I        VOLUME  XXXVIII                          NOVEMBER  1, 1961 - GRAND  RAPIDS, MIC~GAN                                 NTJIWIBER  3

                                                                                That is the picture which we must see.
     ---I--


                                                                                                     * * * 8


~                    CALLED TO THE W.ATEIiS                                     But who are so thirsty?
                                                                               Everyone, is the answer of the church today. Every one
           "Ho, every OIU that thiystetla,  come  ye to the waters,
                                                                           is thirsty for God and for His blessings. And when Jesus
            and he tht htlz n.o money, come ye buy and eat; yea.,          stands with His hands and arms outspread, and says: Come

            COINC, buy wine  a.nd  milk  withoztt~  money and w&out        ye unto Me and drink! He means every one that comes

            pke."                                        - Isaiah 55 :l    within the audience of His voice.

                                                                               But that is not true, and for a very evident reason. And
        The speech of water and of thirst is very clear.
                                                                           here it is: there is no correspondence between the thirst of
        Thirst is symbolism for's great, for an extreme want               the world and the water of the Fountain which God has
     and need.                                                             opened at Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness (Zech. 13 :l) .

        That this is so does not become as clear to us in lands                Oh, I agree that the whole world is thirsty. That is very

     where there is water and to spare at all times. We do say:            evident to anyone that knows the world. They are in great

     I am thirsty, but we do noti really know what we say. We thirst for the things of this present life. They thirst for

     do not know the real meaning. of physical thirst.                     man and for humanity and for the things of this time, for

                                                                           sin and for uncleanness, and every sort of abomination.
        That is different in the land where this text was written.

     The Israelite knew of desert heat and desert thirst. And                  And the more they drink of those things the more they

     that is the real picture in the text. Attend to Psalm 42: As          thirst.

     the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul               A very terrible process has been set in motion since man
     after Thee, 0 God!                                                    fell away from God. Refusing to drink of the real Fountain

        With `us, in our complex and rich civilization, it is en-          of water, they turned under the instigation of the devil to
     tirely different. When we note that we would relish some              the world and to its riches and they would drink them
     water, we simply turn on the faucet and drink. And the                instead of- the things of God and His covenant, and the
     result is that none of usis ever really thirsty.                      result is that they thirsted still more. Then they drank more
                               .                                           of the things of the worid  and of sin and they thirsted still
        But think of the traveller in Death Valley in California,          more,, and--this &ail go on, and on, and on.
     who has walked for miles in a desert heat of 125 degrees or
     more, without water. It has happened that men droppetl                    And the end is in hell where they will thirst forever..
     dead of thirst after only a few hours of that desert heat.            0 father Abraham, send Lazarus, that he may dip his finger
     All the moisture of their body dried up in those few agoniz-          in water and come here to relieve me of my thirst! For I
     ing hours of intense suffering of thirst.                             suffer in this flame. We have heard the words of Jesus in
                                                                           the story of the rich man and Lazarus.
        Imagine a man in such extremes, his throat and mouth
                                                                               There is a great shortage, an absolute famine of water
     and lips are cracked with heat and thirst: he staggers as

     he falls. And then he hears the cry: Come ye to the waters            in he11.

     and drink! And he rushes to the fountain of living waters                 But our text speaks of an entirely different kind of thirst.

     and drinks and drinks from, the life-giving waters.                   Certainly you will agree that there must be correspondence

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


between the thirst and the water. If a man is really thirsty,      faith is wrought in our hearts through the Holy Ghost. And

and then I mean the natural thirst for natural, created water,     to have that faith and the righteousness of God, is the

2nd if anyone offers water to him, you may be sure that he         blessing of the Lord.

is going to drink.                                                    That is the water of life.

      Now then, if the world, and every one in the world is           And that is the water for which we thirst.
really thirsty for God, they would also drink when the
                                                                      And that is the water which we drink from time to time.
refreshing and healing waters of God and of His Christ are

placed within their reach. In that case they would never              And they satisfy, oh how they satisfy!

reject the Gospel.                                                                          * *       * +
      Ho, every one that thirsteth!
                                                                      Note that the figure of water is enriched by the mention
      Yes, it is addressed to "everyone," but know surely that     of wine and milk.
a very particular sort of people are meant here. They are
                                                                      Together they constitute all that we really need.
those that are in harmony with the waters. They thirst for

the waters of life, whatever they are.                                By nature we are dead, fallen into the depth of degrada-

                                                                   tion, and vain with the vanity of emptiness and idleness.
      And they are made thirsty because of the operation of

the love of God through the Holy Ghost in their hearts.               But the Gospel brings             quickening, exaltation and
                                                                                                 us 
The Lord has made them taste Himself. And since then               nourishment.

they say:      "And nought can satisfy !" Or they say with            For such is the speech of water, wine and milk.
David: I thirst for God!
                                                                      Water is the quickening and refreshing power of God's
      They are called and they only are called.                    righteousness in Jesus Christ the Lord. Righteousness is

      Come ye to the waters! It is the call to God's people        that state and condition where all our life, in thought and

that have learned to know that they must have the living           word and action is done from the purest motive of love and

God and His communion if they are to be happy for time and         according to the only standard of goodness.           And that

for eternity.                                                      standard is God. That is righteousness. And that is the

                            * * * *                                quickening gift which is symbolized here as water. You thirst
                                                                   for righteousness and you are filled.

      What are the waters ?                                           Wine is the symbol of exaltation.

                                                                       It points to the exaltation with which we are crowned
      Judging from Isaiah 44:3  it is the Holy Ghost and His
                                                                   through the work of Christ. He does not restore us to the
blessings.
                                                                   state which is called the original state of righteousness, but
      According to Psalm 42 it is to appear before God and         to the much higher state of the glory of the Lord in
to see His face.                                                   heavenly places. And that is symbolized in the wine which

      Reading John 7 137 to 39 we would say it is the receiving    exalteth the heart of man.

of the Spirit of Christ.                                               Milk is the picture of feeding and nourishment. The

      But Matthew 5 6 speaks of thirsting for righteousness,       righteousness of Christ jilZs.  Read Matthew 5 6. There we

and that seems to be the idea in this passage too, for in the      read that if you hunger after the righteousness of Christ,

preceding chapter, in fact in the last clause of the last verse    you shall be j&d. It is the element here that feeds us unto

of that chapter, immediately preceding our present text, we        eternal life.

read : "and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord." And         Now offer (but it is nonsense !> this water, wine and
in verse 14 we read: "In righteousness shalt thou be estab-        milk to the world, or to the worldly, nominal, unregenerated
lished."      And with regard to the last Scripture, we must       people that gather with God's people in church. And what
remember that it is the summing up of all the glories of           is the result?
salvation that shall be given to God's people.
                                                                       They hate the water that makes man good.
      And then comes this invitation to come to God and to
                                                                       They hate the very idea of glorification to heavenly places.
drink of the waters He will give them.
                                                                   They sing and they joke and they have their God-provoking
      What are the waters ?                                        titles : "Heaven can wait!`", but they will have nothing of

      I think that we must combine all the ideas which we          the wine of Jesus.

found in various Scriptures.                                           They hate the milk of the word of Christ's righteousness.

 . The water of the Fountain of life is the righteousness          They prefer the crookedness and the crime of their natural

of the Lord Jesus Christ which is ours by faith, and which         estate, and they wallow -in it.


                                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   H E A R E R                                                                                                                                                          51


    But the real church of Christ is built up and refreshed,

exalted and fed by the water of life, the wine .of the                                                      T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R

heavenly Kingdom and the milk of the Word.                                                Semi-monthly, except monthly during lune,  July and August
                                                                                           Published by the REFORMED FREE PUBJXS~NG  ASSOCIATION
    The thirsty have come and they drink!                                                 P. 0. Box 881, Madison Square Station, Grand Rapids 7: Mich.

    Hallelujah !                                                                                                     Editor - REV. HWMAN HOEKSEMA
                                                                                          Communications relative to contents should be addressed to
                                    * * 4: *                                                             Rev. H. Hoeksema, 1139 Franklin St., S. E.,
                                                                                                                                  Grand Rapids 7, Mich.

    But what is the price ?                                                               All matters relative to subscriptions should be addressed to Mr.
                                                                                                         James Dykstra, 1326 W. Butler Ave., S. E.
    Nothing.                                                                                                                 Grand IRapids  7, Michigan
                                                                                          Announcements and Obituaries must be mailed to the above
    In the store of God you may, no, you must come with                                   address and will be published at a fee of $2.00 for each~notice.

nothing, and then you may "buy"! Wondrous grace.                                          ~NEWAL:  Unless  a defiuite  request for discontinuance is re-
                                                                                          ceived it is assumed that the subscriber wishes the subscription
    What does it mean? Why do Isaiah and Christ em-                                          to continue without the formality of a renewal order.

phasize that we must buy without money, and take freely                                                              Subscription price: $5.00 per year

of the water of life ?                                                                        Second CZass  postage paid at Grand R~~picLs,  Michigan


    This is the meaning: you must come with the humble

confession on your lips and in your heart: I have nothing,

0 Lord! I am dreadfully poor. But I love Thee, and I long                                                                              C O N T E N T S

for the dainties which Thou hast prepared in Jesus Christ.                                               -
But I have no right to them, and I have nothing in order                             MEDIATION  
                                                                                             Called To The Waters..: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
to pay for them. I come here to buy the righteousness of                                               Rev. G. Vos

Christ without money and without price, for I am tired of                            EDITORIALS-

laying out money for that which is not bread and my labor                                    The Protestant Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .._. . . . . . . . . . ..__......... ..5,~
for that which satisfieth not. I want Christ Jesus the Lord!                                            Rev. H. Hoeksema

    And that is the Way it is. The Gospel and all its                                Oun  DOCTRINE-
                                                                                             Regeneration                                         . :. . . . . . . . . . . .54
blessings are bestowed on                       free, gratis, without money and
                                          us                                                           Rev. H. Hoeksema
without price.
                                                                                     A CLOUD OF WITNESSES-
    From that point of view the Gospel is a work of in-                                      Sinai           . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

describable grace and goodness of God.                                                                 Rev. B. Woudenberg

                                                                                     F
    But do not draw the mistaken conclusion that these.goods                          ROM HOLY  WRIT -
                                                                                             Exposition' of I Timothy . _...., . . . . . . . . . . ..__. . . . . . . . . . .._... . . ..__.. 58
are therefore without worth, just because we get them                                                  Rev. G. Lubbers
gratis, free, without money !                                                        IN HIS FEAR -

    For nothing is farther from the truth.                                                   God's Royal Priesthood                                    (12)          .    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

                                                                                                       Rev. J. A. Heys
    The water of life is very expensive. My mind is in a
whirl when I think of its infinite worth.                                            CONTENDING  FOR THE FAITH-
                                                                                             The Church and the Sacraments                                                   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  .63

    Jesus paid the price.                 ,4nd  the price is His life which                            Rev. H. V&man

ebbed away in His heart's blood. The water of life is paid                           THE VOICE  OF @JR FATHERS-
for, every drop is paid for. And the: price is really nothing                                The Be&c                     Confession                   ._. . . . . . . .._... . . . ..____...  . . . . ..__.  .65
less than the death of the Son of God. God bought these                                                Rev. H. C. Hoeksema

waters for you with His own blood.                                                   DECENCY  AND ORDER-
                                                                                             The Burial of the Dead ____..........._____......................................  67
    From that point of view the Gospel is a Divine act of                                              Rev. G. Vanden  Berg

strictest justice.                                                                   ~A.LLARouNDus-
   And tog&her they are the adorable wisdom of God. He                                       The Jews' "Messiah"                                 ............................................................... .69,
                                                                                             Churches In Business ............................................................... .69
that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord!                                                    Christ In The Constitution ..................................................... .7@

    He produced the living waters! And that is the Lord                                                Rev. H. Hanko

our righteousness !                                                                                             -
                                                                                     cONTlUEIIJ'ITONS  
    Up nrnrl~~wd  the thirst 1 And that i.< m.y longing  heart!                              Our `Alma Mater" .._. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         ..7L

    A.&L    =A "vuIIu
                         .---  ---^-I-     .    --_^  -  -__-I _I ___                                  Rev. G. Lubbers
   And drinking I receive a well of water c;pringing  up into
                                                                                     NEWS FROM OUR                                                 . .__. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%
ey 1 .' 
  rerlastmg "-
                 
               me '
                   !                                                                                                     CHURCI~S.  
                                                                            - -.,                     -Mr. J. M. Faber
                                                                            b.V.

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


                                                                       Moreover, they express their anxtlzewza  or curse upon all
             EDIT'ORIALS                                            &at do not agree with any or all these heresies.
                                                                       That this is true I expect to demonstrate by a few quota-

                                                                    tions from "The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent."

               The Protestant Reformation                             , As to the doctrine of justification by faith without works,
                                                                    the Roman church takes the Semi-Pelagian position. For it
      Was the Protestant Reformation necessary? Was there,          teaches a certain prevenient grace by which they are disposed
after all, only a relative and no principal difference between      to convert themselves to their own justification, by which
the churches of the Reformation and the Roman church ?              they freely assent to and cooperate with that grace and which
Could not the doctrinal differences between the church of           grace they may and can also reject. For thus we read in
Rome and the Reformers have been settled amicably ? This,           chapter V of the above mentioned Canons and Decrees of the
indeed, was impossible according to the answer of the               Council of Trent :
Romish church itself. This answer was very elaborately and             "The Synod furthermore declares, that, in adults, the
even in minutest detail given by the Council of Trent which         beginning of said Justification is to be derived from the
met in 1546 and for several years after.                            prevenient grace of God . . . that so they, who by sins were
      Indeed, that Council, in its third session, February 1546,    alienated from God, may be disposed through his quickening
first offered a Confession of Faith to which even the               and assisting grace, to convert themselves to their own
Reformers and the churches of the Reformation would have            justification, by freely assenting to and co-operating with
to agree. I quote this Confession here:                             that said grace: in -such sort that, while God touches the

      "I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Maker of heaven       heart of man by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, neither

and earth, of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord     is man himself utterly inactive while he receives that in-

Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, and born of the         spiration, forasmuch he can also reject it; yet he is not able

Father before all ages ; God of God, light of light, true God       by his own free will, without the grace of God, to move

of true God ; begotten, not made, consubstantial with the           himself unto justice in his sight" . . .

Father, by whom all things were made : who for us men, and             And in Canon IV of the same chapter we read the fol-

for our salvation, came clown from the heavens, and was in-         lowing :

carnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was                  "If any one saith, that man's free will, moved and ex-

made man ; crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, he           cited by God, by assenting to God exciting and calling,

suffered and was buried ; and rose again on the third day,          nowise  co-operates towards disposing and preparing itself

according to the Scriptures ; and he ascended into heaven,          for obtaining the grace of Justification ; that it cannot refuse

sitteth at the right hand of the Father : and again he will come    its consent, if it would, but that, as something inanimate, it

with glory to judge the living and the dead ; of whose king-        does nothing whatever and is merely passive: let him be

dom there shall be no end : and in the Holy Ghost, the Lord,        anathema (accursed j ."

and the giver of life, who proceedetb  from the Father and the         There you have it.

Son; who with the Father and the Son is adored and glori-              There is a grace of God that is not irresistible, to which

fied ; who spoke by the prophets : and one holy Catholic and        man can assent, with which he can co-operate unto justifica-

Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission           tion, but which he also can refuse and reject. And this means,

of sins ; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the      of course, that, ultimately, it is up to man and not up to
life of the.world  to come.. Amen."                                 God's sovereign grace whether a man shall be justified before

      We may be sure, if this had been the Confession of the        God.
 Roman Church at the time of the Reformation, and if the                In the seventh session of the Council it speaks of "the
Council of Trent had faithfully adhered to this ; if they faith-    most holy Sacraments of the Church, through which all true
fully developed the doctrine -on the basis of this Confession,      justice [righteousness, justification, H.H.] either begins or
there would never have been the Reformation of the sixteenth        being begun is increased, or being lost is repaired."

century.                                                                It is well-known that the Romish church attaches more

      But this the Council of Trent did not do. Instead they        importance to the administration of the sacraments than to
 developed an erroneous doctrine of justification by faith only     the preaching of the Word. With the Reformers and the
 without works; of the sacraments, including the doctrine of        Protestants that followed them, this is just the reverse.
 the mass ; the doctrine of purgatory ; the doctrine of the im-     According to them, there are two means of grace : the preach-
_ maculate conception of the virgin Mary ; the doctrine of the      ing of the Word and the administration of the sacraments.
 worship of the deceased saints and the veneration and wor-         Moreover, the preaching of the Word is first and is the chief
 ship of images ; and the doctrine of indulgences. To all these     means of grace. In fact, the latter. are dependent upon the
 false doctrines was added that of the infallibility of the pope    former. One can be saved without the administration of the
 in 1870.                                                           sacraments if need be, but not without the preaching of the


                                          T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                  53


Word. With the Roman church this is different as is already         the signs of the bread and wine. For in the above quoted

evident from the above mentioned quotation: by the ad-              Canon it is literally stated the signs,, particularly in baptism

ministration of the sacraments the grace of justification is        and the Lord's Supper, contain and confer the grace signified

either begun, or increased, or being lost is repaired.              by the signs. To the. Reformers and to the Protestant

   Moreover, as is also well-known, the Romish church has           Churches the signs did not contain the grace signified, nor

seven sacraments while the Protestants have only two. The           were they mere signs, but they were also seals whereby God

seven sacraments of the Romish church are the following:            confirmed to the believer the oath of the promise of the

Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme              covenant.

Unction, Order, and Matrimony. And they, i.e., the Romans,              I will not enumerate all the heresies that are maintained

according to the Council of Trent do not hesitate to pronounce      by the Romish church as they are expressed .in the Canons

the curse upon anyone that does not confess that all seven          and Decrees of the Council of Trent. This would require

are truly sacraments. This is expressed in Canon I under            too much space. And this is also unnecessary for the

the heading "On the Sacraments in General." And I quote:            purpose I have in mind, namely, to prove that the Reforma-

    "If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law           tion of the sixteenth century was strictly necessary and was

were not all instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or that          not relative but concerned such fundamental errors on the

they were more, or less, than seven, to wit, Baptism, Con-          part of what then called itself the church that it might well

firmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Order           be called the false church.

and Matrimony ; or even that any of these seven is not truly            Nevertheless, I must surely call attention to the error of

and properly a sacrament: let him be anathema." That is:            "Transubstantiation" and, in connection with this, to the

let him be accursed.                                                popish mass.

   There is more.                                                      By the doctrine of transubstantiation, as we know, is meant

   In Canon IV under the same heading, we read:                     the theory that the signs of the Lord's Supper are changed

   "If any one saith that the sacraments of the New Law are         into-  the very body and blood and soul of Christ.

not necessary unto salvation, but superfluous ; and that, with-         The Heidelberg Catechism describes this error very fully

out them, or without the desire thereof, men obtain of God,         and correctly in question and answer 80:

through faith alone, the grace of justification ; though all the        "What difference is there between the Lord's Supper

sacraments are not indeed necessary for every individua! :          and the popish mass?

let him be anathema."                                                   "The Lord's Supper testifies to us, that we have a full

   The last part of this Canon reveals clearly that the             pardon of all sin by the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which

Council itself felt that the sacraments, not all of them, at        he himself has once accomplished on the cross ; and that we

least, were not necessary unto salvation. For how could that        by the Holy Ghost are ingrafted into Christ, who according

possibly be said, for instance, of matrimony? Nevertheless,         to his human nature is now not on earth, but in heaven

the Council of Trent, and the whole Romish church maintain          on the right hand of God his Father, and will there be

that the sacraments are necessary unto salvation. Faith alone       worshipped by us :-but the mass teaches, that the living

is not sufficient unto justification and without justification      and dead have not the pardon of sins through the sufferings

salvation is impossible.                                            of Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by the

   This the Reformers and all the Protestants deny.                 priests ; and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of

   And if we remember that the Roman church never                   bread and wine, and therefore is to be worshipped in them ;

changes and will change, because what the church officially         so that the mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of

and, since 1570, the pope express is infallible, it is very         the one sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus Christ, and an ac-

evident that the Reformation was strictly necessary.                cursed idolatry."

   I will quote one more of these Canons under the same                 As to the theory of transubstantiation, of this the Cate-

heading :                                                           chism also speaks in Lord's Day XXIX, which the reader

   "If any one saith, that the sacraments of the New Law            may look up- in his own Psalter.

do not contain the grace which they signify ; or that they do           But is not the language of the Catechism too strong ?

not confer that grace on those who do not place an. obstacle            Can .it really be said that the mass is nothing else, at

thereunto; as though they were merely outward signs of              bottom, than an accursed idolatry? Do the Romish people

grace or justice received through faith, and certain marks of       really worship the signs of bread and wine in the Lord's

the Christian profession, whereby believers are distinguished       Supper ?

amongst men from unbelievers : let him be anathema."                    The answer is: they do, according to their own Con-

   Also to this the Reformers would and could never agree,          fession.

even though Luther insisted, while denying the Romish doc-              But about this we will, the Lord willing, write in our next

trine of transubstantiation, with regard to the Lord's Supper,      issue.

that the body and blood of Christ was present in and under                                                                    H.H-

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


                                                                         man is principally entirely delivered.from  sin. He cannot sin,
11 0 U R D 0 C T R I N E 11 according to the apostle John in his first Epistle, 3 :9. He
                                                                         cannot sin, according to the apostle in this verse, "because

                                                                         his seed remaineth  in him." Of this regeneration the Savior
                       REGENERATION                                      also speaks to Nicodemus in the well-known words : "Jesus

 We have now come to the end of our discussion of the                    answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
book of Revelation. And therefore we must choose another                 Except a man be born ,again, he cannot see the kingdom of
subject. This time the subject will be more doctrinal than               God." And when Nicodemus approaches the Lord with the
exegetical, although, of course, all doctrine is based on the            question, "How. can a man be born when he is old? can he
Word of God as contained in the Scriptures. And therefore,               enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?'
doctrine presupposes the interpretation of the Scriptures,               Jesus again speaks of the new birth as follows: "Verily,
or exegesis.                                                             verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and
      We have thought of different parts of doctrine that                of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
have to be explained. But for practical reasons I now choose             John 3 :3-5. Now then, explaining the definition I just
the doctrine of salvation, that is, of the application of salva-         made, we can find the following elements in the grace of re-
tion to the sinner that is dead in sin and misery. In other              generation. 1) First of ,all, regeneration is exclusively a work
words, we wish to discuss the way in which salvation is                  of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, through
applied to the heart of the sinner. And, although we cannot              the Spirit of Christ. Man, therefore, is in deepest principle
distinguish sharply between the various elements of this                 wholly passive in the work of regeneration. In it God only
way of salvation, nevertheless we must distinguish the various           acts ; man does not. 2) Regeneration, in that narrowest
steps, from a logical point of view, in the way of salvation.            sense of the word, takes place in the depth of man's existence,
And then we prefer the way in which salvation is applied to              or, if you wish, in the depth of a man's heart. It is a new
the heart of the sinner as follows : first, regeneration ; after         birth, a being born from the very beginning. It is a new
that the calling; thirdly, faith ; in the fourth place, justifica-       creation, and a regenerated man is a new creature. 3) It
tion ; fifthly,  sanctification ; then preservation, together with       precedes all mediate works of God in us. For without this
perseverance ; and finally, glorification.                               work of regeneration, according to the words of Jesus just
      Hence, we first discuss the question of regeneration.              quoted, one cannot even see the kingdom of God. It is an
      First of all, I will try to define the subject of regeneration.    immediate work of God, an act of the Spirit in our hearts,
And I do this as follows. Regeneration, in the deepest and               without us, in which, therefore, we are entirely inactive.
narrowest sense of the word is that saving act of the Triune             4) This new creation, however, does not mean that man
God whereby He takes hold of the elect, who is in himseif                through regeneration is essentially changed. In regeneration
dead in sins and trespasses, through the Spirit' of Christ,              he does not receive another soul in the essential sense of the
translates him in the very depth of his existence, and infuses           word. Regeneration has a spiritual, ethical character.
into him the principle of the new life which is in Christ Jesus,         Through that work of God the sinner is translated from
thus translating       him in principle       out of death into          death into life. 5) Finally, regeneration consists of an in-
life and placing him in abiding communion with the body                  fusing, or implanting, of the seed of a new life, of the principle
of Christ. That, therefore, would be my definition of the im-            of the life of God as it exists first in the exalted Christ, and
portant doctrine of regeneration. It consists in the granting            from Him flows through the Spirit of Christ into the church
and infusing of new spiritual qualities. It is the circum-               and into the heart of the sinner. It is implanted out of Christ
cision of the heart. It takes place not in the consciousness of          into the heart of the sinner, into the center of his existence
the sinner as such, but in the very depth of his heart, in the           from a spiritual, ethical point of view.

center of his spiritual, ethical life, from which are the issues            From all this it ought to be evident that regeneration is

of life. We may also say that regeneration in the narrowest              exclusively a work of God, wherein man is strictly passive,

sense of the word is the implanting of the seed of the new               in the sense that he does not and cannot cooperate in his own

life as it is not yet sprouted into the consciousness of the             rebirth. In the deepest sense regeneration is not even as

sinner. We may even say, on the basis of Scripture, that                 such a matter of his own experience, seeing that it does not

regeneration is a wholly new creation, through which in                  take place within, but below the threshold of his conscious-

principle the sinner becomes a wholly new man in Christ                  ness. It is therefore independent of age, and it can take place

Jesus, so that principally old things have passed away and               in the smallest infant. We may even take for granted that

all things have become new. The Holy Scriptures speak of                 in the sphere of the covenant of God He usually regenerates

regeneration in this sense when they `refer to an incorruptible          His elect children from infancy.

seed, out of which regeneration develops, through the Word                   We now will turn to Scripture, in order to prove that
of God in the consciousness of the sinner. From the point                our description of the rebirth, or regeneration, is based upon
of view of this new principle of life, in regeneration the new           the Word of God.


                                           T H E   ST'ANDARD   B E A R E R                                                        55


    That this is true follows already from the condition in          by any means be established as the work of man. This im-

which man is by nature. For, according to the Word of God,           possibility is already implied in the term "rebirth" or "re-

"every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil         generation."    No more than any man can be the efficient

continually." Gen. 6:5. And again, "The imagination of a             cause of his own natural birth out of the flesh, no more can

man's heart is evil from his youth." Gen. 8:X. As he is by           he be the efficient cause of his own spiritual birth and spirit-

nature, therefore, he does not have any place in the kingdom         ual conception. This too is implied in his natural condition.

of God. He does not even have a remote conception of the             When he loves the darkness rather than the light, he cer-

things of that kingdom. His heart does not go out to those           tainly will not make any attempt to come to the light. He

things. On the contrary, with all his heart and mind and will,       will rather avoid it. He despises and hates the light. He

all his soul and strength, he lives in the very sphere of another    loves darkness rather than the light. When by nature he is

kingdom, the kingdom of the devil, the prince of darkness.           in such a condition that he cannot hear the speech of Christ,

David confesses : "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin     he certainly is by his very deafness excluded from all in-

did my mother conceive me." Ps. 515. In virtue of his first          fluences from without that could induce him to enter into

birth, therefore, he cannot possibly have a place in the king-       the kingdom of God. When the minding of the flesh, of

dom of heaven. That kingdom is spiritual, ethical, and heav-         which he is born by nature, is always enmity against God, so

enly in essence and nature. That kingdom is not of the world,        that he is not subject to the law of God, and cannot be

but it is of the Father. That kingdom is not from below, but         subject to that law, it is plain that his very heart is closed

it is from above. For that reason, anyone that is born ac-           against the influences of the love of God in Christ Jesus.

cording to the flesh cannot see the kingdom of heaven. For           For the natural man there is no hope of improvement or

all that is born of the flesh is flesh, and never minds any-         reformation in the way of education or in .the way of a better

thing else than the things of the flesh, which are death. John       example or in the way of exercising himself in the discipline

3 :6. As a man is born of blood or of the will of the flesh,         of external virtue. In that way he will never enter into the

he can have no power at all to become a son: of God. John            kingdom of God.

1 :12, 13. They that are from below seek the glory of man,
but they despise the glory of God. Therefore they can never             But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love where-
believe in Him, nor enter into the kingdom. John 8 :23 ; John        with He loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath
15 :19 ; John 5 44. They are of their father the devil, and          quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up
desire to do the lusts of their father, who did not abide in         together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ
the truth. And no truth is ever in him. When he speaks of            Jesus. Eph. 2 ~4-6. What is impossible with man is possible
himself, he speaks the lie. For he is a liar, and the father         with God. He is able to create in man a clean heart and to
of the lie. Cf. John 8:43, 44. They are, according to the            renew in him a right spirit. Cf. Ps. 51 :lO. He is able to
apostle Paul, dead through trespasses and sin, in which they         circumcise the heart of His people and their seed, in order
walked according to the course of this world, according to           that they should love the Lord their God with all their
the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh      existence and life. Cf. Deut. 30:6. He is capable and willing
in the children of disobedience, and fulfilled the desires of the    to give them a heart to know the Lord ; and then they will
flesh and of the mind, so that they are by nature children of        be His people, and He will be their God ; and they will turn
wrath. Cf. Eph. 2 :2, 3. Thus we come into the world by              to Him with their whole heart. Cf. Jeremiah 24:7. He is
nature, in virtue of our first birth. No one of men is right-        willing to give them one heart and put a new spirit within
eous; no, not one. No one understandeth. No one seeketh              them, and is willing to take the stony heart out of their flesh
after God. All are gone out of the way. They are altogether          and will give them a heart of flesh, in order that they may
become unprofitable. There is no one that doeth any good,            walk in His statutes and keep His ordinances, to do them-
no, not one.     Our throat is an open sepulchre.  With our          And so they will be His people; and He will be their God-
tongues we have used deceit. The poison of asps is under             Cf. Ezek. 11 :19, 20. He will sprinkle upon them clean water,
our lips, and our mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.           so that they shall be clean from all their filthiness and from
Destruction and misery are in our way, and the way of peace          all their corruption. He will give them a new heart and put
we have not known. There is no fear of God. before our               a new spirit within them ; and He will take away the stony
eyes. Cf. Rom. 3 :10-l% Such is the judgment of Scripture            heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh-
upon the natural man. Hence, it is the emphasis of Scripture         And thus they shall walk in His statutes, and keep His judg-
that in order to enter into the kingdom of God man must              ments, to do them. Cf. Ezek. 26:25-27.

be born again. He must be born of water and of the Spirit.              This is what the apostles preached when they went with
   This must be confessed first of all, if we would under-           the. gospel of the kingdom into a world of darkness. They em-
stand and believe the true doctrine of Scripture concerning          phasized the necessity of this radical change through which
regeneration,                                                        a man is translated first in the very depth of his inward

   This also implies that the rebirth; or regeneration cannot        existence, and then also in' his entire conscious life and


56                                        T H E   ZTANDARD   B E A R E R


public walk in the midst of the world. Sometimes they call          by the gospel is preached unto the church. However, this

this radical change in man rebirth, or regeneration. Thus           does not imply at all that the apostle maintains that regenera-

we read in James 1 :lS : "Of his own will begat he us with          tion occurs through the preaching of that living Word of

the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of       God. The living and abiding Word of God and the proclama-

his creatures." And in I Peter 1 :3 we read: "Blessed be the        tion of that Word are two different things. And when the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according            apostle teaches here that regeneration takes place through

to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively          the living Word itself, that is, through Christ, it certainly

hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."            is not proper to replace this living Word simply by the

This rebirth, or regeneration, therefore, is the work of the        preaching of the gospel. It is true that the preaching of the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He accomplishes            Word stands in inseparable connection with regeneration in

this work according to His great mercy, a mercy which               its broadest sense. For without the proclamation of the gospel

delivers His people out of the misery of sin and death, and         it is impossible that regeneration will ever become conscious

which is called "great" because it does not simply deliver          in the people of God. And that the apostle here also speaks

them from that misery in order to cause them to return to           of this regeneration in the broadest sense of the word, as it

their original state and condition, but exalts them far above       concerns our conscious life, is clear from the context. But

that state, the state and condition in which Adam stood be-         this does not remove the fact that even in this latter sense

fore he fell, to make them participants of a new and heavenly       of the word regeneration does not take place through the

glory and life. Hence, that regeneration is mediated through        preaching of the Word, but through the living and abiding

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. For not only        Word of God itself. In the second place, however, it is

is that resurrection of Christ the juridical ground for regen-      evident that the apostle in the same verse also speaks of re-

eration and for the certainty of their salvation, but it is also    generation in the narrower sense, in its very first beginning,

the principle of the regeneration of all believers. Even as         when he says, namely, that we are born again not of corrup-

Christ in His resurrection certainly did not return to the          tible seed, but of incorruptible. Those that favor mediate

earth, but was clothed with a higher, with a heavenly life, so      regeneration have tried to avoid this difficulty by contending

the children of God receive in their rebirth the beginning of       that in both expressions, "out of incorruptible seed" and

a new life, the same life with which Christ appeared from           "through the word," the same truth is meant, and that the

the grave. And for the same reason this regeneration is also        apostle in the first expression uses a figure, while in the

the principle of a living hope, and centers itself in hope upon     second he speaks literally. But, in the first place, this wou1.d

the future realization and revelation of complete salvation.        avail nothing in order to defend the view of a mediate

The reborn elect have become strangers on the earth, for            regeneration, since, as we said, the Word and the proclama-

they have received the principle of a heavenly life through         tion of the Word may not be identified. But, in the second

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In virtue of        place, there is no ground in the text for the interpretation

that principle, they seek not the things that are below, but        according to which the seed of regeneration is identified with

the things that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right        the living and abiding Word of God. The contrary is true.

hand of God. Cf. Col. 3:1, 2.                                       The apostle makes a very careful distinction here. This is

      The same apostle in the same chapter speaks once more         especially plain from the use of different prepositions. The
about regeneration as the fount and cause of that purifying         apostle writes : "Being born again, not of, or o,ut  of, cor-
of the soul of believers whereby they obey the truth and are        ruptible seed, but of, or out of, incorruptible, and by, that
able and called to love one another with unfeigned love. So         is, through  tlze  szcnns  of, the Word of God, which.liveth and
he writes in verse 23 : "Being born again, not of corruptible       abideth for ever." Hence, it is evident that by these distinc-
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth        tions the apostle means to describe rather carefully the mode
and abideth for ever." Those who emphasize the doctrine             of regeneration. The seed of regeneration, that is, the principle
of mediate regeneration, that is, of regeneration through the       of the new life, is implanted by the Holy Spirit in the heart.
means of the' Word and the calling of the gospel, appeal to         And from that seed, or principle, sprouts forth the life of
this word of the apostle Peter for a ground of their view. Yet      regeneration. However, this sprouting of the seed of regen-
that appeal is not justified. They emphasize that the apostle       eration is not realized except through the working of the
here clearly teaches that regeneration takes place through          living and abiding Word of God, through which He calls the
the everlasting and abiding Word of God, while in vs. 25            quickened sinner efficaciously and gives him ears to hear and
he adds that this is the same Word that is being proclaimed         eyes to see. This, therefore, is the efficacious calling, through
and preached among them. For this interpretation of I Peter         the Word of God, to which we will call attention in the
123  there is no ground in the text itself. It is true, of          future. Although, therefore, we will not deny that in a
course, that the apostle here presents regeneration as taking       certain sense regeneration may be presented as taking place
                                                                                                         .
place through the Word of God, which liveth and abideth             mediately, through the Word, nevertheless we maintain that

for ever, and also that he adds that this is the Word which         the appeal to I Peter 123 has no ground.                   H . H .


                                               T H E   S T A N D A R D   BEARkR                                                     57


                                                                      aware of the strange, mountainous grandeur, and besides

11 A CLOUD OF W.ITNESSES 11 they felt in their hearts that in this place there was some-
                                                                      thing special. They looked up again and again to the cloud

                                                                      of Jehovah that now had come to rest on that highest mount.

                               Sinai                                  The presence of God seemed closer than ever before. At-
                                                                      tentively they listened as Moses spoke and told them exactly

         And it CLI~~~I  to pass olzl  the thiT?d  day in the mom-    what God had said. As they listened, they knew in their
     ing,  that there raeye tlaacnders  and hightnings,  and a        hearts that what he said was truth. They had seen what
     thick cloud  upon the mmmnt, and the voice of the                Jehovah did in Egypt; and in very fact, He had borne them
      trumpet e.rceeding  loud; so that all t?ae people that
      zvns:in; the camp treptzbled  . . . .                           .forth  upon eagles' wings. Now they stood at Horeb in His
         And God stake all these words, sa,ying  . . . . .            presence. What could be more desired than to live in His
                                               Exodus 19:16; 2O:l     covenant, to be a kingdom of priests, separated and dedicated
                                                                      to His service, a holy nation unto the Lord. There was no

   At last, the first goal of Israel's journey was reachecl.          hesitation or question in their answer,, With unanimous

They had come to Sinai as Jehovah had promised Moses                  voice, they gave it, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will

that they would. Two full months had been spent in travel,            do."

and it seemed much longer than that for all the events that              Once again Moses ascended the mountain to meet with

had taken place. The last few miles had been through a                the Lord. The answer of the peopje  rested upon his heart,

mountainous valley with its granite cliffs on either side             and he was anxious to repeat it. God came to him and spoke,

rising higher and higher as they went. Over them had hung             "Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may

the quiet stillness of the desert air, broken only by the             hear when I speak with .thee,  and believe thee for ever."

tread of many feet and the muted whispers of awe-struck                  But this was not the thing with which Moses was con-

lips. It was as though they were passing through the long             cerned. He did not fear that the people would not listen.

corridor of a vast, natural temple until it finally broke forth       Rather, they had expressed their willingness to obey. Eagerly

into a broad mountain plain, the inner sanctuary of the Lord.         Moses repeated their answer, "All that the Lord hath spoken

It was surrounded on every side by the hills, and there was           we will do."

one that rose above all the rest. That was Sinai, the moun-              The reply of the Lord was quite unexpected. There was

tain of their God. Its sides soared up directly from the desert       no expression of appreciation for what the people had prom-

floor forming, as it were, a huge altar for the service of.           ised. It partook more of the nature of a solemn warning.

Almighty God. Feeling their own minuteness beneath the                "Go unto the people," said the Lord, "and sanctify them to

grandeur of creation's peaks, they quietly stopped and made           day and to morrow, and let them wash their clothes. And

their camp.                                                           be ready again the third day: for the third day the Lord

   Moses, more than anyone else, felt the wonder of this              will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount

place. He had been here once before. Here he had met with             Sinai. And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round
God ; he had seen Him in the burning bush ; he had listened           about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up

to His voice. How clearly he remembered God's promise,                into the mount, or touch the border of it : whosoever toucheth
"When thou hast brought forth this people out of Egypt,               the mount shall be surely put to death: there shall not an
ye shall serve God upon this mountain." Now his heart was             hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through:
full with anticipation. Quickly he made his way up the                whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the
mountain, perhaps to the place where he had seen the burn-            trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount."

ing bush, in the hope that once again he would be met by                 As yet neither Moses nor the people understood com-

God. And even as he hoped, it happened; God came to him               pletely what it was that they had promised. They might well

there. `God called to him out of the mountain with promises           say, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do," but did

rich and full. He said, "Thus shalt thou say to the house of          they realize what this meant ? In fact, had they not broken

Jacob, and tell the children of Israel ; Ye have seen what I          their promise already before it was even made ? Had they

did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings,          forgotten their rebellion at the Red Sea, at Marah, in the

and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey           wilderness of Sin, and at Rephidim.? The danger was not

my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a             so much that they would fail to promise to be faithful to their

peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth         God ; the greater danger was that they might think that by

is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and            merely giving their word they became worthy of approaching

an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak            unto God. They were a sinful people, and their mere word

unto the children of Israel."                                         of promise did not wash that sin away. Jehovah is a God of

   Moses went down from the mountain quickly, and im-                 justice, and only the pure and perfect have a right to enter

mediately he summoned the people together. Still they were            His presence. Let every Israelite beware lest he presump-


SS                                       T H E   S,TANDARD   B E A R E R


tuously take to himself the right of approaching the holy             But there was reason for God's command. Even in this

mountain, of touching, or of attempting to ascend into the        hour, the people must be reminded of their unworthiness to

presence of God.                                                  approach into the presence of their God. Curtly He said to

      Explicit instructions were given to Moses. The people       Moses again, "Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up,

were sinful and they must know it. Definite boundaries were       thou, and Aaron with thee : but let. not the priests and the

to be set about the mountain and everyone was to be com-          people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he

manded not to presume to pass over them. Should anyone            break forth upon them."

try, whether man or beast, they should be put to death. In         Moses went, and soon he stood among the people, re-
addition the people should be commanded to sanctify them-         peating God's warning to them. Then, while this reminder
selves. All their clothes were to be washed, and they were        of God's inapproachable holiness rested upon their hearts,
to keep themselves from all actions and contacts that might       God spoke.
defile them. These were mere external actions, but they               "I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of
had specific, spiritual import for Israel as to its heart. In     the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
three days God was coming to appear before the people and             "Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
to speak, but the people must not presume to think that they          "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . . .
were worthy of this in their present state. They were sinful          "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
and corrupt. They were unworthy of approaching unto God.          vain . . . .
They were in need of being cleansed. As the children of             "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy . . . .
Israel went through their ceremonial actions, they were re-           "Honour  thy father and thy mother . . . .
minded of the fact that they were unworthy of entering into           "Thou shalt not kill.
covenant relationship with God.                                       "Thou shalt not commit adultery.
      The third day came, and no one had to be reminded of            "Thou shalt not steal.
the import of that day for them. They awoke in the morning            "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
to the sound of mighty, rolling thunder, and, looking out of          "Thou shalt not covet . . . ."
their tents, they saw the mountain of God lit by flashes of           Now the people understood their folly. They had thought
lightning and covered with a thick, dark cloud. Through this      it a light thing to promise, "All that the Lord hath spoken
there came the piercing sound of a great trumpet, exceeding       we will do," but they had not realized all it meant. Now the
loud and clear. The people heard ; they saw ; and they            voice of God had spoken His commandments in their ears,
trembled before the great signs of a pure and holy God.           and they knew better. By each commandment anew, they
      Soon the whole nation was gathered together about           stood condemned. They knew they would never be able to
Moses, and, with him at their head, they advanced slowly          keep God's covenant; and even as they knew they saw that
until they stood at the very foot of the mountain. In reverent    lightning and smoke with new eyes, and heard with new
fear, they looked, and as they looked the mountain crags          ears the thunder and the trumpet. This was the God who
began to belch forth great, black clouds of billowing smoke.      would judge them when the least of His commandments
The fire of God's presence had descended upon it from above.      was transgressed. With fear, they turned and fled back to
The whole mountain appeared as one great, fiery furnace,          their tents.
and under the presence of Jehovah, the granite cliffs trembled
                                                                      It was a humbled people that came to Moses that night
and shook. All the while Israel watched, and did not some
                                                                  and said, "Speak thou with us, and we will hear; but let not
stop to ask how they had presumed so lightly to think that        God speak with us, lest we die." Suddenly they had come
they could dwell in covenant relationship with this mighty
                                                                  to realize that they were in need of a mediator. By them-
God ?                                                             selves they could never stand in the presence of this just and
      At last Moses, standing at the head of the people, heard    mighty God. They needed one to take their place and bring
the sound of the trumpet of God waxing louder and louder.         their cause into the presence of God. As never before, they
Then he lifted up his head toward the mountain and spoke.
                                                                  began to see Moses as their savior, the one who could bring
God answered him and called him to come up. With the
                                                                  their cause to God, a figure and a type of the promised
gaze of the people following him, he climbed until he dis-
                                                                  Redeemer, Jesus Christ.
appeared into the cloud. There God spoke to him and said,
"Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto             With humble gratitude, they heard Moses answer, "Fear
the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let `fhe           not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may
priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify them-         be before your faces, that ye sin not." With thankful awe,
selves, iest the Lord break forth upon them."                     they stood and watched as Moses once again ascended the
      Impatiently Moses replied, "The people cannot come up       mountain, and with their cause on his heart, "drew near unto
to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds         the thick darkness where God was."

about the mount, and sanctify it."                                                                                        B.W.
                                   ._


                                             T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                    59


                                                                        band in the Lord. That is the new relationship in Christ

11      F R O M   H O L Y   W R I T   11 Jesus, our Lord.
                                                                            If one dotibts  this expressed opinion, which I have here

                                                                        stated very considerately and advisedly, let him drop in at

                 Exposition of I Timothy                                the divorce courts of our land, or take notice of the writings
                                                                        of the "authorities" ( 7) who give marriage-counsel in the

                                                                        world where men and women do not profess godliness!
                       (I Timothy 2 2-15)
                                                                            Also here we shall have to go to the law and the prophets

                                                                        or there is no dawn !
                                 C.
                                                                           However, Paul is here addressing himself to the matter of

                                                                        the place which women have in the church ; the church con-
      In the verses 11 through 15 of I Timothy 2, Paul pro-
                                                                        sidered in the meeting of the congregation in their official
ceeds to give authoritative instruction in the name of Christ,          assemblies or in the home-life of the members. Paul does
according to the Scriptures, as to how women are to conduct             not here speak of the relationship of the authority which
themselves in the church after the fashion becoming women
                                                                        both fathers and mothers have over their children. He
professing godliness.                                                   speaks of the matter of whether the authority in the church
      That we may have the text clearly before our mind we              is placed by Christ upon the shoulders of men or of the
shall here quote it. It follows: "Bu.t I pm& not a zvowaa~~             women.
to teach, n,oy  to have dominion oveY a man,  but to be in quiet-           Since both men and women, professing godliness, are one
ness. For Adam zms first formed, thm Eve; and Adam  was                 in Christ, have the same faith, hope and love, enjoy the
sot begwiLed, but the woman being beguiled -huh  fa.llew  into          same benefits in Christ, the question is not one of inequality
tl-ansgression:  but she .skaIl  be saved tlwmtgh  her chGdbear-        in as far as the office of all believers is concerned. Both are
ing,  if hey continue in faith  a,nd love and sanctifica  fion  with    Christians, and as such prophets, priests and kings in the
sobj+ety."  Verses 11-15.                                               anointing of Christ through the Holy Spirit.
      The Word of God here touches upon the very heart of the               So the question narrows down to the place of the women
proper spiritual-ethical attitude of women toward men in                in the church as to the teaching and sztlbg  ministry of Christ-
the church as this is particularized in their attitude towards              On this point Paul is very adamant and to the point. In
their own husbands. Paul is here not speaking of women in               clear and unmistakable language he says that he does not
general, but of women "professing godliness." He anticipates            "permit" women to teach. Women are not to be the min-
in a general way the "office" of Christ in the church. He               ister of the gospel, nor are they to rule. They are not per-
will have more to say about this in Chapter 3. He is in-                mitted to hold the office of the bishop, that is of the elder,.
terested that men and women know how to "behave them-                   be he the teaching or the ruling elder.
selves in the house of God, which is the church of the living
                                                                           And then Paul says unequivocally that women are not
God, the' pillar and ground of the truth."
                                                                        to be teachers ; they are to "learn." They must learn the
      However, in these verses the apostle writes that these            grace in Christ in the church and in the home. For the
offices, particularly the office of the teaching and ruling min-        moment they assume to be teachers in the church they also
istry, are not for women.                                               assume to rule in the church, to stand in the office of the

      It may not be superfluous to point out at this juncture           teaching and ruling elders ! To attempt that is simply the

that Paul does not say all that can be said about the subject           equivalent of `(to have dominion over a man" ! The term in the

of the proper relationship of husbands and wives in the Lord.           Greek for having "dominion over" is worthy of special notice-

What he writes so beautifully concerning the duty and calling           It is the word in Greek from which our English word "au-

of a Christian "husband" toward his wife in Ephesians 5 25              thentic" is derived. It means : to be the proper author of. Thus

is here left unsaid, although it is implied. We cannot here             an authentic author is the real writer of a book. He has not

enter upon a discussion of that facet of the question without           practiced plagiarism. An authentic document is one which

digressing too far from the case in point.                              was executed before an appointed officer, having power as-

      After studying the Scriptures for more than a quarter             signed to him to do so. However, when one assumes power
century, and observing life in God's church, it is my settled           which is not given him  from God, or from Christ in the
conviction, that the Scriptures always imply that every man             Church, such assumption of power is wanton usurpation of
is by natwe in his relationship to his own wife either tyran-           the same. Such are mere autocrats, self-appointed rulers,.
nical or he is her slave, and that every woman by u&we j                making themselves `absolute masters,. who forget that the
veritable rebel. The very opposite of this is, what both have           real ruler is one who knows that he shall have to give ac-
become by grace, to wit, the husband loves his wife as a                count ! A woman ruling in the church is such an autocrat !

man of understanding, and the wife is to reverence her hus-                Paul says "I do not permit" such to rule !

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


      A domineering, autocratic woman in the church is a            church, the living church of the living God. Eve - mother

pathetic sight; it is a trampling under foot of the ordinances      of the &&zg  !

of God in the church. I have known such domineering auto-              And thus every woman professing godliness is to be an

crats as the very quiet ( ?) powers behind the throne! The          `lEve."    She is not simply to be a woman. That she is too,

affairs of the church are then not in good hands. Such              as we hope to point out later. However, the glory of the

women are not true -daughters of Sarah, who call their hus-         woman in the church is her motherhood. And when the

band "lord" from their hearts. I once met such a woman.             church flourishes in faith and godliness the truth and reality

She was a cripple, though a veritable autocrat. When I              of motherhood, being mother in God's covenant, is the

reminded her of this ordinance of Christ she retorted : "What       woman's habitat and glory !

if one's husband doesn't know anything? Can he then teach              That is a walk of faith. To cling by faith to the promise
men ? !" I replied, that if such were the case she knew so          of God: I am the God of thee and of thy seed. In that
much better than her husband what the Bible teaches concern-        faith the women professing godliness will not seek to be
ing the proper attitude of women professing godliness, and          ministers in the church, ruling over men and their own hus-
that she had better fall in line with all godly women!              bands, but they will walk in the love of God. And such will
      With such autocrats is lacking a quiet and godly spirit of    then be their "sanctification" ! They will understand that the
the hidden man of the heart !                                       life of a Nun is not more holy than that of a mother. Her
      Consider what would- happen if the church had a consistory    bearing children will be for her the working out of her salva-
of women and the men stayed home to care for the children?          tion with fear and trembling.
Isn't it too preposterous even to consider in the light of the         She understands, of course, that a mother is not saved
creation ordinance?                                                 "because of" child-bearing.      The ground of salvation is the
      Does the woman then not also have a God-ordained              perfect sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. However, there must
place in the Church ? Indeed she does and what a place of           be a mother; and many mothers for the birth of Christ, and
honor and importance. Her place is that of Eve, the wife of         of all who are His. Had there been no good mother to give
Adam. The place that Eve had in God's church and cov-               birth to the undersigned, there would not have been the
enant is the place of godly women.                                  undersigned to be saved in the blood of Christ! My mother,
      Consider for a moment the name "Eve." This name was           as a member of all the church, was saved in the blood of
not given to her before the Fall in Paradise but it was given       Christ I believe. Poor sinnn* that she was ! Yet she was saved
to her by Adam after the Fall. It was given to her after            through child-bearing, giving birth to no less than ten chil-
God had sought out the man and his wife, as they hid                dren ! And what a patience and endurance this required, what
themselves, having an evil conscience. They were full of the        sorrows and birth-travails this entailed ! What patience of
fear of death and hell. Then God came and showed to them            faith, love, sanctification and sobriety, to see her entire lot in
Christ, the Seed of the Woman, which would crush the                the light of the great plan of God, the realization of His
head of the Serpent. Two "seeds" will come from the womb            promise in all the "living" !
of Adam's wife as she is "woman" (islznlz  in Hebrew), that             I do not in these lines desire to place a belated flower
is, taken from the man. But in view of the "promise" of             upon her grave. I merely desire to state the glory of a
God, the Protevangel, this same woman will also give birth          believing mother as portrayed here in the text. Blessed
to the Christ in the generations of the holy line, and she is       daughters of "Eve," mother of the living!
to be the "mother of the living." For the name "Eve" in
                                                                        Such mothers, who thus see their life's task and office in
the Hebrew is "Heva" from the verb "Hawah,"  being, to
                                                                    the church will find plenty of time and opportunity to teach,
live. She is the mother of the "living" in distinction from
                                                                    and to help teach according to the utmost of her ability.
the mother ofi the "dead." When Christ comes presently to
                                                                       And when her `task on earth is ended she will say : saved
judge the "living" and the "dead," Eve will be the mother
                                                                    by grace! Saved to remain in faith, love, sanctification and
of the former, by faith in Christ. She will be saved through
                                                                    sobriety. And yet saved though  child-bearing !
child-bearing ! That is her place of glory in the church !
                                                                        They have not lost anything by not attempting to be auto-
       In faith she clings to this promise when she gives birth
                                                                    crats in the church- They will desire to be help-meets of their
to her sons. When Cain is born she says : "A man." How-
                                                                    husbands.
ever, she is mistaken. When Seth is born she says: "Ap-
pointed" of the Lord. She is correct. Thus she walks in                 For "Eve  can, even as mother of the living, never go
love which energizes her faith, and she is a woman who              beyond the created limits of a "woman," taken from the man.

sanctifies the fruit of her womb to the Lord in faith. Teach-           The statutes of God for his created creature, the man and

ing these children in the home is her life's task and bearing       his wife, are not set aside on this side of the grave; they are

them for her husband, whose help-meet she is even in grace.         maintained in the church, as the best means to the highest

And thus "Eve" is a sober woman, who does not let her               and eternal end !

passions and sin reign, but subdues all in behalf of the                                                                         G.L.


                                         T H E   S T A N D - A R D   B E A R E K                                                   61


                                                                     and Spirit, and Who defends and preserves         in (the enjoy-
                                                                                                                   LIS  
           I N   HIS  F E A R                                        ment of) that salvation, He has purchased for us."
                                                                        We spoke last time of that work of the New Testament

                                                                     priest according to which he offers his body as a living
                 God's Royal Priesthood                              sacrifice to God and is dedicated, with all that which he has
                                                                     and wherewith he comes in contact, unto God. But we wish

                                                                     to point out at this time that other work mentioned here of

   Jerusalem was built on four hills.                                the priest which should also be found in the lives of us as
   Two of these hills are of special importance. They were           God's royal priesthood. The Old Testament priest in the
Mount Zion where David had set his throne, and Mount                 temple in Jerusalem was before God's face. Christ as our
Moriah where the temple had been built. Mount Zion was               only High Priest continually makes intercession for us with
the royal hill. Mount Moriah is the holy hill mentioned in           the Father. And that means, of course, before His face in
Psalin 15 :l.                                                        heavenly glory.    The New Testament priest also therefore
   If now you were seeking a prophet in Israel, it would not         will come and stand before God's face and labor in the con-
necessarily follow that you would go to Jerusalem to look            sciousness of the fact that he is before God's face.

for him. He might be found there, but he could also be ex-              God is in heaven. Physically we cannot reach up into
pected to be in any region of the land, going about giving           the heavens. And yet of this infinite, highly exalted God
instruction and comfort to God's people. Were you seeking            Paul says that "in Him we live and move and have our
the king, it is indeed to Jerusalem where you would go. The          being."    He is not far from every one of us. Acts 17 ~27, 25.
wise men from the east, who had seen His star, did exactly           But it is not a physical contact with Him that we enjoy.
go to Jerusalem rather than to Bethlehem to see this "child          That was not the case of the Aaronitic priest either. Al-
who was "born king of the Jews." There was that royal hill           though the New Testament priest does not function with the
where the kings of the Jews had dwelt through the ages be-           types and shadows, he is, as Paul writes, still on this earth
fore God brought them into the captivity of Babylon. Except          where, "we see through a glass darkly," and we do not yet
when the king was out leading his army into battle against           see face to face as Christ our only High Priest already
the enemy, you would find him on his throne.                         does in heavenly glory.
   And the priest?
                                                                        But we do come and stand before His very face in prayer.
   Were you seeking him, you would likewise go to the city
                                                                     And prayer is an important part of that work of the royal
of Jerusalem, for on that holy hill where the temple stood
                                                                     priesthood of God. In fact it is through prayer that we do
God dwelt with His people. It was for that very reason the
                                                                     offer up the whole of God's creation to Him. It is through
holy hill. The priest you would expect to find before God's
                                                                     that sweet communion of God, which we enjoy in prayer,
face. `You  would find him in God's house. Whereas the
                                                                     that all His rational creation comes with conscious, willing
"workbench," if' indeed we may call it such, of the king was
                                                                     praise before His face through the heart and mind of this
his throne, the "workbench" of the priest would be God's
                                                                     royal priesthood. The work of the Old Testament priest
altar. From far and wide the people of God flocked to that
                                                                     was not the executing of some cold, formal ritual. It was
temple and to the priest with their sacrifices and offerings.
                                                                     not a silent pantomime. On the contrary this priest had a
In fact their whole religious life in that day centered around
                                                                     voice and entered with his soul into his work, if he were a
that temple and that priesthood. And although that temple            true priest of God.
is gone, and we need not go to Jerusalem to the Aaronitic

priest anymore, as to its idea, the priest of God of today              That priest who came with the sacrifice and offering,

also will be found - and indeed must be found - in God's             which he had received from the Israelite, went to God in

temple. You will find him before God's face.                         prayer with that gift. The priest who) came with the blood

   Such today is the case with our onIy high priest, Christ          of the lamb that symbolized the cross of Christ went to

`Jesus the Righteous One. There is a very interesting state-         God on the basis of that blood and pleaded for the forgive-

ment concerning Him in Lord's Day XII of the Heidelberg              ness of the sins of His people. And then he would return to

Catechism. The question is there asked,`"Why  is He C,%st,           the congregation waiting' outside and would dismiss them

that is anointed ?" And the answer that is given is, "Because        with God's blessing. Because by the blood of the lamb their

He is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the              sins were blotted out, this priest who interceded for the

Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, Who has             people could come back and pronounce God's peace upon His

fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God con-         Church. He could pronounce the Aaronitic or priestly

cerning our redemption; and to be our only High Priest,              blessing : "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: The Lord

Who by the one sacrifice of His body, hasredeemed us, and            make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

makes continual intercession with the Father for              and    The Lord lift       His countenance upon thee, and give thee
                                                     us;                             up 
also to be our eternal King, Who governs us by His word              peace." Numbers 6 :26.

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


      Therefore there was also in the temple a golden altar,       lives of God's royal priesthood also in this respect. Certainly

the altar of incense upon which a sweet smelling incense was       the head of the home should lead his family in prayer. He

burned up before the face of God. Indeed, .such  .a sweet          should not simply bow his head and tell them to do so in a

smelling savour was needed among all the stench in that            silent prayer. No, no, he is priest, and he stands in the same

temple of blood and of flesh that was being burned on the          relationship to his family that the priests in Moses' day

altar of burnt offering. That part of the temple was not the       stood in respect to the people of Israel. And young men

most pleasing place from an aesthetic point of view. It w;is       when they marry in the Lord -for that too is the only thing

not far from a slaughter house, and added to this was the          that God's royal priesthood may do, for also in marriage,

odor of that burning flesh. But accompanying that death 3f         they must be dedicated unto God ; and they may not be un-

the lamb or bullock was the sweet smelling savour of that          equally yoked with one whom they cannot dedicate unto God.

incense upon the golden altar. And it symbolized the prayers       But young men in the Church, when they marry, ought also

of the saints. Because of that blood and that sacrifice of the     to resolve before God to begin at once to lead in audible,

life of the animal to God, the prayers of His people could         spoken prayer as the head of their family. Then as that family

ascend up to His thr0n.e.                                          grows and children are given to them, they not only fulfill

                                                                   their priestly office, as they ought, but likewise, they do not
      We must not forget that. We must remember that we
                                                                   find themselves in the awkward position that they are
have no right even to pray to God. And though we do not
                                                                   frightened by their own voices.
come with a lamb as we approach God in prayer, we do
come with The Lamb when we pray "for Jesus' sake, Amen."               This is not one of the easiest functions of the priest.
Recall also the fact that the saints in the Old Testament          Praying to God is not a simple matter without difficulty.
times, before the tabernacle was built in the wilderness and       Praying to men and making fine "speeches" in man's hear-
the priesthood of Aaron was established, always came to God        ing is'not  difficult. But to pray to God so that we do indeed
in prayer in connection with an altar and a sacrifice. Yea,        have sweet communion with Him is an art that must be
even after that priesthood stood there, men such as Samuel         learned. And even unto the day of our death, we ought to
(who, by the way, was of the priestly tribe, the tribe of          be learning to perform this priestly office more beautifully
Levi - see I Chronicles 6 :l and 16 and 27 and 28) built an        and perfectly.

altar when they made their prayers to God for the congrega-            What is more, the one who truly dedicates himself to

tion. Thus when Samuel tarried, Saul, according to I Samuel        God, who offers his body as a living sacrifice and believes

13 :ll, 12, assumed his place and brought the sacrifice to         that The Lamb was slain for his sins, that man will want

make his "supplication tinto the Lord."                            to stand before God in prayer. His prayer is the chief part

      Now, of course the New Testament priest does not come        of his thankfulness to God. He will not have to be told to
with such an offering and sacrifice. But he does, as we            do so. He will feel himself impelled, not only in his moments
suggested a moment ago, come with The Lamb. He ap-                 of anxiety and fear, but in all his earthly life. He will seek
proaches God in prayer in the name of The Lamb of God              God's face in prayer for the sheer joy of being in His
which taketh away the sins of the world. And as priest he          presence and having covenant communion with Him. In His
certainly .does  come to stand before God with his "altar" of      feat,  we will want to draw new. The psalmist says, ". . . it
prayer.                                                            is good for me to draw near to God . . ." To that God's royal
                                                                   priesthood says, "Amen."
      He therefore as head of the home has his family altar.
                                                                                                                               J.A.H.
He goes before his family and children in prayer. He has

dedicated them to God. He has at their baptism promised

before God to give them over to His prophets for instruction

in the truth of God's Word. Yea, even before they were
                                                                                       WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
born, he prayed for them and dedicated them to God's glory.
No, not in the world. The world eats, drinks and is merry             On October 29, 1961, our beloved parents,

with the understanding that tomorrow they die. They re-                              MR. AND MRS. PETER BYKERK

ceive their children either grudgingly or with a carnal delight    celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.

and pride. But they see them for themselves. There is no              We are grateful to God for all the blessings He has bestowed
dedication of them unto God ; and there certainly is no            upon them and us these many years together. We thank the Lord
bringing of them daily in prayer before God's face. They           fo; His care and guidance in the past and pray for His blessings
                                                                   in the future.
are priests who are not working in God's temple. Even as                                               Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bykerk
there are'false prophets, there are corrupt priests: men who                                           Mr. and Mrs. Arie  Bykerk
are dedicated to sin, live for it and bring up their children                                         Mrs. Winifred Hill
in it.                                                                                                Miss Lubertha Bykerk
                                                                                                       Mr. Comie Bykerk
      There is, to be sure, much room for improvement in the                                           and 10 grandchildren


                                              T:!ZE  S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                              63


                                                                   being any prejudice to the ordinary and immediate power of
          Contending For The Faith                                 episcopal jurisdiction, by which Bishops, who have been set
                                                                   by the Holy Ghost to succeed and hold the place of the

                                                                   Apostles, feed and govern, each his own flock, as true pas-

                                                                   tors, that this their episcopal authority is really asserted,
            The Church and the Sacraments                          strengthened, and protected by the supreme and universal

                                                                   Pastor; in accordance with the words of St. Gregory the
           THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION
                                                                   Great : "My honor is the honor of the whole Church. My
                 VIEWS ON THE CHURCH                               honor is the firm strength of my brethren. I am truly

                                                                   honored when the honor due to each and all is not withheld."
              THE ROMAN CATHOLIC VIEW                                 Further, from this supreme power possessed by the

    We were busy in our preceding article with the Roman           Roman Pontiff of governing the universal Church, it follows
Catholic view of the Church as set forth in the decrees of         that he has the right of free communication with the pastors
the Vatican Council of 1870. It is worthy of note that this        of the whole Church, and with their flocks, that these may
Council, setting forth the Romish view of the Church, lays         be taught'and ruled by him in the way of salvation. Where-
all emphasis upon the pope. It is evident that Rome simply         fore we condemn and reject the opinions of those who hold
identifies the Church with pope. We will now continue with         that the communication between this supreme head and the
chapters III and IV of this Vatican Council.                       pastors and their flocks can lawfully be impeded; or who
                                                                   make this communication subject to. the will of the secular

                          CI-IAPTER  I I I                         power,    so as to maintain that whatever is done by the
                                                                   Apostolic See, or by its authority, for the government of
         On tke Power and hbtwe of tJhe Pv-iwacy  of tke           the Church, can not have force or value unless it be con-
                         Roman Pontiff                             firmed by the assent of the secular power.

    Wherefore, resting on plain testimonies of the Sacred             And since by the divine right of Apostolic primacy the
Writings, and adhering to the plain and express decrees both       Roman Pontiff is placed over the universal Church, we
of our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, and of the General        further teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of thi:
Councils, we renew the definition of the oecumenical Council       faithful, and that in all causes, the decision of which belongs
of Florence, in virtue of which all the faithful of Christ must    to the Church, recourse may be had to his tribunal, and that
believe that the holy Apostolic See and the Roman Pontiff          none may re-open the judgment of the Apostolic See, than
possesses the primacy over the whole world, and that the Ro-       whose authority there is no greater, nor can any lawfully
man Pontiff is the successor of blessed Peter, Prince of the       review its judgment. Wherefore they err from the right
Apostles, and is true vicar of Christ, and head of the whole       course who assert that it is lawful to appeal from the judg-
Church, and father and teacher of all Christians; and that         ments of the Roman Pontiffs to an oecumenical Council, as
full power was given to him in blessed Peter to rule, feed,        to an authority higher than that of the Roman Pontiff.
and govern the universal Church by Jesus Christ our Lord:
                                                                      If, then, any shall say that the Roman Pontiff has the
as is also contained in the acts of the General Councils and
                                                                   office merely of inspection or direction, and not full and
in the sacred Canons.
                                                                   supreme power of jurisdiction over the universal Church, not
    Hence we teach and declare that by the appointment of
                                                                   only in things which belong to faith and morals, but also in
our Lord the Roman Church possesses a superiority of
                                                                   those which relate to the discipline and government of the
ordinary power over all other churches, and that this power
                                                                   Church spread throughout the world ; or assert that he
of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, which is truly episcopal,
                                                                   possesses merely the principal part, and not all the fulness
is immediate ; to which all, of whatever rite and dignity,
                                                                   of this supreme power; or that this power which he enjoys
both pastors and faithful, both individually and collectively,
                                                                   is not ordinary and immediate, both `over each and all the
are bound, by their duty of hierarchical subordination and
                                                                   churches, and over each and all the pastors and the faithful:
true obedience, to submit not only in matters which belong
                                                                   let him be anathema. - thus far the quotation of Article III.
to faith and morals, but also in those that appertain to the

discipline and gov&nment  of the Church throughout the               Notice, please, how and to what extent Rome in this article

world, so that the Church of Christ may be one flock under         describes and defines the power of the Roman Pontiff. His

one supreme pastor through the preservation of unity both          judgment cannot be reviewed. It may never be challenged.

of communion and of profession of the same faith with the          And his power extends to all the pastors and their flocks

Roman Pontiff. This is the teaching of Catholic truth, from        throughout the world, and to him every member of the

which no one can deviate without loss of faith and of salva,-      Roman Catholic Church is subject, even throughout the

tion.                                                              world, also in America. And we do well to note this also:

    But so far is this power of the Supreme Pontiff from           "Wherefore we condemn and reject the opinions of those


       64'                                        T H E   STANDAJ3D   B E A R E R


       who.  hold that the communication between this supreme head         of the ancient rule, sent word to this Apostolic See of those

       and the pastors and their flocks can lawfully be impeded; or        dangers especi,ally  which sprang up in matters of faith, that

       who make this communication subject to t'he will  of the            there the losses of faith might be most effectually repaired

       sect&r  power  (italics ours), so as to maintain that whatever      where the faith can not fail. And the Roman Pontiffs, ac-

       is done by the Apostolic See, or by its authority, for the          cording to the exigencies of times and circumstances, some-

       government of the Church, can not have force pr vahe  unless        times assembling oecumenical Councils, or asking for the

       it be confirmed by the assent of the secdiw  powew."                mind of the Church scattered throughout the world, some-

                                                                           times by particular Synods, sometimes using other helps

                                  CHAPTER IV                               which Divine Providence supplied, defined as to be held

                                                                           those things which with the help of God they had recognized
         Cowewing  the Infallible I'eachiizg  of the Row&art  Pontiff      as conformable with the sacred Scriptures and Apostolic

              Moreover, that the supreme power of teaching is also         traditions.    For the Holy Spirit was not promised to the

       included in the Apostolic primacy, which the Roman Pontiff,         successors of Peter, that by his revelation they might make
       as the successor of Peter, Prince of the Apostles, possesses        known new doctrines; but that by his assistance they might

       over the whole Church, this Holy See has always held, the           inviolably keep and faithfully expound the revelation or

       perpetual practice of the Church confirms, and oecumenical          deposit of faith delivered through the Apostles. And, indeed,

       Councils also have declared, especially those in which the          all the venerable Fathers have embraced, and the holy ortho-

       East with the West met in the union of faith and charity.           dox doctors have venerated and followed, their Apostolic

       For the Fathers of the Fourth Council of Constantinople,            doctrine ; knowing mos't  fully that this See of holy Peter

       following in the footsteps of their predecessors, gave forth        remains ever free from all blemish of error according to the

       this solemn profession: The first condition of salvation is to      divine promise of the Lord our Saviour made to the Prince

       keep the rule of the true faith. And because the sentence of        of his disciples : "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail

       our Lord Jesus Christ can not be passed by, who said : "Thou        not, and, when thou art converted, confirm thy brethren."

       art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church," these            This gift, then, of truth and never-failing faith was `con-
       things which have been said are approved by events, because         ferred by heaven upon Peter and his successors in this chair,
       in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion and her holy and         that they might perform their high office for the salvation of
       well-known doctrine has always been kept undefiled. Desir-          all; that the whole flock of Christ, kept away by them from
       ing, therefore, not to be in the least degree separated from        the poisonous food of error, might be nourished with the
       the faith and doctrine of that See, we hope that we may             pasture of heavenly doctrine ; that the occasion of schism
       deserve to be in the one communion, which the Apostolic             being removed, the whole Church might be kept one, and,
       See preaches, in which is the enti;e  and true solidity of the      resting on its foundation, might stand firm against the gates
       Christian religion.    And, with the approval of the Second         of hell.
       Council of Lyons, the Greeks professed that the holy Roman
                                                                               But since in this very age, in which the salutary efficacy
       Church enjoys supreme and full primacy and preeminence
                                                                           of the Apostolic office is most of all required, not a few are
       over the whole Catholic Church, which it truly and humbly
                                                                           found who take away from its authority, we judge it alto-
       acknowledges that it has received with the plenitude of power
                                                                           gether necessary solemnly to assert the prerogative which the
       from our Lord himself in the person of blessed Peter, Prince
                                                                           only:begotten  Son of God vouchsafed to join with the su-
       or Head of the Apostles, whose successor the Roman Pontiff
                                                                           preme pastoral office. - thus far Article IV.
       is; and as the Apostolic See is bound before all others to

       defend the truth of faith, so also, if any questions regarding          And in the rest of this article the Vatican Council de-

       faith shall arise, they must be defined by its judgment. Fi-        clares that the pope of Rome is infallible whenever he speaks

       nally, the Council of Florence defined: That the Roman              ex ca.tlaedm,  that is, when he speaks in discharge of the office

       Pontiff is the true vicar of Christ, and the head of the whole      of pastor and doctor of all Christians. This infallibility of

       Church, and the father-and teacher  of all Christians ; and that    the Roman Pontiff is impossible, also for historical reasons,

       to him in blessed Peter was delivered by our Lord Jesus             inasmuch as it can be abundantly proved that the bishops of

       Christ the full power of feeding, ruling, and governing the         Rome have erred in the past and have taught and advocated

       whole Church.                                                       heresy. And, if you please, imagine: when a child of God,

              To satisfy this pastoral duty, our predecessors ever made    believing his sins to be forgiven in the blood of Christ, and
       unwearied efforts that the salutary doctrine of Christ might        having a sincere desire to walk in all the commandments of
       be propagated among all the nations of the earth, and with          the Lord, does not recognize th.e bishop of Rome, he is lost
       equal care watched that it might be preserved genuine and           and cannot be saved. This is the heinous doctrine of Rome.
       pure where it had been received. Therefore the Bishops of           The Church, according to Rome, is inseparably connected
       the whole world, now singly, now assembled in Synod, fol-           with and wrapped up in the pope of Rome.

       lowing the long-established custom of churches, and the form                                            I                      H.V.
I /


                                            T H E   STAN.DARD   B E A R E R                                                        65


                                                                         To this we may answer that the mans of which'  Article

       The Voice of Our Fathers                                      II speaks are general. This is inherent in their objective
                                                                     character. Thus, in the first place, a.ll  men possess that "most

                                                                     elegant book" of the creation, preservation, and government
                 The Belgic Confession                               of the universe. They come into contact with it daily ; in
                   ARTICLE II (continued)                            fact, they cannot avoid coming into contact with that book.

   In our previous comments we have already pointed out              It surrounds them. It is pressed upon them. It is placed

that this article does not furnish us with an official dogma         before them, as it were, wide open. This is not to say that

of revelation as such. We also pointed out that this does not        all men know God in the true sense of the word. It is not

mean that what the article states has nothing to do with             to say either that all men are able to read and to interpret

revelation. We may now try to see more exactly what is the           that book in the true, spiritual sense of the word. But they

relation between the contents of this article and revelation.        all nevertheless possess that one element of revelation, the

   And then we may notice, in the first place, that the view-        objective means of the book of creation and providence. In

point of the article is not that of sevebation,  but that of the     the second place, we must also notice that this is true to a

knowledge of God. These two are closely related, but they            large extent of that other means, God's holy and divine

are not the same. The latter, the knowledge of God, is the           Word. Also this means is not limited to the believers, that

result, the fruit, of the former, God's revelation. Without          is, to the elect. But just as it may be said of the first means

that revelation, as we pointed out already in comiection  with       that all men, believers and unbelievers, elect and reprobate,

Article I, it is impossible to believe and confess because- it       without distinction, possess it and come into daily contact

is impossible to know God. Hence, we may say that the                with it, so it may also be said of the second means to a large

"We know him . . ." of Article II is the response to and             extent that men `without distinction, believers and unbe-

the product of the wonder of divine revelation. In the second        lievers, godly and ungodly, elect and reprobate, possess it:

place, we must notice that this article speaks of the PVM~~S         come into contact with it, have it opened to them, read it.

whereby we know God, and in so far it touches upon revela-           ,True,  the general distribution of this second book is not as

tion. Just as it speaks of the means whereby we know God,            large as that of the first. It is limited to the sphere of the

so it speaks, viewing the matter now from the viewpoint of           existence and activity of the church. There have been mil-

revelation, of the ?neaTLs  wkerebjr  God wlakes  Himself known.     lions upon millions that have never come into contact with

In fact, in mentioning the second means the article uses this        this second means and have not even heard of it. But the

very expression : "he makes himself more clearly and fully           fact remains that there is something general about it. And

known to us . . ."    But we must also notice that this idea         there is something general about this second means in the

of "means" is the limitation of the article at the same time.        same essential sense that there is about the first means,

It is exactly not the purpose of this article to set forth a com-    namely: both believer and unbeliever, elect and reprobate,

plete doctrine of revelation. It does not describe the whole         come into contact with these means, possess them, read and

act of revelation. It does not even set forth the whole YUO+         to an extent understand and comprehend these books. Here,

of revelation or all the elements of revelation. It merely           therefore, we have touched upon the singular general element

speaks of the ~~~~eans whereby we know God  and whereby              in revelation: it is the general character of the I+ZUFZ~.

God makes Himself known. In this connection we may                      There is nothing so strange or unusual about this. There

notice, for example, that the article does not mention the           is something analogous here to the general character of fhe

operation of the Holy Spirit at all-certainly, a very im-            means of grace. And perhaps the mention of this will assist

portant element in the doctrine of revelation. In the third          us in pin-pointing the matter. These means of grace, the

place, we may notice that, in speaking of the means whereby          preaching of the Word and the sacraments, are also general.

we know God 2nd whereby God makes Himself known, the                 The preaching of the Word is promiscuous. It comes to all,

article speaks of sotnething objecttie,  and thus of the oh-         reprobate and elect, unbeliever and believer, that live in the

jective element of revelation.    This is evident not only from      historical sphere of the church and its preaching. Moreover,

this term "means," but also from the fact that these "means"         this takes place according to the will and good pleasure of

are described as two books, the book of the creation, pres-          God, according to the Canons, Who sends it. The same is

ervation, and govertiment  of the universe, and the book of          true of the sacraments, holy baptism and the Lord's Supper.

"his holy and divine Word."                                          Not all who receive these sacraments are elect; also the

   1: is at this point,, of course, that we come face to face        reprobate, that is, the reprobate in the sphere of the covenant,

with the question of so-called "general" revelation. Is there        receive them. And this too is according to the will of God.

a general revelation of God in the sense that God generally,         Esau as well as Jacob must be circumcised. And all infants

promiscuously, without distinction, reveals Himself to all           of believers must be baptized.

men  ? If not, can it be said that there is anything at all             However, we must also bear in mind that this general

general about God's work of revelation ?                             character extends only to the ytteans  of grace. To conclude

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


from the general scope of the gaeans  of grace to the general        "nature" does not in itself denote that there is a Creator-

character of God's g?-ace  is the fatal error of all Arminian-       God; and the term "history" does not in itself denote that

istic  conceptions. The means are general in scope ; God's           there is a Sustainer-Ruler-God. That is why you can find

grace is never general, but always particular. The ?j%eans  of       these two terms in the mouth of believer and unbeliever

grace come to elect and reprobate alike ; God's grace is for         alike. They are quite colorless in themselves. It is much

the elect alone, and that too, sovereignly.                          more expressive, and much more Scriptural too, to speak,

      In much the same fashion, when we speak of the con-            as does our Confession, of the "creation, preservation, and

cept of revelation as a whole, we must make distinction. The         government of the universe."

#zeG%s are general. And if by "general revelation" only this            In the second place, we may observe that this article

is meant, then it holds true not only of God's book of the           stresses very strongly the objectivity of this first means. For

creation, preservation, and government of the universe, but          it mentions that this creation, preservation, and government

also of His book of the Scriptures. But then, by the same            of the universe is as a "most elegant book." And it tells us

token, the distinction "general-and-specia1"  falls away. But        that in this book all creatures, great and small, are "as so

revelation, taken in the full sense of the term, that is, revela-    many characters," that is, letters, spelling, as it were, the

tion as it causes us to say, `(We  know God, the overflowing         name of God, and leading us to contemplate the invisible

fountain of all good," is never general, but strictly particular.    things of God. This too is significant. In other words, the

In this full sense of the word, God does not reveal Himself          creation, preservation, and government of the universe are

to all men, but to His people in Christ Jesus alone. Rev-            not merely "the Christian interpretation" of nature and of

elation is to and for the elect alone. And this fundamental          history; but they are objective facts. They are a book, ;LS

proposition must be applied to both the means mentioned in           it were. This is a very expressive figure of speech. You see,

this article. From the point of view of the saving or damning        a book is not dependent for its objective reality upon its

intent and effect of the speech of God, the only message that        readers or lack of readers. Whether that book is read or not

the reprobate ever receive is the Word of God's hatred and           read, it is there nevertheless. Whether that book is correctly

consuming wrath ; and the only message that the elect receive        read or not does not affect its objective reality. Whether the

is the Word of His love in Christ Jesus our Lord.                    message of that book is believed or not does not change that

      In the elect, therefore, the wonder of God's revelatory        book as such one iota: that book is still there. Now our
work always produces the effect that they confess, "We               creed states that God has, as it were, written and published
know Him."          And this is life eternal, that we might know     a book. The contents of that book is the creation, preserva-
Him the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom He hath                 tion, and government of the universe. And the message of

sent. John 17:3.                                                     that book is, briefly, the invisible things of God. The things
      We are now ready, keeping the above in mind, to treat          of God are invisible; but that book is plainly visible. It stands
the two means mentioned in this article, as well as to touch         before all men in all its elegance. It declares God, the
on their significance for men in general and for God's people,       Creator,-Sustainer, and Ruler of the Universe. It sets forth
and to deal with the relation between these means.                   His eternal power and divinity, Rom. 1 20. As the psalmist

Fiut, By The Cuea,tion,  Prese-uva.tion, And Government              says, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the f%-ma-

Of The Univeme                                                       ment sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech,

      There are several significant facts about this statement       and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech

of our Belgic Confes.sioTL  that are of special value for the        nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is

believer in this so-called age of science, even apart from the       gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end

relationship of this first means to the second one mentioned         of the world." Psalm 19 :l-3. Whether men will say with the

in this article.                                                     psalmist, "The heavens declare the glory of God," or not,

      In the first place, notice that our confession speaks          those heavens still declare that glory. Whether men will

specifically of the "creation, preservation, and government of       acknowledge that "the firmament sheweth his handywork,"

the universe."       This is very important. We are sometimes        or not, that firmament objectively shows forth God's handy-

inclined to change this expression and to speak of `-God's           work. Whether men, reading that book of creation, humbly

revelation "in nature and in history," and to think that this        confess, "I believe in God the Father . . . . Creator of heaven

is the same as what the creed says. But this is a mistake,           and earth," or whether they blasphemously change the glory

and a rather serious one too. The latter expression is much          of the uncorruptible  God into an image made like to cor-

less specific and much less meaningful than that of this             ruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creep-

article. To say "nature" is not the same as saying "creation."       ing things (Rom. 1:23), and elevate Evolution to the throne

And to say "history" is not the same as saying "preservation         of the Almighty, that book of creation remains there in all

and government."         The term "nature" does not in itself        its elegance and its clear and undeniable objectivity. And the

denote a creative act; nor does the term "history" in itself         same is true of God's upholding and governing of the uni-

denote divine preservation and government. The term                  verse.                                                   H.C.H.

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


                                                                  apostle. The sting of death is gone.  TYhe power of death is
11  D E C E N C Y   a n d   O R D E R . 1 1 swallowed up in victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The
                                                                  Heidelberg Catechism, in referring to the death of believers,

                                                                  does not speak of this as a fatal experience but describes it

                                                                  as "only an abolishing of .sin,  and a passage into eternal life."
                 The Burial of the Dead
                                                                  Viewed in this light it is not a funeral but an interment. The

           "Fztrtera2  swoons OY funmal  semkes shall mt be       latter term is derived from two Latin words: %2' and
                                                                  "terra" which means "in the earth" and so denotes the act
            introduced."                  Article 6.5, D.K.O.
                                                                  of depositing a dead body in the earth. It is a barial and

                                                                  that too is done in hope of the resurrection and by faith.
   At one of the first synods of the Reformed Churches it
was- ruled that funeral sermons should be discontinued as            Our present practice of burying the dead is not in con-
soon as possible, and that localities which had not yet in-       flict with the ruling of the Church Order. The article does
troduced them should not do so, in order to avoid the danger      not prohibit the conducti?lg  of a burial service at which the
of superstition. Four years later, in 1578, this ruling was       minister of the Word is requested to address those that mourn
reaffirmed and in 1905 it became part of the established          with words of comfort and instruction. It merely forbids the
Church Order in the form that it appears above. In 1914,          church to officially institute burial services and in doing SO
when the Church Order underwent a rather extensive revi-          warns against certain dangers and superstitions being intro-
sion, this article remained unchanged. The Christian Re-          duced.

formed Church in 1956 proposed a revision according' to              In the "Church Order Commentary," Monsma and Van
which this article would read: "The burial of the dead is the     Dellen  seem to feel that a superstitious element still adheres
responsibility of the near relatives, and funeral services are    to our burial practices. They write: "And let,it  not be over-
not ecclesiastical."                                              looked that though we have no funeral services officially, yet

   Unquestionably this rule prohibiting the introduction of       unofficially we have introduced something of the kind. Confer
funeral sermons and services is designed to refute the burial     what was said regarding the funeral addresses by many min-
practices of the Roman Catholic Church especially in so far       isters. They are as to form very often actually `sermons.'
as these presuppose the doctrines of purgatory, the mass,         Now this surely is not serious, but neither is it advisable
and the mediation of the church. Many undesirable super-          and practical. It also happens that people insist on a `church
stitions were attached to these burial rites. Various cere-       funeral' when their home can adequately accommodate the
monies had their meaning: the holy water sprinkled, on the        relatives and friends. Why? Is there perhaps a lingering bit
body was supposed to protect it from demons ; charcoal. in-       of superstition in this demand ?"

dicated that there was a grave there and thus kept it from           There are two things in this quotation concerning which
profanation; incense supposedly kept away the odor of decay,      we would make brief comment. The first has to do with
and was a symbol of prayer for the dead, as implying thit         the burial addresses by the ministers. The criticism is that
he was a sacrifice well pleasing to God ; ivy and laurel sym-     these should not be "sermons." The authors write, "At our
bolized the imperishable life of those who die in Christ.         funerals, moreover, the minister does not preach a sermon,
With these official burial enactments by the church of ROIIK      he does not administer the Word of God officially and to
the churches of the Reformation looked askance and main-          the congregation of God. He only addresses the mourning
tained that the church as such has no function to fulfill at a    relatives and their friends appropriately. As we bury our
funeral. The church labors for and with the living. Her           dead, we pause for reflection, instruction, and comfort." This
contact with those who have died is severed. Those that die       is all very well. But what objection can be registered when
in the Lord have no need of further labors by the church          this address -is put in the "form" of a sermon and the
for they are with the Lord and not in purgatory. And those        "content" of it is taken from the Word of God as is the case
that die out of the Lord are forever lost, and beyond the         with every real sermon ? Can there be any true reflection,
reach of the church. In the technical or official sense of the    instruction, and comfort apart from the Word ? Certainly the
word the church has nothing to do with burials.                   "form and content"      of the message do not make it the

    The burial of the dead, is properly a task which can and      "officially preached Word."      We are well aware that the

should be taken care of by relatives or friends-of the de-        burial service is not an officially convoked gathering of the

ceased. As believers in Christ it is better that we use the       congregation. It is a gathering of mourners whose need is to

term "burial" or "interment" than the term "funeral" in           be comforted by the Word. The servant of the Lord is asked

referring to this. The term "funeral" is derived from- the        to bring that Word in an unofficial capacity. This he must

Latin word "funero"  which contains in it the idea of some-       do and then it is virtually unavoidable that the "form" and

thing that is "deadly, mortal, fatal, cruel." To the believer     "content" of his message is similar to a sermon. The alter-

this is no longer true of death. "To die is gain," says the       native of this is what we find today. We have attended a


68                                         T H E   S T A N D A R D   BE.ARER


number of burial services where the word spoken was noth-           tion too joins in singing of her hope and assurance in the

ing more than an elaborate eulogy of the deceased suff?xed          peomises  of God. Prayers are offered for grace to be recon-

by a brief moral lesson for the bereaved. It is B message           tiled  to the Lord's ways and to commit all things to Him in

devoid of spiritual content leaving you comfortless. Let the        faith. Years ago the church bells tolled to tell in their own

minister bring the Word in all its beauty on these occasions.       way the solemnity of death.

He must not be encouraged to substitute this for anything               Today elaborate floral displays are common at the funeral.
else.                                                               We cannot refrain from asking what is the significance of

      The second matter concerns the use of the church build-       this ? Oh, to be sure they are expressions of sympathy from

ing for burial services. More and more this practice is be-         the donors to the bereaved but in cases of the poor that es-

coming obsolete.    Funeral homes are built in which adequate       pression  would be much more meaningful if, instead of

facilities are provided for most burials. There is nothing          spending large sums on flowers, the sympathizers would. as-

wrong in this but we question whether it is a token of super-       sist in paying the burial costs. Some have claimed that the

stition when some prefer or insist on burial from the church        beauty of flowers overshadows and hides a bit of the grue-

building. The building itself is nothing but it cannot be           some reality of death. This we fail to see for what is a flower

denied that it is here that the people of God gather through-       - especially a cut flower-other than a symbol of death

out their life on earth to receive the blessed comfort from         itself. Today it is fragrant and colorful and tomorrow it is

the preached Word. It is in the church that the believers           wilted away and lost its beauty. Others have said that the

center their life. Why then in the time of death when comfort       blooming flower symbolizes life and therefore properly directs

is so sorely needed should we not go up to the house of             US in the sorrow of death to the hope of resurrection. If this

God ?                                                               is so, it is well, but even then an elaborate display is quite

                                                                    unessential. A wreath or a spray or two upon the casket is
      It is not to, avoid superstition that the former custom of

holding burial services  in the church has changed and is           adequate  for this symbolism.

changing. It is obviou3y  for another reason. We can retail             As to the burial itself we may say that interment is the

that only about ten years ago when we first  came to this com-      proper custom among Christian people. Cremation is rather

munity,  funerals were held at which almost the entire congre-      common among the unbelieving who regard death as the

gation was present. Churches would be full. Today this is no        end of all. Although the Bible does not specifically forbid thz

more the case in some communities. If burial services were          burning of bodies, this practice is associated in Scripture

held in the large churches the attendants would not fill one        only with the deaths of great sinners and seemingly betokens

fourth of the seats. Hence, it becomes more practical to hold       an act of special condemnation upon them. (Cf. Joshua 7:15,

them in the smaller chapels or funeral homes. It appears that       Lev. 20 :14, 21 9.) The examples of the saints whose bodies

even in the church today there is a spiritual lack of care for      were laid to rest in the grave, or in a tomb are many. The

one another. The passing away of a member of the congrega-          Christian burial is expressive of the faith that the corruptible

tion appears to be of concern only to a few. We are much too        body, planted as a seed in the earth, shall be raised again in

occupied with other things to concern ourselves with the            incorruption and immortality. "Many of them that sleep in

burial and comforting of those that are bereaved. If this           the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life,

would change it might again become mandatory for practical          and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12 :2) _

reasons that burial services be held in the church.
                                                                                                                               G.V.d.P,.
      It may not be superfluous to say a few things yet about

the burial customs of our day. The arrangement of these

services is properly left to the relatives of the deceased and

so whatever may or may not be included in the service is

the product of individual taste. All will agree, however, that

the burial process today is unduly commercialized. It is one                                   IN MEMORIAM
thing to show respect for our loved ones by providing a

proper burial but the emotional element must not become a              The Men's Society of First Protestant Reformed Church here-

wedge which forced by the lucrative pressure of business            with express our sincere sympathy to one of our members in the

men coerces us to do what is foolishly unreasonable. Our            death of his father,

burials ought to be kept as much as possible within reason-                                 MR. JOHN FABER, SR.

able means.                                                            May the brother be comforted by the Word of God, "For we

      In the burial service proper we have preference for the       know there is no condemnation for them which are in Christ Jesus."

simple custom of the past. Held in the church the congrega-         Rom. 8:l.

tion gathers with the bereaved to hear the comforting truths                                         Prof. H. C. Hoeksema, President

of the Word from the mouth of God's servant. The congrega-                                           P. `gykerk,  Secretary


                                                    T H E   S;rANDARD   B E A R E R                                                                  69


                                                                                   For this reason the state of Israel itself is considered to

11    A L L A R 0 I.! N D U S -II- be the redeemer of the people.
                                                                                         Many Hebrew writers do not hesitate to personify the State
                                                                                     as redeemer of the people. One writer, for example, asserts
                                                                                     that the new State "redeemed hundreds of thousands of Jews
THE JEWS' "MESSIAH"                                                                  from poverty and degeneration in exile, and transformed them
      The editor of Chstknity  Today, Carl F. H. Henry, is                           into proud, creative Jews . . . it poured new hope into the
writing a series of articles on his recent visit to Israeli. In                      hearts . . ." By restoring    "as in the days of the Bible, a
                                                                                     complete unity of existence and experience, which embraces
the current issue of the magazine which he edits, he begins                          in a Jewish framework all the contents of the life of man and
a discussion of "The Messianic Concept In Israel." This                              people . . ." the State had delivered the Jew in Israel from
                                                                                     the Diaspora's divided allegiance to Gentile rule in political-
very interesting article demonstrates how little the Jews                            economic affairs and to Jewish authority in their restricted
retain a hope for the coming of their Messiah as predicted                           community of Mosaic faith.

in the Old Testament Scriptures. They have rejected the                            History has proved that the Jews, in rejecting Christ,
Christ Whom they crucified almost 2000 years ago, and,                          were forced into the only alternative : a denial of the whole
through the ages since, they have all but given up the hope                     of Scripture including their own Old Testament which WXY
of the coming of Christ.                                                        once so highly valued by them. To deny Christ is to deny
      After surveying the field of Hebrew thought in general                    the whole of the Bible. To deny Christ is to deny God. The
and after speaking of the various currents of theological and                   result, also for Israel, is atheism and secularism.

philosophical thought that have shaped present-`day  Jewish
                                                                                CHURCHES IN BUSINESS
thinking, the author of this article describes the current views                   In another article of this same issue of Christianity  Toda.y,
of Messiah held in this tiny middle eastern country.                            a Mr. 0. I<. Armstrong, a Baptist layman and former mem-
              About 200-300 Christian Jews along with many Christian            ber of Congress from Missouri, points his finger at a grow-
           Arabs in Israel worship Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah of the
           Old Testament promise and look for his return to usher in            ing evil in the churches. By way of introducing his subject,
           the millennial era.                                                  h e quotes Dr. Eugene Carson Blake: "In view of their
              But the majority of Israelites reflect other lines of thought
           and speculation. While messianic vision remains, expectation         favored tax positions, with reasonably prudent management
           of the Messiah has waned.                                            America's churches ought to be able to control the whole

      In the rest of the article the author explains what this                  economy of the nation within the predictable future." In this

means. He makes use of the summary of a long-time resident                      manner Mr. Armstrong begins a review and criticism of the

on the faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.                           rising number of tax-free church business enterprises that

      -       Some 35 to 40 per cent of the population is reportedly in-        have nothing to do with religion. He writes:
           different to the question of Messiah and disinterested in its                 In a nation wide study I found that many religious denomi-
           precise definition and eliposition.  On the other hand only a             nations and their subordinate agencies have gone into com-
           small proportion deliberately dismiss the messianic question.             petitive profit-making businesses on a large scale. Churches own
           Such persons usually assimilate whatever spiritual nou&hment              radio stations, hotels, office buildings, parking lots, bakeries,
           the idea of messianic mission provides but insist that because            warehouses. They do contract printing, invest in stocks and
           it "produced" the messianic vision Judaism is therefore not               bonds, and speculate in real estate. They have investments in
           ultimately dependent on it.                                               stocks and bonds that for some major denominations run into
               1. Messiah is a man (supernatural in office but not in                millions of dollars.
           being), an ideal ruler. This is now the Orthodox Jewish view
           held by 25 to 30  percent of Israeli Jews (mainly immigrants            The author then cites some particular instances of this.
           from Oriental lands and elderly Jews), and taught in the
           Orthodox religious schools.                                          The list is long and shocking. A partial quote will suffice  to
              2. Messiah is a personal outpouring of the divine Spirit          show how far some churches have gone in this evil.
           upon individuals. About 10 per cent of the Israeli Jews, mainly
           liberal intellectuals and some socialist youth and (as our in-                Many churches own and operate retail stores, industrial
           formant put it) some other "nice vague people," hold this                 slants,  and cattle ranches -all free of taxes on sales and
           theory.                                                                   profits. A large farm in Nebraska was recently taken over by
               3. Messiah is the moral ideal of iustice and ueace  wholiy            a church organization, which meant that it .was  taken off the
           transcendent to present history, but io be manirested  histo;-            tax rolls . . -
           ically in the "messhnic era."    Only a small percentage, mainly              From its headqu`arters  in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Mormon
           "real intellectuals." believe this interuretation.  Its advocates         Church operates numerous business enterprises to help support
           equate messianism with the idea 02 socio-political-spiritual              its missionary and welfare activities. These include a news-
           fulfillment or perfection, a condition as yet completely outside          paper, radio and TV station, apartment houses, hotels, mer-
           present reality.                                                          cantile and baking establishment. In October, 1960, Mormon
              4. Messinh  is the socio-uolitical ideal of iustice and peace          President David 0. McKay announced a large building project
           gradually being xealized  in-the  Israeli Stat&. Perhaps i0 to            for Salt Lake City, to cost more than $40,000,000  and to
           I5 per cent of the people follow this view. Professor Mordecai            include construction of a 2%story  office building and the
           Kaplan declares that Hebrews live no longer in the age of                 addition of 17 stories to the church-owned Hotel Utah. More
           "the coming" of Messiah, but in the days of tbe Messiah him-              recently this church purchased 786 acres of land and 14 in-
           self. Dispersed Jews now live in freedom, hence are redeemed,              dustrial buildings in an expanding area of the city, to be held
           he says, even if this "salvation" is, as it were, .a kindness of          for investment and development purposes. Noted for its pro-
           the Gentiles, while the State of -Israel  is Messiah for the              gram of self-help for its members, the Mormon church owns
           others . . . .                                                             and operates hundreds of "welfare farms." One of the largest
               5. Messiah is the state of Israel in its ideal development.           is in Florida, with 740,000 acres and 100,000 cattle . . . .
           Ten to fifteen per cent of the people follow this concept. They               Three churches of Bloomington, Illinois - First Christian,
           represent many "primitive" citizens as well as Ben-Gurion and             First .Baptist,  and Second Presbyterian-own the Bibmore
           others who speak of "`the messianic character of the movement             Hotel of Dayton, Ohio, purchased in 1954 for $3,300,000.
           of the State."                                                            Eight business men, members of these churches, borrowed

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


        $200.000 for the down uavment: mortgages took care of the           ing on issues of domestic and international politics. They
        rest. ' The property was leased to the HiEon hotel chain. An        may even become intricately organized businesses that accu-
        agent corporation assumed liability for the Hilton payments,
        and also for anv damage  suits that might arise in the hotel        mulate a vast amount of wealth. But then it will have to be
        management. One of the laymen told me:                              admitted that they are no longer the church of Christ; and
            "This type of business arrangement is especially profitable
        for churches. We leased out the hotel for a substantially           only in sheer hypocrisy and gross dishonesty do they cling
        lower figure than could a company not exempt from federal           to the name.
        income taxes.    From rentals, we have already paid off the
        amount we borrowed. Each church is now receiving about                 The words of the Lord come to mind- words in which
        $2,500 annually, and will get more when the mortgages are           He answered an overly-enthusiastic disciple who wanted to
        liquidated. It's a perpetual tax-free endowment."
            Office buildings are sources of business income for many        follow the Lord but had not considered the implications:
        congregations . . .                                                 "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but
            Station WWL in New Orleans, radio and television, is
        owned and operated by the Jesuits of Loyola University. It          the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." Surely
        takes commercial advertising, yet the Internal Revenue Com-         these would-be disciples of Christ do not really care to follow
        mission ruled the station tax-exempt as an integral part of the
        church.                                                             the Lord at all.
           In addition to spiritual food, numerous church organizations
        turn out cheese, bread, cakes, preserves, and packed meat. St.      CHRIST iN THE CONSTITUTION
        Tohn's bread is produced under franchises sold by a church             In a recent article in Torch and Tnw@et we learned that
        organization in Minnesota, and is made by a formula brought
        to America by monks from Bavaria many years ago. Tax-free           there is a movement afoot in the Congress of the United
        profits from this bread are used chiefly for education. The         States to include the name of Christ in the Constitution of the
        monks of St. Toseph's  Abbey in Massachusetts derive income
        from their business in high-grade jellies, distributed through a    country. A resolution was introduced in the House of Rep-
        commercial firm . . . .                                             resentatives by a Democrat from Texas and another, similar
            Fastest growing of the profit-making activities for churches
        is the "sale and lease-back" enterprise. Churches have dis-         in content, by a Republican from Illinois. According to the
        covered that they can make up to 20 per cent on their money         report in Torch ,aNd Trabzpet,  the resolution read : "This na-
        by.this  device . . . .
           Under such an arrangement, the owners of the Yankee              tion devoutly recognizes the authority and law of Jesus
        Stadium in New York sold this property to a Chicago broker          Christ, Saviour and Ruler of nations, through whom are be-
        for $6,900,000.  This broker sold the land of the stadium to
        the Knights of Columbus and leased it back at $182,000 annual       stowed the blessings of Almighty God."
        rent for 24 years. Then he leased the stadium and the land to          Before such an amendment would actually be included in
        the original owners. Here was a triple play that knocked
        Internal Revenue out of a 24-year inning! Is this legitimate        the Constitution it would have to pass both houses of Con-
        tax exemption for re&ious  reasons? Or is it, as it seems, a        gress by a two-thirds vote ; it would have to be submitted to
        tax dodge for business purposes? . . . .
      Although there is a growing concern among tax officials               each of the fifty states for ratification ; it would have to be
and church leaders about these obvious methods of tax-                      accepted by 38 out of the 50 states. At present this resolu-
dodging and money making, little has yet been done. Some                    tion is still in the House Judiciary Committee where it has
courts have made rulings forcing a few church-operated                      not been scheduled for any action.
organizations to pay taxes when it could not be proved that                    Although Torch arLd Tnw@et  urges the careful attention
the business was an integral part of `the church ; some church              and support of all Calvinistic Christians, it is difficult to see
leaders are speaking out more against this type of corrup-                  why. Certainly the inclusion of such an amendment is not
tion ; some assemblies of churches are passing resolutions                  going to make, in itself, a Christian country. Nor can it even
condemning these practices; but the lure of gold remains                    be clearly seen how this would profit our country which avow-
very strong.                                                                edly rests upon the principle of freedom of religion, espe-
      The excuse is used, of course, that all this is within the            cially when Scripture informs us that we must not expect

limits of the law. And, in itself, this is true. But there is a             revivals and returns to the historic Christian faith, but rather

basic ill -a cancer eating away the vitals of the church -                  apostasy and an increase in transgression. .Yet  it would be

which is overlooked. As long as this rotten core is not cut                 interesting to see what is the reaction of the religious press

out there is little hope of success in opposing these ventures              to this amendment. Can evangelicals  subscribe to it? No

of the church except by federal legislation. This ill is the                doubt they have no objection. Can those modernists who

unfaithfulness of the church to her calling to preach the                   deny that Christ is the Son of God come to save His people

gospel. Christ gave the church one calling than which there                 from their sins support it? They might not like its wording

is none other- she must preach the gospel of the cross of                   too well. Can those who preach and teach a quasi-religion, a

Christ. Churches may neglect this calling, as is often the fact,            social gospel, a brotherhood of men, on whose lips is seldom

but that does not change their calling. They may turn the                   if- ever heard the name of Christ support it? It is highly

church into a social center where the community comes to-                   doubtful. Can true Reformed believers support it? As it

gether for a good time. They may become a counseling and                    stands, doctrinally it may be acceptable. But in this day of

guidance clinic offering free psychiatric advice to people who              generalized religion, this statement can mean almost any-

cannot make a go of their marriage or to juvenile delin-                    thing and can even be interpreted in such a way that it does

quents. They may assume a political face so that they become                violence to the truth of Scripture by teaching a universal

a political pressure group or lobbying force piously declaim-               salvation. If this is true then they cannot.         H. Hanks


                                              T H E   S T A N D A R D   B E A R E R                                                   71


                                                                       in that diligence, each with the talents and strength which
     J / C O N T R I B U T I O N S - j                                 God gave..them.  They labored in our Alma.  Ma&w;  they
                                                                       were more than hirelings. They loved the children of Sarah,

                                                                       and would have the school feed the flock from the breasts of

                                                                       God's Word, the pure and unadulterated milk. That is at
                        Our "Alma Mater"
                                                                       once their reward. I believe it will be said to them, "Thou

         There are between thirty  and forty men who can claim         wert faithful in little, I will place thee over much !"

     our Protestant Reformed Seminary as their Alpwa Mater. I             If our Alma .Mater  gave instruction to sons who defected
     sat down recently and wrote out their names on paper and          from her teachings, this does not reflect badly upon -our

     made the count. It was with mingled feelings of sadness and       school, nor upon our professors. It means that these sons
     joy that I wrote down all these names. However, the feeling       have rejected their Alma Mater; their nourishing mother,

     of joy, hope and triumph prevailed in my soul. I also have        the Protestant Reformed Church through her school and

     the gladness of heart to count myself numbered amongst            professors! They rejected the instruction which Christ gave

     those who are faithful sons of our Alqqza  Matm..                 in this school. And that is serious. One of these apostating

        The term Alppxx  Ma.ter  is a Latin name for a school. Now     sons, who drank from the breast of mother at our school said :
     I do not believe that every school is really a good AR+ta         I have separated myself from the tlteology  of that school!
     Mat@y.  However, I sincerely believe that our Protestant          Be it so ! Such are condemned from their own mouth !

     Reformed Theological School is a "good'-' Alwm  Matey.  And          In light of the recent whole-sale adoption of the sons of

     then I wish to emphasize that she is this on two counts. In       our Alma Mater by the Christian Reformed Church, I really

     the first place our school is a good wzother (Mater) ! She is     have to hold my head a bit higher when I think of our sem-

     mother because she is really the clzztrclz,  Sarah, the free-     inary.    There are some knocks which are implicit with a

     woman from above, giving instruction to her children, her         boost. This is one of- them. Without any need of attending

     sons. She is not some institution of men giving instruction       the Seminary of the Christian Reformed Church for a year             .

     in the Liberal Arts, but she is the church as she receives the    or more, these men from our Alma Mat&  are received. And,

     gifts from Christ and feeds her children. Such is our school!     evidently, they receive calls too. I flatter myself that not all

     Such is our beloved Seminary. Our school is a seed-plot           they learned at our school rubbed off; I am tempted to say :

     where the seed of the Word is sown in a full-orbed theolog-       in the land of the blind the man with one eye is still king!

     ical curriculum. And in this seminary, the church as mother,      0, these Dutch, proverbial sayings! And then I shudder: if

     feeds her sons and prepares them to stand in the church to        ye were blind ye would have no sin, but now . . .

     feed the flock of God! And our school is therefore truly              I believe that a suggestion of a positive nature is in order.
     "Alma" Mater, that is, she truly is a school where noul-islz-     I refer to the fact that our young men, godly, faithful young
~    wzsnt is given. I believe that I am not mistaken that the         men should, apart from any flattery that blows toward our
     term "Alma" is an adjective in Latin (almus) meaning,             school, seriously consider that our school is their Alma
     nourishing, fruitful, food-giving !                               Matw.  He that desireth the office of a bishop desireth an

        It would be a bit too personal and selfish to have cap-        honorable work. How beautiful upon the mountains of Zion

     tioned this little contribution as "my" Alvjaa  Mater!            are they who preach peace, the glad tidings of good things !

        However, I would have been proud to write: "my" A&a            Our one professor is now emeritated ; may he look in faith
     Ma.tw !                                                           toward the final emeritation in glory, the reward of grace.
                                                                       Rev. Hoeksema is being preserved a bit longer for active
        Let every member in our churches write and speak qf
                                                                       duty. May the Lord keep him strong, strong in our Alma
     this school as ozlr  Seminary !
                                                                       Mater, wherein he has played such a prominent role.
        I cannot help but also state just a few words about our
                                                                          Finally, let us not forget our young and energetic profes-
     faithful professors, past and present. None know better
                                                                       sor, H. C. Hoeksema. May the Lord make him able and
     than the sons of our AJNUX  Mater what diligence, what zeal,      willing to bear the mantle which fell upon him from the
     what love and devotion our beloved professors, Rev. H.
                                                                       shoulders of our hoary professor Ophoff.
     Hoeksema and Rev. G. M. Ophofi  have shown in our school.

     Theirs was pioneer work ; they labored in the heat of day in         And now just a suggestion, an urgent plea: how about a

     small beginnings. And they labored, even when we never            special evening in which we have a program remembering

     really came beyond the day of small things. Surely their          the past mercies of God upon our Alma  Mater, and bringing

     labors were in that faith which is the substance of things        the needs of our Seminary before God's throne, that God may

     hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. They walked, in       supply our churches with ministers, faithful men, able to

     this respect, in that cloud of witnesses. And, we, the sons       teach others. How beautiful upon the mountains of Zion-

     of our Abna~  Ma&w,  know it ! It would be ungratefulness not     let that be then the theme!

     to acknowledge it. Both Revs. Hoeksema and Ophoff worked                                                              G. Lubbers


                                                                    the:,Rev.  R. Veldman ,closed this meeting of .classis with a

                                                                    prayer of thanksgiving to God.      WI.. SCHIPPER, Stated Chrrk.
                                                                                                                      .
                                                                        .iev. 6. Vanden  Berg, kastor  of the Protestant Reformed

                                                                    Church  in' Oak Lawn, Ill., will be the guest speaker on the

                                         O c t .   2 0 ,   lg61     Reformed Witness Hour in November. His messages are

   Rev. A. Mulder, of Kalamazoo, has received a call from           entitled,    "Jerusalem's Children ,Gathered,"         "Keeping the

the churches, Isabel and Forbes, in the Dakotas.                    Sabbath," followed by a Thanksgiving Day message, "The

   Randolph has placed the following on trio : The Revs. A.         Joy of Thas&sgiving" and concluding the series with, "Moses'
Mulder, R. Veldman and G. Vanden  Berg.                             Choice of Faith." Address your requests for printed' copies

   Report of Classis  East  .held'  Oct. 4, 3961, at Southwest      to The Reformed TiVitness  Hour, P.O. Box 8, Grand Rapids

Church in Grand Rapids :                                            1, Michigan.

   Rev. G. Vos presided over the opening devotions, and                 The Hull Young People's Sot.  has scheduled a Reforma-
declared the classis  properly constituted after the credentials    tion Day program for Nov. 5 to be held in the Hull Com-
had been accepted. All the churches except one were rep-            munity building.       Rev. B. Woudenberg,  of Edgerton, is to

resented by two delegates. Rev. C. Hanko presided over this         be the speaker at this event, to which the people of Doon  and

session of classis,  while the Rev. G. Vos served as clerk.         Edgerton  are also invited.

   This classical meeting, as the two or three preceding it,           The Western Ladies' League Fall Meeting was held in

had very little work to do. Because the ladies of the host          the afternoon of Oct. 13 at Doon.  Rev. G. Van Baren spoke

church had already prepared dinner, and because our work            on, "Diligence in the Home According to Deut. 4:9."

was finished, we had dinner at 11 a. m. It was because of               Edgerton's Y. P. Society, in their after recess meeting of

this that classis  made the following decision : that "classis      Oct. 8, discussed,      "Movies and their Evils." Edgerton's

expresses that all material coming to Classis East shall be         Men's Society changed their meeting time from Tuesdays to

submitted to the Stated Clerk ten days prior to its meeting,        Mondays.

excepting the reports of standing committees." This means               The Annual Business meeting of the Hope P.T.A. was

that henceforth the Stated Clerk shall have the right to cancel     helh Oct. 13. Featured on the program was a book review by

the noon meal if the.work of classis  can be finished by noon.      Miss Winnifred Koole. The book, entitled, "No Greater

After receiving reports from the Stated Clerk and the Clas-         Heritage"     was written by Mr. Charles Gulston, a South

sical Committee, classis  treated a letter received from the        African journalist. Miss Koole, a teacher in Adams St.

Stated Clerk of Classis  West. The letter informed classis          School, had given the same review at the September meeting

that the congregation in Pella, Iowa, is appealing to synod         of the Adams St. Mothers' Club.

for the right to ask for collections in the churches of Classis         The Men's Society of First Church has finished its

East to help defray litigation expenses. It is also requested       after recess discussion of the Netherlands Confession. Prof.

that our classis furnish the church at Randolph with classical      HI C. Hoeksema gave an introduction to the Church Order

appointments. Cfassis filed for information the first item and      which the society intends to study in future meetings.

adopted the second.                                                     Kalamazoo's bulletins reveal the following growth in

   Besides Randolph, Grand Haven and Creston  also re-              membership in the last few months : The Dale Huizenga fam-

quested classical appointments. The following schedule was          ily from the local Greenwood Ref. Church ; the Bob Long-

adopted : Creston:  Oct. 29 - C. Hanko, Nov. 5 - G. Lan-            street family from the Southwest church in Grand Rapids ;

ting, Nov. 12 -G. Vos, Nov. 26-A. Mulder, Dec. lo-                  Mrs. F. Triezenga from G. R.`s Southeast church; and the

M. Schipper, Jan. 7 - G. Vos, Jan. 14 - H. Hat&o.  Gmtd             Dennis Langeland and G. Dusseljee families, former mem-

Havm : Nov. 5 -M. Schipper, Nov. 19 -H. Hanko, Dec.                 bers who were re-admitted into their communion.

3 -G. Lanting, Dec. 10 - G. Vos, Dec. 17 - R. Veldman,                  Our missionary, Rev. G. Lubbers, is planning to give at

Dec. 31 - A. Mulder, Jan. 7-C. Hanko. Rarzdolph:  Oct.              least two lectures in Menno,  S. Dak., in the near future. A

29 - R. Veldman, Nov. 5 - A. Mulder, Nov. 19 - R. Veld-             meeting was held in Tripp, S. Dak., at which it was resolved

man, Nov. 26 - C. Hanko, Dec. 17 - H. Hanko, Jan. 7 -               to form a society for the purpose of "defending and propa-

G. Lanting, Jan. 14 - M. Schipper.                                  gating the fundamentals of the Word of God as formulated

   Classis  decided to meet next time, D.V., at Creston  on         in. the Heidelberg Catechism." A committee was appointed to

Wednesday, Jan. 10, 1962. Elder T. Engelsma expressed               present a proposed constitution at the next meeting. All of

the thanks  of classis to the catering committee of the host        which intimates that our Missionary is seeing fruit upon his

church for their excellent meal. The questions of Article 41.       labors in the mission field.

of the Church Order were asked and answered satisfactorily.             Bear ye ontB  another's burdens, aftd so fulfill the law of

After the chairman expressed appreciation for the coopera-          Clwist.  Gal. 6.:2.

tion of the delegates and we sang a song from the Psalter,              . . . . see you in church.                               J.M.F.


