferings and death,
had been educated in the Reformation doctrine of              made an atonement for the sins of all mankind in
Calvin, but regarded Calvin's teaching especially with        general, and of every individual in particular; that
reference to free will, predestination, election, rep-        however, none but those who believe in him can be
robation, grace and perseverance, as being too severe.        partakers of divine benefits." In other words, God's
A man bold and enterprising, he soon began to let it          intention was universal, but the efficacy of His pur-
be known that he was not in sympathy with the received        pose may be restricted by man's refusal to believe.
doctrine of the Reformed churches. He began publicly             "That this grace is offered to all, and does not
and privately to ~ vehemently attack the reputation -and      force men to act against their inclinations, but may be
authority of the renowned theologians of the Reformed         resisted and rendered ineffectual by the perverse will
church, including Calvin, Zanchius, Beza, Ursinus and         of the impenitent sinner.
Martyr. He especially put forth the opinions that the love       "That the regenerate may lose true justifying faith,
of God is extended to all men and that Christ died for        fall from a state of grace, and die in their sins."
every soul of humankind.                                         The above articles of Arminianism are today read-
   Where did Arminius get this philosophy, out of his         ily swallowed as the gospel truth, and the majority of
own head? Not at all: he picked up some of it from            professing Christians could not for the life of them
Rome while conferring with the Loyolans, then imbibed         see anything wrong in them. Many who claim to be
more from the Socinians while in Poland. One of his           Calvinistic are thoroughly blinded to the dangers of
main reasons for discarding predestination and prop-          Arminianism, are completely sold on its popular con-
agating his principles was to lay down a basis for            ceptions, and give plain evidence of this by their  Ar-
brotherly relations with and eventual return to the           minianistic vernacular, their preference for Arminian
Romish church.                                                evangelists and preachers, as well as their support of
   The Arminians, cohorts and supporters of this              Arminian organizations and enterprises. They would
heretic, were also known as Remonstrants. They ral-           not only agree with the Remonstrants, but they would
lied in large numbers like an underground movement            also agree with the following expressions of a former
to the ensign of Arminius and entering into a conspir-        "Presbyterian" minister.     "The Rev. Albert Barnes
acy, formed what they called a  body separate from the        in his sermon entitled `The Way of Salvation' expresses
rest of the Reformed ministers, and perpetrated a             himself thus: `This atonement was for all men. It
schism in the Reformed churches. Theybecame known             was an offering made for the race. We judge that He
as Remonstrants when they presented to the  states-           died for all. He tasted death for every man. He is the
general a libellous document which they called a              propitiation for the sins of the world. He came that
remonstrance, in which they stated their grievances           whosoever would believe on Him should not perish,
and sought relief. Along with their slanderous protest,       but have eternal life. The full benefit of the atonement
the Arminians also presented their so-called articles         is offered to all men. In perfect sincerity God makes
of the Remonstrants. These articles contain the he-           the offer.    He has commissioned His servants to go
terodox tenets of  -Arminianism.  He who preaches in          and preach the gospel- that is, the good news that
harmony with them is a false prophet. It should also          salvation is provided for them-to every creature.
be noted in regard to them that B. B.  Warfield in his        He that does not this -that goes to offer the gospel to
The Plan  of  Salvation  places Wesleyan (Evangelical)        a part only, to elect persons only, or that supposes
Arminianism under the general heading, "Supernatur-           that God offers the gospel only to a portion of mankind
alistic," but that Remonstrantism he categorizes "Na-         - violates his commission, practically charges God
turalistic." A cursory perusal of  the'following  Re-         with insincerity, makes himself wise above what is
monstrant articles will reveal that this judgment is          written, and brings great reproach on the holy cause
correct.                                                      of redemption. The offer of salvation is not made by


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER


man,  but by God. It is His commission, and it is His           dent in his Peace With God, p. 49, where he states that
solemn charge that the sincere offer of heaven should           man has a "gift of free'choice."' Now anyone who be-
be made to every creature, I stand as the messenger             lieves the faith of the Reformers will "reject all that
of God. . .that, if any perish, it will be because they         is repugnant to this, concerning the free will of man,
choose to die, and not because they are straitened in           since man is but a slave!" (Belgic Conf., XIV). What
God.    I have no feeling for any other gospel. I have no       does Graham  meant by "free choice"? This, that it
right hand of fellowship to extend for any scheme that          "is meaningless if there is only one possible path to
does not say that God sincerely offers all the bliss of         follow" (ibid., p. 44). This is nothing more than that
heaven to every guilty, wandering child of Adam.'               Remonstrant doctrine that man "is able to will and to
   "From this abstract, who would suppose that its              choose, or not to will and not to choose, all manner of
author was not an Arminian of the boldest type`? Here           good presented to" him.         "This is an innovation and
is exhibited a general, a  universal atonement for every        an error." (C anons, III-IV, R. III). For "all men are
child of Adam--a provision to be  .sincerely  tendered          conceived in sin. . .incapable of saving good, prone to
to  all  mankind; Is not this real Wesleyan Arminian-           evil, dead in sin, and in bondage thereto, and without
ism!" (T. N. Ralston, Elements of Divinity, 249-50).            the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit, they are
It is, indeed. It took an Arminian to spot that this is         neither able nor willing to return to God, to reform
not Presbyterian language; that it is not Calvinistic,          the depravity of their nature, nor to dispose them-
but very un-Reformed.         It is the sophistical line of     selves to reformation" (ibid., III). This being the very
John Wesley, not the biblical line of John Calvin. It           truth of the pure gospel, then the mere natural man
was the former who taught that God is a God of love,            has absolutely "only one possible path to follow," and
not to some, but to all men; that as the Father and             that is not to return to God, but to go farther down the
Creator of all, He stands in the same relation to all,          road of death and bondage.
loves them all; that He not only loves all men without             But Graham, like Erasmus, is enamored with the
distinction, but all men without exception. He claimed          Pelagian conception of man's will. "We  hav.e a chance
that a particular love of God to the elect was not in           to choose between the Devil's clever promises and
harmony with man's innate knowledge of God. He be-              God's sure Word" (PWG, p. 48). Not so, but "that
lieved that Christ died for absolutely all men; that he         others who are called by the  gospellobey  the call, and
is to be offered, to all; that all are to be invited to         are converted, is not to be ascribed to the proper ex-
come to Him. He preached a sufficient grace given to            ercise of free will, whereby one distinguishes himself
all men to influence the human mind in favor of God's           above others, equally furnished with grace sufficient
salvation (Buck's Theol.  Die.). Thus Wesley furthered          for faith and conversion, as the proud heresy of
the semi-Pelagianism of Arminius and the Remon-                 Pelagius maintains; but it must be wholly ascribed to
strants.    So true is this that we agree with A.M.  Top-       God" (Canons, III-IV, 10). More modern  Remon-
lady when he said, "Was I a believer of the Pythagorean         strantism follows.      "The same two paths that God set
metempsychosis, I should certainly conceive that the            before Adam still lie before us" (PWG,  49), i.e., we
soul of Arminius was transmigrated into that particular         have "freedom to choose or reject, freedom to obey
system of flesh and blood known by the name of John             God's commands or to go contrary to them" (p.44). . .
Wesley." For his Arminianism he was, as today Billy             We are still free to choose (p.49). .  .Never is there
Graham is, deservedly extolled by some of the Romish            a moment when you cannot deliberately choose to go
church.                                                         with one or the other,"i.e., with God or the Devil (p.60).
   The doctrinal position of Billy Graham* is princi-           Here is positive proof that Billy Graham is Pelagian,
pally that of the above articles of the Remonstrants,           a thorough-going Arminian, and far from the biblical,
and exactly that of the above Wesleyan Arminianism.             and therefore the Calvinistic position. The most pop-
He holds to free will, resistible grace, universal re-          ular and the most dazzling representative of false
demption, conversion before faith and faith before re-          ecumenicism and Arminianism today is Evangelist
generation.     He believes man to be merely very far           Billy Graham.
gone from original righteousness, but-not wholly gone.
He preaches that man is a sinner, but he omits the              *See the series on Billy Graham in  BeaconLights,  Jan.
total depravity of man. His Arminian free will is  evi-          to June, 1964.


                     IN MEMORIAM                                               RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
   We wish to express our Christian sympathy with our
   fellow-elder, Kenneth  Lanning in the loss of his brother       The Board of the Society for Protestant Reformed Sec-
                                                                   ondary Education expresses herewith its deepest sym-
                       JOHN LANNING                               pathy to Wayne Lanning, one of its members, in the loss
   But glorious is the hope of the Christian.                      of his Father
   We know that~our death is life eternal.                                            JOHN L. LANNING
   Jehovah bless the bereaved family.
               Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Consistory          May he and .his family find comfort in the Word of God
                         Rev.  Gerrit Vos, Pres.                   which assures us that `~`Precious  in the sight of the Lord
                         Donald Dykstra, Clerk                     is the death of His saints". Psalm 116:15.


                                                  THESTANDARDBEARER                                                     111


THE  i&D GAVE THE  WORD-
                                (Psalm  68:ll)


S o v e r e i g n   E l e c t i o n ,
                               Particular Atonement,
                                                                                 A n d   M i s s i o n s
                                                    by Rev. C. Hanko

   Blessed be God!                                             elect.      And that is an absurdity. But if you adopt the
   In his epistle to the Ephesians, the great mission-         statement, "God loves all men," you must also accept
ary, the apostle Paul, approaches the church with the          as its corollary, "Christ died for all men." This is
beautiful doxology, Blessed be God!                            also implied in a general, well-meant offer of salvation.
   One cannot help but wonder how many sermons be-             And that also leads to absurdity. For if Christ died
gin on that plane today. This is especially true be-           for all, then in many instances the precious blood of
cause the present day preaching has long departed from         God's only begotten Son was shed in vain! God puts
a God-centered gospel, and even from a Christ-centered         forth every possible effort to save, even wants to save,
gospel to a man-centered gospel. It is said that the           and makes salvation possible for all men, but is frus-
preaching must be timely in the sense that it discusses        trated in His purpose by mere man. God strives for
all the social and political problems of the day; it           what He cannot attain. But a helpless, disappointed
must have as its purpose to improve social conditions,         God is the worst of blasphemy1
and to "win souls for Christ", or to bring people to a            Scripture teaches the most perfect harmony be-
"decision" for Christ.       And the complaint is often        tween God's sovereign election and His particular
raised that this can never be accomplished by an em-           atonement.       Allow me to quote only the triumphant
phasis on the exalted theme of the apostle Paul that           conviction of Paul himself in Romans  8:29,30: "For
finds its keynote in the joyful praise: Blessed be God.        whom He did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be
   As a result, the doctrine of election is hardly men-        conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
tioned, even though our fathers spoke of it as the  car        the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
ecclesia, the heart of the church. Too often predes-           he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he
tination is referred to as belonging to the hidden things      called, them he also justified; and whom he justified,
of God, and therefore should not be a part of the con-         them he also glorified."
tents of a sermon.       Or again, sovereign election is          And therefore we can also say with the apostle,
said to be in conflict with the preaching of the general,      "Blessed be God!"
well-meant gospel-offer to all nations and individuals.        Because He Is The God  Of  Sovereign  Predestination.
And it is even repeatedly stated that this is a cold,             This is exactly the gospel that the apostle proclaims
meaningless doctrine that contradicts the responsibil-         to the church in the passage from Ephesians 1 that I
ity of man, causes the listeners to become careless            referred to before. Let me quote the entire passage:
and profane, and actually hinders all sincere mission          "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
endeavors.     This objection is raised so often, that by      Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
this time it is simply accepted as an established fact         in heavenly places in Christ: according as he hath
even in Reformed circles, that sovereign predestination        chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
and missionary preaching are mutually exclusive. You           that we should be holy and without blame before him
cannot maintain the one and also the other. You must           in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of
preach a universal love of God or you fail to preach           children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the
the gospel.                                                    good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
   And it follows that everyone who. slights the doctrine      his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the be-
of election must also deny. particular atonement. No           loved. In whom we have redemption through his blood,
one will question-the fact that sovereign. election and        the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his
particular atonement go hand in hand. If you deny the          grace."            -.        .'
one, you must also deny the  -other. If, for example,             No one can fail to notice. that the apostle extols our
you were: to try to maintain that  `God elects  `a certain     God as blessed forever,  -because He has blessed us in
number  of. people to eternal  salvation,`but that  .Christ    Jesus Christ,., Immediately-two things are brought to
died for all, you would be forced  to~the-  conclusion that    our  attention:..First,: that.  G.od- is called "the God and
some might possibly enter heaven who were not even             Father of our Lord Jesus Christ", emphasizing that


112                                             THE  STANDARD  BEARER


all our salvation is from God in Christ from eternity          the price of our redemption in His Son on Golgotha.
to eternity.      Second, that God blesses us in Christ,       God sealed our adoption papers with the blood of the
"according as he hath chosen us in him before the              cross.     There can be no doubt about that. But that
foundation of the world."         Eternal election is the      means that God redeems us, because He loves us, and
source and fountain head of  -all our salvation. This          because in love He has predestinated us unto eternal
was also the conviction of the fathers of the Reforma-         life in Christ.       Sovereign election and particular
tion. See Canons I, articles 6 and 7.                          atonement can never be separated, because our election
       But then Paul also calls attention to the fact, that    is the basis for the atonement of the cross. In this
our eternal election is rooted in God's predestination.        the apostle glories, and we glory with Him.  - For
And this predestination finds its deepest cause in the         blessed be that God, of Whom, through Whom, and
very heart of God, in His distinctive love for His             unto Whom are all things !
people. The apostle writes, (as the Revised Version
correctly translates the text) "He destined us  in love        THIS GOSPEL OF THE LOVE OF GOD COMPELS
to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the          THE PREACHER.
purpose of his will." Who can fail to see that:                   Paul himself was compelled to preach that gospel,
       God's predestination is rooted in His eternal, pe-      according to his own testimony. He writes in I Cor.
culiar love for His people in Christ.                          9:16, "For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing
   God's predestination is unto the adoption of sons.          to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me, yea, woe is
Our adoption, our right to be sons, as well as our             unto me, if I preach not the gospel." This was not an
right to share the blessing of sons, follows solely            arbitrary whim on his part, nor a mere outward com-
from eternal good pleasure. Before God we always               pulsion. But as is evident from all his epistles, Paul
are sons, always are His peculiar possession, always           experienced in his own heart and life the glorious
are the heirs of all His riches in Christ Jesus.               wonder of the love of God revealed to him in Christ
   God's predestination is, finally, according to the          Jesus.        Even that was sufficient to cause him to
good pleasure of His will. Every single elect has his          glory, as he writes to the churches of Galatia, "But
own place in that one harmonious unity of the Body of          God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
Christ.     Every elect, to change the figure, is a stone      our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
in God's temple, each one fitting exactly in his divinely      unto me, and I unto the world." Yet when he writes
appointed place.       Out of the stone heap of a fallen       of the necessity that is laid upon him, he refers to his
human race, where we lay as so manyugly, misshapen,            calling as an apostle of Christ to proclaim the whole
filthy stones, God removes us by His sovereign grace           counsel of God. In his office he experienced the same
to give us each our own place in His temple, to show           compelling power that moved the prophets of the old
forth the glory of His Name. When every stone has              dispensation, who were so filled with the Spirit of
been fitted in, and the temple is complete, there will         Christ that they eagerly testified to those to whom they
be no stones left that were intended to be placed in the       were  .sent: "So saith the Lord." Paul also was under
edifice, nor will there be any ugly gaps that would            that divine constraint so that he could not escape it.
eternally deface the unity and harmony of God's                It was the "must" that he had to fulfill, lest God's woe
Church.                                                        or condemnation come upon him. And yet it was not a
   According to the second chapter of this same                burden that he bore reluctantly; it was a calling that
epistle (verses 17-22) the preaching of the Word               he was privileged to carry out, for he counted it a priv-
serves exactly that purpose throughout history, that           ilege to be "a servant (slave) of Jesus Christ", Whose
the Son of God may gather His Church, erect the                brandmark of ownership he carried about with him in
temple of the living God to the praise of His glorious         the many bodily scars he had received for the sake of
grace in the Beloved.                                          the gospel.
   Let anyone dare to say after carefully reading the             Even the contents. of his message, no less than his
epistle to the Ephesians that election is a cold,. com-        calling, was such an impelling power in his life, that
fortless doctrine, that causes its hearers to become           he travelled untiringly through the then known world,
careless and profane instead of filling them with holy         declaring that gospel wherever he could. He even
and prayerful adoration to repeat after the apostle:           spoke of a strong desire to go as far as Spain. Romans
"Blessed be  Godl"                                             15:24, 28.
                                                                  Peter expressed that same necessity already when
BECAUSE PREDESTINATION IS THE BASIS FOR  OUR                   he stood before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem and de-
REDEMPTION.                                                    fiantly told them, "We cannot but speak of the things
   In the same sentence in which the apostle extols            which we saw and heard." (Acts  4:20)
the sovereign electing love of God, he also speaks of             And our Lord Himself spoke repeatedly of His
our redemption. For in verse 7 we are told, "In whom           "must" to carry out the mandate laid upon  Him by
we have redemption through his blood, the forgive-             the Father.       He did not hesitate to say that He laid
ness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."           down His life for His sheep. He added, "My sheep
That "in whom" refers back to Christ, Whose God and            hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
Father has chosen us in Him, in love having predes-            And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never
tinated us unto the adoption of children to Himself,           perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my
according to the good pleasure of His will. God paid           hand.     My Father, which gave them me  (election), is


                                                          THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     113


greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out                      the Greek." (1:16). And after he has made his power-
of my Father's hand." But to the unbelieving Jews                           ful exposition of the sovereign good pleasure of God in
that opposed Him He said, "But ye believenot, because                       showing mercy to some and hardening others through
ye are not of my sheep." (See John  10:26-29).                              the gospel, he adds, "How then shall they call on him
   This same "must" impels any sincere preacher of                          in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
the  ,gospel, just because the gospel never loses its                       believe in Him whom they have not heard? and how
dynamic power. The Word of God is never dependent                           shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall
upon mere man, but is God's own power unto  salva-                          they preach, except they be sent?" (Rom. 9, 10)
tion. Therefore Paul also confidently declares to the                           All of which he concludes with a quotation from the
church at Rome, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel                         prophet Isaiah, "How beautiful are the feet of them that
of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to                     preach  ,the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to                     good things ?"


             THE CHURCH A7  WORSHIP-
             ("0 worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Ps. 96:9a)



                                             THANKFULNESS
                                                                CONCLUDED


                                                            by Rev. G.  Vanden   Berg

   Our communion form delineates the walk of grati-                         and the great commandment; and the second is like
tude of the Christian as the laying aside unfeignedly                       unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self. On
of all enmity, hatred, and envy and a firm resolution                       these two commandments hang all the law and the
to walk in true love and peace with the neighbor. Such                      prophets ."( 3)
conduct evidences true thankfulness to God because it                          The elect of God are enjoined in Colossians  3:12-14
is only the regenerated child of God who can and will                       to "put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of
do these things and in the practice of them he is deeply                    mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another,
conscious that "by the grace of God I am what I am                          and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in                         against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."
vain".(l)    Human nature cannot and will not submit to                     But this is not enough for to this large order is added
God's ordinance of love for "the carnal mind is enmity                      `And above all these things  put on love, which is the
against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,                       bond of perfectness." Love supersedes all the rest.
neither indeed can  be."(2) All the works of the flesh                      There can be no kindness, forbearance, forgiveness
are characterized by "enmity, hatred and envy", the                         or any spiritual practice without love.
very things which the child of God strives by grace to                         In this light we would also consider that classic
put off. Thankfulness,  whichis  the fruit of regeneration,                 passage on love that is found in first Corinthians 13.
springs to manifestation in a life of uprightness before                    Though we speak with the tongue of men and of angels,
God.                                                                        have the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries,
   The essence of that life is love and in the concrete                     have all knowledge and faith, give our goods to the poor
manifestation of the love of God in our walk therefore                      and our bodies to be burned; if we lack LOVE we are
lies the proof that we are born of God and are made                         nothing and all these things profit us nothing.
partakers of His communion and that of His saints. In                          This is basically because without love we do not
the living experience of that love lies the conscious                       have God. GOD IS LOVE.(4) We note this text because
enjoyment of all the blessings of salvation while the ab-                   in the present connection it is especially significant for
sence of that love creates total spiritual vacuum in the                    there is added: "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in
consciousness of man.                                                       God and God in him." And although this is certainly
   It is not particularly striking then that the Word of                    true as applied to our entire life in the midst of the
God in countless places emphasizes the importance of                        present world, it is especially true in application to
love in the conversation of the saints. Jesus tells us                      the Lord's Supper.    God communes at His table with
that it constitutes the core of the entire law of God in                    His people in love and there He bestows upon them the
that well known summary: "Thou shalt love the Lord                          riches of His grace as they dwell in Him and He in
thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all                 them.    That is exactly why it is so important that in
thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first                      our self-examination we discover within ourselves


114                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


that spiritual desire and determination to walk in love        ments are subsidiaries of the preaching of the Word
with our neighbor. This love is the proper expression          and the effect of both is the same. Even as in the
of our thankfulness to God for the apostle John also           preaching of the Word there is always a two-fold effect
writes :     "Beloved, if God so loved us, (so as to send      upon the hearers, so is there a two-fold working of
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins) we ought          God through the sacraments. The Word is a savour
also to love one another. . . .  .If we love one another       of life unto life or of death unto death. At the table of
God dwelleth in us, and His love is made perfect in            the Lord we either eat and drink by faith unto the en-
us."(4)                                                        joyment of our salvation in Christ, or we eat and drink
       We cannot walk in enmity and hate of the brother,       judgment unto ourselves. The sacrament never leaves
refuse to seek reconciliation with the brother, bear a         us totally unaffected.     It is not so that we can come
grudge in our soul against the brother and refuse to           away from the Lord's table as though we had not been
see him about it and expect to have fellowship with            there.     The Word of God speaks to us through the holy
God.        Love, which is the emulation of the virtue of      sacrament and it says one of two things: it proclaims
God Himself, demands. another way. Love is "kind, it           either the truth of justification by faith which affords
envieth not, it vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, does    us conscious peace with God, or it declares to us that
not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not        we are the objects of God's holy wrath and disfavor.
easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in in-        Such is the implication of the term "judgment" here.
iquity, but rejoiceth in the truth."(b) Love admonishes        It contains the idea of "condemnation" and, conse-
and seeks to save always. It is reflected practically in       quently, it is a judgment of God in which He finds and
the attitude of which James speaks: "Brethren, if any          declares us to be guilty according to His law of love.
of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let            Therefore it is necessary `to warn and admonish
him know that he which converteth the sinner from the          those who are defiled with sin "to keep themselves
error of his way shall save asoulfrom death, and shall         from the table of the Lord, and declare to them that
hide a multitude of sins."(7).                                 they have no part in the kingdom of Christ."
       Do we so love?                                             Concerning this paragraph of the Communion Form
    That is the criterion by which the genuineness of          we wish to make the following observations:
our professed gratitude is to be gauged. Without love             First, the admonition to abstain from the Lord's
our gratitude is carnality.       Verbal expressions of        Supper is not directed to all who at some time or an-
thanksgiving without love are but so many empty sounds.        other have defiled themselves with the sins here enu-
That is love that responds to the commandments of              merated. Rather, it speaks of those who live in these
God in the whole of life and out of the doing of His Word      sins, refuse to part with them and in whom therefore
comes forth a true expression of thanksgiving.                 there are no marks of conversion. Those who have
                                                               sinned and repented of their sins are spoken of a bit
The Application Of The Keys Of The Kingdom                     later.
       "All those, then, who are thus disposed, God will          Secondly, the list of sins given here is not intended
certainly receive in mercy, and count them worthy              as a complete list of censurable sins or sins for which
partakers of the table of His Son Jesus Christ." With          one will be excommunicated from the fellowship of the
this statement the communion form continues to explain         church.      Neither is it simply a catalog of sins that
how the keys of the Kingdom of God are applied to the          happened to be common in the days when this com-
participants at the communion table. The statement             munion form was written. One would miss the point
itself is positive and assures the true believers that         altogether who would attempt to clear himself for ad-
God will certainly dwell with them in the communion            mission to the table of the Lord by attempting to show
of His Son Jesus Christ. They will receive the benefits        that he is not guilty of the  specific  sins mentioned. We
of this holy institution and they may eat and drink by         do well to observe that in general this list of sins
faith in the assurance that God has given unto them            follows the order of and covers the ten commandments
eternal life. The phrase, "who are thus disposed",             of the law of God and in that light we may conclude that
does not refer alone to the part of the self-examination       the thrust of the admonition here is that all those who
that deals with the matter of gratitude but it includes        walk in defiance of God's Word are warned to abstain
all of the foregoing.       Those who know their sin and       from the holy supper.       This' is further indicated by
misery, are conscious of their own worthlessness;              the last thing mentioned in this series, namely, "and
those who believe that Christ Jesus has unconditionally        all who lead offensive lives". This cannot be taken
merited perfect righteousness for them and who,                in general as though the meaning is that all offense is
therefore, in the experience of that salvation are             sin. It is unavoidable that the walk of the Christian in
truly thankful unto God, God will receive in mercy at          the midst of the world will and does give offense to
His table.       Of course He will, for it is God himself      those who love iniquity but this is not meant. The of-
Who draws such in the way of that salvation unto His           fense is that which results from violating God's Word.
table where He feeds and nourishes them unto eternal           God is the offended One. The life of the sinner is of-
life.                                                          fensive to Him. He never looks upon such lives with
    But there is more. There is an opposite side to            a "little favor" but He abhors it utterly. And, thus,
this picture.      "On the contrary", states our Form,         also all the sins previously enumerated are those that
"those who do not feel this testimony in their hearts,         cause such offense. The list could without difficulty
eat and drink judgment to- themselves." The  sacra-            be greatly enlarged but this is not necessary. It is


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     115


sufficient to show from these examples that those who           of God who are virtually perfect. This is a serious
in their walk of life act contrary to the commands of           mistake and, .if the self-examination were then prop-
God, thereby demonstrate that they have no part in the          erly conducted, it would lead to the practical conclu-
Kingdom of Christ and therefore cannot be received at           sion that no one could ever come to the table of the
His table.       To allow this is to desecrate the Lord's       Lord.      It is well to be cautious, and in our preparation
Table and thereby bring the wrath of God upon the               for the celebration of the Lord's Supper we cannot be
entire  congregation.(8)                                        too careful that there remains wilful sin in us; but the
   In the fourth place, the Form explicitly states that         fact that sin is still present in us may not deject our
they shall abstain from the Lord's Table "while they            hearts.     We exactly come to the Supper as sinners, as
continue in such sins". The way is open for repentance          redeemed sinners, as thankful sinners and concerning
and a turning from sin but as long as one walks wilful-         this we hope, D.V. to write a little more next time.
ly in sin and then seeks place at the table of the Lord,        (1) I Corinthians  15:lO
he can do so only to the aggravation of his own judg-           (2) Romans  8:7
ment. His condemnation becomes heavier.                         (3) Matthew 22:37-40
   Fifthly, this warning and admonition is not de-              (4) I John 4:16
signed to instill fear or terror into the hearts of             (5) I John 4:11, 12
those that would seek admission to the table of the             (6) I Corinthians  13~4-6
Lord.      Among some people you find the notion quite          (7) James  5:19, 20
prevalent that the table of the Lord is only for people         (8) Lord's Day XXX, Heidelberg Catechism



                    AU AROUND  US-

                                         The  New  Morality

                                                     by Rev. H. Hanko



THE NEW MORALITY                                                convinced that acceptable conduct could be defined in
   It is apparent to everyone that our generation is            this law contained in the Scriptures.         But this was
characterized by a serious and frightening decline in           merely their opinion  - one opinion among'many. And,
morality and a consequent increase in crime, lawless-           while perhaps it was adequate for those days, we err
ness, immorality and dishonesty. While no doubt many            seriously if we think that this law is equally binding
reasons for this can be mentioned, one major factor             upon us in our day. We can perhaps profitably study
that must be considered is the increased emphasis on            this ancient body of legislation; but not in order to find
"the new morality".                                             in it regulations for our life. It is merely a historical
   This new morality is a complete about face on the            curiosity which aids us in discovering what ancient
question of Christian ethics. What has been taught for          people believed; it is an old bit of lore from bygone
generations is now abandoned; something new has been            years which has approximately the same value as an
substituted in its place. This new theory of ethics has         Egyptian mummy exhumed from some dusty tomb.
come not from the world, but sadly enough, from the                It is apparent that such a view of the law stems
Church.                                                         from a particular view of Scripture. Scripture is not,
 What is this "new morality"?                                   according to this view, the infallibly inspired record of
   There are several aspects to the answer.                     God's revelation. It is only a very ancient book filled
   First of all, the new morality advocates that the entire     with myths, superstitions, stories, teachings and lore
law of God is of little or no value to us in this modern        of a people who lived in the misty past and who re-
20th century.      The entire law as given in Scripture         corded their religious experiences, their beliefs and
(including especially the ten commandments) is to be            opinions in a `collection of books preserved till today.
abandoned as hopelessly out of date. It cannot possibly         The Bible has about the same value as Homer's
serve as a rule of life and conduct.. This is not to say        " I l i a d " .
that the law of God can be burned. We ought to keep                And this -view of Scripture comes in turn from a
some record of it.       But its importance -is something       particular view of God Himself. We have more than
quite different from the rule of our life which Scrip-          once mentioned in these columns that modern theologi-
ture insists that it is. This -law is really-only an  opi-n-    cal -liberalism denies the. very basic doctrines of the
ion of .what  some `ancient people once thought was, good       truth.. It denies the trinity, the divinity of Christ, the
and proper to  -do., Many years ago the Hebrews  ~were          blood of,  -atonement,  the existence of heaven and hell,


     116                                             THE STANDARD BEARER
I

     the resurrection and ascension of Christ, the return of        Russians love? Idolatry and worship of images, Sab-
     Christ upon the clouds of heaven.  ,This new morality          bath desecration and cursing are perfectly proper if
     comes to us hand in hand with this kind of heretical           the occasion is proper and the circumstances are
     theological thinking. Those who maintain that this new         right.
     morality is the only kind of ethics which can speak to             It is almost inconceivable that such a view can gain
     our modern age are the same ones who deny all that             any kind of a hearing. But the hard facts are that it
     the Church has ever confessed.                                 does. Leading theologians, prominent ministers in the
         Hence we find a man like Bishop Robinson who shook         churches, important professors and teachers in the
     the ecclesiastical world with his book "Honest To              schools have adopted this view in one form or another.
     God" promoting this new morality. He insists, for              It is gaining ground rapidly and becoming more and
     example, that "there is not a whole list of things             more the accepted teaching in the field of ethics.
     which are `sins' pev se"; that any conceivable act is              Nor is it difficult to imagine what consequences
     right if only the situation is right; that there are "no       these teachings have in the morals of the country.
     unbreakable rules" in all the world.         And he is also    When a totally depraved man hears all this, it is like
     the one who so openly denied every truth of Scripture.         music to his ears. He loves sin and cherishes evil
            But to return to this new morality and its views;       with all his heart. He is only restrained from a full
     what does this theory put in the place of the law of God       breaking out of the vile corruption of his nature by the
     as a norm of conduct? The answer to this question is,          laws of the land and by the opinion of his fellow man
     negatively, that no single act of which man is capable         who. frowns upon such disorderly and vicious conduct.
     is,  of  itsel&  right or wrong. Any given act can be,         But if now suddenly the laws are changed and one's
     under the right circumstances, perfectly proper and            fellows begin to talk this way; if such a view is taught
     good. Stealing can be right; murder can be right; lying        him in the school and  is  preached from the pulpit
     can be right; civil disobedience can be right; idolatry        where he goes to church, what this man is going to do
     can be right; even prostitution, fornication, adultery,        is rather obvious. If he is only told once that he can
     incest can be right. What counts is not the act, but the       do as he pleases if only he loves enough, he will do
     circumstances under which it is done. The situation            what he pleases -- and what he pleases is beyond men-
     must determine the rightness or wrongness of what              tion.      He then has his excuse to sin handed to him by
     man does. The question must be asked: Why does a               his leaders.        He is given a passport to lawlessness
     man steal?         Under what circumstances does a man         which he will not hesitate to use.
     murder.? What is the reason for his civil disobedience?            There are many objections against this view.
     What is the occasion for his fornication? In what situa-           Principally this view is a rejection of God and
     tion did he commit adultery? And the answer to this            Christ.       This is evident from the fact that this new
     question will determine whether what he did is right or        morality goes hand in hand with a denial of the truth.
     wrong, a sin or a very good thing.                             And, in keeping with all this, it is also a rejection of
         Thirdly, this brings us to the question: What deter-       the Scriptures as God's revelation to His people. It
     mines the right circumstances? What proper occasion            is a rejection of an objective moral standard of right
     is there to commit murder or to steal or to fornicate?         and wrong given in God's law. And when this objective
     The answer to this question is very simple: one must           moral standard of God's law is forsaken, anarchy and
     love. That is all. If  oneloves enough, anything he does       chaos are the results.            Then it will be said of this
     is good. Love determines whether his deed is sin or a          generation as it was said of Israel so long ago: "And
     good work. If one love, no matter what he does, it is          there was no king in Israel, and every man did that
     well.       If on the contrary, he hates, then he does bad.    which was right in his own eyes."
     Love enough and prostitution, murder, gross immoral-               Further, it can be pointed out that this view has
     ity, crime becomes legitimate and acceptable conduct.          very serious consequences. As a recent editorial in
     We must not condemn stealing and lying as sins in              Chvistimity  Today put it:
     themselves before a man ever does these things; we                       . . .an ethic in which love is not authoritatively de-
     must wait until he does them and then ask whether the              fined but is left to be defined by each person within
     man loved. We must not condemn fornication among                   the situations of life is only one step from tyranny. . .
     young people before the thing is done; wemust ask only             When the individual is left wholly to himself to decide
     if they love. Under the right circumstances all these              what legitimate forms his love for another may take,
     acts are in perfect keeping with the genius of Chris-              he soon and often becomes a tyrant and his neighbor
     tianity.                                                           the victim. . . .
                                                                              If the new morality were widely adopted, civil law
         Presumably this also means that the worst crimes               would lose its moral basis and its moral right to bring
     of history can pass muster by the Church if only they              any man to trial for his deeds. If no conceivable human
     were done for the right reasons. The terrible persecu-             action is pev se sinful, if there is no prescriptive ethics,
     tions of the Church which history was written in the               if no one but the person himself can decide in his own
     blood of countless martyrs is evidently good conduct on            situation whether any act is right or wrong, there is
     the part of those who did the butchering. The slaying              no moral basis for prosecuting any man at law for any
     of thousands by the Nazi regime in Germany is accept-              act he might commit.
     able provided it was done out of love. The godless                 But while all this is true, there is a more fundamental
     atheism. of Russian communism is not to be condemned           fault with this view. That has to do with this matter of
     per se; the question that needs asking is: Do the              "love".       It is deceitful when the new morality speaks


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   117


of "love" as the determining factor; deceitful because,          destroyed.      But love, as it is so clearly defined in
taken by itself, this is true.      Scripture emphasizes         Scripture, means, in its very nature, obedience.
again and again that the very essence of the law is                  Thus if we truly love, we love God first of all. And
love.    Where no love is there is no keeping of the             then we do not question God; wedonot cynically destroy
law -- no matter how one's external conduct may con-             God's law; we do not destroy what Godhas  demanded of
form to the outward prescriptions of the law. Love is            us; we do not even ask for the  why  of His command-
the perfect fulfillment of the law. Only by way of love          ments. We simply obey, nothing else. Love obligates
does one walk in the path of God's precepts. This is             us to bow in humility before God and ask: "What wilt
Scripture's emphatic teaching. And, superficially, this          thou have me do?" Love of God is therefore love for
sounds exactly like the "new morality".                          God's law. Love which is truly love is manifested in
   But is it?                                                    walking the way of God's precepts. Love is to sing:
   And here we come to the heart of the matter.                  "Oh, how love I thy law; it is my meditation all the
   Indeed, love is the perfect fulfillment of the whole          day." To speak of love therefore only in an immediate
law of God -- and therefore of all moral conduct. But            situation in which we find ourselves divorced from the
it must never be forgotten that love is always first of          love of God is absurd and `insane. It is (all the pious
all love  of  God. It is this point  whichis  so deliberately    prating of love notwithstanding) very terrible hate. To
and maliciously overlooked by the new moralists.                 ignore God's law and divorce love from obedience to
There is no love at all in "the existential situation",          that law is to hate -to hate God; and consequently to
no love towards anyone else in anygivencircumstances             hate one's wife, one's children, one's neighbor.
of life divorced from the love of God. All love must                To be a proponent of the new morality is to be an
be for Him first of all if it is to be love at all. Only         apostle of hate. To preach this kind of love is to sow
loving God can one love his neighbor --whether that be           the seeds of hate, to cherish hate; to fill the world with
his children, wife, employer or fellow man. Only out             hate; to make life something horrible and terrifying.
of the wellspring of overflowing love for Him Who is             And all the talk of love will never alter this in any
the only adorable Jehovah can there be any kind of love          respect.
in any relationship of life. Apart from the love of God              Here is where the new moralists tread the path of
there just isn't any love at all, Anything else is hate.         evil.
   And if this is right, then the next step must be that             A warning is in order. The view is dangerous. It
love always demands obedience. This is the keystone              is dangerous just because it is so immensely appealing
of love. If a child loves his parents, he obeys them.            to man's baser longings and sinful desires. It so easily
Any disobedience must be interpreted as lack of love.            becomes the justification (as it has already) for gross-
If a citizen loves his magistrate (with the love of God          est sin. But let it be sounded from the housetops: this
in his heart) he obeys. If a man loves God, he obeys             is the gospel of hate in every relationship of life.
God. Divorce love from God and obedience is indeed                  And it is the prelude to anarchy and moral chaos.



    EXAMINING  ECUMENICALISM-

                   Vatican Council  - Third Session


                                 "The Constitution on the Church"

                                                   by Rev. G. Van  Baven

   From the current Vatican Council of the Roman                 are first approved, then the entire document is voted
Catholic Church has come forth a series of "decrees"             upon, and finally the pope "promulgates" the decree
and "constitutions".      Though both are binding upon           or constitution with the approval of the entire Council.
that church, the latter is evidently a stronger declara-         In one instance at the third session of the Council, the
tion than the former. Both began with what are called            pope made some nineteen changes which the Council
"schemata", prepared by committees for treatment                 was forced to approve as its own without argument or
at this present Council. After lengthy discussions, the          discussion -- or vote out the entire decree.
"schemata" are revised to harmonize with the ex-                    Through the end of the third session of the Council,
pressed wishes of the majority of the church "fathers."          five decrees or constitutions have been adopted and
The individual parts or chapters of each "schema"                promulgated.     There were two at the end of the second


118                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER


session: the "Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" and                           apostles to extend and direct with authority (cf. Matt.
the "Decree on the Media of Social Communication."                              28:18,  etc.), which He erected for all ages as "the
Three more were issued at the close of the third ses-                           pillar and mainstay of the truth" (I Tim. 3:15).  This
sion: "Constitution on the Church," the "Decree on                              Church constituted and organized in the world as a
                                                                                society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is
Ecumenism," and the            "D e c r e e   o n   t h e   E a s t e r n       governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops
Churches."                                                                      in communion with him, although many elements of
       To these last three I desire to call to your attention                   sanctification and truth are found outside of its visible
in this and following articles. I intend to point to the                        structure.1
various chapters of the different decrees in order that                         Thus the references throughout the chapter to the
you may have a general knowledge of that which they                          Church evidently mean the Roman Catholic Church.
contain.      My hope is that these articles do not become                      There are the old strains of semi-pelagianism, not
overly burdened with minor details, and hence boring                         so dissimilar from arminianism, running through the
--but that your interest may be aroused in what is                           entire chapter  - and the next one too. One finds state-
taking place in the church-world of this day. For all                        ments as:       "God the Father did not leave men, fallen
these things are also signs that the return of our Lord                      in Adam, to themselves, but ceaselessly offered helps
is at hand.                                                                  to salvation, in view of Christ. . .  ."l         The term
THE CONSTiTUTION  ON THE CHURCH                                              "elect" is not at all used in the sense that we know it,
                                                                             but is explained thus: "He planned to assemble in the
       This "constitution" is the most lengthy of the three                  holy Church all those who would believe in Christ."1
which were promulgated at the third session of the                              And, of course, there is the usual denial of the one
Vatican Council. It consists of eight chapters of which                      complete sacrifice of Christ on the cross: "As often
at least two were highly controversial: the chapter                          as the sacrifice of the cross in which Christ our Pass-
concerning the place of the bishop and his relationship                      over was sacrificed (I Cor.  5:7) is celebrated on the
to the pope in the Romish Church; and the chapter                            altar, the  worlc  of our redemption is carried on, and,
treating of Mary. I wish to consider the various chap-                       in the sacrament of the  eucharistic  bread, the unity of
ters of this "constitution", with special emphasis upon                      all believers who form one body in Christ. . .is both
those two chapters which have provoked the most dis-                         expressed and brought about."1
cussion.
       A reading of this "constitution" reveals that there                   Chapter Two: ON THE PEOPLE OF GOD
is, to a very large degree, a rehashing of the old errors                       Using many Scriptural quotations, this chapter
of Romanism which had proved so abhorrent to the old                         describes the members of the Church. It is pointed
reformers.        Probably that was intentional too. There                   out how that God historically gathered the church from
is the "conservative element" in the Romish Church                           the very beginning. This church has as its head Jesus
which resists any change.               At the same time the                 Christ.      That church is the Roman Catholic Church.
changes or "reinterpretations" which are apparent                            "Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it
are enough to make one shudder as we draw nearer                             teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an
to the end.        .The "f r e s h   a i r " now blowing through             exile, is necessary for  salvation."1 And "Whosoever
Romanism seems very similar to that present within                           . . .knowing that the Catholic Church was made neces-
modern apostatizing protestantism of today. Though                           sary by Christ, would refuse to enter it or to remain
seemingly yet very remote, there appears to be ever                          in it, could not be  saved."1         This appears to be a
greater possibility of getting the two together. Rome                        modification of the first statement quoted. It would
has not improved, but has grown worse.                                       appear, according to this teaching, that it is possible
Chapter One: THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH                                       for those not knowing that the Catholic Church was made
                                                                             necessary by Christ to yet be saved - even though they
       The first of the eight chapters is meant to be an                     remain outside of the Romish Church.
explanation of what the church is. There are in the                             This idea is further confirmed in a paragraph
chapter many expressions which are strikingly similar                        describing those outside of Rome:
to those we too use to define the church of God. The                                    The Church recognizes that in many ways she is
chapter points out the various terms used in Scripture                          linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with
to describe the church (the Tillage of God; the Building                         the name of Christian, though they do not profess the
of God; the Temple of God; etc.).                    One statement              faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of com-
(taken out of context, of course) states, "All the elect,                       munion with the successor of Peter. For there are
before time began, the Father `foreknew and predes-                             many who honor Sacred Scripture, taking it as a norm
tined to become conformed to the image of His Son,                               of belief and a pattern of life, and who show a sincere
that he should be the firstborn among many brethren"                             zeal. They lovingly believe in God the Father Almighty
(Rom.  8:29)."1                                                                  and in Christ, the Son of God and Saviour. They are
                                                                                 consecrated by baptism, in which they are united with
       But the old errors remain. The  Churchof  Christ is                       Christ. They also recognjze and accept other sacra-
identified with and identical to the Romish Church:                              ments within their own Churches. or ecclesiastical com-
          This is the one Church of Christ which in the Creed                   munities.       Many of them rejoice in the episcopate,
       is professed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic, which                  celebrate the Holy Eucharist and cultivate devotion
       our Saviour, after  .-His Resurrection, commissioned                      toward the Virgin Mother of God. They also share
       Peter to shepherd (John  21:17),  and him and the other                   with us in prayer and- other spiritual benefits. Like-


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARERS                                                       119


   wise we can say that in some real way they are joined              amongst these there are the Mohammedans, who,
   with us in the Holy Spirit, for to them too He gives His           professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us
   gifts and graces whereby He is operative among them                adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day
   with His sanctifying power.        Some indeed He has              will judge mankind. Nor is God far distant from those
   strengthened to the extent of the shedding of their                who in shadows `and images seek the unknown God, for
   blood. In all of Christ's disciples the Spirit arouses             it is He who gives to all men life and breath and all
   the desire to be peacefully united, in the manner de-              things (cf. Acts 17:25-28),  and as Saviour wills that all
   termined by Christ, as one flock under one shepherd,               inen be saved (cf. I Tim.. 2:4). Those also can attain
   and He prompts them to pursue this end. Mother Church             to salvation who through no fault of their own do not
   never ceases to pray, hope and work that this may come            know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely
   about.     She exhorts her children to purification and            seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds-to
   renewal so that the sign of Christ may shine more                  do His will as it is known to them through the dictates
   brightly over the face of the earth.1                              of conscience. Nor does .Divine  Providence deny the
    So you now know what are Rome's aims for you.                     helps necessary for salvation to those who, without
The following paragraph of this same chapter is also                  blame  on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit
                                                                      knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a
rather interesting. It appears to me to teach the pos-                good  life.1
sibility of salvation among those who have not come in
contact with Christianity: a salvation purely by works.              From the above you can draw your ownconclusions.
                                                                  What significance any more does the cross of Christ
         Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel      have? Rome seeks to make itself pleasing in the eyes
   are related in various ways to the people of God. In the       of all men.         Its aim and desire is "that the entire
   first place we must recall the people to whom the testa-
   ment and the promises were given and from whom Christ          world may become the People of  God,"1  that is, that
   was born according to the flesh. . . . On account of their     all men be members of the Roman Catholic Church,
   fathers this people remains most dear to God, for God
   does not repent of the gifts He makes nor of the calls         1. The above quotations were taken from the Council
   He issues. . . . But the plan of salvation also includes          Daybook,   Session 3, published by the National
   those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place             Catholic Welfare Conference, pages 309-316.





              RESOLUTION OF ,SYMPATHY                                           RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
We, the Protestant Reformed High School Circle, wish              The Men's Society of the Prot. Ref. Church of  Hudson-
to express to one of our members, Mrs. John Lanning,              ville expresses its Christian sympathy to Rev. G.  Vos!
our sincere sympathy in the loss of her husband who               in the loss of his Sister
was taken from her side on November 7. May God
comfort her in the knowledge that He does all things                                    MRS. RENA LUYK
well.    Romans  8:lO "And if Christ be in you, the body          and to Mr. K. Lanning in the loss of his Brother
is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of
righteousness".                                                                        MR. JOHN LANNING
                                    Miss A. Lubbers, Pres.        "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his
                                  Mrs. R.  H. Meyer, Sec'y.       saints".                                        Psalm  116:15.
                                                                                                    H. Kuiper, Vice Pres.
                                                                                                    G. Van Overloop, Sec'y.
                  RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
The Oak Lawn Ladies' Society expresses its sympathy
,with one of its members Mrs. R. Rooda,  whose husband                                    IN MEMORIAM
                                                                  On Oct. 14, 1965 the Lord tookhome after a long illness
                     MR. RENSE ROODA                              to be with Him in Eternal Glory our beloved husband,
was called to his eternal home on November 15, 1965,              father, grandfather, and brother                _
the day of their 53rd wedding anniversary. Our com-                                                                    ..
fort and joy is rooted in the assurance that he now                                       EGBERT KETT
serves the Lord in heavenly perfection, the fulfillment           at the age of 76.
of his oft' expressed desire.                                        We believe and are comforted that pur loss is his
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from                  gain to be with his Lord whom he ioved  and served.
henceforth; Yea,  saith the Spirit, that they may rest                                                         Psalm  27:13,14.
from their  labours;- and their works do  follo.w.them".                                       Mrs. E. Kett
(Rev.  14:.13)                                                                                 Mr. and Mrs.  J. Talsma (Jean)
                             Rev. G.  Vanden  Berg, Pres.                                   = 3 grandchildren
                                -.Miss  H..-Kuiper,  Secretary                                 Mr. Adrian Kett


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     120                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER


                               NEWS FROM OUR CHURCHES-                            ("All the saints salute thee. . T Phil. 4:21)
                                                         Nov. 15, 1965         committee, to adjourn until November 3, when the com-
             Rev. J. Kortering, of  Hull, declined the call to                 mittee would give its advice. The committee appointed
     Randolph, Wis.                                                            was: the Revs. G. Lanting, R.C. Harbach, the Elders
             Hudsonville has made the following trio: Revs. D.                 B. Windemuller and G. Pipe, with the Rev. G. VOS as
     Englesma, J. Kortering and  M. Schipper.                                  advisor.
             Edgerton  has made the following trio: Revs. D.                       Mr. A. Talsma was appointed to thank the ladies
     Englesma, J. Kortering and G. Lanting.                                    of Hope Church for their excellent catering.
             First Church has announced the following trio for                     Elder J.M. Faber thanked the  Classis  for the
     Missionary: Revs. R.C. Harbach, J. Kortering and                          classical supply given First Church during their
                                                                               vacancy.
     M. Schipper.                    *  *  ri:                                     Classis decided to hold its next regular meeting
                            REPORT OF CLASSIS  EAST                            on Wednesday, January 5, 1966 in Southeast Church.
                                 October 6, 1965                                   Questions of Article 41 of the Church Order were
                                 At Hope Church.                               asked and answered satisfactorily.
                Rev. M. Schipper, who presided over the July Clas-                 Classis  then adjourned until Wednesday, November
             sis, led in the opening devotions, and after the creden-          3rd, with Rev. G. Van Baren  offering the closing prayer.
             tials were accepted declared the  Classis  properly                   The continued meeting was opened by the Classis
             constituted. All the churches were represented by two             singing Psalter #126 and the Rev. H. Veldman reading
             delegates each. Rev. G. Van Baren,  who appeared on               Psalm 46 and offering prayer.
             Classis for the first time, was welcomed by the chair.                The only change in constituency was the Rev. G.
             Alphabetically it was his turn to preside over this               Vos taking the place of Elder J.B. Lubbers' of Hudson-
             meeting. However, he asked to be excused, and Classis             ville.
             granted his request, with the understanding that he                   The committee appointed in October to serve
             would take his turn at the January meeting.                       Classis  with advice in the First Church case, gave
                Rev. H. Veldman then took the chair, while the                 its report.       Classis virtually adopted the advice of
             Rev. M. Schipper recorded the minutes.                            the committee which sustained the appeal of the member
                Opportunity was given to those present for the first           of First Church.
             time to sign the Formula of Subscription. Rev. Van                   The Consistory of Hudsonville requested the ap-
                                                                               proval of Classis in their decision to emeritate Rev.
             Baren  signed.
                The minutes of the July Classis were read and the              G. Vos. Classis granted this request, and instructed
                                                                               the Stated Clerk to send the decision to the Stated
             transcription was approved. The Stated Clerk gave
             his report re correspondence, and the Classical Com-              Clerk of Synod for Synod's approval. Rev. G. Vos
             mittee report was approved.                                       was appointed moderator of the church of Hudson-
                                                                               ville .     The chairman spoke to the Rev. Vos in the
                The brethren T. Miedema and J.B. Lubbers were
             appointed to the finance committee for this session of            name of Classis  a word of appreciation for his many
             Classis.                                                          years of service, a word of encouragement, and the
                The committee, appointed on the July  Classis  re              best wishes of the Classis in his remaining days.
             the overture of Holland, gave its report.           Classis           After the adoption of theminutes, Classis  adjourned,
             adopted the advice of the committee, namely, to con-              with the Rev. G. Vos offering the closing prayer.
                                                                                                                   M. Schipper, Stated Clerk.
             tinue our classical meetings without change as to time
             of meeting.                                                                                      *  * *
       -.       Classis  West requested supply of their vacant                 Hull's congregation is planning a celebration to be
             churches. Classis  decided to heed this request, and           held Friday, Dec. 10. The occasion is the Fortieth
             a committee, consisting of the Revs. Lubbers, Har-             Anniversary of their existence as acongregation. "The
             bath, and Elder A. Rau, prepared a schedule which              saints salute thee", congregation of Hull, and join you
             was adopted as follows:
                Lynden: Oct. 10,17,24-H. Veldman.                           in. thanksgiving to our God Who `has blessed you so
                Isabel-Forbes: Oct. 17,24,31- G. Lubbers; Nov.              wonderfully.                     *  * *
             7,14,21- R.C. Harbach; Jan. 9,16,23-M. Schipper;
             Jan. 30, Feb. 6,13 - G. Van Baren.                                Loveland's Oct. 3rd bulletin carried an announce-
                Randolph: Oct. 10 - G. Lubbers; Oct. 24 - G. Lan-           ment of the consistory's recognition of, and gratitude
             ting; Oct. 31 -M. Schipper; Nov. 7 -G. Van  Baren;             for, the privilege of having enjoyed the shepherdizing
             Nov. 14 -G. Lanting; Nov. 21 -G. Vos (or alternate);           of Rev. Englesma for two years. And indeed, what a
             Dec. 5 -G. Lanting; Dec. 12 -G. Vos (or alternate);            privilege for their young minister to have been able
             Dec. 1.9 -H. Veldman; Jan. 9 - R.C. Harbach; Jan.              to preach some 200 sermons, teach some 300 to 400
             16-G. Van  Baren;  Jan. 23-G. Lanting; Feb. 6-
             G. Vos (or alternate); Feb. 13-H. Veldman; Feb. 20             catechism classes and conduct many society meetings  1
             -- G. Lanting; Mar. 6  - G. Vos (or alternate).                Our churches may well join them in singing, "Praise
                A member of First Church presented an appeal to             God from Whom all blessings flow."
             Classis  which was treated inexecutive session. Classis                                         *  * *
             decided to place this material in the hands of a study            . . . see you in church                                     J.M.F.


