                                                                                                                                          *
       VOLUME =v                                JANUARY 1, 1959 - GRAND RAPIDS,  MICHIGAN                               N-UMBER'~


                                                                       earth. God declares the wicked unrighteous, holding them
 1          MEDI.TATldN  :                                             guilty of transgressing. His holy law, and worthy of con-
                                                                  II demnation according to His righteous judgment. And God
                                                                       declares His people righteous, not on any merit of their own,

                                                                       but on the basis of the merit of Jesus Christ, Who died for
               OUR SURE DEZIVERANCE
                                                                       them and arose again. The righteous receive that righteous-

                    "Many we the afflictions of the righteous: b,ut    ness through faith, whereby they know that their sins are

                     the Lord dehereth him  out of them. all."         forgiven and they are made heirs of eternal life. The just

                                                      Psalm 34 :19     man lives by faith.

                                                                           But these righteous do suffer in this present time.
      The year 1958 is almost spent.

                                                                         In fact, they suffer much more than the wicked.
      In the wintry darkness of the last lingering moments of

 the year I see a small light burning. Someone is -keeping a               Asaph speaks of that in Psalm 73, where he compares
 vigil over the sick. Many such lights are burning tonight.            the ways of the wicked to his own way, saying, "They are

 Many homes witness the sights of those writhing in pain.              not in trouble as other men are, neither are they plagued like

 Many hospitals all over the world can tell their countless tales      other men. . . . Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper

of untold anguish.                                                     in the world; they increase in riches. . . . All the day long
                                                                       have I been plagued, and chastened every morning."
      In some homes the light has been extinguished, because
the vigil is over. Some time during the past .year death came,             Yes, all of Scripture informs us that the righteous are

and left nothing but a cherished memory, borne in deep                 "scarcely saved," that is, they are saved only through the
sorrow.                                                                greatest trials and difficulties.

      There are many other troubles in this world of sin and               Witness the pathway of all the saints. None of them had
 death tonight.., Many more than we can possibly realize.              an easy road to travel. Would you care to exchange your
 Every home has its own problem. Every individual carries in           burden for any one of theirs ? Think of the grief in the family
his soul some great anxiety or care.                                   of Adam and Eve, the bitter opposition Abel experienced, the
                                                                       persecution of Enoch,  the hard witness of Noah, the trials of
      I do. Don't you?
                                                                       Abraham, the difficulties of Isaac, the struggles of Jacob, the
      How could it be otherwise in a world that is harassed by         weariness of Moses, the lonely battle of Elijah, the tears of
international strife, political corruptions, economic unrest,          Jeremiah, the cross of Peter, the bruises and scars of Paul.
labor problems, .daily cares ?                                             Even David himself at'the  time this psalm was written,

      Many are the troubles of this present world. The wicked          had just escaped-from death in the hands of his enemies. He

may try to drown them tonight in revelry and song, but they            had been fleeing from Saul, had sought his refuge by Doeg,

are still there.                                                       king of Philistia, and even there had barely escaped with

      Many troubles, many afflictions.                                 his life.

      But many more are the afflictions of the righteous in the            Besides the burden of daily cares, each righteous man
world.                                                                 has his own struggle against the forces of darkness.

      The righteous, you know, make up a certain definite class            The devil never relents, but is always lurking like a
of people. All mankind can be distinguished in two classes,            roaring lion, planning his attack for the moment when we
                                                                                                                        .
the righteous and the unrighteous. This distinction regards            are least on our guard.

all men in their relation to the righteous Judge of heaven and             The world sometimes presents her`most appealing smile,

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


     but will as suddenly reveal a hostile sneer. She invites              suffering. The Lord Himself assured us, that even as they
                                                                    US
     into her companionship only out of the bitter hatred of her           hated Him they will hate us.    One of His final words to US
     soul against us.                                                      was, "In the world ye shall have tribulation." Besides, we

                                                                           know, that the Lord chastises those whom He loves, and
            But our worst enemy remains our own sinful flesh, always
                                                                           scourges every son whom He receives.
     falling victim to the subtle onslaughts of darkness, always

     drawn by the evil lusts of our old nature.                               The past year has witnessed of that in your life and in

                                                                           mine.
            What a multitude of sins are on the record for 19% !

     What a mountain of guilt we have raised ! 0 wretched man !               The coming year promises to be no different, for we carry

                                                                           the same problems and cares into the new year.
            Many are the afflictions of the righteous.

                                                                              Many are the afflictions of the righteous man.
            Of each righteous man.

0           Of you. And of me.
                                                                              But. . .

            My thoughts travel back tonight through the years to the          This is one*of  those powerful "buts" in Scripture, which

     central cross on Golgotha.                                            contradicts all our worries and banishes all our fears.

            There among the malefactors hangs The Righteous One.              But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

            He is the only one who has right to that name by His              Tonight will not last. Already the moon and the stars
     own merit. He is the Righteous God Himself. He stands                 announce the coming of a new day. Somewhere beyond the
     eternally before the face of God as the faithful and obedient         darkness the sun still shines, and hastens on her way toward
     Servant of God. He is God's great Prophet, God's holy High-           -the  dawning of our day.
     priest, God's glorious King. Even when He came to take
                                                                              This night of sin and death will not last. Already now
     on the likeness of sinful flesh, He did so without sin. For
                                                                           the Word of God heralds the eternal morning.
     God looks down from heaven upon Him as He walks among

     us and says, "This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well                  For notice, that the psalmist, drawing from his own ex-

     pleased."                                                             perience, does not speak of the fact merely that God till

                                                                           deliver him, but that God dslivers  him, even now.
            That Righteous One had many afflictions.

            In fact, as I read the text once more I realize that the          Even these afflictions are not accidental. Nor are they

     psalmist is speaking chiefly of Him. This psalm is Mes-               sent upon us by some evil power which is beyond the control

     sianic. And that the psalmist has Christ in mind in this              of the Most High. They also are from the hand of the Lord.

     text is plain from the next verse, where we read, "He keepeth         As Job said, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ;

     all His bones ; not one of them is broken." The apostle John          blessed be the name of the Lord."

     was reminded of this as he stood at the foot of the cross and            The Lord sends these afflictions in His wisdom, for a
     saw with his own eyes that these Roman soldiers, oblivious            time, and in the meantime is also busy snatching us .out of
     of the fact that they were fulfilling the Scriptures, deliberately    the midst of them. They may threaten to crush us, but they
     decided not to break the bones of His legs, as they had done          never do. At precisely the right moment there is always an
     with the other malefactors..                                          escape.

            Truly it can be said of Him that His afflictions were             The Lord delivers us in many ways.

     many.                                                                    He may do so by leaving the thorn, but giving us grace

            They began the moment He was born. There was room              to bear it. He then assures us that He will not leave US
     for Him only in a cattle stall, and soon after even this little       nor forsake us. As we read in this same psalm, "The eyes

     spot was not safe for Him, so that His parents had to flee            of the Lord are upon the righteous. And His ears are open

     with Him to Egypt. He was hated by the world, rejected by             to their cry." Then the cross remains, but the load is lifted ;

     the Jews, opposed by His own brethren, misunderstood by               the tear floods the eye, but we smile through our tears.

     His most intimate disciples. He was despised, and rejected               The Lord may also deliver us by sanctifying us through
     of men, a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. For              suffering. He is like a wise and efficient pharmacist, who
     all His life He bore the burden of God's wrath against our            carefully measures out the right ingredients in exact propor-
     sins until He had borne it away on the cross.                         tions, mixes them with infinite care, and administers the

            And now those who are righteous in Him still suffer            right doses according to our peculiar needs. Literally our God

     many afflictions.                                                     causes all things to work together for good for those who

                                                                           love Him, who are the called according to His purpose. He
            Strange, you say ?
                                                                           leads us by His hand, and guides us by His counsel.

            Not if you consider that we are partakers of Christ's             -And ultimately He delivers us by taking us into heavenly


I                                                                                                                    2
                                                        T H E   S ' T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                                                          147



     perfection. Death, the greatest affliction for our flesh, be-

     comes our mighty deliverer from sin and misery, into heaven-                              - -   T-kE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

     l y   b l e s s e d n e s s .                                                      Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August

                                                                                          Published by the REFORMED  FREE PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
                                                                                        P. 0. Box 881, Madison Square Station, Grand Rapids 7, Mich.
          And so the fleeting hours of the past year have faded into

     the past.                                                                                                   Editor - REV. HERMAN HOEKSEMA
                                                                                        Commenications  relative to contents should be addressed to
          We find ourselves at the dawn of a new year.                                                   Rev. H. Hoeksema, 1139' Franklin St., S. E.,

          How do we know that this applies to us, also for the                                                             `Grand Rapids 7, Mich.

     c o m i n g   y e a r ?                                                            All matters relative to subscriptions should be addressed to Mr.
                                                                                        G. Pipe, 1463 Ardmore St., S. E.,, Grand Rapids 7, Mich.

          First, I believe and confess that God delivered Christ                        Announcements and Obituaries must be mailed to the above

     from all His afflictions. That is important to us, because all                     address and will be published at a fee of $1.60 for each notice.

     the righteous are included in Christ. He is so completely our                      RENEWAL: Unless a definite request for discontinuance is re-
                                                                                        ceived it is assumed that the subscriber wishes the subscription
     representative Head, that when He died we died in Him.                             to continue without the formality of a renewal order.

     When He merited salvation we merited salvation in Him.                                                       Subscription price: $5.00 per year
     When He arose we also arose in Him. Therefore His right-
                                                                                        Entered as Second Class matter at Grand' Rapi&  Michigan
     eousness is ours. And even as God has delivered Him, so also
     God will surely deliver us with Him into His heavenly glory.                                                                                                                                   -

                                                                                                                                C O N T E N T S
          And, secondly, it is Jehovah Who delivers His people.                    MEDITATION -

     The eternal I AM. He loves us, and He remains faithful                                    Our       Sure      Deliverance. ___.  . . . . . . . . . . . .._...... 145

     to us as the Unchangeable. I may `forget Him, but He will                                          Rev. C. Hanko

     never forget me. I may not be conscious of Him, but He will                   EDITORIALS -
     always be conscious of me.             I may prove unfaithful at times,                   Decision of the Superior Court of Grand Rapids ._____________..._ 148

     but He keeps His faithfulness forever.                                                              Rev. H. Hoeksema


          Therefore we have not been, and shall not be consumed.                   OUR DOCTRINE-

                                                                                               The Book of Revelation .._....  ..____  . . . . . . _.___.  .___  __._.._._ . . . . ..__...  ._... 151
          My soul in silence waits for Him. In Him is my salvation.
                                                                                                         Rev. H. Hoeksema

                                                                       C. Hanko
                                                                                   A CLOUD OF WITNESSES -

                                                                                               Machpelah             . _. . . _. . . _. _. _. . . . . . . . . . . . . ,152

                                      Announcemeht                                                      Rev. B. Woudenberg


          Classis  East of the Protestant Reformed Churches will                   FROM HOLY WRIT -
                                                                                               Exposition of Luke                    1: 18-20.. __.  :.. . . . .._.. . . . 154
     meet .the Lord willing on Wednesday, January 7, 1959, at
                                                                                                        Rev. G. Lubbers
     9 A. M. in the Hope Protestant Reformed Church. Con-

     sistories will please keep this in mind in the appointment of                 IN HIS FEAR -
                                                                                               `I
     delegates.                                                                                      . . . And Keep His Commandments . . ." (2). .._____  __ ..______.  156
                                                                                                         Rev. J. A. Heys
                                                 M. SCHIPPER, Stated Clerk

                                                                                   CONTENDING FOR ,THE Fm -

                                                                                               The       Church and the Sacraments ________ _.. ._____ . . ..__..__._..........  158

          On December 28,  1958, our dear Parents,                                                       Rev. H. Veldman

                        MR. AND MRS. GERRIT J. GUNNINK                             FEATURE ARTICLE -

     commemorated their 25th Wedding Anniversary.                                              Plays,       Drama         and Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

          We are thankful to                                                                             Rev. C. Hanko
                                      our God for having spared them for each
     other and for us these many years. Our earnest prayer is that He
                                                                                   D
     may further bless them in the way that lies ahead.                                 ECENCY AND OVER -
                                                                                               Can the Classis  Depose the Consistory -  A   R e p o r t   .   .   1 6 2
                         Their grateful Children:                                                        Rev. G. Vanden  Berg

                                                 Mrs. Arthur Gunnink
                                                 Mr. and Mrs. Jerold Gunnink       ALL AROUND us -
                                                 Bernard Gunnink                               "Make Up Your Mind!" . . .._.___.._................................................                             164
                                                 Betty Jean Gunnink                                      Rev. M. Schipper

                                                 Jolmie  Gum&&                     SPECIAL ARTICLE  -
                                                 Daune Gunnink                                 Question           Hour        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..166
                                                 Glenn Gunninlc                                          Rev. H. Hoeksema
                                                Julia AM Gunnink
                                                 Darwin Gunninlc                   NEWS FROM OUR CHURCI~S  __._......:  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
                                                                                                                                                                                                       .._._  168.

                                                 and three grandchildren                                 Mr. J. M. Faber
                                                 Gary, Ervin, Roger

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


                                                                                  In the First Church case the plaintiff alleged that they
             i D I.-T 0 R I A L S                                             were and constituted the First Protestant Reformed Church-
                                                                              of Grand Rapids, and that the temporal properties of the

                                                                              church were being forcibly held by the defendants. One of the
     Here follows the opinion which Judge Taylor rendered                    principal issues therefore, was to determine in whom the title
 in the case of the First Protestant Reformed Church of                       of the church edifice was held, as well as to the right to
 Grand Rapids in which he denied the schismatics  a retrial.                 possess.     The question of injunctive relief was incidental to
 I publish this opinion. without comment,                                    the determination of whom was the rightful owner and en-
                                                                     H.H.    titled to possession.

              S T A T E   O F   M I C ` H I G A N                                 The defendants who are the present petitioners, entered a

                                                                             general appearance, answered the Bill of Complaint and filed
    THE SUPERIOR COURT OF GRAND-RAPIDS
                                                                             a Cross Bill in which they claimed to be the rightful church
                          IN CHANCERY
                                                                             and the owners of its properties. Issue was squarely joined
 F I R S T   P R O T E S T A N T   R E F O R M E D                           upon their respective claims as to who was the representa-
 CHURCH OF GRAND RAPIDS,                                                     tives of the First Protestant Church of Grand Rapids, and
A Michigan corporation,                                                      who were the owners and entitled to possession of the church
                       Plaintiff,                                            properties.
             -vs-                                       No. 13935                 In October of 1953, there was a meeting of Classis  East
HUBERT DE WOLF, et al,                                O P I N I O N          of the Protestant Reformed Churches. There has never been
                            Defendants.                                      any question as to the legality of that meeting. It was the

     In this case a decree was entered by this court on' Janu-               only legally constituted Classis  East existing at that time. At

ary 3, 1955. Thereafter on appeal the entry was affirmed as                  that meeting the Rev. DeWolf was denied a seat as a delegate

to finding by the Supreme Court on January 6, 1956 and                       from First Church. It was following this action that the

thereupon the decree became final.                                           rebellion apparently was organized and went into action al-

    The cause has again been brought to the attention of the                 though they had forcibly taken possession of the church as

court by the result of the filing of a petition to amend the                 early as June of 1953. This group did not obey Classis  but

above decree. The basis of this present motion is by virtue                  in turn continued to hold forcible possession of the church

of the determination by the Honorable Fred E. Searl, Judge                   edifice and the church properties.

of the Circuit Court of Kent County in a cause therein pend-                     By virtue of Article 4 of the Articles of Association the

.ing  in two separate cases in which the Second Protestant                   defendants were bound to recognize and abide by the ruling

Reformed Church of Grand Rapids was in each case the                         of Classis  until that ruling had been set aside by the general

plaintiff. In each case the parties plaintiff were ,members  of              Synod.

Second Church and each claimed to represent the church                           In January of 1954 the present defendants in concert with

order and to be entitled to its properties.                                  `three other groups of the same persuasion, from three other

    As in the present case one of these groups were in sym-                  churches in Classis  East purportedly sent delegates to a

pathy with the Rev. Hoeksema group of the First Church,                      meeting and organized a new Classis  East. These churches

and the other group were in sympathy with Rev. DeWolf,                       therefore represented only a third of the twelve churches in

the deposed minister of First Church. The defendants were                    the regularly constituted Classis  East. At that time Classis

the separate ministers of each group.                                        East-  had ruled, and.  it was the highest church tribunal to

    Judge Sear1 determined that the group representing Rev.                  pass upon the controversy up to that time. Therefore, the

Blankespoor of Second Church were the true adherents of the                  organization of a separate Classis was in defiance of the then

Protestant Reformed Church, and that they were entitled to                   ruling ecclesiastical court, Classis  East.

the temporal possession of Second Church. Rev. Blankespoor                       I repeat from the original Opinion in this case on page

was in sympathy with the Rev. DeWolf group, and Rev.                         sixteen -

Schippers.  with the Rev. Hoeksema group. The determina-                        ".This question of self-determination was considered in

tion of Judge Sear1  was sustained by the Supreme Court on                       the East Church wherein the Court, quoting from, the

appeal - PROTESTANT REF. CHURCH v. BLANKE-                                       testimony of the Rev. Henry Beets, stated - `If a man

SPOOR, 350 Mich. 347. Our case is reported as FIRST                              could during his appeal do as he please, that would be in-

PROTESTANT REFORMED CHURCH vs. DE WOLF,                                          viting anarchy and chaos.' "

344 Mich. 642.                                                               And further quoting from the testimony of Rev. Idzerd Van

    To properly portray the wanderings of the opposing fac-                  Delleh,   s t a t e d

tions of the Protestant Reformed Churches as' these have                        "There is nothing in our Church Order that when a,deci-

occurred since 1953, a resume of the happenings as related                       sion is made by Classis  suspending a minister and finding

in the First Church case would be appropriate at this time in                    that- the ecclesiastical relationship is broken upon the part

view of the determination in the Second Church case.                             of the Consistory, that the Consistory and minister can


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                         149


    continue to function as such officers in a church pending           Article 323. Motion is made, supported, and carried that

    an appeal to Synod. The reason for this is that they                Synod adopt this advise and so express."

    promised in signing the formula of subscription to ac-              Thereafter if the defendants had complied with the Church

    quiesce in the decision of the Classis  and other bodies,       .Order which they affirm, they must have presented an appeal

    even pending their appeal."                                     to the Synod meeting of March 10, 1954, and also to have

  The references in that case were to the identical Article 31,     served a notice to the Secretary of Classis  East whose action
and the formula of subscription adopted by First Church.            of October 23, 1953 they were asking the Synod to review.
Article 31 of the Church Order states -                                 At no time during the trial of this case was it asserted by
                                                                    the defendants that they claimed any right by virtue of an
  "If anyone complain that he has been wronged by the deci-
                                                                    appeal to the meeting of Synod on March 10, 1954.
   sion of a minor assembly, he shall have the right to appeal
                                                                        In the rules and regulations in the Order of Synod, we
   to a major ecclesiastical assembly, and whatever may be
                                                                    find in Article 1, on page 54, the following:
   agreed upon by a majority vote shall be considered
                                                                      "Synod shall meet on the first Wednesday of June each
   settled and binding, unless it be proved to conflict with the
                                                                        year, preceded by a synodical  prayer-meeting, led by the
   Word of God, or with the articles of the Church Order,
                                                                       president of the previous synod, or the vice-president of
   as long as they are not changed by a general synod."
                                                                        the previous synod."
Following Article 31, we find the following:                            At the March 10th meeting of the 1953 Synod neither
  "DECISION PERTAINING TO THIS ARTICLE.                             the President or the Vice President of Synod were present.
   Appeal to a major gathering against any decision of any
                                                                       At the meeting of Synod on June 3, 1953 the duly ac-
   ecclesiastical body must be made upon the immediately
                                                                    credited delegates are named. Rev. Doezema does not appear
   following meeting of the body to which appeal is directed,
                                                                    to be one of these. Likewise the name of S. Bouma appears
   at the same time giving notification to the secretary of
                                                                    from Classis  East at the meeting on March 10, 1953 as a
   the body by whose decision  he is aggrieved. Of every            delegate from Classis  East. His name does not appear on the
   judgment rendered in the case, those concerned shall re-         accredited list as of June 3, 1953.
   ceive a notification.
                                                                       The 1953 Synod ceased to exist on the convening of
    (Adopted by classis  of June 6, 7, 1934 ; and Synod of
                                                                    Synod on June 9, 1954. On page 12 of Article 1 of the
   1944, Art. 66, 67."
                                                                    Acts of Synod of 1954, it states that the Rev. W. Hoffman,
   If there was any appeal following this decision of Classis       President of the previous Synod opened with prayer. The
to Synod, it was necessary that an appeal from the ruling of        President and Vice President of the previous 1953 Synod
Classis  of October 1953 should be made to the then Synod,          were Rev. R. Veltman, President, and Rev. G. Vos, Vice
which was the Synod of 1953, and whose next meeting was             President.
on March 10, 1954. It was at this meeting in March of 1954
                                                                       On page 31, supplement to the acts of Synod 1954 synod-
that the first split in the Synod occurred so far as the records
                                                                    ical  credentials, appears the following :
show. Those delegates to Synod, who met at First Church on
                                                                      "To the Synod. of the Protestant Reformed Churches, to
March lOth, were delegates sent by Classis  West,who  were in
                                                                       convene June 2, 1954, at Second Protestant Reformed
sympathy with the defendant group. Those of the regularly
                                                                       C h u r c h ,   Classis   E a s t   o f   t h e   P r o t e s t a n t   R e f o r m e d
elected delegates to the Synod of 1953 who were in sympathy
                                                                       Churches has appointed the brethren:
with the plaintiffs met at Fourth Church.
                                                                       Ministers : Primi
   Delegates from the newly organized Classis  East appeared                                                                 Secundi
at First Church at the meeting of March 10th and asked for                            J. Blankespoor                        B. Kok
                                                                                      A. Cammenga
recognition which appears under Article 315 of the Acts of                                                                  A. Petter
                                                                                      H. DeWolf
Synod of 1953 on page 341. The petitioners claimed that they                                                                                     :
were the true adherents although the legal Classis  had ruled                         E. Knott
to the contrary. They asked to be seated. Their request was            Elders : Primi                                        Secundi

denied. From the acts of Synod of 1953, we quote as follows :                         L. DeKoek                             J. Cammenga

  "Article 322. The Committee of Article 316 reports re-                              H. Knott                             J. Knott
   garding the seating of new delegates from Classis  East.                           J. Kok                                S. Niersma
   This report reads as follows :                                                     D. Ondersma                           F. Sytsma

   In re the communication of the newly elected delegates of           as delegates to represent said Classis  at the meeting of

   Classis  East, your committee advises : That Synod do not           Synod above referred to.

   seat them at this session. Grounds : This is a continued            We hereby instruct and authorize them to take part in

   session of the Synod of 1953 which should be composed of            all deliberations and transactions of Synod regarding all `m

   the originally chosen delegates or their respective alter-          matters legally coming before the meeting and transacted

   nates. Hence Classis  East was in error to designate new            in agreement with the Word of God according to the con-

   delegates to this continued session.                                ception of it embodied in the doctrinal standards of the

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


     Protestant Reformed Churches, as well as in Harmony             ings of 1954 do not disclose that any similar appeal was

     with our Church Order.                                          made to the Synod of 1954. The records only disclose that

                                By order of the Classis              credentials were presented from Classis  East which rep-

                                (W.S.) Bernard Kok, President        resented only four of the churches in the regularly con-

                                (W.S. j E. Knott, Clerk              stituted Classis  East. This was the basis of the decision in

           Done in Classis  April 17, 1954."                         the Second Church Case and the only basis of it.

     These delegates appear to represent only four churches             We have spent considerable time in reviewing the above

 from classis  East, and on April 7, 1954 the purported appeal       happenings as applied to these opposing factions. This will

 taken from the Order of Classis  of October 23, 1953 had            in the course of all normal events be the only time that this

 been denied at the March 10, 1954 meeting of Synod.                 court will be called upon to act as an arbitrator of the fac-

     If article 31 of the Church Order has any effect; ,if it        tions, and therefore can only assert that I am still of the

 means anything it means that when Classis  East on October          opinion that both bodies, or both groups are bound to proceed

 23, 1953 made its decision that it was binding as long as           according to the articles of the church to which they have

 it was not changed by a general synod. If it was binding            severely subscribed. The Supreme Court in the Second

 .then,  by what right, under any rule of order of this church       Church Case did not make any determination as to the legality

 could a new Classis  East be formed in January of 1954?             of the creation of a new Classis  East on January 10, 1954,

     In the opinion of this court such procedure was well cal-       and before any appeal or attempted appeal has been made. It

 culated to produce exactly what the late Rev. Beets stated,         is our opinion that any such attempt was an illegal procedure

 and from which we have quoted above - "chaos would re-              and contrary to the Church Order.

 sult."                                                                 However, this is not the basis of decision in the present

     We recognize that the Supreme Court in the Second               case. We agree with counsel who, have filed the present

 Church Case had apparently stated that these proceedings            Motion that it is within the discretion of the trial court to

 nevertheless were legal proceedings under. the Church Order,        amend its decree but neither the question `of whether the

 and that with them the courts have no right to interfere.           motion was filed according to Rule 48, or whether there has

 We subscribe to this insofar as the proceedings of the ec-          been a change of circumstances, or a change of law, are ap-

 clesiastical judiciaries are in accordance with the Church          plicable or controlling in the present case for disposition must

 Order. On the other hand how can we say that those rep-             be made upon an entirely different theory of the law.

 resenting an opposing group are not equally correct? The               It must be remembered that chancery cases are heard by

 answer in the Second Church Case was -That you did not              the Supreme Court de nove and that when the Supreme Court

 meet at the designated church on March 10, 1954, or June 9,         made its determination in January of -1956 that the decree

 1954.                                                               binding upon the parties to this action thereupon became the.

     The trial of this original case commenced on March 25,          decree of the Supreme Court, and that no power thereafter

 1954. It concluded June 13, 1954 with the taking of testi-          remained in the minor court to change that decree unless the

 mony. In the Cross Bill of Complaint defendants at no place         right to do so was reserved or delegated to the minor court

 claimed the right of recognition by virtue of a newly or-           by the Supreme Court in its final determination. There is no

 ganized classis,  although they now claim that it has existed as    question about this as a matter of law.

 early as January 10, 1954. Synod met June 2, 1954. If the              Three cases are of interest. LYON v. INGRAM CIR-

 defendants placed any claim to the action of Synod, they failed     CUIT JUDGE., 37 .M&.  377, in an opinion by Mr. Justice

 to make any such claim although they had until June 15th            Cooley. From this opinion the Supreme Court again in the

 to do so. In fact neither side made any claims in relation          case of THOMPSON ZJ. HURSON, 206 Mich.  130, quoted
 to the 1954 Synod. Further, no such claims were advanced            with approval and in that case propounded the following

 on the appeal to the Supreme Court, and no notice was filed         quest. :

 following the Opinion of this Court in December of 1954 that          "May the Circuit Court upon the application of a party

 a re-hearing was in order based upon the action of Synod.              without leave of this court to make such application, mod-

Nothing new has occurred as a claimed right that the defend-            ify a decree which has been affirmed by this Court? It

 ants were not aware of in 1954. The brief filed by the defend-         is well understood that in chancery appeals this court

 ants counsel on August 3, 1954 makes no reference to any               hears the case de nove and that the decree .entered  in this

 synodical action in June of 1954, nor did the brief of the             court is the final adjudication of the rights of the parties."

 plaintiff. In fact from the decree entered in January of 1955          The above two cases have again been re-affirmed in the

 and affirmed in 1956 by the Supreme Court up to the filing          case of GEORGE V. WAYNE CIRCUIT JUDGE, 336

 of this motion, more than two years thereafter, no claim has        Mid%. 553.

been made by the defendants of any synodical determination.            It may therefore be stated-

     From the synodical proceedings of 1953 it would appear            "When the court of last resort of a state has finally ad-

 that an attempted appeal from the ruling of Classis  was made          judicated the rights of the parties it cannot remain for

 on March 10, 1954 and was denied. The synodical proceed-               the court to which the case is remanded to determine

                                                                                                     Y


                                                T H E   ,STANDARD   B E A R E R                                                      151


       whether such adjudication shall be enforced. THOMP-             also to these nations, and, on the other hand, by the fulness

       SON v. HURSOti, 206 Mich.  139."                                of the measure of iniquity of the so-called Christian nations.

      This court has not the power to grant the motion of the          That hour has now come, according to the passage. For the

petitioners and accordingly must be denied.                            blood of atonement cried from between the horns of the altar,

            Respectfully submitted,                                    and the four angels that are bound at the great river Euphra-

                  (W.S.) Thaddeus B. Taylor                            tes are let loose. These four angels, whose very number in-

                 Judge of the Superior Court of Grand Rapids           dicates that we are to have a world war as we never saw be-

Dated : December ll,, 1958.                                            fore, when they are liberated, now turn themselves upon the

                                                                       nations of the east and seduce them to do battle against the
#.                                                               ,I
                                                                       Christian world. Hence, when they are let loose, the woes
             O U R   DOCTR4NE                                    II of war and famine and desolation and pestilence flood the
                                                                 `I    world, rising from the east and coming from the direction

              THE BOOK OF REVELATION                                   of the Euphrates upon the entire world. And finally, this
                           P A R T   T W O                             entire view is corroborated by the character of the sixth vial.
                                                                       There is a plain correspondence, as we shall see when we
                            CHAPTER V
                                                                       are discussing this vial, between the six trumpets and the six
                        The Sixth  Truw$et                             vials that are yet to follow. And the sixth vial, that cor-
                        Revelation 9 : 13-21                           responds to this sixth trumpet, informs us: "And the sixth

       In proof of this contention I point, in the first place, to     angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;

the mention that is here made of the great river Euphrates.            and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the

The Euphrates is one of the greatest rivers in western Asia.           kings of the east might be prepared." Here we have plainly

But the question is here: what is the significance, and why is         told us what it will finally mean when the river Euphrates.

it mentioned in this connection ? I find that Scripture pictures       is dried up, when it shall no more serve as a boundary-line

this river as the eastern boundary of the land promised to             between the nations of the so-called Christian world and the

the children of Israel in Genesis 15 :18. There we read that           Gog and Magog. Then the kings of the east shall come and              '

Abraham received the promise: "Unto thy seed have I given              flood the whole Christian world, and the end of destruction

this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the           is near. In brief, therefore, we have here the picture of a war

river Euphrates."     And again, in Deut. 1 :7 we read that the        that is still to come, in which not only the Christian but also

children of Israel received the command : "Turn you, and               the heathen world shall be involved, and the outcome of

take your journey, and go'to the mount of the Amorites, and            which shall be that one-third of men, that is, more than ever

unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain, in the hills,        before, shall be killed. Faint indications of this we have in

and in the vale, and in the' south, and by the sea side, to the        history when the nations of the east at the time of the destruc-

land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great               tion of the Roman Empire rise against ,it and flood Europe.

river, the river Euphrates."       The same we read in Deut.           And more definite indications of this war that! is prophesied

11:24  and in Joshua 1 :4. We find that this promise was               in the book of Revelation we have in our own time. Never-

realized in the time of Solomon? for of him we read that he            theless, the full realization also of this trumpet is still in the

ruled over all the kingdoms from the river (that is, Euphra-           future. Also this second woe we must still expect.

tes) unto the land of the Philistines.  I Kings 4:21. It was              We read in the text : "And they repented not." We might

upon that river that Babylon'was situated, according to Scrip-         think that such severe judgments would break the hearts of

ture. And it is in that river that the book that prophesied            these idolaters and murderers and thieves. One-third of men

the destruction of Babylon, written by Jeremiah, was sunk.             killed ; and no doubt also the rest of men are touched and

And therefore I find that the river Euphrates is the ideal             hurt by the famine and especially by the pestilence. Think

and real boundary-line between the outward kingdom of                  of the desolation and the woe and the sorrow and the grief

God and the kingdom of darkness, and therefore the symbol              and the suffering this sixth trumpet will cause for the re-

of the boundary-line between the Christian and the heathen             maining two-thirds that are still alive ! All the more we

nations, between the so-called civilized world and the Gog             would think that they should repent because it has been so

and Magog. It is at this river that the four angels are                plainly foretold in Scripture that these things come and

bound. The purpose of these four angels is evidently to seduce         come as a revenge of the blood of Christ that is trampled

the nations of the Gog and Magog, and inspire them to, the             under foot and a judgment upon the iniquity of the world.

war with the Christian world. But they are bound. It is                But no, they repented not. They are hardened. Even as

the decree of the Almighty, and therefore the will of Christ,          Pharaoh repented not when plague after plague so plainly

that has bound them, so that they cannot influence these               came from the. hand of Jehovah, but continued till his judg-

nations as yet. For they are bound unto the exact year and             ment was complete, so also the wicked world at the end of

month and day and hour. That hour is evidently historically            time will not repent until their destruction is finished. We

determined by the completion of the preaching of the gospel            must expect also this feature.                              H.H.

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


                                                                        couraged  him. in his trials, instructed him in his weakness ; a
 11 A CLOUD OF WITNESSES 11 companion and help-meet, she shared with him his callings
                                                                        and duties in the love of their God. We need not be sur-
 1'                                                               `,
                                                                        prised that Sarah should be set forth by the Scriptures as

                          Machpelah-                                    an example to God-fearing wives of all generations.

                                                                            With gentle restraint the Scripture record that upon the
                 `And Sa.rah  was an hundred and seven and
                                                                        death of Sarah, "Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to
              twenty years old: these were  the years of the life
                                                                        weep for her," Gen. 23 :2. One who has not experienced the
             of Sarah.
                                                                        loss of a life-long; spiritual companion can, perhaps, not ap-

                 And Sarah died in k-irjatha;vba;  the sa,me  is        preciate the depths of feeling and heartache implied in those

             Hehron in the land of Ca.naan:  and Abraham came           few words. For nearly a century Sarah had been by Abra-

             to moztrn  fog Sarah atid to weep for her . . . .          ham's side to share with him whatever the way of the Lord

                                                                        would bring. Henceforth he would have to make his way
                 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife
                                                                        through the few remaining years of his life alone, deprived
             in. the cave of the field of iVIa.ch#ah  before
                                                                        of the intimate fellowship which years of married unity had
             Mautzre: the  same  is Hebron in the lu.nd of Canaan.      provided. Nonetheless, there came to Abraham the comfort

                And the field, a,nd the cave  that is therein, were     that comes to every survivor of a God-fearing marriage ;

             made sure lsnto  Abra,ham  for a possession of a           though they must needs be separated for a short time, there

             bur$ngplace  by the sons of Heth."                         would soon be a reunion in a far richer form which would

                                             Gen. 23 :l, 2, 19, 20      endure eternally within the heavens.

                                                                            It was then that the difficult but necessary task fell upon
       Sarah stands unique among all of the women mentioned
                                                                        Abraham of providing a place wherein the earthly remains
in the Bible as being the only one whose age has been re-
                                                                        of his dear one might be laid. Although Abraham by this
corded. Commentators are inclined to make of this fact a
                                                                        time had dwelt in the land of Canaan for fifty years and
tribute to the important position which she held in the history
                                                                        more, as yet he did not own one square foot of ground in
of God's Church. Whether it was the intent of Scripture in
                                                                        all the land. Although the Lord had promised with an oath
recording Sarah's age to render to her a special tribute or
                                                                        that the whole of the land would be his possession, yet after
not, we do not know; that Sarah held a very important place
                                                                        these many years he had not even enough to serve as a burial
in the history of the Church, we are sure. That is evident
                                                                        plot. Still, although all of the land was possessed by others,
enough from the testimony of the New Testament Scriptures
                                                                        Canaan meant more to Abraham than it ever could to anyone
-in I Peter 3 6, "Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him
                                                                        else. It was to him a part and a symbol of that which he
lord : whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are
                                                                        had received by promise of God. It belonged to him not by
not afraid with any amazement." In all of Abraham's spirit-
                                                                        reason of earthly title and possession ; it was his by virtue
ual trials and hardships Sarah shared very intimately. When
                                                                        of the fact that Jehovah had promised it to him with an oath.
Abraham left the wicked city of Ur because of the command
                                                                        By faith he was confident that this was to be the dwelling
of God, Sarah went with him. When Abraham entered the
                                                                        place and possession of his children, an earthly symbol of the
land into which the Lord led him, even Canaan which was
                                                                        even greater dwelling place given to them in the same
the earthly type of the land eternal in the heavens, Sarah
                                                                        promise which would be eternal in the heavens. Thus Abra-
entered with him. As Abraham lived in that land a stranger
                                                                        ham would have in that promised land a place to lay the
and a pilgrim `looking for the city which has foundations
                                                                        earthly remains of Sarah as a testimony to the fact she too
whose `builder and maker is God, Sarah lived the same life
                                                                        possessed the promise.
with him. As Abraham lived in hope based on the gracious

promises of God, Sarah lived in the same hope with him.                    In searching the land for a place that would properly

As Abraham waited for the promised seed relying on the                  symbolize Sarah's place in their eternal inheritance, he came

Word of the Lord, Sarah in patience waited upon the same                upon the cave of Machpelah. The name "Machpelah" is usu-

Word of God, confident that what He had promised He was                 ally taken to mean "the double" signifying that actually it

able also to provide. When Abraham rejoiced in the birth                was a cave with two seperate  caverns or chambers.. It is to

of the promised child, Sarah too rejoiced because she had               be noted that in further reference to this cave (e.g. Gen.

borne Abraham a son in his old age. When Abraham was                    23 :19  ; 49 :30 ; 50 :13)  the name "Machpelah" designates pri-

somewhat weak in his faith hesitating to cast out the son               marily not the cave but the field in which the cave was

of the bondwoman because he persecuted the son of the                   located. It is better, therefore, to interpret the name "Mach-

promise,    Sarah had reprimanded him and told him that                 pelah"  according to another possible meaning.- namely, "the

Ishmael must not be given a place in the inheritance of the             separated place."    In this connection we may note that ac-

promise, and the Word of the Lord supported her. In all                 cording to Gen. 23 :9 the cave was located in the end of the

Sarah accompanied her husband in his spiritual calling, en-             field of Ephron. Hence we would conclude that Machpelah


                                            T H E   STA-ND'ARD  BEARE.R                                                             153


   was an isolated spot far removed from the habitations of the      mality  he gave his answer. He asked only that they entreat

  people of the land, in fact, so far removed that it was given      Ephron the son of Zohar to give him Machpelah, both field

  a name that designated its isolated position. It was for this      and cave; so that he might make his own sepulchre far re-

   reason that Abraham desired to have Machpelah as a burial         moved from them and from their places of burial. Further-

  place for his family. He had lived in Canaan for over fifty        more, he would pay for Machpelah the full price whatever it

  years and from time to time could not help but come in             was worth. He had reason why he would not receive a gift.

  contact with the inhabitants of the land ; but in all this con-    It was the same reason spoken before to the king of Sodom.

  tact he never felt himself and his family to be one with them.     "I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the most high God,

  There was a difference, a distinction between them, that arose     the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from

  from their attitude toward the land. To the Canaanites the         a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take `any

  land was nothing more than an earthly possession and a             thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made

  mark of earthly wealth ; to Abraham the land was a symbol of       Abram rich," Gen. 14:22,  23. He would not be obligated to

  the rich and eternal promises given him by God. This dif-          the wicked. His obligation would be to the Lord and not to

  ference in attitude always separated~  Abraham and his family      the Lord's enemies.

  from the Canaanites. It was thus but natural and proper,

  because his distinctiveness was proper, that in looking for a          Ephron, however, would force the issue. He gave to

  place to bury his wife Abraham should choose Machpelah, a          Abraham a choice. Either Abraham would accept their

, place isolated from the Canaanites and removed from the            proffered friendship, or he must pay for the field four hun-

  ways where they commonly trod. Even in death their dwell-          dred shekels of silver, an exorbitant price for the plot of

  ing place must be in the land of Canaan but separated from         land. Either Abraham would receive it as a gift, or he would

  its heathen inhabitants.                                           have to pay for it the high dollar. But Abraham remained

                                                                     firm in his position. Without question as to the worth of the

      Inasmuch as Machpelah was owned by Ephron the Hit-             field, he weighed out in the gate of the city before the presence

  tite, Abraham approached the children of Heth and made             of all the people four hundred shekels of silver.

  known to them his desire to have Machpelah as a burial

  place. It seems as though the children of Heth stood some-             It is to be noted that throughout this event as recorded in

  what in awe of Abraham. There were reasons why such was            Genesis 23 Abraham made all of his transactions in public.

  so; for Abraham was a very singular figure within the land.        He made his first approach to the people of the city and not

  Abraham was principally a peaceful man who kept quietly            to Ephron alone. When he spoke to Ephron directly it was

  to himself and would go to great ends to avoid conflict with       not in the private of his home but "in the audience of the

  those whom he happened to contact. Nonetheless, when the           children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of the

  occasion necessitated it, as when his nephew Lot was taken         city."    So also in every future mention of Machpelah in

  captive by Chedorlaomer and his confederates, with his 318         Scripture it is always noted that it was purchased by Abra-

  servants he was able to wage a strong battle and gain a            ham from Ephron. It was very important for the Hittites

  great victory. He was a stranger and a sojourner in the land ;     to understand, and it is yet important for all ages to know,

  nonetheless, although he possessed no land of his own, his         that the first possession which Abraham received in the land

  wealth multiplied and grew far beyond that of anyone else.         of Canaan was not received by him from the mercies of the

  It was evident that a divine power upheld and blessed Abra-        wicked. His foothold in the land of Canaan was not received

  ham, the same divine power which had destroyed Sodom               from men but was purchased by the silver which had been

  and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone from heaven. The              given him by his God.

  children of Heth  were not so foolish as to fail to recognize

  that, while Abraham would make a formidable enemy, he                  "And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the

  would be a worthy friend. Hence when Abraham approached            cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre," Gen. 23 :19.

  them with a request for a burying place they were quick to         So also we read after the account of Abraham's death, "And

  recognize the opportunity of obligating Abraham to be their        his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of

  friend. Immediately they presented to Abraham a most               Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the

  generous offer, "Hear us, my lord : thou art a mighty prince       Hittite, which is before Mamre," Gen. 25 :9. And there also

 among us: in the choice of our sepulchres bury thy dead ;           were buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and Jacob and Leah

  none of us shall withhold from thee this sepulchre, but that       his wife, Gen. 49 :30. Machpelah was the tomb of the patri-

  thou mayest bury thy dead," Gen. 23 :6. A sepulchre would          archs, the fathers of God's chosen people Israel. To all gen-

  be for them but a small price to pay for obligating such a         erations it is a testimony of the faith of these fathers that they

  mighty man as Abraham to their friendship.                         believed their eternal dwelling place to be in Canaan, in type

                                                                     the earthly land of Palestine, in reality the spiritual Canaan

     Abraham, however, would have none of their sepulchres ;         eternal in the heavens.

  he -would have none of their friendship. With bows of for-                                                                     B.W.

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


                                                                       that stand ,in the presence -of God: and ~VPL sent to speak
 II          FKOM   H O L Y   W R I T                            II unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings. And, behold,
 II                                                              `I    thou shalt be dumb,  and not able to speak, until  the day that
                                                                       these things shall be perfomx?d,  because thou believest not

                                                                       my wopds,  which shall be fulfilled in their season," vss. H-20.
                  Exposition of Luke 1: 18-20
                                                                          Here a tremendous fact is reported to us. The aged and

                                                                       righteous Zacharias is smitten with dumbness !
       This time we shall depart from our series on Matthew

 24, 25 and call attention to a beautiful history (heils-geschie-         Let us attempt to understand this just a bit better.

 denis) in the Gospel of Luke. Luke had taken in hand to
                                                                          We notice that the text speaks of the fact that Zacharias
 instruct Theophilus, the most excellent, concerning the cer-
                                                                       did not bei,ieve. Forsooth, the text does not speak of Zacharias
 tainty of the things in which he had been catechized. These
                                                                       that he was an "unbeliever"! On the contrary, Luke informs
 -historical facts of the Gospel narrative are most solemnly
                                                                       us already in verse 6 that both Zacharias and Elisabeth were
 and certainly attested to have complete certainty.
                                                                       righteous before God, walking in all the ordinances and com-

       Theophilus must know the certainty of these things.             mandments of the Lord blamelessly. What should be noticed

                                                                       is that the text uses a tense in the Greek which is "point-
         We should not think that this account is simply good
                                                                       action."    It refers to the not believing as just expressed in
 for little children in Sunday School and that these matters
                                                                       the question, "Whereby shall I know this ?" It refers simply
 herein set forth in an orderly way are too simple for those
                                                                       to Zacharias' not rising in faith to this great occasion. He did
 who are able also to digest the more dogmatical portions of
                                                                       not by faith connect this word of Gabriel to all the ordinances
 Scripture, such as the Epistles of Paul to the Romans,
                                                                       and commandments of the Old Testament which he himself
 Ephesians and others.                                                 kept blamelessly. He didn't connect promise and fulfilment;

       Luke writes an entire Gospel for the benefit of one who         he did not connect promise and fulfilment concretely in what

 had already been catechized!                                          was going to transpire in his own life and that of Elisabeth.

                                                                       They were going to have a son, who would be the "voice of
       We shall, therefore, set ourselves at the feet of Luke next
                                                                       him that crieth in the wilderness." And, therefore, he could
 to Theophilus.
                                                                       not connect the promise of God and its great fulfilment in the
       The scene which we view in Luke 1 :18-20  is in the             Son of His good-pleasure `either. He did not see that the
 temple, in the hoLy  place! There stood the seven golden              Kingdom of God had come upon him !
 candle-sticks, the table of shewbread, and before the vail
stood the altar of incense, overlaid with gold, upon which                All the old Zacharias could see was that by all natural
 .incense  was offered in the morning and in the evening. It           standards it was impossible for them, Zacharias and Elisa-
 was the place where Israel, through its representative priest,        beth, to have a child!

 could draw nigh unto God. Only the vail proclaimed that the              Was not Elisabeth old 7 And had she not too been sterile
 way into the Holy Place was not yet opened.                           all her life ? And was she not known in the church of that

         Here in this temple, in the holy place, we see Gabriel        day, even as far north as Nazareth, as the "one who was

 speaking to Zacharias. The latter was not a high priest, but          barren" ! That hacl become her surname: And had not Zacha-

 a priest, of the eighth order of the priests, of the house of         rias long ago become reconciled to the fact that theirs would

 Abia (Abijah). By the appointment of the "lot", which is              not be the blessing of having a child ? He did not think of

 from the Lord as to its outcome, Zacharias' turn was to               having children, but rather lived in the hope of presently

 minister in the temple. He is to bring the offering of in-            dying in the hope of the resurrection.

 cense, and to pray for the people standing in the outer court.           Small wonder (I speak after the manner of men) that

       While he is in the temple, Gabriel, who stands before           Zacharias utters the question : whereby shall I know this ?

 God, comes suddenly to the temple. It is the fulfilment of            This question is rather pregnant with implications. In the

 Malachi, the last prophet. The Lord suddenly comes to this            first place the "this" refers to all that is implied in this an-

 temple. And to Zacharias and Elizabeth is promised, is an-            nouncement of having a son. He had died as far as the ability

 nounced, the birth of a chil,d, whose name shall be called John.      to bring forth seed was concerned. And Elisabeth was too old

 Howbeit Zacharias is an old man and Elisabeth is well                 to conceive seed. By what "standard" shall I know this, shall

 stricken in years. They are in the same condition as were             I be able experientially to gauge this all. By what natural

 Abraham and Sarah when the birth of Isaac was announced               standards ?

 to them by the angel of the Lord.                                        This is not the language of faith. It does not rise to the

         Hence, Zacharias asks the question: "Whereby shall I          height of Abraham's faith when he offered his son Isaac,

 know this? for I a?a an old ma,n  and my wije  well sbricken  in      computing that God was able to give Isaac back again from

 years. And the amgel  answming  said zmto him, I WPL  Gabriel,        the dead. He did not believe, that is, he did not connect this


                                          T H E   STAN,DARD   B E A R E R                                                      155


mighty deed of God with all the mighty deeds of God in the         in respect to the fulfilment of the birth of John, but will lead

past and future !                                                  him all the way so that he will see the perspective of the

                                                                   things which Gabriel announced concerning the. work and
    It did not reckon with the omnipotence of God, who calls
                                                                   calling of John in relationship to the great ,Son of God, born
the things that are not as though they were  and who raises
                                                                   from the virgin Mary..
the dead to life !

                                                                      How wonderful that this announced "dumbness" is for a
    Hence, the severe announcement, which is at once by im-
                                                                   season! It shall not last forever. It was.to  be exactly during
plication "the answer" to Zacharias' unbelieving question :
                                                                   the time and days in which these things shall be fulfilled. No
"Behold thou shalt be dumb and not be able to speak until
                                                                   longer and no shorter. Zacharias could therefore be silent in
the day that these things shall be performed, because thou
                                                                   hope. He could actively live in the hope of these things.
believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their
                                                                   He knew that it was, therefore, at once a sign. It was from
season."
                                                                   the Lord this dumbness. It was not simply a natural phenom-
    It is a nice touch in the Greek text in verse 20. Accord-      enon. He could be comforted.
ing to the text the following matters are very succinctly put:
                                                                      How the old man, whose parents had named "the Lord

    1. These are matters which shall be fulfilled. Luke em-        will remember," must have trembled in mingled fear and

ploys the future tense, expressing certainty! These things         holy expectation when dumbness fell upon him. He must then

shall be "fulfilled." The measure as. determined, by God and       had indeed put the shoes from off his feet. He goes out to

here announced by Gabriel, the mighty one of God, shall            pronounce the Aaronic blessing, but no words are uttered.

surely be made full. Not one of these words shall fall to the      He must have attempted.       But "he remained speechless."

ground.                                                            Thus this became a sign to the people. They knew that he

    2. These things have a season. Times and seasons are           had`seen a vision.

in God's own power. And all God's words are yea and                   Then when he comes home to Elisabeth, he cannot speak.

amen. They are of .~uct%  a nature (hoitines) ! Not to believe     Did he use a tablet to tell his wife what the angel Gabriel had

words of such a nature is sin. These are the words of God          announced ? It was a sign also to Elisabeth. She did not

himself, brought by him who standeth before God!                   laugh as did that "princess"     Sarah of old. She evidentiy

                                                                   believed. And she rejoiced. She that was called barren con-
    3. "Wherefore thou shalt be dumb and not be able to
                                                                   ceived. She saw her own life "in all its spacious plan" under
speak for a season."
                                                                   the aspect of heaven in the plan and times and seasons of
    Concerning this dumbness imposed upon Zacharias we             God !
should notice the following:
                                                                      Yes, Elisabeth's parents too were righteous. Did they not
    Firstly, we should notice that this silence was instanta-      name the little girl "Elisabeth," that is, "my God my oath" ?
neous in its effect. Immediately Zacharias is dumb. That           I swear by my God!
very second. God does not allow Zacharias to speak another            God had remembered His covenant oath. He had re-
word, nor to utter another~question.  God is here in His holy      membered mercy to Israel. He had heard their prayer  as it
temple, and let, therefore, all the earth be silent. Also let      was in the bundle of the prayers of all saints.
Zacharias be silent. Let him in silence see God fulfil his
                                                                      The days were fulfilled that the child should be born.
own word !
                                                                   God's time.
    Secondly, we would notice concerning this silence that it,        And all the while Zacharias had been silent, experiencing
evidently, symbolized the fact that unbelief cannot speak.         a new life, a new joy. Had not the. mother of his LORD
Unbelief cannot confess the mighty deeds of God. It cannot         come to his house and prophesied. Had not this babe leaped
say;: I have believed ; therefore have I spoken !                  in the -womb of Elisabeth, greeting Jesus in Mary's womb ?

    Thirdly, this silence, indeed, shows us that God would         0, the wonder of it!

have obedience and not sacrifice! There can be no obedience           And now Zacharias will speak. He is not aware of it.
without sacrifice. However, there can be sacrifice without obe-    He beckons for a tablet. And he writes, saying "His name is
dience. God would have the former. And unto that end he            John." He shall not be called simply "The Lord Will Re-
forms Zacharias through chastisement.                              member" (Zacharias) but he will be called "Jehovah is

    For chastisement this was for Zacharias. It was' God's         gracious" ! He fulfills his oaths of .old to us the children.

pedagogy for him. God        would lead this righteous one,           And then we get the song of Zacharias. It is the sweet in-
righteous before the Lord, by the hand as it were. He would        cense upon the altar of God. It is faith speaking. It is a
show him hi,s glories and teach him to learn in silence. God       Theocentric-Christocentric song. It is not a humanistic song
does not spoil his children, but chastens every son whom he        about John, his child, but a song in which the work and
loves !                                                            calling of John is sung, showing forth the praises of Jehovah,

    The Lord will not simply lead Zacharias to walk in faith       who is gracious.                                           G.L.


S56                                        J-HE   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R


                                                                    Christ, and for whom He fulfilled the law, have the liberty
                  I N M I i F E A.R ;.                              now to do as they please and that God no longer says to
                                                                    them, "Keep My commandments." In fact Paul begins this

                                                                    chapter, the fifth, with the wordq  "Be ye therefore followers
       I,. . . And Keep His Commandments . . .`I                    (imitators) of God as dear children ; And walk in love as
                                                                    Christ also loved us . . ."     Well, if we are imitators (the

                                (2)                                 corr,ect  translation of Paul's words) we will surely walk in
                                                                    God's commandments. And this is indeed a command and
       "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
                                                                    not simply a suggestion. Paul says, "Be ye therefore imitators
whether they are of God," John writes in his first epistle.
                                                                    of God."    He does not simply suggest that it would be nice
       Paul prays, according to his epistle to the Philippians,     and would show that we do love God. And in no uncertain
that the love of the saints "may abound yet more and more in        terms he condemns all fornication and adultery. Why? Be-
knowledge and in all judgment" that they may "approve (or           cause God hates it; and how can God do anything else but
try) the things that are excellent (or differing;) that they        forbid us to do that which He hates ? How can God do any-
may be sincere and without offence  till the day of Christ."        thing else but demand of us that we love Him and walk as

       In His letter to the church at Philadelphia, according to    He Himself walks in righteousness and holiness ? And as far

Revelation 3 :ll, Jesus tells the church to "hold fast that         as the fifth commandment is concerned, Paul goes even a
which" she has.                                                     step further than the literal commandment. Not only does
                                                                    he demand in the name of God that children obey their parents
       And we do greatly appreciate those who hate even the
                                                                    but he develops the idea and applies it to wives and servants.
semblance of the lie and of a departure from the truth. Show
                                                                    And let it be noted that Paul is not at all afraid to tell- the
me a man who objects to any and all watering down of the
                                                                    New Testament Church at Ephesus that God demands the
truths of Scripture ; show me a man who is ready to fight
                                                                    saints to keep this commandment. Let it be remembered, too,
in defense of every truth of Scripture and who insists that
                                                                    that Paul is writing here to Gentiles who had not been given
you speak the language of Scripture and according to the
                                                                    the Law at Mt. Sinai but had learned of it after the cross and
spirit of the Scriptures; and I will show you a man who
                                                                    exaltation of Christ.
l o v e s   G o d !
                                                                       Peter, in his first epistle does -the very same thing. He
       The man that loves God is not necessarily the man who        admonishes the servants to obey their master and wives to'
has thousands upon thousands and gives a little of it for the       be subject to their husbands, I Peter 2 :18  and 3 :l. He `even
financial support of God's Church here below. It is not             states in 2 :13,  "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man
necessarily the man who gives freely of his time and talents        for the Lord's sake." Why that last? Why ? if God does not
for "kingdom work" who loves God. Nor is it necessarily             demand these same things.      Can we ever do something above
the man who witnesses repeatedly and publicly of God and of         that which God demands of us ? Is there an area of things
His Christ who loves God. All these can be done in love of          that God does not demand and we can walk in that sphere
self, because we seek honor and fame among men, because we          and so do more than He demands ? Can we bring Him
find satisfaction for the flesh in doing these things. But the      something not demanded ? Does Jesus Himself not teach us
man who is concerned with the glory of God and hates all            in the parable 7 to say after we have done all -and these are
false doctrines and heresies because they insult and dishonor       Jesus' words - "those things commanded" of us, `$Ve are
the Living God, this is the man that plainly loves God. This        unprofitable servants : we have done that which was our duty
is the man who fears God. This is the man who lives in His          to do." Now you may argue that Jesus taught this parable
fear. This is the man who knows that to fear God belongs to         before His cross and refers to the Jews as they were still
the sole duty of man. But because Scripture declares in Ec-         under the law. But what will you say of His words to His
clesiastes  12 :13 that to this sole duty of man belongs also       disciples just before He went to the cross ? Jesus has already
the words of our title above, "and keep His commandments,"          dismissed the traitor and instituted the Lord's Supper in
he will agree with us and desire with us to explore this truth      place of the Passover. He is about ready to go to Gethsemane
and defend it.                                                      and order the e,nemy to take Him to Pilate and to the cross.

  Let us examine a few New Testament passages which                 What does He'say ? If ye love me you will forget the law of

show that since the cross of Christ God still demands of us         God after my death and show your love to me by such life

that we keep His commandments. Let us see that God still            of lawlessness ? Not at all ! He says, "If ye love me, keep my

has a "must" for us in His Word and that the cross of Christ        commandments,"     John 14:15.  And again, "He that hath

does not give us the liberty to be outlaws, lawless ones. In        my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me :

the fifth and sixth chapters of his epistle to the Ephesians        and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I

Paul gives a series of admonitions which are clearly based on       will love him, and will manifest myself to him," John 14:21.

the fifth and seventh commandments. And here he gives               Still again, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in

absolutely no hint even that those justified by the blood of        my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments


                                           T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                157


and abide in his love,.:  John 15 :lO. Is there now a difference    sacrifices, the temple, the priesthood according to Aaron and

between Jesus' commandments and those of the Father? He             all these things which were fulfilled in Christ. Yet to them

has kept the Father's commandments and demands of His               he declares that God's promises in Christ are realized in

disciples that they so keep His commandments. Does He mean          this, that God says, I will "put my laws in their hearts, and

to keep them simply for a few more hours since, before the          in their minds will I write them," Hebrews 10:16. If God

sun sets on another day, He will have died for their sins and       does not demand that which is written in the law, why does

fulfilled all righteousness for them ? Of course not ! He means     He then write that law in our hearts ? Why, too, do we read

that after His ascension into heaven they must keep His com-        in Philippians 2 :13 that "it is God which worketh in you

mandments. And note that it is commandments and not doc-            both to will and to do of His good pleasure." To do what?

trine. Not simply His doctrinal teachings must they keep,           To believe ? To fear God ? Indeed but also to keep His com-

not only must they fear God. They must also keep His com-           mandments.      And note that in the context Paul speaks of

mandments.                                                          obedience.


 , But what saith the Church in the New Dispensation as                As we said that is the very essence of our spiritual life.

led by the Spirit of Christ? The Heidelberg Catechism               Man is created according to law. The laws of his physical

teaches us that it is a source of comfort to the child of God       being are very narrow, so narrow that a rise of two or three

that his faithful Saviour Jesus Christ to whom he belongs           degrees of the temperature of his body makes him exceedingly

makes him "sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live         miserable ; and a rise of five degrees may well bring death to

unto him."     "Henceforth" means in tl& life. It means from        him. He can live without water for only a very short time.

the moment of regeneration and the irresistible calling by the      He can live without the oxygen in the air for only a few

-Spirit of this faithful Saviour. This same catechism teaches       minutes.      Hemmed in on every side is he by laws. And

us that we must do good works in Lord's Day XxX11.  It              spiritually he lives only by the words that proceed from the

does not ask, Why is it a good idea that we still do good           mouth of God. He does not live by bread alone. He cannot

works ? It does not ask, Why ought we still do good works?          do that. He lives only as He remains in the sphere where

The question emphatically is, "Why must we still do good            God created him. That sphere is the sphere of the love of

works ?" And in the next Lord's Day in answer to the ques-          God, the sphere of doing God's will. And in the Ten Com-

tion as to .what good works are it gives the answer, "Only          mandments God has expressed to fallen man, who has lost

those which proceed from a true faith, are performed accord-        his true knowledge of God and of the sphere wherein he was

ing to the law of God, and to His glory ; and not such as           created, what that will is. And when we do anything con-

are founded on our imaginations, or the institutions of men."       trary to that law we run against the Living God. We violate

Note that good works. must be performed "according to the           the very laws of our spiritual existence and do ourselves as

law of God."    In order to be good in God's sight, they must       much damage as we do when we place our hands on the

be according to His law. Good works are demanded of us by           burning coal of fire. We were not created to touch fire and

God. And so the works of the law, works according to that           come out unscathed as the stone of solid granite. Nor were

law are demanded of us. No question of it: And then follows         we created to oppose the Living God, Who is a consuming

so repeatedly, "What doth God require in the second com-            fire. We were created to live in love unto Him and to

mandment ?"      "What is required in the third command-            serve Him. Therefore to our sole duty belongs that we keep

ment?" And so it goes literally with the fifth, the sixth, the      His commandments. We must. God demands it of us.

eighth, the ninth and the tenth commandments. Truly ". . .
                                                                       0, yes indeed, we are saved by grace. We must not keep
and keep His commandments . . ." is the teaching of the
                                                                    the law in order to save ourselves by that obedience. Then
Scriptures and of our Reformed Confessions.
                                                                    salvation is hopeless. God does not demand that we keep His
    How can it be otherwise ?                                       law as the condition, the prerequisite of our salvation. But

    Is -that not the very. essence of our spiritual life? And if    He does demand of those who are saved by the blood of the

God does not demand this of us, does it not follow that He          Lamb, of those who are unconditionally promised all the

no longer considers it to be sin when we do not keep His            blessedness of His glorious kingdom that they keep His

commandments ? Men can today make so much of it that the            commandments. In fact, He demands the law of the devil,

law is fulfilled by Christ and from this draw the conclusidn        of all his host of evil spirits and of the reprobate who shall

that the Ten Commandments are withdrawn. -But how then              never even for one moment have the desire to begin to keep

will you explain the words of the author of the epistle to the      any one of these commandments. But as the Holy God that He

Hebrews ? Mind you, he is busy rebuking the Hebrew Chris-           is, He demands this of all rational, moral creatures. He is the

tians for the very opposite tendency: They had been inclined        Unchangeable One, is He not? His demands upon His ra-

and to a very great degree already had been busy with going         tional, moral creature do not change even though they cannot

back to the Old Testament types and shadows. They, having           do that which He demands. We cannot either until He

embraced the truth in Jesus Christ, insisted upon the old           regenerates us by the Spirit of His Obedient Son. And to

ceremonial laws, could not cut themselves loose from the                                 (Continued on page 167)

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


                                                                    magically bestowed, through the means of the priest and the
            Contending For The Faith                           II sacrament.
                                                                        Summarizing the significance of the sacrament. of bap-

                                                                    tism as set forth by the Roman Catholic Church and as there-
             The Church and the Sacraments                          fore constituting one of the seven sacraments, we remark the

                                                                    following. First, the sacrament of baptism is absolutely neces-
   VIEWS DURING THE THIRD PERIOD (750-1517 A.D.)                    sary unto salvation. Incidentally, Augustine also taught that

                                                                    baptism was necessary unto salvation. The Council of Trent
                 THE SEVEN SACRAMENTS.
                                                                    decided in its Seventh Session; Canon V, on Baptism, the fol-

                      BAPTISM (continued)                           lowing, and I quote : "If any one saith, that baptism is free,
                                                                    that is, not necessary unto salvation : let him be anathema." -

        We concluded our previous article with an unfinished        end of quote. Rome teaches that the sacraments of baptism and

quotation from Dr. Bavinck as he wrote on the Romish doc-           penance are necessary unto salvation ; or, that the sacrament

trine of the sacrament of baptism. We now continue with             of penance is absolutely necessary for those who have com-

this quotation.                                                     mitted a mortal sin after baptism. Secondly, Rome believes

                                                                    that the sacrament of baptism (as do all the sacraments) con-
        "Grace alone serves to make it again possible for man to
                                                                    tains the grace it signifies, that the sacrament is not'merely an
merit the heavenly salvation. This was fundamentally even
                                                                    outward sign of grace or justice received through faith, and the
the case with Augustine. Grace, however true it be that it
                                                                    efficacy of this ordinance lies in the sacramental action itself.
was bestowed without merit, did not consist with him, first
                                                                    Rome maintains that the relation between the sign and the
of all, in the forgiveness of sins but in regeneration, the in-
                                                                    thing signified is physical, and that the reception of the ex-
fusing of love which enabled one to perform good works and
                                                                    ternal material necessarily carried with it a participation in
thus acquire everlasting life. The merits do not precede grace
                                                                    the internal or inward material. Thirdly, the sacrament of
and faith, but they do follow upon the same. Later, when the
                                                                    baptism delivers from the guilt of original sin and of all
doctrine of the image of God as donum superadditum (the
                                                                    actual sins committed up to the time of baptism. This means
gift added in addition, H.V.) arose, this became still worse.
                                                                    that it delivers infants only from the guilt of original sin,
The concept, grace, then experienced a significant change.
                                                                    It secures the infusion of sanctifying grace, dependent, how-
Grace became something that was not only necessary for
                                                                    ever, upon the will of the person receiving it. Man, however,
fallen man ; but Adam must also be elevated by it from a
                                                                    is able to lose this grace through mortal sins; and if he com-
common, ordinary man to the image of God. Hence, after the
                                                                    mits these mortal sins penance is required of him. Man
fall grace receives a two-fold task, first to redeem man from
                                                                    can reject this grace but also acquiesce.
sin (gratia sanationis medicinalis), and, secondly, to lift him
                                                                       This view of `baptism was rejected, as we shall see later,
up to the supernatural order (gratia elevans) . For the first
                                                                    by the reformers. Luther understood that the chief part of
grace is but accidental; for the second it is absolute and
                                                                    penance did not consist in the private confessional, whereof
physically necessary. Therefore the latter pressed the first
                                                                    Scripture knows nothing, nor in our satisfaction, for God
more and `more upon the background ; the ethical contrast of
                                                                    forgives our sins freely, but in a hearty sorrow over sin, in
sin and grace makes place for the physical contrast of natural
                                                                    an earnest desire to bear Christ's cross, in a new life, and in
and supernatural. Rome views grace magically, through the
                                                                    the word of grace in Christ. The penitent one does not re-
means of priest and sacrament, infused into the natural man
                                                                    ceive the forgiveness of sin in the way of his satisfaction and
as a supernatural, created, physical power, which lifts him up
                                                                    priestly satisfaction, but in the way of trusting upon the
to the supernatural order and enables him to merit by good
                                                                    Word of God, through faith in God's grace. The sacrament
works all subsequent grace and also to merit in this way the
                                                                    does not justify, but faith justifies (although he did not break
heavenly salvation." - end of quote.
                                                                    from Rome, also in this connection, in the complete sense of

        Rome, we understand, is thoroughly Arminian and Pela-       the word).

gian in this conception.    Our merits do not precede our grace

and faith (of course not, as according to Rome) but they                                T H E   E U C H A R I S T

follow In baptism the child receives regeneration (infused             We understand, I am sure, that the chief question in

grace), and the adult, when baptized, receives a grace which        connection with the sacrament of the Eucharist or the Lord's

consists of the enlightening of the mind and a strengthening        Supper concerns the proper interpretation ' of the words :

of the .will by the Holy Spirit. However, this grace is re-         "This is My body."     That this is the fundamental question

sistible and man can reject the same. Man can lose the grace        lies in the very nature of the case. In the sacrament of the

bestowed upon him in baptism, but in the grace infused into         Lord's Supper we eat and drink the body and blood of Christ.

him he receives the supernatural power to perform good              This thought is beautifully expressed in John 6:50-56,  and

works and thereby merit all subsequent grace, yea everlasting       we quote:     "This is the bread which cometh  down from

life. Rome maintains the merits of good works. And grace is         heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the


                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                 159



living bread which came down from heaven ; if a man eat of          meditate -upon the sufferings and death of our Lord. The

this bread;he  shall live for ever: and the bread that I will       Lord's Supper  is a sacrament; an operation of grace certainly

give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.      accompanies our eating and drinking of the bread and wine ;

The Jews, therefore, strpve among themselves, saying, HO%           only, this relation  between the sign and the thing obsignated

can this man give us His flesh to eat? Then Jesus s&d unto          is purely spirit&l.

them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh          The fourth and final view that has been developed in con-

of the Son of man and drink His blood, ye have no life in           nection with the Lord's Supper is known as the Zwinglian

you. Whoso  eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood hath              conception.     Zwingli was the Swiss Reformer. He entered

eternal life ; and I will raise him up at the last day. For         once with Luther into a very violent and utterly fruitless

My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He           debate. He disagreed completely with the German reformer,

that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me,        maintaining that Christ is in heaven and not upon the earth.

and I in him." - end of quote. It is obvious from this pas-         His view may be designated as the symbolical view, the

sage that we must eat an!  drink the Lord Jesus Christ. If          merely symbolical view. He maintained that the elements of

we do not' eat the body of Christ and drink His blood, then         the Lord's Supper (the bread and wine) were symbols and

we simply have no sacrament, but only a mere form. The              nothing more. It is true that the Calvinistic. cotiception  also

question is ,therefore  very important : what is the meaning of     stresses the symbolical character of the bread and the wine.

the words: "This is My body."                                       However, we maintain the sacramental relation between these

                                                                    symbols and the Living Bread and Wine, Christ Jesus, our
   Relative this important question we may say that there
                                                                    Lord, whereas Zwingli's conception of the sacrament of the
are at present four different views concerning the Lord's
                                                                    Lord's Supper is such that this sacrament is a mere feast of
Supper. There is, first of all, the Roman Catholic view known
                                                                    remembrance at which tie remember the death of a departed
as Transubstantiation.  This word refers literally to a change
                                                                    friend.
of substance. Rome simply identifies the sign and the thing
                                                                        During the earliest period of the Church in the New Dis-
obsignated. They teach that the bread and wine are changed
                                                                    pensation, the so-called first period of the Church, none of
into the body and blood of the Lord. This doctrine of Tran-
                                                                    these four views had been distinctly and fully developed. This
substantiation constitutes a very vital part of the teaching and
                                                                    is readily understandable. The Church simply observed the
life of the Church of Rome.
                                                                    Lord's Supper without entering into its deeper significance.
   Another view of the Lord's Supper is that which is enter-        Standing upon the threshold of the New Dispensation, the
tained by the Lutheran Church. This view of the Lord's              Church of God did not enjoy the clear understanding of the
Supper is, known as Consubstantiation. According to the             Scriptures which characterizes the Church of God today. It
Lutheran conception of the sign and the thing obsignated,           did not give itself immediately a clear and distinct account
they are not identified. Luther certainly rejected the view         of .the meaning of this sacrament. However, it may also be
that the bread and wine are actually changed into the body`,        observed that also to this sacrament, as to the sacrament of
and blood of the Lord. However, although the Lutheran con-          baptism, a profound significance was attached, although it
ception refuses to `identify the two, they do maintain that         had .no clear idea or conception of its significance. And we
they are objectively and really connected. Their view, we re-       may also remark that by various writers of this early period,
peat, is known as Consubstantiation. And this means literally :     the seeds were sown for the development of all the various
with the substance. Lutheranism maintains that the body and         views of the Lord's Supper that were to be developed in a
blood of the Lord are really present in, with, and under the        later period. More specifically we may observe, in the first
bread and the wine. Very  strenuously and vehemently the            place, that the present Roman Catholic doctrine of Transub-
German reformer maintained that Jesus said: This is My              stantiation was entirely unknown in this early period of the
body.                                                               Church. Some views, as those expressed by Ignatius, Justin

   A third view of the Lord's Supper is the Calvinistic             and Irenaeus, remind us of the present Lutheran doctrine.

conception. The Calvinistic view we may designate as the            They emphasize the real presence of the body and blood of

sacramental conception. This conception teaches and em-             the Lord. The North African Church, however, revealed

phasizes that the relation between the sign and the thing           rather clear tendencies toward. the Zwinglian conception.

obsignated is purely spiritual. It rejects the literal and na-      However, Clement, Tertullian and Cyprian inclined toward

tural interpretation of Jesus' words: This is My body, and          the Calvinistic or sacramental conception. The Lord willing,

maintains that the bread and wine are purely and exclusively        we will continue with this in our next article.

symbolic. The eating and drinking of Christ's body and blood                                                                   H.V.
                                                                                                  :
does `not occur through the mouth and is exclusively an act

of faith. The bread and wine must be separated from Christ's                       0 God, our help in ages past,

body and blood, are merely symbols of this body and blood.                           Our hope for years to come,

However, this does not mean that the Lord's Supper is merely                       Be Thou our guard while troubles last,

a remembrance feast, a joyful occasion at which we simply                            And our eternal home.

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


           PLAYS, DRAMA AND TELEVISION                                of another, and tries to duplicate that person in some manner
                                                                      before the audience.

       Advertisers like to assure us that the radio is America's          We might ask, but is not our daily life and speech full
number one source of entertainment. If that is true, it only          of drama ? A child begins to imitate its parents already at a
follows that television runs radio a close second.                    very early age. Johnny holds a pipe in his mouth just as

       Television programs have a strong appeal, especially be-       daddy does. Mary talks to her dolls as she hears mother talk

cause they reach us through a double set of our strongest             to baby sister. A pupil will often adopt the tone inflections,

senses, through both the eye and the ear simultaneously. Any          expressions, and mannerisms of a teacher whom he highly

audio-visual experience makes a deep and lasting impression           respects. We often try to imitate the peculiar motions and

on us. Therefore a three dimensional picture with sound ac-           dialect of another person in telling a story. In fact, examples

companiment becomes so real to us that the figures seem to            can be quoted from Scripture, where -the  prophets were told

step out of the picture into the room, the scent of smoke or          to perform certain actions as a demonstration before the eyes

of flowers almost seems to fill the air, and a sense of being         of the people. Besides there is a very close similarity between

a party in the activity becomes very acute.                           writing a novel and enacting it, or between reading a very in-

                                                                      teresting book and watching it enacted. on the screen.
       Anyone can well imagine that such audio-visual means of

communication has immense possibilities for the future. It                Now if imitation is a natural and integral part of our lives,

will undoub!edly  play a prominent part in the education of           does it follow that drama is a legitimate and proper form of

children. How much more impressive a history lesson be-               entertainment? Should we and our children indulge freely in

comes if the book with its words and pictures is replaced by          watching TV programs ? And is it also proper. for us to attend

a dramatic presentation of the events as they actually hap-           indoor and outdoor movies ? Is it a matter of the place? Or

pened. How much easier it will be to study geography by               is it a question of degree, as to how `much we should indulge,

means of a travelogue on the screen. Even physiology and              or what kind of plays we should watch? And if it is proper to

civil government will be made simple through talking pictures.        watch the play on the screen, is it also proper to be an actor

With a little stretch of the imagination we can see our chil-         in it, and to make the stage  a profession for life?

dren learning languages and mathematics through motion                    The problem is a serious one and threatens to become
pictures.                                                             more so as time goes on.

       From the?e  it is no big step to a marked change in the            In answer to the various questions that have been raised,
manner of catechetical instruction. Already today the psy-            it is important to make a distinction between iwzitation  and
chologist frowns on memory work, but would certainly wel-             iuutpersonation.
come a movie which depicts the lives of the various Bible char-
                                                                          To imitate means "to follow as a model, pattern, or
acters. But in that case, what about the pulpit? Will at solne
                                                                      example ; to copy or endeavor to copy in acts, manner, or
future date Rev. So-and-so be the main -character in a
                                                                      other wise.,' Thus you could imitate a farmer plowing a
Christmas pageant? And will the sermons be moral lessons
                                                                      field, a man driving an automobile, or a woman shopping,
from ,actual  life displayed on the screen? Will that be the
                                                                      merely as an outward act, without any display of feeling or
only kind of sermon the future generations will be able to
                                                                      emotion. In that case, the question of right or wrong would
grasp ?
                                                                      hardly enter in. Even if those actions are' portrayed on the
       But I am not writing about television as such. That is         screen, accompanied by some dialogue, the ethics of it can
obviously here to stay, until some greater invention replaces         hardly be questioned.                .
it.. And a mere blanket statement that condemns the instru-               We can even make a demonstration of human actions,
ment, or all that is produced upon it, will convince no one.          which could serve a good purpose. A story told with the

       I am writing particularly about television as a source of      proper tone inflections and motions can leave a lasting im-

epfkrtainment  through dramatic productions or plays.                 pression, especially on a child who is very receptive. There

                                                                      is no doubt about it but that audio-visual means of instruc-
       That raises the question, what is drama?
                                                                      tion is highly effective.
       Webster defines drama as "A composition, now usually
                                                                          Even the Bible uses that form of demonstration to bring
in prose, arranged for enactment, and intended to portray
                                                                      home very forcefully a certain truth. Elijah on mount Carmel,
life and character, or to tell a story by actions, and, usually,
                                                                      for example, mockingly urges the Baa1 priests to cry louder,
dialogue tending toward some result based upon them, a play."
                                                                      "for he is a god ; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he

       We could therefore say that drama is a compositipn  that       is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be

intends to portray the life and character of individuals, either      awaked."    Plainly he mimics their manner of speech con-

imaginary or real, by action and dialogue. Or, it could be            cerning their gods, in order to point out how ridiculous and

said, that drama is the audio-visual presentation of the.  life of    how wicked are all their efforts to persuade Baa1 to bring

some person; The actor places himself in the circumstances            God's fire from heaven.


                                            T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  161


    It is, likewise, possible to demonstrate how a murder -w&s        live.4 that we can talk about, but only with deepest fear and

 committed by imitating the actions of the murderer. A                reverence ? These things cannot be dealt with lightly by im-

 detective may reconstruct the entire crime in order to prove         personation.

 the guilt of the suspect. As much as he plainly abhors the              And since there is no neutral zone in the life of any in-
 deed he .is demonstrating, he will go through all the actions        dividual, no area  in which we need not love the Lord our
 to show that everything fits into the picture as he sees it. But     God with our whole being, there remains strictly no sphere
 you will readily agree that this is by no mkans the same as         that can be impersonated without treading upon either the
impersonation or even dramatization in its strictest sense.          holy or the unholy.
    For impersonation is defined as assuming or acting the
                                                                         Dr. L. Greenway  writes in a similar strain in his book,
person or character of another. That is the prominent ele-
                                                                     Basic &uestion.s  Abo,ut  Christian Behavior, copied in the
ment in a play. In order to be successful, an actor  must be
                                                                     May-June, 1958, issue of Torch and Th-npet, "Some of us
able to enter into the thoughts and feelings of the person
                                                                     are inclined to believe that dramatic and theatrical filming is
he is portraying. For in the minds  of the audience the actor
                                                                     basically wrong.    We believe that God has given every in-
must be so completely associated with the real person that
                                                                     dividual his own unique creatural distinction in life and that
the audience forgets the actor and lives into the life of the
                                                                     it is sinful for anyone habitually to reshape his individuality
real person, as if they were going through the same experience
                                                                     and to twist his personality for dramatic purposes. To `make
with him. The actor .and his audience must be able to put
                                                                     love' or to display anger, sorrow, fear or elation under arti-
their heart and soul into that experience in order really to
                                                                     ficial stimulation is a profanation of gifts and powers which
enjoy it.
                                                                     God intends shall be used only in sincerity and truth."
    It is, therefore, exactly at this point that dramatization
                                                                         The evil of dramatics is also borne out by its evil con-
assumes an ethical character, that is, at this point it must be
                                                                     sequences.
judged to be either right or wrong.

                                                                         There is a real danger of losing our spiritual sensitivity by
    And it hardly needs proof to show that at this point dra-
                                                                     dealing lightly with the holy and the unholy. Those who
matization becomes sin, both for the actor and the audience.
                                                                     make it a practice to watch the many plays on television can
    That is quite obviously the case if the actor assumes the        become so calloused to sin, that they can no longer distinguish
character of a murderer or fornicator, as is so frequently done      clearly between the holy and the unholy, or between right
.on the screen. The actor must relive the deed even as that          and wrong. Promiscuous love making, vengeance, stealing,
person did himself. He must also be able to carry his audience       and gun play become common things in the lives of growing
along with him, so that they also are absorbed into the same         children as well as adults. Just watch the child on the street
feelings and emotions that accompany the deed. The degree            enacting the part of a western cowboy, or the like. That may
in which he succeeds will determine the success of the play.         account, at least in part, for the many gruesome murders
How can he do that without making himself and his audience           done in cold blood, and the bold thefts that make headlines
guilty of the sin that is being enacted ? And, even if this were     in the daily papers, as well as for much of the parental and
possible, how can it ever be right to play sin, and that for         juvenile delinquency of our day.
the sake of entertainment? Are we not accountable to God
for all that we do ?                                                    Moreover, there is no small danger that we are producing
                                                                     an illiterate generation, that not only is too lazy to exert it-
    But if it is wrong to play sin, it would seem to follow
                                                                     self, but also is no longer interested in reading and writing,
that it should be perfectly proper to act out that which is
                                                                     thinking and reasoning. It is so much easier to watch a play
holy. Yet again we are confronted with a very serious situa-
                                                                     on television than to spend the time laboriously reading the
tion. The actor will play, let us say, the life of Christ, as
                                                                     book. It is so much simpler to page through a picture maga-
is done in the Passion plays. The audience will watch him,
                                                                     zine than to study the current events. It seems to become
try to associate him with the sinless Son of God, and share the
                                                                     increasingly difficult for our young people to memorize their
experiences of Christ anew with the actor, all by dramatiza-
                                                                     catechism lessons or to write an essay for the society, even
tion. The very attempt is blasphemous. But it certainly can
                                                                     though they have a much broader education than their parents
be no better for an actor to play, and for an audience to watch
                                                                     ever had. The education they receive may very well su~p&s
an enactment of the prayers and soul struggle of Martin
                                                                     anything that the past has ever known, but this education is
Luther, or the spiritual experiences of John Calvin, or Abra-
                                                                     not brought into practice, so that it is soon forgotten. No
ham's trial in the sacrifice of Isaac. How can anyone go
                                                                     wonder that there is such a general complaint that doctrinal
through those experiences without playing the hypocrite ?
                                                                     matters are too deep, church papers are too dry, and the Scrip-
True enough, he is not actually deceiving anyone into think-
                                                                     tures themselves too difficult to grasp.
ing that these are his own experiences. But what is still
worse, he is playing the part that does not actually exist in           And finally, television is a great time consumer. Meetings
his own soul, but belongs to another. And that before the            for adults cannot be attended because they interfere with

face of the living God! Are there not many things in our                                 (Continued on page 167)

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


                                                                     peace, the brotherhood, and the special Synodical correspond-
               DECENCY and ORDER                                     ence, whether publicly or secretly or by both means."

                                                                         Now it to all appearances would seem that Voetius here

                                                                     advocates the deposition of a consistory by the Synod because
       Can the Cllassis  Depose the Consistory -
                                                                     he speaks of `~e~co,~~~~u.~~i~a~ion,"  But that he by this does not
                          A Report!                                  mean this but has in mind the setting outside of the denomina-

       The relation of the local church to the denomination is       tion as also the en-col&&ccation  (to place outside the corn--
comparable to the relation of a member to the local church.          YtzMnion)  indicates, is evident from many considerations : (1)
In both'cases the joining is voluntary. Iti relation to Christ,      Out of the fact that also other Reformed authorities of this
it is an act of obedience to the command of Christ because           time spoke of excommunication in the same vein (spirit) ;
neither a member nor a local church ought to remain separ-           Hoornbeek, a well-known authority in the sphere of Church

ate but should unite themselves with other members of the            Right and a disciple of Voetius, combatting the recensiores
body of Christ. Yet, from their side, in relation to the de-         (novices) and independents in his Summa, Contramxsiarum
nominational bond it remains a voluntary act. Whenever then          (pg. 771) mentions that the Reformed Synods can absolutely
a member becomes unduly  and is threatened with discipline           not administer any hierarchical jurisdiction over the local

and he declares that he severs the relation with the church ;        churches and then these independents answer that whenever

such a member must answer to God but then the church can-            they speak of banning a church from the denomination and

not proceed with the discipline but has to declare that such         having no fellowship with such a church, it is the same as
a member has terminated his relation with the church. This           when the Reformers speak of excommunication, and to this

is then also the viewpoint that the Christian Reformed Church        the Reformers have no objection. And also the same position

in the Synod of 1918 rightly took. And even so, a local              is taken by the Reformed Churches of Scotland. Rev. John
church has to answer before God whenever she does not ful-           Brown, in his book, Vindication of the Presbyterian Fomz  of
fill her duties toward the denomination and fails to act in          Chxh  Gozumment  as Professed in the Standards of the
agreement with the acts of fellowship (according to Art. 31)         Church  of Scotland (pg. 202)' combatting the well-known
and also actually breaks the denominational bond but  the            Dr. Owen who was an independent, mentions that the courts

right to that even as the responsibility for it rests with the       of yeview  for which he strove could only give blunt advice
local church that functions through her lawful office-bearers.       as follows : " D r .   0 wen affirms, however, in common with
                                                                     Goodwin, that if this particular congregation does not comply
       The same position (viewpoint) is adopted by Voetius.
                                                                     with the decision of a Synod or Assembly, all the churches,
Speaking on the question (Book I, Pg. 11, Chap. V, Ques.
                                                                     whose representatives sit in these courts, may withhold com-
XXII), "Whether any part of the ecclesiastical power, also
                                                                     munion from it. Is not this, however, by whatever name you
the excommunication, in case of misbehaviour and incurable
                                                                     call it, as much authority over this particular congregation,
evil, belongs to the Synodical gathering of the churches and
                                                                     even by the pastors and members of other churches, as is
can be executed by her ?' he gives the answer : "I do not see
                                                                     ever assumed by a Presbyterian Synod ?,' (2) Secoqdly,  it
why this can be denied in. the cases and circumstances afore-
                                                                     appears from the quotations -of Voetius itself when he speaks
mentioned." And then he states further in Answer XXII that
                                                                     of ~re~col~l,~L~nic,at~ov~,"  then he himself explains how he will
"through some novices (recensiores, that is, independents)
                                                                     have that understood when he says, "Those who with us
the power of, excommunication is called in question but this
                                                                     acknowledge the Synodical power must also reckon to the
by others, through distinguishing and reconciling of conflict-
                                                                     Synod the power of excommunication ; if not formally then
ing views, is so explained that in the case of misconduct, the
                                                                     yet in the place UE  coming action through which the curse is
direction and preparation of the decision but not the ex-
                                                                     announced with warning of peece, the brotherhood, and the
communication itself, belongs with the Synod ; that  never-
                                                                     special~Synod~ica.1  correspondence, whether publicly or secretly
theless, the excommunication itself or, if you will, the exe&u-
                                                                     or by both means."      Such an excommunication can never
tion of it must be left to the local church." Then he speaks
                                                                     mean setting out of the office but is the same as banishment
of two cases. The first case wherein a part of the consistory
                                                                     from the denomination.
is yet healthy. The second case that-is related to the present
question, is that wherein a congregation, together with the             There are in these pages various quotations of Voetius that
consistory,    is hopelessly incurable and made- themselves          prove that he reckoned to the broader gathering the right to
worthy of the excommunication. He then gives this solution :         depose (a! te zetten) a consistory. But in our opinion these
"Yet these distinctions (namely, guidance, preparation and           quotations do not prove this. All the time it shall be noted
executing) do not raise difficulties in the aforementioned           that Voetius teaches that in the last analysis the formal act of
cases. Those who with us acknowledge the Synodical power             deposition is done by the congregation.

must also reckon to the Synod the power of en-co~~~~u~ica.-             Historically it appears, in our opinion, also from the cases

tion;  if not formally, then yet in the place of covtzing  action    mentioned by Reitsema and Van Veen, that the Reformed

through which the curse is announced with the warning of             Synods, etc., indeed advised. and decided that consistories


                                          THE   S T A N D A R D   BEA.RER                                                      163



were to be deposed, but whether such should occur, the actual      articles of the Church Order must be considered more closely :

act of deposition, took place through the local church, ac-        Articles 30, 31, 79, and 84.

cording to the form of deposition of South Holland, 1619,             Article 30 already indicates that the task and sphere of
then also presupposed. Yet, to prove this in detail would          the broader gatherings is more limited *than `that of the minor
make our report too long and we refer, therefore, to what          gathering for it emphatically declares : "In `major assemblies
is presented regarding this from both sides.                       only such matters shall be dealt with as could not be finished

    Also the authorities in the Netherlands of later date all      in minor assemblies, or such as pertain to the churches of the

speak agreeably with us. All teach that a Classis  cannot          major assembly in common."       From this is evident that the

depose a Consistory. Not only is this the sentiment of Dr.         Consistories do not relegate all their power to the Classis

Rutgers and Dr. H. H. Kuyper of the Free University, but as        for as Ds. J. Jansen expresses it: "Overagainst ten cases that

much that of Dr. Bouwman of the Theological School in              a consistory can finish there stand perhaps one that requires.

Kampen. The last named writes in a published letter to Dr.         the help of the broader gathering." (Jansen Kwte  Vwklaving
J. Van Lonkhuyzen as follows : "Your question whether I            vanz de Kev~kmordening,  Pg. 142). That the Classis  does not

have even in, my lectures said that a Classis  can depose a        have all power over the consistory, even to deposition, but

consistory, surprises me somewhat. I do not remember ever          is limited in her power is clearly evident from this article.

having taught this avtd  I would  say that this is impossible.        Article 31 maintains the binding power of ecclesiastical

 (Italics ours). The Classis  can help the consistory in the       decisions. This article cuts off all striving toward independ-

deposition of an elder. The Classis  can also, when a con-         entism, as if anyone did not need to observe the decisions of

sistory is completely in error or acts contrary to the right       the broader gatherings in case they did not agree with them.

of the Church and her confessions, help the congregation in        The decisions of the broader gatherings are binding also if

the election of another consistory, but the Classis  may not       a consistory is not in agreement, as has been written before.

act without the congregation. In 1905, when the question of        Only then when the decisions are proven to conflict with the

N. Pekela was treated on the Synod, and I was deputed with         Word of God `or the Articles of the Church Order, do men

Dr. Hania and Rev. Breukelaar to restore order in cases            have the right to oppose *them. In this case it can appear

there, I strongly maintained this principle. The churches in       necessary that a consistory forsakes the denomination instead

general must not do what belongs to the consistory. Accord-        of subjecting itself to them.    As, according to IDS.  Jansen

ing to Reformed Church Right, if the whole denomination            (Korte V/erlzZa&g,  Pg. 147). "Voetius also says that a local
 (this should be "consistory'") is corrupt and there is no         church that is compelled to enforce a decision that is found

normal way to' rectify it, the power of the church reverts         to conflict with the Word of God, if need be must leave the

`back to the congregation and the denomination can and must        denomination rather than to act contrary to the Word of God

then offer help so that another consistory is chosen in the        and conscience." Yet, as long as a consistory remains in the

place of the unfaithful one."                                      denomination,    she must submit herself to the decisions. But

    C. Intentionally we wrote firstly of the discussion of Re-     in this article the right to depose a consistory is nowhere
formed principles and the references to Reformed authorities       given.

as also indicating wherein the members of the committee               Article 36 acknowledges to the Classis  jurisdiction and

were and were not agreed and saved the discussion of the           the sa$l,ze  jurisdiction over the consistory as the particular

articles of the Church Order to the last. From the foregoing       Synod has over the Classis  and the General Synod has over

it can be made evident what the leading principles of our          the Particular Synod. But, on the other. side, the power of

Church Right are as also wherein lies the point of difference.     the Classis  does not reach as far as the consistory so that,

The point of difference is not whether a Classis  has jurisdic-    if need be, it can do what belongs to the consistory. It fol-

`tion over the Consistory. That is by all heartily agreed. But     lows from this that the line is not carried through for it

concerning the question: "How far does that jurisdiction ex-       does not say: "The consistory has the same jurisdiction over

tend ?"    In the event that this jurisdiction of the Classis      the congregation as the Classis  has over the consistory." Ac-

reaches so far that the Classis  not only can nullify certain      cording to Voetius and Rutgers, it is evident from this that

decisions of the local church but can depose the local con-        the power of the broader gathering is not identical with that

sistory, what then remains of the autonomy of the local            of the consistory. A Particular Synod would not depose a

church? For the right of a consistory to remain in continu-        Classis  though, if need be, it may declare it outside of the

ance is certainly the last (thing) that a consistory can be        denomination.     If then a Classis  has the same jurisdiction

 deprived of. If -the denomination (federation of churches)        over the Consistory as the Particular Synod has over her,

 has the right to this, then the denomination can do anything      then the right of deposition is not given to her but the right

 if it considers such to be necessary. And then we are on a        to declare a Consistory outside the denomination is.

 hierarchical line !                                                   From Article 79, that treats the deposition of ministers of

     But does the Church Order anywhere give the right to          the Word by the Classis  and the deposition of elders and

 the Classis  or Synod to depose a Consistory ? The following                           (Continued on page 167)

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


                                                                                Will you evade Him as Pilate tried?
  II           A L L   A R O U N D   Us                                         Or will you choose Him, whate'er betide
                                                                                Vainly you struggle from Him to hide:

                                                                                What will you do with Jesus ?
  "Make ilJ$  Your Mind!"
                                                                                What will you do with Jesus ?
         Such was the title of a radio sermon delivered sometime                Neutral you cannot be ;
  ago by the Rev. Peter Eldersveld on The. Back to God Hour                     Some day your heart will be asking,
  sponsored by the Christian Reformed Church. The brother                       What will He do with me ?
  who gave me the copy of this sermon also wrote some. in-
                                                                          "The question of personal salvation, of getting right with
  teresting marginal notes in the copy which clearly indicate
                                                                      God through faith in Jesus Christ, is the primary question
  that he has been blessed with Reformed sensitiveness. He
                                                                      for all of us as individuals, isn't it? For we are sinners by
  felt, as I did when I read the sermon, that Eldersveld really
                                                                      nature, and our basic need is salvation from sin. Why do so
  went all out to imitate Billy Graham with his H0.w of Deci-
                                                                      many people put it off indefinitely ? In one way or another,
  sion for Christ.
                                                                      they are constantly saying to God : not just yet, wait a while !"
         We do not intend to quote the entire sermon but to give
                                                                          The brother who gave me this sermon wrote at this point
  our readers a few snatches to show what happens when you
                                                                      this question : "Where is God's almighty power ?" And I
  adopt the doctrinal position of the Christian Reformed Church
                                                                      would ask the same question.     It seems that Rev. Eldersveld
  on common grace with its general offer of grace in the D
                                                                      was moved more by the hymn he quoted than he was by the
  preaching of the gospel. Before we do so, however, we wish
                                                                      Word of God at this point: Throughout the sermon we could
  to make #this  remark, that Rev. Eldersveld is not always as
                                                                      not help feeling a little as Elijah must have felt when on
  bad as he was in this sermon. Though we do not have op-
                                                                      Carmel  he mocked with the Baa1  priests concerning their god.
  portunity to listen to all of his sermons, we have heard quite
                                                                      But Eldersveld continues :
  a few, and sometimes, in our judgment, he delivers sermons

  which are quite Reformed. Then again, you can hear one                  "That doesn't make sense, does it? It m&y  be natural for

  that makes you wonder whether he ever heard the word                a man to postpone doing the more disagreeable things of life,

' "Reformed." The latter is certainly the case with the sermon        but why does he postpone the salvation of his immortal soul ?

  to which we now refer. Eldersveld begins the sermon with            He commits a twofold blunder: he robs himself of living his

  the following :                                                     life with Christ, and, if he persists in his folly, he discovers

                                                                      eventually that he will have to live forever without Him.
        "Have you made up your mind about Jesus Christ? Mil-
                                                                      For salvation is both temporal and eternal. A man should
  lions of people are confronted by the gospel of the crucified
                                                                      believe in Christ not only because he doesn't know how soon
  and risen Christ, in one wiy or another, almost inescapably,
                                                                      he may die, but also because he doesn't know how long he
  but many of them have not come to any decision about Him.
                                                                      may live. It will be a terrible thing to spend eternity with-
  They are impressed, they pause for a moment to think about
                                                                      out any Savior, but it is also a terrible thing to spend time
  the matter, they are even attracted to Jesus, but then they go
                                                                      without Him. So why keep putting Him off? What is this
  on their way again ; like the passing multitudes at the cross
                                                                      perversity in human nature?
  1900 years ago, as Luke put it : ". . . all the people that came

  together at that sight, beholding the things which were done,          "Moreover, how do men dare -to treat God that way ?

 .smote  their breasts, and returned." That's all! So too these       They are punctual for their business appointments; they are

  people today. They look at the Lord on the cross and at             on time for their weddings; they hurry to catch a train or

  the empty tomb, and leave Him - not necessarily rejecting           punch a clock, or to open their stores for trade. When the
  Him, as many others do, but just postponing the whole prob-         government calls them for military service, and tells them to
 lem, or avoiding it, or trying to forget it for a while. They        be on hand or induction at a specific time, they will be there
 don't want to. decide, or they don't know what to decide.            without fail. In response to a court summons they never say,

                                                                      not just yet, wait a while! But when God calls them to faith
        "Maybe you are one of them. If so, there is no point in
                                                                      in Jesus Christ, they think they can keep Him waiting in-
 procrastination. You won't gain a thing by it. In fact, you
                                                                      definitely. And, in fact, they often give every indication that
 stand to lose a lot by. it. For your own sake you ought to
                                                                      they do not even take Him very seriously. It's a wonder that
 come to a decision. You can't go on this way. You'll be
                                                                      His patience is not more quickly exhausted, that He actually
 miserable, you won't have a moment of real peace in your
                                                                      bothers to call them again and again before He finally gives
 soul. For you won't be able to put the question aside. It
                                                                      up on them altogether. But He does, He even pleads with
 will always be with you. As the old hymn puts it:
                                                                      them, in tones of infinite love and mercy:
             Jesus is standing in Pilate's hall -

             Friendless, forsaken, betrayed by all :                              Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
             Hearken! what meaneth the sudden call!                              Calling, 0 sinner, come home !

             What will you do with Jesus ?                               "But don't get the wrong idea about this patience of


                                                T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                             165


  Jesus. It doesn't mean that He is quite willing to put                  "What did He mean ? Well, actually this was a very
                                                               up
  with your procrastination for a while, that He doesn't care if      dangerous and a very insulting case of -postponement, and

  you postpone your decision and keep Him waiting. On the             Jesus knew that it would only lead-to something far worse.

  contrary, He considers it a very bad thing, a terrible sin, and     That man was not just asking for time to take leave of his

  He said so in no uncertain terms."                                  loved ones. He was looking back fondly on all the things

     Where Eldersveld asks the question: "What is this per-           he would have to forsake, the sinful pleasures from which he

  versity in human nature ?" the brother who gave  me a        of     simply could not break.away.  He was really asking for `one
                                                          copy  
  the sermon wrote in the margin the answer: "Total deprav-          -last fling' before he became a Christian. For that's what

  ity." He sensed as I did that this is a marked weakness in          he meant when he, said that he wanted to `bid farewell' to the

 the entire sermon that Rev. Eldersveld failed to tell his radio      folks at home. That was the custom of his day -one big

  audience that man by nature is in total spiritual darkness,         final celebration, which might go on for days, and even weeks,

 and therefore cannot will to be saved. But Eldersveld really         with all the wickedness of dissipation and debauchery. Jesus

 leaves his audience with the impression that man can will           never spoke more harshly than He did on this occasion: `No

 to be saved, but he is just putting it off.                         man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back,

     Besides, Eldersveld again seems to be moved more by a           is fit for the kingdom of heaven.'

 hymn than he is by the Word of God when he describes the                "What a scathing indictment! He told him he wasn't fit

 Lord as one whose patience should be almost expended be-            to be saved! Of course, he wasn't, for he was going too' far

 cause of man's procrastination. 0, he warns that we should          with his procrastination. Imagine a man saying to Christ:

 not have a wrong idea of this patience ; he tells us that Jesus     let me go back into sin just once more before You save my

 considers it a terrible sin to procrastinate ; but there He         soul! You just wait here until I come back from a round of

 stands nevertheless, softly and tenderly calling the sinner who     godless pleasure, which will add to the guilt from which I

 obstinately refuses to heed His call.                               must be delivered ! Imagine a man who isn't quite ready to

     The brother to whom I referred above as making marginal         be redeemed from the very thing that damns his soul, who
 notes wrote here in the margin: "What a poor, weak God,             wants the Son of God to stand by and watch him sin for a
 who wants to save you, and can't, so He gives up." Well,            while before He saves him !"

 again I must agree with him. And I would add, this is so                We haven't the space to quote more, but this will suffice

pathetic because we all  know that Eldersveld knows better.          to show the trend of the rest of the sermon. One gets the

 There is nothing distinctly Reformed in this preaching. It          impression that one must be "fit to be saved" before he can

 is the same stuff you get from the majority of Arminian             be saved. Also there are many lost who are apparently not

 preachers. Jesus wants you badly, 0 sinner, but you are so          "fit to be saved."    The brother who gave me this sermon

 obstinate, you refuse to heed His pleading. If you would            wrote in the margin, "What makes a man fit to be saved ?"

only heed His call, things could be so much better for you.          Eldersveld's answer is evidently: "A man is fit to be saved

 But so long as you refuse to heed His tender call, you keep         who no longer procrastinates, but accepts Christ as His

 Him waiting.                                                        Savior."    And this is exactly the answer of the Arminian.

                                                                     Man is not lost, accordingly, but he will be if he does not
    One wonders, if this were true, what happens to Matthew
                                                                     accept the offer of salvation.
 1 :21 where we are told "He slzal1  save His people from their
 sins." Of this you hear nothing in the sermon.                          Rev. Eldersveld tells us that Jesus is tenderly calling,
                                                                     graciously waiting, and if you make Him wait too long He
    But' Rev. Eldersveld might say at this point, "well, I
                                                                     may go away and never come back to you again. Then it will
 wasn't preaching on Matthew 1 :21. I was referring to the
                                                                     be forever too late. We ask : is this not the same presentation
 text found in Luke 9 :61,  62 where you read of the man
                                                                     as that of the multitude of Arminian preachers today ? This
 whom the Lord called to follow Him, but who replied, `Lord,
                                                                     may be the tactic of an association such as the Billy Graham
 I will follow Thee ; but let me first go bid them farewell,
                                                                     Association, but this can hardly be the mission and ministry
 which are at home at my house.' I was speaking in my
                                                                     of the Christian Church, especially not of a Reformed Church.
 sermon of a man who offered on the surface a very legitimate

 excuse for procrastinating."                                                                                                  M S .

    And, of course, we shall have to grant .Rev. Eldersveld

 his objection. But this does not make the sermon he presented                               Conference

 any better. Referring to the text in Luke, Eldersveld writes :         Office Bearers' Conference January 6 at 8 P. M. in our

    "Now on the surface that sounds like a very legitimate           Hope Church.

 reason for delay, doesn't it? But evidently Jesus didn't think         Rev. H. Hoeksema- will speak on the topic "The Origin

 so, for in reply He said one. of the hardest things He ever         and History of Church Visitation in Connection with Article

 said in His whole ministry. With real contempt in His voice         44 of Our Church Order."

 He said: `No man, having put his hand to the plough, and               All past and present consistory members are urged to be

 looking back, is fit for the kingdom of heaven.'                    present.                                      Sec. H. Veltman

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


                                                                        Qztestion:  Did you and Rev. Ophoff vote on the evening
                      QUESTION HOUR                                 of June 22, and thus voted in your own case?
       Held after Address at Hull Mass Meeting
                                                                        A+z.&er:  I did not. I did not vote in my own case. That
                            July, 1953                              was the case of the elders and the Rev.  De Wolf, as had

           Qztestioner:  Rev. H. C. Hoeksema                        already been decided by the Classis.  It was no longer a case
                                                                    of me. It was a classical decision. And as" soon as it became
          Anmers by: Rev. H. Hoeksema
                                                                    a classical decision, I certainly as elder had not only the right

                           (Continued)                              but the duty to vote. And I did.

       Q.uestion:  Why was this meeting called by the Committee         Qzlestion:  Why were the 11 elders and Rev. De Wdlf not
for Protestant Reformed Action, and wLy were all our min-           .notified  of the consistory meeting which .you called together

isters with the exception of one, and all our consistories by-      on the evening of June 23?  Doesn't that look bad for the
passed ? Doesn't that look very suspicious ?                        public for our churches ?

       Speaker: Well, that's up to my son to answer. I've no            Answe-v:  I already explained that, I think, didn't I? The
business there.                                                     reason why they were not notified is simply that it was not
                                                                    necessary to notify them at all, because they ]nad  already
       Clzn&an:  It's been mostly answered. The purpose of the      voted against their own suspension.
meeting is plain tonight: it was called for information. By-

passing the ministers and consistories? That has nothing to             @testion: How can you people defend before the
do with the matter. The organization is free. We did not            churches, before God, that you deposed an elder from his

by-pass them either. Every minister was informed and asked          office who had scarcely served in the consistory for -2 days

to announce it, and he had the right, if he wanted to and as        atid  with whom you never had labored ?

I understand some did, to bring it to their consistories before         Answerer:  I explained that too.
they announced it on the bulletins. They were invited as

well as the members of the churches to be present here to-              Question: .Why  do you not read the apology of fhe  Rev.
night. And  they're invited if they wish to go along with us        De Wolf without all your own additions and explanations ?

in our Committee for Protestant Reformed Action still, as               Answer: Well, that's my business, I think. T read the
we invite all of you who wish to support us in this work.           apology literally and faithfully. And with my own.comments,

       Question: Here's the next question: Rumors have it that      as I will make them anytime, anywhere. It certainly is . . .
you said at the mass meeting in Grand Rapids that too many          I have the right to explain to you why that apology is no
people went along in 1924, that you are not interested in           good. That's certainly my right. Certainly is.         "

numbers,  etc. I would like to know: 1) How do you explain              Qzlestion:  Does not the Bible read, "Believe on the Lord
that in those days you traveled all oyer the country, wherever      Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"? Am I not directed
you found an opening, and organized various churches and            to work out my salvation with fear and trembling? These
were willing to accept almost anybody without asking any            questions are asked removed from the context, as you accuse
questions as to their doctrinal soundness ? May we have a           Rev. De Wolf in removing his statements from their context.
little light on this? 2) Is it true that you are not interested
in numbers? If so, how come you are here out West right                Answer:-  I don't know what that means. Of course, be-
now ?                                                               lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saqed  ? I'll
                                                                    preach on that if you want me to. In fact, I think if I may

       Ar~swe-:  Both questions can be answered very easily. The    preach on that, I'll preach on that next Sunday in Doon, -

first is not true. Anyone that has heard me from 1924 on            if they let me preach ; I don't know whether they will. But

here in the West knows very well that that is not true. I           otherwise I'll preach on that very  text. That's very beauti-

never asked people to organize as churches b;fore  they un-         ful text, by the way. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and

derstood the doctrine, before they understood' our position         you'll be saved. Do you think that means the same thing as

agailist  the Three  Points and against the doctrine of coni-       saying, "God promises everyone of you salvation if you be-

mon grace.      I remember in those years I spoke for two           lieve" ? Can you discern ? Of course, if you believe on the

hours and a half in a stretch to explain to the people again        Lord Jesus Christ. Listen. Maybe I won't preach on it

and again. and again the doctrine of the Three Points. Did I        Sunday. Maybe I won't preach Sunday. But if I'd preach on

ask for people, for members ? Did I ever look for members ?         it now, I'd say this : If I say, "Believe," it means nothing.

I did not. I say before you and before God that that was            Don't forget that. I say to you, "Believe," and to you, "Be-

never my purpose.      The same is true of this meeting. You        lieve," and to ydu, "Believe?" Has no effect. No effect upon

think I came here to gather people 7 I told you again and           the elect. And no effect upon the reprobate. No effect at all.

again this evening that I didn't. I want you to know the            But if Christ says, "Believe," -not I, but Christ, as was the

truth, and then make your own decision. I thank you.                case with the Philippian jailer, thru the preaching of Paul.


                                                                     `,..I,                            .I -
                                                                     ._. ____  --.         J_ __
                                                                                                 ,-
                                                          ,. I - L                       -.__

                                                                                                  -_
                                                                                   *                   -.c:  I

                                           T H E   S T A - N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                                  167



If Christ says, "Believe," then that preaching has a two-fold                                                  IN HIS FEAR

effect. Upon the elect it has the effect that they will believe,                                       (Coiztinued  from page 157)
as the. jailer did. And upon the reprobate it has the effect          us He.$onii&.s that we shall be brought into His kingdom
that they become mad and hardened, and aggravate their                where, as holy citizens we shall fully do all that which He,
judgment. That's what Christ says, not when I say anything.           the King, demands.
So, if I ever preach on that, then you can depend on that,
I'll preach on it in that light. I thank you.                                  We appreciate the man who abhors  the philosophy and
                                                                      theory of conditional promises of the Unchangeable God. We,
    Q.ue.stion:  Two more questions : Is it always pecessary  for     too, hate every semblance of denying God His, glory. But we,
a consistory to abide by decisions of Classis?  That's the            therefore, would uphold His glory as the Unchangeable God
first one.                                                            Who created us in righteousness and holiness and by the

                                                                      blood and Spirit of His Son restores us to a life of keeping
   Answer: No. But, if the matter-is serious, as was in this
                                                                      His commandments, now in principle and presently in heaven-
case, and, if then the consistory would not abide by the de-
                                                                      ly perfection.                                                             J.A.H.
cision of classis,  then, of course, the only course of action to

take is that they separate themselves, after they have appealed

to synod, and synod has justified classis, - the only way is

that they separate themselves from the churches. Or, that the                            PLAYS,  DRAMA AND TELEVISION

churches express that since they do not abide by the decision
                                                                                                       (Continued from page 161)
of the major. assemblies, they are no longer of the Protestant
                                                                      some favorite program. There is no time to prepare for
Reformed Churches..
                                                                      society because entertainment comes first. And  some would

    Questiopt:'  This is the last one: Some seem to be of the         have to admit, if .they were honest with themselves, that they

opinion that the consistory meeting where Rev. De Wolf                enjoy a TV program much more than a church service. Like-

and the elders that stood with him were suspended was an              wise, the children are walking in the footsteps o$ their  parents,

illegal meeting, as they had not called the Rev. De Wolf and          even as in the days of the Judges (Judges 1 :lO-12)  _ Chil-

the elders. What is the church political procedure on such            dren are just "too busy" to prepare for catechism, "too  busy"

a particular case.                                                    to study the Scriptures, too busy for the important things of

                                                                      life.
   `Answer: There is, as I said, there is nothing in the

Church Order that calls for a meeting with the elders that                     In conclusion, there is undoubtedly a place  in our lives for

are to be deposed and the minister that is to be suspended, -         an audio-visual presentation of the facts                       of our dgily life,

there's nothing in the Church Order that requires anything            particularly in the realm of education. But it is also a fact

of the kind. And as I said in my talk, or in my answer, ihere         that plays have become a real menace in the Christian home,

are plenty examples, historical examples, to the contrary.            for the old as well as for the young. It may be well for some

                                                                      to get rid of the TV set and to give the Bible its proper place
   Speaker: Well, is this the last?
                                                                      in the home once more.

    Chairmun:  That's all.                                                                                                                         C.H.


   Speaker: Well, brethren, I hope that you have not found

me personally offensive. You cannot say that. You cannot
                                                                                                       DECENCY AND ORDER
go out and say that I was offensive. I was not. I avoided

personal enmity, malice, and hatred. There's nothing in my                                             (Continued from. page 163)

heart that even has anything to do with it. All my purpose            deacons "by preceding sentence of the consistory thereof and

was that you may'be acquainted with the case. Nothing else.           of the nearest church," is the argument established that a

Please bear that in mind. Bear that in mind. Please consider          Classis  can depose a whole consistory. The deposition of

the question itself. And if you come to the conclusion that           ministers of the Word is by this article definitely entrusted

I'm all wrong, all right. Same good friends, but not in the           to the Classis.  And an elder or deacon is deposed by the

same church. Remember that. I said in my introduction,                foregoing sentence of the consistory and of the nearest

"I'm not looking for converts. I'm not looking for crowds.            church. Therefore, it can also be done by the Classis.  And

I'm not looking for numbers." It's up to you now. I've done           if a Classis  can depose one member of a consistory or a

my best. I have it off my conscience. It's up to you to decide.       minority of a consistory, then she can also depose a whole                            ,

I'm very glad, nevertheless, that you came. It's always dis-          consistory. Thus goes the argumentation!

appointing when people are not even interested to know the
                                                                               But is this conclusion correct?
truth or to judge the truth. For that reason I'm very glad
that you came. I thank you for your attention. And I say                       (Next time, D.V.)

to you, "God's blessing. Good-bye." ,-               q                                                                                        G.V.D.B. .


                                                                               and serving a spaghetti supper on the evening of December 12.
11      NEWS FROM. OUR CHURCHES 11 Dishing out spaghetti, pouring second cups of coffee and
                                                                               serving ice cream and desserts kept them busy-with a little
1
                  "cAll  the saints salute thee . . ." P H I L .   4:21  11
                                                                               assist from their parents. It is reported that some six hun-

                                                                               dred mouths were fed - that took quite a mountain of
                                             December 20, 1958                 spaghetti !

       The Radio Committee of First Church is looking forward.                     Mr. Kortering of Holland's Men's Society gave a paper
Forward, that is, to February 12, when they intend to give a                   on "The Salvation of Infants" at the joint meeting held at
program ; theme : "Progress Report of 1959." If you live in                    Southwest Church.
the Grand Rapids'area,  be sure to circle that date when you
                                                                                   Hollandys  people, like those of Hudsonville, must share
hang up your new calendar.
                                                                               `transportation costs, besides tuition fees, to furnish Protestant
       The Hope, Holland and Hudsonville bulletins always                      Reformed education for their children at Hope School. Good
seem to have announcements regarding the Hope School. It                       things are usually expensive, but our people do not complain

surely has a large place in the hearts of the members of those                 over this burden ; Oak Lawn and South Holland also testify
churches, and well may they be proud of their school. The                      to that fact with their continued efforts to build a school of
children rendered a Christmas program in First Church                          their own.

Thursday evening, Dec. 18.  It was a marvelous program,                            No doubt, but you have already read the decision, handed
from the rhythm band - with its clashing cymbals 1 to the                      down by the Superior Court of Grand Rapids, as it is found
Hallelujah Chorus. Notwithstanding the defect of the piano                     on the Editorial page of this issue.
by going slightly out of tune during some of the solo work,
                                                                                   Hudsonville heard the public Confession of Faith of twelve
the audience thoroughly enjoyed the whole program. The
                                                                               of their young people Sunday, Dec. 14. Also from Hudson-
theme, "The Lord is My Shepherd" was carried through the
                                                                               ville : Donald Dykstra, Jr. has completed his service for Uncle
entire evening by speeches, songs and chalk artists. It surely
                                                                               Sam, and John Kamp's induction was postponed for a while.
is heart-warming, in the midst of a world-conforming "Christ-

mas Rush," to be called to celebrate Christmas with our chil-                      Rev. Mulder was unable to occupy Kalamazoo's pulpit

dren from Sunday School and day school.                                        Sunday, Dec. 7, because of a cold. Student Kortering was

                                                                               called in to break the Bread of Life in his stead.
      The ancient practice of Christmas caroling was revived in
Grand Rapids this year by at least two groups. The young                           Rev. Emanuel reminded the people of Randolph that the
people from Creston joined those of First Church to sing                       Reformed Witness Hour is broadcast at 9 a. m. during the
carols at the Holland Home, and at the home of Rev. and                        winter months when the station signs off at 4 p. m. Ran-
Mrs. Ophoff. After the caroling they met at First Church                       dolph's two servicemen are John and Jim De Vries.

for a Christmas party.                                                             Another situation impossible to arise in Redlands: The

                                                                               Men's Society meeting of South Holland scheduled for Dec.
       The other group comprised the choir from Adams St.
                                                                               8 was frozen out !
School, all forty-seven of them, with Mr. and Mrs. Fred
Hanko, Miss Dykstra and, of course, Miss Kuiper singing                            Hope School P.T.A. meeting of Dec. 12 scheduled a round
with them. They sang at the homes of several shut-ins,                         table discussion on "Manual Training." The ninth graders
slipping and sliding down slippery front steps. That couldn't                  were on hand to sell Rev. Hoeksema's  books and subscrip-
happen in Redlands  !                                                          tion to Beacon Lights.

                                                                                   From Lynden we learn that Mrs. Harbach was saddened
       Both the servicemen of First Church are in the Air
                                                                               by the death of her mother, who passed away Friday, Dec. 5.
Force, John Bult, who was horrre  on a Christmas furlough ;
                                                                               Their bulletin expressed this prayer : "May the Lord, who is
and Donald Ezinga, who was recently inducted.
                                                                               our only comfort in life and in death, sustain her and the
       Doon  has reduced the' furnace debt from $1,500.00  to                  bereaved relatives."                                    b?
$512.00 through a drive and other collections. Doon's Men's
                                                                                   Now .that  we have exchanged gifts on Christmas eve.;
Society will start the new year by studying the Book of
                                                                               wished one another a blessed Christmas; discarded the tree
Revelation, having finished the Book of Romans.
                                                                               and tinsel ; and realize that Christmas is all "over" - let us
       The new address of Southeast's pastor is 1543 Cambridge,                remember: that because Jesus came to be born in our flesh
S. E. The Rev. Veldman's family moved to the new parson-                       we have borne the image of the earthy and shall also bear the
age Wednesday, Dec. 17. To meet the requirements of the                        image of the heavenly ; that this mortal shall put on immor-
City tax laws, the new house had to be occupied in December                    tality. Therefore, let our watchword for the year 1959 be:
in order to benefit from the tax-free status of church-owned                   "Be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work
buildings.                                                                     of the Lord !"

       Adams St. ninth graders worked hard getting ready for,                                 . . . . see you in church.                     J.M.F.


