                                             h#e                               -
                .


                                     tandard

                                                    earer


IN     THIS.!SSUE .       :


       Meditation:             "      `.'
         Heavenly Gospel Chorus

       Editorial:
       Developments in  W& Zealand (2)

       All Around Us:
         On Separation

       Introducing:
         The Pilgriti Life Pages

       Pages FrcBm The. Past:
         God; Who Quickens The Dead
           1

                                                    Volume XL VIII / Ntimber 6 /December 15,1971


122                                                          `THE STANDARD BEARER


                               CONTENTS:                                                                THE STANDARD  BEARER
Editorials -                                                                        Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August.
  Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122             Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
  Developments in New Zealand(2) . . . . . . . . . . . .123                                Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.
                                                                               Editor-in-Chief: Prof. H. C. Hoeksema

Meditation  -                                                                  Department Editors::.  Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof.
  Heavenly Gospel Chorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125              Herman Hanko, Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A.  Hey% Rev. Jay
                                                                               Kortering, Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Marinus  Schipper,.Rev.   Gise J.
                                                                               Van  Baren, Rev. Herman Veldman. Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
All Around Us -                                                                Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
       On Separation . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128                       1842 Plymouth Terrace,  SE.
                                                                                                 Grand Rapids, Michigan  49506
In His Fear -                                                                  Church News Editor:       Mr. Donald Doezema
  The Pilgrim Life:                                                                                      1904  Plymouth Terrace, S. E.
          The Pilgrim Christian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130                                 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
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       God, Who Quickens The Dead (A Meditation) . .133                        obtained through the Business Office.



Editorials
                                                   Editor's Notes
                                                               ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema

       We hope our readers are as happy as we are with the                                                     *****
variety we have been able to present thus far in our                               In case you are wondering, Question Box is empty.
new volume-year. This is due to the fact that we were And this is one department which is dependent on our
able to enlist some new writers for our limited staff. In readers. For without questions there can be no
this issue we are pleased to introduce a new contribu- answers.
tor to that variety, the Rev. Dale H. Kuiper, who pre-                                                          *****
sents the first of a series of.articles on The Pilgrim  Life.
We will carry these articles under the rubric  Irz His                            The third volume of The Triple Knowledge, sched-
Fear. Rev. Kuiper, pastor of our Protestant Reformed uled for late 1971 publication, will be a bit tardy, due
Church in Pella, Iowa, is coordinating these articles to unavoidable delays in preparation for printing. As of
with a series of public lectures on the same subject in now, it looks as though the publication date will be
Pella.                                                                         February or March of 1972.


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                123


             Developments in New Zealand (2)
   In  the  December   1  issue   we  began   to  discuss   the sion at this point; we will undoubtedly refer to it later in our
developments  in the Reformed Churches of New  Zea- discussion. Suffice it to say at this point that while the decision
land as they concerned the doctrinal issues brought to leaves the impression of being rather strong at  first glance  -
the fore especially by the writings and teachings of Dr. perhaps even stronger than the Formula of Subscription  -
IL Runia (at that time Vice Principal of Geelong nevertheless it is not so strong, and is, in fact, a weakening of
Theological College and now a professor at Kampen). the Formula of Subscription.]
                                                                       2.a  & b. Synod unanimously re-affirmed, in spite of certain
The erroneous positions of Dr. Runia and those who                           allegations, that . . . Refer to Art. 43 of the Acts of Synod
sympathized with him were opposed, you will recall,                          1971.
by the brethren of the Reformed and Presbyterian Fel-                        [Editor's note: The reference here is to a very strange
lowship of Australasia both in their publication, the motion which we shall discuss again later. But on the second full
Reformed Guardian, and ecclesiastically by way of an day of Synod's meetings, and apparently without any overture
Appeal directed to the New Zealand Synod of -197 1. or concrete case, (and it. appears in the minutes as having come
To gain an adequate picture  of the issues, we quoted completely "out of the blue"), the Synod passing the following:
the entire Appeal. And we found that this Appeal "The Reformed Churches of New Zealand hereby unanimously
placed Synod squarely before several either-or issues, re-affirm, IN SPITE OF CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS, that they
                                                                       maintain the Doctrine of The Infallible Scripture as summarized
and that these issues were of such a nature that the  in  the  Confessional  Standards
Synod was faced by the duty to exercise doctrinal dis-
cipline. What Did Synod Decide??                                       "This includes:
   In the interest of fairness and accuracy we will "a. That we maintain the  historicity of the details AS THEY
quote the answer of Synod, as found on pp. 26 and 27 ARE RECORDED IN GENESIS 1-3, e.g. Creation, Adam and
of Section 1 of the  Acts of Synod, 1971, of the  Re- Eve as the first created man and woman, the Fall through  dis-
formed Churches of New Zealand. This decision itself, obedience, and the subsequent Promise of Divine Redemption
                                                                       in Ctist
however,. will make no sense to the reader because of                              *
its references to several other decisions of Synod. And "b. Furthermore we maintain that the WHOLE TEACHING of
                                                                       the Canons of Dort (including Divine Election and Reprobation)
therefore at various points I will insert these other de- IS in complete agreement with the Infallible Word of God.
cisions or explanatory notes in brackets. The decision
is as follows:                                                         "Consequently we require ANYONE who speaks or writes,
                                                                       teaches, preaches, or counsels  on behalf of these Churches  to do
Art. 103 RPPEAL  BROS. J. KOPPEAND  B. VANHERK                         so in accordance with this statement." This is followed in  Arti-
             See Communication 1. (This was the appeal. HCH)           cle 44 by a notation of a prayer: "Moderator led meeting in a
         It was agreed that Synod receive the Appeal.                  prayer of thanksgiving for the unanimity and brotherly- spirit
         It was moved, seconded and adopted that on Section 2d that prevailed in the discussion of above motion and asked  the
         of the Appeal no action be taken in view of the pending Lord to continue to bless and direct the churches in their work
         departure of Dr. K. Runia to the Netherlands.                 for His glory." All this, mind you,  preceded  the treatment. of
                                                                       the Appeal. One cannot escape the impression that there was
         That in answer to other points raised in the Appeal Synod "politics" being played here. Nor, as we shall see later, is even
reply as follows: -                                                    this decision as strongly Reformed as it appears to be. If it were,
Dear Brother,                                                          the Runia sympathizers would never have agreed to it.]
Having received your letter of Appeal, Synod decided to inform           c. Synod decided to appoint a Committee to study the  rela-
you of the decisions taken concerning the various questions of               tionship between-our Churches and the Reformed  Theo-
your Appeal. (Note: The following references are to the points               logical College. (Art. 100 of the Acts of Synod 1971.)
of the Appeal as quoted in the previous issue. HCH)                          [Editor's note: This was a decision taken on an overture
1 .a. It was decided not. to sustain the  Dunedin Gravamen. (Art. (without grounds) from  the Wellington Church.  But  it is by no
         54  of the Acts of Synod 1971)                                means an answer to the specific appeal against the Geelong Col-
         [Editor's note: The reference is to the Gravamen against lege for  doctrinal and confessional reasons.]
the Westminster Confession in connection with the Sabbath.              d. In view of the pending departure of the Rev. Prof. K.
This means, therefore, that Synod upheld the Westminster  Con-               Runia to the Netherlands, Synod decided to take no  ac-
fession on this point as binding. The decision in itself is a good           tion. (Art. 103 of the Acts of Synod 1971)
one.]                                                                   e. This we refer  tb Synod's decision to appoint a Committee.
 b. Synod declared that Office bearers sign the form of  sub-                (Art. 100 of the Acts of Synod 1971)
         scription in the following way:  - Refer to Art. 45 of the          [Editor's note: The point at issue here was the revised
         Acts of Synod 1971.                                           form of subscription required of faculty members at Geelong
         [Editor's note: This -question was also before the Synod. Theological College, to which the Appeal objected. Again,
Instead, however, of simply re-affirming the language of the Synod's decision does not answer the point raised by the  Ap;
Formula of Subscription, which, in our opinion, is clear enough peal. Nor does Article 100 give any indication that this matter of
and strong enough in itself, the Synod took a rather detailed the college's form of subscription is to be investigated. Besides,
decision. It would be rather confusing to insert the entire  deci- .of course, the Appeal did not ask for an investigation, or study,


124                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



but for a declaration. 1                                                Why did I reach that conclusion?
We sincerely trust that by these actions Synod has done the             In the first place, let ine make it plain that there was
utmost in endeavouring  to  clear away the misunderstanding or no issue of discipline of Dr. Runia in the narrower
ambiguity that, according to your letter of appeal, now exists in    sense of the word. This, of course, would be out of the
the minds of many of the members of our denomination.                question now because Dr. Runia, I presume, is a mem-
We pray that the Holy Spirit, Who guided us in our deliberations     ber of the  Gereformeerde Kerken  in the Netherlands.
may guide you in your work for the well-being of the Churches        But even before his departure, he was not under the
in which it has pleased the Lord to give us a task.                  ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the New Zealand churches.
With Christian Greetings,                                            Everyone understands that. As a professor he was
H. L. Hoving - Moderator                                             under the jurisdiction of the Board of Governors of
W. Wiersma  - First Clerk                                            Geelong College. And as a church member he `was
D. G. Vanderpyl - Stated Clerk.                                      under the jurisdiction of the Reformed Church of
   Thus far the synodical reply to the Appeal. Signifi- Australia. However:
cantly, in Article 104 there is again notice of a prayer                1) The New Zealand churches very definitely, as
of thanksgiving: "The Moderator led meeting in prayer supporting churches, have a stake in Geelong College
of thanks to God for guidance and unanimity in the and in what is taught there and in the orthodoxy of
Synod." While one may hesitate to criticize prayers, the faculty members there. No one can deny this.
nevertheless I do not like these special prayers, espe-                 2) The New Zealand churches have fraternal rela-
cially when the framers of this answer to the Appeal tions with both the churches in Australia and in the
knew very well both that they were not dealing Netherlands. It surely is not very brotherly to take the
honestly with the Appeal and knew that as far as the attitude, as it were, "Well, we're rid of Runia and
appealing brethren were concerned they surely were therefore rid of the problem; let the other churches
not creating any unanimity.                                          wrestle with it if they want to." And, by the way, as
                                                                     we shall see later, they did not take this attitude; this
A Break-down of Doctrinal Discipline                                 was but an excuse for not facing the issues of the
  Thus I would characterize the reply to the Appeal appeal. Actually they sent Runia away with their bless-
quoted above.                                                        ings!
  Why?                                                                 3) The New Zealand churches had and have their
  Is it not true that Dr. Runia was leaving for the students, i.e., future ministers, trained at Geelong.
Netherlands? Besides, could it not be argued that Dr. There was every reason also from this point of view to
Runia was not even subject to any decisions of the be concerned about what was taught at the college,
New Zealand churches, seeing that Geelong is not a therefore. For there is no more sure way to corrupt the
denominational school and seeing that Runia himself churches than to send wrongly educated ministers into
belonged to the Australian church? Moreover, can it the churches.
not be argued that in some of the decisions quoted                     In the second place, the Synod was confronted very
above and referred to in the reply to the Appeal the definitely by a concrete case. And that concrete case
Synod took a fairly strong, positive stand? Besides, in involved serious doctrinal and confessional matters.
the Runia matters could it not be argued that the The fact that Dr. Runia was departing for the Nether-
Synod took no stand whatsoever? And therefore                        lands did not change that fact whatsoever. The fact
should not the appellants and the other brethren of thi was that these errors of Runia had been publicly
Fellowship acquiesce in the above decision, and even taught in the churches. The fact was that there was a
be somewhat satisfied with it?                                       complaint before Synod about these errors,  a  com-
  I must confess that this was my first reaction when I plaint which, if you study it, was well-grounded. The
read these decisions and certain other decisions in the fact was that the fundamental issue was not Dr.
Acts.  I  thought to myself, "Not so bad! There are Runia's person, or even his office. No, the fundamental
surely less conservative decisions taken by Reformed issue was the errors which Dr. Runia taught and which
church communions nowadays."                                         the Board of Governors of Geelong had refused to con-
  But when I began to examine the decision a little demn. Those errors were a matter of record - also for
more carefully and to look at it in close conjunction the New Zealand churches. And Dr. Runia's departure
not only with the Appeal but also in connection with did not change that record one iota. In fact, one stands
the entire controversy "down under," and when I re- rather amazed at the naivete of Synod's decision; or
ceived the benefit of certain other data which give the was it not so naive after all? Did they not ask the
lie to the above decision, I came to-a different conclu- question which they might expect the appellants to
sion, namely, that there was and is a very serious ask, namely: how does Runia's departure free us from
breakdown of doctrinal discipline in the Reformed the responsibility to pass judgment on these important
Churches of New Zealand, and that essentially the doctrinal matters which confront us? Or did they de-
Synod rejected this appeal altogether.                               liberately think that this was an easy way out of a


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                125


knotty problem?                                           serts in general? Actions speak louder than words in
  In the third place, there is the fact that Dr. Runia such a case.
was not the only one who held the errors mentioned in       More importantly, in the second place, the real test
the appeal. It is a matter of record that there were also of doctrinal soundness lies exactly in the question
officebearers in the New Zealand churches who sym- whether churches are willing to condemn specific false
pathized with Runia and who condemned the opposi- teachings when they are confronted by these in a con-
tion of the brethren of the Fellowship and the  Crete case. This test the Reformed Churches of New
Reformed Guardian. There was even controversy about Zealand faced - and failed wretchedly. This can only
some of these matters at the level of sessions  (consis- mean that the churches did not have the courage of
tories) and. presbyteries (classes). Moreover, the their claimed convictions. It can only mean that
Dunedin Gravamen about the Sabbath was a direct re- Runia's sympathizers in the churches will feel them-
sult of Runia's propaganda about this same subject.       selves safe, are allowed to continue to teach as Runia
  In the fourth place, I must point out that there very taught, will eventually grow stronger and bolder, and
really was personal discipline at stake in this Appeal. will finally take over completely in the churches.
We must not forget that the brethren Koppe and Van          This is why I call this a break-down of doctrinal
Herk and van Rij were under discipline as officebearers discipline.
exactly because of their opposition to Runia. They          And in the light of the fact that fundamental  Re-
were falsely accused of  sins  which would make them formed truths are at stake and the fact that these
worthy of suspension and deposition; and the attempt brethren carried their case to the broadest ecclesiastical
was made to accomplish such suspension and deposi- gathering, I can fully understand that they cannot con-
tion. They were accused of slandering Runia and of tinue under the ecclesiastical roof of the Reformed
mutiny in the churches. And these accusations were Churches of New Zealand, but feel that they are called
brought against %m not only by their own sessions to reformation by separation.
but also by other sessions, and individuals, both in        One concluding fact. The New Zealand churches
New Zealand and in Australia! This aspect of the case gave the lie to their own decision. After declaring that
was also before Synod by way of personal appeals. But they would take no action about the errors of Dr.
naturally, in the light of the above answer to the doc- Runia, they nevertheless did take action - in another
trinal Appeal, Synod did not adjudicate these personal way, They sent Runia a very commendatory farewell
cases specifically. But there was indeed discipline at letter in which, among other things, they called him a
stake here! If not Runia's discipline, then the discipline "champion for the Reformed faith."
of Runia's opponents.                                       There you have it!
  But what about those more positive decisions?             A man may deny reprobation. He may openly con-
  First of all, careful analysis will show that they are tradict the confessions. He may contradict the doctrine
not as good as they seem to be at first glance, espe- of Holy Scripture. When confronted by a concrete
cially not in the light of Synod's failure to adjudicate case, the Synod says, "We will say nothing about it;
the matters of doctrinal error, This is plain, is it not? It the man is leaving for the Netherlands." But when the
is all well and good to re-affirm the confessions in concrete case is safely shunted aside, then turn around
apparently strong language and to require everyone to and praise such a man publicly as a champion of the
abide by them in general. And the same is true of the Reformed faith!
Formula of Subscription. But what does it all mean          This is anything but honest; and it is anything but
when a Synod refuses to apply specifically what it as- Reformed!


Meditation
                         Heavenly Gospel Chorus
                                               Rev. M. Schipper

          "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and
         saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. "
                                                                                        Luke 2: 13,14.

  Night it was!                                           on the slopes of the Judean hills, surrounded by their
  Darkness had settled over the fields of Bethlehem.1 sheep, whose care demanded a wakeful ear and a
  And in  the% stillness of the night shepherds, those watchful eye lest carnivorous, predatory animals
children of Israel and of the city of David, lay huddled should suddenly appear to destroy one or more of


126                                          THE STANDARD BEARER


their precious flock.                                       thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel?" And the
  The only light afforded them was the starry canopy        Devil had heard and understood this announcement. It
above them. Those harbingers of the day that was to         was the announcement of his utter and final defeat.
follow must often have spoken to them of much more But he from that very moment on entered upon a
than the change of night to day. Were they not of the       life-and-death struggle to crush the woman's seed. In
children of Abraham unto whom the Lord had said:            that struggle Abel lost his life-blood. Pursued by the
"As many as the stars of heaven, so great shall be thy      powers of darkness,  Enoch had to be translated to
covenant seed"? And were they not fully aware that          heaven. So great was the.dominion of darkness in the
the Seed, promised to the ancient patriarch, had not        antedeluvian. world, that only Noah was left to find.
yet come? How often, as they gazed up into the star-        grace in the eyes of the Lord. And after the deluge the
studded firmament above, as they watched their flocks struggle goes on. In Egypt, the house of bondage, it
by night, must the question have troubled their soul:       seemed as though the very light of the promise would
When shall He appear?                                       be extinguished. When the kingdom of Israel is dis-
  Though the night which had settled over the land of persed, and the kingdom of Judah is removed to Baby-
Judah seemed silent and serene, so that the hymn lon, it seemed that the sting of the Dragon's tail had
writer, musing on the events about to occur on this injected a deadly wound. And in the four hundred:
eventful night, could write, "Silent Night, Holy Night ! " years before this wonderful night, it seemed truly that
yet not so was it in reality. The darkness also spoke of    the sceptre had departed from Judah and the law-giver
the terrible night of sin and death, the spiritual dark- from between his feet. The cause of God seemed hope-
ness that had settled on the world immediately after less, and a darkness, darker than night, had fallen upon
the fall of our first parents in the Garden of Eden.        the history of God's covenant. Verily, it seemed that
Really it was awfully dark; and surely it was not calm      out of the darkness of the abyss, the head of the
and serene. Sin had indeed battled hard, and the light Dragon would appear and that he would roar out unto
of prophecy had for nigh unto four hundred years all the world that not God, but he was worthy to
ceased to shine. And the world was groping in the           receive all the praises of men and of angels.
throes of sin, corruption, and rebellion against God.         But now, as a root out of a dry ground, the Lion of
How often these true sons of Abraham, with the Word         Judah's tribe appears!
of God spoken by the ancients burning in their hearts,        The Seed of the woman has come!
must have prayed for the day when the Light would             Jesus, the Saviour, is born!
come!                                                         God has done whatsoever it hath pleased Him!
  Indeed, it was night!                                       How often it seemed as though He had forgotten His
  Night in the world! Not only on the fields of promise! Often the saints of old could be heard in
Ephrathah!                                                  mournful tunes expressing: "Has God forgotten to be
  Then suddenly the darkness seemed to split in two!        kind? Shall His promise fail forever?" And we may
A shaft of light shone through the riven darkness!          suppose that the angels of heaven just as eagerly had
  The glory of the Lord-shone round about them!             inquired into the promise. To them God's scheme of
  And they were sore afraid!                                redemption must have appeared as an infmite riddle.
  Lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, exclaim- Anxiously they peered into the works of God to find
ing: "Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of an answer.
great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is      But now at long last the glorious revelation of His
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is      good pleasure has taken place. Eagerly the holy angels,
Christ the Lord! And this shall be a sign unto you; ye      those ministers of God's elect, had looked into the face
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying     of Him Who sits upon the throne, awaiting the signal
in a manger!"                                               that would send them on a mission of good news. And
  "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude now the command came: Descend ye holy ones, unto
of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to      them, my  .people,  who dwell on the earth, and an-
God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will to- nounce unto them glad tidings of great joy! Tell them
ward men!"                                                  that unto them is born this day in the manger of Beth-
  Heavenly gospel chorus!                                   lehem a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And be sure
  Beautiful anthem!                                         to show unto them how that the glory is to be ascribed
  And, 0 what a night for singing!                          unto Me, when I send peace unto them who are the
  Bethlehem's Babe signals the victory of God's Word        objects of my good pleasure!
and Satan's defeat!                                           Glory to God in the highest!
  What centuries of bitter struggle had preceded this         Indeed, a most beautiful, heavenly anthem!
night of joy! Had not God spoken at the very dawn of          Glory to God Who is the all glorious One! Not so,
history: "I will put enmity between thee and the however, is this to be understood as though something
woman, between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise       can be added unto Him which he does not already


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                          127


have. For all glory is His. And nothing can be added Child in the cattle stall of Bethlehem. In Him God and
unto Him that will make Him greater than He is. man are united, for He is God with us, Immanuel. And
Rather, His glory is the radiation, the shining forth of through Him God will establish and realize an everlast-
all His infinite perfections. He is the-all-wise, righteous, ing bond of friendship between Himself and His peo-
holy, gracious, merciful, omnipresent, omniscient, eter- ple. And He makes peace through His cross, for God
nal God. When He displays all His virtues, you see His was in Him reconciling the world unto Himself, not
glory. This is precisely what God was doing now when imputing our trespasses unto us. And by His Spirit and
He sent His Only Begotten Son into the world as a grace He causes His peace to dwell in our hearts, and in
Babe in the manger of Bethlehem. Here He clearly re- our deepest consciousness.
veals His faithfulness and truth in the keeping of His       His be the glory also when He makes us partakers of
promise. Here He shows forth His grace and mercy in this everlasting peace!
the sending to us a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.       In men of His good pleasure!
And in that Son shall be manifested the very God of          And that means that this peace is particular!
our salvation in all His glorious attributes.                Not so should the angel's song be interpreted, as  -
  In one word, the theme of the angelic anthem is: though it were up to men to determine who shall be
God is the all glorious One!                               partakers of this peace. It is not a peace which men
  It must be clearly seen that the Saviour, born of a have because they are of good will, and have a delight
virgin, and lying in a manger, is not of us, but of God. in peace. If this were the case, then that which belongs
Presently when this Child shall grow up and utter His to the glory of God would turn into the praise of men.
voice, only the gracious words of God shall He speak. Believe it, beloved reader, the angels are not singing the
When also He gives His soul as a ransom for many, and praises of men, but of God!
shall pass away under the vials of Divine wrath as pen-      How contrary to all the history of man in the world,
alty for our guilt; and when He shall be raised from the and to all that is ever seen of the natural man; that
dead unto the highest heavens, - all this shall be the they are ever of good will, and bringers of peace! The
revelation of the glory of God. When He shall send very opposite is true. "Their feet are swift to shed
forth His Spirit into our hearts and fill us with the blood, and the way of peace they have not known."
blessings of His covenant, and when He shall come Such is the Scriptural analysis of man as he is by na-
again in judgment to destroy all that is of darkness, ture. At enmity against God, and at war with his fellow
and to usher us into His eternal and heavenly kingdom, man, such is the nature of every man that is born of a
- all this is the revelation of His glory.                 woman, and coming into the world. How, then, could
  Small wonder, then, that the angelic chorus sings, the angel's song ever be understood to imply that men
"Glory in the highest heavens to God!"                     of good will make peace on earth? From the very be-
  And mark well, to Him be the glory also when peace ginning the truth persists, there shall be wars and ru-
comes on earth!                                            mor of war, as far as man is concerned.
  Peace also is from Him! Peace through the Prince of        But in the midst of warfaring men, God has His
Peace, Who is all of God! Peace which the world does people who are of His good pleasure!
not, nor can it know, or produce. Peace which passes         And those unto whom this peace of God comes, are
all understanding, but which fills our hearts and minds! the objects of His good pleasure. Out of His counsel,
  0, do not misunderstand the angelic anthem! Not so which always seemed good unto Him, He has chosen
is their song to be interpreted, that glory is to be at- those unto whom He brings this peace that is ever-
tributed to God in the highest heavens, while peace is lasting. No longer do they strive in enmity against God;
to be attributed to men of good will. God is jealous of nor do they delight in striving against men; but in their
His glory!                                                 deepest heart dwells that heavenly grace that unites
  Also when peace comes on earth the glory is to be them in a bond of living fellowship to the God of their
ascribed to God. Peace of God, peace with God, peace salvation, in Christ Jesus. And this peace they enjoy in
through God, peace in God;  - it is all of Him and common with all the redeemed.
through Him and unto Him; in order that His alone            And they exclaim from the depths of their hearts,
may be all the glory.                                      along with the holy angels:
  That that peace is on earth, must be seen in that          Glory to God in the highest!




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128                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER


All Around Us
                                               On Separation
                                                              Prox H. Ha&co

  There are several denominations in this country                        from the scene where we are needed most. . . .
which are in the midst of bitter struggles between "lib-                    Had I children who were being spiritually starved
erals" and "conservatives." In several of these denom-                   - or poisoned - by the teaching, preaching, and pro-
inations, the conservatives have given up hope that                      grams of my local church, I would try my best to
their denominations will return again to the truth of                    remedy the situation; and if this proved impossible, I
the Scriptures and their confessions. The result is that                 would take these children elsewhere.
organizations have been formed in these denomina-                           But at the adult level, my own reaction would be
tions by conservatives to prepare for eventual separa-                   to stay in and witness with.love and conviction, pray-
                                                                         ing that the Holy Spirit will use this witness to help
tion so that the cause of the truth may be continued.                    those who need to be changed.
One such denomination is the Lutheran Church - Mis-                         There is a temptation against which we must
souri Synod. A Federation For Authentic Lutheranism                      guard: frustration because of failure to gain our own
(FAL) has been organized by means of which conserva-                     way in the church courts  - that is, defeat in these
tive Lutherans hope to continue confessional Luther-                     courts on positions that we are convinced are right.
anism and seek fellowship with other conservative                        We need to remember that our risen Lord commis-
Lutheran bodies. The same is true in the Southern                        sioned his disciples to witness for him. He did not say
Presbyterian Church. Four conservative organizations                     that our witness would always be effective. In fact,
.have joined forces to defend and continue a confessional                we are not responsible for the effectiveness of our
presbyterianism. In this organization, the  Presbyterian                 witness (unless, on the negative side, we violate Chris-
                                                                         tian principles in what we say or do), for the fruit of
Journal has taken a leading role. Because of this posi-                  an effective witness is produced by the Holy Spirit
tion of the Presbyterian Journal, one of its editors has                 and not by us or any ecclesiastical organization. . . .
resigned. L. Nelson Bell wrote that he resigned from                   This whole subject of separation is a very difficult
this position because he could not support the efforts               one. It is difficult from an objective viewpoint because
being made to bring about separation.                                it is not always easy to know when the call to separa-
  In a recent issue of Christitinity  Today, in the rubric tion comes to us. But it is, above all, difficult subjec-
"A Layman and His Faith," he defends his position                    tively, for there is nothing quite so heart-rending
and discusses the whole subject of separation. Among than to have to leave the denomination where one has
other things he writes:                                              been nourished from childhood with spiritual food -
          There seem to be two indisputable causes for sep-          especially when that denomination has gone the way
       aration. If those who control the church to which I           of apostasy. We have nothing but sympathy for those
       belong should demand that I not teach, preach, or             who are faced with this agonizing decision.
       witness according to the plain teachings of Scripture,          But is Dr. Bell correct in the position which he
       then I would have no choice but to renounce such              takes? We think not. There are several weak points in
       leadership and seek an environment in which I could           his argument which we believe will not stand. In the
       continue to witness.
          In the second place, should my church, by official         first place, Dr. Bell writes: "Our decision to stay or to
       action of its governing body, renounce the Christian          separate should follow very definite prayer for God's
       faith in favor of some syncretistic religion that denies      leading, with the request that we be kept from allow-
       the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as God's Son together ,        ing personalities and prejudice to dictate our decision."
       with his atoning death and actual resurrection, I             With the last of this we, of course, agree. And we
       would be forced to renounce and denounce such                 agree, too, that the decision to separate should come
       apostasy.                                                     only after much prayer. But what is missing from this
          But in the question of separation there are many           quote and what is so essential is that God's leading
       gray areas where, if we are not careful, we may let           comes only through the Scriptures. So many times
       personalities, prejudices, defeats, and extraneous ac-        when we read expressions like the above we are left
       tivities become determinative factors while we fail to        with the impression that those who write this way ex-
       look at the basic issue that should determine our de-
       cision.                                                       pect some inner light and mystical leading which the
          For one thing, the "doctrine of separation" can            Lord will provide which is apart from the Scriptures.
       lead people to abandon the opportunity for witness            Also in this important decision, the Scriptures alone
       where it is most greatly needed. The Bible teaches            must be our guide.
       that we should be separated from sin, but not from              In the second place, we do not agree entirely with
       the sinner. Surely we should not remove ourselves             Dr. Bell's reasons for separation. That is, we do not


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   129


agree that these are the only reasons. Dr. Bell speaks of of that denomination. Furthermore, he is obligated be-
"gray areas"; and he seems to mean that there are gray fore God and the Church to support these decisions
areas with respect to the truth. This surely is not the with his work, his life, his prayers. He is under moral
case if the Scriptures are our guide. In the third place,       necessity to support morally his denomination in
we do not believe that the Bible teaches that "we which he finds his church home. The work of a denom-
should be -separated from sin, but not from the sin-            ination in the cause of God is too important a part of
ner." There are just too many passages in Scripture             the Christian's calling to do anything less.
which teach the contrary to accept this statement. We             And that brings me to the second point. There is a
may not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers.           corporate responsibility that is very real and concrete
The faithful remnant in Laodicea is called out of the in denominational life. To ignore this or to deny it is
congregation if it-does not repent.                             tantamount to saying that a denomination is no longer
   In the fourth place, Dr.  Bell's~ remarks  concem+g          an organization in which congregations which nianifest
witnessing are not very much to the point. The Scrip-           the body of Christ upon earth do the work of Christ's
tures indeed call us to be witnesses of Christ. And this kingdom in cooperation with each other.
witness must be made continuously. But it must be a               So true is this that Dr. Bell rightly talks about the
witness by the.believer in fellowship with his church to responsibility of children's parents and the conse-
those outside who walk in sin. It surely is a sad day quences for children in this whole matter. If one thing
when this witness must be inade within the church to is certain (and many parents give testimony to this
those who are, as far as the visible church is concerned, with grief and sorrow) it is this: if a denomination has
one with us in the household of faith.                          set itself upon the path of apostasy by official deci-
   There are several considerations which must be sions of the highest ecclesiastical assemblies, to remain
taken into account in this matter of separation.                in that church means, finally, to go lost in one's gener-
   In the first place, in a general way,`it is true that one    ations. Parents may disagree, even violently, with deci-
ought to stay within a denomination as long as possible sions. They may be able to withstand the pressures
- even if he does not agree with all that goes on. If he exerted upon them and maintain the cause of the truth
is faithful to his calling and maintains the truth of the during their life time. But their children will be unable
Scriptures and if he is permitted to do this, he should         to do this. Not because their children have not been
very seriously consider remaining. This does not always clearly shown the right way. Not because their children
(or even usually) happen, however. As often as not are weaker than their parents from a spiritual point of
when liberals take over the denomination they, at best, view. But because God is not mocked; and the Church
harrass and, at worst, put out those who oppose their           is not something to make a game of. Children are mem-
liberalism. Or they make it impossible by one means or bers of the denomination and bear the responsibility of
another for a faithful child of God to remain faithful that denomination's decisions and commitment to the
in all his life.                                                truth. Children must and shall assume that denomina-
   But this is not quite the whole stpry. For one thing,        tion's position with respect to the truth. And if that
there is the strange tendency in many denominations position is wrong, the children will be wrong. And, as
today to ignore the protests of conservatives. They are the church continues down the road of apostasy (for
not put out - although they may be harrassed in one no denomination can stand still), the children and chil-
way or other. They are ignored. The liberals, firmly in         dren's children go along. There is something inevitable
control and convinced of ultimate success, simply go about this.
their own sweet way regardless of what conservatives              Does this mean then that separation should come
say. How long must this continue?                               for anything  - for any reason? Indeed, it does not.
  For another thing, if a conservative is faithful, iti his     Separation must come when a church has departed
protest against the evils in his denomination, he is obli- from the truth in matters of the confessions - as long
gated to protest these matters. This brings these mat-          as those confessions contain the truth of the Word of
ters to the higher ecclesiastical  cows. If the higher God. Just as confessions are, most emphatically, Forms
ecclesiastical assemblies decide these matters contrary of  Unity,  violations of them are causes of disunity.
to his conviction, he has some very hard decisions to           When doctrines of the confessions are openly denied
make. It is not sufficient for him to say: I will con- and officially repudiated, then disunity and schism
tinue on my way regardless of what has been decided.            exist  - whether an individual wants to admit that or
He is mor$.ly bound to submit to the decisions taken not. The unity is then broken. It is a kind of farce to
because the Church functions corporately through its retain an outward form of unity when no spiritual and
major assemblies. He speaks to those outside thfough doctrinal unity, in fact, exists.
these assemblies whether he agrees or not. This IS the            But all this is true because the truth of the Scrip-
whole concept of church federation and the whole im- tures is the truth of God. Dr. Bell may argue that, in
portance of denominational life. He is witnessing his denotiation,  no official decisions have been taken
through these decisions as long as he remains a member which deny "the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as God's


130                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



Son together with his atoning death and actual resur-          olic Church although it is an unproved (and, perhaps,
rection"; but the fact remains that this has been denied unprovable) assumption that he never  intended  to
when one denies any confessional truth of the Scrip- leave. The pope took matters into his own hands. The
tures. For the truth is one. And denial at one point pope excommunicated Luther before he had exhausted
leads inevitably to denial in all points. And the truth is     the channels of protest and before Luther was able to
God's truth. It does not really matter what may or prove that the Church was beyond repentance. It took
may not happen to an individual person, or even to a Luther's excommunication to prove that this was true.
congregation or denomination. The truth is God's                 This has then become the charter of liberty since the
truth. And heresy does something terrible to the               protestant reformation: that the child of God, in the
almighty God of heaven and earth. Heresy is a slander          defense of the faith, must preserve that truth at all
of Him, a subtraction from His glory, an insult hurled         costs; by separation when necessary. This is also a
in His face, a dastardly attempt on the part of man to         solemn obligation to which he must give heed for his
raise himself above Scripture and above God to impose          soul's sake and for the sake of the children who are his
upon the Most High his own wild inventions. That responsibility. May God grant that His people, in every
truth is more important than anything else.                    place, do this.
  It is true that Luther did not leave the Roman Cath-


In His Fear

                                      The Pilgrim Life
                                        A series of articles which examine the
                                        calling of true disciples of Jesus Christ.

                                                 Rev. Dale H. Kuiper

I. THE PILGRIM CHRISTIAN                                       the repository and the reflector of the glory and virtues
  Every Christian is a pilgrim. We are all sojourners as of God! In distinction from all other entities, the
our fathers were, a fact little emphasized today and church is a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
rarely understood. To the degree this truth lives in our holy nation, a peculiar people, which is equipped to
consciousness are we Christian and do we share in the demonstrate the praises of her Architect and Builder.
anointing of Jesus Christ.                                        A glance over the present-day church scene does not
   The church today has destroyed her distinctiveness, reveal such a unique creation. Generally, the church is
mistaken her mission, and traded her true treasure. That       loose from her moorings, has lost sight of the basics,
last is the root error. In the sixty-second of his ninety- and is not getting her task done. Whether this is the
five theses, Martin Luther perceptively and accurately fault of the clergy or the membership is a moot point
defined the true treasure of the church to be the most which we will let aside. Likely both must share in the
holy gospel of the grace and glory of God. Not real blame. One reason, however, may be suggested, and
estate holdings, not magnificent churches, not elabor- that is, the individuals in the Body of Christ have not
ate educational institutions, not money in various taken their pilgrim calling seriously.
funds; but the living revelation of the mighty God of             It will be profitable, therefore, to spend some time
salvation! The Bible, the infallible,  ,sacred Scriptures with the important truth of the pilgrim life. There are
. . . that is the treasure of the church. If that be under- especially three reasons for this. First, what does our
stood and appreciated, the mission of the church will subject mean as far as our daily calling is concerned? If
be seen to be enveloped with that treasure so that the we are to be more than Sunday-Christians, what is in-
church is thoroughly preoccupied with the Gospel. In volved with pilgrimage? Increasingly, witness and evan-
and through the various offices, the church will study, gelical outreach is being emphasized as integral to true
develop, defend, and proclaim its message. In all her discipleship. And so it is: but may we again suggest
membership the church will recieve that message with that if a person or a communion of persons is serious
gladness, and with whetted appetite will search those about  be&g the light of the world and the salt of the
Scriptures as one that findeth great spoil. In that way earth, and  really wants to witness to the power of
she is a distinctive institution. She is not the handn-iaid    divine grace, he must above all else live as a pilgrin$
of government social programs, nor a political tool.           Also, it is well that the stand of our churches on the
She is the creation of God in Jesus Christ; she is both problem-areas of life be understood by many others.


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                             131


We have a stand, a stand we believe to be Scriptural. nine through fifteen. You will have noticed the striking
We invite you to consider that stand and test it by language: sojourned, strange country, tabernacles or
the Scriptures. Finally, we hope these articles will be tents, strangers and pilgrims, a better country . . . it's
instructive not only, but also encouraging unto faith- all brought together in one passage! A little analysis
fulness. Being a pilgrim is seldom easy; it involves a will show two countries, the earth or the present king-
calling which leads us through hardship and affliction. dom of this world under the dominion of Satan and
More and more, pilgrims need each other. Perhaps the under the curse, and the better country, the heavenly
only true ecumenism this world will ever see is the aid Canaan with the New Jerusalem as its capital. While
and succor that tiny groups of pilgrims give to each Abraham was on this earth, he did not set down roots
other.                                                    nor did, he form entangling alliances, but he and his
The Scriptural Data                                       sons lived as pilgrims in tents. The inhabitants of the
   Our subject is not one that is suspended upon a land looked at him as an outsider who was not to be
slender thread in the Scriptures, nor one that can be trusted. And he viewed the Canaanites as people with
discovered only in a few passages of the Bible. That whom he might not mix nor inter-marry. He was not
would be enough, of course; God only needs to say ashamed of being a pilgrim either, but he plainly de-
something once to make it forever true. Yet, if God clared and confessed the fact. He let it be clearly un-
had spoken but once concerning pilgrimage, we might derstood that he sought another country where he had
not be able to understand it, nor see it for the many- his citizenship. And when later his sons came into ac-
dimensioned truth that it is. God has wisely revealed it tual possession of Canaan, after their stay in the land
to us in various places and in different connections, so of pilgrimage called Egypt, they were given to under-
that by bringing together and comparing we may dis- stand that even Canaan was not the better country, but
cover the full meaning of the Spirit. We find then in only a picture of it. Even when Israel dwelled in the
both Testaments a rather wide variety of terms: so- land of promise, the land spoke to them of another
journ, alien, stranger, foreigner, pilgrim, and pilgrim- land. Lastly, this passage makes clear that there was a
age. Altogether they occur in the Bible, in the sense in certain cutting off, rejection and separation involved
which we write, between forty and fifty times.            when Abraham left a land behind him. He was not
  The word pilgrim stresses the idea that a person is mindful of it, that is, he did not muse upon it or desire
passing through a land as a wayfarer. For a time he is it, or have second thoughts about having left it; if that
in a land that is not his, and his abode in that land is were true, he might have been tempted to return to Ur.
affected by that fact. He is on a journey, so that from That did not happen, for the power of faith kept his
the moment of his birth until the moment of death he eyes on the destination. He did not look back because
finds himself in a land in which he has no permanent the prospect of the heavenly country was so bright!
place. The term stranger brings out his actual experi- There God would not be ashamed to be called his God,
ence as he goes through his pilgrimage. From his point but would welcome him as a son into His covenant
of view, he feels strange and out of  .place; he is not house!
comfortable, and he experiences a certain tension. And      In summary, there are two lands, two kings, two sets
from the point of view of those round about him, the of laws and constitutions, two lives: the one mortal
non-pilgrims, he is accounted as strange and marked as and corrupt, the other immortal and glorious.
different. Also inherent in this term is something dis- The Cause of Being a Pilgrim
turbing and threatening. A certain amount of distrust       Since the above implies a distinction between all
and skepticism is implied; indeed, the word in the orig- men who ever lived, an important question is:. why are
inal is related to the word for fear. Alien and foreigner some pilgrims and not others? Why Abraham and you,
are legal terms involving matters of allegiance and citi- but not others in Ur or even today? The apostle Peter,
zenship. The Christian passes through a land in which when he penned his First Epistle, addressed pilgrim
he does not have citizenship and its rights, and to strangers as we have spoken of them and answers the
which he does not give his highest allegiance. His citi- question concerning origin and cause exhaustively. In
zenship is in another country, the land towards which 1:3 he speaks of having been begotten again. He tells
he is journeying. This, too, brings about tension. And the saints they are pilgrims due to regeneration. He
finally, the word sojourFz adds the idea of temporality. couches that truth within a doxology: Blessed be the
He will not have to journey forever, he will not always God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Let that
be a stranger and a pilgrim, but there will come an end anthem be in the forefront as we notice this re-birth.
to the journey. And when the homeland is reached, the In order to be a pilgrim, in order to live as an
pilgrimage will seem not to have been long.               Abraham, an individual must undergo an amazing, gra-
  From these terms emerges a definite picture of the cious, transforming experience called in the Scriptures
Christian Pilgrim, in fact, the picture of Abraham, the regeneration, or a being born again and from above.
father of the faithful, is called to mind. The reader is Without entering a detailed discussion on the differ-
urged to read from the Bible Hebrews eleven, verses ences between natural and spiritual birth, let it suffice


132                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



to notice that in regeneration a seed or a principle of death, of the vision of faith, of walking hand in hand
the resurrection life of Christ is planted within the with Abraham.
heart of a man. In that seed is contained the-potential This Distinction Revealed
for all spiritual abilities and powers. Now the point           Although the specific way in which the pilgrim call-
here is that one of the potential abilities given in regen- ing is revealed will be the subject of future articles, we
eration, and that will become an actual, usable gift, is may notice a few things in general at this point. In the
spirituals  vision. "Except a man be born again he can- first place, because true religion means we keep un-
not see the kingdom of God." In distinction from all spotted from the world, the pilgrim reveals himself
the blindness that characterizes natural man, the born- antithetically in this life. He is called to live as a citizen
again pilgrim sees and loves the city which hath foun- of the kingdom of heaven as he sojourns in an alien
dations, whose Builder and Maker is God! The power land, to serve God and not Mammon, to be  for one
of regeneration puts him on the pilgrim road, gives him thing and against another, He is constantly required to
to see glorious vistas of heaven, keeps his face toward make sanctified choices, to' view life as an either-or
the destination unmindful of that which lies behind. proposition. This will involve him in problems: he is
For that, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord crucified to the world and the world to him.
J e s u s   C h r i s t !                                       Thus secondly, a pilgrim reveals a willingness to suf-
     That is not the whole answer. If only "some" are fer at the hands of wicked men. He knows that it has
regenerated, who belong to that "some"? It ought to been given to him not only to believe on Jesus Christ,
be clear that such a matter cannot be determined by a but also to suffer for His sake. He arms himself for this
man. All men by reason of their natural birth have suffering with a tremendous thought: the way of pil-
been born unto death. Besides, birth and therefore re- grim suffering leads to glory! That is the way it was for
birth, lie outside of human initiation and decision. This our Lord, and if I follow my Lord in His suffering; I
matter is in the hands of God entirely and safely. He shall follow Him into His glory! And therefore, he
has chosen us out of the world! Peter, in verse two of sings in the house of his pilgrimage!
his first chapter, calls that choice election; in fact, the     Finally, he has hope. The pilgrim lives each day out
original places the word elect next to strangers, so that of the power of hope. Nations may rise and fall, Read-
it is clear that election lies behind pilgrimage. How can ers may come and go, heaven and earth shall pass
it be explained that some have been called' out of this away, but the object of his hope can never fail. He is
destruction-bound world? Why are there pilgrims and certain that Christ shall come to vindicate the ,pilgrim,
non-pilgrims, sheep and goats, elect and reprobate, and prepare the heavenly Canaan as the everlasting
church and world, naturally born and spiritually born? abode. For that he longs with a desire that borders on
Let it be understood that. the answer rests in God. impatience. He stretches out unto the grace to be re-
Election is sovereign, eternal, and unconditional. God vealed in the coming of Christ. He hopes unto the end.
always purposed that there would be in the midst of            And when Christ comes, all hope is fulfilled. The
the world a little pilgrim band, seeking the heavenly Christian's suffering is replaced with unspeakable
city. God determined who would be pilgrims and who glory, instead of being a stranger he is welcomed into
would not. This choice did not revolve about foreseen covenant fellowship with God in the heavenly man-
faith and good works, did not depend upon some pil- sions, and with the saints of every age he exchanges his
grim qualities in man . . . man did not influence God in tent for a house not made with hands, eternal in the
any way! He chose His pilgrims according to His own heavens.
good pleasure; If you are one of those, then acknowl-           Are you really a pilgrim? Am I? Does that name fit
edge that election is of grace! And again sing: Blessed us? Let us be asking that question of ourselves as we
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Elec- continue to examine our pilgrim calling in the months
tion is the fountain of every saving good (Canons 1:9): ahead.
of regeneration, of our calling out of the kingdom of





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I                                                                                                                         ' I


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  133


Pages  jrom the Past

                          God, Who. Quickens The Dead
                                     A Meditation by Rev. Herman Hoeksema
                                            (Translated from the Dutch)

            The book of the generation 0-f Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham
            begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; And Judas begat
            Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram. Matthew 1: l-3

  The becoming flesh of the Word!                             then her husband was incorporated in the generation
  How in the generations which go back to Abraham, of Jacob.
the flesh which the Son of God presently shall assume           Moreover, then Joseph was enrolled in the register as
from Mary became - that is pictured to us here in the the legal father of Jesus.
book of the generation of Jesus Christ.                         And thus also there was provided for the virgin who
  This it is that is indicated in the meaning of the conceived and brought forth a son protection against
original word which is here translated "generation." the slander of evil tongues.
The word is literally genesis; and genesis means becom-         Merciful wisdom of God!
ing, origin, so that we may translate: "the book of the                             ****i;*
becoming of Jesus Christ." And this "becoming" does             The becoming of Jesus Christ!
not refer to His birth: for this is described in verses 18      The son of David . . . the son of Abraham!
to 25 of this chapter, while the heading with which             Jesus! That was His name among men.  .And with
this chapter begins covers only the first 17 verses. In that name he disappeared among men. For, except
these verses, therefore, we have description of the be- now by those who hoped for the fulfillment of the
coming of Jesus Christ in the generations of the fore- promise and. who knew and believed the Word of God
fathers.                                                      which was given in connection with that name, there
  But therefore it must also be an established fact that was at that time no longer any special significance at-
we have here the genealogy, not of Joseph, but of tached to the name Jesus.
Mary.                                                           Who could not call his son Jesus?
  Apparently this is not true.                                  And was not Jesus the son of Joseph, the carpenter?
  At the end of this book of the generation we read: Did they not know his father, and his mother, and his
"And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of brothers and sisters? Besides, was he not also the Naza-
whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ."                   rene? And would men expect anything special out of
  Two things, however, are established. Mary was of Nazareth?
the seed of David, for according to the flesh Christ is         No, as far as men were concerned, with respect to
of David's generation. And Joseph, the husband of the flesh, there was also in that name neither form nor
Mary, was not Jesus' father, for the Christ of God did comeliness. It simply indicated that this Jesus, with
not become flesh through the will of man. If, there- many other Jesuses, assumed his place among men.
fore, we have here the book of the origin and the               Jesus, thus he was called. And if now one said no
becoming of Jesus Christ, that is, not the legal, but the more about it, and attached no special significance to
organic line of the generations which end in Jesus it, no one would have any objections.
Christ, then the line must continue to Christ, then it          With the name Christ things stood somewhat differ-
cannot be broken off with Joseph, then it runs through ently. For Christ was not His Name, but His Title. And
by way of Mary. Only when we have here the genealog- about the title there would first have to be a  .debate!
ical register of Mary can we do justice to the heading: For Christ is Messiah, Anointed, the Expected One, the
The Book of the Genesis of Jesus Christ.                      One Who should come. And although the name Jesus
  But what about Joseph then?                                 could very well be born by a man among men, and
  How then can he be inserted in this "book of the men would neither deny Him nor begrudge Him* that
generation of Jesus Christ?"                                  name, that Jesus is the Christ men would deny. That
  If that line of David's generations, out of which the the flesh would oppose with all its might to the bitter
Christ should be born, ended in a virgin, in order that end, the end of the cross.
the human impossibility and hopelessness of the                 And nevertheless, He is Jesus, the Christ! Jesus, not
promise might become completely clear, then Jacob merely among other Jesuses, but as the One Who also
(verse 16) had no son, then Mary was his heiress, and indeed was what His name indicated: Jehovah  Salva-


I    134                                                THE STANDARD BEARER


     tion, the God of our complete salvation, Who shall save wonder of God, Who quickeneth the dead?
     His people from their sins. And this Jesus, no matter           Indeed, it is life out of the dead! This it is that this
     how the flesh may murmur against it, is indeed the Spirit inspired book would have us understand from
     Christ, ordained and anointed by God from eternity, the very outset through the arrangement in  three-
     Who should raise up Israel's throne out of the mire, times-fourteen generations, vs. 17.
     Who should sit upon the throne of David forever, and            You understand, do you not, that this symbolism
     Who on that throne should reign over all peoples.             was purposely chosen? In the reality of human history
            Therefore He is also Son of David and Son of it was not thus. There were more generations. Pur-
     Abraham.                                                      posely some generations are skipped over in order to
            That could not be otherwise.                           arrive at the symbolism of three-times-fourteen.
            Thus it was revealed centuries before to Abraham,        And does, then, this symbolism not already speak
     when Jehovah God preached the gospel to him (Gal. loudly of the fact that God reveals His miraculous
     3  :8): In thee shall all nations be blessed. Upon power precisely there where all human possibility has
     Abraham rested the promise, and upon his seed. And ceased, in order that He should reveal Himself as the
     that seed was Christ, For "to Abraham and his seed God Who quickeneth the dead? Are there not indi-
     were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as cated, then, by these three-times-fourteen three peri-
     of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is ods in the expectation of Israel of two-times-seven
     Christ." Jesus, Who shall save His. people from their each? And is, then, not seven, as six-plus-one, as labor
     sins, `and in Whom all nations would be blessed,.must and rest, the symbol of the perfected work of God, of
     therefore be the Son of Abraham.                              the coming of His kingdom, of the  fulfillment of the
            But the Christ must also be born out of David's line. promise? And does not this two-times-seven not point,
            David was the God-appointed king of Israel, was he then, to a double waiting of God's people in the old
     not? And his line was the royal line. Out of Abraham, dispensation, so that it indeed had to appear as if God
     through Judah, the line of the everlasting kingship ran repeatedly delayed the promise? And did not God's
     over David. Thus it was revealed: "And when thy days people,' then, in this period of two-times-seven not re-
     be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will ceive double for all their sins? And did then not this
     set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of period end repeatedly, even thrice, in a human impossi-
     thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall bility, so that one indeed had to become weary of
     build an house for my name, and I will stablish the waiting or had to believe in hope against hope?
     throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and        From Abraham to David!
     he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chas-         Two-times-seven! Long they had waited! The time
     ten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of was long past! But then in David at last the fulfillment
     the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart of the promise seemed to have dawned! But then not!
     away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put Again the promise is postponed. David shall not build
     away before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom an house for the Lord. Again there is mention of his
     shall be established forever before thee: thy throne seed! And from that point the direction is steadily
     shall be established forever." II Sam. 7:7-l&                 downward. From David into . . . how dreadful! . . . the
            Upon David's seed Israel's hope was fixed.             Babylonian Captivity: death, the grave. Now all is lost!
            Of this the people of God loved to sing already in But no! The promise continues to speak. Zerubbabel
     the old dispensation:                                         comes! The prince! But alas! also his splendor fades;
      "With My own chosen one, e'en David," God affirmed, and it becomes steadily darker, until finally nothing
     "I've made a covenant, with sacred oath confirmed;            remains -except a virgin from the house of David, while
     I've sworn in truth to him, My servant: `I will surely        Esau sits on David's throne!. . .
     Build up thy lustrous throne through every age se-              Three-times-fourteen!
            curely ;                                                 Human impossibility!
     Forever will thy seed, in spite of degradation,                 But even so the promise continued to speak. For a
     Endure upon thy throne through every generation.' " virgin shall be with child and shall bring forth a son,
            And that hope was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth!      and His name shall be Immanuel!
            The book of the generation of Jesus Christ is open       Human impossibility, but divine wonder! Life out of
      for inspection!                                              the dead! There in the manger of Bethlehem lies the
            Son of David . . . Son of Abraham!                     end of the generations of Abraham and David; Jesus
                                *****                              Christ. And there is the revelation of God, the God of
            Wonder of God!                                         our salvation, Who quickeneth the dead!. . .
            The becoming and origin of Jesus Christ!                 Thrice fourteen!
            Or who, upon reading this book of the generation of      From Abraham to David the king; from David to the
      Jesus Christ is not struck by -the human impossibility carrying away; from the carrying away to the vir-
      of this becoming, and by the revelation therein of the gin!. . .


                                            `THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  135


  Man perisheth! In the flesh there is no hope!                But in the "`becoming' of Jesus Christ, Who, remem-
  The promise continues to work, is fulfilled!              ber, was in Jacob's loins, the promise is victorious! The
  The becoming of Jesus Christ. . .                         elder serves the younger!
  Divine wonder!                                               Human impossibility! Divine wonder!
                         ***:**                                And Jacob begat Judah! Oh, Jacob had much seed,
  Life out of death!                                        with four wives, for he always wanted to help the prom-
  Ah, thus it was with this wonderful becoming of ise of God along. But Rachel is barren. Reuben is
Jesus Christ. Again and again!                              guilty of scandal, Simeon and Levi are brutes, and in
  Abraham begat Isaac . . .?                                prophetic wonderment Jacob must at last find the seed
  Begat? Yes, but not otherwise than by faith in the in Judah, the fourth!
promise; by a faith of hope against hope; by a faith,          Judah! Thou art he!
which, it is true, did not collapse, but which neverthe-       And Judah? Alas, the situation becomes even more
less in its long waiting almost perished. For Abraham pitiful according to the flesh! He begat Phares and Zara
had the promise. He would see seed! And for that seed       . . . by Tamar, his own daughter-in-law! For Judah had
he longed with all that was in him. Strongly he desired taken a Canaanitish woman to wife. And by her he
to see the day of Christ. But from the viewpoint of the intended to bring forth the seed of the promise
flesh it soon appeared impossible that he should ever through the flesh. And he seems to succeed. Three sons
bring forth this seed. For though he might feel himself were born to him from her. God killed the first! And
strong according to the flesh, capable of bringing forth when Judah had given the first son's wife, Tamar, to
seed, Sarah was barren! And alas! he and his mate the second,  Onan, in order to obtain seed, the latter
attempted it indeed through the flesh, and wanted to did even more scandalously than the first son: and God
put the flesh in the service of God's promise. And killed him too! And when Judah once again makes
when he could not bring forth seed with Sarah, then he preparation to keep Tamar as the wife for his third
would see the fulfillment of the promise out of Hagar. son, Tamar fears that God will also kill him; and since
And the flesh had success! But not with God. The plea, she also desires to see the seed of the promise, she
"oh, that Ishmael might live before thee!" found no dresses herself as a harlot and seduces her own father-
favor with God. And it became steadily later and in-law to incest!. . .
darker! Also Abraham's body became dead. . .                   And behold! it succeeds!
  It had become humanly impossible!                            Or rather: now the promise operates! Judah begat
  And when the promise is repeated to Abraham and Phares!
Sarah, they both laugh: who now expects children in            When Judah purposed to bring forth the seed of the
the evening of life?                                        promise, then God slew it in His wrath! When Judah,
  And then it is fulfilled! Divine wonder! Life out of at his going in unto the "harlot," certainly does not
the dead!                                                   even think of the seed of the promise, he obtains it in
  And Isaac begat Jacob!                                    spite of himself!
  Yes, but also here it was through the promise! While         Where is now the flesh? It is put to shame!
Ishmael breaks forth in a multitude, Rebekah is barren.        Wonderful becoming of Jesus Christ! Life out of the
And when God finally hears the prayer that Isaac and dead! Also in the manger of Bethlehem! Born of a
Rebekah send up to Him, everything is wrong; Esau is woman, yes, but without the will of man!
in Jacob's place, and Jacob's flesh, though he almost          The things which are impossible with men are pos-
desperately holds his brother by the heel, is not able to sible with God!
capture the position of the promise. . .                       Who quickeneth the dead!


The Signs of the Times
                        Wars and Rumors of Wars
                                                   Rev. G. Van Baren

  That there are wars yet today is a fact of which we       mideast.  Trouble continues in East Pakistan.  Thou-
are painfully aware. In spite of constant cries for sands die daily because of starvation - one of the sorry
peace, although many "prayer days for peace" have results of the war there. Many others, according to
been observed  - there is yet war. The United States report, are cruelly killed. War threatens between India
agonizingly and slowly seeks to remove herself from and Pakistan. "Civilized" mankind has, obviously, not
Viet Nam. Tension continues and even grows in the rid itself yet of wars.


136                                         THE STANDARD BEARER


Wars as a sign of the end of time                            In the third place, this second horse (war) comes
   There are several important passages in Scripture forth when Christ  opens the seal. Further, that horse is
which speak of wars as part of the signs of the end of called forth by the second beast (representing part of
time. We read of this in Matthew  24:6-8 (and in the the creation of God). We must not lose sight of this
parallel passages of Mark 13 :7 and Luke 2 1: 9). Jesus fact.
says to His disciples, "And ye shall hear of wars and        In the fourth place, the rider on the horse indicates
rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled: for all plainly that the horse is regulated and controlled. He
these things must come to pass, but the end is not can not freely run indiscriminately over the earth. He
yet.".                                                     is directed to go where Christ would have him to go.
   We might notice a few significant points presented        Finally, we can not help but notice that the white
here. First,, we must remember that Jesus is answering horse (the cause of God's kingdom and the preaching
the question of His disciples, "When shall these things of the Word) is first - and is followed by the remain-
be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of ing three horses. The second (and subsequent) horse
the end of the world?" (vs. 3). Jesus presents wars as serves the first. One might say: in some way wars must
one of the clear indications of His return and of the      also serve the purpose of the salvation of the church
end of the world.                                          and the final glorification of the saints.
   Secondly, Christ reminds His disciples that although
wars are a sign of the end, their existence does not       History of wars
mean that the end is immediately at hand. Jesus says,        We can, too quickly, maintain that there were al-
"The end is not yet." There have been wars through- ways wars. Yet there is no indication of wars before
out the history of the world. These all point to the the time of the tower of Babel. I think there were not
approaching end. Wars are, as Jesus again declares, the wars then. This accounts, in part, for the rapid devel-
`"birth-pains" of the new creation (this is the idea of opment of the world till soon God destroyed it with
verse 8). Each new war serves as another reminder that the flood. There was bloodshed. Scripture records the
the end comes.                                             first murder. But wars seemed unknown. The reason
   Finally, Jesus emphasizes that "these things  must was that mankind was one. Before the flood there was
come to pass." The idea of necessity is presented. Wars a division between the descendants of Cain and those
do not just happen to be. These are part of the eternal of Seth. The former grew in power and in numbers, the
plan of God. How else could this "must come to pass" later decreased in size till but eight souls remained just
be understood? God has His purpose with these wars - before the flood. But there was no war. The wicked
and that purpose must be served,                           were- united. They committed wickedness  - but in
   The second important passage concerning the place unity. The same situation continued after the flood till
of wars is to be found in Rev. 6:3-4, "And when he the time of the tower of Babel. Men built Babel not to
had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast save them from some future flood, but to serve as a
say, Come and see. And there went out another horse visible basis for their unity. These boasted in their
that was red: and power was given to him that sat          unity. Then God intervened by confusing man's lan-
thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they guage. In this act, God made it impossible for man to
should kill one another: and there was given unto him interact and unite. The result was a division which gave
a great sword."                                            rise to strife between tribes, races, and nations. Rev.
   Concerning this passage too, we can derive several      13:3 speaks of this: "And I saw one of his heads as it
truths pertaining to the subject of war, In the first were wounded  to  death; and his deadly wound was
place, this "second seal" is part of the seven seals pre- healed." That head belonged to the beast arising from
sented in Revelation. These seals represent the "aver- the sea - representing the political aspect of the king-
age" or "normal" happenings upon the earth. They dom of  anti-Christ. At Babel that head was wounded
represent not "consecutive" events in the history of unto death  - and is finally healed at the very end of
the world (for obviously the first "horse" of Revela- time when nations again unite under the antichrist as
tion continues to run even when the others are called      one world-power.
forth), but present that which is always occurring in        From Babel till now, wars continue. Man strives to
this  present dispensation. War, then, is what one can     end wars. Mediators there are in abundance. Yet wars
also expect throughout this age.                           continue. Finally, the antichrist will, for a short time,
   Secondly, there can be no doubt but that the second cause wars to cease. For this reason he will be greatly
horse of Revelation 6 does represent the fact of war.      admired by men. For we read again in Rev. 13, "And
The color of the horse shows this (red - the color of all the world wondered after the beast . . . and they
wrath and blood). The power given to the rider was to worshipped the beast, saying, `Who is like unto the
"take peace from the earth and that they should kill beast? Who is able to make war with him?' "
one another." And also a great sword was given the The cause of wars
rider.                                                       Any who have studied history, know that historians


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    137


are very concerned about studying the causes of war. sins. The wrath of God is upon them.
These will trace the various factors which led to any         Secondly, from the time of Babel, wars serve as the
particular conflict. These will suggest, by way of hind- means to perpetuate divisions among mankind. Wars
sight, what should have been done to prevent a particu- serve to prevent union which would be the realization
lar war.                                                    of the kingdom of antichrist. Wars among nations de-
   This, of itself, however, fails to recognize the basic lay, until the appointed time, the action of wicked
cause of all wars. War is one of the consequences of nations which rise against Christ and His church to
man's disobedience, in Paradise. God had spoken to destroy it (Rev. 11:7; 17: 14).
Adam that he would die in the day he ate of the for-          In the third place, during these times of wars, the
bidden fruit. Adam ate - and died. Wars which arose church continues its unimpeded growth and labors. It
later were part of that sentence of death. Man, in hat- is true that many within the church also suffer as a
ing and rebelling against God, also reveals hatred and result of the wars among nations. The sons of the
envy towards fellowman.                                     church must also take up arms, and some must die. Yet
   James states in 4: l-2, "From whence come wars and the glorious fact remains: while the world continues in
fightings among you? Come they not hence, even of its evil confrontations, the church is left  .relatively
your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have alone. They can continue to preach the gospel. Instruc-
not; ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain; ye tion of covenant youth can continue. The church is
fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." being gathered. The last of the saints are brought in.
That lust, seen first at Paradise, continues to cause When this is finally accomplished, then the world can
wars and rumors of wars. I could frankly also state that briefly unite  - revealing its utter godlessness. And
man, with all of his social philosophies directed toward Christ shortly returns thereafter.
the ending of all wars, can not basically succeed in his                            *****
attempts. Until lust is rooted out of the  heart, wars
and hatred will continue. The necessary change which                           Youth for whom?
leads to true peace takes place not through social ac-        A California reader sends in a gruesome picture
tion but through regeneration.                              taken from the local newspaper which presents two
                                                            evil-looking young men looking fiendishly at a
The purpose of wars                                         bloody, living head of a girl lying apparently on a plat-
  Wars do not just happen. These are under the direc- ter. This was part of the "Scream in the Dark" Hallo-
tion and control of the Sovereign God. God says con- ween program presented for those 12 and older.
cerning Babylon who warred against Judah, "Thou art Proceeds of the program would be "for continued
my battle-axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I youth activities." Who presents this ghoulish program?
break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I de- The "Campus Life, a division of Youth for Christ."
stroy kingdoms" (Jer. 5 1:20). Or again, it is God Who        Yes, Ma'am, that is a horrible caricature of Christian
sends peace: "He maketh wars to cease unto the end of activity and definitely a sign of the times: a sign of the
the earth. . . ." (Ps. 46:9).                               terrible apostasy of our day when anything can go
  How do wars serve God's purpose? First, these serve under the name of Christian.
as His tools to punish the wicked. Jer. 51 (above)            It reminds us again: ". . . The Lord is at hand." (Phil.
shows that. The wicked will not "get away with" their 4:5)


From Holy Writ

                     Exposition of the Book of Hebrews
                                                Rev. G. Lubbers
                                    Hebrews 11:9, 10, 13-l 6 (continuation)

THE PEDAGOGICAL WAY OF THE LORD WITH                          This question is suggested by the form of the verb in
THE PATRIARCHS (Hebrews 11: IO)                             the text which is translated "looked for." Now in this
  The thought arises: how could Abraham have under-         term there is the idea of seeking and of eager expect-
stood the promise as referring to a heavenly city, the      ancy of faith and hope. And the form of the verb is in
beautiful cleansed Bride of Christ, which will one day      the imperfect tense. This tense is the historical tense, it
descend from heaven in perfected state in a new             is the moving picture. A.T. Robertson calls it "the pic-
heaven and in a new earth?                                  turesque progressive imperfect  (exedecheto),   the  pa-


138                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



tient and steady waiting in spite of disappointment." It Maker. Abraham had to wait each time for renewed
is the confident expectation of a living hope. Such was instruction as God was building His city out of his very
the life of Abraham's sojourn with Isaac and Jacob. loins. In Isaac shall the Seed be called. And, fmally,
Abraham thus walked for one hundred years in the Abraham sees it on the mount and obtains the promise
land, and Isaac his one hundred and eighty and Jacob with much faith and longsuffering. In the Mount of the
his one hundred forty-seven years. And all the while LORD it shall be seen!  Jehovah-jired!  (Gen.  23:14)
their expectation was constant and living, they con- For it was here that faith did its highest and most
fessed that they were pilgrims and strangers in the earth. accurate exact thinking. It saw that God must raise
Truly,  ,the Patriarchs understood more and more that from the dead. And so Abraham ends his pilgrimage in
the promise was not of an earthly land but of a better purchasing a burial place in the land, insisting that he is
country, that is, an heavenly.                              a stranger and a pilgrim amongst the children of Heth:
       This was due to the very words of the promise to "I am a stranger and a sojourner in your midst," rea-
Abraham when the God of glory appeared unto him as soning "I seek a better country, that is, an heavenly." I
recorded in Genesis 12:  1~13. For here we have the see the city by faith in the dim, distant future, and I
promise of God in which all is said. The Architect and rejoice even in burying my dead.
Builder of the city which has foundations is laying out           Thus the LORD led Abraham and the other Patri-
the master-plan, the blue-print, so to speak, of the archs from step to step on their pilgrim journey.
perfected Church in Jesus Christ. We have noticed in a            They saw the day of Christ from afar and rejoiced.
former essay what the terms were. We merely sum (John 8:56) We have but to read the accounting of the
them up here briefly:                                       blessing wherewith Isaac blesses Jacob when he says
       1. "And I will make of thee a great nation."         `1      let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to
       2. "And I will bless thee and make thy name great." tiee' . . . cursed be every one that  curseth thee and
       3. "And thou shalt be a blessing."                   blessed be he that blesses thee," to observe this seeing
       4. "And I will bless him that bless thee, and curse of Christ's day from afar, looking even in the prophetic
         him that curseth thee."                            perspective for the sufferings to come upon the Christ
       5:"And in thee shall all families of the earth be and the glory to follow. And Jacob, when he is about
         blessed."                                          to die, blesses his sons and speaks of the things that
Here we have the basic foundation of the Church of will befall them in the time when the Seed shall have
the living God both in the Old Testament and in the come "Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall
New Testament. Here we have all the lines as they lead praise . . . The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor
from Abraham to David, to Christ, (the SEED) and in a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come,
Him the church gathered from every nation, tongue and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
and people. These lines shew that in this promise and (Genesis 27:28; 49:8-l 1) Here we see the people gath-
command Abraham now can and will walk, with Isaac ering in the city, the people, redeemed out of all ages,
and Jacob, in the frame-work of the Architectural lines which shall be the city, the Bride prepared for the
of the heavenly Jerusalem. Such is the pedagogy of the Bridegroom. (Revelation 21)
Lord.
       Now by faith Abraham can do a bit of "account- GOD UNASHAMED TO BE CALL ED THE PATRI-
ing." Faith has its own ratiocination, its own process ARCHS' GOD (Hebrews 11: 16)
of exact thinking. And Abraham was a prophet. He has              God is called in the Holy Scriptures from this time
the Spirit of the Lord to guide him into the truth of forth the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the
the promise. He could and did work out his salvation God of Jacob. God deems this compatible with His
with fear and trembling. And he saw with faith's exact- divine glory, the truth of the promise and the power of
itude, and that unerringly, that all the lines of the God which is revealed in the resurrection of all things,
promise led to the "Seed." Yes, he had his fainting changing the earthly and corruptible into the heavenly
spells when his faith needed more instruction as to and immortal.
the details. We have here but to think of the great               That God  his called the God of the Patriarchs in
revelation of the Lord spoken on in Genesis 15. We Scripture is quite clear from many key-passages both in
notice how the Lord here predicts the initial receiving Moses and in the Prophets. The verb here to call is
of the land after four hundred years of bondage in a "epikaleisthai," which means to name upon. This verb
strange land. (Gen. 15: 13-l 8). Here again the Lord not indeed has various senses and meanings. In Romans
only comes and renews the promise but gives more 10: 12, 14 the meaning of the verb is "call upon" and
details of how and when these things shall come to refers to the believer's calling to the Lord for help and
pass. And then the faith of Abraham laid hold on each salvation from sin, guilt and corruption. There, quoting
new and more detailed explication of the first formula- Joel, Paul says that everyone who calls upon the Name
tion of the promise and that made for "a looking for" of the Lord shall be saved. However, when Paul appeals
the heavenly city, of which God is the Builder and his case to Caesar in Rome, then the term has another


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                              139


meaning. (Acts 25: 11, 22; 26:32; 28: 19) In our text of the Patriarchs is still more abundantly proven by the
here in Hebrews 11: 16 the meaning is to surname. God fact that He Himself calls and pin-pointedly designates
is surnamed the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. In Himself by this name. There is here something of un-
this sense the verb is used in I Peter 1: 17 where we ending, condescending covenant faithfulness, goodness
read "If ye call Father, who without respect of persons and mercy in God's usage of this Name. Here is the
judgest according to every man's work, pass the time covenant Jehovah in his coming down to pick up Israel
of your sojourning ,m fear and trembling."                 in all her sorrows and bondage in Egypt. And to assure
   In the Genesis record God Himself calls Himself by Moses that He is indeed the God of Israel and of Moses
this "Title," by which He is not ashamed to be called. He says, "I am the God of thy father, the God of
He appears to Jacob at Bethel, when the latter was Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
fleeing from Esau, in a dream. Standing at the head of Jacob. . . ." (Exodus 3 : 6) Small wonder that the proph-
the ladder which reached from earth to heaven, he says ets later addressed God by this Name! And it shows
"I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the the utter blindness of the unbelieving and rationalistic
God of Isaac etc." Earlier He had appeared to Isaac in Sadducees that they had never seen the grandeur and
the night and said  ?`I am the God of Abraham thy implication of this self-manifestation of Almighty God.
Father; fear not, for I am with thee, etc." (Genesis Truly they erred because they knew neither the Scrip-
28: 13; 26:24) Jacob is very conscious of the meaning tures nor the power of God. One must know the mean-
of this "title" and the intimate care and relationship ing of the Scriptures to know what is implied in this
between God and the Patriarchs expressed in this surname of God. There is something truly sublime in
name, since he uses it in his apology with his father-in- this," He is not ashamed to be called their God." And
law Laban and replies to the latter "Except the God of it is this, that it postulates the great eternal and infal-
my father, the God of Abraham had been with me, lible truth  of  the  "`anastasis"   the resurrection of the
surely thou hadst sent me away empty." It was this saints in glory, but also the resurrection of all things,
God who was "with him" that gave Jacob his wives, changing all the earthly into the heavenly. God will
children and great multitude of sheep, oxen and one day change all the earthly pilgrimage-plane of the
camels. Thus Jacob also addresses God in his fervent saints, where they tread their three score years and ten,
prayer in the night of his Peniel when he says, "0 God into the heavenly glory of a new heaven and of a new
of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac the earth. (Rev. 21) For God is not the God of the dead
LORD which saidst unto me return to thy country, but of the living. Really Jesus says God is not the God
and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee. . . ." of dead ones but of living ones. He does not use the
(Genesis 31:42; 32:9)                                      article in the Greek. The absence of the article shows
  Later it is David who also addresses the Lord and that Jesus is pointing out the quality of living.
says, "0 LORD :God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are still living. He that liveth
our fathers, keep this forever in the imagination and and believeth shall never die!
thoughts of the heart of thy people. . .  ." (I Chroni-      No, God is not ashamed to be called their God. He
cles 29: 18, 19) And Elijah on Mount  Carmel pleads calls Himself by this. name and we call him by this
with God at the altar, which had been drenched with name, and all the wondrous heavens will be the realiza-
water, "Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it tion of the truth of the resurrection expressed in this
be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, etc." name as unerringly interpreted by Christ Himself. Let all
(I Kings 18:36)                                            the multitude then marvel at this teaching!
  But that God is not ashamed to be "called" the God


Contending For The Faith

                            The Doctrine of Atonement
                                        THE R EFORMA TION PERIOD
                                              THE SYNOD OF DORDT

                                                 Rev. H. Veldman

  Of interest is also the opinion of the synodical dele- These opinions of the delegates of Emden are of great
gates to the Great Synod of Dordt of  Emden in  con-       interest. Our churches have been accused in the past of
nection with the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ.       permitting our logic to rule over our interpretation of
They first present the position of the Arminians and       the Scriptures. Our readers will do well to notice how
then refute these propositions of the Remonstrants.        these delegates are motivated in their writings by the


140                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER



power of logic.                                                        intend that it should happen,  - H.V.).
          I. Whether God died only for the elect and for                  2. If God purposes something and decrees it,
       those who are saved, or whether He also died for                which does not come to pass, then He does not attain
       other men? This latter is asserted by the Remon-                unto the end of His purposes; and so many things will
       strants in the Conference at Hague, page 139, and               happen outside of His purpose. But God, according to
       page -184 of Brand.                                             what the Remonstrants say, has purposed, decreed
          II. Whether Christ died at all for all men. The Re-          and willed, that all men should be saved through the
       monstrants say Yes; in the Hague Conference, page               death of Christ, which, however, does not occur. Con-
       141, etc. There they say that Christ died for all par-          sequently, He does not obtain the end of His pur-
       ticular people, for them who are lost as well as for            poses, and many things take place outside of  His
       those who shall be saved. And the Geldersch Remon-              purpose. Which is absurd, yea, to say this is blasphe-
       strants, page 47. We say freely .that Christ died with-         mous. Therefore also this saying (this is also very logi-
       out distinction for these and other people, considered          cal, is it not? - H.V.).
       as fallen and sinful, from the beginning of the world              3. If Christ, according to the counsel, purpose and
       until the end. These same delegates (Gelderschen) say           decree of the Father, died for all men, then it follows
       that Christ has obtained forgiveness of sins and recon-         that there is neither an election of some nor a repro-
       ciliation with God for all and for everyone, from the           bation of some, But we have shown above that there
       beginning of the world until the end, whether repent-           is election and reprobation. Consequently, Christ, ac-
       ant or unrepentant.                                             cording to the counsel, purpose and the decree of the
          Over against this we place this proposition:                 Father, did not die for all men (logical, is it not? God
          Christ has laid down His life only for His sheep,            elected some and reprobated others; hence, Christ did
       that is, for His elect, not at all for the goats, John          not die for all men. - H.V.).
       10:15. Whereas this proposition has been proved dif-               4. If Christ, according to the purpose and counsel
       fusely in the Hague Conference by the honorable                 of the Father, died for all men, then God has the
       Brethren, we will not offer more proof.                         same purpose with respect to all men, equally and in
          III. Whether the ordination of the death and the             the same manner. Likewise, then the saving grace is
       suffering of Christ preceded in order the election              general. But God does not have the same purpose in
       unto salvation, etc. The Remonstrants say Yes.                  the same manner with respect to all, and His grace is
                       Our Contra-Distinction.                         not general. For if this be true,
          The ordination of the Mediator and His death and                Where is 1. the gracious election?
       suffering is, according to order, later than the election          Where is 2. the gracious calling of some, as of the
       unto salvation, and is a means of the execution of              Israelites, Deut. 4:7; Ps. 76 and 147. Thus He did not
       election, For thus speaks Is. 53; 10; after he had              do to all peoples.
       spoken broadly and at length of the suffering and                  Where is 3. the covenant, established with
       death of Christ: The will, or the decree, and good              Abraham, and not with others?
       pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand, But,               Where is 4. the mystery of the calling of the Hea-
       whereas this has been provided extensively in our ob-           thens, whereof the Prophets make mention so often?
       servations upon the first Article, we shall not add to             Where is 5. that particular favour, love, grace,
       this.                                                           wherewith the Lord embraces His elect?
          IV. Whether Christ died for all, according to the               V. Whether Christ, for whom He did  not merit
       purpose, counsel and decree of the Father. The Re-              the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation, does not
       monstrants say Yes; in the Hague Conference, page               attribute the same; or whether He is not an interces-
       143 and 175, etc.                                               sor for all those whose reconciler He is and for whom
                       Our Contra-Distinction.                         He died?
           Christ, according to the intention, counsel, and the           The Remonstrants say No expressly. In the Hague
       decree of the Father, has died only for the elect. (the         Conference, page 172, etc.
       undersigned, H.V., has already remarked that these                          Our Scriptural Contra-Distinction.
       delegates did not hesitate to reason from the Scrip-               Christ has also been raised for all those, for whom
       tures, to be motivated in their writings by the power           He died; for them He also sits at the right hand of
       of logic. This does not mean that their reason gov-             God; for them He also prays, and attributes unto
       erned their interpretation of the Word of God, but              them the merited benefits.
       was based upon that Word of God. After all, the                    1. Out of Rom.  8:32;  He that spared not  His own
       Scriptures do not speak nonsense. And now notice                Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not
       how this is emphasized in the following quotations.)            with Him also freely give us all things? How should
          Reason, For: 1. The good  which God purposes,                He then not pray for those, and appropriate unto
       and, according to His decree and counsel, would have            them His benefits, for whom He died?
       occur, that He also brings to pass. He does not cause              2. Christ is our High Priest, Who not only offered
       all men to be saved through the death of Christ. Con-           for us an offering, but also prays for us. John 17; I
       sequently, thus or therefore He did not intend this,            pray for all who through their word shall believe in
       neither did He will that it should happen (notice,              Me. And He is always heard. What kind of madness is
       please, how the fathers here reason from the result to          this, what raging, to separate the parts of Christ's
       the cause: it does not happen; so, the Lord did not             Priesthood from each other.


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        141


       3. Christ is a Saviour according to merits and               the Remonstrants propose, we will speaic later.
    power. Matt. 3; He baptizes with the Holy Ghost and                3. With His righteousness. For He has received
    with fire. Luke 24; He causes our hearts to bum.                from the Son full  pgyment,  and nevertheless He does
       4. If He merely saves according to merits, and not           not receive all in grace.
    according to power, then He is not a perfect Saviour.              4. With His highest love. For God so loved the
    But He is a perfect Saviour, Who can save us per-               world that He gave His only-begotten son. Now I ask:
    fectly, Heb. 7. Consequently, it is for us a blasphe-           what, I pray you, would, the love of the  Son  be, or
    mous reason, to say that Christ is merely a Saviour             what benefit would it impart, if He did not at once
    according to merits, not according to power, or that            bestow faith in His Son?
    Christ has merely obtained the forgiveness of sins, not            5. With the highest love of the Son, Who loved us,
    the application of the merited benefits. For Christ,            while we were yet sinners, to such an extent that He
    through the pouring out of His precious  .blood, has            died for us; Rom. 5. And a benefit, so hard-earned
    merited for us both, the forgiveness of sins as well as         and obtained with such a precious blood, He should
    the Spirit of regeneration, appropriate unto ourselves          not appropriate unto those for whom He merited
    the benefits through faith, which have been acquired            them?
    by the blood of Christ. For He has come in order that         We will stop here at this time.  The Lord willing, we
    He should put. to nought all the works of the Devil in      will continue with this the next time. We consider
    the elect.                                                  these quotations of the fathers of Dordrecht of the
       5. We keep silent that, where there is forgiveness       greatest significance, also for our young people, and in
    of sins, there is also the salvation and life, as Luther
    declares. And Ps. 32, blessed are they whose sins are       our present day and age. It may be that these articles
    forgiven. There is then the acquiring of the forgive-       will "stretch out" because of these quotations, but
    ness of sins, there is also the appropriation of the        surely they will help us to strengthen us in our convic-
    acquired benefit. Otherwise, how can they  .be de-          tion with respect to the particular' character of the
    clared saved? A gift, exhibited from afar and not ac-       cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we repeat: how
    tually bestowed, cannot save anyone and make him            logical these delegates are! They do not hesitate to say
    blessed.                                                    that the doctrine of the universality of Christ's atone-
       In summary, this doctrine of the universality of         ment is in conflict with the doctrine of God's election
    redemption.- and the obtaining of the forgiveness of        and reprobation, with the attributes of God's omnipo-
    sins for all men, is in conflict:                           tence, wisdom, righteousness, love, His own love and
       1. With God's omnipotence. For He should have            the love of Christ. They declare that this doctrine of a
    willed, that a benefit should have been merited which
    He, because of the evil of men, would not be able to        general atonement is absurd, madness, `a monstrosity.
    bestow.                                                     And how true this is. It is well in these days that all the
       2. With His wisdom, for He should have purposed          emphasis be placed upon the doctrine that Christ died
    unto which He would not be able to attain. Of the           only for his own, for His sheep given Him of the
    conditional purpose and the intention of God, which         Father from before the foundations of the world.



Book Reviews
                                            The Cure Of Souls
THE CURE OF SOULS: An Anthology of P. T.                        (which appear quite clearly also in these writings) one
Fovsy th's Practical Writings; edited by Harry Esco tt;         can find many pleasurable hours in reading this anthol-
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 19 71; I38 pp.,             ogy. Forsyth's writings are clear and original in
$1.95 (paper). [Reviewed by Pro$ H. Hank01                      thought and give profound insight into many problems
                                                                of the  Christian's life. A brief quote from an address to
  If one may judge by the number of books being                 students who were ready to assume the active ministry
published of Forsyth's writings and the number of wil1 give Some idea Of this;
books published concerning his theology, there is a                    You are first of all stewards, not owners. Men with
revival of interest in this author. He lived from 1848 to           a trust, not men with a property. You have to carry
1921 and spent most of his life as a minister and                   what many others have tried to carry, a Gospel, a
teacher in the Congregational Church in England.                    Truth many times uttered. And so I would warn you
                                                                    not  to strive to win notice by originality but only by
  This present book gives brief excerpts from his prac-             the Gospel you preach. The truest things you will
tical writings and is, chiefly, a devotional book. If one           have to say se those that have been said many times,
can overlook the deficiencies in Forsyth's theology                 but they are still the most original. Grace is the most


142                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER



        original thing in the world. However original sin may              your hearers, truths, great truths, in a clever way, but
        be, Grace is more original still. .The Grace of God is so          remember always that the essential thing for a  minis-
        original as to be unexplainable.                                   ter is not gifts but faithfulness.  Faithfulness not to
           It is a great thing to have gifts to bring home to              your people but to God.  (p. 134)

                              The Bible On The life Hereafter
THE BIBLE ON THE LIFE HEREAFTER, by William jects under the general themes of "Death and Immor-
Hendtiksen;  Baker Book House, 1971; 222 pp., $2.95                    tality, " "The Intermediate State," "The Signs," "The
(paper). [Reviewed by ProJ: H. Hank01                                  Second Coming," "Events Associated With the Second
  This book is  a reprint  of a book first published in                Coming," and "The Final State." The book suffers
1959 and which has gone through four printings. Dr.                    from too short a discussion of many subjects, as this'
Hendriksen is well-known as a lucid and Reformed                       type of book inevitably does; but it is highly recom-
writer of New Testament commentaries and as a mended as a guide to the study of Eschatology and as a
scholar in the field of eschatology. This book is in- valuable book for use in "After-recess Discussions" in
tended as a study guide or as outlines to be followed                  Society life. The author concludes each chapter with a
for Society discussions. It treats a large number of sub- number of questions for general discussion.

                 The Growing Church lobby In Washington

THE GROWING CHURCH LOBBY IN WASHING- federal funds were funnelled through churches to fight
TON, by James L. Adams; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publish- the war on poverty. It is  a story  of  corruptiyx, misap-
ing Co., 1970; 294 pp., $6.95. [Reviewed by  Pro$ H.                   plication of funds, involvement of the church in poli-
Hank01                                                                 tics and social issues, and power plays by the church.
       The author is a reporter for the  Cincinnati Post & There is also a lengthy discussion of the bill for educa-
Times-Star  and is thoroughly acquainted with the tion passed in 1965 and the part the church played in
Washington scene and the enormous influence of this legislation. The lobbying roles of various church
churches in their lobbying for particular legislation in groups and the problems involved in church lobbying are
the halls of Congress. The book discusses the first ma- treated. For those who are interested in this subject,
jor victory for the church lobbyists in the Civil Rights this is a valuable book. It left us with the strong im-
Act of 1964, the role of church leaders in the OEO pression that the church in America today is far more
legislation, especially in the Delta Ministry in which apostate than is generally realized.



  An Office Bearer's Conference is to be held, the continue to keep them in perfect peace as He has
Lord willing, Tuesday evening, January 4, 1972, at the promised for those whose minds are stayed on Him
Southeast Protestant Reformed Church, at 8:00 P.M. because they have trusted in Him.
All past and present office bearers are urged to attend.                                Their children,
Rev. C. Hanko will speak on the subject - "What is the
deacons' responsibility toward those who cannot pay                                         Mr. and Mrs. Vern Huber
school  tuition? How far should the diaconate become                                        Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Lanning
involved, and when does  it. become a matter for the                                        Mr. and Mrs. Bill Huber
elder? "                                                                                    Mr. and Mrs. Tim Heemstra
                                                    P. Knott, Sec'y                            and 11 grandchildren


                    ANNIVERSARY NOTICE                                          ANNIVERSAR Y ANNOUNCEMENT
       On December 12, 1971, our beloved parents, MR.                    On December 19, 197 1, our beloved parents, PROF.
AND MRS. GUSTAV HUBER, commemorated their AND MRS. H. C. HOEKSEMA will celebrate their
40th wedding anniversary. As their grateful children 25th wedding anniversary. We, together with them,
we are thankful for the years of covenant love and thank our gracious heavenly Father for keeping them
instruction given us. We pray that our faithful God will for each other, for us, and for the cause of His truth


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  143



and covenant during these years, and pray for God's the assurance that He doeth all things well.
grace and blessing upon them in the years to come.                                     Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Pres.
                Their children,                                                       Mrs. Chester Haveman, Sec'y.
                  Mr. and Mrs. Mark H. Hoeksema
                  Eunice Hoeksema
                  Lois Hoeksema                                        RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                  Candace Hoeksema                            The Choral Society of the Hudsonville Protestant
                                                            Reformed Church hereby expresses its sympathy to
                                                            one of our members, Mrs. Klaire Berens, in the sudden
           RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                           passing of her brother
   The Mr. and Mrs. Society of the Hudsonville Protes-                        J A M E S   L U B B E R S .
tant Reformed Church wishes to express its heartfelt
sympathy to its members, Mr. and Mrs. Klaire Berends          May the Lord comfort the sorrowing and grant them
and Mr. Roger Berends,  in the death of their brother       peace in the knowledge that "all things work together
                                                            for good to them that love God." (Romans 8:28b).
                 JAMES E. LUBBERS.                                                               Paul Shinper, Pres.
   May our Heavenly Father comfort the bereaved with                                          Betty Haveman,~Sec'y




                                     NOW AVAILABLE!

             BELIEVERS AND THEIR SEED

                              By REV. HERMAN HOEKSEMA

                                                 $ 2 . 9 5

   Order from: R.F.P.A. Publications Committee,                (Include payment, and be sure to include your
   P.O. Box 2006, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49501.                own name, address, and zip)




                             News From Our Churches

   Trios and calls certainly figure in the news for this    for Randolph's congregational meeting were probably
issue of The Standard Bearer. From a trio consisting of still warm; but since a considerable expanse of country
Rev. R. Decker, Rev. M.  S&ripper, and Rev. G.              lies between that city and Grand Rapids, we have not
Lanting, Hope Church (Grand Rapids) has extended yet received word of the results.
the call to Rev. Decker. Rev. G. Van Bar-en received          Hope Church (Michigan) is, as you no doubt remem-
the call from our  Redlands Church. He was chosen ber, the calling church for our second missionary.
from a trio which included also Rev. R. Harbach and Their trio for home missionary was: Rev. J. Heys, Rev.
Rev. J. Heys. Randolph's trio consisted of the follow- M. Schipper, and Rev. B. Woudenberg. In their congre-
ing: Rev. Decker, Rev. Schipper, and Rev.                   gational meeting of Nov. 26, Rev. Heys was elected to
Woudenberg. At the time of this writing, the seats used receive the call.


           _

                                  I-~

THE STiiDARD BEARER
       p,O.  Box 6064
Gland Rapids, Michigan 49506                1


                                                 `_-.-  - _ -~-
144                                                                THE STANDARD BEARER



                            *,*  *  *  *                                     and Mrs. R. Petersen.
   According to Southwest's bulletin of Nov. 2 1, Rev;                          Those were only two, of ten different and interest-
Veldman made an unexpected return to the hospital ing topics -treated at the Teachers' Convention., The
,"because of complications due to surgery." The an- keynote address was, without doubt, the speech by
nouncement added that "his condition is `not serious Prof. H. Hanko. His topic was "The Scriptural Concep-
and he is feeling quite well." According to the follow-                      tion of the Covenant Child, from a Spiritual Point of
ing week's bulletin, the second stay in the hospital was View." He spoke on the child as a' regenerated sinner,
a brief one, but necessitated confinement to his home                        as a developing adult, and as a potential saint. The
till` December 7. "He is well on .the way'to recovery                        speaker did  n.ot merely busy himself with interesting
                                                                             theory. The eminent'practicality of his speech can be
and looks forward to the time when he may again go-in readily understood from the fact that each of his three
and out with our congregation."                                              points concluded with remarks concerning the implica-
                            -**x**                                           tions for teaching. This is hardly the place to give even
           ._                                                                a brief summary of that fine speech; but perhaps we
  Included in First Church's 1'972 budget, adopted at                        can be excused for quoting a  few. scattered lines, in
the annual Congregational Meeting, was a figure of order to convey, in a limited way, a sense of what
$4000, which. is intended to be the beginning of a                           might be. called the flavor of his address. "We cannot
"Building Fund for the purpose of relocating the par- deal responsibly with children unless we know our-
sonage and church if this becomes necessary."                                selves. The only difference. between: a child and an
                            *****                                            adult, as far as sin is concerned, is that the adult has
                                                                    .-.      learned to present to others an erroneous picture. . . .
  Are you interested in hearing about the progress of In our discipline of the child, we will find that the only
the "drive" for funds for our proposed theological                           thing that will appeal to the child. is the Word of Go-d.
school building? Mr. R. Teitsma, who is a member of Psychological tricks won't work. . . . There's precious
the Theological School Committee, and is in charge of little that a teacher can do to change the child; The
the funds collected for the new school,-reports that the                     relationship between child and parent is the influential
first contributions came in February of this year. Gifts                     relationship in the child's life. . . . God has determined
of note include an anonymous one of $500, two col- from eternity the place that each individual child of
lections amounting to a total of $782 from our church God has in the church on earth and in the church in
in Pella, and also a gift from an industry. As of the heaven. God uses the experiences of youth to prepare
beginning of November, church collections, gifts from                        him for that place. We don't know that place. So, in a
societies and from individuals, etc. brought the total to sense, we ,work in the dark. . . . It's a glorious task. . . .
$7,156. The estimated cost of the proposed building We. are,' instruments. . . . `Weakest means fulfill thy
was.given  as $70,000. Mr. Teitsma didn't mention this,                      will.'  "                  `:.                    .,..  I
but it's clearly evident that there's quite,.,a bit of room                                             * $ & * .*
                                                                                                               .:-            .,  ";
                                                                                                                      _  ."  I:,
above. the present balance in the fund,.                 :
                      L'                                                        On Reformation Day Sunday,  a~singspiration  was
                            *****  .'                         ,              held in our Hull church.  Rev.sMoore gave a short
                 ,                                                           speech, and the young people of Doon rendered a spe-
  The annual Protestant Reformed Teachers' Institute                         c i a l   n u m b e r .
Convention met in Adams Street School on October                                The preceding item came from  Doon's bulletin, of
28 and. 29. This convention of our "eastern" schools                         course. From that same bulletin,  .we learn that, on
included teachers from Adams, Covenant, Hope, and October 29, the school children of  Doon Protestant
South Holland. There were a number of  "sectionals"                          Reformed School traveled to our Edgerton school for a
held during the course of the  twoday convention; in                         combined chapel service, at which Rev. Moore was
addition to a couple of speeches presented to the again the speaker. Measuring with a meter stick on a
group as a whole. You might, perhaps, be interested in                       map in an Atlas, we figure that distance. to be about 40
some of the topics considered there. One sectional was                       miles one way. (Editor's note: A bit short! My odome-
led by Mr. Darrel Huisken,, who gave a scholarly pres-                       ter always registered 55 miles when I used to go on
entation concerning "The English Bible." At the same classical appointments from  Doon to Edgerton.) The
time that Mr.  -Huisken was. leading his. sectional,                         students `of Doon probably enjoyed that Friday after-
another group of teachers attended a presentation on                         noon, for reasons in addition to attendance at a chapel
"Remedial Help in the Classroom," by Miss R. Dykstra                         exercise.                                                    D. D.


