                                      he

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                                             earer


A   R E F O R M E D   S E M I - M O N T H L Y   M A G A Z I N E



I N   T H I S   I S S U E


          M e d i t a t i o n :   .-  ..
              About His Father's Business

          Editorials:
             May We Have A Few Minutes, Please?
             Can We Fight Parochiaid?

          Youth for WHO?
             (see: Studies in Depth)

          A Word To Covenant Youth
             (see: In His Fear)


                                             Volume XL VI / Number 10 / February 15, I9 70


218                                                    THE STANDARD  BEAR`ER



                          CONTENTS:                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER
Meditation  -                                                                 Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August.
  About His Father's Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218               Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
                                                                                     Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.
Editorials -                                                             Editor-in-Chief: Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
  May We Have A Few Minutes, Please? . . . . . . . .22 1 Department Editors::  Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof.
  Can We Fight Parochiaid? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221        Herman Hanko, Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A. Heys, Rev.  Jay
                                                                         Kortering, Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Marinus  Schipper,  Rev.  Gise J.
                                                                         Van  Baren, Rev. Herman Veldman, Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
All Around Us -
   General Assembly of the N.C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . .224 Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
                                                                                            1842 Plymouth Terrace,  SE.
  Decline in Church Attendance f . . . . . . . . . . . . .225                              Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
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  Important Church Property Decision . . . . . . . . .225                                          Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
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Meditation

                                 About His Father's Business
                                                           Rev. M. Shipper

                 "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about
            my Father's business?"
                                                                                                                         Luke  2:49

  How mistaken we would be to conclude that the                          stance would not do justice to the Scriptural concept
passion of Christ began in the so-called Passion Week                    that He is the suffering Servant of Jehovah even from
and ended in His crucifixion!                                            the moment of His conception and birth. Let the
  0, indeed, quite naturally His passion must lead to                    modernist, if he will, believe and teach that Jesus led a
His crucifixion and death. But to conclude that He                       quiet and subdued life, and that when He began to
suffered only at the end of His earthly life, and that                   exert Himself at the end of His life that then He was
that suffering describes His passion in its entire  sub-                 made to suffer as a good Man for His principles. The


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 219


believing. student of Scripture, on the other hand,             Was it not you, my mother, who told Me when first
understands His passion as the very business for which I could begin to understand, that I had an unusual,
He -was sent into our world, and the thing the Father yea, a miraculous conception and birth? Have you
gave Him to do. And this is not simply an experience forgotten how dramatically you described to Me the
He endured at the end of His life upon earth, but it was facts concerning the annunciation, how the angel
in His messianic consciousness from a very early age. Gabriel came to you to inform you of My birth which
This is the truth which our Lord expressed at the age must take place without the will of man? Was it not
of twelve as He sat in the midst of the doctors of the you, my mother, who informed Me of the strange but
law in the temple, where He heard them and asked wonderful happenings that accompanied My birth  -
them hard questions, and where His parents found Him how the angels from heaven came down to reveal to
after a three-day search.                                     lowly shepherds on the  Judean hills the good tidings
   With these thoughts in mind, most beautiful is the that a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord had been born
contents of the second chapter of the Gospel according and that He, could be found lying in a manger and
to Luke, from which our text is taken. The chapter wrapped in swaddling clothes? Did you not tell Me
contains especially two great Gospel truths. The first that these shepherds were the very first of earthly
of these is given to us in the majority of the chapter in     eye-witnesses to behold My coming into the world?
which the truth is related that the Son of God is born And did not My being thrill with joy when you re-
of a woman. We have described for us almost in detail         counted for Me the events that accompanied My pre-
His lowly birth in the cattle stall, the revelation to        sentation in the temple - how the aged Simeon lifted
shepherds by the angels of the excellency of His Per- :Me up in his arms, exclaiming that he could not die
son, and the observation of the humiliation to which until he had seen the Lord's salvation? - how the aged
He was subjected, and the testimony of Spirit-filled prophetess Anna declared to all who looked for re-
saints who were in anticipation of His coming. But the demption in Jerusalem concerning that redemption as
second truth, expressed in the latter portion of the it would be wrought through Me? And have you
chapter, is as important and glorious as the first; the forgotten, Mother, how attentively I listened when you
truth, namely, that the Son of God is become now the told Me of those strange men of the Gentiles who came
Son of Man  - become under the law. It is that first from a far country to worship before Me while they
truth that receives the emphasis, it seems, while the presented to Me gifts of gold, frankincense, and
second is almost wholly neglected. This is not as it myrrh? And how wicked  Herod sought to take My
ought to be!                                                  life, and you were commanded of God to take Me into
  Indeed, that He is to be our Saviour is very impor-         Egypt until  Herod was dead? And have you not no-
tant! The truth that God came in the flesh is precisely ticed how under this instruction I have grown up,
for our salvation. It is well, therefore, to sing with the    waxed strong in wisdom and in the grace of God which
angels: Peace on earth to men of His good pleasure.           is upon Me? How is it then that you ask: Son, why
But that He is the obedient Son is just as important! If hGt thou thus dealt with us? j And how is it now that
Christ came not under the law, we are not saved. If you say: behold, thy father and I have sought thee
Christ in obedience to the Divine law did not fulfil it,      sorrowing?
we are still under condemnation. It is precisely this           Thy father, yousay?
latter idea that was dinned into His consciousness               But is it not so, that I have but one Father, My
when He heard His mother's rebuke.                            Father which is in heaven?
  Son, why hast Thou thus dealt with us?                        Thou knowest that I have but one Father!
  Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrow-             Wist ye not that it is in His things that I must be
ing!                                                          busy?
  Thy father?                                                   How is it that you have failed to remember that
  It was this question that struck deeply into His soul,      Jehovah thy God is My Father? That I came forth
and which moved Him to reply as He did.                       from Him, not only as the Son, but also as the Servant
  How is it that ye sought Me?                                in Whom He is pleased to realize all His good pleasure
  Wist ye not that I must be about My Father's                concerning your redemption and the salvation of all
business?                                                     His people?
  This gentle rebuke must not be interpreted as a               About the things of My Father I must be busy!
rejection of the parental authority of a foster parent.         And knowest thou not, My mother, that among
For we have only to read two verses beyond our text those things of My Father which I must do is the
to discern that: "He went down with them, and came raising up of the whole house of His Covenant, that
to Nazareth, and was subject unto them." Rather, at covenant of friendship which exists so perfectly within
the moment He must make it clear that He recognizes the Divine family, of the Trinity, of the Father,
His only Father in Whose things He must be busy.              through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit? That friend-
  How is it that ye of all people sought Me?                  ship relation which He is pleased to realize also outside


220                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    I


of Himself with the creature,  - that covenant relation is not worthy of Me: and he that  lovethx  son. or
which will embrace the entire cosmos, heaven and daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he
earth, which constitutes the world which He loved and that taketh not his cross, and followeth after Me is not
for which He gave Me, His ~Only-Begotten Son! That worthy of Me." This principle of self-abnegation, of
covenant is the thing about,which I must be busy, for complete self-surrender so characteristic `of true  dis-
it is THE THING My Father gave Me to realize to            cipleship, He also applies to Himself as He stands in
which all other things I must do are related. For you relation to the Father.
must not forget, My mother, that My Father purposed          It is this Divine imperative which prompted Him
to realize that covenant through the way of sin and throughout His entire earthly mission. This was the
grace, and therefore through the fall of man, and dominant principle that moved Him at the age of
through the atonement which could bring redemption, thirty, before He began His ministry, to require the
which in turn would exalt that covenant  - not in the      baptism of John in the Jordan. "Suffer it to be so
earthly which must pass away  - but in the heavenly now, for thus it behooveth us to fulfil all righteous-
and eternal where righteousness shall dwell.               ness." This was it that caused Him to set His face to
  Wist ye not that I must be busy in these things?         Jerusalem after He was privileged to bathe in glory on
  Do you not understand that it is exactly because of the Mount of Transfiguration. It was in the light of
this that I so miraculously came into the world, was this that at the Last Supper He could command the
born of you, in the generations of David, born under betrayer to go out and commit his dastardly deed.
the law and therefore under the wrath of God, in order And even after His resurrection He reminds the Emaus
that I might redeem them who were under that law travelers of this Divine imperative when He said to
and under that wrath? And do you not now under- them : "Ought not the Christ to have suffered . . ." So
stand how precisely for that reason I should be here now, at the age of twelve, He is deeply conscious of
now in the midst of the doctors of the law to learn this Divine must.
exactly the meaning of the sacrifices and the signifi-       Not as a whim of a venturous youth must this
cance of the blood of atonement? That I must learn         statement of the Lord be interpreted! Of a youth who
with a believing heart and understanding that the is carried away with pompous thoughts concerning a
blood of bulls and goats cannot satisfy for sin, but that great future as impressed on his imagination through
a body God prepared for Me of flesh and blood, in the tales constantly told him by his mother or some
order that in it I may lay down My life for the sins of other influence. God forbid, that He should so be
My people?                                                 understood!
  0, indeed, I am also thy son, and I will rise up now
to go with thee and be in complete subjection unto          Nay, much rather, here is the first revealed indica-
thee. For in love to My Father I must keep all the law,    tion of the deep-seated consciousness He possessed of
also the law of the fifth commandment. For He who His relation to the Father, and of His profound under-
would transgress in one must be guilty of all. But in      standing of His Divine calling to be the Saviour of His
the keeping of that law, I must also be busy in all that people.
My Father gave Me to do.                                     Here is expressed also His profound sense of Media-
  In His messianic consciousness this was His Divine torship which can only be accomplished through impli-
obligation!                                                cit obedience.
  It was a Divine MUST!                                      Not like our first father and federal head will He be,
  Nothing, not even the sorrow and concern of His who was enticed from the path of obedience, in which
parents may entice Him to leave the path of obedi-         disobedience he dragged down with him into death the
ence!                                                      whole human race. Shall He redeem those of the sons
  What He later was to teach His disciples concerning      of Adam who are given to Him of the Father in
their relation to Him, must also be indicative of His      sovereign election to be saved by Him, He must be
relation to the Father. True discipleship, so He taught    obedient from the beginning to the end!
them at the height of His earthly ministry, consists in      Beautiful Saviour!
this : "He that loveth father or mother more than Me         Perfect Mediator!


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      221



Editorials

                  May We Have A Few Minutes, Please?
                                              ProJ: H.C. Hoeksema

  For what are we asking a few minutes of your time?            desire for change in this respect. Any changes which
  For a survey.                                                 might be made as .a result of this survey.will be within
  Let me explain. Enclosed with this issue of our the limitations of the fundamental character and pur-
magazine is a survey designed to provide our editorial pose of our magazine as just described.
staff with a subscriber's-eye  view  of  The Standard             In the second place, however, the staff is interested
Bearer. Our Survey Committee has made it as easy as in producing the best we possibly can. Annually our
possible for you to cooperate in this survey by pro- staff meets to lay plans and make assignments and
viding various categories of evaluation for you to check exercise some mutual self-criticism. And besides, I
and by making it possible for you to send your evalua- think it can be said without boasting that our various
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postage. Besides, we are not interested in your name; who must find time for their writing in schedules
in the interest of frankness and objectivity, we want which are crowded with various other labors,  - our
this survey to be anonymous. Hence, all we ask is that writers, with whatever weaknesses they may have, do
you spend a few minutes to carefully read the survey, their best to produce something worthwhile. And the
check the appropriate blanks, add your comments if fact that on the whole our people faithfully support
you wish, and drop it in the mail.                              and subscribe to The Standard Bearer is a good sign of
  Do this promptly, please! If you put this aside, you its reception. Nevertheless, we are interested in im-
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would like to have ample time to tabulate the results the question whether  we  are  communicating.  If our
and to prepare a thorough report prior to our annual editors write, but if you do not read them with profit,
staff meeting.                                                  we arenot communicating. And to be sure, there is no
  And please accept this as- an intrusion on YOUR sense in writing that which is not read. Moreover,
time! Don't leave it to the other fellow. The success while local pastors can perhaps gain some idea of how
of this survey depends on a large  - if possible, one much and how well you read, and while the under-
hundred per cent - participation.                               signed can learn something about these questions from
  Perhaps a few words about the nature and purpose occasional "fan-mail" (Yes, we get fan-mail, most of it
of this survey would be helpful.                                favorable!), it is very difficult to get a complete pic-
  First of all, it is not our intention to make any ture. Hence, we are conducting this survey. We are
fundamental  change in our magazine.  The Standard not asking all of you to write us a long, detailed letter.
Bearer, as its name expresses, purposes to be the bearer All we are asking is that you check a few categories
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the flag, of the Reformed faith. And it purposes to do flatter us; we want you to be utterly frank and as
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and the confessions. And in that respect,  The Stan-              I hope that a month from now I will be able to
dard Bearev has never intended to be a Casper Milque- report that we received almost one hundred per cent
toast sort of magazine; it has intended, on the con- response.
trary, to be solid and firm. It has intended to serve             Just a few minutes of your time, please!
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sent survey are not to be construed as indicating a
                                                           -


                              Can We Fight Parochiaid?
  Sooner or later, it appears, "parochiaid"  (govern-           houses of the legislature (with the governor's blessing)
ment subsidy of private education) will become a                have already approved it on a preliminary basis; it only
reality in Michigan and other states. In Michigan, both         remains to be seen whether for utilitarian reasons,


222                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



mainly the fear of a tax-increase in an election year,       what is called an Amicus Curiae (Friend of theCourt)
the legislature might yet back-track and postpone final      Brief.
approval for this year. It appears likely, however, that     What is that?
eventually, with a strong push from Roman Catholic              It is a device whereby a third party can intervene in
quarters and  - sad to say  - from Christian School          a court case. If such a third party is not engaged in the
officials and even legislators from the Reformed com-        court action, but has a special interest in or special
munity, some degree of parochiaid will be tried in           knowledge of the issue(s) involved in that court action,
Michigan. In four other states such subsidy is already a     he may intervene during its hearing to give information
matter of law. And in all, parochiaid has become an          for the assistance of the court, either upon some fact
issue in a total of thirty-three states, according to a      relevant to the issue or upon a point of law, such as the
recent news report.                                          effect of a local custom, the precedent of some de-
  Now it is not the purpose of this editorial to discuss     cided case, etc. This is done by w'ay of filing a brief,
anew this entire issue. This has been done; and it is the    and it would have to be done, of course, through a
position of this writer that on the basis of principle it    qualified attorney. An illustration of this kind of
would be wrong for our schools to accept such sub-           action is the recent case in New York (mentioned
sidy. Moreover, I believe that acceptance of such sub- recently in All Around  Us) concerning the taxation of
sidy will ultimately lead to the death of the Christian      church property. In that case an individual tax-payer
school as a genuinely Christian school. It will neces-       sued to force the taxation of church property. But
sarily lead to a de-Christianization, or secularization, of several other parties (both for and against) filed friend
its educational program. And it will lead to a loss both     of the court briefs in order to protect what they
of parental control and parental interest. The final         claimed were their rights in the case.
result will be that the schools will be little more than       In an eventual court hearing about parochiaid we
semi-private schools with a Christian name. Personally,      could file such a brief. I will not venture to suggest the
therefore, I will never go along with the acceptance of      contents of such a brief; that would be for a legal
subsidy by our schools.                                      expert to say. In my opinion, to file such a brief is our
  But from a practical point of view, are there any right under the law of the land; and the only restric-
ways in which we can fight this thing? There seems to        tion on its contents which I would want to insist upon
be little doubt but that the passage of parochiaid will      is that it should not be utilitarian in its argumentation,
also result in an increased tax-squeeze and an increased- but consistent with our principles.
financial load for Christian school supporters; Besides,       The possible advantage of such a brief would be that
should we not let our voice, our Christian witness, be       it would be an anti-parochiaid brief coming from sup-
heard on this score?                                         porters of a Christian school, whereas undoubtedly
  In this regard, I wish to make a few suggestions.          most of the opposition to parochiaid will be from
A "`Friend of the Court" Brief?                              public school forces. The very unusualness of an anti-
  It is freely .predicted that should parochiaid become      parochiaid brief coming from private school supporters
law here in Michigan ( and also in other states), it will    might cause a court to take special notice.
eventually be brought before the courts, both state and        The matter is at least worth looking into. And if it
federal, as a constitutional question. There are foes of is possible and advantageous, thorough preparation
parochiaid among the public school forces - and also         should be made.
among private school supporters  - who hold that             Use Your Vote
government subsidy of private schools is constitution-         As long as the power of the ballot is granted us, we
ally illegal. This claim is especially based on the prin-    should make use of it, and should do as Christian
ciple of the separation of church and state, as it is        school supporters. Especially in communities, such as
popularly known. We must remember that the prepon-           Grand Rapids, where there are rather large numbers of
derance of support and drive for government subsidy Christian school supporters, proper use of the power of
comes from the Roman Catholics. And Roman Catho- the vote could have real effect upon school issues.
lit schools, of course, are not only private schools with      One such issue could be that of parochiaid itself. It
religious instruction; but they  are. literally  parochial has been suggested by some legislators that the  paro-
schools, schools under the control of the institute of chiaid issue. would be made the subject of a referen-
the Roman Catholic Church. Other schools, among dum in the State of Michigan, that is, it would be
them ours, are more generally classed as "religious" or submitted to a popular vote. If this should happen,
"church-related."; but they are, in fact, parental then I consider it the calling of the Christian citizen to
schools, not parochial schools. Nevertheless, it appears     go to the polls and to vote against it, both out of
certain that government subsidy in general will become       principle and out of the practical desire to get rid of it.
a court issue.                                                 Another area in which the power of the ballot can
  If this happens, then I suggest that one or more of        be used is that of public school taxes. The public
our school boards look into the possibility of filing        school is simply a fact of life in this country, whether


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     223



we favor it or not. But especially in view of the fact        thing else. 2)Admittedly the costs of our schools (and
that one of the arguments used in support of parochi-         of our churches, I may add) make it impossible for us
aid is the financial one, i.e., that because of the in-       to live financially as the world does, to keep up with
creasing cost of public education and the resultant the world's Joneses. The funds we must spend for our
increased tax burden it is becoming more difficult to         churches and our schools would go far toward the
meet the expenses of our Christian schools, I consider purchase of a fancy boat, or a new car every year, or a
it a matter of duty to vote to limit the funds available      more expensive house, or a costly vacation trip. 3)We
to the public schools as much as possible. These              of today do not yet know what financial problems .for
schools are notorious, both at state and local levels, for    our Christian schools are in comparison with the prob-
their striving to obtain and to spend ever  more'and          lems which our schools and parents faced in the Great
more tax dollars. There seems to be no end to their           Depression of the thirties. I sometimes think and fear
voracious appetite. And they are also notorious for that we are in danger of becoming spiritually soft in
spending money much more extravagantly and in- this affluent age, and that if we had to face problems
efficiently than our Christian schools do or are able to      like those of the thirties, many a school might fold
do. This is true at the operational level (where there is, under the strain.  4)Our people, on the whole, have
of course, the added push of the public school ,been able to support and have supported our schools
teachers' unions and the threat of. strikes).. It is also     royally.
true as far as public school building programs are              In this connection, I wish to make two points.
concerned: far from attempting to put up buildings
economically, they are always trying to build luxurious         The first is this, that as long as you and I, as good
educational palaces, complete with large gymnasia and stewards of the earthly goods God has given.us, follow
swimming pools and football fields. Always they are           the principles of seeking first the kingdom of God and
requesting higher and higher tax  millage. Now I have         its righteousness, there is no danger for our schools..
no illusions that this can always be prevented, or even       This, after all,' is the secret of the success of our school
that it can ultimately be prevented at all. But it is a       movement. It has been thus with. Christian schools
fact that the voter turnout at such school elections is       from earliest days. And it still is thus. God has given
usually small. It is also a fact that in a community like     to each of us his own measure of earthly goods. He'
Grand Rapids there are enough  Christian,school  con- has .given us those goods not to seek ourselves and the
stituents to defeat a  millage proposal in many in- things of this present time, but to serve Him and to
stances. To me, it is the part of folly to vote more          seek  His kingdom. This is the principle by which we
funds for the public schools when we have our own must be guided.
schools to pay for and to. operate. And to me, it is            In the second place, we, our boards and our so-
double folly when alleged Christian school supporters         cieties, must be good stewards in regard to our schools
even campaign for and take an active part in these, and their finances. And let me add: normally our
extravagant public school proposals. Let Christian boards have worked hard at this and have done good
school supporters rather use their ballot, wherever that      work! The place of the school is to provide the educa-
is possible, to limit the tax funds available to the          tion which the parents themselves cannot provide.
public schools. And if, then, the public schools have         And  the'business of the school is education,  - not
problems living within the kind of budget that our recreation or any other frills. For this purpose our
Christian schools can and do live within, then let them       funds must be spent, and spent wisely and conscien-
solve their own problems. Let the dead bury their tiously, to the end that our children may be both
dead!                                                         well-educated and distinctively educated. Also in this
Good Stewardship                                              respect, I believe, we need not and ought not attempt
  To this writer, it is this area of our stewardship          to keep up with the world's Joneses and add the
which is the most important.                                  luxuries and the frills, either operationally or  plant-
  It is a fact of our life as covenant parents that we are    wise, which the world seeks. For example, our schools
required to lay out large sums of money for our own           can `very well do without big gymnasia and athletic
schools. This has become a way of life for us as              plants. This is neither the need. nor the calling of the
Reformed believers. We want covenant education for            school. Let us act the part of good stewards, who
our children; and God has given us the opportunity            spend their goods wisely in seeking the kingdom. Then
and the means to provide it, even in a land where             if there is need, our people have always been respon-
public education is the law of the land. This admit-          sive to such need, according as God has given the
tedly involves somewhat of a financial squeeze. In this       m e a n s .
connection, however, I hasten to add a few com-                 But by all means, let our schools face the future
ments: 1)The financial squeeze about which parochi-           without a worldly crutch, dedicated to the seeking of
aid proponents talk so much is, as a matter of fact,          the kingdom of God, and trusting in a faithful cove-
mu.ch more of a Roman Catholic squeeze than  any- nant God.


224                                          THE STANDARD BEARER


All Around Us

                               General Assembly of the N.C.C.
                                    Decline in Church Attendance
                      Roman Catholics, Saints,. and Ecumenicity
                          Troubles On  ?he Question of Celibacy
                            Important Church Property Decision
                               MC lntire in Debate with Atheist

                                                 ProJ: H. Hanko


  Many smaller. items of interest accumulate over the Council was a decision to investigate the dissolution of
weeks garnered from the Church Press. It is time to         the NCC in favor of a new and broader organization to
catch up on some of the more important ones.                be called a Gerieral Ecumenical Council and to include
                                                            not only all other Christians outside the present coun-
GENERAL ASSEMBL Y OF THE N. C. C.                           cil but also Roman Catholics. This proposal was made
  The triennial General Assembly of the National            by Dr. R. H. Edwin Espy, whb is the general secretary
Council of Christian Churches held in Detroit was a         of the NCC.
chaotic "happening" which made a mockery of what                   Some quotes from his speech will indicate what he
an ecclesiastical assembly ought to be. The many            had in mind.
disturbances which constantly disrupted the pro-                       The most comprehensive organ (of such an assem-
ceedings were, on the whole, created by various groups              bly) might be a Consultative Assembly in which all
of radicals all of whom wanted the NCC to move in                   Christian communions and agencies could regularly
their direction and follow their advice towards a better            gather to share their views on major issues in the life
world. Some samplings:                                              of the church and nation; speaking to their own
  -During a prayer at the opening worship service a                 faithful with a common voice whenever agreement is
group of hippies rose from their seats and went holler-             given to them.
ing out of the Cobo Hall arena where the meetings                  This Consultative Assembly would have two parts to
were held.                                                  it:
  -A band of "yippies" rushed unexpectedly  &to the                    One an official legislative body or parliament, the
meeting firing toy machine guns and shouting at offi-               other a gathering of the people of the church on the
cials "you're dead, you're dead!"                                   order of the Kirchentag in Germany.
 -This same group snatched a microphone and
shouted out a list of demands including freeing the                Such an organization would serve two purposes:
eight members of the Chicago conspiracy, providing                     It would witness in maximum ways to the whole-
no-pay toilets, and legalizing marijuana.                           ness of the Church of Christ in the United States and
  -At the end of' the meeting a young beatnik ex-                   it would enable those that are prepared to do so to
pressed vehemently his displeasure with the Assembly                move forward in social action, liturgical experi-
for not accepting a draft card of a student from the                mentation or anything else within broad policy
Reformed Church of America and poured a can of red                  guidelines without being held back by those that are
paint down the table where the presiding officials sat              disinterested, unable, or even opposed to a particular
drenching many of th6 documents in "blood."                         course of action.
  The Council also elected its first woman president,                  Even as a United Europe may eventually grow out
but only after a long and bitter fight. There were                  of the functional integration of iron, steel, agricul-
various black candidates nominated, including Rev.                  ture and markets, so the shape of a United Church in
                                                                    the United States might gradually arise out of seri-
Albert Cleage, from Detroit, who believes that Jesus                ous, continuous joint-in-action-for-mission, nurtured
was black. The black candidates were defeated, and, in              in the atmosphere of a General Ecumenical Council.
bitterness, Cleage said: "This white, racist institution            Such a United Church would be solidly founded on
is not going to live very long."                                    the experience of an ecumenical movement of united
  But probably the most important action of the                     mission by the whole church to the whole society.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  225



   A  .contemplation  of the demise of the NCC is an TROUBLES ON THE QUESTION OF CELIBACY
occasion for joy. The thought of yet a new and                It is generally recognized among Protestants and
broader ecumenical organization built by the blue- Catholics that Pope Paul is conservative. In fact, some
prints of Espy is sickening.                                are convinced that his conservatism is wrecking the
                                                            Roman Catholic Church. And they are not about to
DECLINE IN CHURCH ATTENDANCE                                permit this to happen.
   Gallup Poll also polls church members. It has been         The Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands is
doing this since 1940. There are apparently some who        perhaps the most progressive and aggressive branch of
would like to know how many people go to church on          the whole Church. This was demonstrated once again
an average Sunday in this country. The latest poll has recently when the Dutch Pastoral Council met and
just been completed. It is not very encouraging to          decided to endorse a policy statement that "obligatory
those who hope for a revival in the land.                   celibacy as a condition of the priesthood should be
   The drop is steady and increasing in swiftness. The      abrogated."
high point was reached in 1955 and 1958 when it was           There are a couple of very surprising aspects to this
learned that 49% of the population attended church on       decision. In the first place, the Dutch Pastoral Council
an average Sunday. Since 1958 7% less of adults come        is a unique organization, the only one of its kind in the
to church. The drop among Roman Catholics was world. It is a representative church body consisting of
greatest. In 1958 74% went to church; now 63%               bishops, priests, nuns, seminarians and lay men and
attend. Among Protestants the drop was from 43% to women.
37%. The drop was greatest among young adults from            In the second place, the vote on this and on related
21 to 29 years old. 15% less of this age group go to issues was overwhelming. On the statement, quoted
Church now than did in 1958.                                above, e.g., the vote was 93 to 2.
   While there is never any valid excuse for not going        In the third place, the other recommendations
to Church, it is not surprising that church attendance passed were also policy statements which flew in the
declines when people receive stones for bread.              face of Romish teaching. Statements were passed urg-
                                                            ing that future priests not be obliged to take the
ROMAN CATHOLICS, SAINTS, AND, ECUMENICITY celibacy oath, that priests already married be allowed
   It was only last year that the, Roman Catholic to remain in the active ministry, that married men be
Church shook the Church to its foundations by knock-        ordained, that women be admitted to all ecclesiastical
ing out of the list of saints no less than 200 people       functions including the priesthood.
such as St. Christopher, St. Nicholas and England's           In the fourth place, these decisions were taken even
patron St. George.                                          though Rome made it very clear that it would tolerate
   Now the Roman Catholic Church is about to add 40 no deviation from official church dogma and even
saints to its list of those canonized, all from England.    though it would refuse to  .consider  any policy state-
These forty suffered martyr's deaths by order of Angli- ments made by the Council. The decisions were de-
can rulers. They were executed between the reign of liberate defiance of papal authority.
King Henry VIII and Cromwell. They were executed              The bishops of Netherlands, including Bernard Jan
for high treason because they refused to take an oath Cardinal Alfrink, judiciously abstained from the voting
accepting the King as supreme head of the Church of although they seem to side with the Council.
England.                                                      Some fear that a break with Rome is imminent.
   The implications are profound for relations between This would not come about, however, unless the
the Anglican Church and the RomanCatholic  Church;          church in Netherlands decided to implement its de-
and many fear that the cause of union will be, at best,     cisions. So far the decisions are only policy statements
set back several years and, at worst, destroyed alto- which will not, for the present, be put into effect.
gether. It seems that the general feeling is that when        The issue is, in part, one brought on by a vast and
the winds of union are blowing it is not the part of growing shortage of priests. In 1968 alone the Dutch
discretion to remind all concerned that there was a         clergy lost 250 priests most  of. whom left the priest-
time when Protestants butchered Roman Catholics.            hood because of the oath of celibacy.
And some feel that if the Roman Catholics want to go          A conservative pope and curia cannot hold off
about canonizing those who lost their life for their change in the Church forever.
faith they ought to canonize also the Protestant
martyrs who were killed during the reign of Bloody          IMPbRTANT CHURCH PROPERTY DECISION
Mary.                                                         According to Christian News, by refusing to review
. `The pope and those about him are not too con-            the case of two former Southern Presbyterian congre-
cerned about what all this will do to ecumenical rela-      gations, the Supreme Court opened the way for these
tions.    They are determined to press ahead with           congregations to keep their property.
canonization at all costs.                                  ._ The history of this case is briefly this. The two


226                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER



congregations originally left the Southern Presbyterian remain in the denomination even when these congrega-
Church because of doctrinal departures by the General tions were greatly disturbed by the direction their
Assembly. The denomination filed suit to claim the higher ecclesiastical assemblies were taking them.
property on the grounds that the property belonged to
the denomination should a congregation secede from McINTIRE  IN DEBA TE WITH A THEIST
fhe union of churches. The Georgia Supreme Court                     Carl McIntire has announced that he will face
ruled that the property belonged to the local congre- Madalyn Murray O'Hair in a televised debate March 16
gations because indeed the General Assembly had for- in Austin, Texas. Madalyn Murray, as almost everyone
saken its historic position. This decision was appealed knows, is the professional atheist who was  instru-
to the U.S. Supreme Court last year, and the highest `mental in having Bible reading and prayers eliminated
judicial body in the country sent the case back to the from the Public Schools and, who recently protested
Georgia Supreme Court to reconsider. The U.S. Su- the reading of Scripture by the astronauts.
preme Court decided that the State Supreme Court                     It is our firm conviction that Carl McIntire is making
had made its decision on erroneous grounds, since no a most serious mistake in engaging in public debate
judicial body may enter into the internal affairs of with this woman. It seems to' 
a church group to decide if there is any departure in                                                      us  obvious that no
                                                                  believer may ever debate with an unbeliever. The
matters of doctrine and church polity.                            subject of the debate has not yet been announced, but
  Many thought that this decision was a victory for presumably it will be some religious subject. But how
the denomination and that the two congregations is it possible for such a debate to be carried on?
which had originally seceded would have to give up McIntire, as a believer, must argue on the basis of
their property. But the Georgia Supreme Court im- Scripture. Madalyn Murray will never do this. If the
mediately decided again in favor of the local congrega- two cannot argue on the basis of Scripture, how can
tions. Their ground was that if a judicial body may they debate at all?
not interfere in the internal affairs of a denomination,             McIntire would probably respond by saying that he
then the "implied trust" doctrine is also invalid. This will seize every opportunity to make his witness pub-
"implied trust" doctrine gives the property of any licly and refute the unbelief of people. But he must
seceding congregation to the denomination..                       remember that he is choosing an illegitimate way to
  Once again the case was appealed and the U.S.                   witness for the truth, for by his very `witness he is
Supreme Court ref&ed to consider the decision of the              giving a woman who is nothing but a blasphemer of
lower court. Apparently this means that the local God an opportunity to broadcast her views and engage
congregations will be able to retain their property.              in her blasphemy on a public radio station. McIntire is
  The result of the whole case is that many are won- responsible, in part, for giving her this opportunity.
dering if now any group seceding from the denomin-
ation can keep its property as long as it constitutes the            McIntire ought to reconsider before March 16 and
majority of a congregation. If this is indeed the impli- politely refuse the invitation refusing to have any part
cation, it will be a serious blow for many who  .are of the horrible sacrilege of which this godless woman
Pushing ecumenicity, for they have used the threat of has been guilty. If he persists, he will do the cause of
litigation to persuade many wavering congregations to the gospel harm



          Let the minister beware that he be all that is implied in his title: V.D.M., Verbi Divini Minister; that he be
       nothing less and nothing more, nothing else than just that, a servant of the divine Word. He must be this and
       only this all the time; he must be this and nothing but this, especially when he stands in the pulpit on Sunday
       and addresses the Church of Christ. That Word of God is his only theme. He must not be tempted,to  speak on a
       topic of his own choice and to develop it according to his own philosophy, for this is offering the flock of the
       great Shepherd stones for bread. Neither must he be induced by anything whatsoever, by what he sees and hears
       about him, by the demands of some who have become ticklish of hearing, by opposition of the enemy, by a
        sinful craving for popularity, by the femptation of a crowded church or by a diminishing audience, in short, by
       nothing at all, to speak about that Word of God. He must not preach about the Word, he must preach the Word.
       He must be a minister  Verbi Dei by carefully listening to that Word and receiving it in his own mind and heart.
        Diligently he must search the Scriptures, that he may know the  fulness of the riches of Christ; and these riches
       he must display before the congregation. Let him strive, therefore, with all his might, to be and evermore fully
        to become a minister of the Word of God!
                                                                                        The Standard Bearer,  VII,  p. 512


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                               227



   Contending for the Faith

                                    THE  DOCTRINE  OF  SIN
                                         PROTESTANT DOCTRINE OF SIN
                                            THE REFORMED SYMBOLS
                                                   Rev. H. Veldman

     In our preceding article we had begun to call atten- love God, he is able to love himself and the neighbor.
  tion to the doctrine of sin as appearing in our reformed      This same truth is held before us in Lord's Day 3.
  symbols. And we were calling attention, at the close Question 6 asks: "Did God then create man so wicked
  of the article, to Question and Answer 5 of Lord's Day and perverse?" Notice: man is so wicked and per-
  2 of the Heidelberg Catechism. We noted that this verse, and this refers to Question and Answer 5. Very
  answer is striking. That we are prone to hate God and familiar are Question and Answer 8. We read: "Are
  the neighbor does not mean that we merely have we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of
  leanings and inclinations in that direction, but that it is doing any good, and inclined to all wickedness?" And
  the inclination of our entire nature to hate God and the answer reads: "Indeed we are; except we are
  the neighbor. And we also called attention to the fact regenerated by the Spirit of God." Notice the absolute
  that we either love God and the neighbor or that we character of this language of the Catechism. We are
  hate God and then also the neighbor. Only when we wholly incapable of doing any good, and inclined to all
  love God can we love the neighbor. But then it also wickedness. Indeed, every sinner does not commit all
  follows that, if we hate God, we also hate the neigh- evil. A boy or girl cannot sin as a young man or lady.
  bor. However, there is another striking feature about A young man cannot sin as a father and a poor man
  this fifth question and answer that merits attention.       does not sin as a rich man. But we are inclined to all
     Question 5 reads: "Canst thou keep all these things wickedness. My nature is such that it is capable of
  perfectly?" And the answer is given: "In no wise; for every evil under the sun. Given the opportunity, I will
  I am prone by nature to hate God and my neighbor." sin in connection with whatever opportunity presents
  Why this answer? We understand that Question 5 must itself. Again we remark: this is the doctrine of sin as
  not be interpreted as implying that we are able to taught in our Heidelberg Catechism. "
  "keep all these things" imperfectly. The thrust of this       This truth the Catechism repeats in Lord's Day 4.
  question is plain. We must keep the law of God Question 9 reads: "Doth not God then do injustice to
  perfectly. Had the Catechism asked whether we can man, by requiring from him in His law, that which he
  keep the law of God, the question would have been the cannot perform?" Notice again the emphasis: God
  same. Fact is, we must love the Lord our God with all demands of man that which he cannot perform. And
  our heart and mind and soul and strength. So, this the reference, of course, is `to the Law of God, that we
  means that we must "keep all these things" perfectly. love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind
  We ask: why this answer? Why did the Catechism give and soul and strength.
  the answer that we cannot keep all the things of the          We also notice the same emphasis in Lord's Day 24.
  law perfectly? Because we either keep the law of God In answer to the question why our good works cannot
  perfectly or we hate the Lord and our neighbor. It is be the whole or part of our righteousness before God,
  either-or. There simply is no other alternative. We we read that the righteousness which can be approved
  cannot love God and Mammon, we cannot hate God of before the tribunal of God must be absolutely
  and Mammon. We either love God and hate Mammon perfect and in all respects conformable to the Divine
or we hate God and love Mammon. We either love Law, and also that our best works in this life are all
  God and then we also love the neighbor and ourselves, imperfect and defiled with sin. So, the righteousness
  or we hate God and then we also hate the neighbor and bf God demands full and complete conformity with
  also ourselves. The love or hatred of God determines the Law of God, and even the best works of the
  our attitude towards our neighbors and ourselves. If Christian are all imperfect and defiled with sin.
  we really love the neighbor and ourselves, then we shall One may ask: if the best works of the child of
  seek the good of the neighbor and also of ourselves, God are all imperfect and defiled with sin, what
  and this means that we shall seek God for him and for must one think of the so-called good of the natural
  ourselves. This is the doctrine of sin as it appears in man? To ask this question is to answer it. And the
  this Lord's Day of our Heidelberg Catechism; what an same truth is held before us in Lord's Day 44, Ques-
  indictment this -is against the theory of Common tion and Answer 114. Surely, the Heidelberg Cat-
   Grace! That theory. would have us believe that, al- echism maintains the absolute character of the power
   though the sinner cannot do any saving good, cannot of sin. The theory of Common Grace cannot derive


228                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                                                                                  I

any comfort or support frdm this reformed symbol.                 corrupt in all his ways, that all the light tirhich is in us
  Calling attention to the  Belgic Confession, also is changed into darkness, as the Scriptures teach us,
known as the Thirty Seven Articles, we note that saying: The light shineth in darkness (again we under-
Articles 14 and 15 treat this subject or doctrine of sin. score). And the fathers continue to declare that they
Art. 14, treating the creation and fall of man, and his reject all that is taught repugnant to this, concerning
incapacity to perform what is truly good, reads:                  the free will of man, since man is but a slave of sin; and
         We believe that God created man out of the dust          that he has nothing of himself, unless it is given him
       of the earth, and made and formed him after  His own       from heaven. And we also read in this article that man
       image and likeness, good, righteous, and holy, ca-         has corrupted his whole nature. Throughout this ar-
       pable in all things'to will, agreeable to the will of      ticle the fathers maintain the complete and utter de-
       God. But being in honor, he understood it not,             pravity of the natural man. But, in the second place,
       neither knew his excellency, but wilfully subjected        as far as that word "remains" is concerned, that word
       himself to sin, and consequently to death,. and the        could have been more appropriately translated by the
       curse, giving ear to the words of the devil. For the       word "traces." Man did not retain remnants of his
       commandment of life, which he had received, he             original excellent gifts, but only traces, or tracks. Now
       transgressed; and by sin separated himself from God,
       Who was his true life, having corrupted his whole          traces are not remnants but show us where a vehicle
       nature; whereby he made himself liable to corporal         has passed but now is gone.
       and spiritual death. And being thus become wicked,           And Art. 15, treating the doctrine of Original Sin,
       perverse, and corrupt in all his ways, he hath lost all    reads as follows:
       his excellent gifts, which he had received from God,              We believe that, through the disobedience of
       and only retained a few remains thereof, which,                 Adam, original sin is extended to all mankind; which
       however, are sufficient to leave man without excuse;            is a corruption of the whole nature, and an hered-
       for all the light which is in us is changed into dark-          itary disease, wherewith infants themselves are in-
       ness, as the Scriptures teach us, saying: The light             fected even in their mother's womb, and which  pro-
       shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth             duceth in man all sorts of sin, being in him as a root
       it not: where St. John calleth men darkness. There-             thereof; and therefore is so vile and abominable in
       fore we reject all that is taught repugnant to this,            the sight of God, that it is sufficient to condemn all
       concerning the free will of man, since man is but a             mankind. Nor is it by any means abolished or done
       slave to sin; and has nothing of  himself;unless it is          away by baptism; since sin always issues forth from
       given him from heaven. For  who may presume to                  this woeful source, as water from a fountain; not-
       boast, that  he'of himself can do any good, since               withstanding it is not imputed to the children of God
       Christ saith, No man can come to Me, except the                 unto condemnation, but by His grace and mercy is
       Father, which hath sent Me, draw him? Who will                  forgiven them. Not that they should rest securely in
       glory in his own will, who understands, that to be              sin, but that a sense of this corruption should make
       carnally minded is enmity against God? Who can                  believers often to sigh, desiring to be delivered from
       speak of his knowledge, since the natural man  receiv-          this body of death. Wherefore we reject the error of
       eth not the things of the spirit of God? In short,              the Pelagians, who assert that sin proceeds only from
       who dare suggest any thought, since he knows that               imitation.
       we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything
       as of ourselves, but that our sufficiency is of God'?        In this article the fathers declare that sin is by no
       And therefore what the apostle saith ought justly to       means abolished or done away by baptism. This is
       be `held sure and firm, that God worketh in us both        taught in the Roman Catholic Church, which maintai&
       to will and to do of His good pleasure. For there is       that the sacrament of baptism is the washing of re-
       no will nor understanding, conformable to the Divine       generation. But we emphasize that this article denies
       will and understanding, but what Christ hath               vehemently the error of the Pelagians. Pelagianism
       wrought in man: which He teaches us, when He               denies original guilt and original pollution, separated
       saith, "Without Me ye can do nothing."                     mankind from Adam, and would maintain that sin
  Now it is true that we read in this article that "he            proceeds only from imitation. In this article the doc-
hath lost all his excellent gifts, which he had received trine of original sin is maintained. Original sin is ex-
from God, and only retained a few remains thereof." tended to all mankind. And this sin is a corruption of
The Christian Reformed synod of 1924, to substan- the whole nature, is an hereditary disease; even the
tiate its Three Points, quotes this part of Art. 14,              infants are infected with it already in their mother's
calling attention to the fact that man did retain a few wombs. So, also in this article the fathers maintain the
remains of his original excellent gifts. Man, therefore,          doctrine of sin in the Scriptural sense of the word, as
is not wholly depraved and corrupt. Now, in the first             we read in Romans 5: 12: "Wherefore, as by one man
place, what a strange interpretation this is when con-            sin entered into the world, and death by. sin; and so
sidered in the light of the rest of the article! We read,         death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned,"
for example, that man "lost all his excellent gifts (we and in Romans 5: 18: "Therefore as by the offence of
underscore), that he has become wicked, perverse, and one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      229



even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came faith it is impossible to please God," and that  "what-
upon all men unto justification of life." And the ever is not of faith is sin."
fathers maintain the Scriptural truth that "without


From Holy Writ
                                 The Book of Hebrews
                                                  Rev. G. Lubbers

THE PERFECT RESPONSE OF THE MESSIAH TO                        when those thoughts of God, the embodiment of the
THE DIVINE GOOD-PLEASURE               (Hebrews IO: 7-9)      Divine good-pleasure in reference to the justice of God
                                                              were expressed by God,  then  it was that the Son
  The writer to the Hebrews is now laying the final           responded and spoke from Messianic joy and obe-
stone in his argument that in Christ Jesus we indeed          dience! He is the Son in whom all God's good-pleasure
have the fulfillment of all the promises of God. All          is! It is the perfect response of the Messiah to the
things are in Him "Amen" to the glory of God the              Divine will, the eternal good-pleasure of God!
Father. In this Servant the Father is glorified in all the      First of all, to be sure, this perfect response of the
beauty of His glorious praises. In this Son is the perfect    Son was spoken by Him in the counsel of peace. Of
answer to .the Father's will.                                 this there can be little or no doubt in Scripture. And
  There is only one acceptable sacrifice before the           this is also the clear teaching of the text. I know that
living God. And that sacrifice is brought by the Christ       the text speaks of Christ "coming into the world" to
of God when he says "I come to do thy will, 0 God." say this. And that is indeed true, as we shall see
  We are dealing here with the deep things of God. We         presently. However, let it not be forgotten that this of
are dealing here with the "heavenly things" of which          which our text speaks suggests something deeper and
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus when the latter came to him          more profound than what merely happened in the
by night. It was then, when Nicodemus showed that he          stage of history during the time that Christ suffered
did not understand the simple rudiments of the things         and died on earth. This was, as we also saw, the case
of God's Kingdom, that Christ said to him: "If you do         already in Psalm 40, which speaks of the "thoughts" of
not understand earthly things, how shall ye believe if I      God. And, therefore, we hold that this speech of the
would tell you of heavenly things?" (John 3: 12).             Son is a reality, first of all, in the counsel of peace. In
These heavenly things are the eternal background, the         this counsel of peace Christ is the Head of the church,
deepest Divine motif for our salvation in Christ. Only        and not simply the second person in the Trinity. The
in the light of these heavenly things can we begin to         speaking Christ in this counsel is the one who is the
see the greatness of, and the manner of our salvation in      eternal Word, made flesh. He is filled with the great
Christ. We must see the Divine "must" of our salvation        delight to do the will of the Father, the Triune God.
and Christ, and the only manner in which it can be            And so when in the counsel of God, Christ is to be the
accomplished. Only thus will we truly understand that         one in whom all the fulness should dwell, it is the
Zion is redeemed in righteousness; so shall we under-         delight to do the will of God, which is the reason for
stand that the rejected cornerstone is made the head of the Christ to come into this world. This seems to be
the corner.                                                   the force of the Greek infinitive in verse 8. There the
  It ought to be quite obvious that this mystery of Greek text has "I come to do" (Heekoo tou poieesai
which our text speaks here is not merely something            to theleema  soul. Now this "to do" expresses more
which took place in a definite point.in our chronolog-        than mere purpose in this sentence. It is an anarthrous
ical time. In a sense what we have here is a word which       infinite in the genitive case. It is, therefore, basically an
comes down to us out of the depths of God's eternal           infinitive which is a noun. If this be the case, then it
counsel, reaches across our time in the unfolding of follows that the genitive case here, too, must be viewed
this counsel in both the Old Testament and New Testa-         correctly. It is, no doubt, a genitive of description. It
ment dispensations, and will be finished in the sitting       defines the "I Come." It is not merely true, that since
of Christ at the right hand of God. The force of the          Christ came into the world, and now is here, he, too,
particle "then"  (tote  in Greek) is not to a  certain        desires to do the will of God. Of course, that is true of
calendar date. Its reference point is to the speaking of the Christ that, once having come into the world, he
God, in which speech the Lord makes clear his                 delights to do the will of God. But that is not the point
"thoughts," which are higher than our thoughts. And           here. The simple teaching here is that Christ would not


230                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



have come into the world to do the will of God were it come to do thy will, 0 God. He is the high priest of
not for the nature of this "I delight to do thy will, 0 good things to come; He is the image of the things
God." This desire to do the will of God is antecedent themselves.
to, and the Messianic motif for, coming into the world.           Thus he performed the will of God. For in ail of
Such are the "heavenly things" here spoken of. Be- Christ's preaching and teaching he ever speaks of the
cause the Son would give the perfect response to the            "will of Him who sent me." Thus we read in John 4:34
"will' of God, He comes. Here we sound the depths of            ". . . for my meat (food) is that I may do the will of
the anthem of the angels: Glory to God in the Highest,          Him that sent me and perfect His work." And when
and peace among men in the Divine good-pleasure.                Christ further enlarges upon this great fulfilment of the
   This also explains why we have here the verb "`bee-          will of God in John  5:30 then we read "I am able to
l&b." The verb is one with the effect of the perfect            do nothing from myself; even as I hear I judge, and my
tense. It is not the present "I come," but it is the judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but
perfect "I  am  come, I  am kere present.  "  The Son is        the will of him that sent me." And, furthermore, we
come in completed state, as this spans time and eter-           read in John 6 :37-39 "All that the Father giveth me
nity. For the use of this verb we refer the interested          shall come to me, and he that cometh to me I shall in
reader to John 8 :42 and I John 5 :20. In both of these         no wise cast out, because I am come down from
instances it is clearly the perfected state that is referred    heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him
to. It is the work of the Son in'our flesh, the wonder          that sent me." And then Christ continues in the mean-
of grace never to be undone. Now, as far as the Son             ingful words, "Now this is the will of Him that sent
Himself is concerned, he came with the deep and                 me, that of all that He hath given me there be none
humble delight to do the will of God. That is the               that perish, but that I should raise them up in the last
reason for his coming "in carwe, " in the flesh.                day. . . ."
  He came to do the will of God. However, the text                Here we see the great Messianic consciousness of
ushers in the Christ as He stands and speaks not simply         Him who came into this world to save sinners. He is
concerning God, but  addressing  God. It is the Great           the only sin-bearer. The Lord has laid upon Him the
High Priest who speaks here, uttering the perfect obe-          iniquity of us all. He has borne the sins of many, once
dience and bringing the perfect sacrifice of obedience          and for all. And he will save to the uttermost. In the
through which he will atone for all of our sins. This is        last day he will raise all his own from the grave!
language of the Sacrificial priest on the great Day of            Yes, this is all written in the "volume of the book."
Atonement. He offers this in the better temple, the             There may be some difficulty in unraveling the sense
heavens itself, as this is begun on the Cross, and              of the expression `head of the book," but there can be
through this sacrificial blood of obedience he enters           no doubt that the entire expression refers to the
into the Holy place for us, removing all our sins for-          canonical Scriptures of the Old Testament. That was
ever.                                                           the Volume of the Book. And the subject of this entire
  It is the  will  of God with which this "one coming           volume is really Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cruci-
into the world" is concerned. This  will "tkeleema" of          fied. He who does not read this in the Old Testament,
God did not delight in sacrifices, offerings, whole             cannot read it in the New Testament. For all the
burnt-offerings. None of these pleased him; they were           Scriptures, Law, Psalms and Prophets speak concerning
not acceptable to the Divine justice as a payment for           this Christ as He comes to do God's will. And He will
sin. This is very strong in the Hebrew text in Psalm 40.        so perfectly do this will, that the last jot and tittle will
There the text does not merely speak of what is                 be fulfilled.
decided, but rather what was God's delight; what was a            Christ read the pages, one by one on earth. And
sweet savor in His holy nostrils. The picture we have           each time he saw all the Scriptures, in their deepest
here is of the Son as he must be busy in the things of          sense. And he fulfilled them all. Yes, he took away the
His Father. We find him in the temple. There he begins          former, the types and shadows, and established the
his work. It is cleansing of the temple. Only it is such a      "second," the better, sacrifice of His own body on the
cleansing which amounts to "removal" of the temple.             Cross.
Break down this temple and I will rebuild it in three             He did this only once. It is finished in him. It needs
days. Christ had great, mercy on the people. He saw             no repeating. He does not need to stand daily, but
that God was not pleased with the entire law of the             having brought about his sacrifice it is finished. It is
ceremonies. Nay, these meant nothing in themselves.             the perfect response to the Divine will. Nothing is
They could not cleanse the conscience from the guilt            lacking. Besides, this is also the end of all the types and
of sin. And then he sees all his own people, and he             shadows forever! That which God never desired is
came to save them from their sins. Back of all of these         removed, in order that the acceptable sacrifice may be
shadows stands the Son. It is His shadow of which he is         brought.
the reality and fulfillment. And in every shadow and              Now the worshippers may come and be perfected in
type he is coming into the world and saying, Behold, I          Him.


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  231



  What the law could not do, in that it was weak the flesh, and that the righteous demand of God might
through sin, God did in the sending of His Son in the         be fulfilled in us.
likeness of sinful flesh, that sin might be condemned in


In His Fear

                      A   W O R D   T O   C O V E N A N T   Y O U T H
                                                     (continued)

                                                 Rev. John A. Heys

  You, Covenant. Youth, are to remember your  Cre-            of remembering in love that God is your Creator, and
ator.                                                         that you are His creature that has been brought into
  And then the idea is not that you are now and then          being in order that you may serve and glorify Him.
to think about Him. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12: 1                0, I know, you cannot have Him consciously before
does not mean that-at set times you are to give some          your minds every moment of your life. While you
thought to the fact that God brought you forth, and           sleep you cannot be remembering God as your Cre-
that therefore you are obliged to serve Him- with all the     ator. And if what Solomon meant was that not for
creatures that He brings your way. Remembering Him            one split second might you lose sight of that fact, then
is much more than that.                                       Solomon would be admonishing you never to go to
  There are two elements in remembering. God gave             sleep. That he does not do. What is more, as creatures
us that marvelous power of mind whereby we can store          of time and space, we can do only one thing at a time
in it an amazingly great number of facts. From the            and be in only one place at a time. And there are
early, very early days of our childhood, we have been         works that require our undivided attention. You have
storing away fact upon fact. As little babes you re-          had the experience time and again that as you cram-
membered your parent's voices and looks, long before          med for an exam, you just had to put out -of your
you could speak to them. And through twelve or more           mind the Junior-Senior party that is scheduled a few
years of schooling you have picked up and filed away in       days hence. While talking about a certain -matter you
the "gray matter" thousands upon thousands of facts.          have  -found repeatedly that you had to dismiss
But God also created us with that mental ability of thoughts about other matters from your minds. Al-
recalling what we retain. Sometimes it takes only a           though it always amazes us how you can do any
word to suggest an event of the past, and then we bring       studying at all with the radio blaring at full blast, or
it back before our consciousness. The sound of the,           with the record player spinning one platter after an-
"Hello" over the phone, and at once you remember a            other, even you, in the days of your youth, have your
certain person with that voice. Sometimes what we see         limits and limitations. And you have had those mo-
at once brings back before our consciousness an event         ments when the "kids" just had to be silenced and
that happened long, long ago. And we have that power kept out of your room, if you were going to do any
even whereby we can just sit down and review the              worthwhile studying. So it is also with what you and I
whole day or week, or some experience of last year. It -know about God as our Creator. We cannot while
is a wonderful gift; and it is so strong within you in the    working some intricate algebra or geometry problem,
days of your physical strength. It is at its peak now in      or while trying to memorize some chemistry formula,
the days of your youth. That is why Solomon tells             have consciously before our minds the living God as
you to remember your Creator in these  days.of your `our Creator.
youth. Now you are most apt to forget God. But now              What Solomon means is that before you set out to
is the time that God gives you the strength of this           do anything, you do so in the consciousness of the fact
faculty of retaining and recalling the truth that He is that God is your Creator, and not only deserves but
your Creator.                                                 demands your service in love. It means that when you
  And Solomon has something special in mind when              wake up in the morning, your first thought is to give
he writes these lines to YOU, Retain the truth con-           Him thanks for the sleep of the night and for caring for
cerning God indeed. Recall that truth concerning Him          you while you were asleep. He it is Who kept you
by all means. But the point that Solomon makes here           breathing and your heart beating. If these depended
in this text is that you are to live in the consciousness upon you, I would advise you never to go to sleep.
of that fact. All that which you do must be the result        But they do not. Paul says that in Him we live and


232                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



move and have our being. And indeed that movement           yourself with the unbeliever in a  labour organization
of heart and lungs and of all our vital functions of our that demands of you deeds of rebellion against the man
earthly life is from Him. It means also that upon           to whom you have hired yourself out to serve. If you
awaking you remember that before you is stretched           acknowledge him as the one who hires you, you admit
another series of moments in which to use the Cre-          that you are the servant, and then the Word of your
ator's creatures, including your own amazing body and       Creator comes to you through Peter, as surely as it did
soul, as His royal priesthood, and as stewards of His       in his day to those who were slaves, "Servants be
goods. You are to awake with the Creator before your        subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the
consciousness. We do not. But that is  our calling.         good and gentle, but also to the froward. For this is
And this we are to remember and will remember, when         thank-worthy, if a man for conscience toward God (his
we remember our Creator.                                    Creator, then) endure grief, suffering wrongfully." I
  That undoubtedly was the experience of Adam and           Peter 2: 18, 19.
Eve before they fell. In all the creatures they saw the        Your dating will also take on a different character
Creator. And if they spent a few days in the state of       than that of the world. If you remember your Creator,
righteousness before they fell into sin, then the light of you will remember your calling before Him. Remem-
day which they saw the moment. of waking up  re-            bering your Creator is remembering to do what He
min.ded them of God. For they saw God in that light.        calls you to do. It will therefore also cause you to
They saw Him in their own bodies. They saw Him in           desist from that which He has forbidden you to do.
the food that they ate and in the birds and beasts that     Marriage is honourable and good; and He  ai Creator
in beauty and abundance paraded in front of them. At        has made you for marriage and all which belongs to it.
that time all their remembering was remembering their       But He has created you in order that you may live a
Creator. They could not at that time imagine such a         holy life before Him and so that He may reflect His
thing as remembering a Redeemer or Saviour. They            own holy life in yours. Here then again you cannot be
could, because of God's command to them, conceive           remembering your Creator when you yoke yourself
of being -under wrath and in need of a saviour, but         unequally with the unbeliever to spend with that un-
there was nothing yet to indicate that God would ever       believer the intimate life that He has designed for the
provide a Saviour. We know that God did because of          married. Dating will take on a new character. It will
God's  World; and we can also remember God as our           have a new purpose. But so will also the behaviour on
Redeemer, because we who have fallen have had this          that date. It is because we forget Him that we get out
Redeemer revealed to us. This does not rule out our         of line. For, getting out of line is leaving the narrow
calling to remember our Creator. The fall has not           line that He has `drawn.
removed this at all. And salvation once again enables us      In that same connection remembering your Creator
to remember that God is our Creator and that we live        will also prescribe a very definite course for what we
for the glory of His name. It is for that reason that we    call entertainment. It simply is an undeniable fact that
are to let the truth of. our relation to Him, as the        you have too much time on your hands. And we do
creatures of His hands, rule us in all of our thinking,     not say this to find fault with you. We as your parents
willing and acting.                                         and predecessors have made it that way, because our
  Before we begin a work there must be that thought         flesh wants it that way. We have clamored for shorter
before our consciousness that we are God's  ,and not        working hours and more time for sports. We have
our own. And then in the execution of that work, the        introduced daylight saving time, long before you could
truth that we and all of our possessions belong to Him      vote it in or out, because we wanted to have it light for
must control us until the work is finished and we begin     a long time aftei our work day for sports, recreation
another in that same consciousness.                         and the like. And with our modern means of transpor-
  You are now either giving some serious thought as         tation we can go far in a matter of minutes to seek this
to what line of work you are going to pursue, or are        form of recreation or that, or to seek entertainment of
already working and earning a salary. If you are in the     one sort or of another. Not only that, but with our
process of choosing a field of work, or contemplate         amazing means of communication we can get that
doing so in the future, you had better remember your        entertainment right in our homes.
Creator and reckon with Him in your thinking. And as          Let me here again remind you that it is your Creator
you choose, you are to remember that there are fields that you must remember. You know as well as I do,
wherein you will be required to forget your Creator.        and you have heard the world itself condemn the rot
These, of course, are to be rejected. Likewise there are    that is available by the flip of the switch of your
places of work that must be avoided, because they will      television set, that you can observe the world in its
demand of you that you forget that you are God's immorality and evil so much more easily than we
creature with the calling to keep His commandments          could. And talk about the development of sin! How
and honour all who are in authority over you.. Of           much closer and easier it has all been made for you!
course we mean that you may not unequally yoke              Years ago to revel in this filth of the world and to be


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  233



 entertained by such evils as murder; adultery, theft and evil. It would be amusing, if it were not so serious, to
 the like you had to sneak into the movie building.            observe how people will look around to see whether
 Then later in the dark you could ride into the drive-in the minister, an elder or some saintly soul is around
 movie without being  detected. (Unless some one recog- before  they curse or swear or tell their dirty stories.
 nized your car license, or you had a car bf some unique And when they are caught in it, they feel guilty before
 color  combina%ion.) But now you need but wait for man rather than before God. "0, I hope," they say,
 your parents to go away; and in the comfort of your "that so and so did not hear me." There is no thought
 home, Presto, there it is! BUT remember that your of confessing it before God.
 Creator is there! What a lot of idolatry there still is in      But you, Covenant Youth, remember your Creator.
 us. How quickly we put man in the place of God. That          You cannot escape His eye and ear. You cannot escape
 God sees and hears we can dismiss from our minds so           calling before Him' Before you speak, before you act,
 quickly. It is father or mother, the elder or your remember that you are to serve Him. Before you plan,
 ministers; who must not know. You have forgotten before you put into effect a thought or desire, remem-
 your Creator Who has demanded of your parents, the ber that you are the creature who owes the Creator
 elders and minister, that they forbid you this or that constant love and service with all creatures at all times.


Studies in Depth
                                      Youth For WHO?
                                                Rev. Robt. C. Harback


   You visit me from out of town. Engaging my atten-           gling Conversation," a generation-gap song. But it is
 tion has been a matter of curious interest. To have you       extremely difficult, if not impossible, to see youth for
 share it with me, I request that we go to a place, the        Ckrist. What Christ? we naturally ask ourselves. We are
 identity of which you shall discover when we arrive.          getting quite tired of the leftist, Hippy "Christ" of the
 We take a fifteen minute drive on  .a bitterly cold           false ecumenical movement, a "Christ" with no anoint-
 wintry evening, and pull up in front of what you              ing whatsoever. But what else is on the evening's ma-
 immediately see to be a mo'dern public high school niacal musical menu, besides some off-color humor?
 complex. We approach the auditorium building, enter,          There is a song entitled, "Something." It is about
 and from the cloak room grope our way down an aisle           "love." But in modern "coffeehouse" jargon, that
 of the darkened amphitheatre to our seats. A spot-            means "sex," which theme is the hippy's gospel. The
 lighted circle on the stage reveals a rather typical,         song is by the Beatles. I remember that Derek Taylbr,
 hairy, guitar-playing creature, beside which there slinks     the Beatles' press agent, said of them, "It's incredible,
 a mini-skirted female singer, her (for want of a better       absolutely incredible. Here are four boys from Liver-
 term) sex-laden voice filling the room. Sitting together      pool. They're rude, they're profane, they're vulgar, and
 in silence we take in the presentation of a modern            they've taken over the world. It's as if they'd founded
 folk-song. That's what I'm thinking it to be, at least,       a new religion. They're completely anti-Christ. I mean,
 although to myself I wonder how it can be contem-             I'm anti-Christ, as well, but they're so anti-Christ they
 poraneous and be a folk-song. That which has been             shock me, which isn't an easy  thing."2 To go on,
 developed out of the tradition and background of a            "April Come, She Will!" is a song of evanescent, evap-
 race surely is not of modernity. But we continue to           orated "luv" in frustrative strains. Perhaps the most
 listen.At the moment there is a rendition of "California remarkable spot on the program was a sing-along num-
 Dreamin," by the Mamas and- the Papas. Now I lean             ber where the audience with the performers sang the
 toward you with the whispered query, "Know what               hymn, "Amazing Grace," to the tune, "House of the
 (function) this is?" "Quite obviously," you answer, "a        Rising Sun," by The Animals! These animals, them-
 high school Hootenanny!"1 "Wrong!" I answer,                  selves an insult to the animal kingdom, being much
 amused."This is Youth For Christ!" Not without stir-          lower, tell us that this house, which everyone can guess
 prise and some degree of shock,  you react with,              what sort it is, "Has been the ruin of many a poor boy!
 "Youth for who?" For with what is going on here, it is        and God! I know I'm one! Mother, tell your child not
 apparent that youth are present, and it is easy to see        to do what I have done." Such a song provides the
 that they are for Peter, Paul and Maly's song, "Leavin' tune by which to sing "Amazing Grace." Amazing
 on a Jet Plane," or for Simon and Garfunkel's "Dan- what?, you ask. Rarely have we run across more amaz-


234                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



ing depravity.                                                   Bible. Its "no creed, but Christ" (what Christ?) philos-
  The YFC program, generally, is not a "documen-                 ophy, which is the philosophy of modernist-liberalism,
tary"; it is a "niusical." Teen-agers out in the world are leaves it, not only with no creed,  but with no Bible.
not thinkers; they are in fact very .anti-intellectual. It is    For the Bible has something to say. It  d.oes  not say
difficult to get them to think, teach them to think, or          what Jehovah's Witnesses, so called, say. It does not
even to give them something to think about. In order say what modernists and liberals say. It does not say
to win the battle for the teen-mind, music and song are          what Arminians say. For a brief resume of what it does
employed. It is relatively easy to inject an idea into the       say, consult the Reformed Confessions and Liturgies.
mind, to "brain-wash," if it is sung into the mind.                YFC has no gospel, for gqspel  is good news to dead
That, too, is how Arminianism is spread in some of the           sinners, the good news of resurrection life in Christ.
Christian schools - it is sung with Armipian songs into          But YFC does not believe man is so bad a sinner as to
the mind. This is also the method used by the Red                be dead in trespasses and sins. He is not "wholly gone
Chinese -indoctrinating their youth troops. Study                from original righteousness," but only "very far gone."
classes among them require mass singing. Catchy tunes He is not dead, spiritually, but rather like the man in
carry the Communist theme, and so Communism is                   the parable of  the good Samaritan who fell among
sung into- the minds and hearts of the trainees (prole-          thieves, only "half dead." YFC sees no difference in
tariat slaves), and of prisoners, as well. It is well known      man and his will as created, as fallen, as redeemed and
that song `has power, whether patriotic, religious or            as glorified. Man was created with a free will, which
folk-song. It grips the mind and the emotions and                was posse peccave, able to sin. By the fall, he, and his
determines actions more than logical thought does.               now no longer free will, became  non posse non
You can easily check on the fact that youth are quite            peccare,  not able not to sin, that is, he could do
familiar with the  so.ngs already mentioned. That in nothing but sin. According to YFC philosophy, man is
itself ought to cause you no little concern. "It is still able not to sin, if he chooses. By nature dead and
surprising how much of the meaning of a song is darkness, he can still believe as dead and in the dark, in
absorbed by a child while singing it. The message of order to come out into the light. He can still repent in
some contemporary `folk' songs carries greater weight death and darkness; he can still enter the kingdom
in song than in plain language. These songs make a while in death and darkness. The proclamation of the
deeper and more lasting `impression than twenty lec- "gospel" then becomes a begging of man's "free will"
tures on the same subject."3                                     to turn and choose in God's favor. Strictly, this  Ar-
  YFC has no theology, no Christ and no Bible. It has minianism kills off all need for prayer to God for the
no Christ, for the "Christ" it occasionally mentions, in salvation of men. For God can do nothing about it
trite, shallow, vapid vocabulary, is not the Christ of until the person "accepts Christ." If he will not do
Scripture, not the Christ who said to the sheep, "I lay that, there is nothing God can do. Prayer, then, is a
down My life for the sheep," nor the Christ who said waste: better not to beg God to save men, but to beg
to the goats, "Ye believe not because ye are not of My men to save themselves. Far different is the gospel:.
sheep." Like the idol-gods of  the- heathen, their "Ye will not come unto Me that ye may have life . . .
"Christ" is helpless and useless. The Christ of the Bible        Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power."
shall save His people from their sins; He shall see His            The similar organization, Campus Crusade, accord-
seed;.He  shall  see the travail of His soul and be satisfied ing to the January 1, 1970 issue of the  Christian
(not disappointed or frustrated over them); the plea- Beacon,  has adopted the jargon of the university an-
sure of the Lord skull  prosper in His hand. This Christ archists and revolutionists. It is a fact that politically,
is never heard of atYFC extravaganzas. It has no theol- so&alljr (socia@tically), economically, and religiously,
ogy, as though the Bible, the Word of God, contains no the world is being swept into the barricade and corpo-
doctrine of  God,. as though the Bible is  not,.in  both ration form of communism. Campus Crusade therefore
Testaments, honeycombed with trinitarianism; as believes it must move the church to the barricade, it
though there is no Creation or purpose to Creation; as must have "Christian revolutionists with a workable
though there is no providence and eternal counsel of strategy," and defines a Christian revolutionist as "one
God according to which He works all things and fore- who is unwilling to accept the status quo and who is
ordains whatsoever comes to pass. We say it has no committed to the need for a social, moral and spiritual
Bible. Quoting an isolated text from the Bible once in awakening." This is the terminology of the National
a great while, or throwing in a religious phrase along Council of Churches. Crusade singers have taken to the
with their coffeehouse jargon, does not give them a rock'n'roll and folk-rock and the jargon of the New
Bible. The way the Bible is used, if at all, the Sears,          Left. Soon it will be most difficult to tell it from the
Roebuck catalog would do just as well. Take words out run-of-the-mill ecumenistic and hippy revolution. Ex-
of a book here and there and you can make it say ploited, corrupted, compromised and brain-washed by
anything you like. A cannibal in the jungle may wear a leftist propaganda, theridiculousArminianism  ofcampus
Bible around his neck like a Talisman. Still, he has no          Crusade is fast being bludgeoned beyond recognition.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                235



IPeople's  Songs, now Sing Out, Inc., a leftist publish- Revolution, by David A.  Noebtil, Christian Crusade
ing company, sponsored Hootenannies on a large scale.       Publications, Tulsa, Oklahoma, 1966, $1.00, pp. 122,
The Hootenanny Song Book contains songs by Pete             156-7, 297).
Seeger, identified as a member of the Communist  2ibid.,  p. 95.  ~
Party. In this book the Virgin btith of Christ is mocked    3ibid.,  p. 35.
in "The Cherry Tree Carol."  (Rhythm, Riots and


Contrib7ltion
                               Distorted Perspective
[Editor's Note. This brief article was also sent to the price, succumbing to the lukewarm spirit of Laodicean
Refovrned Guardian, official publication of the ne\;Jly compromise. In this day of world-wide falling away
organized Reformed and Presbyterian Fellowship of from the faith there is altogether too much fraternizing
Australia and New Zealand. It is in protest to an article with the enemy and muzzling the voices of those who
written by Dr. K Runia of the Theological College of would "cry aloud and spare not," as Scripture com-
Geelong, entitled "Barth's Place in History," which mands. Such tactics are the result of a distorted per-
appeared in the Dec.  5,  1969 issue of  Christianity spective.
Today.  1                                                     As an example of such an unfortunate point of view,
                                                            Christianity Today  (Dec. 5, 1969) contains an article
  As we together face another new year and decade it by Dr. Klaas Runia entitled "Barth's Place in History."
is well for us to review our sights and consider what In his final appraisal Dr. Runia states that in his opin-
,our objectives are. As Reformed and Presbyterian ion Barth "is one of the giants in the history of
Christians, devoted to the  .maintenance of our sacred theology . . . on  -the level with Augustine, Aquinas,
doctrinal heritage, we must make sure that our de- Luther, Calvin and Schleiermacher . . . and when the
fenses are in order, so as to withstand the increasing period of existential theology is past, Barth will still be
assaults of the  enemies of the faith. Also if there be with us." What. an insult to downgrade Augustine,
Achans in the camp, who are more interested in seek- Luther, and Calvin to the same level as heretics! And
ing good relations with the enemy than in fighting him,     what a deferential status is here accorded  to this Re-
these should be removed from positions in the church formed church renegade, Karl Barth, one of the arch               r
where they will do more harm than good.  Self- deceivers of our age and the evil genius behind the
preservation is still the first law of liberty. Let there be infamous Presbyterian Confession of 1967 and the
no neutrality in this war. There is no such thing as subversive ideology of the World Council of Churches,
peaceful coexistence with apostasy!                         who has done more than any other to lead present day
  To clear the atmosphere on this question let every Protestantism away from faith in the infallibility of
pastor, teacher, editor, and layman in position of Scripture! Dr. Runia's silence on this score'is deafening
church authority ask himself whether each decision or and is characteristic of his entire sympathetic approach
pronouncement he makes individually or collectively to the unbelievers of our age. With scholarly detach-
will strengthen the cause of helping and expanding our ment he may point out certain of their errors, but not
Reformed inheritance. As stewards of the household of once does he excoriate them for the deadly soul killers
faith, how are we investing the talents and opportun- they really  are.  This is utterly inexcusable!  As an
ities God has given us? Martin Luther once said, "If I appointed watchman on Zion's walls he is responsible
profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition for failing to sound the warning signal. The tragic fact
every portion of the truth of God, except precisely is that Dr. Runia has played around so much with the
that little point. which the world and the devil are poisonous infections of heresy that he seems to have
attacking at that moment, then I am not confessing become insensible to the frightful dangers they pose to
Christ, however boldly I may be professing Him! the sheep God has entrusted to his care, even the
Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier destruction of their souls for the eternities. And when
is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield a pastor loses this perspective, his usefulness is open to
besides is merely flight and disgrace, if he flinches at serious question. In the Christian warfare God's war-
that point." Measured by this criterion there are only riors are commanded to fight the good fight of faith
too many who are in dire need of reconsidering their and not be neutralist in their dealings with the enemy!
perspective, particularly those who value external                                          - William A. De Jonge
unity above doctrinal purity and seek peace at any                                          Montclair, New Jersey


236                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


Pages from the Past

                               Believers and Their Seed
                                              Chapter VII (continued)
                                       In The Line Of Continued Generations

                                              Rev. i?&nan  Hoeksema

   And what is now the peculiarity of that history, also nant. Throughout the Old Testament, therefore, the
before the period of Abraham and Israel? It is this, line of God's covenant runs in generations, the con-
that the Lord God always and again establishes His tinued generations of believers. From Adam to Christ
covenant in the line of continued generations, or, if is one unbroken line. Indeed, that line sometimes al-
you will, with believers and their seed.                   most disappears from view; but it is never broken.
  This is an undeniable fact. It is simply history.          Neither is it true that this historical line is broken at
  Already before the Deluge there is always a twofold the dawn of the new dispensation, as Baptists of every
seed in the spiritual sense: the seed of the woman and description like to present it. Indeed, the exalted Sav-
the seed of the serpent. And this twofold people is also ior breaks the bonds of Israel's national existence and
found in the line of two distinct generations, that of gathers His church in the new dispensation out of all
Seth and that of Cain. It is not thus, that now for a tribes and nations and tongues. Nevertheless, it is sim-
time the Lord establishes His covenant with Seth's ply history that also in the days of the New Testament
generations, in order then to return again to Cain. Nor the line of continued generations is drawn through also
is it thus, that God always  has,His children in both among the nations. This accounts for it that also the
generations, and calls them out of both lines. No, the preaching of the gospel follows such a definite line, a
generations of Seth are the generations of God's line which may be readily traced on a world map. The
people; while the generations of Cain are not included course of the gospel is from Jerusalem through Samaria
in God's covenant. This is so strong that there can be to Antioch, presently through Asia Minor to Greece
no reasonable doubt but that by the expression "sons and Rome, from whence it spreads throughout Europe,
of God" the Sethites are meant, while "the daughters and in due course crosses the ocean with the genera-
of men" refers to children from the generation of Cati.    tions of God's people to the Western Hemisphere.
  Before the flood, therefore, the line of God's cove- History is never thus, that here and there a few
nant runs in the continued. generations from Seth to believers are called, that a few individuals enter into
Noah. Indeed, even then not all who  are out of Seth the church of Christ, called out of the darkness of
according to the flesh are God's people. There are heathendom, in order then to disappear again from
indeed many who fall away, and the line is repeatedly those regions. But history is thus, that the church of
.pruned and narrowed down until only eight souls can Christ in the world is established and in various defi-
enter into the ark of salvation. But that does not nite places continues to exist in generations. Fact is
change the  ,fact that the line runs through in the that even now every particular church in the world
generations of Seth even unto the flood.                   establishes itself in the conviction that God will main-
  After the flood it is no different. The line of Shem is tain His covenant even to a thousand generations. In
chosen by the Lord. In that line God establishes His that faith believers come together. In that faith they
covenant. Of tipurse, this may never be understood as join with one another. In that faith the church is
if after the flood there was never any child of God visibly instituted by them, and churches and schools
except in the line of the generations of Shem. This is are built by them. After all, they do all these things
no more true than that all the fleshly children of Shem with an eye to the future. If they were actually of the
were spiritual children of God. Things always develop conviction that the Lord did not establish His covenant
organically. Also Japheth is out of Noah. And un- with believers and their seed, and that therefore a
doubtedly for a time, next to the covenant generations certain church could simply end with the existing
of Shem there were also other lines of children of God, generation, they would not act thus. But now it is
especially from Japheth. But only in Shem's genera- different. The Lord establishes His covenant and will
tions does the line run through. In those generations is perform the work of His grace in the line of the
the main line. With them God establishes His covenant. continued generations of believers. Also in the new
Presently, out of Shem comes Abraham; and out of dispensation the line of the history of God's covenant
Abraham is Israel as the nation to whom pertaineth the runs through, even to a thousand generations.
covenants and the giving of the law. Out of Israel is        But this is not all.
Judah; and out of Judah is David; and out of David's         It is not only thus, that this historical line can be
house is the Christ of God, the head of God's cove- pointed out as continuing in the line of the generations


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 237



of God's people, both in the old and in the new the Lord God will establish His covenant with Abraham
dispensation; but Scripture itself explains the continua- and his seed, and that too, in the line  o'f continued
tion of that line for us from the fact that God estab- generations: "between me and thee and thy seed after
lishes His covenant with believers and their seed.        thee in their generations. " In the second place, to this is
Therein, according to Holy Scripture itself, lies the added that this shall be for an everlasting covenant. And
deep cause of this historical fact. Fact is that this he who would nevertheless maintain that this line
explanation is contained already in the first word of ceased with the coming of Christ, and that these words
promise : "And I will put enmity between thee and the therefore have no meaning for the church of the new
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall dispensation, or he who would hold that the Lord will
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel," indeed cause this everlasting covenant to stand when in
Gen.3: 15. It is true that by "seed" here spiritual seed the future He shall deal again with Israel as a nation,
is meant, and that definite generations are not yet such an one certainly does not understand  his'Bible.
indicated here. This could not be, because the genera- The Scripture teaches that this word which was spoken
tions of Adam and Eve were not yet born. Yet even to Abraham finds its richest fulfillment in the New
here already Scripture speaks of the seed of the woman Testament church, that therefore this line of the
which in generations shall continue even to Him Who covenant continues in that church, and that the be-
shall finally bruise the head of the serpent; and it may lievers are the seed of Abraham referred to in that
readily be surmised that the generations of Seth, in word of Genesis  17:7. Thus it is also that Peter cries
contrast with those of Cain, lived from this word with already on the day of Pentecost to the. multitude of
application to their line.                                Jews and devout men: "To you is the promise and to
  However, this truth, that God establishes His cove- your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many
nant in the line of continued generations, is more as the Lord our God shall call," Acts 2:39. Were it not
clearly expressed after the Deluge. We have already that for the new dispensation also it is true that God
made it plain that in the covenant with Noah we establishes His covenant with believers and their seed,
confront essentially no other covenant than the one this word of the apostle would have no sense.
covenant of grace which was already announced in            But of much greater significance is what Holy Scrip-
general terms in Paradise, which is presently estab- ture teaches us through the apostle Paul with respect
lished with Abraham and his seed, and which is main- to Abraham's seed. Especially the Epistle to the
tained in Christ. Noah does not enter into the ark as Galatians is of great importance here. For there Scrip-
the representative of the whole world as it is outside of ture literally applies what was spoken to Abraham and
Christ, but as head of the visible church. The church is his seed to the believers of the new dispensation. In
saved in the ark; the world perishes in the flood. Galatians 3:7-9 the apostle writes: "Know ye therefore
Presently that church comes forth again from the ark; that they which are of faith, the same are the children
and with that church the Lord God establishes His of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God
covenant. The fact that  in- this connection the cove- would justify the heathen through faith, preached be-
nant of God is revealed as embracing the whole crea- fore the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all
tion does not change matters and is easily understand- nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are
able in the light of the history of the flood. A covenant blessed with faithful Abraham." So strongly is the
of friendship with the wicked world outside of Christ unity of the old and new dispensations maintained by
God, the Holy and Righteous One, certainly could not the apostle that he presents both under the image of
establish. The covenant is essentially always the same. one person, formerly a child and now an adult: "Now I
For this reason, also here, therefore, Scripture does not say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth
speak of "a covenant," but of "my covenant." That is: nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; But is
My one covenant, which is always the same, and which under tutors and governors until the time appointed of
I establish with My people in Christ Jesus. And when, the father," Gal. 4: 1, 2. The meaning is plain. Israel is
therefore, the Lord establishes that covenant with the church as the child who is under tutors and gover-
Noah, He says: "And I, behold, I establish my cove- nors until the fulness of time. The church of the new
nant with you, and with your seed after you," dispensation is essentially that same child, but now
Gen. 9:9. Also here, therefore, you have the same idea. grown up and freed from his tutors. More strongly it
When God establishes His covenant in the world, then could certainly not be stated. Those who would make
He does that with believers and their seed.               separation between the church of the new dispensation
  Still more emphatically is this rule revealed to and Israel of the old dispensation surely do not know
Abraham. Then it is put in the well-known words: "And how to do justice to this word of Scripture. If the
I will establish my covenanfbetween  me and thee and matter stands thus, therefore, that the believers of the
thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting new dispensation are Abraham's seed, through Christ,
covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after the great son of Abraham, then it is certainly true that
thee," Gen. 17:7. Here it is stated, in the first place, that what the Lord spake concerning His everlasting cove-


                                                                                                                            ~
238                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



nant to Abraham is also applicable to the church of the then in those circles where circumcision had always
new dispensation: "I will establish my covenant be- been the sign of the covenant, circumcision and
tween me and thee and  thy seed  after thee in their baptism wrestled with one another for a time. Circum-
generations,. for an everlasting covenant, to be a God cision cannot immediately understand that it has
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." According to served its time and that now it will be forced aside by
the plain teaching of Scripture, therefore, there can-be baptism. But in that struggle baptism has a victory, and
no doubt but that God also in the new dispensation circumcision disappears. It is an historic fact that cir-
establishes His covenant in the line of continued gener- cumcision is replaced by baptism. Thus it is also liter-
ations. With thee and with thy seed after thee! That is ally stated in Holy Scripture. Not only does the apostle
and remains the rule also for us.                               always warn that now that baptism has come circum-
  .Now here is also the Scriptural basis for the baptism cision has no more value; but he also writes literally to
of infants. The ground for infant baptism cannot and the church at Colosse: "In whom also ye are circum-
may not be sought in the presupposition that those cised with the circumcision made without hands, in
infants are regenerated. For, in the first place, nothing putting off the body of -the sins of the flesh by the
more than a presupposition can rest upon a presuppo- circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism,
sition. And for infant baptism we must. certainly have a wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of
firmer basis than a  .mere presupposition. Besides, we the operation of God, who hath raised him from the
know for a certainty that not all the fleshly children dead,"~ Col. 2: 11, 12. It is plain that the apostle here
are, or become, regenerated, while nevertheless all the teaches that baptism in the new dispensation is the
children of believers must be baptized. Neither can the very same thing of which circumcision was the sign in
ground for infant baptism be found in a promise as the          the old dispensation, so that he can write to the
essence of the covenant. Then the certainty of the              congregation, "Ye are circumcised. . . being buried with
covenant is removed from God, Who establishes His Christ in baptism."
covenant, to man, who presently consents to the cove-             Hence, we come to this conclusion, in harmony with
nant, and to man's free will. Neither does the right and the clear revelation of God's Word:
the obligation of infant baptism rest in the faith of the         l.)Throughout history, both in the old and in the
parents, although they must certainly confess their new dispensation, God establishes His covenant in the
faith if they are to. be able to present their children for line of continued generations. Believers with their seed
baptism. But the firm ground for the baptism of the enter into God's covenant.
little children of the church lies only herein, that God          2)It is God's will that the generations of the cove-
causes His covenant to run in the line of continued             nant receive the sign of that covenant.
generations. Baptism is a sign and seal of God's cove-            3)The sign of baptism has come in the place of the
nant, the ensign and banner of those who are in Christ          sign of circumcision in the new dispensation.
Jesus, who are of God's party in the midst of this                4)The generations of believers, and therefore also
world. And since God establishes His covenant with the little children, ought to receive the sign of baptism
believers and, their seed in their generations, therefore and bear it in the midst of the world.
it, follows that also those generations of believers must         Only when we have seen all this does what weread
receive the sign of God's covenant.                             in Scripture concerning the baptism of entire house-
  Thus it was in the old dispensation with  .circum-            holds also receive meaning. Taken by themselves, apart
cision.  God's people as they existed outwardly in the          from the great current thought of Holy Scripture, such
world, the generations of Abraham, had to receive the           proofs for infant baptism have `little weight. For the
sign of circumcision. He who refused to bear that sign          opponent of infant baptism can very easily counter
violated and desecrated God's covenant. In the new              with the assertion that you must still prove that there
dispensation that sign is replaced by holy baptism, in          were also little children in such households. But it
harmony with the peculiar character of this dispen- becomes altogether different with regard to such pas-
sation. There can therefore be no question about it in          sages of Scripture when you first understand that the
the light of Scripture, that baptism is indeed come in          Lord God always establishes His covenant in the line of
the place of circumcision. In the first place, this, too, is    continued generations. For then you find in the latter
simply an historical fact. In the old dispensation cir-         fact the basis of and the explanation for the fact that
cumcision is the sign which God's people bear. When             already in the time of the apostles entire households
Christ comes, Who is the head of His one people, both           were taken up into the line of God's covenant on
of the old and the new dispensation,. then He bears             earth. Then also what you read in Scripture concerning
both the sign of circumcision and the sign of baptism.          the children of the church also becomes meaningful:
In Him the old and the new dispensations are one; and           how the Lord blesses them, and how the apostles
through Him the old passes over into the new, circum-           delcare them to be holy and also write to the congre-
cision into baptism. When the Savior presently ascends gation in a manner which shows that they consider the
into heaven and His Spirit is poured out upon all flesh,        children of believers as belonging to and included in


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   239



the congregation. And then you will no longer say the Father, receive the sign of baptism in this world
merely that the children of believers may be baptized,         according to the will of God. Concerning the  differ-
but you will view infant baptism as a holy obligatidn ence between the outward, historical covenant and its
of the people of God's covenant.                               spiritual nucleus, and concerning the question of the
  Naturally, this is not our last word. It follows from        salvation of covenant children who die in infancy,  1
this view of infant baptism that also the children of the      concerning these questions we must still speak.
flesh, who do not belong to those given to Christ bv


                                     B O O K R E V I E W S
CONFLICT AND HARMONY IN SCIENCE AND THE                        Scripture. Some knowledge of science is necessary to
BIBLE, b-v Jack Wood Sears; Baker Book House, 1969;            appreciate the book fully.
97pp., $1.95 (paper).                                            A weakness of the book is that, while it speaks of
  It is always encouraging to read good books  pro- the relation of the Bible to science, it never discusses
duced by scholars in the field of science. who oppose          clearly the importance of Scripture as the rule of faith
the theories of evolutionism so widely accepted today          - also in scientific pursuits.
even in Reformed circles. Jack Sears is the head of the          The book is recommended to all who are interested
                                                               in this subject and especially to our high school  stu-
biology department at Harding College in  Searcy,  dents
Arkansas. The contents of this book are lectures de-                 '                                               H.H.
livered  at the University of Mississippi for the Univer-
sity Christian Student Center.                                 THEY DARE TO HOPE, by Fred Pearson; Eerdmans
  While the book is not very detailed and exhaustive,          Pbblishing Company, I969; 103 pp., $1.95 (paper).
it gives a good glimpse of the problem and finds                 A defense of student protest by a graduate of'
solutions based on the infallible scriptures. There are Wheaton College, who finds that the Church is the
several good features about the book. It contains a            only institution able to respond to student demands if
good discussion of the limitations of science. It offers a     only it will radically alter its ways. The book is written
good criticism of evolutionism on  -the grounds of from the viewpoint of modern post-millenmalism. Its
evolutionism itself. It emphasizes the total lack of one value is that it can serve as an aid to understand
scientific evidence for any transmutation of kinds. It         what student protesters are saying  - if one is inter-
offers an excellent discussion of the trustworthiness of ested in learning this.                                    H. H.


                  ANNOUNCEMENT --                                                      NOTICE!
  Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches                             CHANGE OF ADDRESS
will meet on March 4, 1970 at the Protestant Re-                 The new address of the Stated Clerk of the Protes-
formed Church of South Holland, Illinois. Classis will tant Reformed Churches in America is:
convene at the new. time of  8:30 A.M. Delegates in                                Rev. D. H, Kuiper
need of lodging should notify the clerk of the South                             13 14 North Main St.
Holland consistory.                                                               Pella, Iowa, 50219
                            Rev. David Engelsma, Stated
                                     Clerk of Classis West.                RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
              RESOLUTION  06 SYMPATHY                            The Ladies Aid Society of the Hope Protestant
                                                               Reformed Church extends its sympathy to one of its
  The Ladies Society of the Hudsonville Protestant             members, Mrs. John Scholten, in the loss of her
Reformed Church expresses its sympathy to one of its mother
members, Mrs. Tony Talsma, in the recent passing of                           MRS. AGNES BARENSE
her father                                                       "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;
               MR. PHILLIP WIERINGA.                           and  there shall-be no moye death, neither SOVOW,  YZOY
  May the God of  1 all grace comfort the bereaved crying,  neither shall  there be any more pain:  .for  the
family by His Word and Spirit.                                 former things are passed away. " Rev. 21:44
                                    Rev. H. Veldman, Pres.                                        Rev. J. Kortering, Pres.
                                  Mrs. G. Holstege, Sec'y.                                       Mrs. D.-Eerdmans, Sec'y.


240                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



                                 News From Our Churches

   News about trios and calls and declines is generally Heys will be General Delivery, White Sands Post
"old" before it gets into print; but we'll pass it on Office, Montego Bay, Jamaica, West Indies. Please use
anyway. Our Randolph, Wisconsin congregation had a air mail, since surface mail takes three weeks and air
`trio consisting of Rev. Kortering, Rev. Van Baren, and mail three to four days. The cost is 15~ per half ounce.
Rev. Veldman, from which they have, undoubtedly, We will covet your prayers, but also your letters, and
already called one. Rev. Veldman has declined the call wish the congregation God's blessing while we are
extended to him from our  Doon Church. And the absent from one another."
installation of Rev. Kuiper in Pella, Iowa, took place                          ******
on January 8. Rev. Vanden Berg conducted the instal-         Rev. Schipper, as chairman of the Mission Commit-
lation, and Rev. Engelsma, pastor of Loveland Church,      tee, would have been in charge of the farewell program
preached the sermon on "The Minister's Calling," for Rev. Heys, if it were not for the fact that he had
using as his text II Timothy 2: 15.                        not been feeling well. As of February 1, Rev. Schipper
                       ******                              planned to be admitted in mid-March to the hospital to
  It seems that all of our churches had a January 18       undergo surgery. Gall bladder attacks have caused him
bulletin announcement concerning the departure of very considerable pain for the last weeks, and the
Rev. and Mrs. Heys for Jamaica on January 26. The          doctors believed a cholecystectomy to be the only
effects of this decision were noticeable already in        answer.               ******
Holland's January 25 bulletin: "Next week Sunday,            This requested announcement concerning change of
D.V., Rev. R; C. Harbach will conduct our services on      officers, from Loveland's consistory: Clerk - Mr. Wm.
a classical appointment, and the following Sunday          A. Griess, 600 S. Decatur St., Denver, Colo. 80219;
Prof. H. Hanko will in the morning and Prof.  H. C.        and Treasurer - Mr. M. H. Moore, Route 2, Box 295B,
Hoeksema will in the evening. The catechism classes Loveland, Colo. 80537.
will be well provided for. Seminarian R. Van Overloop                           ******
will teach the Saturday classes, and Rev. H. Veldman         The P.T.A. of our Adams St. School sponsored a
will take care of the evening classes." Obviously, a       program on January 29 featuring Dr. W. Meester, who
Consistory decision to release a pastor for a  three-      spoke on "The Christian Approach to Drug Abuse."
month peroid is not one to be taken lightly.               Those "concerned parents and friends" who attended
                       *.  *  *  *  *  *                   could only be impressed by the fact that we are stran-
   A Farewell program for Rev. and Mrs. Heys was gers in this world  - that our calling is to live as
given on Sunday, January 25. Rev. Veldman led in children of the light in the midst of a world that is
opening prayer, Scripture reading, and a few appro- living in darkness; a world that knows not God, and
priate remarks. Mr. and Mrs. C. Jonker, accompanied seeks in vain to find satisfaction or meaning in life
by their daughter, Marilyn, sang from two numbers.         through the use of drugs; a world that is rushing ever
The "nothing can trouble thee there" (last line of more rapidly to destruction.
"Trust in the Lord") led beautifully into "Under His                             ******
Wings" (first line of their last selection). These num-
bers can only be a great comfort to our emissaries to        From the bulletin of Hope Church of Grand Rapids
Jamaica. Rev. Heys also made a few remarks at the          we learn of an interesting project of that congrega-
program. He said that he is going with mixed emotions.     tion's Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Society. "A recording commit-
On the one hand, he does not like to leave his work in tee has been established to record our worship services,
the Holland congregation. But, on the other hand, he is    and tapes will be available for those who are hospital-
eager to go, for the fourth time, to work with these       ized or ill at home. The committee will also provide
people who, he is convinced, are sincere children of       our servicemen with portable cassette tape players, and
God who hunger and thirst for the truth. He asked to       periodically send tapes to them."
be remembered in our prayers. And he also brought to                             ******
the attention of the audience that the loneliness in-
volved in work of this nature is felt more acutely by        Space is shorter than news for this issue. Some will
the wives. The ministers are more wrapped up in their      have to wait till next time. But we'll have to get in a
work. So, in our prayers for the labors in Jamaica, we     couple of "Points to ponder" from the bulletin of
should remember the wives who, in Rev. Heys' words,        Hope Protestant ReformedChurch  of Redlands:
"are also valiant warriors who stand at our side and         "The `narrow way' that leads to'Heaven is not found
encourage us."                                             by those who are `broad-minded' about sm."
                      ******                                 "Those who know God will be humble. Those who
                                                           know themselves cannot be proud."
  This bulletin announcement, yet, from Holland's
congregation: "The address of our pastor and Mrs.                                                          D.R.D.


