                                     he



                                           earer

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



IN THIS ISSUE


    Meditation:
      Receiving Our Salvation in Christ
                            ..l '
    E d i t o r i a l :
       As To Dr. K. Runia on Reprobation

    About Instruction in Protestant Reformed Doctrine
      (see: Question BOX)

    Sensitivity Training
      (see: All Around Us)




                                           Volume XL VII / Number 9 / February 1, 19 71


194                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER



                             CONTENTS:                                                              THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                                 Semi-mopthly, except monthly  during June, July and August.

Meditation -                                                                     Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
                                                                                        Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids, Mich.
   Receiving Our Salvation in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . .194 Editor-in-Chief: Prof.  H. C. Hoeksema
Editorial -                                                                Department  Editors::. Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prqf.
   As To Dr. K. Runia on Reprobation . . . . . . . . . -196 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
Question Box -                                                             Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
   About Instruction in Protestant                                                            1842 Plymouth Terrace,  SE.
       Reformed Doctrine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .201                       Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
                                                                           Church News Editor:       Mr. Donald Doezema
All Around Us -                                                                                      1904 Plymouth Terrace, S.E.
   Wishes For A New Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . .203                                    Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
   Sensitivity .Training  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204 Editorial Policy:  Every editor is solely responsible for the contents of his
                                                                           own articles. Contributions of general interest from our readers and
Come Ye Apart , . .                                                        questions for the Question-Box Department are welcome. Contributions
                                                                           will be limited to approximately 300 words and must be neatly written
   And Rest A While                                                        or typewritten. Copy deadlines are the first and the fifteenth of the
   A Father-Teenager Conversation . . . . . . . . . . . .206 month. All communications relative to the contents should be sent to
                                                                           the editorial office.
Contending for the Faith -                                                 Business Officer  The Standard Bearer,
   The Doctrine of Atonement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207                               Mr. H. Vander Wal, Bus. Mgr.
                                                                                              P.O. Box 6064
From Holy Writ -                                                                              Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
   Exposition of Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209        Subscription Policy:  Subscription  price,$7.00  per year. Unless a definite
                                                                           request for discontinuance is received, it is assumed that the subscriber
In His Fear -                                                              wishes the subscription to continue without the formality of a renewal
                                                                           order and he will be billed for renewal. If you have a change of address,
   Masters of Mistake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211     please notify the Business Office as early as possible in order to avoid
                                                                           the inconvenience of delayed delivery. Include your Zip Code.
Feature -                                                                  Advertising Policy:  The  -Standard Bearer  does not accept commercial
   The Concern of the Reformation                                          advertising of any kind. Announcements  oi church and school events,
   For Christian Education (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 13 anniversaries, obituaries, and sympathy resolutions will be placed for a
                                                                           $3.00 fee. These should be sent to the Business Office and should be

BookReviews............................. accompanied by the $3.00 fee. Deadline for announcements is  ,the 1st
                                                                           or the 15th of the month, previous to publication on the 15th or the  1st
                                                                           respectively.
News of our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215 Bound Volumes: The Business Office will accept standingordersfor  bound
                                                                           copies of the current volume; such orders are filled as soon as possible
                                                                           after completion of a volume. A limited number of past volumes may  ba
                                                                           obtained through the Business Office.




Meditation

                             Receiving Our Salvation In Christ
                                                              Rev. M. Schipper

                "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye
               rejoice with joy unspeakable and fill of glory: receiving the end of your faith, even the
               salvation of your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched dili-
               gently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what
               manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified before-
               hand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow, Unto whom it was revealed
               that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported
               unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down
               from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into. "

                                                                                                               I Peter 1:8-12


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  195



  Whom having not seen, ye love!                           grace, spoken of by the prophets of old, that should
  And that "whom" refers, of course, to Christ Jesus, come unto us. As all those who were in Adam died, so
of Whom the apostle had spoken in the last part of the all who are in Christ are made alive, and become par-'
preceding verses, to which we called attention in our takers of that salvation He has prepared for them.
last Meditation.                                             And as wonderful as that salvation objectively is
  Wonderful, and humanly inexplicable fact!                which He has obtained for us, just as wonderful is the
  We have never seen Him, yet we love Him! Though subjective experience of that salvation which He im-
we now do not see Him, yet we believe, and we rejoice parts to us. It is especially this aspect of the wonder-
with joy unspeakable and full of glory!                    work of grace that the apostle emphasizes in the text.
  Even the apostle must have marveled that his readers       Wonderful is the believing and receiving of that sal-
had never seen Him, and yet from the heart loved Him. vation! Though now we see Him not, yet we love Him;
He had seen Him. He was of those who were privileged and though we do not see Him, yet believing, we re-
to be near Him when He dwelled in the flesh and upon joice with joy unspeakable and full of joy. Receiving
the earth. He even belonged to that triumvirate which the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls.
was closest to Him in those important moments in the Now, according the capacity of our faith, which is His
life of the Saviour when He was transfigured before grace of salvation in us, we rejoice with joy unspeak-
them on the holy mountain, and when He in the able. How great that joy shall be when the end of our
garden crawled in the dust. as a worm and no man. He, faith shall be realized, in the day of our Lord Jesus
of all men least expected, had denied Him in His dark- Christ! When we shall see Him Whom our soul loveth!
est hour; but was restored to His love most wonder- How unspeakably great shall that salvation appear
fully after His resurrection. That he should love Him when we shall experience it both in soul and body in
Whom he had seen, that, too, was a miracle of grace; the day of His coming!
but that those should love Him Whom they had not             Most desirable salvation!
seen - this, indeed, was even a greater wonder, if won-      Concerning it the prophets have enquired and
ders may be compared. Yet so it was, and so it is still - searched diligently. They searched out and exhaus-
Whom having never seen, ye love; and in whom ye tively enquired, and then prophesied of the grace that
believe with joy unspeakable.                              should come unto us.
  Wonderful faith!                                           Which thing even the angels desire to look into!
  For it is a love, and a faith, that is rooted in Christ Those ministering spirits sent forth to minister for
Jesus in Whom is all our salvation!                        them who are the heirs of salvation! They also have a
  When the apostle speaks of the salvation of the soul, sincere interest in that salvation which God had pre-
he does not mean to neglect the salvation of the body. pared in His counsel, and was to realize in time for all
Rather, he is calling attention to that part of us which His elect. These are the elect angels, who remained
first experiences the salvation of the Lord. Surely, he standing when in the dawn of history Satan and many
was mindful of the salvation of the body in the glori- others with him, through the schism wrought by his
ous ressurection of the last day. He understood that fall in the angel world, brought disruption in the order
the whole man must be saved. When God created man of heaven. Eagerly they peered into the work of God
in the beginning, He made him of the dust of the earth all through the ages to realize His saving work when
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the Son of man was made a little lower than the angels
man became a living soul. The whole man, therefore, is but crowned with glory and honour, far above all prin-
a living soul. When man fell, however, he died. He died, cipality and power, when He would bring reconcilia-
first of all, spiritually; then physically. And he is saved tion and peace not only on earth, but also in heaven.
precisely in the same way he is lost. Salvation comes And being appointed servants of all the elect that must
first of all to the inner man, and then to the whole       come to final and heavenly glory, they are vitally inter-
man. And the good work which God begins in us He ested in all the divine workings of saving grace.
finishes it unto the end, until the whole man is saved,      What the apostle says about the prophets of old and
soul and body, and in that order.                          the angels of heaven is meant to inspire us.
  All that salvation is in Christ Jesus!                     What the Spirit of. Christ, which was in the prophets,
  Never apart from Him are we saved!                       revealed to them concerning the sufferings of Christ
  He is the fountain out of which we must drink. He is and the glory that should follow, was with a view to us.
the heavenly manna which we must eat. He is the This cannot mean that the revelation they received had
Saviour Who must save His .people from their sins. He no significance for them and for those to whom they
is both the sacrifice for our sins, and the Priest Who uttered their prophesies. For their hope of salvation
brings the atoning sacrifice. He is the one Who is was also tied in with the sufferings of the Christ and
"made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sancti- the glory which followed. But it is also-true that they
fication, and redemption:" so that if we are to glory, without us could not be made perfect. Nor could they
we can glory only in the Lord. In Him was all the          be saved without us. It is in this sense, undoubtedly,


196                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


that the apostle says, "of which salvation . . . that also now. Without that Spirit there is no preaching, no
should come unto you;" and again, "unto whom it was faith, no salvation  - nothing. In the sphere of that
revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us they Spirit of Christ as He dwells in the church of the new
did minister the things, which are now reported unto dispensation, the gospel of our salvation is preached
YOU, " etc.                                                unto us. What the prophets sought after and enquired
   If they who were vitally connected to the revelation into and testified beforehand concerning the salvation
of the plan of salvation, and the working out of that that was to come, the preaching of the gospel now
plan were interested, how much more this should be declares is yours through faith.
true of us in whom the plan is to be completed and           Thus believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and
finished in its final glory!                               full of glory!
  What is your interest, beloved reader, in that salva-      Now we rejoice in hope!
tion?                                                        Only by faith we rejoice, and only by faith do we
   The original readers of this epistle were undoubtedly have the hope of that final joy that shall be revealed to
greatly interested. How else could you explain the fact us in the day of Christ, when He shall be manifested.
that they loved Him Whom they had not seen, and              Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet believe!
believing in Him rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full      The apostle evidently ties in the word which he is
of glory? Surely, all this is true only of those who have privileged to declare in the Holy Ghost sent down from
experienced that salvation with the tasting knowledge of heaven with that personal experience he had when
faith.                                                     eight days after the Lord's resurrection He was in con-
  A glorious experience!                                   ference with Thomas who would not believe until he
  Which is to be found under the preaching of the had seen in His hands the print of the nails, and put his
gospel in the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven!            finger into the print of the nails, and thrust his hand
  In the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of the Lord Jesus into His side. He heard the Lord say unto Thomas
Christ!                                                    (who having now seen Him declared: "My Lord and
  That is, in the sphere where the Holy Ghost dwells is my God"), "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou
the experience of salvation only possible.                 hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and
  That Spirit was operative in the prophets, for the yet have believed."
text clearly states that the Spirit of Christ in them        That blessed gospel Peter is now privileged to de-
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the clare unto his contemporaries, and unto us.
glory that should follow. That Spirit came also on the       Blessed gospel which is preached unto us!
church in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, and        Blessed Holy Spirit which has come down from
therefore on the apostles who had to preach the gospel heaven to give us those eyes of faith which enable us to
of salvation. That Spirit continues to dwell in the see the unseen, and to believe in Him Whom we do not
church, and accompanies the preaching of the gospel see!


Editorial

                  Doctrinal Tensions "Down Under" (2)
                     As To. Dr. K. Runia on Reprobation
                                              Puofi H. C. Hoekserna

  In the January 15 issue we promised to begin a Runia and their intention to stand for the defense of
discussion of the doctrinal tensions "down under" the Reformed faith.
which have given rise to controversy in the Reformed         One of the points on which Dr. Runia has been
Churches of New Zealand and, to an extent, The Re- criticized, also in an Appeal to the Board of Directors
formed Churches of Australia. We noted that these ten- of the Reformed Theological College in Geelong,
sions center around the teachings of Prof. Dr. Klaas Australia, was that of the doctrine of reprobation. To
Runia in particular, and that a number of brethren have the said Appeal the Board of Directors gave a written
organized themselves into a Reformed and Presby- answer; but the Reformed and Presbyterian Fellowship
terian Fellowship of Australasia. This Fellowship has is not satisfied with, but rather critical of, that answer.
made known by means of their publication,  The Re- Moreover, as we noted last time, the Fellowship still
formed Guardian, their objections to the views of Dr. maintains that Dr. Runia is in the wrong. This is plain


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                                           197



from the Fellowship's resolution, quoted in the last                 167 of the book CRISIS  IN THE REFORMED
issue. In that resolution they make mention of the fact              CHURCHES, in which Prof. Runia wrote the section
that Dr. Runia "objects to certain statements in the                 entitled, "Recent Reformed Criticisms of the
confessions of the Reformed Churches of Australia                    Canons," Prof. Runia refers to the document on elec-
without presenting gravamina (i.e., doctrine of repro-               tion adopted and published on behalf of the Synod of
bation, and the sabbath)."                                           the Dutch Reformed Church, and states, "The real
  It will be enlightening on this point of the contro-               criticism of this letter is that the idea of  `causalty'
                                                                     (should be: `causality', HCH) is found in the teaching
versy, first of all to quote the Answer of the Board of              of the Canons. This idea as it is applied to rejection, is
Directors to the Appellants against Prof. Runia's                    the reason that the final responsibility of the sinner is
teachings. In this answer they state that they have ex-              obscured and God, somehow, seems to become the
amined the charges brought against Dr. Runia care-                   final `cause of man's perdition.' Again we feel in-
fully; and they reply to each of the charges indivi-                 clined to agree with this criticism. "  On page 166 of
dually. On this matter of the doctrine of reprobation,               the same book we read, "Woelderink utterly rejects
the Board answers as follows:                                        the idea of an eternal decree of reprobation.  At this
      2. Crisis In The Reformed Churches. In his con-                point the Canons have gone beyond the limits of
    tribution to this volume Prof. Runia extensively dis-            Scripture.  " This latter underlined statement is Prof.
    cusses modem criticisms of the Canons, eg. those of              Runia's, is it not? We readily acknowledge that Prof.
    Barth, Woelderink, the Pastoral Letter of the                    Runia is quoting Prof. Berkouwer when he writes,
    Hervormde Kerk, and some Reformed theologians  -                 "Such questioning of the confessions does not require
    Berkouwer and  Pohnan in the Netherlands, Boer and               the presentation of a `grievance' to the ecclesiastical
    Pietersma in U.S.A. Careful reading of Prof. Runia's             courts", BUT what is so disturbing is that Prof. Runia
    evaluations of these criticisms shows that he accepts            seems to have similar problems with the Canons, and
    the doctrine of eternal reprobation as clearly taught            HE DOES NOT SUBMIT SUCH A `GRIEVANCE' TO
    in Scripture and fully subscribes to the basic inten-            THE ECCLESIASTICAL COURTS!
    tion of the Canons to uphold and defend the doctrine           It is evident from this "Answer to the Appellants"
    of free grace. It is with the formulation of the doc-        that the Board of Directors finds no fault with Dr.
    trine that Dr. Runia finds the difficulty. He points         Runia's position on reprobation. And it is evident from
    out how logic has been a determinative factor in             The Reformed Guardian's  comments on their Answer
    giving expression to  this doctrine. He questions the        that they are by no means satisfied and that they con-
    adequacy of the Scripture texts cited by the Fathers         tinue to assert that Dr. Runia indeed does have objec-
    of Dort in support of the doctrine. Is it casting `asper-    tions to the Reformed and confessional doctrine of
    sions on the confessions' when an honest effort is           reprobation, though he has not filed a gravamen,
    made to examine the grounds on which the doctrine              Before we proceed with a discussion of this parti-
    is based? Is it not the hallmark of Reformed scholar-        cular question, we must make mention of the fact that
    ship that appeal should be made to the Scriptures?
    There appears to be an inconsistency in the pattern of       the Fellowship and its members have been severely
    thinking which lies behind the formulation of the            criticized for dealing with these matters in public. It
    doctrine of reprobation in the Canons. Dr. Runia             has been claimed that they ought to deal privately with
    comments, "The only correct startingpoint for all our        Dr. Runia about these questions; and it has been
    thinking about election and rejection, I believe, lies in    claimed that they ought not to write in public and
    the Gospel itself. We are very happy to note that the        publicly to criticize and accuse Dr. Runia; and it has
    Synod of Dordt has seen this too (1, l-5). Unfortu-          been claimed that they ought not to stir up the
    nately it has not adhered to this one startingpoint. In      churches in this manner. It has even been claimed that
    1,6  it has added another line of thought, namely, one       The Reformed Guardian  and its writers are guilty of
    that starts from the counsel of God." Is it not permis-      transgressing the ninth commandment by its attacks
    sible to discuss the formulation in a document drawn         upon Runia's positions.
    up by man?
      Prof.`Runia  is also accused of "declaring that even         With respect to this aspect of the matter, I call your
    such questioning of the confessions does not require         attention to the fact, in the first place, that the Theo-
    the presentation of a `grievance' to the ecclesiastical      logical College in Geelong is not a church-controlled
    courts." Actually Dr. Runia does not declare any             institution, so that neither the church in Australia nor
    such thing. It is Prof. Berkouwer who states that            the church in New Zealand has any direct control over
    there is no need to lodge a gravamen against the             Dr. Runia in his position as professor of theology. In
    Canons when critical of its `framework'. (p. 171).           the second place, as far as the church in Australia is
  In reply to the above,  The Reformed Guardian  has concerned, Dr. Runia's own consistory (session), of
stated the following:                                            course, would have oversight of his doctrine and walk.
      2. CRISIS IN THE REFORMED CHURCHES.                        In the third place, as far as the churches in New Zea-
    Under this section the Board has sought to tell us that      land are concerned, and in particular as far as Dr.
    Prof. Runia is only discussing "the formulation in a         Runia's opponents in the churches in New Zealand are
    document drawn up by men." But is this so? On page           concerned, they have no way of directly controlling


198                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



Dr. Runia as to his doctrinal positions. In the fourth graph which we quoted, "Is it not permissible to dis-
place, while it is true that the churches in New Zealand cuss the formulation in a document drawn up by
could officially approach the Board of Directors of man?" I believe that Dr. Runia does more than merely
Geelong, this does not preclude an appeal to the Di- "discuss" the formulation. I also believe that if Runia _
rectors of the Theological College such as has been sent may discuss, his opponents are equally entitled to "dis-
to these directors by individual members of the cuss." But this is not my point now. I refer especiaily
churches. In the fifth place, we must bear in mind that now to the expression, "a document drawn up  _ by
what Dr. Runia has said about various doctrinal points man."
at stake in this controversy he has said in public, in the      An expression of this kind certainly belittles our
columns of  Tro.wel  an-d Sword, in  the  Calvin Theo- confessions, and thereby belittles the seriousness of the
logical Journal, in Christianity Today, in The Banner, issue involved here. If it is the intention of a statement
and in the book  Crisis in the Reformed Churches. like this to emphasize that our creeds are subordinate
Moreover, the letters-to-the-editor department in standards, then this is certainly true. Our creeds are
Trowel and Sword, I am informed, was closed to those subordinate standards in the sense that they have no
who were critical of what Dr. Runia wrote. Now it authority of their own, but are dependent upon the
strikes me as a very strange and unjust argument to Scriptures for their authority. If it is the intention of a
claim that when Dr. Runia writes in public, those who statement of this kind to emphasize that the formula-
disagree with him and with his highly questionable tions of our creeds are human and fallible and not per
positions must do so in private, or are guilty of trans- se about criticism, we say again: this is certainly true.
gressing the ninth commandment if they oppose Runia The creeds are not infallible; they do not and they may
in public. This I cannot understand: that one man may not be allowed to bind one in the same manner as
take position in public about matters which concern Scripture, but are rather binding only in so far as they
the public heritage of all the churches, and that an- express the truth of Holy Scripture itself. Nevertheless,
other man, or men, may not take an opposite and it is not accurate to eall any of our creeds merely "a
critical position about these same matters likewise in document drawn up by man." The fact of the matter is
public. Let those who deem Runia's opponents guilty that the creeds are drawn up by the church, and that,
of transgressing the ninth commandment demonstrate too, - as we believe - under the guidance of the Holy
that their accusations  - accusations which they have Spirit Who has been given to the church to lead .her
pressed on the official level as well as in The Reformed into all truth. Moreover, in our Reformed churches we
Guardian  - are false. This, of course, will require a are all bound to these creeds as they are the official
treatment of the  issues.  Finally, in this connection, I expression of what Reformed churches believe to be
would encourage the Fellowship not to be deterred in the truth of Holy Scripture. In that sense the creeds
their criticism by this charge. It is a charge which has are indeed more than "a document drawn up by man."
often been used as a kind of "red herring" irrdoctrinal They have  authority  in the Reformed churches, an
controversy, with the purpose in view of obscuring the authority which may not be ignored and which may
real, doctrinal issue. These issuses are public. They con- not be contravened and contradicted, an authority
cern the Reformed heritage. They are the proper con-' which binds every officebearer and every member.
tern of the churches. And the Fellowship certainly There is but a single way in which the creeds may be
does the churches a favor by calling attention to and criticized: the way of official "grievance," or  grava-
reflecting upon these issues. Meanwhile, of course, it men, demonstrating that what the confessions say is
may be expected that these issues will also be pressed not according to Holy Scripture. And it would seem to
in the  ecclesiastic.al courts, so that the  .matter may in me that instead of minimizing the importance of the
due course be brought to a head and may be resolved. Canons of Dordt and their "formulation," the Board
This, I have been informed, Runia's opponents fully of Directors of Geelong would have done well to ac-
intend to do. This is of great importance. Sound doc- knowledge. this authority and the seriousness even of
trinal discipline must be insisted upon; failure in this "discussing" the formulation of any of our confes-
regard can only be. detrimental, as has been demon- sions. It is by no means the same to discuss a confes-
strated in other Reformed churches in recent times, sion or to discuss the document of a theologian or of a
and can only result in allowing the cancer of false doc- group of theologians, or even of a synodical committee
trine to spread in the churches.                              or of a synod itself. This we emphasize even apart from
  Before we get into the material of this issue, I must the fact the Dr. Runia does much more than "discuss."
call attention also to the manner in which the Answer The fact of the matter is that he criticizes the Canons,
to the Appellants apparently belittles our confessions. and that, too, not in a minor matter of formulation,
I do not agree with the entire presentation of Dr. but on a very fundamental point. It `is plain to this
Runia's position in the Answer quoted above; but with writer that Dr. Runia does not agree with the Re-
this we shall deal presently. I refer now to the question formed doctrine of reprobation.
which this Answer raises at the end of the first para-                               *****
                                                                                                                         ._


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   199



  To the substance of this issue of the Reformed doc- cribing  malicious intent to this statement of the board.
trine of reprobation we now turn.                            I am merely calling attention to the fact that this state-
  The criticism of Dr. Runia's position on this score ment of the Board is beside the point.
concern his contribution to the book,  Crisis In The           2. The Board maintains that it is with the formula-
Reformed Churches, published by the Reformed Fel- tion  of the doctrine that Dr. Runia finds difficulty. It
lowship. This is a book of essays in commemoration of is a bit difficult to determine just how much the Board
the Synod of Dordrecht, 16 1%`19. It was published in includes under this point. I suppose we are to assume
1968, the 350th anniversary of the Great Synod, under that all the rest of their defense is included. They men-
the editorship of Dr. P. Y. De Jong. Various theo- tion that Runia "points out how logic has been a deter-
logians of the Reformed tradition contribute essays on minative factor in giving expression to this doctrine."
aspects of the Synod and its work, essays which vary They mention, too, that Runia questions the adequacy
rather widely in quality and accuracy. My general im- of the Scripture texts cited by the fathers of Dordt in
pression of the book is that it is not true to its title,    support of the doctrine. And they mention that ac-
that is, it does not adequately convey the impression cording to Runia, "there appears to be an inconsis-
of the great crisis which actually was reached at the tency in the pattern of thinking which lies behind the
Synod of Dordrecht and in the Arminian controversy.          formulation of the doctrine of reprobation in the
But this is not the point now. In this work Dr. K.           Canons." Apparently all of these matters belong under
Runia also contributes a chapter, entitled, "Recent Re- this subject of "formulation" in the Board's thinking.
formed Criticisms of the Canons." As might be ex- But this raises the following questions: a) While in the
pected, the chapter is not merely informative; but in it, abstract it is possible to have difficulty with the formu-
at various points and especially at the end, Dr. Runia lation  of a doctrine without necessarily disagreeing
evaluates these criticisms and thereby necessarily gives with the doctrine formulated, is it true that Dr. Runia
expression to his own views. It is with these opinions has difficulty  merely with the formulation and not
concerning the criticisms of the Canons that Dr. with the doctrine set forth?  b) Is it true that Runia
Runia's critics find fault, claiming that Dr. Runia has merely makes an honest effort to examine the grounds
objections to the Reformed doctrine of reprobation as on which the doctrine is based, or does he indeed "cast
it is set forth in the Canons and that he has publicized     aspersions on the confessions" by criticizing these
these objections but has failed to follow the orderly grounds or the alleged lack of grounds? Is it true that
Reformed way of gravamen.                                    Runia merely makes an appeal to Scripture, which is
  It is over against this charge of Dr. Runia's critics certainly the "hallmark of Reformed scholarship," or
that the Board of Directors of the Reformed Theo- does he criticize the Canons as being contrary to Scrip-
logical College in Geelong defends Runia in its ture or as setting forth a line of thought which is not
"Answer to the Appellants."                                  Scriptural? c) Is it true that Runia merely discusses the
  We may distinguish the following points in the formulation of the Canons, or is it true that he is
Board's defense of Dr. Runia:                                critical of the formulation? And is it not true that Dr.
  1. The Board maintains that "careful reading of Dr.        Runia's criticisms are based upon an alleged disjunc-
Runia's evaluations of these criticisms shows that he tion between the "Gospel" and the "counsel of God"
accepts the doctrine of eternal reprobation as clearly - a disjunction which he discovers to exist, in his
taught in Scripture and fully subscribes to the basic opinion, also in the Canons?
intention of the Canons to uphold and defend the doc-          3. Finally, the Board absolves Runia of any guilt
trine of free grace." This point raises the following with respect to the charge that Runia maintains that
questions for us: a) Is it true that Dr. Runia fully ac- one can be critical of the "framework" of the confes-
cepts the doctrine of reprobation as clearly taught in       sions without lodging a gravamen against them. This
Scripture AND  as set forth in  ,the Canons of  Dor-         matter also we shall have to examine.
drecht? This, after all, is the question, the basic ques-      A brief review of Runia's chapter in Crisis In The
tion. Does Dr. Runia agree with the doctrine of eternal Reformed Churches is in order at this point.
reprobation as set forth in the Canons? Does he agree          Dr. Runia states that he is not concerned in this
that the Canons set forth the doctrine of eternal re- chapter with criticisms of the Canons by theologians
probation as it is clearly taught in Scripture? b) Or        from other traditions, especially from Arminian and
does the Board here intentionally avoid the issue when liberal backgrounds, but that he is confining himself to
it speaks `merely of the doctrine of reprobation  as criticisms coming from theologians belonging to the
clearly taught in Scripture? And does the Board avoid Reformed tradition. We will overlook the fact that
the issue when it states that Dr. Runia "fully sub-          Runia somewhat apologetically includes Karl Barth
scribes to the basic in ten tion (emphasis mine, HCH) of among the latter. Certainly, one has to stretch the con-
the Canons to uphold and defend the doctrine of free         cept "the Reformed tradition" not a little in order to
grace  (emphasis mine, HCH)? Understand well; I do include Barth in it..
not ask these questions maliciously and I am not  as-          But it is Barth's criticism of the Canons with which


200                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



Runia deals first. Runia's presentation of Barth's criti-                  the same time sees two contrasting lines in the
cism centers around Barth's allegation that the Canons                     Canons. The first five articles of Ch. 1 take their start-
contain the idea of a decretum absolutum (absolute de-                     ingpoint in the Gospel. But in art. 6 they switch over
cree) and that they do not speak of election "in Christ."                  to a second line of thought, which takes its starting-
Over against Barth, it must be conceded, Dr. Runia                         point in the decree. That this is the major point of
defends the Canons on this point, albeit in a somewhat                     criticism appears from the fact that time and again he
"lefthanded" manner. He contends correctly that in I,                      returns to this main point. To him this is the basic
7 the Canons do indeed speak of election in Christ. Yet                    error of all Calvinist parties at Dort, both the
                                                                          Supralapsarians and the Infralapsarians. Because of
even here Runia cannot defend the Canons without                          their emphasis on the decree they were necessarily
tempering and even spoiling his defense. For after he                     thinking in terms of causality, and consequently
has maintained that the Canons do teach election in                       "election and rejection were no longer channels
Christ, he adds the following paragraph, which is not                     through which the stream of God's virtues broke
only critical, but which in connection with his later                     forth, but they became springs which produced salva-
evaluation of the criticisms of others also raises grave                  tion and perdition." It was no longer sufficient to
doubts:                                                                   ascribe faith to God's grace, and unbelief to man's
          Yet it cannot be denied that in the                             sinful heart. No, God too had his share in unbelief, in
                                                    Canons this
       central aspect of the Biblical doctrine of election does           as far as he had decreed "to leave the non-elect in His
       not receive the emphasis it deserves. Because 1, 7 is              just judgment to their own wickedness and
       preceded by an article that speaks of a general double             obduracy" (1, 6). The natural result of this `causal'
       decree of election and reprobation, in which the `in               way of thinking was that in 1, 12 all emphasis is
       Christ' aspect is altogether missing, the conclusion               placed on man's inner spiritual life, where he can ob-
       that there is a                                                    serve "the infallible fruits of election."
                           decretum absolutum  behind the elec-
       tion-in-Christ could be drawn, and I am afraid that,              Dr. Runia then goes on to point out that
       unintentionally, the Canons thus have given occasion           "Woelderink's own solution is to see election primarily
       to later deterministic misunderstandings, which                and essentially as  an act of God in time.  " Runia
       especially since the 18th century have plagued and still .-    further states that Woelderink "does not deny that we
       are plaguing large sections of the Reformed com-               are allowed to proceed from election as God's act in
       munity. I am also sure that, if the Canons were to be          time to God's election from eternity." And then Runia
       rewritten in our day, the central affirmation of our           further describes Woelderink's view of reprobation:
       election in Christ should be brought out more clearly
       and more unequivocally.                                               Rejection, too, is seen as an act of God in the
                                                                          history of the world and in the concrete lives of sinful
  Here it is plain already that Dr. Runia has difficulty                  people. In the case of rejection, however, we are not
with Canons I, 6 - a difficulty which arises again and                    allowed to go back to an eternal decision of God
again in this chapter. This says nothing yet as to what                   "before the foundation of the world". Woelderink
Runia understands by "later deterministic misunder-                       utterly rejects the idea of an eternal decree of repro-
standings" - an expression which, in the light of the                     bation. At this point the Canons have gone beyond
fact that the true Reformed position on predestination                    the limits of Scripture. It is not surprising, therefore,
has been frequently characterized as determinism (also                    that they do not give any Scripture proof for this
by Runia's mentor, Dr. Berkouwer) raises grave suspic-                    aspect of their teaching.
ions in one's soul.                                                     And now the question is: what does Runia think of
  Aside from this, we must point out that Dr. Runia Woelderink? In the first place, we ask you to keep in
certainly does not appear in this part of his chapter as mind Runia's description of Woelderink's view, espe-
a champion of the Canons, especially when we con- cially in the first part of the first quotation about
sider that Karl Barth, whose criticisms he is evaluating Woelderink above. For at the end of his essay Runia
here, was anything but Reformed as far as the doctrine' makes virtually the same statements. In the second
of predestination is concerned. But let us pass this by. place, we quote Runia's evaluation of Woelderink's
It may be conceded that in this section of the chapter criticisms in part: "There are undoubtedly elements of
Runia does not evince  overtly  any disloyalty to the truth in Woelderink's criticisms of the Canons. We too
Canons.                                                               believe that there are traces of `causal' thinking." At
  The next section of Runia's essay is devoted to the this point Runia goes on to criticize Woelderink for
view of Dr. J. G. Woelderink, a theologian of the "historicizing" and "actualizing" election. But in this
Dutch Reformed Church (Hervormde Kerk). Con- same connection we would point out: 1. That here
cerning Woelderink's criticism, Dr. Runia writes as already Runia betrays his criticism of what he calls the
follows:                                                              "causal thinking" of the Canons. Bear this in mind. It
         What is Woelderink's view of the Canons? It is a             will occur again. And it is crucial. 2. It is significant
       combination of deep appreciation and of funda-                 that while Runia criticizes Woelderink for historicizing
       mental criticism. Fully agreeing with the teaching             and actualizing election, he does not criticize him for
       that our salvation is due to God's electing love, he at        historicizing and actualizing reprobation. This is  re-


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         201


lated, remember, to the fact that Runia is critical of              sidedly stressed, and that the Scripture proof given is
the so-called "causal thinking" of the Canons. But                  very weak.
Runia's silence on this score, I believe, speaks volumes.         Concerning the above, Runia gives the following
  In the next section of his essay Dr. Runia sum- evaluation: "These last points, however, are only
marizes and evaluates a Pastoral Letter which was pub- minor criticisms. The real criticism of this  Letter  is
lished on behalf of the Synod of the Dutch Reformed that the idea of `causality' is found in the teaching of
Chu?ch (Hervormde Kerk). This letter takes virtually the  Canons.  This idea, especially as it is applied to
the same position as Dr. Woelderink takes. We will rejection, is the reason that the final responsibility of
quote two pertinent paragraphs of Runia's description the sinner is obscured and God, somehow, seems to
of this letter. After describing its position on election, become the final `cause` of man's perdition. Again we
Runia writes:                                                  feel inclined to agree with this criticism.  " (emphasis
                                                                mine, HCH)
      Rejection too is an act of God in history. But in           Notice the significant inclination of Dr. Runia to
   this case we may not infer an eternal decree of rejec-       agree with this criticism of the Canons' doctrine of
    tion. Although such a conclusion may seem to be             reprobation and also the doctrine of reprobation as
    natural and valid, Scripture itself never employs this
   logic. Texts that have often been quoted in support          found in the Belgic Confession. This is a constantly
    of such an eternal decree of rejection (such as             recurring refrain in Dr. Runia's essay. He has no use for
   Prov.  16:4;  Matt.  13:10-13;  22:14;  Acts  13:48;         this causal way of thinking. Whenever he speaks of it,
    Romans  9:11-23; Peter  2:8; Jude 4; Revel.  17:8) do       he speaks of it in a negative way. Even when he crit-
   not really teach this.                                       icizes this Pastoral Letter and seems to express some
      After all this it is not surprising that the  Letter      agreement with the Canons, he does so in such a way
    contains a number of criticisms of the  Canons.  In         that he continues to reject this idea of causality, as in
    fact, not only the Canons, but the Belgic Confession        the following statement: "At this point the Canons, in
    as well is criticized, especially Art. 16, which speaks     spite of their `causal' way of thinking, (emphasis mine,
   of God's  "leaving  others in the fall and perdition        HCH), are closer to the fidness of the Biblical message
   wherein they have involved themselves." The Canons,
    1, 6, however, go beyond this and, in spite of what         than this Letter."
   has been said in 1,5, suggest "that human guilt is not         At this point in his essay Dr. Runia takes up recent
   the last word about the ground of rejection." Other          criticisms of the Canons by theologians of the
   points of criticism are that Word and Spirit are not         Gereformeerde Kerken. But since a full treatment of
   always kept inseparably together, that the certainty of     this part of Dr. Runia's essay would require too much
   election is too much sought in pious man  h&self,            space, we will postpone our discussion of this section
   that the election of the individual believer is  one-       until the next issue.


Question  Box

   About Instruction in Protestant Reformed Doctrine
                                                     ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema

Question                                                        school, or home. I think, however, because we have
"Dear Professor Hoeksema:                                       Old and New Testament History taught in catechism
  "I am a student at Illiana Christian High School in through the seventh grade, that it would, for those of
Lansing, Illinois. I have a problem which disturbs me us who have this problem of confronting Christian Re-
to a great extent, and it's this: `Why is not doctrine formed students, as we have here in South Holland, be
taught in our Christian day schools?' Or to rephrase wise, say, in the 8th to 9th grades to have for at least
the question, `Why do we not learn why we are Prot- 6-9 weeks instruction on `Why Protestant Reformed?'
estant  Reformed essentiallyuntil after we are in the          This would be very helpful for when we go to Illiana.
eighth grade or ninth grade or older, because it is when So my question is essentially: why don't we have any
we get to high school that we really can use this doctrine taught in our Christian day schools? Must we
knowledge?' See, we go to a Christian Reformed High leave it all up to the church?
School, and we have confrontations every day  ; and                                   Yours very sincerely in Christ,
they ask us why we are separated from them. Now                                                                     N."
when some of us cannot answer clearly, or even not at Reply
all, it's a shame. I don't blame this on either church,           First of all, I want to state that I am very happy


202                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


about this letter for more than one reason.                 opportunity for the study of doctrine.
  In the first place, I am happy because it shows an          2) I believe that instruction in Church History has a
interest in our Standard Bearer on the part of a high legitimate place in the curriculum of the school, parti-
school student. This is a good sign! And I sincerely cularly in junior and in senior high school. And I
hope that there are more of our Protestant Reformed         believe that in 8th and/or 9th grade it could be very
high school students who have such an interest in The beneficial to begin this instruction in Church History.
Standard Bearer,  and who will also turn to  The            Especially would I recommend this for those junior
Standard Bearer with their questions and problems. I high students who do not have the advantage of at-
say this, not because  The Standard Bearer  is in any tending a Protestant Reformed High School after grad-
way in competition with Beacon  Lights, but because I uation from 9th grade. I can see great benefit in a
heartily believe that our young people certainly should course in Church History which would concentrate on
include The Standard Bearer regularly in their reading.     the history of the Reformed churches, going back to
The Standard Bearer contains much that is beneficial Reformation times, and which would lead up to and
and that ought to be of interest to our Protestant Re- teach our Protestant Reformed Church history. There
formed young people; and it is certainly within the is ample source material for such a course; and par-
bounds of their reading capacity. It may be true'that ticularly would I recommend the book, The `History of
you have to put on your "thinking-cap" to read and          the Protestant Reformed Churches, which covers our
digest The Standard Bearer. But this is good! You had early history, from our origin up to about 1935. Natu-
better don that "thinking-cap" and reap the benefits.       rally, such a course of study would involve one to an
For there is nothing more important than that cove- extent in the doctrinal issues which led to our origin.
nant youth be thoroughly instructed and equipped to But the emphasis would be upon the history. In fact, I
be distinctively Protestant Reformed.                       believe that as the third and fourth generations of our
  In the second place, I am happy about this letter Protestant Reformed Churches grow up and take their
because it evinces an interest and a concern exactly place in the churches, there is a grave danger that a
about being distinctively Protestant Reformed, in generation will arise that is not acquainted with that
knowing what being Protestant Reformed is all about, history, i.e., is not acquainted with the wonderful
and in being able to explain and to defend that Prot- works of God in our Protestant Reformed past. And if
estant Reformed position. This, too, is good! It is a that ever should be the case, it would be highly detri-
healthy and encouraging sign when this is the concern mental, if not fatal, for our Protestant Reformed
of a covenant young man or young woman. This is             cause!
especially true in our day, when the tendency to mini-        3) I would not underestimate the proper place of
mize differences, or to ignore them, or to think that the home and of personal reading and study in this
they are the concern only of older folk, and when the regard. I have in mind in this connection questions and
temptation to be a little more "liberal" and a little discussions which may arise in the course of family
more loose, and a little less distinctive and strict, and worship, and questions which may arise concerning our
to justify a less distinctive position by asking the ques- Protestant Reformed position which children and
tion, "What's wrong with it?" rather than, "What is young people may bring to their parents, for example,
right with it?" - when, I say, this tendency and this in connection with something mentioned in Sunday's
temptation are very strong. I love to hear that our sermons or which has been written. And I have in mind
young people are genuinely concerned to know why the ample supply of Protestant Reformed writings
they are Protestant Reformed!                               which are available, and much of which any student of
  Hence, I am also happy to make a few suggestions in high school age who is of average intelligence can
answer to the problem posed in the above letter.            certainly begin to read. I am referring not only to
  My suggestions are the following:                         books and pamphlets and brochures which have to do
  1) It is not the business of our Christian day schools specifically with the Three Points of 1924. These, too!
to teach doctrine as such. This is not to say that Prot-    By all means! But remember .that our position is not
estant Reformed doctrine has no place in our Christian merely a negative, anti-common grace position. It is
schools. It has a place, indeed. But that place is this,    also a positively Reformed position. And there is a
that the principles of Reformed doctrine - and to me,       wealth of material available in this regard. For ex-
this means Protestant Reformed doctrine  - underly          ample, any high schooler can read with much benefit a
and undergird all the instruction in the various subjects book like Behold, He Cometh. Bear in mind that in a
which are taught in our Christian day schools. This         book of this kind there is a positive and consistently
means that there is no such thing as a "secular" sub- Reformed line presented which is directly based upon
ject. Instruction in doctrine as such, however, is the      and related to the Scriptures. There is a wealth of in-
business of the pulpit and of the catechism room, and       struction here. The same is true, by the way, of the
of the home. I may add, in this connection, that volumes on the Heidelberg Catechism which are cur-
                                                                              - _ . _
Young People's Society is also an auxilliary means and , rently being republished under the title, The Triple


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                              203



Knowledge. There is a wealth of material here which ing, when our young people become 13 and 14 years
our young people can use for their personal and private old (eighth and ninth graders), they receive instruction
enrichment, as well as for their preparation for cat- in The Heidelberg Catechism for Junior Catechumens.
echism; and this material is entirely within the grasp of In this course, there is offered instruction not merely
a high school student's intelligence. You may have to in the positive Reformed line of the truth, following
put on your "thinking-cap," I say once more. You may the order of our Catechism; but at the end of the
have to expend some effort. But what you can obtain aforementioned book there are two special lessons
without expending any effort is not worth obtaining!       which are of great importance. Lesson 29 is about the
   4) In. the fourth place, I do not believe that it is Protestant Reformed Churches and their origin; and
entirely accurate to say that until the seventh grade Lesson 30 is about our Reformed Standards. If this
your instruction is limited to Bible history. It is true, book is taught, and if these lessons are taught - and I
of course, that through the study of Old and New personally, when I used to teach catechism, more than
Testament History for Seniors in our catechism once took time out to give a few extra weeks attentiidn
system, the instruction is oriented around Bible to these lessons - then our young people will certainly
history. And there is sound reason for this. We must have been instructed in the rudiments of "Why Prot-
not merely know doctrine; and we certainly must not estant Reformed?" before they get to high school.
know doctrine divorced from the Scriptures. But we           6) Finally, I would strongly advise  - and I would
must be trained to understand that the Reformed expect  - that our Protestant Reformed covenant
position is indeed the truth of Holy Scripture; and we youth pay increasingly careful and discerning atten-
must be well-versed in Scripture above all. Now it is tion, as they grow up, to the instruction of the preach-
precisely the purpose of our Old and New Testament ing of the Word  - preaching of the Word which I
History for Seniors in catechism to give instruction in would expect will be not only positive but also antithe-
Bible history with the emphasis upon the meaning and tical, warning against the errors of false doctrine and
the  significance  of that history, so that at the same emphasizing our specific Protestant Reformed posi-
time the instruction of these courses forms a transition tion.
to direct doctrinal instruction. As one example, let me      In the light of all the above, I can see no reason why
refer to the book of Rev. J. A. Heys; a catechumen a high school student cannot be well equipped and
who receives that instruction will be pretty thoroughly instructed to face confrontations outside our churches
instructed at the same  time in the  antithetical line of when the occasion arises.
sin and grace, of the seed of the serpent and the seed       Provided,. I say again, that the student is interested
of the woman, as this line runs through the history of and is willing to put on his "thinking-cap."
the old dispensation. Now that is Reformed!                  Once again, young friend, thanks for your letter.
   Furthermore, under our system of catechetical train- And, call again!


All Around Us

                                      Wishes For A New Year
       \                                   Sensitivity Training
                                                   ProJ: H. Hanko

WISHES FOR A  NEW YEAR                                       According to the Press almost all the people quizzed
  The  Grand Rapids Press has recently taken up the hoped "that the war in Vietnam would end, that more
practice of sending out its reporters shortly before a love and understanding would exist between all
holiday season to quiz the people on the street on peoples, and that the economy would march upward
some question related to the holiday. The results of rather than downward."
such an informal poll are then published in the Press.       But when pressed for more specific answers people
This past New Year's Day the Press asked a number of revealed their innate selfishness and concern for their
people: "What would you like most to see happen in         own personal well-being. Some expressed the hope for
1971?"                                                     a decrease in crime; many wanted settlements in the
  The answers are very interesting - especially from a tensions of the world - particularly in the Middle East
spiritual point of view, and give a rather good idea of and Southeast Asia; but quite a large number expressed
the attitude of people towards life in general.            fervent wishes for "a bright educational future" and


                                                                                   r


204                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



the hope of better-paying jobs. Others wished for bet- defined, the general idea is this. Small groups of people
ter health for themselves or their families, for a de- get together to talk. The discussions are not on any
crease in welfare payments  - if they were not them- particular subject, nor are they channelled in any way.
selves recipients, for less interference from the police Rather, any person talks about anything he desires.
in drug use. And yet others spoke of happiness for all And in his talk he is encouraged as much as the others
people in the world, understanding of every man in his can encourage him to talk about all his problems, to
plight and love to abound among all nations.                  expose in his conversation all. that lies within his heart
  Apparently these people have never learned what it and soul, to bare his emotions, "hang-ups", fears,
means to pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in doubts, troubles, hatreds, and whatever else he is reluc-
heaven," although, no doubt, the majority of them are tant to discuss with others.
acquainted with the Lord's prayer. Each man is more             In some groups a person is even encouraged to work
concerned with his own personal well-being and is so out his frustrations and problems by actions, whatever
completely wrapped up in his own problems in life actions may be required to accomplish this. He is told
that his desires for the new year are totally occupied that kicking, screaming, tantrums, shouting, cursing,
with making his life more pleasant than it has been. or whatever are good for him and will enable him to
And if, perchance, their desires for a new year are give release to pressures which make him a person un-
broadened beyond their own lives, their concern is for able to cope with or adjust to the society in which he
things that are directly opposed to the will of God. is called to live. Such release of tension will, it is rea-
While it certainly is not true that the Lord reveals to us soned, rid him of forms of behavior harmful to himself
the details of our life in the future, He does make and his fellowman and make him over into a person
known in His Word what the future will bring in its much more emotionally and psychologically stable.
broad outlines. He makes known to us what His pur- The group then becomes a microcosmos, a miniature
pose is in the history of this world and how He will world. And, since in real life the poisons of hostility
realize that purpose in the events of history through and hatred when suppressed give rise to neuroses, if
the sovereign rule of Jesus Christ.                           one will only.work them out in group sessions, then he
  The child of God who is a pilgrim and a stranger in will drain the poisons from his neurotic mind.
the earth and who looks for the city which hath foun-           Furthermore, it is argued that one of the chief prob-
dations is content when he lives in the assurance that lems besetting modern man is his inability to commun-
God's will is being done and that all things are serving icate. Because he finds it impossible to talk in any
the realization of the kingdom of Christ. He is content meaningful way with his  fellbw man and even with
with this even when events in history or in his own those closest to him, he isolates himself from humanity
personal life are not personally pleasing to him and, and from those who are closest to him and, living on a
indeed, give him a minimum of comfort in the strug- psychological island, he becomes spiritually and
gles of his earthly pathway.                                  psychologically unbalanced. Hence, sensitivity training
  The answers of the world are utterly worldly and is intended to break down the barriers of communica-
carnal. The Christian can desire nothing so much for tion and enable him to live in a psychologically healthy
1971 and the years following while the Lord tarries way with others. To assist in this struggle to learn com-
than that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. munication, those who participate in sensitivity train-
                                                              ing are encouraged not only to speak whatever they
SENSITIVITY TRAINING                                          want, but are also encouraged to touch one another
  It would not ordinarily be of interest to discuss a since touching aids in communication. In far-out
subject such as this in the columns of the  Standard groups this sort of thing has resulted in all sorts of
Bearer  if it were not for the fact that some form of sexual eroticism.
sensitivity training is making its way into religious cir-      There are grave dangers in this sort of practice  -
cles. Apparently at least some aspects of this proce- dangers totally detrimental to spiritual health. And it is
dure, increasingly common in the world, have found to be abhorred that such practices have found their
their way into religious services in some very liberal way into the Church and into the healing of the men-
churches not only, but also into the religious services tally ill.
of the so-called underground church. Further, it has            In the first place, the whole idea of sensitivity train-
recently come to my attention that some form of sen- ing is based upon the supposition that man is nothing
sitivity training is also used as therapy in the treatment more than a body and a bundle of emotions. It is
of mental disease in various Christian Mental Hospitals. fundamentally a denial of the fact that God created
  Sensitivity training covers a broad range of methods man body and soul. As one of the proponents of tKs
of group therapy. The object is to enable people better type of therapy has crassly stated: "You don't have a
to adjust to reality by means of drastic changes in the body  - you are a body." It is especially this presup-
personality through the use of personal encounter. position which undergirds so much of mental treat-
While the whole business is somewhat vague and ill- ment even in Christian hospitals. The whole approach


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                205


to the treatment of mental illness is a materialistic ap- fore our fellow saints. There is, I am sure, an inner
proach which looks upon man as a bundle of electrical sanctum in the depths of the heart of every man which
energy or chemical reactions  - or both. Any type of is, in a sense, holy ground; in which no man is allowed
treatment which denies that man possesses a soul is to tread. This inner sanctum is known only to God and
bound to have debilitating effects upon the person.         to the one individual to whom it belongs. To allow
  In the second place, it simply is not true that releas- others to force their way in often does more damage
ming one's tensions by speaking or acting out whatever is than good and leaves scars that are never healed. Only
in one's mind and soul is therapy which drains the once again, we must be sure that we know this inner
person of the poisons which have accumulated there. sanctum and that God knows. It must have been this
Precisely the opposite is true. Hostility, aggressiveness, to which the Psalmist referred when he earnestly
anger, jealousy, hatred - all these things are sins, sins prayed: "Search me, 0 God, and know my heart: try
against God and man. These sins have to be fought and me, and know my thoughts: and see if there  b-e any
conquered not by making them overt sins through ex- evil way in me." Ps. 139: 23, 24a.
pressing them; but by fighting against them with pleas         Finally, it is true that communication is essential for
for God's grace on the battlefield of one's own sinful the spiritual and psychological well-being of man. God
flesh. They are evils to be banished from one's life, created him that way. It is not good for man to be
temptations to be resisted, sinful passions to be over- alone. And it is surely possible for man to build such a
come. To attempt to drain such potentially harmful wall about himself that he is, in a very real sense, iso-
passions from the person by expressing them in overt lated from all those about him, living on an island,
action is not a cure but an aggravation of the sin. This even though he sees his fellow men every day.
sort of thing makes the sin worse and the evil which           But sensitivity training is not the solution to the
infects the heart more difficult to conquer.                problem. It is probably true that even people of God
  In the third place, it is true that confession is good do not communicate very much. It is probably true
for the soul. But, although this is axiomatic, the whole that many, many griefs, problems and troubles could
matter of confession must be put into the context of be avoided if only people would talk to each other.
and be defined by- Scripture. And Scripture makes it And it is true that at the heart of communication lies a
quite clear that confession must be to God above all willingness on the part of people to listen intently and
else, from Whom forgiveness comes. It is, of course, selflessly to others' troubles and to do so in eager long-
extremely difficult to confess one's sins to God. In- ing to bear the burdens of others. But all this, too,
deed, it is spiritually impossible except by grace. And Scripture puts in the context of the communion of the
this difficulty is not only due to pride, but is also due Saints. And only there will it come to its true and rich
to our inability to see ourselves as we truly are. It is expression. The solution to the problem does not lie in
rooted in our spiritual blindness when it comes to see- group sessions where everyone is encouraged to work
ing clearly our own sins. We have 20/20 vision when it out his "h&g-ups" and to touch his neighbor. The
comes to seeing the sins of others, but are strangely solution to the problem is, on the one hand, to recog-
blind when it- comes to seeing our own. We may need nize that the unity of the saints is a unity of Christ
help for this - help from someone we can trust; help through the Spirit; therefore a unity of faith and hope
from our minister and pastor. But even here ultimately and love. And, on the other hand, to live out of that
the help must come from God. We can know our sins principle of love which is so utterly self-denying be-
only when we see ourselves in the light of God's Word, cause it is a reflection (dim indeed, but very real) of
in the blazing light of the holiness of Him Who sits God's love for His own, manifested in the cross. And
enthroned in the heavens. And we must learn to pray to live out of a self-denying love means to have one's
for the light that comes from above that we  niay see life absorbed by and dedicated to the bearing of the
and know our sins as they truly are.                        burdens of those saints of God whom God has placed
  All of this does not mean that there is no room for upon our pathway in life. But to do so for God's sake;
confessing our sins to one another. James specifically out of love for Him.
urges this upon the saints. Cf. James 5: 16. And he           There is no question about it that we have a lot to
specifically prescribes this as the way to be healed. But learn in this respect. But the lessons do not come from
this does not mean that Scripture calls us or even that sensitivity training; but from the Word of God and
it is healthy for us to bare our hearts completely be- humble obedience to it.



                                 You don't get fresh water by whitewashing the pump.


206                                              THE STANDARD BEARER


Come Ye Apart... And Rest A  .While

             A Father-Teenager Conversation
                                                    Rev. C. Hanko

   A Conversation Between Father and a Teen-ager At seeds of distrust are so readily sown in the human
the Occasion of His First Date                               mind, and distrust can be very disastrous in the home
   "So you are going out tonight? This does not take and in the family."
me entirely by surprise. I thought there was something          "But Dad, we are not getting married. We are not
in the wind when you so` willingly took your shower, evenrthinking of going steady. This is my first real date
put on your new blue jeans, and even slicked your with her."'
hair. This is quite a momentous occasion, and I say            "Tell  me, what do you know about her? You have
this in all seriousness."                                    seen her at school. You, no doubt, have watched her
   "But Dad, it's only my first date. All the kids do it out of the corner of your eye in class and between
sooner or later. Besides, she's a nice girl."                periods. You must have talked to her. What is she like?
   "That isn't what I mean. I have no objection to your Is she careful about the language she uses? With what
going out on a date now that you are sixteen years old. kind of girls does she associate? Is she respectful tco her
And I am glad that she is a nice girl. What's her name? teachers, polite and mannerly? Or is she loud, asser-
   "Oh? You met her at school? Then she does come tive? Does she talk back to her teachers? Is she rude to
from a Christian home? She herself is a serious-minded her classmates? Is she proud or haughty?"
girl?"                                                         "But Dad. . . "
   "But Dad, this is only my first date. You talk as if I      "Yes, this is your first date; I have not forgotten
am already getting serious about her."                       that. Yet it appears to me that this is a good time to
  "Evidently you are serious enough to have given her consider these things. You still have your eyes open.
more than a passing glance. You have asked her for a You are still able to use your senses. You have not yet
date. Is she neat about herself? Is she a good student? been swept away to cloud n&e.
After a while, if you are invited to her home, you will        "Son, believe it or not, I've seen a lot of dating in my
be looking around, maybe even unconsciously, to see lifetime. I know that sounds old fogyish and all that.
whether her mother is as neat in her housekeeping as Let that be. Far too many young folks are swept off
yours is. You will be sampling the cooking to see their feet by a cute face, an attractive figure, or maybe
whether her mother is teaching her the fme arts of a good basketball player, or even by a sports model
cooking. These are all fringe benefits, I know; but you coupe. They thought it was only a passing whim. It was
need not ignore them.                                        not for them to get serious. But then suddenly it hap-
  "You say that she is very popular at school. Fine,         pened. Starry-eyed they talk about being `in love.'
but does she date a lot of different boys? Are you just With a long sigh they beg their parents to believe that
one of the many that she goes out with? Don't frown          this is the real thing. Their `love' for each other will
at me like that. To you that may not seem very impor- remove every barrier of religion, every fault and every
tant. To me it is an earmark. Think of it this way: if bad habit. When once they are married,. all their
you were buying an automobile, wouldn't you prefer a problems will melt away like ice before the noon-day
brand new one that has never been driven by anyone           sun. But by that time reason has flown out of the
else? Of course, finances might compel you to look for window, common sense has disappeared. A foolish
a demonstrator or even a second hand car, when it heart and a strong passion have gained control of them.
comes to automobiles. But you still would prefer a When they awaken from their dream, it will simply be
new one, now, wouldn't you? I remember my first car too late. Do you wonder that there are so many un-
had only three miles on it when it was delivered to us.      happy marriages and so many divorces?
How proud I was of that brand new look and smell. It           "Now while you still have a clear mind, be sure to
was altogether mine. Now, if I were looking for a girl       ask yourself whether you would care to spend the rest
friend, who just might become my futu!e wife, I cer-         of your life with a person like that. Also ask yourself
tainly would not want a demonstrator, would you?             whether you will still find her appealing when she sits
Much less a `second hand one., Imagine after you were        across from you at the breakfast table in her housecoat
married having this fellow and that one talking to your w&her hair pinned up and slippers on her feet.
wife about the good times they had together. Don't             "Yes, and while you are searching your mind, ask
you think that would make you a bit jealous? Besides,        yourself whether this is the kind of wife that you


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                 207


  would be able to confide in after marriage. Would your           you find out how she feels  about her church, her
 hearts still beat as one when you faced life's trials to-         catechism, and` the like. It is absolutely essential that
  gether? Would she be able to stand by you and help               you agree on one fundamental thing: Your faith in
 you to fulfill your life task? Would she be the kind of           God. Nothing, absolutely nothing is as fundamental as
 mother that you would want for your children? Would               that!
 you like to see her reflected in your children? Would               "Your happiness, her happiness, the happiness of
 you entrust your precious treasures to her?"                      your possible future family depends on one thing; and
    "0 children! Who's talking about a family?"                    that is that you see eye to eye on the truth of Scrip-
    "Please do not grow impatient with me, because I               ture, so that you can go through life in perfect spiritual
  am not finished yet. Yes, I know that you have to go.            harmony. Marriage is a legal contract, as far as the law
 There will be opportunity to talk again. All right. Fine.         is concerned. And marriage is also a physical union
 Please keep the communication channels open between               between two persons for life. But real marriage is a
 us, so that we can have our talks together. No one is as          spiritual bond that is holy, because it is the picture of
 interested in your welfare as your mother and I.                  Christ and His church. I would like to talk to you
    "But now for the real question. What are you going             about that again some time.
  to do on your date? Just ride and talk a bit after the             "And now, son, just one more thing before you go.
 game? Fine. We'll be looking for you to be home no                Pray about this, won't you? Do me this little favor.
 later than midnight. That will give you plenty of time            Read Genesis 24 and take note how God brought to
  to have your little chat."                                       Isaac the woman of God's choice. He does, you know.
    "What does one talk about on his first date, Dad?" He brings, as by His own hand, to every man his own
    "Well, a lot of little things, I suppose; school, your         wife. And when God points out to you the right one in
 studies, your likes and dislikes about music, and a               His mercy, happy you'll be. And only then.
dozen other things.  Btit in the meantime, be sure that              "Goodbye. Have fun."


  Contending for the Faith

                                 The Doctrine of Atonement
                                              THIRD PERIOD - 730-l 517 A.D.
                                                               ANS'ELM

                                                        Rev. H. Veldman

    We now continue with our quotations from                                proper for God to put away sins by compassion
  Anselm's book, "Cur Deum Homo," following the                             alone, without any payment of the honor taken from
  guidelines as set forth by Philip Schaff in his History of                Him.
  the Christian Church, vol. V, 604 f.f.                                      Boso. I do not see why it is not proper.
    Anselm taught that God cannot allow His original                          Anselm. To remit. sin in this manner is nothing else
  purpose to be thwarted. Sin must be forgiven, but                         than not to punish; and since it is not right to cancel
                                                                            sin without compensation or punishment; if it be not
  how? Man owes subjection to God's will. Sin is                            punished, then is it passed by undischarged.
  denying to God the honor due Him. Satisfaction must                         Boso. What you say is reasonable.
  be rendered to justice before there can be forgiveness.                     Anselm. It is not fitting for God to pass over any-
  Bare xestitution, however, is not a sufficient satisfac-           - thing in His kingdom undischarged.
  tion. For his "contumely," man must give back more                          Boso. If I wish to oppose this, I fear to sin.
  than he has taken. He must compensate God's honor.                          Anselm. It is, therefore, not proper for God thus to
  Just as he who has inflicted a wound must not only                        pass over sin unpunished.
  heal the wound, but pay damages to satisfy  the                     From this quotation it surely is obvious that Anselm
  demands of violated honor.                                       did not believe it proper for the Lord to put away sins
    In his "Cur Deum Homo" Anselm certainly teaches                by compassion alone. God does not pass over anything
  that it would not be proper for the Lord to put away             in His kingdom undischarged.
  sins by compassion alone, without payment of debt.                  However, Anselm also taught that bare restitution is
  This book was written in--the form of a dialogue. We             not sufficient satisfaction, Man must give more than he
  read on page 203:                                                has taken. This he teaches in the following, pages
         Anselm. Let us return and consider whether it were        202-203:


208                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER



         This is the debt (that a rational creature must be               sin. But you owe God every one of those things
       subject to the will of God, H.V.) which man and                    which you have mentioned. For, in this mortal state,
       angel owe to God, and no one who pays this debt                    there should be such love and such desire of attaining
       commits sin; but every one who does not pay it sins.               the true end of your being, which is the meaning of
       This is justice, or uprightness of will, which makes a             prayer, and such grief that you have not yet reached
       being just or upright in heart, that is, in will; and this         this object, and such fear lest you fail of it, that you
       is the sole and complete debt of honor which we owe                should find joy in nothing which does not help you
       to God, and which God requires of us. For it is such a             or give encouragement of your success. . . . But you
       will only, when it can be exercised, that does works               ought to view the gifts which you bestow as a part of
       pleasing to God; and when this will cannot be                      your debt, since you know that what you give comes
       exercised, it is pleasing of itself alone, since without it        not from yourself, but from him whose servant both
       no work is acceptable. He who does not render this                 you are and he also to whom you give. And nature
       honor which is due to God, robs God of His own and                 herself teaches you to do to your fellow servant, man
       dishonors Him; and this is sin. Moreover, so long as he            to man, as you would be done by; and that he who
       does not restore what he has taken away, he remains.               will not bestow what he has ought not to receive
       in fault; and it will not merely suffice to restore what           what he has not.
       has been taken away, but, considering the contempt               The reasoning here of Anselm is clear. When we give
       offered, he ought to restore more than he took away.           what we ought to give or do what we ought to do, we
       For as one who imperils another's safety does not              are simply doing our duty, and when we do what we
       enough by merely restoring his safety, without                 ought to do this can never be meritorious. Simply
       making some compensation for the anguish incurred;             doing one's duty can never be accounted by God as the
       so he who violates another's honor does not enough
       by merely rendering honor again, but must, according           payment of sin. This is the same truth as set forth by
       to the extent of the injury done, make restoration in          our Lord Jesus Christ in Luke 17: 10: "So likewise ye,
       some way satisfactory to the person whom he has                when ye shall have done all those things which are
       dishonored. We must also observe that when any one             commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants: we
       pays what he has unjustly taken away, he ought to              have done that which was our duty to do." If a person
       give something which could not have been demanded              were to commit only one sin throughout his entire life,
       of him, had he not stolen what belonged to another.            in his earliest infancy, and then live a perfectly holy
       So then, every one who sins ought to pay back the              life throughout all his days and years in this world, he
       honor of which he has robbed God; and this is the              could never pay for that one sin he committed, be-
       satisfaction which every sinner owes to God.                   cause, living a perfectly holy life, he would do nothing
  And Philip  Schaff also remarks that, according to                  else than that which is required of him.
Anselm, he who has inflicted a wound must not only                      Anselm also emphasized that God's justice man is
heal the wound, but pay damages to satisfy the de- not able to satisfy. Man ought, but cannot. God need
mands of violated honor.                                              not, but does. For, most foreign to God would it be to
  Moreover, according to this great schoolman, all sin
must either receive punishment or be covered by satis- allow man, the most precious of His creatures, to
faction. Can man make this satisfaction? No. Were it perish. But as God Himself must make the satisfaction,
possible for him to lead a perfectly holy life, from the and man ought to make it, the satisfaction must be
                                                                      made by one who is both God and man, that is, the
moment he became conscious of his debt, he would be
simply doing his duty for that period. The debt of the                God-man.
past would remain unsettled. But sin having struck at                   This truth Anselm sets forth in his book on pages
the roots of man's being, he is not able to lead a per- 244-245  :
                                                                            Anselm. But this cannot be effected, except the
fect life. This truth Anselm sets forth in the following                  price paid to God for the sin of man be something
quotation from his book, "Cur Deum Homo:"                                 greater than all the universe besides God. (We must
          Anselm. Tell me, then what payment you make                     bear in mind that sin, committed against God, is
       God for your sin?                                                  greater than all the universe, inasmuch as God is
          Boso. Repentance, a broken and contrite heart,                  greater than the universe, and therefore the price paid
       self-denial, various bodily sufferings, pity in giving             for sin must be greater than all the universe,  - H.V.)
       and forgiving, and obedience.                                         Boso. So it appears.
         Anselm. What do you give to God in all these?                      Anselm. Moreover, it is necessary that he who can
          Boso. Do I not honor God, when, for His love and                give God anything of his own which is more valuable
       fear, in heartfelt contrition I give up worldly joy, and           than all things in the possession of God, must be
       despise, amid abstinence and toils, the delights and               greater than all else but God Himself.
       ease of this life, and submit obediently to Him, freely               Boso. I cannot deny it.
       bestowing my possessions in giving to and releasing                  Anselm. Therefore none but God can make this
       others?                                                            satisfaction.
         Anselm. When you render anything to God which                      Boso. So it appears.
       you owe him, irrespective of your past sin, you                      Anselm. If it be necessary, therefore, as it appears,
       should not reckon this as the debt which you owe for               that the heavenly kingdom be made up of men, and


                                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                   209



       this cannot be effected unless the aforesaid satisfac-                                        sinner and constitutes the satisfaction required.
       tion be made, which none but God can make and                                                   On page 257 Anselm writes the following:
       none but man ought to make, it is necessary for the                                                 If we say that he will give himself to God by obedi-
       God-man to make it.                                                                               ence, so as, by steadily maintaining holiness, to
           Boso. Now blessed be God! We have made a great                                                render himself subject to His will, this will not be
       discovery with regard to our question. Go on, there-                                              giving a thing not demanded of him by God as his
       fore, as you have begun. For I hope that God will                                                 due. For every reasonable being owes his obedience
       assist you.                                                                                       to God.
           Anselm. Now must we inquire how God can be-                                                 And on page 258 he writes this:
       come man.
    Finally, according to Anselm, to make satisfaction,                                                    Now, nothing can be more severe or difficult for
                                                                                                         man to do for God's honor, than to suffer death
the God-man must give back to God something he is                                                        voluntarily when not bound by obligation; and man
n o t   u n d e r   o b l i g a t i o n   t o   r e n d e r .   A   l i f e   o f   p e r f e c t        cannot give himself to God in any way more truly
obedience he owes. Death he does owe, for death is the                                                   than by surrendering himself to death for God's
wages of sin, and he had no sin. By submitting to --.                                                    honor. Therefore, he who wishes to make atonement
death, he acquired merit. Because  this merit is infinite                                                for man's sin should be one who can die if he
in value, being connected with the person of the infi-                                                   chooses.
nite Son of God, it covers the infinite guilt of the


From Holy Writ
                                           Exposition Of Hebrews
                                                                                     Rev. G. Lubbers

THE  ESCHATOLOG~CAL  MOTIF  OF  FELLOWSHIP                                                           the judgment seat of Christ, in the day of the resurrec-
OF SAINTS (Hebrews IO:25 b)                                                                          tion, some unto the resurrection of damnation and
                                                                                                     some  unto the resurrection of life. That will be the
    There was ample reason given for considering one                                                 Day of the final manifestation of the perfection of the
another to provoke unto love and good works in the                                                   Son of Man, crowned with honor and glory. Of this
text. It was the motif of being fruitful in the Lord with                                            Day of the Lord the Scriptures are replete, both in the
the fruits of thankfulness for the great redemption                                                  Old and in the New Testament. That will be the End of
wherewith we have been saved from sin and death!                                                     the world and the Parousia of Christ with all His own!
    However, now the writer adds one more reason, and                                                  Implied here is, that in view of this Day, the church
that a very prepondering one. It is that of the reward                                               should live in watchfulness unto prayer. This need for
or judgment which shall be the lot of God's people in                                                watchfulness is emphatically taught by Jesus in the
the day of Christ. The Lord will judge His people right-                                             parable of the Ten Virgins. And in all the accounts of
eously according to their works. And, therefore, it is                                               Jesus' eschatological discourses we learn that we are to
imperative that we consider one another unto love and                                                be watchful unto prayer. No one knows the hour or
to good works in view of the coming of the Day. The the day when the Lord shall return. This is withheld
writer says "and that so much the more." In view of .from us by our heavenly Father. Our Lord tells us that
this coming day, when God shall punish the wicked                                                    we must have our treasure in that day and the great.
and reward the righteous - we ought the more to give                                                 blessedness which shall be ours then. It is a blessedness
heed unto each ,other unto love and good works, and                                                  for all who love His appearance in glory. In that day
not forsake the coming together under the ministry of the little flock will receive the Kingdom, and looking
the Word of reconciliation.                                                                          for that day with earnest hope and joyful expectation.
    We ought to notice that the writer does not define                                               we need not fear. Says our Lord "Sell all that ye have,
the "Day" here by any such addition or description as                                                and give alms; provide yourselves bags that wax not
"the day  of the Lord," the "day of Christ," the day                                                 old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no
"of judgment." He simply writes  "the  Day." He pre-                                                 thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth, for where
supposes that the readers will know what Day this is.                                                your treasure is there will your heart be also. Let your
This is the Divinely appointed Day which will be the                                                 loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye
end of the history of the world. That will be the Day                                                yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when
when God shall judge the world through one man,                                                      he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh
Jesus Christ. (Acts 17: 31) All must then appear before                                              and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.


210                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he He has brought about the purification of our sins. This
cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that "truth" is the reality of the heavenly gift in Christ, to
he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to         be made a partaker of the Holy Ghost, the power of
meat, and will come forth and serve them. . . ."            the coming age as this reveals itself in giving repentance
  What a glorious and blessed prospect!                     from sin unto life `eternal! The writer speaks of those
  In view of that great blessedness we must not for-        "after they have received the knowledge of the truth."
sake the gathering together of the saints.                  To receive the  knowledge  of the truth indicates that
  Fact is, that the writer speaks of the church seeing those who sin wilfully are such as have a thorough intel-
this Day drawing nigh. There is a difference of inter- lectual understanding of the Gospel and of the doc-
pretation of this. Some refer this to the drawing nigh trine of salvation in Christ. They have been enlightened
of the .time of the destruction of Jerusalem. It was very naturally, and have tasted with their natural under-
evident that the earthly Jerusalem and the temple were standing the good Word of God and the power of the
about to be destroyed. This would spell the end of the coming age. With these apostasy is stubborn unbelief.
bid Testament shadows and types forever. The temple           2. For these sin the sin of "having trodden under-
would be destroyed, never to be rebuilt. In view of this    foot the Son of God." This is the sin of the unbelieving
destruction, the believing Hebrews must not look back Jews at the time of Jesus' crucifixion, when they say:
to the Old Testament types, but press forward unto he made himself the Son of God, and therefore He
perfection in the glory to come. Others feel that this must die. They deny the Sonship  of the Christ, and are
refers to the coming of the Lord in the Last Day. not unchristian merely, but they are antichrists? The
Personally, we believe that these two cannot be sepa- expression to "trod under foot" means to reject pub-
rated. The Old is removed forever to bring in the New licly, before God and man. Furthermore, such "count
and immovable inheritance. That will be the perfection the blood of the covenant a common thing." The
of all God's works in the New Heaven and New Earth          blood of the Son of God is denied to be a propitiation
where righteousness shall dwell. Then shall the church for the sins of the people. It is made. as the blood of a
enter into the perfected and finished work off God in       cow or a goat. And it denied that Christ has once and
Christ, and shall enjoy the Sabbath which remaineth for all paid for our sins on the Cross, shedding His
for the children of God, the tabernacle of God with blood to make reconciliation for the people. And they
man!                                                        do this, even though once they acknowledged that
                                                            with this blood they were set apart to the service of
THE  WILFUL  SIN OF APOSTASY AND ITS `VENGE-                the living God, having their consciences purified from
FUL CONSEQUENCES. (Hebrews 10:26-31)                        dead works to serve the living God. Yes, once they
  I must confess that there was a time when I could         acknowledged that they had free access to draw nigh
only read this passage of Scriptures with a "certain        by this blood and the new and living way unto the
fearful expectation of judgment!" Now I see that I was. living God Himself in His Sanctuary where angels cover
so very wrong in those days when reading this passage their faces. And, finally, such are these that they have
of Scripture, and I praise and thank the Lord forever. I a deep attitude of despising the Spirit of grace. They
was wrong in that I did not see that the writer here is     sin against the Holy Ghost, and ascribe the newness of
not speaking of mere conscious sins of weakness of the      life wrought by the Spirit working grace unto evil
flesh, doing that which we would not, sin taking us         agencies, even to Satan himself. And when this is done
captive, sold under sin, as averred by the Apostle Paul they are thoroughly reprobate in all their heart and
in Romans 7, but that the writer is here speaking of thoughts.
Reprobate unbelievers, who fall away from the living          But now they sin wilfully after having received the
God. Such was the lot of those many in the desert.,         knowledge of the truth! And this is held before the
who could not enter into the promised land because of eyes of the believers  as  a threat and warning. And
their unbelief. Of these God swore in his wrath that        when the Spirit thus applies this warning to the hearts
they should not enter into His rest.                        of the believers and to us, then He works grace in our
  It is of the sin of wilful apostasy from the truth in hearts. And to God be all the glory both for the means
Christ and from the living God in Christ that the writer and the fruit. (Canons, II,IV,17)
is here speaking. And we would notice the following           For such apostates there is nothing left but the
elements which the writer points out as being the vengeful wrath of the living God.
component parts of this wilful sin.                           1. Negatively, the text says that there remains for
  1. This is a sin which can only be committed by           such no offering for their sins. This might mean to
those who have received a thorough knowledge of the say that whereas they reject the only offering made
truth. The "truth" here must be the reality of the for sin, by the blood of the covenant (the New
Gospel of God; the salvation which God has wrought Testament in Christ's blood) it is vain to seek for
in Christ Jesus, in which it is evident that Christ is any other. All that is left is  a'Jewish wall of wailing.
made higher than the angels at God's right hand after For the law made nothing perfect, and a return


                                               THE STANDARD BE-ARER                                                      211



 to the law and the shadows is of no avail. It is in-          must clearly see is the doom of those who sin wilfully
 terpreted by some as meaning that the sin of  such~is         as "covenant-breakers;" it is the lot of those who hate
 that theirs is pure unbelief and now the once proffered       God. To drive this point home the writer cites the
 salvation is forever taken from them. From them is cases from the Old Testament who set the law of
 taken even what they think to have. They are put out Moses aside, despising it and trampling it under foot.
 of the fellowship forever of the church, driven away These perished without mercy. The cases here cited are
 from before the face of the Lord forever! It seems to those "who sinned  presumfituously." These were in
 me that both of these elements are here included.             opposition to those who sinned ignorantly, who stum-
   2. What is left? Nothing else than a certain fearful bled in many sins and came with heartfelt sorrow to
 expectation of judgment. This expression indicates confess them. These who sinned ignorantly took refuge
 something terrifyingly horrible. It is the constant wait- in the blood as it pointed to the great sacrifice which
 ing for judgment while here on earth, because of the would be brought by the Lamb of God which taketh
 gnawing conscience of sin. Instead~ of glad assurance of away the sin of the world. Now if such who sinned
 forgiveness and full assurance of faith, there is nothing wilfully died without mercy, how much more will not
 but a waiting for judgment- just as the devils in hell are .those die without mercy who tread under foot the
 in pits of darkness waiting their judgment. 0, the an- blood of the eternal covenant?                            . .
 guish of the man who does not have a sacrifice for sins!        For God judges His people. He makes a separation
 These have this anguish because they have full knowl- between the believers and the unbelievers, between the
 edge of the truth. For this judgment is eternal condem-       sheep and the goats, and He does so righteously and
 nation from. the presence of the Lord. It is a "certain inerrantly. He removes the chaff from the  threshing-
 fiery judgment which consumes the enemy." This we floor and brings the wheat into the garner.


 In His  Fear
                               Masters of Mistake
                                                  Rev. John A. Heys
         I





  ;*re you aware of the fact that we never find the            that word mistake. When used as a verb, he tells us, it
 wordimistake in the Bible?                                    means, "1. To misapprehend, misunderstand, or mis-
   Some of the more modern translations in their bold          conceive; 2. to substitute erroneously in thought or per-
 freedom may distort the truth of a text by using that ception; as to mistake James for John; to err in recog-
 word; but nowhere in a faithful translation of the nizing, estimating, etc.". When used as a noun,
 words which Scripture uses will you find that word according to Webster, it means, "1. An apprehending
 mistake.                                                      wrongly; a misunderstanding; 2. an unintentional
   We do not mean, and are not saying,, that there are ,-error. " It ought to be plain then that we should be
 not actions of men recorded in Scripture that cannot careful when we use the word, and not quickly label
 be called mistakes. There are such actions recorded.          the deeds of men as mistakes. We ought to be willing -
_ Joseph was about to  ,make the mistake of divorcing          and in His fear we will be willing - to call a spade a
 Mary upon the Biblical ground of adultery. He enter- spade, and the actions which Scripture calls sin is
 tained serious thoughts of "putting her away" because nothing short of sin.
 he was a just (righteous) man. The angel of God in His          Sin is never a mistake, `is never the result of mis-
 mercy made plain to Joseph that he was mistaken.              understanding God's will, is never an unintentional
 Two men travelling the road to Emmaus mistook their error. .Sin always is a matter of the will of man. Jesus
 Companion, Who had joined them along the way, as a tau-ght us that every sinful deed is an act of hatred'
 stranger just come into these parts that very day, for against the living God. And hatred is an act of the will,
 "their eyes were  holden that they should not know even as love is an act of the will. Jesus taught us this
 Him." For a time they were mistaken in their judg-            clearly when He told us that the whole law of God is
 ment of this Companion.                                       that we love God with all our soul, mind, will and
   What we are saying, however, is this, that many of strength. Any deed void of that love of God is sin. We
 the actions of men which today are called mistakes are        must not then, try to minimize sin by calling it an act
 never called that .in Scripture, but instead are called by    of poor judgment, an unintentional error. Man always
 their right name: SIN!                                        sins intentionally. He sins because he wills something
   Take a look.once at what Webster has to say about .which he may not have.
                                                                      .-
                                                                     -II`r !


                                                                                        n



212                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



  Let us go back to the beginning of the matter and           matter, us - on that basis. Paul writes to the church at
observe what took place when sin entered the world.           Rome and declares that "by the offence of one many
Adam and Eve did not misapprehend God's command.              be dead." He declares that, "By one man  sin entered
They did not misunderstand their calling. Even Eve,           into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
when she corrupts God's command by stating that man           upon all men, for that  all have sinned." All did not
might not even touch the fruit of the tree of the make a mistake in Adam. Not one in the human race is
knowledge of good and of evil, does not reveal any excused because of a mental quirk on Adam's part. But
misunderstanding of God's command that they might through a sin, through an act of hatred from the heart,
not eat of it, and that to eat of it would be SIN. And this friend-servant of God caused the whole human
even if we concede that they were tempted to see that race to receive by the natural birth a God-hating nature
command in a different light, and were deceived into that produces all manner of sin, and is utterly void of
thinking that God's command was not good, and that' the fear of God. Let us call sin what it is. And let us
His threat was an empty one, they sinned because they         understand well that when we call it a mistake, we are
willed what God had plainly told them they might not not making a mistake, but instead we are denying the
have. And they ate in hate! `They did not disobey in          truth of God's Word.
some unintentional error. They did not mistake God's            All this does not mean that we can never speak of a
command for Satan's suggestion. They clearly saw the mistake or of man being mistaken. It does not mean
difference between the two. But they wanted some- that our title cannot stand and ought to be changed to
thing that they did not have. And, knowing full well          Masters of Sin. We are masters of mistake. As the
that they were going contrary to God and were be-             saying goes, "That is why they put erasers on pencils."
coming His enemies, and rivals, and rebels, they ate. There are unintentional errors. We do often misunder-
No mistake was made by them. They  were mistaken stand each other.
about what their sin would bring them, and they soon.           Printing mistakes appear after most careful proof
found out that they had been deceived by Satan. But reading by many pairs of eyes. Children, learning to
their deed was not an unintentional error; and it was         play a musical instrument, by mistake strike wrong
not due to a misconception of what their calling was.         keys and produce sounds that not only are not in the
And we write about this matter of Masters of Mistake, score but which clash with what is called for in the
because of the current use of the word that takes away score. Who has not experienced the annoyance of
the sting of sin and excuses sin as nothing more than a       being disturbed, often in the wee hours of the night,
matter of poor judgment. Yea, murder even is cur-             because someone mistakenly dialed his phone number?
rently presented as nothing more than an act of It may have been but one digit out of seven that was
"temporary insanity." That it is due to hatred in the unintentionally dialed, but one home was filled with
heart toward God and the  neighbour is denied. It is fright, and another home had to wait longer for the
due only to a mental quirk, and then one that is              expected call that all was well.
temporary. Without any regenerating grace of God,               It is the human error, the misunderstanding of a
without any spiritual renewal, but only by a natural          signal, the poor judgment of a man that causes more
process, that temporary condition of insanity will            automobile collisions and plane crashes than mechani-
leave. It all was a big mistake. But do not call it any-      cal defects. And look at what we have done with our
thing more! Pity that man rather than the bereaved            environment! We have polluted our streams and lakes.
family. Justify him rather than defend those wronged.         Bodies of water that teemed with fish, and provided us
Such is the world's philosophy today.                         with food, have now become our dead seas. Our
  And although we have for our theme "Masters of soldiers have dropped bombs on their own troops. We
Mistake," for a reason soon to be explained, we may have taken the wrong exit off the freeway and not
point out here that we are first masters of ethical error.    only lost much time trying to get back on again, but at
masters of  sin.  And the master stroke of it all, the        times also our way, and become snarled up in the
master stroke then of sin, was exactly that one wherein       traffic we tried so hard to avoid. But why go on?
we, created in the image of God, as His friend-servants,      Mistakes, mistakes! They are all around us. We are ridi-
set out to be masters, to be our own masters and to be        culed for them sometimes. We suffer for them so
like God. Due to this deed of seeking the Master's            often. We chide ourselves about them and resolve to
place we become masters both of sin and of mistake.           do otherwise the next time; and in our extra care make
  But note that we did not seek that mastery and              a different mistake in the opposite direction.
discard our role as friend-servants by a deed of                Sometimes they bring only a smile, and in them-
"temporary insanity." We did so in an act of hatred selves are laughable. There are times when they bring
against God.' We did it in a deliberate act of rebellion,     tragedy. Some years ago several infants died in the
fully conscious of what we were doing. And Adam did nursery of a hospital because someone mistakenly  -
not plead "Not guilty by reason of temporary in-              and not intentionally - added boric acid to the babies'
sanity." Nor does God excuse him  - or for that formula instead of another ingredient. A doctor's mis-


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                            213



taken diagnosis has often led to death because the pro- dom, which also produce carelessness. Because we have
per treatment was not begun in time.                         not the: fear of the Lord, which is the beginning, the
  0, we are masters of mistakes! We can make mistakes principle of wisdom, we are masters of sin. We just do
without trying. In fact, the moment that we try, it is no    not know how to serve God. And we cannot will to
mistake any more. But all these lines have been written      serve Him, as we are by our first birth. But it is also
to bring this question to you: Do you find anything this lack of the fear of the Lord, the lack of this begin-
like this in the rest of the creation from which in folly    ning of wisdom that makes us masters of mistake. The
some claim that we evolved as the highest product? Do holy angels who retained the knowledge and wisdom
these beasts of the field make the mistakes which we wherein God created them never make any mistakes.
repeatedly manifest? Do the birds of the air make the We do that here on this earth. We do not see God in
mistakes that pilots with their planes make when try- His creation. We do not understand our calling before
ing to land their planes? Did they pollute our air and Him with that creation. We know only that we want to
create our smog? Did the fish, who swim in schools seek ourselves and satisfy the lusts of our flesh.
and yet know nothing about "reading, writing and               The rebirth will not put an end to our mistakes here
`rithmatic" pollute our waters for us, or did we  killl      on this earth. It will not put an end to our sins. The
them off by our mistakes? If, indeed, we evolved from new man will never be found sinning. See I John 3: 9.
them as a higher development of what they were, how But while in this flesh we shall still sin according to the
is it that we do not find them making all the mistakes old nature and multiply sin and mistakes. Believers still
that our lives produce?                                      will need erasers o-n pencils. We will still be careless,
  By all means, let us never charge God with any mis- because we will, according to the flesh, still care less
takes. He does nothing unintentionally. He never mis- about God's glory and our calling before Him than we
understands. The cross whereon His Son died was no did at creation. But the resurrection will - and for the
mistake; nor was the choice of Judas as one of the redeemed soul, death will - loose us from all mistakes
disciples. All comes forth out of the inscrutable wis- as well as from all sin. For God shall be all in all of our
dom of God, and is executed in a way utterly void of thinking and willing. And we shall see face to face
any mistakes of any kind at any time. He IS the Master instead of through a glass darkly. Then we shall be
and He is working on a masterpiece.                          perfect creatures in a perfect environment who will
  There is, of course, a connection between our posi- serve our God perfectly.
tion as masters of sin and masters of mistake. Our             For that the whole creation groans. Do you?
mistakes are due to our lack of knowledge and of wis-


Feature

                      The Concern of of the Reformation
                             For Christian Education (5)
                                               Rev. David Engelsma

  Who was suppose to establish and maintain these            bountifully and diligently cared for, with everything
Christian Schools?                                           provided for them." Later in this same "Sermon,"
  Luther's answer was: The civil authorities of each Luther berates the parents for keeping their children
city. The very title of his earliest work on Christian       from attending this school, although they have this
Education shows this: "To the Councilmen of All education "without cost or trouble to you; for you do
Cities in Germany that They Establish and Maintain not now have to support either schools or pastors, as
Christian Schools." He called on the councilmen, or you would be bound to do according to the gospel . . .
local civil government, to establish the schools. These You have everything, all of it free of charge. . . ." `Be-
same civil authorities also financed the schools. In his     cause some parents refused to educate their children,
later work, "A Sermon on Keeping Children in Luther admonished the government to compel parents
School," Luther commends the council of Nurnberg to send their children to school:
                                                                 But  I hold that it is the duty of the temporal author-
for establishing a Christian School and remarks that he          ity to compel its subjects to keep their children in
hopes the parents keep their children in that school,            school, especially the promising ones we mentioned
"since without cost to themselves their children are so          above. . . .


  214                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



     This would seem to put Luther squarely in favor of Christian, "Lutheran" men. He could trust them to set
  the public school system, as found, for example, in the up Godly Schools. He did not foresee the "secular
  U.S., and in opposition to our contention that, not the State."
   State, but the parents have the calling to establish and         In the second place, Luther did recognize and assert
  maintain schools, that is, educate their children. Some, that the duty of educating the children belonged to the
  in fact, call Luther the father of the present public          parents, not to the civil authorities. In the work, "To
  schools.                                                       the Councilmen of Germany," he exhorts the council-
     In his judgment that the civil authorities should es- men, the civil government, to establish schools. The
  tablish the Christian Schools, Luther erred. Un- reason, he says, is that God requires the children of
  doubtedly, this error has had bad consequences for believing parents to be reared and trained, which in-
  Christian education, both in Europe and the U.S. Be- cludes Christian Day School education. He then
  cause of that error, many believers are content with imagines that the councilmen raise an objection: "Ah,
  government-controlled, public education that is in no you say, but all that is spoken to the parents; what
  sense Christian. The error made at the beginning of the business is it of councilmen and the authorities?" A
  Christian School movement of handing the schools over good objection! What is Luther's reply? "Yes, that is
  to the State carried within itself the seed of the destruc-    true. . . ." Note that reply! Luther agrees that it is the
  tion of the Christian School.Movement.  For, inevitably, parents' duty. Why then does he call on the State?
  the governments became less and less Christian, so that Luther continues, ". . . but what if the parents fail to
  the schools they maintained and controlled became              do their duty? Who then is to do it? Is it for this
  more and more secularized. That is, the Word of God reason to be left undone, and the children neglected?
  tias gradually driven out of the schools, so that the ed-      How will the authorities and council then justify their
  ucation was no longer Christian. Luther's view that the position, that such matters are not their responsi-
  State should provide education is andther  expressioni bility?" It seemed to the hard-pressed Luther that the
  of a basic mistake in his thought, the mistake of ascribi exigencies of the times required that the principle be
  ing an illegitimate authority to the State and of en- waived for practical realities. But he did see and assert
  couraging the State to encroach on the sovereign do-' the principle: Parents must educate their children! The
  main of the home not only, but also of the  Church.: same thing is implied in the quotation made before,
  Not only did Luther praise the council for founding concerning the financing of the schools. After Luther
  schools, but he also praised them for founding reminded the parents that they did not have "to sup-
. churches. Not only did the civil authorities support the port either schools or pastors," he adds, "as you would
  school-teacher, but they also paid the pastor's salary. be bound to do according to the gospel."
  Not only did they regulate the school, but they also             Luther himself, despite his fault here, teaches us
  exercised authority over the internal, ecclesiastical af- that believing parents have the duty of establishing and
  fairs of the church. It remained for John Calvin and maintaining Christian Schools. History should have
  the Calvinistic branch of the Reformation to maintain taught us by now that only then are our children as-
  the separation of the Church and the State and to sured of an education that is Christian.
  delimit the rights and duties of the Civil Government.           One other element of Luther's thought regarding the
     After we have made this fundamental criticism, place of the State in education deserves consideration.
  however, we should, in fairness, take note of several Luther held that the State, as State, had a stake in the
  things that radically distinguish Luther from the sup- good education of its citizenry. A well-educated
  porters of present-day, government-controlled, public citizenry is advantageous to any government, if indeed
  education. The main distinction lies in the fact that it is not necessary. For this reason, it belongs to the
  Luther demanded  Christian  Schools. He demanded State's authority to make education  compulsory. If
  them of the State, to be sure, but he demanded of the this is the case, and I think it is, the State should, take
  State schools that would be Christian throughout. He note that we maintain our own schools, and to the
  demanded that the Word of God not only be in the extent that we provide our own schools, relieve us of
  school but that it also reign there alone! Schools where the taxes that provide for the schools of the  cother
  the Word did not reign, he called "the great gates of citizens. It belongs to the State's jurisdiction, and is
  hell." He would advise no one to send his son where            part of the State's concern for justice, to see to it that
  the Word did not reign paramount. In his time, the some of its citizens do not have to pay double for
  civil authorities, in his Germany, to whom he ad- education.
  dressed the fervent plea to establish schools, were


                                 A spoken word and a thrown stone  cannoi  be recalled.


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 215


                                      IiOOK  Rl?lVIEW
WHAT'S NEW IN RELIGION? by Kenneth Hamilton; in philosophical argument and not in Scripture. This is
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1968; 176 pp.,              a mistake. while there is something correct apologeti-
$3.95.                                                      cally in analyzing arguments of unbelievers and even
  The author of this book is professor of Systematic        showing where their own argumentation goes astray,
Theology in the Theological Faculty of United College       the final answer to unbelievers is Scripture. Hamilton
in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His concern in several books he      does not do this. For an answer from Scripture to
has written is with the new "theologies" which have         these men, one must go elsewhere.
recently appeared which solemnly avow that -"God is                                                            H.H.
dead." This book deals especially with Bishop John
Robinson, who began the current tempest, Paul Tillich,
Paul van Buren, Thomas Altizer, William Hamilton,
Harvey Cox, Joseph Fletcher and others. He not only
discusses their "religious philosophies" but also their
ethics, which has come to be known as "the new
morality" or "situation ethics."
  The book is a real help in an attempt to understand
what these men are trying to say and can well serve as              ANNIVERSARY ANNOUNCEMENT
a guide through their dark and labyrinthine writings.         On January 20, 197  1, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob  S. De
One interested inlearning about these men will do well Vries commemorated their 50th wedding anniversary.
to read the book. `But there are weaknesses. For one        We gratefully acknowledge our Heavenly Father for all
thing, and most basic, it seems a bit too much to take      the wonderful gifts we might share in. We can only
these men so seriously that an  entire,book has to be       say: "0 praise and bless the Lord my soul, and ever
devoted to them. They are atheists, mockers of religion     thankful be; forget not all His benefits He has be-
and blasphemers. Ought a Christian to devote an entire      stowed on thee."(Psalm 103)
volume to them? Secondly, while Bishop Robinson
especially claims to be developing the views of Dietrich                           Their grateful children:
Bonhoeffer, Hamilton claims that Bonhoeffer is being                                Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur Van Zante
misinterpreted when these atheists appeal to him.                                      Mr. and Mrs. James De Vries
While there may be some element of truth in this asser-                                Mr. and Mrs. Bernie De Vries
tion, our reading of Bonhoeffer leads us to the conclu-                                    Mr. and Mrs. Harold Vos
sion that Hamilton is much too charitable in his                                    Mr. and Mrs. Maynard De Vries
analysis when he finds in Bonhoeffer one who has                                      Mr. and Mrs. Albert E. Rouw
something positive to offer to conservative theology.                                    Mr. and Mrs. Ray De Vries
Thirdly, Hamilton's critique of these men is grounded       Pella, Iowa                        and 30 grandchildren



                             News From Our Churches

             REPORT OF CLASSIS EAST                         on their activities. Elders J. Prince and P. Knott were
                   January 6, 1971                          appointed to serve on the Finance Committee, R.
                   At Hope Church                           Clawson was appointed to thank the ladies of Hope
                                                            Church for their excellent catering services.
  Rev. G. Van Baren, chairman of the October Classis,         Subsidy requests were presented by Holland and
led in opening devotions, and, after the credentials        Kalamazoo. Elders Ondersma, Lanning, and Talsma
were received, declared Classis to be properly consti-      served as a committee of pre-advice. The subsidy` re-
tuted. All the churches were represented by two dele-       quests were found in order and were forwarded to
gates. Rev. R. C. Harbach, due to the absence of Rev.       Synod for approval.
H. Veldman, who had been delayed in his return from           Requests for classical appointments were submitted
a classical appointment in Doon, then presided. Rev.        by Hope and Southwest, and from  Classis West for
G. Van  Baren recorded the minutes. The business at         Randolph and Oak Lawn. Rev. J. Heys, Rev. M.
hand was routine and was carried out with dispatch.         Schipper,  and Elder R. Bloem served on the Classical
The Stated Clerk and the Classical Committee reported       Appointment Committee. It was recommended by the


 THE STANDARD BEARER
        P.O. Box 6064
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506



216                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



committee and later approved by  Classis that  Classis       Grand Rapids First Church are still alive. At present, a
West be requested to supply Oak Lawn, and that Rev.          number of couples and individuals meet in various
R. Decker be requested to serve his scheduled Hull homes and discuss the sermon of that particular Sun-
appointment in Doon. The schedule adopted by Classis         day evening. Sermon outlines are available at the
is as follows:                                               church entrance in the morning. The plan, it would
HOPE: Jan. 10 - M. Schipper; Jan. 31 - G. Van Baren          seem, has obvious merits. The outlines, properly used,
   (AM), H. Veldman (PM); Feb. 14  - G. Van  Baren           should enable members of the congregation to come
   (AM); Feb. 28 - J. Heys; Mar. 14 - R. Harbach; Mar.       better prepared to listen. And the fact that the sermon
   21 - G. Van Baren (AM); Apr. 4 - M. Schipper; Apr.        will be the topic for later discussion, should provide a
   11 - J. Heys                                              little extra motivation for one to give his undivided
SOUTHWEST: Jan. 17  - G. Van  Baren (AM), H.                 and tho1ughtful  attention to the preaching of the Word.
   Veldman (PM); Jan. 31  - R. Harbach; Feb. 7  - M.         Besides, of course, to engage in a serious discussion of
   Schipper; Feb. 21  - H. Veldman; Mar. 7  - G. Van         the contents of the sermon is an admirable way to
   Baren (AM); Mar. 21 - H. Veldman; Apr. 4 - G. Van         spend a Sunday evening. An interest in this sort of
   Baren (AM).                                               thing does not, of course, come just naturally. It takes
RANDOLPH: Jan. 31 - J. Heys; Feb. 21 - R. Harbach.           conscious effort on the part of the individual Christian.
   Rev. G. Lubbers, spending his last day on leave from The committee responsible for organizing these meet-
his missionary labors in Jamaica, made a brief appear-       ings, and for encouraging participation therein, de-
ance at Classis and was granted an advisory vote. Upon       serves a word of commendation.
                                                                                     *****
his departure, the chairman, in the name of  Classis,           We learn from Southeast's bulletin that Mr. Mark
bade him Godspeed.                                           Hoeksema devoted a little time during his Christmas
  Classis voted for synodical delegates with the results season recess from Seminary classes to attend a wed-
as follows :                                                 ding  - his own, it would appear. Miss Ruth Bol has
MINISTERS - PRIMI: Harbach, Schipper, Van Baren,             been known since Dec. 22 as Mrs. Mark Hoeksema.
  Veldman. SECUNDI : Heys, Lubbers.                          Mark, no doubt, spent the rest of the vacation prepar-
ELDERS  -  PRIMI: J. Kalsbeek, T. Newhof, Sr., F.            ing for the exams which followed practically on the
  Ondersma, G. Pipe. SECUNDI: J. Buiter T.                   heels of Christmas vacation. (Note: Southeast's bul-
  Engelsma, D. Langeland, A. Talsma.                         letin did not put it exactly that way.)
  Delegates ad examina were elected as follows: Rev.                                 *****
J. Heys was chosen to serve a full three-year term, and         For this next item we'll quote directly from the
Rev. G. Van Baren was chosen to serve the unexpired bulletin of our congregation in Hull, Iowa. It speaks
term of Rev. J. Kortering. Because of a shortage in          well for itself.
manpower,  Classis must function with two secundus              "The most recent pamphlet on  Postmillenialism is
delegates.                                                   available in the bulletin rack. A hearty thanks to all
  The questions of Article 41 of the Church Order who assisted in its preparation for mailing. Such a good
were asked of each consistory and were answered satis- turn-out is much appreciated. These pamphlets are be-
factorily.                                                   ing prepared by the new combined church extension
  Classis will meet next time, D.V., on April 4, 1971        committee (Hull,  Doon, Edgerton). This committee
at Hudsonville. Rev. Harbach expressed his thanks to will carry on this work as well as other forms of wit-
the Classis for its cooperation in carrying out the day's    ness. It is known by the name, The Reformed Witness
business with dispatch.                                      Committee. In the future, collections will be taken for
  Elder M. Haveman offered the closing prayer.               this cause which is vital to our responsibility in letting
                                        J. Huisken, S. C. the witness of the truth shine to those in our area. This
                                                             committee also will be working in cooperation with
N.B. -The address of the newly-elected Stated Clerk of the church extension committees of Pella, Loveland,
  Classis East is 3324 Barrett, Grandville, Michigan         and perhaps Redlands."
  49418.                                                                             *****
                           *****                               One short requested announcement, yet. "The treas-
  The pastor of the Loveland congregation, Rev. urer of the Loveland Consistory is now Mr. Milton
Engelsma, has received the call from Doon, Iqwa.             Alsum, 816 W. Duffield Court, Loveland, Colorado,
                           *****                             80537. Telephone: 667-7842
  The monthly Sunday evening discussion groups of                                                                 D.D.

                                                                                                          .-.


