VOLUME XXVII                                      May 1, 1951 1 Grand Rapids, Michigan                            NUMBER 15

                                                                           The' love of man ought to .be the reflection of the
         MEDITATION                                                     love of God. But it is not. Gdd is not in all their ,iove.
                                                                           And so we find a lot of filth in the world,  masquer-
                                                                        ading unde$ the sweet name of lbve. All hunian emo-
                                                                        tion should be nothing but the fruit of God's emotion,
                   I Love The Lord!  /                                  reflecting the' life of God. Everything apart from
                                                                        God is contraband.      And you need no magnifying
                 t`1 love the Lord, because He hath heard m.y voice,    glasseS to see the corruption which corrupts the love
  I            and my supplication,"                                    of the world.
                    :                                Psalm 116:l.j
                                         . . .                             How different is this psalmist : I love the Lord !
       No, we do not know who wrote this psalm, but it                  That makes all th!e difference in the I world. If you
m&tors not, If it mattered, the Lord would have told                    have the love of ,,God in your heart you will find the
ix, Therefope  I will not guess who the author may be.                  sanctifying power of that love in all your other rela'-
1We have the psalm,                                                     tionships. It will never stand in the way of the other
       I love the Lord ! That is the .theme of the whole                avenues of love we spoke of above. Nay, but that love
psalm, He will give ,LIS the &zbson for his, lo& ; he will              of .God will ha!low them.
tell ix what he is going to do with that love, 80 t;hat he               I love `the Lord r
ends in heaven itself where he will dwell in the cotlr'@                   It is the song of heaven unto all eternity.
of the Lord forev&rmore,  but you are right when you                                           -m-
write above.$hk whole psalm : I love the Lord !
       What mighty. concept : I love the Lord !                            I love the Lord!
Yes,  the world also speaks of love..                         .            Ah me, what shall I say of this holiest.  and most
       Very .learned  men, especially in, the field o!f psi- beautiful of all elliotions?
chol'ogy, tell us that love. is the. deepest  uyge in man,                 It certainly means that all your he&t is set on the
moving him irresistibly' on. They sajr that behind all                  Lord, that you esteem  Him as the Summum Bonum,
effort of men of all the ages you will ,f.ind the Joye of the  Highest;Good.  If ,the love of God dwells in your
man for .&is mate, his friend, his flesh and bone,. his                 heart, if that heart is a sanctuary of the Lord, then         *
fatherland, humanity. And I can well believe it. .,Read                 you  seek- Him with that heart,  .and  you. will find
the literature of all the ages, and- you will come.face                 in Him all your delight. Apart from Him you long
to face at every page with the love of &an.                             and thirst and nought can satisfy. You look then
 , But their love is not our love. <Our love is'the-love                about `you and -say.: all the streams are dry here. be-
of God! Therein lies all the difference in the world,!                  low.
       The love of God is pure and sweet; it is holy and                   . Conversely, you. hate all that He hates, for `He is
just; it is wise and btrong; faithful it is and true unto .yogr'life. Hi; enemies are your enen+&, and you hate
all eternity.  ,~                                                       His. enemies with a perfect hatred. And that, is the
       `The love ot .God is God Himself. `God is His virtues.' reason why you hate your own life in the world, for
And so we sing : Unending.is  the lotre of, God f.qom age               that life is sinful. Even with the best of intentions,
to age the same!                   ,                         .i ,(I     you iive a siriful life. You begin in the morning with
       The love of the world, however, -is ugly. It is SO               the b&t of intentions : I am going to `walk in harm&y
utterly ugly that <God bates it, ahd the angels of Go,d                 with my God and His law. But when evening is there,
hide their pure faces from it.                         .'               you look upon the cotipleted  day, and you weep. Then


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3 3 8                                       T H E   S T A N D A - R D   B E A R E R

 you say with Paul : I do not @ow this day's" work !             the Holy Ghost. a And&& noie : wheti that Holy Ghdst
 That is,not  the way I began this day. That is:`hot the was pouked out, in t& church, on Pentecost, they did
 completed day: as I saw it t$@ $`orning. in my plans.           nothing but  &peak  of the wonderful works of God.
I saw before me & day that w&l#4q,e spent in His corn-: And the clirnc? of all those works'is God's crucifixion
 munion, to His,:`praises and sh&&i the fruits of His            of that wonderful Son ,of' SGod.
 indwelling Spirit and Truth... B&`this avirful life which       F6r. you  and for me!
 I led is terrible : I hate it,! 0 wretched man that I am !         I love the Lord j
 FOG,  I do love .$he Lord ! And it is for His sake that                     _
 you  end your  ,day  ori the  minoq  note. of  melancho1y.z                                 c/s--
                                                                                  ,
 aGodly sorrow that worketh rep$!ltance.                            I love. the ,Lord !'
    Yes, I-love the Lord!          `.. x                            `8ut why?  .&isten  to the  unknown psalmist  whq
    Anc$so I also lbve what He-loves. Hi& friends are            sings his songs of love in heaven at t&is moment of
 my.friends,  and His interests are mine. I am wrapped           writing ;. he will .tel] you. I loye the Lord, because He
 up. in what God loves. ' He has a cause in the midst of         hath heard my voice and my supplications.
the  world. Well, it is mine.  `H&`&as  a people, a  city,.-'  .- The `psalmist had called upon the nam; of the Lord :
 a Word, a d&y, a battle, a' victory. I love them-all, and he had prayed to God.
1 am-immersed in all manner of endeavors -that per-                 There is another one of these mighty concepts;
 tain to them.         -     ,/                   :              a man that will dir&t his voice to heaven and to
    And,He has a son : it is Jesus Christ the Lord.             heaven%  God. What a `mighty concept ! It is one .df
    Well, I love Him, for He is the very Fqq'.of the             the  yightjest miracles that can happen to `man. It
 God whom I love. I cling to that Son, for He is .the            beggars description... Imagine:. a man calls upon the
most wonderful, revelation of the God whom I love. I             name of the Lord !
know,' I know, that  ,God reveals  &imself in, all  t&e          You say: What is so mighty about that?
 works of His hands, and I -know also that wherever-the            , And my answer is : it is easier for a great and high
 Lord showed Himself there was a-song of adoration               mountain to lift it;s&f and to wing its way to the depths
 because of His ,wondrous  works. But this -Son is the           of the ocean,  than that a man will ever think of .c'alling
 qrown of all the works  of Jehovah, ,and all' the other         upon the name of the Lord. And that is n6 hy'$e?bole.
works of God point to this Son of His right hand.               That is the truth. Man is' dead. Man is ah enemy of
    That Son of God reveals to me `the love of God such          ,God: he hates God  wjth every  bretith  he takes.  He
as no tree or flower ever did. He shows me the very              hates Him` to his dying day. With his last breath he
 Heart of His heart. From`afar I-have heard people- breathes defiance to. God.
argue about the comprehensibility of God and Divine              - When natural man tastes anything that smacks of
 revelation. There are  sotie who say that  there-are            God  and the things of God, he  b&omes. thoroughly
 depths of God which  ye will never see. Maybe so.               nauseated. When He hears the voice .of God calling
But I am persuaded that the child of God has seen His            him, he will turn around and he will fling into' the
inmost Heart when Jesus -cried out on the cruel cross            teeth of God: Depart from me: I have no pleasure in
 of Calvary. And the Holy Apostle Paul set us to Thy ways.
measuring the. ".breadth, and length, and depth, and                But &is poor man cried, and `God answered him.
height ; and to know the love -of Christ, which passeth             I love the Lord, says the unknown singer,- because
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness          He hath heard my voice and my supplications.
of God." Yes, that text would be in Ephesians, the                  Yes, the  mir`acle  of grace happened to this poor
profound epistle. It fits there.                                 man. ,God had visited- him in his inward parts. Gdd
    If you would hear the heartbeat of the love of God,         had -visited him in the very depths of his heart. And
I would suggest you stand at the foot of the cross of           there in those depths; the Lord had taken away his
that Son, and you will hear it, and its rythm is un- stony heart-&e, and substituted a heart of flesh. He
speakably sweet. There. is a melody -which is called             did so by His' almighty  grace and Holy  Spi& And
the Son of ,God : His song in the night !                       that operation is tantamount to saying that God made
    In the world they s&e the most ,beautiful melodies          that heart His dwellingplace.         .:         `_     :
on long-playing, records : they are stored away for                 And since that time the Lord placed him in the way
other generations to feast on. * Well, God has stored           of His covenant, with its attending preaching and
away the Song in the awful night, and you shall hear - teaching and consta$ testimony of His glorious and
of  *that  song of the love of.  <God unto all eternity.        precious Word.                -             .
Heaven is severely theological. It shall be filled`.with            That Word made this poor man wise unto salv&tion.
the rendering of all God's wonderfui works.                      And the wisdom of  ,God  --which  dwelled in him
    DO  YOU know the name of God's conveyance .which            caused him to turn td` God in all liis distresses.
He uses to bring you His love?. Paul tells you : it is              If you tiill take the time to re`ad-psalm. 116 you will
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                                                     TH&  S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                                                      3 3 9

     note that this poor mati was in great distress. It  is                             naturhl, the just recompense for sin, and the reward
     also plain  from the text which we quoted:  `and my                                for guilt.
     supplications.                                                                            Do you know what it is?
             It is one thing to speak to Gtid, to pray to him in                               It is hell! .
     your normal ( !) communion with God. St is another                                        And hell is an arigry God staring at you.'
     thing when that speaking becomes crying,  and &hen'                                       God makes hell the awful place it is. In His iove
     your cry becomes supplication. Supplication and there is iife, but in Ifis wratli there is hell-fire.
     prayer are the same thing, except that the former is                                      Ask God's child; he  .will tell you: For he knows
     prayer intensified. When your prayer becomes suppli-                               by  expprience,
     cation you are  .in dire straits.                                                         But God also gave this poor and needy man the
             Then he.  @Payed to God, and his prayer  becaine                           wisdoti  tq. plead upon the sure ground of His ever-
     suppli&ion.                                                                        lasting mercy : `!God ttiught  him ts pray and .to pour
             And God .heard.            "                                               out his supplications .before `the throne of that mercy.
             Hence, his love to God.         .'                                                And'_sy God heard his voice  $nd his supplica- :
             I love the Lord !                                                          tion.                                                           . .
       ~ For He has heard my voice !                                                           And `hearingsHe forgave.            ._
             And my supplications !                                                            And forgiving, He justified this `man, And justi-
                                                                                        fying him, He gave him long life, and life eternal.
                                                                                               And he began to sing: I  love the Lord, because
      `.                                                                                He heard my voice and my supplication.
            _ Oh yes, .I love the Lord !
             For in my terrible straits I called upon. Him !                                  Oh yes, he loved the Lorb!                 ~
             And He ,heard me!                              _ .                          I
             You ask: what was the trouble of this, poor and                                                      .w-
     needy man?                                                                         . I love the Lord?
            He' will tell you. The answer. you mai find in the                                 Ho% severely personal !
     whole psalm, although there is tn. indication in the                                      Yes, `your father and your rriother may be dear
     text itself. a  .Yy\l  $0 not  use the intensive  mood of                          children of God. It does not help you really, person-
     prayer for  ,j.ust  any: need.  ` The need must be very                            ally. ,Our fathers. alwdys said aboilt this: grace is no                                 ._
     urgent before you supplicate.                                                      heritage from f&her to son.                           c
             And I.%would ask -you : what is the greatest need a                               Yes, you  mai have been baptized, and foolish  _
     man has? What misery in this vale of tears, brings                                 people may have given you an  id&a that there was
     you its bitterest pangs?                                                           something in the mere fact that you `were baptized.
             You are so right: it is sin and its. attending feeling                     Esau was'- circujrncised : whenever h& thinks of it right
     of guilt.                                                                          now, his.cries.are doubled, and his s'orrows increase.
             I've often said: if you want td know what hell is                                 Yes, you may  have heard the voice of the Lord
     like, you must ask .the child, of the living God. He                               frqm your very infancy, aild your pastors may have
     Cl1 tell you what it is like to have God angry with                                been of the excellent and of the good. But it helps you
     you. The feeling of guilt is the  ex&rience of what                                ndt one wit: you, you, -you must speak to God, you
     ,God thinks of me. His displeasure of my ways He                                   m&t pray to Him, atid you must pour out your suppli-
     tells me in my heart. And the experience is very                                   cations.
     bitter.                                                                                   And you will when visited by the Dayspring from
             Go to verse 3 and you will find .its` expression in                        on high.
     words that you can `understand : the sorrows of death                                    . `There is a song: Since Jesus came into my heart !
     compassed  me,. and the pains of  heli gat hold upon                               That `is eternally correct: Jesus do& visit the h&arts
     me!                                                                     _-         of certain men, wornen  and children.                                      d
             ,Go to verse 4:  ,O Lord,  i beseech Thee, deliver                                Some,. but not `all.
     rfiy  soul!                                   -.  _                                       And if He' does,  that man, woman or child will
             And to vers.e 8: For Thou hast delivered my soul                           knbw it. Oh, but  they will know it. Then He tells
     frpm. death, mine eyes from tears, my feet from                                    them what He thinks of them as they are by nature.
     f a l l i n g !                                                                    He gives them eyes of the heart to see the blackness
             It  ,, fells the whole story : This man was visited                        and the damn'worthiness of their sin and guilt.                                   I
     by the omnicient  *God,, and this God had- told him first                                 Then they ,cry to ,God.
     what an abominable `sinner he was. And the Lord                                           And then He hears, and they love Him for aye
     had taught him what was the usual, the commtin, the                                                    '          ..-                                     G. Vos.



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340                                                                                   ,THE.  ST.AN@ARD  -BEA.RER

                          The Standard Beqrer
              Semi-Monthly, except Monthly in July and August                                                                             EDlTO-RIALS
   j                                     P u b 1 i  s h e d B'y  _'
                       The Reformed Free Publishing Association                                                            The Rev. Daane on "Common Grace"
                         Box 124,  &a. C., Grand Rapids,  Mich.
                                EDITOR:  - Rev. H. Hoeksema.
                           .
  Communications relative to contents should `be addressed to                                                                  In The Refd~med Jouwud, Vol. I, No. 2, I found a
REV. H. HOEKSEMA, 1139 Franklin St., S. E., Grand Rapids,                                                                  very interesting article-  by the Rev. James Daane, in
Michigan.                                                                                              8           --.     which he qflects on the piobiem of so-called "common
  Communications relative to subscription shbuld be addressed                                                              grace".
to Mr. J. BOUWMAN, 1350 Giddings SE., Grand Rapids 7,                                                                        Interesting this article is, first of &, becqusd it is
Mich.  Announcements and Obituaries must be mailed to the                                                                  rather refreshing to find a Christian Reformed-minis-
above address and will be published at a fee of $1.00 for each
                                                                            -
notice.                                                                                                                    ter that has the courage -and intelligence tp broach the
Renewals:-Unless a definite request for  discontindance  is re-                                                            problem of common grace once again. The Synod of
ceived, it is assumed that the subscriber wishes his subscription                                                          1924; after having established the well-known, Three
to continue without the  fol:mality   oP.a  ,renelal order. .                                                              Points, admonished the. leaders of the Christian ke-
                                          Price: $3.00 per ye&                                               -4            formed Churches as follows :
Entered as Second Class Mail at Grand Rapids, Michigan.                                                                        "In connection with the overtures that urge that
                                                                                                                           synod express itself about the doctrine of common
                                                                                                                           brace as such, or that the synod appoint a committee
                                                                                                                           to study this case in general, synod decides as follows :
                                                                                                                               "a. Not to make a declaration now concerning. the
                                                                                                                           standpoint of the church in re the doctrine of general
                                                                                 -                                         or common gy:ace in al! its parts. Such a declaration
                                                                                                                           would presuppose that this doctrine had already been
                                                                                                                           penetrated and' developed in all its details, sometizing
                                           C O N T E N T S   "                                                             which surely is not in the least the case. The neces-
MEDLTITATION-                                                                                                              sary preparatory study is'as yet entirely lacking. The
           I Love The :Lord _____ I _______________..~  . . . . . . . .._. i...- . ..___._____________________  337        result is that in the Reformed churches there is as yet
                 Rev. G. Vos 0                                                                                             no `communis  opinio' in .this case.
                                                                                                                               "b. Nor to appoint a committee which^will study
EDITORIALS-                                                                                                                the  cage of common grace, in order in that way to
         `The Rev. Daane on "Common Grace" . .._...__.______________________  i40
           Of !Books . . 
                                ..-..............................................................7   _____________845      reach the formilation of a dogma concerning this doc-
                 Rev. H. Hoeksema                                                                                          trine, which presently can be included in the confes-
        -        ,.                                                                                                        sion :
           Req. Petter's Reply .._...._.................  :.+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..______________  345        (1) because dogmas are not made, but are born
                 Rev. H. Veldman                                                        -  ?                               out of the Tonflict of opinions, and therefore it is de-
                                                                                                                           sirable, that the establishment of a dogma be preceded
           Praying To The Father ____...____________  ~_____.______________.......~...  _ ____ 350                         by a long discussion. The participation in such a dis-
                 Rev.  .G. M.  Ophoff                            "                                                         cussion must be as general as possible, and must not
CONTRTBUTION-                                                               ~                                              be limited to a single. group of churches ;
           The Need of the. Declaration of Prinmciples  _.__________________  352                                              " (2) bee&use  a truth must first live clearly in the
                 Nick Yonker, Muskegon,  Mich.                                                                             consciousness `of a church in general or of a definite
                                                                                                                           group of churbhes  in particular before the church can
FRO&l HOLY  WRIT-                                                                                                          receive such a. truth in her confessions. It cannot be
           Exposition of Romans 6:1-14 ____________________.......~..........~.~..  -354
                `Rev. Geo. C.  Ltibbers                                                                                    said,~that  this necessary condition is already present,
                                                                                                                           or will be present in the course of two or four years.
18  HIS FEAR-                                                                                                                  "c. But to urge `thi leaders of our people, mini&e&,
              Church Membership in His Fear ___________________________ ." .__________ 357                                 as well as professors, that they make further study of
                 Rev. H. C. Hoeksema                                   g                                                   the doctrine of common grace; that they painstakingly
                                                                                                                           thjnk into the problems' which are thereby presented
P E R I S C O P E -                                                                                                        1.~ sermons, lectures and writings. It is very desir-
           An Awakening _.._ . . . . . . ..__. _ ._________._.___._____  _ ___________ _ ____________ _ ________ 359
                 Rev. J. Howerzyl                                                                                          able, i hat not a single individual Or a small l?$mber
                                                                                                                           take this task upon thems$ves,  but that many take
                                                                                                                           part in it. ,Grdunds :-            . '


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER!                            '      '      -"I           341
                              ,_ _
    " (1) `This wiii be conducive in the most natural          grace and the crucial part we* have played in the his-
 way unto a fruitful  discmsion  abmt the  do&rim  of          tory of this doctrine.
 ~omn'lon  grace, and s&h a discussion is the indispens-             "This neglect is regrettable. So far as my know-
 able requisit& fop `tine &v&pm& of this truth ;               ledge goes, we wexe th& first ,Ghurch to make a separ-
    L6 (2) it iyiii m-w to &ii the attention of our people ate, specific pronouncement on this doctrine. If this
 more directly to this doctrine, clapify its understand- be true, our responsibility to further define the mean-
 ing of it and cause it to feel the significance of it, so     ing of Gammon grace is a heavy one. In any event,
 that it becomes conscious in increasing measure of this       our  respon&ility'is tremendous because of the im-
 part of the contents of its faith ;                           portant part we have played in this' doctrine. The
    " (3) it $11 gfter a course of some years undoubt-         years following 1924 were `n&ral years' for its theo-
 edly lead to a `communis  opinio' in regard to this truth,    logical advance. The men who played a prominent
 and also cause the condition of our church to become          part in the 1924 controversy were ripened and equipped
 ripe  for a  communai confession  conc$rfiing   Gorfimon      by the experience of the. controversy to further pursue
 grace." (Acts of Synod, 1924, pp. 149,150; translation        the task,
is mine.)                                     .                      "O~JY  faiiure to go forward  on the momentum of
                                                               our initial interest is doubly regrettable because the
    It is now more than 25 years after the synod so            doctriee  is not one that can be simply affirmed or
 ddmonished and urged the  leadei-s  of the Christian          denied, without serious, consequences. . . ."
 Reformed Church. What have they done to develop                     Interesting the article is too, because the Rev.
 the doctrine of common grace? . Absolutely nothing.           Daane reveals the willingness to recognize, study, and
 Berkhof d,efended the Three Points in a brochure,-and         criticize our position and writings, and to enter into
 also `defended the old theory  of cotimoh grace in `his       a discussion with us on the question of common  grace.
 R%~swP~%d 'D0pimtic~.    W. 3.  Xuiper  d&tiered   a  few     He even writes: "If' they as well as we would apply
 oo~~gi% bin "`The Good that Sinners Do." Polbeda 2nd          oiii+ i%spective  positions to ,the broad scope of history,
 Bourna went about soon after the' Synod of 1924 to            and to the problem of history itself, ,I consider it a
 lecture in defense of the Three Points. But nothing           possibility that we might both find ourselves drawing
 further was  done-  In the meantime,. our elaborate           closer together." This willingness to' r.ecognize  us and
 criticism of Dr. Kuyper's De Gemeane Gmtie, as well           to discuss txhe problem with us is something quite new
 as the positive development of our conception concern- din the Christian Reformed Church. I cannot but ad-
 ing this problem still stands as we .developed it in "`Van    mire the Rev. Daane for this position. On my part,
 ionde en. Genad?. As far as I know, no one has ever           although I have rather settled convictions on the ques-
 touched it. Why this lack of interest and ambition? tion of common grace, I am very willing to take cog-
 Were the Three Points after all olily used as a stick         nizance of all the `Rev. Daane may produce, and to
 to strike the Rev. H. Danhof and myself, and iater also       &ter into a brotherly discussion with him. He does
 the Rev. G. .M. Ophoff, and to drive them out of the          not have to be afraid that I will resent thdrough  critic-
 communion of the Chr. Ref. ,qhurehes?, 10r were, per-         &m, provided he comes with arguments from Scrip-
 haps, the Three Points after all expressive of the            ture and the Confessiotis.
 main tenets of the theory of common grace, so that                  In this connection, however, I want to make the
 there is no room for further development whatever?            remark that it would be very conducive to .a better
    Dr. Daane finds this situation very regretable.            felationship, if the Rev. Daane would have the courage
 Writes he in, the afticle referred td above: "The Pro-        openly to disown responsibility for the black page the
 testant Reformed Church has continued to register             Christian Reformed Church wrote into its' history in.
 arguments again& it and to refine their objections to         1924. `The Rev. Daane writes :                     ,
 it. Interest in the subject has revived and. produced               "A little over twenty-five years ago, the Protestant
 considerable discussion. in the Netherlands. ' This re-       Reformed denomination came into existence. She sep-
 viva1 of interest, however, has been less stimulated by       arated from the Christian Reformed Church over the
" our 1924 problem and solution, than by reaction to the       doctrine of common grace. In the Three Points, dr$wn
 exposition given commofi grace by Abraham I&per.              up and adop$ed by our Church in 1924, we stated our
 Discussion has taken place between the Netherlands            belief in the existence'of common grace. A group -of
and America but the point of contact has been .rather          our people under the leadership of Rev. Herman Hoek-
with the Protestant Reformed `Churtih than with our            sema, denied that there is any such thing, and-. went
 own.    Although a fine little book entitled Common on their own denominational way."
 Gypce has come out of Westminster Seminary from                     The above is .ndt quite correct; ,We. did not separ-
the pen of Dr. Van Til, within odr .own ,denominatiori         `Ate from the Chr. Ref. Churches in 1924. And we did
`little has beep done to advance this doctrine. This is        not go on our own denominational way. o But we were
remarkable in view of our initial interest in common           cast out, -cruelly cast out, although we made every
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 342                                     T H E   STAND-AhRD   B E A R E R

 reasonable and possibleOattempt  to remain in the Chr.          or `conditions, but a prior position  tha't lies behind both
 Ref. Church. And if the Rev. Daane ,wants to know,              common grace and conditions. It is possible that these
 as possibly he does know, &hat I mean when, I refer             protesting ministers  .do not themselves recognize the
 to the black page the Chr. Ref. Church wrote in its             nature of this prior-position. Until they do, they will
 history in 19924, he but hasi to read my "A History ;lfjver understand that Hoeksema is correct in his con-
 df the Protestant Reformed Churches." Twice we                  tintion that, for the :-Protestant Reformed; conditions
 have appealed in the course of  our history to the Synod        are excluded from the'Covenant.  When they do under-
 of the Chr. Ref. church to cqnfess their sin of casting         stand this prior position, they will also understand
 us out. But they never heeded it.                               why common, grace and conditions are both taboo in -
         Finally, I also find interesting what the Rev. Daane    Protestant Reformed theology. And then they will
 writes ab6ut our "Declaration of Principles". Writes            face two alternatives. They will either have to reject
: he:                                                            conditions within the Covenant, pr insist upon their
         ."In a veyy sharp form, &he consequences of deny-       retentionj'and  become Christian Reformed."
 ing common grace can be seen in the controversy going           : .,-.;I find it, very interesting indeed to meet with an
 on .in the; Protestant Reformed Church. This contro-            unbiased, outside opinion concerning our Declaration
 versy arose out 6f the problem of brganizing Canadian           of Principles. Unbiased, that is, in distinctibn from
 immigrants of the Schilder group into Protestant Re-            the Liberated, who also have written their opinion con-
 formed  ~Churehes. Faced with the question of accept-           cerning oui DeFlaration.
 `ing members entertaining the Schilder view -of the
 covenant, Protestant Reformed missionaries requested
 a statement of denominational policy. The resuli was                  .-
 the formulation of a Declaration at their last ,Synod.                          A FEW  SUGGESTJONS,
The -De&ration  defines the Protestant Reformed view
 of the Covenant, in contrast to  :Schilder's  view-and                I want. to make a few sugge&ons for a principal
                                                                                                    , . .
 ours. It is the denial of common grace as applied $0            and fruitful discussion of the theory of common `grace.
 th,e.Covenant. For the year n,ow running, it has been                 In the fir& place, I-`want .to suggest that we base
 placed before their churches -for consideration. At             our discussion upon Scripture and the Confessions
 their Synod this summer, it is'.to be .adopted (or re-          alone.      The Rev. Daane suggests that back  of my
 jected) as the official  Protesta& Reformed  doctrilie          denial of common @ace lies the conception of what he
 of the Covenant.        '                                       calls` a "timeless logic". Writes he :
         "According to Hoeksema and the Deckwation.~  the              "Behind Hoeksema's denial of both common grace
 denial of common grae% means that `there <?re no `con-          and conditions withinrthe Covenant, is the  fact that he
 ditions' in the Covenant. God never meets man on a              has taken his theological stance in eternity, and donse-
 conditional. basis-not even. in that process in which           quently understands God's dealings with men in terms
 the individual's salvation is actualized.  <God  never          of a timeless logic. But a time&s logic &not adapted
 speaks or works on the principle: if you, man,.do  this,        to deal `with or produ@e. an understanding of God's
 th6n I, God will do this.  Hoeksema  bilieves' that if          dealings with men in time. A definition of God's deal-
 their churches subscribe to the position $hat God oper-         ings with meri in terms of a. timeless 1ogic;means  pre-
 ates with conditions, and takes them seriously, their           cisely that temporal sequence and historical conditions
 chu&he$  have lost their r"eason  for separate existence.       have- no relevance for that definition. The temp.oral
 Rejection of the Dec1ar~tio.n wbuld be an announce-             `before' and `after', and the changing factors and con-
 ment that. it is time to. return to. the Christian Re-          ditions in this `moving sitilation', have no real mean-
 formed fold.                                                    ing. They indicate nothing as to the manner in which
         "`A number of Protestant Reformed ministers are         God deals with men. . . .
 not in favor of the  Dechnntion.` Some object for                     "The  n'iost characteristic feature of  Hoeksema's
 formal reasons. Others openly contend for conditions            theology is not his denial of common grace ; it is rather
 within the Covenant. They maintain that such a view             this `prior position to whic& he is committed and which.
 of the Covenant does not do violence  td  Protestal3.t.         makes %ecessary his clenial of+ common. -grace. This'
 Reformed theology. Iii this, I believe, the&e Drotesting        has:not  been understood.by manx,who contend against
 Protestant Reformed ministers are plainly wrpng, and            him in favor of common grace.  I' Standing on Hoek-
 Hoeksema, on his basis, is entirely corr.ect.                   sema's initial position and operating with his timeless
         "What these Protestant Reformed ministers fail ,t&      logic, ., the proponent -of common grace, has lost the
 see is that the basic issue in their present controversy        argument, before it begins.. It is a mistake to argue
 is not common grace-although it is indeed involved,             about common grace and conditions, when the ieal
 as Hoeksema sees clearly. The basic difference be-              issue- is something`else. I submit;that  the.most telling
 tween thems&es and Hoeksema is not common grace                 criticism that can be made of Qoeksema's  theology is
                   0

                  , .                                                                     0


                                           T'H-E':S.TqNDARD                 BE-ARER             o                         h 343
                                                                                                     .._ ..-A.-- ..--_
 its inability to $110~ genuine validity to the historical         creatures in general. This is evidknt from the Scrip- 0
 p r o c e s s . "  I                                              tural passages quoted .and from the Canpns of Dord-
      Now, in the first place, I suggest` that the very term       recht, II, 5, and III, IV, 8 and 9, which deal with the
 timeless logic is a contradiction in terms. There is no ' geneyal offer. of the' gospel, while* it also appeal;s  from
 such thing as timeless logic. L.ogic and time are .in-' the citations made from Reformed writers of the most
 separably related and connected. What the Rev. Daane -flourishing period of Reformed theology that *our Re-
 means is undoubtedly that I take my standpoint in                 formed writers from the past favored this view."
 the eternal counsel of God. But  althouih there is                   Now,`it is very evident that in this'Pirst Point the
 truth in this assertion, yet, if it be conceived ;as a pre-       Synod of 1924  agopted  both the Kuyperian  and the
 conceived notion, apart from the Word of God and the              Arminian conceptions of common grace. The Synod
 `Reformed Confessions, it is not correct. Throughqut              became con?u&ed  when they attempted to support their
 all my writings on the subject I have based my denial             view by the confession of the Reformed churches; &nd
 of common grace upon Scripture and the Reformed                   thus lapsed into the Arminian presentation of conimbn
  Conf~essidiis.         I deny,  tab, the last sentence in the    grace. That this is true is evident, first of all, from
 above paragraph in the article of  th6  Rev.\  Diane,             the declaration' itself. For when it declares that "apart
 namely "that the most telling criticism that can be               from the saving grace of God-shown only to those-that
 made of Hoeksema's :`thology  is its iliability' t? allow         are elect unto eternal life, there is also-a certain favor
 genuine valid?ty to the historical process." About this           or grace of God which He shows to His creatures in
 I will have more to say presently. Suffice it to remark           general," is pilrposes  to express the Kuyperjan view
 now that it is exactly over against Dr. Kuyper's con-             that God is gracious to all men in common, elect  and
 ception ,of the history of this present time a.s an inter-        reprobate, godly and ungodly, when He `bestows ofi
 lude, motivated by common grace, that we `have op-                them the things of this present life, such as rain and
 posed our own evaluation of history in the light of               sunshine, life and health, wealth ahd possessions,  gists
Scripture. But let it be  estAblished   between us that            and talents. All the good things of this present time
 for a fruitful discussion about the matter  *of common            are, according to this view, a. manifestation of God's
 grace we both take our stand on the Word of God and               gracious at&tude  to, all men. But the declaration of
 the Reformed Confessions.`                                        the First Point lapses into the Arminian conceptiona
      Secondly, I submit that for a fruitful discus&on -that the saving grace of God is intended for all men
 of the problem, we must clearly distinguish between               individually, when it speaks of "the general offer of
 t&e Kuyperian atid the Arminian conception of com-                the gospel" as a" manifestation of the grace of God to
 mon. grace. The Synod of 1924 simply bonfused the                 all hearers without distinction. For it is evident that-
 two.  Iti their attempt to base their- common grace               the preaching of the gospel does not deal with'common
 theory, especially as it is adopted in the First Point,           grace in the Kuyperian sense of the word, but with
 on the Reformed Confessions they unwittingly, per-                saving grace only. Besides, this confusion is also evi-
 haps, slid into the Arminian theory of generai grace.             dent from the references to the #Canons  of Dordrecht.
 This was but natural. The fathers of Dordrecht did                Also these certainly do not refer whatever to the Kuy-
 not deal with the common grace theory CG kc guyper,               perian theory of comrhon grace, but only to the grace
 but simply confronted the question whether the grace              of ,God unto salvation. Hence, the First point of 1924
,  df God unto salvation is general or particular. And             teaches that in the preaching of the gospel God is grac-
 therefore the Sjrnod could not possibly find a basis jin          iously inclined and bestows grace upon all the hearers,
 that' Confessioti for the Kuyperian theory of common              or, more briefly,`the greaching of the gospel is grace
 grac6.' And when they nevertheless attempt&d to con- to all.
 demn the Revs. Hoeksema.  and Danhof for their stand                 Now it seems to me it is hardly worthwhile to dis-,
 on the denial of common: grace, and tried to find a               cuss the Armiriian theory of common grace, although
 basis for `their condemnation in the Reformed Confes-             I admit that it is connected with the Kuyperian con-
 sions, they nedessarily confused the Arminian and the `ception. That the preaching of the gospel is certainly
Kuyperian conceptions of Common grace. This con-                   no grace to ail that hear the gospel has been too plainly
 fusion is very evident from the First Point adopted               condemned by the fathers of Dordrecht. The truth of i
 by the Synod of Kalamazoo, 1924:                                  particular grace contains the following elements. First,
      "Relative to the first point,  which concerns the `from all eternity God sovereignly loved atid chose a
 favorable attitude of God towards humanity'in gen.eral            people in Christ, ordaining `them unto eternal glory
 and not only towards the elect, Synod declares it to be           throtigh the deep way of sin alid grace, and that too,
 established according to Scripture and the Confession             in disti+ion  fi-om others who are not ordained unto
 that, apart from the saving grace. of God shown. only             salvation. Secondly, Christ suffered and- die-d -and rose
 to those that are elect unto eternal life, th'ere  is also        from:the  dead, .and was glor%ied  at the righ!-hand of
 a certain favor or grace of &God which He sho& to His             God only in behalf of the elect, given Him by the


  344     '     -                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R .
                       -.     Y          \                                                                           ."_
a Father, and merit&g and obtaining for them, and for would not  have come, and the works of God would
 them only, all the blessings of salvation. Thirdly, by have been completely spoiled and destroyed by the
 the Spirit of grace the elect,., and they only, are re-          wiles of Satan. However, by His common grace God
 generated, called into the fellows& of Jesus Christ t intervened, the universe did not suffer destruction,
 efficaciously and irresistibly. Upoi them, and upon man did not immediately die, and the original divine
 them alone, He bestowed the saving grace whereby. id&a and ordinance of creation can be and is realized
 they b&eve in Christ as He is proclaimed unto them               in the  histo'ry  of this world. At the same time, a
 in the gospel, whereby they are justified and sanctified         sphere is created for the realization and development
 and glorified. Fourthly, b9 the sam.e efficacious grace          of special grace in (Christ Jesus. He therefore coti-
 they are preserved unto salvation, and they can never            ceives of the work of ,God in a dualisti@ way. God has
 fall away from grace, but will surely persevere even             an original purpose with creation, the normal develop-
 unto the end, when ,God will gl-orify them and make              ment of all things, under man as their king: This pur-
 them heirs of all things with Jesus Christ their Lord.           pose is apparently frustrated by the temptation of the
     `This is the Reformed line of thinking in regard to          devil and sin. But through`the operation of common
 the grace of salvation. That this is true is evident             grace- God calries out the original idea, and brings
 from Canons I, A, 6 ; II, A, 8 ; III, IV, A, 10 ; V, A, 8.       about a positively good development  -of the human race
 Hence, the preaching of the gospel is neither in God's           in connection with the earthly creation. But on the
 intention, nor in actual fact, grace to all' the hearers,        other hand, God also carries out His plirpose  of pre-
 but only .to the elect, for whom Christ`died and rose            destination in the redemption` of the elect and the
 again, and whom God through that `preaching effect-              damnation of the reprobate. The present history of
 ually calls unto eternal iife and glory.                         the world, therefore, according to Kuyper, is really an
     It seems to me that on this point there is hardly            interlude.
 any room for discussion among Reformed people  afid                 ,Over agaihst this we have always placed a different
 Refbrmed.   t h e o l o g i a n s .                              conception and  evaluatibn of the present history of
     But it will be fruitful if we d+cuss the Kuyperian           the world. ,, What is really the problem of so-called
 conception of common grace, especially in view of the            common grace ? ,It concerns the question of God's
 ,fact that the Rev. Daane speaks of a proper evaluation          attitude over against, and of His operation upon the
  of history. For this is indeed implied in the Kuyper-           whole of the kosmos, the created things and their
  ian theory of common grace. Mark you, I&jper makes              mutual relation and their development in time, in con-
 a distinction between "common" and  +`special" grace.            nedtion with and in agreement with.the  counsel of GGd
  The latter only is< of saving power and ,efficacy,  and is      in general, predestination in particular, with election
  particular, that is, for the -elect only. Its fruit is eter-    and reprobation, the realization of God's eternal cove:
  nal life and glory in Christ. The former is not sav-            nant, grace and sin, favor and wrath, nature and grace,
  ing, but pertains only to the present life and history          creation and recreation, Adam and Christ; and, more-
  of man in the world, and is universal, or common:to             over, concerns the question of the place and calling of
  all men. To denote the distinction Kuyper preferred             the people  of,  God in and over against the present
  to employ the word "gratie" to indicate common grace,           world.
while he used the term "genade" to denote special- or                This, in our opinion, is the problem of common
  particular grace. And Kuyper sought to show that                grace. And; as the Rev. Daane will undoubtedly n@-
there still is a positively good world life and develop-          tice, certainly implies an evaluation .pf history.
  ment of the human race in connectiori  with all created            About this,  atid also about some  ,other  matters,
  things. And by the theory of common grace he offered            especia)li about the mistaken idea of the Rev.. Daane
  an explanation of the positively good in the world              that we should teach a certain individualism, we will
  in connection with the fact of the fall and the curse           write more, the Lord willing, next time.
                                                                                     r
  of God in the world, and, the total depravity of. the                                                               H. H.
  naturai man. He maintains that if common grace had
  nqt intervened and begun to operate immkdiately after
the fall, the end of all things would have been reached
in paradise with man's eating of the forbidden fruit.                                     ::<     g     :i:    Jb
  The whole .world  would have relapsed into a chaotic
  state. Adam would have' died the complete and eternal
  dea& And there. would have been no history, no
  development of the human race in the world. As a                          In other men we faults can spy,
  result, there would have been no rqom for the estab-                 And blame the mote that dims their eye,
 lishment and development ,of Goti's covenant grace in               Each little speck and blemish find,
  Christ, the elect would not have been born, Christ                  ' To our own errors blind,
                                    \

                                                  `9


                                     THE'STANDARD   Bti:ARER   -                          -      _                      345

                                                               mankind, and decreed to bring by'christ to everlasting
                      Of Books                                 salvation, as vessels made to honor.' To them, and
                                                               them only, belong the ~great privileges of justification,
Expository `Thoughts on the Gospels, by- bishop J. C.          sanctification, and final glory." etc.
     Ryle.  ?/latthew,  Mark, and Luke. Published as              We cannot agree with Ryle's contention %hat there
     a  rep&t  by the Zondervan Publishing House,              tiill be a  se'cond siege of Jerusalem in the end of
     Grand Rapicls, Mich.. Price per Volume $4.95.             time.                `:
    The Zondervan Publishing House certain1.y .did all                   r                                    H. H.
students of the Bible, whether ministers br laymen,
a service by offering a reprint of the above mentioned
work. It is mori than a commentary. (The work is
deeply spiritual and devotional. It is written  in a Y:?u'~                   S&v.  Mter's Reply                   "
lucid style, so that everybody can easily read it. While          In the Concordia issue of March 15,1951,  the under-
the work is based on the exposition of the text, it of-        signed addressed the following question to- the Rev.
fers, at the same. time, many practical suggestions.           Petter, and I quote: "Is Baptism the sign and seal of
Bishop Ryle, a divine of the last century, was a lover         a conditional promise, of a promise which will pre-
of Holy Writ and a warm hearted Bible student. His             sently be held before them with its accompanying
"Expdsitory  Thoughts on the Gospels" makes very               command and threat? or, is Baptism the sign and seal
pleasant and easy reading:
    To give our readers a taste of the. contents of these      of the promise which is theirs because of Divine elec-
                                                               tion, particular atonemgfit,  `and the Spirit of regenera-
"Thoughts on the Gospels" I cannot refrain frowrquot-          tion? I can restate my questions as follows : Do we
ing one or two passages from it. The first is on "the          baptize our children because the promise will be pre-
children sitting in the marketplace" from .Matthcw             sented  cotiditionally  to  th&n, so that the sacrament
11:16  ff.:                                                    of baptism merely looks forward to the time that the
    "It is a mournful fact, that there are- thousands of       child grows to self-consciousness and'faith? or, Do we
professing Christians just .as unreasonable s as these         baptize our .children because, the Father has adopted
Jetis. They are equally perverse and equally hard to           them_ eternally as His heirs, because Christ washed
please.    Whatever we teach and preach, they find             their sins and .presented  them righteous before God,
fault. Whatever our manner of life; they are dissatis-         and because God has promised that they, also as ihilcl-
fied. Do we tell them of salvation by gl;ace, and justi-       ren, shall receive the promised Spirit of regeneration,
fication by faith? At once they cry out against' our the Author of faith?"
doctrine as licentious and  antinomian ;-Do we tell               Rev. Petter answered my questions in the Concord&z
them of the holiness which the gospel requires? At             issues of March 15 and 29. I wish to thank the'brother
once they exclaim that we are too strici,  bnd piecise,        for his time qpd?effort  which he spent in answering'
and righteous overmuch.-Are we cheerful? `They my letter.
.accuse us of levity.-Are we grave? They call us                 I do not feel, however, that he has answered my
gloomy and sour.-Do we keep aloof from balls and               questions clearly and concisely. This may also be due
plays; and races? They .denounce  us puritanical, ex- to the le`tter  which I wrote him and the questions which
clusive, and narrowminded.-Do we eat, and drink,               I submitted. I  wiil grant  that my letter may have
,and dress. like other people, and attend to our worldly       been somewhat vague. It is also- for this `reason that
-callings, and go into society? They sneeringly insinu-        I wish to ansive? brother Petter's reply and attempt to         .
ate that they see ho difference between us and those `state the issue clearly and concisely.
who `make no religious profession ai all, and that we              I trust that our readers  wiil bear with  Ae. We
are not better t&an other men.-What is all this .but           should bear in inind that the issue is fundamental and
the conduct of the Jews over again? "We have piped tremendously important. It is simply a fact that the
unto you, and ye have not danced: we habe mourned              reformed position is most clearly expressed in connec-
unto you, and ye have not lamented." He yho spake              tion with the baptism of our children. .Here we .deal,
these words knew the hearts of men.",p. 113.                   to be sure, with the truth as it constitutes the very
   The second passage is on Mark 13 :20:                       heart  atid core of our Protestant Reformed Churches.
   "It is plain from this, and other passages in tlie          That truth we are called to proclaim in all its `blessed
Bible, that ,God has an elect people in the world. They        .fulness  and distin'ctiveness.  And it is exactly on this
are those, according to the seventeenth &tic16 of our          point that the theology of the .LibeTated  arid that of
Church, whom `He has constantly decreed by His                 our churches stand sharply .ov& against each other.
counsel. Secret to us, to deliver from curse and dam-          Let us therefore ,be clear and c&&e. This ppomts  me
nation ; those whom He l!ath chosen in Christ out of ' in the writing of this article.


3     4    6                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                              the infants ,and which speaks of the two parts in the
                Two Widely Divergent Views:           .       covenant ,of God must not be vsewed  as a condition
     According to the one conception the baptism of our       with which we must comply before the Spirit wili
children is based upon the fact of salvation, proceeds        work and dwell in us, but as the fruit of `the work of
from the truth that our children uFe partakers of the         God which is presented in the preceding parakraph.  '
salvation and the promise of God `(as realized for them       This lies in the very nature of the case. How can thi,3
and in them). This conception is rooted in God's              "second part" of .the covenant of God with- us be a
sovereign elektion, in Christ's particular atonement,         condition for the "first part" when that first part in-
in the provise as God's infallible and unconditional          eludes everything? Does not this first part bring  us  -
oath of salvation. According -to the  &her view  w.e          into everlasting glory, concluding with the words that
baptize our children on the basis of a conditional prom-      we khall be presented as an assembly of the elect in
ise, & promise which is given equally to all the child-       life eterndl? Hence, we are admonished unto a new
ren, and which will be realized in them if they .believe      and godly walk, to put off the old man and to put on
and therefore upon the condition of faith. This con-          the new man, b&cause  `that is the fruit of the grace of
ception does not proceed.from the truth that the child-       God and therefore ou? calling as saved moral-rational
ren are partakers of the salvation of God but `ihit they      beings. To this must be added that the work of re-
may become such in the future.                                generation generally occurs in the lives of thechildren
     Let us first attend to the. fir& of these two con-,      of God `during their infancy, be it before or during or
ceptions. In this connection I would urgg all our read-       immediately after the administration of the sacrament
ers to read carefully and thoughtfully the articles of        of baptism. .This conception of infant baptism is the
the Rev. Hoeksema in the-Standard Bearer, beginning           reformed position - (see also on this point the articles
with the Standard Bearer of Feb. i5, 1951. ,We, thep,         of- `Rev. Hoeksema) . And this has surely been our
baptize our children, &s the Baitism F&m states it so         position as Protestant Reformed  `Chukches.  Hence,
beautifully, because they a're included in the covenant       eben as an American soldier'must wear the American
of. grqce (not merely' the regulation of friendship but       uniform because he is an American soldier, so also our
God's ,eternal friendship) which God has established          children must receive the sacrament of baptism as
with them eternally ; because God  htis adopted them to       their ensign and banner (accordilig to our reforme`d
be His children and heirs ; and because God, the Son,         confessions) because they are children of the living
-has washed them in His blood and has'presented them          ,God, eternally, through the redeeming blood of the
righteous before  <God. Mind you, this must not be            cross, and spiritually through the regenerating Spirit _
understood merely as an objective bequest or bestowal,        of Christ.
as merely constituting the content of the  prom&                  ,Over-  against this conception of, infant baptism
which is equally bestowed upon and extended. to all,          stands. the Heynsian cdnception  of the .sacrament with
but as a st&ement  of the fact of salvation. We bap- which also the Liberated coliception  of the sacrament
tize oUY' children because God.loves them eternally .and      fundamentally agrees. It does not proceed fr6m`the
Christ has suffered and died for them. "But. this is not      truth of immediate regeneration and that the children
all. We also baptize them because God promises them.          are sanctified in Christ' in the spiritual- sense of`:the
.(and also of this promise baptism is a Divine seal)          -word. It does not proceed from what the children are
that His Spir'it will, dwell .in them and sanctify them       but from what they may become. It places the signifi-
until one day~they shall be presented before Him as           cance of the sacrament in the future. Wk need not
an assembly of the elect in life eternal. In this sense       enter into a detailed discussian at this time of this
it is certainly true that the sacrament of baptism also       Heynsian conception of the sacrament against which
looks to the future, assures the child of what God will       our' pedple  must- ever remain on the alert. Heynsian-
grant him all the days.of his life. But we must notice        ism identifies the covenant with the ljromise  and' con-
that this work of the Spirit in .our hearts and lives all     ceives of the pr.o&se as an offer of' salvation. `. It de-
the days of our life must not be divorced from that of        clares that, the sacrament seals and` confirms this
the Father and the Son but as based upon  it. The             promise of God to every  child that is baptized. Jt in-
Holy Spirit, wili work and dwell in us beeawe God has         foims  us that the S$irit will dwell and work in the
loved us and adopted us as. His children and he&              children if they, believe and.accept the offered salva-
eternally and the Son has washed us and-presented us          tion.    It maintains, of  .course,  that regeneration  is.
righteous before God. This means that the promise             mediate.  i This, we understand, involves them in a diffi-
of the Spirit is not for all; is not conditional and given    culty as far as the children are concerned who die in
to all,. but only for those whom the Father has loved         their infancy. They cannot accept the, gospel and &an-
eternally and the Son has redeemed by Hi3 blood. And          not consciously  exe&s? the activity of faith. They,  -
this also implies that thk paragraph in our Baptism           therefore, attempt to .extricate themselves out of the
Form which preceded that @ich- specifically refeys.to         difficulty @y asserting that these childred who die in


                                       THE.          STAND.ARD                 BEA:RER              /                 847

  their infancy constitute an exception -in the Divine cannot say with any certainty that they have such
  arrangement and dispensation of salvation. They are faith, It is- possible that-the consciousness of salva-
  saved in a different way than that which `normally tion and of life is first given to dying, inf+s when,
  occurs. The normal way is that the prorinise is equally       redeemed by the Cross, they. enter into the broad day-
  bestowe'd  upon all, that baptism  seali this. general        light of the heavenly world, of fellowship with God.
  promise, and that they will obtain the promise of the         But for the adult the consciousness and enjoyment
  Lord if they believe.                                         Games in thins world, in this altogether different way.
     Now we should bear these two widely divergent              It conies gradually or by steps. It comes by the paida-
  views of the baptism of our children in mind. Funda-          gogy of sanctification, and that in the confrontations
  mentally, they are the only two possible interpreta-          of tensions and discipline that also ilivolve the stimula- -
  tions of the  sicrament. `The one proceeds from the tions and provocations  bf  conditionali&  The very
  truth that baptism rests upon the promise of the Lord         fact that infant and adult experience the ent&nce into-
  as an unconditional and infallible. oath of salvation         salvation. in two different ways, shows tliat God has
  only to the elect. The other assumes that the promise two wholly different purposes with these differing
  is general and conditional. The latter is-Heynsianism         ways and processes. The one awakes in glory. The
 and. the former is Reformed and has always been Pro-           other goes through a trying, training, ethical crisis
  testant Ref armed.. Incidentally, we are not discussing,      of command, with promise and threat."-end of quote.
  in this correspondence with Rev. Petter, the question         Rev. Petter states here that we must di`stinguish be-
relative the baptism of the reprobate children. Never           tween infants that die in  t4eir infancy and infants
  is the sacrament of baptism grace for them; either            that grow up, that this ,distinction  must be carefully
  from the viewpoint of the .child or from the viewpoint        observed, that the Lord has two wholly different pur-
  of the purpose and intention of the Lord. .We are now         poses with these differing ways and processes. 1~ this               I
  discussing the positive significance of the sacrament.        connection I would- certainly like to' ask the following
 *This must be preached. To be sure, the reprobate              guestions. Does it  ne'cessarily follow from the fact                .
  children will reveal the wickedness of their heart. And       that  infant& do not `exercise conscious faith as do
  this hardening is surely the Divine purpose of the            adults that. the Lord therefore saves them in two
administration of the sacrament upon him.                       wholly different ways'? Are not both saved through
                                                                regeneration and faith in Christ?. Does Rev. Petter
       Rev. Petter's Article in Coincordiu of Feb., 1.     _    have any right, in Lord's Day 27, to distinguish as he
     I ask our readers fo.look up the Concordia's of Feb.' does between children that die in their infancy and
  1, March 15 and 29, and follow these articles with me those that grow up? Of course, we understand that
- as I call attention to &em.                                   if the promise of God is already realized in His people
     Particularly three elementsdin  Rev. Petter's article      during their infaticy then it must necessarily be un-
  of Feb. -1 struck  my attention. The reader will-notice       conditional: Now it may be possible that I misunder-
  that the brother is referring to that which the Declara-      stand the brother, although I think it would be. more
  tion asserts with respect to the last question and ans-       correct to say that I do not understand him. But it
  wer of Lor,d's D$y 27 of our Heidelberg Catechism.            seems to me that Rev. Petter makes distinction here             -
  The. Declaration asserts that the Catechism here em-          between infants that die in their infancy and those
  phasizes the- truth that the promise is .unconditional        that grow up, `and that God pursues two wholly differ-
  and only for  thk elect. This brings me to the first          ent ways of salvation with-respect to .them. This re-
  element of the brother's article to which 1. would call       ceives added sighificande when, in his article in Con-`
  attention. Notice please what Rev. Petter writes here         cordia of March 29, the -bro$her' .expresses  doubt as
  arid I quote: "The defect in this argu!ne& is that it         to the working of regeneration in the life of -an infant.
does not  disticgtiish  between infants that die in  in-        Is he here advocating the Heynsian conception as otit-
  fan& and infants that grow up. Yet this distinction           lined above relative the ,di'stinction  between infants
  tiust be carefully observed. . . . And so it is also with' that die in their infancy and those that grow up?
  the question of little children and conditions. The              The second element in Rev. Petter's article to which
  Liberated freely admit that dying, infants are saved          I would,call  attention is contained in the same passage             '
 ,.withciut  meeting conditions. For the Liberated acknow-      which I quoted in the preceding paragraph. Notice
  ledge that *little  children do not fall under the general    once more the ljaragraph which begins with the words :
  rules,. They are not confronted with the command              "And so it is also with,dlthe  question of little children
  and threat of the Gospel. We do not know what exists          and conditions," and the following pargraph, ending
  or takes place in infants, spiritually. It is sometimes       with the words: "provocatiohs of conditionality." Is
 `suggested that little children are baptized on the sup- the brother ,advoc&ing here that little children do not
  position that they have.a "potential faith" or "inclina-      have potential faith or the inclination to faith? I will,
  tion to faith". (as  accOrdin@ to  Ursinu&-H.V.),  We         hape more to say about this in connection with. the


      348                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R .
                       -         -                                                                              .- .
      brother's article in  Concol-&a of March 29. But,  if           eousness which the child possesses. It is for this
      this is the~meaning  of the brother, is he then not de&         reason that I asked the question whether we baptize
      ating from. our Protestant,Reformed  position (whitih           our children upon the basis of a conditional promise
      is aiso the Reformed position) that regeneration gener- to be fulfilled in the future on the condition of faith,
      ally occurs in the people of God during their infancy?          or whether,  we baptize them upon the basis. of an un-
      He writes  that it is difficult'for him to conceive of this.    conditional promise which has be&n fulfilled for them,
      If this be true, then it follows, does it not, that he does     eternally and upon the cross, which is fulfilled in them
     `not teach or preach it.                                         exactly as infants,  and therefore till be realized in
         The third element in Rev. Petter's article is ex- them even forever,. It is either-or, on& or the other.
      pressed in the following, and once more I quote: "And           In the one. we hear the language of our Protestant
      it is exactly to this conscious faith-process that also         Reformed Churches  ; in the other  w& listen to the          '
      infant baptism looks. It does not seal a.righteousness          Janguage pf Heynsianism  and Liberated theology.
      that the infant  has. Baptism cannot be separated
      from faith. It looks forward to the time.that  the child                         Rev. Petter's Answer.
      grows to self-consciousness and faith and sees its. own             First, we can be brief as far as Rev. Petter's answer
      baptism' as the seal of its own faith-righteousness.            in Concorc%a of March 15 is' concerned. My  &estions
      And in this conscious faith-justification, which bap- did not refer to the relation between the sacrament of
      tism looks to and seals, the tensions of promise and            baptism and the consciousness .of ,the belieGing  church.
      threat and conditionality also enter in."-end of quote.         My questions concerned the  baptism  of our  chilid~en.
      Here we read that "it is exactly to this conscious faith-       I have, of course, no objection whatever to the `fact
      process,that  also infant baptism looks." And : "It does thaf; the "awful language of baptism is that we only
      not seal a righteousness that  sthe infant  has."  And have salvation through the blood. of Christ, and as
      agaili : "It looks forward to the -time that the child          &rely as we embrace this blood of Christ by faith, so
      grows td self-consciousness and faith and sees its otin         surely we are safe in Him."-see page 3 of March 15.
      baptism as the seal of its qwn faith-righteousness." Concordia. *This we have never failed to preach.. Nei-
      Here Rev. Petter, it seems to me, advocates the theory          ther do I object to what Rev. Petter calls the "faith-
      that infant baptism does not seal something which the           unto-righteousness linkage." Hence, we all subscribe
      child has but which it may receive. Had the brother to the texts which are quoted in the March 15 answer
      written that infant baptism seals the righteousness             of Rev. Setter. Justification and faith are inseparably
      which the child has? seals the fact that God loves it           connected. The qne without the other is impossible.
      and that Christ dies foY' it, and that therefore, because       I do not hesitate to say that God, AS ,GOD, cannot give
      of this seal of God, the Hqly Spirit will dwell and work        us the one without-the other. -This is simply due to
      in it and lead it in ,the conscious way' or process of the relative ' significance of righteousness and faith.
      sanctification, etc., I would not question hini. B!& now Our justification is wholly a -work of God. This is
      we are told that infan't baptism does not seal a right- taught throughout Scripture and' particularly in the
      eousness which the infant  has (the emphasis upon               epistle to the Romans. Hence, God gives us the assur-
-     "has" is of the Rev. Petter), merely looks forward to           ance of this righteousness only thro.ugh faith because
      the future and to this conscious faith-process. Is all          faith is the bond uniting us with Christ, and through
      this Prqtestant  Reformed language?           '                 faith a!1 we do is receive. This receives also the em-
                                                                      p4asis in the passages which are quoted by the Rev.
                            Henoe  My~Questions.                      Petter. Throughout -Scripture faith-stands opposed to
         Our readers will nqw understand why I submitted works, to that which is of man, and emphasizes the
     to Rev. Petter my quest& relative the significance of            Divine asp&t of salvation. And inasmuch as bapt&m
      the baptism of our children. The issue is of the ut-            speaks of our hopelessness of sin, alid of the brood of
      most significance to me. *And it should be to all our           Christ, it therefore emphasizes the  truth that' our
      readers.                                                        a cleansing from' sin is possible only through the blood
             Indeed, I realize that the sacrament of baptism also, of Christ, and.that therefore we can receive this only
      points to the future. This none among  ,us  has ever from Christ  atid by faith. But, I reiterate: there is
      denied. And this may possibly have caused the vagu.e- certainly lie problem here. I must know why we bap-,
      ness of my questions in the Feb, 1 i&sue of Concordia.          tize our infants.  :
      But it is surely-strange lakguage among us that the                 Seoondly, I wish to direct our readers to various
      distinction between infants that die in their infancy ,eiements  in Rev. Petter's reply in Concordia of March
      and those that grow up must be carefully observed,              29. IOn the one hand, we must bear in mind what the
      that the Lord has two wholly different purposes with            brothel: wrote in his Feb. 1 article which occasioned
     these children,  that a child may not have Potential my questions. These matters, to which I have already,
      faith, and that infant baptism dqes not seal Z+ right- called attention, oertainly  need elucidation. Secondly,


                                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                      3 4 9

in his article of March 29 he speaks of the church and        latter thought which makes the presentation of a gen-
her elect children, that they have "these things", in         eral promise absurd. Fourthly, (and I do not write
Christ, but that they are applied progressively  through      this because I  wisp to find fault) why did not Rev.
the whole span of life until we are perfected in glory.       Petter assure our readers  that .the sacrament of bap-
We also read that ,God will give to them (the church          tism, also as far as his conception is concerned, speaks
with her elect children) progr,essively these very things,    of the eternal covenant, love of God and of Christ's
this conscious participation of all that baptism implies.     particular atonement? It is a fact,  is it not, that I
Here the Rev. Petter emphasies the doctrine df elec-          specified this very'thing in the questions which 1 sub-
tion, tells us that God will give all that baptism implies `mitted to him. Of course, if the sacrament of baptism
unto, them. I completely fail to see how this can be          emphasizes Divine. election, particular atonement, and
harmonized with "oonditional promise." This is Pro-           t&e sure work of. the Holy Spirit as based upon this
testant Reformed- language, and when the brother              eternal !ove of God and the particular atonement `of
writes these* things we, immediately understand h`im          Christ, then the entire Liberated conception of a- gen-
and rejoice.- And `in the Gird complete paragraph of          eral promise necessarily collapses. Mind you, I dd not
the middle column, page 4, mention is made of ~Ques-          say that Rev.' Petter questions  these  fundamental
tion 74 of our fieidelberg Catechism, and I understand        tr"uths. But I completely fail to understand why they
that this must also apply only to the elect children who      do `not receive their proper emphasis when the sacra-
are received unto grace in Christ and adopted as child-       ment of baptism is treated. And, in the fifth place,
ren and heirs of God. Hence, to them only is. the pro- `Rev. Petter, it seems to me, offers us a rather con-
mise made. This must certainly imply that the pro-            fusing conclusion  .in his last  pqragraph.  There we
mise is particular and therefore wholly unconditi&al. -read,  `e.g.; of the same promises that are infallibly
And this, I would say, is the language of our Declara-        sure to all the heirs of the promise. These heirs of
tion of Principles. `Thirdly, R&v. Petter certainly main-     the promise' are the elect,. are they not? Hence, this
tains in his article that the sacrament of baptism em-        is the language' bf the Declaration of `Principles. But,
phasizes, not what the infant possesses, but what it          in this bame' paragraph, we are also reminded of 3
shall receive in'the future. Question 74 of the Heidel-       Divine pedagogy which includes con&tional  relations
berg Catechism is explained in.such a way as to refer         and conditional promises. I do not believe ,that the
to the future of the child `(column 1, page'4). Art. 34 Divitie pedagogy includes. conditional promises. I can
of the Netherlands Confession iS interpreted.the  same        conceive of con#tional -relations, although, as I have
way. This also applies (see  column 1  .qn page 4) to         stated before, I heartily  endorse-the abandoning of the
the so-called second part of the covenant according to        term "condition".    Conditional relations, then, are
our Baptism Form. And finally Rev. Petter declares            relations which are necessarily. and inseparably  con-
that, although h.e, would not deny the possibility of' ne&?ed.         Regeneration and conversion, for example,
regeneration .in the inf,ant, it.is hard for him to con-      are  thus `related-our. conversion .  depe@s upon re-
ceive what we are saying and meaning when we as-              generation. But I maintain that the term : conditional
cribe regen&ation to an infant. AI& in the following promises, is arminian. Gonditional  promises are pro-
paragraph we are told "that  we cannot say that the           mises. which are dependent' upon something for their
faith and hope and love of which the sacrament speaks         fulfillment. If the term does, not `mean this then what
is already exercised and experienced by them. And             does it mean? The promises of God `are unconditional
all this is set forth by Rev. Petter as referring to the- for the simple Teason `that they' include everything.
pedagogic arrangement which the Lord has provided             Faith is part of the promise. And it is absurd to say
for His. people, as therefbre  referring to the future life that a promise is conditioned  by something within it-
of the child after he has come to years of discretion.        self. Besides, if I recall correctly (and I stand to be
May I-therefore not conclude that the brother wishes          corrected), it seems to be that the Rev. Petter him-
to maintain that, ,although the sacrameht of baptism          self declared during this controversy in Concordia
does not speak of  th&t which the infant possesses legal-     that he believed the promise of God to be unconditional.
ly, it does not speak of the promise as &lready  realized     Pedagogy signifies that  ,God leads  Hi,s people pro-
in him? `1; this same connection I wouldd like to ask         gressively on the way of salvation, instructing them
brqther  Petter the question whether, when he writes          concerning their salvation. This Divine instruction
that the infant possesses this legally, he, would~ also       does not include conditional protiises.
add that the infant possesses it objectively in Christ.          Therefore,  Rev. P,etter,  my problem remains, my
To possess life legally in Christ signilfies  that Christ     problem as occasioned by your articles. I am sure that
has merited it for us; to poss~?ss that life objectively      it also remains in jehe minds of our people. I am con-
in Christ means that that life which -He has merited          cerned only about OUU; Protestant Reformed distinctive-
for us now also exists in Christ; our life is now in          ness. ,And therefore I repeat my question: Does the
Christ  and not onjy merited for  us. It is  alsp this        baptisti .of -our children rest upon a conditional pro-

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350                                     T H E   ST.ANNAAD   B E A R E R

mise the fulfillment whereof lies wholly in the future        tinguished, too, by individual sins,-' miseries,. weak-
life of the infant, or do we~baptize  them because the        nesses, troubles, trials, and temptations., Each believer
promise has been fulfilled for them (eternally and            therefore has his own need of Christ's .God and of His
upon the cross), is fulfilled in them as infants, and         love and grace; which can just as well be made known
therefore will be completed in them in the day of our ' to the Father behind the closed door. The believer.
L,ord  Jesus Christ? Do we baptize them upon the              also has need of being with his Heavenly Father alone.
`basis of future possession or upon the basis of what         There  .are always things that he wants to tell the
they now possess and therefore shall receive. in its          Eather, that are meant only for the Father's ears.
eternal fulfillment?                                             There is, then, the public and the private prayer.
                                       H. Veldman.            And the Father inclines His ear unto both, to the latter
                                                              as well as to the former. For He is Father to His
                                                              people collectively but just as certain is He Father to
                                                              each of His people individually. He dwells also with.
               Praying To The Father                          the lone broken of heart, the-lone sheep, giving Himself
                                                              to him wholly. in Christ, instructing, reproving, and
       Let us turn to the 6th chapter of Matthew's gospel,    comforting him by Christ's Spirit and word, as he.has
the 5th and' the 6th verses and read here the word of need.
God as follows: "When thou prayest, thou shalt not be            Christ reveals that the hypocrites.of  His day were
as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing         praying- much in public. They -were praying not as
in the synagogues and in `the corners of the streets,         pastors, voicing on meetings for public worship' the
that they may be seen of men. Verily, I say unto you; common needs of the flock of  .God.  Nor were they
they have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,          praying, as leaders of societies addressed to. the task
enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the-door,      of searching the Scriptures and assembled in `the
pray $0 thy Father which is in secret; `and thy Father        synagogues for that purpose. But as lone, petitioners
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly:"              they prayed. Standing solitary in the synagogues and
       Christ instructs His disciples to pray behind the      in the corners of the:streets, they prayed, at least ap-
closed door.. ,This cannot mean that here he lays His         parently so, judging from; their posture. Their pray-
people under a law requiring that always they refrain         ing in these places `was certainly vile. Christ, who
from praying in public. We know from the Scriptures           knew men's -hearts, reveals' the reason.
.that  God wills also the public prayer. The duties that         They loved to pray in the synagogues and in the
belong to the office ,of pastors and teachers include the     corners of the-streets to be seen of men. That was
task of blessing the flock of- God in the name of Christ their sin. Not, to be sure, that it is as such-wrong to
and of voicing its common needs before the Throne on want men to see us worshipping <God. It is our call-
the meetings for public worship. Isn't it true that           ing, isn't it, to let our light shine that men may see
public prayer is with God's believing people an institu-      our good works. We- must penetrate to the heart of
tion for all their assemblies-namely, prayer, in which        the matter. These hypocrites wanted men to.see  them
the one saint at the request of the several voices aud-       praying because they were glorying in themselves.and
ibly before the face of God the felt needs, the sanctified    not in God and because, accordingly, they wanted to
thoughts and desires of. the several  ; and thus a prayer be.glorified  of men: And so, to achieve their-aim, they .
in which the several` poin the one and in which all are -prayed in the corner of the streets meaning to. pro-
joined together by a common faith in Christ. It is not        duce the impression that they were men of surpassing
true theref,ore  that what Christ means to be tel1ing.u~      piety with a monopoly .on godliness. And some of
is that the only prayers to which the Father inclines         them, or  even,.-perhajps  several of their number, so
his ear are such as ,His people offer Him in private.         Christ elsewhere reveals, had an additional motive.
Besides, such prayers can be just.as abominable as the        They lusted after theproperty of widows and orphans ;
prayers, of. the hypocrites of -our Scripture passage,        and to throw these-defenseless ,members  of their com-
though they be made behind closed doors. It all de- monwealth off guard,: they cloaked themselves in the
pends on to whom they pray, to the Father or to an            forms of religious worship ; they .made long prayers
idol.                           . .                           in-the synagogues and:`in the corners of their streets,
       Yet, certainly, the believer has need also of praying in order that, however full of dead men's bones they
behind the closed door., For as member of the re- might be, they might nevertheless, alsl%ar beautiful to.
deemed family of God, the believer, like the hand, the        men, particularly to the- widows a_nd orphans whose
foot, the eye, and the ear of the human body, is dis-         houses they were -planning to plunder.                I
tinguishable by an. individuality-individual gift and             Need we wonder at .the teaching of the Scriptures
-function-that is his own; And in this life, still lying      elsewhere that  _ the prayers of the ungodly are an
as he does in the. midst of death, the believer' is dis-      abomination `in the sight of God? `However, in pro-

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                                     T H E   .STANDARD  B E A R E R                                                  351

 nouncing with  ,Christ sentence of condemnation on            Christ and His Father in His sanctuary, pouring out
 these hipocrites, it is well to consider that,. wherein       our hearts to Him. If a man is only in the sancttiary
 we judge them, we condemn `ourselves. `For `apart             where Christ is at the right hand of God all is well
 from Ch&Js grace, we are no bet&r. This is evident,           with that' man, no matter where he may `be praying,
 isn't $? ::!I'ake notice once more of the basic trouble       behind the closed door, or in the streets, or on the
 with these people. They gloried in  themselveg  and farm, or in the office or factory, or on the battle-field- :.
 wanted  ~to be glorified, of  .men.  It  ltieans that they    amid the din and roar of war with death-stalking all
 were strutting the earth as prostrated in their hearts        about him,-if- he is in the sanctuaiy, it is well with
 before the shrine of their own ego instead of paying          His soul. For the eye of God is on that man in love.
 homage to the Fathey.  And their robbing the houses           Though he may be blown to bits, nothing can harm
 of the widows under the  pretence  of  maki_ng long           him really  ; for lie  dwells in the shadow of  6od's
 p+a$ers-what' does it indicate but that they: had their       wings.
 affection s&t on the things on this earth, which they            But in order to be with God fhrough prayer in His
 were determined to acquire by means' fair o& fowl.            sanctuary, in order to be drawn into His presence by          .
 Such were the basic troubles with these men.                  His lo+e and Spirit, it is not necessary that we pray
   . And are the,+ not also the basic and natiTie.troubles     in the corn'er  of the streets. True, if we want to be
 with every one of us, namely, our carnal pride, our           seen of men, we must make an open show of, ouk: -pri-
 self-worship, our praying `to gods that are no `gods,         vate prayers. ,For men see `only what meets the out-
 our seeking the things on  earth with all our heart           ward, physical eye. Men cannot see in secret. Their
 and power; each of us for himself. The horrible hypo-         eye does not penetrate the walls and doors of our
crisy of the hypocrites of Christ's day only r&veals to        closet. `Bu$ it is different with the F.ather's eye. His
 what fearful lengths we  -sinful men are capable of           eye is all-seeing. There is*no place where His eye does
going in our effort to acquire the things which in our         not penetrate. It pierces, does the eye of the Father,
 depravity we lust. O? course, you will realize that I         even to the dividing asunder of, soul and spirit, and
 speak of .ourselves  as we are by nature apart from the       of the joints and &arrow, and is a discerner of the  -
 re'deeming  grace of Christ.           cl         .4          thoughts and intents of the hearts of men.-  If so, why
    To His disciljles. Christ says : "Be not as the hypo-      should the followers of Christ be praying in public,
 crites are ; but thou, my people, when thou prayest,          if  there be no cause? Let them in this case by  al!
 enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut the door,      means retreat to their closet and shutting the door,
 pray to thy Father, which is in secret; and thy Father,       let them pray not .to an idol but to their' Father. -And
 who seeth in secret shall reward thee `openly?                their Father which seeth in secret shall reward them:
    God's believing ljeople  have need of this admoni-         openly.
 tion, certainly. For though raised by Christ's Spirit'           For they pray to the Father. -They seek after the
 from their spiritual death, there is still so much of the     Fathgr, after their heavenly Father of the heavenly
 hypocrite and idolater left in every one of them. It          Christ. Hence, they seek nbt the things on earth, but
 was as a Christian and as. a spiritual: Chxistian~ man        the-things `above where Christ4  is at the right hand of
 that the apostle `Pad complained : "For .that which I         God. And therefdre the Father will surely reward
 do, I allow not.: for what I wbuld, that I do not ; but them. Fo? they pray to their `Father ; they seektheir
 what what I hate, that I do . . . 0 wretched man that         Father and their Father's glory,  and their Father's
 I am, `who  sh& deliver me from the body of this              heavenly things. Such petitions are always hehrd, re-
 death." But as filled with. the wisdom of which'the           warded, without .exception.. In the way.of their pray-
 fear of the Ldrd &s the beginning, the trcie disciples        ers,the Father's very own .wdrk in them, such wor-
 discern the wisdom of Christ's admonition and by His          shippers receive'the things they seek-they receive the
 grace. do the thing that He requires of them.                 Retiard-the  reward of grace. And what a reward it
    Let us ,concentrate  on this positive side of Christ's     is? It includes the Father Himself:' He is the Reward
 instruction. "And -yo.ur%,Father' who is is secret . . ." of His people, exceeding great. And therefore the re-
 -The Father dwells in'secret. There is a secret abode         ward includes also grace and always more grace for
 of the Father-the.triune  Jehovah, Father, Son, and           the good fight of faith which Christ's disciples, His
 Holy Spirit;, ulito which no, man can approach. It is redeemed people, must fight and do fight, toward the
 the light, the total of ,His glories, where He dwells         victory that .is, theirs in Christ. It includes, does this
 solitary. But there is also a secret place of the Father" reward, the new. earth, where the .tabernacle..of SGod,
 accessible to the-bklieveys through Christ's blood. It        of the Father, will be with men, the men of the
 is the sanctuary above, .the house of ,God  over which        Father's good pleasure, whom He will `clothe at the
 <Christ  ohas been set a great -high-priest. Here the         appearing of Christ with the perfection and glory of
 believers, the contrite of heart, find the Father on the      the heavenly because in this present dispensation -of
 wings of prayer.. T.9 be. truly praying `is to be with        the world  they prayed to the Father. So will He re-
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  3     5    2                          T H E   S T A - N D A R D   B E A R E R

 ward them openly before the eyes of angels,, men, and           trine contained in the Three Points of the Chr. Ref.
  devils, so that all will see- that in this life they prayed    Church of their `Synod of 1924?
 to the Father. For they who honor the Father, .the                 I hear many voices. from far and near from those
  Father will honor.                                             who strongly oppose and protest against adoption of
       And consider in comparison herewith the reward            the Declaration of Principles. Some of these voices
I `of the hypocrites.    The reward `that they have. It          speak thus : "Why; of course, we believe the Declara-'
  is the vain.praises  of men and the property of widows,        tion of Principles! Who would think of denying them
  and rightly called the curse reward of the wicked, the         or any part of same?" And then they say further-
 things on earth that they sought. For the Scriptures            more "But we have ample material that declare our
 predict that the elements will melt, that all-the w.orks        principles, written especially by Rev. Hoeksema !"
  of men will burn, and that the hypocrites who persist-            I quote from Second Prot. Ref. Church's overture
 ently sought the things on earth and loved the world            as follows : "We have ample material. in the form of
. and its lusts and pride will be driven into everlasting brochures which set forth our views as based on the
  darkness by the curse of the Father and of Christ. ,Three Forms of Unity. `These teach what we preach
  That, too, must be included in the reward of the hypo-         and that preaching is binding."
  crites because they prayed to idols and. not to the               "This does not mean that we may not and do ilot.
  Father. It is this wages of sin, which is death.       _
       What a reward!  L  '                                      have a distinctive interpfletution  of these Confessions.,,
                                                                 (Rev. Hofman, Standard Bearer, March 1, p. 262).            .
                                         G. M. Ophoff.              This is also what Bellflower's minister and  con-
                                                                 sistory must have had in mind when they protested
                                                                 the adoption of the Declaration of Principles ; and also
                                         .
                     Contribution                                Classis West who made this protest their own. I quote:
                                                                 from this protest as follows: "Point 1. If they (the
         THE NEED  `CF THE DECLARATION                           Mission Committee-N.Y.) did come with such a re-
                     OF PRINCIPLES                               quest they  should have been referred to  ' the same
                                                                 basis that we have used previously and the basis which
       Much has been  ,written  pro and con about the            is still the basis for the unity of all our churches,"
 proposed Declaration of Principles. The more I read                Again I quote from the same,protest  : "Part 2. "But
 the more I am convinced that our Prot. Ref. Churches            (Synod-N.Y.) should have very clearly pointed the
 need this or a similar Declaration of Principles. And           Committee to its`task to proclaim our truth unequivo-
 in the light of our present situation I am convinced            cally."
 that we should have had it when we were organized                  Again I quote : "In order to keep our pos&~e tench-
 as Protestant Reformed Churches.                                ing before the mind of the hearers."
       It is my conviction that the proposed -Declaration           I ask: What do the brethren mean, including Bell-
 of Principles declares only our distinctive Reformed            flower's consistory and Classis West?- What do they
 view with respect to the preaching of the Gospel and            refer to when they use such terms as clistinctive inter-
 the promise in the ,Covenant, and that there is no well-        pretation of our confessions, the ba.sis, our truth, posi-
 meant offer of salvation or a promise for all in the            tive teachings?
 Covenant, but, on the contrary, we have always taught              Do they mean perhaps what the Consistory of the.
 that both the contents of the p,reaching  and the prom-         Second Church states? "We have ample material in
 ise are particular and unconditional unto salvation the form of brochures which set forth our views as
 and for the elect only, based on the Three Formslof             based on the Three, Forms of Unity"? Then my ques-
 Unity; .and thus differing from all other churches also         tion is, when and where have the doctrines and `de-
 holding to the- same. Three Forms of Unity:                     clarations in these brochures written principally by
  1 But never have' we as churches officially adopted            the Rev. Hoeksema ever ,been adopted by our church.es
 these truths ; we held these -truths only by common as our own? I know of course that we have by coin-. '
 c o n s e n t .                                                 mon consent held that Rev. Hoeksema's positive teach-
 Since the above are facts why the strong  oppo-                 ings of the "promise" in the Covenant and the preach-
 `sition to their adoption now? Do we as churches still ing of the' Gospel -have been generally accepted. as our
 hold- that this Prot. Ref. truth is God's truth? And "distinctive interpretation of the Confessions, but are
 that this is the reason, nnd o&zj this, why we have our they binding on anybody? Had the churches declared
 existence as Prot. Ref. Churches? Do we as churches them to be such, there never could have or' would have
 still believe as we did in 1924 that God raised up the          been the hubbub in our churches about conditions that
 Revs. Hoeksema and ,Ophoff to be the leaders of our             exists today.
 church denomination to show us the error of the doc-               Furthermore, not everyone in our churches .holds
                                                                                        -                                         `\


                                      T H E   .STANDARD   B E A R E R                                                353

these as being our distinctive interpretations of the           our truth, our positive teach-&Q. Could the Committee
 Confessions.    Even whole consistories do not hold have sent this man a copy of "De Geloovigen en IIun
 these as such. I  .quote  from,Holland's Consistory's          Zaad" and told him: This is what we believe, and this
 overture  ; under ground 1; why the Declaration of             is our  basis  for our Covenant view? Is that what
 Principles should not be adopted. "Certain statements          Bellflower means that the Committee should use as a
 c.ontained therein "the promise of the  tGdspe1  is not        particular Etis? If that is not the correct interpreta-
 conditional" and "we repudiate that the Promise of             tion of Bellflower's protest then they owe it to all the
 the Covenant is conditional,' contain matters which            churches to tell LIS what it is. I hold with the Commit-
 are still not settled issues in our circles..and therefore     tee that they were correct in requestingSynod  for hav-
 should,not  be included in an official declaration at this     ing something definite and uniform to present to these
 time." So it is plain that Holland's minister and con-         groups. They felt they had none to offer as we as
 sistory are not sure what is our, distinctive interpreta-      Churches never have declared officially what are our
 tion of our Confession, and what is more does not              distinctive interpretations of our Confessions, in +e-
 want any at this `time.                                        spect to Common Grace, the preaching of the Gospel,
     Also Rev. Petter who has written much on condi- the promise of the Covenant, etc.
 tions does not believe them to be our distinctive inter-          Therefore I conclude that Synod was correct in
 pretation of the confessions, writing on `the Declara-         honoring the request of said committee and to formu-
 tion of Principles which declare nothing more than             late a declaration of principles as to what our distinc- I
what we have held all these years as our distinctive tive truth is, what our basis is, what our interpreta-
 interpretation of the Confessions. He writes: "Arbi-           tion of the Covenant is, and our Confessions are, and
 trary and.  onesided private opinions of certain per-          submit them toI the church for their approbation and
 sons," and again: "these same brethren can just brush          final adoption.
 aside the  clearcut definition of the  .promise in the            It should be .plain to everyone that we need a de-
 Canons, fabricate one of their ow&, and that anyone            claration of .principles,  as I have shown, there is not
 in our church must submit to that arbitrary defini-~           complete agreement in- our churches what those prin-
 tion." (Concordia&Ian.  18). .                                 ciples are. With the possible exception of a few modifi-
     These same brethren referred to in the above quota-        cations'here or there the Declaration of Principles as
 _tion can be none other than our leaders whom we con-          submitted by Synod of 19,50 should be adopted, for' it
 fess that God has raised up to show us the errors of           declares no other truth than our leaders have ever de-
 the Chr. Ref. Church, for it was these very leaders,           clared and we with them. Furthermore, unless we
 the Revs. Hoeksema and Ophoff who were added to                adopt it ,we cannot even ask the well-known two ques-
 the committee of pre-advice at Synod to help compose tions, also proposed by Holland's Consistory, namely,
 the Declaration of Principles. So it should be plain           1. Do you further agree to be further instructed in the
 that all the Revs. Hoeksema and ,Ophoff have written           Prot. Ref. truth? 2. Do you promise not to agitate
 on our distinctive covenant view can be called just            against it? For I repeat, unless we adopt it we have
 arbitrary, ones-tied,  private. opikon, fabrications, etc.,    no Prot. Ref. truth.
 without even running in danger' of being in violation             In closing, I finish my article with the same `two
 of what we have always believed to be our do&in-es.            questions I asked at the beginning. 1. Do we still be-
     Furthermore, even our own- Mission Board com- lieve that the Prot. Ref.. cause is God's cause? 2. Do
 posed of five ministers and three elders, were not sure        we still believe as we- did in 1924 that :God  raised up
 what was binding in our churches. It may be taken the Revs. Hoeksema and Ophoff to -be the, leaders of
 for granted that these five ministers and three elders         that cause? It should be well-known to us that the
 are as well acquainted with OUT truth, our basis, ou?          same leaders composed the Declaration of Principles
 c&&z&e interpretation  of the Confessions as the               at Synod,,as they were added to the committee of pre-
 ministers and elders in Classis West. Yet they. come           advice to draw'up a form and have fought for its adop-
 to Synod with the request as to what is binding in tion ever since. Have we lost faith in these men? Have
 our churches. I refer you to a very weak and evasive           they changed as some say they have?
 answer the. committee gave to a Holland immigrant                 It is my conviction that the Declaraiion of Prin-
 as to what was binding with respect to our conception          ciples should not only be adopted with majority vote,
 of Covenant and Baptism.                                       or even a two. third's majority vote, but unanimously
     The committee answered in-part as follows : "We do and enthusiastically, and it should be binding on all,
 not feel that it lies within our jurisdiction to ,give ans- not just a few members that desire to join us. If that
 wer to this question." (p. 115, Acts Of Synod, 1950).          is done then again we can work together in harmony,
 In other words, the ,Committee  was not nearly as sure         in love for a cause that has been dear to our hearts as
 as Bellflower's Consistory and Classis West is, as to          we have worked and loved -for the past 25 years or.
 what is binding in our churches, what our basis is,            more. If on the other hand the Declaration' of Prin-


                                                                                                          -.

354             -      _     `y      .   T H E   STAND'ARD   B&ARER

 ciples should be rejected; then I agree with the Rev.                .Let us then proceed in our discussion of the Scrip-
 Hoeksema in his closing editorial that he sees very              ture passage in question.
 little hope for the future of our churches. Only I go                It is, then, important to notice, that the Apostle
 one step further and state right here and now: "We               is refuting a certain malicious, erroneous conclusion
 have come to the end of the road`!" Why should we                that someone might wish to draw from the great
 continue? We might- much ,better  confess : we were              gospel-truth, namely, that `"where sin abounded grace
 wrong  .in 1924; and disband; and each of us join a              did much more abound, that;. as sin reigned in death,
 church to his liking, and as best suits him. Why should          even so might grace reign through ri.ghteousness  unto
 we ask our people to further sacrifice in maintaining            eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord;" Rom.
 several small insignificant congregations? There is no           5:.&-j-21.         .:  `.  -'  '                      :
 further incentive or object.                                         Paul, ewe should notice, is-here refuting the erron-
  Wishing the Synod of 1951 the indispensible ,gtiid-             eous and the malicious conclusion. In doing so, the
 ance of the Holy Ghost, I am your`brother in Christ;             truth stands, that God added the law given at Sinai
                                   Nick Yonker  _         "       to the Promise given to Abraham some four hundred
                                   36 Catherine Avenue            and thirty years sooner, in order that the actual trans-
                                   Muskegon, Michigan. gressions might abound.                        This fact concerning the
                                                                  intents -and purposes of the law-giving in distinction
                                                                  from the giving of the Promise to Abraham is not
                             mm-                                  merely taught here in this passage but it is the classic
                                                                  truth taught by the Apostle in %onnection with all that
                                                                  he says of our justification by faith alone. A hasty
         `..          FROM ,HOLY WRIT
                                        .                         r_eading  of such a passage as Romans 4 : 15, 7 :81 ,Gal.
                                                                  3 :19 will certainly convince the reader that this state-
                                                                  ment of ~Paul'~concerning grace abounding more where
         Exposition of Romans 6:~:14                             . sin was more abundant touches the very heart of the
                                                               . . .gospel. However, the -evil conclusion that we should
                                                                  then remaili ,in sin that grace may abound, does' not
   * It is the intention of the writer of these lines to          follow.       -
 write a short series of expository articles on the pas-              So much is the contrary true, that the Apostle-
 sage written by Paul in Romans 6 :1-14.                          literally shouts : God. forbid ! It is utterly monstrous
    Since` this passage is quite lengthy, and since we            and horrible to place such% construction on the abund-
 all have our Bibles near at hand,, I shall not write it          ance of grace in relationship to the multiplicity of sin.
 out in full. I shall merely write the beginning of it            No, that conclusion is as far from the truth as it. is
and also the concluding words of it.- It here follows:            in .Jesus, as the west is distant from the east. `Paul's
 "What shall w.e say then? Shall we continue in sin,              heart and mind'and SOLII  cast this inference from them
 that grace  may abound?  Go,d  forbid. We who died               in utter disapproval. Nothing could be farther from
 unto sin, how shall we any longer live therein? . . . .          the'truth than that donclusion. It is impossible that
 Even so also reckon-ye also yourselves to b.e dead unto          they who are ingrafted into Christ  .in a true faith
 sin, but a&e unto God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin               should not.bring  forth fruits of thankfulness'! Water
 therefore reign in* your mortal. body, that ye should            always makes one wet, and fire always is hot and
 obey the lusts thereof, neither present your members             burns, a stone alwaysfalls by the force of gravity, and
 unto sin as instruments unto unrighteousness but pre-            the believing  and. redeemed heart love righteousness
 sent yourselves unto God as alive f&m the dead, and              and hate iniquity. A fish can only live in the water,
 your members as instruments of righteousness unto                and a bird only feels to home on the wing and nestled
 God. For sin shall not have  dominion'over you:  for             in `the branches; thus also the man with living faith,
 ye.are not under law, but under~grace."                          who is not under law but under grace,' can only feel to
        In this article we intend to make a beginning of home in the keeping of the commandments, which has
 our. study of "this passage from Holy Writ. Our pur-             a great reward !
 pos.e is not simply to give exegesis, detailed exegesis,             Paul does not first of all try to show. the logical
 of each word, phrase and clause in this passage, but             falacy of this reasoning, but pointing out that there
 we would give an exposition of the passage as a whole ;          are certain elements in the major.and  minor premises
 we .would thus treat the main thrust of the Apostle's            of this reasoning that do not then come to their own,
 argument here. In this way we will probably see more             and that, therefore, the conclusion is logically unwar-
 of the wood and a little,, less of the individual trees.         ranted. Ah no, this is the outcry of life ! Just as the
 Wherever we deem it necessary we shall treat a pas-              real mother  k comes to manifestation before Solomon
 sage a little more in detail.               n                    when he commands the baby to-be cut in half, and as

                                                                       i


                                                                                             .
                                                         T H E. . S rl' A N:D Af.R D B E A R E R                                   355

            the real believer comes to manifestation when Jesus free from the awful,prison of guilt and death. Legally
            suggests to His disciples that they too leave Him with            we have died unto sin.
            the multitude, so,,here the real deep impulse of the                 Legally you. ask? Was the Cross a legal matter in
            redeemed and believing heart reveals itself in this:              the court of ,God's great majesty of justice and equity?
          God forbidf The inference stings the apostle to the Indeed it was. And by this payment of the ransom
            quick! It is a heartthrob from a believing heart that             price by the fulfillment of all the just demands of the
          pulsates with the l,ife~ of Christ that we hear in this :           law we died unto sin! L,egally we are no longer held
            God forbid !                         .,.'                         under the law of sin and death. In God's court the
             Surely there must be more to this "God forbid  !" penalty of death for sin, and of sin unto death has
            than the mere subjective attitude of a man, be it that been taken away, it has `been disannulled and made
I           of a good man ! It surely is not thus to be conceived             void by the death and resurrection of Jesus. That is
            of. This outcry is true i.n respect. to the apostle, but          what it means that we have legally died unto sin!
          that this does not yet imply that we here are confront-                We who have thus legally d&d unto sin, shall we
            ed with the norm, the .rule of all faith and conduct.             still live as those who are doomed to servitude.? All
            Overagainst this we can place the testimony of. the               the past connection with sin and guilt has been for-
            church of Christ throughout, the ages as set clown in             ever removed from us in the death and resurrection of
            Confessional statement;. But what is more is, that the            Jesus Christ; shall we now do and act and conduct
            Apostle here shows that the very genius of the Word               ourselves as though this. relationship of being doomed
          ' of the Cross demands this : God forbid !                          to sin is still in effect? Heaven and earth may and
                It is not simply the subjective feeling of Paul; it is        shall pass away, but the sure foundation of the Church
            more than an attitude that we should "respect", but               built on the Chief Corner-Stone stands. `Christ has
            whidh need not necessarily be shared by all who believe           paid our debt by descending into the depths of hell ;
            with the heart unto righteousness and confess with                all the angels, who had stooped down to behold it,
            their mouths unto salvation. Indeed it is far more.               behold ; the powers of darkness were here stripped of
            It is based upon and is the outgrowth of the power               all their usurping power, the, earth trembled, the veil
            of the death and resurrection in our life: It is simply in the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom.
            living obedience of faith in response to the Word of              And' Jehovah has redeemed us, His people, from all
            the Cross !                                                       sin. He is our Goel, greater than a Boaz. Shall we
            :, .  `.
               `This "God forbid" is bedded in the Gibralter Rock             then continue as those in the prisonhouse of death in
            i.of the finished work of Christ ,Jesus in His vicarious this acceptable year of the Lord?. To ask this question
            death and in His triumphant resurrection out of the is to answer it : God forbid !
            dead ! Anyone-believing in Christ shares in that work,               Legally we #aare incorporated by faith into Christ
            and that work was a dying unto sin and a living unto              by the activity of the Holy Spirit signified and sealed
          Go&  .Whoever  wills not to see this  .' simply kicks               in baptism. By faith in Christ we realize that the
            against the pricks of the reality of the Cross as this prison-gates have swung open wide to us. This is not
            reality confronts him in the.:preaching  of the Word of           a jail-break. It is to be led forth through the prison-
            the Cross.                                                        gates in royal estate by Him who-pas taken oaptivity
                                                                              captive. This is the experience of faith. `It is to share
                Well may we, therefore, write this "God forbid" in the death of Christ as the payment for sin and in
            on the doorposts of our house, keeping it ever before             His resurrection as the glorious victory over death.
     .      our eyes as a lamp unto our easily erring feet and as             Writes the apostle: `L Or know ye not0 that so many of
            a beacon light upon `our path as this shines more and             us as -have been baptized into Christ Jesus, have been
            more unto the perfect-day ! This "God forbid" is the              baptized into His, death? Wherefore we have been
            truth and all the rest is the lie. It is the  ,Gibralter .buried with Him through baptism into His death, in
     ' Rock; .it is God's, righteousness as the only and sure                 order that even as Christ was raised out of the dead
            basis .o$: all of our, salvation.                                 by the glory of the Father, thus also we should walk
              .:Th;is Paul shows in the -verses 2-14 of this chapter.         in the newness of life.,,
               . The'believer fitis died unto sin ! That is the key-             This our walking in newness of/life is first of all.
            note-in this masterful preaching of the Word of the               a walking in the. new legal relationship. It is a claim-
            Cross. That the believer-has .died unto sin is simply             ing.in faith the perfect righteousness of ~God in Jesus.
          ' the truth of the Word of the.Cross, The believer has              No one can walk in newness of life who is still under
            died unto sin not merely in the subjective attitude, but          Zaw! He who is under law is still under condemnation
            he has died unto sin legally.; all righteousness has been         and death. He is still under the death-sentence. But
            fulfilled!  The handwriting that was against us has               he who walks in the "newness of life" walks in the
            been nailed to the Cross. We have been redeemed. .`new legal relationship to God of the forgiveness of sins
            The ransom price has been paid. The prisoner can go' and of the right to life everlasting. And this we do


                                                         .
356                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

by faith.       Hence,  .by faith we, are  ingk'afted  into                                       *                 I N   M E M O R I A M
Christ's death `and resurrection. Actually believing in                                The undersigned organizations of the First Prot. Ref. Church
Christ,. which `believing is worked-in the hearts by the of Kalamazoo, Mich., hereby wish to express their deepest sym-
,preaehing  of the Gospel through the Holy Spirit, and pathy to Mrs. ,S. Dykstra and family abd Mr. and Mrs. Albert
                                                                                     Verstelle and family, in the loss of a husband, father, and  grand-
strengthened by the use of the Sacrament& we walk father>
in newness of life. Believing unto the forgiveness of                                                       Mr. Samuel A.  Dykstr,a-age  53
sins, repenting by faith unto this forgiveness is walk- whom &he Lord called home on ApFil 10, 1951. We pray that
ing in newness of life.                                                              the bereave1 may be comforted, in the knowledge that their dear
       Now,  forsoothe,  who can walk in the repentance one lives, and come $0 the assurance that the Most High doeth
                                                                                     all things  well
unto the forgiveness of sins, really hate sin and abhor                                                                                           Men's Society
self for it and still cpntinue  to walk in these sins. C a n                                                                                    Ladies' Aid
evil fruit grow on a good tree ; can good. f?uit grow                                                               -                             Yokefellows
on a bad tree? Cain. a fountain both bring forth from                                                                                             Eunic(: Circle.
the same.' source sweet water and bitter ? Thus also                                                                       9  * I
no one who. has died unto sin in Christ by faith will                                                                    IN MEMORIAM'                  i      '
want to walk in sin that grace may abound. On the                                      The Priscilla Society extends sincere sympathy to their Bible
coptrary,  while he tastes and receives of the grace                                 teacher, Rev. H. De Wolf and to his family in the death of his
abundant he hates sip. Rejoicing in the overflowing  father
fountain of,grace and forgiveness he cai-mot but flee                                                                    Mr. G. De Wolf
                                                                                       May  the God of all grace comfort them with His Word and
frdm sin by faith. *                                                                 Spirit.
       Such is the true faith. It is a being  bur,ied with                                                  Priscilla Society of the First Prot. Ref. Church
Christ in His death unto sin, and thus it is legally to                                                                             Mrs. Richard Monsma, Sec'y.
live unto God. Shall we then remain in sin? God                                                                           :s I           :g :g
forbid !                                                                                    i
       Faith thus. accounts itself legally dead unto sin, and                               `.         .          .Widding  A n n i v e r s a r y   .
legally. alive unto ,God. And therefore faith is`the only                              0n may `7, 1951, our-Ibeloved  parents
way in &hich we understand the true nature of the                                                               Mr.  and Mrs. Oscar  Eaber
forgiveness of sins and life everlasting. He who truly hope to commemorate their twenty-fifth wedding-anniversary.
c?nfesses  his sins knows what the injunction means:                                   We, their children, are grateful to God for  spar&%the&
Go and sin no more !                                                                 these many years `for each other and for us. Our earnest prayer
                                                Gee.  G. Lupbers.                    is that He will continue to bless them in the future as He has
                                                                                  in the past.
                                                                                                               Their grateful children:
                                                                                                                                           _      Peter
                                                                                                                                                  Margaret
                            I N   M E M O R I A M   _                                                                                             WE. Frederick
                                                                                                                                                  Jeanette
  On April 7, 1951, it pleased our heave@  Father to take u&o                                                                     . .             `Oscar Jr.
Himself, our dear daughter' and sister,                                                                                                           Christine.
                                 Jeanne                                             Open House from 7-10 P.M.
aged 16 years and 6 months.                                                          929  Worden St., S. E.
  Although deeply wounded, we are comforted by the assuxance                         Grand Rapids, Michigan.
that  she went to Jesus her Savior, according to her own testi-
mony and  God's  pr@mises. She now rejoices in heavenly glory.                                                           -:-
                                                                                       .
                                  Rev. and Mrs. Leonard Vermeer                                                           NOTICEi
                                  Mr. and Mrs.. Wilbur Stursma               ._-
                                  Leonaid  Jr.                           `.,..              Young Men desiring to prepare for the miniStry of
                                  Harold Jay                                        the Word ifi our Churches, and therefore seeking ad-
                                  Frances Faye.                                      mittance  into our Theological School are requested to -
                                                              ,                      appear at the next meeting of the Theological School
                      \\      809s                                                   Committee on the evening of May 18, 1951 at Hudson-
                                                                                     ville,  Mich., at 8 o'clock. Applicants must present a
                            I N   M E M O R I A M                                    certificate of membership and recommendation from
  As Consistory of the Prot. Ref. Church of Redlands,  Calif.,                       their own consistoky and a certificate of health from
we hereby wish to express  o.ur heartfelt sympathy with our                          a reputed physician.
pastor, Rev. &. Vermeer, Mrs. Vermeer and children, with the                                                    The Theological `School Cotimittee,
sudden death of their daughter                                                                                    Rev. G. Lubbers, Secretary;
                                 Jeanne
  We pray'that the Lord may comfort them in their affliction.                                                            1304 Maude Ave.; N. E.
                                                  M.  Gaastra, Clerk.                                                    Grand Rapids 5, Michigan.


                                       T H E   ST:ANDARD  BE'ARER                                                         357
  f



                                                                to the requirements of our Netherland Confession that
              .lN  HIS  FEA,R                                   we-came into existence as Protestant Reformed Chur-
                                                                ches. And also that this question must remain urgent
                                                                among us in .a healthy way cannot be challenged. The
       Church Menibership In His Fear                           moment that'we fail to judge ourselves as churches in
                                                                the light  .of the distinguishing marks of the true
                             11.  *                             church, at that moment we shall go astray as churches.
                         -WHERE? . .          _          + .    And the moment that any member ,cannot and does
                                                                not give account. of his church membership in the
       The `question implied in our, title, which we began      light of those marks, at that moment he will certainly
to discuss in the last issue, namely, (`To what church go astray;
 must I belong?" is an important one. It is important              How the above must be understood of us as Pro- ,_
 and pressing, as we noted bst time, first of all, be- testant Reformed Churches and as members of those
 cause of the vast multiplication of church denomina-           churches in distinction from all other chSurches is an-
 tions which has come into existence since the time of          other matter.      But even  now. we may be warned
 the Reformation especially. In the face of this situa-         against the  .tendency  to blasely go down the list of
 tion the believer, who confesses one holy, catholic            denominations with the crass -and blunt judgment :
church, must make a decision and maintain a decision            `!This.is  false, and this is false, and this is false, period.
 ,as to where he must have his church membership, But this only is true." We may be warned, too, against
 where his "papers" should be.                                  naively assuming that we exclude anyone and every-
       Doctrinally, too, the question.involved,  namely, that one who leaves our churches from the' kingdom of
of the true or the false church, and the distinguishing heaven, And we may remember from the outset that t
 marks thereof, together' with the implication of these         our. calling is not`to pass judgment on what someone
 truths, is important. The subject is often one that is         else does, but that this question must be approached
 misunderstood. On the one hand, it is misunderstood            primarily from the viewpoint of the `question : "Where
 in such a way that we are accused of conceitedly rele:         must I; personally, individually, join myself and re-;
 gating all those who-do not belong to the Protestant           m a i n   j o i n e d ? "
 Reformed denomination to everlasting destruction,                 ,That question we `hope to consider here., The doc-
 This is done not only by some. outside of OLW churches,        trinal and confessional question concerning the true
 who use this as a "talking point" against us,-mean-            church and its marks must necessarily be considered
 ing to emphasize how conceitedly narrow and sectar-            in-this connection. But it is not as such the question
 ian we are+--but  one occasionally comes' across that          in this rubric. As a matter of objective doctrine we
 same misunderstanding. in  our-, own circles,-and I            can leave it to the writer of Our  Do,ctrine.   And in as
 speak now from personal experience. On the other               far as at present it. is the subject of a little contro-
hand, it is misunderstood  `in such a way  .that we             versy, we safely leave the matter to our editor, whom,
 Protestant Reformed,  who',by some are accused in              we trust, will in `due time finish what he promised to
 the manner above,.-are by others accused of not our-           finish in the Standard  Becmer of December 15, I,ast.
 selves understanding the Confessions on this point,               And from the above point of view, the question
 so that we  w,ere told not too long ago: "I believe if         often is brought before our attention `in yarious con-
 there is one important question which you  .need to            crete ways. There is always, of course, the probability
 study, it is the question: `What is the church? Where that you will be forced to answer the question by those
 is the true church in America?' This question must from the outside, who often `stand amazed that a little
 become an urgent one among you." - Implied in. the             group` of-,people has the audacity and the stamina to
 above quotation is the charge, of course, that we don't        exist separately as a church. The.majority always be-
 know, and have not for the 26 years of our existence           longs to the "big,' church, and cannot understand the              .
s known, a proper, conception of the church and of the          motive of' one who doesn't belong to it. There are
 true in .distinction from the false church. Implied too        others, whom you may meet, who will sing the siren
 is the charge that this question is not urgent among           song of tolerance to you, and whom you must answer.
 us. And by implication is included. the charge that            More concretely still, there is the case of the Christian
we did not know what we were doing `ecclesiastically            young man who falls in love with a young woman from
 when we allowed ourselves to be cast out in 1924 and           another denomination, and who must face the question
 organized anew as the Protestant Reformed Churches.            of church membership in that connection. May he -go
       That the question. must be urgent among us there         to her church? .' How must he answer the question?
 can be no, doubt. That it has been urgent among us             Should he insist simply that she comes to his church,
 in the proper way is also my conviction; so urgent             regardless of anything else? May she accede to that
 has it been in the proper sense that it was in obedience / request simply to "keep" her man'? What must be the
                                                    :                                                                                   .


3            5             8         ,THE   STANDA'R'Ds'BEARER

standard. according to which,, these questions must be        the .non-controversial  Apostolic Confession. They in:
answered by people of God? Or equally concretely,             sist that the-- churc$ i$annot afford to spend its time
the *question must be faced by those who wish to move' on petty doctrinal differences, that the only thing that
elsewhere to earn their daily bread, or who are tempt-        matters is the blood of Christ, and that all evangelicals
ed by an opportunity to earn just a little more than          should unite to do battle against' modernism and work
daily bread; It is even possible to a certain extent-if       for..a revival of the fundamentals of the Christian
we maintain that one has a duty not only. toward him-         ftaith. They often have their origin in a group of mal-
self as member. of the church, but as well toward the         contents in an existing-church or in an independentist
congregation to which he belongs-that this question           movementJ1  which came into existence entirely apart
is connected with the matter of transfer from one             from the instituted church.                             .    .
congregation to another  within  a denomination. I               Concerning both we may say, first of all, that they
could conceive of a situation in which it would be            deny-the very principle of the Reformation in which
wrong to transfer to another congregation if it were          all protestant churches -had their beginning, the right
not strictly necessary.                                       and' the- calling to reform. If the reformers: of the
                                                              sixteenth century had assumed the same attitude, we
T h e   Toleranae  of  Undenominationalism.                   would ail be in the Romish Church to this very day.
     With regard to this `question, there are many, first ,Once in a while the truth of the above statement be-
of all, who take the stand that the various churches          comes concretely evident in those extreme statements
should simply break down their confessional walls of          of the modernist in which he pleeds for cooperation
separation, forget `their differences, and unite on. a        between Catholic,  P.rotestant,  and Jew.
very broad platform of a few general principles. There           In the secon'd place, however, we must reme.mber
are two trends in this connection, probably `to. be de-       that .this song of tolerance is actually intolerance of
noted as the modernist and the fundamentalist. trend.         the worst sort. It is intolerance of the truth. And
The one you see evidenced in the numerous movements. the truth is after all the fundamental issue. We are
toward union of existing denominations in our day., not speaking now of- the constituti'onal religious toler-
a The modern tendency is for churches to unite without .* ance grant&Eto us in this democratic country. Surely;
setting  their differences, either Confessional, church       in the framework of our constitution up to this day,
political,  ,or historical. `They find a basis which is everyone is free to worship as he sees fit. But the
broad and general ; one or both groups have to give           fact is that in these professedly tolerant movements
in a little; the truth must either be compromised, or         in the church of today there is no tolerance for the
room must be left for differences of opinion. And             clearly and sharply defined truth of Scripture.' And
presto, two denominations become one giant, and they          the-moment you begin to insist in modern'circles upon
look around for another church to swallow. What has           the satisfaction of j the blood of Christ, for example,
happened? Doctrinal standards have become no.more             or in fundamentalist circles upon the truth of sover-
than dead traditions, and they have' no longer a place .eign, particular grace,. you are' an .outcast. Because
as the living confession of the truth. Their connection       the truth is so fasti,diously intolerant of any lie, the
and foundation upon Scripture is no longer seen. And          lie will'not for a moment endure the pure truth of the
the confessions have long failed to be taken seriously        Word of God. And what is .true in regard: to the two
 either by the church or its members.` .                      main principles mentioned above is equally true down
     But such an event cannot take place without the          into the last nook and cranny of .the truth.
consent, either silent or vocal, of the individual mem-          And by this let LB be warned against a -false toler-
ber. And what attitude `must he take when that so-            ance, a tolerance of the lie.
                                                                          -
 called tolerance is sweetly preached in our day?' May                                                    H .   C.`Hoeksema.   -
he go along? .May . he go along who concretely faces
 the question ,of such a church merger? And may he                                                 `I     ,'
 go along with it in his heart and mind, who witnesses
 such events every day, and who hears and reads such                                                                       ,..
 teachings? For you understand that if we go along
 with such teachings in theory, the day is not far off                 -Thy protector is the Lord,
 when we will actually practice them also.                              Shade for thee He will afford ;
     Principally no different, but with a little different              Neither sun nor moon shall. smite,
 approach, is the fundamentalist, doctrine of tolerance.                Eod shall guard by day and night.
,,You ,are. also acquainted' with this' movement. They                  He will `ever keep thy soul, ,
 likewise want no confessional .barriers. Their slogan                  What would harm He will control ;                       .
 is "No creed but Christ" or "No creed but the Bible."                  In the home and by. the .way
 They are willing, at the most, to accept as their creed                H e   w i l l .   k e e p   t h e e   d a y   b y   day.,  .:


                                         T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R                                                 359
                                              `
                                              .
                                                                   will be increased. In this way the family will be
     -.'  P E R I S C O P E   '                                    strengthened and encouraged for a more fruitful walk
                                                                   as pilgrims .and strangers in an ungodly world."
. An Awakening?  "           :     :     /                           How well we also as  R.eformed children of God
                                                                   must confess our lack also in this respect. Sometimes
    Such, we certainly hope, is the meaning of the re-             it seems to me that the old saw "familiarity -breeds
 cent appearance of two new::periodicals  in the Ameri-            contempt" is especially true in our, day, especially when
 can Church world.. They'are "The Reformed Journal" we compare the truth. which we have received with
 and "Torch and Trumpet".                                          ,our joy and gladness in its continual reception.
    Both of  th,ese are edited and controlled by Christian
 Reformed -leaders' `and -we imagine directed mainiy .A  Ruther  Strtiking Viewpoint.
 toward the constituency of the Christian Reformed                   _ /In an article entitl,ed,  "Thank God for Problems"
 Church in America,                                     :          Dr. L. N. Bell in the Southern Presbyterian Journal
    Although `from a Protestant  -Ref,ormed  point of `gives rather an unusual and striking viewpoint of dif-
 view it is already evident, in the few issues of both             ficulties.  We,quote  from the article:
 magaines we have read thus far, that `they w.ill stand               "One of the most soul-satisfying experiences of the
.on a Christian. Reformed (that is ,a "common grace',)             Christian is to be faced with perplexities and uncer-
 basis, yet we welcome them if it means, that there is             tainties and tc, be able to ask God for guidance a.hd
 gding?to be an earnest study of the Word of God and               help and then to see His work.
 the application of that Word to all. of life.                        "We. know of no experience more calculated to
    We cannot help wondering: Why at this time `and                bring a.spiritual blessing than.to  stand facing a stone
 why two of them?                                                  wall, uncertain -which way to turn, and then to pray
    Is it a sign of an awakening in the Christian Rel to the One who has promised to give wisdom and then
 formed Churches? We sincerely hope so.                            see a supernatural thing take place.
                                                                       "
 Con&rvntion   f o r   Pilgr&s.   x-  "  `.        .                    . . . This is not a matter of mysticism.. `It is a
   .  1..                                                          question of just plain practical Christianity.       For
 _ Under this title there. appears a worthwhile piece-             God delights to try and test His own and then to bless
 in, the April, number of the "Moody Monthly". We                  them as they exercise their faith in Him,&
 quote from it:                                                        "God's guidance comes in many ways ; we mention
    . "Christians above all others should cultivate the art        a few: He sometimes leads by so-me passage in His
 of profitable conversation. This is true for.a number             Word ; again the HoIy Spirit speaks to us while we are
 of reasons, but especially `because of the. .w.orthwhile          on our knees, or while we are doing our routine work;
 things of which they have to speak. .-                      I    , it may be a word of a friend, or even of a stranger;
    ". . . . Par,ents especially should develop the habit it may be by the development of circumstances. The
 of turning family conversation toward spiritu,al mat-             wonderful' thing is that ,God will and daes direct the
 ters from time to time .as the occasion permits. By ways of His children.
 so doing they.will  be fulfilling the'spirit of Deuterono-           ". . . `Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and
 my 6 3: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto                 lean not unto thine `own. understanding. In all thy
 thy children and shall talk of them when thou sittest             ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,'
 in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and c. . . He does not want His own to react to difficulties
 when.thou  liest down, and when, thou risest up.'                and problems as the dumb animals. The Christian's
    `%atan, of course, will endeavor to hinder such.con-           position is one of communion- with and dependence on
 versation with L trivial and inconsequential matters.             the infinite resources of the infinite and eternal God.
 He will also do his best to make us hesitant to speak             The problems, the sorrows, the  .uncertainties,  the
 of spiritual things. The family which is living close needs, the dangers, the complexities of life, all are but
-to the Lord, however, will not ,find it too difficult to          invitations to turn aside and experience daily the won-
 share: precious things discovered in the Word, to dis-            ders of God's supernatural power and wisdom. With-
 cuss the problems of everyday in the light of God's               out problems to face there would be the grave danger
 commandments., and to form the habit of thinking to-              of forgetting Him.
 gether of heavenly matters.                                          "THANK GOD FOR PROBLEMS!"
    "The. rewards ,of cultivating habits of Christian
 conversation are great. More and more; the heart                  What is Coming to the Synods?
 of each member of the family will be turned toward                   Under this title we hope once again to call your.at-
) the things of God. `The.world  and its allurements, on           tention from time to time to the important matters
 the other hand, will be thrust farther and farther into           that will come to the Synods of various dhurches  in
 the background, while growth in knowledge and grace               our land.  '


 `360                -                    T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R ,

     To the Christian Reformed Synod will come among from the island when koxinga (a Chinese pirate who
  other things the following:                                 conquered the Island of Formosa and ruled' over it
     1. Calvin College  PLresident.  President  Schultze from 166211683-J.H.)  drove the Dutch out and were
  has presented his. resignation and this has been ac- beheaded by the pirates. .
  cepted by the B0ar.d  of Trustees. Synod will-have to         `tThese .men not only ministered to `the Dutch trad-
  choose a new president from a suggested nomination          ers but also carried on missionary work among the'
 `of: Dr.  .Goris,  pastor of  LaGrave Avenue Chr. Ref.       Formosans. The first of them, George Candiclius, is
  Church ; Dr. George Stob, Seminary Professor, and           reported to have learned the language and the religion
  Dr. Henry Stob, Calvin `College Professor.                  of the natives, as did others who followed.. Another,
     2. Report on Worldly amusements: This will come          Robert  -Junius, is said to have baptized 5,900, not
  in the form of 3 report .of the committee appointed- to     counting infants, and ,he trained fifty'native teachers.
  "clarify the decisions of the Synod of 1925 without         There was even some Scripture translation, for" the
  .changing those decisions.". We understand that there, Gospel of Matthew was printed in Formosan. Yet in
  is both a Minority and Majority report on this matter.      the two centuries which followed the expulsion of the
     3. The NAE question: The Christian R,ef ormed Dutbh, every trace of Christianitjrwas blotted out.
  Churches have been members of `The National, Associa-          "The history of the present missionary effort goes
  tion of Evangelicals  for eight' years -and .during that    back some eighty-five or' ninety years. Dr. George
  time there has been constant criticism, and objection       Mackay, the first missionary- of the `Canadian Presby-
  and the membership has been continued on a year to          terian Missionbegan  his work in the northern end of
  year basis. Gradually.,it  seems to us that the agitation the,island. The English Presbyterians began and car-
  against membership has increased. This matter will          ried on their work in the southern end. . . . Presby;
  come up in connection with areport' on the basic pri,n-     terians have. conducted the entire missionary enter-
ciples of Inter-church affiliation.                           prise.. . . . The only others that have labored on the
     Interesting for us is the fact that this question of     island is a small group of `holiness' churches, started
  NAE affiliation is ,being criticized on the score of the    through local' Taiwaeese  (native  Formosan-J.`H.)'
  fact that it was "a decision arrived at without adequate leadership under the influence of a certain. `holines'
  study or investigation; by reason of an action initiated, preacher in Japan.
  by a ministerial association and carried on (the floor        "The `Taiwanese church became a well-organized
  of Synod-J.H.) withodwarrccnt by a Syno~dical- Cbm-         body with substantial church buildings and some ex-
  mittee. . .  ." (I underscore-J.H.) .                       cellent leadership. However, their influence could not
    4. Divorce: This matter also will be-brought to the       penetrate intothe  mountain areas during. the Japanese
  attention. of Synod `by a committee appointed to study      era.  ' The Japanese strictly forbade any missionaries
  t h e   p r o b l e m .                                     to go into the mountains, and also forbade the abori-
     5. Catechetical Training: IOnce again we read of. ginal tribespeople in the mountains to read the Bible
  a study committee ready to report on this very impor-       or conduct any kind of Christian service.
  tant item in the life of the church.                           "It is a remarkable episode of Christian history
     6. The Mission Question: The matter of home and. how the truth seeped through to the hearts of these
  foreign mission always plays a big part in this Synod.      primitive peoples and how, secretely at night. those
  Undoubtedly the differences sharply evidenced last          who knew the Way went to teach their fellow tribes-
  year in a series of brochures will carry over into this men the wonderful truths of the Bible. Once they had
  year. We hope to continue to keep  .our readers in-         come to know the truth, they became so firm in their
  formed concerning the agendas and activities of the         raith, and their, love for Christ became so strong, that
  various :Synods as we receive information about them.       they refused to bow under the iron hand of the Japan-
  Fomkosan Missions.                                          ese, who sought to keep them from worshipping ;God
                                                              or reading the Bible. The Japanese took strict' meas;
     Formosa is mubh in the news today. We take over          ures to stamp out the Christian religion, and some of
  the f,ollowing from. the Moody Monthly concerning the       these simple folk languished in ,prisons, while others
  history of Mission Work on the Island:                      had to flee for their lives, and still others suffered
     "When the existing Protestant missionary work- be-       death for their faith."
 gan in Formosa, in the nineteenth century, there was            Under the present regime of Chiang  Eai&hek ab-
  no trace of an earlier Christianity. Yet. there had been solute freedom is given the gospel an'd many mission-
 Christians on the island some two hundred years be-          aries are at present working there-both among the
  fore. During the period of Dutch rule; from 1627 to         natives and the Chinese immigrants, as well as among
  1662, as many as twenty-nine ordained ministers went the soldiers of the Nationalist army.
  to serve in Formosa. Four of them f,ail.ed to escape                                             J. Howerzyl.


