                                                T H E   STAN'DARD   - B E A R E R                                                                 197
                            --.^ ..." .....l._ll_.l        _.." .lll.__^...  ---"-.-".-__                          ._.-.
formeerde waarheid te. ondermijnen. Over motieven
en bedoelingen gaat de  Standard Bearer  niet oordeelen.                                     Men With Exceptional Gifts
Zelfs zal ik zooveel doenlijk uitgaan van de veronder-                                               (Our Church Order)
stelling, dat Heyus  ter goeder trouw schrijft, dat hij
werkelijk meent, dat hij de Gereformeerde waarheid                                                       ARTICLE VIII
voorstelt.                                                                             Persons who have not pursued the regular course of
    Maar we1 bedoel ik te zeggen, dat de inhoud van                                  study in preparation for the Ministry of the Word, and
zijne artikelen  we1 zulk een aanval op de leer der                                 have therefore not been declared eligible according to
souvereine genade is.                                                               Article 4, shall not be admitted to the Ministry unless
    Nog  BQne opmerking.                                                             there is assurance of their exceptional gifts, godliness,
                                                                                     humility, modesty, common sense and discretion, as also
    In deze artikelenreeks zullen we niet uitgaan van de                             gifts of public address. When such persons present
menschelijke rede, zooals Heyns, geheel  zonder  grond                              themselves for the Ministry, the  Classis  (if the
of bewijs, zijnen lezers verzekert, dat we doen.                                     [particular]  Synod approve) shall first examine them,
   Neen, Gods Woord alleen zij onze maatstaf en                                     and further deal with them as it shall deem -edifying,
grondslag.                                                                          according to the general regulations of the churches.
   En daarbij de Gereformeerde Belijdenis.                                        This article applies to persons who have not  pur-
   Alle rationalisme zal verre van ons zijn. En de sued the regular course of study in preparation for the
Gereformeerden in Nederland mogen mede oordeelen ministry of the Word but who nevertheless are ad-
of de voorstelling van  Heyns  Gereformeerd is.                                mitted to the office.
    Een volgende maal  dan over de Twee-willen-leer,                                Let us institute an inquiry into the historical cir-
D. V.                                                            H. H.         cumstances that gave rise to this article. In the first
                                                                               period of Reformed Protestantism there was a great
                                                                               scarcity of trained, that is, schooled ministers. Many
              LECTCJRE  - REV. HOEKSEMA                                        churches therefore were placed before the choice of
   Rev. Hoeksema will give an interesting lecture on continuing without a pastor or of being shepherded by
"The Gospel" Thursday evening, Feb. 2, at  7.~45 o'clock the unschooled. And whereas they deemed it better
in the First Protestant Reformed Church, sponsored to be joined to an unschooled pastor than to live on
by the Ladies' Aid Society.
   We extend to all our friends a most cordial wel- with the office of ministers of the gospel vacant, un-
come.                                                     Committee.           trained men were admitted to the Ministry and that
                                                                               often without a worthwhile examination. The number
                       IN MEMORIAM                                             of personages in this group of whom it could be truth-
                                                                               fully said that they served with profit to the churches
   Dinsdagmiddag, 10 Januari 1933, behaagde het den Heere
plotseling van ous te nemen  onzen  geliefden Echtgenoot, Vader was found to be not so surprisingly large.                               Several
en Grootvader,                                                                 turned out to be complete failures. This taken by
                     GERRIT SCHAAFSMA,                                         itself cannot be advanced as an argument against the
in den ouderdom van ruim `76 jaar.                                             practice represented by Article 8. Fact is, that many
  .De wetenschap dat hij nu de rust, die Jezus voor hem  be-                   ministers from the schools turn out to be failures, the
reidde, geniet, is ons tot troost in dit verlies.                              usual reason being their lack of devotion to duty and
                           Mrs. ,G. Schaafsma, kinderen  en
                                             kleinkinderen.                    their worldly-mindedness.
   Grand Rapids,  Mich.                                                             As to, the group under consideration, it was ob-
   752 Vander Veen Ct., S. E.                                                   served that their lack of training was too much of a
                                                                                handicap. So the Reformed churches almost at the
                       IN MEMORIAM                                              beginning of their joint c<veers  took the stand that `a
   Op 7 Jan. 1933, behaagde het den Heere door den dood uit                     training is most desirable for all and indispensible to
ons huisgezin weg te  nemen                                                    `the great majority; that, barring the few exceptions,
                     RENSKE   POCRTINGA,                                        the unschooled should be excluded from office.  &4t the
in den ouderdom van 42 jaar.                                                    same time our fathers understood that a trained min-
   Wij mogen gelooven dat ze in den Heere `ontslapen is, en nu                  ister devoid of piety constitutes a real menace, that a
voor den troon des Lams jubelt.                                                 carnal man with much learning is but an educated `fool
                  Namens de Vader  en kinderen,                                 who though he may assume the mild aspect of a lamb is
                                                 A. Poortinga
                                                 Petronella                     a ravenous wolf within.            Godliness was therefore
                                                 Peter                          stressed as much as training. This is evident from
                                                 Tena                           the  severa rulings of the early Reformed synods.
                                                 Agnes                              The "convent" of Wezel, 1568, and the synod of
                                                 Dora                           Emden, 1571, ruled that unschooled persons, seeking
                                                 Minno
                                 .                                              admittance to the office should be required to engage
                                                 J e s s i e
                                                 John                           for a season in sermonizing in private under the  super-
                                                                                vision of ordained ministers. The synod of Dordrecht
                                                 EVdgn


  198                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEAkER
 -             --.----_-  .._ ^-~
 stipulated that.  otiy such persons should  be admitted any previous training and preparation edify Sabbath
 who possessed the following qualifications : godliness, upon Sabbath his hearers was not theirs.
 humility, modesty, intelligence, discretion and gifts of       So, then, rightly considered the stand taken was
 public address. The Reformed synods in session be- that all without a single exception must pursue a suit-
 tween the years 1574 and 1619 failed to reiterate the able course of study in preparation for the ministry.
 above rulings and thus by their silence went on record However there is a short and a long course to the office.
 as being opposed to the practice of vesting the un- ' The former might be taken by the men of exceptional
 trained with the office. This their stand finds its ex- aptitude only. All must train.
 planation in the circumstance that the Theological             Soon after the last session of the synod of  Dor-
 school at Leiden was now expected to furnish the drecht (1619) several Reformed academies came into
 churches with as many trained men as were needed being. The number of trained men coming from these
 so that the `demand for the untrained, so it  was institutions surpassed even the number of vacancies in
 thought, would cease. Fact is however that Leiden did the churches. The result was that from the year 1619
 not bring the expected relief. The unschooled con- on to the Secession (1836) exceedingly few (perhaps
 tinued to be in demand. And this demand grew, espe- three or four) of the unschooled, who presented them-
 cially when Leiden, as a result of its teaching staff selves for the ministry, were taken notice of and exa-
 having become contaminated with Arminian heresy, mined. This amounted to a virtual setting aside of
 lost the confidence of the churches. In several prov- Article 8. The Frisian synod of 1666 and 1667 even
 inces therefore many persons morally defective and passed a resolution to the effect that henceforth no
 with  scarcily any training and thus devoid. of the unschooled persons be admitted to the office. When in
 necessary mental equipment were given churches. The 1760 the Dokkum  classis admitted one  Gaartma   Klun-
 results, as can be expected, were often disastrous. For dert, the curatorium of Franeker bitterly complained
 this reason the South Holland and Gelderland synods with the result that the aforesaid  classis solemnly
 besought Dordrecht (1619) to frame such rules as promised to henceforth examine such persons only who
 would render for the unschooled admittance to' the came supplied with an academic testimonial.
 office exceptionally difficult. Though Dordrecht com-          After the Secession (1836) there was again a great
 plied, it refrained from placing. the office entirely be- scarcity of trained ministers. So the synod of the
 yond the reatih  of the untrained. The ruling of  Dor-
 drecht (1619) reads : "School-teachers, craftsmen and above-cited year ruled that churches be free to vest the
                                                             unschooled exceptionally endowed with the office. But
 others who in the schools have not pursued courses in
 languages, arts and theology, shall not be promoted to when the Theological school at  Kampen  came into
                                                             existence the standard set by Art. 8 was again raised
 the ministry of the Word, unless we have certain (that
 is, undoubted) knowledge respecting their exceptional so high as to render it most difficult for untrained per-
                                                             sons to gain admittance to the office.
 gifts: piety, humility, modesty, superior natural capa-
 city, prudence, and eloquence. As often as such per-           But history again repeated itself. After the Dole-
 sons seek admittance to the office, the classis in the antie the scarcity of trained ministers of the gospel
 event the synod approves shall examine them. In case was again felt. Classes again became lenient so that
 of successfulissue they shall for a set length of time many of the untrained presenting themselves for serv-
 train. themselves in the making and in the delivering ice were accepted and inducted into office.- After the
 of sermons. Thereupon the  classis shall deal with them union of churches in 1892 the bars were again lowered.
 as can best  redown to the edification of the churches."       The bit of history presented above speaks volumes.
      It is to be observed that by this ruling all but those It shows that from the beginning to the present day
 of the unschooled exceptionally gifted are barred from the conviction of the Reformed churches was that a
 the office. The exceptions only can without a school- training is indispensible to a ministerial career, that
ing serve with profit to the churches. The schools are the long course to the office must be the rule, that
 for the less gifted. One feels that the view upon talent to be of use must be developed. It shows, this
 which the above ruling reposes is that, barring the few history, that Art. 8 represents an emergency resolution
 exceptions, the prospective minister must pursue the more than anything else, that as often as this emer-
 suitable course of study in the school would he enter gency was met, the article would fall into disuse. Yet
 upon his career actually fit for service. But even the for all this Art. 8 is in certain respects one of the
 rare exceptions cannot do without some kind of train- strangest and most perple.xing articles in our Church
 ing. Even these, so the article insists, shall for a stip- Order. Before going into this, our explanation of the
 ulated length of time be schooled in the making of article as such ought to first be brought* to completion.
 sermons. Training then was deemed indispensible even           The final clause of the article reads: "The classis
 to those of most remarkable aptitude. It is plain that shall first examine them, and further deal with them as
 our fathers of Dordrecht were men of good sense and it shall deem edifying, according to the general regula-
 sound judgment. The sickly notion that a man can tions of the  &u&es."  The question is: what are these
 step from behind a plow into the pulpit and without regulations ? The Christian Reformed Churches of


                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                          199.
     "_.."._.-..~  -.... ..."-"          ____---.-  __. - .-...- -_-.-.... -~^_I__                                  - . . . ..-___
     America drafted and accepted for their own use the oflice if it appears that they have pursued the pre-
     following :                                                       scribed  course.either  by themselves or under the guid-
           "The examination of candidates for the ministry ance and supervision of the tutors of the school ; or
     under this article (Art. 8) differs from the regular that such persons shall follow the regular course of
     examinations only by the omission of the Hebrew and study not only but follow this course in the school?
     the Greek.                                                        Taking the article as it now reads for what it literally
           "Rules .for admission to the Ministry according to asserts, all that is required is that the aspirant, if he
     Art. 8.:                                                          be not one exceptionally gifted, present himself for
           " (1)        If any one desires to be admitted to the Min- the ministry as one who, as a result of having followed
     istry of the Word according to Article VIII, he must              the regular course of study, comes adequately pre-
                                                                       pared.
     apply to his consistory and after that to his  classis.                      The article does not require that he attend
     This  Classis,  in conjunction with the Delegates for school. It means that the article as revised.repcesents
     Examination of three adjacent classes, first examines somewhat of a departure from the original ruling of
     the written credentials of the Consistory concerning Dordrecht (1619) ; for, according to this ruling, those
     the required qualifications as stated' in Article VIII,- destitute of exceptional gifts, .must prepare themselves
     and subsequently investigate in this respect. If the for the office in  the schools.  However, Article 8 as
     preliminary judgment is favorable, he be given the                altered by the aforesaid churches contains a clause that
     right to speak a word of edification for a limited time reads : "And have not therefore been declared eligible
     in the vacant churches of his classis. He must also according to Article 4." Consulting the mass of rules
     speak a few times in non-vacant churches in the pres- subjoined to Article 4, the conviction cannot be escaped
                                                                       that though the phrase  `"in the schools" was omitted,
     ence of the respective ministers of these churches.               the implication of Article 8, as it now reads, is that
     Classis shall regulate these appointments in conjunc- persons devoid of exceptional gifts must avail them-.
     tion with the Consistories of these churches. Classis             selves of the school. For the aforesaid mass of rules
     determines the length of this period of probation.                speak of "Seminary candidates who are  exspecting  to
          "(2)         At the close of the period of probation the be sent out by our churches" and of "those who grad-
     Classis, in conjunction with the said Delegates for uate from our Seminary."
Examination, takes a final decision regarding the pres-                                                The question cannot be
                                                                       suppressed why if the article (8) was meant to declare
     ence of exceptional gifts. If the decision is in the that the mediocre, let us say, must train in the schools,
     affirmative, then the Classis shall take a peremptory the phrase "in the schools" was omitted.
     e,xamination  in the following branches: (a) Exegesis                 The article as revised is ambiguous for still another
     of `the Old and New Testaments; (b) Bible .History;               reason.
     (c) Dogmatics ; (d) General and American Church                              Consider that the. mediocre (the men of
                                                                       ordinary excellence or ability) are under the necessity
     History.                                                          of pursuing the regular course of study in the school,
           " (3)  In case of favorable issue, he is declared that is, as attendants of the school, assisted, guided,
     eligible to. a call.                                              and trained by the school's tutors. (This in all likeli-
           "(4)        The examination for ordination follows later hood is the meaning of the article as revised.)
     according to existing rules, except the classical lan-                                                                  This
                                                                       raises the question just what, according to Article 8, is
     guages."                                                          required of the men with  .exceptional  -gifts. Does the
           As to Art. 8, the remark was made that in some              article exempt them from attending school, yet place
     res,pects it represents a perplexing ruling, especially as them under the necessity of pursuing the regular
     revised by later synods. The synod of Dordrecht (1619)            course  of scuds at home by themselves ; or must these
     declared : "Schoolmeesters, lieden  van ambacht of an- persons as well as the others have attached themselves
     deren die niet op de scholen  in de talen, de vrije kun-           to the tutors of the school and under their eye ,have
     sten en de Godgeleerdheid gestudeerd hebben zullen                 followed a shorter course; or can it be that if these
     niet tot den dienst des Woords worden  bevorderd,"  enz. persons of exceptional ability prepare themselves at
     The  "Gereformeerde" churches in the Netherlands home by the pursuance of a shortened course, sketched
     omitted the phrase  alp de  seholen so that their revision out by the churches, the article is satisfied? Fact is,
     now reads: "Men zal geen schoolmeesters . . . die niet that' exactly what is required cannot be. known from
     gestudeerd hebben, tot het predikambt toelaten," enz.              the article. Strictly.speaking,  the article does not even
     The phrase in question was also deemed superfluous require that these men prepare themselves at all. For
     by the Christian Reformed Churches in America. The this reason the Christian Reformed churches added to
     article as revised by these churches reads: "Persons their revision a clause that reads: "The examination of
     who have not pursued the regular course .of study in candidates for the Ministry under Article 8 differs
     preparation for the Ministry of the Word shall not be from the regular examinations only by the omission of
     admitted to the Ministry," etc. What is the implica- the Hebrew and the Greek." This addition makes it
     tion of this revision? Is it this that persons all but plain that also the men of exceptional gifts shall pre-
     those exceptionally endowed shall be admitted to the pare themselves for the ministry of the gospel by the
.                                  a


      pursuance of a shorter course of study. But whether Ordinarily this is the strength rather than the'weak-
      this course is to be taken under the eye and the direc- ness of the articles comprising our Church Order. These
      tion of the tutors of the school or may be followed in articles retain their usefulness because they deal only
      private not stated.                                        with what is essential and fundamental in proper eccle-
         The article even as revised is weighed down by an- siastical conduct. A book of rules regulative of the life
      other difficulty, arising from the clause: "Unless there of the churches in all its minutest details, articles so
      is assurance of their exceptional gifts, godliness, complete and exact as to leave no questions unanswered
      humility, modesty, common sense and discretion, as when put into execution, would soon cease to be serv-
      also gifts of public address." The question is .whether    iceable. Yet an article should be clear so that no doubt
      the term "exceptional gifts" signifies a class of endow- remains as to what is meant.
      ments comprised of the gifts mentioned in the clause          As to Article 8, it might be more to the point. It
      and if so whether the attributive "exceptional" should is pretty certain however, that the meaning of this
      be made to apply to each endowment mentioned and ruling also as revised is this:  *To acquire a certain
      the clause be made to read: "Unless there is assurance fitness, for the Ministry of the gospel, persons of
      of their exceptional gifts, to wit, exceptional humility, ordinary ability shall pursue courses of study in theo-
      exceptional modesty" etc. ; or whether the term "special logy, the liberal arts and languages ; these courses shall
      gifts" denotes a class exclusive of the other gifts men- be taken by them at school under the supervision,
      tioned. The article contains nothing that suggests guidance and prompting of the school's tutors.
      how either its framers or the revisers would have this        On the other hand, persons exceptionally gifted
      clause construed. However, the best construction is may be freed from the obligation of attending school
      the one according to which the term "exceptional gifts" and of following courses in the liberal arts andlan-
      denotes a class of gifts comprised of the endowments guages. They shall, however, be placed under the neces-
     .; mentioned in the clause - endowments possessed in sity of studying theology by themselves under the
      marked degree. To place any other construction upon direction of competent ministers of the gospel.
      the clause in question is to convert the entire article       Let us now pass judgment upon the article so con-
      into a nonsensical ruling., This is evident. If the strued. Is the position here taken correct? In at-
      exceptional gifts are not exceptional humility, etc., we tempting an answer, let me again reiterate that the
      have to do here with an article declaring either that question is not whether persons should prepare for the
      the mediocre, aspiring to the office, need not be godly, ministry of the gospel. As was shown, the stand taken
      humble and discreet men or that these virtues can be by the Reformed churches from the very beginning to
      acquired in school. But no matter what construction the present is that they by all means should. All must
      be placed upon the clause in question, the revised prepare, the exceptional people as well as the persons
      article as it is now being interpreted continues to raise of ordinary excellence. This stand is thoroughly scrip-
      strange questions. Why for example should an  excep-~ tural. They that are after the Spirit mind, that is,
      tionally humble and godly man be exempt from study- direct the mind to, ponder, the things of the Spirit
      ing Greek  &nd Hebrew ?                                    (Rom.  8:5).    Those risen with Christ' seek and set
         A  final question is how the churches ascertain their affections upon things above (Col. 3:l).  Wrote
      whether the exceptional gifts are present. How the Paul to the  C$ossians:  "Finally, brethren, whatsoever
      Christian Reformed churches proceed in this matter is things are true, whatsoever things are honest, what-
      evident from the mass of rules presented above  - rules soever things are just, ~whatsoever  things are pure,
      affixed to Art. 8. The mode of procedure sketched out whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are
.     here is, I would say, commendable. A single remark. of good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any
     The classis reaches a final decision respecting the pres- praise, think on these things" (Phil. 4 :8). The psalmist
      ence of the exceptional gifts before it takes the pre- David resolved that he would meditate on God's pre-
     paratory examination. This, it seems to me, is a mis- cepts, have respect unto His ways and delight himself
     take. Judgment should be suspended until after this in His statutes, choose the way of truth, observe God's
     examination.     The question is whether the applicant law with his whole heart. In rapture he exclaims:  "0
     is a person of exceptional gifts. If so he has by him- how love I thy Iaw! It is my meditation all the day.
     self without the aid of others acquired a working Thou through Thy commandments hast made me
     knowledge of Scripture, has a grip upon the truth, wiser than mine enemies . . . . I have more under-
     has laid hold on and worked his way into the founda- standing than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are
     tion truths of Holy Writ, as expressed in our creed, has my meditation. I understand more than the ancient,
     a conception of things, is able to handle the word, etc. because I keep thy commandments (Psalm 119 :9-12 ;
     A thorough-going examination in exegesis, Bible his- 97-100). Even Christ had His period of preparation.
     tory and Dogmatics will bring out more than anything His public ministry was preceded by a period of grow-
     else whether he is so endowed.                              ing in grace and in knowledge, of a period during which
         So it appears that Article  8 both in its original and He pondered, directed His mind to, the law which He
     revised form raises questions that it does not answer. had come to fuhil. What else, rightly considered, does
                                                                                                       \


/                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                       201
     - - - -   .   ..___       ..-^"_                    --.----.- ---.-.^^__-              --.                   ---._
     that engagement known as "studying theology" consist of course, if the school be a stagnant stinking pool with
     in than in the meditating upon God's precepts, having a teaching staff dead and thus dull, spiritually and
     respect to His ways, choosing and contemplating the mentally unprogressive, uninspiring and Ieaning to-
     truth by one who loves the truth, the Word, by one         ward modernism. Such an institution is likely to spoil
     who feels himself attracted to the things of the Spirit, a man for life. But a seminary that is a spring of
     the things above. Because the law of God was his living water, a trumpet giving forth a certain sound
     meditation all the day, the Psalmist could prophesy, will make a man. "The CaIvinist,"  wrote Prof. R. B.
     could praise Him with uprightness of heart. Any Iiuiper  in a recent issue of The Banner, "does not take
     worthwhile action in the pulpit in the way of preach- to the minister in a well known story who boasted of
     ing and prophesying must be preceded by a season of having been to Calvary and not to college." Would it
     preparation consisting in meditating on His Word, in not be more correct to say that the true Calvinist
     studying theology, if you will. All action and in partic- prefers one who has been to a school with Calvary, so
     ular prophesying - and what else is true preaching that for one to have been to that school is to have
     than the prophesying of a regenerated and spiritual been to Calvary?
clergy  - must be the fruit of the Spirit to be sure but             Consider-that a school (a seminary) up to the right
of the Spirit who has contemplated during the season standard deveIopes  talent, opens to a man Scripture,
of preparation the deep things of God in and through leads into truth, draws lines as they ought to be drawn,
the aspirant to the office and the minister of the gospel equips a man with a working knowledge of the Bible,
in office. Who could it have been I wonder, that hatched furnishes him with the technical knowledge so needful.
out the pestiferous view that a person can step into a Should a man, exceptionally gifted, be freed from the
pulpit with an empty head and an empty heart and obligation of attending such a school, from following
preach a prize sermon that the Holy Spirit will pour courses in languages and in the "liberal arts"? Of
into him at the very juncture that he opens his mouth course not. Though he be ever so gifted, he needs
to speak.                                                       training and discipline. His talents are in need of
        The issue then raised by Article 8 is not whether development. Let me ask a few common-sense ques-
ministers of the gospel should come prepared to the tions. Will a man's endowments make up for the lack
office. Our fathers were agreed among themselves that of a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek? He
they should. The issue is rather this whether men may, if he be spiritual be able to smell, so to say, a
exceptionally gifted may be freed from the obligation faulty translation. But will his talents serve him as a
of getting a so-called "liberal arts" education and of kind of source of the original text? Must not a man
making use of the school. And the position of the with exceptional gifts as well as a person with ordinary
framers of Article 8 was that he may be freed from ability study words and their meaning and fur these
this obligation. Is the stand taken a correct one? In words in his  mihd, if he would acquire the vocabulary
attempting an answer, we must set out with ascertain- needful for him? True it is that a man with excep-
ing what may be the benefits if any derived from a tional gifts - and the gifts include godliness of course;
"liberal arts" education, from courses in languages, for only the pure of heart can see God, see Him also in
and from studying theology under the supervision of Scripture  - a man exceptionally gifted has a great
the school.                                                    advantage over the man of ordinary ability. The latter
        Is the pursuance of courses of study in such must be led into the truth by others. The former at
branches as logic, philosophy, literature and the lan- least more so than the latter can work his way into
guages advantageous to the prospective minister? To             Scripture and that faster than the others. And he is
be sure it is. For one thing the mind having followed especially capable of independent work. Yet give this
these courses is trained and disciplined. Logic deals man a Bible, take away from him all commentaries,
with the laws of correct thinking. A prospective min- deprive him of all the fruits of the labors of the church
ister should know these laws. It is an excellent thing of by-gone centuries as contained in his creed, place
further if he be somewhat of an linguist, that he know beyond his reach, if such a thing were possible, the
thoroughly the language in which he expects to preach, expositions of his creed (dogmatical works) and what
that he have a working knowledge of the languages in will he, say after five years of private study in prepara-
which the Bible was originally written - Hebrew and tion for the ministry have accomplished ? Very little.
Greek - so that he is not dependent `upon the transla- The point is that also the man of great gifts stands on
tions. Even our people, it seems, demand, relatively the shoulders of his spiritual forbears. He, too, is a
speaking, educated ministers. Judging from what they product. It means that he is not so constituted that he
say, it is hard for them to listen to a man who has has no need of the school.
difficulty with his grammar. They will tell you that                If the question be put: Can a man with exceptional
such linguistic blunders as "het koe" en "de paard" ability get along without the school and these other
grate on their nerves.                                         things, my answer is: if need be he can. But so can
        Now the question if it is any distinct advantage to the man of ordinary ability, <if need be. If the question
a person to have studied theology in the school. Not, be put : Will the man of exceptional ability, doing with-


       202                                      T H E   S T A ' N D A R D   B E A R E R
       ---_~ --...... -_----..-. "-                  ___-_--...... .-.--....-... ^"..-.-.._--_-                             ________ --......_  _-..^.^-l.."...-._II
       out the aforesaid things, do as well in office as the man ination does, ought to do, is to open a school. The
       of ordinary ability, and my answer is : He may do much course to be followed could be made as short as neces-
       better. He may also do much worse. But if the ques- sity would dictate. Relatively soon the need would be
       tion be put: Is the exceptional man, entering upon a met. Such a short course would then be the regular
       ministerial career, as good a man as he would be, had course. And being short, the practice of admitting men
       he gone to school, etc., my answer is an unmistakable with no schooling or training whatever to the office
       no. The question may be asked whether the Lord in would be uncalled for. Gradually, of course, the course
       His sovereign good pleasure cannot miraculously sup- would be lengthened.
       ply what is lacking. He can, of course. But consider                          We would leave the article stand unchanged but
       that the question is not what the Lord is capable of aKi this note to it: Without any exception all persons
       doing, but what the Lord actuaIly does. There is no aspiring  to the office shall follow the regular course of
       case on record, as far as I know, of the Lord suddenly study at school. However, persons too far advanced in
       pouring into a preacher, setting out upon his career years to be placed under the necessity of pursuing the
       empty-headed and with an empty heart, the talent and aforesaid course shall be deciared eligible for a call if
       the equipment that is needed. It means that the ex- through private study they have made such progress
       ceptional man, too, must go to school, etc. The saying as gives assurance of their exceptional gifts.
       uttered by God in Paradise, "In the sweat of thy brow                          It stands to reason that only in the event the pre-
       shalt thou eat thy bread" also applies to the excep- scribed or regular course were exceptionally long,
       tional man. That the very good man is what he is - would the churches have use for even this ruling. There
       an exceptionally gifted man - is  tne more reason why is no reason why even a man exceptionally gifted  can-
       he of all men should go to school. In a good school he not go to school for a few years though he be advanced
       will get a start that he could not possibly get by him- in years.
     self. Leaving school, he can build on the foundation                                                                                         G. M. 0.
.      that was laid in him and accomplish worthwhile things
       in the strength of God as a life-long student of the
       Bible.
              What must we then do with Article 8, erase it? it CONCEPT-REGELING VQOR HET  ORGANISEEREN
       may be retained as an emergency article and so used.                            VAN ONDERAFDEELINGEN DER R. F. P. A.
       A person might appear now and then, exceptionally
       gifted, who for some reason or other was deprived of                          1. De vcreeniging besluite om te trachten  onderafdeelingen
                                                                                                                                                                   I
       the opportunity of going                                                  der R.F.P.A. te organiseeren in:
                                       to school.     The man by him-
       self attempted to prepare for the office. And he may                          a. Chicago en omstreken;
       have made such progress as clearly etidences  that he                         b. Pella en omstreken;
                                                                                     c. Sioux County;
       is a person of exceptional ability indeea who can safely                      d. California;
       be admitted-to the ministry. He is too far advanced in                        e. Michigan.
       years to be placed under the necessity of following the                       2.  Zulk  eene onderafdeeiing  zal als zoodanig kunnen  wor-
       regular course at school, especially since such a course den opgericht door niet minder da.n 20 leden  der R.F.P.A.
       in the school of a denomination well established is apt                       8 .    Doe1 der onderafdeelingen:
       to be long. What to do with this man? Declare him                                    Onderlinge bespreking  van de belangen van de Standard
       eligible for a call. Such  2 one, I think, may not be                         a .
                                                                                            Bearer. Indien er besluiten  zullen  worden  genomen, zul-
       turned away. But the hard and fast rule should be                                    len deze aan het Hoofdbestuur  worden  voorgelegd, of op
       that all without a single exception be  com'pelled  to                               de algemeene jaarvergadering  worden  besproken.
       folIow  the regular course at school.                                         b. Behartiging van de belangen van ons blad in eigen om-
              Another matter enters in here. History shows that                             geving, aanwerven van leden  en lezers, inuen  van gelden,
       in periods of Church Reformation when a group of con-                                organiseeren van lezingen, verspreiding  onzer   begin-
                                                                                            selen, etc.
       gregations break away from the larger group to form
       a denomination by themselves, there is likely to be                           4. Onderlinge organisatie:
       from the very nature of things a scarcity of ministers                        a. Het bestuur eener onderafdeeling zal bestaan uit presi-.
       in the new denomination. Should not the article be re-                               dent, vice-president,  secretaris,  penningmeester en vice-
                                                                                            secretaris-penningmeester.
       tained also with a view to such an emergency? The                             b. Dit bestuur  zal alleen fungeeren als vertegenwoordigende
       way the article reads, it cannot  even be applied to an                              de onderafdeeling.
       emergency of this kind. For it  `speaks of admitting                          C.     De onderafdeeling vergadere minstens tweemaal per jaar.
       to the office men, with exceptional gifts, the men of                         5. Verband  met Hoofdbestuur en Vereeniging:
       genius. Such men are so few and far between that                              a. De president der onderafdeeling zal pok lid zijn van het
       if all were admitted to the office, there would still be                             Centrale Bestuur (Hoofdbestuur).
       many vacancies. Consider that there is, rightly con-                          b. Waar vijftig of meer  doch minder dan honderd  leden  in
       sidered, no need of churches ruling for an emergency                                 eene  onderafdeeling  zijn,   zal deze het  recht  hebben  om
       of the above description. The first thing a new denom-                                              (Vervolg op bladzijde 206)


                                                                                                                          ._"  --_  _-  -  -. .-. ,.. ~


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             211
 --.                                              -..... --" ..-.         --..^  --......___  -..-_.
 tellen thans dertien gezinnen. Ongeveer vijf en twin-
 tig kinderen, kleinen  en grooten, ontvangen  cateche-                   A Catechism On the History of the
 tisch onderwijs. Vooral onze avonddienst is zeer goed                          Protestant Reformed Churches
 bezocht en het  gebeurd;  al  een enkele  maal, dat we
 geen voldoende stoelen  hadden om een ieder plaats te                           XVII.  THROUGH  STRIFE TO  PERMANENT
 geven. De kerkeraad van onze Fuller Ave. gemeente                                                      ORGANIZATION
 was echter gewillig om een twee dozijn van zijn klap-
 stoeltjes ons te leenen, die dan ook verleden Zond~ag-                                                 (End of Part I)
 avond, toen Ds. Ophoff voor ons optrad, in gebruik wer-                   1. What occurred soon after the meeting of the
 den genomen. We zijn voor tijd en wijle geholpen. Combined Consistories in August 1926 ?
 Meer dan een honderd en vijftien kunnen we niet  ber-                     The Consistory of the Protesting Christian  Re-
 gen.  Mocht het echter nog wat toenemen dan is de formed Church of Kalamazoo sent a circular letter to
 "store" spoedig te klein. Het moeilijke van het geval all the Protesting Churches convoking a special meet-
 is, om het noodige geld te leenen voor eigen gebouw, ing of the Combined Consistories for the purpose ,of
 want hier gelijk elders, laat de bank niet meer 10s dan                attempting to settle the difficulties that had arisen.
 wat door goede "securities" gedekt is. Hoe dit ook zij, This meeting was to be held not later than ten days
 wij hebben  goeden  moed en hetzelfde mag gezegd van after the date of the letter.
 kerkeraad en gemeente. Boven en voor alles hebben                         2. Did the Churches comply with this summons
 we de zuivere verkondiging van Gods Woord en het wil of Kalamazoo ?
 ons voorkomen, dat de uitbreiding slechts een zaak van                    They all refused. In the first place the Churches
 tijd is. Ook in dat opzicht  wenschen  we onder den realized that the Consistory of Kalamazoo had no
 zegen des Heeren te groeien, opdat waar we nu zoo rijk authority to convoke a special meeting of the Com-
 door de kerken gesteund  worden,  die steun moge  ver-                 bined Consistories, though it assumed such power. The
 minderen.                                                              date for the next meeting of the Consistories had been
    Er is in Kalamazoo  we1 een veld, dat ware het niet fixed by the Consistories in their August meeting. And
 voor de geschiedenis eerder genoemd, genoegzame secondly, the Churches also felt, that the alleged diffi-
 ruimte biedt voor twee gemeenten.                                      culties existed only `in the minds of the brethren of
    En niet alleen in Kalamazoo, maar ook in omlig-                     Kalamazoo. The fact that they were dissatisfied with
 gende plaatsen is er volk, dat naar diezelfde waarheid the decisions taken in regard to the R. Danhof case
 vraagt. We hopen daar meer van te zeggen in de toe-                    certainly did not justify them to speak of difficulties,
 komst. Plannen en besprekingen zijn al gemaakt, of- nor to call a special meeting of the Consistories. The
schoon  we dit alleen onder en met medewerking van matter was simply dropped.
 den kerkeraad en op verzoek van zulke broeders  wen-                      3. What else occurred about the same time in
 schen te  doen.  Ik denk d.ie gelegenheid is er  schier Null, Iowa?
 overal  als. we er ons voorspannen.                                       In the "Sioux County Index" of Sept. 17, 1926 ap-
    Hopende ook eens van de andere broeders `te hooren peared the following notice, signed by B. J. Danhof,
 binnen niet al te  langen tijd,  zullen  we het hierbij                then pastor of the Protesting Christian Reformed
 laten.                                                                 Church of Hull, Iowa:
                                                              w. v.         "This congregation (of Hull,  Ia., H. H.) is really no
                                                                        longer a protesting church. Since its organization
                                                                        more than a year and a half ago, it has been an inde-
                                                                        pendent congregation.+ Also independent from other
                         IN MEMORIAM                                    Protesting churches in the east. A new name is being
    Het behaagde den Heere, den loden Januari,  onzen  geachten         discussed and considered by a committee, but it is not
 en zeer geliefden Oud-Voorzitter en medelid                            probable that the local congregation will adopt any
                       MR. G. SCHAAFSMA                                 other name for a while."
 door den dood tot Zich te nemen,  in den ouderdom van 76 jaar.
    De Heere had hem uitmuntende gaven  geschonken   tiaarmede              4. What did this notice reveal ?
 hij ons enkele  jaren   als Voorzitter heeft mogen dienen. Zijn            That already at this time B. J. Danhof and part of
 heengaan wordt dan ook door ens betreurt, doch de wetenschap           his Consistory were contemplating and making prepara-
 dat hij is ingegaan in de rust die er overblijft voor het volk Gods    tions to separate themselves from the fellowship of the
 doet ons getroost en blijmoedig voorwaarts gaan.                       Protesting Christian Reformed Churches. In fact, the
    Moge ook dit de troost zijn voor de bedroefde familie.              notice implies that they had already seceded, while at
           Namens de Hollandsche Mannenvereeniging  der                 the same time they still pretended to co-operate with
              Eerste Prot. Geref. Kerk,                                 t h e m .
                                           G. Koster, President
                                           S. De Vries, Secretaris.         5. Was, then, the notice in  the "Sioux County
    Grand Rapids, Mich.                                                 Index" not a true representation of the facts?


212                                    THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
- - -           ^" _.._                           .-                                                              -    -
         It certainly was not. The Protesting Christian Re-       "Of a few things I must disburden my heart.
formed Churches, though not formed into a definite                "I must acknowledge that after proper considera-
and permanent organization with Classis and Synod, tion and constant deliberation I cannot be satisfied
had nevertheless organized temporarily on the basis of with the standpoint  of.Rev. H. Hoeksema and others.
the "Act of Agreement". This Act of Agreement was To my consciousness there are elements in Holy Scrip-
also signed by Hull. The different Churches had met ture for the which they cannot f%rd a place in their
regularly in their combined Consistories and these theological. system, not, at least, the proper place
meetings had always been attended by the Consistory according to Scripture. Therefore, I have a desire to
of Hull. Various matters pertaining to the Churches confess that I went much too far in my condemnation
in general had been discussed and decided by a of the Christian Reformed Churches, also with respect
majority vote of the members present or by the vote to the decisions of the Synod of 1924, namely, with
of the individual Consistories, and the Consistory of regard to the Three Points. And since in the past I
Hull had also taken part in the deliberations and deci- slandered persons and churches, therefore I also make
sions. And even in the matter of permanent organiza- a public confession and at the same time seek forgive-
tion, which had been decided in the August meeting of ness.
the Combined Consistories, Hull had voted with the                "To my consciousness the'views of Hoeksema and
rest. The notice in the "Index", therefore, was thor- others can only end in dead orthodoxy and philosophical
oughly false.                                                  determinism.    Many psychological conceptions have
         6. Did B. J. Danhof immediately act according to been discarded and I have experienced that this is true
this notice of separation?                                     not only from a theoretical, but also from a practical
         He did not. Instead he had the audacity to appear viewpoint.
as regular delegate at the next meeting of the Com-               "I am sorry that I ever went along and thus be-
bined Consistories in Kalamazoo, Nov. 1926. He even came a schismatic. My prayer is that all the involved
acted as opening chairman, opened the meeting with brethren and sisters in the Protesting congregations
Scripture-reading and prayer and assumed the part of will follow my example, as several members of my own
a regular member of the Consistories as if nothing had congregation already did, and return to the Christian
happened. However, he did not remain long. He had Reformed Churches.
come to the meeting under condition of an overture,               "Asking you, Mr. Editor, to allow this a place in
that first of all the difficulties must be removed. He         "De Wachter" and thanking you for its publication, I
insisted that this overture be decided upon before any- am with loving regards,
thing else. The meeting, however, felt that these  difh-                                            B. J. Danhof."
culties did not exist and decided to proceed with its
regular business. Whereupon the Rev. B. J. Danhof                 10. What can be said of this confession ?                 r
left the meeting in anger.                                        That only God can judge the heart and we must re-
         7. What else happened relative to the Church in frain from passing judgment upon motives, but that
Hull ?                                                         the confession stands framed in very improper and in-
                                                               harmonious circumstances.
    On Dec. 8 a congregational meeting was held there.
B. J. Danhof then made an attempt to defend the Three             11. What do you mean?
Points of 1924 before the congregation and to persuade            That, although a confession in which one `disburden
the flock to return with him to the fellowship of the his heart must be received at its face value, the his-
Christian Reformed Churches. What might, perhaps, torical events that led .up to it do not make it easy to
be called a vote was taken and it appeared that thirteen believe the sincerity of it.
of the members were ready to follow their seceding                12. Why not?
pastor.                                                           First of all because B. J. Danhof had never in-
    8. Did B. J. Danhof succeed to transform his con- formed the Protesting Churches of his change of heart
gregation into a Christian Reformed Church ?                   and mind. He had joined the Churches on the basis of
    No ; he ,had to leave Hull without a Church. The the Act of Agreement. And in that Act he expressed
members of what was once a flourishing Protesting with us his firm and sacred conviction that the Three
Church were scattered and the Church appeared to be Points are in flagrant conflict with the Reformed Con-
nigh unto destruction. However, a sufficient number fessions and principles. It was extremely strange, to
of the members remained faithful to be reorganized say the least, that he should publish the above con-
and this reorganization was soon afterwards accom- fession in "De Wachter", before he had ever intimated
plished.                                                       to the Protesting Churches that his convictions had
    9. What appeared about this time in  "De  Wach- changed. And not only was it strange, but positively
ter," official organ of the Christian Reformed to be condemned as wrong, that, while he still stood
Churches ?                                                     officially on the basis of the Act of Agreement, he de-
    The following confession:                                  fended the Three Points before his congregation and


                                                             R D   B E A R E R                                     213
                                                            I_         ..-...-                                      _-._
tried to persuade them to follow him in his secession to          Yes; they decided to propose to the Combined  Con-
the Christian Reformed Churches.                             sistories two names, from which they were to choose
    Secondly, history plainly shows that not a change one: Reformed Protestant Churches, or Protestant Re-
of heart with regard to the principles of the Protesting formed Churches.
Churches, but dissatisfaction with the treatment his              15. When was the next meeting of the Combined
brother R. Danhof received in those Churches, was the Consistories held ?
cause of his separation and return to the Christian Re-           In November, 1926.
formed Churches.                                                  16. What was decided at this melting?
    Thirdly, because as late as Nov. 1926 he had                  Both the majority vote of all the members present
asserted his willingness to co-operate with the Com- and by a vote of the individual Consistories it was de-
bined Consistories, on condition that the alleged diffi- cided to adopt the advice of the committee and organ-
culties were first removed. And these difhculties did ize as a  Classis on the basis of the Three Forms of
not concern any doctrinal scruples, but merely the case Unity and the Church Order of Dordrecht. After Rev.
of R. Danhof.                                                H. Dar&of  had defended his view of the matter he and
    Yet, we will not judge. It cannot be regarded as some of his Consistory left the meeting. They were
impossible that even after Nov. 1926 the change of never to return.
mind of which B. J. Danhof speaks in his confession               17. Which name was adopted by the new organ-
came about. And although we regret the havoc he ization ?
wrought in the Church of Hull, we can easily be recon-            That of Protestant Reformed Churches.
ciled to his departure which was never regretted by the           18. What else was decided ?
Protesting Churches.                                              In order to remove any possible excuse for separa-
    13. What became of the committee appointed by tion on the part of Rev. H. Danhof and his Church, it
the Combined Consistories for the purpose of drawing was decided once more to appoint a committee to con-
up a plan of permanent organization?                         sider the alleged "d.itXculties"  of Rev. H. Danhof and
   Rev. H. Danhof, who was chairman of the commit- his Consistory and if possible remove them. As might
tee failed to call a meeting. Finally, however, after be expected this committee reported failure at the first
Rev. H. Hoeksema had reminded him of the committee meeting of the  Classis.
and its charge and had requested that the committee               19. !Vhen was this first meeting of the Classis  of
meet  .on a certain date, a meeting was held. At this the Protestant Reformed Churches held?                  '
meeting, which was held at the home of Rev. H. Hoek-              In February, 1927.
-sema  in Grand Rapids, the Rev.  H. Danhof constantly            20. What was decided at this  Classis with respect
dissented from the committee and opposed its every to Rev. H. Danhof?
action. For hours he took the stand that the com-                 At this meeting, which consisted of delegates from
mittee should advise the Combined Consistories not to all the Churches except Kalamazoo, it was decided to
proceed to permanent organization at all. This was adopt the advice of the committee that had been ap-
entirely out of order and outside of the jurisdiction and pointed in Nov. 1926 to remove the alleged "diffi-
task of the committee for the simple reason that the culties", namely, to express that as long as Rev. H.
matter of permanent organization had been decided by Danhof would not change his attitude it is neither
the Consistories themselves. When the committee, possible nor desirable further to seek his co-operation.
therefore, expressed their determination to' proceed, A copy of this decision was sent to the Consistory of
Rev. Danhof suggested that, before we could agree on Kalamazoo.
any basis of organization the question ought to be de-            21. What is the meaning of the name: Protestant
cided, whether a  Classis is authorized to depose a  Con- Reformed Churches ?
sistory. Asked to express his own opinion on this                 By it the Churches express that they stand on the
matter, he replied that he was not certain in his own basis of the Reformed Churches of the Reformation of
mind about this question. The committee felt that the sixteenth and seventeenth century,  ol%cially adopt
Rev. H. Danhof merely served a negative purpose at the Reformed Standards as their Confession and are
the meeting and decided to proceed in spite of his op- devoted to the positive development of the Reformed
position. By a vote of four against one they then de- truth as embodied in those Standards.
cided to advise the Combined Consistories to organize             22. How large is the Protestant Reformed Denom-
as a Classis on the basis of the Forms of Unity and the ination at this time? (1933)
Church Order of Dordrecht. The Rev. Danhof still in-              It numbers eighteen congregations with a total
sisted that he would defend his position before the membership of over nine hundred families. Of these
meeting of the Combined Consistories, which position Churches eight are located in Michigan, three of which
implied the advice not to come to permanent organiza- are in the city of Grand Rapids, the other five in Byron
tion of the Protesting Churches.                             Center, Riverbend, Hudsonville, Holland and Kalama-
    14. Did the Committee also propose an official zoo ; two are in Illinois, the Churches of Oak Lawn and
name for the Churches?                                       South Holland ; six are in Iowa, located in Pella, Oska-


  214                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
 -l_l_-..--                 ---- .___ - -_..-.. "^__,-ll.-   ..---- I_-----..--        -_                            -__-.__
loosa, Hull, Sioux Center, Doon and Rock Valley ; and ever, we are thoroughly convinced of the following
two Churches are in the state of California, that of facts :
Redlands  and that of Los Angeles.                                            a. That the Protestant Reformed Churches neither
     23. Do the Protestant Reformed Churches believe desired and sought nor caused the schism of 1924. On
in a trained ministry?                                                   the contrary they did all they conscientiously could do
     They do. They maintain a Theological School in to prevent the breach.
Grand Rapids,  Mich., which is conducted in one of the                        b. That  ,the Christian Reformed Churches caused
rooms of the Fuller Ave. Protestant Reformed  Church-                    the separation, chiefly by officially departing from
building. The faculty consists of the Revs. G. M. Op. sound Reformed truth when they adopted the Three
hoff and H. Hoeksema. No complete preparatory course Points (for which see Part II of-this History) ; and,
can be offered, this being limited chiefly to the lan- secondly by catering to a spirit of revenge and hatred
guages ; but a thorough  t.heological  training is em- evinced by some of their leaders over against the breth-
phasized. At present the denomination is served by ren Danhof and Hoeksema.
fifteen ordained ministers, `thirteen of whom graduated
from the Theological School of the Protestant Re-                             27. Is not a re-union of the two Churches possible?
formed Churches.                                                              Such a re-union may be considered neither probable
     24. Are these Churches engaged in any  mission-                     nor desirable. Not probable because the course of his-
work ?                                                                   tory cannot easily be changed and the Protestant Re-
     They are, although this-activity must needs be still formed. as well as the Christian Reformed Churches
limited to Home Missions. This limitation is partly a have made history since 1924. And not desirable be-
matter of principle. The ProtestanfReformed  Churches cause the Protestant Reformed Churches are able to
have a peculiar history and a specific calling. It is serve the cause of the truth much more efficiently in
 plainly their peculiar calling to labor for the develop- separation from than in union with the Christian Re-
 ment, maintenance and spread of the Reformed truth formed Churches.                                                    -._
 in a time of much apathy and indifference as well as                         28. But should we not always be willing to recon-
 opposition to true doctrine. This definite calling they cile ?
 try to realize by means of preaching and teaching,                           Without harboring a spirit of hatred and bitterness
 within and outside of their own circle, as well as by over against the Christian Reformed Churches we
 lectures and the publication and distribution of printed maintain that such reconciliation could be effected
 pamphlets. This work, as far as it proceeds from the properly only on the following basis:
 Church as institute, is under the supervision of a Class-                    a. The Christian Reformed Churches convince us
 ical Mission Committee. And the practical reason for that we have departed from the Reformed Faith as em-
 this limitation is evident. Their power is at present too bodied in the Confessions. This they have never even
 limited to assume the responsibility of a foreign field, attempted to do. On the contrary we have their own
 neither do they have a man of their own that could be testimony to this day that we are fundamentally Re-
 sent.                                                                   formed. If they convince us we will admit their right
     25. Do the Protestant Reformed Churches publish to expel us from their fellowship in 1924.
.- an ~~olYicia1 organ ?                                                      b: The Christian Reformed Churches `convince us
      They do not. The semi-monthly published by the of any misdemeanor injustice or wrong we committed
 Protestant Reformed group, The Sta&rd  Bewer, is against them, even apart from the doctrinal differences
 wholly devoted to the development of and the  dissem- that arose before 1924. Also this they have never at-
 inat,ion of the Reformed principles, but it is not pub- tempted. If they will make the attempt we will gladly
 lished by the Church as such but by the Reformed Free give them room in our paper. If they succeed we prom-
 Publishing Association. This magazine is supported ise that we shall apologize and ask their forgiveness.
 by membership- and subscription-fees, as well as by                          c. And we on our part are constrained to ask of
 voluntary offerings from the Churches ; it carries no them :
 advertisements. It is already in its eighth year of                          (1) That they confess that they departed from
 existence.                                                              the Reformed truth, when they adopted the Three
     26. Is not the breach between the Christian Re- Points in 1924 ; and that they retract them in order to
 formed and Protestant Reformed Churches to be de- return to the simple basis of the Three Forms of Unity.
 plored ?                                                                     (2) That they confess before God and us that
     All separation and division in the Church of Christ they committed a grave injustice when, in spite of all
 are to be deplored, not only because the essential unity our pleadings, they expelled us from their fellowship.
 of the Body of Christ ought to be manifested by the                          But every form of compromise is accursed !
 Church in the world, but even more so, because all divi-
 sion involves a departure from the truth on the part of                                                                H. H.
 the group that is the real cause of the separation. How-                                    END  OF PART ONE


                                                    --


                                        T H E   STA,NDARD   B E A R E R                                                 215

                  The Lone Archer                                   Egypt, his men of war numbered 40,500; at the second
                                                                    census they are given as 32,500. Even as to his seed,
      Joseph is a fruitful bough, even as a fruitful bough          then, Joseph received a double portion. Of all the sons,
    by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The                he is the fruitful bough  t.hat runs over the wall. To
    archers have sorely grieved him: but his bow abode              his children therefore is given the whole central part
    in strength, and the arms of his hands were made
    strong by the hands af the mighty God of Israel; from           of Western  Balestine.    The boundery of Ephraim
    whence is the shepherd the stone of Israel. Even by             started from Bethel, and passed down westward by
    the God of thy father, who shaII help thee; and by the          neither Beth-Horon and Gezer toward the sea; it
    Almighty who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven          turned northward to the scuthern  bank of the brook
    above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings        Kanah along which it ran eastward. Thence it went
    of the breast and of the womb. The blessings of thy            along to the western edge of the pIain to Sechem.  It
    father have prevailed above the blessings of my pro-
    genitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills:       then bent eastward to the Jordan. And the portion
    they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown          which fell to Manasseh marched with Ephraim on the
    of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.        south, with Asher  and  Issachar  on the north, running
                                           Gen. 49 :22-26.         out to the sea on the west into the Jordan valley on
    Joseph is peculiarly blessed.  Consider   that  the the east. So did Joseph flourish.
right of the first-born was comprised of three parts:                  However, it is evident  from  the after-history of
the priest-hood, the prince-hood and the double inherit- these tribes that they were not the true branches that
ance. Joseph received the third part, to wit, the run over the wall. Ephraim refused to be reconciled
double inheritance. So we read in I Chron.  5:1,  2:               to the passing of the scepter to Judah in the person of
"Now the sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel, for David, and thus refused to submit himself to the rule
he was the first-born ; but forasmuch as he defiled his of the Lord's anointed. He even availed himself of the
father's bed, his birth-right was given unto the sons opportunity of Absolom's revolt to deal a shrewd blow
of Joseph, the son of Israel . . . . "                             at the power of the southern tribe. Finally his smolder-
   In the above prediction Joseph appears as a person- ing discontent burst forth into a fierce flame and he
age highly favored and prospered by his God. He is a cried out, "What portion have we in David, what in-
fruitful bough by a spring, a tree planted by rivers of heritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, 0 Israel :
living water.    And he  flourisheth,  is fruitful; his now see to thine own house, 0 David."                    Thus did
branches run over the wall. What a picture of the Ephraim and Manasseh and all the other tribes in-
spiritual well-being and vitality of the saint.               And volved in the revolt, break away from the Lord's
this saint is Joseph, is Christ, and peripherally His anointed. They continued to corrupt their way. before
people.                                                            the Lord, serving other  gods: With their cup of
   Joseph thrives, is copious. And the secret of his iniquity filled, they were transported to a strange land
vigor is that well by which he is planted, and the well and thus passed into eternal oblivion.
is God, His Word. What mattereth it then whether                      Yet' the Joseph according to the election did not
the region where the. bough grows and flowers be a perish. Consider that the true bough is Christ. And
desert land where the streams run dry and the heavens He flourishes as the exalted Saviour who fulfilled all
are of copper. Though the sun be up with his scorch- righteousness, as the Lamb who was slain and in His
ing heat so that all else withers away, though tribula- blood cleansed His people from their sins ; for He is the
tions and persecutions arise because of the Word so bough, the true vine, by the well, and the well is God.
that many are offended, the bough continues to flourish, And His branches, that innumerable company of re-
for its roots are buried in a soil everlastingly moistened deemed, who abide. in Him and He in them, will run
by the streams of grace that floweth from the throne. over the wall on the new earth, the heavenly Canaan,
   And the bough has branches and the branches run from which Iand they will never be plucked -up. For
over the wall. This imagery is to be applied first of all they are saved to the uttermost.
to Joseph's natural fruitfulness, to his prodigious seed.             Thus the bough and its branches will be seen in
According to a former prophesy of Jacob, he will glory as a pIanting  that has come to its own. It will
branch out into two fully recognized tribes. "And now appear with none of  .its branches lacking to be hailed as
thy two sons are mine ; as Reuben and Simeon they the one marvel of the ages. For there were archers, a
shall be mine." `Not as two branches of one tribe but great company of them, who grieved him - Joseph,
two fully recognized tribes in Israel equal to Reuben Christ, the true branches. Consider that the imagery
and Simeon.' Thus the desire for children of the wife now changes. The fruitful bough now rises before the
who had said, "Give me children, or I die'! will be satis- dying prophet's eye as a lone warrior surrounded by
fied. This prophesy first went into fulfilment  on a low, archers.            And this archer is in the first instance
natural plane. At the beginning of the desert march Joseph. How Satan through the agency of the wicked
the number of Manasseh's men of war numbered brethren shot at him with their fiery darts ! And all
32,000. At the second census they had increased to because he was more righteous than they. Indeed he
52,700. As to Ephraim, at the first census on leaving was separated from them. He had lived quite alone as


216                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
-^_-.--.^  .._                 ._....... - .___-__ --_-         11_.1-_1___..--  .._._. -_
a son in his father's house. There was a deep gulf the lone archer. But he had done more than carry on
separating them from him. The plane upon which he a defensive warfare. The sword of the Spirit - the
dwelt was too high for them, the atmosphere in which Word of God -- he had courageously wielded, even as
he moved too rarified for them too breath, the sphere a youth, when he brought to his father the evil report
of his action too exclusive of their vile diversions. And of his brethren, and later on told them his dreams.
as the lone prophet of the Lord he had denounced their How fina his word to the temptress: "How can I do
evil doings and spoken to them of what had been re- this great wickedness and sin against God ?" And to
vealed to him in dreams. For this they hated him. Pharaoh he said: "It is not in me: God shall give
And their arrows flew all aimed at him,  - the arrows Pharaoh an answer of peace."
of mockery, contempt and derision. Is it not expressly              The lone archer was he, in his father's house, in
stated that they could not speak peaceable with him? the house of Potiphar, at the court of the Egyptian
It seems that the treatment they afforded him took on monarch. And in the face of all the opposition which
such cruel forms that it became impossible for him to Satan had mustered, he stood. And standing he rose
be alone with them in the field. How they resented his - to a position of glory and power. And the aggregate
reproof,  wilfully misconstrued his  reveIations,  be- of the devil's devices for his destruction, turned out to
grudged him the favor of heaven. And how his right- be the very instrument through which the Lord had
eousness had whipped their envy into a satanic rage. gotten His way with him. What a marvel, once more.
    Then came the day of the sale. They were then at                How is it to be accounted for that the bow abode
Dothan  grazing their father's flock. Here he came to in strength ? The arms of his hands had been made
them, to inquire after their well-being. Spying him strong by the hands of the mighty God of IsraeI  ; from
in the distance, they had said, "Ha ! He cometh,  the whence is the shepherd the stone of Israel. He was
master of dreams." The old satanic grudge they all therefore as invincibIe  as the hands of the Ahnighty
along had been nursing now revived and took complete were strong. And to Him is infinite power. The lone
possession of them. There was now murder in their archer therefore could not perish.
eyes. And they sold him to the merchants, confident                But though the victory was God's there would never-
that of his dreams nothing would come. So had they theless be a reward unto him. The reward, however, is
cast him out and disowed him as their brother. By this a gift of grace as well as the victory given him. The
shaft they thought to have ,disposed  him forever.              Almighty shall bless him with blessings of heaven
    But there were still ether archers besides these above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings
brethren of which the devil continued to avail himself. of the breast and of the womb . . . .
We think now of Potiphar's wife. At first it seemed                 Also this part of the prophesy went into initial
as if Joseph's star was now about to rise. In Potiphar's        fulfihnent  on an earthly plane. The lot of Joseph's
house he soon had risen to a place of pre-eminence. children comprised some of the most fertile regions in
The Egyptian set him over  all his house. But his Palestine. But these earthly blessings were the em-
career in  ~this house came to an abrupt end. Because blem of the fulness  that dwelleth  in Christ, a fulness
he had refused to yield to the voice of the temptress, he that was first on the head of the true Joseph - Christ
was cast into the dungeon. Once more the shafts be- Jesus, and thereupon on the crown of the head of those
gun to fly.in.the form of the devil's foul whisperings, given him by the Father. For He, the true archer-was
"Thou servest God in vain as thou thyself perceiveth. separated from His brethren indeed. Holy, harmless,
Thy faith in Him is folly. For thou now  kindest  thy- undefiled, separated from sinners was He and there-,
self in a dungeon." But out of this dungeon the Lord fore made higher than the heavens. Yet, being the
had taken him and set him on a throne.                          head of His people, they were also with Him, from the
    Indeed the archers had sorely grieved him - the point of view of right, - with Him in al His sufferings,
lone archer. The imagery here is primative. In the with Him on the cross, with Him in death, and in the
Ephesians this same archer appears as one who takes grave and therefore set with Him in heavenly places.
unto himself the whole  armour  of God, as one with                 He was the true archer; who successfully wrestled
loins girded about with truth, and having as his against the devil and his whole dominion. And how
breastplate righteousness, as one with feet shod with the archers grieved Him. But so it had to be ; for His
the preparation of the gospel of peace, as one taking grief was the fruit of our sins which He carried in His
the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the flesh to the cross, the burden of God's wrath against
sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Such a our sin. But because He so bore, His people are dead
one was Joseph.                                                 to sin and by that very grief, by His stripes, are healed.
    And he was strong, as a wrestler against rulers of There is therefore no more death, no more curse, for
darkness in this world, against spiritual wickedness in those in Him. Therefore they, too, are seen in the
high places. He stood against the wiles of the devil in midst of this world as lone archers. And their bows,
the evil days. He was able to quench ah the fiery darts too, abide in strength and the arms of their hands are
of the wicked. After the devil had done his worst, and made strong by the hands of the Almighty God.
shot at him all his shafts, he was seen still standing,                                                      G. M. 0.


                                                           -


                                   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
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     VOX IX, No. 10                                                   FEBRUARY 15, 1933                                Subscription Price, $2.50

                                                                                                                           ."
                                                                                    imphed  and would bring upon the Son of man alreadv
                M E D I T A T I O N                                                 wholly,  occupied Jesus'  -mind and heart. !C'he days of
                                                                                    his assumption were fast being fulfilled. An  .T`hour"
                                                                                    had been set by God's immutable counsel, when the
         Misundergtanding  and Disputings                                           Servant of Jehovah  shouId  pass through the dark  vaIe
                                                                                    of His unspeakable agony, bearing the burden of God's
                               And they departed thence and passed                  wrath, in order to be received up into glory. And now
                             through Galilee; and he would not that any             all circumstances and every event pointed to the fast
                             man should know it. For he taught his
                             disciples and said unto them, The Son of approach of that "hour."                        His transfiguration in the
                             man is delivered into the hands of men, Holy Mount, His conversation there with Moses and
                             and they shall kill him; and after that he             Elijah, the voice that had sounded from heaven, -  all
                             is killed he shall  rise the third day. But            was intimately connected with the "hour." Besides, the
                             they understood not that saying and were               clouds of evil began to lower, seriously the enemies be-
                             afraid to ask him.                                     gan to  pIot against His life. The days of His assump-
                                And he came to Capernaum; and being in
                             the house he asked them, What was it that              tion were being fulfilled ! . . . .
                             ye disputed among yourselves by the way ?                   Only, it was to the goal, not merely to the-way of
                             But they held  their  peace, for by the way            suffering, that the Servant of the Lord looked forward
                             they had disputed among themselves who                 in those significant days!
                             should be the greatest. And he sat down                     And the goal was His assumption !
                             and called the twelve, and saith unto them,
                             If any man desire to be first, the same shall               The end was His being received up, tbe-glqry  that.-- -,.._
                             be last of all and servant of all.                     was set before Him!
                                                              Mk.  9:30-35.              That glory was promised Him by the Father. It
                                                                                    was .set before Him. Of that  gIory He had received a
                                And it came to pass, when the time was              foretaste in the Holy Mount, to comfort Him as He
                             come that he should be received up, he
                             steadfastly set his face to go up to Jeru-             was about to descend into the dark vale of His amazing
                             salem.                                  Luke 9:51.     suffering. And it is with the sure hope of that gIory
                                                                                    in His heart, and consoled by the anticipatory experi-
        Jesus determined to  suffer!                                                ence of that glory as He had tasted it in the moment of
        For, steadfastly the servant of the Lord set His His transfiguration, that He now passes through Gali-
     face to go up to Jerusalem, there to be delivered up lee, looking forward to the "hour," with fear and trem-
     and killed!                                                                    bling, indeed, but at the same time with an overwhehn-
        Thus, we may assume, was his attitude already ing joy because of the glory He shall receive from the
     when he was with His disciples in the way through Father, &hen He  shah have finished the way of suffer-
     Galilee, from the Holy Mount to Capernaum. For, ing and death. For, indeed, His "beingreceived up" in-
     though the text from Luke refers to a slightly later cludes the way of His agony. There is no other way.
     time than that of Mark, it is evident from the latter Zion must be redeemed through justice. The perfect
     passage that even then His heart and mind were  filled answer to God's "Thou shalt love Me  !" must be given
     with the thought of His  final suffering and death.                            by Him Who stands at the head of His brethren in the
I       "The hour" was approaching !                                                house of God. The perfect sacrifice must be offered in
        The tremendous significance of that "hour," the perfect obedience and the bitter cup must be drunk to
     awful amazement and utter perplexity that "hour" the very dregs, And the awful darkness of that "hour"


      218                                                     T H E   S T A N ' D A R D   B E A R E R
                             ----."  -... -ll-".-."..                                                                        _- -.- ..___.._-
 may well  fib His soul with amazement. Yet, the glory                               And they must know!
 is inconceivably great, and with His eye on that glory                              And so He instructs them. The Son of man must
 the Son of Man aiready  despises the shame and is fully be delivered up into the hands of men ! If He were
 prepared to travel the dark way even unto the end!                               not delivered up into their hands, delivered up by the
         He steadfastly set His face to go up to Jerusalem! Father and by the voluntary surrender of the Servant
         This refers, indeed, to the time after He left  Caper- of Jehovah, they could have no possible power over
 naum, but it must have been His attitude from the Him. But He will be delivered up. It cannot be
 moment He descended from the Holy Mount. For, he avoided. They must have a full opportunity to give an
 would not that,, any man should know of His presence answer to the question: What think ye of the Christ ?
 in the country. He wouId  not be detained !                                      For, the delivering up of the Son of man into the hands
 I       He set His face ! Steadfastly ! Fully determined! of men will be the judgment of the world. The thoughts
         The figure implies, that a difficult task must be per- in many hearts must be revealed and sin must become
 formed and that many considerations might induce us fully manifest as sin. And they shall kill Him. The
 to abandon the very attempt to accomplish it. For the murder of the Servant of Jehovah, of Him that is the
 Son of man this humanly impossible task is His suffer- light of the world, by following Whom one need not
      ing to atone for the sins of His brethren. It implies, walk in darkness but shall have the light of life, will
      that there is a voluntary choice, a complete surrender be the answer of the world and at the same time the
      of self to perform the task, a perfect victory over all judgment of itself. But even through this delivering
      considerations to the contrary. The Lord's suffering up of the Son of man God will accomplish His purpose
      was voluntary, an act of His will in the supreme sense. of salvation, realize His promise of redemption to the
      It  imphes, finally, a fixed purpose, the concentration of heirs of the promise, and the Servant of Jehovah will
      the heart and mind upon the one object of completing voluntarily pour out His life unto death to bring the
      the task. The Lord  tied His whole heart upon the perfect sacrifice as a ransom for the sins of many ! . . .
      goal in Jerusalem! . . . .                                                     Yes, He  wiU be delivered up. He will be killed.
             Steadfastly, without wavering, without looking There is no other way.
      hither and thither, without being moved to and fro as                          But He shah rise again! The power of the enemy
      a reed shaken by the wind, He set His face to Jeru-
      salem !                                                                     shall not prevail. It is only through death that it is
                                                         .                        possible for Him to attain to His glory, to the glory
             And it must have become evident in His entire they have witnessed in the Holy Mount. But that
      attitude even to His disciples, that His  whoIe  soul was g1or.v  shall surely be realized. He shall rise again !
      occupied with that one purpose.                                             And that not in the end of the world, in the hour of
        5 Even as He passed through Galilee He had Jeru- the general resurrection, but on the third day, so that
      salem in mind. Thither He must go.                                          His gIory  shall fall within the scope of their present
             And He would not, that any man should know that experience and they may be His witnesses, witnesses
      He was passing through Galilee.                                             of His suffering and resurrection!
         He must not be detained ! He wiII not tarry!
             He hastens to the  final scene of battle ! Determined                   Thus He speaks, instructing them!
      to suffer!                                                                     Telling them of "the hour" before it come to pass,
         In order to reach the glory set before Him!                              that when it come to pass-they might believe!
                                                                                     But they understood not that saying and dared not
                                                                                  ask Him!
         Serious misunderstanding!                                                   Serious misunderstanding !
         In that sacred hour, when, with the memory of the                           For, mark that there was nothing in the instruction
      glory of the Holy Mount still fresh in His heart and of the Lord as such that a child could not understand !
mind, the Lord steadfastly set His face to go up to Was it not plain teaching.7 The Son of man shall be
      Jerusalem, He would not that any should know of His delivered up, shall be killed, shall rise again the third
      passing, for He desired to be alone with His disciples. day! Surely, there is nothing incomprehensible in
         They must know!                                                          these words! But they understood not, because this
             The hour of His assumption will be an hour of instruction did not  fit in their present frame of mind,
      amazement and perplexity for them too. For, that in their conception of the Messiah, in their own system.
      assumption will be so different in its way from what Their conception was earthly, not heavenly; it was
      they hoped it to be; so contrary to all they wanted it carnal, not spiritual. In their system there was as yet
      to be, to all the conceptions and expectations and de- no room for the cross and, therefore, no place for the
 i sires of the flesh, that the actual darkness of the resurrection. Why shouId  a Messiah that had come to
      "hour" might well overwhelm them and fill them with restore the throne of David to its former glory, die and
      utter perplexity and despair!                                               rise again? Vainly they strove and groped to find `a
             They knew not as He knew; they understood not as place for the present instruction of Jesus in their
      He understood the true significance of the hour?                            system. And it did not fit! . . . .


                                       T H E S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                           219

   Hence, they understood not that saying!                       Jesus, setting His face toward Jerusalem, His heart
   And for the same reason they were afraid to ask and mind solely occupied with the thought of His as-
Him for further light upon the matter!                       sumption, of His suffering and death, of His deep
   They dared not ask Him, partly because the matter humiliation, of becoming the Servant of ah !
was shockingly plain ; partly because to ask Him would           His disciples, walking a few yards' behind Hi,
require that they would expose their own conception of fiUed  with the love of self, the love of the world, the
His glory and instinctively they were ashamed of it; love of vaingIory  and the honor of men, hotly disputing
partly, perhaps, because they were afraid that further among themselves about the miserable question, who
.elucidation  would utterly destroy their fondest hopes, should be the greatest, wrangling and fighting about
their carnal expectations ! . . . .                          sinful  things! .  ; . .
   For, the heart is deceitful, more than anything !             Truly, had not Jesus been greater than Moses,
   And they persisted in their attitude, which, had it meeker than the meek, He would, under this added
been revealed, would have been expressed in the words: suffering and temptation, have turned His face away
Lord, this shall never be!                                   from Jerusalem and refused to become the Servant of
   And so, they understood not!                              them that sought only lordship! . . . .
   Sad misunderstanding !                                        Shall we condemn the disciples? But do we not
                                                             fully understand their misunderstanding? And are we
                                                             not wholly like them even now? . . . .
   Painful contrast !                                           The heart is deceitful !
   The Lord, having His face set toward Jerusalem,              Sad contrast !
prepared to become the Servant of all, hastens onward
through Galilee, and in His anxious determination, now
journeys, after He instructed His disciples concerning          But the first is last!
His assumption, alone, a few yards ahead of the twelve.         He is the Servant of all! Sound instruction! . . . .
   And the disciples, miserably misunderstanding,               You desire to be first? Your earnest query is, how
lingering a few paces behind, whispering about a ques- you may become the greatest of all? And you under-
tion that seemed to them to be of supreme importance stand the true implication of that question? . . . .
that moment: who should be the greatest!                        Not in the false sense, in which the world that lieth
   Silently the Lord walked ahead of them, apparently in  evil and darkness would put the question, you ask
ignorant of their carnal conversation. Not until they it? You do not measure the greatness of man by man
had reached Capernaum and had entered into the and his standards, but you refer to that greatness
house, He called them to Him and approached them which is true in the eyes of God? You ask who shall
with the question that was calculated to draw out a be the greatest in the Kingdom, not of  Man* but of
confession and to put them to shame: what was it that G o d ? . . . .
ye disputed in the way?                                         Well, then, here is the answer: be  wihing  to be
   Who should be the greatest!                               last!
   Let us assume and hope that they did not put the             Be servant of all?
subject of their dispute in that bold form. And . . . . .       For, only in the willingness to be the last you shall
was it, perhaps, Judas that introduced this subject? be first; only in your readiness to be servant to all you
However this may be, certain it is, on the one hand, shah actually and truly be the greatest!
that the conversation, naturally dealing to a dispute,          How different are the relations in the Kingdom of
reveals a state of mind that entirely explains their mis- heaven from those in the kingdom of this w&d ! And
understanding of Jesus' instruction as well as their how contrary to our carnal desires and judgments of
fear to ask Him for further light on the subject of His our natural mind, darkened through sin, are its values
suffering; and, on the other hand, that their dispute and evaluations! How impossible of mere human attain-
naturahy followed from their failure to receive Jesus' ment are its precepts ! Possible of attainment, indeed,
teaching concerning His assumption. While the Lord only through the grace of Him that became the Servant
instructed them about His suffering and death and of all, took our sins away, removes the corruption of
resurrection, they simply had pursued their own train our hearts and the darkness of our foolish minds, and
of thought: an earthly kingdom, earthly power and makes us wholly new creatures! . . . .
glory, earthly honor, position, name and, oh, it followed        For, then, and then only, we seek another gIory
very naturally: who should, in that earthly kingdom be than that of self, another greatness than the greatness
the greatest? And equally natural it was, that this o f   M a n !
subject should cause dispute. The question : who shall          The glory of the ever blessed God, revealed in Christ
be servant of all ? never causes wrangling and dispute ; Jesus our Lord !
but the directly opposite query: who shall be the                The greatness of the Kingdom of heaven!
greatest? must needs cause dissension, envy and                  Glory to His grace!
hatred . . . .                                                                                              H. H.


226                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
ll_____l_-_-__-__-_.-  -..--                   ^--,I_-__----         .-_II_-_.^  _.---.---
   Bet onverrnijdelijk  gevolg is geweest, dat men al
spoedig de eene zijde van het dilemna liet varen.                              Why Am I Baptized?
   De Gereformeerde zijde verdween hoe langer  hoe                  Some time ago a leaflet came into my hands bearing
meer.                                                            this striking and extremely interesting title. This is
   De Remonstrantsche afgod werd verkondigd.                     truly an interesting question. Interesting for any one
   Dat kon niet uitblijven. En het is ook niet uitge-            who has been baptized in infancy and reared in the
bleven. Men kan we1 een tijdlang zich vleien, dat men church. It is well worth our while to face this question
aan twee elkander uitsluitende beginselen  kan vasthou-          and to seek a satisfying, Scripturally-correct answer.
den en die handhaven. Men Ban wel een poos wijselijk Even the question itself would cause us to turn with
spreken van een mysterie en schelden ieder, die dit niet interest to the leaflet bearing this title. But this ques-
aanvaardt,  uit voor een rationalist ; op den duur wreekt tion becomes even more interesting when the intro-
zich deze leugen tech. En zoo komt men dan terecht in duction informs us of the purpose ,of placing this ques-
het Remonstrantsche vaarwater.                                   tion and giving this answer. The author has in mind
   Maar wij zullen,  niet door de rede, maar door ern- the young men and young women who have been bap-
stig en nauwkeurig onderzoek der Schrift, deze  twee- tized and brought up in the church. He divides them
godenleer op de proef stellen.                                   immediately at the outset into two groups, namely,
       En ieder mag oordeelen of wij de Schrift  verkrach-       those who earnestly seek a correct  .answer  to this
ten, dan of Heyns dit doet.                                      question and those who are indifferent both toward the
                                                        H. H.    question and the answer. For those who say: `I want
                                                                 to know that, and know it correctly,' this leaflet pur-
                                                                 poses to give an answer. As to those who are indiffer-
                                                                 ent it desires to cause them to consider how unaccount-
             BECAUSE HE IS  MY SAVIOR                            able such an indifference with respect to baptism is
                                                                 and to cause them to consider with interest the answer.
  When clouds of despair hide the glory of the day,              It has to do then with baptized young people who face
  And weary my feet plod along my pilgrim way,                   or should face the all-important question: .Why am I
               Come joy or sorrow, good or ill,                  baptized ? This makes the question the more interest-
               I yield myself unto His will                      ing, for surely such young people must be properly in-
            Whose mercy guides and keeps me still,               formed. But for us this question is still more interesb
               Because He is my Savior!                          ing if we notice that the answer in the leaflet comes
                                                                 forth from the pen of the former Professor W. Heyns.
He will not forsake me in seasons of distress ;                  His views on the subject of baptism are not strange
My weakness He knows, and He's always near to bless ; in the circles which bear the name of being Reformed.
               His mercy, boundless as the sea,                  Though he is not responsible for the translation, the
               His grace, so rich, so full, so free,             professor is nevertheless the author of this  leaflet.
               In floods of glory cover me,                         Any one at all acquainted with the views of the
                 Because He is my Savior.                        former professor will undoubtedly expect the answer
                                                                 that is given to the question: Why am I baptized? This
  The poorest and lowest are not beneath His care ;              answer is given in one clear-cut statement, and this
  No burden, no sorrow too great for  Him to share.              statement is then further explained in the pages that
               His ear can hear the faintest call ;              follow. The answer reads as follows : "that you should
               He sees and marks the sparrow's fall;             have an `undoubted testimony' of your participation in
               In life; in death, He is my all,                  the Covenant of Grace, that you are one of those whom
                 Eecause He is my Savior.                        God will receive in favor, one of those for whom there
                                                                 is grace, one of those who shall be saved, if you on
So patiently He walks and talks with me along the way,           your part faithfully accept this covenant and devote
               My soul is sweetly satisfied                      yourself to God and His service." That this answer is
               To trust His love, what e'er betide ;             pregnant with meaning becomes plain if we turn to the
He leads me, cheers me, helps me, keeps me ev'ry conclusion, which is drawn after the explanation. We
        passing day,                                             must bear in mind that this is written for those who
                 In life, in death, He is my Guide,              are called covenant young people and bear the sign of
                 Because He is my Savior.                        the covenant on their foreheads. With a view to those
                                                                 who are interested and earnestly ask the question we
                                                                 read: "It signifies and seals to you nothing less than
       Geduld is niet gemakkelijk te beoefenen. Onze ziel that God has graciously adopted you as His child and
moet daartoe stil zijn in de richting "van God. "linmers heir. And does not that include eve@hirng necess'aw
is mijn ziel stil tot God."                                      to  life  and salvation?  (Italics mine, C. H.) You do


                                                                                                                    _      ______- -- ,.


                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   E E A R E R                                       327
              _.- .._ "- -.....             --        -                 .-^.-.1111.
not need to ask whether there is grace for you person- tained a redemption which can be bestowed upon those
ally. You may not even ask that, even though your who are lost, as a free gift of God's grace, a gift which
sins are read as scarlet, for that would be a question of they only need to  accept  and appropriate  gmtuitously,
lack of .faith, lack of faith in God's Word, in His Cove- in order to be everlasting possessors of it." But there
nant, in the baptism which was administered to you is also a second group, namely, of those who are in-
personally in His Name. What, is there no grace for different as to the fact of their baptism. They neither
one who has been accepted as His child and heir?" And face the question as to why they are baptized nor do
for those now who are indifferent the leaflet goes on: they seek an answer. We feel immediately that these
"Nevertheless, however much this means, it does  lilt indifferent ones can be divided into two classes. There
mean, that fo,r that rec~so7z alone you will be saved; that are also unconverted elect among the indifferent ones
you may live on thoughtlessly and according to your as they manifest themselves in the church. It is true,
own desires, and still inherit eternal life. Do not for- that this class is always in a small minority, since God
get, that it is one thing to receive the promise and establishes His covenant already with children and
another to inherit it, one thing to be an heir and an- these children develop in knowledge and faith as they
other to receive the inheritance. There is the possi- grow up in the Church. Nevertheless, there are some
bility of being disinherited as heir, of being cast out as elect, as they manifest themselves in the church, who
children of the kingdom. Even as Abraham received are not converted until later in life and live for a time
the promise only by faith (Heb. 6:X), so also every in sin. These unconverted elect must also receive an
child of Abraham, every heir of the kingdom of God answer to the question concerning their baptism. And
and of His Covenant, will receive the inheritance only the answer given to them by the author of this leaflet
in the way of faith, in the way of believing acceptance is: You are children and heirs'of the promises. To you
of the Covenant, and of walking obediently according to also come the promises of salvation and eternal life.
the demands of the Covenant. Whoever does not be- But there is a danger of being disinherited. "It is one
lieve shall be condemned, and without sanctification thing to receive the promise and another to inherit it,
none shall see God. How terrible it will be to be DIS- one thing to be an heir and another to receive the in-
INHERITED, made by God in His grace to be an heir heritance." The promise  & not enough, for that reason
of the inheritance of eternal life, but to see oneself alone you cannot be saved, you must also believe. You
deprilled  of the inheritance before the judgment seat must accept His offered salvation in order to be saved.
of God, because it has not been accepted by faith, but It depends then on you. if you do not accept you will
rejected in unbelief! What a cause of bitterest, con- surely perish. And as to the other class of indifferent
suming, eternal remorse that will be ! May it never ones, for there are also the wicked reprobates who are
happen to you, you who bear the sign and seal of God's born in the church, baptized and reared within her
Covenant on your foreheads. Accept His grace, humbly folds; they are also' referred to. They have the same
and gratefully. Then your soul will be saved, for he promises, they also are children and heirs and they also
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. And then must accept the promises of faith. Therefore the offer
the whole rich contents of God's Covenant of Grace, an of salvation comes to them from God: "Accept His
incorruptible, undefiled, unfading inheritance, will be grace, humbly and gratefully. Then your soul will be
your everlasting possession."                              saved, for he-that believeth and is baptized shall be
   The answer comes, first of all then, to those who saved. And then the whole rich contents of God's
have received the sign of the covenant in infancy and Covenant of Grace, an incorruptible, undefiled, un-
who now ask the question: Why I am baptized? And fading inheritance, will be your everlasting posses-
the answer is: God signifies and seals to you that you sion."
are children and heirs. You are children of the king-         Upon perusing this leaflet the thought strikes us:
dom and the inheritance is laid away for you. "And `LBeginselen  werken door." It is true, nothing is men-
does not that include everything necessary to life and tioned here that cannot be found or at least inferred
salvation  ?" All you need do is accept it! You are, from the writings and teachings of the  former  pro-
indeed, unclean, in need of washing and cleansing, one fessor. A number of his former students also advocate
who is condemned before God apart from Christ. But these views in their church today. In itself it is noth-
God will be your salvation; as Father to be a Father, ing new. Yet now these views are given in a leaflet
as Son to be a Savior and as Holy Spirit to be a Sanc- form to the young men and young women of the church
tifier. That is what baptism signifies and seals to your with the purpose that they may receive a correct an-
as a washing and cleansing of all our sins, if you will swer to their extremely important question, or, at least,
only believe. You must forsake the world, crucify the may be aroused to face the question and the answer
old nature and walk in a new and holy life, in the way     given. The minds of the young people must be filled
of sanctification. That this is the answer which the with these views. But if these views are inculcated in
Ieaflet wishes to give is very plain from various the receptive minds of our young people what must we
passages, but, to mention one passage, is also clear on expect of the church in the future, what of our cher-
page  4: where we read: "And thus He (Christ)  ob- ished Reformed principles and what of the young men


                                            STANDARD   BEARER
                               -"-
and young women as they take their places in the           God are taken into the perfect, heavenly kingdom
church? Surely this is not to be slighted ? All in all,    above.
the presentation is a mischievous one whether it were         Secondly, this leaflet maintains that the bearers of
intended as such or not.                                   the covenant sign and seal are heirs and children of
   The errors and evils of this presentation lie on the God. They have received the merit of Christ and the
surface. Emphasis is laid,  tist of  ail, on the promises promises of God. This is only objectively and depends
of God. God promises salvation, eternal life and the       on their acceptance, yet the work of God has a begin-
incorrupible,  unfading, undefiled inheritance in heaven. ning for them. If any one is made a child and heir it is
These are promised to us in Christ, upon the basis of only on the basis of the meritorious suffering of Christ.
Christ's merits. Christ is the bread of life which came This merit can never be taken away. If Christ has
down from heaven and the water of life which we can merited for all the baptized than the only conclusion we
drink freely. These promises, so the professor goes on can reach is that all will also be taken into the eternal
to explain, come to us first of all already in God's inheritance. God is just! If in His justice He makes
Word. But God also assures us that this is truly so in children. and heirs they must remain such and they
the Covenant of Grace, which is established with Abra- must also receive the inheritance. That is exactly the
ham and his seed. And not onIy does God give us a only ground for assurance in all believers. Because
sworn covenant, but He also adds the sacrament. God God has merited redemption in Christ, therefore He
sets a sign upon all that are baptized signifying that sees no iniquity in Jacob and no perverseness in Israel,
they are true partakers of the promises and He sup-        now and never. Therefore He will also bless them unto
plies a seal which shows that they are truly in the all eternity. And furthermore, God always continues
covenant and that the promises are altogether reliable. all that He begins. If God has elected in Christ, merited
But these promises, this sworn covenant and this sign salvation in Him, He will also apply that saIvation  to
and seal in baptism are not as strong and unchangeable man's heart and continue until that work is finished.
as we are liable to think they might be. They depend The professor speaks of a certain grace and a certain
on man's acceptance. We must accept them by fZith, life which are given to every baptized member of the
otherwise they are null and void. The author distin- church. This life is not the regenerated life and this
guishes between being an heir and receiving the in- grace is not the saving grace, yet they are nevertheless
heritance, between receiving the promise and partici- a certain work of God. That much God has done, but
pating in it. These promises are liable to change. If now it depends on our acceptance whether the Spirit
we do not accept them weare disinherited, we are cast will continue this work and grant us  alI the blessings
out of the kingdom of God; Such a presentation is not of salvation. The Father has made us heirs and the
only absurd but is even contrary to all the fundamental Son has merited, but now the work of the Holy Spirit
teachings of Scripture. God does not change. He is cannot  be accomplished until we accept. That is, of
immutable, the unchangeable Jehovah, the Ancient of course, impossible. The work of God cannot be sepa-
Days who knows no shadow of turning; the ever-faith- rated for the Triune God works a complete and perfect
ful One, so that Jacob is not consumed. God's prom- work, accomplishing all that He sets out to do. Once
ises are equally unchangeable since they are founded saved always saved, one an heir always an heir, once a
on His own unchangeable-Being. His sworn oaths rest child always a child, for the eternal inheritance is laid
on the eternal Bock. They are always yea and Amen away in heaven. But then it is equally true that God
in Him. His signs and seals are sure! God never has never given a certain grace nor a certain life to
promises that which will not be realized and all that those perishing. Christ has never merited for them
He promises will He Himself fuIfU. Furthermore, our and God has never worked in them ; they perish in
Lord is the eternally sovereign. God Who is never de- their sins.
pendent in the least on anything in His creation. It is       And finally, we must remember that God's work
He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, Who has never depends on man. Such a presentation is the pure
eternally willed all things and does all that is accord- teaching of Pelagius. The leaflet states: "What will it
ing to His good-pleasure. To deny this is to deny God. avail one who.is hungry that there is bread, unless he
But naturally, if we maintain this it is impossibIe to eats it?. And so also the bread of life must be eats."
insist that God's promises come to the reprobate as And further: `&a gift (redemption) which they only
well as to the elect, that the sacrament of baptism can need to aceepe  and amropriate  Qra6+u2ou&,  in order to
be a sign and seal to the perishing as well as to those be everlasting possessors of it." In the same manner
saved. We must, we cannot avoid it, distinguish be- Pelagius speaks of all people. God has given to every
tween being outwardly-historically in the covenant and man a certain amount of natural light, whereby he can
being spiritually-eternally in that covenant. Baptism accept the well-meaning offer of salvation. Here bap-
does not mean the same to the reprobate, who is out- tism is presented as such a well-meaning offer of salva-
wardly-historically in the covenant as it does for the tion, depending on man's acceptance. But the unregen-
elect, who is spiritually-eternally in that covenant. The erated heart can never accept, for lest we be born again
wicked are cast out of the kingdom and the children of we cannot even see the kingdom of heaven. God'sgrace


                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               229
                          .--- ^.-.........._ ^ -_.--..-  _--."._     _~-.._._"I-.                          ._  - -  -..._.   l_l
 is absolutely necessary to regenerate the heart, to Holy Spirit assures us that He will dwell in us, and
apply the Word, to grant faith and appropriate and-to sanctify us to be members of Christ, applying unto us,
give us all the blessings of salvation. There is only one that which we have in Christ, namely the washing away
grace and that is saving grace, only one work and that of our sins, and the daily renewing of our lives, till
is God's work. We can never expect a correct explana- we finally shall be presented without spot or wrinkle
tion of the way of salvation from Pelagius, no more can among the assembly of the elect, in  life eternal. In the
the covenant youth of the church expect a correct an- sign on our foreheads God assures us of our being
swer to this important question from this Ieaflet !                  joined with Christ, the washing away of our sins and
    But do not think that it is my purpose to slight this the separation from the world in covenant-fellowship
extremely interesting and important question. We have with I God:  We can know most assuredly, without a
a perfect right to ask and must ask: Why- am I bap- shadow of doubt, by faith, that God is our Sovereign-
tized? Also the young men and young women of the Friend and has made us His friend-servants. God has
church must face this question and diligent&seek an saved, blesses and works out our complete salvation.
answer. He who interestedly asks must receive an an- We, as friend-servants of God, are called to serve Him
swer and he who indifferently shuns the question must in newness of life. Is there a greater treasure than
surely be warned and admonished.' But then the an- this assurance which God gives us, this stamp which
swer must be Scripturally-Reformed. We must not be He lays on His Word? Is there a higher calling than
content with giving ftise presentations and creating ,the calling which comes to us in Baptism? The God of
false illusions. The covenant youth must have an an- our Fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is
swer, but by all means a correct answer. And the only Jehovah, the Unchangeable One, and He establishes
correct answer is a Scripturally-Reformed answer! His covenant with us from generation to -generation,
Such an answer can be given them !                                   He speaks to us, saying: I will be a God unto you and
    In answering this question I would like to maintain, ye shall be My people !
for the sake of clarity, the same distinction that the                  But baptism also has significance for the indifferent.
`leaflet makes. First of all then, we have to deal with The sign of the covenant also testifies for those, who
the truly interested. They have received the sign of would banish that testimony from them. Among the
the covenant in baptism and have come to years of indifferent are also some elect. Although it is not the
discretion. The hypocrites, of course, are not included general rule in the church that the children of God are
here. They may also pretend to be interested, yet their brought to conversion later in life, this is nevertheless
interest is false. They may ask this question as to sometimes the case. For such the sign of the covenant
why they are baptized, yet surely not because they seek demands faithfulness, repentance and a turning to God.
a correct answer. They, therefore, must be. grouped But there are also Esaus in the church. In an outward,
with the  indif@rent  and be regarded as such. We are historical sense they are in the covenant. According to
dealing now with the truly interested only. It is safer, the plain teachings of Scripture it is not all Israel that
to avoid all misunderstanding, to say that we are deal- is called Israel. There is a fleshly Israel over against
ing with the elect, the true  children of God. It is true the spiritual Israel, there is the reprobate shell as well
that the term `election' is avoided in our day, yet it is as the elect kernel. Paul mentions this very emphatic-
purely Scriptural and is always  pIaced  on the fore- ally in I Cor.  lO:l-5: Moreover, brethren, I would not
ground in alI the pages of Holy Writ. The truly inter- that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers
ested are none other than the eIect of God, who were were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
given to Christ and redeemed by Him, who are regen- and were all baptized unto Moses  m the cloud and in
erated and called out of darkness into His marvelous the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and
light. These elect have been so influenced by the grace did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank
of God, that they now ask the question: Why am I of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that
baptized? And the answer is plain: They are baptized Rock was Christ. B,ut with) mamy of them  God was not
that their God-given faith may thereby be increased ,well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilder-
and strengthened. The Lord gives us a sign and seal ness. This is even more plain in Rom. 9 :8 : That is,
 of all that He has revealed in His Word. He assures They which are the children of the flesh, these are not
 us that we are justified by faith, or to put it in the              the children of God: but the children of the promise
words of the form for baptism: the Father witnesses are counted for the seed. Scripture also gives the
and seals unto us, that He makes an eternal covenant example of the vine. The true branches bear fruit in
 of grace with us, and adopts us for His children and Christ, but there are also branches that do not bear
 heirs, and therefore will provide us with `every good fruit in Christ; `they are the suckers that are no real
 thing, and avert all evil or turn it to our profit; the part of the vine, can never bear fruit and must be cut
 Son seals to us, that He washes us in His blood from all off. The example of chaff and wheat is also used. Being
 our sins, incorporating us into the fellowship of His historically-outwardly in the covenant this chaff grows
 death and resurrection, so that we are freed from ail with the wheat. The same things, such as being bap-
 our sins, and accounted righteous before God ; and the tized, reared in the covenant, instructed in the church,


?30                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

make both grow together. But the chaff always re-
mains chaff, continually manifests itself more clearly                           Jezus Dienen
as chaff and will  fmally be destroyed. The  wicked-             Er zijn uitspraken der Schrift,  die ons bij het eerste
reprobate cannot come in contact with the Word of God of oppervlakkig lezen eigenaardig aandoen. Ik heb het
and cannot bear the sign of the covenant upon his fore- oog op die gedeelten, die van den trouw van Gods volk
head without being influenced by it. He is hardened in gewagen of de sierlijke schoonheid der kerke Gods uit-
his sin, his heart is darkened, his punishment becomes stallen.
greater and God is finally justified in his condemnation.        Wie van ons heeft met de verlegenheid gevoeld der
Both the Word and the baptism are a savor of death schapen van Jezus, staande aan Zijne rechterhand, toen
unto death for him, for both cause him to stumble over Hij hen toesprak: "want Ik ben hongerig geweest en
the Rock of offence  and to be crushed by that Rock. gij hebt Mij te eten gegeven, Ik ben dorstig geweest
The wicked in the church are stirred up to animosity en gij hebt Mij te drinken gegeven, Ik was een vreem-
against God, the Christ and the believers. They per- deling en gij hebt Mij geherbergd, Ik was naakt en gij
secute and seek to destroy, they kill the prophets and hebt Mij gekleed, ik ben krank geweest en gij hebt Mij
crucify the Christ. And although they seek the ruin of
God's covenant, they nevertheless serve to keep the bezocht,  Ik was in de gevangenis en gij zijt tot  Mij ge-
                                                              komen" ?
church pure and to prepare it for the heavenly king-
dom.                                                             Denkt tech eens aan : zijn wij dan voeders, kleeders
       To the unconverted and the indifferent baptism en troosters van Jezus ? Wordt ook den Koning der
always says: You have no right to  sin: Sin is aduItery,      koningen van uit het stof gediend?
a forsaking of the true and living God and a turning to          Wie zou met  verlegen worden  als men in het aan-
false gods. God's holiness must banish sin from be- gezicht geprezen wordt ! ? Onwillekeurig slaat men
fore His face ; His righteousness must punish sin with tech zijn oogen neer, wanneer  onze goede werken in
wrath and condemnation. The soul that sins must die. onze tegenwoordigheid als van de daken gepredikt wor-
You must repent, you must turn away from your sin den?
for God demands it. If you continue in sin, your pun-            En `t is hier Koning Jezus die spreekt. En Zijn
ishment is certain and God is just in His condemnation.       spreken is tegelijkertijd recht doen. Het milieu is de
You are guilty of breaking God's covenant, of forsaking rechterstoel die gesticht zal worden  op den jongsten
that which is holy for a dish of pottage and of polluting dag, den dag des oordeels ; en rondom hem? Luister
the pure for the lusts of the flesh. There is no redemp- slechts:  "En wanneer  de Zoon des menschen komen zal
tion outside of the blood and atoning sacrifice of Christ.    in Zijne heerlijkheid, en alle de heilige Engelen met
He who casts this testimony aside is thereby hardened Hem, dan zal Hij zitten op den troon  Zijner heerlijk-
in his sin and God's judgment must follow. But he heid ; en v66r Hem zullen alle de volkeren vergaderd
who truly has learned to know himself as a sinner worden,  en Hij zal ze van elkander  scheiden, gelij k de
through the Spirit within his heart, who feels the abso- herder de schapen van de bokken scheidt;  en Hij zal de
lute necessity of redemption and pardon in Christ finds schapen tot Zijne rechterhand zetten, maar de bokken
grace and hope in the holy baptism. All the testimonies tot Zijne linkerhand."
of the Word; which are personally applied to our hearts          Daarom is dan ook Zijn spreken zoo recht als God
by the Spirit, are sealed by the sign of the Covenant. recht is. Het is geen laffe vleitaal, die  liegt en  be-
It assures us that God is gracious to sinners, has joined driegt, want zelfs Zijn Naam is Wmrheid.
us to Christ, making us one with Him in His suffering,           Daarom hoewel het vreemd klinkt en het de schapen
death and resurrection and will finally unite us with eenigszins verlegen op doet zien ; het moet er uit, want
Him in heaven. All through our lives baptism continu- het is de waarheid.
ously testifies of the grace and mercy of our  ever-             Tech willen zij nog even vragen hoe het komt, dat
faithful, covenant God, Whose Name is Jehovah and dien heerlijken prijs en lof hun toegezwaaid wordt:
Who changes not, so that we are not consumed. He is "Heere,  wanneer  hebben wij U hongerig gezien, en ge-
the Sovereign-Friend and makes us His friend-servants, spijzigd? of dorstig, en te drinken gegeven? En wan-
whereby we can serve Him in holiness of life and be neer hebben wij U een vreemdeling gezien, en geher-
acceptable before Him. He calls us to His service and bergd ? of naakt, en gekleed ? En wanneer hebben wij
teaches us to delight in the beauty of His countenance. U krank gezien of in de gevangenis, en zijn tot U ge-
All the work of salvation is purely His work from be- komen?"
ginning to end. To Him be the praise and the glory,              Stelt U tech voor: Jezus, Koning Jezus, hongerig of
now and forever. He who hath ears to hear let him dorstig? Zijn Naam is het Brood des Levens! Hij is
hear.                                       C.  Hank0         immers de eeuwige vervulling van de Rivier Gods die
                                                              vol water is? Zou Hij dan dorsten? Is Jezus dan ooit
                                                              een vreemdeling, een zwerver, die zonder tehuis,  ver-
   Wij  moeten  het karakter  dragen  van wachtende, moeid aan moet kloppen bij menschen om onderdak?
niet van vermoeide pelgrims.                                  Hij is tech in den  hemel en  woont daar in den troon


 234                                 T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                ..^                             -
de Vader Hem gegeven heeft? Als Hoofd der Zijnen
treedt Hij plaatsbekleedend op voor zijn volk, opdat                 Men With Exceptional Gifts
op Hem  zou  aanloopen al  onze overtredingen en  onge-                        (Article VIII, Church Order)
rechtigheden, en opdat de straf die  ens den vrede  aan-
brengt op Hem zou zijn, want Hij is zelf eeuwig God              My former writing on Article 8 was in part devoted
uit God en daarom kan Hij alleen voldoen  aan de  eeu- to the stand taken by our Reformed fathers respecting
wige eisch van Gods onkreukbare gerechtigheid. Dat the matter of the necessity of aspirants to the office
kan niemand anders doen dan a&en de verdoemden in preparing for their life's work. Their position was that
de hel, en dan kunnen ze dat nog alleen doen voor zich- all should prepare, but that persons with exceptional
zelf (en nooit voor een ander)  , en ook zonder dat er gifts might be freed from the obligation of persuing
een einde aan komt. Maar de eeuwige Zone Gods kan the regular course of study at the school. This stand
zulks doen in een'oogenblik  des tijds,-dragen  en weg- was appraised by me. My views on these matters are
dragen  de straf der zonde, ens met God verzoenende. now known. To drive home a few points and to avoid
Die God namelijk die ons eeuwiglijk lief had.                being misunderstood, I add a few remarks to what was
    Daarom kunnen we ook verstaan hoe er inderdaad written.
geen tegenstelling bestaat tusschen. de rechtvaardig-           The stand, so' I wrote, that all must prepare, must
heid Gods en Zijne barmhartigheid in Christus. Deze          "study theology" in preparation for the ministry, is
twee zijn  & en in de volkomenste  harmonic.         God is thoroughly Scriptural. The reason that the Psalmist
6&n en Zijne werken zijn ook altoos Ben, hetzij uoor had more understanding than all his teachers was that
                                                             God's testimonies were his meditation, Ps. 119:9-12.
011s,  of door ons, of  in ons. Die gerechtigheid Gods
waardoor Hij in  Christus  vergeldt al  ens hwaad, is What else, so we asked, does that engagement known
meteen  het blijk, of het bewijs van de erbarming Gods as "studying theology" consist in than in the medi-
jegens Zijn volk. Want die rechtvaardige straf  waren tating upon God's precepts, having respect to His ways,
wij zoo waardig, als de verworpenen die straks in de choosing and contemplating of the truth by one who
he1 hunne tanden zullen  knersen het waardig zijn. Zoo- loves the truth, the Word and thus feels himself at-
als dit artikel zegt : dat wij de verdoemenis waardig tracted to the things of the Spirit. Any worthwhile
zijn. Dat  waren  wij en dat zijn we nog,  i&en ge action in the pulpit in the way of preaching must be
rekent met de natuur waarin wij geboren zijn. Niets preceded by a period of preparation of the aforesaid
minder dan de vlammende  toorn  en vloekende  wraak description. Because the law of God was his medita-
van God moet  ens, op den weg en in de eeuwigheid, in tion all the day, the Psalmist prophesied, praised God
schrikkelijk hellelijden brengen, indien God met ens with all his heart. This, it would seem, follows from
naar onze overtredingen.  handelde. Maar juist in de the very nature of things. And yet there are persons
gerechtigheid bewezen in Christus, is  oak de  barmhar-      who hold in derision the seminary, who despise in their
tigheid Gods tot openbaring gekomen, waardoor Hij hearts the minister who steps into the pulpit prepared
aan Hem en dus niet aan ons de schuld toerekend, en as a result of having contemplated the things of the-
ons bevrijdt van ellende en straf, ons geeft de onsterfe-    Spirit, the Word, the particular text. According to
Iijkheid, zoodat nooit eenige  macht des doods ons  ver- the way of thinking of these persons, the real minister;
derven kan, nu niet en straks ook niet, want,  zegt dit the one truly called, is he who with an empty heart
artikel, daarbij geeft Hij ons het eeuwige leven, zoodat and  an  empty head steps from behind the plow into the
we in hemelsche volmaaktheid met onvergelijkelijke pulpit and without any preparation in the way of con-
glorie zouden worden  bekleed. We1 is er dus hartver- templating the truth and of putting the fruits of his
scheurende ellende in ons en slaat Gods kind met  zijn labors in proper form preaches a prize sermon poured
vuisten op de borst, met de bede: 0 God, wees mij  zon- into him by the Spirit at the very juncture that he
daar genadig, maar zonder die ellende kwam nooit de opens his mouth to speak.- What to think of this view?
gerechtigheid Gods tot openbaring  in  Christus  en zou It is one of the most dangerous and pernicious notions
dus nooit  worden  gesmaakt  en op het kruis  worden         that could be fabricated, thought. out.           Fact is,
bewezen de begeerte Gods om Zijn volk uit die that the assistance -of the Spirit does not consist in
ellende te verlossen. De  weg is onpeilbaar diep, maar pouring a sermon into a minister who will not prepare
juist door dien diepen weg van zonde en genade,  wordt by directing his mind to the revealed truth of God. It
Gods Kerk de Bruid van den Verbonds-God in Chris- means that the minister of such habits is to the great
tus, en ontvangt het waning  in Zijn eeuwige taberna-        satisfaction of Satan starving his flock. A church with
kelen.                                                       a membership that out of certain would-be pious con-
                                         L. Vermeer          siderations, despises a trained ministry and forbids its
                                                             pastor to prepare, to search the Scriptures in prepara-
                                                             tion for the Sabbath, will soon disappear from the face
    Ieder, die  Christus  niet kent, heeft een  teleurge-    of. the earth.
steld hart, of een hart, dat jaagt naar datgene, wat            What we mean to bring out when we say that the
alleen teleurstellen kan.                                    aspirant to the office`should prepare is, that what may


                                      fNiE       S~IL~NDARD               BGARER                                  235
                                                                        __I_^^^  .-..-_                      ......_I_
be known of God must be laid hold on and be spirit- with a view to definite needs. The pastor therefore
ually discerned by the  sanctif3ed  mind, that he who must take thought beforehand what he shall speak. If
would feed others must first be fed, that he who would for no good reason whatever he faileth to take thought
teach others*must  himself first sit at the feet of Christ. beforehand, nothing will be given him in the hour of
        Those who denounce the study of theology as an worship and the only voice he will hear in this hour is
engagement of a more or less unspiritual clergy have the voice of accusing conscience.
also their scriptures with which they strengthen them-             Though the servants of Christ cannot from the very
selves. One of these is a promise of Christ to His nature of matters frame replies for questions that
disciples that reads : "But when they shall lead you, cannot be anticipated, they are not delivered up to
and deliver you up, take  no thought beforehand what councils as men unprepared. Being publishers of the
ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatso- gospel among all nations they are prepared. The word
ever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for dwelleth richly in them. And being lovers of the prom-
it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost" (Mark ise, they contemplate this word. And their message
13:ll).      Apparently this saying of our Saviour over- therefore leaves them as a living testimony.
turns our entire argument. But only apparently. Con-               This speaking of the Holy Ghost through the pub-
sider the circumstance and the persons in respect to lishers of the gospel was preceded by another engage-
which this promise was made. Christ here addresses ment of the Spirit. And in respect to the apostIes  this
His disciples who must publish the gospel among all other engagement consisted in His (the Spirit's) trans-
nations. So engaged men shall deliver them up to ferring from His own consciousness into the conscious-
councils ; in the synagogues they shall be beat&. They ness of the apostles' truth, leading them into truth,
shall be' brought before rulers and kings for His sake, capacitating them to discern .the truth spiritually, and
for a testimony against them.                                   laying hold on them in such a way as to render them
        Christ knew that in their anxiety His disciples infallible in their preaching and testifying. And in
would attempt to anticipate the questions that might the hour of trial, the Spirit would select from the rich
be put to them and to frame beforehand suitable re- storehouse of truth that dwelt in them, the truth suit-
plies.     But all such engagements would be vain and           able for the occasion. He, the Spirit, would set this
betoken unbelief. For the character of the grief that truth before their mind's eye and enable them and to
would overtake them would be such that any definite cast it into proper form so that when standing before
answers they might prepare, any well thought-out re- councils they spoke as men  filled with the Spirit, they
ply, would as likely as not turn out to be in disagree- spoke boldly, giving account of the hope that was in
ment with the answers put to them. As they could them, waxing, eloquent as they progressed and con-
not know what questions would be asked them, their founding.by  their testimony the worldly wise. Thus it
attempt to frame suitable replies would be useless. was not they that spoke but the Holy Ghost. This
Let them therefore take no thought beforehand what speaking of the Spirit, therefore, does not exclude
they shall speak ; let them refrain from premeditating. preparation on the part of the servants of Christ but
ft will avail them nothing.  Rut might not their accusers includes it, so that also of this initial action the Spirit
find them mute unable on the moment to frame a reply is the workman. It seems as if some persons do not
and to put that reply into proper form? Let them have know what it means to serve the Lord'with our m&e?.s.
no fear. Whatsoever shall be given them in that hour,              Rightly considered, then, the apostles were not
that shall they speak: for it is not them that speak but brought before councils as men empty-headed and with
the Holy Ghost. Of their testimony He is the author an empty heart in whom the Spirit on the moment
and they the subjects. They speak as the agents of- would pour the testimony given; to the contrary, they
the Almighty, for He speaketh through them, He their were persons whom the Spirit had prepared, persons
God  allwise,  the God of infinite and exhaustless re- who had "studied theology." And they spoke of things
sources, who understandeth the thoughts of men afar of which their mind and hearts were full. So it was
Off.                                                            with all the prophets of Scripture.
        But what is there in this notice that could possibly       Today as ever, it is the Spirit that speaketh  -
serve as a support for the view that the minister of through His servants. However, there is a difference
the gospel may set out upon his career unprepared. to be noticed here. We now possess the written Word
Does he enter his pulpit in the expectation of spending of God concerning which we confess that, in the words
the hour in answering a number of unforeseen ques- of the Confession, "this Word of God was not sent, nor
tions put by an angry mob bent upon showing him up ? delivered by the will of man, but that holy men of God
To the contrary. Once in the pulpit he faces the church spake as they were moved by the Spirit, as the apostle
of Christ, a hallowed assembly, eager for the Word, in Peter saith. And that afterwards God, from a special
sympathy with the gospel of the" promise, and thus care, which He has for us and our salvation, com-
capable of receiving the message, an assembly to which manded His servants, the prophets and the apostles, to
he sustains the relation of shepherd, a flock therefore commit His revealed word to writing; and He Himself
that can be approached with a particular word selected wrote with His own finger, the two tables of the law.


236                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
--.             -..-" _.._ -_- . .._ - __._ llll__ll"._
Therefore we call such writings holy and divine Scrip- trouble is that they came from schools where "Study-
tures. We believe that the Holy Scriptures are con- ing theology" consists chiefly in burrying the treasures
tained in the two books, namely, in the Old and New of the Word under a heap of destructive criticism,
Testament, which are canonical, against which nothing where the pure light is obscured by a dunghil of use-
can be alleged . . . We receive these books, and these less  cavilings,  and where men prostrate themselves at
only, as holy and canonical, for the regulation, founda- the shrine of a God who is an idol. Small wonder that
tion, and confirmation of our faith ; believing without when the products of such schools predominate in the
any doubt all things contained in them, not so much Christian church, those hungry for bread pray to be
because the church receives and approves them as such, delivered of the "minister who has studied theology."
but more especially because the Holy Ghost witnesseth.                 Throughout "meditating upon the revealed law,
in our hearts, that they are from God, whereof they gospel" was stressed by us as comprising the nucleus
carry the evidence in themselves . . . We believe that of that action we call studying theology. We thus set
those Holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and ourselves against that false notion according to which
that whatsoever man ought to believe, unto salvation is truth can be deduced from the innate contents of the
sufficiently taught therein. For since the whole manner mind - the pure reason. This is the contention of
of worship, which God requires of us, is written in them rationalism. The mind is no such source or storehouse
at large, it is unlawful for any one, though an apostle,            of truth but merely the Spirit's instrument for the re-
to teach otherwise than we are taught in the Holy ception and contemplation of revealed truth.
Scriptures: nay, though it were an angel from heaven,                  Another thought contained in my former article is,
as the Apostle Paul saith. For, since it is forbidden, that a good school up to the proper spiritual standard
to add unto or take away anything from the Word of is indispensible also to the person with exceptional
God, it doeth thereby evidently appear, that the doc- gifts. In connection with this proposition statements
trine thereof is most perfect and complete in all re- were made that call for some explanation. I wrote:
spects."                                                            "True it is that a person with. exceptional gifts has an
   We believe then that the books contained in the advantage over the person with ordinary ability. The
Canon comprise the only infallible Word of God the latter must be led into truth by others. The former is
church on earth now possesses and ever will possess. capable of independent work. Yet give this person a
This word - a word that came directly to the prophets Bible, but deprive him of all the fruits of the labors-of
and the apostles - the Spirit speaketh through His the church of by-gone centuries as contained in his
servants. Where the pernicious view we now e-xpose                  creed, place beyond his reach, if such a thing were pos-
prevails, the preacher breaks away from this word sible, the expositions of his creed (dogmatical works)
and though held to be publishing a word given him on so that he finds himself as alone with his Bible as the
the moment by the Spirit, preaches a word of his own Christian church at the death of the last apostle, what
fabrication.                                                        will he, say after five years of private study have ac-
       So, then, the Spirit speaketh the word. And for complished ? Very little. The point is that also the
the speaking of this word He prepares His servants by man of great gifts stands on the shoulders of his
an action consisting in His planting in their hearts the spiritual forbears. He, too, is a product which means
Word, causing that word to take root in them and to be that he is not so constituted that he is not in the need
seen in their lives and testimony as good fruit. And of of the school."
this action these servants are the subjects. They re-                  The question, "What will he have accomplished?" is
ceive the Word, spiritually discern the things of the incomplete. It might therefore lead some to conclude
Spirit, contemplate the deep things of God, and  as con- that the state of the church at the beginning of our
strained by love, publish the Word. This, as was said, Christian era was one of abject spiritual poverty.
is "studying theology." And this is what the action Nothing, of course, is further from the truth. The
known as "preparing for the ministry" should consist church was rich then, for it possessed the Word and
in. The view we oppose is so disastrous and at once by that Word it consciously lived and that Word it
so unutterably foolish and preposterous that it is hard published. V there was ever a time that the church
to see how some otherwise good men with a heart for was seen as the city of God upon a hill, it was then.
God can feel attracted to it. Our chief objection to However, the Word is a mine of truth. Setting out
Article 8 is; that it at least seemingly declares that upon its career, the church had still to mine this truth,
men with exceptional gifts need not prepare.                        to apprehend truth, to set the truth before its eye and
       There may be, of course, a reason why some persons to think its way into the truth, and finally, to formu-
look askance at a minister who has "studied theology." late and develop the truth. This the church has done
Many pulpits have and are being filled by men who in- in part. And the fruits of its labors are, as was said,
stead of feeding the flock, instead of opening Scripture contained in the Christian creed and upon these fruits
and bringing to the fore its riches, offer stones for we of today feed and thus receive the church as the
bread. And these men have studied theology. But the mother of us believers. We all, including the persons


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                        237
          -........  - ___.                 -..--                                                  .I
          with exceptional gifts, are sons and daughters of the found to be spiritual apprehension, discernment and
          church. We thus "stand upon the shoulders of our acknowledgment of the truth, a loving and obeying the
          spiritual forbears. To east aside the Christian creed is truth and a rejoicing in the truth. The substratum of
          to say to the church, I disown thee as my mother.        this hallowed action is the believer's rationality. And
     *        Now the accomplishments of the church are spread its workman and fount is the Spirit of Christ.
          over several centuries.                                     The only action present with the person destitute of
              No man, however gifted, could accomplish even in a grace is rational apprehension. Therefore the carnal
          lifetime what it took the church several centuries to minded one rejects and is hardened by the truth. But
          accomplish. This alone goes to show that also the man the fault lies with him. His eye or heart is evil. But
          with exceptional gifts must prepare for the office not for all this, man, though depraved, is still capable of
          only, but is also in the need of the school, of the      rational apprehension. He discovers and can observe
          teacher. The view, however, that the spirit of man is in his mental action the law-s for correct rational think-
          a "tabula rasa," a clean slate, on which the world in ing. He rationally apprehends God. Were it not so,
     general and the great lights in the church in particular he would have no sin. The trouble with Prof. Heyns is
     can write whatever mental conceptions they will is not that he reasons about man if he were rationally instead
     ours. We realize that also the believer as to his soul, of spiritually blind, and about God as if He were an
     his mind, is an active entity, endowed with the faculty anti-rational and thus a lying Being. We confess that
     of a perception of which he is the active subject, gifted God is The Mystery and cannot be comprehended. And
2    with the power to react upon and appraise what he we don't wish Him to be anything else. But it should
     perceives and to reject what he deems false. And to pain every true lover of God to discover anyone rea-
     pass  jud,ment  upon the achievements of his spiritual soning about Him as if His  ~GVX were at once  nay, and
     forbears is his duty. There is but one book over which His nuy, pea.,
     the believer refrains from setting himself up as judge           But the believer knows - the truth. He feels him-
     and that book is the Bible.                                  self in sympathy with and attracted to the truth. There
             That the believer and in particular the person with is the greatest concord, the  dbsest  aS.nity,  and the
     exceptional gifts aspiring to the office is in the need of most wonderful agreement between him and the truth. "
     teachers seems at first flush to be contradicted by what Upon the truth he feeds, in it he abides and rejoices..?
     the Apostle John wrote in his first epistle. The passage For it he witnesses and is willing to die. .In agreement
     we have in mind reads: "But ye have the anointing herewith, the spiritual man can apprehend and is re-
     from the Holy One, and ye all know. I wrote not to pelled by the lie, by darkness and carnality. From the
     you because ye know not the truth, but because ye very nature of matters, therefore, he needs not that
     know it, and that no lie is of the truth . . . . But the any man teach him, that is, tell him what is true and
     anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in what is-lie. Does a man with perfect vision need any
     you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as          one to distinguish for him between black and white?
     the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is Does a person with good taste organs need anyone to
     truth, and no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye        select for him his food?
     shall abide in Him" (I John 2). Here it is literally             As was said, however, the Word is a mine of truth.
     asserted that the believers have no need of a teacher. And Scripture must be searched for the truth, and the
     The conclusion seems to be warranted that if the be- truth must be comprehended as to its breadth and
     lievers in general can do without a teacher, the man length, depth and height, must be explained, expounded,
     with exceptional gifts certainly can. But consider what developed and be given proper form. Here we have to
     Paul wrote to the Ephesians: "And He gave some -do with an action that  calIs for endowments all be-
     apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and lievers do not possess in sufficient measure. It, this
     some shepherds and teachers, with a view to the per- action, calls for a mind that is clear, keen, and pene-
     fecting of the saints, for the work of the service, for trating, a mind capable of forming conceptions and
     building up the body of the Christ" . . . . (Eph. 4:11,      making distinction, capable of prolonged, unwearied
     12).                                                         and sustained effort. It requires, this action, a physical
             "Some shepherds and teachers." The implication is and spiritual tone and vigor, power and endurance that
     that all members are not teachers and therefore need all believers do not possess. Yet these endowments
     to be taught. According to John, then, all (believers)       form but the substratum for the aforesaid action. A
     without a single exception know. For they have the man may be ever so richly endowed in the sense de-
     anointing and need not that any man teach them. But scribed above, if he be destitute of the life of regen-
     according to Paul's reasoning some members only are eration, he is still a fool with a mind spiritually blind,
     teachers. And their task is to teach others. There is and thus incapable of discerning the truth. A fool is                .
     no conflict here. It must be maintained that all the he even in the supreme sense. With the aggregate of
     saints know - the truth that was delivered them. And all his endowments he pitches himself against the truth
     this knowing is a spiritual action. When analyzed it is and opposes God, gives himself over unto lascivious-


238                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
                        --  ..__.-                                          --.---                    __---.-  ___-__ -.-.
ness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Hence, infallible teachings the church is founded. The Re-
he is slain by his very gifts. But when Christ regen- formed Protestantism has its recognized teachers. We
erates a person so endowed, fills him with love and think now of men like Calvin. Every denomination of
constrains him to devote himself exclusively to the churches has its recognized teachers. Most of them
work of the service, for the building up of the body of shepherd a local brotherhood. Some teach in the school.
Christ, the church has gained a pastor and teacher. Essentially the duty of the latter class is identical to
Though the believers all Mow, they have need of thme          that of the former. In the words of the Form, their
teachers.                                                     duty is to expound to the students the mysteries of the
       But let us avoid drawing wrong conclusions. The faith; caution them in regard  ta the errors and heresies
first of these is that every gifted person in the church of the old, but essentially of the new day, etc. No good
is called to the ministry and occupies a pulpit, that thus reason can be advanced why even the young men with
the pews are devoid of intelligent believers. It is a exceptional gifts aspiring to the office should be freed
matter of common knowledge that many a believer in from the obligation of placing themselves at the feet
the pew may as, to his natural and spiritual endow- of teachers Christ gave to His church.                           But as we
ments be the equal of and even rise head and shoulders already wrote, a school that will really help a man
above the man to whom he listens. But let the in- must be a living spring of water, a trump giving forth
telligent member not begin to imagine that he cannot a certain sound. If it is not this, it is a stagnant pool,
be fed and edified by a minister whose equal he is. Let from which is sure to rise an obnoxious odor. The only
him bear in mind that if his pastor be a spirit-filled basic reason for the existence of a seminary is that it
man he comes with a message extracted from a text be spiritually progressive, develop truth. A school in
with which he has worked for many solid hours, while a rut, a school without a mind of its own, a school that
the believer in the pew has during the week and during does nothing more than reproduce slavishly and un-
his entire life been following some ordinary pursuit of critically the fruits of the labors of the great of the
life. This is one of the reasons why Christ give to his past may as  we11 close its doors and send its students
church teachers, the other reason being the one already to a good book store.
mentioned.                                                                                                           G. M. 0.
       Another conclusion to be avoided is that the teach-
ers in the church can engrave in the line of mental
conceptions whatever they will upon the minds and
hearts of the believers. All believers, let it be remem-
bered even the least gifted, have the anointing, and                                  IN MEMORIAM
therefore have a taste for truth, are capable of dis-            On Wednesday evening, Feb. 1, 1933, it pleased our God and
tinguishing between truth and falsehood, and possess HeavenIy  Father to take from our midst our dearly beloved Son
the power. to reject the lie and to silence the false axid Brother,
teacher. This is their duty and to this duty they are                                 HEICO HARKEMA,
equal. It is to the false teacher, who, though he offers at the age of 24 years.
stones for bread, insists that he provides his flock with        We pray that God may sanctify this affliction unto our hearts,
good food, that the believers say, "we all know, and and that God through His grace may comfort us in our be-
the anointing which we have received abideth in us, reavement.
and we need not that any man teach us." It is this                                           Mr. and Mrs. John Harkema
anointing that makes possible church reformation. This                                         and Children,
                                                                                             Reinder
is the matter that at least some of the leaders in the                                       Mr. and Mrs. Gerrit Harkema
Christian Reformed church lost sight of during the                                           Barney
Janssen controversy. More than once I heard them                                             Sietse
deride the elders delegated to Synod for imagining that                                      Deborah
they were capable of apprehending the error hidden in                                        Alice
                                                                                             Treria
Prof. Janssen's teachings. He who indulges in this
malicious sport denies that the believers have the
anointing and know.
       The church, then, has, must have, its teachers. The
church has always had its teachers. All of them were 0  the burdens of the dreams that, have long been dead,
not equally endowed. Some of them were men with And the brightness of the hopes to my soul that clung!
great natural and spiritual endowments. We think
now of men like Augustine, Calvin, and Voetius. The 0  the sadness of the tears that never were shed,
prophets and the apostles must be placed in a class by And the sweetness of the songs that never were sung !
themselves.      The church universal has `its teachers. There is nothing a man knows, in grief or in sin,
These were the prophets and the apostles upon whose Half so bitter as to think, What I might have been !


