                   The
  STANDARD
                   BEARER
                   A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE                                      .





  .     .     .    it ought  .-to be clear that the various
 themes of the sovereignty of God run
  throughout the Psalms like golden threads.
  They are everywhere. If you were to pull out
  these threads by cutting out the doctrine of
. God's sovereignty, you would unravel the
  entire Pscrlfer.





                                                       Vol.  LXII, No. 11, March 1, 1986  -


242                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER




                                CONTENTS                                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                                                                        ISSN 0362-4692
                                                                                            Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
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         Supporting the Weak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .242        Editor-in-Chief:  Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
                                                                                   Department Editors;  Rev. Ronald  Cammenga,  Rev. Arie den Hartog, Prof. Robert
   Editor's Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245    D. Decker, Rev. Barry Gritters, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman C. Hanko,
                                                                                   Rev. Ronald Hanko, Mr. David Harbach, Rev. John A. Heys, Rev. J. Kortering,
   Editorial  -                                                                    Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Thomas C. Miersma, Rev. James Slopsema, Rev.
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MEDITATION
James D. Slopsema




                                           Supporting the Weak
                    I have shown you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to
                 remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
                                                                                                                                          Acts 20:35


  When  the saints suffer there is often no one in                                  in a spirit of concern and love. Often the widows in
the church who will help. Thus, for example, the                                    the church are neglected and excluded socially.
poor in the church must often turn to the world for                                     This ought not be in the church of Jesus Christ.
help because the church does not care for her own                                   For the world to turn its back on those in need is
poor. The brother who has fallen into sin is often                                  one thing. You expect that. The world is evil and
avoided and shunned rather than led to repentance                                   knows not how to love in the true sense. But in the


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                              243


church among the saints it is different. In the            the gospel who had no means of financial support.
church you find those who are redeemed in                  It may also refer to various poor in Ephesus. And so
Christ's blood, who are new creatures in Christ            when Paul here speaks of the weak he no doubt has
Jesus. Certainly in the church you ought not find          in mind first those who are financially without
cold indifference to those who suffer! But the sad         strength, those who financially can do nothing but
fact of the matter is that this is often the case.         receive. How often haven't the saints found them-
  It is to this situation that the words of the apostle    selves in this weakness?
Paul to the elders of Ephesus are addressed. The             Just as often however the saints of God find
Apostle is returning to Jerusalem at the conclusion        themselves weak in other ways. Sometimes they
of his third missionary journey. He knows that             find that they are without strength spiritually, so
bonds await him in Jerusalem. Hence, he stops in           that for a time sin controls their lives and they stray
Miletus and summons the elders of the church of            far from the path of righteousness. At other times
Ephesus to him to bid them farewell. They will see         they may find themselves without physical
his face no more. How sad is this farewell. The            strength. Sickness and disease can take away all our
Apostle reminds the elders of his labors in Ephesus.       strength so that we must rely entirely upon others.
He charges them to be faithful in their labors as          So too can old age do this to us. Then there is the
shepherds of the flock of Christ. And then he              widow who has lost her husband, the orphan who
charges them to support the weak. Even as he had           has lost his parents, the saint upon whom God
shown them by his own example earlier, they must           places crushing burdens that can no more be car-
labor to support the weak. And to encourage them           ried, the saint who suffers chronic depression.
in this difficult task they must remember the words        There is no end of ways in which the saints can
of Jesus, how he said, "It is more blessed to give         become weak, so weak that they cannot give but
than to receive."                                          only receive.
  This admonition is directed to the elders of               Laboring we ought to support the weak.
Ephesus for their work in the church. This admoni-           To support the weak means to help them, to pro-
tion however is not limited simply to the elders or        vide for them in their need.
officebearers in the church. This is a calling for all
in the church. Laboring we ought to support the              As already pointed out, the saints who become
weak, remembering the words of Jesus that it is            weak often find that they are not supported by their
more blessed to give than to receive.                      fellow saints. The widows are often neglected, the
                                                           elderly and chronically ill are seldom visited, the
A SOLEMN CALLING                                           poor must go to the world for help, the erring
  The weak are those who are without strength,             brother is shunned and avoided, the depressed are
whether that be financial strength, physical               not encouraged but rather criticized and avoided.. . .
strength, spiritual strength, or emotional strength.         There are reasons for this. Note carefully, we did
They are further identified by Paul, as he quotes          not say excuses.
the words of Jesus, as those who can not give but
only receive. That is to be weak indeed!                     The first reason why the weak are not supported
                                                           is that it requires work to support the weak. Says
  All of us at one time or another will fall into this     the Apostle, "Laboring ye ought to support the
category of the weak. Some of us may be numbered           weak." To support the weak is a labor. It requires
among the weak for long periods of time; others            hard, difficult work. It requires a great deal of time
may be weak for only a short time. But God in His          and energy. And many in the church are simply not
good providence brings each of us sooner or later to       willing to exert such an effort necessary to help
the position where we desperately need help,               their fellow saints in need.
where we must receive the help of others and can
give nothing in return.                                      In the second place, however, the weak are often
  For some this may be financial weakness  -               neglected because they can give nothing in return.
poverty. This appears to be uppermost in Paul's            The weak are those who can only receive. And
mind when he speaks of the weak. In the preceding          again there are too many in the church who are not
verses Paul reminds the elders of Ephesus how that         willing to give of their time and money and energy
while laboring in Ephesus he labored with his own          if there is not an immediate, tangible return. If they
hands as a tentmaker to provide not only for his           give, they expect something in return.
own needs but also for the needs of those with him.          However, the Word of God is quite clear:
These latter probably refer to his fellow laborers in      "Laboring ye ought to support the weak." The idea
                                                           is that it is necessary to support the weak. It is
James D. Slopsema is pastor of the Protestant Reformed     necessary because God commands it. The support
Church of Randolph, Wisconsin.                             of the weak is implied in the very law of God. The


244                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



great command of the law is that we love God and             But according to the words of Jesus it is still more
love our neighbor as  ourself.  Certainly the love of      blessed to give than to receive.
the neighbor requires that we support him when he            There are many in the church who do not believe
becomes weak.                                              this. They believe it is blessed only to receive. Con-
   This obligation of love is especially on us, the        sequently they give only when they know they will
redeemed of God.                                           get something tangible in return. And so they
   To be sure, this obligation is on all men. Even the     seldom, if ever, help the weak.
world has an obligation before God to help the               However, the words of Jesus are true. It is
neighbor who is weak. However, the world is cor-           blessed to give. It is by far more blessed to give than
rupt and depraved and is not able to accomplish            to receive. For those who give even when there is
this as the law of God requires.                           nothing to receive do in fact receive. They may
  But among the saints it is different. We have            receive nothing from those whom they help. And
                                                           they probably won't receive anything from their
been redeemed in the blood of Christ. In Christ            fellow saints, probably not even the recognition
God has come to us in our great weakness and in
love supported us. In love He has helped us even to        that they have given of themselves. But they will
the point of saving our wretched souls from hell.          receive something from the hand of God. For
And He has given us a new life according to which          nothing goes unnoticed by God. He handsomely re-
we are able to love both God and the neighbor. Cer-        wards those who support the weak in the name of
tainly, therefore, we, the redeemed of God, ought          Christ. And this reward more than compensates for
                                                           all the weary labors extended to help the weak. In
to help those that are weak.                               fact, it is a reward that makes them even more
A WONDERFUL ENCOURAGEMENT                                  blessed than those whom they have helped. What
  We are encouraged to support the weak by the             is this reward? It is approval of God Himself. It is
words of Jesus, our Savior, "It is more blessed to         the sweet bliss of God's fellowship and companion-
give than to receive."                                     ship. To appreciate the blessedness of this reward
                                                           one must be born again in Jesus Christ. The natural
  You will look in vain in the Gospels for these           man hears this and scoffs. But to the born again
words of Jesus. Paul is not quoting the Gospel ac-         heart the fellowship of God is sweet and precious
counts. Evidently this is a saying of Jesus that, al-      indeed. With such a reward God the Father blesses
though never appearing in the Gospel accounts,             all those who labor to support the weak. This
was nevertheless recognized by the early church as         reward they possess now in principle, and one day
a very significant saying and thus repeated often by       in eternity will possess fully.
her members.
  Now the Apostle reminds us of this saying. Help-         A NECESSARY EXAMPLE
ing the weak is often a wearisome labor. Remem-              To assist the saints of Ephesus in carrying out
ber, therefore, that it is more blessed to give than to    this all important calling Paul calls the attention of
receive. Jesus Himself taught us this.                     the elders to his own example. During the three
  The meaning of these words is, first, that it is         years he spent among them he had shown them by
blessed to receive. Yes, if it is more blessed to give     his own example how laboring they ought to sup-
than to receive, it certainly is blessed to receive.       port the weak.
The weak are truly blessed when their fellow saints          This had been necessary, for the saints of
support them and help them in their needs. The             Ephesus were only babes in the faith. They had to
widow is blessed when the saints remember her in           be taught not only by word but also by example to
her need. So too are the sick and infirm, the elderly,     support the weak.
the poor, the erring brother, the depressed and              That same example is also necessary today in the
downtrodden all blessed when their fellow saints           church. Those who are mature in the faith must
take the time to help and support them. They are           teach those who are less mature to support the
blessed first because their immediate needs are            weak. This instruction must be given by both word
met. Within the church there are all the gifts             and example. Certainly this is the calling of the
necessary to meet the needs of those who are weak          elders and officebearers in the church with respect
and without strength. What a blessing for the weak         to the whole congregation. And it is also the calling
when their fellow saints step forward and together         of the parents with respect to their children.
labor to support them. But more blessed still is the         When this is done so that the strong truly support
fact that through the labors of their fellow saints        the weak, then the church is truly blessed. The
the weak experience the mercies of Christ.                 weak are blessed in that they have received from
  Let the weak never in pride shun the help and            their fellow saints. But the strong are also blessed
support of their fellow saints.                            because they have given.


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                245



                                          Editor's Notes


   The Presbyterian Reformer. This is the name of a           our mother church, the Christian Reformed
 new quarterly magazine being published by our                Church. In the various issues which I have read
 sister church in Northern Ireland, the Bible Presby-         (and we subscribe at the seminary), there have
 terian Church of Larne. The magazine is, of course,          been many first-person accounts concerning the
 published primarily for home consumption in North-           early days of the establishment of the CRC both in
 ern Ireland and other parts of the U.K. In an in-            the U.S. and Canada, going way back to colonial
 troductory note it states: "It is a humble contribu-         times. From this point of view, of course, the
 tion to the written ministry of the church with the          magazine is concerned with our early origins, too.
 intent of reviving and sustaining a healthy interest         Mr. Herbert J. Brinks, Curator of Archives at
 in Biblical Presbyterianism. The objective is to             Calvin's Heritage Hall, has informed me that he
 educate, inform, encourage and inspire those of the          will honor requests from  Standard Bearer  sub-
 Lord's people who truly seek to conform in all their         scribers with a complimentary issue of this
 ways to the Word of God," The magazine is                    historical journal. If you are interested in such a
 distributed free. How can you obtain a copy and              sample, write to: Origins, Heritage Hall, Calvin
 subscribe? The Contact Committee, I have been in-            College and Seminary, Grand Rapids, MI 49506.
 formed, is sending a supply to every Protestant Re-          Mention that you are a Standard Bearer subscriber.
 formed congregation and is arranging for an agent                       * * * * * * * * *  *
 in each congregation to be in charge of distribution
 and subscriptions. This is a good means to become              About Anonymous Letters. From time to time one
 better acquainted with our sister church.                    who is an editor or occupies some other public posi-
           * * * * * * * * * *                                tion, receives unsigned mail. Be it known to all and
                                                              sundry that my personal policy with respect to all
   Origins.  This is the name of a very interesting           my mail is that I first look for a signature. If letters
 magazine which is published twice yearly by the              or cards are not signed, they are consigned without
 Archives department of Calvin College Library. As            being read to the wastebasket. Reason? If they are
 the name suggests, it deals with the early history of        not signed, they are not worth reading.

 EDITORIAL
 Herman C. Hanko





           As to "The Mind of Common Grace"



   At the conclusion of my previous editorial on this         higher criticism and common grace and between
 subject, I called attention to the fact that to a certain    the Janssen Case of 1922 and the Common Grace
 extent Dr. Vander Goot's analysis of the Christian           decisions of 1924. Dr. Vander Goot's position
 Reformed position with respect to higher criticism           seems to be that especially the promotion of higher
 is a breath of fresh air. This is true, I said, because      criticism in the Christian Reformed Church is due
 of his reference to the "Mind of Common Grace"               to the dominance of the "Mind of Common
 and because of his making a connection between
L-                                                            Grace."


246                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



  Last time I stated that there are several aspects of    Does he mean by "mind" the same thing as Dr.
Dr. Vander Goot's address which deserve a more            Henry Stob means in his essays on this subject?
detailed analysis. With this analysis I now proceed.      Does he mean that various "minds" can and should
  In the first place, I cannot understand the             co-exist in the church? Does he mean that one or
reference to an immigrant mentality which is re-          another mind  shouZd  eventually dominate, or that
peatedly mentioned in this connection. Vander             none should dominate? These things are not clearly
Goot makes this immigrant mentality a motivation.         defined in his address. Yet, as we shall see present-
"As immigrants, we continue to crave acceptance           ly, he apparently thinks it possible that the "Mind
by and participation in the mainline culture that         of Common Grace" and the "Mind of the An-
surrounds us." And again, "The Mind of Common             tithesis" can somehow co-exist.
Grace . . . out of the desperate immigrant desire to        In the fourth place, while there was indeed a
be accepted. . .  ." Now, for one thing, it seems to      clear connection between the Janssen Case and the
me that in the course of several generations since        Common Grace Case, between 1922 and 1924, both
1847, or even since 1900, it is time to stop this con-    historically and as to principle, it is hardly correct
tinued reference to our being immigrants. Or, put         to say that the "Mind of the Antithesis" won a bat-
in different words, all Americans (except, perhaps,       tle over higher criticism in the CRC in 1922. It is in-
the American Indians) are immigrants; and we              deed true that the "Mind of Common Grace" - if
Dutchmen are only a part of the stew in the melt-         such you would call it - gained the victory over the
ing-pot called America. Besides, it seems to me           "Mind of the Antithesis" (better stated: over the
rather difficult to ascribe the dominance of the          two outstanding champions of the antithesis,
Mind of Common Grace to being immigrants. If              Danhof and Hoeksema) in 1924. But it is hardly
this is true, then how do you explain developments        correct to say that the "Mind of the Antithesis"
in the Netherlands, where the so-called Mind of           triumphed in the Janssen Case in 1922. Why not?
Common Grace has dominated the churches to an             For the simple reason that the issue of common
ever greater extent than in our country? Surely,          grace versus the antithesis was not allowed to
there was no immigrant mentality in the Nether-           become an issue in 1922. Dr. Janssen tried to make
lands! And yet it was there that the theory of com-       common grace an issue in his articles in The Banner
mon grace had its father and its greatest champion,       in answer to the Rev. Herman Hoeksema after the
Abraham Kuyper.                                           Synod of 1920, when the four professors failed in
  In the second place, it is a mistake to confine the     their attempt to have Janssen condemned. And it is
so-called Mind of Common Grace to "the top," to           certainly correct to say that the underlying princi-
"the CRC leadership," to "the establishment." For         ple of Dr. Janssen's position was that of common
one thing, it seems to me that even at "the top"          grace. But the fact remains that in the Janssen Case
there is very little conscious and explicit reasoning     the issue of higher criticism was decided without
from "common grace," though the influence of the          the underlying issue of common grace so much as
theory is admittedly present. But more than this,         entering in. In other words, the case was decided
the influence of the theory of common grace has           without deciding the issue. The late Herman
permeated the entire denomination and virtually           Hoeksema wrote rather extensively on this subject
every aspect of its life, while there is little or        in his History of the Protestant Reformed Churches in
nothing left of a "Mind of the Antithesis" any            America some fifty years ago. Permit me to quote a
longer. It would not be difficult to demonstrate          few enlightening paragraphs:
this. Nor is this difficult to understand. For if the           In the light of subsequent history  it is a patent fact
students for the ministry and also those students,           that the alignment  of the pro- and con-  factions in the
for example, who are trained to be teachers in the           Janssen case  was  not purely determined  by its deepest
schools throughout the denomination come under               underlying   principle,   but  rather   by  secondary   and
the influence of this "Mind of Common Grace" at              superficial  considerations  of agreement   and disagree-
"the top," what else can be expected but that the            ment.
whole denomination must come under the                         The fact that  the four professors  (Berkhof,  Volbeda,
dominance of that mind?                                      Heyns,  and Ten Hoor,  HCH) could  unite with the pro-
                                                             Janssen  faction  in  their  action  against   the  three
  In the third place, I could wish that Dr. Vander           ministers   that  were  deposed   in  1924-25,   plainly
Goot had explained what he understands by the                reveals   that,   apart   from  superficial  differences,  there
term "mind" and by his references to the "mind of            was  a fundamental  agreement  in principle.  There was
common grace" and the "mind of the antithesis."              in  the  Janssen  controversy  an  underlying   principle
                                                             which,  had  it  not  been  violently  and  intentionally
Herman C. Hanho is professor in the Church History and       forced  to  the  background,   would   have   paralyzed
New Testament departments at the Protestant Reformed         every   effort  of  the  four  professors   to  combat  Doctor
Seminary.                                                    Janssen's  views   and  would   have   aligned   them  from


                                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                             247



     the beginning  with  the pro-Janssen  faction against  the                        and positive cooperation. While all the supporters
     Reverends   H.  Danhof  and  H.  Hoeksema.                                        of the deposed Dr. Janssen remained within the
        This   underlying  principle is the theory  of common                          fold of the CRC and some were even appointed to
     grace!                                                                            professorships in the Seminary, there was no more
        On this  fundamental  principle all agreed,  except the                         controversy.
     Reverends   H.  Danhof  and  H.  Hoeksema!                                            Finally, I must call attention to the fact that Dr.
        It  is  deplorable   that   Doctor  Janssen   in  his  defense                  Vander Goot appears to me to revert to the impossi-
     tried  to prove  that also the four professors  and others                         ble position which the Synod of 1924 attempted,
     of his leading  opponents  denied  the theory of common                            namely, to maintain both common grace and the
     grace.   For,   in  the  first  place,   this   was   untrue  [except,             antithesis. After adopting the Three Points, the
     perhaps,  in the case  of Doctor Volbeda).  But in the sec-                        Synod of 1924 adopted a "Testimony," in which it
     ond place,  it would  have  been more fruitful for a prop-                         attempted to maintain the spiritual, ethical an-
     er  discussion   had  he  proceeded   from  the  c o r r e c t                     tithesis  - a testimony which, by the way, was
     assumption that his opponents, except the Reverends H.
     Danhof and H. Hoeksema, do accept the theory of com-                               never sent to the churches, but only published in
     mon grace, (emphasis  added)  and that,  therefore, they                           the Acts. Dr. Vander Goot seems to take the same
     must   also  in  deepest   principle  agree   with  him  in                        inconsistent position. For he does not advise
     regard   to  his  views   on  revelation,   inspiration,                           separation; nor does he advise trying to reverse the
     canonicity,  the  miracles  and  related   subjects,  even                         Three Points or to obliterate the "Mind of Common
     though,  due  to a lack of consistency on their part,  they                        Grace" in the CRC. His proposed solution to the
     differed   with him  in  ultimate  conclusions.                                    dominance of the "Mind of Common Grace" is "to
        In the light of subsequent history  it was evidently  a                         think in terms of alternative institutions." And he
     mistake   on  the  part   of  the  Reverends   H.  Danhof  and                     believes that this will be the trend of the future in
     H. Hoeksema,  that  they cooperated  with the four pro-                            the CRC. But his great failure  - and the failure of
     fessors   in the Janssen  controversy,  rather  than  to op-                       the Reformed Fellowship to this date  - is that he
     pose   his  views   separately   and  from  their  own   stand-                    fails to see that the inevitable result of the doctrine
     point;   that,   for  practical  reasons,   they  allowed   the                    of common grace is the obliteration of the distinc-
     deepest   principles  involved   to  be  pushed   into   the                       tion between the church and the world, between
     background  and the controversy to be confined to sur-                             light and darkness, between Christ and Belial, be-
     face  questions   and  differences.                                                tween righteousness and unrighteousness. The
   Elsewhere in the same discussion, the Rev.                                           "Mind of Common Grace" and the "Mind of the
Hoeksema calls attention to two significant facts                                       Antithesis" are diametrical opposites. They cannot
which are related to the above: 1) Prof. Louis                                          co-exist! And the attempt to have them co-exist will
Berkhof was the chief author of the Three Points in                                     inevitably result in the dominance of the "Mind of
1924. 2) After 1922 the pro- and con- Janssen fac-                                      Common Grace" and in synthesis, rather than anti-
tions united not only in opposition to the Revs.                                        thesis.
Danhof and Hoeksema, but in permanent peace

TRANSLATED TREASURES



                               A Pamphlet Concerning the
                         ' Reformation of the Church
                                                                               Dr. A. Kuyper




(In  the  last   paragraph   Kuyper   has  argued   against   all  wrong                reformation  although  in complete dependence   upon  the work
passivity   by explaining  in  some  detail  the  words  of Zechariah                   of God.)
4:6:  "Not   by  might,   nor  by  power,   but  by  my  Spirit,   saith   the
Lord  of  hosts."   In  discussing   this   passage   he  has  underscored              61. Concerning Reformation In Distinction From
the  importance  of  active  participation  in  the  work  of  church                           Revolution.


248                                               THE STANDARD BEARER



       Even when one introduces the work of reforma-            reason nor cause why the members of the church
tion in a cautious though energetic way, objections             should grant authority and honor to him.
     are raised against what he does. One who is con-             If I look on man as only man, considered apart
     cerned for church reformation does not shrink back         from God, then the child is exactly like his father
     either from a break with the existing organization,        and there is no trace of sin in it if an unloving son
     or from a break with the existing federation of            refuses obedience to his father.
     churches, or finally even from a break with the ex-
isting congregation. But the charge is often made by              In the same way a king is by nature no more wor-
his opponents that such work must not be done                   thy than a beggar and there is no evil or sin present
because every break of that kind is a violation of              if that beggar refuses obedience to his king.
the legal order and of the lawful progress of mat-                In the same way a member of the consistory or
ters, and on that ground must be condemned as                   Synod is not a hair better than a common member
revolution.                                                     of the congregation, and there is no trace of sin to
       This same reproach is thrown time and again at           be found if a common member of the congregation
those who engage in church reformation in differ-               lets the members of the consistory jabber and pays
ent kinds of ways.                                              no attention to them.
       Because it is our calling to enlighten with fear           This point of departure is worth considering.
     and trembling the children of God in this land con-          He who will not concede this is either a Pelagian,
     cerning the work of reformation, we consider               or he does not know the deep corruption of sin.
     ourselves bound to investigate this objection. We            What then is the root of the obligation to obe-
     pray that God the Lord will holily keep His people         dience?
     from revolution in the evil sense, and our guilt will
be heavy if we through recklessness and influence                 Answer: finally and only the fact that God the
     entice the Lord's people down such sinful paths.           Lord entrusts something of His majesty to these
We wish therefore, through a calm distinction, to               persons.
     make clear to our opponents why they are wrong               The precept is always true: absolute obedience to
when they lay before us so serious a charge and                 God as an obligation because He is your Creator,
why they, if they do not wish to sully their own                your Upholder, your Owner, your Redeemer.
souls in their relationship to their brethren, ought            Never obedience to man.
to be done once for all with its charge.                          Obedience to man is thus only possible in so long
       To this end it ought first of all to be observed that    as and in so far as it is ordered and commanded me
there can be mention made of revolution both in                 in the truth of God the Lord that I shall owe to a
the good sense and in the bad sense, and that by no             man rightful obedience in the name of God.
means may all revolution be lumped together.                      In what lies the essence of revolution? Its sin and
       In order to see this distinction clearly, it ought to    horror?
     stand on the foreground that a man is never so               In this that it resists man and refuses to obey
honorable that he has a right in himself to lay upon            man and considers king and beggar alike as man?
a fellow man the obligation to obedience.                         By all means, No.
       Every man is sinful and because of this has
forfeited all claim to personal respect.                          No, the sin, the transgression, the horror of
       The father is of as little worth as the child and        revolution is completely to be found in these two
there is in the father as a person no simple reason or          entirely different things: 1) that one refuses to pay
cause why the child should obey him.                            the duty of obedience, which he owes to God, to
                                                                the person of a man who occupies an office; and, 2)
       Every king is equally as sinful as the least of his      that he dares to state the proposition: authority is
subjects and also in his person there is no single              given to an office bearer not by God but by me and
reason or cause why his subjects should be subject              my fellow citizens.
to him.                                                           The horrible sin is embedded in this that it is an
       And so also in the church of Christ each person,         insult to God's majesty and a feeling of that majesty
who serves as bishop, member of synod, member                   for one's self.
of classical administration, or whatever, is equally
as sinful and worthless as every other member of                  Two sins at the same time: denying the divinity
the church, and there is in his person neither                  of the living God and deifying one's self.
I                                                                           * * * * * * * * * *
         Give The Standard Bearer!                                If our accusers mean now that they can point out
                                                                this kind of revolution in our proposal for reforma-


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                     249



tion which is carried out to the point of a break        themselves of their duty of obedience to God, then
with the church, we give beforehand our thanks to        it  is clear that a break with the existing conditions
them for their brotherly faithfulness.                   in itself and without saying anything more cannot
  On the other hand, if they cannot do this and if       be sin but can be rather a discharge of duty.'
they cannot prove further their charge of  "revolu-          What now is the basis of this?
tion," then, even though our advice includes break-          Undoubtedly this, whether such a break with the
ing if need be with the existing legal conditions, we    existing conditions takes place exclusively out of
ought to be allowed to throw this accusation far         obedience to God.
from us. After all, David also broke with the  ex-
isting legal conditions when he gathered bands and           If David had not had Samuel's revelation, he
set himself up against King Saul. Christ also broke      ought not to have risen against Saul. If Jesus had
with the existing legal conditions when He took          not acted by virtue of fellowship with the Father,
small ropes and made a scourge and drove the             He would have possessed no authority in the tem-
money changers from the temple. Also the apostles        ple. If the apostles had not known that they acted
broke with the existing legal conditions when they       out of obedience to God's Word, they might not
did away with the ceremonial service and placed          have withstood the Sanhedrin. And so also if our
the Church of Christ alongside of the synagogue.         Reformers and free Beggars had not known that
Also the Waldensians broke with the existing legal       their infractions of Rome's and Spain's lawfully
conditions when they established their free  chur-       ordered authority grew out of the urgency to obey
ches alongside and over against the Romish  hier-        God rather than men, their break would have been
archy. Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin also broke with       a horrible guilt for them.
the existing legal conditions when they sent their           Even the Legalist says this, and in England as
letter of separation to their ecclesiastical rulers.     well as in Germany there are always voices raised
Our fathers also broke with the existing legal condi-    to condemn the Reformation as rebellion.
tions when they sent the Beggars to Brie1 and                And, mark you well, our Legalists also must
fought for the freedom of this land from Spain. Also     finally come to this point.
our churches broke with the existing legal condi-
tions when they, in the sixteenth century, broke the        Judging us by what they call revolutionary  ac-
church connection with Rome in Amsterdam and             tion, they pass a similar judgment on our  Re-
elsewhere. Also William III broke with the existing      formers and fathers.
legal conditions when he ascended the throne of             But, if they shrink back from this as something
the Stuarts in England and when William the Silent       which God gave, then they must also reconsider
rose up as governor against Philip his king. Also our    their thoughtless and premature judgment of us
heroes, who freed us in 1813 and presently fought        and must say: Revolution is not the fact itself that
at Waterloo, broke with the existing legal condi-        one breaks with the existing conditions, but he is a
tions because in a legal sense Napoleon was their        revolutionary who risks that break out of motives
lawful sovereign.                                        other than to obey God rather than man.
  If each child of God judges with us that David,        `It seems  as if Kuyper  is stretching the point here a bit when he
Christ, the apostles, the Waldensians, our  Re-          compares   Christ's  cleansing   of  the  temple  with  the  work  of
formers, our fathers, our princes of Orange, did not     William  the Silent  and the  armies at Waterloo. His  discussion
sin in this but that much rather they brought about      at  this   point  brings   up  the  important  question   of  a  right   of  a
a break with the existing conditions and acquitted       Christian   to rebel against   constituted authority.




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250                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



THE DAY OF SHADOWS
John A. Heys





                            A God of Great Kindness



  When God called Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn          the sinner who deserved the billows and waves of
the inhabitants that in forty days Nineveh would be        His holy wrath. He then moved Jonah to tell the
destroyed because of its sin, Jonah's problem was          mariners that God was visiting his iniquity, and
that he could not see how this would fit in with           that they would have to throw him overboard to ob-
God's covenant promise to His church as given to           tain a calm sea. He told them that he must die, if
Abraham, and with the coming kingdom of the                they are to live.
promised Messiah. His sin was that he exalted him-
self above God, and tried to flee from His presence,         Now we ought to see that here Jonah is a type of
so that Nineveh would be destroyed, because he             Christ, and to what degree he is such a type of
was not there to give them the warning, and so call        Christ. Throwing Jonah overboard to save the life
them to repentance. Jonah was not an unbeliever            of the Gentile mariners was a type of Christ being
who was brought to conversion by a storm at sea            thrown into the billows of God's wrath  - which
wherein his life was in danger. Had he not told the        caused Him to cry out, "My God, My God, why
sailors on that ship that he feared God "which             hast Thou forsaken Me?" - of hellish agony for our
made the sea and the dry land"? And that word fear         sins. Jonah being thrown overboard for the lives of
in the Old Testament Scriptures is used to express         many sailors is also a picture of the one Christ dy-
the activity of believing. It means to stand in awe of     ing for the sins of many. However, there are some
someone or something, to have reverence for, or            striking and important differences to be noted. It is
profound respect for a person. Indeed, Jonah was a         true that Jesus Himself tells the faultfinding Jews
believer at the time when God called him to go to          that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the
Nineveh.                                                   fish's belly, so He would be three days and three
                                                           nights in His grave. (See Matthew 12:20.)  It is also
  This believer  sirmed  - as all believers do             true that because of the sin of one man, Adam, the
throughout their earthly pilgrimage, because they          waves and billows of God's wrath fell upon the
still have the old man of sin with them until they         whole human race and upon our present earth,
die - but he was also taught a very important and          even as all on board this ship were in a desperate
necessary lesson. As we saw last time, he learned in       strait because of one man's, namely, Jonah's, sin.
a frightful, terrifying way that he could not flee         But a striking difference here is that Jesus had no
from Gods presence, and that it was such a great           sin of His own; and it was not because of anything
sin to try to frustrate Him in His intent to give          that He did that God's wrath fell upon the whole
Nineveh a warning. Huge waves and billows of               human race. Nor did Christ ever fall into deep sleep
storm beat upon the ship in which he had been              while He tabernacled amongst us and worked for
soundly asleep. And God made it even more                  our salvation. He slept very little; and at times
pointed to Jonah, when He guided the lots that             spent the whole night in prayer for us. Jonah fled
were cast, so that Jonah was singled out from              because he wanted to see Nineveh destroyed. Jesus
among all these sinners on board the ship. God             came to deliver us from destruction; and our salva-
pointed His finger, as it were, directly at Jonah as       tion was on His mind every conscious moment. He
                                                           did not try to flee from that work, but steadily
John A. Heys is a minister emeritus in the Protestant      walked forward to finish it. Yea, instead of being
Refdrmed Churches.                                         the one Who brought those billows and waves of


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                            251



God's holy wrath against us, of Him it was stated         He sees clearly that he must be separated  .from
by God Himself more than once that He is the one          them, so that God's punishment for his sin does not
in Whom He was well pleased. Another difference,          fall on them.
as pointed out last time, is that He offered up              Here, indeed, is that mercy and grace and great
Himself for us, in fact allowed those who came to         kindness of God of which Jonah spoke later on in
capture Him to do so, after showing them that He          Jonah  42, and to which we referred in a previous
could walk away from them, if that were God's             article in the treatment of this book of Jonah. He
will. Jonah, on the other hand, only suggested that       said, ". . . I knew that Thou art a gracious God and
they cast him overboard to save their own lives.          merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness, and
And this he did only after they asked him what they       repentest Thee of the evil." It takes grace for the
should do, and after God had pointed His finger           sinner to confess his sins. And how slow to anger
directly at Jonah in those lots that were cast.           God was in all His dealings with this rebellious
   One thing must be said about Jonah, namely,            prophet! That terrible storm expressed the terrible
that he was willing to die for the safety of these        wrath of God against sin. What kindness, and what
sailors  - and perhaps for other passengers on the        slowness to anger then for God to hold that ship
ship. He not only suggested that they throw him           together in such a storm! The high waves pounded
overboard, but he put up absolutely no resistance         against its sides. The waves lifted it up, and then
when a bit later they did do so. And God gave him         caused it to come crashing down with an awful jar-
the grace to be willing to die so that these men          ring effect! But it did not break the ship to pieces
might continue to live. He did not yet see that even      while Jonah slept in his sinful stupor. Instead Gods
as he had pity on these Gentiles, he must have pity       mercy and grace brought him to confession of his
on the Ninevites, and help them if he can. This he        sin, and that willingness to be cast overboard for
must yet learn; and step by step he will learn            the lives of the rest on board that ship.
because  our, God is a God of great kindness to all         What grace and mercy, what slowness to anger
His elect children, among whom Jonah, in spite of         and great kindness also that this prophet who re-
all his sins, and because of sovereign grace, was         fused to preach to Gentiles in Nineveh is given an
numbered. But note that he told them to throw him         unsought, unexpected audience and opportunity to
overboard only after they asked him what to do.           preach to other Gentiles, and present to them the
  With Jonah we too are ready to confess that we          one true God. He who fled from a preaching en-
sinned against God, when all the evidence points so       gagement has a preaching engagement created for
clearly at us, even while we tenaciously hold on to       him among men, who, because of the situation,
other sins. Adam confessed that he ate of the for-        were eager to listen to him. The storm must have
bidden fruit, even while he is accusing God of giv-       been the most violent that these mariners had ever
ing him a bad wife who led him into this sin. Eve         experienced. So fearful were they that they were
admits that she sinned, even while accusing God of        ready to question this sleeper and listen to what he
creating a serpent that tempted her. And a God of         had to say. And we can only wonder whether it
great kindness still continued to bring to them the       dawned on Jonah that now he was preaching to
first gospel promise of salvation. Were it not for the    Gentiles who were outside the promised land.
fact that we have a God of mercy and grace and of         What did he think when these Gentiles began to
great kindness, there would be no salvation for us.       pray to the God Whom he had presented, and told
  We know so much more than Jonah did at that             them he feared?
moment when the ship was ready to break in                  As far as the mariners were concerned they were
pieces. And our judgment of him is often harsher          afraid of committing murder by casting Jonah over-
than it should be. We may not minimize and defend         board. However, failing to bring the ship to land -
or excuse his sin. But consider once that he did not      which could possibly have been in sight on the
know what we now know, namely, that God was               horizon  - they pray that they might not perish in
going to prepare a fish to save his life. Jonah could     that storm, after Jonah was thrown overboard,
look forward only to certain death at God's hands,        because they were shedding innocent blood. They
with His billows and waves exacting his life! Jonah       were afraid that they might be wrong in commit-
could not entertain in his thoughts any idea about        ting a prophet of Jehovah to the waves and billows,
now going back to Nineveh and doing what he had           and that they were believing his words only
been ordered to do. He could not even think of the        because they were concerned about their own
Ninevites. He could only think of facing Jehovah,         lives, and not his.
the God against Whom he had rebelled. He has                Their prayer was heard. And no sooner had they
more to learn, but he is in no position to be taught      cast Jonah into the sea, than an amazing calm
all this yet. He has learned to see his sin, and that     descended upon the waters. Thereby God assured
he should die, and so save these Gentile mariners.        them that they had not cast an innocent man into


252                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



the sea. And now they "feared the Lord greatly,"                            salvation through the "death" of Jonah. Their vow
that is, their respect for Him, their awe before Him                        could have been to go as soon as they could to
as the God of heaven, grew tremendously. This                               Jerusalem to learn more about Him.
resulted in offering a sacrifice to Him right there on                        At any rate, God, Who moves in a mysterious
board the ship, and in making a vow to trust in Him                         way His wonders to perform, got glory for Himself
as their God.                                                               and praise from the lips of those who only hours
  Were they sincere? Had the great kindness of our                          before had worshiped their idol with prayers. And
God converted them from heathendom to faith in                              here we have a picture of what the God of great
the only true God? We are not told anything along                           kindness realizes in us, and will perfect in the new
this line. With the little knowledge that they  re-                         Jerusalem, when our voyage on the sea of life with
ceived from Jonahs brief sermon to them, they did                           all its waves and billows is ended, and we are on
not have enough knowledge to believe in God as                              the calm sea of the new creation. Then we shall,
the one Who saves them from their sins. After all                           because of that great kindness which sent His Son
even Judas Iscariot, after betraying Christ, and                            into the billows and waves of hellish torment,
before he hanged himself and added to his sins,                             which our sins called for, render sacrifices of
confessed that he had betrayed innocent blood. Yet                          praise, and confess Him not only to be our God, but
these men feared God greatly, sacrificed to Him                             our Saviour in His only begotten Son.
and made a vow unto Him after they learned of
ALL AROUND US
Robert D. Decker





                     Seminaries and Your Graindchildren's Pastor
                                         Toward a Redeemed Language




Seminaries  and Your                                                        terianism as a direct result of the apostasy rampant
Grandchildren's  Pastor                                                     at Princeton Theological Seminary in the 1920's
                                                                            and 30's. The same phenomenon occurred in the
  This is the title of William S. Barker's editorial in                     Netherlands in the 19th century and, again, after
the January  22,  1986 issue of  The Presbyterian Jour-                     the Second World War. Let us never say it cannot
nal. In this editorial Barker makes some points well                        happen in our Protestant Reformed Seminary and
worth pondering. Writes Mr. Barker:                                         Churches. That danger is real and ever present.
       But  the  challenge   for  the  church  is  how   to  keep   our       What is the answer to this problem? Barker has
       seminaries   sound   -  not  only   doctrinally,   but               some worthwhile suggestions:
       spiritually  and practically. For the historical trend  has             I  would   suggest   that   the  answer   to  this   problem  lies
       generally   been  for  the  educational   institutions   to  fall       not  so  much  in  charters,   doctrinal   statements,
       away  from  fidelity  to the Lord.  And  then  as the prod-             pledges,   and  organizational   structures.  Valuable  as
       ucts  of  the  seminaries   fill  the  pulpits,   the  seminaries       these   may   be,  they  cannot  guarantee   the  ongoing
       become  the usual  source of  apostasy  in the church.                  soundness  of an institution.  The main  safeguard  lies  in
  Barker is 0 so right! This has happened repeated-                            keeping   the seminary  in close contact with  the  life of
ly also in the history of Presbyterian and Reformed                            the  church.  It  is  his  church  which,  Jesus  said,   he
churches. Witness the decline of mainline  Presby-                             would   build,   and  the  gates   of  hell   would   not  prevail
                                                                               against   it.
Robert D. Decker is professor of Practical Theology and                           This   means   that   the  seminary   professors   must   be
New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary.                             churchmen and  the students  must  be active in the life


                                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                   253



   of  the  church  while   studying.   It  is  most   encouraging         become a tired old cliche, but it remains true: "as
   to see that  the sound  seminaries  are orienting  their in-            the seminary goes, so go the churches." If false doc-
   struction  increasingly   to  the  practical  demands   of              trine is taught in the seminary it will inevitably
   preaching  the gospel  and ministering  pastorally  to the              filter down into the pulpits and classrooms of the
   needs   of  people   in  contemporary society.                          churches. The seminary, therefore, needs the fer-
      But  close   contact  between  seminary   and  church                vent prayers and support of the people in the pew.
   means  also that  the church must  be involved  with  the               Professors must indeed be churchmen. Professors
   seminaries   in  the  preparation   of  future  ministers.              must not live in isolation from the life of the
   How  long has it been since you have  heard  a sermon
   on  Jesus' words   of  Matthew  9:37-38.  `The   harvest   is           churches. "Seminary hill" on  Ivanrest Avenue
   plentiful but the workers  are few.  Ask the Lord  of the               must never become an ivory tower. Professors who
   harvest,   therefore,  to  send   out  workers  into  his               do not preach or have no opportunity or little op-
   harvest  field'?                                                        portunity to preach and teach in the congregations
                                                                           must not be expected to teach others how to
      Have  you  been praying  that  prayer?  Churches that
   make   such   prayer   a  priority   see   more   of  their  young      preach. Professors who do not have some part in
   people  called  into Christian  service. Does  your church              "shepherding the flock of God" must not be ex-
   have  a seminarian  as a pastoral  assistant,  at least  dur-           pected to teach others how to shepherd God's
   ing  the  summer?   Not  only   will   such  an  arrangement            flock. Some of the greatest teachers in the
   provide   the  practical  experience  that   a  candidate   for         seminaries of the church were preachers. Our own
   the  ministry   needs,   but  it  can  also   bring   a  fresh          Herman Hoeksema never gave up his pulpit.
    perspective  to  the  church,  stimulus   to  your   young             George M. Ophoff pastored  a church until the mid-
    people,   and  genuine   assistance   to  your   pastor.               forties and most Sundays found him in the pulpit of
  As one who has  pastored  two of our Protestant                          one of the area churches. J. Gresham  Machan,
Reformed churches and who has completed twelve                             though gravely ill, kept a preaching and lecture
years of teaching in our seminary I can attest to the                      assignment during a Christmas break and died in
truth of what Mr. Barker writes. Recognizing the                           Bismarck, North Dakota. These men and others
need for students to gain practical experience, the                        like them were churchmen. They were excellent
Theological School Committee and faculty added,                            teachers in large part because they were involved
with Synod's approval, a fourth year to the                                in the life of the church.
seminary curriculum. This gives the students more
opportunity to explore under faculty guidance
some of the more practical aspects of the calling                          Toward a Redeemed  Language
and duties of the minister of the gospel. It also af-
fords the student more time to be engaged in some                            Charles Turner, also writing in the Presbyterian
of the `actual work of the ministry. All of our                            Journal  (January 29,  19&6), makes a point we need
students preach rather frequently in the pulpits of                        to take to heart:
the churches of the Grand Rapids area. All too are                            If  we  desire   to  communicate   that  which  is  true,  we
engaged in teaching catechism classes. Some are                               should  watch our words  and phrases.  We can't afford
leaders of Bible study societies in local churches.                           diction   that  is  weak,   disabled,   ineffective.  We  don't
Many of our students spend their summers and, in                              want   the  message   we  send   to  go  limp   in  the  mind   of
some instances, Christmas and Spring breaks, in                               the  hearer.   If  our   words   and  phrases   are  to  prosper,
preaching and teaching and caring for congrega-                               we must  prune  from our  terminology  the slack expres-
tions without pastors. In the recent past one of the                          sions   that   dull  and obscure.
classes in Missions worked on one of the home mis-                               This   is  especially   important   for  those   of  us  who
sion fields of our churches. This is all to the good of                       desire  to communicate the good  news  of Jesus Christ.
both students and churches. These opportunities                               Our   every   utterance  reflects  our  Lord  in  one  way   or
and perhaps more ought to be made available to the                            another   -  or  is  a  reflection  upon   him   .  .  .  our   most
                                                                              serious   and  most   common  pitfall  in  this   area   is  our
students in future years as well.                                             tendency  to be  nonchalant about  meanings.
  We must remember too that Jesus' word, "the                                    Carelessness   with  our   language   can  result   in  care-
fields are white with harvest, but the laborers are                           lessness   with  the  faith.  If  we  deal  loosely   in  the
few," is as true today as when our Lord spoke                                 periphery,   we'll  hardly   notice  when  we  stumble   and
them. Always God's people must be praying that                                deal  loosely  at the center . . . . While  it's saddening  to
the Lord will send out laborers. Might it not also be                         realize   that  fuzzy   thinking   engenders   fuzzy   language,
the case that the reason why we have so few                                   it's  downright   scary   to  realize   that  fuzzy  language
students in the seminary at present is precisely                              perpetuates   its  fuzziness   in  the  mind   of  the  speaker
because we are not fervently praying this prayer?                             and  guarantees   it  in  the  mind   of  the  hearer.   At  what
We ought at least consider this possibility.                                  point  does  fuzziness  become  distortion?  At what  point
                                                                              does  blur  become  error?   Distortion  can  mislead,   and
  It has been said so often that it has almost                                error   can  do  worse   than   that.   So,  for  the  Christian


 254                                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER



        who   wishes   to  be  both  evangelical   and  orthodox,   the                            pared   to  heresy,   indeed   they  are.   But  they  are
        matter  is  not  merely  academic.                                                         harmless   in  the  way   that  bows   without  arrows   are
          A  couple   of  examples   serve   to  bring   it  down   to                             harmless.   They  do  not  accomplish  their  missions.
        where  we  live  and  converse.   The  use   of  the  term                                 They - and all the lame  phrases  they represent  - are
        `sharing'  as  a  substitute  for  `witnessing'  is  so  wide-                             excess  baggage   .  .  .  . My remarks  are not meant  to beg
        spread  that  both words  have  lost  vitality.  According  to                             for  a  campaign   opposing   such  terms  already   in  use.
        its  root   connections,  `to  share'  means   `to  cut  and                               They  are too deeply  ingrained,  the  project would  call
        divide.' If even  a hint of that  connotation lingers  in the                              for an effort beyond  human  ability.  The tongue,  as we
        current evangelical  usage,  wrong  is done to the idea of                                 all know,  is balky,  as difficult to purify  as it is to tame.
        bearing  witness  to the reality  of the Risen  Christ.  The                               The  less-than-excellent  phrases   will   go  in  God's   own
        danger,  however,  appears  to be in the other direction,                                  time.   They  will  go  when  the  chaff  goes.  My  point  is
        toward   an  innocuous  concept  of  personal   ministry.                                  that   we should  begin  to  require of ourselves  a  clarity
        Also  regrettable  is the prevalent  use  of `quiet  time' as                              of  expression   in  all  things,   and  especially   in  matters
        the  equation  for `private  worship' or  any form  of one                                 pertaining   to the faith.   We would  do  well to think  of
        person  devotional  practice. Any mystic of any Eastern                                    the  mission   of  our  words,   and  to  avoid   in  the  future,
        religion   has  a  `quiet   time'  and  knows   the  general                               as much as possible,  the clutter of the merely catchy.
        benefits therein, and advocates  a like  discipline  . . . . If                            We can't clean up our  language  behind  us, but we can
        we  Christians   must   have   jargon,  it  should   at  least                             make   an  attempt   to  do  better  on  the  road  ahead.   I
        have  enough
                    "
                           edge
                             "   to  it   to   sevarate   that   which   is   Chris-               hereby  remind   myself,   and  ask  all  Christians,   to  be
                                              ,.                                                   selective  from  now   on  and  cull  out  weak  language
        tian   from that which is not.                                                             before  it  becomes  habit  .  .  .  .
          These  examples   seem   quite   harmless,   and,   com-                               To this we simply say, AMEN!
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE
Jason L. Kortering





         Exodus - God's Dealing with His Nation
                                                                                        (2)


   We continue with our outline of the book of Ex-                                             them. Israel had difficulty in believing this. Moses
odus.                                                                                          questions whether it can ever happen, but God
   5. Preparation for and the deliverance from                                                 assures him it will (6:1-13).  A listing of the heads of
Egypt  (4:29-13:16). Moses and Aaron inform the                                                the families of Reuben, Levi (including Amram  and
congregation the deliverance is near (4:29-31).  They                                          Jocabed, Moses' parents, and Aaron's wife and
also go to Pharaoh and demand, in the name of the                                              children), and Simeon is given (6: 14-30).  Moses and
Lord, that he free Israel to worship in the wilder-                                            Aaron are instructed to appear before Pharaoh to
ness. Pharaoh reveals his hardness of heart not only                                           demand the release of Israel, but God warns them
by refusing to allow this, but he increases Israel's                                           that Pharaoh will refuse. God will bring a heavy
burden by insisting that the people get their own                                              hand on Egypt. At this point, Moses is 80 years old
straw for bricks  (5:1-19).  Israel expresses their dis-                                       and Aaron 83 years old (7: l-7). Upon God's instruc-
appointment in this turn of events  (520-23). God                                              tion, Moses performs a miracle before Pharaoh, the
reveals His covenant promise to Moses and through                                              rod became a serpent. Pharaoh's magicians could
him to Israel: He is their God and He will deliver                                             imitate it  (7:8-13).  The ten plagues follow. Water
                                                                                               turned into blood  (7:14-25); frogs out of the river
Jason L. Kortering is pastor of the Protestant Reformed                                        (8:1-15);  lice which the magicians of Pharaoh
Church of Grandville, Michigan.                                                                couldn't imitate  (8:16-19);  swarms of flies but not


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  255



over  Goshen  (8:20-32);  a terrible disease (murrain)     countered bitter water at  Marah,  which became
on all the livestock of Egypt exterminating them all       sweet when Moses cast a tree into it. Moses ex-
(9:1-7); boils on man and beast  (9:8-12);  hail, with     plained to the people that God would- care for them,
the added notation, "for this cause have I raised          and that they should not murmur (15:20-27). In the
thee up for to show in thee my power that my name          wilderness of Sin the people murmured for food.
be declared throughout the earth," explaining              God provided manna in the morning and the flesh
God's power over Pharaoh. For a time Pharaoh               of birds in the evening. Instructions were given for
asked for respite, but he still hardened his heart         the proper eating of this food (16: l-36). The people
(9:13-35).   T hen follows the threat of locusts.          murmured for water at Rephidem. God instructed
Pharaoh's servants beg him to let Israel go. He con-       Moses to strike the rock and water gushed forth
sents to have the men go. The locusts came and left        (17: l-7). They were attacked by the Amalekites, but
(lO:l-20). Thick darkness came. Pharaoh agreed to          while Moses' hands were held up, God gave the
let the people go, but they must leave their cattle        victory to Israel (17:8-16). As God had said, the con-
behind  (10:21-29). Israel is instructed to borrow         gregation came to Mt. Horeb. There Jethro, his
jewels of gold and silver from their neighbors in an-      father in law, came with Zipporah and their two
ticipation of the last plague, the firstborn of Egypt's    sons to meet Moses. Moses related to them all that
men and beast will be killed (ll:l-10). Special in-        the Lord had done in Egypt, whereupon Jethro of-
structions are given to begin the Jewish year with         fered sacrifices to Jehovah  (18:1-12). When Jethro
the present month. On the 10th day of this month,          observed that Moses judged all the people by him-
the  passover  is to be observed. This includes the        self, he advised him to appoint others for the task,
killing of a male lamb which has no blemish,               to free himself from the great burden of dealing
roasting it whole, taking the blood and striking the       with so many people. Moses judged only the dif-
door posts, eating the meat entirely, and being            ficult cases (18: 13-27).
ready to march (12: 1-14). Details are also given for        7. The ten commandments given at Mt. Sinai
the eating of unleavened bread, seven days, from           (19: l-20:20). It took Israel three months to arrive at
the 14th to the 21st of the month, begun by a holy         Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb). God assured them that as He
convocation (12: 15-28). The firstborn of Egypt are        had cared for them in the desert, He would con-
killed by the angel of death. Israel finally leaves        tinue to be their God if they would obey His word
laden with the treasures of Egypt  (12:29-36). The         (19:1-g).  Instructions were given to set bounds
congregation of 600,000 men besides women and              around the holy mount, so no man or beast would
children with much cattle left Ramases and headed          come near. The people must sanctify themselves.
toward Succoth after a stay of 430 years in Egypt.         On the third day God came down upon the mount
Mention is made of the Passover being a feast for          with thunder, lightning, earthquake, and the
Israel alone  - any stranger wanting to participate        sound of the trumpet. God called Moses up to the
had to be circumcised  (12:37-51). Instruction was         top of the mount and told him to get down once
given for the sanctifying of the firstborn of man and      again and be sure the people would not come near
beast and instructing the generation to come of its        the mount (19: 10-25). The ten commandments
importance (13: 1-16).                                     were spoken by God from the mount  (20:1-20).
  6. The wilderness journey from Egypt to Mt.                8. Various laws given at Mt. Sinai  (20:21-23:33).
Horeb  (13:17-18:27). God led Israel to Canaan by          Moses was told to warn the people not to have gods
the roundabout way of the wilderness and Red Sea.          of gold, but worship Jehovah through the use of
They carried the bones of Joseph with them. The            altars made of earth or fieldstones  (20:21-26).
pillar of fire and cloud went before them (13:17-22).      Specific laws were given for the treatment of male
God tested Israel by deliberately leading them into        servants  (21:1-6),  for treatment of female servants
a trap by the sea. He told Moses ahead of time that        (21:7-ll),  for murder (21:12-15), for stealing (21:16).
the purpose was to get honor upon Pharaoh one              Death was ordered for cursing a parent (21:17). The
more time. Sure enough, Pharaoh saw they were              people of Israel were told what to do when injury
trapped and pursued after them with 600 choice             came by smiting (21: 18-32),  when the neighbors' ox
chariots and captains. Israel saw them coming and          was injured or killed  (21:33-36), when livestock
cried to Jehovah. Moses was instructed to lift up his      was stolen (22:1-4),  when damage was done to vine-
rod, and the cloud went between Israel and the             yards or grain (22:5,  6), when dealing with thievery
Egyptians. During the night a strong wind made a           and damaged property (22:7-15), fornication (22:16,
dry path through the sea and Israel crossed in safe-       17), witchcraft (22:  18), beastiality (22:  19), idolatry
ty. The Egyptians tried to follow, but were                (22:20),    with strangers, widows, and poor
drowned in the sea (14: 1-31). Moses and Miriam,           (22:21-27). They were instructed concerning proper
his sister, led Israel in singing a song of praise         treatment of rulers and firstborn  (22:28-31), false
(15:1-19).  At the wilderness of Shur, they  en-           reporting  (23:1-3),  enemies' property and the poor


256                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



stranger  (23:4-g),  the sabbatical year for land          tabernacle which would assure God's presence
(23:10-13), three feasts to be kept  - unleavened          (29:38-46). Instructions were given on the altar of
bread, firstfruits, and engathering (23: 14-19). The       incense and how it was to be used  (30:1-10).  Each
Angel of Jehovah promised to care for them if they         soul in Israel was to be ransomed through the half
obey God  (23:20-33).                                      shekel  (30:11-16). Mention was made of the laver
   9. The ratification of the covenant by Israel           for the washing of the priests in the service of the
(24:1-18).  At first Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and              Lord (30: 17-21). The use of ointments and spices by
Abiram with 70 elders waited a distance from the           the priests is spelled out  (30:22-38). Bezaleel and
mount while Moses worshiped alone. Then he                 Aholiab were given specific instructions to build
came to the people and instructed them in the laws         the tabernacle of the Lord  (31:1-l 1). The laws for
of the Lord. He read the book of the covenant to the       the sabbath follow (31: 12-17).
people and they expressed agreement. They were                11. The covenant is broken by the worship of the
all sprinkled with blood  (24:1-8).  Soon Moses and        golden calf, and God renews His covenant
the other men went into the presence of Jehovah            (3 1: 18-35:3).  God gave Moses the two tables written
and returned (24:9-11). Moses went alone to obtain         by His own finger (3 1: 18). Account is given how the
the tables of the law, being gone for 40 days and          people grew impatient with the absence of Moses.
nights (24: 12-18).                                        They asked Aaron to build a god for them, for they
   10. Details given on the tabernacle and its ritual      didn't know what happened to Moses. He in-
(25:1-31:17). The people were instructed to bring          structed `them to break off their jewelry and he
gifts for use in constructing the tabernacle (25: l-9).    fashioned a golden calf. He told them, "these be
Details for the ark were given, including the mercy        your gods 0 Israel, that brought you out of Egypt."
seat  (25:10-22), the table of shewbread  (25:23-30),      He also built an altar and proclaimed a feast day on
the golden candlesticks  (25:31-40). The tabernacle        the morrow. The people came with their sacrifices
was to be constructed with various curtains                and began eating and drinking (32: l-6). Jehovah
(26:1-14)  and dividers of wood  (26:15-30), a veil of     saw it and ordered Moses to go down the mount,
linen, hung with specific directions (26:31-37). Next      and He told Moses He would destroy the people.
we read of the altar of burnt offering  (27:1-8),  and     Moses interceded and asked Jehovah to remember
of various details of the outer courts (27:9-19). Olive    His covenant. The Lord assured him He would
oil was to be used for the burning lamps tended by         (32:7-14). Moses appeared before the people and he
the family of Aaron (27:20, 21). Details are given of      broke the tables of the law in anger. He heard the
the priest's office as filled by Aaron and his sons;       singing and saw the people naked before him. He
the garments to be worn; the ephod and all its parts,      asked Aaron why he did it and Aaron excused
including the urim and thummim to be used for the          himself by blaming the people. Moses called, who
judgment  (28:1-35);  the plate and mitre, with            is on the Lord's side. The Levites responded and he
specific wording  (28:36-43). The ministry of the          ordered them to kill those still dancing. Three thou-
priests was to begin with a ceremony of consecra-          sand were killed. He charged the people to conse-
tion  (29:1-37),  followed by daily offerings in the       crate themselves before the Lord (32: 15-29).

THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH
Ronald L. Cammenga




                             Criticism - Taking It



  All of us need to be sensitive and open to               have much to learn and can profit immeasurably
criticism. None of us is above criticism. We ought         from the loving criticism of friends in Christ. Last
to be willing to receive the criticism of others. We       time we discussed giving criticism. In this article


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                257


we want to focus on taking criticism.                      humble enough to take criticism? Am I humble
  The Bible has much to say about our taking               enough to take the criticism of my wife, or of a lov-
criticism, especially in the form of correction and        ing fellow church member? Are we Christian
reproof. Solomon speaks of the importance of this          school teachers humble enough to take the
in many places in the Book of Proverbs. The people         criticism of colleagues or concerned parents? Are
of God must be open to criticism. In Proverbs 13: 18       we ministers humble enough to take the criticism
he says that ". . . he that regardeth reproof shall be     of those who  i are genuinely interested in our
honored." And again in Proverbs 15:5, ". . . he that       welfare and effectiveness in the ministry? Are we
regardeth reproof is prudent." Time and again              as churches humble enough to take the criticism of
Solomon warns against the folly of refusing to ac-         others?
cept legitimate criticism. He writes in Proverbs             There has only ever been one man who was
10: 17, "He is in the way of life that keepeth instruc-    above criticism, who had no weaknesses, no faults,
tion: but he that refuseth reproof erreth." In Prov-       no sin - that was our Lord Jesus Christ. As long as
erbs  12:l he says, "Whoso loveth instruction              you and I are in this life, we will have a need of and
loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is            should therefore be open to criticism.
brutish." In Proverbs 15: 10 we read, "Correction is         In fact, this is why God has given us a wife or a
grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he           husband. This  `is why God has given us our col-
that hateth reproof shall die." And in Proverbs            leagues, our fellow church members, our fellow of-
15:31, 32 we are told, "The ear that heareth the           ficebearers. He has placed these people alongside
reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that            of us for our constructive criticism. They are there
refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he        to admonish us, to reprove us for weaknesses and
that heareth reproof getteth understanding."               sins, to correct us when we err.
  We must be open to criticism. It is the fool that          If we are going to take the criticism of others, we
refuses to accept any criticism.                           are going to have to follow certain basic steps.
  It is not our nature, however, to take criticism.          First, hear your critic out. Let him finish his
Most often, rather than to hear our critic out, we re-     criticism. Don't interrupt him. Don't cut him short.
ject him and his criticism out of hand. We don't           Indicate that you are sincerely interested in hearing
even give him a hearing, but cut him short for dar-        everything that might be on his mind concerning
ing to take it upon himself to criticize us. We resent     your shortcomings or whatever he feels makes you
the criticism, and often strike back at the one who        worthy of criticism.
brings the criticism. Strangely enough, it is often          Secondly, be clear on the evidence upon which
the case that those who are the most outspoken             the criticism is based. What are the grounds for the
negative critics of others have little capacity to         criticism? What is there to support the criticism and
receive criticism themselves. Immediately they go          to indicate that the criticism is valid criticism? At-
on the defensive, giving excuses and involved ex-          tempt to understand the reason for the criticism.
planations, or simply curtly reject the criticism of
others without giving it any honest consideration            Thirdly, be sure you understand the real point of
whatsoever.                                                the- criticism. It is possible that the expressed
  This is simply pride! It is a proud man who.can-         criticism doesn't deal with the real problem, but
not take criticism from his fellow church member.          only with a symptom of the problem or a surface
It is a proud husband who cannot take criticism            issue connected to a much deeper underlying prob-
from his wife. It is a proud Christian school teacher      lem. Help the critic himself to understand clearly
who cannot take criticism from a school board              the focus of his criticism.
member or concerned parent. It is a proud minister           In the fourth place, discuss with your critic the
who cannot take criticism from his fellow  office-         best means to correct the wrong, make amends for
bearers or from a concerned member of the congre-          the error and prevent its happening again in the
gation.                                                    future, strengthen the weakness. How best can this
  If we are going to take criticism, we must be            problem be overcome so that it does not become an
humble people. That humility is the humility that          even bigger problem?
recognizes that we all have weaknesses and sins.             In the fifth place, assure your critic that you will
None of us is perfect. And as long as we have these        give serious and honest consideration to his
weaknesses and sins, as long as we are not perfect,        criticism. You will evaluate his criticism. You will
we are open to constructive criticism.                     discuss it with others. You will bring the matter to
  We ought to ask ourselves this question: Am I            God in prayer.
Ronald L. Cammenga is pastor of the Protestant Reformed      It may very well be the case that after you
Church of Loveland, Colorado.                              evaluate the criticism, you come to the conclusion


258                                              THE STANDARD BEARER



that your critic is right. His criticism is a valid         criticism. We ought to tell him the reasons why we
criticism. The wrong or weakness is a definite area         cannot accept his criticism. And we ought to do
in your life or work where you have fallen short,           what we can to bring him to understand our posi-
and where there is a need for improvement. Pray             tion. He may still not agree with you; you may have
for Gods grace to make this kind of honest evalua-          to part with a definite difference of opinion. Then
tion of yourself. And pray for God's grace to imple-        you must leave the matter to the Lord and to His
ment corrective measures in light of the criticism.         judgment.
   It may also be the case that, after honest, prayer-        Constructive criticism is healthy. Often it is the
ful consideration of a certain criticism, we come to        case that we are just too involved with ourselves
the conclusion that the criticism is not a valid            and too biased about ourselves to make honest
criticism, that we do not deserve the criticism, that       judgments about ourselves and our behavior. It's
there are no proper grounds on which the criticism          extremely difficult to be as objective and penetrat-
is based. That we must be open to criticism doesn't         ing as we ought to be in self-examination. We need
mean that we must take ALL criticism. That we               the loving criticism of others.
must receive valid criticism doesn't mean that we             The proper giving and taking of criticism serves a
must bend to EVERY critic. If we believe before             good function in the body of Jesus Christ. As much
God and in our own conscience that we have done             as evil criticism can tear down the unity of the
right, if we believe that our position is the right         church, so valid, constructive criticism can serve as
position, we must stand. We must be strong enough           an effective means to build up the unity of the
to reject wrong and invalid criticism.                      church. God has called us to unity. By properly giv-
  Even then, we must do this in the right way. We           ing and taking criticism, we express our unity
ought to tell our critic that we cannot accept his          before God and reveal our unity before men.
IN HIS FEAR
Barrett L. Gritters





           Understanding Church Discipline (3)



  (In the past 2 articles we have seen the Confessional     volved, and will be determined by the individual
and Biblical basis for church discipline of unrepentant     circumstances in each case. And, although work
sinners. The step of silent censure and the first two       must be persistent and unceasing, dragging feet
public announcements have been treated. Now we pro-         before the third announcement is not necessary.
ceed to the third.)                                         This is true because there has already been months
  The Third Announcement.                                   and months of work done, and an obviously callous
                                                            attitude toward the elders only reveals the need to
  After the second announcement of discipline has           proceed. The only reason the third step might be
been made to the congregation, the elders continue          postponed would be signs from the sinner that he is
to work with the unrepentant sinner. It is difficult        being softened by the words of Christ's admoni-
to continue labor when there is no positive fruit,          tion. Then all steps should be taken to work with
but the call is still to work with the sinner.              diligence and prayer.
  The length of time between the second and third
announcements must be made by the elders  in-                 But if there is no repentance yet, the third an-
                                                            nouncement is made to the congregation. This an-
Barrett L. Gritters is pastor of the Protestant Reformed    nouncement only reinforces to the congregation
Church  of Byron Center, Michigan.                          that the consistory is doing all that it can with the


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                            259



brother or sister. The work has not softened, but         church as an organization as well as one's continua-
rather hardened the sinner in his sin.                    tion in the organized church, should remain to be
  That means that this announcement is to inform                   an act of each one's own personal choice,
the congregation that a date has been set for excom-      ith  ' f
                                                             ere ore Synod) judges that no one can continue
munication. If no repentance is found before that         to be an object of church discipline if he persists in
date, the last measure that the church can take will      resigning his membership." Membership in the in-
be taken  - exclusion "from the fellowship of the         stitute of the church for confessing members is volun-
church." When the congregation hears this an-             tary. Papers belong to the individual.
nouncement, they have opportunity to present to             There are important implications here, especially
the consistory an appeal why the member under             for the young members of the church. They hear
discipline should not be excommunicated.                  the announcements about the discipline. They
  If this does not happen, the congregation gives its     know the sinner who is running in his sin. They
"tacit approval" to the work and decisions of the         understand the seriousness of excommunication
consistory. The extreme remedy can be exercised.          and hear the sad discussions of their parents. But
                                                          when a bulletin announcement merely announces
  The Extreme Remedy: Excommunication                     that this same member has asked for and been
  Notice that the form calls excommunication  a           granted his papers, it almost looks like an easy way
remedy. The purpose even here is the repentance of        out. We may not fool ourselves. Church members
the sinner. None in the church wants a brother cut        must be instructed that he who runs to escape
off from the church. All want his repentance and          discipline is bound for hell if he continues in that
return to the fellowship of the church. This is our       way. The church ought to be just as shocked and
constant prayer to our Father.                            numbed by the act of "ducking" discipline as they
  When the last remedy is used, the Form is read          are by the official pronouncement of excommuni-
and the sinning member is excommunicated. This            cation when the form is read. Parents ought to be
form, probably one of the least used of our forms,        careful, and consistories cautious, that this serious-
carries in it a sense of humility that one would          ness is recognized by the church.
never expect in a form that expels from the church          A second important implication is for those who
of Christ. One would expect a fiery denunciation of       receive the discipline. When confession of faith
the sinner. But what we have is directed solely to        was made, they made the promise that they would
the congregation, the majority of which consists of       submit to church government if they became delin-
admonitions  to the members  not to presume they          quent. By asking for membership papers they are
cannot fall. (We need to be familiar with our             not only running from discipline, but breaking a
church formulas. After-recess programs in societies       promise made in confession. More seriously, they
could benefit by a study of these forms.)                 are leaving the God-given means for repentance
                                                          and salvation. When they ask for their papers
  Not very many, though, are ever excommuni-              because they want to escape discipline, they leave
cated by the church. Why? Not because the  con-           Christ. It is Christ admonishing them through
sistory fails in its work; not because there are not      discipline. Christ calls them to confess and be
very many unrepentant sinners in the church; but          reconciled with Him. When the elders come with
because the unrepentants usually ask for their            the Word, Christ speaks. Asking for papers, then,
papers from the church before the consistory can          even if the excuse is given that another church will
finish its work.                                          be joined, still means that Christ is shunned. And
  Some present a fairly good argument for not             the member who leaves actually "excommuni-
granting membership papers to members under               cates" himself. Pray that we all may be able to keep
discipline who ask for them (see, for example,            the promise made at confession, to submit to all
Daniel Wray, Biblical Church Discipline, Banner of        discipline.
Truth: Edinburgh, 1978, page 14). But the Re-               Treatment of excommunicated persons
formed Churches almost always have taken the
stand that they may not withhold them. In 1918 the          One very difficult problem raised by excommun-
Synod of the Christian Reformed Church took an            ication is the manner in which we treat the excom-
official position on this matter. It declared: "Synod,    municated brother, or the brother who has left
considering that the withdrawal from discipline, to       because of impending excommunication. Though
which one has freely subjected himself . . . for          we don't have room to deal with that problem in
reasons which cannot stand the test of God's word,        detail here, there are two points that need to be
is a sin which should not be esteemed lightly . . .       made.
and (that) these should not be released hastily; but        First, we may not let our own feelings guide us
(considering) also that one's affiliation with the        on this point. It is very easy to reason like this:


260                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



"You would think differently if it were your son or           So far we have assumed that the sins dealt with
daughter, father or mother, brother or sister." Or,        by the church were private sins that became the
"How would you feel if you were excommunicated             work of the church because of failure to repent.
and no one spoke with you?" The point here is that         There is a different class of church discipline that is
we must be guided by the Scripture alone, or else          exercised over those whose sins are public. It hap-
be mired in all kinds of (understandable) opinions.        pens, for example, that crimes are reported through
   Second, then, there are two extremes that must          the daily newspaper, a sin is seen by a large part of
be avoided. The one extreme is treating the excom-         the church at a public gathering, or by the very
municated brother after expulsion from the church          nature of the sins themselves they become public.
no differently than before. Scripture calls us to          If these sins are not repented of, censure follows in
separate ourselves from the brother. Romans 16: 17         the same manner as outlined above, except that it
instructs  us to avoid  those who have caused divi-        begins immediately at the second announcement.
sions and  offences in the church. In I Corinthians        The knotty problem comes when the public sin  is
5: 11 Paul says the saints are not even to eat with one    confessed before the consistory. (see the example at
in the church who is called a brother but is living in     the beginning of the first article: Jan. 1, 1986) What
grievous sins. And II Thessalonians  3:15 gives one        to do? Leave it, or announce it publicly?
important reason, from the viewpoint of the                  Reformed churches (until lately) have generally
brother. "Have no company with him, that he may            taken the stand that after confession is made to the
be ashamed." Were we to continue as if nothing             consistory, it must be announced before the con-
were wrong, the expelled brother would not be              gregation. To this some object.
reminded of the urgency to repent from the sin that
keeps him out. The King of the church calls us to            Let's look at some principles involved to see that
treat him as                                               a public announcement is necessary.
                "an heathen man and a publican"
(Matthew 18:17). The disciples had no problem un-            First, a public act of disobedience diminishes or
derstanding that kind of language. That is, the only       smears the glory of the holy God. It gives occasion
contact we may have with these persons, other              for the enemy to blaspheme and ridicule the
than necessary contact (for example at work), is           church. The glory of God demands that all be in-
this: In the spirit of meekness (Gal.  6:1, 2) ad-         formed that confession has been made to the Lord,
monish them for their sins and call them to true           and that the sinner has found forgiveness at His
repentance. This is difficult, but Scripturally            throne.
necessary.                                                   The second is implied in the Church Order of the
  The other extreme is that we treat the brother as        Protestant Reformed Churches, article 75, where it
one would a leper: do not come close to him; ask           is said that reconciliation of public sins is done "in
him to cry out when he comes near; and turn the            such a manner as the consistory shall deem con-
other way when he is met on the street. There is           ducive to the edification of each church." The pur-
just as grave a danger in this extreme as in the           pose of all public announcements is the good of the
other. When a brother or sister is excommunicated,         congregation and of the repentant sinner.
the Form calls all God's people to their duty. In the        When confession of a public sin is announced
closing prayer we ask God to "grant . . . that he who      publicly, the congregation is informed that the con-
is excommunicated may become ashamed of his                sistory is doing its work, and does not take sin light-
sins . . . we therefore humbly beseech thee, to kin-       ly. The consistory is concerned about the erring
dle in our hearts a pious zeal, that we may labor,         brother.
with good Christian examples, to bring again this
excommunicated person on the right way . . .  ."             Another principle has to do with the publicity of
This pious zeal and faithful labor is missing in most      the sin. When a church member commits a sin that
of our lives. God's people ought to bend every ef-         is known by most of the congregation, the natural
fort to find opportunity for this kind of labor.           (though sinful) result is talk. Everyone knows.
Calvin says,  ". . . though ecclesiastical discipline      Everyone talks. The result is that the story becomes
does not permit us to live familiarly or have in-          worse and no one knows the truth. One purpose of
timate contact with excommunicated persons, we             the public announcement is to silence this talk. The
ought nevertheless to strive by whatever means we          announcement says, as it were, "The sin has been
can in order that they may turn to a more virtuous         confessed. The sinner has been forgiven by God.
life and may return to the society and unity of the        Nothing more need be said by anyone."
church" (Institutes, IV, XII, 10). When that is miss-        And that leads to the principle of  reconciZiation.
ing, hypocrisy and Phariseeism are not far behind.         Unconfessed sin causes a barrier between sinners
  Pray God for the proper balance in this delicate         and God, as well as between sinners and other
matter.                                                    church members. When confession before God is


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                            261



made known to the congregation, the barrier is               to deal with each other again with intimate fellow-
removed. God's people then also forgive and desire           ship of the saints.                 (to be concluded)

GUEST ARTICLE
Steven R. Houck





          God% Sovereignty and the Psalms (3)



THE COMFORT OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY                             deed the HEART and SOUL of the Psalms. The
  From all that we have shown in our previous ar-            psalmists love this doctrine. It is precious to them.
ticles, it ought to be clear that the various themes of      They find great comfort in the fact that their God
the sovereignty of God run throughout the Psalms             controls and works all things for their salvation.
like golden threads. They are everywhere. If you             They have nothing to fear. Even in the midst of
were to pull out these threads by cutting out the            tribulation, the psalmists have peace and content-
doctrine of God's sovereignty, you would unravel             ment. This is the experience of all those who trust
the entire  Psalter.  For there is not one Psalm that        the sovereign God. They can say, "The Lord is my
does not refer to the sovereignty of God in one way          light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord
or another. It is impossible to find a single Psalm          is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be
which ignores this doctrine. The wonder of the               afraid?" (Ps. 27: 1). God's people have nothing to
book of Psalms, however, is that the great majority          fear because the sovereign God is their Savior. He
of the Psalms do not simply mention the sovereign-           holds the very life of His people in His hands, and
ty of God; they emphasize it! A careful study of the         no one can touch that life apart from His appoint-
Psalms indicates that ninety percent of them devote          ment. For God's sovereign control extends to all of
at least fifty percent of their content to this doc-         creation. There are no creatures which can take
trine. Think of that! One half of the content of one         God's people away from their God. Thus Christians
hundred and thirty-six (136) Psalms deals with the           sing together, "God is our refuge and strength, a
themes of God's sovereignty. Moreover, one third             very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we
of the Psalms are entirely devoted to these themes.          fear, though the earth be removed, and though the
This is amazing! It demonstrates conclusively that           mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
the sovereignty of God is the central theme of the           though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
book of Psalms. This book EMPHATICALLY exalts                though the mountains shake with the swelling
God as the sovereign God. Therefore, if the Chris-           thereof" (Ps.  46:1-3).
tian is to be faithful to the Lord Who inspired these          The doctrine of God's sovereignty, therefore,
Psalms, he must not only believe, but he must also           gives to the believer a wonderful joy. He is happy
emphasize God's sovereignty.                                 because he knows that he is safe in the everlasting
  This fact can be further demonstrated by the               arms of God. King David spoke of that joy when he
manner in which the psalmists deal with this doc-            exclaimed, "The King shall joy in thy strength, 0
trine. They do not treat the doctrine of Gods                Lord, and in thy salvation how greatly shall he re-
sovereignty in a cold, abstract manner. The beauty           joice" (Ps.  21:l).  The great strength of the Lord is
of this book of praise is that God's sovereignty is in-      the very basis of the Christian's joy. What joy could
                                                             the children of God have if God was some impo-
Steven R. Houch, a missionary  of the Protestant Reformed    tent, weak god who had no sovereign power to save
Churches, is currently laboring in Ripon, California.        them? None whatsoever! The Christian rejoices


262                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



because God is not only willing, but also able to          tory. The Lord hath made known his salvation . . . .
save them. Thus the psalmist prays, "But let all           He hath remembered his mercy and his truth
those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them       toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth
ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let       have seen the salvation of our God" (Ps.  98:1-3).
them also that love thy name be joyful in thee" (Ps.       God's people praise Him because they recognize
5:ll).                                                     that their salvation is the result of the mighty right
THE PRAISE OF GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY                            hand and holy arm of the Lord. Salvation is the
                                                           result of the marvellous things God has done.
  This joy which the believer experiences naturally        Moreover, the believer knows that His salvation
produces a gratitude that praises God for His great-       goes back to the eternal election of God. Therefore
ness. Thus we find praise throughout the Psalms.           he praises God for His sovereign will which has
In fact, the book of Psalms is a book of praise            chosen him to salvation. "Praise the Lord; for the
precisely because its theme is that of God's               Lord is good: sing praises unto his name: for it is
sovereignty. It is the sovereignty of God that is          pleasant. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto him-
praised. Because God saves His people and delivers         self, and Israel for his peculiar treasure (Ps.
them from their enemies by His sovereign power,            135:3-4).
believers sing of His greatness. The sovereignty of
God and praise are inseparable. The psalmist says,         THE PROCLAMATION OF GOD'S
"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and         SOVEREIGNTY
his greatness is unsearchable" (Ps.  145:3).  Because         The doctrine of God's sovereignty is such a
the Lord is great, He is greatly to be praised. God's      wonderful Truth that the saint can not keep it to
people are exhorted, "0 clap your hands, all ye            himself. He bursts forth in praise to God, but he
people; shout unto God with the voice of triumph"          also speaks of God's sovereignty to others. He pro-
(Ps. 47: 1). What could be the reason for such shouts      claims the sovereignty of God. The psalmist
of praise? The answer - "For the Lord most high is         declares, "0 give thanks unto the Lord; call upon
terrible; he is a great King over all the earth . . . .    his name: make known his deeds among the peo-
God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon            ple. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of
the throne of his holiness" (Ps.  47:2, 7). Someone        all his wondrous works" (Ps. 105: l-2). God's people
who does not believe in the sovereignty of God has         make known God's great deeds and His wondrous
no basis whatsoever for praising God.                      works. They talk of them one to another. In fact,
  God reveals Himself and His greatness to His             Christian parents must take care that they tell their
people by means of His works. Throughout the               children of the sovereign works of God. They must
Psalms, therefore, the psalmists praise God for            be very faithful in that so that their children can
these wondrous works. Because God's sovereignty            say, "We have heard with our ears, 0 God, our
is exhibited in His works, the psalmist says, "I will      fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their
praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully            days, in the time of old. How thou didst drive out
made; marvellous are thy works; and that my soul           the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them;
knoweth right well" (Ps.  139:14). Here the                how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them
sovereign act of creation is praised. We are fear-         out. For they got not the land in possession by their
fully and wonderfully made. The psalmists, how-            own sword, neither did their own arm save them:
ever, praise God for all of His mighty acts. In fact,      but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of
believers from one generation to another are to            thy countenance, because thou hast a favour unto
praise God continually for His sovereign works.            them. Thou art my King, 0 God: command
"One generation shall praise thy works to another,         deliverances for Jacob" (Ps. 44: l-4).
and shall declare thy mighty acts. I will speak of the       This Truth is not something that the church
glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy won-            "believes" but does not promote and proclaim.
drous works. And men shall speak of the might of           True Christians do not hide it. They are not afraid
thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness"       of the doctrine of God's sovereignty. Thus God's
(Ps.  145:4-6).                                            people are to declare God's sovereignty even to the
  What is true of God's works in general is                heathen. The people of God are admonished,
especially true of  IHis  work of salvation. The           "Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders
believer praises God for all of His works as they          am,ong all people. For the Lord is great, and greatly
relate to his own salvation. He praises Him because        to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods . . . .
He sovereignly works all things for his salvation.         Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: the
Thus the church sings, "0 sing unto the Lord a new         world also shall be established that it shall not be
song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right        moved . .  ." (Ps.  96:3, 4, 10). The Christian is to
hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the  vic-          declare God's glorious wonders even to the


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   263



unbeliever. The message that is proclaimed to the              emphasizes this glorious Truth is  not  one-sided.
unconverted is the message of God's sovereignty.               Rather those who do not emphasize this doctrine
The unbeliever must not think that salvation is                are guilty of distorting the Truth of the gospel. The
dependent upon his will. He must be told that "the             doctrine of God's sovereignty can be found on
Lord reigneth" in all the world and especially in              every page of the Psalms. Yea, on every page of Ho-
salvation. In fact, God's people must make this                ly Scripture. It is the believer's comfort and joy, the
proclamation a part of their daily life. They must             basis for his thanksgiving and praise of God, and it
continually show forth God's wonders. For the                  is the Truth that must be proclaimed in the church
psalmist says, "Sing unto the Lord, bless his name;            and in the world. Indeed, "THE LORD HE IS GOD
shew forth his salvation from day to day" (Ps. 96:2).          . . . " (Ps.  100:3). Let that be the heart of your faith
God's sovereignty is such a central part of the                so that you can say with the psalmist who closes
Christian's experience that it must be remembered              the entire book of Psalms with the words, "Praise
and talked about on a regular basis.                           ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him
  Surely anyone who bows before the authority of               in the firmament of HIS POWER. Praise him for
God's Word will recognize that the Christian must              HIS MIGHTY ACTS: praise him according to HIS
not only believe the doctrine of God's sovereignty,            EXCELLENT GREATNESS . . . . Let every thing
but he must also emphasize it. It is the heart and             that hath breath praise the Lord. PRAISE YE THE
soul of the Psalms and, therefore, must be the heart           LORD" (Ps.  150:1, 2, 6).
and soul of the believer's faith. The person who




                           News From Our Churches
                                                      David Harbac h



                                                 February  15,1986

  Rev. R. Moore submitted to emergency gall blad-              Holland Church, Illinois. All present and former
der surgery at Sturgeon Hospital in St. Albert at the          office-bearers are invited to attend.
end of January. He is recovering well at home. He                Rev. George Hutton, pastor of the Bible Presby-
was supposed to have given a lecture to the Society            terian Church of Larne, Northern Ireland, with
for Protestant Reformed Christian Education the                whose congregation our churches have  sister-
same evening, on the topic, "The Moral Environ-                church relations, is planning, D.V., to be in the
ment of the Christian Day School."                             Grand Rapids area the week of March 9. The Con-
  Now that Rev. C. Haak has accepted the call to               tact Committee of our churches is sponsoring a
Lynden Church, Washington, Rev. Veldman will                   public lecture by Rev. Hutton on Friday, March 14,
preach in  Doon Church, Iowa. Rev. and Mrs.                    in First Church at 8:00 P.M. Rev. Hutton will be
Veldman had planned to stay in Lynden Church                   speaking on the differences between  Presbyterian-
until the end of April.                                        ism and the Reformed faith. This should prove to
  Rev. Kamps was installed in Southwest Church,                be an interesting and enlightening speech.
Michigan, February 13, with Rev. Kortering of-                   First Church, Edmonton, Alberta, has begun to
ficiating.                                                     hold services in Lacombe, Alberta twice a month
  Rev. R. Hanko has taken up his labors in Trinity             on the second and fourth Sundays. Services are
Church, Houston, Texas.                                        held at  7:30 P.M. at the Trinity Lutheran Church.
                                                               The distance from Edmonton to Lacombe is about
  There will be an Office-Bearer's Conference on               the same as the distance from Grand Rapids to Ben-
Monday and Tuesday, March 3  & 4 at South                      ton Harbor  - ninety miles. For those visiting Ed-
                                                               monton, Trinity Lutheran Church is easy to find.
David Harbach is a teacher at Adams St. Prot. Ref.               Rev. J. Kortering and his family moved into
Christian School, Grand Rapids, Michigan.                      Grandville Church's new parsonage February 24 &


   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                                       SECOND CLASS
           P . O .   B o x   6 0 6 4                                                                                        POSTAGE PAID AT
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49516                                                                                            GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.





264                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER


25. A room downstairs in the basement has been
finished for consistory meetings.
  Our schools have been looking for teachers to fill                                             THE PROTESTANT REFORMED
empty positions. Loveland School, Colorado, needs                                                             CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
a teacher for grades 7-9 and possibly an administra-                                                                  OF
tor as well. Heritage School, Michigan, is looking
for an extra teacher for grades 3  & 4. And Hull                                                               SOUTH HOLLAND
School, Iowa, needs a kindergarten/first grade
teacher.                                                                                     is celebrating its 25th anniversary
   The PTA of Adams Street School, Grand Rapids,                                                              Friday, May 2, 1986
Michigan, met on February 6 to hear Prof. Hanko                                          with an all-day Open House, including
present a tape of a speech by Lawyer David Gibbs                                   classroom visitation, and a commemorative
entitled, "Conviction or Preference," a defense of                                        banquet and program in the evening.
Christian Schools. A very profitable discussion                                                   COME CELEBRATE WITH US!
period followed the playing of the tape.
  Rev. Kortering spoke at Hope School's PTA,                                          "`Prove all things; hold fast that which is
February 14, on the church's responsibility in the                                               good.  "  (I Thessalonians  5:2  1)
education of our children.
  The Society for Protestant Reformed Special
Education in the Grand Rapids area will hold its an-
nual society meeting on March 3, 8:00 P.M. at Hope                                                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
School. New members are needed to be involved                                    The Consistory of the Loveland Protestant Reformed Church, on
with what we support.                                                        behalf of the congregation, expresses our Christian sympathy to Mrs.
                                                                             Esther Griess, Mr. William Griess and Mr. Paul Griess in the death of
                                                                             their husband and father, MR. ALVIN GRIESS. May the Lord comfort
       CALL TO ASPIRANTS TO THE MINISTRY                                     them in their sorrow and sustain them in the days ahead with the
                                                                             promise of His Word that "underneath are the everlasting arms."
   All young men desiring to begin studies for the 1986-87 academic          (Deut.  33:27)
year in the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches
should make application at the March 20, 1986 meeting of  theTheo-                                                 NOTICE!!!
logical School Committee.
Pre-Seminary Students:                                                           All students enrolled in the Protestant Reformed Seminary, who
                                                                             will be in need of financial assistance for the 1986-87 school year,
   A transcript of grades from high school and college (if any), a letter    are asked to contact the Student's Aid Committee's Secretary: Larry
of testimony from the student's pastor or consistory, and a certifi-         Meulenberg, 342 Begole S.W., Grand Rapids, Ml 49504 or Phone:
cate of health from a reputable physician must accompany the appli-          ( 6 1 6 )   4 5 3 - 8 4 6 6 .
cation.                                                                          This contact should be made before the next meeting of the com-
Seminary Students:                                                           mittee on March 13.
   A testimonial from the student's consistory that he is a member in
full communion, sound in faith and upright in walk, a certificate of                               RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
health from a reputable physician, and high school and college tran-             The Men's Society of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church ex-
scripts must accompany the application. All applicants to the semi-          presses sympathy to Mr. Clarence Kuiper and family in the death of
nary department must have completed the equivalent of a four-year,           his father-in-law, MR. HENRY KOK.
college education (125 semester hours) and must meet the course
requirements for entrance to the seminary department. These en-                  "For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even
trance requirements are listed in the seminary catalog available from        unto death." (Psalm 48:  14)
the school.                                                                  Phillip Lotterman, Pres.
   All seminary department applicants must appear before the Theo-           Bill  DeKraker, Vice Sec'y.
logical School Committee for interview before admission is granted.
In the event that a student can not appear at the March 20th meet-                                                 NOTICE!!!
ing, notification of this fact along with a suggested interview date
must be given to the secretary of the Theological School Committee               The Hull Protestant Reformed Christian School is in need of a
before this meeting.                                                         Kindergarten and 1 st grade teacher for the 1986-87 school year.
                                                                             Teachers interested in applying for this position please write to Hull
   All correspondence should be directed to the Theological School           Protestant Reformed Christian School, 218 2nd Street, Hull, Iowa
Committee, 4949 lvanrest Ave., S.W., Grandville, Michigan 49418.             51239, or phone: Ron Koole  (712) 439-1060, or Glenn Kooiker
                                                Jon Huisken, Secretary       ( 7 1 2 )   3 2 4 - 2 9 7 3 .


