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Vol. I, No. 10                                                    JULY, 1925                                         Subscription Price $1.50

                                                                              lovingkindness cannot be enjoyed, and that the objects
               MEDITATION                                                     of His favor we cannot be, except on a basis of a
                                                                               righteousness that is valid before Him.              For He is
                                                                              righteous, we know, and spotlessly holy. It feels, too,
                    REST FOR THE WEARY                                        that this basis of righteousness and justice cannot be
                                                                               established, except the law be fulfilled and all its
                          Come unto me all ye that labor and are              demands are perfectly satisfied. And we begin at the
                        heavy laden and I will give you rest.
                                                   --Matthew  11:28.          task to gain the desired peace in the way of accomplish-
       Toiling !                                                              ing our own satisfaction of the entire law. But as we
       Do you know by experience the sad and dishearten-                      labor and toil to fulfill the law of the Lord, we experi-
ing implication of that word  ?                                               ence that she is a severe mistress. And though we may
       Nay, if you would understand its meaning, do not                        labor with all our might, anxious to hear from her the
summon before the eyes of your imagination the picture                        sentence that it is enough, repeatedly she flings us back
of the daily laborer in the shops, or of the husbandman                        with her terrible: "Cursed is he that doth not abide
in his field, who rises early in the morning  and returns                     perfec.tly  in  all that is written in me !" And toiling on
home in the evening, tired and weary, and longing to                           still, we find that we increase our guilt daily, that the
forget the burdens of the day in restful sleep. For,                           task is a hopeless one, and groaning under heavier bur-
however heavy the work may be which he finds awaiting                          dens than before we commenced the struggle, we are
for him every morning, and however fatigued his frame                          inclined to abandon the attempt and hang the harps in
may be when the daily task is finished and he lays down                        the willows, still longing, yet despairing . . . .
to rest, in the evening of every day he returns home in                            Are you sin-weary?
the consciousness that the task is accomplished and that                            Do you find the burden of the law too heavy to bear?
he may forget the struggles of the day.                                        Have you toiled with it and groaned under it and been
       Rather imagine the man that is groaning under bur-                     oppressed by it, till you succumbed in grief and despair?
dens too heavy for human strength to bear. Or think                                Take courage, then . . . .
of the man that is laboring at a hopeless task. All the                             For "the wise and the prudent" do not know this
strength of body and mind he exerts to exhaustion. To                         weariness. They care not to be righteous or boast of a
accomplish the work is the ambition of his life. From                         righteousness that is a vain thing before the Lord. And
early morning till late at night he struggles and strives                     never would they acknowledge that the natural man can
and ponders and plans. Incessantly he labors with all                         only increase his sin daily.
his might. Yet, he fails. And after all his attempts he                            Take courage, for the Lord calls you by name : Weary
finds in the end that he is farther from the goal than at                     toiler, come unto me!
the beginning. Real toil is to strive with all our strength                        He will give  you  rest!
of body and mind for an end that is never achieved. It
is to labor hard and incessantly at a hopeless task that                           Rest !
can never be accomplished.                                                         Blessed word !
       And are you acquainted with the spiritual signifi-                          Thrice blessed for the weary and toiling soul!
cance of the word?                                                                 It is not simply to cease from toil and struggle, it is
       It is the spiritual toilers under burdens too heavy                    far more. It is to cease in the consciousness that the
for them, that the Lord calls in the text.                                    task is accompli.shed,  that the work is done, that the end
       It is a toiling which in its deepest root is born from                 is achieved, and to rejoice in the finished product. It
the hearts-desire to get right with God, to know that we                      is the glorious feeling of body and soul that we may
have peace with the Most High and that His favor is                           enter into and enjoy the fruit of a completed work.
with  US.  The heart, then, somehow  realizes  that  His                           Thus it is naturally.


2                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
 -_---__                            - - - -           --" .._ _.._

     And thus it is spiritually.                                      Head and their Redeemer, and whom He was to bring
     Ah, what a task to be accomplished pressed down                  from the horrible slavery of sin and death into the
upon our weary soul.1 What mountains of sin and guilt                 glorious liberty of the children of God. He, therefore,
rose up before our consciousness to be removed. Sin in                was to take their place, and to assume their burdens of
our actual walk, sin with all the members of our body,                guilt and sin, to carry them way down into the dark and
sin in our thoughts and sin in our deepest heart and in               deep valley of His agony and death, to leave them there
all our planning and desiring, sin in  ,what we did and               forever.
said and thought and wished and sin in what we did                       And He did so, according to the will of His Father.
not do and think and said and wished, sin in the present                 He did put His shoulders under their heavy burdens,
and sin in the past, sin everywhere, as far as eye could              under which they would have been crushed into death
see . . . .                                                           and hell.
     And then, when we penetrated more deeply into this                  And He was strong, for His Name was Almighty
horrible reality of sin, we found that it was not merely              G o d .
a matter of acting  but a question of our very being.                    He was able to bear these burdens even unto the
For out of the heart are the issues of life. And that                 accursed tree of the Place of Skulls, to enter with them
heart is corrupt, hopelessly corrupt, and from it, as a               into the dark abyss of death and hell, to toil and labor
boiling and bubbling fountain rise all these actual sins.             with them until He had shaken off the load of guilt and
So that, before we could hope to remove the mountain                  the shackles of death, and, first from Calvary, then, soon
of our actual guilt, that heart must be cleansed. The                 from Joseph's garden He might send forrh the glad tid-
corrupt fountain of iniquity must be changed into a clear             ings : It is finished !
stream of love . . . .                                                   He accomplished the task.
     And searching more deeply still into this awful mys-                With Him there is rest.
tery of sin we discovered that the deepest source of this                And the Rest-giver He is, too, because it is He that
foul fountain of iniquity is not even in our individual               causes us, by the irresistible operations of His Spirit and
hearts and lives, but that it is connected with a rushing             grace to enter into His rest.
stream of sin and guilt that leads us, for its source, back              By nature we would not even seek to enter into that
into paradise of yore. And we found that it would be of               rest. Surely, we may seek rest,  bur we do not desire
no avail to even attempt to cleanse the fountain of foul              His. Rest we seek and imagine to possess in the accom-
sin in our own heart, unless we could first cleanse that              plishment of our own righteousness, which is abomin-
deepest and original source of it all . . . .                         able to Jehovah.      But He never forgets His people,
     What a task!                                                     neither leaves them alone. Into their hearts and minds
     How disheartening to know that there is no life, no              He enters by the Spirit of grace. In that heart he
peace, no comfort and joy for our troubled soul, unless               knows how to create unrest and worry. He reveals unto
the task is finished, guilt is blotted out, the stain of sin          them the greatness of their sin, the abomination of their
is removed, the heart is cleansed, the foul fountain of               vain righteousness, their own impotency to fulfill the
iniquity is changed into a stream of living love! And                 demands of the law, their proneness to all evil and the
then, to have struggled and toiled till all our strength              corruption of their heart and mind . . . .
was exhausted, and to know that we utterly failed, so                    -4nd with unrest He fills the heart, till every last
utterly that the end of all our toil is greater sin and               basis of self-confidence is removed, till from the heart
heavier burdens . . . .                                               the cry is wrung: "0, God, be merciful unto me, a
     And then to learn that there is rest!                            sinner !"
     To know that the task is accomplished, that the                     And then, when all the wisdom and prudence, all the
stream of our guilt is washed away, that we may cease                 righteousness of works, all self-conceit and self-confi-
from toiling, in the blessed knowledge that all is finished,          dence to carry our own burdens and remove them is
that there is righteousness and sanctification, wisdom                uprooted, and the heart longs for a righteousness that
and redemption, peace and joy and comfort and  eterna1                is not its own but God's, He stands forth in all the
life in God's blessed communion.                                      beauty of His salvation, in all the glory of His power
     Cqmfort, weary toiler, for you.                                  and says: "Weary toiler, it is finished. The task thou
     The task is accomplished.                                        laborest to accomplish is completed. The work is done !"
     Accomplished for you.                                               It was done for you.
     Rest !                                                              Completely finished by Me.
                                                                         I will give you  rest!
     I will give you rest!
     He is the Rest-giver because it is He that  accom-                  Come unto Me!
plished the task.                                                        Blessed summons,  when by the gracious call of His
     He put His shoulders under our burdens, the bur-                 Spirit, He makes it resound in our soul!
dens of our guilt and sin and condemnation. For the                      And blessed soul that obeys that summons and comes.
Father gave Him a people from before the foundations                     It is a coming which is the result of Father's draw-
of the world, a people whose Saviour He was to be, their              ing. For no one can come unto Him except the Father


I                                                                                                                                                                            1
                                                       T1-I"E   STANDAXD   B  EhRER
      _,..___--....." -........-. ___I__  . . . .._.____-  -_lllllll---""-.                                                                                             3
                                                                               .._-.-- "-"h-"" -..... _                               __--__
      which sent Rim draw  Him.                The drawing is first and                                       "OP ALLE TERREINEN DES LEVENS"
      the coming second. The drawing is the cause and the
      coming is the result. It is the drawing of that love                                                  In "De Reformatie,' van 29 Mei,  192.5, verzoekt Prof.
      which is always first, and the coming of faith that relies                                  Dr.  V. Hepp Dr. Dijk,  om zijn oordeel betreffende het
      on that love.                                                                              gebruik van den term: op alle terreinen des levens,  aan
          It is a coming, which begins when we cast away all                                     nadere herziening te onderwerpen. Wij kunnen niet nala-
      our own righteousnesses and every basis of confidence                                      ten de aandacht onzer lezers enkele oogenblikken te be-
      in self. For we cannot come unto Him with aught of                                         palen  bij dit ietwat zonderling verzoek.
     self. Empty and poor and naked, weary and exhausted,                                                  De zaak is deze. In de "Kerkbode van de  Gerefor-
     as the drowning man that struggled with the tempes-                                         mcerde Kerken van `s-Gravenhage" is Dr. Dijk begonnen
     tuous sea till all his strength is gone, thus we must come                                  enkele opmerkingen te maken  over cultuur. En nu heeft
     to Him who is our all.                                                                      hij in zijn eerste artikel over het onderwerp: "Iets over
          It is a coming, that continues, when we see Jesus as                                   cultuur en cultuurwaardeering," beweert, dat z.i. dc term
     we never see Him with our natural eye, full of grace and                                   "op alle terreinen des levens" dient te worden  losgelaten.
     glory and life and rest and peace, rhe fulness of our wis-                                            Deze gewraakte uitdrukking komt voor in de volgen-
     dom and righteousness and sanctification and complete                                      de passage  :
     redemption; and when our soul, hungering and thirsting                                                " `En bovendien heeft ons christelijk geloof, omdat het
     after righteousness, desires to possess Him above all the                                  zijn uitgangspunt heeft in God den Schepper van  hemel
     treasures and pleasures of the world.                                                      en aarde, een cultureele roeping,  en mogen wij de schat-
          Ir is a coming, by which we draw nearer, when we                                      ten, welke de Almachtige in Zijn wereld heeft neergelegd,
     hear Him address us, as with the natural ear we could                                      niet verwaarloozen.
     never hear, so clearly and distinctly as if He were calling                                           Wij noemen dit gewoonlijk: op alle terreinen des
     us by name: "Weary toiler, heavily burdened one, cease levens.
     from toiling at your impossible task. I have finished.                                                Een term, die onder ons burgcrrecht verkreeg.
     Come unto Me and rest!"                                                                               Maar een term, die m. i. door ons moet worden  losge-
          It is a coming, whereby we know and trust, rhat when                                  Iaten.
     He bore the burden of His people's sin, our transgres-                                                Omdat gebleken is, dat, hoe  goed  deze uitdrukking
     sions and our iniquities were also upon Him, so that we ook bedoeld is, zij is gebezigd  als een leuze om veel
     believe His promise and trust for life and death with all                                  wereldzin  goed te praten, en als een vlag,  om verkeerde
     our soul in that promise: I will  `give you rest!                                          lading te dekken. Trouwens in den term zelf schuilt
         And that promise He fulfills.                                                          eenig gevaar. Door de zonde is het niet mogelijk  om
         `He fulfills it, when he sheds forth the love of God                                   God op alle terreinen des levens te dienen, want er zijn
     into our hearts, that love in which there is no fear, and                                  terreinen, welke zoo door de boosheid des menschen ver-
     when he gives us the faith by which we  shout: in joy of worden  zijn, dat wij ze moeten  loslaten. Die vuil is, dat
     redemption : "We, therefore, being justified by faith,                                    hij nog vuil worde. Er is ook een voortgaand proces  van
     have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."                                       het kwaad, dat wij niet kunnen stuiten.
     He fulfills it, when, if we would return to the old bur-                                              Behoort daartoe ook de cultuur?
     dens and the slavery of sin and death, He draws us back                                               Wij  willen zien.'  "
     unto Himself, and assures us: "Your sins are forgiven."                                               Van het loslaten van dien term wil Dr. Hepp niet
     He fulfills it, when amid the battle and strife of this weten.
     present life in the midst of the world, He makes us                                                   We1 stemt hij toe, dat de bedoeling van Dr. Dijk te
     partakers of the peace rhat passes all understanding.                                     prijzen valt.
         And He will fulfill it to the last.                                                               "Dr. Dijk, zegt hij, wil voorkomen, dat men onder de
         For the final rest is not yet.                                                        leuzc  `up  alle  tcrrein des  Ievens'  veel wereldzin  goed-
         There still abides a sabbath for the people of God.                                   praat."
         The eternal sabbath.                                                                              Dr.  Hepp  is  echter van oordeel, dat Dr. Dijk  tiierbij
         ,4nd the Rest-giver will surely bring that final rest.                                den verkeerden weg inslaat. Hij gelooft, "dat die term
     When all of life is over and all the weary night is  past,                                de uitnemende weergave is van een gedachte, welke nooit
     and the last one of His toiling people shall have been                                    door ons mag  worden  losgelaten."
     brought into rhe rest He accomplished, then He shall                                           1 "Deze term heeft een geschiedenis.
     come again and lead His people into the perfect rest.                                                 Gelijk men weet, heeft Kuyper hem als leuze  opge-
     Then the toiling and groaning creation shall be'delivered                                heven.
     from the yoke of vanity and corruption and partake of                                                 Maar niet als holle, maar als heilige leuze.
     the rest of God's children.                                                                           Kuyper zag zich na zijn bekeering tot het Calvinisme
         God, through Christ shall have completed His work.                                   voor de droeve  werkelijkheid  geplaatst, dat het vrome
        And into that completed work me shall enter.                                          volk  zich niet interesseerde voor wat buiten het  kerke-
         God's tabernacle over all!                                                           lijke en het godsdienstige lag.
        The rest` of eternal joy!                                  H. H.                                   Het liet het overige levensgebied aan de wereld over.


            -I                                 I          .I     .~     --     ,     ._.      __j      ,/     ^,    .*--           -"                     .,.                `_
                                        i                                                                                                                                   `F
                                                     I
                                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D -   B E A R E R
                  8


                       Daarom moet inzondcrheid ook onder Gods- wil  be-_ schonden  menschdom.   zou overhouden ; maar veelmeer
                  trokkcn  worden  de organische samenhang van ons  ge-                                              aan een  bosch uit  C&en  boom gesproten.                          De enkele
                  slacht. Al de samehvoegselen van hoofd en  leden, van boomen  van zulk een bosch zijn dan niet stechts zelfstan-
       -          ouders en kinderen, alsmede van kerk en wereld, zijn voor dige  boomen,  maar  .ook  individuen, die op onderscheidene
                  God middelen ter verwezenlijking van Zijn verbond. His- wijzen het leven van  den stamboom voortzetten en  ont-
                  torisch  tech volgt die verwerkelijking allerwege de orga-                                         wikkelen. Zij  heljben  gemeenschap  aan zijne  natuur.   Is
                  nische lijnen: in den enkeling en in de  geslachten,   posi-                                       nu die natuur in den stamboom verdorven, het leven in
                  tief in de kerk en negatief in de wereld. De realiseering dien wortel wild, dan zal zulks ook het  geval  zijn in al
                  draagt een antithetisch karakter. God schiep den mtinsch                                           de  boomen van het  bosch; en  we1  266, dat elke  indivi-
                  organisch en in organisch  verband.  Daarom leeft hij                                              dueele boom eene bijzondere kant daarvan vertoont,
                  organisch; En daarom bereikt de menschheid hare  vol-                                              waardoor het Wilde leven van het bosch volkomen wordt.
                  koqenheid  in en door al de onderscheidene  individuen                                             En ook kan dan vervolgens door inenting op  zoodanige
                  van ons geslacht. Met de voortschrijding nu van de orga-                                           wijze nieuw leven  worden  aangebracht, dat het  bosch
                  nische ontwikkeling van het leven van ons geslacht houdt herschapen wordt,  schoon  zeer vele  niet-inge&te, maar
                  de  realise&-ing  van de verbondgedachte gelijken  tred.                                           wild gebleven boomen  ten vure `zullen  moeten worden  ge-
                   Daar moet terdege op  worden  gelet. Adam was niet                                                doemd. Dit beeld nu is toepasselijk op ons geslacht. Het
                  slechts  de zedelijke vertegenwoordiger van al de  men-                                            menschdom is een organism. De onderscheidene  leden
                  schelijke personen; zoodat de schuld  van zijn eerste zon-                                         daarvan zijn  Cn  zeifstandige  personen, deelende in Adams
                  de hun wordt toegerekend.. In Adam vinden we ook het                                               schuld,  Cn onderling op duizendvoudige wijze  verschil-
             .. beginsel der menschheid. Adam is ons organisch hoofd.                                                Iende individuen, die organisch gemeenschap hebben aan
                  Daarom  worden  wij niet slechts`als  menschelijke   perso-                                        de wortel-zonde van hun geslachtshoofd Adam.                                 , ,
                  nen met  schuld geboren  en onderworpen  aan de  verdbe-                                                   Met opzicht tot  dit  laatste draagt de zonde van  -ens
             '  menis; maar tolgens Ps.  51:7  worden   alle menschelijke geslacht een organisch karakter. En zulks geldt  dien-
                  individuen in ongerechtigheid en in zonde ontvangen en                                             tengevolge ook van het leven in de zonde, van de  wer-
                  geboren. Gevolg van dit laatste is, dat alle menschelijke king van vloek, dood, verderf, de verleiding; ook van de
                  individuen, krachtkns hunne gemeenschap aan de*wortel-                                             verlossing, het geestelijke  leven, en van de ontwikkeling
                  zonde  van hun organisch hoofd, metterdaad zondigen en van alle  dingen, positief en negatief, en langs  antitheti-
                  de zonde van ons geslacht tot ontwikke@g  brengen. Op                                              sche lijnen.
                  deze organische ontwikkcling, niet alleen van de zonde,                                                    Op het antithetisch karakter. van Gods  Zelf-openba-
                  maar van alle dingen,  is tot nog toe niet genoegzaam ge-                                          ring  letten  we de volgende keer.
                  let. Men heeft, vooral van Gereformeerde zijde,  veel                                                                                                                  H. D.
                  sterkeren nadruk  gelegd op de toereking van Adams
                  schuld  aan alle menschelijke  personen  in hem begrepen
                  dan op den organischen samenhang van hoofd en  leden,                                                                  "Alone with God  !" The  keydote
                  oorspronkelijke  wortelzonde en de daaruit opspruitende                                                                     This of every holy life,
                  actuecle zondcn van de onderscheidene menschelijke                                                                     The secret power of fragrant growth
                  individuen.    .De juridische zijde der zaak werd  ontwik-                                                                  And victory over strife."
            - keld ;  voor de organische gemcenschap had men minder
                  oog. Tn den Catechismus vindt men dit nog niet;  doch
                  later werd zulks meer het  geval.  Ook dit machtig  veld
                  van studie zullen we thans echter niet kunnen betreden.                                                    Righteousness is the opposite of sin, and as the refer-
                  Doch de organische gedachte moet ook vooral in  betrek-                                            ence to God is inseparable from the conception of sin, SO
                  king tot dit punt worden  ontvouwd. Want de organische                                             the reference to God is in precisely the same manner
                  gedachte is voor de verbondsidee onmisbaar.                                                        inherent in the idea of righteousness. To puf it very
                                                                                                                     plainly: If there were no God to see and judge and
                       In  verband  met de zonde moet hier  echter  nog even                                         punish, one might perhaps still continue to speak of good
                  worden   vermeld,  dat de Gereformecrden de dadelijke                                              and evil, meaning thereby what is beneficial or injurious,
                  zonden dikwijls  trachten te verklaren tiit de erfsmet. Dit                                        subject to the approval or disapproval of men, but it
. .               nu kan o. i. onmogelijk. Smet en actueele  zonde  zijn                                             would be meaningless to speak of sin on such a supposi-
                  eigenlijk geheel ongelijke begrippen.  We1  kan men bij                                            tion.          And so, by equal reasoning, while what is  cbm-
                  de zonde onderscheiden tusschen  schuld en smet; maar                                              monly called good might without the existence of God be
                  ter verklaring van de verscheidenheid en ontwikkeling                                              conceivable in the world, yet it could not properly bear
                  van de zonde in ons geslacht in de individueele  menschen-                                         the name of righteousness, for the simple reason that, in
                  kinderen moet men uitgaan van den organischen  samen-                                              order to. deserve this name, according to the Biblical way
                  hang tusschen Adam en alle-zijne nakomelingen. Adam                                                of thinking, it needs  first to be placed in the light of the
                  is geslachtshoofd der menschheid. Wij zijn een  orga-' ,divine nature, the divine will,bthe divine judginent.
                  nisme.  Doch wij zijn niet gelijk  aan een boom, zooals
                  we1 eens wordt voorgesteld, waarvan de stam behouden                                                  1                         Dr. G. Vos, Grace  ' and Glory,  &-and
                                                                                                                                         .
                  blijft en  be takken verlorcn gaan, zoodat God een  ge-                                                                      Rapids, j922, pp. 33, 44.           ~
                                                                                                                             .^


                                                                    T H E   STXNDARD   B E A R E R                                                                        0
-- _.._ - _..____....... - ..." "."."-.-"-        ..".l-" ..." -.._... ..." l_._"."                      -"..."."- -... "."--  -.... ll_l                                 .
                                                                                                                                             ~-..

                       EVIL OR PRONE TO EVIL?                                                             sake of His covenant-people in the world, therefore, He
                                                                                                           determines that the world shall not again be subjected to
                                       And  Clod saw that the wickedness  af man                          such awful upheavals as had just been witnessed in the
                                    was great in the earth, and that every
                                    imagination of the thoughts of                                         deluge. For man's sake He would destroy the world
                                                                                       his heart was
                                    only evil continually.                               --Gen.   65.     again and again. For the imagination of  manfs heart is
                                       . . . . For the imagination of man's  heart                        only evil, evil from his youth up.
                                    is evil from his                                                                                                 If there were no other
                                                         youth.                         -&en.   821.       consideration, therefore, the only thing man might expect
      The two passages of Scripture, when read in their                                                    would be a repetition of the catastrophe rhat had been
proper context, would at first sight appear to stand, in                                                  visited upon the first world. But it is the consideration
irreconcilable contradiction with relation to each other.                                                 of His covenant and the motive of His covenant-love
                                                                                                           that constitutes the ground in the Lord for the resolu-
B'oth, indeed, announce the total depravity of the natural                                                 tion not to destroy and curse rhe ground and every living
man in strongest terms. The imagination of man's heart                                                    thing anymore, as long as the earth remaineth.
is evil from his youth up. Every imagination of his
heart is only evil continually. In regard to their doc-                                                         In the meantime, the texts quoted above contain very
trinal contents both passages teach the very same truth                                                   clear and strong statements with regard to the ethical
and they perfectly agree in this respect. But when we                                                      and spiritual condition of the natural man, which in the
take into consideration the connection in which each of                                                   present times and under present conditions we cannot
                                                                                                           pass by without a word of comment.  Calvin  rightly
these passages appears it seems that they cannot be har-                                                   makes the remark in his commentary on  Gen.  G:5  :
monized with each other.                        For in the first passage the                               "Nevertheless, though Moses here speaks of the wicked-
Lord evidently announces the ground upon which He                                                          ness which at that time prevailed in the world, the gen-
will send the flood and destroy the earth and all flesh;                                                   eral doctrine is properly and consistently hence elicited.
while in the second passage He expresses the same truth,                                                   Nor do they rashly distort the passage who extend it to
but now apparently as a ground for His determination                                                       the whole human race." In other words, the texrs do
not to destroy the earth by a flood anymore.                                                               not only inform us concerning the spiritual condition of
      A closer examination of the two passages, however,                                                   the human race at that time, but they constitute a proper
will convince us, that this contradiction is only apparent.                                                basis for the general doctrine of the universal and total
The text in Gen.  6:5 expresses the historic condition of                                                  depravity of the human race at every age. But if such
the first world as the basis upon which God will execute                                                   be the case, ivords  like these afford no comfort at all for
final judgment in the flood. It expresses, as Calvin has                                                   those philosophers in our churches, who speak of all
it : "that the world had then become so hardened in its                                                   kinds of good in the lives of natural men. If  e~ry
wickedness, and was so far from any amendment, or- from                                                    imagination of the thoughts of the natural man's heart
entertaining any feeling of penitence, .that it grew worse                                                is only evil  continually  and that  from his  yout& up,  how
and worse as time advanced ; and further that it was not                                                   would these philosophers possibly justify their position,
the folly of a few days, but the inveterate depravity                                                      that nevertheless this natural man, with that depraved
which the children having received, as by hereditary                                                       heart, that produces nothing but evil thoughts and evil
right, transmitted from their parents to their descend-                                                    imaginations, and that continually, uninterruptedly from
ants." Th'e depravity of the human race was the basis                                                      his  yourh   ub, does  ,still much that is good before God?
of the judgment of God upon rhe world. It stands to                                                        Yet, thus it is proclaimed by many, that,  alab, occupy a
reason that the same fact of the universal and total                                                       prominent position in the church. When Dr. Beets was
depravity  ;,f the race cannot serve as the ground on                                                      cross-examined in court on the question of the Reformed
which the Lord would refrain from executing judgment.                                                      conception of total depravity, he said, with reference to
neither is such the meaning of Gen.  321. If we will                                                       all men: "All our works are tainted with sin" and he
study the context closely we will discover soon that the                                                   compared the natural man to a good apple with rotten
Lord in determining that He would destroy the world                                                        spots. And Dr. Eouma, who is supposed to indoctrinate
no more by a flood, was motivated by radically different                                                   our young men that prepare themselves for the ministry,
considerations. We read  : f'And Noah  builded  an altar                                                   interrogated by the attorney and asked whether the
unto the Lord  ; and took of every clean beast, and of                                                     natural man always sinned answered : "Absolutely not."
every clean fowl and offered burnt offerings on the altar.                                                 Rev.  VanderMey wrote in his protest against  us  to the
And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said                                                     consistory (we translate) :
in His heart, I will not again curse the ground any more                                                        "Certainly I believe with our Catechism that we  are
for man's sake ; for the imagination of man's heart is evil                                                prone by nature to hate God and our neighbor, and that
from his youth; neither will I again smite anymore every                                                   we are inclined to all evil.
thing living as I have done." vss.  20, 21. The meaning                                                         "But here we surely have a valuable distinction which
is plain. God smelled rhe sweet savour of Noah's sacri-                                                    may never be lost sight of. Not all sinners hate  God
fice and upon this He determines not to curse the ground                                                   and their neighbor consciously and with a decided heart.
any more.                It is His covenant with Noah which  :He                                           Through God's common grace sin does not come to full
remembers. For the sake CJE  that covenant, and for the                                                    manifestation, but with many, if not with most people,


  10                                      TIlE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                  ."..,--.- ..-._-........---
  "----
  it remains a germ, a seed, a propensity. Through this                          heart is only evil continually and that the imagination of
  same grace of God there is in the world still mercy and                        his heart is evil from his youth up.
  love of the neighbor."           *                                                 Here there is no mention of a seed or germ in the
        The "valuable distinction," then, is that most men                       heart, or of a propensity or inclination of our nature. It
  are not really evil but that there is a germ, a seed of evil                   speaks of the heart of every human being in action. It
  in their hearts. All men do not really hate God and their                      speaks absolutely and exclusively. It teaches that when-
  neighbor, but their nature shows a propensity, an inclina-                     ever the human heart is in action, produces thoughts and
  tion to hate, while most men really love !                                     imaginations, the action is always evil, continually. It
                                                                                 does not speak  nf man in the abstract, but in the con-
        Synod had this before her. The committee consid-                         crete ; it does not philosophize about a certain condition
  ered this document.         Dr. De Jong and Prof. Berkhof                      man might be in if it were not for other conditions inter-
  were of the- committee that considered this protest care-                      vening, but of every man of flesh and blood coming into
  fully, discussed it, advised concerning its contents. They                     the world as he actually exists. And ir leaves no room
  approved of these statements, passed them on as good
  Reformed doctrine and as the truth of Scripture and                            for good deeds and desires and impulses. It pronounces
                                                                                 the natural man evil from head to foot, from birth till
  advised Synod to express "that God by the general opera-
  tions of His Spirit exerts such an influence on man that                       death, from Adam till the second advent.
  he can do civic good."                                                             Evil or prone to evil?
                                                                                     Thar is the question.
        H.  J.  Kuiper  writes:                                                      And if you will not take my word for the proper
        "We may conclude, therefore, that the sinner is able                     explanation of this text, I feel confident that you will
  to perform civic righteousness, outward good. He can                           listen to Calvin. Surely, even our opponents, that speak
  perform  deeds  which, as deeds, are in conformity with                        of propensities and germs and seeds of evil, will change
God's law. He can do good to his fellow men, even                                their mind and be converted from their error, when John
  though this does not proceed from a believing and                              Calvin speaks.     Well, then, listen to his comment on
  thankful heart. He can be honest in his dealings, true                         Gen. S:.Zl :
  to his promise, faithful to his marriage-vow, kind to his                          "Moreover, since God here declares what would be
  neighbors, temperate in his habits. It will not do to say                      the character of men even to the end of the world, it is
  that all this is sin and nothing but sin in God's sight.                       evident that the whole human race is under sentence of
  Christ, the Holy One, calls it `doing good,  " . . . . *                       condemnation, on account of its depravity and wicked-
        "Our second conclusion is that the unconverted is                        ness. Nor does the sentence refer only to corrupt morals;
  able not only to perform  deeds  which conform to God's                        but their iniquity is said to he an innate iniquity, from
  law, but that he also has certain desires and impulses                         which nothing but evils can spring forth. I  conder,  how-
  which are good and from which his good deeds spring.`,*                        ever, whence that false  version  of  this passage has crept in,
        "Sinners do good to their friends and Iove their                         that the  thoug&   is: prone to evil; except, as is probable,
  friends. Christ calls that good."*                                             that the place was thus corrupted, by those who  di.rwe too
        And this he preached in his church!                                      philosophically concerning the corruption of human nature.
        We conclude, then, that it is become the doctrine in                     (I underscore.)    Calvin refers here to the Vulgate  which
  the Christian Reformed Churches, that the natural man                          translates: Sensus enim, et  cogitatio  humani   cordis  in
  has a propensity, an inclination to evil, but that actually                    malum prona sun! ; "The understanding, indeed, and the
  he is not really evil. There is a germ  .Jf evil in his                        imagination of a man's heart are inclined, prone to evil."
  nature, but his entire nature is not corrupt as an actual                      H. H.) It seemed ro them hard that man should be sub-
  fact !                                                                         jected, as a slave of the devil, to sin. Therefore, by way
        We will not now take the trouble to investigate what                     of mitigation, they have said that he had a propensity to
  a terrible corruption this is of our Reformed Standards,                       *vices.    But when the celestial Judge thunders from
  which teach that we are so corrupt that we are wholly                          heaven,  that: his thoughts themselves are evil, what avails
  incapable of doing any good and inclined to all evil, which                    it to soften down that which, nevertheless remains unal-
  teach that the natural man with his natural light cannot                       terable? T-et men, therefore acknowledge, that inasmuch
  only never come to any saving knowledge of God, but                            as they are born  df Adam, they are depraved creatures,
  that also in things natural and civil he corrupts it and                       and therefore can conceive only sinful thoughts, until
  pollutes it and holds it under in unrighteousness. Thanks                      they become the new workmanship of Christ, and are
  to the I,ord,  our people are again beginning to study the                     formed by His Spirit unto a new life.  -4nd it is not to
  Reformed Confessions for themselves and are well able to                       be duubted that the Lord declares the very mind of man
  discern their clear light in this respect from the  philos-                    to be depraved, and altogether infected with sin; so that
  op.hy  of blind leaders.                                                       all the thoughts which proceed from thence are evil.
        But we will call attention to the contrast between this                   If such be the defect in the fountain itself, it follows that
  philosophy and the texts quoted above.                                         all man's affections are evil, and his works covered with
        Evil or prone to evil?                                                   the same pollution, since of necessity they must savour
        That is the question involved.                                           of their original. For God does not merely say that men
        PLnd the text says that every imagination of man's                        sometimes think evil  ; but the language is unlimited,  com-


                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   BErZRER                                                          11
                                                   -_c_                   ---__.^.--l.l___ -.---...I__-   -.                          -__
1_1-            __"..
prising the tree with its fruit. Nor is it any proof to the                             NOG EEN  POPTJLAIR  BEWIJS
contrary, that carnal and profane men often excel in
generosity of  clisposition, undertake designs apparently                       Vonr de gedachte, dat God:  blijkens de prediking van
honorable, and put forth certain evidences of virtue. For het  Evangclie,   behalve  de zaligmakende genade, die
since their mind is corrupted with contempt of God, with                     allcen  gcschonken wordt aan de uitverkorenen ten eeuwi-
pride, self-love, ambition, hypocrisy and fraud; it cannot                   gen  lcven.  ook nog eene zekere, niet zaligmakende, gunst
be but that all their thoughts are contaminated with the trf  gonadc  bewijst  aan de serworpenen, die Gods Woord
same vices. Again, they cannot tend toward a right end: ho?ren  verlcnndigen,  voert  men  gewoonlijk nog een zeer
whence it happens that they are judged to be what they                       bekcnde plaats aan uit de `Heilige Schrift, namelijk : Matt.
really are, crooked and perverse. For all things in such                     23:37  of  Luk.  13:34.  De Synode van Kalamazoo deed
men, which please us under the colour of virtue, are like                    zulks in hare officieele stukken niet, zoodat wij haar voor
wine, spoiled by the odor of the cask. For, as was before                    dit zoogenaamd bewijs dan ook niet  aansprakelijk   hou-
`said, the very affections of nature, which in themselves                    den  ; maar in allerlei predikaties, geschriften en  samen-
are laudable, are yet vitiated by original sin, and on sprekingen geschiedt dit  uitermate  veel. Meer zelfs nog
account of their irregularity,, have degenerated from their dan  aan  Ezech.  33  :11 wordt  aan deze plaats het bewijs
proper nature; such are the mutual love of married per-                      untleend  voor  de gedachte van het  algemecn  en  welge-
sons, the love of parents towards their children and the                     meend aanbod des Evangelies. Reeds v&jr de Dordtsche
like. And the clause which is added, "from youth," more                      Synode  beriepen de Remonstranten zich voor hun gevoe-
fully declares that men are born evil; in order to show,                     len mede  op dezen tekst, zoodat onderschcidene afgevaar-
that as soon as they are of an age to begin to form                          digden  tcr Synode hunne exegese van deze plaats ten
thoughts, they have radical corruption of mind. Philoso- beste gaven,  cn het algemeen gevoelen der Synode, al
phers by transferring to habit what God here describes                       heeft zij dit  oak niet in  officieele  taal vastgelegd, ons
to nature, betray their own ignorance. And no wonder; thans nog zeker genoegzaam duidelijk is uit de kanttee-
for we please and flatter ourselves to such an extent, that                  kcning der statenoverzetters  betreffende  dit vers. De
we do not perceive how fatal is the contagion of sin, and                    groote Synode vend in die woorden gcenerlei bewijs voor
what depravity pervades all our senses. We must, there-                      de gedachte, dat God al de  hoorders  van het Evangelie
fare, acquiesce in the judgment of God, which pronounces                     roept tot gcnade en zaligheid. En nog minder heeft zij
man to be so  enslavecl  by sin, thar he can bring forth                     beweerd, dat, blijkens de Evangelieprediking, God  oak
nothing sound and sincere."                                                  eene zekcre  qunst of gcnade  bewijst, of wilt gc, een tijde-
    Once more, brethern that speak of the good of natural                    lijkcn   zcgen   schcnkt   aan  degenen.  die Gods  `Woord   wel
man: what  ia it, evil  or prone to evil, corrupt or a pro-                  hoorcn,  doch  yerwerpcn.          N een, geheel  omgekeerd,   zij
pensity to corruption, a germ or actual hatred and iniq-                     heeft   we1  zeer   wezenlijk   gevoeld,  dat  IsraG door de  ver-
uity ?                                                                       werping \-an den  Christus  de  maat van de  ongerechtig-
    We say, that the  llrord  of God does not teach your heid  der  vaderen  vervulde  ;  opdat   op  dat gcslacht  der
deceiving  ph;losophy  concerning the natural men. We foden zou komen al bet rechtvaardige bloed, dat vergoten
say, that as long as you thus teach as you do you are                        is op de aarde,  van het bloed des rechtvaardigen Labels  af,
misleading rhe people you are called to instruct.                            tot 011 het bloed van Zacharia. DuideIijk  is tevens uit de
    And  YOU  are responsible.  You  clirectly contradict the                kantteekening.  dat de Dordtsche  vaderen   oog  hadden
plain teaching of the Word of God.                                           voor de organische ontwikkeling van het kwaad, voor de
    But if you will not take my statements, will you sub-                    verbondsgemeenschap der  Joden,  en voor de geestelijke
 scribe to the above quotation from Calvin? It will change                   zedelijke organische eenheid van het slangenzaad. .De
 your preaching and teaching. ?,nd it will be to the good                    natuurlijke Joden van Jezus' dagen waren  slangen.  adde-
of Christ's church.                                                           rengebroedsels, geestelijke nakomelingen van  Kain,  kiu-
                                                           H. H.              deren des duivels; zij zijn het geestelijke organ&e  zaad
                                           .-                                tfer slang, en  daarom kon van hen  afgeeischt   worden  al
            Wat  afvalt  van den  hoogcn God                                  het b!oed  der rechtvaardigen, dat vergoten werd van het
                         Moet  vailen.                                       begin der wereld. In weerwil van dit alles  echter bleef
            Eenzelfde  deel, eenzelfde lot                                    men  otrk  ni  161&`19  bcweren, mede met beroep op deze
                         Voor  allen,                                         Schriftuurplaats.  dat God wil, dat althnns  alle  hoorclers
            `t  Gezin.   "t geslacht, het  volk, de  staat,                   van het Evangelie zullen zalig worden.  Voor die gcdachte
                  l)c klcinen en de grooten.                                  wordt deze  plaats zelfs bij voorkeur aangehaald. En of-
            .Vcrlaten  wordt, wat God  verlaat,                               schoon  de Synode van 1924 die voorstelling niet heeft ge-
                  Wat  Gud verstoot, verstooten.                     '        huldigd, zoo heeft zij  tech eene gedachte uitgesprokeri,
            We1 hoort men dagelijks stem op stem                              die. naar  ens  bcste  weten,  nimmcr  tevoren in de geschie-
                         Weerklinken :                                        denis  door eenige  kerkclijke vergadering is aanvaard,
            "&en nood ! Wij redden  `t zonder Hem  1"                         namelijk: God bewijst  oak  aan de verworpenen  onder de
                         Maar die het zeggen,  -...- zinken.                  hoorders  van het Evangelic. en die het Woord Gods  ver-
                                                           Beets.             werpen, eene zekere gunst of genade, of wilt gc, naar de


t
                                                                                                       --
                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                17
      _I  -l.-_l_l-.-               _......... ^- -....-- L...-                                                                    -     -
         The above  we saw, is in truth a free yet correct repro-        ncn ten eeuwigen leven, ook  ten zekere gunst of genade
      duction of scripture. Listen once more: For the children           Gods is, die Hij betoont  aan zijn schepselen in het  alge-
      being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil,          mecn. Translating we have : Scripture and our standards
      that the purpose of God according to election might                affirm that, besides the saving grace which God manifests
      stand, not of works but of Him that calleth; . . . . . as it is    unto His people, there is also a certain grace or favor
      written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated;. . . . .       manifested by God unto His creatures in general. The
      Rom.  9:11-13.  I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye           meaning and import of the above assertion is clear. It is
      say, wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's              this: God is gracious unto the reprobate. Then the
      brother? saith the Lord: Yet I  loved Jacob, and I hated           synod deemed it necessary to place its deliverance upon
      Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for            a confessional and scriptural basis. In doing so that body
     the dragons of the wilderness whereas Edom saith,  WC               refers us to the Canons of Dordrecht, chapter 2, article 5,
      are impoverished, but we will return and build the deso-           and chapter 3 and 4, articles 8 and 9.  Bcxidcs,  several
      late places : thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build,      scriptural passages are quoted in support of  the  first deliv-
      but I will thrown down; and they shall  call them, the erance. In those chapters of the Canons of Dordrecht
     border of wickedness, and the people against whom the               referred to it is taught among other things that the prom-
      Lord hath indignation forever; Malachi  1:2-4. For He              ise of the Gospel is, that whosoever believeth in Christ
      saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have              crucified shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
      mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have              Further, that this promise together with the command to
      compassion, . . . . . For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh,        repent and believe ought to be declared and published to
      even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I all nations, and to all persons promiscuously. In short,
      might show my power in thee, and, that my name might               the truths contained in these articles are adduced as a
      be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath He            proof for the proposition that God shows grace or favor
      mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will                 to the reprobate.
      He hardeneth;  Ram.   9:15,  17, 18. Surely Thou didst set            Prof. Berkhof informs us on page 3 of his "De  Dric
     . them in slippery places; Thou casteth them down into              Punten in alle  Deelen  Gereformeerd" that "Die  punten
      destruction; Ps. 73  :18. When the wicked spring as the            vormen sinds the synode het brandpunt in den  strijd" and
     grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do  ilourish;           again: "Doch een zeer kleine minderhcid heeft er zich in
      it is that they shall be destroyed forever,  Ps.  92:7.   NOW onze kringen met kracht tegen verzet . . . . . " Indeed it
      thanks be unto God, which always causcth us to triumph is so. We have maintained all along that the three points
     in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of His knowl-              of synod are a departure from the truth, that these partic-
      edge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet             ular deliverances militate against scripture and our stand-
      savor of Christ!  in them that are saved, and in them that         ards. We  forsee  that eventually the three points will be
      perish : To the one we are the savor of death unto death ;         the undoing of the church. We have not refrained from
     and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is            voicing our objections. A love for God and His truth, a
      sufficient for these things? For we are not as many                deep and sincere concern for the well-being of the church
     which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity but              impelled us to expose publicly the fallacies embodied in
      as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ. 2 Cor.          the three declarations of synod. We felt it our duty to
      2 :14-17.                                                          publicly warn men against those leaders in our midst
         He who compares my findings with the above scrip-               engaged in injecting into the organism of the church the
      tures sees at once that my findings are in truth extracted         deadly poison of Arminianism. Be it known that we shall
     from Holy Writ. And in our previous essay we success- continue to cry out as long as God gives us breath.
     fully called upon Calvin and  170s to affirm that the line             It is as Prof. Berkhof states: "Eene zeer kleine  min-
      which we  Tirew runs through God's Word. What is                   derheidc  ?> heeft zich in onze kringen verzct." It became
      more, not one among the exponents of the theory of necessary to defend and protect the three productions of
      Common  Gra'ce has the courage to point us to the above            synod against the onslaught of the adversary. Besides
     scripture and assert that they do not teach what we in              had not synod urged "de leiders van ons volk, zoowel  pre- *
     conjunction with Calvin and  Vos claim they teach.                  dikanten als professoren, dat zij het leerstuk der Gemeene
         However the exponents of the theory of Common                   Gratie in nadere studie nemen,  zich de problemen die
     Grace claim to have discovered in scripture that God is             daardoor naar voren gebracht worden  nauwkeurig inden-
     assuming an attitude toward the reprobate diametrically             ken, in  predikatign,  lezingen en geschriften?'  -At any
     opposed to that set forth in the scriptures quoted above.           rate, several  in the past months have come to the defense
     What scripture and our standards are held to teach on               of the three points. Among others Rev.  Zwier  and Prof.
     the matter was cast in the form of a proposition and                Schoolland in "De Wachter," Rev. Muyskcns in "The
     adopted by the broadest ecclesiastical body of our                  Banner,"' Rev. H. J.  Kuiper  in his "The Three Points of
     churches. The proposition is the first of the three noto-           Common Grace." We have carefully taken account of
     rious points of synod. It reads as follows: Volgens                 all that was written. More than once we replied.
     schrift  en confessie staat het vast dat er, behalve  de zalig-        Prof. Berkhof also felt constrained to champion
     makende genade Gods bewezen alleen aan de uitverkore-               synod's deliverances. It need not surprise us as they are


1S                                          T H E   STiINDARD   R E A R E R
                                            _I.-.- -.......... ".."..".-                           _____I_  ..-._................_.  _..- .__-.

in the main his products. We expected to hear from him                      zijde sprcekt de synode uit dat de genoemde leeraren in
long ago. He appears upon the scene at last in a bro-                       hunne  geFchriften.  volgens hun eigen herhaalde  verkla-
chure bearing the title: "De Drie  Punten in  al!e  Deelen                  ringen, niet xnders  willen  en bedoelen dan de  gerefor-
Gereformeerd." We have read and re-read the booklet,                        mecrde leer, dc leer der Heilige Schrift, en van onze be-
and a careful analysis  of the contents of the professor's lijdenisschrilten,  te  leeren,  en te verdedigen, terwijl het
booklet made us see anew that the attempt to  compel1                       niet kan wordcn ontkend, dat zij in de grondwaarheden,
our standards and scripture to corroborate and affirm the                   zooals   die in  onze   Belijdenisschriften  geformulerrd  zijn,
thought imbedded in the three declarations of synod                         Gercformeerd zijn, al is het ook met een neiging tot een-
invariably ends in a dismal failure.  Thus it happens that                  zijdighcid."       The synod, we should not fail to notice,
we wish to reply.                                                           declared that the brethren Danhof and Hoeksema are
      The professor writes: "Wij hebben geen wrok jegens                    Reformed  in the fundamental truths as formulated in our
hen (de broederen) in het hart, al moetcn we van hen                        confessions.
verschillen,  en hopen ons ook zorgvuldig te wachten voor                            Let us now attend to those sections of our confes-
alle persoonlijkhedcn. Liefst gaan wij uit van de  ge-                      sions which the synod regarded as containing the neces-
dachte, dat zij in  alle ernst meenen wat  zij beweren en                   sary proof for its three declarations. Canons of Dort.,
oprccht  zijn in hun bedoelingen; en wij  hopen,  dat zij                   chapter 2, art. 5; chapter 3, 4, art. S, 9. Confessions, art.
even welwillend  zullen zijn ten opzichte van hen die mcc-                  13,  36. Canons of Dort., chapter 3, 4, art. 4. Now a
nen van  hen te  moeten  vcrschillen." The professor is                     study of these sections of our Standards convince me
determined to remain brotherly. He refuses to doubt our                     that they are the formulation of most fundamental truth.
motives. He asks us to show him the same Christian                          These sections contain the following truths and man-
courtesy. By the grace  c.Jf God we  will. We promise to                    dates :
be charitable. It appears? however, that the  profes$or's                       a! The promise of the gospel is that whosoever
determination to remain brotherly does not hinder him                       believeth in Christ Jesus shall not perish but have eternal
from calling things by their name. For example,  I read                     life.
on page 63 : "De afwijkende broeders zijn feitelijk  bezig                      b) This promise together with the command to
met het bestrijden van een stroopop, die zij  zelf hebben                   repent and believe must be declared and published to all
opgericht." It appears from this and several other utter-                   nations, and to all persons promiscuously and without  dis-
&es that the professor is a man who likes to call a                         tinction.
spade a spade.  .4s it happens  I am that kind of a man                         C>      :ls many as are called by the gospel are un-
too. Hence we ought to get along pretty well together feignedly called.
as opponents.                                                                   d)       It is acceptable to Him (God) that all those who
      Let us now examine the professor's defense. Page 5                    are called `should comply with the invitation.
contains a couple of interesting statements to which I                          e'j     Eternal life and rest is promised to all those who
wish to attend first of all. The utterance to which I refer come.
reads as follows: "Zij  (de synode) heeft  alleen  een  drie-                   f)      God's providence, with ail that it implies? sustain-
tal waarheden naar voren  gebracht en geformuleerd, die                     ment, co-operation and government.
duidelijk in onze confessioneele Standaards begrepen, en                        9)       The appointment by God of kings, princes and
voor  een  gedeclte  daarin  zelfs uitdrukkelijk  zijn  uitge-              magistrates.
sproken."                                                                       i)  Their  d u t y .
      Notice how that the professor divides'the three points                    2) The duty of  the subject.
of synod into two parts. Next he informs us that the one                        hj  The moral responsibility of the sinner who per-
part is a literal reproduction of certain truths contained                  ishes maintained.
in the Standards, and that the other part  of the three                         i>      Man. although totally depraved, remains a rational
points are the embodiment  of truths which are implied in                   moral being, as he  retains  some knowledge of God, of
our confession. Listen to the professor once more:  ",Die                   rational things, of the difference between good and evil,
duidelijk in onze confessioneele standaards begrepen en                     and discovers some regard for virtue, good order in
voor een gedeelte  daarin  zelfs  uitdrukkelijk  zijn  zrfttgespro-         society and for maintaining an orderly external deport-
ken. Hence, according to the professor the three points                     ment.
of synod are in part literal reproductions and in part                          j>      This light of nature is not sufficient to bring him
Implications, hence conclusions. This, let me say is an                     to a saving knowledge of God.
extremely interesting statement..          Let us  see what it                  k)` He is even incapable of using it  aright  in things
implies.                                                                    natural. In various ways hc renders this light wholly
      The three points of synod in part literal reproductions               polluted and holds it in unrighteousness.
of certain truths found in the standards. Now, if this be                       These are the truths contained in the articles referred
true, the three points in part must embody the confes-                      to. We are all ready to admit that these truths, every
sional truth of which they are meant to be a reproduction.                  one of them, are of fundamental importance. The sec-
      We shall now investigate whether this be true. Thr                    tions referred to contain not one unfundamental truth. If
synod of 1924 expresses itself as follows : "ban de andere                  so I am very eager to know what that truth might be.


                                       T II E S `I? A N D A R D B E rZ R E R                                              19

  Bear in mind now how that the synod declared the              is a conclusion. .4s logicians therefore, these brethren
brethren Reformed in truths fundamental. However,               have been dealing with our standards. The declaration
the synod was of the opinion that the  brethren  erred in       that God shows favor to the reprobate is the conclusion
respect to the truth of which the three points are a form-      of the logician.
ulation.                                                            This is extremely interesting, because we have been
    We arc now ready to draw a conclusion. Whereas  the taken  sever-fly  to task for doing just this thing, namely
brethren are Reformed in truths fundamental, and                for approaching the Standards and the scriptures as
whereas they erred in respect to the truths contained in        logicians.  I,et  us  listen  once more to these critics. In
the three points, it follows that the three  points are the     "`De Wachter" of Feb. 4 Prof. Schoolland asserts: "Wij
formulation of three non-fundamental truths.  NOW  we           voor  ons xijn vast overtuigd, dat we in betrekking tot de
saw that the truths contained in those particular sections      moeilijkheden bij genoemde broeders in dat punt van ge-
of our Standards referred to are all fundamental. Further       loovige  `Noctica'  (kenleer), dat is in het punt van  ge-
Prof. Berkhof claims, as we saw, that in part the three         loofsintuitie.  dc oorzaak voor ons hebben van de verschil-
points are a reproduction, a re-statement of the truths         lende beschouwingen betreffende de gemeene gratie in
contained in the articles to which synod referred  US.          `t algemeen, en in betrekking tot het  eerste  van de drie
We are now ready to draw another conclusion. Whereas            punten  in  "t bijzonder." And again: "Wat de  dingen
the truths contained in the three points are non-fun-           wezenlijk zijn, en  - menschelijk gesproken - in welke
damental, and whereas the truths found in said articles         verhouding God  staat  tot den mensch in betrekking tot
are fundamental, all of them, it follows that in part the       de beginselen van  recht, zonde en genade, enz.,  weten
three points of synod are non-fundamental re-statements         wij niet volgens redenecring uit onze begrippen;  weten
or reproductions of fundamental truths.       Now a non-        we dus allccn  in zoover ons God daarover licht geeft door
fundamental restatement of a fundamental truth is neces- zijn woord in  verband  met de  algemeenc  openbaring."
sarily erroneous. A re-statement of a fundamental truth,            And once more: "Socrates, Aristotle en Kant geven
to be correct must contain the fundamental idea. Hence,         ons met al hun logische beginselen, hoe kostelijk ook voor
according to Prof. Berkhof's own admission, the three           bet  menschelijk   -denken,  niets, volstrekt niets voor het
points at least in part are false. This is actually the case. geloof; ze brengen ons niet de minste baat  aan om de
The last two  points: as to form are identical to certain       dingen  Gods te verstaan. Want deze  laten   zich niet  be-
statements contained in said articles. But as to their grijpen."'             Rev. Zwier expresses himself thus: "God
essence and real meaning they  differ. The second point         vraagt niet van u, dat gij Hem en Zijne deugden en zijn
speaks of  "een bcteugeling der zonde." Art. 13 of our          wcrken  zult  bcgrIjpen.    In plaats van te trachten met uw
confessions  contains  a statement which reads: "Dat Hij        gebrekkige   logica te rijmen wat ge nimmer zult kunnen
tie duivelen in toom houdt en al  onze  vijanden, die ons,      rijmen,  zult ge  bcter   doen  met uw kortzichtigheid te
zonder zijne toelating en wil, niet schaden kunnen."'           erkennen en te komen tot de belijdenis: `God is groot en
Notice the similarity between this clause and the second        wij begrijpen het  nict!'  " (De Wachter, Jan. 1925, No. 1,
point. As to real meaning, however,  there.is  a vast dif-      pa.65  3.)
ference between the two. And so it is with  "bergerlijk             According to Prof. Schoolland and Rev. Zwier our
goed." Just what the difference is we shall make clear in       sin is that we react upon the truth of God with our
due time. The idea expressed in the first point, let me         rational mind. They take us to task, do they not? for
say. is not found in our Standards, not even by implica- approaching God's truth as a logician. And Prof. School-
tion.                                                           land chides us for adhering in our thinking to the logical
    ,4nd this brings us to a second matter. ISotice  once principles discovered by Aristotle. Is this brother of the
more the statement : "Zij (de synode) heeft alleen een          opinion that Prof. Berkhof is not adhering to certain
drietal waarheden naar voren gebracht en geformulecrd, logical principles when with his rational mind he reacted
die duidelijk in onze confessioneele Standaards begrcp~n,       upon divine truth found in our Standards and infers that
en voor een gedeclte daarin zelfs uitdrukkelijk zijn uitge-     God shows'grace to the reprobate? This then is the sit-
sproken.                                                        uation. WC are accused of a crime for reacting upon the
    The three points, according to the professor, are in        word of God with our rational minds and for adhering in
part implied in the Standards. One sees at once that it is      our thinking to logical principles. Now, Prof. Berkhof,
the first point to which the professor refers. It is implied. together with those responsible for the first point, com-
"Implied" is the English equivalent for inbegrepen. Now         mitted a similar offense when they extracted from our
to be engaged in extracting from the data at hand that          Standards their implication. However we were deposed
which is implied means to be engaged in reasoning. It because we refused to recognize the sinful product of
means that the professor together with those who are            their criminal mental activities. And most disgusting it
responsible for the first point focused their human rational    is that those very men who raved so because we
minds upon certain data contained in said articles. Their       approached the scripture as believing logicians accept.
rational human minds functioned, that is to say these           embrace and" defend the result of Prof. Berkhof's mental
minds discovered and extracted the implication that God         processes namely the first point. I ask in all sincerity is
shows favor to the reprobate. This extracted implication        it not clear that our deposition was a huge farce?


20                                                                      T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R
               .--^.-^^  __--.  ".----_^ ..-.......-.....  "..." ..-                       -...-......... ".--                                     -_-  .._.
      That the  lirst point is actually an inference becomes                              must bc  very small indeed since it is an  infcrcnce made
very clear when  WC compare it with the contents of the                                   from an inference removed twice from the scriptures and
articles of our Standards referred to. Page  12 of the                                    once from the standards. The professor himself  avarns
professor's brochure contains the headline "Confcssioneel                                 us against such logical consequences. Says he:  "In de
Bewijs voor dit Punt." Thereupon follows the proof.  -4                                   ecrste  plaats  de afgeleide analogic, waarbij men ook dc
single remark before we proceed to analyze the data fur-                                  logische consecluentics, die men uit het woord van God
nished. Proof is of two kinds : .a) that which one adduces                                aflcidt tot den rang van Rcgula Veritatis verheft. Dit is
to establish  an inference; b) literal proof. The former                                  zeer   gevaarlijk  dewijl de mensch in zijn  denken  niet
must  be regarded as the premise of the statement or                                      onfeilbaar is." Wc do not claim that the professor rec-
proposition proved and consequently is not identical  to                                  ommended elevating the erst point to  ReguIa  Fidei. We
the statement. The latter, the literal proof must be the                                  do wish to point out, however, that he does warn us
exact  equivalent  of the  statement  proved.                                  On page    against such "logische conscquenties" as the first point
twelve of his brochure the professor furnishes proof for                                  is, when he asserts that "de mensch in zijn denkcn niet
the proposition that God shows grace to the reprobate.                                    onfeilbaar is."
Let us compare it with  the first point. The proof consists                                     What is more,  the confession of the church is a human
in certain- clauses taken from the standards. It reads:                                   production. Says Dr. Bavinck: "De belijdenis der kerk
"Moreover the promise of the gospel is that whosoever                                     kan heeten  bet dogma  quoad  nos, dat is de waarheid
believeth in Christ crucified shall not perish but have                                   Gods,  gelijk zij in bet bewustzijn der gemeente is  opge-
everlasting life. This promise, together with the com-                                    nomen  en door haar in haar eigen taal wordt beleden."
mand to believe and to repent  ought to be preached and                                   (Bavinck, Gercformcerde  Dogmatiek,  vol. I, p. 6.) And
published unto all nations, and to all persons promiscu-                                  again : "`De schrift is alleen  norma en regula  fidei en
ously and without distinction, to whom God out of His                                     vitae; de belijdenis verdient alleen geloof, omdat en in
good pleasure sends the gospel." And again:  "AS many                                     zoomer  zij met dc schrift  overeenkomt  en blijft,  als  feil-
as  are called by  the  gospel are unfeignedly called, for                                bnar  menschenwerk,  revisibel en examinabel  aan de
God hath most earnestly and truly declared in his word,                                   Schrift." (Bavinck, Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, vol. I, p.
what will be acceptable to `Him: namely, that all who are                                 73.) Dr.  Bavinck,  we should notice, denominates the
called should comply with the invitation. WC moreover                                     church confession a human production, the work of man,
seriously promises eternal life and rest, to as many  as                                  liable to revision and examination. Point one, therefore,
shall come to Him, and believe in Christ." (Canons of                                     is a conclusion drawn from a human production.
Dort, II, 5  ; II  ; IV,  8.)                                                                   Now we  were surprised to discover how that Prof.
      Compare  with the above adduced proof the proposi-                                  Bcrkhof in his "Beknopte Bijbelsche Hcrmeneutick"
tion : "God shows grace to the reprobate." Do the above                                   denounces holding a human author responsible for what
quotations from the standards contain a single statement                                  can be  deduced  from his writings. Says the professor:
equivalent to the first point of synod? Can the first point "Nu staat hct  echter bij het verklarcn van mcnschelijke
be regarded as a rc-statement  of a single clause found in                                gcschriften cenigszins anders in dezen dag bij  de  uitleg-
the above articles? .Does  one read  in them that God SLOWS                               ging van hct woord Gods, omdat des menschen kennis
grace to the reprobate?  The four words "certain,"                                        altijd maar ten dcele is en bovendien nooit gehcel bewust,
"favor," "grace," "reprobate" do not occur, do they? And                                  i;taat
                                                                                          L.         het vaak zoo, dat zijne geschriften dingen  veronder-
this means  that the first point is an implication extracted,                             stellcn, en dat cr dingen  uit af te Iciden zijn, die hij tech
by the professor, from the two articles.                                                  volstrekt  nict bedocldc tc  Iceren.         W a t   mcnschelijke
      It is clear is it not that when the professor states on                             schrijvers uitdrukkclijk  zcggen, is njtuurlijk in den regel
page  three of his brochure that the  three points are in                                 hetgcen zij bedoclen. Wat men daaruit, door de eene
part implications he meant what he said.                                                  uitdrukking  met de andere te vergelijken, cnz., kan afiei-
      What now is the value of an inference as the above? den cn  mecnt tc  moeten   afleiden,  kan  we1  gehecl  buiten
According to the professor it has but very little value.                                  hunne bedocling  liggen?  ja  wlfs  eegen hunne bedoeling
He tells us so in his "Beknopte Bijbelsche  Hermeneu-                                     zijn. Vandaar den  regel,  dat,hct niet geoorloofd is, om
tiek." In that work of his we find a statement which                                      iemand de  consequenties  van zijne uitdrukkingen ten
asserts that the confession itself is an inference. So it is                              laste tc leggcn, als vertegenwoordigende zijn welbewuste
asserted in the following sentence : "Nimmermeer mogen                                    gedachte zoo hij ze niet  uitdrukkelijk  aanvaardt. De
wij dc belijdenis van  de kerk verheffen tot Regula Veri-                                  mogelijkheid bestaat, dat hij ze volstrekt niet zag, en dat
tates. Immers hct gaat niet  aan, het is  zelfs onzinnig                                   hij ze in hct minst niet in zijn gedachten had toen  hij de
om het afgeleide te maken  tot een toetssteen van het oor-                                woorden schrcef, waaruit men meent ze te kunnen aflei-
spronkelijke.`"         The confession of the church, so it is                             den. T-let is daarom ook niet geoorloofd, om iemands
maintained, is het "afgeleide" i. e. afgeleid van de heilige                               gedachte over een bepaalde zaak af te leiden uit enkele
schrift. Now  t,he  first point is an inference made from                                  uitdrukkingen, die hij bezigt als hij volstrekt niet over de
the Standards. And the Standards, according to the pro-                                    bewuste zaak handelt. Rij menschelijke geschriften is
fessor, are inferences from the Scriptures.  EIence the                                    het in den  rege1  niet geradcn, dat wij  veel verder  gaan
confessional value and binding  power  of the first point                                  dan hctgeen uitdrukkelijk  geschreven staat. Schrijft men


                                                                `I? I-1 E S T  :Z  N  D A R D B E A R E R                                     21
_"..".."" .._..__." .._ "" ...-..." ^ ..-.-..- -.    .-_....__.._ --___"^. - - - -       - _._--.----^

iemand de conscquenties zijner stelling  AS  bewuste  CUP-                            everlasting life; we do believe that as many as are called
sequentie toe, dan maakt  men  zich schuldig  aan  COIXX-                             by the gospel are unfeignedly called ; we do believe that
quensmacherei." (Bijbelsche  Hermeneutiek,  p. 199,  200.)                            God has most earnestly and truly declared in His word
       It is interesting how that the professor denounces                             what will be acceptable to Him namely, that all who are
what he did  when  he deduced from certain clauses con-                               called should comply with the  invifation; we do believe
tained in our Standards that God shows grace or favor to                              that He moreover seriously promises eternal life and rest
the reprobate. He did the very thing which he condemns                                to as many as shall come to him and believe on liim ; we
above. The professor extracted from a human document                                  do believe that it is not God's fault that those who arc
an implication which he insists we must recognize as                                  called do not come. However, we reject the professor's
truth. In the above paragraph he pronounces his own                                   conclusions that because of all these things God is show-
sentence.                The professor makes it clear that the confes-                ing a certain grace or favor to the reprobate. The tactics
sional value of the first point is zero. The professor                                which the professor employs in dealing with his oppo-
failed lamentably to produce from the Standards  the                                  nents are to be loathed and despised.
desired proof for point one.                                                             Then to the professor half of the time is engaged in
       A group of church officials commit a heinous sin when                          side-stepping the issue as half the time he is engaged in
they institute a persecution against  those  who refuse to                            discussing his premise instead of keeping himself  to the
recognize a deduction made from the Standards. What                                   real  issue,  namely the first point.
the synod should have done is to frankly admit that our                                  Again, the professor actually makes it appear as if he
Standards may not be used to substantiate point one.                                  succeeded in furnishing from the standards literal
Thereupon the synod should have appointed a committee                                 proof for the  first point.    In reality he succeeded in
to submit point one to a severe scriptural test in order                              doing nothing of the kind. Let me disclose how the
that it might become apparent whether or not point one                                professor goes about it. Chapter two has as its title:
is the embodiment of a scriptural truth. As it  is  the                               "Confessioneel Bewijs voor dit Punt." And the first
synod furnished the  Janssen element with an  elective                                sentence of the chapter  reads  thus: "De synode heeft
weapon  for expelling those who, according to this group,                             het niet bij een bloote uitspraak  gelaten,   doch heeft
had to go.                                                                            bcwijs  zoeken  te  leveren   voor de stelling dat God ook
       But I have still other objections to the professor's                           aan anderen  bchalve  de uitverkorenen een  zekere gunst
defense of the first point. The professor fails to tell his                           of genade  betoont."    Mark you the professor is prom-
roaders that point one is an implication. That first chap-                            ising that he will prove from our confessions point
ter, in which the professor is supposed to be furnishing                              one. - Does he keep his promise? let us see. The chapter
confessional proof for point one should have ended some-                              contains three subtitles which read:  "a)  Het algemeen
thing like this: the fact that the promise of the gospel is                           aanbod des heils. b) Het welgemeend aanbod des heils.
that whosoever believeth in Christ  crticified shall not                              c) Het aanbod des heils een gunst Gods jegens  zonda-
perish but have everlasting life  ; the fact that this promise                        ren." According to the three subtitles the professor shall
together with the command to repent and believe ought                                 prove: a) that the promise of the gospel to the effect that
to be declared unto all nations and to all persons without                            whosoever believeth hath eternal life ought to be
distinction; the fact that as many as are called by the                               preached unto all persons without distinction. b) That
gospel are unfeignedly called; the fact tliat God hath                                all those who are called are unfeignedly called. c) His
most earnestly and truly declared in His word what will                               implication that God shows a certain grace or favor to
be acceptable to  Hiti namely that all who are called                                 the  reprofjate,  when He brings the gospel to him. Does
should comply with the invitation ; the fact that He more-                            the professor actually succeed in doing as he promises?
over seriously promises eternal life and rest to as many                              Not altogether. He does succeed in furnishing literal
as shall come to Him and believe on Him; the fact that it                             proof for point a) and b). To be sure, for the standards
is not God's fault that those who are called do not come,                             teach these things literally. However, he did not furnish
implies that God shows a certain favor or grace to all                                literal proof from our confessions that God shows a cer-
 those to whom he brings the gospel, or in other words                                tain grace or favor to the reprobate when He brings unto
 that God shows grace or favor to the reprobate. Fact is                              them the gospel. Yet the professor makes it appear as if
however, that the professor nowhere in the chapter even                               he succeeded in doing just this thing, and that, by quot-
as. much as suggests that the first point is an inference.                            ing scripture when he should have been quoting from
 And his failure to frankly and clearly state that point one                          the standards. Under the title:  "Het aanbod des heils
 is an implication has the effect of making it appezr  as if                          een gunst Gods jegens zondaren" are found a number of
 point one  were a faithful reproduction of the articles in                           scriptural passages which are out of place because this
 question so that his assertion to the effect that we reject                          subdivision is a part of the chapter which has for its
 his conclusion is like unto saying that we reject those                              title : "Confessioneel bcwijs voor dit punt." We naturally
 articles of our standards. Fact is that we heartily indorse                          ask: why does the professor let scripture speak in this
 every statement found in the articles referred to. We do                             chapter? The reason is apparent. Fact is that the pro-
 believe, that the promise of the gospel is that whosoever                            fessor failed lamentably in proving his proposition from
 believeth in Christ crucified shall not perish  b.ut have                            the standards. He, therefore, attempts to make himself


22                                          T I-I E S T A N D rl R D B E A. R E R
-  _....._-  -~  ..-  -._             ".-"  -.-l"..-"   -............."

strong with scripture. Hence he quotes scripture and                       pages of the professor's booklet Dr. Brady's "Grandma
that in this chapter where he had no business in doing so.                 Somesay" and "Uncle  Ben Told."
By inserting scripture at this place he makes it appear as                    Thus far the professor's brochure proved to be a
if he actually succeeded in proving point  one from our                    loathsome and repulsive piece of work from which one
standards. That the professor attempts to do this very                     turns away in disgust. In it the professor washes his
thing is evident from the title of the following chapter                   own slate clean and maItreats  and misrepresents us.
and its opening sentence. The title referred to reads:                                                                           G. M. 0.
"Schriftuurlijk bewijs voor dit punt." And the opening                                          (To be Continued)
sentence : "Benevens  het bewijs ontleent  aan de  Dordt-
sche  Canones   `voor de stelling  dat  er een zekere gunst of
genade Gods is, die Hij betoont  aan zijn schepselen in                       VALSCHELIJK GENOEMDE WETENSCHAP
het algemeen, en niet alleen  aan de uitverkorenen heeft
de synode ook schriftuurlijk bewijs aangevoerd."  .As if                                             (I  Tim.  6:20b)
the professor  has>not  been giving this schriftuurlijk  be-                                  ZALIGMAKENDE GENADE,
wijs. I repeat the professor makes it appear as if he                                       (zonder meer> als VRUCH1.  VAN `T KRUIS,
proved his proposition from the standards, in an under-                                       komt u thans niet meer te stade!
                                                                                              Neem de  "wetenschap"(?)  te rade
handed way, by inserting scripture.                 And thus he is                          en bekend:  "Ik had abuis!!"  -
                                                                                              (Maar wij gelooven door de GENADE  DES
engaged in drawing the fleece over the eyes of the com-                                     HEEREN  JEZUS  CHRISTUS   zalig te  wor-
mon folk who trust him.                                                                     den).                             - H a n d .   15:Ila
      Once more. The professor is evidently bent on deal-                  De Leiders(?)  die kronk'lende padcn bewand'len ;
ing us some telling blows. This is all right. I have no                    Met d' UITSPRAKEN GODS naar hun willekeur
objection. `However, when we strike our opponent with                                                                               hand'len
a toy gas balloon we do no more than tickle him even                         En over GODS ERFDEEL  zich stellen als God.
though we strike with great force. Prof. Berkhof does                      Zijn zeldzaam actief ! "Common-grace" voor hun  wagen
this. I read on page 15 this: "Het zou voor den  bedie-                    Begeesterd hen schijnbaar met "kans-van-te-slagen"
naar des Evangelies  onmogelijk zijn, om alleen de ui'tver-                  En geeft  aan de lcidsels  buns stokpaards ruim bot.
korenen  te noodigen. Hij weet niet wie ze zijn." A very
simple illustration will expose the fallacy of this argu-                  Ofscioon  zij `t  scharminkel,  zoomin  als de Vaad'ren,
ment. I am facing an audience of 1,ooO people. I desire                    - Trots eeuwen van zoeken  - nog ooit  mochten   naad'-
that all the Hollanders in the audience come to the front.                                                                               ren -
Now I do not know who the Hollanders are nor how                             Tech  zweren   z' er bij en ze rijden er op.. . . !!
many of them are present. But does this hinder me from                     En of ge nu zegt  tint zoo'n beest niet bestaan kan
inviting the Hollanders to come to the front? Accord-                      En - ergo -geen ware Profeet  er op gaan kan -:
ing to the professor it does. Likewise can I invite the                      Tech geeft het u. als gij niet "mee-rijdt", een schop!
elect without knowing who they are, -if I invite as God                    Geen  trap die u  deert;  neen! gij blijft  op de  beenen
requests that I shall and not as a pelagian. Fact is, the                  En kijkt over stokpaard en ruiter zelfs  henen;
professor is again engaged in evading the issue and that                     Maar  tech doet die trap in-de-ziele-u-pijn,
because he is talking to the galleries. Please, bear in                    - Dewijl tech die Unie-van-blinde-profeten
mind that I am not judging motives. I do not claim that                    Zich "Dicnstknechten-Gods-en-van-Christus" durft  hee-
the professor is puposely doing these things. I will force                                                                                   ten,
myself to -believe that it all happened accidental. I am                     - Terwijl  z' in-der-waarheid slechts  dwaalleeraars
only bent on stating such facts as lie within the range                                                                           ZlJn  .   . . !
of my observation.
      And tlien we wish to put the professor at ease. We                   Zelfs schreven ze `t "beest" - hoewel nimmer geboren
assure him that we preach as the standards bid us to                       En nooit nog als  "stokpaard" gebezigd tevoren --
preach. We do declare unto all persons without distinc-                      In  "t STAMBOEK-REGISTER! !  - op "eigen  mo-
                                                                                                                                          tief"!
tion that the promise of the gospel is that whosoever                      -- Niet  "on1 er den  Hemel  op binnen te rijden,"
believeth hath eternal life. We do declare that all must
believe and repent. We do declare that all are unfeignedly                 Maar  tech : "om het zoctjes daarhenen te leiden'";
kalled.  Even though the professor informs his readers                       Dies:  ZONDER  DEN  I.EIDSMAN!  ! --  maar   tech
                                                                                                                         als "relief"
otherwise.                                                                                                                               . . . . !!
      And finally, the  professorls  criticism at one place                Doch  .-  stclt u  gerust! Lezeressen en Lezers!
degenerates into gossip. On page I.5 I read : "Het schijnt                 En houdt  ut als wij, bij uw' EBEN-HAEZERS!
echter dat de bestrijders van het algemeen aanbod des                        Wij reisden tot nu toe steeds zonder hun beest
heils zelfs  voor deze moeilijkheid niet terugdeinzen."                    En voeren daar WEL bij !           Dus  - laat u nooit vinden
iind again:  "Naar  hid der rapporten  heeft een hunner                    Wanneer  zoo'n "profeet"  op zijn beest u wil  binden;
onlangs in eene redevoering de volgende voorstelling van                     Gij komt er alleen door GODS  WOORD  EN GODS
de zaak  gegeven . . . . . "    Well! one even meets on the                                                                        GEEST!


