                          -  ---I-   _                                                        My  father  has divided unto US his living. 1 have lordship
               m..  L  .Y . .               ,  A-  B  1  0..  N                               over self.  `-
                                           -                                                       - And feverishly he gathers .all his belongings together and
                                                                                              leves the house of the  father.  To a far country. The
                                    ` I N E   L O V E   .  o' world and its wickedness.
                             "And   He  said,   A  certain-   man had-two som:"  etc.                And heaven issilent.  Oh, that dreadful silence of Jehovah
_                                                                     Luke  1511-32           in our sinning. 1 read : "These things hast thou done,  and 1
        The dreadful silence -of `that "certain  man" bas always                              ikept silence J thou thoughtest that 1 was altogether  such an
     .seemed  strange~  to- me. Imagine the, scene : a younger son                            ne as. thyself : but 1 wil1  reprove  thee, and set them in order
     demands  of his  father  the  portion  of goods that falleth  to                         before thine  eyes" (Ps. 50  21).             -
     him while his  father   isstill living. And we  read :  "And                             :      Yes, God is silent during our sinning, but He does write
                                                                                                                                                      _
     he divided unto them his  living';, That is all.  We.  would                             the things down in His book of remembrance. So also here
     imagine that such.a father  wo~uld  storm and rage at the in- _ with this youngr son. And they`will come home to roost.
     grate, or perhaps that -he vvould break down in tears and                                At least for a while. And the things, the wicked, godlesc
     sighing at the callous  exhibition' cif this  unnatural~  son, b$,                       things, shall cal1 forth the bitter tears of repentance.
     no : he divided unto  them his living..                                             -         - No,  it  needs no stretch of the imagination to know that
        Dreadful silence.                                                                     this far country is the world. It is far:  .Far from God. In
        1 do not think that it is necessary to prove to you that                              the world al1 their thoughts and words and deeds  are that
     .this "certain man" in the parable is our Covenant jehovah,                              there is no God. They have even murdered God in the
     neither is it necessary to point  out` that the two sans are                             imaginations of their wicked herts. We live every day irq
     children who are born in the chrch of Go.d. And it wil1 also                            this far country.  But thanks to God.we  do nat fee1 at home
     be  clear that the urge of this younger'  sen  to have  th%> in it and we do not seek it with the new man, that dwells in
     portion  that falleth to him must mean  that he ~determined  tol                         US. It is a far.country for it is alien to al1 the virtues of the
     be free of al1 the ties that bound .him in the church of the                             Father  ,in  heaven':  There dwelleth no good  thing.,   Al1 that
--living God.                                                                  IS             they think and speak and do -in that country is absolutely
        Oh, of course, he was hrught up in `the fear of the Lord ;                           contrary to  `God's  adrable perfections.
     his parents sent  him to Christian School and the ctechism                                    And notice that the younger sen casts himself in the midst
     classes. He  also found a  place in the family pew on Sunday.                            of this godforsaken world to live riotously.
     From moming til1 night he heardthe glory of the Lord ex-                                        Crue1 world!
     tolled by friend and lover alike. .All things `in his youth                                     When  he has nothing left they leave him.  When   a
     smacked of that glorious name of the-Lord. He had a `cov-                                famine  comes they offer him who is a Jew to herd the un-
     enant ,education.                                                                        utterable flesh: swine.
        But he was more than sick of it. His impatient question :
     his callous  preparation for that far journey - it all. witnesses                               Smal1 wonder. For the prirce of that rottenworld  is the
     of his loathing for Father and Father?  ~house  with its Bread                           devil. And he is a murderer of men from the beginning. This
     and to spare - he must have n more of it ; he is, more than                             younger son experiences th program of the devil  : love them
     sick of it. Oh ! that beutiful far country was beckoning ; 11.6                         and leave them. Bring them to despertion and mock  in their
     heard in his imagination  the sweet music of the dance and                               anguish.   Swine  for  the  Jew. Devilish sarcasm  !
     the  -timbrel,  the carefree atmosphere of the godless world.                                   But, oh, heavenly God, how lovely  art Thou`!
     Heigh,ho!  Here IIcome   !~ Make ready your banquets  `and                                      I see the real author of that famine. It is the lovabla
     your instruments ! Here 1 come ! At last 1 am my 0% boss.                                Father, who uses this famine to bring that son to himself.c-
                                                .-.                                                      >
                                                                                              :





                                                                               .                                                                              I


 50                                     .-    -THE  ST.ANDARD   B E A R E R                                                              .-
 It is th Bearness of God which wil1 teach  him that the world         love him, beholds him afar off and. notices. his ever slower
is Crue1 and never satisfies.                                           approach. And then father  has combassion  on his' son, he
        It is  iri.the days of fasting that he is brought to himself runs to meet him and does not even give the boy a chance to
by  his"Father.  It is the Holy Ghost  who, omes and draws              confess -the misdeeds but restores  him to the former state by
a picture of  Fatherjs  House in the heart of this son. He              falling on his neck and kissing  him, him the ingrate. What
 is among~the  souls that .are numbered fro'in al1 etemity and          adrable picture of the love of God.
 so he cannot stay in that-far country. It is time that Father             Oh, yes,  .we yearn for our own  childrenl we  who are
bring him. home. And he beholds in the eye of his mind a                sinners.  And also we, when  our boy would go wrong, wuld
picture of that glorious  church of Jesus.  Notice-  that he            never  cease to  -love him. We  also  would run  .to meet him
-hungers  for- the bread that is cut. in Father's House. That           and kiss him, but . . . . God is God. We,- in our love for
bread is the  communion  of  -love with  Father.  That Bread mthe  child  of our bosom, we re- but a, very  weak. shadow of
is the heavenly Bread. That bread is Jesus Christ Wh. is               the tenderly loving God in Christ.  Never.  can a son sin
given-'  for the hungry hearts of the chosen  children of the           against US as we have sinned against God. Never can we
Almighty.  Glorieus  event in the life of the younger  sen-             show our love to our own children as God has done to Hia
 Glorious event, even  though,  he bows down and sheds bitter           children.in the giving of His  wn Son on the accursed tree.
 tears far  out in the wilderness of the world. Glorious event          Unending' is the love of God.. . . .               .
for the hungry ones' for Father's bread are blessed.  Blessed              Harken: . . . Father,  1- have sinned ; Father,  1 am no
are those that hunger and thirst .after righteousness, for- they . more wo~rtlly  . .~. .                       0
shall be filled.                                                           Ah, what  wonderful  melody.  When   once this speech is
  Does not that boy thirst and hunger  after  righteousness ?           translated into heavenly  language,  the  very angels  sing for
Do you  fail' to see that Divine attribute operating  in-  him  ?       joy. Joy with the holy angels over one sinner   who  repents:
 Listen to his piteous cry : 1 wil1  arise and go to my father,         in dust and ashes. It is the work of the loving Father Who
 and wil1 say unto him, 1 have sinned against heaven and                works  this repentance in the depth of the regenerated heart.
 before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son:                  Noitce also the sweet inconsistency of the  erring  son who
make me as one of-thy hired servants. The hunger for                    returned :  Father,  not worthy to be called. Thy son . .  ., .
 righteousness speaks loudly in~ this confession. He condemns           but he says : Father!  It is .the .yeaming  and the groanings
himself  and  expresses  his  long+for   the  father.   And  the  - of the Holy Spirit Whp constrains him to say : Abba, Father.
 Father is the righteous One. Longing for God is also long-             The Spirit of adoption unto sons. Holy wonder-of God !
ing for His virtues, for God and His virtues are one.         .            And what is the answer of the  Father?
   And he arose . . . .                                                    How is this, my son, do you say that no longer  you ought
    When  -the love of God begins to work in the heart, it              to be a son of mine  ? Here is my  nswer  :  Come on, you
forces itsdf through in the spoken .word of confession; a&l             servants,  bring the robe of priority and put it on him ! 1 wil1
.when the heartfelt and  truc confession is spoken the selfsame         judge of your status : you wil1  be in a  higher  state than ever
love  `works through in the deed of repentance.  Then we                you were before in this My house.
 return to the  Father.  Then we forsake the wicked  wond   ~3
 and the wicked worldlings  and al1 that is within us stretches            You say that you are no more worthy ? Bring here the
forth, yeams `for the home of the  Father,  for the  Father             ring of worthiness and place it on his finger. He that sees
 Himself and His Bread.                                                 the ring of mine wil1 know that this my' sen' is received  once
                                                                        more within my bos-o.m.
        But  when.  he .was yet a great way off, his  father  saw
him . . . .                                                                A hireling you would be,  my son, in this  my  hou&?
                                                                   -    God forbid. Bring hither  the shoes as a sign of power and
    `Oh, beloved, Father  never lost sight `of. his son. Great          preparation of honorable service as the son in his father's
 is the love of God, so great that even in al1 eternity, and            heuse.
that is so long, even then' you wil1  never be able to thank Him           And now, bring forth .the fatted calf. We shall have a
 enough  for His great love towards  US, His undeserving                feast of feasts. Listen, ye seraphim and cherubim; give heed
 people. When  he was yet a great way off . . ..what does it            ye hosts of hea,ven! This my son, was lost and was `found
 man?'  ,Ah, we are so greaf  bunglers, we know not, we are            again, this my son was dead and is  live again! There shall
 of yesterday and know nothing. We do not even know how                 be joy such as the halls of the heavens have never seen ; thera
 to act properly in our conversion.                                     shall- be music and dancing : make ready the instruments and
        Can you not see the.scene ?                                     the banquets, we shall begin to make merriment; it shall be
        The more he  approaches  the home of his  father  the           the merriment of the eternal covenant  life of the Father.
 more ashamed he  becomes.-  -His feet fee1 like lead, he wlks-            But, strange,  what   means that  .skulking   figure. in the
ever  slower, ever slower.                      :                       darkness  ? Be quiet, he grumbles,  he sp.eaks in angry tones  :
        But.  Father, oh his  laving   Father,   who never  ceases to Come-hither,  ye servant: what  means  al1 this merriment?
                                                     I
                              .

                                   '                                                                                 -.


        And the answer : Oh, lord, thy brother  has come ; thy father
        has kilied  the fatted calf,  and no wonder for ha is safe and                                             -THE  STANDARD   -BEARER
        sound. And the anger increased. He would  not come in.                                        Semi-montlzly,   -exeept  monthly  during   June,  July and  --August
            Then father  comes and entreats him.                                                       Published  by  th&  REFORMED   FREE   PUBLISHING   ASSOCUTION
                                                                                                      P. 0. Box 881, Madison Square Station, Grand Rapids 7,  Mich.
             Oh, horror! What wickedness this  old& son reveals :                                                         Editor   -  REV.   I&RMAN  HOEKSEMA
        He is angry with the werk  of repentance ; he is self-righteous                               Communications relative to  contents   shoud be' addressed  to
*       so. that he has no eyes for his sins : neither transgressed I at..                                         Rev. H. Hoeksema, 1139  Franklin  St., S. E.,
                                                                                                                                    brand Rapids 7,  Mich.
        any time thy commandments - the dirty liar. But -more, and                                    All matters relative to subscriptitins  should be addressed to Mr.
        most grievous of al1 : he criticizes the father  for His, love                                G. Pipe,` 1463 Ardmore St., S. E., Grand Rapids 7,  Mich.
        unspeakable in the reception of this son of- H,is bosom. He                                   Announcements  and Obituaries must be mailed to the above
        frowns on the merriment of the'heavens. (Sec  Luke 15 ;l, 2).                                 address and  will be published at a fee of $1.00  for  each   notice.
                                                                                                      RENEWAL:   UnIes?  a definite request for discontinuance is  re-
             But God condemns the selfrighteous son by tlie worbs  of                                ceived it is  assumed~that the subscriber  wishes  the subscription
        his own mouth. My son : Al1 that 1 have is ~thine.  That is                                   to continue without the  formality of a  renewal  order.
        your own confession: we have God for a Father.  Wel1 this                                                          Subscription  price: $4.00 per year
        .repentant  San is mine and therefore thine. But . . . if this is                             Entered as  Secoizd   Class  matter at  ,Grand  Rap&, Michigan
        true  : it  wa.s meet that we  should  make   imerry  a,nd  be glad:                    c                                                                                                    zzz
     for  this  tlzy  brothef*  was  dea.d and  is  a.live-  again; and  wa.9
        lost md is found.                                                                                                               SONTENTS
             Terrible condemnation! It was meet, that is, it would                           MEDI~ATION  -
        follow as a matter of course, that when  .you are really my                                        Divige Love __  ..__  _. ____  ________.  .._. . __  ._.. .  .._.  ..____   .._.  ._  .._ . ..49
        son, and his brother,  you  wou14  join in our  merriment  of.                                            Rev. G. Vos
        heavenly glee. But you do nqt and hence you condcmn  your- EDITOkLS   _
        self -agd you are wheye  you belang : outside,  skulking in the                                    The Standard Bearer and &r Future _______.__.________,.,...............  52
        darkness, In the uter darkness where reigns. the anger of                                         Dr. DaaBe's Ravings . . . . . . ___....____...______.............,.........................     53
        the devil  aga&t  ai1 the- merry works of Covenant Jehovah.                                               Rev. H.  Hoeksema
             Father, we are not worthy to be called Thy sons !                               O& DOCTRINE -                                                                           '
                                                                                                        * The Book of Revelation..  __.  .__  _...  .._  .:..  ________.  ._ ___  ..:.  __.  ..34
             But give US Thy heart of forgiving love.                   _                                         Rev. H.  Hoekseina
             For we would make meri-y  with Thee.                                            Tm DAY  OF  SHADOWS   -
             In heaven, for evermore!                                                                      The Prophecy of Zechariah  __. ___  ..T  .._.  ..__.  ..__ __  ..__  ..58
                                                                                                                  R&.  G.- M. Ophoff
           . Amen, and Amen.
                                                                                   .G..V.    FROM  HOLY   WRIT   -
                                                                                                           Exposition of 1 orinthians 12-14 _.__.__..  ~......,..,._  I'____..____.._._.........  60
                                                                                                                  Rev. G. Lubbers
                                                                                    -        CONTENDING  FOR  THE  FAITH  -
                          .   M e n ' s  Le&ue  M&eting                                                    The Church and the  Sacraments   ___...............,..........,...............  62
                                                                                                                   Rev. `H.  Veldman
        The Eastern  League  of our  Men's  Societies  wil1 hold                             Tm  VOICE  OF  O&  FATHERS  -
        their league meeting November 14  t S o'clock in our  Hud-                                        The Canons of Dordrecht  _______.__........~   ..<  ____..________..____..........  64
        sonville church. Candidate` ,A.' Mulder will`  speak on .the                                               Rev. H. .C.  Hoeksema
        "Evils of Modern Evangelism." Al1 men are welcome.                                   DECENCY  AND  ORDER  -
                                                                             -The  B o a r d               Reply to the Rev. MacKay _____.__...................,...........................,  66
                                                                                                                Rev. G.  Vanden Berg

                                                     0  :                                    ALL  AROUND US -
                                                                                                           Our  Creeds  and the Mission  Mandate . . . ..__._.______._..................  68
                                                                             _
                                         IN MEMORIAM                                                       The Doctrine of the Last Things _._._____.____:  . ..__._.._..________........... 69
                                                                                                             Rev. M. `Schipper
            The Men's Society  of the Holland Church  expresses its sincere
     s y m p a t h y   t o   t h e   fatiily  and  fyiends  o f   ..                            CONTRIBUTIONS  -
                                                                                                           Letter from the Christian Reformed Church... . . . . . .  ..70
                                 MR. HENRY VAN PUTTEN                                                              Rev. G.  Vanden Berg
                                                                                                           Abraham's Sacrifice of Isaac.  ___..  . . . . . . . . .  .; .  ..__ 70
        in his  recent  hbme-going.   May the Lord comfort the hearts of                                           Rev. G. M.  Opliff
        the bereaved. "And God shall wipe away  al1 tears from  their                                      Cur  `Conception of Churches ._....___.__ ~ . . . . . .._____._..___...................  71
        eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor cry-                                           Rev. H. H.  Kuiper
        ing,  neit'her  shall there be  any more  pain: for the former things
        are passed away." Rev.  21~4.
I  -


                              0                                                                                     . .

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

                                                                         closely related to the first as wel1 as to the second.  It teaches
ti       '    E D  I  T.0 R  I A L  S                                    that by the "common grace" of God the natura1 man can .do
                                                                         good. Literally it reads : "Rlative to the third point, which
                                                                         is concerned with the question of civil righteousnesc as per-
         The Standard Bearer and  -0ur Future                            formed by the unregenerate, synod declares that according  '
                                                                         to Scripture and the Confessions the unregenerate, though
                   r     _         (Continued)                           incapable  of doing saving good, can do civil good." This is a
       The  next step in the history of om- Protestant Reformecl         denial of the total depravity of the natura1 man. Although it         :
Churches and of our Stan$ard Be.nrev is the deposition frm              declares that the unregenerate  can do no saving or spiritual
their office of three ministers, the Revs. H. Danhof,  G. M.             good  `such as believing in Christ, he  can; nevertheless,  per-
Ophoff and the undersigned..   Al1 three were, at the time,              form al1 sorts of goed  works in the sight of God..
ministers in the Christian Reformed Church; and al1 were                    We, of course, could not accept the "Three  Points" for,
deposed together with the majority of ther consistories that            although the synod of 1924 declared concerning  al1 three of
agreed with them and followed them.                                      them that _ they were "according to Scripture and the con-
       Our deposition would never have been accomplished,  1             fessions, in our conviction they  were a flagrant contradiction
am sure, if the four theological professors had not turned               of both.
against  US. Always we had labored together in the  Janssen-                However, synod did not advise discipline and that, too,
case and in  tlhe struggle to maintain the truth in the Chris-           in spite of the  fact that the  committee  of  pre-advice  had
tian Reformed Churches, but shortly before 1924  they ceased             plainly mentioned discipline in case we, on the floor of the
to be our friends for reasons on which Iodo not wish to elabor-          synod, refused to  promise  to abide by the three points ; and
ate  any further seeing that they had nothing to do with  the,           also.  in  spite of the  fact that a protest was delivered against
truth. 1 even fee1 rather  certain that the rep0'r-t of the synodical    the "Three  Points" at the same synod that adopted them,
aclvisory   committee, that proposed the well-known "Three               which protest was read on  the floor of synod and filed with-
Points" and that asked for our deposition in case we refused             out further discussion or action.
to sign them, was largely composed  under the influence 05                  -We were, therefore, free and coul  continue to preach
professor Berkhof  who was added as advisor to that com-                 pnd teach  as we always did, as far as synod was concerned.
mittee.  But, as 1 said. 1 wil1 say no'more about this, to me,              Nevertheless, this was not the end.
unsavory matter.                                                            The Classes East and West of Grand Rapids took up the
       At the synod of 1924 there were  protests  against  the           matter illegally. 1 say advisedly that this taking up of the
teaching the Rev.. H. Danhof  and myself because of their                matter by the two classes was illegal because  -the Synod of
denial of common  grace.  `The result, in brief, was .the adop-          1924 had completely  finished the matter and. had refused to
tion of the "Three Points" with which we ar< no doubt, al1               excercise or even to advise discipline. And, therefore, unless
acquaintd. The first of these points declares that there is a           something  new was brought up the classis could not discuss
grace of God to the reprobate. It is true that it does not               the same matter again. Nevertheless, they  did. As far as my
mention  reprobation or the reprobate, but this is the evident           case in Classis Grand Rapids East is concerned, the classis
implication of its formulatin,  partly, because this is what the        first decided to demand of my consistory that they  demand :
Rev. H. Danhof  and undersigned had always denied, and                   of me a  promise that 1 abide in my preaching and teaching
partly, because of the formulation of this first point as it'was         by the "Three Points" adopted by  the-Synod  of 1924. My
finally adopted by synod. Synod, namely, declared that "apart            consistory  answered that the synod had finished the case and
from the saving grace hof God shown only to the elect unto               that, therefore, the classis had no right to make such a de-
eternal  life,'  there is  also a certain favor or  grace of God         mand to the consistory. Then the classis placed  me before
which He shows to His creatures  in general." This implies               the same demand.  My reply was ,clear and concise: that 1             -
and is meant  to imply the reprobate. And. this has' never               believed the "Three Points" to be erroneous and that, there-
been denied by anyone in the Christian Reformed Church. ,.               fore, 1 would never sign them, teach them or even keep stil1
       This is the main point of the three.       _                      .about  them  but would  -publicly  expose their fallacy. The
       The second point stands opposed to our teaching that              result was that 1 was deposed, that my consistory was also
God never  restrains  or checks sin but  that sin develops               deposed, and that the largest part by far of the congregation
organically in the human  race. About this, synod declared               followed my consistory and me.             .
simply "that  there  is  such a restraint of sin according to               Classis West followed a little different procedure which.
the Scriptures and the Confession" and that, too, "in the                was, perhaps, a little more hierarchical, but the  final  result
life of the individual man and in the community." This point             was the .same.  And since, in th meantime, the -Rev. G. M.
is, probably, not as important as the first but is nevertheless,         Ophoff has`cast 1~s lt with US and openly defended our posi-
closely   related  to the  latter.                                       tion, he  also was deposed:
       The same is  truc of the "Third Point."  It, too, stands             Such is the origin of our churches.


                                                      T H E   STANDARD   -BEARER                                                                 53

           For two years, until the Synod of 1926 of th& Christian              of  Dogmati&,  that of theology as  d, in  fact,  al1 Reformed
       Reformed Churches we gathered separately under the name                  theologians. This Daane criticizes, that is, he thinks that the
       of Protesting Christian  Refo?med-  Churches. But  after that            person and work- of Christ ought to be treated before pre-              _
       synod had rejected  fhe protest we had filed against our  de-            destination.    This 1  consider  irrational for, logically,  pre-
       position and threw it in `the waste basket, we adopted our               .destination  is- before the person  and work of Christ. Christ
       present name  I Protestant Reformed Churches.                            is not the subject but the object of predestination. The elect,
          Next  time we  expect  to  write,  the Lord willing,  ~more           those He came to save, were chosen in Him. `Hence, there '
       specifically about our .Sta.nndard  Bearkv and its origin.               would be no person  and work of Christ except  for predestina-
                                                                        H.H.    tion and  the  latter must be treated before  thee former. I
                                                                                challenge Daane to  %ttempt  to  write a `dogmatics according
                                                                                to his own methodology. 1 assure him that it wil1 be mere
                         Dr. Daans Ravings                     ,m =            ramblings.
           Thus 1 would characterize  the chief contents  of Daane'c                In the same paragraph'he mentions Van Til and me and
       article in The Refowid Jo%~nal. occJring under the heading :            declares it is our  contention  that predestination ought to be
       The  State of  JXeology  in  tlze  Check.                                -tbe point of departure for theology. Now, Van Til  can speak
           And 1 do so advisedly as 1 hope to demonstrate.                      for himself.  But as for myself, 1 consider this some more f
           By ravings 1 mean irrational talk or writing accompanied             Daane's irrational ravings. 1 say this, in the first place, be-
       with a crtain  furious attack Upon others as wel1 as with a             cause he makes this impor'tant  statement without.ny  proof,
       rambling about without going in a definite direction.                    without quoting  a single paragraph from many of my pub-
           This, to my mind  characterizs  the article of Dr. Daane.           lishtid  works. 1 say this, secondly, because, even if he would
       T h i s   1  will.prove.                                                 .attempt-  to find proof for my allege-d contention; he would fail.
           Let me, first of all, quote from p. 7. The quotation ii as`          because z it is utterly .false  : 1 never wrote..  anything like it.
       follows :                                                                And, thirdly, 1 consider this allegation of Daane's irrational`
           "In Reformed theology- the  -sovereignty  of God was                 because the  very  opposite is true: in.all  my writings as  wel1
       widely  accepted as a centra1 doctrine. While in the  broader            as in  my dogmatics in our seminary, tiy point of departre
       cultural sens; of the term `Calvinism' sov&eignty`  has tieant           is nol: election  and reprobation but the living God Himself`as
       the Lordship  of Uw&, in the more `restricted area of theology           He has revealed Himself in His Word. Now  iet  Daane,
       proper .sovereignty  has meant the sovereignty of God. Under instead of  raving, offer  proof to the  c&t-rary.
       the claim of themsuperiority of theocentric over christocentric,             As f& the rest of the quotation from his article 1 claim
      sovereignty  came to be increasingly interpreted, not  in'tei-ms          that it is equally irrational as the one 1 just criticised. Notc:
       of Christ  as Lord in whom  our election  `takes place,  but  i?             1.'  According  to Daane, God's sovereignty, in Reformed                 .
       terms of God's sovereignty as expressed in terms of both                 Dogmatics, is expressed in election  and reprobation apart
       election  and reprobation apart from Christ."                            from Christ. This is not true and it is utter nonsense. God's
           In a note Daane writes  :                                            sovereignty implies  much more than  election  and reprobation,
           "This fact alone explodes the myth that Reformed the-                also according to Reformed Dogmatics.' Agan, it is utterly
.      ology .is a .finely balanced  system of truth which gives &qual          irratiotial  to speak of election  and reprobation -"apart from
     _ recognition  to such equally valid btit .apparently contradictory        Christ." Nor is this done in Reformed Dogmatics. Daane  -
       truths as divine sovereignty and  human  responsibility. Did             is simply rambling on.
     anyone  ever. suggest that  human  responsibility  be regarded                2. Daane ca& it a myth .that "Reformed theolo,gy  is, a,
       as the centra1 doctrine or the fundamental  principle  of                finly balanced system of -truth."  Because, accorditig  to him,
       Calvinism?  Did any Reformed theologian produce  a system                divine responsibility and  human  responsibility are eqully
       of theology which began with a consideration of man &nd                  valid'truths yet  ho one ever suggested that  human   responsi-
       his responsibility rather than with God and his sovereignty  1"          bility be regarded as the centra1 doctrine or fundamental
           In a second note on the same page, he writes  :                      principle  of Calvinism! N Reformed theologian began his
           "Thus,  -just as it  discusses  divine sovereignty before it         system of theology with a consideration of  human   responsi-
       discusses  Christ,  {Berkhof's   System&  Theology   discuise?           bility rather  than with divine soverigt$y  !
       predestination, including both  election'  and reprobation,  be-            It is a long  time ago that 1  read  such  utter nonsense,
       fore it  discusses  the  person and work of Christ. Thus its             such irrational ravings.
       very  methodology  lends sanction to both H. Hoeksema  and                  Suppose  it b ,true that the doctrine of God's  sovreignty
       C. Van' Til's contention that  election  and reprobation ought           and human  responsibility are equally valid in the sense that
       to be the point of departure for theology."                              they are both true, something-which  no Reformed theologian
          Let this he enough for the  time .being.                              denies,  does it follow from this that  they  are also equally
        -  Now,~  to begin with the last paragraph quoted above, it             important? Of course not ! Does it follow from  this that
       is true that Beykhof  treats of predestination in the first locu,j                            (Continued  on page 61)


               .
        `54                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D  BEAR-ER
                                                                     `.  -
     . )/                                                                     view of salvation,'  we shall never be able to understand Scrip-
                     O U R   D O C T R I N E                                  ture,   least' of al1 perhaps the Book of Revelation. We are,
                                                                              alas, accustomed.to  run in the narrow track of.our individual
                                                                              salvation,  preferably  in the ,rut of the salvation of om soul.
                      THE  BOOK  OF  REVEL~TKii                               We must be regenerated. We must come to faith in Christ
                                   CHAPTER 13                                 Jesus.  We must be sanctified and delivered from sin. We
                                                             . .              .must. go to heaven. This is in brief the entire story of our
                              THE  FOUR   HORSEMEN                            salvation  as it lodges in the minds  of many of US. Even the
                               Revelation 6 :l-8                              redemption  of our. body often recedes into the background.
                                                    0                         If only our immortal soul is saved! And no doubt  al1 this
               It is evident, then, that it was Adam's obedience that         is very significant. 1 ,do not underestimate the salvation. of
        connected al1 the world as a kingdom  with its God. As long           man. Surely, we must be  regenerate,d;  We must  come to
        as Adam would be servant of God in the world, creation was            onscious faith.in Christ. We must be justified and sanctified.
        God's kingdom.  But the moment Adam rebelled, .the world              And we must surely emphasize that here we have no con-
        stood in rebellion against the Sovereign of heaven and earth.         tinuing city, but that we seek the city that hath foundations.
        if Adam; instead of kneeling in the dust as the king-servant          `Al1 this is perfectly true. Nevertheless, it is only part of the
        before his ,highest Sovereign, would subject himself to the           truth, and not the whole  of it.- Neither is it the truth con-
        wil1  of Satan, the kingdom  of God would be changed into a           ceived in its proper `light. It is not the truth as Scripture*pre-
        kingdom  of the prince of darkness. And this is exactly what sents it, not the truth as we.must necessarily conceive of it
        took place. Not a new kingdom  was created, ..Neither was             in order to understand the Book of Revelation. Instead, we
        the essential order that made the world a kingdom  changed            must again  .emphasize  the Biblical truth that  al1 the world,
,      -at all. But  the  kingdom  of the world'was  subjected   to the       that entire  kingdom  which God originally creatd and which..
        wil1 of the devil, and becaine a kingdom  of Satan. Adam fell.        fel1 into the power of sin and .the devil  and lies at present,
        In his capacity of king of the world he rebelled against his          nder  the curse,  wil1 again be restored and even raised to
        rightful Sovereign, refused obedience to Him, in order to             B far  higher  glory than it originally possessed. We must
        surrender himself and his kingdom  to the arch-enemy of'God.          understand that after  al1 sin and the devil  can never do more
        Man did not cease to be king ; even though through sin he             than serve the realization  of the plan of Almighty God to
        became a creature under the curse,  nevertheless God pre-             lead His kingdom  -to glory and to realize His everlasting
        served man and the human  race `for the sake of His own               covenant  in Christ Jesus. This, is plain from the very. fact
        covenant and  kingdom.   And. therefore, even in his sinful           that. the very world is a revelation of the name of God and
        state  man stil1 reveals that originally he stod in royal            is created to reveal the glory of that name. If there were
        power. Even though he lost much of his original power and             nothing more, the conclusion would be  fully warranted that
        glory, in relation to the world he stil1 rules. Even  though he       the Lord of heaven and earth wil1 lead that world to final
        is  extremely  limited., `he stil1  attempts  to subdue the earth.    glory : for He cannot give His glory to another. But this is
        Even inhis sinful condition,  he reigns over air and water and `also  the genera1 teaching of Scripture. God loves the world,
        brings the power of reation into subjection. .And therefore,         John 3 :16. Because Hoe. loves the world, He sent His Son,
        he did not through sin suddenly lose  all. of his royal power         that in Him al1 things might be united. -And in the meantime
        and position. If that - had been the case, the devil  woulcl          it is al1 creation that groaneth and travaileth together in
        never have been able to realize a kingdom  of darkness in the         pain. And al1 creation shall be delivered from the bondage
        worid,  as he now does. But what happened was this, that              of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
        man, the king of creation, delivered- himself and his  king-          Ram. 8 :19-22.
        dom into the power of Satan; and instead of remaining obe-               If we un;lerstand  this situation, we shall be able to grasp
        dient, to the God of his `life, he served the  devil, became an       why there must necessarily. be continual war in this world
        ally of Satan against God. Not another world was created,             between God and the devil,  between Christ  nd Antichrist,
        but the world as kingdom  was delivered to Satan, had be-             until the  kingdom  of God shall have been  completed  and.
       come a  kingdom  of darkness. In this sense the  devil was             shall have appeared in perfect glory.  Ther.e are no two
      right  when  he  pretended  before Jesus that  al1  kingdoms  of        worlds; there is only one. If God and the devil  could each
     the world  were his.  -  1                                               have a kingdom,  ,there would be no war.  But this is impos-
               n the fourth place, we must understand the most  sign-        sible, and this, of course, is certainly  not the case. There is
       ificant truth that this entire kingdom,  al1 the world in the          but one  world-kingdom.  But in this historica1 dispensation
       most comprehensfve sense of the .word,  is given unto Christ,          there are two powers that fight for dominion over thaf one
       to be saved by Him,  to be put into complete subjection under          kingdom  of  the world. Or  rather,  there is one power that
        God  once more, and to bring it to its highest possible glory         fights for'that dominion while God, Who never fghts, simply
       in the kingdom  of heaven. Unless we accept this cosmological          rules over all, even over the powers of darkness. On the one


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                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                     55

 ha,nd,  there is the dominion of Satan, who, apparently gained
                                                         -.  -         tinues up to the first coming of Christ. `In the new dispen-
 the victory in paradise  ; on  the other hand, there is the           sation the battle again reaches a  higher stage of development
 dominion of Christ, the  repres.entative  of the  Father;   to        and assumes a different form. Principally the  devil,and   hit
 Whom  God gave all. things, and Who is called to restore the          powers are  already  defeated,, and Christ through His cross
 kingdom   t"o God and to bring that kingdom  to everlasting           and resurrection has the  fnal victory. Nevertheless,  also in
 glory. Hence, in the world there is a `continual  war of the          the new dispensation the devil  stil1 attempts.to  maintain his
 devil  against Christ and His church for the dominion and             own kingdom  of darkness. The kingdom  of God in the new
 possession of al1 things. This is the  war of the ages.          .    dispensation breaks the  bonds  of Israel's national  existente,
     This wa; of al1 the ages may be traced fromthe. earliest          and becomes international; but at the same  time it becomes
 periods of history. The beginning of it we `have,in the  decla-       also purely spiritual. Christ has received  the kingdom  and
 ration  of war on the part of God in Genesis 3 :P5 : "And `1          `now gathers His subjects from al1 parts of the world and out
 wil1 put enmity between thee and the  woman, and between              of every nation  and tongue .and tribe. It is no more a battle
 thy seed and her seed ; it shall  bruise thy head, and thou           between the nations. We must therefore nwer  compare   our
 shalt bruise  his heel." This putting of enmity is nothing less       dispensation with the dispensation of Israel in the Old Testa-
 than the beginning of the awful warfare of the devil  and the         ment as if they were principally the same. The battles Israel
 powers of darlness against Christ and His church and the              fought  must not fol- a moment be thought of as similar.to  the
 kingdom  of heaven. Man had become friend of the  devil, his          battles of the world in ur day. NO `war can ever be Mes-
 ally. And God here  declares.  that He-will  break the alliance.      sianic in the new dispensation. NO war ,today can be called
 He did so by putting enmity `into the heart of man against -a  war for th kingdom  of God. The kingdom  of God fights
 his  very ally, or, if you please, by  immecliately  regenerating     `a spiritual battle, and cannon and sword cannot destroy her
 Adam and Eve. 1 think there can be no doubt about the fact            enemies. But although the battle'is now chiefly spiritual, it
 that  our first parents were both regenerated, and that they          is nonetheless  very-  reai. Essentially the battle between the
 were regenerated right on  the spot in paradise. Since they           children of Iight and the subjects of the kingdom  of darkness
 were the natura1 root of the entire  human  race, the operation       is stil1 the same as in the old dispensation. The form has
 of  grac,e  should commence right there, and the enmity against       changed ; the essential character nevertheless remains .the
 Satan be instilled in their hearts. But as soon as they bring         same. On the one hand, there is stil1 the power of  darkness,
 forth  children!  the conflict appears. For God follows the-line      aiming  at nothing le`ss than the establishment of his own
 of election  and reprobation in al1 the history f the world.         kingdom  and the `subjection of the whole  world -under the
 Before:  the flood this conflict is evidently of an individual.       devil  in. al1 the different spheres of life. And on the other
 character.  W,e  read nothing of  kingdom  against  kingdom,          hand, there is the power of grace.  through  Christ, fighting
 but of the sons of God and the daughters  of men, of Cain             the-  battle of the kingdom  and claiming that al1 things are
 and Abel, of Lamech and.Enoch,  til1 through  the amalgama-           God's  and His Christ's. Side by  side these two- powers exist
 tion of the sons of God and the daughters of men the seed of          in the same world, developing under .the the same outward
 the serpent threatens to exterminate the seed of the wman,           influences, pricipally radically different from each other,
 and God,  saves His kingdom  through the lood. Soon after  the       agreeingjn  no respect, fighting inch for inch in every sphere
 flood we  notice a new stage of development. We  read of              of the life of the world. They never meet; they never agree.
 mighty Nimrod .and of the attempt  to rea1iz.e a world-king-          They are always in conflict, ,and compromise  is impossible.
 dom of darkness  wit11 the tower of Babel as its center. And          Thus is reality in our own dispensation.
 when  the Lord frustrates  the  attempt,~  and separates  the
human  family into. nations, the' same tendency to realize the            Lastly, we must.  also understand that these  two powers in
 ideal -of a world-kingdom becomes apparent in individual              the world make use of al1 the outward means and powers
 kingdoms  `that strive to subdue every other kingdom  under           and of al1 the institutions God gives to the world in this
 them. In the meantime God separates  Abraham  and his seed,           entire dispensation. They live in the same world. They enjoy
 and in them establishes  His own kingdom,  -even presently            the same rain and sunshine.  They"  receive  outwardly the
in national form. Israel becomes the typical  kingdom  of Gd          same benefits. They develop along the same .lines in the.
in the old dispensation. Hence,' after the flood the strggle          purely forma1 sense of the word. It is here that our view
                                                                       often   -becomes obscure. Yet  also at this point we .must be
 begins to  assume   the character of a  battle,-not  between          clear.  In this historica1 dispensation, in which the principles
individuals, but between different kingdoms. On the one                of sin and  grace   both  .operate  in the world; God created
hand are the heathen  nations with their gods; on the other            vaiious  institutions in order to maintain the pomssibility  of
hand stands Israel with Jehovah as its King. Thus the                  orderly life and development of the human race as far as
 struggle continue+--first up to the captivity, when  it seems         possible in spite of the fact of sin, and thus to make room,
as if the .kingdom  of God suffers disastrous defeat; then,            to form a basis in the world, for the establishment and reali-
after   Israel  reappears from captivity, the struggle stil1  con-     zation  of His  oawn  kingdom.  and  covenant.   Al1 these  .insti-




                                                                                                                                  Y


        56         `.          .                     T H E   S.TANDARD   B E A R E R

                                                                                :
       tutions are employed as  wel1  by the power of darknss  and          Revlation,  we might conceive of  such a  dispensation  that
       of .antichrist  for the -realization  of his own ,kingdom  as they    the white horse would come into the world and have con-
       are by the power of the kingdom  of light. There is the in-. tact only with the people of God] with those whom  He would
       stitution of the  state.  Government was instituted by God  !O        cal1 out of the world, while the `last three horses would affect
       maintain order in- society and to punish the evil-doer,  in           the evil world only.  However, this is  evident@  not  the-
     I  or.der  that the  kingdom  of God  .might  have a  place and         meaning  and is not the situation. On the contrary,  al1 these
     develop. Without  this  outwarcl  check  upon the development           forces  are sent into the world in general,  and they affect men
       of  sin,`.the  principle  of evil would develop prematurely, and      without distinction. The white horse, for instance, we ex-
       life on earth would soon prove impossible.  But ever  since-          plained to stand for the positive progress of the cause of
       the attempt  at Babel, the same institution of the state is also      God's  kingdom  in the world through the influence of the
       employed by the  .power of antichrist to realize his kingom.         Word `and the  Sprit.. Does this imply now that as this white
       And especially in recent times the tendency of history is             horse- makes  its drive through the world it aff ects the people
      ,`again in the same direction as was indicated in the attempt          of God, the  elect,  alone, and leaves no impression whatever
       to establish the worldipower  of Babylon. There is even the           upon the subjects of the kingdom  of darkness?  Does it mean _-
       institution -of the church, established in the world for the          that this white horse represents a certain secret  power in the
       upbuilding and edification of the saints and  fosr the establish-     .world,  to be noticed and fdt exclusively by the' people of
       `ment and extension of the kingdom  and covenant of God.              God  ? We know better. The influence of this white horse is
       But especially in our own time the attempt  is made agai~  to         by no means limited to the elect  children of God. You wil1
       employ that institution of the church for the advancement of          realize the truth of this statement immediately if only you
       the  kingdom  of darkness.  T.hereis  the institution of society      remember that there is such a thing as an outward  Christi-
      i n genera1,-the home, the `school, business and industry, in          anity,. and that in  thee   external sense of the word we  can
       a word, the entire many-sided  development of social life in          speak of a Christian world-in distinction from the world of
       our day. NO doubt  al1 of these institutions must be  sub-            heathendom, not as if  every individual in this so-called
       servient  to, the kingdom  of Christ and to the realization of        Christian world were actually a child of God and,a child of
       God's eternal covenant. But one by one they are also. em-             the kingdom  of heaven,-for  that is not the case. But there
       ployed by the  po,wer of darkness for the establishment and           is a genera1 influence of the Word and of the Spirit, so that
      development- of. the kingdom  of antichrist. And if you under-         in some way even those that do not belong to God's  elect are
       stand this clearly, you  wil1 be able to observe that the'battle      influenced.  ' Christianity has become the religion of the
       rages along the  whole line. The two powers fight for nothing         nations, at least in Europe  and-  in our own country. The
       less ultimately than the-possession of the  whole world. And          Word is preched publicly,  not in secret.  And there is even
       in this fight they both make  use of al1 the insitutions God has      a -genera1  influence of the Spirit that is not unto repentance.
       established for  .this dispensation. Nevertheless,  once `more :      Hence, with regard to th white.  horse, at least, it must be
       God Bever fights. God in Christ already  has the victory. God         remarked that its influence is not limited to the citizens of
       simply  makes use of the  powers. f the  kingdom  of darkness        the kingdom,  but is much rather  general.  Stil1 more evident
      - for `the realization of His own .everlasting  decree  and for the    this is-in regard to the last three horses.  It is very plain that
       establishment of His own  kingdom.                                    the people of God are not exempt  when  the evil forces  of
           -We are now-prepared  to discuss the answer to the ques-          war,  social upheavals, revolution, scarcity and famine, and          . .
       tion : what is- the combined  effect ,of these four horses  on the    death are snt into the world. When the red horse makes its
       history f the world? In this connection, however,  and be-           drive through the nations, the seed of the woman  fights side
       fore we point out this effect- specifically, we must remember         by  side with the seed of the serpent. Alsqthe  people of God.        -
       this one truth, that the same causes do not produce  the same         belong to a certain nation.  Also they are subject to authority.
       effect necessarily. Fact is, of: curse, that the forces.re$re-       Also they must go when  the  cal1  comes to arms. They, as
      Sented  by these four horses are sent into the world in general,       wel1 as the children of evil, see their sons go to battle. They,
       and that they  also  exe"rt  their influence  upon   that entire      as wel1  as the children -of darkness, must sec their homea
       world. On the face of it, we might perhaps expect  that this - destroyed and their fields devastated, and must suffer In.
       would not be the cas. W,e might imagine such an arrange-             genera1 the evil eff ects of *war. The same is true of the black
       ment of things that, since there are two powers in the world          horse. When it appears, the people of God are not exempt
       that aim at the complete dominion over the whole world, the from its influence.  They live in th same society as the
       Lord would separate His people and kingdom  already  in the           children of evil. And in genera1 it may even be stated that.
       present  time  from  the .kingdom  and people of the devil  in        they belong to the poorer  class of people. And that the pale
       such a way that  only  the  latter were  affected  by the evil        ,horse knows of no distinction, but enters into the homes  of _
       forces  of history, such as war, famine, death,,  etc., while only    righteo.us and wicked alike is beyond al1 dispute. Death mows
       the benevolent influences of His power would be felt by His           laway young and old, rich and poor, from the midst of the
       peope. Or, to speak in terms of this particular passage of godly  and of the ungodly. And in respect to Hades it might




L


                                        , T H E   S T A N D A R D . B E A R E R                                                     5         7

indeed be said.by the wise man that they al1 go to one place.         view of the text, we must maintain, first of ah, that Scrip-                 '
 Hence, once more: there is no distinction. These four horses         ture throughout  militates  against the falling away from grace
 have their influence upon al1 `men without discrimination.           and upholds the @rseverance  of the saints. That there is a
    On the face of it,. this fact might lead US to the conclu-        falling away from  grace is untenable on the basis of the
 sion that in this way the kingdom  of Christ wil1  never reach       truth of  election  and reprobation. God knows those that are
 its completion.-W,e  are inclined to reason that the same causes     His from al1 eternity, and no one shall ever pluck them out
have the same effect, and that what must be a blessing to.            of His hands. They are securely sealed by the Spirit of grace,
the one must also be-a blessing to the other, while what is           and  every one of the one hundred  forty-four  thousand  shall
 destruction and injurious to the one must be equally harmful         surely be saved. Salvation is of the Lord. And that He should =
 to the ether.  If this were actually the case, nothing could         first regenerate a person, in order then to allow him toi fa11
 possibly be accomplished  by these four riders,  except   that       away from grace, is inconceivable. "For whom he did fore-
 either both powers in the world are strengthened, or that            ,know, he also did preclestinate  to be conformed  to- the image
 both are ultimately clestroyed.                                      of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among  many
    This,  however,   wil1 not  be the outcome. We  may  state        brethren. Moreover  whom he did predestinate, them he also
this- from the very  start as an established fact.      Not -both     called : and whom he called, them he also justifiecl  : and whom
kingdoms, that, of Christ and that of Satan, wil1 be perpe-           he justified, them he also glorified.`" Rom. 8 :29, 30. NO one
tuated  ; but the former wil1 hav the complete victory in the        shall pluck God's people out of His hands. There is, then,
 end, and the latter wil1  be uprooted. But in order to under-        no falling away from grace. And this certainly- is not what
 stand how this is possible, we must learn to see that the            the author of Hebrews 6 :4-8 intends to teach. Yet, we are
same causes do not have the same effect, and that what is             told that it is possible that a man may once be enlightened,
beneficial to the one is harmful to the other in the wrld.  As       that .he may taste the good Word of God, and the powers of
the first rider, the one on the white horse, passes through           the age to  come, yea, that in a sense he becomes partaker  of
the world and comes into contact with. men in general,  he            the Holy Spirit of grace.  It is possible, therefore, that men
bas-an enfirely different effect upon the children of God than        come into very  close contact with the Wrd of God and with
upon the subjects of the devil. To the former he is, of conrse,       the blessings of God's  kingdom  and covenant. i>r, to speak
a benevolent power, through which they are called to new  life        in terms of om passage from Revelation, men may  some-
and translated from darkness into light. JBut to the iatter he        times come into very  intimate contact with that first rider on
becomes a curse,, through which they develop in evil and              the white horse, so that they see the beauty of the kingdom
ripen for the day of judgment.. The same two-fold influence           of God and to a certain extent enjoy  the outward.  blessings
proceeds. from the last three horses  and their riders. They          of that  kingclom.  Yet, they  may  fa11 away so deeply that
are injurious to the children of evil, but work together for          they become hopelessly lost and that they become the bitterest
good to`thos'e  that love God, that are the called according  tol     enemies of the kingdom  of God, so that they crucify again the
His  iurpose.  The powers or  forces represented- by the              Son of God and put Him to an open  shame. Or, if you
horses  are the same in each case ; but the objects  upon which       please, the very same power that makes subjects of the king-
they exert their' influence are different from each other. The        dom of Christ also accentuates the enmity in the hearts of its
receptivity-of the  objects  is not the same  every time.  Beauti-    opponents, also makes most bitter enemies,of  God and of His
fully  this is explained, at least with regard to the causes them-    cause in the world. And the author explains this fact by the
selves  beneficent,  in Hebrews  6:4-5. There we  read:  "For         illustration of a field. A field is blessecl by abundant rain, -
it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and             a blessing which is, of course, cssential to the develo,pment
have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers,            of the good seecl and the raising of the crops. But under the
of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God,              influence of that  same  benevolent   rain,  `which  in  itself is a'
and the powers of the world to come, If they  shall fa11 away,        blessing, the thorn and the thistle also develop. If no rain
to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to           descended upon the field, the thorn and the thistle could never
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him  .to an open            grow. But the more abundant the outward blessings of rain
shame: For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh           and sunshine, the more luxuriantly also the thorn- and the
oft upon it: and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom           thistle  wil1  grow. Hence, under the  same influence of
it~ is dressed, receiveth blessing from  God: But that which          identically the same blessings the good seed sprouts and the
-beareth  thorns and  brirs.is  rejected, and is nigh unto  curs-    grain ripens in the ear, hut also the thorn ancl the thistle
ing.; whose end is to'be bumed."                                      prosier. `The same  fact is true of the spiritual' blessings of.
    This is indeed  a very  powerful passage of Holy Writ.            the  kingdom  of God. We must remember, therefore, that
                                                                      this white horse and its rider have a-two-fold  effect as they
    And many are of the opinion that they  may refer to  this.        make their drive through the world of men.
passage as a clear proof that Scripture teaches the possibility
of a falling away from  grace. But  rather than accept this              I                                                          H.H.


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 `58                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

                                                                                 and  leads   them  out. And  when  He puts forth His own
                                                                                  sheep,;  He goes before  them, and the sheep follow Him, for
                                                                                 they  know His  voice (John 10  :3ff).  This  mercy  He  may
                                                                                 shew them because He redeeutzed  them. Blotting out al1 their
                  The  Prophecy  of Zechariah                                    sins  by His obedient suffering and death on the cross, He
                                                                                 delivered `them from the bondage of al1 their enemies and
          Restoration `of the En-iles  f~om Assyria and Egy$$                    procured  for- them the right to be His sheep, the sheep of
                                                                          ~,
                              Chapter 10 :S-12                                   His  pasture.  And the  ransom was that shed blood of His
                                                                                 And they  increase wonderfully in fulfillment  of the promise
        Sr.  I  zuil1  hiss to  thema,   and  gather   them,  for I have  re-    already given to Abraham. 1 wil1 multiply thee exceedingly,
 deemed   thee,  a,nd they  shall  inn:ease   as  they did increase              said the Lord to him. 1 wil1 make thee exceedingly fruitful,
 (beforc).  9. And I wil1 soze,  tlzem  avtzong the peoples, and iq              and 1 wil1 make nations of thee, and kings shall come. out of
 far countSes they shall remember me, and zvith their cltildsew                  thee (Gen. lir :lff). They  increase as they-did before through
 they  shawls  live  ,and  reten. 10. And  I  wil1  bring-  them  bti.ck         al1 the ages of the past from  the beginning of the world.  And,
 fro~% the land of Egypt, and Assyria wil1 I gather  hem, a.nd                   when  they  .have  done increasing  they   wil1  be a multitude
 to The hnd of Gilead and Lebanon  wil1 I bring hem, and                         that, like the stars, no. man wil1 be able to tel1 (Gen. 15 :5).
 room shall not be found for them.  ll. 4nd He passes through
 tks sea, the a$fliction, a.nd He suites the waves of th se, omd                    9.  Our prophet's explanation of this amazing increase is
                                                                                 that the Lord wil1  sow them among tha people, and that-  in
 al1 tlze dep& of th: Nile #are  put to &autze, and the pride of
 Assyria  is  brought   dozenz,  and                                             far countries they shall remember Him their Sower. This
                                           ,tlze  sieptre  of  Egypt  mshall
 depart..  12. And  I  wil1  stsmgthen   them in                                 sowing wil1 be so universal as to its character, that there wil1
                                                         Jelzova.h,   .mad in
 [zis name shall they walk, saith Jehovalz.                                      be no country  where they  wil1 not be  founcl. There is  to
                                                                                 this sowing an underlying reason. Al1 the people of the earth,
        8. The pronoun,! of this and the subsequent  verses  de-                 principally the elect, to be.sure,  are blessd in Christ, and
- notes the triune Jehovah. It denotes therefore also our Lord                   not  merely one people and that people the Jews. God so
 Jesus Christ seeing that He. is the only begotten Son of God                    loved  the world that He gave His only begotten Son. This
 according to, His divine nature.  Christ as the Christ of God                   explains the working `of the exalted Christ  -whereby  He
 is the one  who is here speaking through our prophet s His;                    poured of His Spirit upon nll flesh when  the day of Pente-
 organ. The promises of this section  as is the case with al1                    tost was  fully  come..  What  it.  means is that, seeing that
 the promises of God are to  -the church principally  the  elect.                Christ had redeemed   US from the curse of the law,  having
 In our prophet's day, thechosen  people for the most part were                  been made a curse fr US, the blessings of Abraham had now
 scattered  among the  heathen  and thereby cut  o,ff from                       come on the  gentile,s  through Him. Accordingly we. have
 Jerusalem, the holy city, and from Jehovah  who dwelt there                     the resurrected Christ  mandating His church just before
 in His  holy  temple.  And in those heathen  lands they were                    His ascension that, seeing that al1 power is given unto Him
 being afflicted by rulers and people  alike,  styled shepherds                  in heaven and in earth, they go therefore, and that going,
 and hegoats (verse 3). This was their sad .lot because of                       they make disciples of al1 nations, -baptizing them in the
 their transgressions. And is this not by  nature  the plight of                 name of the -Father, and of. the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,
 US  ah,  God's   chosen  ones,' because of our imputed and                      teaching them to observe  al1 things that Hecommanded them,
 actual sins ? In Adam our commori  father  and representative                   and assuring them that He is with them always even to the
 we disobeyed the cmmandment of `life that was given. Like                      end of the world (Matt. 25 :19ff).  And they went and their
sheep  we went astray. Each one of US turned to h-is own way.                    going was His sowing them. In  that hour the church began
 By nature therefotre  we are a flock scattered incleed. `For sin                to spread over the  `whole earth so that today God's believing
 scatters.      Cut off spiritually from God  the overflowing                    people are found everywhere even in the remotest r,egions  of '
 fountain of al1 good, w wander in a desert land where al1 the                  thisearth.  Christ sowed  them  among  the peoples. And in          .
 streams  run dry  - a  land infested .with enemies oppressing                   far countries they remember Him. They pray with their
 and afflicting  God's  flock. In their great  sorrow and @tresq                 faces  .tumed now to the Jerusalem which is, above. They
 the `sheep,  the penitent  ones, cry unto the Lord (verse 6)                    seek the things which are.above where Christ is at the right
 and He is entreated of them. He lzisses  to them and gathers                    hand of the throne. And their conversation is in heaven.
 ithem. This is a figurative expression  descriptive  of the                     And they  command their children and their household -after
 werking  of Christ from the beginning to  the end of  the'                      them. And their children, their spirit& seed, keep the way
 world whereby He  irresistibiy  calls His straying sheep. And                   of the Lord, to do justice and judgment. And with their
by this working He gathers  them,  which  means that being                       children they live never to die, seeing that Christ in  whom
 His sheep beloved of the  Father they  hear'-His   voice  and                   they are grafted by  a.faith  that is living and indestructible
 come to  Him. And He in no wise  casts them  out because                        ever lives to pray for them. So is the church in heaven al-
 they are His- sheep. And He  calls His own sheep by name,                       ways increasing, the house of God being built.      _
   .


                                           _  T H E  .STANDARD.-.BEARER                                                             59
                                                                        _..  MI

    10. This verse tells US that Christ is not,going  to: leave      the city of the `living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. And in
 His people-in  those far countries where He has sown tfiem;         heveti  is thti Eonversation of these sown qnes. In this place
 that in this world they are not going to abide permanently.         the Lord brings theem  even now while they lie in thc midst
 He is going to bring them back from the land of Egy@, .nd          of death and complain that what they would they do not
 from Assyria He is goiqg to gather  them. The ltieaning  is         and do what they hate.' In this place,  the heairenly Canaan,
 not that the church is- inclosed within the limits of these         He wil1  bring them finally at His -coming  through their ap-
 two countries  and that therefore it is from these  lands that      pearing with Christ in glory. ~ .
 she wil1  be brought. This cannot even be said of the church of                                           .
 our prophet's da-y, scattered as she was among al1 the nations.         ll. The sea in this. verse is the- Red Sea and the state-
And today the church is spread over the whole  earth, sown           ment, YAnd the depths  of the Nile are put to slame," denotes
 among  al1 the peoples. But  Egjrpt  had  ,once been for the        that the reference is  also to the  Nile:  That the word  sea
 covenant people the house of a crue1 and hard bondage. And          stands in opposition to the term  a,@Cction   indicates  that
                                                                     the Red Sealand  tle Nile alike symbolize the afflictions of
 when  she was stil1 a world-power Assyria had continually
made  war against Israel.  Jt was by Assyria that the  ohurch        the church by which she was overwhelmed through  Adam?
as represented by the Israel of the ten tribes had been              transgressioti  that was imputcd unto her and through her down
plucked up from  ,the holy  land and scattered among the na-         sins. Inclu$ed  is sin itself, and death through sin, physical,
tions. And,Assyria  in this verse is representative of Babylon,      spiritual and  .eternal-  death, banishment from the presence of
the world-power by which  Judah  was led into captivity.             God and al1 the.oppressions  of the powers  of darkness. The
 Egypt a&l Assyria here are every .land Ad country where             verse states that He passed through this sea:" The reference
the Lord has sown  &Iis people. And as the church is                 is to Christ. Takin; al1 the sir6 of His people upon him, He
spread  over the whole  earth Egypt aid Assyria are the whole        entered  thiS sea of affliction in His assumed  humanit.  And
world and its  kingdom  of which the devil  is the prince-           with al1 the billows of God's  wrath passing over Him, His
ihe world that lies in darkness and for which Christ does            cry was, My father  1 love thee, which is but another,  way of        :
not praji. That it can be indicated by Egypt and Assyria of          saying that as,activated  by a pure -love He bore the burden
old is because  of iclentity of spirit and attitudes and purposes    of  God's  wrath against the sins of  -His own  .ad thereby
and strivings which are diabolical.  In the world the sown           condemned sin  in the flesh and deprived  every power of dark-             *
ones have many tribulations  as was the case with the cov-           ness of the right to afflict and oppress His peopl`e.  Then was
enant people in the Ebqpt  and the Assyria of old. The tiorld        the judgment of the  wc$-ld. Then was the  prince of  this
would destroy them from. the face of the earth  aS did the           iworld judged.  In the imagery,  of this verse He smote the
Egypt of ancient  times. But as Christ has  overcome.   ihe          waves of the sea and the depths of the Nile were pUt  to<
world these sown ones  shall  live and return. He has said           shame. Its waters divided and He passed through the sea,
it. He  wil1 bring them back  from  the land of Egypf and            He with  al1 His people as the captain of their salvation.
froq Assyria  wil1 He  gather  them (10).  i                         Dropping the figure, God raised Him up on account of the
                                                                     justification of His people and made the `church to sit in
    And where wil1 He bring them ? T,o the land of Gilead            heavenly  places  with Him.
+and Lebanon. Th2se`fiames  denote  in the first instance  north-
ern Palest,ina  on both sides of the Jordan, the former home            An4 therefore He  wil1  surely.  bi-ing them back from
of the mexiled ten tiibes. In this place the Lord promises tob       the land of Egypt &d gather  them from Assyria and bring
bring these sown  ones.  Btit He adds)  tha$ room  wil1 not  be-     them to Gilead and Lebanon. But the way to Gilead and
found for  tl-@n. He does not say why. Is  it because this           Lebanofi  stil1 le+ds througli the sea of affliction.  And another
section of Canaan wil1  largely be occupied by strangers ? VBBut     way there is not. I+t these sown ones must have no fear.
the Lord can expell these strangers, if only He wills. So            For th6y walk on dry land in the miclst of the sea and the
the reason for this l&ck of room wil1  have to be that these         tviters  are a wal1  unto'them on their right wd on their left.
sowed ones in those far off countries wil1 focm a multitude          T`heir  faith  shall  not  cease. Christ  `wil1 preserve them. He
too vast. For such throngs there is koon;  only in a land the        wil1 lead ,them  through  and- on to glory. But the pride of
size of the earth.. And northern Canaan is but a smll               :pursuihg  Assyria is  br+ghi down, and the scepter'  .of
country. Are then the bulk of these sown ones  doomed  to            Egypt shall  depart.  They shall be destroyed.
permanent exile in Egypt. and in Assyria. That would be                 12. But He wil1 strengthen His people in Jehovah. Walk-
a sad tiding indeed.  And therefore it cannot be that what           ing through  th fire they are not burned,  neither does the
the Lord in the final  instance  is here promising'these sown        flame kindle  upon them (Isa. 43 2). And in His name shall
ones in far off countries is that He wil1  bring them back
again to the earthly Canaan. Surely oUT prophet in these - they walk - walk as abiding `in Hiti who is al& their salva- I
verses  is occupied also w.ith the working of theincamate  Son       tion. And having passed through the `sea, they shall walk in
of God. His thoughts-are  also with the church as set with           Gis name forever.
 Christ in ;hc heavenly and as come to mount Zion,  and unto                . .                                               G.M.O.


 60                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                            -          -
                                                                               to proprly bring tl!ese gifts to their own in church, so tht
           ~FROM  HOLY  WRIT                                                   al1 are nstructed and  al1 are comforted. (See verse  31):
                                                                               These  "regulations" are not purely  legal ordinances, but
                                                                 ~_            pertain  to good order and godliness in the church. They are
              Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12-14                                the opposite of sinful  confusion which cannot be a vehicle for
                                                                               edifying the  chtirch  of Christ in the world.
                                   x111.
                                                                                  2. We should further notice concerning these "regula-
                       (1 Corinthians  14 :26-33)                              tions" (orderliness in the church services) that they are no
                                                                              mere arbitrary practica1  rulings,  a make-shift ruling of Paul
       In the foregoing we  haGe taken  rather  careful notice  how           to unravel the snag into which the life in church of Corinth
 Paul establishes the divine truth of the matter, that "totigues"             had become enmeshed ; it was no arbitiary  Fling of. mere
 are nothing in the church;when  there `is no ,"interpretation."              man, a practica1 rule which wou1.d  simply ".work"  in this case
 They are then not bonafide evidnces  of the  Holy Spirit, hut               -in Corinth. This  "regulation" s rooted  in the, verynature of
 they' are  mere gibberish.  Shall "tongues" be more than  stgns              God Himself, and of His works, (ad extra). His  outgoing
 to ztnbelieverx  to the effect that the Word of God is taken- works in the church. Surely this is as it should be. Had not
 from them, the  ca&dlestick  taken from its  place, then surely              Paul shown from the "law"  that it sh&ld be evident from the
they must stand in ~the service of the more sure prophetic                    pr0phetica.  word  in their midst, to those outside,  that God
Word, as this  Word shines  rn-ore  and more  ,unto the perfect               .was truly in their midst? This is not a smal1  matter. It is a
, d a y .                                                                     matter of life and death! Nothing may stand in the way of
                                                                              this Word of God; al1 must be subservient to it.
       Surely  "tongu&"  shall simply "cease" in the Church.                                                             _
However,  prophecy shall not simply cease but it shall have                       3. Besides, the very   nature  of God, `the triune God,  is,
to  bi done away by that act of God, which  changes  our                      such that He is not a God of  conjitsion.  There is perfect;
existente  so drastically, that we shall no longer behold as in.              ,harmony  and unity in the ontological Trinity, between the
-glass  darkened,  -b&-"face to face!" Then shall we know                     Father,  Son and the Holy Ghost in their being the orie, only,
Him even as. we are known.                                                    true and eternal God! That is fundamental to al1 .christian
       This relative  merit  of "tongues" should be understood -in            thinking and conduct ! It is  basic for  al1 "Church Order."
-both  its positive value, and as to wha; is the ultimate  implica-           l?or con@sios  in the church is ever and anew rooted in sin,
tion of "tongues" when  divorced from the prophetic word,                     in unbelief. (More of this presently)  . God,, the triune God,
spoken in clear and understandable prose. For the "law"                       is the God of  "peace? He is such a God within Himself.
has spoken clearly on this matter.  .The  Holy Spirit  bas!                   ?here  is perfect, essential unity  in the Godhead.  But there
spoken clearly to  US by Isaiah concerning those  who are                     is also perfect ethica1 unity in God., God is love. Out of -the
weaned from the breasts  of the clear teaching of the Word                    Father, through the Son and in the Spirit - God, is ethica1
of God. To them there is nothing left btit to be taught by                    perfection. And this "peace"  in God is also revealed in this
the  lips of those  who speak not the Word of God. For                        dispensation of grace, and in the econotiy  f salvation!  Are
prophecy is for believers, but signs are intended in their                    not al1 the gifts (chariamata) in the Church worked by God,
ultimate  design,  when  clivorced .from the Word, for  unbe-                 out of the Father,  through the Son and in the.,Spirit? If 41
lievers, who have turned their backs to the Word!                             these gifts are Wrought (energized) by one and the same
                                                                              Spirit, how can there be confusion  in the ecnmy of salva-
       In the verses  .26-33 Paul wil1 give a few practica1 and               tion and in the church of God. "Church Order" is the order
concrete directives  as to how to orderly and properly  onduct               of God, the peace of God amongst the saints, the unity of
the services, so that al1 may tend to edification.
  .                                                                           Spirit- in the. bond of `peace. Christ died to make this peace,
       We  read in the  verses  26-33 fhe  following,   "How is  ik           -and to "establish"  this order ! He did not  come to destroy
tlzert,  bf*etkren?   when   you  <ome-togetlzer,   every one of  you         the "law"  but to fulG1 it !  Can a "ruling"  anchored in this
lmtlz  a  PLwlw~,  hth  a'doctrine,   h,ath  a.  tongzte, hth  a  revela-    "harmony"  in God even have the semblarice of arbitrariness ?
tion,  htlz an  inteqketatiort.       Let  al1  things be Hone  u.nto         To ask this question is to answer it - in the church ! This
edsifying.  . . . . for God is not  the  (arcthor)   of  con+ion,             "order" belongs to  $he finished works of Chr'st.
bztt fpeace?  (Read  entire test from own Bible).
                                                                                 .4. Hence,  also in the "order of  wo&ip"  this "order"
       In these words from the pen of Paul we would more                      and peace," rooted in Christ's Yinished?work on the Cross
.particularly  notice the followjng;                                          of Calvary must be seen. It is al1 cut after  that one pattern.
       1. That Paul here gives some "regulations"  concerning                 Also the "Eere-Dienst"  muit be ? revelation of the werk of
the proper conduct and order of worship among the saints                      the Triune God. Al1 the stones in thc temple  must be built
at Corinth.  They are regulations, rather  in detail, as to  -how.            upon the foundation of tlie Apostles  and Prophets of which


                                                 THE          ST.ANDARD                   .BEARER              -                           .61
  Jesus Christ is  the  chief corner-stone! Wherefore,  there             not be able to assimulte  more anyway ! A good rule even
  must be no inner root of sin, which makes for confusion in              for preachers to follow in  principle;  to be  coticise and to
.- the gathrings of the saints -and in the administratioti  of the       the point! -(b) That when  a certain individual "prphesies"
  Word. For, accordng to the Scriptures, "confusion" is ever             good heed must be given to what he says : th& musf  be dis-
  associaied  with and footed.  in sin. Do we not read in James           cerning hearing  .by the other prophets. For the spirit of
  3':15-16, "But if ye have bitter envying  and strife in YOU~            prophets is subject to prophcts.  (The elders kust give good
  hearts, glory  nat, and lie not against  the truth. This wisdom         attention to  the, orthodoxy of their minister). (c) If the
  descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual  (psychicd)          Holy Spirit, while the  ,$her is speaking,  givec a "revelation"
  devilish.  For  zvhere  envying  und  st&if@  is, there is confusion    on a certain point, then this man must rise a.nd speak; while
  and every evil werk." To be sure, such confusion was present            the.former speaker is silent:  Thus the sequence of thought
  also in Corinth. And this inner envying and strife must bG              wil1  not be broken, but the message wil1 be more complete
  rooted  out. Does not  Pa&1 say, evidently reflecting  upon the         and full and comprehensive, ancl al1 wil1 be learning and
  evil of bringing the "prophecy"  in the church of Thessalonica          al1  wil1  be comforted !  Al1  can prophesy  ; but  nota   al1  can
  into disrepute, "Quench not the Spirit. Despite not  prophe-            proplyesy  at the same time.
  syitigs. Prove al1 things ; hold that which is iood. A bstuia               7.  Tihese   rules  Seem so simple that one  marvds at the
  fyom   al1  appearance  of evil."  (1 Thess. 5 :19-22). And does        need of them. But let it not be  forgotten  that often  we need
  this "appearance of evil"  notrefer, contextually, to anything          to, be corrected  by the most simple advic, which even chil-
  which might even "appear" to bring the Word of God in                   dren can understand.  Let US, thereiore,  not be high-minded,
  d!isrepute  ?  How easily the "best gifts" in the church are            but rather  fear !
  brought  into disrepute  +e to  "envy and strife." Ah,  yes,
  though 1 speak with the tongues of men and of angels and                 In the application of these  rules  al1 "speaking with
  have not love . . . 1 am nothing !                                      tongues" which were not bonafide would be rul&  out. They
                                                                          simply weould  not be able to be brought into,  the picture. Paul
    5. It.; eviclently, requires  a great deal of the "meekness           mak&  (  ?)  rules her which are so  tiaterltight  that the
  of  wisdom" to  spea.k with tongues, or, what is more, to               imposter  wil1  be shown up. More and more the very "log?
  prophes? in the congregational  worship service. Such week-             of these simple regulations wil1  force the members in the
  ness of wisdom  is alwys pure, then peaceable, gentle, and             congregation  to walk in meekness  of wisdom,  and to, abstain
  easy to be intrated,  full of mercy and good fruits, without           from  "every appearance  (foim- eidous) of  evil"  in the
 -partiality  and without hypocricy. And the fruit of righteous-          preaching of the Word.
  ness is sown in peace of them rnaking peace. (James 3 :17, 18)
                                                                              He;e are beautiful  principles for the  theory  nd practica
     6. According to this  wisdom  from heaven  also the' of  homiletics, Church Order, as roqted in the finished work
  "gifts in the Church" must come to their own. In.th first              of  Christ,   who has  come to banish  al1 confusion of sin,  al1
  place, such is the case with the speaking of tongues. True,             instability rooted  in.  malice,   and-to  bring eternal peace into
  there was an abundance  of gifts in the church of Corinth.              our lives. The lines have fallen unto US iti pleasant places  -
  There  -was "no  la&"'  (I,> Cor.  1:5-7). It was  however,   a         even in our order of public worship. A godly  heritage is
  matter of the proper and orderly use of these gifts. Hence,             ours !                                                         G.L.
  Paul lays *down  the rule concerning speaking with tcingues  :
  (a) That there should, in one gathering'of the church, never
  be more than two,, and at the most three who should speak-
  with  totigues.  No endless  parade  of speakers (b)  Thai  -no                                    EDITORIALS .
  one should be allowed-  to speak when  another is speaking.                                   (Continued  from page 53)
  One at a time, please ! (c). That no one should ever desire to
  speak,  nok ever speak  when  there is no ene present  who.             the doctrine of human  responsibility can be made the centra1
  ran interpret what is said. Safe, enough such a rule. Has               or  basic doctrine of Reformed theology, as Daane suggests ?
  anyone the need of using his gift of tongues for himself?               No rational man kil1 subscribe to such nonsense. Does it fol-
. Well, let him then speak "to himself"  or "to God." In that             low  from this that a Reformed theologian or, in  fact,  any
  case the broth,er edifies himself and God is glorified in his           theologian,  can begin his  the8logy  with a  consideration  of
  gift of tongues. But please spare the congregation the  agoniz-         man and his responsibility ? Some s$tem of theology  that
  ing confusion of tongues  when  no one  can interpret.  .That  is       woula   be! Let Daane  attempt  it  once.  1  predict that  bis
  the rule, rooted in th  very  riature  .of God and of  Hisi            .system wil1 be just as irrational as his ravings in his article.
  gifts, `which Paul lays down. Simple and effective  enough !            in  the  Refoymed joumal.
  In the  second  place,   as pertaining to  prophesying,  let  al1           1 have m?re on this, especially on his criticism of tic to
things  too be done with a view  unto the edification of the              which most of his article is devoted.
  church. This means : (a) That no more than  two or three                    But tlus must wait, D.V., til1 our next issue.
  even speak at a giuen  worship service.. The poor flck would                                                                      H . H .


                                              .
      62                       -                   '  TiKtE  STANDARD   B E A R E R
       -              -_  -...

                                                                              n%&,  de&.nding  imconditional submission to his will, yet
                                                                              considerate  in  the use of power  after  submission  *was  once
                                                                              given, - an imperial persc)nality  towering high above the
                                                                              contemporary sovereigns in mora1 force and  iri magnificent
                  The Church  and the  Sacrcme%mtc                            aims of world-widc dominion.
         VIEWS  DURING  THE  THIRD  PERIOD  (750-1517 A.D.)                   innocent's Theor$  of the Pupacy.
                              -
                        T                                                         The pope with  whom  Innocent is naturally brought into
                             HE  SUPREMACY   &  TXIE   POPE                   comparison is Hldebrand. They were equally distinguished
               INNOCENT AND THE  PAPACY  (119%216   .A,.D.).   -  -          for mora1 force, intellectual  ener@, and proud assertion of
             The coronation  ceremonies we;e.on  a sprendid scale. But        prelatic  prerogatiue  ("prelatic  prerogative"   means : special
      the  size of Rome, whose population at this  time  may  nat             rights  or privileges which  belang-  to a prelate, a church;
      have exceeded thirty-five  thoesand,  must be taken  intor              dignitary.  Ip this case, of course, the church dignitary  is
      account " when  we compare them with the pageants of the                the pope. - H.V.) Innocent was  Hildtibrand's  superior  is
      ancient  city. At the enthronization in St. Peter's, the tiar          learning, .dipll>matic  tact, and  success  of administration, .but      '
       was used which Constantine is .said `to have presented  to             in  creative genius and heroic character he was below  hit
      Sylvester, and the words were said, "Take the tiara. and                predcessor (hence, what a figre  Hildebrand would have
       know  that thou art  ihe  father  of  pkinces and kings, the           been had he enjoyed Innocent's  learning:- H.V.). He
      ruler of the world,  the vicar on arth of our Saviour Jesusi           stands related to his great predecessor as Augustus to Julius.
      Christ, whose honor  and glory shall endure throughout al1              He was heir to the astounding programme of Hildebrand'c
      eternity." Then followed the  procession  through the city to           scheme and enjoyed the fruits of his struggles.  Their personal
      the Lateran;  The` pope sat on a white palfrey and was ac-              fortunes were widely different.  Gregory  was driven  froln
      companied  by the prefect of  the city, the senators and other          Rome  and  died in exile. To  Innocetitls  good fortune there
      municipal  officials, the  nobility,  the  cardinals,   archbishops,    seemed to be no end, and he closed  his pontificale in un-
      and other church dignitaries, the  lesse?  clergy and the               disputed po&ssion  of authority.
      popular throng-al1  amidst   the, ringing of bells, the chanting            Innocent no sooner ascended the papa1 chair  thai  he
      of psalms, and the acclamations of the people.`- Along the              began to give expression to his conception  of the papa1 `dign-
      route a singular scene was presented at the Ghetto by a groupr          ty.  Throughotit   bis.  pontificate  he forcibly  aGd  clea+ly  ex-
     - of Jews, the rabbi at their head carrying  a rol1 of the Penta-        pounded it in a tone of mingled official pride and personal
     _ teuch, :who bowed low as they saluted  their new ruler upon            hmility.  At his .coronation he preached on the faithful and
      whose favor .or frown depended their protection from' the               wise servant. "Ye  sec,"  he said, "virhat manner of servant
      populace,  ,yea, their  very life. Arrived at the Lateran,  the         & is  whom the Lord hath set over his people, no other thn
      pope threw out handfuls of copper  coins among the `people              t,he vicegerent of Christ, the successor of Peter. He stands in
      with the words, "Silver and gold have 1 none, but .such as              the midst betwen  God and man; below God, above mati;
      1 have. give 1 the." (what a mockery this surely was !                  less than God, more than man. He judges  al1 and is judged
      Imagine:  the pope of this age rpeating the words of the               by none. But he, whom  the pre-&inence.  of dignity exalts,
      apostle, Peter, that he did not have' silver or gold,, ancl that        is humbled by his +oc$ion as a servant,  that so humility may
      at a  time  when  untold  riches  were at his  disposal.  In  this.     be. exalted and pride be tast down ; for God is against the
      respP,ct  the successor of the apostle, Peter, surely did not walk      high%inded,  and to the lowly He shws mercy  ; and whose
      in the steps of bis predecessor. - H.V.) The silver key of              exltth  himslf  shall be abased.'  (indeed,   wha; a strange
      the `palace and the golden  key of the basilica were then put           mixture  of pride and humility ! The pope is "less than God -
      into his hands, and the senate  clid him homage. A banquet              and more- than man  !" Is it not  rather   truc than  al1  com-
      followed, the pope sitting at a  tab@  alone.  Upon  such pomp          parison between  a man (in this case the pope) is-absolutely
      and show of worldly powek  the Apostles, whose lot was pov-             impossible.  - H,.V.)
      erty, would have looked with wonder, if  thcy had been told                Indeed,  the papa1 theocracy was Innocent's all-absorbing
      that t.he centsal figure of it al1 was the chief personality in         idea. He  waS  fully  convinced  that it was established of God
      the Christian  world.                                                   for the good of the Church and the salvationqof  the world.
          When  he ascended  ihe fisherman's throne, Innocent  tias           As God gave to Clirist al1 power in heaven and On earth,  so             :
      only thirty-seven years old, the youngest. in the line ,of popes        Christ delegated to Peter and his successors the same author-
      up to that time: Walter  von der Vogelweide gave expressioti  _ ity. Not man but God founded  the` Apostolic see. In his
      to the fear which bis youth awakened when. he wrote, "Alas !            fameus letter to the patriarch of  Con&antinople,  Nov. 12,
      the pope is so young. Help, Lord, thy Christian  world." The            1199,  he.gave an elaborate exposition of the commission to
      new pontiff was  wel1   forrned,  medium  in stature, temperate         Peter. To  him alone the  command  had been given, "Feed my
      in his habits, .clear in perception,  resolute in will,~ and fearless `-sheep." The pope is the `vicar of Christ,  yea of God himself.
      ia action:  He was a born ruler  of men, a keen-  judge of hun?& Not only is` he intrusted with the dominion of- the Church,




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                                                  THE.-STANDARD.BE,ARER                                      '                           63
                                         -  -'                                                                                      -.

 but also with the rule of the whol`e world.? Like Melchizedek,         in the extension of Chri<tendom:  Buttthe rigorous  system  of          -'
 he is-at: once .king and priest. Al1 things in heaven and earth        the Inquisitiqn which h set on foot begat bitterness and war
 and in  hel1 are subject to  Chist. So are they  also to  bis,        of churchman against Christian dissenter and of Christian,
 vicar. He-can depose  princes and absolve subjects f&m the             a-gainst Mohammedan. More  blbod.was  shed at the hand of
 oath of allegiance. He may  enforce  submission by  plating            the Church. during the pontificate  of Innocent, and under
 whole nation under the interdict. Peter alone went to Jesus            his  immediate   succ&sors  carrying  out his policy, than in
 on the wat&  and by so doing he gave illustration of the               any other age  except  during the papa1 counter-Reformation
 unique  privilegg  `of the papacy to govern the whole earth.           in the sixteenth and seventeenth cesturies.  The audacious
 For the other disciples stayed in the ship and so to them              papa1 claim. to imperialism corrected  itself by the policy em-
 was given rule only over single prouinces. And as the waters           ployed by Innocent and his successors to establish the claim
 were many on &ich ,Peter  walked, so over the many con-                over the souls and bodies of men and the governments of
 gregations  and  nafions,  which the waters represent, was             t h e   eatih.
 Peter given authority- yea over  al1 nations whatsoever                Innocent  ad the German  Ewpire.
 (zcnive~sos  popu2os).  In this letter he .also clearly teaches            The  political  condition  of Europe was favorable. to In,-
I papa1 infallibility  and declares that Peter's successor can          nocent's  assertion of pow,er.  With the. sudclen death of Henry
 never in any way depart  from the Catholic-faith.                      VI; Sept. 28, 1197, at the early age of thirty-two, the German
     Gregory   VIIJs illustration,  likening  the priestly estate       empire was left without a  ruler.  Frederick,  the Emperor's
 i~sacerrdotiuwt)  to the sun, and the lights, civil estate (regn?m     only_ son, was a helpless child. Throughout Italy was a re-
 or  &tperi:z~?+t   j  to the  rnoon,    Innocent amplified and ein-    action set in against -Henry's  hard and oppressive rule: The
 phasized.   T&o great lights,  &ocent  said, were  placed   by`        spirit of national freedom was showing itself, and a genera1
 God in the firmament of heaven, and to these correspond the            effort- was b&gun t0 expel the German princes and counts
 "pontifical  authority and tbe- regal  authority," bhe one to rule     from Ifalian soil.
 over souls  as the sun rules. over the day, the other to rule              Innocent 111 has been called by Ranke Henry's  real
 oyer ihe bodies of meti  as the mon.rules  over  the night. And       successor. Taking  advantage  of the rising feeling -of Italian
 as the moon  gets its light from the sun, and as it is also less       nationality, the pope made  it his  -policl to separate middle
 than the sun both in -quality  and in size, and in the effect          and lower Italy from the  etipire,  ?nd, in  fact,  he became the
 produced,  so the regal  power gets its dignity ancl splendor          deliverer of the peninsula from foreign  agents and mercerr-
 from the  pontifical  authority which has in it more inherenb          aries. He begari  his reign by abolishing the last vestig'es of
 virtue.  The priest anoints the-king,  not the king the priest,.       the-authority  of the empire in. the city of Rome. The city
 and superior is he that anoints Jo -the anointed. Princes  have,       prefect, who had- re.presented  thhe emperor, took the oath of
 authority in Separate la@ ; the potitiff-,over  al1 lands. The         allegiatice  to the pope, and Innocent  invested  him with a .
 priesthood came by divine creation.; the kingly power by               ma*ytle  and silver cup. The senator likewise acknowledged
 man's manipulation and violente.  "AS in the ark of God,"              Innocent's authority and swore to protect  the Roman see
 so he. wrote to John of England, "the rod and the manna                arid ihe regalia of St. Peter.
 lay besidc the tables  of the lati, so ai the side of the knowl-           The pope quickly pushd  his authoriiy  beyond  the walls.
 edge of-tbe  law, in the breast of the pope;   .are lodged the         of Rome. Spoleto, which for  six centuries had been  ruled:
 terrible power of  destrtiction   and  the genial mildness of          by a line, of German dukes, Assisi, Perugia, and other cities.
 grace." Innocent reminded John that if he did not lift bis             submitted.  Ma?k  of  Atiweiler,   -the  fierce   soldier  Gf. Henry
 foot from off the Church, nothing woulcl  check his punish-            VI, could not withstand the fortunate `diplomacy  and arms
 ment and fall. Monarchs  throughout Europe listened to In-             of Innocent, and the Romagh,  with Ravenna as its centre,
 nocent's exposition and obeyed. His correspondence  abounds            yielded.  Tuscan league was formed  which was favorably
 with letters to the emperor, the kings of Hungary,  Bohemia,           disposed to the  papal. authority. Florence, Siena, Pisa, and
 Sicily,  France,  England, the  Danes,  Aragon, and to other           other cities, while refusing to  renounce  their `civic freedom,
 princes, teachin,m them their  duty and demanding their sub-`          granted privileges to the pope. Ever?  where Innocent had bis
 mission.                                                               legates.  Such full  xercise  of  papa1 power over the Stte
     Under Innocent&  rule, the subjection of the entire Chris-         of the Church had not before been  known.
 tian world to the- Roman  pontiff- seemed t!i be near realiza-             To confirm her son Frederich's  title to the crown of Sicily,
 tion. ,B,ut the measufes of f'orce which were employed in the          his mother  delivered the kingbom  over to the pope as a papa1
 Latin conquest of Constartinople, 1204, had the opposite               fief: `She survived her imperial consort  only a year, and left
 effect- from what was  intend,ed.   ,The  overthrow  of  the.By-        a  wil1  appointing  Innocent the guardian of her  child. The
 zantine empire and the establishment of a Latin empire.iti its          intellectual training and politica1  destinies of the heir of the
 stead and the creation of a new hierarchy of Constafitinople            Hohenstaufen  .lvere thus intrusted to the hereditary foe of
 otily completed  the final  alienation of the Greek and Latin           that august house. Innocent was left  .a free hand-to  prose-
 churches. To Innocent 111  may not be denied deep concern               cute his trust as he chose.                                H . V .


     64                                                         T ` H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
     .~

     ll                                                                                    added `a statement of this kind to their description of .the I
                     Tiw  Voi& of  Our  Fathsrs                                       11 work~ of man?s conversion.  This is especially true because
                                                                                           the very question that is treat&l  in' this article stil1 arises
                              The Canons of Dordrecht                                      frequently in our own day,. and the well-known phrase
                                                                                           "stocks and blocks" is rather  often  heard and used. Hence,
                                            PART  TWO                                      we do well, first of all, to ask whether the fathei-s  are in this
                                EX.POSITION   OF THE  CANONS                               article  warning against the views of certain-passivists,  who,
                      T                                                                    had'a  warped view of the operation of God's  sovereign gracc
                           H I R D  AND  FOURTH   HEADS OF  D OCTRINE                      in the work of  man's  conversion,  or whether they are de-
           OF  THE  CORRUPTION OF  MAN,  HIS  CONVERSION TO  GOD,                          fe&ling  the Reformed  truth against another of the  false-
                                AND  T H E   M A N N E R   THEREOF                         charges of the Arminians.                            .
                           Article 16. But as man by the  fa11 did not cease to be            There are some who seem to h;ld the fermer  view, namely,
                           a  creature,  endawed with understanding and will, nor          that the fathers are here warning against a misuse of the truth
                           did sin which pervaded the  whole  race of  mankind,            of God's sovereign grace in the efficacious calling and against
                           deprive him  od the  human  nature,  but brought  upon
                           him' depravity and spiritual death;  so-also this grace         drawing a  false and passivistic conclusion  frbm  that. truth.
                           of regeneration does not treat men as senseless                 Thus, for example, the Rev. T. Bos writes in his commentary
                           stocks and blocks, nor takes away their wil!  and its           on this article: "Er zijn, die met het menschelijke in den
                    -  7  -properties, neither does  violente  thereto; but  spirit-       mensch niet gerekend willen hebben. De mensch, die geeste-
                           ually quickens, heals, corrects, and at the same  time
                           sweetly and powerfully  bends it  ;  t'hat were' carnal  re-    lijk dood is, is bij hen gelijk onbezielde stof: `een stok en een,
                           bellion and resistance formerly prevailed, a ready and          blok.`.  Wij hebben wel eens gehoord, dat zij tot voorbeeld een
             \             sincere spiritual  ob,edience  begins  to reign; in which       molen of een wagen nemen. Een molen blijft stilstaan totdat
                           the  truc  and spiritual restoration and freedom of our         de wind `in de wieken wa.ait ; dan begint hij te -draaien. Of
                           wil1 consist. Wherefore  unless  the admirable  autho;          een wagen blijft op zijne plaats totdat  .de paarden dien
                           of  every good  York wrought in  US, man  could- have
                           no hope of recovering from his  fa11 by his own free            voorttrekken." Although  he`does nat explicitly  say ~th.is, the
                           will,  by the abuse of  -which, in  z  state of innocence,      above author seems to fee1 that the fathers' in this sixteenth
                           he plunged himself into  rtiin.                                 article have in mind these people "who do not want to reckon
             There are in this article several errors of translation, some                 &th the human in man." The same idea appears in the com-
     of which are rather  important;as  a comparison with the Latin                        metitary  of the Rev. J. G. Feenstra on this article: "Velen
     nd Dutch versions wil1 also yeveal. And we  can probably do                          menen, dat de men&h  na de zonde  geworden is als een stok
     ' no better than to  produce  a new  translation  of the  entire                      en een blok. Dat is geheel onjuist. `Daarmee wil men dan
     article, in order. to let the reader discover  these errors for                       illustreren, hoe onmachtig de mens geworden.is.  De mens
     hinself  by  making  comparison  with the  ab&e  version. Our                        is zo machteloos, zeggen zij, dat hij zich niet eens bewegen
     translation here follows :                                                            kan. Maar dit is een grove dwaling. Want door dit beeld
                                                                                           te gebruiken wordt de verantwoordelijkheid van de mens ge-
                      But  indeed   even  as through the  fa11 man did not                 heel weggenomen en opgeheven . . . . De valse mystiek
                  cease to be man, endowed with intellect arid will, and.                  leert, dat de zondaar als een stok of een blok is, die zelf
                  neither did sin, which pervadd the whole human  race,                   lijdelijk is en geen voet. verzet. Zij ma<er misbruik van de
                  deprive him of the `nature of humankind, but depraved                    vrijm+cht   Gods. Zij -wachten het rustig af. Zij doen een
                  .and  spiritual\7  slew him, so  also  `this divine grace of             beroep op hun onmacht en verontschuldigen zich feitelijk, om-
                  regeneration does not  opera&  in men as in stocks and                   dat zij maar een stok zijn. Ik kan een stok toch niet kwalijk
                  blocks, neither does it take away the wil1 and its proper-               nemen, als hij niet tot mij komt, evenals hij zich ook niet van
                  tieS, or forcfbly  compel it against  its will, but spiritually          mij verwijderen kan. Zij vergeten,  dt de zondaar zich ver-
                  quickens,,  heals, corrects,  powerfully  and at the sa&e                zet en tegenwerkt."
                  time pleasantly turns it : so that where before the rebel-               P Now we would not deny that there are such false mystic-
                  lion and opposition of the  fie+h had full dominion, now                 ists, who teach  a doctrine of passivism, nor that they can be
                  a ready and sincere obedience  of the Spirit begins to                   found   als5 in Reformed circles. Moreover, we agree with
                  reign, - in which -thee  true and spiritual renewal and                  both the above authors  thgt this sixteenth artide of.  Cunorcs
                  liberty of our wil1  consists. And unless that `admirable                111  and IV  condimns  this  Passvism  of these false mystics
                  Artificer of every good deals in this wise with usj there                as being non-Reformed. But we disgree if by these com-
                  is no hope that man should arise out of the fa11 through                 mlents  about false  mysticism they  mean  to imply that the
                  .a free will, through which, when  he stood, he plunged                  danger of such passivism was what prompted our fathers- to
                  himself into ruin.                                                       add this paragrph to our Canons. And we claim that this
            It is  rather  important again to view this  article in its                    is neither realistic nor historically,  correct. Rather  must we
     proper setting and to understand exactly why the fathers                              turn in another direction to seek the  occasion-for  this article.





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                                                    T H E   ST-ANDARD   B E A R E R                                                              65
                                                              .
    We must always remember that our  Canoti  are  written               and that this false -charge  is  really a negative evidente  of
   against the Remonstrants,' a,nd that when  our fathers set            one's  docrtinal  soundness. It  ,is not  impossible  that those
   forth the true, Reformed doctrine  `on various  subjects in           against   whom the charge is brought are guilty of passivism,
    these Canons, they do so over against and.in answer to the           but it is highly improbable.         .,
   Arminian errors  as wel1  as the falsecharges  of the Arminians            Secondly;  it is necessary that a careful investigation be
   against the Reformed doctrine. And here in this sixteenth             made as to whether the charge is true or not. Such an in-
   article they deal exactly .with on of those Arminian false           vestigation  is not` difficult. The different doctrines against
   charges. Just at the Arminians  leve1 against Reformed  doc-          which this charge is brought are only two in number: the
   trine-the  charge, "This doctrine makes  men careless and pro-,       Reformed  ,doctrine  of sovereign grace and the false  mystic's               _
   fane," so they like to bring the charge, "This doctrine makes         doctrine of passivism. On that account, therefore, it should
   of men stocks and .blocks. The Remonstrants brought this              not be difficult to distinguish. Besides, the Reformed doctrine
   charge against our -fathers,  and forced them  to answer it in        of absolutely sovereign grace, against  which the `charge is
   the Canons.  And Armmians  stil1 in our day bring the same            falsely brought, and the error of passivism, against which the
   charge. In fact,  the-sad  fact today is that many who claim to       charge is crrectly brought, are easily distinguished. The doc-
   be Reformed  wil1  bring this charge against those  who  insist       trine that God "by  th efficacy of .the same regenerating
   upon the truth of s.overeign  grace. They try to`charge you           Spirit,  pervades  the inmost  recesses  of the mn; he opens
   with passivism and with denying al1 activity on the part of           the  ciosed,  and softens the hardened heart, and circumcises
   saved man. And even in our own recent "conclition  contro-            that which was uncrcumcised, infuses new qualities into the
   versy"  the whisperings of this same charge were not infre-           will, which though therefore dead, he quickens; from being
   quently heard from the side of thqse- who' wanted a "condi-           evil, disobedient,  and.?efractory,  he renders it good, obedient,
 tional  theology."  We might  almost  say  thati this charge has        and pliable, astuates and st&gthens  it,. that like a good tree,
   through repeated use attained the status of a stock phrase, a         it may bring forth the fruits of good actions,"' - this doctrine,
   pet characterization.  Thereis  a certain odium'about it.  One        1 say, can scarcely be mistaken  for passivism. The doctrine
   has really gotten his opponent in a corner when he  can  say,         that  maintains;"Whereupon  the wil1 thus renewed, is  nat
   `Youmake  of man a stock and black."                                  only actuated  ndc  inflenced by God, but in  consequente  of
       In this connection we  also.make  the  remark that it is far      this influence, becomes itself  active.  Wherefore  also, man is
   more realistic to conceive of' this article as being directed         himself rightly said to believe and repent,  by virtue of that
   against the Arminians. After  all, the battle  .of the Reformed       grace receivd,`?  - this doctrine is as different frm the pas-
   faith, bth in the days of our fthers,  and also today, has          sivism of the false mystic as day  ~from night. Hence, when -
 always been not a battle. against false mysticism and pas-              one hears the charge, "This doctrine makes  of man a stock
   sivism, .but against free-willism.. This is simply a  fact..  We      and a black;"  he should certainly  not be quick to listen.
   nepeat  : we would not deny  that there have been and stil1 are           In the third place,  it makes  a' vast differente  from what
   these false mystics; nor would  we deny  that the church must         quarter this blast blows. If the charge comes`  from those who
   do battle against them. But we do deny  emphatically that the         are known to be Arminian or  who show Arminianistic
   main battle -of the church has ever been one against false            tendenties, one can. be almost certain without futher investi-
   mysticisml NO, the. battle of the truth, : and this was truc          gation that' it is a false charge and that it is being brought
   long before  Dordrecht, was true when  the Scriptures were            against one who insists upon the .truth of God's  savereign
   written,  and always wil1  be true, - has ever been a battle,         grace in the regeneration.and  conversion of the sinner.  And
   against those who would deny  that salvation is absolutely of         this much is absolutely  ,&ertain  :  tbere is no danger that the
the Lord, by sovereign grace, and not  through:  by, or on               charge wil1  `ever be brought against an Arminian.
account of any work of man-. This is true today. It was true                 Hence,  in genera1 we  may say that if this charge is
   at the time of the Great Synod. It was truc in the time of            brought against you from known Arminian quarters, you
   Calvin and Luther. It was true in the time of Augustine.              may take it as  evidente  that you are Reformed in your
   It was true in the- time of the apostle Paul: It has ever been        doctrine.                                                          H.C.H.
   thus. And the battle against those false mystics who claim
   that kan is and remains completely  passive in the process of
   salvation (and that is by no  means  al1 false mystics  !) we                              I      N      MEMORIAti
   may characterize as a  side-skirmish   rather  than the  main            The  Adult  Bible Class of the  Randomlph  Protestant Reformed
   b a t t l e .                                                         Church in Randolph,  Wiscokin, &Shes' to express its sincere
       Now what may we say  concerning  this charge and the              sympathy  tk two of its members, Mrs. Hannah Huizenga and
   proper method of  answering  it?                                      Peter Tamminga, in the  10;s of their  beloved   mother.
       First of all, we would suggest that the likelihood is smal1          May the Lord comfort them according to their wants in
   that when this charge is brought against anyone, it is brought        these  days.  of sorrow.
                                                                                                                    Adult   Bible  Class         I
   zfairly.   The likelihood is far greatr that the charge is false,                                               Randolph,   Wisconsin




                                               .


  66                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                         _     `.       *

                                                                                that this religion be upheld,  defended and maintained.  But
                                                                                the matter is not as simple as al1 that. It is one thing to speak
                                                                                of the  duty  of the magistrate and nother thing to-speak of
                                                                                his  ca@bil,ity to  executs   tht  duty.   18acKay's  position  pre-
                  Reply  to  tlh  Rev. MacKay                                   supposes that the rulers of the nations are men of Hezekiah's
        We are discussing the position which is-defended by Rev.                caliber   who are  capable  of enacting  such reformation. This is.
  MacKay concerning  the matter of church and  state.  His.                     not the case and MacKay may say, %Ir. Vanden  Berg is very
  view is expressed in the third article of the 33rd Chapter of                 Ipessi&stic for he thinks that there is no.possibility  of the two
  the original Westminster Confession which we `quoted in                       .powers   -.both of which are ordained of God  - not  con-
  the previous issue. In regrd to this we must now add.the                     tinually fighting  each  ether" but 1 would point out that this
  following  :                                                                  is not p.essimism but reality. What is true with respect to,
        1. This article is subject to-the same  ci-iti&ism which has            the church-that she is the recipient  of Divine  grace, delivered
  been cited  against our position, namely, that it contains a                  from the bondage of sin and made through the.same  grace a
  significant contradiction. It begins by stating that the civil                `willing servant of Christ J-es&  - is not true of. the State.
  magistrate may not assme  to `himself'the power of the keys                  Rather, as in David's time, so today, "The kings of the earth
                        :
  of- the kingdom  of heaven but then it continues tos enumerate                set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against
  the duties of the civil magistrate as follows: "It  is Ais duty               the Lord and against his anointed" (Psalm 2). That's  re-
  io  -.~zaks   "i:der`.tlzat   `~u&y  ,a,nd   peace   be  preserved in tke    ality. The church is no longer  a national church as in the
  cl&ch~,  tliat  tlze  -truth of God be  kept  pure  arzd  entiye,   that      Old Dispensation but is dispersed and .gathered  from al1 na-
  al1  blasphemies and  hevesies  be  supp~ei;sed,   a.11  com@  tions          tions of the world whose.`kings  re hostile to her. 1 could
  and a.buses  in worsiaip and discipline prevented-  OY refoq,,med,            not- say that those kings have the autho&y  to keej pure and
  and dl the ordimnces  of God dftly  se-ttled, administered and                ent+e  ths truth of God aiw the clw&,  etc. 1 have no objection
  obseived."  What else is this but exer,cising  th keys of .the               to  MacKay's `assertion  that  the:   rulers  of the state. have a
  Kingdom  of Heaven  ? (See Heidelberg  Catechism,  Lord's                     calling  before God but 1 disagree with his position in the
  Day 31). Is it not  significantly   contradictory,  therefore, to             definition  of tkat calling!
, say first that the civil magistrate may nat assume to himself                     This matter is significant. Permit US to reflect a bit  fur-
  these duties and then to go on and say that it. is his duty to,               ther upon it. We do wel1  to remember the factual effects  of
\  perform   thern?  Possibly.  it might be  objected that  the                 sin upon  man also in his capacity of civil ruler. Man, origin-
  magistrate himself is not to do- this but is merely to see to .it             ally created good and upright was endowed with a &Iztst
  that the church is faithful in the execution of this  duty. To                (obligation)  ,- a  illay (right) , a  C&z  (ability)-  and  `a  Will'
  this we would  then reply : Firstly, this is not what the W,est-              (volition  ) to -love and to serve God in harmony with his wil1
  minster  Confession says and, secondly, the church does not                   as prophet, priest and,  king. Sin's entrance  into the world
  receive the mandate to exercise `discipline from the state but                effected  this relationship so that the ethica1  right! the natural
  from Christ. This Confession delegates functions and author-                  ability and the free volition to serve God no longer  exists.
  ity to the civil rulers that properly belongs to the office                   Only  the obligation remains for God does not change in
  bearers of the church. In so far we cannot agree with this                    His demands. Now, with respect to man in his capacity of
  position:                                                                     civil ruler,  the same is true. Man has lost his ability and
        2. MacKay cites several examples from S&ipture  on the                  wil1  to bring the- aff airs of the civil state into compliance with
  basis of which he claims to find support for the position that                the law of God. He has even lost the.ethical  right to do so
  civil rulers are called to function in the calling of Synods and              since as king of the ,earthly  creation he has allied  himself with
 supporting, promoting and defending the true reljgion. He                      the Prince of  daikness  and sebelled against .God,  surrendering
  refers especially to the. God-fearing kings of Judah, Jehoso-                 his kingdom  to the,devil.  Hence, when  tempted by the devil,
  phat and Hezekiah. The whole argument here confuses the                       the Lord did not dispute the claim of Satan that "al1 these
 `ideal -ch~~lz  state 1pela.ti.on  as it is realized exclusively .in the       kingdoms  were his." Actually. of course `this was not so.
  Kingdom  of' Christ ancl as it was typifiecl in the Old Testa-                Al1 things belong the Christ by whom  and for whom  they,
  ment theocracy with the fira~ctical  Church  state rehtion  as it             were made but from the ethica1 point of view, it may be con-
  exists in the present world of sin. Would we dare to say that                 Ceded  that. the kingdoms  of this world, belong to tha Prince
 the position held- by  .Hezekiah  as king  `of Judah,  God's,                  of Darkness  whom they serve. But here  also the Divine
 chosen  people, is equivelent to, let US say, the position of the              obligation imposed upon. man in his capacity of civil ruler  is
 President of the nited States, the chief executive  of a mixed                not abrogated but remains, God holds  man responsible in
conglomoration  of people that vary from avowed atheists to                     spite of the  fact that he is unable and unwilling to perform
 true children of God ? We agree with MacKay that ideally                       his rightful duties in the sphere of the state:  Upon him the
 the civil ruler  use his God-given authority to bring al1 things               wrath of God abides that ultimately  results in *the destruc:<
  withiri  the  state` into conformity with the true religion and               tion and ruin of al1 the nations of the world. (Daniel  2 :44) .


                                               T H E   S T A N D A - R D   BEARER                                                          67

   Now the position of MacKa$ advocates is that this civil                  1. The entire decision should make clear to Rev. MacKay
magistrate takes to himself the' authority' to keep pure and            that the Synod in speaking of sepprat,iort,  of chwch  and sta.te
entire the truth of God in the church, to suppress al1 blasph-          did not have in  Tnind the Baptistic construction which was
emies and heresies, to prevent or reform  al1 corruptions  and          also in the  minds of the Deistic kramers of the U.S. Con-
abuses in worship and discipiine.  That is like saying that a           titution. It  may be admitted that if the phrase is so con-
drunkard is to enforce  the laws of prohibition. 1 maintained           strued, the decision contains an inexplatiable  contradiction:
that this `is a practica1 impossibility in this world and that          But this not necessarily the case. According to the framers
where the  state attempts this an inevitable conflict wil1 ensue.       of the U. S. Constitution the state is to be religiously  neutral
,The true worship of God against which the kings of the earth           (religiously  atheistic, physically separate) and leave  al1  mat-
have set themselves wil1 not be protected but persecuted,               ters pertaining to God and religion to the church. `This is
heretics  wil1 not be punished but honored, corruptions and             plainly not the idea or meaning of the decision of 1910 which
abuses  tij1 not be prevented but  promoted   even as they              states : "That   botlz  State'  and  Chwch   ai  imtiitzctio~s  of God
.are, within the sphere of the state.  - No? is it the. task of the     bnd  Ch& have  ~whtual  rights  and  duties  appo,inted  tlaew
state to do  al1 this but it is  rather  a more correct  circum-        from  on high,  a.nd  thef*efo;c  hut:  a  ieq  sacred  reciprocnl
scription of the  duty and authqrity  of the ruling  elder in the       oOligat.ion to  meet  tkrough. the  Ho2y  Spirit  Who proceeds
church whom  God has appoiited  as overseer of His house.               frow  Fathw   a,nd  San." Absolute separation is not taught,
    Hence, the fathers went toe far in  scribing  these duties         Rather this separation must  .be construed in the sense that
to th& heads of th state  ; duties-which  can be true only where       church and  state  are distinct institutions, distinct entities,  dis-
church and st&e are a unity  (one) as wil1  be the case in the          tinct in .nature,  scope and operation. With respect to both
perfect. Kingdom  of Christ and as was the case in the typical          of them the principle'  expressed in the Dutch saying, Soztve-
theocracy. The church and state as .they  now exist are ttio;           reiniteit  ,in eigen  kring" applies. We do not deny  that church
separate  entities and it is wrong to dlegate the fun~tions  of -and  state both have a  calling before God. They certainly do.
either one to the officers  of the other.                       ;       Each in their own sphere ! And each is the sovereign min-
                                                                        ister of God to execute that calling within. its own sphere. _
 `3.  _Iti  the  third  place, the  pqsition  which Rev.  MacKay
defends is- tantamount  to State domination ver the church                2. That these two  distin& entities are  also  related  to
                                                                        each other is evident. They do not simply co-exist side by
even though Rev.  MacKay  wil1 likely not be ready to admit
this. Nevertheless, notice that the functions of. the preaching         side but in this world they belong to the same physical organ-
                                                                        ism, the  human  race.  Members  of  the church are  citizens
of the Word, administering the sacraments  and exercising
the keys of the Kingdom  belong to the chur&  and these, ac-            of the state qd vice-versa. In .bold  type the Rev. MacKay
cording  to the article,  the civil magistrate rr!ay not assume to      speaks of this also by saying, "Church and Sta+  are joined
                                                                        together by God - there is a real unity  betwezn the two -
himself.  However;  who is t?-determine  what the trut11  of the        but they are n@ organically united akd they are not inter-
Word is, what heretics  are to be suppressed, what abuses and           mingled  or confused."  Related they are and yet separate 
cprruptions  to be eradicate;d  ? Thse functions belang to the                                                                            so
                                                                        that neither may encroach upon th ethers  territory. Let 
civil magistrate. If he considers your  ,preaching or the, doc-                                                                           US
                                                                        then not confuse thcrn. To the rulers in the sphere of the
trine of your church to be the heretical, he has the authority,         state God gives distinct and  clear mandates and likewise to
"Co suppress them. He may even convoke a Synod and be                   these whom He appoints to rule in His church.
present-there to provide  that whatsoevr is transacted there                                                                      G.V.D.B.
be in accordance with the mind of God. Would it not logically
follow that the civil magistrate himself then also determines
whether those transactions of the Synod are according to the                   `THE  RIGHTEOUS   JUDGMENT  OF GOD
mind of God ? Thus the Synod and al1 the functions of the                         Thy righteous  ju&ment,  Thou hast said,  -
cburch  are  bi-ought  under subjection to the civil powers and                      Shall in due time appear,
this is certainly not in harmony with the Word of God. But                        And Thou Who didst establish it
tizen, perhaps MacKa wil1 nat- accept These  conclusions only                       Wilt fill the e&th with fear. `0
then let  him explain these difficulties in this position.
    Now let                                                                       Thou teachest  meekness  to the proud,
                US go back to consider the footnote of &-t. 36
. of the  Nether1and.s`  Confession- which  MacKay criticizes for                    And makest sinners  know
being  inconsistetit  and  contrdictory.  His  objection   is  that              That  none.is  judge but God alone,
this decision repudiates the Established Chirch  id.ea and ad-                       To honpr or. bring-low.
vocates the  principle  of church and state  separation  while  at                The God of Israel 1  wil1 praise
the same time insists that the state bas a divine duty towards                       And al1 His glory show;
the first  table- of the  law of God within its own sphere.                       The righteous  He,  wil1 high exalt
This .he terms  contradictory.  Concerning  this we must note                        And bring the wicked low.                               r
 as to'our position:                                                                                                       Psalm 75 2, 3, 5


 &                                                 T H E   `S$$NDAR~-..BE-ARE@

                                                                        proper church  officers,  or even as the  respons[bility  of +he       .
             AL.L  AROUND US                                            civil government. They do not hold it before US as the `re-
                                                                        sponsibility of the individual christian'  within the church !
                                                                        That  fact iS worthy of special attention.  Our creeds  at this
 Ozw Creeds  a;nd the Missioia  Mandate.                                $oint.reflect  a weskness that to a large extent continues with,
                                                                        US right down-  to the present  day and that the writer is be-
      From time to time in recent years we have heard voices            ginning  to suspect is the underliing  source of perhaps most of
in the  Chris& Reformed  Clurch reiterating the questions :            our missionary problems. Again and agaii we have been
 How is it that our Reformed Creeds  devote no special articles         slow to see the missionary job, and when  we did we have
 to give expression to the mandate of Christ to the church to           usually  had .&eat difficulty in deciding who ought to do it.
 proclaim  the  gesp@  to  al1  n&ions? and, Should not the             Al1 too seldom has ,it been realized or pointed  out  that,  at,
 church append or revise her creeds  to include an  expression          bottom, al1 of US ought to do it !"     .
 on this her particular duty as mandated by Christ?                                           .1
                                                                            Wheti   we read this we became curieus- enough to scan
      The Refommed  Journa of November,- 1952 and January,              through the various creeds  of the church, including our own,
 February,  1953, included articles written  by the Rei. Harry          to see whether these things were trUe.- We agree with the
 Boer `on this subject;  and: the September, 1957  issue  08            writers above mentioned that the  creeds  do not .specifically
 Tor&  a!nd  Tm.wpet   has in it an  articfe   -%ritten  by Rev.        assert what is the mission calling of the church. There were
 Peter De"Jong  in which the question is brought up gain.              oqe or two exceptions to this. We  cal1 attention to what
 &d he in his articl reports that the Rev. Richard De Ridder,
                                             `i                         Schaff   writes  in  bis  Cyeeds of Christendom, Vol. 111, pp.
 now missionary in Ceylon, in  wfiting his master's thesis on           910-922. relative to The Presbyterian Church in the United
 "The Development of the  Mission  Order of  the Christian' ,States of  America.   .He informs  US that the  Wesmins,ter
 Reformed Church"  observes  th+t   ."The Confessions of the            Confession, which was the, basic creedal  statement of this
 tihurch . . . do nat make  niuch' direct reference to missions,        church, underwent a limited  -revision in 1903. It is interest-
 nor do they bear a Streng  missionary character."                      ing to note why this church came to  make  this revision,. but
                                                                        that is beyond the scope of this writing.  We did note, how-
      In th articles  written   .& Rev.  Boe:, which we reread         ever, that this chapter  was added to the creed by the church
 because of our interest in this subject, .we are told in the           which has to do with our subject:
 November, 1952; issue of the Refomed Joztrnal that even `a
 Christian Reformed co&istory  overtured the -recent synod to               Chapter XX-XV is entitled : Of the Love of God and Mis-
 submit for the consideration of the coming Reformed  Ecu-              sions, and reads as fellows:                                .
 menical Synod a propos$  that it `draw  up a creedal state-
 ment concerning  Christian'  missions . .  .' The overture in             1. God, in  infinite  and  per@t  lc?ve,   having  provided in
question  .calls to the attention of the church the imperative          the covenant of grace, tlirough the meditation and sacrifice
 necessity of missionary witnes?.  The mandate roots - so               of the Lord Jesus Christ, a way of life and salvation, sufficient
 the overture-`in  Chris't's  sending   b the  Father,  in  ihe        for and adapted to the whole  lost race of man, doth freely
 sending  of the apostles by Christ, in the Great Commission            offer this salvation to al1 men in the Gospel.
 and in the fact of Pentecost. Proclamation outward (self-.                11. In the -Gospel God declares HiS loue for -&e world
procag&ion  j as wel1  as propagation inward (self-preserva-            and His  desire that  ai1 men should be  savei>  reveals  fully
 tion).  is therefore  a-constitutive  part of the divinely enjoind    tid clearly the only  +ay of salvation; promises eternal life
 activity ot-the Christian Church. `If the- Church fails in this,       to al1 who truly `repent and believe in. Chyist; invites and
 or accepts  its duty &ith reluctance, she cannot boast of being        commands  al1  toe embrace the offered  mercy   ; and by His
 a truc-Church.'  It is urged that a creedal statement concerned!       Spirit accompanyitig  the Word pleads. with `men .t,o accept
`with  missionary proclamation be made a fourth mark of the             His gracieus  invitation.
 church becaus.6  tlis `fourth  mark cnnot  be subsumed under
 the  first  mark_the  true preaching of God's  Word.  His-                111. It is the duty and privilege of every one who hears
 torically corisiderecl the first nark bas an inward. goal; self-      the Gospel-  immediately  t accept its +:rciful  .provisions : and
 preservation of the church.'  "       -      I       .                 they  who continue in impenitence  afid unbelief incur  `ag-'
                                                                        gravated guilt and perish by their own,fault.
      Rev. Boer it appears goes along with this last statement.
 And Rev. Peter De Jong in the article `(Mission  Work in the              IV. Since there is no other way of salvation than that
 Christian Reformed Chrch in the September, 1957, Tol-cl4              revealed  in the Gospel, and since in the; divinely  established
 and  Tmwv+et   insists there is.-a  weakne&  in our  creeds on         and ordinary method of grace faith cometh by hearing the
 this important point.  Writes  he, "If our  creeds  have little        Word of God, Christ hath commissioned His church t go
 to say about the missionary responsibility of the church, what         into al1 the world and to make clisciplec  of al1 nations. Al1
 they do say speaks of it as.a work of God, as a work of the            believers  are, therefore, under obligation to  sugtain- the

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

  ordinances of religion where they are already  established,           Qormulating  a Declaration of  Principles  expressing on the
  and to ,contribute  by their prayew,  gif+,  and personal efforts,    basis of these confessions what she believes is the task of the
  to the extension  of the kingdom  of Christ throughout the            ohurch and her `constituency in the fulfillment of the mandatd
                                                                                                          .~
  whole earth.                                                          of Christ to preach the Gospel to al1 nations. And we suggest
                                                                        that she do so.
     And on page 924 of the same volume above referred to                                                                                   _
  where a Brief Statement of the Reformed Faith, 1902, is               The Doctrine of th'e Last Things.
given, we read.  in Art. XVI - Of Christian Service and the
  Final Triumph- the following :  ". . . .We joyfully  receive              In the last issue of The Standard  Bemw   we called.at-
  the word of Christ, bidding  His people go into al1 the worlcl        tention  to several changes  in the appearance of Torclz  and
  and make  disciples of al1 nations, and dec1are.unt.o  them that      Tbmpet,   one of. which was to be a series of Outlines on the
. God was in Christ reconciling the world unt Himself, and'            Doctrine of the Last Things to be written  by the Rev. Wil-
  that He wil1 have al1 men to be  savecl  and to  come to the          ham Hendriksen.              T
                                                                                                ,
  knowledge of the truth . . ."     c                                      In the October, 1957 issue of this magazine appears tle
     It would be sinful of me to suggest or recommend that              first contribution by Rev. .H~ndriksen  on this subject. The
  the Christian Reformed Church consider adopting the  posi-            writer distinguishes Eschatology, the doctrine concerning the
 .tion of The Presbyterian Church in the United States of               Last Things, into two classifications : Individual Eschatology
  America  as stated above. It would be sinful because that             and Genera1 Eschatology. The first,  he says, has to do with
 position is  dead wrong, and we should never instruct anyone           the things thatare  going to happen to ipLdivid,&is,  when  they
  to do that which is wrong. But when  1 consider the direction         die and afterward. The  second discusses  what wil1 happen to,
  in which the Christian Reformed Church has gone ever since            the  universe  as a whole,  just before Christ returns, at the
  1924. when  it ,adopted  the Three Points of Common Grace,            moment of his return, and afterward.  ~.
  the first of which clearly proceeds from the same doctrinal             He purposes in his outlines for this season to treat first of
  basis as the . Presbyterian Church described above, namely,           Genera1 Eschatology. In twenty-four outlines he plans to
  that God is gracieus  to al1 men in that He offers salvation          discuss   such  subjects  as: "Old Testament Eschatology, the
  to al1 men in the preaching of the Gospel, then 1 can con-            signs, two great preliminary signs, the one great  final sign,
  ceive that- beginning there the church has come to fee1 the           Isarel's Restoration, the great apostasy, the antichrist, Ar-
  present need of expanding her  creeds  to include a doctrinal         mageddon, the millenium, the  secnd coming, the  resurrec-
  statement concerning missions. And 1 `would ask them : Is             tion, the raptiure, the  final judgment, the  mission of the
  not the position of The Presbyterian Church described abovo           angels in connection  with. the judgment ; the eternal state of
  exactly what you want ?                                               the lost, the eternal  state of  the. redeemed,  the' new heaven
     Personally we could not go along with such a change or             and earth." .
  addition as we could nat. go  along with the church  when  she           We are quite pleased with the four Outlines which ap-
  added to her confessions the Three Points of Common Grace.            pear in the above mentioned issue of Torch  a.nd TYWPVL~S'~.
  Nor do we believe we should have a separate creed for the             What especially pleased  US was the distinction and relation
  task of missions as to serve as a sort of "fourth mark" of the        he gives between Old Testament Eschatology and New Testa-
  true church. We.do believe  that it is possible and correct to        ment Eschatology. He purposely avoids the error of neglect-
  make a statement upon  the basis of Scripture and the  Con-           ing the Old Testament  when   considering  the doctrine of the
  fessions relative to the position of the church in her mis-           Last Things. This point we find refreshing.
  sionary calling.  We are inclined to go along with `the remark          Also  the author of the Outlines places  Questions for Dis-
  of the Rev. H. Hoeksema  in Tle Stanbrd  Bearer  of Decem-           cussion at the end of each outline which make for helpful use
ber 15, 1952,  when  he suggested that "If  -anything special           by the society or study group that may choose to use this
  must be adopted as a basis for mission work, 1 would favor            material  for study.
  another `Declaration of Principles'  based upon al1 `our con-            As to contents,  I have nat-had time to study :too carefully
  fessions.  -This might,  indeed,  prove valuable." It must            al1 that the uthor presents, but a hasty perusal left the im-
  oertainiy  be admitted, as he also suggested, that our  con-          pression  that we have here a neat piece` of work, wel1 ,docu-
  fessions do speak plentifully on the preaching of the Word            mented with Scripture.
  which, of course, lies at the bottom of al1 missionary activity.
  It must  also be admitted that our fathers in the formulation of         What the author wil1 have to say in future outlines we
  our present creeds  were cognizantof the church's calling  to         wil1  not guess, and whether we wil1  be able to agree with al1
                                                                        he writes  wil1  have to be determined after  they are written.
  preach the pure Gospel of salvation and that it is  God's  9_
  purpose and .work to realize His elect  church exactly through        But from this perspective we are looking forward in anticipa-
  such preaching. And since our confessions do set forth these tion of some  rather  thorough  and helpful work.
  precieus  truths, there  could be nothing wrong in the church                                                                    M.S.


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   I                                                                                              \



  70                                               T H E   S T A . N D A R D   B E A R E R
                                                                :
                                                                              is  literally   slay Isaac and not instead  dedicate  him to a
                                                                              religious life (Lang and  ethers);        i  .

                                                                                  In framing His mandate the Lord  stresses  that he
        Letter from the Christiun  R,eformed  Church                         `whom Abraham was instructed to offer was his only son, the!
                                                                              one son in whom  his seed should be called.' Thus he was
                                                         JURY 24, -957        placed  under the-necessity  of slaying the Lords very promise
  The Protestant Reformed Churches                                            t o   h i m .                *-
  Rev. George Lubbers, Stated Clerk                                               Abraham had to offer Isaac a burnt offering. The burnt
  1125 Franklin Street                                                        offering `as wel1  as the sin.and gespass offering was accepted
  Grand Rapids, Michigan.                                                     for him  who bsought it to make atonement for him. Now the
  Esteemed Brethren in Christ :                                               thought symbolized by the  -action  known in Scripture as
                                                                              ofler&g  or mcrifice  (by blood) cqnfesses God as a being of
        The  Synocl  of  the- Christian Reformed Church in  session           perfect rectitude who~without  fail causes sin to return to the
  during the  month of June, 1957, made the following decisionc               sinner as punishment  ; but also as a being of that infinite  wis-
  inreply to your letter dated June 19' 1957, page 83, Art. 142,              dom and love  capable  of divising ways and means for throw-
  1 1 1 )                                                                     ing abo:ut the offender, ill-deserving and condemnable,  His
        A. Material:                                                          everlasting arms of mercy  to pardon him in His love and
             A letter- responding to our invitation to send a re-             cleanse  him from al1 his sin and thereby prepare him for a
             presentative to our 1957 Synod in connection with the            place-  in Wis house as His sen and heir in Christ. These
             Centennial celebration.  The invitation is declined, hut         thoughts were Abraham's.  For he offerecl his son in faith, so
             `we are asked to seek  official contact to rehease the his-      that thc thought prompting him to bring this sacrifice is tha
             tory of 1924-25.                                                 thought that he was in himself  lost and undone. What he
        B. Kecommendations  :                                                 must have been hungelmg  for is rigliteousness, and He whom
             1. Our invitation asking them to share in our  Cen-              he.must have been thirsting for is God. And so he must be
             tennial implies our fratemal spirit toward the Prot-             thought of as offering up Isaac in the firm belief that his only
             estant Reformed Churches.                                        way of approach to God was through Isaac?  bloed.  ,What the
             2. .The. tone and contents  of the letter are'not such           shedding of Isaac's blood was meant to proclaim  unto him
             as give promise of fruitful discussion. - Adpted.             - was that the sinning.  soul shall die and that without  fhe.
                                                                              shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin, that he
        With Christian greetings,                                             would be blessed of God only if he  receive  the blood of
                        The Christian Reformed Church                         Isaac as a covering  for his sins. For mark you, he-was com-
                                     w/s R. J. Danhof, Stated Clerk           .manded  to offer Isaac a burnt offering, one of the sacrifices
                                                                              tiy Olood.                         0

                                                                                  It is to be noticed that Isaac was to be offered up a burnt
                  Abraham's  Sacrifice of Isaac                               offering and not a sin or trespass  offering. Though the burnt
                                                                              offering as wel1 as the sin and trespass  offering  was received
        Abraham's  faith reached its climax  when  it responded to            from the hand Of the offender as a cqvering  for his sin, there
  offer up Isaac. Said the Lord, "Take now thy  sen,  thine,                  was a  ditierence.  The sin  ancl  trespass  offerings were re-
  only' son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land               ceived as a covering  for one who had committed some special
  of Moriah  and offer him there for a burnt offering upon ne                sin, while the blood of the burnt offering was received  as a
  of the mountains  1 wil1 tel1 thee of." That the command  had               covering for those .short comings and imperfections that al-
  respect of literal  offering is a view that has the firm support            ways-cleave  to the believer  and pollute his best works. From
  of the Scriptures. For Isaac is to be a burnt offering. Even                this it may be gathered that the trespass  offering was brought
  `the place where he- is to be devoted is specified  - one of the            by one whose fellowship  with God had been broken  by evil-
  mountains  of Moriah.  Finally when  Abraham was about to                   doing, so that the aim of this offering was the restoration of-
  slay his son - his hand gripping  the. knife already extended:              the offender to the state of fellowship with God. The burnti
  .+ he was told not to lay his hand upon the lad and do noth-                offering  .on the other hand was  broight  by one  who  al1
  ing to him as now the Lord knew that he feared Him, seeing                  along had been  walking   in- the light of Jehovah's countenance,
  that he was prepared to offer his only son. It is plain that                keeping covenant fidelity, and thus iiving on a friendly  foot-
  what satisfied the Lord is the specticle f the extended hand               *ing with God, but who nevertheless felt the prfound need
  holding the knife with Abraham poised to plunge its blade                   of .a covering  for the sin that stil1 cleaved unto him. The
into the  mortal frame of his. son. We cannot but conclude burnt offering met this need.
  therefore but that what the Lord had mandated him to do                         It was not without reason therefore that Abraham was.
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                                                                           .-,     _

                                                  -THE     STANQARD                     BE~AR.ER      _     -'                            71
                 ,
 to!d.of God to offer up Jsaac a burnt offering instead of a            ing  him in obedince to the Command, his laying him  S
 sin or  trespass  offering. H had nt by the commission  of           bound upon the alt&- to be slain, his actually slaying Isaac
 some special sin interrupted his .fellowship  with God. On the         in his intention, his loosening Isaac's  cords in obedience
 contrary,  at- this  time he was  walking   with God. He was to the voice  of -God, his receiving  him back agai from the
 spiritual. This is  .proved-  by his offering his only son in          Lord alive and  unhurt.                          _-         G.M.O.
 obedience to his God.                                                                                             .-
     The burnt offering had stil1 another characteristic. When
 the offering was' a burnt offering the body~ of the animal;                            OW Conception  of  ChurChes
 when-it  had shed its life in death, was placed  upon  the altar, -        It is plain-  from the caption above, that 1 do not refer to
 God's table, and wholly consumed. This symbolized a dis- our conception of. the Church as such. The. mystical boedy
 position of heart and mind of `the worshipper to surrender             of Christ, His Church of al1 ages which He, by His Spirit
 and devote and  consecrate  bis entire  person  with'   al1 his        and Word,  gathers out of Alle kindreds  and ages of men,. is
 powers to the service and praise of God. This willingness              surely none else than the body of believers and their seed -
 to- belang wholly to God went hand iq hand with true con-              the elect. Concerning that the;e is, or at least ought be no
 trition of heart. The bumt offefng  symbolized this sancti-           doubt  amoig  US. About that our instruction in  times  past
 fied frame `f heart and mind Which was seen in al1 its powei          has suffered nothing in ciarity. And  -therefore   &y  oth&r
 and glory in Chrisf-thc  true bui-nt  offering.                        conception on this point must be branded unscriptural and
     But what  may have been the reaction of I;aac, when  he            gnreformd.
 saw that he was t be ofiered  a burnt offering; He behaved ,
 in a manner that proves him to be of the  sam faith as that              But 1 speak of our conception   concerning  CHURCHES,
 of Abraham. He willed to be constimed  bl the sacrificid  fire,        i.e., different, separate, denominational  manifestations of the-
 willed to consecrate  in that way his life to God. For when            church in the world. And in respect to that conception  there
 Abraham has built the altar and had laid the wood in order,            is a varied evaluation.. Of that 1 would write being pr.ompted
 Isac  ,permits  himself to be boundi  a.nd laid upoti the aitar.      by actual differences  of opinion on:the  point as such, among
 And he  &d nat open his mauth. Behold .the lad, bound to be            leaders as wel1  as the laity, and also by the appearance of.
`slain, reposing  upon a bed of sacrifical `wood, with the scent        articles  that would ridicule  specific   denominational.   differ-
 of the ,fire that-  wil1 con#ne  his fles11 in his ~nostrils  - yet    &es and evaluate such different uiews  as carrow-mindcd-
 silent. He, too, offers himself.  How strikingly, he typifies nes;. We have,  therefore,  two  extremes:  the one  deemifig
 Christ.                                                                our  church  denominatlon the one and only true church and
                                                                        al1 outside of 1 it false; the ether  resolving al1 differences to
     Abraham is mandated  to offer Isaac a burnt offeiing.  An&         unnecessary  pd so sinful narrowmindedness.
 he does so  b) faith in his heart and mind and according to his -
 intention  but  hg was  prevented of the Lord.from slaying  bis           Let me, first of all, assure oUr reading public, mat 1 do
 son in actual  outtiard  deed.  .But taking the intention of hia       not imagine that..-  am able to answer al1 problems and ta
 mind for the outward deed, the. Lord says that "by  faith              settle so weighty a question, nor is such my intention in this
 Abraham, when  he was tried, offered  up ISaac  ; and he who article. Secondly, and such is the-purpose  of writing as 1 do
 had received  the promise  offered up his only begotten son,           at this time. 1 hope to provoke s-erious  `thought on this .mat-
_ 6f whom it tias said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called~;        ter in our churches at large so that, God wiliing,  we may
 accognting  that God was able to raise him up, even from.              come to  unanimity  of opinion on this matter. And that, unto
 the dead : from whence also he received  him in a figure (Heb.         that end, finally, we ought to face .the following  issues, at
 11:17-19).                                                             this time dealing  With the  fi&t extremity above referred to :
                                                                        our church is the true church, al1 others are false churches :
  Even before he Set &t for the mountain;  he had prepared                  1. There should not be, and 1. doubt that there is, any-
 the altar in his mind, botind  his son, laid him on the altar,         one among s who would deny that we are the purest mani-
 slain him, kindled the fire, the con&med  his flesh. Did hel           festation of the church, the bpdy of Chrjst nd that theref&-e
 do so in  dispir  as  ,thinking that h was premanently  re-          al1 others, some more others  less, have apostatized. That  iS
 moving Isaac from the land of the living, so that the Chri$,           ths conviction w have and must hold regarding even that
 who was in his son's loins, could now nevel  be born ? NO,             ;church  de-mination  nearest   .us, the  Christian  Reformed
 such was'not  .Abraham's%llagining.  For He had faith  in the          Church of America.  If 1924 and its subsequent history do
 po& of God to raise from the  dead  his  slain son.  Zefore            not mean that to US, we should return, as evidently is the
 his mind's eye therefore Isaac rises as recalled from the dead         intent  of  tho.se formerly affiliated with our  churchss. But
 by His  God  who is ever faithful to His  promise  &d  keeps
 covegant  trust forever.                                    /          the Three Points of 1924, a binding confession of  the  Chris-
                                                                        tian Reformed denominatign,   are-a deviation  f;om the  Re-
     Abraham  received'  Isaac from the  dead in a figure. That         formed  faith and ~subscription  to them is tantamount to em-:
 figure is the entii-e  action  of Abraham with Isaac : bis' bind:-     bracing the lie: And let it be said right here that a.ll activities
                             _.
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  7 2
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 and institutions of that denomination hve since then been             abot US -to t&tify,- "You have no future there ! Come outj
 ' characteriied  by apostcy.  In particular this can be noted in lovers of .the truth, and join us." As- to their institutions of
  its institutions f lerning. That stands to reason toe;  And         learning.--                                               -            ,,,
  this  is.very evident  according  to the  measure  oqe  cliqbs the a. ;C'se them,, tihere- we do not have our. oWn and sup-
 ladder of instructional  in$tu&oqs  in their  mi&; So only             poti them as temporary manifesta$ons'  of our vowed intent
 ~axit  be explained that men, seemingly in- good standing in           to bring uc .our~,children  in the- aforesaid `doctrine to "the
 Ithat church, and therefore with approbation and official sanc-        utmost of our~,P~wer." It would be a sin not to.
  tion, can pcopound  the theory that the. days of creation week
 were- so  many  periods  of  many-   yeaxs. .  Th&  is, at best,              eb.  TheTeby  to show a united front  ave?  against  the  in-
 camouflaged   ebolutitin   and sher  mockery  with  the plain         strucfion   of- the  -w&ld,  where  We  may  NEVER  send our
  teaching  of  Holy-  Writ. These  i&ications.  of apostacy,  wa       children as a matter of choic.                                               I                                  -,
  insist, n.nFof  US wil1  or`ought to deny.                                       C.              The me&vhil~ not leave -a stone untumed to have
     2. It is also,our convicti&,.  ancl al1 hist&y substantiates $so our own schools for it is ,a simple fact of history  that a
  ii, that those churches-that have `to a greater or lesser degree . church that refuses  to have ,its own schools, is doomed. From
  deparied in such  an_official  way from the truth, wil1 never         the-  principle   of  sepafate   churches follows logically that of
 come back. An apostatizing church does snot easily retiace             separate schols  . . . Christian  instructidn`according  to the
 i&  sieps. This is  al1 the more. unlikely in light of the facf        tenets of our partjcular church.                                 .'
 that. they have faled to' do, so t6 date in spite' of .irery clear                Undoubtedly,more  could be said, but for the rionce enough
 and consistent  te&imony  given by those  who, were  tast  out space has been taken in our Stn&d Bemw  and what has
 of their midst because they  wished to remain loyale to the            been written  is perhaps enough to elicit further discussion
 Reformed  faith-  That  we have continually given  such  wam-          to the end that also in these matters we  may become united
 ing testimony .almost  without -number,- none can wel1 deny.           more firmly in our convicticns.
 That oui evaluation concerning common  grce as a heresi                                      1                                                                     - H. H. Kuiper
 was incorrect no one has ever successfullp ,proven, though of
 late the group that recentll left-US ancl at present is Vacillat-        +
 ing'between separate esistence  atid returning to the  bosom                  ,
 of `the Cliristian Reformed  Church, does insinuate such . . .                                     CONSECRATION AND DEDICATION
 without proof.  In th& light of the fact of that undisproved                                                                                                   1
 testimony a.nd the fact that now for more than three decades                                            What .shall I render to th Lord,                              '
 there has been no repentance, the conclusion is &lid that &en -.                                          What shall  mi offering be,
 `the Christian Reformed denomination bas  reached  the "point                                           For al1 the gracieus  benefits . ,
 of no return" as institute. This, in turn, means because there                                            He has  .bestowed  on me ?
`is no standing still, that the, process of apostacy wil1  continue
 utitil this denomination with others, wil1   ultimat,ely run  into                                      Saivation's  cup my soul will.take
 the pool of amalgam&ion  to t&e point of becoming the false.                                              While  to the -Lord 1 pray,
 church. God is not  inocked.  An official step of deprture                                                                                                                        I
                                                                                                         And` with His people 1  wil1 meet,
 from  the truth and tenaciously  held on to in spite  of  al1  -                         I                My thankful vows to  pay.
 warhings,  creates   sch a  process.
   3. Jn view of the last sentence above however,   -it is our                                           Not -1ightly does `the Lord permit
 conviction" tliat neither the Christian Reformed Church nor                                             His  chosen saints to  d.iij
`others stil1 called Reformed and Christian  are as yet nor can                                          From &th T&ou  ha& delivered'me,
 be called the .false church. This would be saying that th>y                                               Thy servant, Lord,  am`1.
 are completely  apostate,  `antichristian. Nor are their schools                   _               "                                                                          -
 of learning on the same plane with the institutions of the                                              The sacrifice of praise  1 bring
 world . . . even the degradatgn  may vary considerably in                                                 While to the Lord 1 pray,
 different communities. They my. be (undoubtedly are) on;' ,                        -                   And witb His peopl 1  wil1 meet,
                                                                                                     M y   thanl~ul   v o w s   t o  pa+.
 their way $5 become apostate schools . , . they have NOT yet
 arriv&d !.                                                                                              Within His house, the house of prayer,
     Without any attempt  now st an overture  to return,  which                I                          `My soul shall bless the Lord,
 s,eems the desperate attempt  of fhose that left US, ,we  ca.n and                                      And praises to His holy Name
 desire to  draw the following.  conclusitins  as to our  ca.lling`                                        Let al1 His saints accord.                      ,
 amidst  this  al1 : As to the apostatizing church institutes round                                                               P                                  . . ; Psalm 116
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