    VOLUME  XxxIv                                          MARCH   15,  1958  -  GRAND  RAPIDS,   MICHIGAN                                  NU~LIBER 12

                                                                                           proclaim  him guilty. And so, if 1. put him n a duo with
              M  E D  I'T A  Td `0 N                                                       this despicable murderer and rebel, they must, of course,
                                                                                     I/ choose for Jesus, and 1 am rid of this unsavory case.
                                                                                               And Jesus is placed  before the mob, together with the
                     JESUS  OR BAR-ABBAS                                                   murderer.
              "Whom  wil1   ye  that  I  release   unto  you?  Bar-abbas,   or  Jesus          1 tremble of that which 1 am going  to say next, and`  yet,
              which   is  called  Christ?"                                                 w are forced  by God to do so : let's compare  these two.
              "But  the  chief  priests   and  elders   persuaded   the  mutitude  that        Bar-abbas is a  mere man.
              they  should  ask  Bar-abbas,   and  destroy   Jesus."
              "They  said,  Bar-abbas."                                                        But he has an unsavory character, history and name.
                                                             Matt.  27:17b,  20,  21  b        He is a rebel. He does not belang to the anti-revolution-
   It is a wel1  established custom among                                                  ary party. He believes in improvement  through force, pillage,
                                                           US that we present
duos  or trios to `our people. We do so  when  new office                                  sword, blood and tears.
bearers are to be chosen, and also when  a new minister is to                                  And, as is natural, in the course of this urge he became
be called.                                                                                 a murderer.
   However,  -when we do so, the two or three brethren are                                     At this juncture  1 would advise you not to purse your
very much alike.  The very  fact that we present our duos or                               lips, tilt the point of your nose upward,  draw down the cor-
trios to the  electorate   says,  ,It is immaterial which of  the.                         ners of your mouth,  and assume, the "holier  than thou'? at-
two or `three is chosen ! Any one of them is acceptable  to US.                            titude.
 How different in this judgment hall of  Pilate.                                               This "hum" is not so far removed from you and me, the
   There we also see a duo: it's the strangest duo of al1 the                              onlookers at this spectacle. Why, do you think, did God
ages.                                                                                      place this duo in the world's .bulletin  of anno Domini  34? 1
   Let's look at `them, study  them. We  wil1  see amazing                                 wil1  tel1 you: He did this in order that you and the world
things.                                                                                    may take a good look at both ; come to some definite recogni-
                                                                                           tion and acknowledgments, and be saved, or be damned in the
                                  *  * *  *                                                process.

   1 would like to present to you this duo, and cme to                                        Do you think that the  making and,  displaying of this duo
the  .conclusion  that Jesus is above Bar-abbas ; then 1 would                             is so  much  ."window-dressing"  of  Jesus trial. Oh, no, my
point out that they are on a par; and finally that Jesus is                                brother. But God in His infinite wisdom  planned al1 this.
below Bar-abbas,                                                                           And for you and the  whole  world.
   Jesus is, of course, above Bar-abbas !                                                      This  "hum,"  this rebel, this murderer is the representative
                                                                                           `of the whole human  race. Oh, the depth!
   Why, even  Pilate  thought so.
    Incidentally, it was  Pilate   who thought, of the idea to                                 Everyone in the whole  wide world is in this Bar-abbas.
put this strange duo before the Jews. It was some kind of a                                The man  :born of a  human   father.  That's the  `meaning  of
                                                                                           Bar-abbas. Literally : sen nf a father.  1 think God was think-
ruse. He had a plan with this duo. He thought by himself:
if 1 place Jesus on a duo with this Bar-abbas, 1 wil1 rid my-                              ing of Adam, the first  father.  He is Adam's son, there,
self of a bad case. 1 am  afraid  of this Jesus; 1 see a strange                           standing next to Jesus !
majesty  in this man ; 1 am sure he is innocent ; 1 hate to                                   ..And he-represents  US correctly.                           ._


266                                          .   T H E  STA.NDARD  B E A R E R

    We, you and 1, al1 of US are both rebels  and murderers                 of this difficult case by the stratagem of  plating  Jesus on a
al1 through the weary years since the fa11  in Paradise.                    par with Bar-abbas.
    1 think that none of my readers wil1 deny  this.                          What a sight !
    Well, for that reason God placed this man on the duo.                      God nest to the devil,  on a line with the devil.
The whole God-forsaken world is wrapped up in this "hum."                       Oh how we stammer  when  speaking about Christ's humili-
    Al1 that Bar-abbas was waiting`for was death as a just                  ation. Who is able to fathom the depths here.
punishment, its beauteous justice tigreed upon by both sinner                  And, remember that with one weid Jesus could have
and "saint," the world and the chu?ch.                                      destroyed the whole universe !
    And, after  ll, that's what the world is waiting fo; at this              His standing,there  oh that platform before the face of th
very  moment. And also we would be waiting'for death, ever-                 motley crowd is an act! It is a deed! It is not an accident.
lasting and horrible, if it were not for the  wondr8us  depths              Oh,.no.  When the.  Person  of the Son conferred in al1 eternity,
of  God's   mercy.                                                          He coincided with both Father  and Spirit: That duo must
    1 tremble again,  when  1 think of the judgment day :                   be made: it  wil1  present the exact truth and relationships.
then we al1 wil1  see this strange duo again: Jesus and Bar-                    Pilate  drags Jesus from the dizzying heights of glory,
abbas !                                                                     and places  Him, next to the murderer and rebel.
                                                                                Remember ? 1 said in the introduction that we assume
                                                                            that those put on duos are about alike in capacity and virtue ?
  Now look at the other .member  of the duo : Jesus !                           What must we say here? Shall we  ,not hide our faces in
    Yes, He is a Man too, but 1  wil1 write here with capita1               shame ?
letters.                                                                        To such depths the Lord would bow in order to save you!
    He is Man, but He is at the same time the living God,
though in human  garb.                                                                                  *  8  *  *
    Now do you understancl why 1 hesitated a while ago to
talk about comparing these two ?                                       .       But there is more.
    Yes, you  may  cal1 this Jesus Bar-Abbas too, for He is                    You have not sounded  the nethermost depths as yet.
also the Son of the Father, or better put : The Father's Son !                 `The  "motley"  crowd has taken a good look.
    Could anyone ever think that this is coincidental?                         And unconsciously they have recognized themselves in this
    We see two fathers' sons. And on a duo.                                 murderer.
    But what a differente.                                                      And they are not going back on their race. Have you
    The one, poisoned by the  devil, ready for  helll.                      ever heard the adage  : "Like seeks like" ? Or this one : "Birds
                                                                            of a  feather  fly together" ?
    The other the song of angels : God,. blessed forever  ! Hal-
lelujah !                                                                       There is a twofold motive.
    Even as man He is good, wholly good.                                       The one is: love of self, of sin, of corruption. And that
                                                                            motive is universal. It  rules the entire life of every  man,
    God, man, angel and devil  testified to His goodness.                   woman and child  of the reprobate world, whether they are the 1
    Are we ready for our first recognition  ? Our first acknowl-            so-called "noble"  souls or the gangster.
edgment ?                                                                       The  second motive for choosing Bar-abbas is  hatred
    It is this ; it must be this : Jesus is way above this terrible         against  God and real goodness. Oh yes, you are right: they
man. It is really sinful to  compare  the two. Listen to a                  have tasted the  heavcnly  gift. And they must have nothing
beautiful strain of music: "To  whom   the&  wil1   yo  liken              of it. Who wants Jesus in his company every blessed hour of
Me ?" And the whole world should shout :.To none ! 0 God !                  the day and night. He is terribly in the way. Let's get rid
                                                                            of Him!
                           *     *     4     *                                  That, my friend, is the judgment of the flesh, also of your
                                                                            and my flesh. Wherever our flesh smells the Godhead,
    But now comes the shame of Pilate,  of the world.                       spiritual virtues, there you experience  repugnante,'   deep-
    For a little moment of time Jesus is placed on a par with               seated hatred.
Bar-abbas.                                                                      And so Jesus must take a  place below Bar-abbas.
    When Pilate spends eternity in the place  of everlasting                    Attend to one of my texts, written  above this meditation:
torment he wil1 often  see his last endeavour to ri,d himself               "that they should ask Bar-abbas and destroy Jesus"!


                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                                                                                    267

      `In these horrible words you have the pre-advice  of the
  chief priests and the elders. They scurried through the                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R
  multitude,  zand whispered, later shouted this devilish  advice                 Semi-monthly,  eneept monthly  during   June,   July and August
  in the ears of their charges : the church of Jehovah. Yes, He                    Published by the  REFORI+ED   FREE   PUBLISHING  ASSOCLUION
  came to His own, and His own received  Him  not. And-that                       P. 0. Box 881, Madison Square Station,  Gr&d  Rapids 7,  Mich.
  is  merely negative speech. Positively they took Him and                                                  Editor   - REV.   HERMAN  HO-SEMA
  tast Him  off. They judged Him  worthy of death.                                Communications relative to  contents  should  be` addressed  to
                                                                                                 Rev. H.  Hoeksema,  1139 Franklin St., S. E.,
      And the whole multitude cried : Give US Bar-abbas !                                                           Grand Rapids 7,  Mich.
       And that is tantamount  to saying : Give US a murderer,                    All matters relative to subscriptions should be addressed to Mr.
   rather   than- the melody of heaven, the sweetness .of God's                   G .   Pipe, 1463 Ardmore St., S. E., Grand Rapids 7,  Mich.
  heart !                                                                         Announcements  and  Obituaries  must be mailed to the above
                                * *  *  *                                         address  and will be published at a fee of $1.00 for  each   notice.
                                                                                  RENEWAL:   Unless a  de&ite request  f& discontinuance  is  re-
       That cry,  dear reader, has sounded through  al1 the  ages,                ceived it is assumed that the subscriber wishes  the subscription
   and in  al1 climes.  And that cry shall sound among men until                  to continue without the formality of a renewal order.
   the very  last moment. Man wil1 always maintain  himself in                                                Subscription  price: $5.00 per year
   al1 his filth and corruption. And at the same time he wil1                     Entered  as Second  Class  matter at Grand  Rapids,  Michigan
   spit upon the living God, even as they spit upon Jesus when               -                    -                                                                                                                   -
   it was in their power to do so. Sinful man delights especially
   in trampling  upon the blood of the Son of God and bringing
Him to an open shatne.                                                                                                         C O N T E N T - S
       Well, they have had their day in the most literal  sense of         MEDITATIQN  _
   the word.                                                                          Jesus or Bar-abbas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
       There  He stands : below a murderer and a rebel.                                         Rev.  0. Vos
       And J&us had not one vote.                                          EDITORIALS  -
       And here is a depth : try to measure the abyss : God did                       Reunion? Only in  the Right  Way  ___._________.______....,...........   :...268
   not vote for- Jesus either.                                                        Confusion ___ ..:. ._ .___, __ :. ,.__ ._ ..___. . __ ___. _. __. _.. __ _.._ _. .__ . . ..___  ..269
                                8  p *  4:                                                       R e v .   H .   Hoeksema
       Why  ?                                                              OOR   DOC~NE-
       1 wil1 ask you one final question: Look again at Jesus,                        The Book of  -Revelation   _________.__________....................................  270
                                                                                                 Rev. H.  Hoeksema
   below  Bar-a.bbas.
       If your look is sharp enough and penetrating en&gh,                 THE  DAY  OF  SHADOWS  -
   you will- see yourself with al1 God's elect there. But then in                     The Prophecy of Zechariah . . . . . . . . 273
                                                                                                 Rev. G. M. Ophoff
   your sin, guilt, corruption and death.
       In the- deep&t  sense of the word: God has set Jesus on             FROAX  HOLY WRIT -
                                                                                      Exposition of 1 Corinthians 7 (7) _.______.__:  .__.____...._.  _ . ..__._.__._  276'
   this duo. And Gqd has abased Him, for your sake and on                                        Rev. G. Lubbers                                  .
   your account.                                                           IN  HIS  FEAR   -
       I  can but worship  such wondrous  wisdom!                                     Freedom From Fear __. __ .._____. __ ___. ______ __ ..__.  _. __._  .._ ___ _._. ._... .__ .__. 278
                                            Y                      G.V.                          Rev. J. A. Heys
                                                                           CONTENDING  FOR  THE  FAITH  -
                                                                                      The Church and the Sacraments  ________________..................:  ,____._..  280
                      Men's League Meeting                                                       Rev. H.  Veldman
       The Men's Legue meeting wil1 be held Thursday eve-                 THE  VOICE  OF  OUR   FATHERS   -
   ning, March  27, at 8. o'clock at the Hope Prot. Ref. Church.                      The Canons of Dordrecht  ___________.__.~   _._.______._._..____..................  282
   Rev. B. Woudenberg  tiill be the speaker.                                                     Rev. H. C.  Hoeksema                                                                                         *
                                                             The Board     DECENCY   AND   ORDER -
                                                                                      Article 31 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :. ,284
                                                                                                 Rev. G.  Vanden Berg

                              IN MEMORIAM                                  ALL  AROTJND   US  -
      The Young People's Society of Oak Lawn,  Illin&s,   wishes  to                  Contemporary Evangelical Thought                                                                  `. .                                ,286
   express its sympathy to one of `its members, Emma Rutgers, and                     The New  Schaff-Herzog Religious  Encyclopedia   _..._......._..  286
   family in the loss of her sister                                                   Tuition and Income Tax __. ___._.  __ ___. _. .__. ____ ..____. .._ .._ _._...  ..287
                                                                                                 Rev. M. Schipper
                              MRS. J. FISCHER                              CONTPJBUTIONS  -
   May our  covenant  God give abundant  grace  to the bereaved family                Ca&ism - The Truth  .,...___.._: __._...___..... :.................._............  288
   is our Drayer.                                                                                Rev. Robert C. Harbach                                                                     `.        .,
                                       Rev.  G.  Vanden Bern. President
                                                             -,
                                       Anne  Buiter,  Secretary

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

                                                                             The music of the gospel of salvation
ll            EDITO-RIALSs                                         ll        Flows on throughchannels that run parallel
                                                                             But, tragically, have never reunited.
                                                                             This is our ,record,  this has been our past;
            Reunion? Only In The Right Way                                   The future with its challenge lies ahead.
                                                                             Undaunted by what bas been or wil1 be,
       From a friend and brother.1 received a copy of a pam-                 Our church today  goes forward in the faith."
phlet entitled "Upon  This Rock." It is a copy of a pageant
which was enacted on the occasion of the centennial celebra-
tion  of the Christian Reformed Church. It contains in pag-                  Thus far the quotation.
eant form a brief history of that church from its beginning  til1
the present time. Naturally, 1 was mostly interested in what                 In as far as this was possible in a brief pageant, the
it would relate of the history of 1924. 1 found this on pp.              history is quite correctly  recorded.
16, 17, and we  wil1 quote here:                                             Yet one element which was to  US, the late Rev. H.  Dan-
"Narrator :                                                              hof and myself, and later also the Rev. G. M. Ophoff, very
                                                                         important, is not mentioned here. It is this that in 1924 we
       Not al1 our conflicts were resolved                               were deposed from office in the Christian Reformed Church
       So painlessly as the long-standing language question              because we refused to sign the "Three Points" to which
       Sometimes the harmony of brotherly relations                      reference is made above or, at least, keep stil1 about  them.
       Was broken by the harsh notes of dissonante  ;                    This was decided by the two Grand Rapids classes, East and
 Sometimes the surface of  om-  unity                                    West, in spite of the  fact that the Synod of 1924 had deliber-
      ,_ Was damaged  by the blight of discontent.                       ately  eliminated  from the report of the committee  any  sug-
       As manly strength is  broken by disease,                          gestion of discipline and, besides, had declared  US  "Fun-
       And yet, the victim rallies and recovers  ;                       damentally  Reformed."
       So has the Church been broken down by sin ;
       So has the Church been`built again by faith."                      We could never comply with the request of the classes
                                                                         either to sign the "Three Points" or to keep stil1 about them.
"Voices  :                                                               For we were convinced in our hearts that they were not
       1st. The Reformed confessional standards have always              Reformed and that they led the church in the wrong  direc-
adopted the infralapsarian position . . . . It is the more               tion  as they actually did.
historica1 view.                                                            ;B.ut we did not leave the Christian Reformed Church, nor
 <`, 2nd. It seems to me consistent with om- emphasis  on the            did we intend to leave it even though the Synod had adopfed
sovereignty of God to adopt the supralapsarian view.                     the "Three Points." On the contrary, within the church we
       3rd. It would seem that we cannot  regard Supra and               wanted to  discuss  the "Three Points" and reveal their error.
Infralapsarianism as absolutely antithetical.  They look at the            LlTe  WBYe  ca&  oztt!
same mystery from different points of view . . . . Each em-                 This is the truth and nothing but the truth. And this
phasizes an element of truth.                                            fact was omitted in the pageant.
       4th. (Rev. Van Dellen, Pres. of 1924 Synod)                          But we wish to cal1 attention to the last few lines of
       The Synod on the basis of Scripture and the Creeds,  in           the above quotation.
-support of its formulation of the doctrine of Common  Grace
as opposed by a protesting  minority,  reaffirms the adoption            First of all, it speaks of a  star that stil1 refuses to be
of the following articles in reference to the present dispute :          healed. Of this 1  can be glad; A  star that refuses to be
                                                                         healed must by this time,  after thirty-four years, be a running
       1. There is a Common Grace, a favorable disposition of            sore. Once more, 1 say :. of this 1 am glad, not because 1
           God toward al1 men and not alone toward the elect.            rejoice in  any sor spot in the body of the Christian Reformed
       2. God restrains sin in the life of the individual and in         Church, for 1 do not. 1 would like nothing better than to
          the life of society.                                           see my old church, in which 1 made my confession of faith,
       3. The unregenerate are capable  of doing civic good."            in. whose theological school 1 was prepared for the ministry,
                                                                         and which 1 actually served for over four years in the
" N a r r a t o r :                                                      ministry of the Word,  walking  in and confessing the Re-
       The doctrine was aggressively contested,                          formed truth. And it is a life-long grief to me that they tast
       Tension  and disagreement reached a climax                        me  out and that, ever since, they have departed farther from
       In sudden and disturbing separation.                              the faith of our fathers. But when 1 read of that star that
       The wound that was inflicted by the schism                        refuses to be healed, there is, it seems  to me, stil1 a glimmer
       Remains a star refusing to be healed.                             of hope. And 1 would like*to  ask the question: why don?


                                                     T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEA.RER                                                        269

      you go.!0  the doctor to have it healed, if at al1 possibl?:Yoa           So has the Church been.built  again by faith."
      ask : what doctor ? My answer is : the truth.                            Or again, at the  very end of the passage 1 quoted above:
          Secondly, 1 must cal1 attention to thse other lines in the          "This is our record ; this has been or past ;
      pageant that speak of the music of the gospel of salvation                                                                                          _)
                                                                                The future with its challenge lies ahead.
      flowing through parallel channels  that "&-agically,  have never          Undaunted  by tihat laas been or what wil1 be,
      been reunited." Also this ref&, of course, to the history of               Our church today  goes forward in the faith."                       X    -.
       1924 and to the separation between the Christian Reformed
       Church and our churches. Th; pageant here strikes  a note               1 hope this may be -truc. But-  God is not mocked.
       of sadness and of longing to be reunited.                                                                                         H.H.
          Now, it  may be rather  difficult to reunite as churches
      after  a period of more than thirty years of separatin.  But
       suppose the attempt  were made, at least, to establish a more
      fraternal relationship between the two churches  ;han exists at                                  Confusion
      present. What would be involved in  such an  attempt? It                 From the bulletin of the schismatics that  cal1  themselqes
       certainly would mean that we open a discussion. about the            the "Orthodox Protestant Reformed Church" we learn  tha't
       causes that separateb  US in 1924. The Christian Reformed            they decided to begin legal  action  to obtin the property  of
       Church and our churches could appoint a committee that               the First Protestant Reformed Church  of Grand Rapids,
       would meet together, and discuss  those causes  and make the         Michigan.
       result of their discussions  public in the papers.
                                                                               They do this on the basis of the decree of the  Second
           It Stand;  to reason that the chief subject of our discussion    Church of Grand Rapids, rendered by the Supreme Court of
       would be whether, in 1924, it was right to adopt the "Three          Michigan and -in spite of the fact that the Fame Supreme
       Points" as official church doctrine, and to  Fake them bind-         Court, before the case of the  Second  Church  came before it,
       ing on ever,y  office-bearer and member in the ChriStian Re-         rendered a  decree  in  regard to the property of the First
       formed Church. In close connection with tlis is the ques-           Church that was in our favor.                                     . .
       tion  whether it was right for the Christian Reformed Church,
       in 1924, to tast out ministers of the gpspel  who, according to         That  such  action  on the  pzirt of the schismatics is  .&%n
       their own testimony, were fundamentally Reformed.                    possible is due, of course, to,tfie  confusion of the two decrees
           These  subjects must be  thoroughly   discussed  and must        of the Supreme Court.
       be decided to the satisfactiod  of both sides before any reunion        1 understand that the schismatics have  also  .already   de-
       can .possibly  be accomplished.                                      manded the records of' Classis East.  Also this  demand is
           Our position on these matters is wel1  known and was             based on the same decree  of the Suprme Court  in the case
       wel1 known at and ever since the Synd of 1924. For even             of' Jhe Second  Church.
       at that Synod we openly dciared that we could not accept               This, to my mind is more confusion. First Church, which
       the "Three Points" and  eirer since  we have furnished ample         was justified by the Supreme Court, certainly  has"th&right
       reasons fr this position. Our position is, too,  that the           to demand  that` these records wil1 never be surrendered.
       Christian Reformed Church, in 1925, sinned grievously  when
       they tast                                                               Al1 this, and other matters as well, points to the neces-
                     US out.                                                sity of synodical action  before  any further action  on the part
           Nevertheless, we are willing to discuss  these matters and       of individual churches is taken.
       have the results of the discussion published.                           But we will.commit our-way unto the Lord.           .     .
           This would be.the  only possible attempt at reunion.                                                                          H.H.
           Persona&, 1 do not believe that, unless the sins of 1924
      `are confessed and removed, the Christian Reformed Church
       can  expect  God's blessing and develop in  ,the faith of the
,      Word of God.  Already   thefe are many signs that point in                              ' Announcement
     the opposit direction. And these signs wil1 increase as time
                                                _
       goes  on1                                                               Classis East of the Protestant Reformed Churches will.
           It is nothing but false optiniism   when  the narrator in        meet, the Lord willing, Wednesday,  March  26, 1958, at 9:00
       the pageant declares :                                               A. M. in the _First  Protestant Reformed Church of Grand
           "AS manly strength is broken  by disease,                        Rapids, Michigan. Consistories of Classis East  wil1 please
            A&l.yef the victim rallies and recovers;                        take  note!
             So has the Church  .been broken down by sin ;                                                   M.  SCHIPPER,  Stated  Clerk


        270 .                                         T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R  '
                                                                                         :

                                                                              -These people fhat are thus sealed by the Holy Spirit can
                      Q U R   D O C T R I N E                              ll nevel- be changed again ipto subjects of Satn. In short,
                                                                              the idea of this sealing is the same as  tht of perseverance
                                                                              of the saints. And so  .it is  lso in the words of our text.
                      THE BOOK OF REVELATION                                  When  we read that these people of God, these one hundred
                                   C                                          forty-four thousand of God's  elect,' are sealed,  al1 that is  in-
                                    HAPTER  1                                 dicated is that  they belong to God, that they are the posses-
           The  Senhg  of  the  Onti  Hawdl-ed   Forty-foaw   Tlaousand       sion of Jesus Christ, bought by His .precious  blood, that this
                 .                                                            same Jesus Christ also in this present dispensation places
                                Revelation 7 : 1-8                            His own seal  upon them,  makes His impress  upon them
            This  rather  intricate inteipretation  was  necessary;  first    through His Holy Spirit, and that by al1 the werk-through
        of all, in order to understand the  portion  .which we are now        which they are changed from subjects  of Satan into subjects
        discussing correctly. For now we can ask the second ques-             of Christ, and finally, that this work  caniot be  changed
        tion: what `is implied in the sealing of these one hundred            again, but that these saints wil1 remain His, that they are as
        forty-four thousand ? The .symbol  of the seal is very  often         subjects  of His  kingdom   &mune from  any  attack  from
        used in Scripture, both in the Old and in the N.ew Testa-             without: There is no power on earth or in heavn or in hell,
        ment. Its genera1 significante  is clear to US all. It is a mark      there is no tribulation  or affliction, that can possibly erase
        impressed upon  something.  And its most  genera1  idea seems         this seal, that can make  the work of the Holy Spirit undone.
_       to have been that of `security and safe-guarding. A proprietor        Once regenerated  Is always regenerated.  Once  having   come
        would seal a certain part of his property, for instance, to           to the faith, one remains a believer.  Once being justified is
        mark his ownership and safe-guard it against robbery.  A              always to stand in the conviction  that God ,forgives  US our
        book was sealed when  its contents  had to be kept secret,  to        sins-and calls  LIS perfectly righteous.  Once  havi?g surrendered
      _ safe-guard it against being opened by improper parties. And           ourselves to the Savior implies  that we shall always  belong
        so we read also in the New Testament more than once of the            to Him. He is ours,  and we are His, not becaise  we are so
        sealing of the saints. *In 11 Corinthians 1 :21, `22 we read:         faithful and because we. are so strong in ourselves, but  be-
        "Now he which stablisheth  US, with you in Christ, and hath           cause  the work He has for US and within US, in our hearts,
        anointed US, is God ; Who hath also sealed US, and given the          begun partakes of the  nature  of a seal that  can never be'
        earnest of the Spirit in our  hearts." Again, in  Ephesians           erased:                                              i
        1 :13 the apostle writes  : "In whom also after that ye believed,       If We understand this clearly, then we wil1 also understand
        ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise." And once             the  significatice  of this  portion.   For.  this. seal of the living
        more, in 4:30 of the same epistle we read: "And grieve  not           God, which is placed  on the foreheads of the people of God,
        the Holy Spirit of God; wher'eby  ye are sealed unto the day          is impressed under  peculiar conditions. It is a  time of
     _ of redemption." In al1 these portions `of Scripture we read            tribulation in which these people must bear that seal. T6e
        that the saints are sealed, and that they are Seaied  by the          representation of our text is that it is on the ev& of tribula-
        `Holy Spirit. It is .therefore  ? mark that is placed  upon them,     tion and great affliction that this seal is impr&sed  upon their
        wbich safe-guards them- against attack, which makes them              foreheads.  Four angels stand on the four corners of the
        invulnerable.  It is a seal that wil1 remain upon them til1 the       earth, and they hold the four winds of the earth. And an-
        day of redemption,  a seal that makes  them immune from a             ether  angel ascends from the east, and warns these four
        certain point of view. -We cannot go into detail with this            angels not to let the winds  go until the servants of God shall
       V idea at this point, but certain it seems that the  Holy Spirit       have  received the seal of the living God on their foreheads.
        is represented as  plating  a mark  upon them which  im-              The meaning of al1 this is plain. The angels are here the
        mediately  characterizes them as, belonging to the Lord, as           servants of God that must execute  the judgment of Christ.
        being sheep of His flock,  as being subjects of His kingdom,          And the  winds  &ich they hold are the evil powers that wil1
        atid  members of His church. And it  is undoubtedly safest            presently be let loose  upon al1 the earth. That they are four,
        th?t in our interpretation of this part of Scripture we closely       standing on the four corners of the earth and holding the
        adhere  to the Word of God in  general.  The  Holy Spirit             four winds  of heaven, shows plainly that these evil forces
       changes  the  subjects of Satan into  subjects of Christ. He it        wil1   .affect   al1 the  universe  uitimately.  It is on  the- eve of
        is that brings teem to regeneration, to faith, to justification,      tribulation and affliction. The earth and the sea, that is,
        and to san@ification.-Z  He it is that works %ithin  them, so that    al1  that is leve1 upon earth, but  also the trees, that  is.,  al1 .
        they  also confess the truth. They bear th& stamp, the mark,          that stands upright, wil1 be hurt by these evil winds.  And
        of the  Holy Spirit. When the Word of God calls this change           now the angel ascending from the sun-rising  comes,  -per-
        of the people of God, this inipress made upon them by the             haps the angel of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
        Holy Spirit, a sealirig of the saints, the idea simply is that        the Sun of rightetiusness  ; at any rate, another angel comes,
        their ownership  can never be  changed  again. This  -ark             - and warns them that they may not let those witids go til1
       placed  upon them by.the  Ho@ Spirit is not to be obliterated.         the one hundred,forty-four  thousand shall have been sealed,


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARE-%5`~                                                            27!

 that is; til1 they have been made immune again&.  the evils          never  fa11  atiay.  Be not  afraid  of  al1 that is stil1 to come!
 that shall come upon the earth. Hence, the genera1 idea of           The Lord is our-possessor,  and He has sealed US also against
 this portion  of the Book of Revelation is that the people of        the evil day.
 God in the midst of tribulation and affli&ion  are safe, and                                       C
 that the upheavals  of the world shall not touch them, because                                          H A P T E R   11.
 the Lord their God has sealed them as His own possessio.                                  - Th e Nw~herless  Tiwong
     One more question must be answered, namely, this: how                                    Reyelation  7 : 9, 13-17
 must we understand this  beitig safe, this  -security  of the
 people of God on earth, in the midst of trouble and affliction,                  9.     After this 1 beheld, and, 10, a great multi.tude, which
                                                                                  no man conld number, of al1 nations, and kindreds, and
 in the mdst of persecution and plagu&  ? Must we take it in                     people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before
 the sense that ,these plagues shall `nat touch them in the                       the Lamb, clothed.with  white robes; and palms  in their
 natura1 sense of the word? Must we understand this sealing                       hands;
 in the sense that the people of God shall be exempted   when                     13.  And one of the elders answered, saying unto me,
 the  storms  of trouble lower over the world, even as the people                 What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and
 of Israel  in the midst of Egypt were exempt from plagues                        whence  came they?
 that struck that country? Evidently this cannot be the mean-                     14. And 1 said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And  he
 ing. Also the people of God are subject to these plagues that                    said to  .me,  These are they which  came  out  of great
 shall  come  upon the  whole earth.  Wit11 a view to the sis                     tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them
 seals we have discussed so far,  this  bas' become perfectly                     white in  the blood of the Lamb.
 plain. Surely, the  fieople  of God are  touched  when  the                      15.     Therefore are  thiy before  the  .throne   of. God, and
 ravages of war devastate, the whole  world. Surely, tbe people                   serve  him day and night in his temple: and he that
 of God partake of the suffering  from a natural,  point of view                  sitteth on the throne shall dwell arnong  them.
 that fellows  from the  social  contrast. Also the people of God                 16.     They shall hunger no more, neither thirsc  any more;
 fight the awful battle against death. They also partake of the                   neither shall  the sun light on them, nor  any heat.
 evil forces that shall be on the arth wheri  the seventh seal is                17.     For the  &unb which is in  the  .midst of the throne
 opened.  They shall be on earth  when   the plagues connected                    shall feed them, and shall lead  them  unto living  foun-
 with that seal shall be inflicted  upon the world. Stil1 more,                   tains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from
 they shall be subjected  to a suffering which the world,shall                    tbeir   e y e s . . . .
 not know, the  suf%-ing  for  Christ's sake. They shall be             ' In  this  chapter  we  wish to  consider  for a few  moments
persecuted. The world  shall more and more  oppose,  them,            the  numberless  .throng  as it is indicated in Revelation 7. We
 shall kil1 them, because of the Word 6f God and tbe testimony        wil1 leave the Song of the redeemed and of the angels, that is
 which they hold. And therefore, it may be said indeed.:that          found in verses  10 to 12, for a separate chapter.
 .the people  of` God shall suffer more than the children of the          Who are these people that are pictured  to John and to
 world before the time of the, end shall come. In this sense          the church in this second vision? What:is  their relation to
 they are nat immune, and the sealing ,of the one hundred             the otie hundred'  forty-four   thosand that are mentioned in
 forty-four thousand does not t al1 mean that the people f          the first part of this chapter  ? In order to-answei  these ques-
 God shall not suffer. NO, but they are immune as children            tions,  we must,,of course, first of all, study our text, aid dis-
 of the  kingdom.   From a spiritual point of view they are im-       cover tihat it tells  LIS about .them. And then.  we find, in the
 mune indeed.  Spiritually they are sealed. Spiritually they          first place,  that it is a throng without in&ber : "After  this
 are the subjects of Christ Jesus, And  spiritually  they shall       1 beheld,  and, 10, a great multitude,  which noman could num-
 not be touched .or hurt by the plagues and persecutions that         ber." In -these w&-ds iris indicated at th& stime time that the
 shall come upon  the earth.                                          apostle now beholds  a different  vision. It is not a mere con-
     This, then, is `the meaning and also -the comfort of this        tinuation of the vision'  in the first part of the chapter  ; but it
 particular portion  of Revlation. Six seals have  already been      is smething new. And when  he says that he beheld a multi-
 opened. Those si& seals implied  the suffering of the people         tude which no man- could number,  he does not mean to say
 of God in the world. The seventh  seal,  that is stil1 to be         that in actual fact there was not a definite  number, or that
 opened,  wil1  revia stil1 greater suffering  an.d more terrible     the multitude tias actually infinite. That, of course, would  be
 times. Hence,  the-question   may arise: shall we be  able' to       impossible. BL& he means to impress upon US that the throng
 stand ? The answer  is in this part of the Book of Revelation        he beheld  was so  immense  that  the  very   attempt  to count
 in the sealing of the one hundred forty-four thousand by the         them seemed folly  anti impossible. There is an end to  man's
 Spi& of our Lord Jesus Christ. It means that you are sealed          capacity of expressing things in number and of counting a
 in the book of God's  deciee?  that you are  elect. It  means        certain number of  objects.  Thus  it is, of course, with the
 that `you are marked as one of the flock of oui Lord, that           stjrs of heaven.  Who  would   deny  that  ther are a definite
 you are His possession, His peculiar people. It means that           nutiber  of stars in  the sky, so that  they  surely  can be counted,
 you are sealed unto the day of redemption, and  that you shall       and the .number  of .which is'also  known, - yea, the names  of


 272,                                        T H E   S T A N D A R D   -BEARER

 al1 of which are known to God Almighty. But the number of              do .not live -separately  from it, but they are included `in~ this
 the stars is so immense that it is folly  for man even to. at-         multitude: for it is a throng of al1 `nations. Besides, of a
 tempt to count them. This is also tr.ue with the sand that is          separate Jewish multitude we  read nowhere"in  the -Word of
 on the seashore. There is a definite number of grains of               God. It is therefore a universal throng, a glorious harmony
 sand on the shore ; but to count these grains is beyond  our           of al1 nations, each with its peculiar characteristics, but each
 human  capacity. This, then, is also the case with this gre,at         also  with one great characteristic in common: they are  al1 of
 multitude which John beheld. It  is numberless, that is,  the          Qrist, and they are al1 in glory everlasting.     _
 creature cannot count them. It is so immense that the very                 That this is true, namely? that this mltitude  is conceived
 attempt  to number them and to express their number is fool-           as being in glory, is evident from the, entire text. The text
 ishness. And immediately we are reminded of the promise to             describes these people as  being arrayed in white robes, and as
 Abraham in  regard to his seed.  `To Abraham a seed is                 having palm branches in their hands, and standing before thc
 promised as `multitudinous as the stars of heaven and as the           throne and before the Lamb. Now, that they are arrayed
 sand which is by the seashore innumerable. This promise                in white robes  indicates  that they are purified of sin and of
 certainly .is not completely fulfilled in the children of Israel :     al1 the effects  of sin; as is  also indicated in the latter part
-they always could be numbered. Nor is it completely fulfilled          of the verse. This undoubtedly is their chief characteristic at
 in, the spiritual Israel of the new -dispensation : for  also their    this moment. That  this. is actually true is  also evident from
 number is. within our reach, and they may be expressed in              the  latter part of this portion.  Jhn stands amazed at .the
 the definite number  0126   hzhndred  forty-fow   thowmid.   But       sight of this multitude, and is wondering as to their identity.
 here, in this particular vision,  we see for the first time the        And one of the  elders.that  stands around the throne, seeing
fulfillment of that glorious  promise  to Abraham.  For John            that he is wondering,  places  him befor the question, "What
 here beholds a numberless throng.                                      are these which are arrayed in white robes? and. whence
     Secondly; we must also note that this throng is universal          came they  ?' And John, acknowledging his  ignorante  in
 in character. It is  ,a multitude "of al1 nations, and kindreds,       regard to  them,  answers, `Sir, thou knowest." And the
 and people, and tongues." This implies, in the first placet            elder  explains that they come  out of great tribulation. So
 that the Lord has His people among al1 nations. For there              much regarding their origiu. But as to their chief character-
 is no reason not to take these words in their full and literal         istic, the elder  says that they are those that washed their
 meaning. There is no nation  whatsoever that is excluded               robes and made  them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Very
 from this throng. The chosen  people of God's grace are in             strikingly, we read here that they have done so themselves.
 this dispensation hid among al1 the nations of the earth.              They themselves washed their robes  .in the blood of Christ. .
 Hence, we have the suggestion here that it is  en&nbent                You  understand, of course, from al1 Scripture that this mst
 upon the church to preach the gospel to  al1 nations and               not be understood as if they had saved  themselves.:  for this
 tongues. Fully  in harmony with the great commission which             certainly is not the case, and the throng do not conceive of
 the Lord left to His church before He ascended to heaven,              it in that light themselves, as is plain from the song they
 "Go .ye therefore, into al1 the world,  and preach the gospel          sing. The people of God certainly do not save themselves,
 to every  `creature," or "Make disciples. of al1 nations,"  is the     and they do not obtain the forgiveness of sin and deliverance
 presentation in the words of our text. Among  al1 the nations          from corruption through their own efforts. For salvation
 of the. earth are the people of God that shall once be gathered        belongs unto the Lord. He washed them in His own redeem-
 in glory.  And therefore, since these must be called by the            ing blood. Yet we must not imagine that this is a mere form,
 Word of the gospel, that Word must be preached to al1 with-            and that this indicates  identically the same thing as if the
 out distinction. Secondly, it seems  to me we have an  indica-         text had read, "They are those whose robes are was.hed  in
 tion  here that even in the  new economy  of things there  shall       the blood of the Lamb." There certainly is a point of view
 not be an endless monotony-of  men, al1 the same, the one the          from which we  may say that the saints wash their robes in
 exact picture of the other, hut that national  and tribal .char-       the blood of Christ.  Fo,r, do not forget, through the Holy
 acteristics' shall be plainly visible and represented in the           Spirit they  receive the power of faith  ;.and through that power
 numberless. throng. It is the Lords wil1 that the human  race          of faith they consciously  cling to Christ, are rooted in Him,
 should develop into  many nations. Not one  nation  forms              draw from Him  al1 they need,  al1 the blessings of salvation.
 the -organisni  of the human  race al1 by itself, but al1 together'    Through faith the Christian becomes active  in his own. salva-
 they compose  that organism. Not one nation  can be missed.            tion. Through  faith he appropriates Christ and  al1 His  bene-
 And therefore, the beauty of that organism shines forth in             fits. Through faith he consciously  goes to  the.blood  of Christ
 the combination of al1 the characteristics  of each and every          to wash his robes. And this throng consists of those that             .
 nation   combined.  This is implied in- this present  vision.          have thus washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. They
 Hence;  there is a throng from al1 nations ; and in the vision         are now delivered. Every spot of sin has been washed away.
 John immediately recognizes that every nation  of the globe is         They are pure and holy, and they have ,gained  the victory
 represented. In the third `place, `we may remark in passing            in the battle of faith. They stand here as having overcome
 that  also the Jews are included in this very   ,throng.  They         already, as being the victors in the battle.                H.H.           `.


                                                   T H E   STA-NDARD   B E  R E R                                                            273

                                                                                Christ had been born into the world. For they had  come to
  -11.  -iHE  bAY  O F  
                                                  SHADOWS  -'  11seein Jesus- the Messiah, Israel's .promised deliverer. And
                                                                                on Jesus they had concentrated  all~their  hopes.  And now He
                                                                                was  about  to be cut off in  the midst of His day with the
                 The Prophecy of Zechariah                                      people of Israel stil1 under the dominion of the world powers
                                                                                and thus with Israel's  kingdom  stil1 waiting to be restored.
                  Tlze  Pzkfication  of  tlze  renmant.                         And to think that His enemies had Him in their power be-
                                                                                cause,  as forbidding His followers to fight for. Him, and as
                           Chapter 13  :7b-9                                    refusing to  cal1 in  -the help of His Father in heaven, He had
      Suite the sheplzwd, and the sheej wil1 be scattered; and                  voluntarily given Himself over into His enemies' hands !
  I  wil1 turn  my  hnnd                                                        Oh, why had He done that? The disciples were offended,
                             upon  the little  ones.  8. And it  wil1 be
  in  a.11  tlze  la,nd, saith  Jehova~h,  two  pa.rts  tlzereh  wil1 be cut    that is, indignant, provoked, resentful because of Him,  be-
  off,  wil1 die; but  tlze  tl&d  wil1 be  left  therein.  9:And   I  wil1     cause  of what He had done. He had literally .thrown  Him-
  bl-ing the  third  pavt into  tlze  fire, and  wil1  yefine   thevtz as       self into the hands of His enemies.  How terribly wrong! So
  silvev is  rejned, and  zvill  try  tlzem as gold is tried;  a.nd  lze       they imagined.-  Al1 things considered, how terribly wrong !
  wil1  cal1   upon  my na-me  md I  wil1   answer  him;  I  wil1   say,,       With what vehemence they must have denounced the doing
  He is my people. And he wil1 say,  Jehok&  is utzy God.                       of Jesus, with a vehemence as strong as thaf exhibited by
                                                                                Peter at the time.  when  Christ began to speak to them of His
     `The mandate  of 7b must be more  fully explored than has                  determination to suffer  many things, and be rejected of the
  been done, if the thrust of the succeeding two verses  is to                  elders, and of the chief  priests and scribes, to be killed. Hear-
  be properly apprehended. There can be no doubt, as was,                       ing, Peter took Jesus aside and began t rebuke Him saying,
  shown, that the shepherd is Jesus. For the .sins of His people                "Pity thyself, Lord, this shall not be unto thee." For Peter,
  God  smote  Him thrugh the agency of men. And the                            and this was true of al1 of them, did not savour the things of
  shepherd willed to be smitten.  When  His enemies came to                     God. That Christ had to suffer these things, and to enter
  bind Him, He voluntarily gave Himself into their hands:                       into His glory was not in al1 their thoughts. It explains in
  But His disciples were offended because of Him as He had                      part their indignation because of Jesus. Tliey thought that
  foretold. We have it from Jesus Himself, as was shown, that                   He had done wrong in giving Himself over, dreadfully
  this their reaction  - their being offended because of Him and                wrong. It was to this imagining of theirs that Jesus had
  their forsaking Him and fleeing - was the fulfilment of the                   reference, when  He said to thm, "Al1 ye shall be offended
  prophecy, "And the sheep shall be scattered." Herein  their                   because .of me this night."  Let US take notice, "This night,"
  being scattered consisted:  Jesus, so to speak, had literally                 thus even before He was given over to be crucified. And they
  throwri  Himself into the hands of His enemies. And they                      must have been just as indignant when  they saw Him  hang-
_ were offended, that is amazed,  confused, confounded,  in-                    ing  from a cross. For to their mind, it should not have been
  dignant and grieved.                                                          and could have been avoided. And so they al1 forsook Him
      As was pointed out, the root of al1 their troubles was                    and Fred in that night. For what purpose should they remain
  their misconception  of His calling.  ,They  hmad  imagined that              at His side. He bad forbidden them to fight fr Him.. And
  Jesus was con to restore .Israel's earthly kingdom  with its                so they left Him there and fled, thinking, it must be, that
  headquarters in the earthly Jerusalem,  where,  so thy had                   they had seen the. last of Him on this earth. Surely they
  imagined, `He  would  reign as Israel's king with them at His                 were not expecting that, should He be  killed, He  would
  side as his chief ministers. To sit at His right hand, when                   rise from the dead bodily and soon, even after  three  days.
  He was come into His kingdom  was the ambition of ech                           But if they were offended because of Him, they were also
  of them. It seems to have been customary for them t.o debate                  sorrowful,  unspeakably so  - sorrowful  with. the sorrow `of
  among  themselves   who of  them was qualified to occupy that                 love of Jesus, love of Israel, oppressed by the world-powers.
  coveted place.  The mother  of the sons of Zebedee, James and                 And that love  ~the dreadful trials of fhose dark  hours. were
  John, thought to settle the matter once and for al1 in favor of               unable to quench, for Jesus was praying for them. It was
  her sons. On a day she  came to Jesus and said to Him,                        because  cthey loved, that they had so trusted that it was He
 . "Grant that these my two sons may sit, the' one at thy right                 who should redeem  Israel.  It was because they loved, that-
  hand, and the other on thy  left,  in thy  kingdom"  (Matt.-                  they kept  .on  cleaving  to Jesus. They could not forsake Him
  20 :2i > . The disciples of Jesus understood not that the king-               in their hearts; for' they were men reborn. It was because
  dom of Israel of the old dispensation- a kingdom  that had                    they loved and believed  - love is the essence of faith - that
  so wonderfully flourished during the reign- of Solomon -                      they kept on saying, Jehovah is om- God ; from  Him is al1
  was but type and shadow and in this sense earthy,`and  that,                  our salvation.
  therefore, seeing that Christ was now come, it was on fhe                        Yes, they were offended because of  Him,  indignant. And
  verge  of vanishing away, never to be restored. Yet to the                    at the bottom of their indignation lay, unbelief and,  carnal
  mind of the disciples it was to restore that  kingdom  that                   ambition, `yes, but also love -love of Christ, love of Israel,


                               --
                                 _'


                                                                                                                                         .        -
  274                                         T H E   STANDARD   B E A R E R

  love of the things of God's Spirit. Only it was a love sofely          understand  that He had no intention of plating  Himself in
 in need of the illumination  of Christ's Spirit. Was not the            the service of their carnal lusts and mbitions  by allowing
 reason that they had  continued  to  walk  with Him,  when              them to make Him  king. And, like Judas, they were deeply
 many of the disciples went back and walked  with Him no                 offended  because of Hini. They. went back and followed Him
 more, that He has the words-of  eternal life, nd that they             no more. They were the same people that later stood there
 believed and were sure  that He is the Chris& the Son of                cryitig, "Crucify Him," when  He stood before  Pilate.   Such
 th6 living God ?  ,Such had  been their'  testimony through `was  the reaction of the carnal, reprobated Israel to the  self-
 Peter their  spokesman.  The verse states that,  when  the              disclosures of Jesus.  Also this Israel was offended because
 shepherd is smitten, and  th& sheep scattered, Jehovah  wil1            of the shepher-d,  scattered. The shepherd off ended, provoked,
 stretch  out His hand over the little  ones. They were the              grieved, disappointed also this Israel by His disclosures of
 little ones in the first instance  - they, the eleven  disciples of     His determination to be smitten. But though they were
 the Lord. Christ, the hand of Jehovah, would gather  them               scattered .of  Him, He wil1  not  gather  them. He wil1 gather
 when He was risen, and exalted and had received the promise             only His sheep, the little ones. And the others were not of
 of the Spirit and poured Hjm pn al1 flesh. Then He would                His sheep. They were the goats among the  sheep, the
 gather  them by His-Gospel and Spirit, and not only them but            wolves, many of them in sheep's clothing. Truc' in a certain
 al1  the  elect of al1 the ages  to'come.  For they, too, are the       point of  vi& they did form together with the'sheep the one
 "little  ones."   Iii  the  final instance, then, the "little  ones"    flock of God, namely,  in the point of view that they were in
 are the church that Christ  from   the beginning of the worid           relation to the sheep by ties of blood. But only the sheep
 to the end thereof gathers to Himself out of the whole human            were in relation  to Christ. Them only did the shepherd love.
 race by His Spirit and His Word.                                        For  them only did He lay down  His life. They  only,  there-
  -But besides these "little ones,"  the eleven  disciples in the        fore, were  in Him by a redeeming and living faith. The
first  instanc,  there was  also Judas, the betrayer of Jesus.          goats had no part in Christ. They were enemies of Christ                      '
 Said Jesus to His disciples on an occasion, when  He was                and His sheep, the wolves in the flock of God. Principally,
 stil1 walking with them, "Have 1 not choscn you twelve, and             therefore, the flock was only the sheep. This was the fact
 one of you is a `de61   ?" Judas was that  devil. He had  at-           of the matter then and now, too, just as well. It is .always
 tached   himself  to Jesus, and kept on walking  with  Him  to          the case. AlWays-the  flock of God on this earth is a mixture
 the last, for what He imagined  there would be in it solely             of scattered wolves and scattered sheep - but a flock the
 for himself - honour, fame  and riches  - when  Jesus would             scattered sheep of which are  -always  being gathered, but the
 `come into His kingdom  of which, of course, also Judas had             goats never, gathered by Christ. What now was Christ to
 an earthly  conception.  And,  therefore,  he, too, and  especi-        do  with the  goats  in the flock, the carnal  seed, scattered but
 ally he, was offended because of -Jesus as often  as he would           never to be gathered ? And what was His dealing to be with
 hear Him  say that He must suffer many things and be killed.            the sheep,  also scattered but again to be gathered - gathered
 How it would provokc Judas to-hear Jesus talking  that way.             from then on through  th& ages to the end of  time  ? The  e.
 How indignant he would become. But at the  bottom of                    answers to these questions are contained  in the following two.
 Judas' inclignation  lay only love of Judas and  hatred  of             verses.  This bring  US to these verss, 8, 9. The two thirds in
  esus. F& Judas was   godless man,  who was following                  al1 the land, that -is, the earth, of which verse S makes  men-
 :esus only for the bread that perishes. And that hatred  of             tion  are the goats in -the flock - the goats scalttered  hut not
 Judas, if at first more or less dormant, became  more and               to be gathered. On the other hand, the third part are the
 more a consious hatred  increasing in power according  as              sheep, also scattered but again to be gathered. What wil1 be
 Judas became  more and more convinced that Jesus meant                  done with the two parts, the goats-? The answer  here given
 what He saidand  that, therefore, He could have no intention            is, that they wil1 be cut off, `die.~  that is, cut off through death
 of establishing Himself as king in the earthly Jerusalem.               from  the land ahd from the sheep. And the sheep, the re-
 Finally, when. his heart had become a playground for the                maining third part, are stil1 not yet pure gold. For they wil1
 devil, he betrayed Jesus.                                               be  tast in the fires of affliction'that they  may be further  re-
                                                                         fined as silver is refined and tried as gold is tried. Isaiah's
     There were  many more like Judas in the land,, Jews re-             prophecy contains an identicl doleful  tiding,.  only here the
 probated, following Jesus for the bread that  perishesl   Mar-          number  to be cut off is st at nine tenths. The prophet, so
 velling at Jesus' ability  to feed the five thousand with live          it is stated, must malte. the heart of "this people" fat, and
 barley loaves` and two smal1 fishes, and &ncluding that He              make their ears heavy, and shut'their  eyes; lest they see with
 was "that  prophet  that should be  sent," they resolved to             their eyes, and hear with their ears, and convert,  and b&
 make Him king. But He earnestly admonished them to seek                 healed. The  prophet  asks,  "How long?"  The' Lord  replies,
 the meat that endures unto everlasting life. He told them               "Until  the cities  be.wasted  -without inhabitant, and the houses
 that He was the living bread that came down from he-en,                 without man, and the land -be utterly desolate, and the Lord
 and that, except they ate His flesh and drank His blood, they           have removed men far away,  .and there  be.a great forsaking
 had no life in themselves. And so He gave them clearly to               in the midst of the lancl. But yet in it;" so the Lord con-


                                                       T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                             1
                                                                                                                                            \    275

       tinues, ."shall be a tenth, and it shall retuin  . . ." (Isa. G :lOff) .    is not implied in the prophecy.  It is a question that it leaves
       The reference here is to the decimation  of the church tlirugh             unanswered. But let  US face the question anyhow and then in
       the Babylonian` captivity of the tribe of Judah. After  the                 this  farm: Is through the ages the number of true believers
       seventy years only a tenth returned. The rest - the nine                    gradually dimi+shing  .? This  ,must surely be said of the
       tenths - died.  in Babylon as voluntary exiles, cut off through             church in the age that ended with the lood. For in the ark
       death from the Holy City. And this is but an example of                     the church numbered at the most but eight souls. Before the
       what the church is made to experience through al1 the ages,                 amalgamation  of the sons of God and the children of men
       periodically. At the time pf the exile of Judah, the church                 the number  must have .been considerably larger. But whether
-      had already  over and .over  been visited by  such a cutting off            through the ages- the church is always becoming smaller and
       of the two thirds, the nine tenths of Isaiah. To be mentioned               smaller is a question that the  Scriptures nowhere definitely'
       are the following: First, the destruction of the antediluvian               answer. Christ does say that many are callcd but that few
       humanity through the waters of the flood. Second, the Lord's                are  chosen.  He  also asks whether,  when  He  comes, He
       taking away His covenant and His altars  from  the new                      shall find faith on the earth, meaning to Say, doubtless, that
       humanity unto  al1 their generations of the old dispensation                He wil1 find very little. To Elijah  it at one-time  seemed that
       and giving His covenant exclusively to Abraham,  whom He                    the true church had virtually disaipeared  from the face ,of
       had called, and to his seed. Third,  the falling away in .the               the earth. And in Isaiah's day the daughter of  Zion   <as
'      wilderness of the carcasses of  that wicked generation that did             left as a cottage in a  vireyard.  On the other hand the Lorcl's
       always err in their heart. Fourth. the scattering of the ten                promise to Abraham was that He would make his seed  as
       tribes of Israel among the nations. Fifth,  the exile of the                the dust of the earth. And the apostle John in his vision be-
       tribe of Judah already  mentioned. Sixth, the final  destrc-               holds  the church a great  multitude.  But herewith has not yet
      tion  of Jerusalem and the permanent  vanishing  away of Is-                 been answered the question just posed. What is clear'  from
       rael's  kingdom  as a type of the heavenly. It is  t6 this                  the Scriptures is, that the carnal seed is always far in the
tutting away of the two thirds  that the prediction of                             najority. But the. saints have the victory.
       Zechariah has reference in the first instance,  - his prophecy                 But we have yet to attend to the Lord's dealing with the
       of the cutting off of the two thirds. 1: yas by this werking                remnant,  the third part that was left in the land, that parti-
       of God that tl!e remnant, the one third, the true church, was               cular one third with which our prophet  in his predictions of -
       made to pass over into the New Testament church as freed                    these verses  is dire&ly  occupied, namely,  the flock f God, the
       from the typical  symbolical  apparatus of the first covenant.              remnant that passed over into the church of the New Testa-
       The final  cutting off of tlie two thirds wil1  be by a working             ment as freed  from the symbolical-tipical  things of the law
       of Christ that is to consist  ii7 His cleansing this earth from             through  the destruction of Israel's typicl  kingdom.- It, too,
     the race of men that now corrupt it at His  second coming.                    is in the fire of tribulation in fulflment  of the word of our
       Then the whole church of the elect, the one,third,  the rem-                prophet, "And 1  wil1 bring the third part into the fire." Here
       nant, wil1  appear with Christ in glory and be given the king-              the church of this last day finds itself - in God's fire, in the
       dom. Then there wil1  be new heavens and a new earth on                     fire of .persecution  and in the fire of the sufferings of this
     which righteousness shall dwell.                                              present  tinTe  common  to  al1  mankind and in the fire of  al1
           From wht is presented above, it appears that ,through                  marmer  of trial. Here, in the fire, God wants also this one
       the ages.  the cutting off of the two thirds takes place  as many           part. For the'church is stil1 far from being pure silver and
       as seven times. But this need not be taken to mean that the                 pure gold. Doubtless, there is as much dross in her in this
       one third that remains after each cutting off is cut down to                last day as there ever was. For, surely, it is stil1 true that
       one third of its size. Would not the body of true believers                 not  al1 is Israel that is of Israel. As  .&lways, there is the
       sooner or later disappear fro?n the .face of the earth, were                carnal  seed perpetuating itself. And this  seed, the  dros;,
       this th-e meaning ? It would seen? so. But the necessary im-                must be revealed ancl likewise the gold, Abraham's spiritual
       plicaticm of the prophecy  involved is not that, periodically,              seed,  the  -sheep.  It must  become   evident-who  is dross and
       through the-ages, the church is thus being decim&ed.  What                  who is gold. And therefore, "1 wil1 bring the third part in
       is foretold is simply that two thirds (Isa., nine tenths) wil1 be           the  fire." For the silver must be refined, and the gold tried.
       cut off, and that the remnant,  the one third, wil1  be tast.  `in          And so it is. For in the fire the thoughts of the carnal seed
       the fires of affliction. The implication can just as  wel1  be              become revexled  indeed.  It blasphemes  God and despises the
       that after  each cutting off of the two thirds the carnal seed              Christ whom He has sent. It tramples  the truth. It kills the
       in the church again multiplies  to such an extent as to cal1 for            sheep. Ancl as Cain of  old; it eventually  goes forth from the
     another cutting off of the two thirds. What is cut off, dies,                 presence of God and His  peoile,  that it  may serve in Baal's
       is the carnal seed. They die; that is, they perish in. their                temple.  So is the dross made to separate itself.
       sins, are  tast  .int& eternal  perditioti.     But, of  course, the            And the thoughts of  th spiritual seed are  also revealed
       question, is whether  ily each of the seven intervals.  th number          in' this fire. They hu&ble  themselves under God's mighty
       of true believers  becomes smaller and smaller,  tiot precisely             hancl as confessing that they deserve  His strokes. And as
       by two thirds or nine tenths, but nevertheless  &aller. This                                     (Conthued on page 285)


        2 7 6                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D -   BEARER                          _

                                                                                       Rather than give a detailed exposition of this passage, at-
                                                                                   tnding to every particular, we wil1  cal1 attention to the more
                  FROM  HOLY'W'RIT                                                 salient points of this passage in this essay. -
                                                                                       In the fitst place, it should be noiiced  .that Paul states
                      Exposition of'1 Corinthians 7                                very  succinctly that what he writes  "concerning virgins" is
                                                                                   not by `rconlmandnlent"  of the Lord.  Fact is, that he writes
                                         VII.
                                                                                   literally  : Now  ,concerning  virgins 1 have no covvLYutandmenf
                             (1 Corinthins 7:25-35)                               of the Lord ! Hence, what Paul writes in these verses  is not
                                                                                   .an ordinance in th,e church., It is not a rule to be rigidly ad-
           Paul'began  this Chapter  by pointing  out to the Corin-                hered to. It is rather  of th& nature  of a good "judgment," that
       thians the honorableness of one  who does not enter into the                is, it is sound advice,  wholly consonant with the.rest of Scrip-
       marriage  state.  We noticed that he does not present celibaty              ture as this pertains to a godly and undistracted walk  in the
       as a higher  and more holy $rm of life than the state of mar-               world in  relationship  to Christ; our Lord;
       riage. Marriage  is a  calling for some-who~ have not the "gift"
       of continency ! Hence widows and widowers do  "well"   when                     The motivation given by Paul, why this advice should not
     they do not remarry. However,  it is better to marry than to                  be lightly discarded or disapproved of, is that it is given  `by
       burn. In such cases, for the weakness.of  the flesh's sake, it              "one who has received mercy from the Lord to be faithful."
       is bettey  for them to make use of the remedy of God. Let                   This is not a mere s'ubjective  ieason, pure sentimentality. It
      - each work out his salqation  with fear and trembling.                      has in it the faet that he is qualified to give a sound "judg-
                                                                                   ment"! The German translates the Greek  "gnoomeen"  by
           HoWever,  when  one is in the karriage  state he -must. re-             "Meinung." Anyone who has received mercy has evibently
       member that "what  God has joined together let not man put                  had need of such "mercy" in the battle of faith. Such a per-
       asunder"!                                                                   son has conquered in the strength of such mercy  overagainst
           God did not set this ordinance of marriage aside when  he               the greatest odds. He top has been tempted to not live en-
       called one of the partners in the marriage State  to faith and.             tirely in the service of the Lord. Often he had to choose in
       not the other.  Each is to abide in the  state he was-  when                life between the things that differ. It was, only the mercy of
       called. Should the unbeliever depart  this does not put the                 the Lord Christ which made him  persevere  in this way and
       believer under "bondage" in such cases, but he is to walk  in               to be fait'hful  to his caliing as apostle, to keep his eye upon
       peace. Th.e  fact that he  may  be instrumental, under God, to              the upward calling in Christ- Jesus. By the mercies of the
       save the  unbelieving  w:fe or husband is an added reison for               Lord Paul had learned to be content in whatsoever  state he
       not breaking the marriage-tie, but to.remain in it ! The.natural            found himself.
       is first and then the spiritual. Thus Paul ordained in  al1 the                 Such KPaul's motivation.
       churches and not  merely in  Corinth.                                          And these credentials should be not lightly esteemed by
           Now Paul wil1 also give his "judgm&? in the matter of                   the Corinthians.
       "virgins," that is, in the matter of those who choose nat, to
       enter into the marriage state. This is not some worldly wis-                   iBesides, Paul also can state with the greatcst confidence
-      dom, some a&ice of a sOcia1 worker, but the advice he gives                 that he, too, thinks  to have the Holy Spirit. He is-no mere
       here is given in full and total agreement with the foundation               natura1 mag,  but understands the mind of Christ. See verse
       laid down as a wise master builder,  besides which no one                   40. He  can put spiritual things.with  spiritual. He walks and
       canlay any other foundation. And what he gives here as his                  lives by` the Spirit !  Throtigh  this Spirit he  crucifi.es  and
       "judgment"  Certainly   wil1 not prove to be so  much  hay                  mortifis ,the deeds of the flesh in his own person and, there-
       and stubble which shall be burned in that day ! _                           foi-e, is spiritually equipped to give a good "judgment"  !
          .Here too Paul knows nothing but Jesus Chrisr and him                       Wel1 may we then, too, py close attention to this advice,
       crucified, and the  walk of newness of life  which is  ours.                which is far exalted. above the plane of advice to the "love-
       through the power of  HiS death and  resurrection!                          lom'" a` certain Dorothy Dix advice !
           The- passage which wil1 engage our attention in this essay                 Secondly, we should  also  take special  notice of the  "cate-
       eoncerning  the  peculiar  psychological advantages  of virgins;            gories" in which Paul -places the "virgins" and those "mar-
       becaqse of the present pressing circumstances, reads as  fol-               ried."  .'                                  -.
       lows : "Now concerning virgins . , . . I sztfijose  therefore  fha.t           .It wou14 show an utter lack of the proper understanding
       it  ,is good  fw  the present  distress,  I say,  that  it is  goed  foy    of the viewpoint of Paul to present him as speaking simply
       a.  w&~ so to bc . . . , And  this  I  speak   for  yoztr  own  pioft,     of "virgins" atid  "these  married" without  refer.en&  to their
       not  that  I,may   ca.@  a4  snare.   &on  yo`u,  hut for that  whick'is    both  ,being  inyrafted  int C?&t by a truc .and living  fa&,
     comely,   a.nd  tht ye  may  attend  @on  the Lord without  dis-              and, thus, such as receive al1 .of His benefits. ,For, mark you
      traction:"  (Read  this entire section  fro& your own Bible.                 well, Paul is here addressing the "virgins!' in the church of


                                     .   T H E - S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                             277

 God. He is speaking  to-godly men and women, `whether mar-'          aro;es  in the Corinthians a proper  phspective of the al1 that
 ried or  nat married. He. speaks to the "saints in Christ            beongs to the fashion of this world in relationship to the
 Jesus, called saints" (1 Cor. 1 :l-3 j. Even the children in         eternl and heavenly things, and that  al1 things are  indeed
 this congregation are "saints." The family is sanctified. They       of US, that. we belang to Christ and that Christ is God's  !
 al1 live in their new relation to Christ. They have been bought          It is for .this reason that he instructs the Corinthians to
-with  a price. They are not servants `of men but of Christ.          use al1 things without abusing them. This -does not simply .
     In view  of this fact that the Apostle is writing to living      refer to a natura1 use and abuse of thingd, but refers  to the
 members  of Christ, both "virgins" .and those "married" be-          spiritual use and abuse.
 longing  to Christ, it should be quite obvious to one and all,           When we use things properly  we wil1  be motivated by the
 that Paul does here not,exalt  celibacy as a sanctified mode of      fact that we are now living in a certain "season." It is the
 life above the married  state.  What Paul'  writes  in               last  .hour. The time has indeed  been "shortened" ! We are
 v.erse 34, namely, "The unmarried  woman careth for the              now nearer to the return of Christ than when  we first bel
 things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in         lieved, says Paul. Rom. 13 :ll. And this time, this sason,
 spirit" is also a goal after which the "married woman"  must         has a certain "farm."  There  is a "scheme" in the earthly. It
 aspire and does aspire by the  grace of God. Do we not .is constantly pssing away, and wil1 presently- be hevenly.
.read in .I Tim. 4 :3-5, "For this is the wil1 of God; even your      The scheme passesaway  here on earth constantly and it is
 sanctification, that ye should abstain  from fornication  ; that     also changing in heaven above, correspondingly.
 every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in                Well, then, let US have our wives not as an end in itself,
 sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence;even      nor as if we possessed them. They are a gift from God. Then
 s the Gentiles which know'not God"? Paul does not set two           wil1 we serve God with-them without distraction.  Then wil1
 types of people  here,over  against each other when  he speaks       life be comely. So too with our sorrows. They wil1 not al-
 of the "distinction" between the "virgin"  and the "ene mar-         ways abide. God wil1 wipe al1 tears from our eyes. Let US
 ried to a husband."  He is, on the contrary, showing the dif-        live in a living  hope.. And as to the congenial  things of home
 ference in the actual condition  created by entering int the        life let  US not see in them the real and lasting  joys. And
 marriage relationship, the psychological change which this           when  we buy, let US remember that we are only stewards
 effects  and the problem  which marriage creates  in the afflic-     under God! Thus  will. our use of  al1 things be  such that
 tion in the flesh, and the obstacles which faith must overcome       we are some first-fruits of the new creation!
 because of it.!                                                          Such  is the advice of one who received  mercy  to be faith-
     Always there is the underlying truth presuppsed in the          ful. It was a faithfulness which is a gift from God. Thus
 entire "judgment"  that marriage is honorable and the bed            it was for Paul. And thus it must also be to US.                "
 undefiled. Hence. Paul does not say : 1 would  spare you?
 that 3le tin wot! On the contrary he says : 1 would spare. you           Every gift of God is good.  Every   creature of God  is
 affliction! 1  would not  make  the way of  "tmdistracted"   at-     goed.  But sin creates  the greatest difficulties and the greatest
 tendance upon  the Lord difficult for you. Remember,  says he,       possibilities for being tossed to and fr in distraction, where
 life is at best (wenn est Kslich  ist) difficult. To add more       the greatest victory must be won. He that marries does,
 burdens simply makes it more difficult to subject all, to Christ,    from the viewpoint of this present need, wel1  !  However, he,
 the Lord! This is, to be sure, a far cry from  exalting a state      that marries not, does better !
-of  "virginity"  above that of the marriage  state as an ethica1         Such was  Paul's experience.
 requirement  and a higher  state of holiness.                            This is not a commandment from the Lord.
     Were the latter the case then surely he would  have "put a           Let  each work  out his own  salvatjon  in  holy  fear and
 snare" upon the Corinthians. He would have then lassoed              t r e m b l i n g   !
 them in'their  freedom  in Christ. Would the great champion                                                                          G.L.
 of freedom,  wh had just written  "ye are bought with a price,
 do not become servants of men" tast a rope of bondage about
 the neck of these liberated saints, by enforcing celibacy ! God                    THANICF~-IL   JOY  AND  IPRAISE
 forbid !                                                                         0 praise and  `bless the Lord, my soul;
     NO, Pul has in  mind the weakness of the flesh. He points                      His wondrous love proclaim;
 out the problems  of this weakness, the very real danger which                   Join heart and voice  and al1 my powers
 surrounds those ivho are married with the accumulated cares                         To  bless His  holy Name.  -s
 of life. Then the Word is so often  choked in the cares of life.                                                 /
 We so  often  are  overcome  in  the battle. It becomes, from                    0 praise and  bless the Lord, my soul,
 this viezupoint,  more difficult to always give strong resist-                      nd ever thankful be  ;      I
 ante  !                                                                         -Forget  not  al1 the benefits        -'
     That is the viewpoint of these  verses.                                         He has bestowed'on  thee.
     Thirdly, we should  also  notice that Paul stimulates,                                                       1    `Psalm 103  :l,  2
                                                                                                                  I


                                             THE-STANDARD                             BEARER.
                                                             :                  :
                                                                       clearly  indicate  a heart and tongue that is wholly under the
               I N   HIS;FEAR                                          slavery and bondage of sin ? Do these not show that the
                                                                       heart and tongue are completely under the  control  and power
                                                                       of the lie ?
                    Freedom Prom Fear                                      Nay, but freedom of speech is a joy that the living God
                                                                       gives to those to whm `He has given the true freedom of
      In the land in which we live we are promised the four
                                                                       religion, those who have been set free by the truth. ~Only as
  freedoms  : freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom
                                                                       man is  free.  to serve God accorcling to the  dictates  of His
  from want, and freedom from  fear.
                                                                       Word is he free to speak the truth and God's  praises. Yes,
      We do well, however,  to bear in mind that man cannot            we said, "the  dictates  of His Word."  For to be free does
  keep  such promises. It is  also obvious to al1  who give the        not  mean to  be able and to have the right to do as one
  matter anything but the most superficial thought .that  none         pleases. One that is free is not able and does not have the
  of these promises of man are kept.                                   right to do everything. If that were so, God would not be
     , Freedom of religion we have not.  Indeed men are al-            free. For- He cannot sin.  Al1 things are possible with God  ;
  lowed to serve the god of their choosing. And they my serve         but -it is- not possible for Him to sin. Is that a limit imposed
  that god in whatever way it happens  to please their flesh.          upon the infinite God ? Not at ah. To be sure it declares what
  There surely is `a freedom to hold and propagate any and             He cannot do. B& that is no limit imposed upon  Him. God is
  every false doctrine. And it is maintained that one bas also         ruled by His Own being. NO man imposes a limit upon Him.
  the right and must be given the freedom to have no religion,         No.  creature does. And He has fhe highest freedom : the
  if  he so chooses. There is, then,  also a freedom of irreligion.    freedom to do sovereignly al1 that which His holy, infinite
                                                                       being desires. And for the creature the highest freedom is to
     And yet when  one's religion denies one the right to be-
                                                                       be able and to be willing to do nothing but serve and'love
  come a member  of a godless  union- wherein might malies
                                                                       God. The highest freedom is to be `freed  entirely from the
  right and there is no  regard'  for the property of the  em-
                                                                       love, the thought and the act of sin. That freedom of religion,
  ployer, and the Fifth  Commandment  is considered to belong
                                                                       that power to serve only  ,the true God according to His
  to the wrong kind'of religion, that whole promise of freedom
                                                                       sovreign demands is a freedom God gives His people in
  from want (and from fear also for that *matter)  vanishes in
                                                                       Christ. Such wil1 have freedom of speech. "The law of the
  thin air. Instead you wil1  be advised (if not compelled) to
                                                                       Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the
 embrace   -a "religion" that conf~orms  to that of the infidels       `law of sin. and death" (Romans 8 :2) and therefore my ton-
  whose good  graces  you must  seek, if you want work and
                                                                       gue is free to speak the truth and to sing God's praises.
  want to be freed from want, ,at the mercy of those whose
                                                                           And as for freedom from want, as we already  suggested,
  tender  mercies, Solomon says, are  cruel, Proverbs  12:lO.
                                                                       he who has the true religion and confesses,  in the true free-
  Soo.n  the day wil1 also be here, Scripture informs. US, when
 these   who hold to  the true religion  wil1  have no freedom         dom of speech,  the Christ of the Scriptures,  wil1  soon be
  from want but instead shall not be able to buy or to sell. The       hated by men and pressed into a little corner of this world,
  mark of the beast  wil1 be  the required religion. Freedom to        denied even the opportunity to work in God's creation for a
  serve the living God wil1  not be given. And even today, ac-         living. And even besides al1 this, where is there,any  freedom
  cording  to the Scriptures, the.:truth shall make LIS free. Only     from want? Does man have power over the wind and cold  ?
  God  can give  US  truc freedom of religion. Only He  can            The recent cold wave and storms that destroyed the. crops
 free US from  the lie in every farm of false.doctrine  and .false     of hundreds and thousands even in the deep South was the
  religion. And that is  the.  true freedom of religion: to be         finger of `God  as He testifies to US- that man does not control
 freed from unbelief and sin and to be free to serve God with          these things. And many a man  who seemed to have no want
 al1 ur heart, with  al1 our soul, with  al1 our mind and             of food, shelter and protection has seen  al1 his life's savings
 strength.                                                             qnd possessions  whirled away in the tornado or by the fire
                                                                       or else by  earthquake  or  war. Today, we are  also told of
     Freedom of speech ?                                               thousands  upon  thousands that are  out of work in our own
     Here again it  means that you are free to propagate  -and         land.
 defend each and every false doctrine, each and every  farm               Ah, but it is  wo,rse  than that! He who  lacks the  grace
 of ridicule, blasphemy  and devilish caricatures  of God that         of God, he  who, because in his religion he worships another
 may enter into the  mind of depraved man. You  may publicly           god - which is no god L lacks  faith and peace with God,
deny   such cardinal  truths as the Virgin Birth, Divinity of          lacks al1 that `which counts. The psalmist joyfully sings, "The
Christ, Infallible Inspiration of the Scriptures, Sovereign            Lord is my shepherd  ; 1 want nothing," Psalm 23 :l. Indeed !
 Eternal  Election  and Total Depravity. Instead you  may              If we have Him, we have everything. If we  lack having  Him
 teach and fight with al1 the power and talents at your com-           as  om shepherd, we have nothing.                 r
                                                                                                                   .-
 mand for Evolutionism, Darwinism, Atheism, Mariolatry and                But it is freedom from fear concerning-which  we desire
 the like. But is that freedom of speech ? Do al1 these not            to pen down`a few lines at this time. Never in our lives -

                                                                                -      -


                                                  T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                 279

       and perhaps in the lives of men - was there a time when              ahead of LIS, if we can help it and evegthing  is being-done
       there was so  very,  very much fear. As universal is thjs-.fear      that is pssible to train our youth in science and mathematics
       as the space that surrounds this `globe on which we live.            to regain the lead.
           How swiftly have we not sped from fear to fear? Not                  And in a land of freedom of religion it is deemed  ridicu-
       too long ago we were informed  that the world had entred            leus  to believe that with God, we do not need better and
       that new age with al1 its awesome potentialities : the atomic        stronger  rockets and more powerful and more terrifying
       age. And that age is past  already!  Within the past year we         hydrogn bombs. In a land .of freedom  of speech it is gen-
       suddenly found that we had rushed together with  the  whole          sidered to be a sign that one is  "touched  in the  head"  to
       world into a new and even more terrifying age: the outer-            point to the words that adorn the coins of our land, "In God
       space age !                    _                                     We Trust:'  How little of the fear of the Lord there  is in
                                                                            this land which boasts of being a Christian  nation!  Not liv-
           Man has it in his power  .to make the most dreadful              ing in His fear, we must live in fear of man. Let US clearly
       weapons of destruction that this world has ever seen. Just           understand that there is no freedom'from fear of man ex-
       this  morning's  newspaper (February 24)  carries  the story of      cept in the way of the fear of the Lord. That is another way
       Soviet Russia's communist party chief's claim that the Soviet        of saying that only those who have that freedom of religion
       armed forces are being equipped with "the most terrifying            that they are free to fear God can possibly have that freedom
       weapons of  al1  time . . . such weapons have not existed            from fear that consists in peace with God and a confidence
       before." In the story it is claimed  that the Soviet armed           of safety even when  surrounded by the ungodly with al1 their
                                                                                                                                                Le<.
       forces have missiles that can deliver a hydrogen charge to           weapons of violente  and power to  persecute.
       any point on earth. And already man has prided himself  in               The psalmist had a word for it in Psalm  27:1, "Jehovah
       regard to his latest attempt  to "be like God" by plating  his
                                                                    .       is my light and my salvation ; whom shall 1 fear ? Jehovah
       own  satellite  in  God's  outer-space.                              is the fortress of my life ; of whom shall  1 be afraid  ?" The
           On the one hand he makes weapons that can mean nothing           Lord willing,  we desire  to say a few more things about this
       ,else than that man has more and more to fear of what man            freedom  from fear in the next issue. But let it now be under-
       can and might do to man. He makes  weapons which mean                stood that only those who hve been set free from the lie,
       that an ever increasing number of people must live  in fear          so that their hearts (and nat simply their tongues) are free
       of being destroyed by just one bomb, just one racket.  And           to confess this glorious  truth.  that Jehovah is our light and
       on the other hand he becomes less and less afraid  of God,           our salvation,  can possibly have  any  fieedom  from fear.
       because he is learning the powers which God has  placed  in          Paradoxical as it may sound,, only in His fear .do we have
       His creation and he is able to  reach   out farther and farther      freedom' Erom fear.                                                   J.A.H.
       into the heavens.

           What does it al1 mean ?
           This one thing it surely means : we are rapidly approach-.                                    IN MEMORIAM
       ing that day when  the beast of Revelation 13 through  his              The Oak  La&  Protestant Reformed Men's  Society extends, its
_      subjects shall make  his -blasphemous  cry, "Who is like unto        sympathy to fellow `members, Mr. J. Regnerus and Mr. W. Buiter,
                                                                            in  the death of their sister-in-law,
       the beast ? Who is able to make war with him ?" What a
       fear gripped                                                                        MRS. TILLIE FISCHER (nee Rutgers)
                      US and al1 the nations allied  with US when  the
       Russians launched their first sputnik ! What fearful things             May our  Heavenly  Father  sustain them and their families in
     _ were said when  the second and larger sputnik began to circle        their  hom   o f   sorrow. "The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath
                                                                            taken away. Blessed be  the name of  the Lord." `Job  1:21,
       earth ! What fear and disappointment when  our own first
       attempt  was a miserable failure ! What rejoicing and boasts                                          The Oak Lawn Prot. Ref. Men's Society
                                                                                                                         Rev. Vanden Berg, President
       and lifting of fear (to a little degree at least) when  our first                                                 Louis R. Regnerus, Secretary
       Explorer began to streak around the world at the fantastic
       speed of 180,000 miles an hour ! But what is al1 this ? The                                       IN MEMORIAM
       East and the West are in a feverish race, which cannot be               The  Ladies' Society of the Oak Lawn Protestant Refonned
       terminated  until the one or the other attains that stage where      Church  expresses its sympathy with  three of its members, Mrs.
       its  subjects dare to cry  out,  "Who is like unto the beast?        `E.  Rutgers,  Mrs. J. Regnerus and Mrs. W.  Buiter,  in the loss of
        Who  can  malie  war  .with  him?"  Whether that day  comes         their-  daughter  and sister,
       through the one or through the other or through a temporary                             MRS. J. FISCHER (nee Rutgers)
        alliance and union  of the two by war or peace, we wil1 not         whq passed away on February 23, 1958.
      venture   t o   predict. But the point to which al1 this present          "For  with  Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light  `shall  we
        day armament-race and mania to conquer outer space is               see  light." Psalm  36:9.
        aimed is clear. Russia wil1  not back down and cannot as long       Oak Lawn,  Illi
                                                                               :.                                Mrs. G. Vanden Berg, Vice-President
        as we continue to press forward., We wil1 not let Russia keep                                            Mrs. L. Wierenga, Secretary


2 8 0                                       T H E   STAND.A-RD   B E A R E R
                                                           ~-            <.
                                                                         Freeman's judgment must be regarded as extravagant
11  : Contending For  Jhe Faith  11 when he says that "in mere genius, in mere accomplishments,
                                                                     Frederick was surely the greatest prince that ever wore a
                                                                     crown."
          Th? Church  tind the Sacraments                                         Bryce pronounces him  "ene of the greatest person-
                                                                     ages in history." Gregorovius declares that  "with al1 his
   Vmvs  DURING  THE  THIRD-  PERIOD  (75-15i7  A.D.)               faults he. was the most complete and gifted character of bis
                                                                     century."
               T                                                                   Dante, a half-century  after his death, puts the
                    HE  SUPREMACY   OF  TI-IE  POPE                  great emperor among the heresiarchs in hell. When the news
     THE  PAPACY  EROM THE  DEATH OF  INNOCENT  111                  of his death reached Innocent IV, that pontiff wrote to the
               TO BONIFACE  VIII. 1216-1294.                         Sicilians   .that heaven and  hel1 rejoiced at it. A  juster
                            (continued)                              feeling was expressed by the Freiburger Chroriicle  when it
    It has been surmised that Frederick was not a Christian.         said, "If he had loved his soul,  who  would  have been his
Gregory  charged him, specifically with blasphemy. But Fre-          equal ?"
aderick as specifically disavowed the charge of  making Christ;      The Last of tlze Hohenstmfen.
an impostor, and swore .fealty  to the orthodox faith. If he
actually threw off the statement- of the three impostors as              The death of Frederick did not satisfy the  `papacy. It
charged, it must be regarded as the intemperate expression           had decreed  the ruin of the house of the Hohenstaufen. The
of a moed.'  -The statement was floating about in the air. It        popes denounced its surviving representatives as "the  viper-
is traced to Simon Tornacensis, a professor of theology  in          ous brood" and "the poisonous brood of a dragon of  poison-
Paris, who died in 1201, as wel1  as to Frederick. -A book,          ous race."
under the title  De  tribus  imjwstovibus   can be traced into           In his will, Frederick bade his son Conrad accord  to the-
the sixteenth century. It  produced  the extermination of  -the      Church her just rights  and to restore any he himself might
Canaanites,  and other arguments against the revealed  char-         have unjustly  seized but on condition  that she, as a merciful
acter  .of the Bible and -relegated  the incarnation to the cate-    and  pious  mother, acknowledge the rights of the empire.
gory of the myths of the gods. Neander expresses the judg=           His illegitimate son, the brilliant and princely  Manfred,  he
ment that Frederick denied revealed religion. Schlosser  with-       appointed his representative in Italy during Conrad's  ab-
holds  from him  al1 religious  :and mora1 faith. Ranke and          sence.
Freeman leave the question of his religious faith an open                Innocent broke up from Lyons in 1251, little dreaming
ene." Hergenrother-  makes the distinction that as a man he          that, a`half century later, the papacy would remove there to
.was an unbeliever, as a monarch a  strict Catholic., Grgoro-       pass an exile of seventy years. It is reported that a cardinal,
vius holds  that he cherished convictions as sincerely catholio      after  delivering a farewell sermon in Innocent's name, said,
as those professed by the Ghibelline Dante.  Fisher  em-             "Since our arrival in the city, we have done  much good and
phasizes his singular  detachment  from the current  super-          .bestowed  alms. On our arrival we found three or four
stitions of his `day. Huillrd-Breholles advances.  the novel        brothels, but now, at our departure, we leave only one be-
theory that his movement was  an ttempt- to usurp the               hind, but that extends from the eastern to the western gate
sovereign  pontificate  and found a  lay papacy and to combine       of the-city."  After  an absente  of six years, he entered Rome,
in himself royalty  and papa1 functions.                             1253. The war against Frederick he -continued  by offering
    Frederick was highly educated, a friend of kart and learn-       the  crown  of Sicily to .Edmund,   sen of the English Henry
ing. He was familiar with Greek,-Latin,  German, French,             111. Conrad descended to Italy  and entered  Naples,   making
and Arabic,  as wel1  as Italian. He founded the Uni.versity         good his claim to his ancestral crown.  But the pope met him
of Naples.  He was a precursor of the Renaissance and was'           with the sentence of excommunication. Death, which seemed
himself given  to rhyming. He wrote a book on- falconry,             to be in league with the papacy against the ill-fated German
which Ranke calls  `ene of the best treatments of the Middle         house, claimed  Conrad in 1254 at the age of 26. He left an.
Ages on the subject. It was characteristic of the man-thab           only son, Conradin, then two years old.
while he was besieging Milan in 1239, he wassending  orders             Conrad was soon followed by Innocent to the grave, 1254.
back to Sicily concerning his forests and household concerns,        Innocent lies buried in  Naples.  He was the last of the great
thus reminding us of ,Napoleon  and his care for his capita1         popes of an era that was hastening to its end. During the
while on his Russian  and other campaigns.  -Like other men          reign,' perhaps, of no other pope had the exactions of  Rom'e
of the age, he cultivated astrology. Michael  Scott was his.         upon   England  been so exorbitant and brazen. Matthew
favorite astrologer. To these worthy traits, Frederick added         Paris charged him with  making the Church a slave and
the luxurious  habits and apparently the cruelty of an Oriental      turning the papa1 court into a money changer's table. To
despot.  Inheriting the island of which the Saracens  had once       his relatives,-  weeping  around bis death-bed, he is reported
been masters, he showed them favor and did not hesitate- to          to have exclaimed: "Why do  you. weep, wretched  creatures  ?
appropriate some of their customs. He surrounded himself             Do 1 not leave you al1 rich ?"
with a Saracenic bodyguard and kept a harem.                            Under the mild reign of Alexander  IV; 1254-1261, Man-


                                                   T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   281

       fred made  himself  master of Sicily and was crowned king at             With Conradin the .male line of the Hohenstaufen be-
       Palermo, 1258.                                                       cai&xtin&.  Its  tragic end was  enacfed  on  .the soil  which.
           Urban IV,  1261-1264,  was consecrated at Viterbo and .had. always been so fata1 to the German rulers. Barbarossa'
       did not enter Rome. during his pontificate.  He was a shoe-          again and again  met defeat  th&-e  ; and in Southern Italy
       maker's son and the first Frenchman for one hundred and              Henry VI,  Frederick  11, Conrad,  Manfred,  and  Conradin
       sixty'years  to o&upy the papa1 throne. With him the papacy          were  al1 laid in premature graves.
       came under French  control,   where it remained, with brief              At Conradin's burial Charles accorded military hotiors,
       intervals, for more than a  century. Urban displayed his             but not religious rites. The Roman crozier had triumphed
       strong national partisanship by his appointment of seven             over the German eagle. The Swabian  ,hill, on which the
       French. cardinals in a  concla%e of  sevetiteen.  The  Fretich       proud castle of the Hohenstaufen  once stood, looks down in
       influence was I greatly strengthened by this invitation to-- solemn  silence  upon the peaceful fields of Wurttemberg and
       Charles of Anjou,  youngest brother of Louis  1X of France, to       preaches the eloquent sermon that "al1 flesh is as grass and
       occupy   tlie Sicilian throne, claiming the right to & so on         al1 the glory of man is as the flower of grass." The colossal
       the basis of the inherent authority of the papacy and on the         claims of the papacy survived the blows struck again and
       ground that Sicily was a papa1 fief. For centuries the house         again by this imperial family, through a. century. Italy had
       of  Anjou,  with  Naples as its  capital, was destined to be a       been exposed for three generations and more to the sword,
I      disturbing  element in the affairs, not onli of Italy, but of al1    rapine, and urban strife. Europe was weary of the conflict.
       Europe. It stood for a new alliance in the history of the            Th6 German minnesingers and the chroniclers of England
       papacy as their ancestors, the Normans,  had done in the age         and the Continent were giving expression  to the deep unrest.
       of Hildebrand. Called as supporter and Ward of the papcy,           Partly as a result of the distraction bordering  on anarchy,
       Charles of Anjou  became dictator of its policy and master of        the Mongols were threatening to burst through the  gates of
       the politica1 situation in Italy.                                    Ea.%tern  Germany. It was an eventful time.. Antioch,  one of
           Clement IV, 1265-1268, one of the French cardinals  ap-          the last relics  of the Crusaders in Asia Minor, fel1 back to
       pointed by rban, had  family before he entered a  Carthu-          the Mohammedans in' 1268. Seven years earlier th& Latiti
       sian convent and  upon a  clerical   career.  He preached a          empire of  Constactinople   finally  reverted to its rightful
       crusade  against Manfred,  wlio had dared to usurp the Sicilian      owners, the Greeks.
       throne, and crowned Charles of  Anjou  in Rome, 1266.                   In the mighty duel which has been called by the last
       Charles bromised-  to pay `yearly tribute to the Apostolic see.      great Roman historian the grandest spectacle of the ages, the
       A montli later, Feb. 26, 1266, the possession of the crown           empire had been humbled- to the dust. But ideas survive, and
       of Sicily was decided by  the arbitrament of arms on the             the  principle  of the sovereign right of the  civil power within
       battlefield of `B&evento,  where Manfred  fell.                      its own sphere has won, its way in one form or another
           Oti-  the youthiul  Conradin, grandson of Frederick  11, the     among European peoples and their  descendants.  And the
       hopes  of the proud German house now hung. His title to the          fate of yong  Conradin was not forgotten. Three centuries
       imperia1 throne was  contested  from' the  first. William of         later it played its part in the memories of the German na-
       Holland had been succeeded by the rival  e&perors,  the  .rich       tion, and through the ,pictures  of bis execution  -distributed  in
       Duke Richard of Cornwall, brother of  Henry 111,  elected  in        Martin Luther's writings contributed to  strengthen the hand
       1257 by four of the  electors,  and Alfonso of Castile, elected      of the Protestant, Reformer in his struggle with the  papacy,-
       by the remaining three. Alfonso never visited  Germafiy.             which did not faiP.
       Richard spent part of his time there, but was destitute of           The  Ew+ire  nnd Papacy a.t Pmce. 1271-1294. -
     politica1 power;  The threat of excommunication  detcrred the             The death of Clement IV was followed by the longest
       tilectors  from electing Conradin. Conradin  marched to Italy        interregnum the papacy has known,  -1asting  thirty-three
       to assert his rights, 1267, was met by the papa1 ban, and,           months, NO+. 29, 1268, to. Sept. 1, 1271. It was due'largely
       although received by popula?.  enthusiasm even in Rome, he           to the coriflict between  the French and Italian  parties in the,
      . was no match `for the tried ski11 of Charles of Anjou.  His         conclave and was prolonged  in-~  s'pite of the stern measures
       fortunes were shattered on the battlefield of T,agliacozzo,          taken by the municipality of Viterbo,  where the  election   oc-
     _ Aug. 23,  1268. Taken  brisoner,  he was  given-  a  mock  trial.    curred. Cardinals were even imprisoned. The new pope,
       The Bolognese lawyer, Guido of Suzarra, made an ineffective          Gregory  X, archdeacon of Liege, was not an ordained priest.
       plea that the young prince had come to Italy, not as a robber        The news reached him at Acre while he was engaged in a
       but to claim  %is inheritance. The majority of the judges            pilgrimage. A man of peaceful and conciliatory spirit, he is
       were against the death  penalty,  but the the  spirit of Charles     one of the two  popes  of the thirteenth century  who have  re-,
       knew no clemency, and at his insistence Conradin was  exe-           ceived `canonization. Pursuing the policy of keeping the em-
       cuted at  Naples,  Oct. 29, 1265.  Thee  last words that  fell'      pire arid the kingdom  of Southern Italy apart, and -setting
       from his lips, as he kneeled for the fata1 stroke,  were worcs      aside the pretensions of Alfonso  of Castile, he actively fur-
       of attachment to  &s mother, "0 mother, what  pain of heart          tbered  the election  of Rudolf of Hapiburg   tp the imperia1
       do 1 make for yo !"                                                 throne.                                            _         H.V.

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

ll                                                                               fore, as far as this article is concerned, the matter of com-
            -The Voce of Our Fathers                                            man grace enters in rather  `incidentally. Hence, in our ex-
                                                                                 planation we sh$ follow the main line of the article, and
                    The Canons of Dordrecht                                      shall deal with the matter of common grace as an appendix.
                                                                                                                                     .
                                  PART   TWO                                        If we inquire as t6 the main proposition of this article,
                                                                                 we must undoubtedly conclude that it is found in the second
               0         EXPOSITION   OF THE  CANONS                             sentence : "God on his part shows himself ready to reveal
             T H I R D   A N D   F OURTH   HE A D S  OF  DQCTRINE                Christ unto  al1 men." Briefly stated, this is the well-known,
      OF  THE  CORRUPTION OF  MAN,  HIS  CONVERSION TO  GOD.,                    and in our  dtiy wide-spread,  Arminian  doctrine of "genera1
                         AND THE  MANNER  THEREOF                                ,grace."  This doctrine, of course, follows from,the Arminian
                    REJECTION OF ERRORS                                          doctrine of  election  and reprobation. Predestination,  accord-
                                                                                 ing to the Remonstrants, is conditional, based upon foreseen
              Article 5.  Who  teach:  That  the, corrupt and natura1            faith or unbelief. This necessarily implies .that grace must
              man  can so  wel1 use the common grace (by which they              be  general,  so that al1 men must have  at real opportunity, to
              understand the light of  nature),  or- the gifts still left him
              after the fall, that he  Can  gradually,.gain  by their good       fulfill  6r not to fulfill the conditions of predestination. This
              use a greater,  viz.,   tbe evangelical  .or saving grace and      doctrine of "genera1 grace"  also follows from the Arminian
              salvation itself. And that in this  way God on his part            doctrine of the dath of Christ,  namely,  that Christ died for  ali
              shows himself ready to reveal Christ unto  al1 men,  $nce          men. For if Christ died for all; then God must surely show
              he applies to all sufficiently and efficiently the  means
              necessary to conversion. For  the experience of  al1 ages          Himself ready to reveal Christ unto  al1 men. Moreover, this
              and the Scriptures do both  testify  that  tbis is untrue.         doctrine necessarily  requires  the idea of conditionality. The
              "He showeth his Word unto Jacob,  bis statutes and his             Arminian must have some way of explaining the fact that
              oi%nances unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with  any              while God on His part shows Himself `ready to reveal Christ
              nation:  and as for his  ordinances   they  have not known         unto al1 men, nevertheless al1 men are not saved. If he can
              .them," Psalm  147:19,  20.        "Who in the generations
              `gene by suffered  al1 the nations to  walk  in their own          furnish no  kuch explanation, he cannot escape the  consequente
              way," Acts  14:16. And: "And they (Paul and his  com-              of rank universalism, the consequente  thaf al1 men are, in fact,
              panions )  having  been foibidden of  the  Holy Spirit to          saved. What is his explanation  ? Very simply `stated,  it is
              speak the word in  Asia, and  when they were  come over            this, that the decision rests with man. It is up to tian en-
              against Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia, and the
              Spirit suffered  them  -nat,"  Aots  16:6,  .7.        .           tirely whether or not he wil1 come to faith and repentance
                                                                                 and to the saving knowledge of God. He must come to faith
        Iti regard to the translation, tic offer the following rather            and repentance; and if he does  not, then God's showing of
 important correction, which applies to both the Englsh and                     Himself  as ready to reveal Christ to  al1 men is of absolutely
 the, Holland  version: according to  the original  Latin, the
 clause   "since  he applies to  al1 sufficiently and efficiently the            no avail.
 means.necessary  to conversion" should read, "since he applies                      Our next inquiry  iS :  upon  what do the Remonstrants
 to al1 suf3ciently and efficiently the means necessary to the                   base this claim, that God shows Himself ready to reveal
 revelation of Christ, faith and  rpentance."  For the rest, we                 Christ to  al1 men  ? According to the Arminin teaching
 suggest again that t would  be more appropriate to quote the. quoted in this article, it is this : "since he applies (administers,
 textualproofs  as they are found in our King James Version.                     toedient, admiutistre?)  to al1 sufficiently and efficiently the
        As to the contents  of this article, it is interesting-not only          means  necessary to the revelation of Christ, faith, and
 from..the point of view of the Arminian error as such, tut                      repentance."     This is genera1 grace in its rankest form.
 also because we are at once reminded by its very  language of                   Notice:  God administers these means sufficiently and e$i-
 the  Cpmmon  grace`controversy. This is  the. only  place  in  our              ciently.  Of course, we must  notice that for the Arminian
 R&for&d   confessions   where the term  "common  grace"  ap-                    "efficjently"  does not really  mean "efficiently." If it did,  then
 pears. To  tbis, therefore, we shall have to devote our  atten-                 al1 would come to the revelation of Christ, to faith, and to *
 tion as We explain this paragraph.                                              repentance. But lor the Arminian grace is always of such
        Hokever,  the article itself deals with the Arminian  error.             a. nature that it can be resisted, and is therefore not truly-
 And to this we shall devote our chief attention. This is not                    effectual.  Th Arminian actually  mens  by this that God
 to say that the light shed on the matter of "common grace"                      administers sufficiently and efficiently the  means necessary
 in.this article is not important, for it-is. Nor is it to say that              unto  faith and  r,epentance  or  ztnto  wbelief   a.nd  ivttpenitence.
 there is no connection ,between  the "comlllon  grace" of the                   Bilt neverthless, taken o  th& Arminian basis, this -thought
 First Point.of 1924 and the Arminian doctrine, for we believe                   is quite logical. Surely, if God administers these means suf-
 that  .there is, and that, moreover, this similarity is  also ficiently and' efficiently to all, then He thereby shows Him-
 touched  Upon  in` the article under consideration. Nevertheless,               self ready to reveal Christ to al1 men.
 the fathers  w,ere  not fighting the error of common grace as
      sch, but the, Arminian error of genera1 grace: And there-                     Our third inquiry is : how does God administer these
                    .


                                            T H E   STANDARti   B E A R E R                                                              283

means to al1 men ? The answer is to be found in  co'm??Lon             simply a  fact of history that God has not  shown  Himself
gf'ace,  (which to them, the Arminians,.is  the light of nature),      ready to Geveal  Christ  to al1 men. Al1 history proves the very
or in the gifts &ill left to man after the fall. By the use of         opposite. For God has not by any means  revealed Christ to
these gifts man can climb to the greater, that .is, the evan-          al1 `me,n, `and therefore He has not shown Himself  ready to
gelical or saving grace, and thus to salvation itself. Notice          reveal  Christ to al1 men. In fact,  history proves stil1 more,
the following  elements  here : 1) Though they  spea- of the           namely, that God has made no attempt  even to reveal Christ
corrupt and natura1 man, this expression must be taken in              to al1 men outwardly.
the Armi&an sense. And that Arminian sense is that tbis                   And this is the plain  testimony  of Scripture. The first
corrupt and natura1 man is not really corrupt. He has never            passage  cited  by the- fathers refers to the outstanding example
lost the spiritual gifts of goodness, holiness, and  righteous-        of Israel in distinction  from al1 the nations of the world in
ness. His  wil1  itself  h& never been  corrupted.  He is not          the old dispensation. This passage furnishes very  strong
really nor utterly  dead in sin, nor devoid of  al1 powers unto        proof  CIS the fathers'  Gontention : 1) Because it not only
spiritual good. He is not really a corrupt -an, but a goed             presents the positive truth, that God showed  H& Word
man. But, of course, this is the typical  JZOCUS-pocus   of            (and that Word is the Word of Christ) untp Jacqb,  but also
heretics: man is corrupt, but he is not corrupt. 2) The                the negative fact that God hath not dealt thus with any  nation
Arminians-speak  of the  fact that man  can by common grace,           except Israel. 2) Because the entire emphasis in this pas-
or rather  by the good use of common grace, gradually gain             sage is upon  God's dealings. That Jacob has God's Word is
evangelical  or saving grace, and salvation itself. Common             of God's showing, and that no other  nation  has God's Word
grace  (though   sufficient,  and  efficient   j  is here plainly a    in the old dispensation is also of His dealings. The second
resistible grace. It al1 depends upon  how man uses that com-          passage, taken from Paul's preaching to the heathen  at Lystra,
&on grace. There `is a good use of it; there is-~also  an evil         Acts 14:16, is rather  negative, emphasizing that the trufh
,use  .of it.  Bj using their` common grace  al1 men  can  be          is the very opposite of the Arminian teaching : instead of
saved, but al1 men are not necessarily saved. Here you have            showing  Himself  ready to  revBa1 Christ to  al1 men, God
the same old humanistic' notion -of grace, therefore. It is            through the entire old dispensation suffered  al1 the nations
indeed  striking that at every turn when  the Arminian speaks          (mark you well: entire nations) to walk--in their own way,
of grace he stumbles  upon  MAN. 3) It' is plain that in the           that is, the way of thir  own sin and natura1  darkness. And
Arminian view common grace is hut the starting-point  and              the third passage,~Acts  16:6, 7 constitut:s  proof by a specific
the connecting  link for saving grace. And remember that this          instance, in which God precisely  refused-to  reveal Christ to
merely means that man himself is the starting-point of the             the men of  Asia  and  Bithytiia.  The  strength  of  this last
grace of God unto salvation. For bear in mind: a)- That to             proof lies: 1) In the fact that God's refusal and prohibition
al1  intents  and purposes there  ,is no  real distinction between     is  contrasted with the apostle's readiness.  2)  In the  fact
common grace and evangelical grace in this Arminian view :             that the passage expressly  mentions  that the Holy Spirit
the  oie is  merely a higher gradation of the other. b) The            forbade them to speak the Word  in Asia, and that the same
common grace man is a man  who has never been totally  de-             Holy Spirit nffered them not to go to -Bithy&a.  Hence, not
praved. When he fell, he never fel1 lower than this le& of             okiy it is true- that God does not show Himself ready to
common grace. The natura1  ma.n is the CO~~Z.~Z~O~Z g?`acc  man.       reveal Christ to al1 men, but the truth- is ..sharper  stil1 : God
   How do the fathers deal with the above doctrine of the              positively refuses to reveal Christ to some men.
Arminians  ?                                                               Arid therefore, the  doctiine  of a sovereign, particular
    In the first place,  we may observe that in regard to the          grace must stand. And even as far as the outward revela:
common grace aspect of the Arminian error in this article              tion of  (Christ in the gospel is concerned, the truth that this
they say nothing in the present paragraph.  1 emphasize in             .takes place  only according to ,God's  own sovereign  dispensa-
tlte present payag@lz because it certainiy  is not true that the       tion  must also stand: the gospel is preached at that time and
fathers say nothing at al1 about it. The preceding articles,           to that people to whom God in His good pleasure sends it.
even though they do not mention  the term  CO~>Z~~~O~~  grace,         Such is the testimony of Scripture.                          H.C.H.
nevertheless have dealt with this subject  quite .adequately.
There the fathers have made abundantly plain  that the com-
mon-grace-man of Article 5 is nothing but pure fiction. In                                      I N   M E M O R I A M         -          :
the  second  place,  we  may  notice that they devote  al1 their          The Oak Lawn  Protestant Reformed  Men's  Society  extends   its
attention to the  main proposition, namely, that God on His            sympathy  to fellow members, Mr. P. Ipema and Mr. H. Ipetia in
part shows Himself ready to revealschrist  <o al1 men. This            the death of their father-in-law and grandfather respectively,
proposition they condemn as false: 1) On the basis of the                                       Mti. K.  BOSMA
esperience of ajl ages. 2) On the basis of S&ipture's  testi-             May they be comforted in the knotiledge that this' also serves
mony.                                                                  the  Lord's  purpose.                      _.
    Upon  the first ground they go not .elaborate,  but me&ion                                  The Oak Lawn Prot. Ref. Men's Society
                                                                                                               Rev. Vanden  Berg, President
it only in passing. Nor need we elaborate  upon it. It is              Oak Lawn, Ill.                          Louis R.  Regnenq'SeCretary




                                                                                                                         ,


284                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARE'R.
                                                             i
                                                                         stnds unlss further action  follows in the proper manner
              DECENCY and ORDER
                     .                                                   through  tihich  the decision is repealed or revoked. The
                                                                         _  second  term:  "binding," indicates  that al1 the churches are
                                                                         obligated to live up to the decisions of the assemblies con-
                               Article 31                         _      cerned. This follows from the Act of Agreement. We may
                               (Concluded       j     '                  speak of ecclesiastical assemblies as being advispvy  bodies
                                                                          but then it should not be overlooked that under the church
                          IC. Settled and Binding                        order the advice that proceeds from these bodies has  %nd-
       "And  whatevm   may be agreed  ,upon  by:  a`  majohty   .vote    i n g   ckaract-u." Refusal to 1iSe  up to the decisions is equal
shall be considered settled  oxd binding . . .  ,.`J                     to breaking  th& Act of Agreement and severing  frolg the
    The Dutch has : "en `t gene dooy  de vvaeeste  stwvwnen  goed-        denomination.
gevonden is, ml vast en bondig gekoztdeiz  worden."                          .This point is  so. vita1 that  Monsma  and Van Dellen
    Th; parliamentary  rules of Synod express this same rule             speak of it as a.`cjcwel of g'keat  vtihe" and add that "it is as
in a slightly  different form. We find under 1, 3 - r'Lg yM.ain          indispensabde   for  tlze  Reformed   ch-ch  governhe.xt   a s   tlae
motion, as soon as  passed,   becosmes a decision of  Syptod."           conn.ecting-+od   is for  YO,UY   ca.r."
The same rule is at least implied in  Section V where the
idea is negatively stated: "Aftel-  Synod laas decided rlpon a.               L. Rehtion  of Majoy &&>zbLy  Decisions to These
eert&  &xtter it  yMay                                                                           of Minor  Assemblies
                              `not  be annoyed by the  same  matte7
being  b7ought   up  again  unless  someone voting in  favor  of             Yi?he   question  Pmplied in the above sub-title  fellows  from
the question when it was decided lzas undergoni  a change of             the binding character of ecclesiastical decisions. Is this
mi-d. For  SMCIL to  bhg  mattem  once decided  upon  a.gain              relatively true only or is this absolutely so?  Partly- because
before  Synod thee motions  as-e avalable:" This rule implies           this  ma&- has  already  been  touched  upon in previous
that whatever is once decided miIs<  be considered "settled               writings and partly because we  wil1 have occasion, D.V., to
(vast)"  and "bindig  (bondig)."                                         consider it more fully. in connection with a later article in our
    The ,underlying  idea of this rule is fundamewal  for the Church Order, we wil1 limit our comments here to two ques-
maintenance of goed  order in ecclesi&tical  assemblies. She              tions.,  They are : (1) Can a major ecclesiastical assembly
may not be retarded in her-proceedings  -by continued  discus-           nullify or  iyvalidate  a decision of a minor assembly, and (2)
sion or debate  of matters  on& decided. If there are serious             Must a minor assembly bow unconditionally to the decisions
objections to decisiois  taken, these'must be brought in the              of the major assembly'in  every case where there is a conflict
orderly way of appeal. Moreover, those who so hamper the                 of opinion  ?
proceedings of the ecclesiastical assembly do not  merely                    Regarding the first question, we would quote the  follow-
violate a rule but are guilty of sin and offense in the church.          ing from "The Cl~~rch  Orde7  Co~mmentary"  since we concur
WhenFver  the course prescribed  h&-e is not followed, the with this view. On  page 143 we find this answer given:
seed of discord is sown and  much  time is  consumed  that                   "No. n the church of Rome this would most assuredly
should be devoted to other matters. This was certainly the               be-the case. Also with the churhes which  regard the deno-
case in our own Classica1 meetings- in October of 1953. The              mination to be the  real church or church unit. and  l.ocal
matter of rol1 cal1 and seating of delegates was before the              congregations  aid the minor assemblies of the churches as
body. This matter was in the process of time and aft& ex:                divisions  of the one  real church. But  according  to the Re-
tended -debate brought to a .vote.  The matter `should have              formed  conception and set-up, Biblically  formed  and  histori-
then been considered settled and binding but Classis was                 cally conditioned, the local congregation is the unit, a com-
detained from proceeding with the order of business becailse             plete church of Christ.  Major assembiies  most certanly can
there were those recalcitrants  who trampled under foot al1              deliberate and decide.  But if their decisioxis are contrary to de-
law and order and refused to recognize the legally seated                cisions taken by minor assemblies, these minor assemblies
delegates at the Classis. They violated Article 31 and bg                must conform  themselves  to the conclusions of the major as-
doing so  forced  the Classis. to spend  considerable  additional        semblies.  Either by actual  reconsideration  of the question, or
time on a matter that  `was  already  decided  legally by a              by silent acquiescence.  As a rule the latter method is followed.        *
m a j o r i t y   vete.                                                  Practically it does not  Lnake  ,much   differente   Whether one
    As for the rule itself, we m<y note the double expression :          looks upon -an adverse  decision of a major assembly as an
"settled and `binding." This is ni a mere needless duplica-             invalidation or nullification of the minor.assembly's decision,
tion. The first word expresses that "`v tlzing is decided, estab- or as being essentially an advice,  and no decision to nullify
lished  by proper  naeaswes  a.nd,  therefore,   bas  the  status of     the minor assembly's conclusion. The minor assembly as a
a leg& decision." This is no hierarchy and certainly does not            rule follows the advice of the major assembly. And it must
pyeclude  the bossibility  of appeal  and reconsideration but it         do so; inasmuch as al1 tlie churches have agreed to submit
merely denotes ihat a decision once taken must be recognized             the&$ves  to the"opinion  of the majority- and to abide by
as  kuch. It is finished. So it has been decided and so it               decisions mutually taken. Only when  th- Word of God. for-


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARER                                                      285

 bids  may  .any church or group of churches refrain from            mount to saying  thai Classis had become schismatic in allying
 abiding by the decision of the major assemblies. But for  al1       themselves with those  who did not represent one of the
 this, major assemblies do not dictate.  and they do nat have        churches in the classis. It ment  that regardless of whom
the inherent right to invalidate decisions of minor assemblies.      the Classis seated and offi,cially  recognized as proper dele-
 The local church or group of churches do not receive superior       gates, they, as mere individuals could defiantly ignore this
 orders which they must  obey without further question, but          action by the Classis and determine for themselves who were
they receive conclusions reached by common consent, and as           and  who were not delegates. Such conceited  arrogante
 such they wil1 respect these conclusions. And as such they          marked those who in their rebellious ways attempted to take
 wil1  accept them as their own, either formally,  or by silent      al1 law in their own hands. Furthermore, they were never
a c q u i e s c e n c e . "                                          denied the right of appeal as they claim. It was never de-
    The above quotation in part  also  answers  our second           manded  of them that they must  "szhmit  OY get  ozk"  To
.question.  To it, however,  we wil1  add three things. First of     present it as such is the lie. They were required to acknowl-
all, submission to our ecclesiastical decisions is never ab-         edge that the decision of Classis, taken by majority vote, was
solutely unconditional. The church order in this same article        legal and not schismatic. This  was requiyed  of them so that
provides  for the privilege and the right of appeal.. In the         it would be further possible  f&-  them  to work with the
second  place,  a church or group of churches which have             legally recognized delegates during  th& ensuing sessions of
dissenting views from those adopted in the major assemblies          Classis. But this they refused.  They.`obviously  thought that
and which, fter proper appeal, remain  unsatisfied, must by         they could continue to be represented in the Classis and do
virtue of the Act of Agreement, submit to the decision of            the work of Classis without  recognizi<g  some of the dele-
the majority.  On this rule,or  principle  rests the possibility     gates .as having legal status. But what nonsense is that? It
of maintaining an orderly federation of churches. Finally, if        is the evil of open rebellion, taking  al1  law and order in
the differences are  very vita1 or serious that submission is        one's own hands. They indeed,  violated not only Article 31.
ethically impossible, the only alternative is severance of the       but the entire spirit of the Church Order in the most flagrant
clenominational  bond. When  the latter occurs, those dissent-       manner. And unless they receive  the grace of repentance,
ing  from  the official and legally adopted position of the          God wil1  also judge their church politica1 sins !
churches, do not have right or clain  upon the denominational                                                               G.V.D.B.
name or property of the churches. Only thieves and robbers
have the audacity to press  such unrighteous claims.

               M.  K'as  A&cle  31  .F'iolatcd in 1953                                  THE   DAY OF SHADOWS
    Much  has been  b6th said and written   about  this in  the
past. 1 have before me several doctiments  which were written                           (Contilzued   from page 275)
by those who have left the fellowship of our churches nd in         knowing   that they, too, according to their sinful flesh are
which they  advance the claim that with respect to  them             stil1 dross, they crucify their members which are upon the
Article 31 was flagrantly violated by our churches. It is not        earth, and put on  Christ.  And knowing that tribulation
my intention to elaborate upon the arguments advanced, nor           works patience, and the thoughts of the spiritual seed are
to repeat al! that has already  been written  concerning this        also revealed in the fire. They cal1 upon God's name. They
history. To do so would be to extend our discussion `of this         say to  Him; "In thee, 0 Lord, do 1  put. my trust; let me
Article to several more issues of  Tlze  Standard  Bearer.           never be ashamed  ; deliver me in. thy righteousness. BOVJ
Rather, we merdy  want to state in the present connection            down thine ear to  Fe  ; deliver me speedily  ; be thou my strong
that we  deny   the allegations made by Kok, Blankespoor, et         rock, for an house of defence to save me." And He hears them.
alii and wish to point out one matter which h& been fre-             He answers their cry. He says to them,  "He is my people,"
quently mentioned but, in our opinion, not emphasized                fear not my  chosen  ones, "For 1 have redeemed thee, 1 have
sufficiently. This point exposes the claim that  "OZU  right of      called thee by thy name: thou art mine.  When thou passest
appeal  was  dcnied"  as a fallacious lie and makes  clear. as we    through  thc waters, 1 wil1 be with thee ; and through the
stated earlier in this article, that nat we but they violated        rivers, they shall not overflow thee  ; and when thou  walkest
Article 31 at the Classis meetings in 1953. The point is that        through  the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither' shall the
the matter in question was a matter that concerned the calling       flame kindle upon  thee. For 1 am the Lord thy God, the Holy
of the rol1 or the seating of legal delegates. If the matter had     One of Israel, thy Saviour." And they say, "Jehovah is my
been one regarding a decision involving doctrine or the like         God." And they humble themselves under His hand. And
and they had been denied the right of appeal, it would be            laying off the dross that stil1 remains in them, and putting on
an entirely different story. :But this was not the case. Classic     Christ, they hope to the end for the grace that is to be re-
decided  by a majority vote  who-  were the  legal  delegatei        vealed unto them at the revelation qf Jesus Christ, ,when the
from  the First Church. Kok and others refused to recognize          two thirds wil1 be cut off, permanently cut off, so that never
this decision as settled and binding. Such refusal was tanta-        again wil1 they multiply in the land.                 G . M . O .

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

 ll                                                                     Ii. Van  Baalen,  Fred Klooster, E. H.  Palmer, Lewis Smedes.
              ALL  AROUND US                                            Al1 of these men published materials dealing with Christian
                                                                        doctrine, either as a whole, or in some particular aspect.
                                                                            "Two  areas received special attention during this period
                                                                        in  the Christian Reformed Church: common  grace and
       Recently we- received a new publication with the above           eschatology.
 title and edited by Carl F. H. Henry. On the inside of the                 "In  `the matter of  common   grace. the  radical   views of
 jacket of this volume the editor describes briefly the purpose         Henry Danhof  and Herman  Hoeksema, expressed in their
 and  contents  of the book. Ten American scholars sketch  the          joint volume Aboztt  S& anH Grace (1923),  were condemned
 contemporary  trelevance of -evangelical  Christianity  in a           by Synod in 1924. Alexander C. de Jong has  wel1   sum-
 sweeping survey of the present century of theological debate.          marized the  controversy  which ensued in his thesis entitled
 Writes  Carl Henry, "Reaching into major spheres of life               Th  FVell-Mgan.t   Gospel  Offer (1954). Among those  who
 and thought  - theology, philosophy,  ethics, science, history,        dealt wit11 tliis subject then or later we, may note Herman
 education, biblical studies,  apologetics,  evangelism and  preach-    Kuiper., L. Berlhof,  James Daane, and William Masselink.
 ing - they discuss  familiar fields with an eye on the theo-           Herman  Hoeksema  founded the Protestant Reformed Church
 logica1 turmoil of our times."                                         and is perhaps best known for his ten-volume exposition of
        Our prime interest in reporting to our readers  concern-        the Heidelberg  Catechism  under the genera1 title of The
 ing this volume is to cal1 attention to the brief recgnition  the     T~iple Kaowledge (1943-1956) ."
 Rev.  Herman   Hoeksema  and the Protestant Reformd                       The writer continues for another page to comment on
 Churches receive in the treatment  given to the field of the-          others  who have distinguished themselves in the Christian
 ology. Roger Nikole,  professor of theology at Gordon  Divin-          Reformed and Reformed denominations for their theological
 ity School, is the author of the section  of the boek  that treats     contributions. Among these the late Louis Berkhof  receives
 of Contemporary Evangelical Thought on Theology. He                    the lion's share of praise, and special mention  is given to his
 traces theological thought as it is developed in the period 1890       four volumes on  Reforwsed  Dogmatics   and his  Systmatic
 to 1956 first of al1 in Germany and the German-speaking                T l a e o l o g y ,
 countries, then in the Netherlands, France, Great Britain,
  Scandinavia,  Hungary, and finally in the United States. In               When we  read the  rather  negative appraisal of Rev.
 the case of the latter, he subdivides his review denomination-         Hoeksema  as given above, the thought  could not be  sup-
 wise. And coming  to the Reformed, we quote the following              pressed "What would the writer say if he could also have
 from pages 93 and 94 which drew our special attention.                 perused the dogmatic  works which have been produced  by
        "The Reformed churches have always.been  very  close to         the Rev. H. Hoeksema  ?" Also this question came to mind:
 the Presbyterians in doctrine and government. The dog-                 Why could not a society be organized to underwrite the
 matic  interest of the latter has been shared by  the former           expense of publishing Hoeksema's Dogmatics and other
 and we should not be surprised to find here again great                theological productions coming from his hand which society
 productivity on the part of evangelicals.                              would also see to it that these productions would come to
                                                                        the attention of men like Roger Nicole who would then be
        `We start with the Christian  Reformed Church, a body           able to give a much more positiv review than,  appears in
 wel1  known.for  its attachment to conservative  doctrine. Her         the quotation above  ?  (1)
 seminary, Calvin Theological Seminary  in Grand Rapids,
 Michigan, its teaching staff,  its journal The Calvin  FOYWWI,         Tlze  New  Schf-Hevzog  Religiqw   Encyclopedia.
  (1935-1956),  and its alumni have been throughout the years               Along with  the volume  mentioned   aboie,  we  also  re-
 stanch  upholders of Reformed orthodoxy. As late as 1922,              ceived a two-volume supplement recently published by the
a professor, Dr. Ralph. Janssen, was deposed  .from  office             Baker Book House to the original  Schaff-Herzog   Ency-
 mainly  on the charge that he had made important concessions           clopedia of Religious  Knowledge.  The editors and publisher
 to Old Testament  criticism. There is some question as to              of these supplemental volumes felt the need of bringing the
 whether the charges were sufficiently founded, but the  im-            original work up-to-date. In this their endeavour they have
 pressive feature is that this trial proved that, in this denomi-       succeeded  rather  remarkably in our judgment.
 nation`at least, yielding to biblical criticism was deemed as              Naturally we were  curieus to know what they would say-
 a  sufficient  reason for deposition.                                  about our Protestant Reformed Churches, and so turning to
        "The list of Christian Reformed men who made contri-            that section  where you would expect  to find material  on this
 butions in the area of dogmatics would be a long one. We               subject we were disappointed to find only the name mentioned
 can do no more than name Henry Beets  (1869-1947),  H.                 and a reference to the material  dedicated to the Christian
 Beuker  (1834-1900),  M. J.  Bosma   (1874-1912),  Y. P. de            Reformed  Churtih.  Referring to the  latter, we were  disap-
 Jong, G.  IC. Hemkes  (183S-1920),  J. van der Werp, S.                pointed again to  read  the following two sentences which
 Volbeda (1881-1953  j  .' and more recently R. J.  Danhof,  J.         vaguely refer to us. "During the years 1918-24, it was de:


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                 287

fended in church trials against premillennialism,  `modern-           new sentence : `For purposes of this paragraph, `paymerits of
ism,' and other deviations. During these controversis,               tuition   by the taxpayer for the attendance of his children at
.numerical  losses were experienced in the formation of the           a primary or secondary school conducted on a religious basis
Berean and Protestant Reformed  Churches."  John  H. Krom-            by an organization organized and operated `for religious or
minga, `who is the author of this brief review, succeeded             educational purposes shall be treated as a contribution or
pretty wel1  in passing LIS off to the readers of the Encyclopedia    gift by  the taxpayer to  such organization'."
as a nonentity.             -.                                            The editor  also quotes Mr. Frank Meyer,  who is  Ad-
    However, turning to a section devoted to the subject of           ministrative Assistant to Mr. Ford and who prepared the
common grace and written  by Cornelius Van Til, we come               following legislative history and present status of the bill:
upon the following two paragraphs which are. of special in-               "H.R.  645 is presently with the House Committee on
terest  to' our readers.                                              Ways and Means.  The Committee  scheduled a hearing on
    "11.  Recent Histoly  : During the second decade of the           the bil1 and John Vander  Ark (Directer  of National Union
present century opposition arose among Reformed theologians           of Christian Schools) testified in its behalf before the full
to the idea of common grace. It was said to tone down the             committee  on January 15, 195%
doctrine of total depravity and to be, of necessity, a stepping-          "The Committee on Ways and  Means has decided to
stone toward the Arminian idea of grace as God's  desire  tol         send al1 tax bills having anything to do with education to
save  al1 men. This opposition has been expressed with vigor          the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for
in a number of publications on the part of  the  Reverend             analysis and report. H.R. 645 wil1 be included with those
Herman   Hoeksema  and others. It is currently set forth              being sent about January 30, 1958.
in connection with his exposition of The Heidelberg Ca.te-             "Representative Ford cannot  predict  what  further  action
claim?%                                                               wil1  be `taken during the current session of Congress. He
  "`In 1924 the Synod of the Christian Reformed Church                doubts, however,  whether the Committee of the House wil1
affirmed the idea of common grace under three heads  pertain-         be disposed to approve  much legislation which has the effect
ing to : (1) a favorable attitude of God toward mankind  in           of reducing Federal Re~venue to  any great extent.
general;  (2) the restraint of sin in the life of the individual          "Representative  Ford reports that  he  bas  received   up-
and in society ; and (3) the_performance  of civic righteous-         wards of 800 letters in support of his  bil1 . . . Congressmen
ness by the unregenerate."                                            from other districts  have also received numerous communica-
    We would have appreciated the brief article of Van Til            tions on the bil1 as bas the Chairman of the Committee  on
much  more had he placed  at the conclusion of his article a          Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
brief Bibliography in which reference would be given to The               "Those who are especially interested in the  proposal  may
Standard  Bearer  in which the editor Rev. H.  Hoeksema  for          want to write the new Chairman of the Committee, Represent-
thirty years or. more has vigorously opposed the idea of              ative Wilbur  D.. Mills  (Democrat of Arkansas), or their own
common grace not. only, but also just as vigorously positively        R e p r e s e n t  t i v e . "
drew the lines of the truth that the grace of God is only                 The editor concludes his editorial with the following para-
sovereignly particular. It is not a mark of erudition in our          graph: "In a carefully prepared statement presented to the
judgment that the writer cncludes his article with his own           Committee on Ways and Means in the fifteen minute hearing
philosophy of the subject.                                            granted  him Mr.  Vander  Ark set forth an excellent case for
Tuition  md Income  Tax.                                              the adoption of this bill. Although Congress  may not be
                                                                      in- the mood  right now for  any tax reductions in view of the
    Our readers may be interested in The Banner editorial             stepped-up missile program, Mr. Ford recommends that there
of -February  14th under the above title. The editor quotes           be no slackening in our efforts with a view to eventual
the  bil1  known  as H.R. 645 which has been  introduced  in          success."
the first session of the 85th  Corrgress  by Representative               Personally we -are pleased with this legislative  maneuver
Gerald R. Ford, Jr., Fifth District, Michigan,  with- the             since it has always been a conundrum to LIS why this ex-
purpose of making tuition   such as we pay deductible from            penditure could not be  reckoned  as a contribution in the  in-
taxable income. The bil1 reads as .follows  :                         come tax report.  However,  if this legislation in  any way
    "A bil1 to amend the Internal  Revenue Code of 1954 to            would jeopardize our right to private christian  educational
provide  that certain tuition  payments be treated as charitable      institutions then we are not in favor of it.
contributions.                                                                                                                 M . S .
     "Be it enacted by the Senate and House `of Represent-
atives of the United States of  America  in Congress assembled,       (*) Mr. Eerdmans has expressed his willingness to publish
That section 170 (c) (2) of the  Internal  Revenue Code of                my Dogmatics. Only, at the time 1 thought 1 wanted
1954 (relating to definition of charitable contributions) is              to revise it before it is published. Whether 1 wil1 have
hereby amended by  adding at the end thereof the following                time to do so is another question.                    H.H.


                                                                       pass ; 1 have purposed,  1 wil1 also do it" (Is. 46 :lO, 11). Also
                                                                       God does more.than  to permit evil:. He gives the power to
                                                                       perpetrate  it : ,"Thou  couldst have no power against Me,
              CALVHNISM - TEE TRUTH                                    except it were given thee  from above" (Jn. 19  :ll j. Further,
                                                                       He sovereignly determines .beforehand  that the evil. shall be
                    (Arminianism the Lie)                              done according to His eternal counsel (Ac:  ,4:27f). Tho
                                     ~, ,-
                           _-.~-.                                      Josrph's  brethren wickedly sold him into,Egypt,  it is never-
As Based on the Canons of Dordt, Popularly known as the                theless true that it was not they,  but God who sent him there ;
               Five Points of  Calvinism.                              for it was Gqd who ordered their evil act (Gn. 45 :8). Even
                                                                       the evil of war is God's work: "For it was of the Lord to
                 by REV. ROBERT C. H&BACH                              harden their  hearts, that they should  come against Israel in
                      D~ivine Sozwreignty                              battle, that He might destroy  them utterly, and that they
                                                                       might have no favor, but that He might destroy them" (Josh.
    1. ARMINIANISM is that rejected error which has                    11 :20). In fact, man acts only when  activated by God. "In
become the most insidiously devised heresy ever to lay claim           Him we live and  aye  moved" (Gr., passive). So that we
to, Biblical-support. Its allure and popular appeal arise  from        cannot turn to what is right  unless God turn us. "Turn Thou
its subtle flattery of depraved  human   nature,  and in its           US unto Thee, 0 Lord, and `we shall be turned" (Lam. 5 :21).
apparent Scripture basis. In loud tones it pretends to the             This, because God's  wil1 alone is absolutely free  ; and  man's
sovereignty of God. "He sovereignly controls  al1 creatio, uni-       wil1 is always subject to His. "And al1 the inhabitants of the
versa1  nature  and the  whole of  mankind   ; His supremacy           earth are reputed as nothing : and He doeth according to His
pertains  to al1 things, everywhere. Nothing) escapes His              wil1 in the army of heaven, and among the `inhabitants  of the
surveillance and all-pervading  control. `The ey i s of the Lord       earth:  and none can stay His hand. or say unto Him, What
are in  every  place,   beholding  the evil and th goed' (Pro.         doest Thou  ?" (Dn.  4:35). God is equally as sovereign in
15 :3). It includes our lives ; for `in Him        `1
                                                we ive.' It  em-       the field of  grace. The saving death of Christ was designed
braces our actions, for `in Him  w"e move.' It  extendsto   om         chiefly for the praise and glory of God, not merely  as a means
very being, for in Him  `we have OL\I- being' (Ac. 17 :25). We         to rescue souls from heil. "To the praise of the glory of His
devise our own plan,.but  the Lord `directeth our step&  (Pro.         grace, " "that we  should be  t the praise of His'glory," and,
16:9). Yet His superintendency is so exercised that God is             the whole of "redemption  (is) unto the praise of His glory"
not the ordainer of sin, but only by His providence  per&t.s           (Eph. 1 : 6, 12, 14): "Unto you (God's  elect people only) . . .
it. Neither dos He.coercively prevent it, and thus infringe           a-Saviour . . . (Why ? primarily for man's betterment ? NO !)
upon  man%  free wil1 and responsibility. Indeed,  in tIzat pro-       Glory to God in the highest  !" -(Lk. 2:ll; 14). The highest
vince God does not allow His sovereignty to interfere ; for            truth of Scripture is that God in His eternal purpose seeks
He has created and maintains- man's free wil1  invioiate. Hence        His own glory. God is God !
Joseph says of the crime of his wicked brethren,  `But as for
you, ye thought evil against me ; but God meant  it unto                          -. ;&+a      Total Depravity
good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save  much people          2. ARMINIANISM, however,  under its breath croons  the
alive' (Gen. 50  :20). In the spiritual  realm, God tenders His        siren  song of man's essential goodness. Man is only "very far
primary wil1  that men be saved by obedience to the covenant           gone from original righteousness,"  not really nor utterly dead
of works (Gen. 3).  When  man  brake that  covenant,  He,              in sin, nor destitute of al1 powers to spiritual good, but is
according to His ultimate  will,  employed  an emergency -plan         wounded, badly  corrupted,  and left half  dead (Lk.  10:30).
- the cross - that men be saved by compliance with the con-            Tho he be totally depraved, yet he remains a free mora1 agent,
ditions  : `except  ye repent,  ye shall al1 likewise perish' (Luke    and  can stil1 hunger and thirst  after  righteousness and life
13 :3, 5) .!' Here is the lie fostered that man takes centra1          (Mt. 5 :6) ; he can believe (Ac. 16 :31) , if he wil1 ; he can wil1
position at the hub of the universe. Man is almighty `man.             and choose, or not to wil1  and not to choose Christ `and all.
   CALVINISM  bas for its-first  principle,  "In the beginning         marmer of good which  may be presented to him: "How often
God !" He is the center of the universe. "For of Him,  and             would 1 have gathered thy children . . . and ye would not"
through  Him, and to Him are al1 things : to whom be glory             (Mt. 23 :37), and, "Choose you this day whom ye wil1 serve"
for ever ! Amen" (Ro. 11 :36). In the realm of creation, nature        (Josh. 24. :15). Therefore the initial grace of God is not that
and providence, absolutely  nothing  occurs without  God's   ap-       almighty power whereby He raises  US  out of death into life;
pointment; but He works al1 things according to the counsel            .but is only a gentle advising whereby God does not produce
of His own  wil1 (Eph. 1  :ll). Nothing  happens  by  chance,          the consent of man's wil1 ; but merely proposes  that consent to
hut. by the direction and ordination of our gracieus  heavenly         the will, and leaves man to comply and convert  himself : "Save
Father.    "My counsel shall stand and 1  wil1  do  al1 my             yoztrselvess-   from  this untoward generation" (Ac. 2  :40).
                                                                                                                                      _-
pleasure: . . . yea, 1 have spoken, and 1  wil1 also bring it to                              (To be  continued)



   .


