           VOLUME   xxx                                                 APRIL  1, 1954  -&~AWD   IIAPIDS,   MICHIGAN                                      NLJ~V~EER   13

                                                                                                         must be accomplished before the death-knell strikes.
     II             M E  D' I T A T I 0  `N                                                              Sunday's prophecy-fulfilling and  .p+ophetic  royal entry
                                                                                                         had marked the beginning of that historic week, and
                                                                                                         likewise had been the  fir& in a series of events that served
                                       The Betrayal                                                      to heat the envy and hatred ,of the chief priests and scribes
                           "Ye know that after two days is the feast of the                              and pharisees to that white hot fury that moved them to
                      passover, and the Son-of Man is betrayed to be cruci-                              concentrate all their efforts on removing the righteous Serv-
                      fied. Then assembled together the chief priests, and                               ant of Jeho<ah  from the scene. Monday had witnessed the
                      the scribes, and the  eld&s  of the people, unto the                               second cleansing of the temple as well as a final manifesta-
                      palace  of'the high priest,  who, was called Caiaphas.
                      And,consulted that they might take Jesus by subtilty,                              tion of Jesus' glory in the healing of the blind and lame that
                      and` kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day,                                came to the Savior in the `temple. And the day had reached
                      lest there be an uproar among the people."                                         its climax -when  from  the mouths of babes praise had
                           "Then one of the twelve, called Judas  Iscariot,`went                         spontaneously issbed forth to Zion's Ropi Priest. And this
                  unto the chief priests;  Alld said unto them, What                                     spontaneous testimony of  tile truth over against the blind-
                      will ye give me, and I will deliver  hill1  unto you?
                      And they  coverianted  with him for thirty pieces of                               ness of the hateful and envious leaders of. the people, who,
                      silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to                                being doubly condemned because they neither heeded the
                      betray him."                                      Matt. 26 :2-5 ; 14-16.           testimony of these children nor saw the harrd of God in it,
           Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him!                                                      are filled with chagrin and frustration.  ,Tuesday  is the day
           The traitor finl- excellence!                                                                 of the Savior's last  pliblic appearance beford He appears
           The son of perdition!                                                                         publicly on the  cross. All His time He devotes to teaching
           A unique but unenviable position is reserved for him on                                       the  niultitudes  with that same unimpeachable authority  which
     the pages of history. All the gospel narratives give their                                          earlier had demanded the attention of those who heard Him
     attention to Judas and his foul conspiracy `with the chief                                          and which now!' as before, foiled every attempt of the ene-
     priests, the gposfle John giving special attention to'the details                                   mies to co'ntradict  Him and catch Him in His words. Par-
     of his dismissal at the time of  the last supper in the upper                                       able after pointed parable He had spoken, always exposing
     room and to the arrest of the Savior by the band of men                                             the hypocrisy atid vile corruption of those Israelite3 who
     headed  ky Judas. And all four  gsspel  narratives fail not to                                      were not Israelites. All day long He had instructed the
     inscribe him on the pages of sacred history as the Betrayer.                                        throngs which were already at Jerusalem for the feast days.
     Alone he stands in his life: the betrayer, the son of perdition                                        And now it is Wednesday. -More and  -more the shadow
     he is. And  &lone he stands in his death: filled with un-                                           of the hour beclouds Jesus' soul. "Ye know that after two
     godly remorse he hangs himself, becomes a suicide. He has                                           days is the feast of the Passover, and the Son of man is
     no place among his fellow sinners.. And he camlot live even                                         betrayed to be crucified," He announces. Alone He is with
     with himself. He goes down into perdition!                                                          His disciples, resting for the events to come, probably at
.          Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him . . . .                                    a          the Mount of Olives, near the town of Bethany.  His soul
           Infamous traitor !                                                                            is filled with the thoughts of His' impending suffering. And
           Unenviable reputation !                                                                       this time He tells them  very definitely that after two days
                                           * Ii<  >$ 4:.                                                 He would be betrayed and delivered up to the cross.
           It is Wednesday of the last  week of the Savior's earthly                                        But there is another meeting being held, probably in-
     sojourn. A week literally filled with tremendous events and                                         formally, at the same time. As though the Savior's an-
     iinportant   ~discourses   i t   h a s   b e e n   t h u s   f a r .   T h e   h o u r ,   t h e    nouncement tb His disciples had called them to assemble,
     central hour of all history, is drawing near. And all things                                        we read, "Then assembled together the chief priests, and


290                                            THE.STANDARD   B E A R E R

the scribes, and the elders of the pkople unto the palace                  Ah, you say, Judas was evil from the very beginning.
of the high priest who was called Caiaphas . . .", Long have            He had a devil. He was a thief, a covetous man. All that
they hated Him and plotted to destroy Him. But the events               he was, he  was at heart from the very beginning of his
of this week have filled them with rage and frustration. They           discipleship. And he played the part of the hypocrite. He
can wait no longer. The time is long overdue that they                  was with the twelve, but he was not really of them.  TO
must take some definite steps to kill Jesus. And of course'             be sure, that is all true. Judas never changed essentially. He
it must be d&e with "subtilty," for there are the multitudes            had all things common with the eleven, except the one
to be reckoned with. It must not be done on the feast day,              thing that was needful : he had' no grace !
lest there be an -uproar among the people.                                 But even then, how `is he to be explained as the betrayer?
       And to this hate-inspired gathering of the leaders of            For. three years he was with Jesus ancl the disciples. For
Israel one of the twelve, Judas Iscariot,-which  also betrayed          three years he acted the part of a disciple. For three years
Jesus, betook  himself sometime during that Wednesday. He               he had not betrayed the Master. And now he suddenly
knows where to go, for it is public knowledge that the chief            becomes a traitor, reveals himself as the son of, perdition.
priests and elders seek revenge on Jesus. -And besides, had             What happened in his soul ?
not the Master Himself told the  t<relve  more than once                   The explanation of the betrayer involves several factors.
who'would  put Hill1 to death ? And so, slipping away from              And it was not a single event, but rather a chain of events
that quiet and restful scene at the Mount of Olives on some             which cooperated in bringing Judas to the point of betrayal.
pretext or other,. Judas goes to that wicked conclave in the            A hardening process took place, as it always takes  place in
high priest's palace. Notice, it is not they who make  over-            the hearts and minds of those who are in contact with the
tures to him, but on his own initiative, without any prior              gospel, but receive no grace. Judas is no spiritual accident.
knowledge on their part that Judas was coming, the traitor              Nor is  he to be explained by any  Arminian  conception of
offers his services to the enemies of Jesus.                            grace. Nor is it enough `to say that he hardened his own
       Indeed, he is a traitor at heart, the son of perdition, who      heart under the preaching  of Jesus. But by means of the
sells himselfs  to the devil, and of whom the devil takes  com-         same gospel of the kingdom through which the eleven were
plete control !                                                         saved and converted, Judas Iscariot was sovereignly  hardend..
       Judas Iscariot . . . . dastardly coward . . . . sneaking con-    That had to be. For the going of the Son of Man, and
spirator `. . . . vile plotter !                                        therefore all, that was connected with His going, was divinely
  The plot is formed. The foul bargain is consummated.                  determined. Woe indeed, u$o that man by whom He was
All concerned acting in mutual suspicion and stealth, they              betrayed. Better it had been, if he had never been born!
finally agree on terms. Judas is to deliver Jesus into their               But also this hardening of Judas, and the revelation of
hands. It is not his part to kill the Master, but to be the             him as the son of perdition takes place mediately.
informer. He must watch for an opportune time,. a time.                    In the first place,  there is the significant notice of Scrip-
when Jesus can be secretly taken and put out of the way, -              ture that Judas carried the bag, was the treasurer of the
for the leaders fear the multitudes. Are they not  _ real               disciples, and was a thief. This surely does not mean that
leaders ? And the ,plasters  in .Israel  agree to pay him for his       this thievery was known to  the disciples at that time, for it
dirty work thirty pieces of silver. What the equivalent 0               is inconceivable that they would tolerate such a thief in their
those thirty pieces of silver would be in our money is of. no           fellowship. But this notice is inserted in the gospel narra-
importance. The point is that it was the price of a common              tives at the time when they were penned. The point is, how-
slave. For the price of a common slave the disciple betrays             ever, that this one element portrays to us a cardinal aspect
his Master. The Lord of glory is valued by His own familiar             of Judas' spiritual makeup. He was a thief. He was moved
friend at the price of a menial slave.                                  by cove'tousness.  He loved money.         ~.
                             * :k  *  *                                    Secondly like the other disciples, Judas looked upon              .
       Judas Iscai-iot, which alsb betrayed Him . . . .                 Christ from a purely earthly viewpoint, a "Jewish" view-
       How is it possible ? How is it to be explained, not merely       point. He expected an earthly Messianic kingdom, with
from a psychological point of view,
                                            but spiritually ? HOXV      earthly power, and earthly honor, and earthly wealth. And
could it ever come abotit that one of the twelve, the inner             as a disciple of Jesus, the traitor undoubtedly looked for-
circle of the disciples, who walked with Him for three years,           wa.rd to a preferred place in that earthly kingdom of Christ.
heard His wonderful words of life,  witnessed all His mighty            However, there was a very fundamental difference between
works, yea, himself had been sent preaching the kingdom                 Judas and the eleven on this score. The other disciples merely
and had also performed miracles, even to the casting out of             had a wrong  con.ception  of the Christ, a conception from
devils, who ate bread with Him, the righteous One, who was              which they ,would  be converted and delivered in due time
once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and tasted            by the grace of the Holy Spirit. In the case of the eleven,
the good word of God, and the powe+s  of the world to come              that earthly hope of the Messiah could be taken away' as it
L how is it spiritually possible that such ai one should                finally  was and they had lost nothing essentially, even though
now "lift up his heel against" the Savior?                              at the time of the crucifixion  they imagined that everything


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                                                                 291
  -     -

  wds  lost. In other words, the eleven were regenerated men
  of God. But with Judas Iscariot this wordly hope of the                                             T H E S T A N D A R D B E A R E R
  Messianic kingdom was a spiritual, ethical matter. It was                            Semi-monthly,  except monthly  during July and  August
  with him not merely a wrong conception, but a matter of                             Published by the  REFORMED   FREE   PU&HINC   ASSOCIATION
  the moral, spiritual state of his heart. If that carnal hope of                   P. 0. Box 881, Madison Square Station, Grand Rapids 7,  Mich.
  the Christ was taken away -from him, he lost everything                                                Editor  1  REV.  HERMAN  HOF,KSEMA
  that could possibly bind him to Christ.                                      Communications relative to contents should be addressed to Rev.
       Gradually he-was deprived of that hope. `At Capernaum,                  H.  Hueksema,  1139 Franklin  St.,- S. E., Grand Rapids 7,  Mich.
 immediately after the feeding of the five thousand, when the                  All matters relative to subscriptions should be addressed to Mr.
                                                                               G. Pipe, 1463 Ardmore St., S. E., Grand Rapids 7, Michigan.
  Savior made it plain that He came as the meat and drink                      Announcements and Obituaries must be mailed to the above
  of life eternal, and that the miraculous multiplication of the               address and will be published at a- fee of $1.00 for each notice.
 loaves and fishes was only a sign of a greater spiritual reality,             RENEWALS:  Unless a definite request for discontinuance is re-
 a big step in the disillusionment of Judas Iscariot un-                       ceived, it is assumed that the subscriber  wishes  the subscription
                                                                               to continue without the formality of a renewal order.
  doubtedly took place. He began to realize that his place
  was with the offended multitudes, that walked no more with                                                Subscription price: $4.00 per year
 Jesus. And significant is Jesus" own notice at this juncture:                       Entered  (Is  S'ecod  Class  matter at  Grand Rapids,  Michigart
  "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?'
 As time went on, Judas' carnal hope became dimmer, and the
 the sin of the betrayal grew in him. At the occasion of                                                               C O N T E N T S
 Jesus' anointing with a view to His burial, shortly before                MEDITATION -
 the betrayal, -the reality of things becomes clearer to Judas.                       T h e   Be:trayel...........................................289
 And finally when Jesus announces that in two days he                                         Rev. H. C. Hoeksema
would be betrayed and delivered, the evil plot takes definite              EDITORIALS -
shape in the heart of the traitor. He decides to get the most                         To the Rev. P. De Boer.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
 he can out of his collapsed hopes : thirty pieces of silver !                               Rev. H. Hoeksema
                                  * * :k g                                            Rev. James Howerzyl Misunderstands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
                                                                                             Rev. G. Lubbers
       Judas Iscariot ! The son of perdition !
       As close as possible to the Savior, and yet as far away. O U R   D O C T R I N E -
 from Him as it is possible to go! The type of the sinner in                          The Triple Knowledge  (Pa,rt III  -  ,Of  Tharikfuhress)  . . .  .295
                                                                      >
 the best possible circumstances, but without grace! The                                     Rev. H. Hoeksema
 revelation of the fact that the natural man, given every con- THE  DAY OF  SHADOWS-
 ceivable.  religious advantage, and -given the opportunity to                        T h e   P r o p h e c y   o f   I s a i a h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 9 9
 lay hands on God, will betray Him, sell Him as a slave!                                     Rev. G. M. Ophoff
 His heart is the devil's. His aim is the world. He knows                  F R O M  H O L Y   W R I T -   ..
 no repentance, His end is destruction !                                              Expo'si,tion  of John 10:17, 18.. . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301
       Would you boast over against Judas? Would                                       , Rev. G. Lubbers
                                                       you shun
 him as an outcast? Are you horrified at his dastardly deed,               IN  HIS  FUR-
 in self-righteous hypocrisy?                                                         Walking in Error (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .303
       Remember! Judas was of us, and out of our race. He                                    Rev. J. A. Heys
 represents us at our very best. Sinners all are we, betrayers             CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH -
 of the living God. And the sin of Judas is but the ultimate                          The Church and the Sacraments.........................305
 end of sin, of all sin, of the sin in paradise, of your sin and                             Rev. H. Veldman
 my sin.                                                                   THE  VOICE OF  OUR  FATHERS-
       Would you boast? Then boast in the power of the cross !                        The Canons. of Dordrecht (Article 7 cont.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
 For any difference between us, as the sons of God, and _                                    Rev. H. C. Hoeksema
 Judas. as the son of perdition, is to be ascribed only to that            DEGENCY   AND  ORDER-
 cross' the cross of the Son of God!                                                  Supporting the Ministry (cont.) . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
                                                                                             Rev. G.  .Vanden Berg
       His be all the praise !
                                                         H.C.H.            ALL  AROUND  Us  -
                            -us--                                                     Reply  `to Rev.  Hof,man  and Mr. Byker.  .,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .310
                                                                                             Rev. M.  Schipper

       The Hope Protestant Reformed School Society is in                   CONTRIBUTIONS  -
                                                                              ..
 need of a fourth teacher for the 1944-`45 school year. Please                        The News Item from Lynden.. . . .I.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .312
                                                                                             H. Vander Veen, Jr.
 write Mr. John Iialsbeek, 4132 Hall St., S. W., R. 5, Grand
 Rapids, Mich. or call AR 6-7586 to arrange for an interview.


     292                                          T H E   STANDA$D.BEA.RER

     !                                                                          Rev. James Howerzyl Misunderstands
                      EDI-TORIALS                                              Today, February 27, the undersigned received a letter
                                                                           from Rev. J. Howerzyl. pastor of the Protestant Reformed
                 I     To the Rev. P. De Boer                              Church at Oskaloosa, IoMia.  that became schismatic by re-
                                                                           cognizing the Rev. De Wolf and other schismatics,  in which
            I am sincerely sorry that to you, Rev. De Boer, belongs        he. states that he `believes that I do not present the matter of
     the sad distinction of being the author of the dirtiest and           our telephone conversation entirely correctly in my "editor-
     most lying Refoml,ed  (Defoimed)  Gzta7dian  that has yet ap-         ial", captioned "What Rev. Hofman Did Not Write." Said
     p e a r e d .                                                         article. appears in the February 15. issue of the Standard
          Sorry I am, not for myself; for those that know me,              Bearer.
     whether friend or foe, kn&+ that, you are lying, though it                The paragraphs to which Rev. Howerzyl has reference
     is conceivable that some of those that hate me for the truth's,
     sake will rejoice in what you wrote. The testimony of my              read in full as follows:          .
     almost forty years of the ministry of the gospel is sufficient            "When I read brother Hofman's editorial concerning the
     witness against ydu.                                                  matter that he calls an episode that is enlightening and in-
          .,-But sorry I am for you, for, although I always considered     formative, I felt very much aggrieved. I searched my own
     you somewhat wavering, I nevertheless always esteemed                 conscience whether mat&-s  were actually as Rev. Hofman
     you as a brother in Christ, and, what is more, as a brother           states them. He suggests that I gave Rev. James Howerzyl
     that understood and loved the Protestant Reformed truth.              the `run-around.' Now I don't know whether Rev. Hewer;
                                                                           zyl, with whom I had the reported telephone convetsation,
            Sorry I am because I can do this no more.                      told brother Walter that I had done this. I really cannot
            I could almost wish that the reason why-this `filthy pro-      believe that he would say such a. thing of me, or that he
     d,uction  flowed from your pen must be sought in the fact             could truthfully characterize my dealings as such. Fact is
     that you were ignorant of the facts.                                  that Rev. Howerzyl alleged not to understand the import
                                                                           of the night-letter telegram. I thought that he did not under-
            If this is not the explanation tlie matter is much more        stand its implication in that I had not sent the former letter
     serious.                                                              to him but to Rev. John D. de Jong in Hull, Iowa. And
            For, in that case, the cause is spiritual-ethical. This        therefore I asked hini what was not clear. I thought that
     nleans that ydu wrote this filthy pamphlet as you were moved          only for such a reason the telegram letter was not clear to
     by the wickedness of your old nature. It-means that, ,before          him. This telegram letter reads as follows: `K&zdZy be ad-
     you grabbed your pen to write -this dirty piece, you did not          vised that tlai let&r in regard to the Deputies of Synod was
     pray the Lord to keep you from the evil way and to move and           sent by the undemigned  merely o+z the strength of the fom&r
     enlighten you by His Spirit. You did not pray at all. You             Status Quo. Be  j&her  advised that  Classis  East will, no
     could not have prayed.  -4nd it is  not possible for you to           do,&, not recognize you should you appear. Kindly infom
     pray now. It means that you were motivated by wicked                  al2  wla0~1~  it  7nay  concwn.'  "
     hatred against me, a brother that never did you anything-.but
'    good. Above all, it means that you are the ,cause  that the               "This telegram Rev. Howerzyl alleged not to understand.
     name of our God is blasp~iemed  and that you deliberately             He wanted... to know whether they were invited or not,
     attempted to harm the cause of. the Protestant Reformed               whether  the should come or not. I repeatedly told him that
     truth.                                                                Classis had taken no  decisidn,  and that should he come I .
                                                                           was certain `Classis  would not acknowledge him. And that
            That is wh$ I am sincerely sorry for you, Rev. ,De  Boer.      it would  hardly do for me to say come, and then, when he
     I pray for you  even as the Lord enjoins us to pray for               canie, to say : well, you are not welcome, we cannot acknow-
     those that persecute us and despitefully use us.            0         ledge you. I told him then and there, because he wanted to
            I pray that the Lord may soon bring you to repentance          know : must I come or not? I then said : you are not invited.
     and that you will publicly- confess your evil doings.            .    That I would submit my answer to  Classis and take the
            No desire I have to reply to your filthy pamphlet in           consequences. Remember that Rev. Howerzyl could still yet
     detail.                                                               have appeared and he too could have taken the consequences.
                                                                           I did not give him the word of Classis. I did not give him
          Nor is this necessary,. for I understand that Edgerton,          the `run-around.' He could take my word for what- it was
     your own former congregation, are so provoked that they               worth.  B,ut  notie,of  the Era?+&ers   Fzad  the  co,ul-age of  tksir
     intend to issue another pamphlet to expose all your wicked            convictions,  that  the  former   St&us   quo stood, to  appea+   at
     l i e s .                                                             that  ,meeting  on the strength of the earlier  cowwmnic&ion.
            I advise you to read it. -                                     Had Classis  taken the star&d that I had done wrong I would
                                                                 H.H.      have- submitted to  the& judgment.  The trouble was: the die


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             293

 was cast, the Rubicon  had been crossed. And this had not          but I did this only in passing. That  T mentioned Rev. J.
 been done by Classis East but by Classis West."                    H&verzyl  is the responsibility of Rev. Hofman. And, in-
    The Rev. Howerzyl writes me that he takes exception to          cidently, as soon as he will comply to my earnest pleadings
 especially the sentence underlined in the above paragraphs.        with him, I shall be most grateful to our Covenant God.' I
 He reflects on this because I mentioned his name in my             was and am still only interested in the peace of Jerusalem
 reply to Rev: Hofman. Whether he agrees with the rest of           that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
 the Editorial he does not state. It may be too much to believe        2. That I would have the readers notice that Rev.
 that silence in this matter is assent.                             James Howerzyl is silent on whether I gave Him the "run-
    We' let the Rev. Howerzyl speak. Writes he "Now it              around." He has the graciousness to show that I had honest
 seems to me that this paragraph, especially the sentence' motivation, although he avers that I am in error. I do not
 which I have underlined, still presents your mistaken idea         "quite represent the matter correctly." It is true, he com-
 tihich  was really  the. subject of our telephone conversation     plains  ~that I have misrepresented the committee by saying
 at that time.' As I understood you at that time, and as this       "that it was a matter of lack of courage of conviction."
 paragraph indicates also, you took the  position  that whenever    Should I have misrepresented these brethren to the public, I
 the examiners hear of a meeting at which an examination or         shall in this article niake honorable rectifications. In the
 something of that nature is to be conductecl, the deputies         meantime I shall conclude that "brother Walter" is the
 for examination determine and decide to come to such a             author of the characterization "run-around."
 meeting. I, on the other hand, and with me the other                 3. That I let the dlsccrntjzg  ( !) reader judge of the fol-
 deputies for examination who were involved in this fiasco,         lowing mat'ters  :
 take the position that the deputies appear and fudtion at             ,a. Whether there was anything obscure and dark in the
 the meeting of another  Classis only when  o@ially   mm-           night-letter I sent to Rev. Howerzyl when considered in the
 7noned.  They do not question that summons, nor I might            light of the far-reaching breach of good order Classis West
 add the cancellation of such summons. It is not a question         had perpetrated just some five weeks before. And again:
 whether they wish to appear or not; when summoned they             whether there was anything dark and obscure in this letter
 must appear  qr their alternatives. So also when such sum-         when viewed in the light of the flagrant trampling under-
 mons is withdrawn'they have no reason, no right, no busi-          foot of all good order on the part of the Revs. De Wolf, Kok,
 ness (to appear G.L.) because they have no summons to              Blankespoor and Knott and others. Just two weeks prior
 appear at such a Classical meeting. So I mtiintain that when       to this letter. Was this  tele&ram  hard  tb understand for
 you as Stated Clerk of Classis East informed us that we            Rev. Howerzyl? He is a man of, at least, average intelli-
 were not to appear at the meeting the matter was settled as        gence isn't he ?
 far as we were concerned. And.  that was why, as you ex-            b. Whether it is really true, that  Z the Delegates Ad
 pressed, I repeatedly put the "categorical" question: are we.      Examina  Synodi  come to another  Classis merely on the
 summoned  ? And that was also why, as you will remember            strength of a notification of a ~Stated  Clerk, a notification
 from our telephone conversation, my final summary'to  you of       that has validity and strength  simply because ke makes it?
 the matter was : Then I am to understand that, we as depu-         Does a Stated Clerk su$~z~on  a Committee Ad Examina to
 ties, are officially notified that we are not to appear at the     come ? They are not Deputies of a Stated Clerk ; they are
 meeting." To this was correct and that you were with-              the Deputies of Synod! Are they not chosen by Synod and
 drawing the notice to appear.                                      thus receive a mandate according to the Act of Agreement
     "In the light of this you will also see that you misre-        as based on Article 4 of the Church Order ? And has this.
 present the matter when you say that it was a matter of            Act of Agreement not more validity then a capricious act ,of
 courage of conviction, or rather lack of such courage of           a Stated Clerk?                                 d
 conviction in the status quo that kept the deputies at home.           c. -Whether there is not a marked difference between
 We were simply informed the notification to be present was         an official summons and a notication ? The former smacks
 withdrawn, and I ask in all sincerity what else could we           of a Papal bull, doesn't it? The latter is the- dutiful exe-
do but stay home in the light of such notice..                      cution of what is good and accepted .order in the Church, is
     "Will you please place this correction in an early issue       it not? .
 of the Standard Bearer?                                                d. Whether the Stated Clerk in the following letter, sent
     "Thank  you."                                                  to Rev. John D. de Jong, sump>zoned  this Committee called
                                                                    Deputies Ad Examina Synodi  to came, or whether he simply
     Thus far the Rev. James Howeriyl.                              infoyptted  them that such a: meeting would be held, on the
     I call the readers attention to the following:                 strength of the Act of Agreement and Article 4 of the
     1. That they should not lose sight. of the important fact      Church Order. This letter reads : "I herewith wish to in-
 that in the editorial of February 15, I was not refuting Rev.      form you that there will be a special meeting of Classis  East
 J. Howerzyl. However I did niention Rev. J. Howerzyl,              on Wednesday, October 21 at 9 A.M. in the Hope  Pyot-

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

   cstant Refomted  Clz.~.rch. The purpose of this utzeeting is in         M$ GOD, MY GOD, I CRY TO THEE
   view of the examination  of Candidate-elect  George Lunting.
   This is upon the request of the Consistmy  of Grand Haven.               My God, My God I cry to Thee ;
   If I avtz   not  ?&staken.  ~IO%L,  (Rev. De, Jong) Rev.  Van  Weel-     0 why hast Thou forsaken Me?
   den and Rev. De l3oer aye the Dep.&es  Ad En-amina Synodi                Afar from Me, Thou dost not heed,
   fwimi. As I have it the Revs.  How&~zyl,   Hofwma   and  Ght-            Though day and night for help I plead.
   teu  are  the  secundi.  Will you  kin.dly  make   a.rravtgevtzents      But Thou art holy in Thy ways,
  `for  tha.t occasion?' Did the undersigned "summon" this                  Enthroned upon Thy people's praise ;
   Committe or simply "inform them ?" He did not assume                     Our fathers put their trust in .Thee,
   bishopric powers, did he?                                                Believed, and Thou didst set them free.
          e. Whether on the basic of the above considerations it
   is not crystal clear that the Stated Clerk simply gave his               They cried, and, trusting in Thy Name,
   own version in the latter missive, a version which `Rev.                 Were saved, and were not put to. shame ;
   Howerzyl could with great confidence have questioned on                  But in the dust My honor lies,
   the basis on the Act of Agreement and Article 4 of the                   While all reproach and all despise:                      I
   Church Order, as well as on the basis of twenty five years of
   precedent.,                                                              My words a cause for scorn they make,
                                                                            The lip they-curl, the head they shake,
          d. Whether it is not very evident that Rev. Howerzyl              And, mocking, bid Me trust the Lord
   is attempting to press the Stated Clerk so that it may appear            Till He salvation shall afford.
   as if he were in default in representing Classis East officially,
   (which he did not do for he told Rev. Howerzyl he was                    My trust on Thee I learned-to rest
   not speaking for Classis)  and thus put Classis East in de-              When I was on My mother's breast;
`. fault?                                                                   From birth Thou art My God alone,
                                                                            Thy care My life has ever known.
          e. Whether the Stated Clerk has not ample grounds to
   maintain that Rev. Howerzyl could have  had the courage of               0 let Thy strength and presence cheer,
   his convictions to come on the strength of the "former Status            For trouble and distress are near;
   Quo,"  and therefore errs when he. insists that the under-               Be Thou not far away from Me,
   signed misrepresented him in  saicl editorial in the Standard            -1 have no source of help but Thee.
   Bearer ?
      f. Whether it is not correct on  th.e part of the  under.-            Unnumbered foes would do Me wrong,
   signed to write: the Rev. J. Howerzyl evidently did not                  They press about Me, fierce and strong,
   understand Church Political procedures to the extend that                Like beasts of prey their rage they vent,
   he prevented others from laying the ground wo;k for the                  My courage fails, My strength is spent.
   entire situation between "Classis  West"' and Classis East ;             Down unto death Thou leadest Me,
   wherefore he really involved himself in a fiasco," that is, in          0 Consumed by thirst and agony  ;
   a complete and humiliating failure to work the work of the               With cruel hate and anger .fierce
   Lord in decency and good order!
                                                                  G.L.      My helpless hands and feet they pierce.
                                                                            While on My wasted form they stare,
                                                                            The garments torn from Me they share,
                             m u d - -                                      My shame and sorrow heeding not,
                                                                            Aild for My robe they cast the lot.

                                                                            0 Lord, afar no longer stay ;
                        ANNOUNCEMENT                                        ,O Thou IMy Helper, haste I pray;
      Classis East of the Protestant Reformed Churches will                 From death and evil .set Me free ;
   meet  in regular Spring session Wednesday morning, April 7,              I live, for Thou didst answer Me.
   1954 at 9 o'clock, in the Grand Haven Protestant Reformed                I live and will declare Thy_ fame
   Church, at Grand Haven, Michigan.                                        Where brethren  gather in Thy Name ;
      Will the delegates of the various Consistories kindly                 Where all Thy faithful people meet,
   regard this notice as a personal reminder?                               I will Thy worthy praise repeat.
                                Rev.  6. Lubbers, Stated' Clerk.                                                         Psalm 22


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              295

                                                                    through us, and in the light we shall forever walk in love, in
          OUR'DOCTRINE                                          II the love of God and in the love of one an&her.
                                                                        The question arises, however: how can this be applied to
             THE TRIPLE KNOWLEDGE                                   the love of the neighbor m general? Scripture speaks of the
                                                                    love df the brethren. And the brethren, to be sure, are not
    AN  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  HEIDELBERG  CATECHISM                  all men; are not even all our neighbors, but only those that
              PJLRT   III  -  OF  THANKFULNESS                      are children of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. There is no
                    --  Lo&s  DAY  40                               common fatherhood of God  ; neither is there a common
                                                                    brotherhood of man.
                          Chapter 3                                     If love is the bond of fellowship, operating in the sphere
          Love of the Neighbor's Person (cont'd)                    of the light a<d of perfection, if is evident that there cannot
   By the power of that love we walk `in the light: In that         be such love or fellowship between the ungodly ; nor can
light we have fellowship not only' with God, but also with          there be fellowship or love between the ungodly and the
one another, I John 1 57: "This is the message which we             godly. This is evident in itself. But it is also definitely ex-
have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light,         pressed in Scripture in II Cor.  6:14-15: "Be ye not un-
and .in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have           equally yoked together with unbelievers : for what fellow-
fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do           ship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? And what
n,ot the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the        communion' hath light with darkness ? And what concord
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood           hath Christ with Belial ? or what part hath he that believeth
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." And             with an infidel 7 And what agreement hath the temple of
again, I John 2 :9-11 : "He that saith he is in the light, and      God with idols ? For ye ire the temple of the living God ; as
hateth his brother, is in the darkness even until now. He           God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I
that loveth his brother abideth in  thl light, and there is none    will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore
occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother        come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith
is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not            the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive
whither he goeth, `because that darkness hath blinded his           you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my
eyes." And again, I John 3 :ll-15 : "For this is the message        sons and daughters,.saith the Lord Almighty."
that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and                  What then  ? Is there perhaps another love, a love of
slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because                the neighbor that has nothing to do with the love of God ? Is
his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Mar-          there, perhaps; a fellowship of common grace, according  ta
vel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that           which we may have communion  iyith the ungodly while yet
we have pass&d from death unto life, because we love the            we separate from him as far as the spiritual, ethical sphere
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.          of love is concerned ? My answer is that there is no such
Whosoever hateth his brother is a- murderer; and ye know            thing in Scripture. And besides, it would be a very dan-
that  nb murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." And            gerous standpoint to take. Scripture knows of only one love,
again, I John 4 :7,8: "Beloved, let us love one another: for        and that is the love of God in Himself, to His people, and,
love is of God ; and` every one that loveth is born of God,         as the fruit of that love of God to us, the love of God to
and knotieth  God. He that loveth not knoweth not God ;             Him and to one another. There is no fellowship in darkness.
for God is love." It is clear from these passages that when         We either  hate or love. And if thesixth commandment, con-
fhc love of God in us becomes love of one another, it is still      ceived as the law of liberty for the  pe8ple  of God, demands
the love of God and still the bond of perfectness. We love          that we love the neighbor as ourselves, it can only mean
one another not according to the flesh, but by the Spirit of        that we love the neighbor in general, even if he is ungodly
Christ, as children of the Most High, reflecting His per-           and even if he is our enemy, with that same love of God to
fection. Therefore the world does not know us, but we know          us and in us that is manifested in the cross of Jesus Christ
one another. And therefore does this love of the brethren as        our Lord.
the bond of perfectness only manifest itself as we walk in             It will be evident, however, that this love cannot assume
the light of  ,God  and keep His commandments. For this             the form of fellowship with one another. There is no fellow-
same reason, both the love of God to  us and our love of            ship of light with darkness, of believers and unbelievers, of
God is still imperfectly experienced, and also the love of          righteousness with unrighteousness, of Christ with Belial.
the brethren is not perfect as long as we are in the body of        That the love of  the neighbor in general cannot take on the
this death. When all the darkness of sin shall have disap-          form of fellowship between the godly and the ungodly is not
peared and we shall be presented without spot and blemish           the fault of the former, but only of the latter. He does not
before cod and the Father, we shall know even as we are             and cannot ancl will not-walk  in the sphere of perfection and
known. Then the love of God shall be perfected in us and            of the light. He loves the darkness rather than the light. It


  296                                           T H E   STANDARD.BEAtiER
                                                                -~. _.
                                                           :
  is for that reason that the believer can have no fellowship of          ident  ffom the Word of God throughout. Thus, in the
  love with the unbeliever.                                               epistle to the Remans,  12 :19-21, we read: "Dearly beloved,
                                                                          avenge `not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for
         Secondly, however, it is also evident that, negatively, the'     it is written. Vengeance is mine; I .will repay, saith the
  believer in Christ never reveals himself as a murderer of the           Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him  ; if he
  neighbor in any sense of the word, but that the love of God             thirst, give him drink: for in so doing  thpu shalt heap coals
  in Christ Jesus our Lord that is poured forth in his heart              of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome
  motivates him `to preserve the neighbor for, God's sgke in              evil with good." And the injunction of the Lord in the
  hii position and relation as neighbor to himself. In this he            -Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5 :43-48, is well-known: "Ye`
  reveals the love of God that-is in, his heart to him. He does           have heard'  thgt it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
  not destroy him, but as much as in him lies helps hiin and              neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love
  preserves him in his position as neighbor. When  he is in               your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
trouble, he helps him. When he is  hungry,  he feeds him,                 that hate you, and pray tor them which despitefully use you,
  When he is sick, he visits him. In one word, he acts accord-            and persecute you ; That ye may be the children of your--
  ing to the admonition of the apostle Paul in Gal. 6  :lO: "As           Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise
  we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men,             on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
  especially unto them who are of the household of faith." In             and on the unjust. For  -if ye love them which love you,
  all this he reveals the love of the neighbor for God's sake.            what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same ?
  And -therefore he manifests the love of God, to glorify his             And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than
  Father which is in heaven.                                              others ? do not even the publicans so ? -Be ye therefore per-
                                                                          fect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."
         But this is not all. When the-apostle says in Gal. 6:lO          `That this cannot mean that we must love the enemies of
  that we must do good to all men, this certainly also implies            God as such is also evident from all Scripture. We hate
  that we reveal the love of God to them in that we bring to              them with a perfect hatred, with the hatred of the love of
  them the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, rebuke them as                God. But even in this hatred, we do not destroy them and
  they walk in  w&ys of sin and iniquity, speak to them of the.           kill them or harm them in their position as neighbors to us.
  righteousness of dad and repentance, and testify to them~of             Rather do we recognize them as neighbors, whom God has
  the love of God .in Christ Jesus our Lord, manifested on                placed in this particular position on our path. Even when
  the accursed tree of Golgotha. This certainly is included  in-
  the good which, according to the apostle Paul in Gal. 6  :lO,           they persecute us and curse us, we will do them good, bless
  we must do to all men according as we have opporttinity.  To            them, and pray for them. But as has beeti  said before, this
                                                                          does not mean that we embrade them .in fellowship of love :
love the neighbor as ourselves for God's sake, even the un-
  godly neighbor, does nor: mean that we play with him and                for that is impossible. Nor does it -mean that we condone
  talk nice to him and call him our brother and condone his               their iniquity and their hatred of God, but that we bless
  sin, but that we manifest the love of God to him by walking             them and do good to them by rebuking their sin and their
  in the light. This is according to the admonition of the                walk in darkness, by condemning even their sin of perse-
  apostle Paul in, Eph. 5 :5-13: "For this ye know, that-  no             cuting us and cursing us1 and by testifying to them of the
  whoremonger,  nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is              gospel of Christ Jesus  `our Lord. Thus we will certainly
  an idolater,  bath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and         show forth the love of God to us as manifested in the cross
  of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for be-                 of our Lord Jesus Christ: for He loved us with an eternal
  cause of these things comet11 the wrath of God upon the                 love, even when we stood in the position of enemies over
  children of  disobed&ce.  Be ye not therefore partakers                 against Him. Thus we shall be children of our Father. in
  with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye               heaven, and be perfect, even as He is perfect.
  light in the Lord : walk as children of light: For the fruit               Thus it will be evident that it is only by grace that we.
  of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and' truth ;         can  even'begin  to keep this sixth commandment. By nature
  Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no  fel-             we indeed mean to destroy the living God, and by that
  lo&ship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather re-           same nature we mean to destroy the neighbor. But by the
  prove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things             power of the grace of God in Jesus Christ our Lord, we shall
  which are done of them in secret. But all things that are               have a small beginning of the nkw obedience, according to
  re,proved  are made manifest by the light : for whatsdever  doth        which we love God and love one another and love the neigh-
  make manifest is light." Love of the neighbor, therefore,               bor as ourselves for God's sake, even when he stands as en-
  implies that before him we walk in the light of God's pre-              emy over against us and means to destroy us. And it is by
  cepts and rebuke him as he walks in. darkness.                          that same grace that we fight the good fight also against our
                                    -    -                                own old murderous nature, put off the old man, and put on
         This is closely connected with ihe love of the neighbor          the new man, and walk in the midst of a world of darkness
  as our enemy. That we must love even our enemies is ev-                 antithetically, as children of light.


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D '   B E A R E R                                               297

                        LORD'S  DAY  XL1                              echismnin this forty-first Lord's Day does in its explanation
            Q. 108; What doth the seventh commandment. teach          of the seventh commandment, not proceed from the idea of
            `US?                                                      marriage at all, but rather from that of chastity. In fact. in
            A. That all uncleanness is accursed of God: and that      all our Reformed confessions,-1 mean now particularly
            therefore we-must with all our hearts detest the same,    the Three Forms of  Unity,---one  looks in vain for a dis-
            and live chastely and temperately, whether in holy
            wedlock, or in single life.                               cussion of the marriage bond. Nowhere is there any article
            Q. 109. Doth God  for&d  in this commandment,  ouly       in our confessions delineating the truth concerning the mar-
            adultery, and such like gross sins?                       ;iage.relation  and concerning the problems that are intimately
            A. Since both our body and soul are temples of the        connected with that relation, such as the question of Bib-
            Holy Ghost, he commands us to preserve them pure          lical or unbiblical divorce, and the question of the marriage
            and holy: therefore he forbids all unchaste actions,
            gestures, words, thoughts, desires,  alld whatever can    of divorced parties, whether guilty or innocent. There is
            entice men thereto.                                       indeed a discussion of the marriage relation in some of the
                           CHAPTER  1                                 other confessions. Thus, in Chapter 29 of the Second Hel-
                    The Covenant of Marriage                          vetic Confession we read as follows: "Such as have the gift
    We must constantly bear in mind, and especially with a            of chastity given unto them from above, so that they can
view to this seventh commandment, that we are not dis-                with the heart or whole mind be pure and continent, and
cussing the law of God as a basis for the life of society in          not be grievously  burned with lust, let them serve the Lord
general or for the improvement of the world, but as a rule            in that calling, as long as they shall feel themselves endued
of ,gratitude and as a guide for the expressibn  and manifes-         with that heavenly gift; and let them not lift up themselves
tation of the life of the redeemed child of God in this world,        above others. but let them serve the Lord daily in simplicity
We must also remember that we. can never divorce the pre-             and `humility. For such are more apt for attending to heav-
cepts of the second table of the law from ,the first. The love        enly things than they who are distracted with the private
of God is the main principle of the whole law, even of the            affairs of a family. But if, again, the gift be taken away, and
second tabie, so that we must indeed love the neighbor as             they feel a continual burning, let them call to mind the
ourselves, but this love is only possible from the principle          words of the apostle, `It is better to marry than to burn.'
of the love of God and for His sake. Hence, we may safely             (I Cor. 7 :9).
say that in every precept of the Decalogue we have a revela-              "For wedlock (which is the medicine of  incontinency,
tion of God, and that too, in relation to His people. Thus            and continency itself) was ordained by the Lord God Him-
in the first commandment God is revealed to us as the one             self, who blessed it most bountifully, and willed man and
Lord: there is no god beside Him. Hence, in its negative or           woman to cleave one to the other inseparably, and to
prohibitive form the first commandment tells  us"that  we shall       live together in great concord (Gen. 2 :24; Ma% 14 : 5,6).
have no other gods before H&n. In the second commandment              Whereupon we know the apostle said; `Marriage is honor-
God is revealed to us as infinite in glory, and therdore  it is       able in all, and the bed undefiled.' (Heb. 13  :4). And again,
impossible to make `any representations of Him, whether in            `If a virgin marry, she bath not sinned.' (I Cor. 7 :28). We
wood or stone, or in our mind, apart from His revelation. In          therefore condemn polygamy, and those who condemn second
the third commandment God reveals Himself as the Holy                 marriages. We teach that marriage ought to be contracted
One, and therefore His name is holy, apart from any other             lawfully, in the fear of, the Lord, and not against the laws
name, and we- shall never lift up that name into vanity. The          which forbid certain degrees to join in matrimony.. lest  the)
fourth commandment reveals God to us as the God of eternal            marriages should be incestuous. Let marriages be made with
rest, Who from everlasting to everlasting rejoices in His             consent of the parents, or such as are instead of parents  ; and
own covenant life. Into that rest He receives His covenant            for  ihat end especially for which the Lord ordained mar-
people. And of that eternal rest the weekly sabbath  is a re-         riages. And let them be confirmed publicly in the church,
flection. In the fifth .commandment  God becomes revealed             with prayer and blessing. Moreover, let them be. kept holy,
to us as sovereign over all, and His sovereignty we must              with peace, faithfulness, dutifulness, love, and purity of the
respect even when it is realized through and reflected in             persons coupled together. Therefore let them take heed of
man. The sixth  commandment  reveali  more particularly               brawlings, debates, lusts, and adulteries. Let lawful judg-
that God is love, and as the Triune God lives an eternal              ments and holy judges be established in the church, who
love-life  in Himself. Hence, it is our calling to love the per-      may maintarn marriages, and may repress all dishonesty and
son of the neighbor in relation to ourselves, and even to             ShameEulness,  and before whom controversies in matrimony
love our own person only for God's sake. And now, in the              may be decided and ended."
seventh commandment God reveals Himself as faithful, as                  We may note here, by the way, that according to this
the One Who  never  breaks His covenant. And therefore                article marriage seems to be especially instituted for those
His people must be faithful in respect to that most beautiful         that do not have the gift of continency. And besides, it is
reflection of the covenant relation that  is called marriage.         at least  suggestive of the Roman Catholic conception that          .
   It  .cannot  escape our attention that the Heidelberg  Cat-        a single life lived in continency is holier than a life in  wed-

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

lock. This same idea is also suggested in our Marriage Foim,            : However, in our own Three Forms of Unity one looks
that is, in the part which is usually ommitted, where we               in vain for any  fundametital  principles determining the mar-
read : "For, to avoid fornication, let every  &an have his             riage relation. And what is more, in our Reformed churches
own wife, and every woman her own husband ; insomuch                   there seems to oe no unanimity of -opinion regarding this           ,
that all, who are  come to their years, and have not the gift          very serious problem. Some seem to be of the conviction
of continence, are bound by the command. of God, to enter              that the only ground for divorce is adultery. Others, how-
into the marriage state, with knowledge and c&sent  of par-            ever, are of the opinion that there are other grounds upon
ents, or guardians and friends; so that the temple  of. God,           which divorces may be granted. Some take the position that
which is our body, may not be defiled ; for, whosoever defil-          a legal divorce is a real dissolution of marriage. And of
eth the temple of God, him shall God destroy." With this               course, if this is true, the divorced parties, or at least one
we cannot possibly agree. For although it may be admitted              of them, may remarry. Again, some limit the right to marry
that ths:.marriage  relation is helpful to' avoid fornication, yet     again after a divorce to. the innocent party only, while others
marriage is not instituted for sin's sake, but in the state of         wish to concede  t'hat right to both parties, whether guilty or
righteousness.                                                         innocent. There are, however, also those who maintain that
       Also the Westminster Confession has a rather elaborate          neither the guilty nor the innocent party may remarry, be-
chapter (XXIV) on marriage and  divorcej  as follows : "Mar-           cause divorce does not mean a dissolution. of the marriage
riage is -to be between one man and one woman : neither is it          bond, but simply a separation  of married people, whether for
lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for an)             life or for a time. In the light of this lack of unanimity, and
woman to have more than one husband at the saine time.                 also in the light of the fact that in modern times the church
       "Marriage was ordained for the mutual- help of husband          becomes more and more lax, under the influence of the
and wife; for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue,         philosophy of the world and under the influence also of the
and of the church with an holy seed ; and for preventing of            lack of restraint in the laws of bur land, we may probably
unclea%ness.                                                           say that it is not only quite impossible to establish some
       "It is lawful for all sorts of peop!e to marry who are able     ecclesiastical rules concerning marriage at the present time,
with `judgment to give their consent. Yet it is the duty of            but that it is not even desirable.
Christians to marry only in the Lord. And, therefore, such                At any rate, the Heidelberg Catechism in this connection
as profess the true Reformed religion should not marry with            does~ not touch upon this question at all. In treating the
infidels, papists, or other idolaters : neither should such as are     seventh commandment it  ayoids  the marriage question and
godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are no-             also the question concerning divorce, and rather discusses
toriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.         this commandment from the viewpoint of the basic principle
       "Marriage ought not to be within the degreess  of con-          of chastity.
sanguinity or affinity forbidden in the Word  i nor can such               It must be admitted that on the face of it the Catechism
incestuous marriages ever be made lawful by any law of                 is corred in  assumiilg  this standpoint. For the seventh com-
man, or consent of parties, so as those persons may live to-           mandment literally does not forbid to break the marriage
gether, as man and wife. The man may not marry any of                  tie,' but simply enjoins, "Thou shalt not commit adultery."
his wife's kindred nearer in his blood than he may of his              Y&I may know that there is a considerable difference between
own, nor the woman of her husband's kindred nearer in blood            the translation of this commandment in the Holland ancl the
than her own. (For this last statement there is, of course,            English. The  IJoiland translates : "Gij zult niet echtbreken,"
no Scriptural injunction whatsoever, H.H.)                             which means, "Thou shalt not break the marriage tie." But
       "Adultery or fornication, committed after a contract,           the English translates, "Thou  shalt not commit adultery,"
being detected before marriage, giveth just occasion to the            which translation is undoubtedly correct, according to the
innocent party to dissolve the contract. In the case of adul-          original Hebrew, but which does not at all correspond to
tery after marriage, it is lawful for Ihe innocent party to sue        the Dutch, "Gij  zult niet echtbreken," but rather to the Hol-
out a diyorce,  and after the divorce to marry another, as if          land, "Gij zult geen  overSpe1   doen."  Adultery is like the
the offending party were dead. (Also with this we cannot               Dutch over.$el.  In the Word of God there is also another
possibly agree on the basis of Scripture, as we hope to set            term for adultery, tiot only in the English but also in the
forth in a different connection, H.H.)               _                 Hebrew. It is the term that in English is translated "fornica-
       "Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to            tion." The,  terms are very closely` related. Nevertheless,
study arguments, unduly to put asunder those whom God                  there is also a difference in meaning. Adultery is simply the
bath joined together in marriage ; yet nothing but adultery,           violation of the sacred and exclusive relationship of man and
or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the             wife by illegal intercourse ei@er of the former or of the latter
Church or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving          with another party ; while fornication is usually employed to
the bond of marriage  ; wherein a public and orderly course            denote the sin of sexual intercourse between two unmarried
of proceeding is to be observed ; and the persons concerned in         persons.
it, not left to their own wills alid discretion in their own case."                                                             H. H.


                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   `---                                          299

  II                                                                   gate, the preacher `of righteousness, and by their deceit mis-
             THE  QAY OF SHADOW                                    11 lead the just (vs. 21). Therefore the Lord, who redeemed
                                                                       Abraham, has this to say regarding the house of Jacob.
                                                                       Jacob shall not be ashamed, but his confidence in the Lord
                    The Prdphecy  of Isaiah                            shall be fully vindicated. For when in his midst he sees hi3
        The Lord's  wmrvelous   work.   Chapter XXIX  ~13-24           children, the work of the Lord's hand, they shall sanctify
        Under the constraint of the reformations of- Judah's God-      the Holy One and fear Israel's Go& `And the erring ones
  fearing kings -.Hezekiah and Josiah -the apostates were              in spirit shall know understanding and the murmurers shall
  honoring God with an outward service but their hearts were           learn doctrine (vss. 22-24).
  far removed from Him. Their fear of God was superstition                            The Third Woe. Chapter XXX
  and not the true religion. For it was founded on the precepts                            D
                                                                           Tke  Full Exposure  a&  Denmciation  of the Doing of
  of men and did not rest upon the Word of God, (vs. 13).              the Apostates that consisted  sin their seeking help  from
  Therefore the Lord will perform a marvelous work in their            Egypt. Chapter XXX  :l-14.
  midst, a wonder of grace. He will causk to perish the wis-
  dom of their wisemen,  who seek to hide their evil counsel               The apostates, as appears from these verses, are past
  from the Lord and in secret attempt to realize it. "Who              deliberating on the idea of an alliance with Egypt. A de-
  sees us and who knows us," the?`say  -(vss. 14, 15).                 cision has been reached, and the plan is now being carried
        They were the  counselers that surrounded Hezekiah.            out. Again introducing the Lord as the speaker, the prophet
  Making flesh their arm, they were secretly promoting a               directs another (the third) woe against this people. He
  covenant with Egypt as a means of deliverance from the               characterizes them  as rebellious children. In taking counsel
  Assyrian world-power.  '                                             together, the Lord is not in all their thoughts. They make
        Their turning of `things upside down, i.e., their imagining    an alliance, but not -of the Spirit; the conception has origin-
that the Lord is ignorant of their `doing, shall be esteemed           ated weith  them, that they  may add sin to sin (vs. 1 j .
  as the potter's clay, meaning that their behaviour toward                In a word, their rebellion is willed of God in that it is
  the Lord is that of a thing formed of clay that, supposing           in His heart to destroy them.
  this were possible denies its maker and accuses him of being             And so, withbut inquiring of the Lord atid despite the
  without understanding. Atid clay they are. And the Lord              fact that the venture is forbidden, they go down into Egypt
  is the potter. And .that is their sin (vs. 16).                      with a view to inclining Pharaoh by their gifts to protect
        Within a short time Lebanon shall be turned into Carmal,       Israel with his strength in order that they may put their
  and Carmal shall be esteemed as a forest; (vs. 17).                  confidence in Egypt's shadow  (VS.-~).  Therefore Pharaoh's
        This verbe has been variously explained. If Lebanon, a         strength shall be their shame and their trust in the shadow
  lofty mountain wooded with  cedai-s,  is meant to be taken as        of Egypt their confusibn  (ms. 3). But they might want to
  a wilderness, nature in the raw, and if this mountain, as so         change the prophet's threatenings into his disgrace by deny-
  taken, symbolizes the elect apart from grace, and if Carmal,         ing that any such league was being negotiated or had ever
  a cultivated and fruitful region, designates the Spirit-filled       been contemplated. To shame them into keeping silence,
  church, then what we have here is the promise of the gath-           the prophet discloses that iheir envoys have been at Zoan
  ering of the churc.h from the four corners of the earth in           and have come to  Hanes,  that, in a word, they have already
  the Gospel period, and her exaltation with Christ. In the            arrived in Egypt and accordingly must have already been
  imagery of the text, the wilderness shall be changed into            on the way for weeks and perhaps months-as sent and com-
  a fertile field, and the latter in turn shall be esteemed as a       missioned by the apostates (vs. 4). And therefore the
  forest of stately trees. This interpretation is in full harmony      prophet repeats his doleful prediction: when eventually it
  with the sequel.                                                     will have appeared-that Pharaoh can be of no real help or
        For the prophkt goes  ofi to say that the deaf shall hear      profit to them but. only a disgrace they will be ashamed of
  the words of the book, .the prophecies of the Lord in that           Egypt  (VS.-~,).
  ciay, that the blind shall see out of their darkness  and that          The prophet's public disclosures of their secret doings
  the meek and the poor among men, such as put their  con-             must hava amazed as well as sorely prov0ke.d  them. Especi-
  fidence in the Lord, shall rejoice exceedingly in the Holy           ally his proclamation of things about which they themselves
One (vss.  18,191.                                                     as yet could have no knowledge such as the arrival of the
        But as this can only be made to come to pass through           envoys in Egypt and their precise movements in this land.
  the destruction of  the enemies of God's people, the prophet         That all is known to the prophet can have but one explana-
  also announces that the terrible one, the scorner and all such       tion : the Lord has told him all including the total of their
  as are wakeful with regard to mischief, always, watching for         deliberations that had been carried on behind the closed
  it, shall be  brought,to  nought, consumed, cut off (vs. 20).        doors of their private chambers. Their whole plan, at which
        The prophet describes the behaviour of such men. They          at first he had only hinted, but now fully exposed, was
  wrest a manfs word, lay a trap fbr him that reproveth in the         known to him long before its execution.  -


                                                                                                                                            I


                                        .-
3 0 0                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER

         In his vision the prophet beholds the embassy on its way.         The use of Egypt's horses in battle was forbidden in
  Though Egypt is a land of trouble and anguish, the home               Israel's law, Deut.  XVII :16.
  of the young and the old lion, the viper and the fiery flying            -In great numbers the Isrzieiites  shall flee from an in-
  serpent, the envoys do not :allow  themselves to be restrained        significant number of enemies. Their whole army will be
  by these perils. On the contrary, they pursue their way un-           reduced to a remnant so small as to be comparable to a pole
  daunted, their camels and asses carrying the rich gifts by            on the top of a mountain -perhaps a pine bereft of branches
  which they think to purchase Pharaoh's assistance. But they           - and a banner on a hill (vs. 17).
  come to a peopie whose help shall not profit them (vs. 6).               Such will .be the miserable condition of Israel because
  Egypt's help will be vapor and vanity. Therefore the Lord             they declined to give attention to the Lord's warnings. But
  cried to His people that they are strong when they exercise           He will have compassion on His people, the Israel according
. quiet confidence in Him as believing that He will save them           to the election of grace, howeier  ill-deserving also this
  in His way (vs. 7).                                                   remnant. The Lord waiteth to be gracious unto them. For
         Literally : "Therefore have I cried concerning this, strong    that very purpose will He (the Christ) be exalted to the
  are they, sitting still." The  ,text is difficult here. If the        cross and lastly to the highest heavens that He may have
  antecedent of the demonstrative "this" is Egypt and not               mercy upon them. For the Lord is a God of judgment,
  Israel, and if the Hebrew word translated  strong  never has          meaning that He redeems Zion with judgment and her
  this meaning but always signifies  fivoud, insolent,  boasting,       converts with  righteous&ss  (Isa. 1  28). And therefore :
  `rage, then we must read here: insolent, proud, boasting are          Blessed are all they that wait. upon Him (vs.  18). For
  the Egyptians, sitting still, inactive. Such being their char-        Zion at Jerusalem shall be their dwelling-place. And they
  acter, they are unreliable, untrustworthy, a disgrace.                shall no more weep. And He will be exceedingly gracious
         The prophet is mandated to inscribe this particular            unto them  ,at their cry, answering them instantly, when He
  vision on a tablet that it may be preserved for all the time          hears it (vs. 19).
  to come and- forever and ever as a  .witness  against the.               This prophecy was progressively fulfilled. We discern
  apostates, meaning that their iniquities will never be blotted        the following stages : 1. The turning of Judah's captivity.
  out in His sight (vs. 8). For they are a rebellious people            2. Christ, crucified and resurrected, exalted into the highest
  (in the `sense of reprobated), a living  race that will not           heavens with His people. 3. The appearance of Christ in
  hear the law of  the Lord (vs. 9). This they show by de-              glory with His people.                                     G.M.O.
  manding of the prophets that they shut their eyes to the
  Lord's visions and speak to them not the truth but things                 I WAITED FOR THE LORD MOST HIGH
  agreeable though they be deceits  (js.  lo), and further that
  the prophets turn aside out of the right way and remove                          I waited for the Lord Most High,
  from before their eyes the Holy One bf Israel (vs. 11).                         -And He inclined to hear my cry;
         Seeing that they trust in oppression at home and per-                       He took me  frolli destruction's pit
  verseness, i.e., a perverse alliance with heathen people and                     And from the miry clay ;
  lean there&, this their iniquity-shall be t? them as a rend                        Upbn a rock He set my feet,
  in a wall high and bulging and that at any moment tiay                           And stedfast made my way.
  crash (vss. 12, 13). And the Lord shall break it with the                        A new and joyful song of praise
  breaking of a potter's vessel, meaning that He shall reduce                      He taught my thankful heart td raise ;
  it to fragments so completely that there shall not be found                        And many, seeing  nie restored,
  among the ruins a sherd large enough to take fire from the                       Shall fear the Lord and trust;
  hearth or to draw water! out of the pit (vs. 14).                                  And blest are they that trust the Lord,
     This is a prediction of how, through the wickedness of                        The humble and the just.
  the Jews, Israel's typical commonwealth will  -be destroyed                      0 Lord my God, how manifold
  beyond repair; it will be made to pass away permanently.                         Thy wondrous works which I behold
  For it was but a shadow.                                                  n        And all Thy loving, gracious thought
               Israel's  stvengti.  Chipter  XXX :15-19.                           Thou  hast bestowed on man;
         Israel shall be saved in returning to the Lord and in                       To count Thy mercies I have sought,
  His rest; Israel's strength consists in quietness and in the                     But boundless is their span.
  exercise of confidence in the Lord and not in forbidden                          Not sacrifice delights the Lord,
  military and political measures. But Israel refuses to follow                    But he who hears and keeps His Word;
  this right way of deliverance. They put their trust in Egypt's                     Thou gavest me to hear Thy will,
horses. They said, No.; for we will hasten up& horses, ride                        Thy law is in my heart;
  upon the swift. But instead they. shall flee and be  pursued                       I come the Scripture to fulfil,         '
  by the swift (vss. -15,16).                                                      Glad tidings to impart.                        Psalm  40


                                                T H E S T A N D A R D -   B E A R E R                                                301

   II                                                                        In the first place we should notice that Jesus' dying is
              F R O M   HbLY  W R I T                               II very unique. It is indeed the only death of its kind. It has
                                                                         absolutely no equal. For this death of the good Shepherd is
                                                                         such that it is wholly a free act of His will and mind. Life
                  Exposition of John 10:17, 18                           was not taken from Him. His dying was wholly act, a free-
         For the next few issues of the Standard Bearer we will          will sacrifice. And the sacrifice which He brings is His own
   write. on such Scripture passages that speak rather directly          "soul.)'
   of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This will give                What is the implication of "soul" here in Jesus mouth?
   US  a little change in menu and will at once afford a wonder-             The term soul is the translation of the greek "psuche."
   ful opportunity to write on the matters of Scripture which            We see this greek root in our english term Psychology,
   may be cons:dered  the very heart of the Gospel `in Jesus.            psycho-analysis, psychiatry and other simular combination&
   Christ. For what else is there to preach but Jesus Christ             The term is not wholly strange to us. In Holy Writ the term
   and Him crucified ?                                                   allows for more than one meaning and viewpoint. Some-
         The passage to which we would call attention in this            times it refers especially to the physical soul of man, his
   essay reads as follows : "Therefore doth the Father love me,          bodily soul as this is seated in the blood. It then indicates
   because I lay down my life that I might take it again. No             that man is a living-soul. However, the term may also refer
   ma.n  ta.ketlt  it  from  me,  b,ut I lay&down of myself. I have,     to the spiritual  soul,  and then it is  almost  synonymous with
Jower to  la,y it  dowut, and I  leave   power to  .take it  again.      "spirit." It is then the conscious life of our spirit as we live
   This commandment  have I received of *PLY Fatjtter."                  in relationship to God and all things. And it is, in our
         When Jesus speaks these words He is in Jerusalem, the           opinion, in the "SOAPS'  that nian is especially distinguished
 city that killeth the prophets and stoneth them that are sent           from the angels, who are ministering spirits. Jesus has a
   to them. At this very moment there was a  decisior  in                human soul. He had hulnan  sorrows and human joys and
   effect, that if any man tiould  confess that Jesus is the Christ,     had a human body, but most emphatically had a human soul,
   such a one would be cast forth from the Synagogue. And,               was like unto us in all things, sin excepted. He not only
   wonderful to relate, Jesus performs such-a miracle and sign           had a human body but most emphatically had a human soul,
   upon one that is born blind, that this one believes, confesses        a human mind and-will and all human affections. Wherefore
   Him to be the Christ, and is forthwith cast out of the com-           He could say: my "soul" is exceedingly sorrowful even unto
   munion of Israel! But the Lord knows which are His own                death'!                ..-
   sheep and He calls them by name and they follow Him. He                   This "soul" this entire human life in relation to God and
   preaches to these the glad-tidings of the Kingdom. For when           all creatures Jesus lays down, he simply gave it. It was in
   the blind receive their sight and the lepers are cleansed and         no sense`of the word taken from Him. He gives his life ie
   the lame walk and the deaf hear and the dead are raised to            view of ta.king it again. Thus He tells us in the text. Says
   life, then it is with the intent that this should stir up in us       He : I lay down my life that 1. might take it again ! And this
   that faith which looks unto Him who will give His life for            "take' it again" does not simply mean `that Jesus will die to
   us that we may live and have life more abundantly.                    simply return again into our midst as a "living-soul" but it
         Such concern the evil "shepherds" `do not have for `the         means, as is evident from the text and all of Scqipture,  that
   sheep. They do not seek *the well-being of the sheep, but             He will take His life again as the resurrectioh  life in eternal
   they come to destroy the flock. The flock is there for these          glory. The Son of  .$lan must suffer and thus enter into His
   "shepherds?" which at bottom are nothing else but thieves             glory, the glory of grace in all the saints.
   and robbers. They do not enter in through the door of                     The uniqueness of this dying is exactly that it is a dying
   God's appointment, but they are self-appointed usurpers of            to live. It is to bring forth life out of death, and honor out
   the things in Israel for their own imaginary personal interest.       of shame, power out of weakness and  incorrtiptibleness  and
   They cannot and may not and will not bring about the  sal-            immortality-out of corruption and death.
   vatio'n of the sheep.
         On this background we see the real Shepherd. He is                  How is this unique suffering to be, explained ? What is
   the Messiah, the anointed One of God. He is the good                  its secret? What is the Mystery of godliness here that is
   Shepherd that giveth His life for the sheep. Unto this he             great ?
   has been commissioned and He faithfully ftilfils  this com-               We answer : the Mystery of this unique dying is in the
   mandment. And in so doing He merits the Father's love,                fact that the good Shepherd has the power to lay down His
   ,receives  the Divine Sanction.                                       life and has also the power to take it again. None of the
         Of this  receiving  of the  Fathei's  sanction, that is, the    evil shepherds can match this power, can they ? Is He not
   Father's final and authoritative confirmation, Jesus speaks           the Lord of glory ?
   in our text. He fully merits the Father's love.                           What is this "power" of the Christ? r*
         Let us notice what this impli&s  a little more in detail            To understand this matter we must bear in mind th&
   and take notice of the several elements in -the text.                 Christ is here speaking as the Son of God in the flesh. He


  302                                            T H E   STAN-DARti   BE.ARER

  IS here not speaking as the Son  in' the inter-Trinitarian life        ascension on high at God's right hand, and to the outpouring
  in relationship simply to the first person in the Trinity, but         of the Holy Spirit and to the gathering of the saints into
  He is speaking as the good Shepherd, the Servant of the                the final glory of the New Jerusalem.
  Lord. As the Servant of Jehovah He is empowered to this                   And for being a faithful Servant, Builder of the House
  work.                                                                  of God, becoming the Chief Corner-Stone df it, He is the
         This implies, first of all, that he has received the  right-    object of the Father's love. Says Jesus: Because of this the
  fzll  co?z<,*?z,ission  to perform this task of dying in order to      Father  loves me. This love of the Father is. the satisfaction
live. Thus says Jesus: This commandment (commission)                     of the Father with the work and labors of the soul of the
  have I received of my Father. And no one else has ever or              Mediator, Shepherd of the sheep. He merits the sanction of
  shall ever receive  such- a commission.. To have such a                {he Father. For the Father loves the Sheep with an ever-
  rightful commission is very' important. It `is important even          lasting love. And He wills to manifest this love unto us in
  in civil life. Should anyone put on a policeman's uniform              His Son, who, although He is the Son, must neverthkless
  without being officially commissioned he would soon find out           learn obedience from what He suffers. And in so doing He
  that he is judged an imposter without power. For the power             merits the Father's sanction.
  and the strength of soul is with those who are in the right..             For this. son w& made from a woman and made ztndel*
  The wrong are never strong. This is  .also true of  oflice-            the law!
  bearers. Not might makes right, but right makes  might.                   That He is under th> law implies that he i's under the
  This is clearly evidenced when Moses prays that his name               rule: the `paan that doe@ the same shall live thereby! Gala-
  may be blptted  out of the book of life for Israel's sake. The         tians 3  :12.. And, again, we read in Galatians 3 :13, "Cm)-sed
  Lord does not hear that prayer. For Moses is not appointed             is everyone that  uemaineth  not in all things that are written
  to be a Mediator who will give'his "life" a ransom for many.           in the book of the law to perform it." Under this law Christ
  This is a task assigned to a greater than Moses, to one                is born. Here He is loved by God zcpon  condition of obe-
  who is the "builder of the house." This latter is Christ's             dience. Here is  the  pe-Pepisitc   unto life. It is obedience
commission. Through Him grace and truth must become a                    unto the death, the death of the Cross. And Christ lays
  reality. This is the great commission of Christ.                       the foundation under His own feet.        He fulfils all righte-
         Secondly, this implies that Christ also -had the necessary      ousriess, that is, the righteous demand of the law! Rom.
  strength and energy to perform this task. This also belongs            S:3, 4. And that which is so often  erronepusly  presented
  with the power, the exousia! He had the power of mind and              as being applicable to the believers is here of full force' to
  will, the strength of soul. It is the `strength of soul which          Christ. Sanctions of the law? Indeed, but only to Christ in
  is strong enough to be sorrowful even unto the death of the            His mediatorial labors.. The obligation of perfect obedience
  accursed tree! For this good shepherd has all the qualifica-           to law is placed upon His mighty shoulders. He takes up
  tions too. He received the Spirit without measure. Great               the sins of the world and` carries them away. And in this
  gifts of wisdom, meekness, love and justice were imparted              He does prudently. He receives the approval of God each
  to Him. He alone has more of this in His human soul' than              step of the way. The Father loves Him.
  all the prophets which were before Him. The stature of all                How concisely Jesus  ,speaks. He does not work with
  the prophets together does not measure up to Him. Theo-                duplicity. That is the field of the lie and of the Liar from
  logians called these gifts the Communication Charismatum,              the begining. But He who is the way, the truth and life
  Then too there was the great qualification of this good                speaks the ti-uth without duplicity and `ambiguity. It is exactly
  Shepherd in that it was the Person of the Son, who suffers             as he states it. He is loved because He ;s obedient. From
  in the Human soul. So really  was. the person of Son united            the viewpoint of Christ's labors salvation is a matter of
  that often the  h&lan  Christ is called the Son of God. Theo-          merit. Christ earns it.
  logians called this Communicatio  idiomatum.  Finally there               This is a beacon light in darkness. We need not suffer
  was also the aid of the Divine nature of Christ_ supporting            doctrinal ship-wreck because the Scriptures are not clear
  the Human nature, so that both natures united in the person            and concise. We can interpret the less clear passages in the
  of the Son work together for the bringing of the perfect               light of the more clear passages. And such a clear passage
  sacrifice. This has been denominated Communicatio  Apo-                we have here. He is the offense of the Cross, yet it is the _
  telesmatum.                                                            Wisdom of God. The Shepherd gives His life foi- the sheep
         Such is the power of Christ.                                    and for this the Father loves Him. Christ finds the ground,
         For this reason he has the "power" to lay down His              the  basis  and not merely' the evidence of the Father's love
  life in order that He might take it again.                             fo; I&m in His works !
         And when He takes'this  life again He does not simply              His work is the Solid Rock  ; all other ground is sinking
  take this life as am individual, but he takes this life as the         sand !
  Shepherd of the Sheep. This "taking again" of His "life"                                                                           G.L.
  refers to the resurrection from the dead, to His glorious                                         (to be continued)


                                                                            T H E   STANDAR.D,BEA-`RER                                                                                                                    303

                                                                                                                   US ? Would they not rather qntinue to ignore us ?, that is,
                       I N   H I S   F E A R                                                                       our argumentation and proof ?
                                                                                                                         You see, the consistory of the undersigned sent a letter
                                   Walking in Error                                        ca                      to all the ministers of former Classis West and to the clerks
                                                                                                                   in those of their churches which had no ministers at that
                                                     (3)                                                           time. OUR attitude was exactly what  they express now in
     -Ails  `we suggested last time, we had intended to consider                                                   their communications. We wanted them to reconsider their
 at this point the act of schism perpetrated by Rev. De Wolf                                                       evil work of September 1953. We were concerned with the
 and his elders. That was, indeed, our intention.                                                                  peace of Jerusalem. We wrote them on September 29 the
      However, recent events have induced us to take  up  an-                                                      letter that appears below. tiut at that tinie the overwhelming
 other matter in this present writing, which we' had originally                                                    majority, including those men who signed the two documents
intended to treat later.                                                                                           above mentioned, reacted quite differently from the senti-
      The recent events  to which we. refer are the sending of                                                     ment expresed in these documents. Here is the letter, which
a communication to the Synod of the Protestant Reformed                                                            the undersigned's consistory gave him permission to publish
 Churches, in session March  lo-18 in the Fourth Protestant                                                        at this time:
 Reformed Church,  by, the former  Classis  West,- and the                                                                                                                                  Grand Rapids,  Mich.
sending of a communication by a  g;oup of men from former                                                                                                                                      September 29, `53
Classis West to the eight members from Classis East who                                                            Dear Brother,
were delegated to the 1953 Synod, and who did gather in                                                                The Consistory of the  Hop6 Protestant Reformed Church
                                                                                                                   herewith pleads with you to let us call your attention to the
 Synodical  session in Fourth Church .to continue the work                                                         following matters :
that could not be finished last June.                                                                                 1.. That  ,we cannot understand the action of  Classis  West  in
                                                                                                                   recognizing the suspended and deposed office bearers of First
      In the latter communication we find these lines :                                                            Church of Grand Rapids  as anything else than denominational
      "NeverthelesS,  we bklieve that the Word of God calls                                                        schism  and hierarchy. Our grounds for stating this are the
                                                                                                           us      following :
to seek the unity of the Church of Christ; and, conscious of                                                       a .   F i r s t   C h u r c h   o f   G r a n d   R a p i d s  &nd   Classis   E a s t   a r e   n o t
this calling we wish to put forth every effort, also in this                                                       under the jurisdiction of  Classis  West. Hence  Classis   W e s t
                                                                                                                   certainly might not decide between two factions of one con-
peculiar situtation in which we find ourselves, to prevent                                                         gregation in  Classis  East.
further separation of God's people. The means for seeking                                                              b.  Classis  West therefore has violated art. 31 and art. 84 of
                                                                                                                   the Church Order in making decisions concerning a matter that
this unity is not to compro&se  the Word of God and the                                                            has not  been:   fimished in  another  Classis.
Church's confession, no; to avo:d discussion, but it is pre-                                                           c.  Classis  West's letter  to,  Classis  East and sent to our Con-'
                                                                                                                   sistory reveals that  Classis  West did not understand. the facts
cisely to give testimony to  o.ne another of our faith  arid                                                       in the case sufficiently to be qualified to take a decision in the
convictiofis  in our problems and difficulties. Even though                                                        matter. Let us explain.
                                                                                                                       (1)  Classis  West speaks of and pleads with  Classis  East to
you have separated yourselves from the Synod of the Prot-                                                          "reopen" a case which  Classis  East has never closed. C'lassis
estant Reformed Churches we still wish to give you our                                                             East (and all its`congregations) is waiting for its committee to
                                                                                                                   report in October and plans  .to do more with the case at that
testimony.                                                                                                         time.
"We earnestly desire that you return from this,. your                                                                  (2)  Classis  West suggest that the proper way to treat  mat-
                                                                                                                   `ters which cannot be finished in a minor  assemblv  is that thev
way of error, and seek with us the unity of the Church of                                                          be sent to the Synod. But  Classis  West, another  r&nor  assembl;
Christ. We declare, moreover, ihat wc stand ready to dis-                                                          has already taken the case and finished it for all the churches
                                                                                                                   in  Classis  West BEFORE the minor assembly where the case
cuss in the proier way any and all difficulties' which you                                                         is being treated can  eyen  continue  with the case. In this  Classis
may, have and to receive  any such discussion or testimony                                                         West assumed the place of the Synod and passed judgment on
                                                                                                                   a matter outside of its jurisdiction. The only way  Classis  West
that you may  direct to us."                                                                                       could deal with the case is through its delegates to Synod, if
                                                                                                                   the case should come there.
      The`other communication has in it these words :                                                                  2 .   T h a t   e v e n   i f   Classis   W e s t   d i d   h a v e   t h e   r i g h t   t o   t r e a t
      "We would urge you, brethren, to desist  froni your way                                                      the  cask  - which we emphatically deny above  - the grounds
                                                                                                                   which  Classis  West presents for its decision are both unfair and
of separatistic activity to return from it, and we would urge.                                                     absolutely worthless as grounds. for the decision taken. Note the
you instead to keep the way open for discussion and fellow-                                                        following :
                                                                                                                       a .   C'lassis   W e s t   m e r e l y   a s s u m e d   t h a t   t h e s e   1 1   m e n   w e r e
ship and final disposition of difficulties in the way of Scrip-                                                    legal consistory members and did not even try to prove this
ture and the Church Order."                                                                                        contention.
                                                                                                                       (1)  ,She ignores the fact that these men by the unanimous
      Now,, we would have you understand- that both these                                                          vote of 11 to  10 were placed under discipline upon the advice of
documents, by the very signatures on. them, were plainly                                                           Classis  East which knew that half of the consistorv members
                                                                                                                   might be involved. This motion was taken on June-l. And to
sent by men from the former Classis West. We like, there-                                                          be required to apologize implies sin  .and also implies that they
fore, to ask them by means of this article whether they                                                            were placed under discipline.
                                                                                                                       (2) She ignores the fact that after being placed under disci-
really want a reconciliation, whether they have  now assumed.                                                      pline they were again demanded by the majority vote of 12 to
a different  attitude `and whether they are ready to acknow-                                                       11 (which actually is 12 to  0, since these men under discipline
ledge that THEY are the ones who will have to desist from                                                          might not vote in a case in which they were personally involved)
                                                                                                                   to apologize according to Classical  dedision on June 22,  and
-their  separatistic ways. Are they, we cannot help  but ask,                                                      that they  refused  to do this.
                                                                                                                       (3) She gave no proof from Scripture or the Church Order
s i n c e r e   i n   t h a t   t h e y   w a n t   d i s c u s s i o n   a n d   f e l l o w s h i p   w i t h    that such men under discipline need be notified of the meeting

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

 wherein the formal step will be taken to do the  only possible           unopened letters to wait for consistory meetings to be held
 thing in the matter, namely,  as advised by  Classis  and already
 adopted on June 1, to suspend and depose.  Classis  West did not         at their regular time, perhaps as much as a month later.
 prove that consistory members under discipline are "legal  con-          For the peace and good of the church, we wanted Classis
 sistory members" who have a right to be at the meeting that
 decides whether to continue with discipline, or not, and to what         West to reconsider. before more evil  was done.
 degree. Consider that the decision to suspend and depose could               WoulBanyone  deny us the right to wonder as to whether
 have been  n?ade  that very  evenin-a of June 22 and the Consistory
 would have been entirely  in~its rights had it that night excused        the other seven consistories ever saw -this document? They
 from the meeting those who refused to abide by the Consistory's          did not even give us the courtesy of acknowledging our
 decision of June  1 and by the advice of the  Classis, and then in
 their absence taken  the. vote to  stispend and depose. All our          communication. Well may those in these congregations, who
 consistories excuse from the meeting those under discipline after        are still enough Protestant Reformed to read the Standard
 the necessary information has been obtained from them.
    b. It is extremely unjust and unfair to call a  group,  that          Bearer, ask their consistories whether "they ever saw this
 follows the advice of  Classis, guilty of separatistic and schismatic    document and why they did not act upon it. Well may those
 action because one man of the group walks out of the meeting,
 and THEN recognize a group which as a group in its entirety              office bearers in the former  Classis West ask their minister
refuses to abide by the decisions of the  classis.  Besides,  Classis     why he did not present this for their consideration.
 West listened to two factions which were personally  invomlved  and
 did not wait for witnesses, when she knew that there were wit-               Who is guilty of separatistic and schismatic action  ?
 nesses, the committee of  Classis  East, who were there and were         Which ministers and consistories separated themselves from
 not personally involved in the  cas`e.
    c. It is, likewise, unfair and unjust to call a group that            whom ? -
 follows the advice of  Classis  schismatic-you say failed to follow          Even then,' if at this late moment they do see the error
 the church political order of appeal, but that is schism- when
 it- must meet separately because the group that refuses to abide         of  their  ways, we will  6:' thankful to God. But let them,
 by the advice of  Classis  refuses them the use of the building          then, answer our consistory and show us that our stand is
 and wrote them that they would keep the property until it could
 be disposed of in a proper way. Brethren,  you'have  encouraged          contrary to Scripture and the Church Order. Let them
 this group of men in their refusal to  ablde by the decisions of         meet our arguments. These are the things we will have to
 their  Classis.  What an impossible situation we have that one
 Classis  encourages a group in a sister  Classis  to walk in defiance    discuss.
 o f   its  Classis. We judge no motives, but we like to have you             We did not  skparate &selves from them but sought
 see what you have in your work of September done in our
 Classis.                                                                 them; and for their good and the good of our churches we
    3.  T,herefore we urge you as pastor and/or clerk to bring            called- their attention to their error that they might flee from
this matter  immediately   to the attention of your consistory, to
urge the brethren to notify the Classical  Clommittee of  Classis         it. They should have sought us, and if they are convinced
West that you desire another session of  Classis  as soon as pos-         that our consistory is in error, they surely should have
sible to reconsider this matter and to undo the evil. Receiving
response in favour of such a meeting from a majority of the               answered us and pointed this ciut to us. Not even the two
.churches, the committee in conjunction with the Stated Clerk             consistories that did answer us entered into the arguments
can call such a meeting and the peace and unity for which you
plead in your letter to  Classis  East can with God's blessing            we presented.
be realized.                                                                  Let  these  men  keq open the way for discussion and
                        Fraternally yours the Consistory
                         of the Hope Prot.  Ref'd Church                  fellowship! Or rather, let them open the way after they
                                   W.S. John A. Heys, Pres.               have closed it.  Class+ West in Sept. 1953 should have kept
                                   W.S. M. Veenstra, Clerk.               the way open by not meddling in the affair, so that it could
     In response  to  the ten  letters we sent  otit,  we received. come to Synod.
recognition of this brotherly concern for the peace and unity,,               And let them condemn all these tirades and. slander on
of the Church of Jesus Christ, from only two consistories.                the personality of one man in the Protestant Reformed
We can only wonder what happened to the other eight.                      movement. We will never meet to discuss such things. They
No, we did receive word from a minister in one of the other               onl-y   turn attention away from the real issue. We are the
eight `congregations. And that answer, perhaps, explains the              Church of God, and we will discuss Church matters, the
unbrotherly as well as schis&tic  silence of the others. Who              truth and proper church  order.
committed schism and is guilty- of separatistic activity ? Our                                                                          J.A.H.
consistory, one of the true Protestant Reformed Churches;
sought out these erring brethren, but they would not even                                          -                -
recognize our missive !
  As we wrote above, we received word from one minister
who wrote us that HE WOULD NOT  EVEN SHOW IT                                                      IN MEMORIAM
TO'HIS CONSISTORY. His loop hole was that we sent                            The Consistory of the First Protestant Reformed  ChurEh of
it to him rather than to his consistory, and it would be                  Grand Rapids, Michigan hereby  &shes  to express its heartfelt
                                                                          sympathy with our  P'astor, H. Hoeksema, in the loss of his sister,
useless anyway to call their attention to these things in our                                   MRS. J. VELDMAN
letter. HE WAS AFRAID TO HAVE THEM SEE  THE                                  May the  berekved  experience the comfort of our covenant
TRUTH or even TO HEAR THE OTHER SIDE! We                                  God in His promise of eternal life.
can prove that! But our purpose, as the very letter shows,                                                       Rev. C. Hanko, President.
in sending these missives to clerks and ministers was be-                                                        J. M. Faber, Clerk.
cause we thought the matter so urgent that we did not want


                                                  THE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   305

        I                                                                 the baptism of heretics invalid. A synod held at Carthage,
                 Contending For The Faith - II North-.Afri&,, about the year 200, under -a certain Agrip-
                                                                          pinus,  had used similar language. Cyprian, we know adopted
                                                                          the custom of the Asiatic and African Churches and insisted
                  The Church and the Sacraments                           that heretics should be rebaptized, although accbrding  to
                                                                          him this was not a repetition  df the act of baptism, but the
              EARLY  VIEWS  0;  THE  SACRAMENT   OF  BAPTISM
.                                                                         true  bap&sm. According to him the baptism of heretics was
                                 (Continued)                              !io baptism and whoever, therefore, had been baptized by
             Continuing with our quotation fr0m  Cyprian, &ho con-        them `had not actually been. baptized. -Rome, however, rec-
        tended, as did Tertullian, that the baptism by heretics was       ognized the baptism of heretics. When we speak of Rome in
                                                                          this connection we refer, let us understand, to the Church at
     .- not valid, ive quote the following: "But again some of our
        colleagues would rather give honour to heretics than agree        Rome. This must not be confuse&`-with the Roman. Catholic
        with us ; and while by the assertion of one baptism they ,are     Church of today.                                               _.
        unwilling to baptize those that come, they thus either them-         Stephen was the bishop of the church at Rome during the
        selves make two baptisms in saying that there is a baptisli       years, 253-257. It was the Roman practice -to recognize the
        among heretics ; or certainly; which is a matter of more          baptism of heretics as valid and merely to demand the laying
        importance, they strive to s&t befb're and prefer the sordid      on of hands as significant of repentance (with indirect
        and profane. washing of heretics to the true and only and-        reference to Acts 8 : 17). The Eastern Church, and especially
        legitimate baptism of the Catholic Church, not considering        Cyprian, strongly opposed this practice of Rome, and the
        that it is wcitten, "He who is baptized by one dead, what councils of Carthage (255, 256) again sanctioned the op-
        availeth his washing ?" Now it-is manifest that they who          posite view (opposing Rome). A synodical  letter informed
        are not in the' Church of Christ are reckoned among the           Stephen of this action, and a heated  epistolary  controversy
        dead ; and another cannot be made alive by him who himself        was opened between him-atid  Cyprian. Stephen finally broke
        is not alive sinCe  there is one Church which, having attained    off communion with the African Church. Tradition relates
        the grace of eternal life, both lives for. ever and quickens      that Stephen suffered `a martyr's death because he refused
        the people of God . . .  ; But if he who comes from the           to sacrifice to then-heathen  gods. He maintained' to the end
        heretics has not previously been baptized in the Church.          that the baptism as @ministered by heretics was valid. The
        (Cyorian  concedes the possibility of people who had been         view that such baptism is valid if properly administered is
        baptized in the Church, joined heretics, and later return         still in effect today.
        to the Church - H.V.), but comes as a stranger and entirely                                             j
        profane, he must be baptized,  that he- may become a sheep,        This question which concerns the validity of bsptism as
        because in the holy Church is the one water which `makes          administered  in. other churches is an interesting question.
        sheep. And therefore because  there  can be-nothing common        The  vie& which is generally accepted today is that all bap-
        to falsehood and tryth, to darkness and light, to .death and      tisms are valid which are administered "in the name of the
        immortality, to Antichrist and Christ, we ought by all means      Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghdst."  One can readily
        to maintain the unity of the Cahtolic Church, and not to          understand why the early Church insisted on this baptism
        give way to the enemies of faith and truth in any respect."       formtila.  There are reasons to believe that the sacrament of
        - end of quote. This .quotation  speaks for itself. We may baptism was administered in the early period of the Church
        again notice the importance which Cyprian ascribes  +o the        simply "in the Name of Jesus." I believe we may definitely
        sacrament of Baptism. ,He argues that the baptism unto            a?sert that Matt. 28:19  must not be uiderstood  as a baptism
        life, which occurs with the sacrament of Baptism, cannot be       formula, as if Jesus meant to say that these words must
        administered by heretics who have not the light and life but      be spokes  at ithe administration of baptism. The words of
        are in the midst of death.                                        Matt.  28  :19 do not express the  fov$tz  for the administration
             We may conclude, therkfore,  that many of the early          of baptism, but its essential significance. To be baptized into
        Church Fathers (and these also include Clement of Alexan-         (not : "in," or "in the name of, upon the authority of") the
        dria) contended that the baptism of heretics was  liot valid      Father, `Son, and Holy .Ghost refers to the essential signi-
        and should therefore not be recognized. It is certain that        ficance of Baptism. True baptism (whereof the baptism with
        Tertullian and Cyprian were of this opinion.                      water is merely a sign or sylllbolj  is a being baptized into
             How'ever,  the Roman Church considered any baptism           the fellowship of the living God through Jesus Christ, our
        valid as long as it  tias properly administered. We have al-      Lord. The Name, Father, refers, then, to the Triune God.
        ready noted that Clement of Alexandria recognized only            The Name, Son, refers to our Lord Jesus Christ through
        that baptism as valid which was administered in the Catholic      Whom this fellowship  with the living  ,God was accomplished
        Church .(nbt, we-understand, to be confused with the Roman        by His death jnd resurrection and ascension. The Name,
        Catholic Church  - H.V.) . In approximately the year, 235,        Holy Ghost, refers to the living God as He, through the
        the Phrygian synods of Iconium and Synnada pronounced. Spirit, realizes this fellowship of God's people'  with God


                                                          . .
306                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A ` R E R

through, Jesus Christ by the work of His irresistible grace.        sary at this time or at any other time. In fact we hasten to
And our actual baptism into the Father, Son, and Holy               add that, according to  Kom. 4 :ll, he was justified before he
Ghost signifies that we are actually inducted into this fellow-     received the sign of circumcision that he might be the father
ship. Of this spiritual reality the sacrament of Baptism is         of all them that believe although they be not circumcised.
a sign, a symbol. Because of the heresies which developed           Permit us to quote this wonderful passage at this time:
in the early Christian Church the baptism formula: "I               "And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
baptize thee into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy             righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircum-
Ghost," was adopted as determining the validity of a bap-           cised: that he might be the father of all them that believed,
tism. Regardless of a church's interpretation of the baptism        though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might
formula,, the fact remains that the sacrament was at least          be imputed unto them also." Besides, according to Ram.
administered properly  ; the form was administered according        4 :16, Abraham was justified by faith unconditionally. Permit
to the true Scriptural sginificance of the sacrament and its        us  also to quote this remarkable  pasage:  "Therefore it is
actual meaning. And all such baptisms have been held valid          of faith, that it might be by' grace ; to the end the promise
by the Church even unt.il now.                                      might be sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of
The objections  wised by  heietics to any  ~OWPL  of baptism   _    the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham;
       In the first place, they objected that it was below the      who is the father of us all." This verse should be of con-
dignity of the Divine to be represented by anything earthly.        siderable significance torus  in our present controversy in
Water baptism is, of course, an earthly sign. The same, we          connection with "conditions." What will the "condition
understand, applies to Holy Communion. Water, bread, and            enthusiasts" do with this particular Word of the Lord  ?. Is
wine are earthly elements which feature these sacraments.           faith a condition ? Was Abraham justified by faith in order
Also today one encounters this derogatory criticism of the          that it might be "conditional?" The Father of believers was
sacrament of baptism. Current opponents of this Scriptural          justified by faith in order that it might be by grace. This
injunction. speak of  the Spirit. and Water  Bapitsm  and           means that, being justified by faith, we are justified by
deride the latter. What must we say of this objection? In           grace. And this surely implies that this faith is a gift of God.
the first place, it can hardly be denied that the Lord Jesus        And this is not all.. Mind you, we are justified by faith, as
Christ, when speaking of Himself, often-avails Himself of           a gift of grace, in order that the promise may be sure. What
earthly figures. He is the Sun of Righteousness, the Door,          a tremendous statement we have here ! And then the attempt
the Bread that came down from heaven, the Water of Life,            is made in Concordia to show from the Scriptures and the
the Scepter and Star out of Judah, the Lion of Judah's              Confessions that the statement of the Rev. De Wolf, namely :
tribe, etc. Secondly, we must surely not be wiser than the          "God promises every one of you that, if you believe, you
Lord. To declare that it is below the dignity of the Divine         will be saved," is sound (it might be a good thing if these
to be represented by earthly figures does not recognize the         so-called proofs from the Scriptures were accompanied by
fact that it pleased the Lord, because of the infirmities of        some explanation and interpretation) ! But in Rom. 4 :16
our flesh and that we may more fully understand the                 we are informed that we are justified by faith in order that
promise of the gospel, to represent His salvation in Christ         the promise may be sure. The promise would not be sure
Jesus by earthly figures which are adapted to our eyes, ears,       if faith were a condition. To obj'ect  that Ram. 4:16 merely
taste,. etc. These figures, whereof the Scriptures speak so         wishes to to emphasize the phrase: "to all the seed," does
abundantly and which constitute the- elements in the sacra-         not give due consideration to the fact that we read that the
ments of Baptism `and the Lord's Supper, do not lower the           promise might be  ~~t~~e to all the seed. Replying to this
dignity of the Lord. God does not become bread and wine             objection we nevertheless wish to emphasize that this
and water, etc., because He simply uses these figures of
Himself. These figures have been instituted. by the Lord            particular of Holy Writ certainly emphasizes the  uncon-
because of our infirmities, so that we may the more clearly         ditionality of faith and the sovereignly particular and un-
understand the wonderful and Divinely exalted character             conditional character of the promise. Mind you, this is not
of the amazing work of salvation of God in Christ Jesus,            an isolated passage of the Scriptures. This deals with the
our Lord. To deny these earthly elements with the  "pious"          tremendous question why the Lord justifies by faith. And
observation. that they lower the dignity of the Lord is con-        the answer is : in order that it may be by grace and this in
ceit ; thereby one simply elevates himself above the Lord           order that the promise may be sure to all the seed. .That
and makes himself wiser than God.                                   is, God justifies by'faith, His own gift of faith, because He
                                                                    does "not care to take any chances as far as the promise is
   Secondly, the objection was voiced against any form of           concerned. He wants the promise to be sure, never in doubt,
baptism that Abraham was justified by faith only. One can           and therefore justifies by faith, which is never a condition
hardly deny this assertion as such., It is certainly Scriptural
and true that the Father of believers was justified by faith        unto salvation, but purely and exclusively the gift of God.
only. To substantiate this from Holy Writ is hardly neces-                                                                    H.V.


                                                 T H E   STANDARD-.BEARER                                                            307
   II                                                                   sary for our fathers especially to stress the fact that salva-
              Ths Voice of Our Fathers                             1 tion is all grace, only grace, "uit loutere genade."
                                                                           .Even the above expression, however, in the mind of the
                                                                        fathers .was not sufficient. They deemed it necessary to add
                   The Canons of Dordrecht                              the expression : "according to the sovereign good pleasure
                              PART TWO                                  of his own will." This precludes any attempt on the part
                     EXPOSITION OF THE  CANONS                          of the Arminian  to teach that election is out of grace, but
                                                                        that God shows His grace to those whom He had foreseen
         FIRST  HEAD OF  DOCTRINE OF  DIVINE  PREDESTINATION            as believing and obeying. The expression "according to the
                        Article 7 (continued)                           good pleasure of his will" is a Scriptural one, as appears
          In the first place, we must give our attention to -the        from the proof-texts at the end of this article. It irnplies
   proposition that election is "out of mere grace." The term           that election takes place according to the delight of God.
   gmce  has several connotations in Holy Scripture, all of             God's good pleasure is His eternal counsel as it is the object
   which are rooted in the idea of grace as an attribute of God         of and has its source in His own divine delight. If you ask
   Himself. God, as the God of all infinite perfections, is in          the question: why did God choose the elect, according to j
   Himself gracious, that is, beautiful, pleasant. As such, His.        what standard, what "yard-stick 7" the answer is simply : I
  grace means that He delights inHimself  also, and is filled           because God pleased to choose them, delighted in those whom
   with favor toward Himself as the Triune God. He is graci-            He chose. When, you go a step farther, and ask the ques-
   ously inclined toward Himself. When, therefore, the God              tion : why did ,God please to choose them ? the answer is :
  of all grace reveals Himself to the creature,' His grace is           Keep silence ! God's good pleasure is free, sovereign ! Behind
  manifest as an attitude of graciousness or pleasantness, a            that good-pleasure of God you cannot go. Again, it is to be
   gracious disposition of God to His creature.. And when the           noticed that in a sense the term .sov@reign  is redundant when
   objects of that grace of God are in themselves .poor and             applied to the good pleasure of God's will. Nor do the
   damnworthy sinners, who have forfeited every claim to the            Scriptures employ the term: they simply speak of the "good
  favor of God, then that grace of God is emphatically revealed         pleasure of his will." Abstractly considered, it is not neces-
   as undeserved  or  forfiited   favor. It  is. this connotation of    sary to add the term-sovereign,,  for God is the sovereign God,
-the term grace that most generally lives in the mind and               and it is .impossible  that His good pleasure would not be
  heart of the believer. Essentially, of course, it is the same         sovereign. Actually however, it becomes necessary, once
  as the second connotation given above. Grace is always un-            more because of the practice of heretics to mimic the language
   deserved, free, in character. It has its basis only in God.          of Scripture, to add this qualification. And then the term
   Always it is sovereign and free.  But-  when the object  .ofi        means that God has the basis and the reason for His good
  this grace is in himself a sinner, who has wholly forfeited           pleasure not in the objects of that good pleasure, but only in
   God's kindness and  favoz, and is worthy of wrath and con-           Himself.  I&s good pleasure is absolutely independent, free:
   demnation, this freedom and sovereignty of God's grace               It is neither occasioned by, nor caused by, nor activated by
  ,stands  out in bold relief. It is in this sense that the Canons      the creature or anything in the creature. The relation is
  undoubtedly use the term grace here. And the fathers add              exactly the reverse : in God's counsel the elect creature is the
  the word "mere," only, purely (in the Dutch, the well-known           fruit of God's good pleasure, not the occasion or reason for it.
  expression w"lo~&er  uit  gsnade.") Abstractly considered, it            But still the fathers thought it necessary more carefully
  is sufficient simply to say that God elects out of grace, as          to circumscribe this election, which is out of mere grace,
  opposed to debt or obligation. To speak of an admixture of            according to the sovereign good pleasure of His will. And
  grace and works is a contradiction in terms. If anything is           so they emphasize that "this elect number" is "by nature
  out of works, or according to work, it is not out of grace!           neither better nor more deserving than others." In this
  or according to grace; and if it is out of grace, it cannot be        light it is utterly impossible that God chose some bemuse of
  out of works. You  cannot say that it is partly grace and             a distinction between men, and the truth is emphasized that
  partly works. Grace and works are mutually exclusive.                 God makes the distinction Himself, and for reasons in Him-
  Actually, however, it is -very important that the term mere,          self. It is at this point especially that the infralapsarian
  or only,  be added in this connection, just as it is of the ut-       position of the Canons becomes evident once again. For from
  -most importance that the term tofu2  be paired with the term         the language of this article it is clear that when the fathers
  de/wavity.  And the reason is' historical: just as heretics al-       speak of the fact that this elect number is neither better nor
 ways like to mimic the language of Scripture and the lan-              more deserving than others, they have in mind created  aruf
guage of orthodoxy, so the Arminians, especially when                   fallen Ithen as they exist in the counsel of God. For this elect
  ,pressed,, would freely speak of grace, while in actual fact          .number  are with the others "involved in one common
  they believed in works and taught an impossible admixture             misery." And besides, God chose "from the whole human
 of grace and works. Confer, for example. the first part of             race, which had fallen through their own fault, from their
  Article IV of the Remonstrance. Hence, it became neces-               primitive state of rectitude, into sin and destruction."  This


     308                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R   -

     of course, is not to be understood in the historical and              sloten,  dat de voorwerpen  der verkiezing als niet zalig als
     temporal sense, for the article is not dealing with the'work          onzalig gedacht werden, want wie zalig is behoeft niet tot
     of God in time, but with the eternal and unchangeable                 de zaligheid  uitverkoren  te  worden.  Maar hierin ligt dan
     purpose of God. In other words, as far as the logical order           001~ reeds duidelijk opgesloten, dat de verkiezing niet ge-
     of God's eternal decrees is concerned, this article definitely        schied  is met het oog op menschen, die nog geschapen moes-
     places the decree of creation and the decree of the fall before       ten worden,  en gedacht werden als te kunnen vallen, maar
     the decree of election. And thus, within the scope of the             met het oog op menschen, die gedacht werden, reeds ge-
     eternal decrees, God elects out of a fallen race. It is in this       schapen te zijn en gevallen ook. Heel deze paragraaf, gelijk
     way that the Cartons emphasize once more the absolute,                oak onze Belijdenis.  volgt  `de Infralapsarische voorstelling,
     sovereignty of divine election. The reasoning here is that            gelijk uit het vervolg nog duidelij ker zal blijken, en het is
     if God elects out of the whole human race, and if all the             plichtmatig,  als Gereformeerden, die voorstelling in prediking
     members of that race are fallen into sin and destruction, and         en onderwijs te volgen, gelijk dan ook onze Generale Synode
     therefore alike involved in one common misery, then election          te Utrecht in hare  conclusien  op de, leergeschillen  uitge-
     cannot be in any way due to the fact that the elect persons           sproken heeft." If it were at all true that the Synod of
.    are by nature better or more- deserving than the -reprobate.
                                     I                                     Dordt was. convened in order to settle a controversy between
            Now it must be granted that God's elect will certainly         st@a and +$ra, then the last sentence of the above quotation
     forever confess that it is out of mere grace that they were           would be true, and it would be obligatory to maintain
     chosen, and that they in themselves were certainly  .neither          strictly the  infm  z&xv.  However, such was not the case.
     better nor more deserving than the reprobate, and that                Szipl-a and. z'nf?-a  were- united against a `common foe, Armini-
     therefore they have nothing to boast of in themselves over            anism;  and together they maintained positively the absolute
     against the non-elect. But it certainly is not true that this sovereignty of divine predestination. It is only in this light
     is the special prerogative of the infralapsarian to make this         that you can understand that more than one supralapsarian
     confession. And it cannot at all be urged as a plausible ob-          signed the Canopts  as a delegate to the Synod. In fact, the
     jection against supralapsarianism that just because he views          .fathers refused to entertain a proposal at the Synod to con-
     the decrees in such a way that election is logically prior to         demn some of the strong utterances of certain supralapsarian
     creation and the fall (God elects creabiie  ("treatable")  and        theologians. Hence, while I may maintain the szcpya  view
     Zabile  (fallible) creatures,  `he cannot maintain the undeserv-      and consider it to be higher and more correct than the infra
     ing character of the elect persons, For in the first place,           view', the infralapsarian cannot exclude me on the basis of
     the question in this connection is not' whether all creatures         the confessions. nor am I "obligated to bring a gravamen
     are equally involved .in misery, but simply equal in their            against the  Canorcs.  Nor is it either advisable or obligatory
     status before God, ,&ether  fallen or fallible. It is the simple      for the churches at this stage of affairs to attempt to resolve
     equality of state and condition which determines that the             the question. Freedom must be allowed with respect to this
     reason for election cannot lie in the fact that one is more           question within the scope of the Reformed confessions.
     deserving than another. In the second place we. must re-              About this, when the Canopis  are viewed  historically, there
     member that essentially the fact that a man is fallen does not        can be no question.
     change the quality of God's grace whatsoever: grace is al-                                                                     H.C.H.
     ways undeserved. ,But in the third place, it must be noticed
     that the  su.@a.  view exactly puts any difference  between-
     men, as far as being more worthy and more deserving are
     concerned, beyond the range - of possibility. For certainly           Att+ion   Consistbries:
     creatures that are not even created cannot possess any
     worthiness of being elected. And so it may well be main-                 The new treasurer of Synod is Mr. Arthur  ,H.  Haan,
     tained that the' position of the supralapsarian is if anything        3240 Breton Road, S.  E.? Grand Rapids, Michigan.
     stronger on this point than that of the infralapsarian.                  The new Stated Clerk of Snyod is: Rev.  G.- Lubbers,
                                                                           1304 Maude Ave., N. E., Grand Rapids 5, Michigan.
        However, once more without discussing in further detail                                   G. Lubbers, Stated Clerk of Synod.
     the merits of S~PYCZ  over against inf~a at this stage, it is well
     to remember that it was never the intention of the fathers
     at Dordrecht, nor the understanding of the signatories of
     the Ca.nois,,  that the pronouncements of the Great Synod
     confessionally outlawed supralapsarianism, even though the
     Canons are beyond question infra. In that connection  -1  can                                     TRIO
     scarcely understand, nor agree with Ds. T. Bos in his ,>De               Second Protestant Reformed Church
     Dordtsche Leerregelen," page 34, 35, -who seems to insist                                Rev. John Heys         s
     that infralapsarianism is binding in the Reformed churches.                             D Rev. G. Vandenberg.
     He writes -as follows.. ,,Hierin lag reeds gendegzaam  opge-                             Rev. R. Veldman.


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARE,R                                                    309

                                                                          Sometimes, however, objections are raised to the methods
 II           DECkNCY  and ORDER                                      used. by the church to obtain funds necessary for her sup-
                                                                      port. It used to be (and perhaps still is in some places) a
                                                                      custom of the churches to rent the pews similar to the
                  Supporting the Ministry                             practice of charging admission to the games in our modem
                            (Continued)                               sport world. Much can be said in disfavor of this practice.
       Although the eleventh article of our church order literally    It certainly is not as much as suggested in the Word of
 speaks only of supporting the ministers of the Word, it goes         God. In actual practice it separated the rich from the poor
 without saying that implicit in this is the obligation` of every     which is altogether contrary to the Lord's admonition found
 member of the church to support, according to their ability,         in James 2 :l-5 7 "My brethren, have not the faith of our
 the church or cause of Christ in the world in all her needs.         Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of per-
 This duty is rather clearly defined in the thirty-eighth Lord's      sons. For if there come unto your assembly a man. with a
 Day of the Heidelberg Catechism. In discussing the re-               gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor
 quirement of the fourth commandment of the law this thought          man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that
 provoking answer is given:                                           weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here
       "First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be     in a good place ; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or
 maintained  ; and that I, especially. .on the sabbath, that is,      sit here under my footstool ; Are ye not then partial in your=
 on the day of rest, diligently frequent the church of God, to        selves and become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my
 hear his word, to use the sacraments, publicly to call upon          beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this
 the Lord and contribute to the relief of the poor, as becomes        world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He haih
 a Christian. Secondly, that all ,the days of my life I cease         promised to them that love Him?'                  .
 from my evil works; and yield myself to the Lord, to work                Other churches frequently resort to money raising
 by His Holy-  Spirit in me, and thus begin in this life the          schemes such as bazaars, sales, auctions, socials and what
 eternal sabbath."                                                    not. The rightness or wrongness of these things has often
       From this answer it is evident that supporting the cause       been the subject of debate in the church. Some, who evidently
 of God is more than contributing materially to the church.           have a R.omish  idea of the sanctity of the church building,
 It includes this, to be sure, but there is also a spiritual side     consider any activity in the church which  .is not directly
.evidenced  in faithful church attendance and a godly life.           spiritual as wrong. It, is wrong to drink a cup of coffee and
These two are so related that laxity in regard to one of them         eat a piece of cake in the church. It is wrong to serve
becomes evident in neglecting the other. Sometimes it is said         dinners as we do. at our Classical and Synodical  meetings.
that, "Contributing to God's Kingdom `is a thermometer by             All socials are contraband. We wonder how these people
which one's spiritual life may be measured." There is, no             are able to partake of the sacraments unless their conception
doubt, some truth in this saying although it is not all truth.        of them is also the Romish notion of transubstantiation. Have
In Luke 21 :l-4 the Lord teaches us that the two mites of             they never heard that "eating and drinking is also to be done
the widow cast  into'- the treasury of the temple measured a          to the glory of God ?" (I Cor. 10 :31) Then there are others
far greater spirituality than the abundance cast in by the            who are obviously more interested in a social or an auction
rich. It is better, therefore, that we say the spirit and man-        sale than they are in the Men's or Ladies' Societies. They
ner of contributing to. the Kingdom of God is a proper                rather eat and drink than be busy in the Word. Both of              -
thermometer of our spiritual. life rather than the amount             these extremities in our -opinion  are sinful.
of giving. They who are truly spiritual will not cling to the            As to our view of this question we may briefly state the
material things and if they are rich they will give much and          following : ( 1) We claim that whenever any of these methods
if they are poor their giving will be according to their ability.     are used as means to raise  the budget of the church they are-
       The true member of the church regards this duty as .a          wrong and ought to be banned. Supporting the church must
privilege rather, than a burden. It is part of the easy yoke          be by voluntary alms and under the constraint of the love
which Christ exhorts his disciples to take upon themselves.           of Christ's cause. If the church'must resort to othermeans
Easy it is even as the burden of Christian service is light,          to  raise her ,budget there is a sign of carnality and spiritual
not according to the flesh, but always in the strength of that        lethargy. The love of Christ has waxed cold. (2) We fur-
grace wherein we stand. Then the contributing to the sup-             ther claim that any form of "auctioneering" in the church is
port of the services of. the church becomes the response of           wrong. Our reason for this contention is that it, too, makes
a conscious sense of spiritual obligation and its performance         separation between rich and poor in the congregation which
is constrained by the love of the King and, His Zion. To              is in violation of the passage of God's Word  afore cited.
contribute otherwise makes our offering abominable in God's           Frequently, under the enthusiastic pressure of the auctioneer
sight and our giving is  ,then devoid of blessing and joy.            (who means well) the cause of Christ is used to soar the
Remember, "God loveth a cheerful giver." Let  us.  never              price of items far above their actual value and beyond the
forget this so that we may do all things without murmurings.          reach of the poor or those with moderate income. This is a


     3     1        0                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

     double evil which consistories ought to stop. (3 j We. can          under the scrutiny of each church. The figures are announced
     see no wrong in socials in the church. We do not believe it         and each church is expected to pay its portion. Frequently
     wrong for the Marys and Marthas and Lydias of the church            synods, burdened with much other work, do not devote
     to busy themselves in making various useful items and               sufficient time and study to the matter of budgets which
     selling them to the members of `the church and turning over         results in careless spending. This is not conducive to good
     the proceeds either to charity or some improvements in the          order. We believe it would be a good policy to have a
     church which lie outside the usual budget. With such prac-          standing committee of lay business men who throughout the
     tices we not only can concur but would also encourage them.         year would take into study and consideration all matters
     Our young people, for example, would spend their time and           relating to finances and report each year to the Synod with
     efIorts  much more profitably along these lines working for         sound recommendations. To mention just a few items that
     their Federation and Beacon Lights than, as we hear of              might be taken under advisement by such a committee we
     some, by loitering in the -bowling alleys and roller rinks and      might cite mission expenses, support of needy churches,
     ball parks.                                                         travel expenses and others. Also in regard to these matters
          Sometimes the question is raised as to whether or not it       the inviolable rule of Scripture applies : "Let all things be
     is proper for the church to obtain her support by what is           done decently and in good order."                    G.v.d.B.
     commonly called "the budget system." Space does not permit
     LIS  to enter into a detailed discussion of this subject here
     nor is that necessary. The arguments pro and con which                        A L L   AiROUND   U S
     have been advanced in regard to this matter would more than
     fill our space in any single issue of the Standard Bearer.
     However, we would note that decency and order in the                   The editor of Concordia devoted .the greater portion of
     church certainly requires some form of budget system, Any           his editorial space in the. March 11th issue to ridicule the
     well ordered home operates on some kind of budget. No               article of the undersigned written in the February 15th issue
     government - city, state or national - could operate with-          of the Standard Bearer relative to "Not Hoeksema,  But Kok
     out one. And in so far as the church also has a material            Changed." In fact, along with another article written by
     side while she is still in the world and must reckon with           Mr. Gary Byker of Hudsonville, Concordia takes great
     financial receipts and expenditures she must budget. The. pleasure in playing -up what it considers the mental and
     church must be informed as to what the estimated ex-                moral weaknesses of the undersigned supposedly reflected in
     penses are going to be over a given period and in the light         the article referred to. We surmise that when the editor
     of this each family must prepare in as far as possible to           received the article of Mr. Byker he thought it was pretty
     carry its part of the obligation. Thus far objections are usu-      good and since he needed material for an editorial he took
     ally not. raised. Most people can understand the reason-            the hint from Byker and developed it a little farther.
     ableness and necessity of budgeting in general. The criticism,         The undersigned is accused of foolishly rushing into print
     however, arises against the practice of some church using           without having first clearly understood the implications of
     the envelope system by which the deaconate tabulates what           what Dr. Daane wrote. The undersigned said. that "Rev.
     is contributed by each member. This system, it is said, is          Daane has hit the nail squarely on the head," but he really
     using coercion to make each member comply with a certain            did .not know what he was talking about. If Rev; Schipper
     budget standard and this is in conflict with the principles of      had the intellectual capacity of more than a fifth grader, he
     love and ability. Granting that this question is, debatable, we,    would not have written as he did.
     nevertheless, must point out that'the church may and should            It is rather revealing, when these men of the opposition
     know who contributes faithfully and who does not and with           write, how they like to talk about mentalities. Wheu  they
     regard to the latter she must know the reasons for neglect          do not know what to say in answer to Rev. Hoeksema,`they
     and if these are not valid she must admonish the negligent          say he is a man broken in mind and body. And when they
     to fulfill the obligations laid upon them by Christ. There are      write about a younger man and less experienced, they-`say-
     some churches where the envelope system is not needed.              he doesn't have the mentality of a fifth grader.. It may-be
     There are others where it is not wanted. This, in the last          that my mental capacity -is not what it ought to be, but I
     analysis, is to be left to the discretion of the individual con-    do know* that my heart is ,right, and I am wondering if these'
     sistories. Each must know what is the best method to use in         men of the opposition can say the same thing. I do believe
     their own circumstances.                                            that I know a little bit of our Protestant Reformed doctrine,
          In concluding this matter we would also mention that           and by. the grace of God I have no intention of forsaking it
     those responsible for making the budget must do so with             as those of the opposition have done.
-    greatest care and sound reason. We refer now especially to             It seems to me, brethren, that it is the height of folly to
      Synodical  budgets. The congregational budgets are in the          waste  your  time writing lengthy articles in criticism of one
     last analysis approved by the individual churches but  synodi-      who is so mentally deficient. And it is a serious reflection
     cal budgets, approved and adopted by synod, do not come             on the ability of the editor of Concordia that he allows his


                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                               311

  paper to utilize so much space to answer such "foolishness."          split in 1924 w"ould never have occured  on that issue. Once
    Personally I think my critics were not a little irked by what       again, Dr. Daane here minimizes the difference and misses
    I wrote, and this is their way of retaliating. This is plain        the point. `Het puntje van het eerste punt' concerns the
    from the following which Rev. Hofman wrote; "Rev.                   `gunstige  gezindheid' which Dr. Daane fails to mention here       ,
    Schipper would have done his readers a greater service if           again.
    he had criticized Dr. Daane's writing rather than to use it             "And finally, to quote no more, Dr. Daane bases all this
    to reflect upon Rev.  Kok and attempt to support Rev.               on an assumption which he does not prove, when he writes:
    Hoeksema."                                                          `He  (Kok)  denies common grace but he holds to a  con-
        My critics should have noted the first two paragraphs of        ception of conditional gospel-address which bespeaks an
    my article, then they would have understood why I did not           offer of the gospel to all who hear, .and therefore  of a yace
    comment on  Dr.. Daane's criticism of our Protestant  Re-           which is  co7wmon.' (Italics mine. W.H.) Now, in the first
    formed position, and also why I used Daane's article  10            place, Idoubt  whether K.ok would agree to have his position
    reflect on the position of Rev. Kok. In the first paragraph         circumscribed as `an offer of the gospel to all who hear,'
    I told my readers that it was too early to criticize Dr. Daane      but that again misses the essential point of difference and
    since he was not yet finished with his criticism of our  doc-       debate between us and the Christian Reformed Church. And
   trine. We would wait, therefore, with our criticism. In the the basic weakness of that statement by Dr. Daane is the
    second paragraph I informed our readers that we were only           conclusion which we underscored `above: `And therefore of
    quoting that part of Daane's articlethat had to do with Rev.        a grace that is common.' That certainly is not the only and
    Kok.  And this we did, I believe in its entirety,commenting         necessary conclusion, even to the -premise of Dr. Daane. It
    in conclusion that not Hoeksema but Kok changed according           is simply an unproven assumption with which one can  cer-
    to Daane and with this we agreed. We said, and we would             tainly disagree; nor does it necessarily follow from the  fore-
    say it again, Daane hit the nail squarely on the head.              going.
        What we will have to say about Daane's understanding                "So much by way of introduction. Rev. Kok will, un-
    of Protestant Reformed theology and ethics will appear in           doubtedly, answer Dr. Daane himself. It seems, however,
   another article. But this much is clear to this writer that in       that in his eagerness to  find support the Rev. Schipper did
    the article on which I already commented Daane has seen             not see these very  .obvibus  discrepancies. Perhaps Rev.
    clearly what  Kok,  and now I add `also Hofman and Byker,           Schipper has never really understood this very basic and
    do not see, or do not want to see. What is that? Simply this :      essential point. For Rev. Schipper has only high regard
  If you embrace a  ,conditional  theology, you are consistent          for Dr. Daane as a critic and judge of what is Protestant
    when you also embrace the First Point of 1924.                      Reformed so that Schipper can boast: `Rev. Daane has hit
        Almost one-half of the editorial is introduction. But by        the nail squarely on the head.' Dr. Daane, according to
  way of introduction Rev. Hofman writes: "It is quite  evi-            Schipper, knows what is what and can correctly evaluate
    dent, for example, that Dr. Daane either does not understand        and characterize Rev. -Kok's position."
   - the basic and essential difference between the Protestant              Now it seems to me that not Daane but Hofman has
    Reformed and Christian Ref. position,  or else he deliberately      missed the point. Does Rev. Hofman actually think that
    minimizes this difference. In the very .opening  sentence of        Dr. Daane is that ignorant that he does not know what is
    his article he writes : `The first of the Three Points of 1924      the basic thrust of the First Point? Or is Rev. Hofman just
  teaches that the preaching of the gospel is an offer of salva-        prating  ? Hofman knows better for he himself quotes Daane
    tion to every individual addressed by the gospel.' Now if           as saying: "He (Kok) denies common grace, but he holds
  that were all that the First Point taught, or if that were            to a conception of conditional gospel-address which bespeaks
    even the assence  and thrust of the First Point, it could not       an offer of the gospel to all who hear, and therefore of a
 '  shave been the occasion of division in 1924. That does not          gmce  zwhicla is  cowa~~aon.~'    Proof enough that Daane knows
  I state- the basic thrust of the First Point nor does it -point up    full well what the thrust of the First Point is. But Daane
.-  -' the `essential objection and discrepancy. .The `heart of the     isn't talking about this. He is simply talking about the
   ' matter is that the First Point calls this offer grace. Dr.         address-ability of  -the gospel. He is talking about the simil-
    Daane misses the  pointy  here-."                                   arity of conditional theology and the doctrine of the offer
                              `.
     Further Hofman writes: "The same is true when Dr.                  of salvation in the preaching of the gospel. I say, therefore
    Daane writes : `Rev. Kok should either repudiate conditions         that when Daane writes : ."He (Kok)  denies common grace,
    and make common cause with Hoeksema, or he ought to                 but he holds to a conception of conditional gospel-address
    allow the leaven of conditions to lead him to accept the            which bespeaks an offer of the gospel to all who hear, and
    Christian Reformed conception of the gospel as an offer to          therefore of a grace which is common," he has hit the nail
    any who hear the gospel, and return to the Christian Re- squarely on the head. Hofman, and those who agree with
    formed Church.' Again if that were all there were to it,            him, may not like this charge. They may try to camouflage
  perhaps, Dr., Daane would be right and one should return.             the business by informing the public that they do not believe
    Or rather, if that were the only point of difference, the           in common grace and that they are Protestant Reformed,


                                            __..- -..---__  -_____  __~
312'                                        T H E   $T-ANDA.R-ti   BEAiisER

but if they are honest and consiitent  they will submit to        able because ,he was "Eenkantig'.' one sided, although the
Daane's criticism. Rev.  Kok and . his  follpwers  have sus-      opposition halfheartedly admitted he had good sermons. But
tained the two statements of Rev. De Wolf. The first of these     they said-`fWe have to do something too.?'
is : "God promises every one of you that if you believe you          In view of this  hisrory,   It is plain that the writer of
will be saved." They have  been told more than once  that to      Lynden's news item was trying to cover up-that  history with
say this is worse than the First Point of 1924. The- Chri&        the pious talk of a long and prayerful consideration. Is it
tian Reformed Churches say: "God offers salvation to all          any wonder then that' the old Lynden Consistorjr  could go
on condition that they believe." Those who have left the          only one  way? That way was of  the  `;-ecognitibn  of the
Protestant Reformed-(Churches  say : "God promises salvation      theology of the two.  st&ements  even when those statements
to all on condition that they believe." Even one with the
                         _  _"                                    were condemned by De Wolf's consistory in accord with the
mentality of a fifth grader can see that that is worse. But       advice of Glassis East.
ihe point of Dr.  Da&e is that those who maintain such               The next item I want to deny as a lie, is the charge that
gospel-address, if they are consistent, should return to the      Lynden's faithful Protestant Reformed people were in-
Christian Reformed Churches, or repudiate their stand on          structed from a certain "headquarters" that we must refrain
conditions. With this I agree. And this is all I meant by         from attending our church. This charge is a lie. I repeat,
Daane's hitting the nail on the head. Rev. Hofman wants           because our faithful I&den  Protestant Reformed people
his readers and Rev. Schipper to understand that because          never received any instr&tions  from any headquarters either
Dr. Daane does not understand our Protestant Reformed             before that Saturday of which the Concordia's article, speaks,
position re the Three Points nor the condition-controversy        or at any other time. Rev. -Howerzyl  was well informed that
which has made. separation among us, he is unable to see          Rev. H. C. Hoeksema was asked to come to Lyriden by the
this point and to give any jidgment -respecting Rev. Kok          faithful group; therefore he should not be slandered as the
et al. This does not sink in with me. Rev, Hofman has             organizer of the faithful Lynden group. We did not .meet
mqre to say, but this next time.                                  under the old Lynden consistory on the following Lord's
                                                         M.S.     Day after the consistory announced its stand'to uphold De
                                                                  Wolf's heresy. We could not meet and uphold his con-
                                                                  demned heresy.
                CONTRlBUTlONS
                                      ._                             Another item in the same article declares that the fiithful
                                                                  Lynden Protestant Reformed people are victims of a per-
                                                                  sistent propaganda, and do not knbw where they are going.
            The News Item From Lynden                             This charge again is a lie. We are not victims at all of any
   I would like to answer the news item that appeared in          persistent propganda that is supposed to be designed to hurt
the' "Concordia" of Feb. 25, 1954 concerning the history          us spiritually, btit we are recipients of God's grace, whereby
of the Lynden Protestant  Refo~ned  Church. There are             He gives us' His Church, the  .spiritual. wisdom and insight,
several references of events that happened in Lynden that         to see the way of His cause and His truth. In this cause we
are .not true, but are lies. To keep things straight, I am        must stand. This is. our privilege. And our calling.
writing this article.                                                                                        H. Van Der Veen, Jr.
   First, the news item claims that the old Lynden con-
sistory announced her stand concerning the deposition of
Rev. De Wolf and his elders, after long and prayerful con-
sideration. This I deny. The whole history of the Lynden                IN FULL ASSURANCE OF THY GRACE
Church proves it. This history shows that the' consistory                        In full assurance of Thy grace
was never in sympathy with Rev. Moeksema's side of the                             To Thee my prayers ascend ;
issue, but always favored  th'e ministers who now maintain                       1; Thy abounging  love and truth,
a conditional theology, and also uphold ihe heresy df De                           0 God, salvation send.          .                         ..
Wolf. This history is a-part of the labors of Rev. A. Cam1
menga,  whose views in the question of conditions to salvation                   They gave me bitter gall for food;            :
were opposed to those of Rev. Hoeksema and Ophoff,  and                            And taunting words they syake';
the historical view of our churches. When the majority of                        They gave me vinegar to drink,
the congregation wanted the consistory to put Rev. H.                       '      My burning thirst to slake
Veldman on trio, the consistory refused claiming that Rev.                       Their peace and plenty be their snare,
Veldman was a "Kerkverwoester"  a church destroyer. The                            In blindness let them grope;
consistory knew that putting Rev. Veldman on trio might                          Thy indignation on them pour,
lead to his getting the call. Then there would be no con-                          And desolate their hope.  -
ditional preaching. Rev. H. C. Hoeksema was not accept-                                                                 Psalm 69 :l, 7, 8


