                             4                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAREI-

                                          VICTORY- OVER THE GRAVE                          resentative of the race to which he belongs. There .is
                                                                                           the transgression of  .Adam extended to all mankind, a
                                  The term death in this Scripture is an abstract noun. corruption of the whelk nature producing in  Gan a11
                             and is thprefore  the signification of an abstraction. The sorts of sin. * It is by their sum total that the house of
                             apostle in his mind draws death away from the thing man's earthy tabernacle is  being assailed and  .dei
                             which is dead - the sinner - and conceives of it as           stroyed. And if it be considered that the wound of
                             somkthing  apart. This, `of course, can be done in' the any one sin is fatal, the conviction cannot be escaped
                             mind only. Fact is, that the.sinner is dead. Death is that man is certainly headed for the grave.
                             a state or condition of being, both physical and spir-           The apostle asserts, further, that sin is strong, and
                             itual death. The death of the Scripture we now deal that its strength is the law. The transgressed law  de-
                             with is physical.      This is evident from the con- ma&s that sin return to the transgressor as guilt and
                             text. There were found, in the Christian assembly to slay him  though death. The soul. that sinneth shnZZ
                             which the apostle directs these words, those who at die.  .The law must be associated with the unrelenting
                             least questioned the raising up of the dead. How, such righteousness of holy God so that it is He who must
                             would ask, are  the dead raised up and with what demand the death of the transgressor. Death, then,
                             body do they come,? "Fool," said the apostle, "that being transgression of the law, is a Divine necessity,
                             which thou sowest'  is not  ,quickened,  except it die. And certain and sure as the great God is mighty to revenge,
                             that which.t@ou  sowest,  thou sowest  not tliat body that as unrelenting as the Almighty is holy.
                             shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of          Further, death contemplated as punishment ripens
                             some `&-rain ; but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased man for a grave that constitutes the gateway to -hell.
                             Him, and to every seed his own body." The apostle The law is not satisfied until the transgressor has dis-
                             goes on to say that all flesh is not the same flesh, but appeared into the region of eternal night where men
                             there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of weep and wail only.
                             beasts . . . The .new body,, then, will not differ, as           So it appears that the inward reality of death is
                             to kind from the earthy body shed. However, "There sin. This the fool refuses  to admit.  Being.stupid  he
                             are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial ; but the refuses to recognize  the facts of man's existence., The
                             glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the ter- very thought of death he puts far from him and insists
                             restrial  .is another. So also is the resurrection'of the that his house shall stand forever.
                             dead. The two bodies, - the one shed, the earthy,                The  apos'cle,  wonderful to say, derides death's sting
                             and the  body'of the resurrection - do not differ as to and the victory gained by the  gyave,, "0 death, where
                             sijecies, but as to glory. The  body shed is corruptable, is thy sting. 0 grave where is thy ,victory.l' They no
                             dishonorable, weak. It is raised in glory and power, a longer exists for those who are in Christ. For death
                             spiritual body. So it appears that the theme of this has been swallowed up, devoured, reduced to nothing,
                             chapter is the appearance of the saitits in the day of wiped out of. existence. Sin through death does not
                             Christ. Then this corruptible will have put on incor- wound and slay the believer, does not ripen him for
                             ruption,  and this mortal, immortality, . . . . then a grave constituting the gateway ,to hell. How must it
                             shall be brought' to pass the saying that is written,         be accounted for then that the believers die and de-
                             ,Death is swallowed up in vietory  (verse 54)) and the        scend into the grave? Death hath been swallowed up
                             apostle jubilantly exclaims: "0 death, where is thy in victory. That is to say, respecting the believers,
     :; .:;                  sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory?                         death as the instrument of sin has been conquered,
     .::.                          Death here is thought of a poisonous I"nsect  `with overcome and rendered their servant, their slave. What
     I`!                     a deadly sting operating in man, wounding him, and may be the service death renders to the  .beli$ver  ? , A
,                            gnawing  .at the very root of his earthy existence.           very important one; The believers are earthy. They
                                   Men takes death with him from the womb, and be- bear the image of the earthy. Their regenerated spirit
                             comes aware of its operations in him as soon as he at-        dwells in a house of an earthy tabernacle  - this body
                             tains to self-consciousness. Every ache and pain is a of flesh and blood. However,. flesh and blood cannot
                        I    testimony to the fact that this body is being assailed enter the kingdom of God. Neither can  cor?uption in-
                             and mortified. And though the very strong survive herit incorruption. And fact is, the house of this
                             for many a year, the dimned vision, the impaired hear- .earthy  `tabernacle is cdrruptible,  dishonorable, weak.
             iJ
                  bi
             !               in, the faltering step, the furrowed visage  perculiar to     The believer cannot enter the heavenly mansions
                             the e'vening  of man's life, warn them .tbat. they, too,      clothed with this body. It must be shed, broken, torn,
                             shall soon succumb to death's assaults. The final thrust destroyed. Death, not as the instrument of sin, but as
                             is made when the soul forsakes its earthy dwelling.           a slave of the believer, renders the believer this great
                             The lifeless frame is then placed beneath the sod and         service. And when this corruptible shall have put on
                             the.@ave  has gained another victory.                         incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on im-
                                   The sting of death is sin. There is, then, a causal mortality, death shall have completed its task. Then
                             relation between sin and death. For sin, returning to shall have been realized the saying that. is written,
                             th@ sinner as guilt slays him through death. Man is death is swallowed up in victory.
                             the sinner. He is this, first of all, in the head and rep-       It is God that giveth the victory through our Lord


                                         T.HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             5

Jesus Christ. God through Christ gained the victory The steadfast are such as keep to the position once
for His people. Assuining  full responsibility for our taken up.
sins, He'was  woundid  for our transgressions, bruised               The believer takes his stand upon the truth, as it is
for, our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was in Christ Jesus. The truth in addition dwells in him
upon Him; and with  .His stripes we  are healed. It            and  constituttis  the  elenient in which he abides and
pleased the Lord to bruise Him, to put Him to grief,           moves. To the unseen realities reflected by truth he
and td make His soul an offering for sin. Christ, then, feels himself attraded. They constitute for him  .the
suffiered sin's penalty, and thus removed, took away, pearl of great value for which he sells all, which he
for His people, sin. He thus destroyed death and at            seeks with a `singleness of purpose and a persevering
once silenced the law, so that it no longer demands            dilligence  called steadfastness.
that the transgression' returns to the believer in the              The particular truth to which the apostle admon-
form of guilt and slay him through death. By Himself ishes his readers to keep is that of the resurrection of
dying, and living again He' loosed death from sin and those who fall asleep in Christ. Paul would not have
converted it from a servant of hell to a servant of life his readers be moved from this truth by the sceptics.
and,`heaven.  By Himself passing through the grave, Doing so they would needs  .be taking their stand upon
He loosed it from sin and converted it from a gateway the opposing lie to the effect that there is no resurrec-
to the realms of eternal darkness, to the gateway of tion of the dead, that man therefore had better eat,
heaveri.  From, the grave the  way. led  @to the sanc-         drink and by merry for tomorrow he dies. On the
tuary above, which He entered taking with Him. His other hand, abiding unmovable their speech would be:
loved ones. Thus did the Father give to us through .There  is a resurrection of the just to eternal life.
Christ the- victory. For, being `included in Him we Hence, let us abound in the work of the Lord for we
were affixed.  with:Him td the cioss,  passed with Him know that our.labor  is not in vain.
throtigh the grave and were set with Him in heaven.                  Be ye unmovable., Do not shift positions by pass-
The victory, then, is our, Iawful  property. Therefore ing from the truth to the lie. Would this be Possible
must and does death serve  us,' and when death shall for the saint-? Indeed not? However, to be  unmov-
have done its work, Christ in and through the believers        able requires real  effort as well as to enter the narrow
will shake death  off them as upon the morning of the gate. Satan and the world in conjunction with the
                                                               -
resurrectidn,  He shook it off Himself, to reclothe them flesh combine to  joIt us loose from the truth. All that
with a body -congruous  with their heavenly mode of is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of
existence. 0 death, where is thy sting, 0 grave where the eyes, and the pride of life may' engage our minds
is  .thjT victory? What doth it avail thee' that thou de- so tliat we loose out of sight the unseen realities. God
stroyest this house of my earthy, tabernacle? Of what worketh the will to be unmovable.
value to `you, grave, is thy victory?                                Many are  .being  moved this day by the mockery of
    "Therefore my beloved brethren," so the apostle the scoffers. The circle, still cleaving to the truths of
continues,    "be ye steadfast, unmovable, always              Christendom is becoming ever smaller. Of the  do&fine
abounding `in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye            of  the. resurrection of the just unto glory the  wqy!d  _
know that your labor is not  in'vain to the  IXTd?'         - niti&  .htive  atithing of. .Foi 8s.~ other side def%es the
   Thiiis admonition was occasioned by the presence of resurrection.of  the unjust as the prelude to their disap-
the sceptics in the Christian assembly at Corinth. In pearance into that  regiori of  outer  darkness. It is  t.
his reply, the apostle calls attention to the fact that .doctrine  that constitutes an argument in favor of tak-
the resurrection of the just is imaged in creation. The ing a stand over against the lust .of the flesh. Tha
seed sbwn, dies. In this seed, however, is hidden an wicked, however, will to love and to serve the flesh.
invisible' life that abides. What decays is the body They therefore despise the truth and take their posi-
hous'ing.  this life. The latter receives a new body - tion upon the lie. The reason why the truth is hated
the plant. So, too, the believer. He is an organism and the lie loved is an intensely practical one.
housing a new life principle as such invisible, to-wit,              One may have glided from the truth without hav-
the regenerated spirit or ego, which at death is set free ing openly broken with the truth. This sort of thing
and received in heaven. What remains is the lifeless may happen in those circles whose members have been
frame of map, which decays and returns to the dust;.           living all  their  lives on familiar terms with the truth.
In the day of Christ that. which is born of God receives What `tells us that a shifting process is in progress is
a new body. The two constitute the glorified organism the growing worldliness on the part  bf the one having
that takes  its place in the eternal kingdom of light.         shifted. The lie is always lived before confessed.
    It is with a view to  the resurrection of the just'              "Be ye unmovable, always abounding in the work of
that the apostle wrote : "Be ye steadfast,  .unmovable."       the Lord." Abounding in the. work of'the Lord char-
The term steadfast is self explanatory. Man must acterizes the unmovable Christian. "The work of the
stand somewhere. God alone is not in the need of Lord." The Lord, then, has  a.work  called His, to-wit,
standing room distinct from His own being for He' the execution of the counsel of God. Of this counsel
rests in  and stands upon Himself. The place upon the outstanding article is the one'asserting that the
which man takes his position is distinct from self.            elect shall be  calIed  out of darkness into the light;


         6                                        T H E .   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   :

         that the church  shall be cared for, and that the world
         shall be made ripe for judgment. The work of the                             DE ZOON DES LEVENDEN GODS
       : Lord is to execute these Divine decrees. In this work                   Jezus Christus  wordt in de Heilige S&rift ook aan-
       the unmoveable Christian abounds in a manner com- geduid met twee namen, die rechtstreeks wijzen op
         patible with his being creature. The unmovable Chris- Zijn wezenlijke Godheid en op Zijn waarachtig mensch
       / fain places before his eyes the high ideal of fearing zijn. Wij hebben het oog op de namen: Zoon Gods en
       the Lord, letting shine his light, conforming his whole Zoon des menschen. De naam Jezus is. de persoonlijke
         life to God's law, living in every department of life out naam van den Middelaar Gods en der menschen, de
         of. the principle of regeneration. Doing so, this un-               naam, waarmede Hij dan ook in de omtiandeling  bij
         movable one is engaged in the work  of the Lord. As Zijne tijdgenooten bekend stond, en waarin de  GBd des
       : the Lord's .instrument he is calling by his light, out. of Verbonds  Zich aan ons openbaart  als een God van vol-
  ,:  th& world, God's people, nourishing those who dwell in komene zaligheid, in Wien Zijn volk al zijn heil vindt
       the  light,  and condemning by his light-the world. This voor tijd en eeuwigheid. Christus is de naam, waar-
: in general. There are, of, course, many specific tasks                     door de Heiland  voor ons komt te staan in Zijn ambte-
         which in a specific sense c@nstitute  the work of the lijke waardigheid, als de gezalfde Knecht des Heeren,
       Lord. A number of such tasks are mentioned in this                    die'over  bet huis Gods geplaatst is, om te doen de  din-
         sixteenth chapter, such as the helping of the poor of gen, die bij God te doen  waren  tot handhaving en vol-
       : Jerusalem. Further, the Corinthians are charged. by making van Zijn Verbond. In den naam  Imrnanuel
       , Paul to see to it that Timothy be among them without wdrdt eigenlijk de  centrale  idee des Verbonds  uitge-
       fear and to submit themselves to  the house of drukt, zooals deze in den Heere verwerkelijkt is en be-
       f  Stephanus.                                                         lichaamd.  wordt. Hij is God met ops en in Hem is de
              He who would abound in the work of the Lo.rd  shall            vervulling van d.e  tempel-idee,  de  centrale verwezen-
       ' be prepared to practice much self-denial. He must be lijking van Gods tabernakel bij  .de menschen.  Doch
       ; prepared to suffer for the sake of the Lord. Therefore              in de namen Zoon Gods en Zoon des menschen  wordt
       j the apostle adds that his readers must keep before ons de Zaligmaker geopenbaard  in de tweeheid  Zijner
       their eye that their labor is  not in vain in the Lord. naturen. Hij is in geheel eenigen zin des woords de
         The saints, then, labor, must tionsciously  labor in                Zone Gods ; maar Hij is ook in een zeer bijzonderen zin
                                                                     .tke
  f Lord. This labor is the Lord's and it must be per-                       de Menschenzoon. We1  ligt er in dien laatsten naam
       ! formed in t.hs Lord. The laborer shall transport him- veel meer opgesloten  dan slechts een aanduiding van
       ' self through faith `in the Lord  aid contemplate the Zijne menschelijke natuur, zooals we later zullen zien,
       / Lord as One who ,merited  the good works in which he want er wordt ook door uitgedrukt de hoogheerlijki?
  : as  the Lord's laborer may be engaged.                      These Middelaars-heerlijkheid,  waarmede deze Zoon des me&
         works have been prepared for him that he  should                    schen bekleed is geworden. Doch dat verandert het                    '
  ; walk in them. This laborer should contemplate Christ feit niet, dat door dien  tiaani  tech aangeduid wordt de
  ! further as one  Who by His Spirit  work&h  in'him both rqenschelijke   riatuur van den Heer en dat we1 in  ge-
: j to will and to do ; as One who `is the true vine apart heel eenigen zin des woords. Hij is de Zoon des  leven-
        - fi;om,--whom--the  vlaborer can-- bear no fruit ;- as- One in--.-den-Gods,-  zooals- niemand-anders  .dit -is-;-en-Hij  js ook    _ .-_
                                                                                                                                            .,
  i whom dwells the fulness of life  and.  power. This de Zoon ies menschen, die we1 in alles ons is gelijk ge-
         laborer, finally, must `know himself as the Lord's in- w&den,  uitgenomen de zonde, maar die tech ook de
  i strument, in and through whom the Lord performs eerstgeborene is en blijft onder vele broederen. ,
  I! His labors. Any labor performed. in any other frame                        Met den naam Zoon Gods wordt de Heiland zeer
         of mind is an abomination in the sight of the Lord.                 dikwijls  genoemd in de Heilige Schrift  en d&t we1 op
  f           This kind of labor is not in vain but will be  re-             eene wijze, die geen twijfel kan overlaten aan degehee1
  ' warded. And the reward, the redemption of our bodies                     eenige beteekenis van dien naam, wanneer hij gebezigd
 ! - the main theme of this epistle  - and the adoption wordt met toepassing op den Christus. Reeds in het
 1 of children, in a word, the sum. total. of the blessings                  Otide Testament vinden we  die! naam. Zoo b.v. in II
 of the kingdom,, Christ is `pleased to call a  re- Sam. 7 : 14, een Schriftwoord, dat we1 allereei-st  ziet op
 / ward though it constitutes a blessed boone merited by Salomo in den bijzonderen zin des woords  en op de lijn
 1 Him, a reward for the faithfulness and perseverance van Davids zaad, dat op zijn troon zal  zitt,en  in de toe-
 i  of. which he again is the Workman.                    ~                  komst, in .breederen  zin, maar d& tech wezenlijk  eerst
                                                         G. M. 0.            in  Christus  zijn vervulling heeft. Het  verband van
 i.                                                                          dit -Schriftwoord  is bekend. David heeft de oorlogen
                                                                             des Heeren  gestreden.  en heeft eindelijk rust van den
                                                                             Heere  ontvangen. Hij woont in een huis van cederen
              Rejoice, 0  young.  man, in thy youth,  and let thy gebouwd, maar de ark des Verbonds staat nog altijd
        heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in onder een tent. Dit laatste  grieft den man naa+  Gods
        the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine                   hart en het komt` in.zijn hart, om den Heere een huis          .
        eyes, but know thou, that for all these things God will te bouwen. Als hij zijn voornemen  aan den  profeet
        bring thee into judgment.-Solomon.                                   des Heeren mededeelt, stemt deze aanstonds dgarin  toe


tot kinderen, door  We&en  zij  roepen: Abba, Vader!
Doch deze Gee& des Zoons, Zich aansluitende aan bet                               ~I~ET~HE~~~~HEDEVI~,L~P~~T
getuigenis der Heilige  S&rift en dat getuigenis  indra-                                       OF DOCTRINE
gende in het hart der geloovigen; onderscheidt tech
altijd. tusschen hun kindschap en  -dat van den Christus.                                  WESLEYAN  METHODISM
Deze staat ook  in. dit onderwerpelijke getuigenis des
Geestes altijd alleen. Hij is en blijft daarom voor hun                       Strictly speaking, a discussion of Methodism does
bewustzijn de Zoon des levenden Gods in geheel  eeni- not properly belong to the history of doctrine and does
gen zin des woords. Hij is hun Heer en hun God! Als not really deserve a place in these sketches, for the
zij van. eigen kindschap verzekerd zijn door het  getui-                 simple reason that its rise and advance does not mark
genis van dienzelfden Geest, dan verstaan ze het zeer a new stage in the development of the  truth,`nor  even
wel, dat hun kindschap hun uit genade geschonken is, a new departure from the truth as it is in  Jestis.
omdat de Zoon Gods, Die van eeuwigheid en tot. eeu-                           It was rather a new movement, and, at least, as far
wigheid in den schoot  des Vaders is, in deli weg van as Wesleyan Methodism  is. concerned, a  new emphasis'
Zijn vleeschwording, lijden en sterven, opstanding en on. the false doctrines of .Arminius.
verheerlijking aan de rechterhand des Vaders en de                            Yet, because its advance was so rapid and its spread
uitstorting Zijns Geestes in de  gemeente,  hun dit &in+                 so wide and because in the minds  of many Methodisni
schap heeft verworven en deelachtig geniaakt. Hij is practically identical with Arminianism, we will
blijft de Zoon, zij zijn kinderen  om Zijns naams wil uit briefly refer to its history and tenets in these
genade. En aldus door het Woord geleid en verlicht sketches.                                                I
door den Geest van Christus, verstaat de Kerk des                             In the eighteenth century the. Church of England          .
Heeren het, dat juist alles afhangt van de belijdenis, was in a lamentable condition. There was no mani-
dat Jezus Christus de Zoo.n  des levenden Gods is. Zij restation of spiritual life. Cold formalism character-
is we1 waarlijk de rots, waarop de gemee,nte  van Chris- ized all its activity. The lower clergy were idle and
tus gebouwd is, waarop ze alleen kan staan tegenover ignorant. The iife of the highef clergy .was  marked
alle  machten  der duisternis. Want daarin  tech, dat by luxury and self-indulgence.                             The masses were
God is geopenbaard in het vleesch, in dat vleesch heeft neglected, the truth. was.  silenced into oblivion, the
geworsteld en is gestorven, iroor onze .zonden  heeft be-                services were dead, the churches. were empty, and those
taald, is .opgestaan  en verheerlijkt en in den Geest is that were presumably called to be pastors of the  flock
komen  wonen  in de Hem van God geschonkene  ge-                         did. not care.
meente, ligt geheel de groote verborgenheid der god-                          The rise of Methodism found its odcasion  in this
zaligheid. En daarom antwoordt zij altijd. weer `op de condition of spiritual apathy and indifference in the
vraag: wat dunkt U van den Christus? Gij zijt de Church of England.
Christus, de  Zooh  des levenden Gods!                                        Also in this respect  history  often repeats itself.
                             I                          Hi H.                 When the Church grows `cold and becomes indif-
                .                                                        ferent in its institutional life and activity. there often
                                                                         arise individual Christians who, while they are hun-
                                                                         gering and thirsting after spiritual food and drink and
_  _  _ . .
      613, door Uw liefde ondenkbaar  groot, *                           experience that the Ghurch does not serve as a me,diuni
          Gij schuwt geen sniaad, geen lijden,                           to satisfy their spiritual wants  and cravings, seek
     -Geen  angst, geen kruis, geen vloek, geen dood,                    other ways and means to feed their souls, apart from
         Zoo `t zondaars kan  bevrijden.                                 the Church that long since failed to retain any hold
                                                                         upon their hearts .and minds. This may be seen in our
      Uw liefd' is groot, is sgroot als Gij,                             own day. Many will turn to rescue missions and street-
         Door d' eeuwen nooit volprezen ;                                meetings. And finding more seriousness and warmth
      Oneindig als Uw heerschappi j,                                     of heart  ther.e,  they will try to quicken their soul with
          Onpeilbaar als Uw wezen.                                       what is often only the ardent glow of human enthu-
                                                                         siasm, rather than the *rue iife-giving power of the
                                                                         Holy Spirit. Others will apply themselves in$ividually
                                                                         or in groups to the search of the Scriptures to elicit
                                                                         from the Word of God the spiritual food they need. and
                       ABSOLVO TE                                        crave, in separation from the Church that neglects
                                                                         them. And more generally such movements begin and
          One Priest alone can pardon me,                                end with man, present salvation as a thing freely of-
               Or bid me "Go in peace";                                  fered by God and depending for its realization on the
          Can breathe that word "Absolvo te,"                            acceptance of the free human will, and thus follow. the
               And make these heart-throbs cease:                        path struck by Arminius.
         My soul has heard His priestly voice;                                This is true also of Wesleyan Methodism.
         I said, "I bore thy sins - l%&joice !"               .F         '    ?t had its first-beginnings in the meetings thai`were
                                                                    ,
                                    ..1  ,..  -  ..,  -  _


                                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             I I

          neld by several students at Oxford for the purpose of that yet He determined to save only those that are of
          religious fellowship and the study of the Scriptures. the election of grace. The result is, of course,. that the
          These were begun in the year 1729. Prominent among former principle, namely, that God wills that all men
          these students were the brothers John and Charles shall be saved, becomes the basis of the preaching.
          Wesley and George Whitefield. The name Methodist Christ is after all sold at auction and the free will of
          was applied to them because of their regular mode of man makes its bid for Him or rejects Him! The only
          living and method of study. Later they adopted this                      difference is that Methodism makes an attempt to ex-
          name for themselves and explained it as denoting those plain and rationalize this anomaly, while the Christian
          who regularly lived according to the method and rule Reformed Church leaves the two impossible and con-
           of the Word of God.                                                     tradictory propositions, "God wills that all men shall be
               In 1735 the Wesleys departed for America. On saved" and "He does not will it," side by side without
          board the ship they came into contact with six Mora- an attempt `at elucidation. Methodism tried to explain,
          vian brethren, of pietistic tendencies, and John Wesley that God is surely sovereign and that He determined
          cl&ims  that this contact really was the means of his                    all things from before the foundation of the world, also
          conversion. In 1739  they  returned to England. Preach- in the matter of salvation, but that His determinations
          ifig in the churches of London they attracted large are preceded and, therefore, again determined by His
           crowds and by their fervent appeal created a deep sen- foreknowledge. He, therefore, earnestly desired the
          sation, something which we may easily understand as salyation  of all men, without distinction, but foyeknow-
          also in our day we may notice that sensational preach- ing that not all would accept the proffered salvation,
          ing draws the masses more easily than the sound in- He determined to save those, of whom He knew that
          struction of the Word of God. At first John Wesley they would embrace Christ and persevere unto the end.
          does not seem to have intended a break with the Apparently it did not understand, that this is no ex-
           Church of England. But the latter closed its ears to planation at all, but simply a denial of the sovereignty
          his earnest appeals for reform and cldsed  its doors to of God with respect to the salvation of His  pkople.
          him. In I739 Whitefield began to preach in.the open Methodism `may assert its belief in God's sovereignty,
          field with much success and John Wesley followed his the fact is, that it denies this sovereignty in very deed.
          example and, according to some, also followed in his For it is evident, that if God desires the salvation of all
          wake and tried to reap where that one had sown. He men, and if He is absolutely sovereign, all men will
          established the first Methodist chapel in London in surely be saved, for God will most sovereignly de-
           1739. Methodist Societies or Churches were `organ- termine to realize what He desires, and who shall re-
          ized and soon the movement grew rapidly, thousands sist Him? His desires and His determines must needs
          being converted to Methodism.                                            be co-extensive, if He be sovereign. But it is equally
               We will ,not follow the history of the development evident, that if God desires that all man shall be
          of Methodism, its various dissensions and disruptions, saved, yet determines that only some, not all, shall be
          in detail. Several breaks were caused in  the ranks of saved, this determination must again be determined by
          the Methodists and various dissensions arose. As a something foreign to and outside of God's own desires.
-..-.- ..-_.. _ result. the~e...~r.~.-t~d~y-~~m~~ous.  Ldifferent  -Me..hrdist.                           - - -   -    _.-.  - -.         .--
                                                                                   He--d6$%-hc$  determine what `Hc so earnestly&&?&,
          organizations, in the United States and Canada no less because there is another factor that determines Him.
          than seventeen.. The only division in their ranks that And that other factor is the free will and choice of
          is of any interest to us and `deserves mention. here is man, as they were before the mind of God in His fore-
          the separation that took place between Wesley and knowledge. And thus Methodism teaches that God
          Whitefield in 1741. They separated on the question of did not from eternity with absolute sovereignty de-
          predestination, Wesley holding the Arminian,  White-                     termine the eternal state of His moral creatures, but
           field defending the Calvinistic view of the truth in this left this contingent upon the free will of the creature
          respect., Hence, it must be borne in mind that when himself. In last instance, therefore, salvation is of
          we discuss in this sketch the tenets of Methodism it is man, not of God. God makes salvation possible, opens
          of Wesleyan Methodism that we speak.                                     the way of salvation for all men ; He also ofl'ers the
               It is, as we already remarked, Arminian  essen- salvation that is thus made possible for all men. He
          tiall y.                                                                 even aids every man to accept the proffered salvation.
            A distinction it makes  between the desires and the' But whether he shall actually be saved or lost, that de-
           determination of God. The desire and earnest longing pends ultimately not on the will of God, Who desires
          of God is that all men may be saved without distinc- His salvation, but on the choice of man !
          tion. The reader will notice that in this respect there                     Thus, in the first and most fundamental article of
          is a resemblance between Methodism  5nd Amyraldism. the Methodist faith the so+ereigntjT  of God is denied.
          And at the same time we .may here remark .that the And the denial of the absolute sovereignty of God in
          stand the Christian Reformed Churches' took in 1924 the matter of salvation is a denial of God. A  God,
          is not essentially different from the Methodistic posi- that is not sovereign over against the will of man, is no
          tion. Also the latter attempt to hold the impossible. God. He. is an idol. .Methodism  and all Arminianism
           position that God will,s that all men shall be saved and loses God. To leave the matter of the realization  of


      12                                       .THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

      the salvation of man and the blood of Christ ultimately out the former. The atonement of Christ is an objec-
      to the determination of the will of man, is to make tive fact, and its effectiveness depends solely upon the
      God dependent upon man, and is nothing else than                  question : whom did Christ represent on the cross?
      ,accursed idolatry.                                               For whom did He die?
            Of course, the conception we have of God and His                Now, either Christ died for all, or He died for the
      sovereignty in the matter.. of the dispensation of grace,         elect, as regards God's purpose and Christ's inten-
      necessarily determines our view of man and of the tion.
      vicarious atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. With                    If the former be true, then atonement is universal.
      regard to the former Methodism professedly holds that But if atonement be universal and if it be really atone-
      man is totally depraved because of the fall of Adam ment, the debt of all is paid and the guilt of all is re-
     .and is of himself incapable of contributing anything moved and all are justified before God by virtue of the
     ,to his salvation. Now it would seem, that this  con- blood of Christ. And if all are justified, it follows
     ,ception of man would again constrain the Methodist that all men are saved for the simple reason that their
      to change his view of salvation and let the latter en-            sins can be reckoned unto them nevermore. And if all
      tirely and solely depend on the work of God in man. are saved even the Methodist appeal to the will of man
      But this he does not do.. On the contrary, he holds, to accept the proffered salvation is useless. If the lat-
      first of all, that the atonement of Christ is universal ter be true and Christ died only for the elect, these and
     in intent. Even as the Methodist makes a distinction no others are saved, neither is there any possibility of
      between the desires of God with regard to the salva- salvation for those that are not in Him according to
      tion of all and His determination to save ,some,  so it the election of grace.
     ,makes another distinction between the atonement of                    But the Methodist position that the, atonement of
      the Lord in God's and Christ's intention or desire and Christ was universal in purpose and intention while it
     , that atonement in its actual application. According to is particular in its effect and actual result is a denial
      the former, Christ died for all men without distinc- of the atonement itself.
      tion ; according to the latter He died only for them                  For it is evident, that if many of those for whom
      that are actually saved. And to leave the responsibility Christ died and shed His lifeblood are, nevertheless,
      of his salvation entirely to man, Methodism teaches lost in their sin, the atonement cannot have been a pay-
     that' there is also, a general distribution of the Holy ment of their debt, a blotting out of their sin. After
      Spirit, by the operation of which man is enabled thus Christ died man is still in his sin. And it is really
      far to overcome the sinful inclination `of his heart and only his consent to be saved, his faith, that saves him
      the total corruption of his nature that he can lay hold in the sense that by his faith his sin is forgiven.
      on the salvation proffered in Christ Jesus. In the last.              Hence, the proposition is clearly untenable that
      analysis, then, it is the will of man that determines salvation in the blood of Christ, that the atonement
      whether'the atoning blood of Christ shall be effective itself can be universal in purpose and intent, while it
      for him or not.                                                   is particular in effect and application. And the truth
            There are several impossible propositions implied is, that atonement is particular, that  Christ died only
;-- __ in-this-nositionof.  the .Methodists  and .of all. Arminians,---for-those,--  w-horn -the -Father-gave -Aim,and--that  salva-.- - -----.--
      the chief, one. of which is, that atonement is universal tion is also applied to. them by the same sovereign
      in purpose and intent, while it is particular in applica- grace that chose them.
      tion.                                                                 It is not surprising that Methodism in referring to
            This is quite impossible.                                   the change that is effected in man when the grace of
            If atonement is really atonement its purpose and the. Lord Jesus is applied to him, speaks of conversion
      intent must needs be co-extensive with its application. rather than of regeneration and emphasizes that con-
            If the effectivenes  of atonement depends upon our version is the result of conscious faith. It is, indeed,
      choice, or even upon the faith of those that are saved, very. difficult to ascribe any element or part of regen-
      it cannot properly be called atonement.                           eration to the work of man himself. If we would main-
            For the doctrine of vicarious atonement implied tain the Scriptural conception of the truth of regen-
      that Christ took  .the guilt of  thosej for whom He               eration, we will be, constrained to admit that in regen-
      atoned, upon Himself, and by His blood paid for the eration man is absolutely passive. But in conversion
      debt of their sin before God.                                    man'becomes active. And therefore, to this conversion
            It follows that the sins of those for whom Christ as the result of conscious faith Methodism always  ap-
      atoned are blotted out forever. Their guilt is removed. `peals. For the same reason it emphasizes that a Chris-
      Their debt is paid. This blotting out of their sins, this tian may always be sure of his conversion, seeing he
      payment of their debt, does not take place the moment passed very definitely from darkness into light; and
      they believe, but did take place on Calvary, once for also, that he must be able to point very definitely to
      all. Neither does this payment of the debt of. those the place and time of his conversion. For the deeper
      for whom Christ died depend on their -faith or unbe:              and mysterious work of the Spirit in the heart of the
      lief. Faith is no condition for the forgiveness of sins, elect which consists of the-first implanting of the seed
      though the latter cannot be possessed or enjoyed  with-           of the new life in them the Methodist has no eye ; and


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                         13

     .for the gradual conversion of the covenant child in the that no one can pluck His people out of His hand. It
      sphere of the Church he has no place. That man is             can really never triumphantly rejoice with the Apostle        :
      converted who can point out the place and the moment;         Paul, that nothing can separate  us  from the love of  :
      when and where he was translated from darkness into God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.                                 !
     ,light and accepted the Lord.                                                                                  H. H.                         `j
         It further holds that entire sanctification and  holi-'
      ness is both possible and necessary in this life. They
     :do not agree among one another on the question
      whether this complete holiness and perfection is in-                     EEN "EERSTE OPSTANDING"?
      stantaneous and simultaneous with conversion or
      ,whether  it is gradual and progressive. But they are            De schrijver van het boekje getiteld: Why not
      one in .professing  that complete sanctification .is pos- sirn$y take God at His Word? die op zulk eenvoudige
      sible and necessary before- death. This complete sanc- wijze het Chiliastische: standpunt uit de Heilige  S&rift
      tification they hold to be the result of the operation of meent te kunnen bewijzen, die eigenlijk allen,  die het
      the Holy Spirit in'conjynction with the watchfulness, met dat standpunt  niet eens kunnen zijn? toedicht, dat
     .-faith and obedience of the believer. This is a very ze God niet op Zijn Wdord willen aannemen en die, zoo-
      serious -error, which has proven to be conducive to a als we zagen,  in' het eerste stuk schr.eef  over Israel,'
      very. superficial conception of  ,holiness  and perfection. gaat op dezelfde wijze voort in eentweede hoofdstuk
      Naturally. It is true of the .Christian  till the, day of te schrijven over de zoogenaamde eerste opstanding.
      his death, that he deceives himself `if he says that he
                             _-.---                                 De lezer we& zeker, dat het Chiliasme..de opstanding
      hath no sin,' and .that the truth is not in him if he thus der rechtvaardigen verwacht. voor het begin van het
      speaks. The Christian is not perfected, though he longs Millennium, terwijl, naar die voorstelling de goddeloo-  '
      for and strives after holiness, until he arrives in the       zen eerst zullen opstaan na het Millennium, dus dui-
      house not made `with hands. .If, nevertheless, he at- zend  jaren  later. Die voorstelling nu, van zulk een
      tempts to maintain that he Jives in perfect holiness eerste opstanding der `rechtvaardigen;  tracht Ds. Van
      before God, the inevitable result .is that he changes his     der Werp te verdedig'en ,uit de Heilige  S&rift.
      view and lowers God's standard of perfection. In many            Hij begint met te  zeggen,,  dat het hem is opgevallen,
      outward good works he will find the proof of his per-         dat velen de eerste opstanding trachten te vergeeste-
     fection and he will close his eyes for the corruption of lijken,  maar dat  .hij niet kan verstaan, waarom ze dit
      his heart according to the old man.                           eigenlijk  doen. Wat hem betreft, indien de Heere alle
          And finally, Methodism maintains that the `con- dooden op hetzelfde moment zou doen opstaan, het zou
      verted man may finally  falI from grace. Even as in the hem volkomen  goed  zijn, en hij zou God eenvoudig op
      last analysis his conversion depends upon the choice Zijn Woord  willen gelooven. Indien  echter  sommige
      of his free will, so his continuance in the way of faith gedeelten der Schrift  niet in overeenstemming  zijn te
      and obedience depends on the. choice of that same will. brengen met onze vooropgezette  ideeen, zoo meent de                     /
      And thus it remains to the end of his life. Whether he is     schrijver, dan geeft ons dat niet het recht om die ge-             Ii. ..`.:
                                                                                                                                       j.:  :
      to retain or lose divine pardon, peace and holiness dur-      deelten  maar te vergeestelijken. Hierover zullen we               / :,:i;
      ing the period of probation in this life, whether, there-                                                                        i ... -'
                                                                                                                                             `..
-                                                                   het zeker allen  we1 eens  zijn. Wij althans hebben hier-
      fore, he will perservere unto the end, is a question he over geen  .dispuut  met den schrijver van genoemd
      must settle for, himself, a .matter  that `ultimately rests boeksken.
      with him, not with the Lord. Surely, also unto final             Sprekende nu over de eerste opstanding, begint de               :  "  .~
                                                                                                                                       I
      perseverance,he  must be aided by divine grace, but it sehrijver met op te merken, dat de uitdrukking  voor-
      depends on his own, obedience and. willingness ,to fight komt in Openb. 20, en'dat zij zeker veronderstelt, dat
      the good fight, whether he shall receive this aid of God er meer dan een .opstanding  moet zijn. Wat zin zou
      .to perseverance. So that the Methodist  can reaily het  tech hebben `om te spreken van een eerste  opstan-
      never be sure of his final salvation, neither. of the sal- ding, indien er slechts &n ware? Ook dat is we1 dui-                        .::.
      vation of his brethren. ,.He may lose his hold on the         delijk, en we  stemmen er van harte mede in. De Hei-
      .God of his salvation at any time. And if this should lige Schrift  spreekt  metterdaad van meer dan een op-
      happen in the last moments of his life, no n-ratter how standing der dooden.
      ,great  a saint he may have been in his life, he will cer-       Maar over hetgeen de schrijver nu  verder  neer-
      .tainly belost. And thus it becomes apparent how poor pende,  moeten  we  we1 eenige kritiek oefenen.
     and hopeless 8 religion Methodism really is. Making               Hij schrijft allereerst, dat er in den geheelen Bijbel
      .a11 dependent on mere sinful man and the choice of his geen enkele plaats te vinden is, waar gezegd wordt, dat
      .free will, he finds neither certainty nor stability. ,He     al de dooden, rechtyaardigen  en onrechtvaardigen tege-
     has no other ground of, hope than his own goodness and lijkertijd zullen opstaan en uit de graven uitgaan. Hij
      willingness to obey and believe, which is no ground. It wijst op twee plaatsen, waar gesproken wordt van de
      is Man's religion, like every form of Arminianism. It opstanding der dooden `in dien algemeenen zin van het                           .:
      begins with man and must needs end with him. And woord, namelijk, Hand. 24 :15 en Joh. 5 :28, 29, doch
      it can find no comfort in the assurance of the Lord,          ontkent, dat  er op genoemde plaatsen geleerd wordt,

                                                                                        .


                                      18                                         .THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                      schrijver : waarom God niet op Zijn Woord aan te ne-                                  THE LIBERTY OF GOD
       ,                              men? Waarom moet een vooropgezette idee over een
        1                             aparta opstanding der rechtvaardigen en der godde-                         The term salvation-the signification of a deliver-
                                      loozen,  waarvan de Schrift nooit spreekt, terwijl ze ance from the greatest possible evil and the bring into
                                      juist we1 met duidelijke woorden er van getuigt, dat closest proximity with the highest possible good  - is
                                      deze zal plaats hebben in een en dexelfde  .ure, ons er not applicable to God. For He is the eternally wise,
  j :.: II toe leiden, om zoo de Schrift te verdraaien. en te ver- just and good God, and the overflowing fountain,of  all
                                   , krachten?                                                               good. God, however, is free as GocZ,`in  a manner, then,
 :                                          Er zijn  .nog een paar teksten, die de schrijver  aan-           in which none other is. In this essay attention will be
 :.i
 L'. ::.. ! .: ! haalt ten bewijze van zijn stelling, dat er twee opstan- directed to the peculiar properties of Divine liberty.
                                      dingen der doqden zullen zijn, door duizend  jaren  van                   If true freedom consists in abiding'in one's element,
I? -" elkander gescheiden. Doch hierop willen we, zoo de it follows that God,. would He be. free, must likemiise
1;: -j Heere wil, letten in een volgend nummer.                                                              abide in an element fitted for His mode of being. What,,
I j                                                                                                 H. H.    then, may this element be? And the answer is ready:
~/..:::  :                                                                                                   His own glorious self. In self He must live, move and
I  -.                                                                                                        rest would He be free. For He is eternal God, a being
  :                                                                                                          of infinite perfection, inclusive of all that is superbly
      _i :
 .I' _' .                                                              NbTICE                                true, lovely and good; uncaused yet the cause of all
:y:. 1. -;
`,. ::::..                                                                                                   things and constituting in relation to these things the
       ;: ,::.". `::.I '                    A special meeting of the Reformed Free Publish-
; i.                                                                                                         one single point of divergence and convergence.
 ,.: ., I; .-, ing Association will be held Monday, Oct. 7, in the
                        .I                                                                                      God, then, is free and dwells upon the high peak
                                   /_ basement of the First Protestant Reformed Church,
                                      Grand. Rapids, Mich.                                                   of eternal and infinite joy and bliss because He forever
                                            The Rev. G. M. Ophoff will be the main speaker and wills to select His very own being as the infinite sphere
                                      the Rev. H. Hoeksema will also give us a talk. (The in which to live, move and abide; as the one eternal
                                      subscribers. of                                                        fountain with which to nourish forever His divine
                                                          THE STANDARD  BEARER are invited to
                                      attend.) Opportunity will also be given to pay dues. mind and to satisfy the infinite longings of His being.
,. ./                                                                                                        God is free, finally, because He dwells forever in the
                                                          By Order of the Board,                    ,        light emitted by His very own self and takes that self
             . .1::: `j                                                           Per Secretary.             of His as His only law and the standard of all His
                              !
 _. _!,                                                                                                      conduct. He is, therefore, righteously free.
..:. +...                                                                                                       Because God wills and does rest in self, He is free
                                                                                                             in every conceivable respect and in all. these respects
                                                               LElk MIJ!                                     and in relation to His creatures, infinitely, eternally,
                                                 -Leer mij stil zijn, stille; stille.                        independently and sovereignly free. These are mat-
                                                 Leer mij bidden: "Heer, Uw wille                            ters we wish to elucidate in this essay.
                                                    zij de mijne te allen tijd!"               '                We set out by answering a question which some one
                                                 Leer mij blij zijn, blijde, blijde,                         may raise, to-wit: If God is free  `as  God in that  He,
                   ./                            al benauwen doodlijk mij de                                 rests. in self, how then can the conviction be escaped
 ,.::i;                                             angsten  der verlatenheid !                              that (regenerated and sanctified) man, who likewise
       . . `.i..,
 : .-,                                                           .%                                          comes to rest in God, is likewise and `for this reason
      ,.- `I,: i                                 Leer mij  danken, Heer, ja  danken,                         free as' God? In replying we set out with the assertion
                   . .
 _'  i                                           of ook doornen mij omranken,                                that (regenerated and sanctified) man resting in God,
                                                    diep  zich borend in mijn vleesch!                       rests in one other than self. God, on the other hand,
                                                 Leer mij roemen,  Heer, ja roemen,                          resting in God, rests in self. The Divine being and the
                         !                       al verwelken al mijn bloemen,                               God reposing in this being are numerically one and the
                                                    krijt van'wee mijn keel zich heesch!                     same. Taking the name God as the signification of
                         I                                                                                   personality, God and His Peing can be distinguished
                  `i                             Leer mij stil zijn, stille, stille,                         between but not separated. God, then, dwells, rests,
 .; ; :
:: "L',.`j -.                                    onder alles wat Uw wille                                    rejoices and glories in self; loves, Contemplates, ex-
 .:: ! /.i                                          me oplegt op de levensbaan.                              plores and comprehends a being of which the Divine
      :...: :                                    Heilig zij me, o Heer, Uw wille ;                           ego constitutes the Divine personality. Further, God
                                                 `t zij mij zoet om stille, stille,                          rests in self as God. The light He-dwells in is the sum
                    I                                                                                        total of His glories as reflected by His Divine consci-
                    I                             `t  n6g zoo doornig pad te gaan!
                                                                                         Nellie.             ousness. It is, therefore, a light of a kind no man can
                    I                                                                                        approach, the God no man hath ever seen (II Tim. 6 :
                                                                                                             16). God, then, being one with God, has immediate
                                                                                                             access to His own being which He contemplates, wills
                   /                        Die op den Heere vertrouwen,  zijn als de berg and loves as God, that is, with a mind, will and heart
                                      Sions, die niet wankelt, maar blijft in der eeuwigheid.                equal to the infinite greatness, majesty, power and  re-


                                                                                              . ..--


                                                       .THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                        19

      0     sources of His being. Resting in self as God, He is                   things of man save the spirit of man that is in him,
            infinitely, independently, sovereignly, gloriously free. so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit
            He is .free  as God.                                                  of God (I Cor. 11 :lO, 11). The Father, then, lives the
                The God in whom man rests is one other than man, Divine life, thinks, wills and loves with the one Divine
            to-wit, man's Maker and Redeemer. In Him man mind, will and heart as Father; the Son as Son ; and
            movesj  lives, and abides ; Him .man knows, contem-                   the Spirit as `Spirit. And the Father has fellowship
            plates, wills, and adores  as creature. The light, there- with the Son and the Son with the Father in the
            fore, which man can approach and in`which he dwells                   Spirit; and the Spirit knows the Father and the Son
            is the glory of God not as seen and comprehended by in Himself, so that generation and spiration constitute
            the Divine mind but as reflected by what Scripture the basis of an immanent,. Divine, social life of the
            calls a glass - the Word and creation - and in the highest possible type. And because the three persons
            glorious future by God's `own face  - the heavenly ever delight in acting in. agreement with the laws gov-
            mode of revelation. Man, then, in that he rest in God erning the relation the one person sustains to the
            as creature is but finitely free. His freedom is of a other, God is socially free.
            kind'compatible  with his mode of being, not with that                    God, further, is independently (immanently) soci-
            of Him in whom. he rests. The air, to illustrate, is to ally free. For generation and  spiration  are acts done
            the eagle and the sparrow the element in which both in agreement with  untreated  and hence eternal im-
            live, move and enjoy freedom. In this one element the pulses of the eternal nature of God. The saints, too,
            last-named bird is not free as is the former. It is free constitute a blessed company socially free.. For its
            in' a manner congruous with its mode of existence.                    members are taught by the Spirit to live in obedience
            Not the sparrow but  the,  eagle swoops from giddy to Divine law governing the relation redeemed man
            hights down upon its prey, or remains for many a con-                 sustains to his Redeemer and to his neighbor, to-wit,
            secutive hour upon . the ,wing.          So, too, man, though the law of love. However, the social' liberty of this
            he rests in God, his freedom has its bounds for .man is blessed company is a creation of the Almighty, and
            creature. His judgments are not unsearchable and his abides because He so wills. It accrues from the ob-
      .     ways'past finding as the judgments and ways of God. servance of law of which God is the author. It (this
               Let. us now contemplate the various fihases and the freedom) is an exhibition of impulses of a nature
            nature of the freedom of God. He is free, as was be- cleansed in the blood of the Lamb, and the issue of
           fore said, in every conceivable respect. God is socially hearts upon whose tables was written the very law of
           free.  -His immanent, social freedom accrues from His liberty. It consists, finally, in man's being introduced
           being one in essence yet nevertheless distinguished in into the blessed society of the triune God to have the
           three persons. The term person is the signification of hallowed social instincts of his redeemed nature satis-
            a rational-ethical substantiality. It is that in a rational fied by the light radiated by God's face and reflected
            being addressing itself as I and constituting the sub: by those rendered by God's grace children of the light.
           ject of all action done in, by and through this `being.                   God, further, is. self-sufficiently, socially  (im-
.___.._..,___  God is the one 
            rI-.A.-I1..-          single_,essen_cein.w.~i~h
                              .--.-- -                          are-three-such    ,m.anently).-  free .,__ It ..cannot  beotherwise,--for..He  is a-------
            substantialities - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - con- being of infinite perfection,. alone'and fully capable of
            stituting the one God. Yet the Father is not the. Son, satisfying  .the infinite social instincts of His nature,
            nor the Son the Father, and likewise the Holy Ghost is and, therefore,  ,able to do without the companionship
            neither the Father nor the Son.. They. differ; not, how- of man. True, He does crave, with the heart of a
            ever, as to the properties possessed by each  - "They father, the fellowship of His children, However, this
           are all three co-eternal and co-essential ; one in truth, crave cannot be accounted for by an appeal to some
            in power, in  goodn.ess  and in mercy" (Confession, Art. limitation in His being. For He is the unlimited God
            7)  - but as to the relation each sustains to the other. and altogether sufficient to His unlimited self. Aside
            The Father is eternal Father. He by a necessary and from this, man could not possible. serve as the supply
            eternal act within the Divine being is the eternal house of the Almighty. For He is creature, the prod-
            ground of the existence of a second person called Son,                uct of an almighty, sovereign will, the crystallization
            like unto His and possessing in virtue of the aforesaid of an eternal divine idea, .who .loves,  serves, rejoices,
            act, known as generation, the Divine essence, majesty, seaks and selects God, because `God first loved, served,
            glory, power, .knowledge  and wisdom. And the Father rejoiced in, selected and sought him. Hence, for God
            together with the. Son by a necessary and eternal act to delight in the companionship of His redeemed is to
            within the Divine being constitute the eternal ground delight in Himself.
            of the existence of a third person like unto themselves                   God is religiously free. His religion consists in
            called Spirit, possessing in virtue of the -aforesaid act, serving self. And so He does with all the infinite
            known as spiration, the Divine essence. Therefore, the energy at His disposal. Self He seeks, loves, wills and
            Son is the word, wisdom, the express image of the adores with all His heart, with all His mind, with all
            Father, the brightness of His glory, equal unto Him in His soul and  with'all His strength. The sum total of
            all things.: And the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, all His works, those tending to (ad intra) as well as
            the deep, things of God. For .as, no man knoweth the those tending from self' (ad extra) are done solely in


20                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

the interest of self. He is, must be, in the highest pos- . is one rendered by him who thinks of God as God
sible degree, a self-centered being.      For should He thinks of Himself, who seeks and loves and serves Him
serve one other than self, He would serve one inferior for the same reason that He seeks, loves, serves and
to the highest good. All things He does, must do, for rests in Himself, for the reason, namely, that He is
the sake of His name. All things, the sinner and the the highest good, and therefore must be served and
saint, sin and grace, angel, man and beast,' creation and adored for His name's sake. It must be a service
redemption, election and reprobation, Christ and the arising out of a heart contemplating God as the ful-
devil, heaven and hell, - must be made to promote His ness of life, light and power, as the fountain of all
interests and to  redown to His glory. So He wills that is good, as a being who can only give and not
they shall and so they therefore do.           Hence, God receive in that of Him and through Him all things are,
created man good, "and after His own image, in true as a being therefore who prepares in the hearts of
righteousness and holiness, that he might rightly know men the praises in which He delights, as a being finally
God his creator, heartily love Him and live with Hinz       sufficient unto self, who could therefore dispense with
+n eternal happiness to glorify and pra&se Him" (Cate- the service of men and. still be supremely happy. These
chism, answer to the sixth question). He constitutes are the thoughts which when believed and lived con-
the redeemed a  chos,en  generation, a royal priesthood, stitute the nucleus of true religion. And true religion
a holy nation, a peculiar people  ; "that they should is true freedom.
show forth the praises of Him who called them out of            God is independently, religiously free. His  self-
darkness into His marvelous light" (I Pet. .3 :9). The service is eternal. Its support, its impulse, its die-
believers are in heaviness through manifold tempta- tator,  its content and object is the Divine self and none
tion, that the trial of their faith might be found unto     other. Redeemed man, on the other hand, is depend-
praise  and honor and, glory at the appearing of Jesus ently religiously free. He himself is a creation of the
Christ,  I Pet.  1:7. He raises up Pharaoh that  He Almighty. The mode of expression of his religious
might show His power in him, and that His name impulses is likewise determined by God. He tells His
might be declared throughout all the earth, Rom. 9:ll.      people that and how they shall serve Him and works in
He enduseth the vessels of wrath to show wrath and to       them the service they render.
make His power known.  He prepares the vessels of              Attention must now be directed to God's sovereign
mercy  to make known on them the riches  of  His glory, freedom. Thus far we have been using the term  free-
Rom. 9  :22, 23. He wills  .that His name be magnified dam as the synonym of well-being and happiness. True
forever, I Sam.  12:22. He chose Jerusalem  that His freedom was defined as the blissful state of a being
name might be there, II Chron.  6:6. He wills that from abiding in his element. Sovereign .freedom,  however,
the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the       has to do ,with the determinate will of God and must
same His name shall be great among the.gentiles;  that be linked up with His eternal counsel. God eternally
in every place incense shall be offered unto His name, thought and willed all that is, was, and shall be in time.
and a pure offering: for His name shall be great among The world and its fulness together with the behavior
the heathen, Mal. 1%. He sends a. curse upon them
                                         ^L.___.-_          of every living creature was eternally present before
                                                                                 - - _. _-
who refuse- ZgiVK glory unto His ?i'ame. ,Therefore the mind of the Almighty. IlZstlii~immaYiit~~ntal"
He empowers His chosen ones to say: I will praise and volitional activity of His that is responsible for
`thee, 0 Lord, with my whole heart. I will shew forth the counsel, which may be, defined as a great all-em-
all thy marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice  ,in bracive thought-structure to be realized in time so that
thee: I will sing praise to thy. name, 0 thou Most          all phenomenon, sin included, all events, all behavior,
High, Ps. 9:1, 2.                                           - that of the sinner and of Satan as well as that of
      God, then, serves' self. And because He serves, the saints - must be associated with the mind and de-
wills, seeks self, and recognizes self as the only legiti- terminate will of the great God. Such are the plain
mate goal, purpose and end of all His engagements, teachings of Scripture. . . . Who worketh all things
He is  free. True, He loves and seeks the creature. And according to the purpose of His will, Eph. 1 :ll. The
the most marvelous exhibition of the seeking love of sea was made to take its decreed place when God brake
God is the Christ and His cross. For the cross pre-         up the earth for it, Job 38 :lO. Christ was affixed to
supposes a death-deserving sinner, a hater and mocker the cross by the determinate counsel and foreknowl-
of God. And Christ is God who seeks this sinner             edge of God, Acts 2 :23. Judas betrayed Christ as it
through the cross and takes him to His bosom. How- was determined, Luke 22  :22,23. The time of the mak-
ever, He seeks and saves as one already possessing the ing of one blood all nations of `men, and the bounds of
thing He appropriates. For of Him, and through Him,         their habitations are matters determined, Acts  17:23.
and to Him are al things, so that He must recognize         Likewise the destruction of Judah, Joh. 17:12. That
self as the only possible goal, of all His strivings.       the heathen dishonor their own bodies among them-
      If the freedom of God consists in self-service, it selves must be linked up with the Divine will, for God
follows that man to be free must serve God. However, gave them up, Rom.  1:24. Likewise  ,the hardening of
the only kind of service in which God can take delight the ungodly, Rom. 9 :18, the rejection of Esau, Rom. 9 :
is one paterned after the service He gives self. It         13, the raising  up  of Pharaoh, Rom.  9:17. Christ,


                                       THIE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             21

  further, is set for the fall and rising'again  of many in        That the deliberating God is absolutely free and
  Israel, Luke 2 :24. It seemed good in the sight of ,God      sovereign is plainly .taught  by Paul in Romans, chap-
  to hide the things of the kingdom from the wise and ter` 10. The apostate Jews of Paul's day said, that
  the prudent and to reveal them unto babes, Matt. 11:         whereas they were the seed 0: Abraham, they were
  26, 27. The saints were predestinated unto the adop- children, and thus insisted that the Divine will was
  tion of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according affixed to and controlled by their lineage. The factor
  .tp the good pleasure of His will. God made known unto       determining the direction of the course of Divine favor
`them the, mystery of His will, according to His good was their descend. God in selecting His children was
  pleasure, which He hath purposed in Himself, Eph. 1:         compelled to confine Himself to the one race and to
  5-9. It is God that worketh in them both to will and         save  every  member  of it. The apostle, on the other
  to do of His good pleasure, Phil. 2 : 13. Paul prays that hand, insists that all are not children because they are
  God would count them worthy `of callihg,  and fulfill the seed of Abraham. Then there were those who
  all the good pleasure of His working, and the work of taught. that the efficient cause of God's love for those
  faith in power, II Thess. 1  :ll, 12. Them to whom all whom He calls His sons is the virtue of these sons, and
  things work together for good are the called according that the efficient cause or the determining factor of
  to His purpose, foreknown and predestinated to be His hatred for the wicked is their wickedness. God's
  conformed to the image of His Son, Rom.  8:28, 29.           willj then, so it was argued, is in this case, attached
  Sarah  was'told  that the elder (Esau) should serve the to, ruled and governed by the attitude which man.may
  younger (Jacob) in order that the purpose of God ac-         be assuming toward God. He, then, is compelled to
  cording to election might stand, not of works but of will to love such as choose to love him. Those hating
  Him that calleth, Rom. 9:10, 11.                             Him, He must likewise will to hate. His will, then, is
    In that God had frdm eternity all things before His not free but subordinate to that of His rational crea-
- mind and since His mind and  tiill constitute the cause tures. The apostle's  kefutation   yeads:  "And not  bnly
  of all phenomena appearing in time, the conviction can- this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one,
  not. be escaped that He; aside from His creations, is in     even by our father Isaac; for the children being.not yet
  Himself absolutely blissful.  Btit the matter we now born, neither having done any good or evii, that the
  wish to emphasize is that the cohnsel  of God is the         purpose of God according to election might stand, not
  eternal product of a sovereign and absolutely free will.     of works but of Him that calleth; it was said unto her,
This Divine will @plies: (a) that God, engaged in The elder shall serve the younger as it `is written,
  fixing the  contents'of  His counsel, was in a position to Jacob have I loved,. but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9 :
  exercise a choice  ;, (b) that God, so engaged, takes ac- 10-13). The apostle, then, denies that the goodness of
  count of absolutely no one or thing but Himself, that        Jacob  .and the wickedness of Esau had moved,. incited
  His will, therefore, is the sole determining factor and      God to love the former and to hate the latter. For He
  moving cause of every decision and of the entire con-        hated Esau before his birth, before "he'had done any
  templated course of action; (c) that, finally, He is the     evil." Likewise Jacob, God's love for him preceded
  cause of all things distinct from His own being. This
                 _ .._._ ~- .-                                 $s birth and hence his'doing of any good. Therefore
                                                                                                              -_     ._-.-  -
  Scrip&% expresses by saying: ."He has .mercy' tipon- the sole necessity, the only moving or efficient cause,
  whom He will have mercy and whom He wills He hard-           the sole determining factor of the above-cited love and
  eneth" (Rom. 9 :18).                                         hatred is the detertiinate  will of God. " . . . that the.
     Let us elucidate these matters. That the counsel is purpose of God according to election might stand, not
  free implies that God was not acting in. obedience to        of works but of Him that calleth." Esau's wickedness,
  some eternal urge of His being in deciding to create.        it is plain, was not the compelling, the commanding
  He could also  decide not to create. if not, the counsel factor of God's hatred for him. The sole necessity was
  would not be free but necessary as are those immanent the Divine will or decision. He. hates whom He wills
  divine acts called generation and spiration. Once            and loves whom He wills. It is .a will operated upon
  having decided, He was, of course, compelled to exec- or influenced by absolutely nothing. If so, it certainly
  ute the decision made. However, the element of  coni- follows that no thing or phenomenon can be cited as in
  pulsion was `supplied solely .by the decision and may        any respetit responsible for the decision to hate Esau
  never be interpreted as an urge of His nature neces- and to love Jacob. That is to say, God hates because
  sitating the decision.                                       He wills, and He wills to hate for reasons reposing in
     This counsel is also free respecting every phe- Himself only. And what holds, true ofthe will to hate
  nomenon of time. That `is, the sole factor responsible or to love'must,  to be sure, be made to apply to the
  for its entire content is the determinate will of God and entire counsel. It is absolutely free.
  no creature or phenomenon (sin' included)  distinct             The above-described freedom is peculiar to God
  from His  otin being. Finally, the counsel of God is only. Man, too, does as he wills, decides. However,
absolutely sovereign. It is the cause of every phe- when deciding what  shall'be done, he keeps before his
  nomenon (sin included) ;  `of the world, its fulness and     eye his limitations. His decisions, his plans, bear the
  its history. Its realization constitutes the extention       earmarks of finiteness. They are shaped, largely, by
 in time eternal of an thought-structure.                      a. countless number of phenomena to- which deliberat-


22                                       THE.  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

ing man must bow and submit, - phenc$mena  consti- premacy and subordination. God's counsel is absolutely
tuting the determining cause of the course of action               supreme. The question arises, what renders this counsel
contemplated. To illustrate, the determining or mov- supreme? And the answer is ready: The fact. that it
ing cause of the decision to either .go about or pass constitutes the determining cause of all things, and all.
over a mountain is t&e presence of the mountain, its               phenomenon, sin included. The fact that all things,
fixedness, the inability of the traveler to set it aside. God excepted, have a cause outside of them permits
Man decides to cross the ocean in a ship because the               of but two possibilities, The thing is either caused or
opposite shore can be reached in no other way. Not is its own cause. If the latter be true it sustains to
being able to fly, no person in his right mind would               God a relation of supremacy and God to it a relation
decide tb take to the air from the top of a ten-story              of subordination. God, then, must be the cause of sin
building. His decision to use the proper means of and of all things in  order not to be subordinate to
descent is determined by the fact that, he would come these things. The question arises wh&her the use of.
to grief if he leaped from the higher to the lower level.          the term CCLUS~  to signify the relation He sustains to
The farmer's plans to reap what he sowed are frus- sin, is justified by Holy Writ. And the answer is ready :
trated by the prolonged draught. Our decision to go                Indeed it is. Of the Egyptians it is asserted that  Gocl
our way alone is determined by the refusal of the                  turned  their heart to  hnte His  people; to deal subtilely
friend to set out with us upon the journey. We decide with His servants, Ps. 105 :25. God hardens whom He
to remain indoors because of the rain. The cold of wills, Rom. 9 :18.                   That the assertion to the  .effect that
winter compels the decision to put on the heavier gar- God hardens justifies the use of the  tenim cause is
ment. The aged man of affairs decides to retire be- evident from the apostle's response to the objection
cause of his failing health. So it appears that the raised by the Pelagian whom he had before his mind.
sphere in which man`s will j is able to operate is ex- This adversary replied that if God hardens, He  cannot
ceedingly limited. God's sole volitional sphere, on the possibly find fault as in this  cage no one can resist His
other hand, is His very own infinite self. He does the will. The apostle does not rebuke the adversary for
thing  He  wills. He is His sole `determining factor. reasserting that no one can resist His will, but for
Such are the-plain teachings of  Scriptufe.  Mountains, concluding that He (God) cannot find fault. That the
rivers, seas, floods and draught, life and death, heaven rebuke is directed' against this conclusion is evident
and hell, sin, Satan and the wicked are not so many from the apostle's' imagery,. Whereas no one can re-
bars checking the progress of the Almighty. They do sist His will, man is but clay in the hands of the Al-
not- constitute the boundarie's  of a territory shutting mighty. Beiny clay, it behooves him to hush  `up in-
Him in, a region within whose limits the will of God stead of starting an argument with God. For hath not
must keep if it would' function. The aforesaid phe- the potter power over the clay of the same lump to
nomena are all His servants. If the mountain inter-                make one vessed. unto honor, and another unto dis-
feres with His plans, He removes it. The sea He re- honor? Shall the thing formed say unto him that
buked and it was dried up. He turned the heart of the formed it, why hast thou made me thus? If the above-
Egyptian to hate His people, and to deal subtilely with- cited argument of the apostle does not justify the use
.-His-ser)rants; the sent`darkri-ess  and-niade it d&kilt; -THe            _  ___.-. .  _  . .  .~-
                                                                   df the term cuuse,  words have--i%  meariing. There are
-turned the waters into blood, and slew their fish. Their yet other scriptures to which can be appealed. "I
land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the cham-                (God) make peace, and create evil" (Isa. 45  :7). "0
bers of their kings. He spake and their came divers Lord," complaints the prophet,, "why hast them-1  m&t?
sorts of flies in all their coasts. He gave them hail for us to err from  thy ways, and hardened our heart  from
rain, and flaming fire in their land . . . Ps. 105.                thy fear" (Isa. 63  :17). And He (the Lord) moved
      The Arminian, though he may concede that phy- David against them to say, Go number Israel and
sical phenomena are not operative as the determining Judah, II Sam. 24  :l.
factor of -the counsel of God, subordinates, neverthe-                That the will of God sustains a causal relation to
less, this counsel to all ethical-spiritual phenomena en- creation and recreation is the abundant testimony of
countered by the Almighty, - such phenomena as sin,                Scripture.
grace, faith and its reverse, unbelief. God, it is said,              God, of course, not only sustains a causal relation
saves such of whom He foresaw that they  would be- to sin but to all things. "We believe that the Father,
lieve. Those who persist in their unbelief He decided by the Word, that is by His Son, hath  createcl  of noth-
to cast off. This doctrine shifts the determining factor ing the heaven and earth, and all creatures, as it
from  God. to man, and constitute a denial of the Scrip- seemed good unto Him, giving unto every creature its
ture which says that God hath mercy upon whom He shape, form, and several offices to serve' its Creator.
will, and whom He will, He hardeneth. To shift the That He does still uphold and govern them by His
above-cited factor from God to man, is  to dethrone the eternal providence, and infinite power, for the service
former and to enthrone the latter; is to assign God to             of mankind to the end that man might serve his Gocl.
a place beneath man, and man to a place above God.,                He also created the angels, to be His messengers and
      The sovereignty of the counsel isI implied in its free- to serve the elect."
dom. The term sovereignty signifies a relation of su-                 God as Recreator and sustains a causal relation to


                                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R '                                                        23

            the kingdom of heaven and its citizens. .The saints are                     Den 19den  September 1929 herdachten wij en de familie met
            said to be born of God. He worketh in them both to                       onze ouders
            will and to do of His good pleasure, Phil. 2:13.  They                                             `JAN SCHUT
            are s,aved by grace through faith ; and that not of them-                                               en
            selves: it is a gift of God. Not of works, lest any man                                       JACOBA  SCHUT-Flier,
            should boast. For they are God's workmanship,                       dat zij veertig  jaien door den band des  hywelijks  vereenigd
            created. in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God                      zijn geweest.
                                                                                        Dat zij mogen gelooven dat God hun steun en toevlucht is
            hath before ordained ihat they should walk in them,                 bij het klimmen der  jaren,  is de  wensch  van hunne  dankbarr.
            Eph. 2 :8-10.                                                       kinderen
                 The above-cited Scripture constitute a very, small                                             Mr. en Mrs. Cornelius Schut
            portion of the mass of testimony that could be  ap-                                                                      en 4 kleinkinderen.
       p e a l e d   t o :                                                              Hudsonville,  Mich.
                 The relation, then, which God sustains to all things
            is a causal one. Even so, the Divine causation respect-
            ing sin differs from that. respecting all other phe-                       On August 18, 1929, our beloved parents,
            nomena and things. Nowhere does Holy Writ assert                                               DOUWE WIERENGA
            that God worketh in man both to will and to do evil;                                                   and.
            that the wicked in their capacity of wicked are God's                                     `JENNIE WIERgN.G& nee Jonker,
            workmanship created unto evil works ; that the wicked               commemorated their 25th  ,wedding  anniversary.
            are born'of God. True, the-Almighty did cause them                          That the Lord may spare and bless them in the future as
            to appear in His eternal counsel as wicked. They do                 He has. done in the past is the sincere wish and prayer of their
                                                                                grateful children and grandchild
           -come forth, to use an expression of Calvin, out of ,the                                               Mr. and Mrs. John Van? Hof
          womb of the providence of God. Yet God is not the                                                       Elizabeth Wierenga
            author of sin and the latter is not out  of  Him,  so that                                            Andrew Wierenga
            He  i'n no wise implicates Himself in the evil which He                                               Tillie Wierenga
            causes to appear.                                                                                     John Wierenga
                                                                                                                  William Wierenga
                 It is a matter inscrutable how God can sustain to                                                Donald Jay Van% Hof
            sin a relation of cause and still be able to find fault in-
            stead of being at fault. Though, not understood, fact
            is that the' testimony of Scripture is pf a kind com-
            pelling the conclusion that of  the relation God sus-
           tains to sin, the term cause' is the only proper designa-                                    IN DONKERE TIJDEN
          tion. Hence, the virtue of Jacob did not constitute                               `Wat, mannen  broeders! heft gij `t oog
            the determing factor of his election, nor the perverse-                         Mistroostig naar des hemels boog,
            ness of Esau the cause of his rejection. ,The very re-                          Als  waar' uw Heer gewekep?
--.  - ---r-.--.-,-verse-is-true;-  Both the-virtue of the one-as weil as  the- -           Waartoe,  0 vromen ! u  -ont.rust,                        .--  ..,
            wickedness of the other must be linked up with the                              Als waar' omhoog het licht gebluscl&
            Divine will as its `sole cause. The one was loved and                           Dat g' eenmaal door  zaagt  breken?
           the other hated before birth.                                                    Of-  legd' uw Heiland en uw Heer
                 So it appears that.God,  in relation to all things, is                     Zijn rijkskroon en zijn schepter  neer?
            sovereignly, independently free. Not so man. His
           will is affixed to the  Divine will. His entire life, as to                      Het hoofd omhoog! naar boven `t hart!
            all its minutest details is the realization of an eternal                       D' orkaan steek' op, de  nacht zij zwart,
            decree. God, then, is free as God. It is this knowl-                            Het  schip in  `t schuim bedolven ;  -
            edge "that afforts us unspeakable comfort, since we                             Ziet op ! uw Heiland is nabij !
            fire taught thereby that nothing can befall  .us by                             Hij komt, hij komt! reeds wandelt Hij
            chance, but by the direction of our most gracious                               Langs d' opgeruide golven ;
            heavenly Father; who watches over us with paternal                              Door `t woest  geklots  weerklinkt zijn stem,
            care, keeping all creatures sq under His power, that                            En zee en storm gehoorzaamt Hem!
           not a hair of our head (for they'are all numbered) nor
            a sparrow can fall to the ground without the will of                            Houdt  .moed! Al heeft de god der eeuw
            our Father, in whom  we  dd entirely `trust . . . .  "                          Met  daverend  triomf-geschreeuw
           Because God is so free, free in every conceivable re-                            Zijn heirmacht reeds vergaderd  ; -
           spect, He can save to the uttermost, and is worthy of                            Zijn zeeg' is kort, zijn val gewis!
           the eternal adoration and esteem of His redeemed.                                Het licht verwint de duisternis,
                                                                                            De dag des Heeren nadert;
                                                              G. M. 0.                      Heel d'aarde wordt Gods heiligdom:
                                                                                            Kom haastig, Heere Jezus ! kom!                .


 24                                  .,  `,THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                  CAL-VIN'S  CALVINISM                           all he wrote in defense of the view that the rrosDe1  is
                                                                 an offer of salvation even to those that are'lo&?-
       The reader undoubtedly learnt, that on my recent              "Pighius himself will confess that there is need of
 trip to Europe, I came into contact with some brethren illumination to bring into Christ those who w.ere  ad-
 of the Sovereign Grace Union in London, England, versaries to God; but he, at the same time, holds fast
 parti&larly  with the general secretary of that Union, the fiction (I underscore) that grace is offered equally
 the Rev. Henry Atherton and his `people of the, Grove           to  all (I underscore) but that it is ultimately ren-
 Chapel. I had the privilege of spending a sabbath in            dered effectual by the wil of man, just as each one is
 their midst and of ministering. the Word of God unto willing to receive it" (p. 51) .
 them in two of their services. It is not my  purpqse,              Or how, please, does he and those that agree with
 however, to write about this Union in this article. The him, `judge of `the following doctrine of' Calvin :
 Lord willing I hope to devote some space to this inter-            "But with reference to His hardening men's hearts,
 esting and important subject in future issues of our that is a different way of God's working, as I have just
 Standard Bearer. .Let  me say, however, &en at this             observed. Because God does not govern the reprobate
 present time, that the leaders of  the Christian Re- by His regenerating Spirit; b;ut He gives them over to
 formed Churches cannot possibly agree  .with the prin- the devil, and  leaves  them  to be  his  slaves; and He so
 ciples of this Union, more especially of  t$ie Rev. Ather- overrules their depraved wills. by His secret  .jud&ment
 ton and his Church. These are strictly Calvinistic and and counsel, that they can do nothing but what He
 emp'hasize  the' very truths the Christian Reformed has  de&reed" (p. 319). (I underscore.)
 Churches h&e denied in' their declarations of' the                 Or `the following, please :
`Synod of Kalamazoo in 1924. To mention only one                    "For notwithstanding all your vain. talk about it,
 important matter, they most emphatically deny, that the truth is that a heart of flesh and a new heart are
 the preaching of the gospel is a well-meaning offer of not, promised to all men promiscuouslti,  but to th& elect
 salvation on the part df .God to all that outwardly hear        peculiarly, that they might walk after the command-
 it. Time and again the Rev. Atherton   .emphasized  in ments of God" (p. 315).
 my cofiversation  with him, that grace is never an off&,           Surely, 1924 would have discovered these  passdges
 and that the preaching of the gospel Cannot be God's in Calvin's work, and having found, that Calvin' is
 offer of salvation to all. They believe in predestination "fundamentally Reformed but with an inclination to
 and they preach it without reserve. If the Rev. Ather- onesidedness" they would have cast him out' of the
 ton were minister in the Christian Reformed Churches,           Christian Reformed Churches !
 they would cast him dut, as they did us. I consider it             But I will review these matters, as soon as time
 best for all concerned, that there be a clear understand-       allows. It is now only my purpose to recommend to
 ing .of this matte?, for such is the simple truth.              our people, that they secure and retid this book.
       But about the Sovereign Grace Union, its work and             The Sovereign Grace Union did a good wdrk when
 purpose, I hope to- write later.                                they reprinted it.
       This time, though I cannot write a. lengthy review                                                               I%. H.
.-OX it-in--the present-number;-1  -would,-urge- our-,readers
 td secure one of the most recent publications of the                                                                     __ ..:
 Union. I refer to the work entitled : Calvin's Calvin-                                                                             -
 ism. The book is a work by John Calvin himself, which                                      N O T I C E                    ,-  i;
 he wrote in his maturer years, in which he deals partic-           As we have entered our sixth year of. pr-blishing
 ularly with the subject of predestination. The book The Standard Bearer you are hereby notified t:rat yo.ur
 was first  publis.hed  in' 1552,  ,was for the first time       subscription fees are again due. .Elease take care .of
 translated into the English language in the year 1356           same if possible at an early date. Payment can be
 and is now reprinted and published by the Sovereign made to any agent, or direct to the Treasurer.
 Grace Union.                                                                                           T h e   B o a r d ,   ...
       Being.the work of his later years and being devoted                                                   Per Secretary . .
 entirely to the subject of predestination, the book                                                          ,I'..
 offers a fuller and clearer as well as a riper view of                                                                     . .  *
 Calvin on this subject than does his  Inititutes.  Also            The Ladies' Aid Society of the First  `&ot. Ref.'  Chur& at
 of the contents of this work it may be said,. that $he          Grand Rapids,  Mich.,  mourns  the loss  ,of one of its associate
 Christian Reformed Church cannot possibly agree members,                                                         `.
 with John Calvin. The leaders .of that Church have                           MRS. FRANK BEIBOER, nee Meyer,,
 far departed from him and from the Calvinistic faith.           whom the Lord took unto Himself August  3ist  ..at the age of
 I was surprised to hear that Prof. L. Berkhof wrote a           39 years.
 very favourable review on the book. The latter I have              The Society hereby desires to  express,   iis  s&np&hy to  ihe
 not read as yet, but I .hope to do so and criticize it in       sorrowing husband,  &l&en  and parents.  .' Our  piayk;  is  ihat
                                                                 our Covenant God may comfort them with His sustaining grace.
 the near future. Hbw would Prof. Berkhof harmonize                                                 Mrs. F. Bergman, Pres.
 the following cluotation  with Point I of 1924 and with                                            Mrs. M. Zuidema, Sec.


                                                   A   R E F O R M E D   S E M I - M O N T H L Y   M A G A Z I N E
                                               PUBLISHED BY THE REFORMED FREE PUBLISHING  ASSOCIATION,   GRAP*?)   RAPIDS,~~CEIGAN


                                                                                                                               Communications'   relative   to  con-
                                                                                                                               tents  shobld  be addressed to Rev


                                                               Entered  as second class mail matter at Grand Rapids,  Mich.

                     Vol. VI, No. 2                                           OCTOBER 15, 1929                                       Subscription Price, $2.50

                                                                                               gazing, on a late summer evening, at a sunset over the
                                   M E D I T A T I O N Atlantic, my soul enraptured by its marvelous beauty.
                                                                                               On a deep background of transparent blue, deeper be-
                                                                                           - cause the heaven's canopy served as a mirror to reflect
                                                                                               somewhat the depths of ocean-mysteries below, the
                              LO.OKING AT THINGS NOT SEEN                                      Lord of heaven and earth: had painted a work of color-
                                          For our light affliction, which is but for a         art; so rich and variegated, yet so harmonious in its
                                        moinent,  worketh for us a far more exceed-
                                        ing and eternal weight of glory.                       variformed and polychromatic beauty, that I stood
                                          While we look not at the things which are            riveted on the spot, lost in wonderment. As, slightly
                                        seen, but at the things which are not seen:
                                        for the things which-are seen are temporal;            toward the North-west, the sun was  about  to go down
                                        buim;e  thmgs   which are not seen are                 in a halo of blazing fire, in the Southwestern part of
                                                   ,               -11 Cor.  437, 18.          the firmament's dome a huge fan of featherlike clouds
                        We look at the things not seen !                                       stretched itself through the heavens, rising from a
                        How blessed are they who direct their lives in                         common center on a line of richly dark purple that was
                     accordance with the true wisdom of this seeming drawn near the horizon and parallel to it, reaching out
                     parado?  !                                                                and expanding to points almost directly overhead.
                        Blessed now, in the midst of things present' and From the deep purple at its base and center, the colors
                     seen ; in joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, gradually and softly shaded into a blazing scarlet, a
                     in prosperity and in adversity, in life and in death ; bright red, then into a beautiful orange that produced
                    -when- the-soul ,leap_&&  ex@&ios  and-w?%?? &l% &$!a@ a  deepenin_g   effect   uponthe-dark-!&e   .k&xwd.  o-f-:
1  `-..  -..  .:     is  ov&whelmed  with grief . . . .                                        the sky. And the entire picture seemed to be alive,
                       For, having regard for the things that are not seen, the colors shifting and leaping upward like flames of
                     they appreciate and evaluate all things seen in the light fire, then as swiftly gliding downward again and con-
                     of things as yet iqvisible  and hid from view; and they tracting toward the fan's center. The heavens were
                     know that -the things tangible and perceptible, the ablaze with the glory of God and the firmament poured
                     things of their present experience are temporal, will forth abundant speech . . . .
                     soon fade and be no more, to give place for th& higher,                       Then, as I would fain have prolonged the scene to
                     eternal reality of things that are not seen. And, too, fill my soul with its all-surpassing beauty a little
                    having their eyes fixed steadfastly on the things that longer, the picture quickly faded, the colors lost their
                     are not seen, they will feel confident that things  pres-                 brightness, till with the setting  sun the whole had
                    ent are but a means to realize for them the things disappeared from view and the darkness of night
                     future ; that things temporal are the way, things spread over the ocean . . . .
                    -eternal. are the end !                                                        A part this sun$et  was of all the things that are
                        And, thus they will neither set  their  hearts on seen and that are, therefore, temporal ; a vivid testi-
                     things temporal when they appear pleasant and joyous mony of the transitoriness of all the beauty and pleas-
                     and beautiful ; nor be overcome in the struggle and sit                   ure and joy of things temporal. And to regard the
                     down by the wayside in desperation, when billows of things that are seen, to gaze at them only, to set our
                     affliction and waves  pf grief roll over the soul. They heart upon them as if they were to be evaluated in
                     will in all things be more than conquerors.                              themselves and were lasting treasures, is foolish and
                        A thing of beauty, appearing as an integral part in hopeless.
                     the world of our present experience, is no joy forever!                       No different it is with regard to the afflictions in
                        And our affliction is but for a moment!                               the  .midst of the world of visible things.
                        Leaning against the railing of our. ship I stood                            He that looks at them without having regard to the


                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEA.RER
     ,,
           things that are not seen, will be overcome by present he said that our present affliction is light and. for a
           troubles. So did  .sometimes  the saints of old, and it moment.
           pressed from their hearts the cry that all things were           He knew by personal experience. He was acquainted
           against them. Thus  was the experience of the in- with the sufferings of this present time, with pains of
           spired psalmist, as long as he regarded the things seen the body and sorrows of heart, with griefs and
           as things in themselves, and almost he was inclined troubles. And he knew of still another suffering, which
           to let the murmuring judgment of rebellion escape the world of things that are seen  inflicted upon him
           from his lips, that there is no knowledge in the' Most just because he had regard to the things that are not
           High. For he regarded the things that are seen, both seen. He was troubled on every side, persecuted and
           of the godly and the ungodly, and he set his heart ori       cast down, always bearing about in the- body the dying
           them. He looked, and behold,  the ungodly knew no            of the Lord Jesus, always delivered unto death for
           pains and no bands till their death; they wallotved in Jesus' sake.  Ris outward man was perishing, His
           pleasure and lived luxuriously ; prosperity was their inward man was afflicted by his outward man. Sin
           portion all the way of their life. He looked again and afilicted him till he cried out: who shall deliver me
           found that he hiniself was oppressed with grief, though from the body of this death? The world afflicted hiti,
           he wished his hands in  innocency ; his punishment because it is in .darkness  while he, according to the -in-
           awaited him every morning anew. He could not under- ward man, desired .to walk in the light. He was per-
           stand, the problem that was presented to his mind by secuted, reproached, scourged, cast out, stoned, im-
           the aspect of things that are seen, was too painful for `prisoned, condemned to death, oppressed on eTjery side
           him. Bitter dissatisfaction filled his troubled soul . . . in the world of things that are seen. And knowing all
               Till he ceased to look at things that are seen, and this, and having before his mind the things of this
           regarded their end, in the light of the sanctuary of present time in all the power of their oppression and
           God. Then he was satisfied, for he understood that the tribulation, he nevertheless speaks as he does and char-
           things he saw and had regarded with envy and grief           acterizes all the sufferings of the present as a light
           of  sotil  were temporal, both' the prosperity of the        affliction, which is but for  a moment. And again,
           wicked and the affliction of the godly.                      knowing not only his own sufferings, but being mind-
              Blessed are they, indeed, whose confession it is and, ful, too, of the tribulation of all the saints, of the
           ivho direct their lives accordingly, day by day:             Church of Jesus Christ in the world of things that are
              While we look at the things that are not seen!            seen, he includes their affliction and comforts them
              Not at the things that are seen!                          with the confident assurance, that it is only light and
                                                                        evanescent, like streaks of morning-cloud, dissipated by
                                                                        the rising sun . . . .
                                                                            But why, pray? Whence this light  apprlisal of
              Our light affliction!                                    the affliction of this present time?
              Which is but for a moment!                                    Surely not, because the apostle considers these suf-
_.-_  -.      These  words express the apostle's evaluation of all
                                       ___ ._ ~.  .- -.--.--:--. .- ------ ferings lightly and of no account, wheq. wwighcd_.. all-_
                                                                       __________ __- _... _ _.. - . . ._--... /. --
     tl%`;S'ufferings  and troubles. of ths present time !              by themselves, when viewed -as a thing in itself. Then,
              `But does he not speak too lightly? Is his judgment indeed, the weight of  afliction  was heavy enough;
           of the world's pain and death not far too superficial to then the dark night of suffering seemed long and ter-
           be regarded seriously?                                      rible.
           Is his light appraisement of all the tribulation men             But because he looked not at things that are seen,
           ?ndure  in the world of things that ar6 seen, perhaps, but at the things that are not seen. The wbrld  of vis-
           to be explained from lack of experience on his part?        ible things, the world of our earthly experience, the
           Was he, perhaps, not a man acquainted with grief? things of perception, the things we can see and hear
           Did the storms of life always pass him? Was his way;         and taste and smell and handle, are the things through
           perhaps, always smooth. And having no personal which we suffer, constitute the world in which we are
           acquaintance with the sufferings of this present time,      afflicted  ; but it is not the only reality. There is a
           and lightly regarding the agonies of others round about world of things not seen as yet, and it is nonetheless
           him,. did he perhaps speak foolishly, when he  charac-      real. It is the world of heavenly, of spiritual, of
      terized present grief as our light affliction which is but eternal things. It is, but it is not yet seen. It exists,
           for a moment?                                               but it cannot yet be perceived by the earthly eye. It
              Did he not know `how the, world is writhing in the has existence, for the God of His peopIe  conceived of
           throes of death?
I                              Had he never heard how the whole that world before this world of visible things was. It
           creation groaneth and travaileth together until now? already is, for it was -realized through the sufferings
           Had he never seen how man is frequently born to and death, the resurrection and exaltation of the Lord
           suffer, to die day by day, not for a moment but for         Jesus Christ, who is exalted at the right  hana of God.
           weeks and months and years, for a lifetime ; and not And although we cannot see it, yet we do look at it,. by
           lightly,, but in unbearable agony? . . . .                  faith in Him, Who is the Captain of our salvation and
              Yes, he knew, neither did he speak foolishly  when       the: Fi&&r of our faith. Though that world of  heav-


                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAR'EI-                                                27

        enly things be hid from our present earthly view, yet                Then all is well and we are reconciled with the
        we look at it w&h the eye of hope, through Him Who               way !
        loved us even unto death . . . .                                   We may not.always  understand the exact relation,
           We know it is there, and we regard it, steadily we            we may not be able to discern always the connection
        gaze upon it with the eye of our spirit. -And with our           between our 1,ight affliction and `the glory God has in
        eye fixed'on  th&t world of invisible things we appraise store for His people. In fact, more  ,often  we do not:
        our present `suffering.                                          A few great and general truths we grasp. Did not  `..`::
           Both, present affliction and future glory, `we put in God Himself choose the deep and awful way of sin and
        the balance and weigh. And then there  is, no  corn;             grace, with all its misery and death, .$ea, with the suf-
        parison.                                                         fering and death of His only begotten Son in its very
           The things not seen constitute an exceeding weight center, to realize the far more exceeding weight of the
       of glory, and they are eternal !                                  glory He had prepared  for  those  wlipm' He loved with
           An'd ihe affliction of the present, in the world of           an eternal and  predegtinating  love? Was the way of  j
        things `that are seen, is light.                                 the cross atid all its agony of soul and body not neces-
           It is but for a moment!                                       sary for the Lord our Saviour,  in ordef that He might i.,
                                                                         attain to His glorious Mediators-crown? And can we                    .: _:
                                                                         not see, that suffering sanctifies, that affliction purifies
                                                                         us as gold is proved by fire? Yea, do we not under-
                                                                         stand, that  the outward man must perish day by day,
..-        Our `light affliction : the means !
           A far more `exceeding.and  eternal weight of glory:           must ultimately perish- in death,  iq order that the in- :
        the end !                                                        ward man may be renewed and finally glorified? . . . . i
           Only in the light of this consideration are Qey, who             Yea, the earthly house of this tabernacle must needs
        look not at the  thihgs  that are seen, but at the things be dissolved and we must be unclothed that we may be
       * that art? not seen, .blessed  and reconciled with the brief clothed upon !
        way of their light affliction.                                      Yet, aside from these general truths, we do not
            05,  trculy, the mere comparison of present affliction fathom the mind of the Most High.
        and  future  glorjr is comforting for the afflicted soul in         The details of His ways with us, we do not under-                      i
        the midst of the things that are seen. The mere remem- stand. `Why `one" must travel in this, another in that
        brance `of the things that are not seen as the object of way, of suff eying, remains a mystery.
        our bles%d hope is sufficient to make us rejoice in the             Neither do we care to know.
        midst .@f suffering,. to cause us to sing songs in the              For we walk by .faith,  not by sight!
        night.                                                              One  step.`s   .enough!
           But  ,the mere comparison does not satisfy, does not             But, having regard,.not  to the things that are seen,
        reconcile us even with our light affliction, because it but to the things that .are.not  seen, and assured by our in
        does not reveal. the reason,  ii does not  show  us the God, Who leads us, that  our light affliction worketh a .i
        necessity of our present suffering. Why, after all, the' far more exceeding weight of glory, we are confident .:::.:
        suffering? Granted that it is only light and quickly that all things work together for good to them that _ -.
        passing and flitting away, when viewed in the light of love God, to them whom He  <called  according to His
        the exceeding weight of glory eternal that awaits us             purpose  ; . . .  '                                              :.
        in the world of &seen things ; the fact remains, that               And we are reconciled with the way, though it is                    :.:'
        while we endure it, the burden of it is heavy enough rough and steep and the night is dark. And cheerfully j
        and the pain of it severe. Were it  nbt far better, then, we travel onward.
        to obtain the exceeding weight of giory in.a different              Enduring the way for the goal in view!
        way and to be free from suffering even in this world                Eternal glory, exceeding great!                               J
        of visible things? . . . .                                                                                         H. H:          :  ._
           Yes; but our light affliction work&h  a far more ex-
        ceeding weight of glory. There is a causal relation                                                                               I
        between the affliction .and the glory, between our' ex-
        perience in the world of things that are seen and our                             KERKKLOliCSTONEN
        glory in the world invisible . . . .
           The light affliction is `a means ;  tile glory is the end.              Wil  tech,  als de klepels kleppen,
        Our present suffering is the way, and there is none                          En de Heer de  Zijrien  beidt,
        other; the future glory is the destination whither the                     Naar Zijn heiligdom  u  reppen,
        way is leading. The affliction  yields  fruit, and the                      `t Vborportaal  der eeuwigheid  !
        fruit is the far more exceeding weight of glory. The.                      D?ar  tech zweeft uw geest naar  Boven,
        former is necessary to the latter. Without the means
        you would not gain the end ; unless you travel the way,                      Op de zucht van lied en be6 ;
        difficult and rough though it may frequently be, you                       En bij `t darikbaar lieven, loven,                     I1
        cannot reach the destination !                         4                     Vinden ziel en lichaam vre6 !                        1 :&. :I


                                                 38                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                         CALVIN, BERIGSOF  AND H. J. KUIPER                    Calvin on predestination and the  related  doctrines ; and
                                                                                                               oti the secret providence of God. And it is the work of
                                                                         A                                     Calvin's maturer years, a fact that adds to the value of
                                                                               COMPiRISON          1     '
              i                                                                                                the book in our estimatiop.
      :  /                                             Of course, we do not intend to draw a cotiparison           SeconidZzJ:  a particular paragraph in the  book-
                                                 between. the three men, whose names appear in the review on this work by Prof. Berkhof, that appeared
      : :,... .,                                 title of this essay.                                          in  The Banner  of July 26, 1929. The paragraph re-
                                                       It is our purpose to make a comparative. study of ferred to here follows:
:.  .'                                           their views, their doctrines, their convictions, as clear-        ."These  treatises are indeed ,valuable productions
           :.: :
 - :..:/                                         ly expressed in their writings.                               of the great Reformer. On  rF?ding  them, it is true,
 . . _.
      : : 
        :,.:                                           Neither do we propose to compare their teachings we sometimes feel that he is hardly civil to his oppo.
                                                 from every viewpoint and with regard to every detail. nents. -He certainly does not speak of them in terms
i                                           :    It is particularly from the viewpoint of their attitude of endearment. But in this respect his polemics simply
~.  "  :                                         toward the so-called free offer of salvation in cotinec- reflect  the spirit of the age. The one thing that stands
i.~( .:_ .: : .( tion with the  dqctrine of predestination and sovereign out very  clearly in these treatises is that Calvin is
I'  2                                            grace, that we expect to carry on a bit of investiga- eminently Scriptural in his representations. He bases
~_  .j                                           tion. Again, we, .do not care to draw a comparison be- his teachings on the Word of God, and is always ready
~ .:  ,,.'  i
1.:. I., 1. .:                                   tween the views of each one of the three men named to apply to them the touchstone of Scripture. More-
;:+,:.
        . ..I.. i :
:. :: `.'                                        individually, That would not be to the point and would over, in the deep things of God he has no desire to
      _..  :.
 -:,..  :`i
 .I                                              lead us nowhere. `We have a certain definite purpose go beyond the plain teachings of th& Bible and rebukes
      , _`. ..' ;/ in view. We want' to know somet.hing  very definite. those that attempt it. He is willing to go a$.far as the
                                       i         We would like to have an answer to a certain very Word of God does, but no farther, and does not hesi-
                                                 definite question, that concerns us all, Calvin, Kuiper, tate to admit that the doctrines of predestination and
                                                 Berkhof, the undersigned and all our readers and hun- divine providence raise problems which he cannot
                                                 dreds more. And that particular question is : do Berk-        solve. Time and again he indignantly repudiates the
                                       I
         ,                                       h?f and Kuiper in all they have  ptiblicly taught of idea that in teaching the doctrine of predestination he
                                                 late years follow John Calvin's  conception.of   a certain makes God the author of s:n and renders the free offer
                                                 free offer of salvation to all men? If they do we do of salvation impossible. He has no patience with those
      : : .j                                     not hesitate to admit that we do not. If Calvin holds. people who want the preachers to be  silent respecting
,::  ...':
      .I  .::                                    to the general  and free offer of salvation to all men these great doctrines for fear that they might prove
1..                                              promiscuously in $he sense in which Berkhof and  Kui-         injurious to some ; at the same time he desires that
I                                 1              per do, we must depart from `Calvin. That is our in- these doctrines shall be taught with c&e and discre-
                                  I              terest in-the question we propose to answer. If, on the tion."                                     .
                                                 other hand, Berkhof and Kuiper in their writings on               Thirdly:  both Berkhof and Kuiper are great de-
'                                 i              this subject depart from Calvin, they ought to cease fenders of the Three  Paints. If Berkhof is not the
              !                                  to  appeal,+0  -him-and his views as if they agreed with father of them, he certainly is --one of their  foster-
                                                 `him, and they ought not to recommend his works, fathers and he went the length of publishing a pam-
                   I                             particularly not the book entitled  CuZv+n,`s Calvinism; phlet in their defense. And Kuiper preached and pub-
                                  I
i.. .-:I `-. !                                   they ought frankly to admit that they condemn Calvin lished three sermons on these points, in which he made
         1..  ,
: ::.:.                                          on this point as they did and do us. That is their in- many statements that are still fresh in. our mind be-
      ">V  .! 1i                                                                                               cause of their glowing enthousiasm for the do&&e,
                             8                   terest in this matter. And if it is not true that John
                             I                   Calvin held to a gracious and general offer df salvation that God freely offers salvation to all men and ear-
       : I on the part of God to all men, Berkhof and Kuiper nestly desires their salvation. And also these state- *
                                                 ought not to present him as if he did. His name ought' ments ought to be compared with the teachings of
                             1                   to be cleared from the indictment of teaching any such        John Calvin on this subject.
                             t                   Pelagian errors. That is Calvin's interest in the mat-           We will make the paragraph quoted from the book-
                             I                   ter. And in the  procesti   tif this investigation the at- review by Berkhof our starting point.
 `J                                              mbsphere will probably be cleared with respect to cer-           The reader will realize that it is especially to the
      :.  (  .,                                  tain matters, the truth will shine forth more clearly part that speaks of Calvin's view of the free offer of
 .1'                                             and brightly and we will all be edified. That is the          salvation, and of his timidity to enter into the deep
-. `.  ;                                         interest'of all our readers in the matter and of many things of. God, that we wish to call attention. We are
                        I                        more that ought to be  aur readers.                           interested to know just what was Calvin's view on
                        I                              And so we will compare the last named two men these matters and whether Berkhof is interpreting `him
                        I                        with the first: Berkh.of  and Kuiper on the one hand,         rightly.
                                                 Calvin on the other.                                             But before we enter into this, we must needs speak
                        I                              The occasion, you ask for this essay?                   of another matter or two that impressed us, when we
                                                       First: the publication of the book Calvin's Calvin- read this brief appraisal by Berkhof of the book of
                                                 ism, to which we referred in the previous number of Calvin.
                                                 our paper. It sets forth particularly'the  views of John         First of all we would call the attention of our. read-


                                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                39

               ers to the statements Berkhof makes concerning the of his magniloquence, carries himself with greater
               treatment by Calvin of his oppon&ts.  He ,hardly  treats pomp and boast; while the other fellow borrows the
               them civilly sometimes, writes Berkhof. He certainly boots by which he elevates himself from his invented
               does not speak of them  in terms of endearment! And revelations" (p. 27) .
I              the professor attributes this feature of Calvin's trea-                 "And yet this ape of Euclid (Pighius  is  meant,
I              tises merely to the spirit of the age. It wassimply the H. H.) puffs himself off in the titles of all his chapters
I              custom of the time to treat opponents in this fashion. as a first-rate reasoner" (p. 89).                                     \
!                   Now, the fact may be admitted that Calvin handles                  "And now as I proceed, it will be my object to con-
               his opponents without the gloves of a superficial civil- sider not so much what Pighius says, nor in what order
               ization. He does -thoroughly enter into their reasoning he says it, as to take care that this worthless fellow be
               and enervates their every argument. But in doing so buried under the ruins of his own desperate impu-
               he does not spare them and is little careful how he calls dence" (p. 93).
               them. We would, probably, speak of our "honorable                     "Now in the first place, if there had been one grain
               opponent" and `write in terms of  utmo$t  respect, of the fear of God in this man Pighius, could he eve?
               though we did not mean a word of it, did not think our have dared thus insolently to call God to order?" (page
               opponent honorable at  $1 and had no respect for him 108).
               whatever. Calvin surely does not write in that fash-                    "Pighius, indeed, can pour out the flood of his char-
               iqn. He calls a spade a spade. Some very interesting acteristic loquacity with all the ease in the world, and
               illustrations may be quoted  from his work to substan- without one drop of'sweat at all. But that his tongue
               tiate this statement. For instance :                                . might have full play, he seems always to take care to
                    "But since the trouble which this vain fellow wet himself well with wine, that h& may be able to blow
               (Servetus) endeavored to cause me, reaches unto you forth at random, and  without any check of shame
               also, it is but just that you should partake of the                 whatever, those blasts of abuse that first  fill his swollen
               blessed fruit which God brings out of it" (p. 20).                  cheeks" (p. 133) .
                    "And yet the object of this flthy- and abandoned                   "But some space must now be found for dealing
               one (Servetus) tias not only to blot out all know.ledge             with Georgius of Sicily. All things connected with this
               of God's election from the minds of men, but to over- miserable creature are so insipid, vain and disgusting,
               turn His power also, as is evident from his mad that I really am ashamed to spend any time or labour
               dreams, which ye possess in your public records" . . . in his refutation" (p. 157).
               (P. 22).                                                                "But it is no matter of wonder that the more
                    "Now the reason why, passing by this fellow in audacity this worthless fellow betrays in wresting the
               silence, I enter into the battle with the other two,  Al- Scriptures, the more profuse he should be in heaping
               bertus  Pighius and Georgius of Sicily, is, as I will ex- passages on passages to suit his purpose, seeing that
               plain to you twofold. This ignorant pettifogger could he does not possess one particle of religion or ,of shame
               bring forth nothing but what he got  .from these which might restrain his headlong impudence" (page
     `-.  :--  `-  -. sources, and so would make what was bad in `them
                                             ..-                                   167).
               worse  afid'-w'orse.-  To  contetid   `with  h.irii~;`therefor~;      We `could easily  `tiultipiy  these few  ilXstratio%F   -
             would have been a contest cold `and bootless. Let our from Calvin's work, but these may suffice.
               readers be content  with one proof. With what cavils                    Certainly, these are not terms of endearment and
               Pighius and Georgius would darken the first chapter in the light of our present @onception  of civilization,
               of Paul to the Ephesians  ,has been shown in its proper they are not civil terms. And Calvin must be severely
               place. They, indeed, were ignorant and disgusting; condemned if our present civilization is, indeed, a true
               but the folly of this fellow is fouler still, who blushed           standard for treating the enemies of the truth of God.
               not to babble his nonsense in your senate ; and not only After all, it does not. mean a great  deal, when Berkhof
               so, but dared to defend with pertinacity what he had attempts to excuse Calvin by the statement that these
               thus blattered in folly" (p. 23).                                   uncivil expressions of Calvin must be judged in the
                    Or take this for example:                                      light of the spirit of that age. It only means, that men
                    "I propose now, to enter into the sacred battle with were more brutal, uncivilized then than they are to-
               Pighius and Georgius, the Sicilian, a pair, of unclean day, and that Calvin was no exception to that rule.
               beasts (Lev. 11:3) by no means badly matched."                      But,: I question very seriously, whether this is the
                    And to prove this characterization of them he con- proper explanation of the cutting words, with which
               t i n u e s   :                                                     Calvin addresses and describes his opponents. Let
                    "For though I confess that in  sozx things. they there even be an element of truth in it, fact is, that
               differ, yet, in hatching enormities of error, in adulter- polemics were not always characterized by the same
               ating the Scriptures with wicked and revelling lack of .civilization  which the professor finds in Cal-
               audacity, in a proud contempt of truth,  in forward im- vin's mode of writing. Consider the smooth language
               pudence, and in brazen loquacity, the most perfect like- of one of Calvin's opponents, of one certain "calumni-
               ness and sameness will be found to  exist between them.             ator" as Calvin calls him, in the. following passage :
               Except that Pighius by inflating the muddy bombast                      "You are a man, John Calvin, now known almost


 4      0                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

 throughout the whole world. Your doctrine has  niapy         doubt. He was strong in the faith. He did not simply
 favourers a7d supporters, but it has also many enemies philosophize on the truth intellectually, for the sake
 and opponents. For myself, being one who earnestly of mere mental enjoyment and exercise of his logical
 wishes that there were but one doctrine, as there is faculty, but he was deeply convinced himself of the
 but one truth, and who greatly desires to see all me? truth of what he wrote. He believed the Word of God
 agree, if it were possible, in that one doctrine, I have     atid was assured that his doctrine was the true repre-
 thought that you ought to be informed, .in a friendly sentation of the truth of that Word.
 manner, of those. things which are everywhere spoken             In the second place, and what is still more, he also
 against your doctrine; that if false you might refute lbved the truth of which he wrote and had a personal
 them and might have an opportunity of sending your part in it. Calvin's heart was filled with reverent love
 refutation to me; that I might be able  .to take a stand of God and the fear of His name. He himself em-
 against your adversaries. And I pray that you would braced the truth with all his heart, and in it he clung
 frame your refutations of such arguments as may be to his covenant God, the glory of Whose Name meant
 plainly understood by the people"  ,(p. 257).                so much to Calvin.
      Now, surely, this attack upon Calvin is clothed             In the third place, it follow&  and it is evident from
 throughout in very refined and  civil language. And all his writings that this conclusion is correct, it fol-
 how does Calvin answer? `Read the following :                lows, that Calvin regarded his opponents, that attack@
      `<Nay, as far as you yourself are concerned, poor the truth of predestination and of the sovereign grace
 masked monitor, I derive some' cbnsolation  from the of God, as enemies of the truth and of God, which they
 fact that you cannot be ungrateful to the man who `also really were. These men slandered the name of
 has treated you with much greater kindness than you his God, according to the conviction. of Calvin. They
 deserved at his hands, without betraying at the same were wicked, base fellows, ungodly men, who possessed
 time your foul wickedness against God. I know quite no grain of religion and of the fear of God. And Cal-
 well that there is no sport more grateful to you Aca- vin, who could endure so much if his own honor and
 demics than the rooting out of all faith from the hearts name were concerned, did not hesitate to express his
 of the godly by casting a shade of doubt over all that       contempt and holy hatred, which he actually felt
 they hold dear.  Atid how sweet you feel in yourself against these enemies of his God. I am convinced that
 all those revilings to be, which .you  direct against the these are the deeper and nobler niotives  behind this
 `Secret Providence of God' is apparent from the very "uncivil" language of the reformer.
 point of your pen, how much  soever  you strive to hide          Hardly civil ?
 your base gratification. But I cite you and all you              But what is civilization that speaks in terms of en-
 fellows before that tribunal on which the Judge of dearment where the language should be that of holy
 heaven sits, from whose mouth the blast and the bolt wrath, seeing the enemy makes an attack upon the
 shall one day fall upon you all and lay you prostrate.       truth and name of God ? What  does it mean, when we
 I trust, however, that I myself before I have done, shall express our highest esteem and respect for opponents
 make your insolent speaking against God to be as             of the truth, when there is no grain of such respect
                                                                 .-_.--.  _....                      -.__. .__, .___ - ..--. ---    - -i
--loathsome-to---the. feelings of -. all  _ ihe- good and godly- .?n our hearts?-X%&t otherwIse  1s it than a bit of un-
 men, as they are inwardly gratifying to your own godly hypocrisy? Surely, the theory of  comm.3n grace
 heart" (p. 258).                                             may be able to cover up this wicked hypocrisy, accord-
      Now, it -is evident from these quotations, in the       ing to which we are often more concerned T-Tith our
 first place, that not all carried on their polemics in the own honor and with the friendship of men than with
 same "uncivil" language as did John Calvin.           The the honor and friendship of qur God. It `has already
 language of his opponent is throughout very smooth, so blinded the eyes of many, that they even would crit-
 sweet and polite. He does not call Calvin names, but icize the profound love of God expressed by the psalm-
 treats him throughout with apparent respect. Which ist of Ps. 139, when he emphasizes that he hates those
 shows, that you cannot explain Calvin's language that hate his God and that they are his enemies. Small
 simply from the spirit of the times, unless you picture wonder, that in our age of humanism and love of self
 Calvin as less polished and civilized than his average and the honor of men rather than of God, we should
 opponent. And this certainly cannot be said of the stumble over the language of Calvin, when he calls the
 Genevan  Reformer. In the second place, it is also clear, enemies of God by their true names, rather than feign-
 that Calvin does not change his style one whit, because ing esteem for them which he does not possess.
 of the sweetness and politeness of his adversary's lan-          This is the first general remark, which I felt con-
 guage. `He. immediately attacks him with  the severest strained to make before I come to the real point of our
 language and invokes the bolts of God's judgments discussion.
 upon him and his friends to lay them prostrate.                 And my second remark is this.
      How, then to explain this form of writing on the            One  would  almost receive the impression from the
 part of Calvin?                                              book-review on Culvin's  Cc&in&n in The Banner,  that
      In the first place, I would explain it from a very it chiefly consisted in a warning to be careful  .and not
 firm conviction regarding the truth. Calvin did not to enter into the deep things of God with too great an


                                         :     *.     _     I     L     ,,,.    -f,,...-                         .
                   ,`.     .-     .:.
                     ;.

                                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                               41

measure of audacity. Oh, Calvin is so careful! He                                           I will also quote what Berkhof and Kuiper have
would almost seem to devote his work chiefly to the at- written  on the same subject, in connection with the
tempt to defend the free  offer.of salvation in the light contents of Point I of 1924.
of the doctrine of predestination ! He appears almost                                       And then the reader may judge for himself,
timid in his care not to express himself too boldly on whether the corruption of 1924 is actually the doctrine
the subject of election and reprobation !                                            of the Genevan  Reformer.
   As if such were the subjects on which Calvin wrote!                                      This, however, we will leave for our next number,
   As if, forsooth, such were actually his chief pur- the Lord willing.
pose !                                                                                                                                   H .   H .
   Nay more, as if there were even one iota of Berk-
hof's theory of a free offer  of salvation on the part of
God in the whole work !
    One feels how the wind blows in Berkhof's book-                                                     A SONG OF PRAISE
review. It appears that the three' points were before                                            I may not understand, dear  .Lord,
his mind, when  he. wrote that review. One receives                                                  How I can see,
the impression, that he was thinking of 1924 and of us,                                          When others' eyes are closed. They have
of the work the Christian Reformed Churches did,                                                     No sight of Thee.
when they corrupted the doctrine of Calvin and of the
Reformed faith in their three declarations ; when they,                                          I may not know how thou hasi filled
very pdlitiely and civilly, without giving him even an                                               My heart with love ;
opportunity to defend himself and the truth, wickedly                                            When  others' hearts are.empty  of
.expelled  ministers, that were faithfully defending the                                             Joy from above.
truth of the sovereign grace of God, in  oppositioti  to
the theory of Common' Grace which the Churches                                                   One fact I knoti - the blood of Christ
adopted. He must have met many passages in Calv+n's                                                  Was shed for me.
Calvvinism  that stood in flat contradiction to the doc-                                         He bore my sins, my Substitute,
trine adopted by the Churches, under Berkhqf's lead-                                                 Upon the tree.
ership, in their now famous three points. And now he
desperately tries to read into Calvin's Calvinism the                                            *Tis all of grace, no merit mine,
"wh.itew+shed  Calvinism" of the three points ! Now he                                               I'll humbly praise
emphasizes that Calvin is careful not to go beyond                                               Thee, blessed Redeemer, King divine,
Scripture  and that he defends a free offer of salvation                                             Through all my days.
in the sense of the first point of 1924 ! ! !
    Grace to all, is it not, professor? in ,the preaching                                        For boundless mercies, undeserved,
of the gospel!                                                                                       I thank three, Lord.
  Grace also to the reprobate in the proclamation gf                                          O h ! Jesus! May'st thou ever be
the salvation in Christ!                                                                             Alone adored.
    An earnest desire on the part 6f God to save---all                                                                           -E. W. C.
men and not only the elect !
    That is what you mean, when you speak of a free
offer of salvation. That is what Kuiper preached in.
his  sermons on the Three. Points.                                                                     EEUWIG ERBARMEN
    And,you  maintain, that this corruption of predes-                                             0 God ! ik zocht U niet ;
tination is the. doctrine of Calvin?                                                                  Ik heb U niet gevonden.
    Well, we will see!'                                                                            Ik heb zelfs ni& verlangd naar U.'
    I assure you that the publishers of the book will                                              En nu de stroom des doods
look amazed when they hear that Calvin's Calvi&m                                                     Mij komt omgeven ;
makes such a strange impression on some Reformed  (  ?)                                            En nu de donk're nacht
leaders in America!                                                                                  Mijn hart doet  be$en ;
    They must have nothing of "hawking" Christ,   a+s                                              Nu roept mijn angstig hart - tot U,
Rev. Atherton used to call this so-called offer of salva-                                            Eer het verzinkt.
tion to all.
    And it surely is not their impression that Calvin                                              Maar Ik heb  u gezocht,
believed in it.                                                                                      En Ik heb u gevonden.
    But we will see.                                                                               Ja, Ik heb steeds verlangd naar u.
    I will quote  Ctilvin  extensively on this subject.                                              Ik sloeg u ga, en trok .u met erbarmen ;
Fortunately, he has a good deal to say on it, so. that                                                En draag u nu op eeuw'ge liefde-armen  ;
we are in a position to obtain a rather clear concep-                                              Straks door de donk're  poort  ; -
tion of. his vie% on the matter.                                                                        waar `t  licht u tegenblinkt.

                                                                                                          .._


.l'+,-: ,.
.:::`I;:.:::::   56.
;.:: : _:'                                                                              '  T H - E   STAND.ARD  B E A R E R
.;  :.                                                                                                                                                                       . .
              _'  I
              .:1. .                                          THE FULLER LlIGHT                                    as the earth remaineth." The Lord; then, will give
            (`_                     i                                                                              Himself time, so to say, to replenish, through the in-
                                    I        Our previous article was principally devoted to the strumentality of the intercourse between the sexes, this
                                    / task of establishing the nroposition  to the effect that earth. Of this new yet corrupt population He'will call,
                                    i the covenant with Noah was one of special grace. To justify and glorify such as He did foreknow and pre-
                        1 the reasonings already presented may be added `the                                      destinate to be conformed unto the image of His Son.
 .`,                                     following considerations : The Lord, having smelled the
 ~.  ..                                                                                                           The evil fountain of the issues of life will be dried up.
_ _ i sweet'savor arising from the burnt offering brought by The heart of stone will be replaced by a heart of flesh.
                        i Noah, said: "I will not again curse the ground any A new method, then, will be put into working, - a
                 ,:.. ./ more for man's sake ; for the imagination of man's method requiring a Christ and exhibiting the marvel-
                                         heart is evil from his youth ; neither will I smite any-
_.. ,,                                                                                                            .ous mercy of God.                                    :
            `i more everything living as I have done. While the                                                       We may now properly explain the appearance of
 :. : .:
      _ .::;,.:  :.I earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and
                             . .                                                                                  the rainbow. It was a sign of the covenant of special
 -___
           :. . .i 1 heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall grace made to appear for the purpose .of guaranteeing
                   j  not cease? (Gen. 8  :21, 22). This Scripture alone, if to Noah and to the church of God of all ages the above-
                                    i contemplated in its proper setting `and understood in cited speech - a speech at once constituting the
                                    I all its implications, will be seen to constitute the stone- articles of the aforesaid covenant. Stretched  across
 i'.:. ::,  ".,,* of stumbling and the rock of offence  for the. view in-
              ._ I                                                                                                the heavens against a dark back-ground of foreboding
                             i: sisting that the covenant with Noah was one of com-
 .;                                                                                                               clouds, - the emblem of Divine wrath and jud,gment,
            _i mon grace. Let us make our meaning clear. It had -a segment whose ends stoop to touch the earth at
 ,:::`-
 ._ _' !.,I become time for the Lord to remove the seed of evil-
                              ,.                                                                                  both horizons, a bow rendered by its seven colors a
 v.;::...   :  .:: doers that had corrupted the earth. He did so by                                               designation of God and man united,  - the rainbow' de-
 " -'
           `.I- ."  :.'
           ., _, ..' `:;
                         . . means of a flood.
 ..(. i ..:-, .'                                                 Every living thing was smitten with clared to Noah that as long as this .eartfL remainrth  the
           `.. - :`I ..! the exception of the tenents of the ark which Noah Almighty will not render life upon it impossible by
                               `1 left as one destined to become the father of a new race. another universal revelation of His wrath, that He
                                    1 However, the imagination of man's heart is evil from will check, so to say, `the advances of His judgments
                                    1 his youth. What is manifestly meant is that man is until every member of that race He seeks and saves
                                    1 conceived and born in sin, and by nature a child of in and through the cross shall have been born and
                                         wrath, incapable of doing good, dead .in sin, and in reconciled to Him. This having been accomplished,
           _:                       ' bondage thereto.             Every man, therefore, begetting the wicked shall be destroyed, the elements shall burn,
                                    \ children of his own likeness, produces a corrupt off- the world and its lusts shall pass away, and the meek
 ~  `I `1. j spring.
 i..;  :.  ;:                                      So, too, Noah. Therefore the race of which he shall be made to inherit the earth. Then the speech of
 ,:: !,.:I _. was to become the father, would.not  differ, as to its
 1. . .                                                                                                           the rainbow - God and man reconciled, heaven and
             -  .' moral quality, from the one destroyed. Hence, the earth united - shall have come to pass.
 )                           method of selecting from a debased stock one pair of                                    In recent years, as was before said, (see my former
                                    1 humans toreplenish an earth depopulated by a cata-                          article) an altogether different view of the ayoresaid.
 (                                  j strophe  as the flood brought God not one step nearer to covenant has been broached. It is being maintained
      ~                             His goal,  - the goal, namely, of providing this earth that this covenant was instituted. with Noah as the
      ,                             with a race of men-that would not again corrupt its representative of that unhappy portion of mankind
                                    j ways before Him. For the waters .of the flood, though known in Scripture as reprobates, and that the pur-
           ~ j effecting a cleansing in the outward theatre of the                                                pose of its institution was to reassure this doomed race.
           is,.;;:; ::. i world, had left the fountain of the issues of man's life                                It ought to be plain enough in the light of what was
           1;  :_: i.: i as filthy as ever, so that this earth would soon be again presented above that the above-cited view pitches those
             1': `i `i overrun by a humanity as illideserving  as the one which                                   holding it headlong against the real purposes'of God
           ~.. `! had been made to disappear. The Lord's utterance is coming to the surface in His negotiations with believ-
                               `[ now clear. It may be paraphrased thus, "Whereas the ing Noah. The one reassured is Noah together with
                                    i imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth in the chosen race he represents. The opposing view  ren-
                                    /that  a corrupt stock produces a corrupt off-spring, it                      ders the Divine utterance to the effect that the ~VK@?C
                                         follows that, if I would see this'earth  populated with ation  of man's heart is evil from his yn.dh,  a saying
                                    i a people with whom I can perpetually live on a friendly incapable of being explained unless it be regarded as
            .I7 : :+ 1 footing, I shall have to resort to a remedy differing as the signification of a purpose on the part of God to
             .:[.$.:`i  to kind from the one previously employed. I must not save all men.
            :.._ `: I again curse the ground `anymore for man's sake ;                                              The Divine announcement to the effect that the flood
                   I                I neither must I smite anymore every living thing as I did not, yea could not, permanently rid this earth of its
                        `,, `I have done. To the contrary, in order to provide myself corrupters, must not be construed as an admission on
                              : I with the opportunity of bringing into being new heav-                           the part of God that He, too, must learn by experience,
                                    j ens and a new earth, wherein  dwelleth  righteousness, that He, too, is compelled to submit His remedies to a
                                    1 seedtime and harvest, and cold' and heat, and summer test in order to ascertain their value; The announce-
                                    , and winter, and day and night shall' not cease as long ment that He must device a method of salvation other

                        i                   ..__  i  _....____.___.   -  ._______  ------ -.-  --__--.  ------


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           57
                .
   than the bne previously employed, would He bring into of bringing into relief that mankind is a spiritually
   bejng a people fit to dwell in His holy temple, was,  tq          dead organism which, when given over to a reprobate
   be sure, made for the benefit of the primitive church mind, develops into -a tree, bearing fruit, exhibiting
   that had left the ark. It was a bit of information the various aspects of sin, and necessitating the concl:l-
   partaking of the character of a most valuable and sion that man is a microcosm of corruption. The growth
   significant piece of instruction respecting the char- and development of  this'organism  was an event made
   acter of sin. The church of this epoch must be made to transpire before the very eyes of the primitive
   t6 see that the heaven-defiant ungodliness of the race church in order that it should see what is in man, in
   destroyed constituted an evil lurking in every man's              order to foster the .confession  that man of himself is
   bosom.            The scheme .of redemption, the nucleus of absolutely devoid of all virtue,  and should, therefore,
   which had been revealed to our first parents, had to be           turn to Christ as one completely undone to be saved
   unfolded and elucidated. However, before a more dis-              Do not the exponents of the above-mentioned theory
   tinct revelation of the redemptive purposes of God can            realize that their philosophy neutralizes the speech of
   be given, the church must first be made to pass through God, is in conflict with the above-cited event, closes
   a period of preliminary training. For one thing, it man`s eyes to the hugeness of his sin and misery, and
   must be clearly demonstrated to the church that,                  consequently renders the Christ less indispensable to
   through the disobedience of Adam, sin .extended  to all him.
   &~~7tkitid,  that sin is a corruption of the whole! nature           The theory of common grace in so far as it has to
   and a  hereditary,  disease, producing in fallen man all          do with the depravity of man, is one of  the' most
   sorts of sin, that there is none righteous, none that un- treacherous and deceitful of all the devil's lies. It is
   derstandeth,  none that seeketh after God, that all have more misleading by far than Pelagianism. Pelagius
   gone out of the way, and together become unprofitable ;          denied that man is totally depraved. He did so, how-
   that there is `none that doeth good, no not one, Rom.            ever, without reserve and in unmistakable speech. The
   3:10-12.  In order to bring home to the church the exponents of the theory in question, on the other hand,
   aforesaid truth and thus to prepare it for the more              set out with the concession to the effect that man' is
distinct revelation,  .God gave over the antediluvian dead in trespasses and sin.. In fact, they even have
  race  to,a reprobate mind, so that it decayed in all its          the audacity to pose as such who by their inventions
: branches  tind became proverbial for  .its wickedness. make it possible for the church to retain the aforesaid
4 Himself a member of &he human race and a descendant doctrine in its confession. Armed with the  above-
   of its. first parents, Noah could not escape the con-            cited concession the. aforesaid  philosoph&s  precede
   clusion that the evil coming to the surface in its con: along a path of reasoning yielding the conclusion to the
   duct lurked `in his own bosom and in the bosom of the effect that man, though depraved, is nevertheless cap-
  race of w@ch he,was  to become the progenitor; that of able of performing morally good works, -L a conclusion
  himself he and his seed was and would be as ill-deserv- constituting a denial of what was conceded at the out-
   ing as the race that had perished ; that, therefore, God set. When it is told them that total depravity and
I.. must 
    -        change..His.method..of-  dealing.-with .the children -.moral  good are-terms expressive  -of-contrary-.statesj-an----
   of men & be compelled to again eventually destroy the app.eal  is made to that pious spirit, which defines any
   entire race to be ; that, finally, God's dealing with him virtue of man as the product  of.grace. Thus the lie is
   (Noah) and his elect posterity was a matter of sheer mixed up with so much of the hallowed speech of
   grace. So it appears that the more distinct knowledge Scripture as to render it palpable to  the,less keen taste.
 _ of salvation was preceded by a deepened knowledge of When it is objected further that good fruit presup-
  the character of Adam's transgression  ,and the `ruin poses a good tree, resort is taken to the distinction be-
   that overtook the whole of mankind as a result of his tween spiritual and natural good and the latter  never-
   sowing. Such was God's will. For from the very theless defined as, to its nucleus, sinless. When the
   nature of the case there can be no receptivity for the           denier of common grace once more insists that a sin-:
   Gospel unless the subject first be made to see and con- less deed presupposes an essentially sinless man, it is
   fess that his state and condition is of a kind necessitat- said'that, whereas according to common grace the good
   ing the redemption presented. Hence,  ,in training his which the (depraved) sinner does is not of him but of
   children, God invariably is seen to choose as his point .the Spirit, man's total corruption is being maintained.
  of departure man's misery. And the desire for Christ If it be objected in  turn that the denial of the tenet to
   is always congruous with the profundity and thorough- the effect that the gogd  which sinners do is of them as
  `ness of the knowledge of sin.                                    the Spirit's instrument and as the thinking and willing
         Herewith we have again voiced one of the chief and subject of the good done-involves the denier in an im-
  most  serious  objections to the theory of common grace possible kind of, determinism, it is conceded that. this
  - the theory that defines the totally depraved sinner good is of mctn. (Rev. H. J. Kuiper in that aforesaid
  as a being capable of performing works which, accord-             brochure.) If it be insisted upon that in this case
  :ing to the standard of God, deserve to be called morally the tree yielding the good fruit must be good, the reply
  good. The rapid degeneration of the race before the is made that the good which sinners do  iS again not of
  flood was an event made to transpire for the purpose mun,. In other words, the exponents of the aforesaid


58                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D  BE`ARER

theory must juggle terms in order to save their face sires the Christ as Redeemer, opens their eyes, first of
and check the advances of the opponent. They dare              all, to the reality of their sin and misery. So it was
not define terms and consistently keep to their defini- with the first parents of our race. The eyes of both of
tions throughout the argument. Fact is, that both them were opened and they knew that they were naked.
propositions,  The good which sinners do is  of  the           Thereupon the Lord announces to them His program
Spirit, and, The good which sinners do is of mun are of salvation to the effect that He Gill put enmity be-
true. This good is of the Spirit as its creative source tween the woman and the serpent and between the
and workman, of man as the Spirit's instrument and as          seed whose heal he will bruise. And in the centuries
the subject of the good done. Both propositions go hand following, as often as heaven opens to shed some new
in hand and necessitate the view that the bad tree is light upon the redemptive purposes of God, the church
essentially good. That is, if, as the theory of common simultaneously receives some new means of fathoming
grace maintains, the good which sinners do is of the the depths of man's misery or is made to face some new
Spirit, it is of the sinner (in the sense just related)        and unheard of defiance of the authority of heaven,
and this totally depraved sinner cannot be total&  de- Noah, as was already observed, saw the generation to
praved. If the good done is not of the man, neither            which he belonged decay in all its branches before his'
can it be of the Spirit, that is to say, in this case the very eyes. The structure of laws inculcated by Jehovah
Spirit is not operative, no good is done, and common upon His people assembled at the base of the mountain,
grace shall have to be admitted to be non-existent.            gave, when executed a new prominence to the features
      By some (Prof. L. Berkhof) it is even conceded of Christ's visage, so that -the administration of death,
that the virtue of the depraved sinner is wholly bad in written and engraven  in stones, was nevertheless glod-
the sight of God. If it is-pointed out that in this case ous, so much so that the $iildren  of Israel could not
the theory of common grace is an altogether super- steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of
fluous invention, shoulders are shrugged. And in re- his countenance, II Cor. 3:7. It was .this law, never-
sponse to the criticism that the theory in question is a theless, that constituted for Israel the stone of stum-
thought-structure in conflict with itself, it is averred bling and the rock of  offence,  and rendered, conse-
that the conflict is found in Scripture  (Rev.. H. J.  Kui-    quently, the ministration of Moses a ministration of
per in his  Three Points  of  Synod). The reprobate sin- death and condemnation. Of this law it is said that it
ner is totally depraved and at once capable of perform- entered that the  offence   might abound,  Rom.  5:iO.
ing morally good deeds ; God wills and wills not to save Further, the spiritual Israel that returned from the
those whom He reprobated,  - this is the stand taken exile had received a new vision of the mercy of
by the Christian Reformed Churches this day.                   Jehovah not, however, until after centuries of spiritual
      The question cannot be suppressed why anyone whoredom  on the part of that people of whom it con-                       '
should want to set out with a proposition later on de.         stituted an organical part. And the. church of the new
nied. Such doings can. only be explained if associated         dispensation beholds with open face as in a glass the
with the subtlety of the devil's methods. It must be           glory of the Lord after having been made to witness
.remernbered.&t,  the doc$rine-o$2nanIs  .total.-depravity- .and &confess to. His. crucifixian,..=-a-  deed-showing -up-------- -
is a plant that struck too deep a root in the soil of the      man as a being for whom no crime, however, amaz-
heart of certain sections of the Christian church to be        ingly horrible and repulsive, is too great. For He, put
ruthlessly and forcibly dislodged. The better way is           to death, was the holy Christ. Finally, the coming of
to leave this plant be and to sow in its near vicinity the Lord upon the clouds of heaven to judge the quick
the lie, which, if taking root, may be counted upon to         and the dead, and to usher His bride into the kingdom  -
spring up and choke the good seed. The lie, of course,         of eternal light, shall be preceded by the great
must be presented as truth if its sowers would see it apostacy,  by the appearance of the man of sin, the son
take root in the hearts of men. ,.The devil often finds it     of perdition. In fine, the unfolding of the Divine
necessary to concede the truth to thereupon undermine scheme of redemption, and the bringing near of the
it, in order to achieve his purpose. He will refrain grace of Christ is seen to be accompanied in all its suc-
from openly opposing the truth if he sees that by doing cessive stages by an ever greater exhibition of ungod-
so he .arouses the ire of those whose ruin he is engaged       liness. The fuller and more complete demonstration of
in working. Pelagius was at least outspoken. No one            the mercy of God was given each time upon the dark
need.to be in doubt as to where he stood. This much background of a more violent and intensive profanity
cannot be said of the exponents of common grace. within the confines of that very group upon which the
Though their theory involves them in a denial of man's greater light was shed. To this must be added that
total depravity, they nevertheless maintain that they the more intensive defiance was occasioned by the light
above all men adhere to this doctrine; and thus disown         already possessed  ; that the former rendered each time
the implications of their own theory, even flinging in the greater display of mercy necessary and was and
the teeth of those who differ from them the errors             shall be instrumental in working in God's people that
accruing from their own cogitations. Amazing !                 frame of mind fit and able to desire, receive and appre-
      The statement was made that God in working in            ciate the mercy shown.
His people the mind and'will that contemplates and de-            The history, then, of those branches of humanity


                                          .THE  STA'NDA'RD   B E A R E R                                             59

encountered upon the pages of Holy Writ, constitutes of matchless  .purity  and rectitude, deigns in His fath-
`a powerful testimony to the effect that to the natural omless mercy to be the Friend and Redeemer of an im-
man' God is an eyesore, that the only effect the law, the pure, culpable and most ill-deserving (chosen) race.
pure light of heaven, has upon him is to. arouse his The events of the past had proclaimed in unmistakable
fierceindignation. Yet in the presence of all this testi- speech, the utter worthlessness and condemnableness  I
mony, the, exponents of common grace continue to of mankind, and the rigid justice and sanctity of the
prate of the good that sinners (the natural man) do, Most High. To this speech Noah's ears were attuned.
and thereby. contradict God to His very face. It is the When, therefore, he receives the promise of the de-  :..:I
aforesaid history as incorporated in Holy Writ, that fusion of Divine mercy over a posterity as worthy of
 renders this book a glass in which man beholds his death as the race that had perished, when it is shown
 dirty visage  - a visage distorted by sin and radiating him that the favored racial branch is Shem, when he
 defiance and fierce rebellion. The repulsive aspect of perceived anew that the speech of the bow is to be
this face fills the natural man with extreme disgust for realized, that God,  &stead of again giving over' his
the testimony of God.             "He beholdeth himself, and entire posterity to a universal corruption, necessitat-
.goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what. man- ing another universal display of wrath, will bring into
ner  ,of man he was" (James  1:24). He, `however, being a race of men with whom He chooses to dwell ::.. F.:
 brought under the influence of grace, `is deeply im- forever, when hesees,  in a word, that mercy will surely I : i,
 pressed by what he sees of himself and recognizes the rejoice against judgment, there arises in his being an
necessity of the blood to cleanse him from his sin.               irresistable urge to praise, and he declares : "Blessed
            The statement'was made that the primitive church's
                               - . .                              be the God of Shem."
deepened knowledge and, more `profound and keener                    Blessed be the God  of  Sham.  .God shall enlarge
 sense of the character, implications and dire results Japhet (in his generations) and he shall dwell in the
of Adam's transgression, was attended by a more dis- tents of Shem. The latter utterance was repeated in
tinct and fuller revelation and, consequently, a more substance by God Himself when  - He said to
profound knowledge of the redemptive purposes of Abraham that in him would all the families of the
 God. This is evident from a comparison of the original earth be blessed. Cursed  be C&aaan;  a servant of serv-
promise' together with the utterance of Eve on the occa- ants shall he be unto his brethren; The spontanity with .,.. :
sion of the birth-of Cain, with the prophetic outburst which this prophecy was uttered, the fact that it so evi-             .,
 of Noah-on the occasion of the shameful conduct of his dently bears the earmarks of having passed through a
youngest son. As was  before.`said,  the utterances of thoroughly vexed soul, the event by which it was  bcca-                     ,.
 God in `Paradise were characterized by a certain neces- sioned, the perfect naturalness with which Noah lays
 sary indefiniteness. They failed to suggest to our first the divine curse upon Canaan, is another testimony to
 parents who was to constitute the seed of the serpent. the fact that the speech of past events, the speech,
 Eve seems  tohave  concluded that the whole of her off- namely, that Divine grace will not  ,be made to devolve
 spring is to gain the  ascendency  over the malice of the upon the whole of the fallen human family, that a cor-
 devil. Cain, though a son of perdition, was nevertheless, rupt stock produces a corrupt off-spring,  - had indeed  ~
`at first regarded `be her as "a man of or with found a lodging place in Noah's soul, and had rendered; " !:
 Jehovah," so that the conviction cannot be escaped that him a fit organ of revelation at this advanced stage.:::  `:I:;
 she failed to sense that the execution of `the Divine That one,of  his three sons shows a dissolate and profli-
 scheme of redemption  is. at, once, a selective process, gate spirit plainly agitated and grieved but did not
 and shall divide, to use Christ's words, "the father seem to surprise him. That, further, the curse is made,
 against the son, and the son against the father.; the to descend upon Canaan as a matter of course instead
 mother against the daughter and the daughter against of upon Ham shows how keenly Noah was alive to the.
 the mother; the mother-  in law against the daughter in fact that somehow sin is transmitted from father. to
 law, and the daughter in law against the mother in son, how deeply the principle like f&her, Like child had
 law" (Mat%. 12  :53). The prophetic outburst of Noah embedded itself in his soul. And herewith we have  sug-y  '
 on the occasion of the shameful conduct of his youngest gested at least one of the reasons Canaan instead of I:`
 son, evinces that the insight of the church into the pur- Ham was cursed. It was done for the purpose of
 poses of God had been deepened, its sense of man's de- bringing into relief that the above-cited principle was,
 pravity  and. condemnableness enlivened, its desire for still at work; that the connection between sin and curse "
 salvation intensified,  -and its fitness to appreciate God is exceedingly close. For Ham is not only punished,
 as Redeemer increased, that  ,therefore   $he fuller but his punishment is identical as to its character .to
 light could then be received and appreciated. the sin committed. He had proved a vexation to his
 For Noah's prophesy, it should be noticed, amounts' to father and will in turn be grieved by his youngest son;
 a eulogy. Said he : "Blessed be the Lord of Shem . . " whose name in history  isto be associated with the most
`Not Shcm, but God is being praised by this saint. What humiliating degradation.
 could have been the feelings and the religious concep-              Why Canaan instead of Ham was cursed has re-,
 tions prompting this utterance? Love, esteem and ceived  various other explanations. Some opine that.
 adoration awakened by the consciousness that the God it was done because the cursed ha.d ,participated  in the
   .'  c
,(.  :.  `...,
 i_;


                60                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAREI-
. .      ij assault. Though this iYere true, it would fail to ac- aforesaid turn of events. Further, the above-predicted
         j count for the father being supplanted by the son.               curse was seen to spend its force in the ofY-spying  of
         i Others are of the conviction that Canaan rather than Canaan. It was plainly a curse destined for this par&
         .I Ham was made to receive the butt of Divine displesis-          ular family, so that it partook of the character of the
         ! ure in order to bring into relief that the prediction of special. Likewise did the blessing pronounced upon
:        doom was not ttie ebullition of hateful feeling. It cer- Shem imply, at least. for a season, some very special
---! tainly was not. Though addressed to one other than privileges for at least  one,particular  line of his, to-wit,
         1 the sinning subject, it was prompted  bj; a just indigna- the line of which Abraham became the Father, SO that
                tion, supported by the grief and vexation of one to it was this curse and this blessing that became  re-
         ;  `. whom past events had demonstrated that the sin of the sponsible for the appearance of two peoples.  - the
                father is wont to raise its foul h&ad in the life of the- Canaanites and Israel destined to serve in subsequent
                off-spring in a form similar to the sin of the father. history  as types - the former of that unhappy p&t of
                      Canaan was cu.rsed  in his generation, not, however, humanity reprobated by God, the latter of that selected
         I so absolutely that every member of the race that                group constituting the  .people  of God.
         ! sprang from him was doomed. There were those in                    Before leaving this subject we wish to make `one
         >&is family who remained unscathed when the Barnes of more observation. According to the theory of common.
         i `Divine wrath reached out to realize the announcement grace, the antediluvian period was, one characterized
         made. Melchizedek  ,and Rahab  in. earlier and the by a universal diffusion of grace effectilig  every mem-
          Syrophenician woman in later times appear upon the ber of the then existing race. In the succeeding epoch;
                stage of `history as those fed by the mercy of God. Nor the one beginning with Abraham, God is said to have .
          I is Shem and Japhet so absolutely blessed in their' gen- shut himself, up within the. confines of a single race;
          eration that  not one member of the race of which they to-wit, the posterity of Abraham. What is evidently
           `became the progenitor perished. History,, of course, meant is thtit before the flood God in a sense lost sight
                can be appealed to, to prove the contrary. It is a fact, of his peculiar people and that in, the interest -of
                : however, that in those particular branches of human- humanity as a whole to focus, thereupon,  h3s attention
                ity of which Canaan became the root and the repre- upon a single race. E-Iowever,  in the light of what was
                sentative, the Divine curse was `seen to operate to such presented above, this view is seen to be ia conflict with
       a degree that the prediction of Noah was indeed satis- the' a&u?1  purposes `of God. The `period before the
     -  --. fied. The Canaanites of subsequent history were flood was one of training for the church. Its events
          : a doomed race whose extermination was a task that              were, as was before said, made to transpire for the
          was made to devolve upon Israel. As to Shem and purpose of demonstrating unto the people of  .God some
          ' Japhet, it is more har&ularly  in their generation that most important truths in order that this people might
          ' the Lord is seen to .build Him a house so that alsd that be rendered capable of admitting a more distirictive
                part of the Pr$diction  that had to do with them, was revelation of `His scheme of redemption. God was at
          j and is being realized. In fine, the event of the above- work also then solely with a view to His elect. And'
          ;  cited predijion of bliss and doom again projected to the. entire course of events  were   qade to promote.  the
          ; the foreground ,thtit- justice and rectitude of conduct interest of the church only.
          and the favor of heaven on the one hand ; that sin and                                                        G. M. 0.
          ! curse on the other hand are most intimately related ;
          j that ,"the Lord knoweth the `way of the righteous : but
          1 that the way of the ungodly shall perish"  (l?s. 1:6).
                      In view of  thk fact that the blessing descending
          j upon Shem was at once a prediction of the appearance                           IK HOORDE UW STEM
          ; of the Christ, the question cannot bB suppressed to                  Ik hoorde Uw stem in `t nachtlijk duister
          `what extent Noah was empowered to lay hold on the                        En vrede daalde in mijn ziel,
          ! implication of his utterances. This, of' course, is diffi-           Nu weet ik Heer, hoe zacht  ik fluistet,
           -cult to s&y. It is worthy of note, however, that it was                 Gij hoort mij als ik nederkniel!
          lespecially the knowledge of' the gracious relation that               Zoodra Gij nader zijt gekomen
           jGod was to sustain them, that incited in Noah's                      Werd al mijn droefheid weggenomen;
:=Ty;? soul those feelings that prompted him to b&s "the
._:                                                                                 Uw: "Vrees niet"  stilde mijn geween
        _I God of Shem," so that the conviction cannot be escaped                   En dreef mijn angsten  heen.
     :' i that Noah seemed to be sensible of the fact that it was
       .'  1! this relation that constituted the ground of God's graci-
          [ ous dealings with him and his posterity'.
          i1          A final remark or two. The fact that Canaan only        Zooals de mensch is maakt hij zijn god, en gelijk
          f was cursed, rendered it permissible for the Lord to be
          `graCious  to those human branches of which the  re-             zijn god is, zoo wordt ook de mensch. Daarom  vei-
         ,! maining sons of Ham were to become the fathers. This dichten  zich de zoogenaamde  CIiristenen  een god naar
          iis without a doubt the most important reasons for the hun verduisterde rede en hun dwalend hart.                  ..  ..  .
          !


                                                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B'EARER                                               61

                                            MISREPRESENTATION                                         From these articles we gather that he means
                                                                                                  to perpetrate his attack upon the creeds of the
                       In  Grace-  and Glory one happens upon an article Christian Church. Attend to the following selections :
                from the pen of Dr. De Haan  (page 9) which reads in "But while Christ stands outside the church, being
                part as follows  I "Knowing full well the criticism I crowded out by organization, worldliness, lodges and
                 (Dr. De Haan) will receive for making the following. human  creeds and dogma, He continues to knock at the
                statement and the free advertising I will  .receive  in door and is calling out the individuals here and
                THE S'~ANDARD BEARER,  De Wachter and The Banner, there . . .  " (page 8). Here it is again insinuated
                yet I feel constrained to warn against the perils of an that it is the creed and the dogma that are working the
                unregenerated clergy.                                                             ruin of the church. What .an astounding untruth! If
                       "We have good reasons to believe that Satan is cen- he had written that men of this day are taking to their
                tering his attacks upon the pulpits of this land. In a bosom the lying creed and the lying,dogma,  we would .
                recent survey made by the `Literary Digest of several                             respond with an Amen. The term  icreed is derived
                hundred preachers in this land it was found that a. sur- from the Latin word meaning.  tp believe. Is it faith,
                prising  .large percentage had thrown overboard the then, us  such that must be  cited.as  responsible for the
                Inspiration .of the Scriptures and the Deity of the Lord present ills of the church? Has  .De  Haan no faith?
               Jesus .Christ. The questionnaires revealed that there Scripture, of course must constitute the content of my
                are thousands, of pulpits that deny. that Jesus  Cl-mist                          faith or creed. This content, however, is the truth
                came into the flesh, viz., His incarnation and virgin incorporated in the Word of God, apprehended and
                birth. .This  is a deceiver and.an.  Antichrist. Another comprehended by the regenerated and enlightened con-
                .preacher  who is now a pastor in a church but until sciousness of the believer.                                  The Christian creed or
                recently was a professor in a well known church college faith, then, is the Word of God having passed through
                said to me, `I am thoroughly .alarmed  at conditions. a.t the enlightened mind of the child of God. Hence, every
                college. In the senior class are a number of men who sermon De  Haan preaches is essentially a creed  - his
                next year will enter our, seminary and apparently the faith. They say "a word to the wise is sufficient."
                most of them have never been born again.' Still more This word has beenspoken. Yet De  Haan seems none
                recently a certain preacher was called to a church and the wiser for he continues to repeat his senseless
                when he'met .with the consistory they told him they charges. If De Haan, then, would get away from the
                wanted. .to ask him two questions before authorizing. creed, he must cease  e&idating the Word of God.
                the call. The questions were as .follows  i `Do you be- Were he consistent, would he not  iill up the hour of
              lieve -in. infant baptism?' and, `Do you hold the Post- worship with readings .from Scripture unmixed with
                millennial :view  of Christ's return?' These seemed to his own explanations ? Does he do so? Indeed not.
                .be the only requirements for a successful ministry., ,' The Word reaching his audience is a word absorbed,
                So far De  Haan.                                                                  masticated and reproduced by his very own mind.
                       De.  Haan,  then,  ,fears we will take him to task for Hence, `what that audience of his is made to listen to
                "warning  against'the  perils of an unregenerated min-
                                                                                           _. __.___  1-each-Sabbath,  is..De2I'aan,s.  human, .man-made -creed----
._    _  ._  _,  _-  ;  ,-.  .._-  -.         .__ ____  -  --.  .--  -.-.  --.  _.  ~..
                1stry." What, we would know, have we ever written                                     What may it be that prompts these babblings of De
                or spoken that could possible serve as a ground for Haan?  It must be the consciousness of his in-
                these fears of his.  Will'De  Haan  deign to say? Any ability to hold his own in an honorable debate with
                one chiding another for denouncing an unregenerated those whose views differ from his own. Instead of
                 clergy gives unmistakable evidence of never .having putting forth an honest attempt to expose by means of
                 been touched by the grace of God. De  Haan, then, an honorable and thorough discussion  - a discussion,
                publicly flings in our teeth that we.are unregenerated. of course, in which the opponent is allowed to take part
                What could have .prompted  an assault of this nat.ure?                            of those scriptures having to do. with the issue at stake,
                 Our articles in which we denounced his attack upon it is much safer to instil in the minds of men a dislike
                the creeds of Christendom?                               To be sure, these and a distrust for creeds. Thereupon the views of the
                 articles                showed him up as  one' who had opponent may be  labelled  a  mass  of  thought constitut-
                 argued himself into a snare from which he ing a despicable  creed and cast aside as so much thrash
                 can extricate himself only by cheerfully admitting that without a murmur on the part of the audience. And
                 he, in  .the articles setting forth the views we assailed, posing as one who stands foursquare on the Word, he, .
                 was engaged in feeding the poor souls of his inno- resorting to the above-cited methods, may then present
                 cent readers. with a strange. and vile concoction of his  creed.
                 amazing nonsense. Were we not speaking the truth?                                    In the article upon which we now comment are
                 Should the truth have offended him? It evidently did. found still other utterances which cannot be passed by.
                 Or was I not writing the truth? If not, will De Haan                             Attend to the following: "That there is today a cold-
                 make it plain to me wherein I erred. We assure him ness. and' apathy in the matters of religion is excepted
                 that we are as bitterly opposed to an unregenerated by many who themselves are in the movement. In
                 clergy as is hej that a clergy of this kind constitutes addition to complaining about it and recognizing its
                the bane of Christendom.                                                          existence it were well they would inquire into the cause


62                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D  BEARE'R

of it. It may all be summed up in the statement, `The cated giant in the world. We are  in  hearty agreement
emphasis in the matter of religion has shifted from the with the sentiments coming to the surface in the last
heart to the head.' A head knowledge of Christ is laid quoted phrase. We will even go a step further than
down as the prime requisite. Intellectualism instead does De Haan. This educated giant is spiritually blind.
of spirituality."  *                                          The.  mysteries of the kingdom are hidden from him.
      De  Haan in the above paragraph distinguishes be- He is devoid of true knowledge. He is a fool though
tween  head  lcnowledge and  heart knowledge  of  Christ. he deems himself wise. The realities presented to us
Of `what may this term head hxowledge  of Christ, as in Scripture are an eyesore to him. De Haan, too, in-
De  Haan uses it, be the signification? The answer to sists, that man must be born again. However, he fails
this question is found in the following selection that to inform his readers what he means by a howledge
reads : "The requirements for admission to many of of  the heart  in distinction from a  i?nowledge   of  the
our Bible schools and seminaries are raised almost head. In a .word,  De Haan  fails to define terms, his
every year and yet the requirements are almost ex- writings lack unity and coherence. It is this failure,
clusively in some seminaries of `an intellectual char- this lack, this mingling of disparate concepts,
acter while spirituality becomes less and less a require- that render his productions vague and uncertain
ment. No wonder that some seminaries have become              composition capable of yielding almost any kind
cemeteries. Now I do not wish to decry education or of a conclusion under the sun. However, his- com-
head knowledge, but only to emphasize that it is not positions as a whole seem to have been fitted to leave
the only, nor the first requirement: Paul was an edu- certain impressions. So, too, the one we now critidise.
cated man but until he was saved it made him more             Though he does not define terms, it is nevertheless evi-
of a devil than a saint. Education in a born again in- dent from the sequence of the article that De Haan
dividual is a wonderful asset, education in an'unregen-       identifies knowledge of the heart with regeneration.
erate only makes him an educated sinner.             (True We have no objection although strictly speaking regen-
enough, G. IX. 0.) The first requirement therefore is eration signifies not knowledge but rather the state or
not an A.B. degree from some college but an B.A. de-          condition of one who' can and does know God with a
gree (born again) from the seminary of the Lord saving knowledge. Since' the term knowledge of the
Jesus Christ . . . What the pulpits of America need heart is used as a designation of regeneration, the term
is not more educated men but ,more  born again men.           TEnowledge of the Zbead ought to have been used by De
No amount of education will teach a man God's Word            Haan as the signification of the state of unregenera-
or to know. the Lord Jesus Christ . . . "                     tion. Yet it cannot be. that he was using the latter
      In the above-cited paragraph De Haan identifies term .in this sense as he informs his readers that he
head knowledge of Christ with (a) The requirements does not decry knowledge  of the head. He above all men
of admission to Bible Schools and Seminaries, to-wit, .certainly  decries the unregenerate state of the sinner.
secular education, that is knowledge of the secular It must be, then, that the term knowledge  of  the head
sciences - geometry, botany, physics and the like ; was being used by him as the designation of revealed
. ..(bl. ?Ihe-Judaism  th&Ge!! ._in .Paul's bo_som.be_S_oe    truth of God as it finds a lodging place in the mind.
his conversion (Paul before his conversion was a phari-       ----i----     ---, -_ ---.-.-.-.-.-  _,__ -....- __ _..__
                                                              The Impression, then, winch this particular art%%was
see and had sat at the feet of Jewish doctors  or  inter- meant to leave is,  "Knowledge  of the Lord Jesus
preters.  of the law) ; (c) The intellectual equipment of     Christ, of God, of things heavenly is a good thing, a
those. who cultivate the science of theology, to-wit, a wonderful asset in a born again individual, yet if need
knowledge of Greek and Hebrew and the like. What a be it could be dispensed with. `The one necessary thing
strange mixture of disparate elements! De Haan  as- is to be born again. What the pulpits of America need
serts that he does not decry education. What educa- is not more educated men, that is not  : more men
tion? That which consist in the knowledge of Christ,          equipped with an abundance of scriptural knowledge
or in the knowledge of the natural sciences, or the           but more born again men.
knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, or in the knowledge               The suggestion that the regenerate can do without
of the tenets of Judaism? If he had before his eye the knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus is
knowledge of Jesus Christ when he averred that he             astoundingly untrue. Regeneration needs the word as
does not decry education, he expressed himself much the earth needs the rain and the flower the dew. The
too mildly. If he. was thinking of Judaism the con- word is indispensable to the very appearance of the
clusion is warranted that he is a Judaist.                    new man. It forms the content of his hope, of his
  The term knowledge  of  the heart  also appears in faith, of his love and thus constitutes the connecting
the above-cited paragraph. What may be the significa- link between his soul and heaven. The truth as it is
tion of this term? De  Haan does not say. True, he in Christ is the basis upon which the believer reposes,
does maintain, and it causes us great satisfaction that the element in which he moves and has his being, the
he does so, that true religion is of the heart, that the      food with which he feeds his soul. The word and
most ignorant saint of God, who has been truly born regeneration cannot be placed in juxtaposition. What
again knows more of God and salvation and is a better the pulpit needs this day is regenerated men to be sure
interpreter of the Word than the most intellectual edu- that is men in whom this word richly dwells, men cap-


                                                                                                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      63
                  `.                                                   :
                                        :                                   able of mining from this word its riches, men able to                     NOG MEER OPSTANDINGEN?
                                                                  ,         teach and thus to build up in the faith those entrusted
  :,`.                                                            I         to their care. To emphasize regeneration to the ex-              Men krijgt zoo oppervlakkig weg den indruk veelal,
                                                                  1
                                                                            clusion of the word is to say that it is well fqr a man dat de Chiliasten onderscheid maken tusschen twee-
                                                                            to be alive but that this man needs no food and drink ; erlei opstanding zonder meer, de opstanding der recht-
                  :
  I                                                                         is to declare oneself in favor of a type of religion char- vaardigen voor, die der goddeloozen na het duizend-
                                                                            acterized by a sickly mystecism,  spiritual feebleness, jarige rijk.  Tech is dit in den grond. der zaak niet
.'           `..._                                      :                   instability, doubt and ignorance. Preach and live the .waar.  We1 spreken niet  allen  van allerlei  ppstandin-
            .           .                    .               :              whole truth as it is in Christ and let the Lord take care    gen der dooden, zoodat ook de rechtvaardigen nog weer
 .,                                                                         of the hearts. It is not true the Bible Schools and in allerlei groepen zullen opstaan ten leven, maar toeh
                  _.,                                        3
 :,.  j:__   .`.                                   . .                      Seminaries of this day are overemphasizing `the truth leeren   alle Chiliasten deze verschillende opstandingen
 .,               _:.                               `i
  _-.                                        5`                             as it is in Christ., Fact is, that there, is a remarkable    der dooden we1 terdege,. ofschoon de Schrift  hiervan
  I                     ..:

                                                                            departure from this truth on the part of these institu- met geen enkel woord spreekt.
  _:                                                      i
                                                                            tions. Show us an institution, or a church, a ministry           Wij  willen  hierop wijzen juist om deze laatste
       /                                                                    persistently  preaching the whole truth as it is in reden. Men wil immers, in onderscheiding van allen,
 -.;.                                                   !                   ,Cbrist,  that is unspiritual. There is no such institu- die niet in de Chiliastische voorstelling  kunnen   geloo-
                  .           .               .

                                                                            tion, church or ministry. What is needed. this .day is ven, ziclizelven er op beroemen, dat men God op Zijn
                                                                            sound preaching of the entire truth. This is lacking.        Woord wil gelooven. Ds. Vander Werp heeft dit zelfs
                                                                                                                           G. M. 0.      in den titel van zijn boekje uitgedrukt.  Welnu,  wij
                                                                                                                                         willen  hem er op wijzen, dat hij ook niet gelooft in een
                                                                                                                                         eerste en een tweede opstanding, zooals de Heilige
                                                                                                                                         S&rift, volgens zijne opvatting zoo duidelijk zou lee-
                                                                                             ROOSEVELT PARK                              ren, maar dat zijne voorstelling allerlei opstandingen
                              ;                                                                                                          inhoudt, die  tech zeker niet in de Heilige  S&rift wor-
                                                   i                           Dinsdagavond, den 24sten September, was `voor de den geleerd.
                                                   I
                                                                            gemeente te Roosevelt Ave., Grand Rapids,-een blijde             Om dit te verstaan,  moeten we  onzen  lezers wijzen
                                              .                             avond, omdat zij het voorrecht mocht hebben getuige op,de Chiliastische voorstelling van de opname der ge-
                                                                            te zijn van de bevestiging van haar beroepen leeraar, loovigen in de lucht, gevolgd door de bruiloft des Lams
                                                                            Candidaat B. Kok. Bij deze gelegenheid hoorden wij           en het Avondmaal; en op aacde gevolgd door de groote
                                                                            een  schoone,  predikatie van onze Consulent, Ds. H.         verdrukking; terwijl dit `alles weer zal  worden  gevolgd
                                                                            Hoeksema, naar de woorden van Efeze  4:1l, 12. Daar- door de wederkomst van Christus en de oprichting van
                                                                            na'ging Ds. G. M. OphofI  voort met ,het lezen van het het Duizendjarig Rijk.
                                                                            formulier en' de bevestiging van den Candidaat. Ook              Zoo tech stelt de Chiliast zich de orde der dingen
                                                                            sprak `Ds. Ophoff een kort toepasselijk woord naar voor.
                                                                            aanleiding van I Cor. 3 :lO-15.                                  Zoo schrijft ook Ds. Vander Werp over deze  dingen
                                                                               Na eenige woorden van dank aan den. Consulent en in het boekske, dat we hier bespreken.
                                                                            aan: Ds. Ophoff  `en aan de vxrgadering voor werk ver-           Hij schrijft over die opname .der geloovigen in de
                                                                            richt en belangstelling getoond, verzocht Ds. Kok de lucht op pagina's 24-27. Wij  willen zijne beschouwing,
                                              ;.
                              1                                             vergadering  ,te  zingen  Ps.  119  :1'7 en Ps.  134:3 en    die de gewone voorstelling is van alle Chiliasten, hier
                                             .;                             sprak den zegen uit.
:`..r;  ::"  .,                                                                                                                          kortelijks  weergeven
:,.                     .J."                                                   Blijde keerden wij als gemeente met een groote                De schrijver verwijst hoofdzakelijk, ten bewijze
       .,:.'                 :  :!
I;                .<                    1                                   s&are,  die met ons waren,'  naar huis. God dankende
                        :                                                                                                                voor zijne voorstelling der  dingen  op dit punt, naar
                             .               .                              voor het goede ons geschonken en bewezen. Dat de I Thess. 4 :16, 17 en I Cor. 15 :51-53. De eerste plaats
                                                                            Heere voorts met ons mag zijn en ons als gemeente met        luidt als volgt : ' "Want de Heere zal Zelf met een ge-
                                             /                              den leeraar mag zegenen is onze bede.                        roep, met de stem des archangels, en met de bazuine
                                                                                      Namens den Kerkeraad van Roosevelt Park.           Gods nederdalen van den hemel  ; en die in Christus  ge-
                                                                                                                                         storven zijn zullen eerst opstaan; Daarna wij, die
                                        !
                                        I                                                                                                levend overgebleven zijn, zullen tezamen met hen wor-
                                        I
                                                                                                                                         den opgenomen in de wolken, den Heere tegemoet in de
.:          :.;                         !
 : :                          _;
 :.               i-,                                                                                                                    lucht ; en alzoo zullen wij altijd met den Heere wezen."
..I
.:-                          ,`:                                                              GOEDE VRIJDAG                              En op de tweede plaats lezen wij : "Ziet, ik zeg  u eene
:`-                                     i                                            Jezus ! Uw verzoehend sterven                       verborgenheid : wij zullen  we1 niet  allen ontslapen,
                                                                                     blijft het `rustpunt  van ons hart:                 maar wij zullen allen veranderd worden  ; In een punt
                                                                                     Als wij alles, alles derven,                        des tijds, in een oogenblik, met de laatste bazuin ;
                                                                                     blijft Uw liefd' ons bij in smart.                  want de bazuin zal slaan en de dooden zullen onver-
                                                                                     Och !  wanneer  mijn oog eens breekt,               derfelijk opgewekt  worden,  en wij zullen veranderd
                                                                                     `t angstig doodzweet  van mij leekt  -              worden.  Want dit verderfelijke moet  onverderfelijk-
                                                                                     dat U bloed mijn hqop dan wekke                     heid aandoen en dit sterfelijke moet onsterfelijkheid
                                                                                     en mijn  schuld voor God bedekke.                   a a n d o e n . "
                                   i


 66                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

 hij wil, maar feit blijft, dat die opstanding plaats
 heeft  v66r het  verheerlijkt  worden  van de nog levende            CALVIN, BERKHOF AND H. J. KUIPER
geloovigen en voor  ,de opname in de lucht. En zdo, is
het ook met I Cor.  15:51-53.  De opgestane heiligen                                 A  COMPARISON
iullen met de veranderde geloovigen den Heere tege-                                       I I
moet'gevoerd  worden  in de lucht. De opstanding, die
naar de voorstelling van den Cbiliast de eerste  ge-                The comparison we propose to  &ke is to limit it-
naamd  .moet worden,  heeft dus plaats bij .die opname,         self, for the time being at least, to the teachings of Cal-
enkele  jaren  voor de eigenlijke wederkomst van Chris-         vin, Berkhof and I-$uiper with respect to the so-called
tus. Een andere eerste opstanding kent hij niet. Hij            well-meaning offer of salvation on the part of God to
zal op zijn eigen standpunt zelf moeten toestemmen, all men indiscriminately.
dat de S&rift in. elk geval van geen andere ecrste op-              To accomplish  th.& purpose we shall first of all
standirig spreekt, ook al stemmen wij hem niet toe, dat quote from the writings of Berkhof and Kuiper; in
de S&rift op eenigerlei wijze spreekt van een eerste order then to let Calvin speak on this subject.
opstanding der rechtvaardigen in lichamelijken zin.                 We shall remain as objective in the representation
Maar dan ligt het feit er toe, dat in de eerste opstan-         of the views of these men as can possibly be expected of -
ding van den Chiliast~  ook alle rechtvtiardigen  niet eens us. It is not at all our purpose to ascribe any convic-
deelen. En indien dit zoo is, dan moet hij in elk geval tions to Berkhof and Kuiper, which they do not have..
nog een derde opstanding aannemen. En wij zouden And, therefore, we shall interpret their own statements
hem we1 eens willen vragen,  waar de S&rift spreekt as little as possible, and let them speak to us for them-
van zulk een derde opstanding,.van  een opstanding der selves and in their  01~ words. When we  a,re through,
rechtvaardigen na de stem des archangels, na de  ver- presenting their views to our readers, they will surely
schijning, van den Heere, tia de laatste bazuin.                admit, that we have not misrepresented them, but that
       Wij zullen nu maar niet spreken over den toestand        their teachings are actually as we placed them before
in het zoogenaamde duizendjarige rijk..  \..Wij  zullen,        the public.
zoo de Heere wil, hierover later spreken. Ook maakt                To attain to this object it is necessary that we read
de schrijver van het boekske niet duidelijk,  w-at zijne them in the proper light, that is, in connection with
beschouwing is van di'en toestand  met betrekking tot the First Point of 1.924. It is in that First. Point that
het pant, dat wij thins bespreken. Zeker is het, dat the free and, well-meaning general offer of salvation to
ofschoon de menschen in dat rijk lang zullen leven, all men is mentioned .for the f?.rst time, and that it was
daar tech oak. nog de dood zal heerschen. De menschen officially accepted by the Christian Reformed Church
zullen er sterven..  Is het des schrijvers  beschouwing, as a dogma. And it is in defense of that first point
dat er in dat duizendjarig rijk ook nog uitverkorenen that both Berkhof and Kuiper published their views
zullen  tiijn; die alsdan zullen  worden  toegebracht? on this subject.
Waarschijnlijk is het dit wel. Maar dan krijgen we                 They agree with that First Point.
nog weer eene opstanding dergenen, die gedurende                   They believe in a free and general and well-meaq-
het duizendjarig rijk zullen  worden  bekeerd. Zoodat           `ing offer of grace on the part of God to all men with-
wij nog een vierde opstanding krijgen, of, misschien out distinction in the same sense in which that first
allerlei opstandingen in dat duizendjarige rijk. Zoo point teaches it.
wordt de zaak  so-mti voorgesteld. Zij, die dan bekeerd            Hence, it is but fair that we first of all recall to
worden,  zullen we1 eerst sterven, om dan terstond weer our minds the contents of that First Point, especially
op t,e staan.. Maar wij hebben het thans alleen over in as far as it expresses itself on the question we are
hetgeen Ds. Vander Werp duidelijk schrijft. En  l+j             now discussing.
laat  zich over dit onderwerp niet uit.                           It reads as follows:
       Dit doet  echtkr   aan ons argument niet te kort. Het       "Concerning the favourable attitude of God  &ward
is dit, kort en bondig. De`voqrstelling van Ds. Vander mankind in general and not only toward the elect, the
Werp noodzaakt hem, om niet alleen. te spreke? van Synod declares, that it is certain, on the ground of
een eerste en tweede opstanding,  ,maar  om ook de  recht-      Scripture and the Confession, that there is, besideS  the
vaardigen  .in de opstanding der dooden nog te scheiden. saving grace of God, shown only to those chosen untd
Hij kan daar niet voor weg. Zeker is het echter, dat eternal life, also a certain favor or grace which He
de S&rift van zulk een derde opstatiding  in het geheel shows to all His creatures. This is evident from the
niet spreekt.  Daarom  veroordeelt hij zijn eigen  be-          quoted Scripture-passages and from the Canons of
schouwing over de eerste opstanding.                            DOT-&, II, 5 and III and IV, 8 and 9, where the, general
       En  tiij willen ook deze kritiek eindigen met zijn offer of the Gospel is discussed" . . .  .(Acta,  1924).
eigen vraag: waarom tech God niet op Zijn `Woord  te               All  creatures in this declaration means all men.
gelooven ?                                                      This is evident from the fact that this point deals with
       De voorstelling der Schrift  is inderdaad veel een- a. favorable attitude of God toward mankind in gen-
voudiger en veel soberder dan die van het Chiliasme.            eral and not only toward the. elect. This is also ad-
                                                  H. H.
- .                                                             mitted by Berkhof and Kuiper.


                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                67

              - There is, then, a certain grace of God which He             They a&e not saved, though God seeks to save them,
           shows to .elect  and reprobate indiscriminately.                 explicitly has this proclaimed to them. Our conclusion
            :.::.Zt.is  not a saving gra@e, the point emphasizes, .for       (Berkhof and Kuiper are unwilling to draw this, but
           this is `shown only to the elect.                                we claim that any sound mind is compelled to draw it)
               And the point does not explain what sort of grace it         is : man is stronger than God !
         ,. is;. It merely speaks of a certain grace.                           The will of man frustrates the gracious purposes
               But. it certainly is a gracious attitude which God o f   G o d !
           assumes  toward all men, a. gracious inclination of His            Svch  is the teaching of the First Point.
           heart, not  .o.nly to the elect but also to the reprobate.,          And this is rank Arminianism.
           Whatever He bestows on any man in that attitude He                   Now,  except with respect to that last conclusion,
           certainly.gives  :him in His love. This, too, is plain from which  they are unwilling to draw,  Berkbof and Kuiper
           the declaration. itself,  for it speaks of a  favour&l&          teach all we have written in the above lines concerning
         attitude of  God'toward  all mankind. And this is also' the meaning of the First Point.
           the.rhea@ng attached to this point by both Berkhof and               They both hold:
           Kuipec,  as'.is. evident from their, writings. (See':  The           1. That God loves the repro6at&  and is gracious
           Three Points of Com%aon  Grace, Kuiper ; and : De Drie' toward them.
           Punten in Alle Deeben Geyeformeerd,  Berkhof.)                       2. That iiz this love and grace He seriously seeks
            " Now, -ivhat does He bestow .on all men, indiscrim- ' their salvation.
           inat&? The general offer of the Gospel, among other                  3.  That  for  this purpose He has the Gospel,
           things. . .                                                      preached to them and Christ offered to them.
               Hence, the First Point teaches, that when God has                The brethren of the Sovereign Grace Union `will,
           the gospel preached, not only to the elect, but also to          please, take note that this is actually the teaching of
           the reprobate, He does so in His grace and  lovingkind-           these men; that this  .is the official stand of the  CQis-
           ness,.also  to the latter.'                                       tian Reformed Church in America ; that this is also;
            ..:. :.It..is  not clear, what kind of grace the reprobate      the doctrine Dr. J. Van Lonkhuyzen defended in 1924
           actually receive, when the gospel is preached to them: and on the. basis of which he urged our expulsion from
           `!I%& declaration by Synod does not explain' itself -in re-      the  Christiati'Reformed  Churches.
          gard to this. question. Neither did Berkhof  or'  Kuiper              I challenge them to deny the truth of these state-
       `L `:&te&pt.. to  explaili  this. They really admit,,  that the ,ments. Gladly will I give them room to do this in our
       .*;  r&prqQatti:actually  receive no grace, when the. gospel paper. But they will not take up this challenge. It is
           is, preached to them. But, however this  may be, God! their doctrine as it is .the plain teaching of the First
           bestows `grace  -upon them, or rather, assumes  an' atti- Point. This I will prove from their own writings.
           tude  o-f grace toward them, when the gospel `is                     Berkhof writes (De Drie Punten, etc. p. 21: I trans-
           ,preached  to the reprobate. He. loves them, somehow.. !ate literally) :
           :He is gracious toward them. And because He is graci-.            "The following link in the argument of Synod is:
.--- ----,-. tous--towa-rd-+,he  reprobate -He -has- -the- gospel preachecii this: The -general and  -well-meant-  offer of -salvation- is --
           t o   theni.                                                     .a sign of God's favour toward sinners, is for them a
              `_ If you inquire further: what does  this gracious: `blessing from the Lord. This must emphatically be
         .attitude  `of God toward the reprobate, manifest  in the! ,pointed  out, because they, who cannot agree with the
           preaching of the gospel, imply? the First Pointagaih ,declaration of Synod, maintain that the preaching of
           i s   `sile.nt.                                                  the Word is merely intended as a curse for the rep-
              But .we  .conclude,  and the conclusion is the  tin@- .robates  that dwell under such preaching. He does not
           possible  `one for any sound mind, that it implies,  that,       `bless them by this, but curses them through it. He
           God seriously wills the salvation of the reprobates. He           uses that preaching, in as far as it concerns them,
           is: filled with ldvingkindness concerning .them. In that. merely as a means to plunge them mor,e deeply into de-
           lovingkindness of His heart He seeks their salvation.. struction, hence, as an instrument of His hatred. This
           Seeking their,salvation  He offers them the Gospel; `The:         is a positively unscriptural thought. The Scripture
           First Point teaches,. that God, loving the reprobates: teaches us most certainly, that we must conside?  the
           and. earnestly  d,e+iring  their salvation, offers them sal-. Toffer of salvation a temporal blessing also for those
           vation in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.                            that do not  h&ed the invitation. The following consid-
          I. . Such is the implication of the First Point. Such ia          ,erations  serve to prove this :'
           its clear teaching.                                                   I` (1)    That God calls the ungodly unto conversion
             - And this. is our serious objection to that  First            :is presented in Scripture as a proof that He desires
           .Point.                                                          their salvation.  (The reprobate are meant here ; I  un-
                In spite of all Berkhof attempted to prove, to the           ,derscore,  H. H.) In the prophecy of Ezekiel we listen
           (contrary, this is, to us, pure Arminianism.                     to the voice of the Lord in words that speak of tender
            `: God, in His grace seriously seeks to bestow salva-           mercy : `Have I any pleasure at all (even in any meas-
           tion on some men through Christ. Fqr this purpose: ure) that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God ;
         IIe has the Gospel preached to them. But  He  fails,               and not that he should return from his ways and live?'


    6             8                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

    And again : `For I have no pleasure in the death of him killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent
    that dieth (i. e., of him that dieth in his sins) saith the unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy chil-
    Lord God: wherefore, turn yourselves and live ye.'              dren together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens
    These passages teach us as clearly as words are able, under her wings and ye would not! Matt. 23  :37'  "
    that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked             (P. 22).
     (notice that he does not say: `the elect wicked' but `of          You see, readers, that there remains no doubt as to
    `the wicked' entirely in general) ; and the tender call- Berkhof's view. God l&es the wicked, elect and rep-
    ing, to which we listen in them, witnesses of His great robate. He is filled with the most tender mercy to-
    love for sinners and of His desire to save the  un-            ward them. His heart longs to save them all, without
 g o d l y . "                                                     exception. In the most touching words of profound
            The reader. will admit that I do not misrepresent pathos He cries over them, when they do not heed His
    Berkhof, when I say, that he teaches that God is filled tender calling. That is the grace the reprobate receive.
    with saving love for the reprobate sinner as well as for But it is a grace, however strong and however filled
    the elect. The passage is emphatic in the expression with longing to save, that does not actually save. It is
    of this view. Ehtirely in general, and not specifically vain, for the reprobate do not heed the tender' call of
    the elect, God loves sinners and desires to save them. their gracious Father !
    And, besides, there is no escape from this conclusion,             And Kuiper ?
    because this entire argument is adduced in defense of              He teaches the same doctrine, as a faithful son of
    the teaching that God is gracious in the preaching of the Chtirch that adopted the .Three  Points. Only he
    the Gospel to the reprobates and not only to the elect, would have us believe that it is a mystery, that God
    as tias declared in the First Point. And in no uncer- wills the salvation of the reprobate and that He does
    tain terms does he condemn our view, when we teach not will the same.
    that even though it is God's good pleasure that the                Let us quote him too :
    gospel be preached in general to all. that hear by the             "By far the most serious objections raised against
    ministration of men, yet His purpose is to be gracious the Three Points concerns the first of these, specifically
    to the elect only, while it is equally His purpose that it concerning the  general offer  of  the gospel  (what is
    shall be a savour of death unto death for the repro- meant is, of course, that' Gpd offers the gospel to the
    bate. This latter view, I say, which is ours, and of reprobate in His grace, H. H.). The objection is that
    which we still maintain that it is the Reformed, the Synod has virtually committed itself to the Arminian
    Calvinistic view, Berkhof very emphatically condemns. doctrines of the General Atonement and the Free Will.
         The reader must bear this in mind. At the same                "This objection is as absurd as it is serious. So
    time it` is of profound interest for. us,. as we make a far as we know, the only argument in support of this
    comparison between Berkhof's view and that of Calvin astounding charge is that God cannot sincerely offer
    on this point, that in Calvin's Calvinism the latter pre- salvation (in His grace, H. H.) to reprobate sinners,
    sents  ub with his -explanation of the. same texts from unless Christ has actually paid for their sins `and un-
-- -E&iel-which -Be-rkhof-.  expou-n&-in--the:  .-above -quota- -less they have a will-that- is-free-to-ckoose  `the salvation-----  -_-
    tion. Later we shall quote him at length. In the               offered to them. Our answer is that this does not at
    meantime we may even now assure our readers that all follow. `(A d
                                                                                    n now one would expect a sound argu-
    Calvin's exegesis differs principally from that of  Berk-      ment to prove that this does not at all follow; but in-
    hof.                                                           stead there follows, a hopeless appeal to mystery, H.H.)
         Let me quote another paragraph from Berkhof's It is true that  human logic cannot fully harmonize  the
    defense'of the First Point, that -there may be no doubt doctrine of election and reprobation, of a particular
    left that we represent him correctly:                          atonement, and of man's total depravity (which im-
         "There is still another passage in Ezekiel in which plies that our will by nature is free to choose only the
    the Lord expresses the same thought in still stronger evil but not the  gtiod)  with that of the general offer of
    language, in which.He  even confirms it with an oath, grace. But does this mean that both cannot be true?
   viz., Ez.  33:ll.  `As I live, saith the Lord, I have no There is not one doctrine in Holy Writ which does not
   pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked involve us in intellectual difficulties. Think of the mys-
   turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye from your tery of the One Being and the Three Persons, of divine
4 evil ways ; for why will ye die, 0 house of Israel ?' Are sovereignty and human responsibility, of divine provi-
   these not words of tender lovingkindness, in which a dence and human freedom, of. original sin and the sin-
    Father implores his backsliding children (the repro- lessness of Christ, of the union of the two natures in
    bate! H. H.) to return to the house and to the heart the one divine person of Christ" (The Three Points of
   of father? Do you listen here, even in the least regree, Common Grace, p. 12).
   to the voice of hatred? (As if anyone were so insane                And .to prove the contention that Scripture teaches .
    as to maintain this, H. H.)        And does not Jesus' this gracious general offer of salvation Kuiper refers
 .' lamentation over Jerusalem point in the same direc- to the following texts: Ez.  33:ll;  Matt.`23:37;  Luk.
   tion? Can you imagine anything  that surpasses this 14 :15-21, 24; II Pet. 3 :9.
   in touching pathos? `0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that              It is evident, that Kuiper is of the same conviction


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             69

             as Berkhof with regard to this point of doctrine.            per for such teaching, he appears horrified and amazed,
                 And notice now, on the basis of this doctrine, he        calls you absurd because you draw conclusions that fol-
             preaches to his congregation:                                low not at all, but, being at a loss how further to de-
                "Let us emphasize the fact, that your conception  of fend himself, hides behind. the pretext that it is all an
             God depends upon your answer to the question whether- insoluble mystery ; but that you must nevertheless be-
             God shows any favor to the reprobate. A certain Ckris-       lieve that God loves- whom He hates, that He seeks
             tian has well said: `Our God is a just God, but not a the salvation of those whom He never intends to save,
             cruel God.' He has no pleasure in the misery of any that He blesses whom He curses and that He seriously
             of His erkatures.  He sends the wicked earthly bless- invites those to whom He forever shut the door of His
             ings as the fruits of His kindness, in order to convince kingdom in sovereign righteousness.
             them of His sincere willingness to bestow upon them             Such is a true representation of  `Kuiper's  views,
             the greater gift of salvation in Christ. God is just and himself being our witness. For he will not deny this.
             stern but He is not harsh and cruel. He is not a God Himself will not reply that we have done him an in-
             who reveals to a large part of humanity nothing but justite.
             His wrath. Even the reprobates are His creaturbs,  the          And, the saddest .featur&  of all ! - Kuiper main-
             works of His hands ; and in His goodnt?ss  and grace He tains that this is'the only Reformed view, that all other
             lavishes blessings upon them as long as they live, even views are essentially fatalistic ; and he will exp@.l  out of
             though .they perish in their .sins. Thus He tiagnifies       the Reformed Church all that do not subscribe to his
            His love  `&s well' as His wrath in the reprobate ; even as logical contradictions and enigmas. For he writes :
             He glorifies His justice as well as His grace in the, re-       "One of the most serious. aspects of the present
             d e e m e d .                                                denial of the doctrine of Common Grace is the denial
     ,           "Neither can you maintain, the sincere offer of sal- of the general offer of salvation. It robs the gospel
            vation to all who hear the gospel, unless you accept the of its evangelical note (by evangelical note the writer
            `truth which is formulated in the first point of Synod. means the preaching that the gospel "is for sinners, -
             If God assumes no attitude of favor to the unthankful for  all sinners,"' H. H.) It is bound to create an' atti-
             and evil, he cannot sincerely offer them the blessings tude of religious  passivism  and fatalism which has
            of redemption. Then what our Confessions say cannc&           been the, curse of every church -where the preaching
            be true: `He has most earnestly and truly declared in of election was not counterbalanced by the sinner's
            His Word what will be acceptable to Him; namely, that responsibility (the old, baseless accusation which all
            all who are called (by the gospel) should comply with. enemies of the truth of sovereign grace brought
            the invitation.' It is true that God has from eternity against its defenders: ex ungue leonem,  H. H,) and of
            chosen some to eternal life, and rejected others. But God's sincere offer of salvation to all without discrim-
            it is just as true that He sincerely offers salvation to ination" (The Three Points of Common Grace, p. 13).
          all who hear the gospel. The fact that we with our                 Thus are the views of Berkhof and Xuiper on this
            finite minds cannot fully harmonize these two truths point.
            should not make us hesitate to accept both. Both are             One gets the impression that they err in good faith,
.           clear&  revealed  .in.Hol~.Writ.   .L    _ __  _  _  ,__      hard though it may- seem to .believe this of men  with
                                                                                                                           _. _.__ .--
                 "There is no one here in the audience ,who can sai:      sound minds. Sometimes it appears that they do not
             `God hates me.' Suppose you knew that you will ulti- understand their own speech. For instance, in the book
            mately be lost; even then you could not say, `God does of Kuiper from which we have already quoted, we also
            `not care for me.' The gospel we preach is a gospel find the following quotation from Calvin, adduced -in
            for sinners  - for all sinners. It is glad tiding also support of the theory that God earnestly desires the
            for you. God has no pleasure in your death but there- salvation of all that externally hear the gospel:
            in that you turn and live. He hates  you? sins but He            "For there is a universal call, by which God in the
            does not hate you. He invites you to come to him and external preaching of the Word invites all, indiscrim-
            be saved. That very fact will make your punishment inately, to come to him, even those to whom he intcszds
            doubly deserved if you should be lost. You will never it as a savor of death, and an occasion of heavier cbn-
            be able to say: `I have not tasted God% goodness and demnation.,'           (I. underscore, H. H.)
            grace ; I have never experienced His love;' You will             Yes, indeed, that is Calvin's doctrine. For some
            love to say: `I have spurned His love, rejected His  1 that hear the gospel God intends it as a savor of death
            grace ; and now there remains for me a righteous judg- and an occasion for heavier condemnation.
            ment, a well-deserved wrath whose flames will burn               And that is our doctrine. God will have the gospel
            forever and ever.' " (Idem,  p. 15,16).                       preached to all that hear indiscriminately. And He
                The reader will agree that we do Kuiper no injus- will save His elect by that preaching, and harden the
            tice, that we present his views correctly, when we say, reprobate by it. With a free conscience before God,
          . that he believes and teaches that God loves the repro-        and all that hear us, we declare that thus we believe
            bate, earnestly desires their salvation, has the  Gosljel     and thus we preach and always did preach.
            preached to them to seek and to save them ; and that, if         But that is not the doctrine of Berkhof and Kuiper ;
            you bring the indictment of  Arminia,nism against  Kui- let no one be deceived !


 70                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R ,

   They do  not teach,  that God will have the  .gospel           "Zal God hem oordeelen ook naar zijn daden of zal
preached to some of the reprobate in order tF,at  2 &T hij  alleen  geoordeeld  worden  naar zijn staat?  t  ._
be a savor or death unto death to them. On the con-               "Als we dit denkbeeld in ons leven brengen,  dat .het
trary, they hold that God offers Christ to the repro- -den mensch niets. geeft of hij boos leeft dan virel goed,
bate in His grace to them, in an attitude of grace, and .dan, dit gevoelt ieder, vervalt  alle  verantwoordelijk-
earnestly desiring their salvation !                          heid."
        And this view they make the basis of their preach-       Zoo schrijft Marnix. Uit dit schiijveii is het duide-
i n g .                                                       lijk, dat warnix een oppervlakkige beschouiving  van de
        But I must not now begin to compare the views of zonde heeft. Het blijkt  we1 duidelijk  uit'het  aange-
these men with that of Calvin on the subject.                 haalde, dat hij van de gedachte 5, dat de natuurlijke
        Calvin writes rather extensively on the subject in mensch we1 goed  leeft, wanneer hij zich niet-schuldig
Calvin's Calvinism, and we must quote him at length maakt  aan moord en dergelijke  gruwelijkheden.  .En
in order to obtain a clear conception of his doctrine. zooals uit heel zijne redeneering blijkt wil hij bok .be-
We must postpone this for our next number..                   weren, dat het niet uitbreken in gruwelijkheden -.uit
        If only the views of Berkhof and Kuiper on this een terughoudende genade Gods te verklaren is. .:
subject have become clear, and they themselves as well           Wat het eerste betreft, hebben we het volgende op
as our' readers  will admit that we have done them no te merken. De zonde is niet beperkt tot de "`booze
injustice, we are satisfied and this article has serve:]      daden"  waarvan  Marnix  spreekt. De waarheid  :is,
its purpose.                                                  zooals u, Mr. Redacteur, terecht -hebt aangetoond  in
        For we have no other purpose than to get at the       uw antwoord, dat God van den mensch eischt,  d&.&j
truth of the matter, to clear the sky of clouds of mist niet naar sommige, maar naar alle geboden Gods zal
and poisoned gas that have been cast over it.                 leven. Al pleegt de natuurlijke. mensch geen .nioord,
        We desire to know who, they or we, are in agree- daarom is niet gezegd dat hij goed  leeft. Het gebod:
ment with the great  Genevan  Reformer.                       "Gij zult niet echtbreken" is ook een gebod Gods. Echt-
        If they are, we will still maintain our own view, for breuk is geen moord. Zij is  tech niet minder  zoride.
we are. deeply convinced .that it is the truth of the En al leidt de  naiuurlijke  mensch een  ingetogen:.en
Word of God ; but we will not call Calvin our spiritual ,fatsoenlijk   leven, maar tech in zijn hart bege&t.  iets
father.                                                       dat zijns naasten is, dah leeft hij  niet goed. Al wordt
        If they are not, we would like to compel them to er bij den natuurlijken mensch  geen  openbare  otiertre-
disavow Calvin, to expel him from their fellowship as         ding van een der geboden gevonded, kan nog niet ge-
they did us and to claim Armijn of Leiden as their zegd  worden,  dat hij  goed  leeft. De mensch zondigt
.-great teacher.                                              niet alleen  in booze daden,  maar ook. we1 terdege in
        And suppose that England's Calvinist& the men of booze gedachten. Hij kan we1 overspel doen,zonder.in
the Sovereign Grace Union be our judges in this mat- de daad uit te breken. Jezus zelf zegt immers,:"Zoo
ter.                                                          wie  eene vrouw aanziet om dezelve te  begeeren,:.die
                                                  H. H.       heeft alreeds  overspel in zijn hart met haar .gedaan."
                                                              Ice.and._kan.  ook een. doo&lager  zijn zopder..in de da&d.-  .__ _
                                                              uit te breken. De Apostel Johannes zegt :  :"Cen  iege-
                                                              lijk die zijnen broeder haat,  is een doodslage:.!'  : `Vtin
                                                              nature is de mensch een vijand van God en vex. zijnen
                    I N G E Z O N D E N                       naaste.  Van nature is hij geneigd' tot  all&  k;-raad en
                     Het Begrip vaa Zonde                     onbekwaam tot eenig  goed. Op grond van dc :SchriYt
                                                              en de Belijdenis staat  bet vast, dat de  natuurlijke
           Geachte Redacteur !                                mensch niet goed  leeft. Hij doet geen goede `weyken.
       Met aandacht heb ik gelezen de gedachtenwisseling Want goede werken, volgens den CatechismuB  .(vr..  en
tusschen u en  Marnix,  die voor enkele maanden in de antw. 91) zijn alleen die uit waar geloof, naar.de  wet
S. B. verscheen. Ofschoon ik eigenlijk niets nieuws Gods, alleen Hem ter eere geschieden, en niet die op
heb aangaande de zaak waar het om gaat, wensch  ik ons goeddunken,  of op mensehen inzettingen gegrond
tech  een.paar  opmerkingen te  maken in betrekking tot zijn. De Christen kan  alleen  goede werken  doen,   en
hetgeen Marnix'schreef in zijn brief, .die in de S. B.        dus goed  leven, want hij leeft uit het geloof, hetgeen
van 1 Aug. verscheen. Verwachtende, dat u aan mijn Gode welbehagelijk is. Dat neemt natuurlijk niet weg,
vriendelijk verzoek zal voldoen, vraag ik een weinig dat de geloovige ook zondigt met gedachten, woorden
plaatsruimte in uvir blad. Bij voorbaat mijn dank.            en werken. Maar hij bidt om vergeving van  zonde'n.
       De passage, die mijn aandacht vooral trok is als       Oak strijdt hij tegen de zonde, want hij leeft. uit het
volgt :                                                       beginsel der wedergeboorte.                      ;
       "Om het eens duidelijk te zeggen: geeft het den           Met betrekking nu tot hetgeen Marnix schrijft .van
mensch niets, of hij in zonde uitbreekt en moordt en de terughoudende genade Gods hebben wij .de volgende
rooft en gruwelijkheden doet, dan wel, dat hij bewaard opmerkingen. De  schrijver  beweert, dat de mensch
blijft voor al die booze daden?                               voor booze  daden bewaard  blijft ddor een  terughov-


                                                     T.HE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              71

    dende genade Gods. Maar hoe dan met de zondige ge-                            OBJECTIONS TO THE SPIRHT OF .THE AGE
    dachten?        Worden  die ook teruggehouden? Als de
    zonde gestuit wordt, dan moeten  ook de zondige ge-                                               RELIGION
    dachten gestuit  worden.  Want die zijn ook zonde.
    Maar laten wij ons bij die booze daden  bepalen. Wat                          History repeats itself. This statement conveys un-
    zijn de feiten? De historie en de werkelijkheid  leeren doubtedly much truth; but it does not reveal the whole
    ons juist niet, dat de zonde in hare gruwelijke  openba-                  truth. Bare historical events which have occurred
    ringen  teruggehouden  wordt. Wie met de  toestand                        may re-occur, but the re-occurrence is not identical to
    van het  sociale leven- eenigszins bekend is, en wie op the occurred event in every detail. If events  re-oc-
    de hoogte is met al wat er in de wereld  gebeurt in den curred  in the same identical manner as before, then
    vorm van booze  daden, zooals diefstal, moord, enz., zal you would have, as far as the events themselves are
    we1 niet  willen beweren, dat er een terughoudende  ge-                    concerned, a practical mechanical repetition. Fact is,
    nade Gods is. Het. komt ons .voor,  dat men een van that a certain present-day movement be it religious,
    tweeen  moet, men moet vasthouden dat het  pfoces  der social, political or otherwise, may have all the appear-
    zonde doorwerkt totdat de mate der ongerechtigheid ances of a re-occurrence of some movement of several
    vol is, of men moet bekennen, dat Gods terughoudende decades ago, they are nevertheless different in every
    genade niet bij machte is om het uitbreken van den respect.                          The heart of the matter may appear the
    mensch in gruwelijkheden te stuiten. Het laatste te same, and the starting point may seem alike; but an
    beweren is zeker niet tot eere Gods. Door het eerste identical repetition `of a former occurrence is positively
    vast te houden belijdt men, dat God souverein is om absurd and impossible. It is absurd since God's reve-
    het doorwerken der zonde toe te laten en haar te ge- lation has not been completely perfected, and  it is im-
    bruiken tot het  doe1  `van de verheerlijking Zijns possible in 3s much as sin is in a stage of organic de-
N a a m s .                                                                   velopment. To deny the truth of the latter would be
                                                    J. G. KOOISTRA            denying the reality of the very antithesis:
                                                                                  The modern religious movement inay in a certain
        Paterson, N. J.                                                       sense be the very re-occurrence of a movement of many
                                                                              years back, but its essential characteristics are .ern-
                                                                              phatically different. It is altogether true that higher
                                                                              criticism, unbelief, and positive indifference toward
                                                                              religion is no different, as fa'r as the' matter itself is.
                           UIT VERLIES WINST                                  concerned, from that of years ago, but the present
                Hoog heeft God zijn arm verheven,                             manifestations, the motivations, the objective `in view
                    Uit de duisternis komt  licht,                            certainly varies considerable. The present-day religi-
                Uit .den dood ierschijnt  het leven,                          ous movement is racing rapidly to a tragical disaster,
                   Uit het graf een vreugd-bericht,                           such as it has never experienced heretofore.
                                                                                  Formerly men spoke very boldly in religious terms,
-r.--.  ..-..  -. .  Uit de droeve tranen blijheid,
                -_--  ~.__  _._____   ..__  .__~            _.-._.  ..~  -
                    Uit de koude warmte en gloed,                             -they-dared- to face the consequence ; presently-- they .--
                Uit de slavenboeien vrijheid,                                 speak in terms so insolently deceptive that "if it were
                    Uit  irerlies de winst voorgoed.                          . possible, they shall deceive the very elect."l) Formerly
                                                                              men revealed themselves as open opponents of the
                                                                              Church of Jesus Christ, and hostile to the truth of
                Voor de zonden ligt verzoening,.                              God's revelation ; presently they  are "prophets which
                   Voor de straf'gena gereed,                                 come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
                Voor de grootste schuld voldoening,                           ravening wolves." 2) A few decades ago men openly
                  Troost voor diep berouw  en leed ;                          trode upon and abhored  even the very name Christian,
                Voor het zwoegen in ellenden,                                 and ridiculed ali those who claimed to be such; pres-
                   Dood in ongeretihtigheid,                                  ently men claim to follow truth and righteousness, and
                `t Leven Gods, dat nooit zal  enden,                          would consider it an insult if you do not call them
                   Zijn verlosten toebereid.                                  Christians, but their very religious conceptions are
                                                                              manifest as being born from an atrocious lie. With an
                                                                              imaginative heaven of its own, modern Christianity
                Ondergaan is  overwinn&n,                                     hastens headlong into the clutches of eternal perdition
                   Nederlaag is zegepraal,                                    and God's just condemnation.
                `t Einde wordt een nieuw  beginnen,                               To be sure, we a@ee with the Preacher : "and there
                   `t Afscheid wordt een nieuw onthaal.                       is no new thing under the sun." 3) For in'the ultimate
                0 Verlosser ! Rijke Erbarmer !                                sense unbelief is unbelief, higher criticism is higher
                   Waar Gij zooveel schatten boodt,                           criticism  ; but it is equally true that unbelief does not
                Worden  kille harten  warmer,                                 manifest itself in the- same manner today as it did in
                   Werkt Gij leven in den dood.                               the days of yore. Modern theologians will frankly  ad-
                                                            ,


  72                                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

  mit that the present-day religious movement is mani- God, as Creator, Saviour, Sanctifier, etc., and on the
 festing itself in a different garb, not as  hostile and  nc",                          other hand that which longs to follow God's precepts
as odious. They are taking over and using terms of in all uprightness. 4) But this consciousness of utter
 orthodoxy to propagate their own  maliscious  cause,                                  dependence upon God is certainly not in harmony with
 and by these tactics they are misinterpreting  the truth wliat is presently proclaimed from the pulpits, and
 and presenting the lie in terms which. connote the                                    propagated through the religious press. God's, sov-
 truth. They prate about an "Adventurous Religion," ereignty is not openly denied, but deceptively cast aside
 "Social Religion," and a "Practical Religion" and sim- a+ an old orthodox creed. Religion has lost its life
 ilar topics in terms so highly colored with an orthodox principle, since it virtually denied the sovereignty of
 meaning that it would almost seem possible that such God. Instead of God being sovereign, Man is. And
  deviltry was in reality a manifest&ion of the truth.                                 this, of course, is stated in such obscure and abstract
 Dishonesty certainly taken the place of, honesty,.  the lie words and phrases as not to cause the little remnant of
 ,for the truth. Where; 0, where ! is the. honest upright true believers. to become to hostile over against these
  Christian, whose actions may be made manifest? Such modern theologians.
 persons certainly must be looked for with Divine scru-                                                                                A. C. BOERKOEL
 tiny. Even men of high repute, office-bearers in the
  Church of Jesus Christ are afraid to face the truth.
 They  tiust gain their will with evil deception. Why                                       1) Matthew  24:24b.
 are  .the Church leaders then so terribly afraid to come                                   2) Idem,  7:15.
                                                                                            3 )   Ecclesiastes   T:9c.
 into the open with the truth? The Reformed church                                          4) "Dogmatiek," Vol. 1, p. 183. 1895. Dr. H. Bavinck.
 leaders in general certainly are included in this list.
 For the well-being ( ?) of the Church the lie is believed
 and propagated. The truth is trodden up'on  as if there
 were no God of justice, who scrutinses  the deepest re-                                                              IN MEMORIAM
 cesses of the heart. Aside of all this dishonesty in                                       Op den  llden  September behaagde het den Heere  uit  ens
 religion and untruth of religious concepts, `the religious &d$en weg te nemen onzen  dierbaren Zoon en Breeder,
 leaders are leading God's people astray in a very decep-                                                                     ARIE,
 ti+e manner. They, themselves being ignorant of the
 most fundamental truths of Holy Writ, ascend their in den jeugdigen leeftijd van 28 jaar, 4 maanden en 22 dagen.
                                                                                            Hoewel ons dit verlies groot is,  tech treuren wij niet  als
, pulpits with quite some audacity and proclaim the. most degenen die geen hope hebben maar met een  vol vertrouwen  dat
 heinous and  strocious  lies as the truth, and then they hij is waar noch pijn, noch moeite of verdriet is, maar eeuwige
 marvel that. their flock is so stupendously ignorant as vreugde.
 to the most fundamental principles. Indeed a  para-                                        Overblijvende zijn de bedroefde ouders.
 doxel trait of the present-day ministers and leaders.                                                                        Mr. en Mrs. A. De Hoog
        The unlearned flock follows the blind leaders blind-                                                                  Mr. en Mrs. G.  DB Hoog
 ly, and they are fed. and nourished on the most silly                                                                        Mrs. Jacob van Meurs
 and superficial 
 ___._. ---_.  -.- .-.-- religiqus..
                      --- -              ,.nonsense  that_  can_, be_- had.                . .                                                     van  Nederland
                                                                                                                                                           _ ____  .-.  - . .
                                                                                                                              MMETEXs.. C.- D-e--Bo&
 Bombast and pomp is preferred before truth. People                                                                                                van  Nederland
 can enjoy ( ?) a discourse  .of a minister on such bunk.                                                                     Mr. en Mrs. Wm. De  Hot=
  (excuse the expression) as "Jesus the CaSpenter"  and                                                                       Mr. John De Hoog
 go home and say what a wonderful sermon that was.                                                                            Miss Cora De Hoog
 The discourse being on such questions as : "How many
 shingle nails Jesus used in nailing each shingle?, or,
 "How many minutes before seven and before one
 o'clock he commenced his work," or, "Just what time.
 after working hours did he discontinue his labors."                                       On October 30, thirty-five years ago, our belcved  parents,
 Such discourses are not only silly, but unchristian be-                                                          CORNELIUS DERTIEN
 cause they are the product of the imagination of the                                                                          and
 mind. And again, Christian  people(   ?) can listen to                                                     SENA DERTIEN-nee Bouwman,
.a discourse on "Plato, Aristotle', and Jesus" and enjoy were joined in holy bonds of matrimony. We feel grateful to
 it, just as if there were any similarity between the                                  God that He has spared them these many `years and it is our
 three. There is no discriminating anymore between the earnest prayer that God may continue to bless them and grant
 truth and the lie, since religion is no longer religion. them continued health and happiness.
 What is called religion today is a serving of self, a dei-                                                                   Mr. and Mrs. John Dertien
 fying of. the ego ; the glorification of Pantheism on the'                                                                   Mr. and Mrs. Joe Dertien
 one hand, and the adoration of Deism on the other.                                                                           Mr. end Mrs. Louis  Dertien
        What is religion? Religion is a certain inclination                                                                   Eva
                                                                                                                              he
 of man, which on the one hand has rooted itself in the                                                                       Jean
 deepest consciousness of his utter dependency upon                                                                           10 grandchildren.

                                                 Doom  Printing  Co.,  906 Dallas   Ave., Se  E.,  Grand   Rauids.  Mir.h.


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      irol. VI, No. 4                                                   NOVEMBER 15, 1929                                                     Subscription Price, $2.50

                                                                                              age we stretch our tired limbs upon our bed to seek
                        M E D I T A T I O N                                                   refreshment and new strength for the battle of a com-
                                                                                              ing day. But. in the lonely stillness the soul is cast
                                                                                             back upon itself, the mysterious depths of the subcon-
       :                         PEACEFUL R&ST'                                               scious, kept closed by the burdens of life in the day-
                                                                                             time, are opening themselves, and from it thoughts of
                                      I will both lay  me down in peace and                  trouble and worry crowd in upon the mind as so many
                                 sleep; for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell
                                 in safety.                              - P s .   4:s.       evil spirits, keeping the eyes from sleep, the soul from
                                                                                             peace, the body from rest !
             I will both lay down and sleep  !.                                                    It is peculiarly the hour of anxious questionings.
             An  act of  quiet   confidence, of that serene tran-                                  That hour, if any, is apt to make us join in with the
      quility of mind and heart that results, when the soul wail of the poet of olden times: I
      succeeds to unburden itself of all care and anxiety.
        Or, who knows not from experience how peculiarly                                                 "The thought of God brought me no peace,
      oppressing for the care;worn  soul is that still hour of                                             But rather. made my fears increase ;                            =w
      the night, when one lays himself down in order to seek                                               With sleepless eyes and speechless pain
      peacefui  rest in sleep?                                                                             My fainting spirit grieved in vain ;
             Pull of whispering spirits, floating in the darkness,                                         The blessedness of long ago
      seems  6he night; they hover over the restless soul that                                             Made deeper still my present `woe."
      vainly seeks to escape in the oblivion-of restful slum-                                                                                                      _-
     ' her ; they Stem to flit to and fro, each carrying his own                                  Then, if ever,  tiomes  the moment when the soul can
      `woeful message :of-trouble  and anxiety.; now- .they ap- find no rest with theways  of Godtth  respect to the .~-
      proach one by one, each sustaining our attention as if things present and future, temporal  .and eternal,
      to impress the soul the more deeply with the distress- natural and spiritual; when it attempts to solve prob-
     ing burden of his intimations, now they crowd in upon lems too difficult of solutions ; when it would bear bur-
      the soul unitedly, attacking in wild `confusion the help- dens too heavy for human. shoulders to carry; when the
      less victim, that laid himself down but finds no rest . . soul also of the. child of God is frequently filled with
             They are but the whisperings of the soul itself, worries it should not have and cannot unload itself to
      withdrawn from the distracting influences of a busy commit .its way unto Him that doeth all things well.
      world.                                                                                 Many there be, that ask in that, moment: who shall
             The day has drawn to its close; the day with its toil shew us any good ? The. farmer that sowed his seed
      and labor, with its struggle and battle, with its thou- during the day will worry about rain and sunshine,
      sand and one matters that demanded our attention.                                      about winds and storms, and in vain he tosses rest-
      ,The day in which we were never left alone,/in  which lessly on, his bed at night; the man of the city, whose
      the bustle and excitement of a busy world stirred all sphere of labor and struggle. is in office or factory, will
     about us and kept the soul from communing with itself. be filled with anxiety about scarcity of work, or about
      The day in which we`were up and doingin the struggle unions and corporations of the world, crowding him out
      for existence, `slaving, perhaps, in the sweat of our of a living. The rich will worry about thieves  and.
      brow, pressed from every side by others in the same robbers that break through and steal; the poor about
      maelstrom of life with us. The day  $s finished; the the empty bread-basket ; the sufferer will `concentrate
      tumult has ceased; the night has fallen and spread all his mind upon his. pain and sorrow ; the child of
      the'wings of its darkness over a toiling world. And God in the world willrestlessly toss .about in pex$ksity
      having finished another stretch of our weary  pilgrim-                                 because of the mighty powers of darkness, that


        7         4                                    T H E   ST.A'NDARD   B E A R E R

        threaten him, that threaten the Church-`and the dause There are a thousand problems that he cannot solve,
        of the Kingdom of our Lord, the devil> the:,&ld,  the
                                                .~          ,             innumerable burdens that are too heavy for him to
        power of sin . . . .                                              bear, mighty powers rising against him, which he is
             It is the hour of  anxious  r&ection  !                      too weak to oppose and  overcpme,  many things that,
             And it is of that hour that the poet speaks.                 might well fill his soul with fear and worry so that
             He will lay himself down and he is confident that he sleep would be far' from his eyes. But in the midst of
        will sleep, that he. ~11 find peace upon his `bed.                these, with the enemy raving and the billows of  afflici
             Not because his life was carefree and he knew noth- tion surging all about him he both lays himself down
        ing of the troubles and affliktions  of the present time.         and sleeps . . . .
        For, as in tiost of his songs, so also here he speaks of              Because he knows that he dwells in  perfect  safety.
        his distress and  suff&ings.  He was in trouble. Evil                 And he dwells in safety, becausc!_J_ehoxab  ma&sit
        men crowded all about him and turned his glory into $9. He surrounds  .hhn and keeps watch over him,
        shame; they loved vanity and sought after leasing. It while he lays himself down to sleep. And the watch of
        was a time in which many anxiously asked.: who will Jehovah makes his dwelling safe and secure over
        shew us any good?                                                 against all the troubles and dangers that might
             Neither is he confident of finding rest in sleep. in threaten to overwhelm him.
        that anxious ho.ur, when the soul is apt to commune                   Is not Jehovah the Almighty?
        with itself, because he was one of those supercillious                .&nd  that- He `is  -the%li%~hty, what else does it  -
        natures, that are not at all affected. by the troubles of imply than that there  ii no power beside Him, without
        this `present time, like dumb dogs and asses that lay Him, apart from Him, independent of Him? Oh, if the.
        down and sleep, untroubled by the .question whether Lord were merely the greatest among the great, the
        the dawn will find them alive ; thoughtless fools . . . . most powerful among the mighty, the strbngest  of all
             But he speaks the language of calm assurance, of the strong, there might still be reason to fear and be
        quiet confidence, because somehow he got rid of his anxious ; for do not the strong sometimes overcome him
        burdens.                                                          that is stronger than they? And if enemies and dan-
             The burdens are there and he is fully conscious of gers were powers in themselves, might they not still
        them.                                                             disturb the soul of the poet by their presence, even
             Needs and wants, troubles and afflictions, distress though he knew that the Lord were stronger than they
        and suffering, vain men that hate him, wicked men all? Might they not come upon him unawares, sur-
        that .seek his hurt, ungodly men, that plot for his de- prising even the Lord that kept watch over His sleep-
        struction in the darkness of the night, - he is aware             ing servant ?     But now, the' Lord, Jehovah, is the
        of them all!                                                      Almighty! He is not merely supremely powerful among
             Yet, somehow he feels perfectly safe; he is assured the mighty, but there is no power apart from Him. The
        that all things are well with him.                                enemies, the dangers, the storms of trouble and the
             And in the confidence of that blessed assurance he billows of aflliction, - all these have no power, cannot
        says :                                                            stir, are most absolutely helpless but by the Will of
 .-- .-. . ..- `I -will--b-oth .~ay me down -in peace.- aad~ -slags! _-. - ~ -.- mbm.tha;t.  .keeps .wtitehs Tf -Hg.liEe.s  watcK-o.&-oi.  --. -
                                                                          bedside, if He is the Sentin standing guard over our
                                                                          abode, He will make us dwell in safety !
                                                                              Alld no enemy of His people, no power of evil that
             Peaceful rest !                                              would do them hurt, ever surprises Him, so that they
             But how does the psalmist attain to that tranquil            would not do His bidding.
        state of mind and heart?                                              For this Almighty Guard at the dwelling of His
             Where' is his ground for the calm assurance that he          people is the All-wise God !
        will both lay himself down and sleep, without being
        anxious and careful about many things?                                He willed eternally that no harm should come to
             Thou, Jehovah, only makest me dwell in safety!               them that love Him, but that all things should work
         There is the answer!                                             together for their good! For He ordained them for
                                                                          eternal glory. And He willed and counselled all things
             Jehovah is the sole ground of David's confidence.            so, that they must he means unto that end of the sal-
        In  Him alone he puts all his trust.' And it is this trust vation of His people. In His all-comprehensive wisdom
        in the Lord alone that causes him to be at peace with He assigned to all things, small and great, good and
        the world, with all things, enemies, dangers,  threaten-          evil, their appointed and proper place, and the place of
I  .    ing, troubles and afflictions included.                           all things is such that they  must co-operate for the
             He is aware of the fact, that the enemy prowls               good of them whom He loved before the foundation of
        about his dwelling in the darkness of the night. He is the world.  Plenty  but also scarcity, rain but also
        keenly conscious of their murderous purposes. He is               drought, health but also sickness, friends but no less
        acquainted with many troubles that even now afflict               enemies, the, good but also the wicked, the devil and
        him. And he knows not what the  -morzow  may bring. his demons  as well as Michael and his angels, joy and


                                                                              :
                                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARE'R                                                       75
                                                                                      \
                        sorrow, peace and war, life and death, all things serve we lay ourselves down to sleep. Our soul finds no
                        the predestinating purposes of Jehovah. For Himself rest . .  i  .
                        works out His counsel. And He neither slumbers nor                 Thou only!
                        sleeps. No enemy can evade Him to do His beloved                   Away with all other ground of trust and assurance !
                        harm. How safe, then, is the dwelling' over which He               Away with all idols, product of our own imagina-
                        keeps -watch !                                              t i o n !
                           For He is Jehovah!                                              Jehovah alone makes us dwell in safety.
                            Faithful and true He is in His unchangeable love               Our eye fixed on Him!
                        toward His people  i                                               The prayer in our hearts and upon our lips : Lord
                            His watch will be constant!                             lift/Thou  up the light of Thy countenance upon us!-
                            He is the Unchangeable God in Himself and with                 And all anxious questionings shall cease; no more
                        Him there is no variebleness nor shadow of turning. will we ask, with a heart filled with needless care: who
                        And as He is in Himself, so immutable is He in His love will shew us any good ? He that `clothes the grass and
                        and His saving purpose with respect to those, whom He cares for the sparrow, will He forget. you, `0, ye of little
                        ordained to be made like unto, the image of His Son. faith ?
                        He keepeth covenant and truth with them that fear                  And in peace we will dwell in safety. And with the
                        `Him, forever and ever !                                    poet of the psalm we shall. be able to say: I will both
                        ,? How safely, then, dwells he, whose abode is `guarded lay me down and sleep !
                        by Jehovah, ! `-                               `.                  Till the storms be past!
                            Thou, Lord, makest me dwell in safety!                                                                         H    .            H.


                                                                                                         WEES TOCH ItUSTIG
                            Thou only !                                                          Wees tech rustig, als een landman
                           In the midst of a thousand dangers lurking the child                    Wilde  loten bij u ziet;
                        of God dwells in safety.  '                                              `t Snoeimes zal Hij  we1 gebruiken,
                           His safety lies in  `the strong protection of the                       Maar onnoodig snij.dt Hij met !
                        Almighty and All-wise, faithful covenant-God, that sur-                  Niet  te vroeg en niet te spade,
                        rounds him like an impregnable fortress.                                   Zet Hij nooit het.mes  er in;
       :.  .  1         And the knowledge of it, the assurance  .that                            Zal een rank ooit vruchten dragen,                  .'
;:            ./
:  `Z.  :  /
.      .     .:                                                                                    Dan is lijden het begin.           '
._...                   Jehovah thus cares for him and stand guards at his
_:   .  .               dwelling, is the source of that calm confidence he ex-                   Wees  tech rustig, ook als  Jezus.
                        presses in the words: I will both lay me down and                          Toelaat, dat u `t vuur verzengt,
                        s l e e p ! -                                                            En in plaats van u te helpen,
                   i       He is at peace with Jehovah.                                            U in zwaarder lijden brengt.
                           `Hence, he is at peace with all things!
                                _  _ __                                                          Weet-tech  : `Hij wil u slechts  rein'gen           -
                          And note, now, that this confidence of the poet is so                    Van wat daag'lijks Hem bedroeft;             .
                        strong and assured, because it is undividedly fixed on                   Zal het goud gansch zuiver  blinken,
                        the Lord his God. The.Lord &one  makes him lie down'                       Dan moet `t in het vuur beproefd.
                        -and dwell `in safety. It is not the Lord and his own
                        power or ingenuity that is the basis of his trust, the                   Wees  tech rustig, ook als Jezus
                        source of his caqn'assurance;  it is not the Lord and                      U geheel als offer vraagt;
                        his armies, his horses and his chariots, that constitute                 En uw leven meer het kenmerk
                        the ground of his carefreeness. It is the Lord alone!                      Van Zijn smaad en lijden draagt.
                           `Thus it must needs be.                                               Me9gekruisigd,  me&verrezen,
                           We ,are apt to divide our trust between self and                        Deelgenoot in heerlijkheid ;
                        Jehovah, between men and the Lord, or between ,many                      Dat zijn zij, die als Zijn leden,
                        things and the Most High. More than- we are willing                        Christus  gansch zijn toegewijd.
                        to admit to ourselves our hope is frequently .fixed on
                        the creature and our confidence is  ,put in princes. To
                        many imaginary rocks we cling in times of troubles                         Als de levensstormen  woeden,
                        for strength and refuge. And always these little rocks                        En de vrees mijn hart verlamt,
                        of our own imagination are deceiving, vain,. and they                      Dan zal ik de toevlucht nemen
                        fail us. Trusting in them we imagined that we could                          In ..de schaduw van Gods hand.
                        lay ourselves down in peace and sleep. But they ,drop                      Wil Hij  mij beproeving  zenden,
                        from:under us, they prove but sinking sand, and as                           Lijd `k op aarde smart en pijn?
                        they. crumble away when we would cling to them, our                        `k Weet, het is Zijn Vaderliefde,
                        soul is anew filled with fear and worry, and in vain do                      Dat zal steedsmijn troost hier zijn.


 ;z:$,:li :.
 ;:i,:., y
 .7,-c  :
 :
               : :: ./ 8o'                                                      T H E   STANDA'RD   B E A R E R
               `.  :
                                                                                                       the distance between the new settlements and the
                                       1                           A B R A H A M
                                       I                                                               homeland was wide, so that the conviction cannot be,
                                                In the centuries preceding the call of Abraham, the escaped that, had it been the purpose of God to place
                                            Lord, so it was pointed out' in our previous essay, had Abraham beyond the reach'of the demoralizing influ-
.,  :                                       been engaged in working in`His people by means of the ence of idolatry, He could have done no better than to
                                            events which.He had caused to.transpire,  that aptitude permit him to remain were he was. However, let there
,:  ;.                                      of,mind  and heart necessitated by a more distinct reve- be no misunderstanding. We do not, of course, mean
                                            lation of the scheme of redemption. The proper suscept- to deny that God, in calling Abraham, was moved by-
:-.                                         ibility having been worked,. the Lord directs a call to the purpose to beget and preserve for Himself a people
                                       I the aforesaid patriarch to the effect that He get him out with whom He could  pernetually  live on a friendly
 `:..                     `. I
      :. . . . of his country, and from his kindred, and from his footing. What we' deny is that the Lord in order to
1:  -' father's house, unto a land God wiI1 show him. With achieve His. purposes was seen to shut up the church
                                            the call of Abraham God is seen attaching Himself to militant in an asylum in order that all contact between
                                            a single individual of whom He will make a great it and the world might cease. The mode of existence
                                            nation. Abraham's name. shall be great, and he shall signified by the term morzasticism  is of a kind disap-
                                            be a blessing. Those blessing him the `Lord will bless. proved of by heaven, and stands for a type of piety
                `. Upon those cursing him will likewise be made to  de- in line with Anabaptistic philosophy.
       I  `I
              .`._                          volve the curse of ,heaven,  and, in- him shall all the       The exponents of the above view in addition to re-
            . . .
       ;;;;:.;  i; nations  ,of the earth be blessed.                                                  garding the land of Canaan as a sort of monastery'into
       I;, . . i                               The first question in order is why this call ; why this which Abraham was ordered to retreat to thereupon
       ;. L.`.
            . . . singling out of, a. lone personage. Why does the Lord close the door forever upon a forsaken world, maintain
                                            retire from the whole compass of the race of Noah into that the' family of Abraham constituted in turn the
                                       j the inner circle of the family' of Abraham? Why is asylum in which' the Lord retreated in order to pre-
                                       1 Abraham bid to leave his native land, `to break away serve a knowledge of His name. The idolatrous. state
                                       : from kindred and father's house, to migrate to another of the world, it is said, required this step, so that, had
                                            land? The current view to the effect that these orders the step not been taken, the service and knowledge of
                                            were given in order to preserve the true religion ; that the true God would soon have disapeeared  from the'
                                            ,this  step was required by the state of a world having face of the world. In other words, the deciding or
            . . :
 : :.                                       lapsed into idolatry and profaneness, is without commanding. cause of the .call was not the almighty,
 :.  .I.
;.  .:,.:(`a grounds. For what is manifestly meant is that God, sovereign and free will of God, but the prevailing
                                            would He preserve `the true religion, was compelled to and growing evil tendencies of the age. The raising
                                       :' disengage's  single individual from the profane society up of Abraham was a sort of emergency policy adopted
                                  : of which he constituted .a part, to plant him in a land to stay if possible the rapid advances of profanity.
                                  j far removed from the evil influences radiating from Such are the sentiments coming to the surface in the
                                            the center quitted.                                        following selection :
                                               When placed in the light of. the facts at our corn;      "Die afzondering van Abraham was  noodzakelijk-
                                            mand, the view is seen to be altogether untenable. met het oog op de volvoering van den heilsraad Gods.
                     i                      For,. to begin with, the type of .religion  and morality of Snel was onder Noachs  .nakomelingen  de verbastering
                                  j
:`. ,:.; :_. ./ the men with whom Abraham was thrown in contact in van den  waren dienst des Heeren toegenomen. `We1
      .(
: ,,:...  I. ;`. the new country, is known to be .inferior to that of the was de kennis van den eenigen waren  God niet geheel
,. LI .I .: community he was bade to leave. The Canaanites were uitgesloten. Niet alleen tech blijkt Terahs huis van die
                                            idolators,  - a doomed race, engaged in filling the ini- kennis niet gansch te zij'n ontvreemd, en wordt Lot
                                            quitous cup. The cities of this country were centers een rechtvaardige genoemd, maar ook in een Abimelech
                                            of ungodliness. ,Some of their number  - the cities of en een Melchizedek wordt eerbied en `vreeze gevonden
                                            the plain - had become even then proverbial for `their voor den God van Abraham. `Maar  daarnaast nam de
                                            wickedness.    True, the community which Abraham afgoderij hand over hand toe. De krachten en  ver-
                                            quitted is encountered upon the pages of Holy Writ schijnselen der. natuur werden meer en meer met God
                                            as likewise idolatrous. The book of Joshua asserts zelf  vereenzelvigd  en straks tot  goden  verheven. En
                                            that the  fan& of Terah, Abraham's father, served' de  terafun  bij  Laban,  zelfs nog bij Rachel gevonden,.
                                            idols. However, though contaminated with, the con- wijzen  heen  naar  een voortwoekerend polytheisme, dat
                                            tagion of idolatry, the fact remains that the regions het licht der kennis van den eenigen waren  God ver-
                                            Abraham was ordered to leave, constituted the cradle duisterde. Jozua getuigde dan ook later tot `Israel :
                                            of the antediluvian humanity and thus the locality `Over gene zijde der rivier hebben uwe vaderen  van
                                            where the sacred traditions of Noah and the knowl- ouds gewoond, namelijk Terah, de Vader  van Abraham,
                                            edge of the service of the true God were being pre- en de Vader  van Nahor, en zij hebben anderen goden
                                            served. The aforesaid region constituted the centre gediend' (Joz. 24  :2)  . Nu is het we1 waar, dat Abra-
                                            from which the fathers of the races encountered by ham ook in Kanaan stuitte op afgodische stammen,
                                            Abraham in Canaan had migrated. And knowledge of maar daar waren de volkeren hem vreemd en was. mits-
                                            God was dim, and profanity gross in the degree that dien het gevaar voor vermenging minder groot, en ook


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        81

   was  toen `de ongerechtigheid der Ammorieten nog niet it is not altogether true, as will be shown in the
   volkomen' (Gen. 15 : 16). Bovendien zou hun toene- sequence, that with Abraham God was seen to retreat
   mende afval van God  worden gestraft met, hun onder-          from the entire compass of humanity into the inner
   gang door het volk der openbaring. Welnu,   oPdzt de circle of a single family. Further, that the Lord must
   ware km&s nief xou verloren ggan, maar in een afge-. order Abraham to emigrate to Canaan in order to pre-
   zonderden kring tot rijker ontplooEng  zou komen, en serve, by means of a natural estrangement, the true
   de belofte des heils niet zou verstikken, maar als een knowledge, is absurd and shown up to be false by the
   levende  kracht zou doorwerken, verwekte God Abra- subsequent history of the church. Abraham become
   ham" (Dr. Sillivis Smitt,  Naadbqek   moor de  `HeiZige the father of a people constituted of children of the
   Geschiedenis,  deel I, p. 55).                                flesh as wall as of children of the promise. The two
      In the above-cited selection the view is clearly ex- groups constituted one family and continued to dwell in
   pounded that Abraham's constancy is to be explained the same land. If it be true that the holy seed must
   from the fact that the danger of amalgamation be- perish if living in close proximity to its fleshly kinds-
   tween him and the  ,surrounding  Canaanitic world had men, the Lord would be repeatedly compelled to sep-
  `been reduced to a minimum in that he, in response to arate locally the wheat from the chaff and to transport
  the Divine command, had settled in a territoFy peopled the former to new regions. The plain teachings of
   by men to whom he was a total stranger; that, furtlier, Scripture are that the local separation will not be made
  the  true knowledge of God would have suffered a total until the day of Christ. In the mean time, the prayer
  eclipse, had this move net been made. His being a of Christ is not that "Thou shouldest take them  `oiTt of
  stranger, then, was made to constitute the wall shut- the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from
  ting him off from the world and its evil influences.           evil,' (John  17  :15). In fine, the entire view to the
  The Lord, then, in order to preserve the true religion, effect that God wa8 compellkd  to retreat with Abraham
  shuts himself up within the confines of a single family, into a monastery is  a.thought-structure  reposing upon
  and together with. this family retreats into a mon- a, basis constituted of Pelagian and Anabaptistic
  astery. Such are indeed the modes of thought cir- tenets. It is the outgrowth, further, of an extremely
  culating through the above-cited paragraph together superficial conception of Abraham's mode of life, to-
  with the one preceding it which reads:                         wit, that of a stranger, in the land of Canaan. Yet,
      "De  roeping van Abraham is een machtig keerpunt strange to say,. the exponents of the theory of common
  in de heilige  geschiedenis. Zij leidt pns van bet, wereld-    grace, who pride themselves on having hatched. out a
  tooneel naar de enge grenzen van het heilige land. De world and life view uncontaminated with the con-
  openbaring Gods trekt  zich terug van de breede basis tagion of Anabaptism, have clasped to their bosom the
  van het volkerenleven naar het bijzonder erfdeel van above-cited view. In Borstius'  Primer  of  Bible Truths
  Gods verkiezing. Niet op de `werkingen  van de alge- by Revs. H. Beets and M. Bosma, one happens upon the
  meene, maar op die der bijzondere  geriade gaat nu al following question: "What did God do to preserve the
  het licht vallen. Het gentideverbond, in het Paradijs true religion? Ans. `God called Abram apart to pre-
  opgericht, treedt' sterk op den voorgrond tegenover het serve the true religion."
---natuurlijk-  Perbond,-da&met  Noach  .gesloten  was. D.e---  What then map have..been  the--purpose of the call?.--.
 breede stroomen gaan  zich verengen in een smalle bed- In ,replying  we set out with the assertion  that if this
  ding, om in de volheid  der tijden weer tot alle volken subject is to be brought to a successful issue, a distinc-
  en  nati& te  worden teruggeleid."                             tion must be drawn  between Abraham and the race
      To the criticism already brought. to bare on the of which he was to become the- father, and the. former
  above-presented view of the purpose of Abraham's be dealt with separately respecting those purposes of
  calling, the following addition rimst `be made. Attend- God of which his life aid mode of existence was seen
  ing to the above-cited selections, the discovery is made to be a realization. Abraham then must be set apart
  that the period ending with the flood is said to  be one and viewed as a personage rendered by God's grace
  of common grace. It is a period tiharacterized,  so it is capable of serving in some special manner the interests
  heid, by a universal display of Divine grace, effecting of heaven. This having been done, we will be ready to
  all men, - a grace especially operative in the checking institute an investigation into the ultimate goal toward
  of sir;. However, the Divine attempt to stay the  prog- which the Lord wag moving when He attached to Him-
ress of corruption must be admitted to have ended in self a single individual and his promised seed.
  a dismal  failure, for the antediluvian race soon degen-          What then may have been the near purpose of the
  erated in all its branches. Failing to accomplish what call? Why was Abraham bid to take up his residence
  He set out to do in the larger area, the Lord retreated in the land of Canaan? For one thing, to `dwell in this
  from the compass of the world into the family circle           dark and sin-stricken region as the walking altar of
  of Abraham to preserve the true religion. The ques- Jehovah, as the friend-servant of the Most High, as
  tion cannot be quelled, if the Lord failed to keep His on& emitting in this dark area the pure light from
  house in order in the world at large, what, was there heaven, as the espouser, finally, of the cause of God.
  that could serve as a guarantee that His efforts would Abraham, therefore, in agreement with his calling,
  meet with better success in the smaller circle. Further, builded  an altar to the Lord in every important district


        82        ,                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAlttER

        of the  ,land where he would temporarily settle. "And light was to them a savor of' death unto death. They
       Abraham passed through the land unto the place of were made to see that they might not see and to hear
        Shichem, unto the plain of  Moral1  . . . . and there that they might not understand. Even so, when the
       builded  he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto last' of the patriarchs finally departed for Egypt,
        him" (Gen. 12  :7).      "And he removed from thence            Canaan was .more  than ever without excuse.
        unto a mountain east of Bethel . . . . and there he                 That the patriarchs' presence was known through-
        builded  an altar unto the Lord, and called upon the            out the borders of Canaan is more than likely. For, to
       name of the Lord" (Gen. 12 :8). "And he went on his begin with, they lived a nomadic life, roaming the
       journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place regions of the country whose borders they had entered.
       where his tent had been from the beginning: and there They had much cattle and were attended by many
       Abraham called upon the name of the Lord,' (Gen. 15 :            servants as is evident from the fact that Abraham was
        3). "Then Abram removed his tent, and came to dwell able to mobilize an army of three hundred men. Such
       in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and build             a company would most certainly attract attention. So
       there an altar unto the Lord" (Gen.  15:18). This it did. And the kings of the land, seeing them, deemed
       building of  altars and calling upon the name of the them rich, and powerful, ranked them with princes,
       Lord are acts constituting a public worship and                  and feared them.
       amounts on the part of Abraham to a confession of                    So, then, at least one of the reasons for the call was
       the name of Jehovah before a race of men who had to provide Canaan with a fresh revelation of God in
        changed the glory of this name into an image made               order to deprive, with a view to the coming judgment,
       like unto corruptible man and the truth of God into a the native tribes of every excuse. However, from the
       lie. However, traces of native piety still remained as notices of Scripture we gather that there were `those
       is evidenced by the appearance of  such personages as among the Canaanites who, drawn by the light  Abra-
        Melchizedek. Be this as it may, the' population as a ham emitted, blessed him and the name of his God, and
       whole was a seed of evil doers that had made a begin- were therefore blessed by his God. Such a one was
       ning of corrupting its way before the Lord. Such cer- Melchizedek, king of Salem, whom Abraham en-
       tainly is` the implication of the Divine notice to the           countered on his return from the slaughter of the
       effect that "the iniquity of the Amorites (a name                kings. So it appears that the aversion to the effect
       signifying the most powerful tribe of the Canaanites that the Lord retired from the whole compass of the
       and standing here for the whoie people) was not yet              race of Noah to the inner circle of the family of Abra-
     full" (Gen.' 15  :12). Abraham's task is then  cltiar.  In ham is a statement in the need of considerable modifi-
      Canaan he, as well as the church of Christ of any                 cation. Fact is, that Abraham, as was said, was ren-
       period, is made to encounter the wiles of the devil, and         dered by grace the defuser of a light serving as the
       to  wrestle  against principalities, against powers, vehicle of true knowledge - a light condemning the
       against the  rulers  of the darkness of this world,              world in which the patriarchs moved yet drawing to
       against spiritual wickedness in high places. He shall it as many of the aforesaid race as the Lord had known
       therefore take to himself the whole  armour of God,              before the world's foundations. That the theocracy
.-_ _. -that-h&may-be.able.to  stand-in-the-evil-dayi- and having -especially--at -a latter -da&attracted'-as-  well .as repelled-- - --.--.-.
       done in to stand. Abrtiham  in Canaan was as a sheep is a  propositidn  resting on solid ground. That there
       among wolves and as a lone sheep h&d to fight the good were found in the heathen world who blessed Abraham
       fight of faith, be strong in the Lord and in the power           and the people of which he became the root and the
       of His might. It is by a contest of this kind that the representative can be proven. Their number may have
       Zord worketh in His people constancy and patience and been small, yet they were there. This is a  m&ter,
       that hope that knows how to rejoice in the hope of the however, to which we hope to do full justice in another
       glory of God. Abraham had to be led into an environ- connection. What we emphasize now is that Canaan
       ment where his choice of God would constitute the was a monastery neither for Abraham nor for his seed;
       other side of his rejection of Satan, the  tiorld  and that      Both the Israel that was brought up out of Egypt and
       which is out of the world. Such an environment was Abraham found this land upon their arrival in it in-
       the land  o? Canaan.                                             fested with Canaanites, upon whom both this people
               Abram's sojourn in Canaan had, to be sure, a mean-       and its father had. to make war. Abraham's struggle,
       ing for the Canaanites. He being the walking altar of however, was purely a spiritual one; his sword was the
       God, the city of light upon a hill, his appearance in the word ; his shield the shield of faith. Not upon him but
       land of promise meant that the apostate tribes he en-            upon his  posterit?  devolved the task of renovating this
       countered were being brought in contact with one land from its accursed inhabitants. There always re-
       radiating the li&ht from'heaven, one declaring by the            mained, however, heathen nation among and about
       life he lived the glories of God in the light of which the Israel, so that Canaan never became for it a region,
       seared conscience of the sinner regains  its voice to            where it was not exposed to temptation. Throughout.
       corroborate the Divine testimony to the effect that man their entire career, the children of Israel were placed
       is obliged to -eschew evil and serve the living God. The in a position to choose whom they would serve, whether
       subsequent history of the Canaanites show that this the god which their fathers served that were on the


                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               83

other side of the fiood, the gods of the Amorites in         the Lord doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old
whose land they dwelt, the gods of the tribes occupy-         upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
ing the lowlands and the plain, or, the Lord God of Thou shalt also consider in thy heart, that as a man
Israel. Doing the former, they would come to grief.           chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth
Cleaving unto the Lord, they would be "like  ~a  tree- thee.. Therefore shalt thou keep the commandments
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways and to fear
fruit in his season, whose leaf fadeth not and who him . . . Who led thee through that great and terrible
prospers in all that he doeth." The land of Canaan wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions,
was indeed meant to be a territory cleansed from the          and drought, where there was no water; who brought
pollution of idolatry, a region ridden of the tribes that thee forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed thee
had corrupted the land. The point is, however, that in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew
the task of exterminating these tribes was one in which not, that he might humble thee, and  that  79,e  might
the children of Israel must participate. The Lord will prove thee, to do thee. good  nt thy latter end . . .  ."
indeed convert Canaan into a safe dwelling place for          (Deut.  8:3-16).  Further, if a prophet should arise
His people, but this people in turn must be willing to       among the children of Israel, or a dreamer of dreams,
convert Canaan into a house fit for its God. In fine, and would give them a sign or a wonder, and the
Israel, during the entire period of its national exist- sign or the wonder should come to pass, whereof he
ence, was placed in an opportunity to fight the battles spake unto them, saying, "Let us go after other gods,
of Jehovah its God within its own borders and on its which thou hast not known and let us serve them," it
frontiers. The land of Canaan was no region in which, was that the Lord their God might prove them, to know
a house-cleaning campaign had been in progress and whether they loved the Lord their God with all their'
completed -before Israel took possession of it, but a heart and with all their soul, Deut. 13 :l-4. The Lord
house still occupied when Israel stood before its door. purposely refrained from driving out from before
This door was battered down by the Lord alone (the Is.rael  the nations which Joshua left when he died, that
capture of Jericho). Israel, thereupon was bade to through them he might prove  Israel, whether they will
enter and to expel1 in the strength of Jehovah the re- keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, as their
maining occupants. To the extent that this people was fathers did keep it, or not, Judges  2:22.  Again this
faithful in the execution of its charge, did Canaan be- Scripture: Now these are the nations which the Lord
come a land where the smoke of incense burnt to false left,, to prove Isrc~el  by them, even as many of Israel
gods, no longer poisoned the atmosphere. If this is          as' had not known all the wars of Canaan; only that
true, and it is true, the view to the effect that God in the generations of the children of Israel might know,
order to preserve the true religion retreated with to teach them war, at the least such as before knew
and in Abraham and his seed from the plain of nothing thereof ; namely, the lords of the Philistines,
battle, into a region beyond the reach of the                and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the
evil influences of idolatry, a region where the devil Hevites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount
went not about as a roaring lion seeking his prey, a
         `-~...----`-.       _ _   I-_  _-  ._  -.._ . . .^ . .  _ Baaldhermon  unto the entering in 
                                                                         ._-..-_   -  -.-.               of.HammathZ-  .And.-.-
?egidnFtherefore, bearingall  the earmarks of a mon- they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether
astery,  - if .what is presented above is true, this view they would  harken  unto the commandments of the
falls to the ground. The idea that God saves his chil- Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand
dren by removing the temptation, the trial of faith, in-. of Moses, Judges 3 :l-4. And of Hezekiah it is re-
stead of strengthening them for the test of their love to    corded that of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto
which He submits them, is most certainly in con'flict him to inquirer of the wonder that was done in the
with the method of God as we learn to know it from land, God left him, to  try him, that he might know all
Scripture. It was God who planted in the garden of that was' in his heart, II Chron. 32 :31. These same
Eden the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He is           sentiment come to the surface in the writings of the
said, further, to have tempted Abraham by ordering apostles.              Paul. glories in tribulation : knowing that
him to offer his only son Isaac, Gen. 22 :l. The Lord "tribulation worketh patience ; and patience experi-
proved Israel by leading them to the bitter waters of ence; and experience hope, and hope maketh not
Marah,  Ex: 25 95; by raining bread from heaven for ashamed ; because the love of  .God is shed abroad in our
them and by thereupon charging them to go out and hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us"
gather a certain rate every day, Ex. 16 :4 ; by declaring (Ram. 5:3-6). James urges his brethren to count it
unto them His law from the summit of the Mount, Ex. all joy when they fall into divers temptations; know-
20 :20. In order to prove  ,Israel, to know what was in ing this that the trying of their faith worketh patience,
his heart, whether' he would keep His (the Lord's)           James 1:2. And Peter, finally, speaking of the hope of
Commandments or no, the Lord humbled him (Israel  j          the children of God, says: "Though now for a season,
and suffered him to hunger, and fed him with manna, if need .be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temp-
which he knew not, neither his fathers "that he might tations:  that the trial of your faith, being much more
make thee know that man doeth not live by bread only, precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and


                  84                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                  glory at the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ" (I confederacy contemplated could not be tolerated by the
                 Pet. 13).                                                    Lord for it was to be a compact defying the authority.
                        The view, then, that the Lord places his children of heaven, and having for its aim the preservation and
                 beyond the reach of the  temptor  in order to lessen the salvation of humanity by means other than those or-
                 danger of apostacy  is seen to be in violent conflict with dained by God. That the above-cited manner of Divine
                 the current teachings of Holy Writ. Trial, temptations interference should have halted these men in their at-
                 constitute the spiritual gymnastics for the believer and tempt at organization by compelling them to scatter,
                 are, for this reason, absolutely needful. Not the faith is not difficult to see. What happened is that the new
                 and love that says yes because it lacks the opportunity humanity was split up into a number of distinct  so.zial
                 to say anything else, but the faith that abides when units- between which no intercourse and co-operation
                 submitted to the test, that grapples with the forces of was possible because of the diversity of speech. In-
                 iniquity and overcomes, - this is the faith that brings terests likewise necessarily ceased to  be common.  and
                 into relief that the Father's hold upon his children is became diverse. The result was estrangement between
                 of a kind that no one can pluck them out of .His hand.      the various groups, which soon developed into hostil-
                 It is the tried faith, therefore, that is found unto ity. Ere long the one group was seen to pitch itself
                 praise and glory at the appearing of Christ. In its over against the other. In the ensuing struggle the
                 deepest sense the view that God shut up Abraham in a stronger would prevail and the weak pushed farther
                 monastery is a denial of the absolute sovereignty of away from humanities' new cradle, would voluntarily
                 God. The view involves its exponents in a most de- set out in quest of new territory impelled by such
                 grading conception of God.                                  natural impulses as hunger, self-preservation, love of
                        Abraham, then, as a sojourner in Canaan must adventure or conquest. The only solution for the sud-
                 assert himself as the friend of God and a hero of faith.    den and violent restlessness of that age is the confusion
                 And the call that came to him was fitted to send him on of tongues. The movement once begun would con-
                 along a path that could serve as heaven's means of tinue on an ever larger scale. Abraham's immigration
                 drawing out of him and bringing into relief the piety as such, so it appears, was in keeping with the trend
                 `and faith that had been implanted in his bosom. Such of that day. Further, the promise, when separated
                 even was at least one of the very purposes of the call from its divine source - the Lord - was at least in
                 as such and the promise attached to it, which we now part of a kind that would appeal even to the carnal
                 fmst of all shall consider. Said the Lord God to him: mind. Many a one, otherwise disinclined to move,
                 "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, would be quick to respond to a request of his earthly
                 and from thy faither's house, unto a land that I will       sovereign to take  up  his residence in a new territory if
                 show thee." To the above command was attached, the he could feel certain that in the new regions he would
                 promise. to the effect that of him the Lord will make a attain to fame, and become the father of a new nation.
                 great nation, will bless him, make his name great. He           Further, let it be said in this connection that the
                 shall be a blessing. Those blessing him the Lord will faith required to lay hold on the original promise was
-.-.. - . . .    -bless,--those  cursing him will likewise be cursed by not as great ,as the faith needed to embrace the addi-
                                                                                  -  -  I._.  -.  -___. ___ __. __      .__ -..-..- ._-. m
                 heaven.                                                     -tioiis that were made later on. Abraham;' to begin with,
                        Such was the content of the original call and the was ordered to settle in a land that God `would show
                 first promise - a call and a promise which must be him. However, he was not aware at this juncture that
                 kept apart from the later additions and considered by this land was already occupied. Not until he en-
                 itself. Let us do so. T,he implications of this promise countered the Canaanites in the plain of Morah did he.
                 will  be,dealt  with in another connection.                 know that the land the Lord had selected for him was
                        The matter which we must now emphasize is that already settled. This is evident from the fact that the
                 the immigrating Abraham is a most unique spectacle statement to the effect that "the Canaanite was then in
                 of his day. What was there that made him so? In the land," occurs after the record to the effect that
                 replying we set out with the observation that his im- Abraham passed through the land unto the place of
                 migration as such, separated from all the attending Shichem, unto the plain of Moreh. Thereupon one may
                 circumstances, was not an uncommon sight. For it read, "And the Canaanite was then in the land." What
                 occurred in an epoch of immigration. Centuries before is more, the Lord, though assuring Abraham at the
                 new nations had been forming. Time and again colo- outset that of him He would make a great nation, re-
                 nists had quit the plains of Mesopotamia pushing one frained from adding at this time that Sarah his wife -
                 another further west and east, each distinct group a woman even at that time far past age  - should be-
                 finding his  .ordained  place in the world. Scripture in- come the mother of this seed. The reason for these
                 forms us that the original resolve of this post-diluvian omissions is not far to seek. Abraham stands at the
                 race had been to prevent themselves from being scat- beginning of his special career. Compared with the
                 tered over the face of the earth, that the building of Abraham of the latter period, he is but a babe in
                 the tower of Babel represented an attempt to carry out Christ, and is dealt with accordingly. The Lord in His
                 the resolve, that because of the .confusion  of tongues, wisdom places before him such food as he can digest.
                 however, the attempt ended in failure. The' kind of            Once more we ask the. question, in what respect was


                                     .THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           85.

 the immigration of Abraham an altogether unique spec- which remain hidden until the day of Christ,, and can
 tacle? Let us see. Abraham at this time was  seventy-     not therefore be approached by the physical organs of
 five. years old, and Sarah had attained to the age of sense. However, it often happens .in the world that
 sixty. At this age the adventurous spirit of man is seen things are relinquished for things unseen. It hap-
 dead, ties of kindred are reluctantly broken and settled pens as often as a European immigrates to America.
 possessions given up with difficulty. It is a season of because he believes on the basis of a  timan testimony
 life characterized by .a well-developed inclination to that the unseen land is a better place to live. Men today
 retreat from the very active persuits  of life to' enter put their money into concerns or transactions. They
 upon a scheme of existence congruous with the age at- make great ventures and sometimes risk all they have.
 tained to. Abraham, it is clear, is asked to do the thing And thus they sacrifice the thing seen - the money at
 from which his nature must have shrank. Further, he hand - for the things unseen  - the large returns
 shall get him into a land the Lord a&El show him, not they expect to reap. This they do because they have
 knowing whither  (he  is going,; (Heb.  1153) respond, faith, - faith in the testimony of a fellow human that
 without being in a position to pass judgment on the the venture is safe, or faith in their own ability to
 wisdom and advisability of the course he was bid to. imagine correctly the future, to say with reasonable
 enter upon, follow, then, the directing finger of heaven' accuracy what is going to happen, and what not, ability
 blindly, that is, with the outcome lying beyond the to sift probabilities and chances, and to weight com-
 range of his observation. However, by the grace of mercial prospects. But what men refuse to do is to
 God he rises to the occasion. He went out, nit know- make a venture and to risk all or anything at all on the
 ing whither he we.&.                                      basis  of  the  testimony of  God that the venture is safe,
    Further, the promise, accompanying the Divine in- and is sure to bring worthwhile returns.
 junction was constituted of elements which, though            Abraham, however, did this very thing, to-wit, sur-
 alluring as such, were nevertheless characterized by a render his seen world - the good land where he lived,
 certain indefiniteness. What is to be the specific char- settled possessions,, the expectations of friends, ad-
 acter of the promised greatness? Who is to become vancement among men - for things unseen - an un-
 the mother of the promised seed? Sarah, who was known land, a great name, a prodigious posterity - on
 without child, and whose age had- carried her far the basis of the testimony of God to the effect that this
 beyond the season of child-bearing? These were mat- unseen world would be brought near to him. Believing
 ters upon which no light was at first shed. Further,      he hopefully goes on into the unknown. The moving
 the promise of a hrodigious posterity was one `to which principle of this immigrating Hebrew was faith in
 .a carnal mind would attach no significance for the rea- God. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for
 son that its fulfilment was dependent upon factors  over and the evidence of things not seen. To the things
which man has absolutely no control. Within certain hoped for  - the things unseen  - faith lends sub-
 limits man can imagine `the near future, determine stance, and is the evidence so that they become as real
 what shall be done on .the morrow, and expect to be in to the believer as the things of physical sight. It was
 a position to accomplish what is in his heart. The faith, then, that enabled Abraham to contemplate the
~~~friitfulnes~   of-the womb, "however,  .is a matter -con; contents of the- promise; -preposterous to the--carnal--
 cerning which man has least to say. Especially in the mind, as a grace of God to which he would. be joined.
 case of Abraham did this particular promise seem most For faith says that nothing is to wonderful for God,
 unlikely of realization if dissociated from the Almighty. and no sacrifice too great. It was faith, then, that ren-
 However, the entire promise, for reasons already given, dered this immigrating Hebrew a spectacle one of his
 was fitted to impress the carnal mind as a fanciful, kind. It was faith in a Divine promise, a faith for
 grotesque production of a pious dreamer, the musings which no self-denial was too great; a faith willing to
 of a religious fanatic. The promises of being made a stake all and to count all that was promised sure and
 .great  nation of, and of being constituted one in whom certain in that God had spoken; a faith regarding all
 all the nations of the earth will be blessed are of a things loss in order that God might be gained, and
 kind of which anyone devoid of grace must needs thus going forward into a desert in view of the prom-
 stagger. But why should predictions of this kind ised land beyond.
 failed to have set' in motion such to whom only the         - Abraham saw that God had something for him to
 things seen constitute the priceless pearl?  ' Surely, do and therefore places himself at His disposal. And
 every nation has its father, so that the thing promised let Him choose his destination. Though he had good
 was known to have happened before. The answer is land where he was, when he learned that God wished
 ready: the natural man refuses to attach any value to him elsewhere he went. Thus did he put his faith to
 a prediction directed to him by the Lord God and that the test.
 for the reason that he refuses to recognize God as an         All men, so we saw, have a confident hope in the
 authority. It  is said that the natural man refuses to     (earthly) future and therefore make sacrifices in order
 surrender things seen for the unseen things'. This, to that some larger good may come to them. What sacri-
 be sure, is most true, providing the term unseen things fice have you made that has for its reason the prom-
 be used to designate the things of the other world ises of God, the death and ascension of Christ? In


         66                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

        what are you poorer in this world that your reward                                           HET BEGIN VAN EEN ZACHTEN DOOD
        may be greater in heaven? For know well that the
        opportunity for the test of faith that was Abraham's                                       Uit het verslag van de vergadering van  Classis
        is ours as well. Says our Lord, "Follow Me, and                                        Grand Rapids West der Christelijke Gereformeerde
        every one that forsaketh houses, `or brethren, or sisters, Kerken, gehouden 10 en 11 Sept. l.l., me&en we, dat
        or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land& for deze  Classis reeds  bezig  geweest  is, om het besluit der
        My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall laatste Synode dier Kerken, de qrde van eeredienst
        inherit everlasting life." You will interpolate, I know, betreffende, een zoo  zacht  mogelijken dood te laten
        that the call directed to Abraham applied only to him, sterven. Zij heeft een verzoek in gereedheid  gebracht;
        that consequently we need not forsake houses and dat aan de volgende Syno"de  gericht zal worden  en dat
        brethren and the like to gain Christ. Very true in a luidt als volgt :
        sense., However, these houses and lands and friends                                        "a. Dat de Synode de kerk attent make op het feit,
        and brethren  mcty be standing between us and Christ,                                  dat Art. 70, H. 5, Acta 1928 niet absoluut eischt, dat de
        may constitute.the smoke-screen shutting  off our view Nieuwe Orde van Eeredienst worde ingevoerd. Het
        of heaven, or the weight retarding otir progress, and dringt er slechts op aan, tech (moet zijn dmh) alleen
        exerting upon us a reverse pull so that we retrogress in zoover dat (moet zijn : als) de vrede en welvaart der
        in the direction of the regions `of eternal night. In gemeente het toelaat.
        view of this, Christ spoke as He did.                                                      "b. Dat de Synode de invoering van de Orde van
                                                                                               Eeredienst  aan de kerkeraden  overlate  met het oog op
                                                                         G. M. 0.              den vrede der kerk en om de conscienti&  niet te bin-
                                                                                               den."c. Dat de Synode de kerkeraden aanspore om zoo
                                                                                               spoedig mogelijk  de Orde van Eeredienst in gebruik te
                                     IN MEMORIAM                                               nemen met het oog op de gewenschte eenheid in de
                                                                                               eeredienst in onze Kerk."
               Op den Xden  October 1929 behaagde het den Heere om tot                            Punt a is een poging om de eere van de Synode op
        Zich te nemen onze geliefde Vader, Groot- en Overgrootvader,                           te houden, en vooral om den schijn te behouden, dat zij
                                ALBERT L. BRUNSTING,                                           haar besluiten nog steeds voor vast eti bondig wil ge-
        in' den oiderdom van 78 j&en, 8 maanden en 1 dag.                                      houden hebben, ook dan als ze niet worden  uitgevoerd.
               Zacht  en kalm ontsliep hij in zijnen Heer en Heiland, dien hij                    Zoo was het immers met de Drie `Punten  van 1924?
        in zijn leven met blijdschap des  harten  gediend had.                                    Zij moesten  voor  vast en bondig gehouden  worden.
               Schenke de Heere ons den rijken troost die Hij in Zijn                          En wie zich aan die Synodale  bepalingen niet Wilde on-
        Woord bns beloofd  heeft.                                                              derwerpen, werd eenvoudig de  deur, der Kerken  uitge-
                           Nameis de bedroefde kinderen  en familie,                          zet. Destijds had de Synode niets anders gedaan dan
                                            Mr. en Mrs. A. L. Brunsting                       een drietal punten  aannemen. Er was niet eens op aan-
                     .                      Rev. en Mrs. L. Brunsting                         gedrongen, dat ze ook zouden  worden  gehandhaafd.
_.____.__I___._.          ._ . . . . .._____ _.  Mr. en Mrs. Henry
                                         -..- .-..........__...-..  -- .--   Bmns$ipg   _.    -T-wee .betrokken-breeders;  die- van- alle--zijd~n--~~~~~~l;`--
                                            Mr. en Mrs. Ed. Van der Werff                     digd waren geworden, werden door-de Synode niet eens
                                            Mr. en Mrs. D. Van Maanen
                                            Mr. en Mrs. Henry Van Maan&                       lastig gevallen. Ze behoefden niets te beloven. Ze
                                            En 28 kleinkinderen en 3  achter-                 werden niet eens ter verantwoording  geroepen. Hun'
                                               kleinkinderen.                                 zaak werd door de Synode niet eens aanhangig gemaakt
           Hull, Iowa.                                                                        bij hunne kerkeraden. Maar  toen werd er van alle
                                                                                              kanten geschreeuwd: wat de Synode besluit moet voor
                                                                                              vast en bondig gehouden worden  !
                                                                                                  Thans ligt er weer een besluit der Synode.
                             EEN KIND DES LICMTS                                                  Het besluit `van de Nieuwe Orde van Eeredienst,
                                                                                              inhoudende de veel besproken absolutie.
                             `t Is geen geringe zaak                                              De Synode besloot zulk een nieuwe orde van eere-
                             Een kind des  lichts te heeten.                                  dienst in te voeren. Die orde gold voor alle Christe-
                             Leef dan in teederheid                                           lijke Gereformeerde Kerken. Zelfs werd  er bij uitge-
                             Voor `s Heeren aangezicht.                                       sproken, dat het invoeren van zulk een orde niet mocht
                             Dat ieder, die u ziet,                                           worden  overgelaten  .aan de verschillende kerkeraden.
                             Het aan u moge weten,                                            Men  Wilde eenheid. De eeredienst moest in alle kerken
                             Dat gij het licht bezit.                                         zooveel mogelijk gelijk zijn. En om de uitvoering van
                             En wandelt in het licht.                                         dat besluit te verzekeren en te bespoedigen, besloot  de-
                             Daar is een heilige  .glans,                                     Synode er nog-we1  bij, dat de verschillende kerkeraden
                             Die van den  hemel daalt                                         en -predikanten de noodige stappen zouden nemen, om _-
                             En op het gansch bestaan                                         die nieuwe orde in te' voeren, en dat de verschillende
                             Van wie God liefheeft straalt.                                   classes de handen  van kerkeraden en predikanten in


                                                                                                                                                                             I

                                       90                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                                                                               which He had threatened to inflict upon them., Whence
                                                 CALVIN,  BERKHOti   AND  H.-  J.  KUlrPER                     it is evident that the punishment was announced on
                                                               A                 COMP&ISON                     condition of their remaining obstinate  $nd impenitent.
                                                                       III                                     And yet, the denunciation of the punishment was posi-
                                                                                                               tive, as if it had been an irrevocable decree. But after
                                                               "The general and well-meant offer  of sal-      God had terrified them, with the apprehension of His
                                                             vation is a sign of God's favor toward  sin-
                                                             ners."  Berkhof.                                  wrath, and had fully humbled them as not being utterly
                                                               "He sincerely  offers  salvation to all that    desperate, He encouraged them with the hope of par-
                                                             hear the gospel." Kuiper.
                                                               "A man must be utterly beside himself to        don, that they might feel that there was yet left open a
                                                             assert that this nromise  is made to all men      space for remedy. Just so it is with the conditional
                                                             generally and &discriminately." Calvin.  :
                                                               "A common practice with such is to ad-          promises of God which invite all men to salvation. They
                                                             dress their auditory thus: `I offer you           do not positively prove that which God has decreed in
                                                             Christ.' I do not believe that any man who
                                                             can. use such language is a converted man."       His counsel, but declare only that which God is ready
                                                             Wm. Parks in "Five Points on Calvinism,"          to do to all those who are brought to faith and  rebent-
                                                            published by the Sovereign Grace Union.            ante."But men untaught of God, not understanding these
        .:.::`_  ,i                            We must now ask the question, what was Calvin's
                                       .view  with respect  to this general offer of salvation, things, allege that we hereby attribute to. God a two-
                                       well-meant  qn the part of  GQd, to all  .that hear, on fold or double will. Whereas God is so far from being
                                                                                                               varieble, that no shadow of such variebleness appar-
I .1                                   which Berkhof and Kuip& lay so r&ch stress that they
                                       refuse to live in the same Church-fellowship with those tains to Him, even in the most remote degree. Hence,
                                       who deny it ?                                                           Pighius, ignorant of the Divine nature of these deep
                                               Was it Calvin's conviction  also, that, when the ex- things, thus argues : `What else is this but making God _
                                       ternal call of the gospel comes to elect and reprobate a mocker of men, if God is represented as really not
                                       promiscuously, it is a sign of God's grace to, them all? willing that which He professes to will, and as not
                                               Does he, too, believe, like  Be'rkhof  and Kuiper that haying' pleasure in that in which in reality He has
                                       in the external preaching of the gospei  we must see a. pleasure?' But if these two members of the sentence
                                       sign of God's earnest desire to, save all that hear, a be read in conjunction, as they ever ought to be - `I
                                       well-meant offer of salvation on the part of God to have no pleasure in the death of the wicked'; and : `But
                                                                                                               that the wicked turn from his way and live' - read
   ,, `. ::  ::                        everybody?
   . . . :
   -  :..:j                                    To answer these questiops we must, of course, these two propositions in coiznection  with each other
   ;. .j .c .                          quote  Calvin:                                                          and the calumny is washed off at once. God requires
        .`.  ;                                 And first we will let the Genevan  Reformer speak of us this  copversion  or `turning away from  our  ini-'
                                       for us on the text from Ezekiel, that is adduced by the quity', and in whomsoever He finds it He disappoints
.I                                     Synod  df 1924 in proof of the First Point, of which not such a one of the promised reward of eternal life.
                             I         Berkhof is so fond and on which Kuiper without any Wherefore, God is as much said to have pleasure in,
                             I         doubt agrees with him.                                                  and to will, this eternal life, as to have pleasure in the
                             I           .In that passage, tihey  say, there is a proof of God's repentance ; and He has pleasure in the repentance, be-
                                  I    general grace, of the fact that God has no pleasure in cause He invites all men to it by His Word. Now  all
                      I                the death  of. any  .wicked but is desirous to  saye them this is in perfect harmony with His secret and eternal
                             I         all.                                                                    counsel, by which He decreed to convert none but His
 .:;;         :-.           1
        .  .  .  .           ;
  ::                        1;                 And this is what Calvin writes on the same pass- own elect. None but God's elect, therefore, ever turn
 .;r_                       .:
  .,T                 `!                                                                                       from their wickedness. And yet, the adorable God is
  .I                                   age :"All this Pighius loudly denies, adducing that pass- not, on these account& to be considered varieble or cap-
                                       age of the apostle (I Tim. 2  :4) : `Who will have all able of change, because as a Lawgiver He enlightens
                                       men to be saved'; and referring to Ezek. `18  :23, he all men with the external doctrine  of conditional  life.
                                       argues thus, `That God willeth not the death of a sin- In this primary sense He calls or invites all men to
                                       ner' may be taken upon his own oath, where he says eternal life. But in,the  latter case, He brings to eternal
                                       by that prophet: `As I live, saith the Lord, I have no life those whom He willed according to His eternal pur-
                                       pleasure in the death of the. wicked that dieth, but pose,  regenerating  by His Spirit, as an eternal Father,
                                       rather that he should return from his ways and live.'                   His own children only" (Calvin's  Cal&n&m,  pp. 99,
                                       Now we reply, that as the language of the prophet 100).
                                       here is an exhortation to repentance, it is not at all                     This language is plain to all  that`  will understand.
                                       marvelous in him to declare that God willeth. all men                     In unmistakable language the Reformer denies,
                                       to be saved. For the mutual relation between threats that there is, in the passage from Ezekiel a general
                                       and promises shows that such forms of speaking are, offer of salvation to elect and reprobate promiscuously,
                                       conditional. In this same manner God declared to the a manifest desire to save them all, a revelation of a cer-
                                       Ninevites, apd to the kings of Gerar and Egypt, that tain general  .or common grace.
                                       He would do that which in reality He did not. intend                       He affirms here, what we have always taught, as
                                       to do, for their repentance averted the punishment we have written often in the-past, that, in as far as


                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        91

the message is general and comes to all, it is  con- upon His own oath, that He does not will the death of
ditional.                                                     a sinner, entirely in general. And Berkhof writes:
   The offer is eternal life.                                 "These passages teach us as clearly as words are able,
   The condition, limiting this offer is I turn from your that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked
wicked ways.                                                  (notice that He does not say: the elect wicked, but of:
   This condition. makes the contents of the general the wicked entirely in general) ; and the tender call-
message particular. Just as we have emphasized in ing to which we listen in them, witnesses of His great'
the past, a contention our opponents have tried to love for sinners and of His desire to save the un-
laugh to scorn, there is a general proclamation of a godly."                   :
conditional and particular gospel. He promises to all            The reader will understand that. also the words in
that  believe peace and eternal life.                         parentheses are of Berkhof.
   Thus is the plain exposition of Calvin on this pass-'         His meaning is, therefore, perfectly clear. We may
age. - ,He teaches all that hear a conditional docttine  :    take God upon His oath that He has a great love for
if' ye' turn ye shall live.                                   sinners in general, that He desires to save them all.
   And because it is conditional, it is `also particular Thus teaches Berkhof.
and God in reality promises eternal life only to. the            Thus teaches Kuiper.
elect. For it. is quite certain, according to Calvin, that       Thus is the contents of the First Point.
men do not turn from their wicked ways on their own              We conclude, then, that in their exposition of this
accord, nor by any instinct of nature (idem,  p. 100). text, Kuiper, Berkhof and the Synod of 1924 are in the
It is-equally certain that none, turn from their wicked- company of Pighius, the Pelagian, the opponent of
ness but the elect. And, therefore, the contents of this -,  C a l v i n .
externally general message is particular and applies             We preferred to remain in Calvin's company.
only to the elect of God.                                        And this is the reason, why they cast us out of the
    God does not say here, that He will save all that Church.
hear. He does not express that He is gracious to all                                                         H; H.
that receive the message outwardly. He.will be graci-
ous only,  to those that turn from their wicked ways.
And these are necessarily the elect.
    This exposition of Calvin. stands in direct opposi-           LET  PAS'TOR  8%.  R.  DE  HAAN   TELL   YOU!
tion to that of Berkhof. And to the preaching of Kui-
per.                                                             You want to know, what an. A-Millennialist is ?
   And it is the condemnation of the First Point,. in as         Just what he is?
far as it appeals to the passage from Ezekiel in proof           Well, says Pastor M. R. De  Haan, pastor of a
of the assertion, that there is & certain general grace of church of no denomination whatever, "let me give you
God in the general preaching of the Gospel.                   the simplest definition."
   Notice, too, that Calvin must have nothing of  Kui-           "An A-millennialist is one who has too much
per's mystery, that God wills and thatHe does not will- sense to believe- that the `posts'  are--`right   but-*iil3-
the same.thing with respect to the same persons at the -enough backbone to admit that the `pres' are right."
same time. Kuiper alleges, that this is a deep mystery,          Simple, is it not?
and that we must simply believe  it,. though we cannot           So simple, indeed, that .you ought to be ashamed to
understand. But Calvin replies, that only men un- trouble a pastor, dominie or doctor with such a ques-
taught pf God, not understanding these things, can tion. Almost any simpleton could give you- that an-
speak of such a twofold will in God.                          swer !
    And take, note, in this same connection, that there          But, evidently, Pastor De Haan is very conscious
is no truth in the statement of Berkhof, that Calvin of the fact, that as one of the editors of  Grcice and
does not attempt to enter into the  ,deep  things of God.     Glory he  is.writing for a lot of simple people. Hence,
He is not satisfied with contradictions. He harmonizes he condescends to their level, and devoting an entire
entirely this text from Ezekiel, that deals with the ex- paragraph to so simple a question with so simple an
ternal call to repentance and faith, with `the counsel answer, he expects that his simple readers will swallow
of God, till it is clear, that there is no conflict'here  at the following simple concoction:
all. God does not at all profess to will that which in           "And now what is an A-Millennialist? It is as the
reality He. does not will. The harmony lies in the clear prefix implies NOTHING. A means nothing and that
truth, that here we have the general proclamation of a is what it is; It is an admission of ignorance every time
particular truth.                                             a man or a woman says, `I am an A'. These men tell
    And is not also a striking phenomenon that the us that they do not believe in a millennium at all.
arch-Pelagian` Pighius, the opponent of Calvin quotes They throw overboard the `thousand years' and spirit-
this same text for the same purpose as do Kuiper and ualize the "whole matter.  Now. really they are not
Berkhof, in defense of the First Point of  1924?              `A's' by choice but by coercion. They are forced to take
    Pighius quotes it ta prove that we may take God that position because ordinary common sense shows


92                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

them that the post theory will not hold water. They consummate His work and establish His Kingdom with-
are forced to give up that wild and fanciful theory in out a millennium preceding or following that coming;
the face of history and present day developments and Now, this is not NOTHING, as Pastor De Haan  tries
so they creep in the flimsy shelter of the loophole of to make his readers believe. It is a doctrine rich in
`A'.      (Fools they are, forsooth, to seek shelter in a contents.
loophole! That's where they are sure to get shot! H.                Of this Pastor De  Haan  was utterly ignorant. He
H.) Now just what are they? Let me give you the thought it was nothing, and is anxious to save a `few
simplest definition. An A-millennialist is one who has souls from the blindness of such a dismally empty doc-
too much sense to believe that the posts are right but trine! He prays for it and calls them from the dead!
not  .enough  backbone to admit that the  pre's are right. His ignorance of the matter caused him great anxiety.
It is a makeshift. It is a poor excuse. It is an unsuc- and made him very serious !
cessful attempt to cover up their mingled pride and                 Secondly, he does not know what an A-millennialist
ignorance. It reveals a worse ignorance of the Word is. First he makes him neuter and calls him an  it.
of> God than even the post view. May God open the "And now what is an A-millennialist? It is as the pre-
blind eyes of men to see the light of the blessed pre- fix implies NOTHING." Now that may be a slip of the
millennial truth. `Awake thou that sleepest and arise pen, of course, just as later he slips into the plural
from the dead and Christ shall give thee light'."                "these men," for an antecedent of which one looks in
      All very simple, indeed !                     . .          vain in the paragraph. But it may also reveal the
      A paragraph like this is `very instructive. It is same carelessness in language as characterizes his
positively elucidating in many respects. It casts light logic and definitions. But further in the paragraph
on many things and it explained to me a certain fea- Pastor De  Haan informs us, that an A-millenmalist is
ture of the Pre's that otherwise was hard `for me to a man or woman that comes with an admission of
understand.                                                      ignorance every time he or she says : I am an A. Now,
 The only thing it does not explain is the very sub- in this he is again hopelessly mistaken. One can easily
ject on which the editor was writing when he wrote understand where such erroneous notions originate
that paragraph.                                                  with the writer. He elicits all this from that wicked'
      That, of course, is a weakness of the article. ,4n         little prefix  "A" and its meaning he failed to under-
editor ought. to take pains, besides elucidating many stand. Hence, he regards an A-millennialist as a per-
other things, also to throw a  little.light.on  the  stibject    son who admits his ignorance, and by writing as he
he discusses. And this Pastor De Haan utterly fails -does only exposes the ignorance of at least one Pre.
to do.                                                           For every time an A-millennialist says : d am an A, he
      But this feature is amply redeemed by the flood of does not confess his ignorance, but most emphatically
light it throws on other things. Some of these I will declines to believe in the absurd dreams of the "Pres."
point out.                                                       He investigated them. He is acquainted with them as
      First of all it reveals unmistakably, that Pastor well as the Pre is with his own views. He knows that
De  Haan is utterly devoid of any knowledge of A-mill-- they are not a:cording to. the  teachings  of Scripture-
ennialism, except the one thing that it-does not believe         but merely the fantastic imaginations of the human
in a millennium.                                                 mind. He emphasizes that even the name Millennium
      I am taking Pnstor De Haan  seriously, of course. is unscriptural that the Lord Himself never spoke of
He is not giving himself to jesting or ridiculing. He            any such thing, that the apostles in all their epistles
is not trying to draw a  carricature  of A-millennialism.        by which they instruct the Church never mention it or
How could a man otherwise wind up with such an .even refer to it remotely, while the Pres are forever
earnest prayer and admonition as does Pastor De  Haan            harping on it. And when they say: I am an A, they
at the close of the article? No, he conscientiously de- most emphatically assert that they will have nothing
scribes A-millennialism as he sees it, He even defines but the simple faith in the Scriptural teaching concern-
an A-millennialist. And taking him as writing in all ing the Second Coming of- the Lord.
seriousness, motivated by the fear of  %od and the                  Thirdly, Pastor De Haan  is utterly in the dark con-
earnest desire to save souls, the first thing that strikes       cerning the historic origin of the A's. He thinks, that
one upon reading this paragraph is, that he is utterly they are forced to seek shelter in the only place where
ignorant of the teachings of A-millennialism.                    they are sure to be shot, a  loophole! On the one hand'
      He does not know what the name A-millennialism common sense taught them that the post-view is un-
means, .for he labors under the delusion that it means tenable in the face  ,of historic developments. This,
NOTHING. ,He tells us, that this is the meaning of again, is a serious mistake of Pastor De  Haan. He
the prefix.  Now, this is a sad mistake. "A" does not betrays his utter ignorance in practically every sen-
mean NOTHING, but is the Greek alpha privans and tence. For the "A's" are nottaught by common sense
denotes the denial of the thing. expressed in the noun and history, but solely by the Word of God. And that.
to which it `is prefixed. It means WITHOUT. So that -Word of God reveals to them very plainly, that the
A-millennialism is the doctrine that teaches that the post-view is false. Besides, this explanation is utterly
Lord Jesus Christ will come on the clouds of heavento at fault from a historic  poinh.of view,. for the A-view.


                                                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R '                                     93

                                       precedes the Post-view by centuries. And, on the other                          JAKOB-ISRAEL
                                       hand, says Pastor De Haan,  the A!s have not sufficient
                                       backbone to adopt the Pie-view. Now, we .do not quite          Zoo nu en dan herinneren predikaties en kranten-
                                       understand what backbone has to do with this, and we artikeltjes  ons er aan, dat er nog altijd een verkeerde
                                       are bold to say, that neither does Pastor De  Haan un- beschouwing gangbaar is van de beteekems  van den
                                       derstand himseif here. Surely, they were coerced into naam Jakob.
                                       the adoption of this na&ze by the rise of the Pre's on         En een verkeerde verklaring ook, natuurlijk,  van
                                       the one and that'of the Posts on the other side. In dis- Jakob v66r  den Jabbok.
                                       tinction from both they call themselves A's. But their         Die Jakob is dan niets dan een aartsbedrieger,  een
                                       view is as old as is the teaching of the apostles, and onbeschaamde leugenaar, een schoft, een gauwdief, een
                                       into it they were not coe,rced, but guided by the light of sluwe Jood, een . . . och, men weet er eigenlijk geen
                                       Holy Writ and the operation of the Holy Spirit in the woorden sterk genoeg voor te vinden, om hem in al de
                                       Church.             .                                       afschuwelijkheid van zijn bedriegelijke natuur te  tee-
                                           And so the A-view is not only a poor excuse, but it kenen.
  _.                              ,
      ._:                              is no excuseyat all, least of all an excuse to Pastor De       .En Israel is dan de naam !
 /
 ..`. .'                .i             Haan.                                                          V66r  den Jabbok was de aartsvader eigenlijk niets
 .::  ::  :  `:  ;                         And is not the disdainful judgment, that the A-view anders dan een zondig, natuuriijk, onwedergeboren
,':  .  .                              is an unsuccessful attempt on `the part of the A's to. mensch ;\ bij den Jabbok is hij in den grond bekeerd.
8,::                           !
      1       .`.__   I                cover up their mingled pride `and\ ignorance, a vivid Bij .den Jabbok werd hij dan ook Jakob-af. Er bleef
 ;::  .: :::.  1
 .,  :..   ::..:                       illustration' of the well-known story of the beam and
 .  .  ::`.;T   _.  I                                                                              niets anders over dan Israel, in beginsel althans.
       :-  :_  :  1
      _-                :_I            the mote on the part of Pastor De  Haan.? I am afraid
 :`,:::..::   . ..j                                                                                   En telkens als Gods volk nu wordt aangesproken,als  '
              _".   -
/..:.:                       j         it is.
       .           I                                                                               Jakob, door de profeten of op andere plaatsen in de
       `.               .j                 And t'he pious conclusion of `the article, a prayer Heilige Schrift, wordt het er aan herinnerd, dat .het
                                       that God may open the eyes of the blind, and a call to      van nature niet beter is dan Jakob, zondig en ellendig,
                                       the dead to arise from their death-sleep, is so shock- afwijkende van God en levende in leugen en bedrog.
                                       ingly in disharmony with the tune. of the rest of the       En al wat het is, dat is het alleen als Israel, dat is, door
                                       entire paragraph, that one wonders whether it is the genade.
                                       same person writing.                                           En  tech,'  hoe algemeen deze verklaring ook mag  heb-
                                           But the article pours a flood of light on this ques- ben post gevat bij de menschen in het algemeen, zoowel
                                       tion: Why are the Pre's always so full of disdain for       als bij degenen, die geroepen zijn, om Gods Woord te
                                       the views of the A-millennialist ?                          verkondigen  aan de Gemeente  .van  onzen  Heere Jezus
                                        It answers the question in this wise: They are Christus, juist, Schriftuurlijk is ze zeker niet.
                                       utterly ignorant of the A-view.                                In de eerste plaats is het niet waar, dat de naam
                                         For if a man like Pastor De  Haan  is so utterly in Jakob bedrieger befeekent. Ware dit het geval, dan
                                       the dark concerning the conception of A-millennialism, moesten we ook nooit onze kinderen met dien naam
                                       that he thinks it is NOTHING, a loophole for a shelter, noemen.                .-
                                       a compromise between too -much -sense and too little            Hij beteekent eenvoudig jzielhouder.
                                       backbone, an attempt to cover up a concoction of pride          De naam werd hem dan ook gegeven,  overeenkom-
                                       and ignorance, how ignorant must the common Pre be! stig het wonderteeken Gods, waaronder hij geboren
                                            Really to bring a Pre to a sober study of the Word werd, want in de  .geboorte  had hij zijn'tweelingbroeder
                                       of God is a hopeless case!                                  bij de hielen.
                                           He will rave, regardless of what you say !                  De beteekenis hiervan is duidelijk.
                                            But even though the paragraph reveals nothing              Reeds voor de geboorte was het Rebekka vreemd  tc
                                       but this, its publication was well worth while.             moede geweest, toen de kinderen met elkander worstel-
                                            For though it is worse than worthless for what it den in den schoot. En de Heere had het haar, op haar
                                       contains concerning the` A's, it revealed many things gebed verklaard. Er waren tweelingen, twee volken in
                                       about the Pre.                     .                        haren  schoot.  En de meerdere zou den mindere die-
                                                                                         H. H.     nen. Vandaar de worsteling. En zoo bleek het ook te
  _:.'  _ ;.j                                                                                      zijn bij de geboorte. Hij, die naar de verkiezing de
 : : :..;:.:
      . . .
              ,         i                                                                          .meerdere  zou zijn, nam bij de geboorte de plaats van
 ,.;.:   .:.
 .  `_                  1                                                                          den mindere  in. Maar ook was hem een teeken Gods
       I                                    Die met eene bedriegelijke hand werkt, wordt arm ;     gegeven, dat hij de meerdere was. en in den weg van
                                       maar de hand des vlijtigen maakt rijk.                      Sange worsteling met den mindere worden  zou. Jakob
                                                                                                    had zijn broeder bij de hielen. Hij worstelde in de  ge-
                                                                                                    boorte om de plaats der eerstgeboorte in te nemen. Hij
                                            Die in den zomer vergadert, is een verstandig zoon; streed met zijn verworpen, goddeloozen broeder om de
                                       maar die in den oogst vast slaapt, is een zoon die be- plaats der verkiezing. IIij ijverde, al worstelend om
                                        schaamd maakt.                                              Gods Verbond.


                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              96

 bij ondervinding. Maar de .Heere  heeft tot hiertoe ge-                     OBJECTIONS TO THE SPIRIT
 holpen.
     Den 17en  Juni 1929 werd door den kerkeraad het                                   OF THE AGE
 volgende drietal gesteld, nl., de Candd. R. Veldman, C.
 Hanko en L. Vermeer, uit welk drietal  op.den  eersten                                       II       .,
 Juli Cand.  L. Vermeer werd beroepen, welke, na  ern-
 stige overweging, tot de beslissing kwam om voor de                                       Religion
 roeping te  moeten bedanken.
     Op 16 Juli werd door den kerkeraad nogmaals een                Who in our cultured ( ?) epoch stands in reverential
 dubbeltal gesteld nl., Ds. ,G. M. Ophoff en Cand. R. awe and fear before the God of heaven and earth?
 Veldman.                                                        Who trembles when he takes the name of God upon his
     Op 23 Juli werd Ds. Ophoff uit dit dubbeltal als very lips? Where is the man, who in this enlightened
 onze herder en leeraar beroepen, van wie we na eenige era considers himself totally depraved and worthy of
 dagen dan ook het verblijdende nieuws mochten  hoo- God's holy wrath? Who in this age admits that he can
 ren, dat hij de  roeping aannam.                                only be saved by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ?
     Op den eersten October werd Ds. Ophoff aan de ge-           The whole religious atmosphere is beclouded with Pela-
 meente verbonden. Ds. Hoeksema sprak ons dien genism. Man earns his salvation by his works. This is
 avond toe naar aanleiding van Efeze 6:19, en Ds. B. the conceited contention of even supposed Reformed
 Kok deed het werk van bevestiging.                              leaders. Where do you find the people of God nour-
     Den vierden October zijn we als gemeente samenge-           ished in the green pastures of His Word? Instead of
 komen om onzen  leeraar en zijn gezin te verwelkomen, bread, stones are given for spiritual nourishment. God
 welke avond in blijde en. dankbare  stemming is door-           sovereign! our so-called religion does not permit such
 gebracht met muziek en zingen  en spreken, welke ver- a view of God, since it is incongruent with man's con-
 gadering Ds. Ophoff met een gepast  woord en dank aan ception of himself. Man, and he alone is sovereign, de-
 God heeft gesloten.                                             pendent on no one but himself. Boastfully he abhors
     Den zesden October heeft Ds.. Ophoff zijn intree-           the idea of there being one who rules and reigns over
 predikatie gehouden over II Cor. 4:1-4.                         the destinies of men. And it certainly is no great task
     Zoo zijn we dan gezegend met een eigen herder en to prove that the Reformed Churches are busily en-
 leeraar, waarvoor we den Heere dankbaar zijn.                   gaged in a malid obliteration of the truth. That which
     Ook in het verleden heeft de Heere het  we1  ge- is presented as ."The Truth" has no religious content
 maakt, hoewel het  we1 eens donker scheen  en het hart or fervor whatsoever. For, if religion is actually the
 we1 eens van. vrees klopte, wanneer enkelen ons verlie- manifestation of our utter dependency upon God, and                      x
 ten en er oneenigheid was onder de broederen. Maar reverence for His holy name; what then is that which
 we  weten:  de Heere regeert, en Hij heeft ook weer ge- is presented in the following quotation: "The new
 toond dat Hij alle  dingen  bestuurt naar Zijnen wil, en religion rejects absolutely the conception that man is
 niet naar onze verwachtingen.                                   an alien in the world, or that God is alienated from
`--Y -..-,-Wij  spreken-bij  .dezen ook onzen. dank uit aanallen,. the world. It rejects---also -the entire conception -of-  a"-  -
 die ons met raad en daad hebben bijgestaan,  aan leer- man as a fallen being, hopelessly wicked, and tending
 aren en studenten; in prediking, in catechetisch onder-         downward by nature ; and it makes this emphatic re-
 wijs en in leiding.                                             jection of long-accented-beliefs because it finds them all
     En daar de gemeente van Hope nu herderloos is ge- inconsistent with a human, civilized, or.worthy  idea of
worden,  is ook onze wensch  en bede, dat de Heere de            God." 1) This may appear to a Reformed believer to
 groote Herder de ledige  plaats moge innemen, en hen be a somewhat radical contention, but we need not
 rijkelijk moge zegenen, en kon het zijn hen in `t ver-          marvel at it. We are just about getting used to the
 volg ook weer een leeraar geven om onder hen te ar- contention that we must have a more worthy idea of
 beiden.                                                         God, just as if the Synod of Dordt tended to withhold
      Onze gemeente telt thans 61 belijdende leden  en 80        God all the glory due to Him. Preposterous, the very
  doopleden, zoodat we een zielental hebben van 141.             contention. Dr. Elliot, however, states it openly that
      Ook zij nog vermeld, dat  er een aanvang is gemaakt he has rejected those  crude(  ?) religious creeds. Of
  met het bouwen van  .een nieuwe woning voor onze course, you do not find a flat denial of the most funda-
  l e e r a a r .                                                mental principles of Scripture. The modern theologians
      Moge de Heere ons verder rijkelijk zegenen als  ge- are very careful as not to antagonize the true believers
  meente en leeraar, opdat we tezamen steeds mogen too much. What is presented in the above quotation is
  strijden den strijd des geloofs en elkander mogen zijn a religion under a cloak of the true religion, but aiming
  tot steun op den weg naar Sion, en kon het zijn ook nog to defend modernism in a most deceptive manner. It
  tot een zegen mogen  worden gesteld.                            is a claim to get a more worthy idea of God, while it
                             Namens de Kerkeraad,                 should be interpreted as a deification of self,. the glori-
                                            H. DE JONG           fication of man.


 96                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAREl-

       The present religious atmosphere is certainly dif-                   "It matters not how strait the gate,
ferent in essence from what it was years ago.  A hi&lg                              How charged with punishments the scroll,
developed and cultured religion is wanted and                                     I am the master of my fate,
preached. Religion; this `is the claim, must be able to                             I am the captain of.my soul." 5)
vivify all of life, and should be social in character.
"Religion at its best has supplied - and it can now                               And again it is the spirit of the Antichrist which
supply  - the motives, faiths, insights, hopes, convic- dethrones God, but elevates self. It is that false con-
tions by which men inwardly come to terms with them- ception, and that conceited notion of "I am a law unto
selves, gain spiritual ascendency over their baser ele- myself," which has permented all present religious life.
ments, achieve peace and power, and come off more Hence, you come to the conclusion that in order to be
than conquerors." 2) Religion, this is the boastful happy, I must first of all love myself, and this in turn
claim, is the ascendency of the unvirtuous to the virtu- must manifest itself in the love for the other fellow.
ous - van de zonde tot de deugd. It means the eleva- This whole religious movement  .is nothing but the ex-.
tion of sinful man over all his baser elements to the                    pression  of personal satisfaction in its own deifying.
attainment of peace and power. In the final analysis All this tommy-rot. (pardon my slang) is presented
man will inevitably reach a stage of perfection having under a cloak of religion. However, it is the most de-
conquered evil and sin. This same author states very ceptive attempt of Satan to mislead God's people, if
emphatically that it is his conviction that all social                   possible. And who  zmidst this upheavel, and corrup-
institutions are a revelation of Jesus Christ. "The real tion of the truth are the soldiers of the Cross. The
Antichrist is to be found in another place. All irre~-                   tempest is raging, but the seamen are an shore in a
erent  (italics mine) treatment of human personality in state of spiritual dormancy, leaving the Church to  find
individual relationships or social institutions that is the harbor alone. Cold, dead orthodoxy is. preached in
essentially (italics mine) Antichrist. That is an utter                  a most superficial manner. Sickening and silly non-
denial of the Christian God and of Jesus as His re-                     sense is proclaimed as the truth. The proclamation of
vealer." 3) This contention is a most acceptable one. the truth has been transformed into the vituperation
It is generally admitted that an opposing view to the                   of Satanic lies. Present-day religion is religious jazz
individual relationships or social institutions is basic in -every sense of the word. The spirit of the age is
to the spirit of the Antichrist. You need  no$.go far                   encrouching upon the Church of Jesus Christ and is
from home to find similar contentions.  Thegtiording                     depriving it of its vitality and genuine love for the
being different, yet the Synod of the  Chri&ian  Re- truth. Can the Church afford to lie in slumber, and
formed Church of 1926 held similar  contentions,iespe-                  sing of peace when there is no peace? Of course, the
cially when you consider the resolutions taken on "En- cause of the Church is in the hands of the Almighty.
tertainments, and Labor." Again it is this deceptive, Under His protecting care and leadership, whatever
dishonest, most corrupt piece of nonsense which is the external manifestation of the Institution may be,
deteriorating the Church of Jesus Christ. All this the truth goes marching on. In His providence He has
deviltry is promulgated as a higher stage in theological provided for this condition of the Church; but woe
thought, a more perfect revelation of deep spiritual unto him, who is found slumbering and sleeping when
life;-.-.                ,..    _  _..-.  - .- -.-  --.                 He .comes.             -  -.  -.-      -. --  -  .--- --  -  ~.  ..-~.-`-
       The real object of religion is no longer to serve God                 Pray for the well-being of Zion, for a rejuvenated
as the Creator of Heaven and Earth; the admission of spirit of devotion and consecration, for the inner con-
`our utter dependency of Him,. but rather an advanced                   sciousness of living for the glory of His name. Pray
conception, which is but a serving of self. "The future for the outpouring of His Spirit; that His people may
religion will prove, has proved, as effective as any of                 serve Him in truth. Pray that servants may be brought.
the elder ones in inspiring men to love and serve their to light who are endued with'holy zeal for His king-
fellow-beings, and that is the true object and the and dom, to the glory of His Name, and for the well-being
of all philosophies and all religions, for that is the way .of His people.
to make men better, and happier, alike the servant and                                                           A. C. BOERKOEL
the served." 4) Hence to be truly religious, to be really
happy, one must have love for fellow-men, and mani-                         1) "Religion of the Future,;' p. 25. Charles W. Eliot, Pres.
fest such. All this; to be sure sounds very beautiful                   of the Howard Theological Semmary.
and Christlike, but it is as irreligious as it can be. The                          "Adventurous Religion," p. 26. Harry Emerson Fosdick,
                                                                        1922s'
primary element in the true religion is to serve and to                     3)  Idem,  p. 43.
love God, but this element is lacking in modern relig-                              "The Future Religion," p. 51. Charles W. Eliot.
                                                                                    "Invictus" by William Ernest Henley.
ion. It is the ever disillusioned notion of Kant and
Hegel,  that there is no objective law. There is nothing
outside of me that can compel me to obedience. My
own conscious-being, the ego, compels me to do what I
ought. In the final analysis it means that there is no                      In de vreeze des Heeren is een sterk vertrouwen, en
law of God, or as the poet has it:                                     Hij zal zijnen kinderen eene toevlucht wezen.

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