                                tandard

                                           earer

A  REFORMED  SEMI-MONTHLY  MAGAZINE


IN THIS ISSUE


                 Editorials:
                   The OPC and the "Free Offer"
                   That Insane Amusement-Notion

                 Meditation:
                   With Christ Iti Paradise

                 All Around Us:
                   Continuing Presbyterians Creedal Authority

                 The Day of Shadows:
                   Distinguishing Grace




                                               ! Volume XLIX /Numbqr 13 /April I,1973


290                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



                                                                                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER
                            CONTENTS                                             Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
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Editorials -                                                                         Second Class Postage Paid at Grand  Raprds.   Mich.
                                                                            Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Homer  C. Hoeksema
   Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290 Depaffment   Editors:  Rev. Robert 0. Decker, Mr. Donald  Ooerema.  Rev.
                                                                            D a v i d   J .   Engelsma,   R e v .   C o r n e l i u s   H a n k o .   P r o f .   H e r m a n   H a n k o .   R e v .
   The OPC and the "Free Offer" . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290              R o b e r t   C .   Harbach,   R e v .   J o h n   A .   Heys,  R e v .   J a y   K o r t e r i n g .   R e v .   D a l e   H .
                                                                            Kuiper,   R e v .   G e o r g e   C .   L u b b e r s ,   R e v .   Mannus   Schipper,   R e v .   Grse  J.
Guest Editorial -                                                           V a n   Baren.   R e v .   H e r m a n   Veldman,   R e v .   B e r n a r d   Woudenberg
                                                                            Editorial Office:  Prof.-H. C. Hoeksema
   That Insane Amusement-Notion . . . . . . . . . . . . .293                                               1 9 4 2   P l y m o u t h   T e r r a c e .   S . E .
                                                                                                           G r a n d   IRapids.   Mich.   4 9 5 0 6
Meditation -                                                               Church  Nelna Editor:                            M r .   D o n a l d   Ooezema
                                                                                                                            1904  PlymOuth   T e r r a c e ,   S . E .
   With Christ In Paradise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295                                                  `G r a n d   R a p i d s ,   Mich.  49506
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Editorials

                                              Editor's  Noted
Key 73 - What Must We Think About Jt? This will be                         on your calendar,; and plan to attend!
the subject of a lecture in the First Protestant Progress Report  - Theological School Building.  The
Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, to be delivered by                        committee had planned to present a progress report
the Rev. David Engelsma. In this note I not only want with complete building plans more than a month ago.
to call attention to this forthcoming lecture, which In fact, the article has been written and the sketches
ought to be of interest to many Reformed people. But are all ready. However, there has been a delay, due to
I call attention, too, to a change of date. ~Originally this legal technicalities in clearing the title to the site. As
lecture was scheduled for May 3. It has now been                           soon as this matter is cleared up, there will indeed be a
changed to May 10, the Lord willing. Circle this date complete - and exciting - report.


                             The OPC and the "Free I Offer"
                                                          Prof. H. C. Hoeksema

   In connection with our discussion of the proposed                        discuss the matter of Arminianism. And in connection
merger of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and the                          with this discussion of Arminianism, we earlier
Reformed Presbyterian Church, we have begun to                              mentioned both' the  OPC's treatment of the Clark


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    291



Case, beginning in 1944, and the booklet by Dr.                 The second charge concerns Dr. Clark's "view of the
Murray and Dr. Stonehouse, "The Free Offer of the            relation of the faculty of knowledge, the intellectual
Gospel." Both, we said, were evidences of Arminianism        faculty, to other faculties of the soul." (pp. 6-10)
in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. And these                 The third part of this section of the Complaint
evidences we propose to discuss now.                         alleges that Dr. Clark is guilty of maintaining "that the
   Parenthetically, we may remark that there seems to        relationship of divine sovereignty and human
be a revival of interest in the subject of the so-called     responsibility to each other presents no difficulty for
free offer. Just recently I read two references to it in     his thinking and that the two are easily reconcilable
religious magazines originating in the United Kingdom;       before the bar of human reason." (pp. 10-13) In this
and one of these references promises to be an extensive      connection, the charge against Dr. Clark was really that
discussion which will eventually appear in booklet           of  rationalism,  a charge all too familiar in our
form. This furnishes additional reason, therefore, for Protestant Reformed history, but as false in Dr. Clark's
our discussion.                                              case as in ours. But again, this third allegation was
   It will not be necessary in this connection to review     closely connected with both the first one (concerning
the Clark Case and its treatment in detail. For any who      God's knowledge and ours) and the fourth one.
may be interested in some research on this subject,             The fourth charge was that "in the course of Dr.
there was an extensive discussion of that case in            Clark's examination it became abundantly clear that
Volumes 21 and 22 of the Standard Bearer, in a series        his rationalism keeps him from doing justice to the
of articles entitled, "The Text of a Complaint." It will     precious teaching of Scripture that in the gospel God
not be necessary for us to review this case, however,        sincerely offers salvation in Christ to all who hear,
because the issue of the so-called free offer as it was      reprobate as well as elect, and that he has no pleasure
part of that case is precisely the same as the issue of      in any one's rejecting this offer but, contrariwise,
the booklet, "The Free Offer of the Gospel." In fact,        would have all who hear accept it and be saved." (pp.
the latter had its origin historically in the Clark Case.    13-15)
According to the introduction of the booklet itself,           Those familiar with our Protestant Reformed
"This study was prepared by the Rev. Professors John         history will recognize at once the similarity between
Murray and Ned B. Stonehouse of Westminster                  the position of the Complaint and that of the First
Theological Seminary, and presented as the report of a       Point of 1924 and its general, well-meant offer of
committee to the Fifteenth General Assembly of the           salvation. This was, of course, not mere coincidence:
Orthodox Presbyterian Church" in 1948. But all this          there was a definite Christian Reformed influence in
began with the Clark Case in 1944.                           the complaint, an influence which came about through
   What was the Clark Case?                                  the presence of men among the complainants who had
   It began in 1944, when a special meeting of the           their origin in the Christian Reformed Church.
Presbytery (classis) of Philadelphia was held for the           I will not weary the reader with a detailed account
purpose of examining Dr. Gordon H. Clark with a view         of the proceedings in the Clark Case. Eventually the
to his licensure and ordination to the ministry. Against     case went to the General Assembly (roughly equivalent
the fact that this meeting was called, as well as against    to our synod), a committee was appointed by the
its proceedings and decisions, a complaint was               Twelfth General Assembly to examine the doctrinal
directed. Among the dozen signatures to this                 aspects of the Complaint, and this committee reported
complaint are such familiar names as R.B. Kuiper, N.B.       (with a majority and minority report) to the
Stonehouse, and C. Van Til. The second part of the           Thirteenth General Assembly. Although Dr. Clark's
complaint (a lengthy, printed protest) dealt at length       licensure was upheld, neither the majority nor the
with four alleged errors in the theological views of Dr.     minority of the committee entertained Dr. Clark's
Clark, errors which became manifest, according to the        views on the matter of "apparent contradictions" in
complainants in the course of Dr. Clark's examination        Scripture on the matter of the offer of the gospel.
by the Presbytery and in spite of which the Presbytery       Another committee was appointed which was to report
decided to license him and proceed to his ordination.        to the Fourteenth General Assembly and which was to
   What were the four alleged errors?                        clarify these doctrinal matters. And, to make a long
   The first charge of the Complaint alleged erroneous       story short, eventually the booklet, "The Free Offer of
views on the part of Dr. Clark concerning the                the Gospel" came out of this history at the time of the
incomprehensibility and knowability of God, pp. 2-6,         Fifteenth General Assembly in 1948.
"The Text of a Complaint." This, at first glance, does         The strange thing was that while Dr. Clark's
not seem to be related to the issue of the free offer.       licensure by the Presbytery of Philadelphia was upheld
But it appears that there nevertheless was a relation in     by the Thirteenth General Assembly, it was the views
so far as the issue of the "logic of revelation" is          of the Complaint, especially with respect to the
concerned. Perhaps we shall have occasion to refer to        sotalled offer of the gospel, which prevailed in the
this later.                                                  OPC as the final result of this history.


292                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


  This appears very clearly from a comparison of the         meaning when they write: `in the gospel God sincerely
booklet, "The Free Offer of the Gospel" with the             offers salvation ins Christ to all who hear, reprobate as
following description of the differences between Dr.         well as elect,' their words have no meaning at all.
Clark and the complainants by Rev. H. Hoeksema in               "According to  : Dr. Clark, however, the preacher
the Standard Bearer (VoL 21, pp- 384, ff.):                  proclaims to all his hearers promiscuously  that God
  "Let us try to define the difference between the sincerely seeks th$ salvation of all the elect. The elect
complainants and Dr. Clark as sharply as we can.             may be variously Inamed in the preaching: those who
  "The difference is not that the complainants insist        repent, they that believe in Christ, that hunger for the
that the gospel must be preached to all men                  bread of life, that thirst for the water of life, that seek,
promiscuously, while Dr. Clark claims that it must be        knock, ask, that  ,come to Christ, etc., etc. But they
preached only to the elect. This would be quite              are always the elect.
impossible, seeing that no preacher is able to`single out       "We may define the issue still more sharply, and
the elect and separate them from the reprobate in this       limit it to God's intention and attitude in the
world. They are agreed that the gospel must be               preaching of the gospel with regard to the reprobate.
preached to all men.                                           "For it is more especially about the reprobate and
  "Nor is the difference that the complainants openly        their salvation that the complainants are  conceined.
deny the doctrine of reprobation, while Dr. Clark            Strange though it may seem, paradoxical though it
professes to believe this truth. We read in the              may sound, they want to leave room in the preaching
`Complaint': `He believes - as do we all - the doctrine      for  the salvation  iof  the reprobate.  For the sake of
of reprobation.' p. 13.                                      clarity,  therefore,!we can safely leave the elect out of
  "Again, the difference does not consist in this that       our discussion. That God sincerely seeks their salvation
the complainants characterize the gospel as an `offer' is not a matter of controversy. To drag them into the
of Christ or of salvation, while Dr. Clark objects to        discussion of this question simply confuses things. The
that term. If the term `offer' is understood in the sense    question very really concerns the attitude of God with
in which it occurs in the confessions, and in which also     respect to the reprobate. We may limit the controversy
Calvin uses it  (oiffere, from  obfero, meaning to           to this question: @hat must the preacher of the gospel
present), there can be no objection to that term,            say of God2 intehtion with respect to the reprobate?
though, to prevent misunderstanding, it would be And these, too, may be called by different names, such
better to employ the words  to present,  and                 as: the impenitent, the wicked, the unbelievers, etc.,
presentation.                                                etc.
  "Again, even though Dr. Clark objects to the word             "The answer to; this question defines the difference
`sincere' in the sense in which the complainants use that    between Dr. Clark and the complainants sharply and
term, afraid to leave the impression that he preaches precisely.                 ;
Arminianism, even this does not touch the real point            "The complainants answer: the preacher must say
of difference between them. That God is sincere in the       that God sincerely seeks the salvation of the reprobate
preaching of the gospel no one would dare to deny. As        through the preaching of the gospel.
the complainants rightly ask: Would it not be                   "Dr. Clark answers: that is not true, the preacher
blasphemy to deny this? ' p. 13.                             may never say that in the name of God.
  "But the difference between them does concern the
con tents  of the gospel that must be preached                  "And, in the light of Scripture, he should say: God
promiscuously to all men.                                    seeks His own glory and justification in preparing the
  "It is really not a question  to whom  one must reprobate for  theF just damnation even through the
preach, or  how  he must preach, but  what  he must preaching of the gospel."
preach.                                                        It is plain from' the above description that the views
  "According to the complainants the preacher is             of the complainants prevailed in the booklet, "The
called to proclaim to all his hearers that God sincerely     Free Offer of the Gospel," and in the Orthodox
seeks' the salvation  of  them all.  If this is not their    Presbyterian Church.


                                    Principles of Edwcation
                                           Principle of Education, No. 1

  The Bible is from beginning to .end the written Word       based on it and `permeated by its teaching, for we
of God, given by infallible inspiration. All school          acknowledge that the fear of God is the beginning of
administration, instruction and discipline shall be wisdom.


                                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     293



Guest Editorial

                                 That Insane Amusement-Notion
                  (Editor's Note. The following editorial from Volume IV of the Standard Bearer is dated,
              as will be evident from some  of  its references. But in its main thrust it is very much
              up-to-date, both for the young and the not-so-young. Why do I place it? I have in mind not
              only the amusement-craze in general, whose inroads have been all too large among us - if
              we will only examine ourselves. But I have in mind specifically the basketball-game craze
              which has swept our constituency; and more specifically still, the craze which even the
              secular press has dubbed the "March madness, " - tournament time. I would consider myself
              derelict in my duty if I did not raise my voice in unqualified protest against this saddening
              phenomenon. The following reprint is one contribution of protest. The "H.H. "who signed
              this editorial was, of course, the late Rev. Herman Hoeksema.)


   It is amazing how quickly one becomes accustomed                              quickly and surely turned our minds is that our
to insane ideas.                                                                 covenant-young-people need amusement.
   What is essentially foolish and, at first, appears                              Think seriously, think again, and you will agree that
absurd, is repeatedly brought before our attention as                            it is only a crazy notion.
really good and expedient and practical and                                        Only refuse to believe all that is presented to you
indispensable and necessary and very desirable;                                  and to be dragged along with every new movement
gradually it turns our head, changes our judgment, our under the sun, only maintain that you have the
valuation of things and soon has captivated us entirely.                         unction of the Holy One and that you have no need
   Let a new fad only be adopted by a few, let these                             that any teach you, and then judge of the statement:
few advertise it, persistently bring it before the young people must amuse themselves,  and you will
attention of the public. It will certainly be victorious.                        agree in the light of Scripture, that the notion cannot
The masses will follow. The fad will win.                                        have its origin in The Church of Christ, but must have
   Thus it is in the business-world. If you want people                          originated in the world, that its source is not to be
to discard an old article and adopt a new product, no                            traced to Jerusalem but to Babylon.
matter how much better the old may be than the new,                                 Surely, in the world, where God's covenant is
all that is necessary is that you put your new article in                        unknown, one expects such a view of life. Life is brief!
the limelight, paste pictures of it on billboards, extol its                     One lives only once! And youth is the springtime of life.
virtues in full-page advertisements, if possible throw                           In his youthful days one cannot be expected to look
samples of it in every home, and you will win.                                   serious all the time. It is the time of joy and pleasure
   No different it is in society-life. If you want to                            and hilarity! The time of fun and amusement! Soon
change old and age-worn customs, that have stood the enough comes the more serious time of life. Let the
test of centuries, and introduce new habits, all you                             youth folk, therefore, eat and drink and be merry.
need is publicity. Long hair is certainly more beautiful                         And especially the youth of today, in the modern
than the bob. And every young lady knows it. But if world, needs enjoyment and.amusement.
there are too many barbers in Paris to live on the                                 One is not surprised at such language from those
man-trade, and if you are a genius to invent new                                 that seek the things that are below.
modes, and if you conceive of the ingenious idea of                                But in the Church?
luring all the ladies of the land into the barber's chair,                         Among the people of God?
a l l   y o u   n e e d   d o   i s   t o   s e n d   a   f e w   b o b b e d      How come that similar language is heard among
Paris-specimens into every town and village of the                               them today and that the problem of the amusements
world, let them parade the streets, appear in every                              of the young folk has become a very serious one, that
conspicuous place of public life, and though they must even appears and looms large in Synodical Agenda?
often part in tears with their God-given beauty, you                               Well, you see, it has been constantly preached.
may depend on it, that before long the majority of the                             Social reformers, pedagogues, wise men and learned,
female world will go bobbed.                                                     and even divines look very serious and profound,
   Thus it is with many notions, absurd if you will                              learnedly speak of the special characteristics and needs
think again.                                                                     of modern youth, of the Problem of the Age of
   One of these insane ideas, that have gradually but Adolescence, etc.


294                                         THE STANDARD BEARER                :


  People begin to listen. Who is bold enough to reveal        But I mean in the first place, that it is surely
his ignorance by gainsaying men of learning with            contrary to the Word of God to present matters as if
D.D.3, Ph.D.`s and other mysterious tokens of wisdom        amusement and fun were the chief thing in your young
and learning behind their names?                            lives, so that it becomes a serious problem how to
  Solutions of the serious problem are offered.             satisfy the craving for entertainment. That is not true.
  Seeing that young people are naturally full of life       It is certainly contrary to Scripture, contrary to your
and surely will have fun; seeing further that the world     calling as covenant-children of Jehovah, contrary to
beckons them on every side and provides all sorts of        your relation to Him and to the world in which you
much wanted enjoyment for them; seeing finally, that        have been placed to be children of light.
they will surely be led into the world if we do not           And I mean in the second place, that our joy must
introduce something into the life of the Church that        be Christian, that even in moments of entertainment
will counterbalance the tempting power of the world,        and relaxation our calling remains to be children of
we must provide for them amusements ourselves.              light. Our pleasures must be able to stand the
  Thus, gradually, the Church begins to practice the        unchangeable test, of the Word of God.
precepts of the wisdom of the world.                          Young men! thus Scripture says, you are strong!
  First, instead of edifying and instructive programs,      You have overcome the evil one!
silly socials and hilarious banquets are introduced,          That means, that the world is no theatre and no
where one fairly bursts with laughter, opened with          playground, but :a battlefield, and that we have our
prayer and closed in the same manner, to ask the Lord       fight not against flesh and blood but against
for the forgiveness of premeditated sins, for which the     principalities and powers, against the spiritual
participants prepared themselves weeks in advance!          wickedness in high places. That means, not that you
  Next come very imperfect imitations of the theatre,       are strong in body and have a well-developed muscle.
pageants, dramas, moving pictures and the like,             That is very good, I like to see a young man that is also
carefully introduced by some specimens that present a       in the physical sense of the word strong. But it is not
religious appearance, not to give the more                  the main thing. Physical exercise is for that reason
serious-minded in the Church too sudden a shock.            worth but little.  #It can have but a small place in our
  Soon it is argued that the body of our young people       lives. It does not brepare you for the main battle. You
must have careful attention and athletics, ball-games,      cannot fight the  idevil with your powerful fist. But it
swimming-pools, bowling alleys and pool-tables are          means that you are. strong in spirit. It signifies that the
introduced, all for the development and enjoyment of        fear of God is in your hearts, that the love of God is
the covenant-youth.                                         poured forth in your souls, that your minds are
  And presently you will  find that people have             enlightened by the grace of God, that you are well
accustomed themselves so thoroughly to the notion           founded in the truth, in the principles of the Word of
that young people must amuse themselves and fun of          God, that you understand the world in which you live
some sort must be provided for them, that the Church        and are well able to discern between the powers of
in its largest gathering, the Synod, sits wise and          darkness and light in Christ, that you have put on the
discusses the very serious problem: how can we              whole armor of God and are able to stand in the evil
provide wholesome amusement for the young folks?!           day.
  And it is, by then, forgotten that the whole idea is        Young women, you must adorn the truth! It is your
insane, never originated in the Church of Jesus Christ,     calling, in the light of the Word of God, not to follow
finds no item of support in the Word of God, but was        after the vain fashions of the world, to become
originated by the powers of darkness to lead the youth      transformed according to the manifestations and form
of the covenant straightway into the world and to hell!     of this world, but to be an example of true Christian
                                                            modesty and beauty and virtue!
  I would appeal to our young folks not to listen to          What you need?
this false philosophy.                                        Not chiefly amusements, but edification. Instruction
  If you will think again, you will deem it an insult to    in the Word of God. Being well-founded in truth, you
your Christian young manhood and womanhood, that            will be able to fight the good fight unto the end that
the Church actually considers your chief ambition to        no one take your, crown.
follow after vain amusements.                                 You need the Word of God.
  Do not misunderstand me.                                    By giving heed to your way according to that Word
  I do not mean, that you must pass through the             you will cleanse your way.
world with heads bowed low, eyes closed and faces so          The times in  iwhich we live are serious, in many
long "that you could eat oatmeal out of the end of a        respects more serious than any former age. The world
gaspipe," as Billy Sunday has it.                           develops in its own direction. It opposes the light not
  There is undoubtedly a place in our life for means of     with open persecution, with sword and fire, but it
relaxation, for real enjoyment.                             introduces itself to you in many of its forms as


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   295



Christian. We have Christian plays and Christian                Development in truth of the Word of God must be
movies, Christian ball-teams and Christian athletics.        the chief aim of your societies.
There is a good deal of Christian deviltry in our day           Study the Word!
which is deceiving.                                             Study it for Catechism. Study it in your societies.
  All the more reason, why you must be strong.               Study it at home. You need it more than ever.
  Youth is above all the time for preparation. The              And free yourselves from that insane  amusement-
thing you must prepare yourselves for is not to be able      notion that is in the air and keeps thousands under
to win in a game, but to have the spiritual victory in       its spell.
the battle of faith.                                            Then, by the grace of God, you will be able to
  Hence, instead of giving your chief attention to           stand.
amusements and fun, I pray you search the Scriptures!           And gain the victory.                             H.H.



Meditation

                          With Christ  Un Paradise

                                                  Rev. M. Schipper

               "And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in
           paradise. "
                                                                                                 Luke 23:43.


  The second word of the cross!                              taken place within him. For' he continues, "And we
  Spoken by the Lord in answer to the plea of a              indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our
penitent malefactor!                                         deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss."
  One of two malefactors who were crucified with                Election and reprobation!
Jesus, on either side of Him one, and the Lord in their         And Jesus drawing a sharp line of demarcation
midst. So the Scripture was fulfilled "and he was            between them!
numbered with the transgressors." While Pilate                  All through the long hours of trial and abuse the
evidently intended by this arrangement of the crosses        Lord endured He had no one who came to His defense.
to heap ridicule upon His head, God so providentially        All had made themselves guilty of profaning His
governed the arrangement that the Lord might                 blessed Name. All of them had derided Him and cursed
understand that He was the one of whom the prophet           Him. All were crying bitterly in devilish hatred for His
wrote.                                                       death. Even in their tender mercies, which were so
  Undoubtedly the crosses were so arranged that both         cruel, they gave Him gall to drink. And now, even one
of the malefactors could look upon the Saviour, and at       who is crucified with Him railed on Him, challenging
the same time study the superscription that had been         Him to exercise His powers, if He had any, to free
written and tacked above His head. Written in three          Himself and the dying victims. He, too, read the
different languages, so that no one reading it would fail    inscription, which did no more for him than to arouse
to comprehend what it stated: "This is Jesus of              in his wicked and unbelieving heart the thoughts which
Nazareth King of the Jews." A little Bible, so it            rose to his lips whereby he castigates the Name of His
appeared, evoking conversation of the passersby, and         anointing. Indeed, here was evidence of' the Word
especially of the two sinners in the same condemnation       which worketh death.
with the Lord.                                                  On the other hand, only one, a very precious one,
  Not long after the three crosses had been erected did      comes to His defense. Only one, in the midst of all that
this conversation begin. One of the malefactors railed       rabble, who summons the last efforts of his dying
on Him, and said, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and       strength to voice his allegiance to the crucified Saviour.
us." But the other rebuked him, saying, "Dost thou              Listen to him rebuke his fellow sufferer!
not fear God? seeing thou art in the same                       Dost thou not fear God? Implying, of course, that
condemnation?" In the eleventh hour of his earthly           he who issues the rebuke did. But whence, then, came
existence he begins to show evidence that a change has       that fear? Surely, not of himself. For does he not


296                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                ;


admit that he is no better than his companion in               kingdom in which he would be remembered by Jesus.
crime? He knows that he is a despicable sinner who has         This very day, he will be with Jesus in Paradise!
been justly condemned to die, not only under the                 Who shall say what that is? Who shall describe its
sentence of Rome, but evidently also under the                 glow?
sentence of God. Such knowledge of one's sins as being           Undoubtedly  it takes its name from that first
not only an  offence against the State, but an  offence        paradise in the creation of God, that beautiful garden
against God, one does not have of himself, but of the          of delights; where man dwelt in creatural perfection
miracle of grace. His rebuke of his fellow in defense of that was only earthly, but where nevertheless he dwelt
the Lord was at the same time an acknowledgement of with his God, and walked with Him in blessed
his own sin and unworthiness. The confession of his            fellowship. So long as he remained in the state of
sin, and the penitence of his heart were expressions of        righteousness, close to the tree of life, in the very
his godly fear.                                                center of the  lgarden man walked in covenant
  But the penitent malefactor has much more to say!            communion with his Creator - God.
  After he had declared to his companion in crime the            That paradise passed away when man through his sin
truth concerning Jesus' innocence, he turns his head to        and rebellion against God was banished from His
the Lord, and prays.                                           presence.  It  is lost forever. God having something
  Jesus, remember me when Thou  comest into Thy                better, heavenly and eternal, in mind.
kingdom!                                                         Of the grandeur of the latter we can speak only by
  How thoroughly the Holy Spirit had dinned into his           comparisons with /the former, but comparisons which
heart the truth he read in that little Bible above Jesus' cannot fully portray to earth-bound creatures the
head!                                                          sublimity of the heavenly. In the one God was known
  Over and over he must have read the inscription:             only as He revealed Himself in the works of creation
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews! The Holy Spirit,          and providence; in the other it will be as the God of
opening the eyes of his heart, must have convinced him         our redemption,  :as the Father of our Lord and
that, in spite of the mockery the title had been               Saviour, Jesus Christ. In the one the tempter could and
intended to convey, and in spite of the humbled                did enter; from the other he shall forever be shut out.
appearance of the central figure on Golgotha, this was         From the one sad exiles were driven out, never to
indeed Jehovah-salvation out of Nazareth, Who by His           return; in the other the inhabitants shall remain
death was laying the very foundation of His kingdom.           forever. But all such comparisons, we know, cannot
  How much the penitent malefactor understood                  satisfy your questions: where and what is paradise?
concerning that kingdom, it would be difficult to say.
That His kingdom was not of this world, he must                  Paradise is where Jesus is, And if you would know
certainly have surmised: from the fact that the Lord           what paradise is, it is to be like unto Him, and to be
was about to die, and from the fact that he did not            with Him. There the light has dawned and the shadows
agree with the wicked malefactor who called for Christ         have forever fled away. There is no night, for the Lamb
to come down from the cross to deliver Himself and             is the light of that place. There is perfect holiness, and
them. Whether he believed that the Lord would enter            nothing can enter: which loveth or maketh a lie. It is
His kingdom immediately upon His death, or that he             the state and condition of perfect blessedness; for no
believed that Christ would come with His kingdom at            tears shall fall there, and all sighing and groaning shall
the end of the world, we have no way of knowing. The           be done away. Paradise is a spiritual condition of glory
latter idea is expressed in a second reading of the            into which the souls of the redeemed enter
original text. And if this is the significance of the text,    immediately upon their departure from the body of
then the answer which the Lord gives to his plea is all        this flesh, and in which they consciously abide in the
the more amazing.                                              house of mansions; to await the day of the resurrection.
  "Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with              Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise!
Me in paradise!"                                                 Amazing reply! L
  Though it is true that His kingdom is an everlasting           For though the plea of the penitent was projected to
kingdom, given unto Him from before the foundation             the day when Christ would come with His kingdom,
of the world; though it is true that when He came into         the Lord informs him that that very day when his eyes
the world at His birth He was already King; though it is       would close in de;ath, he would be with. Christ in the
true that He lays the very foundation of His kingdom           glory of His kingdom.
through the blood of His cross, and that after His               Verily I say unto you . . .!
victory on the cross He would ascend to the throne of            Not only will the Lord remember him, but this very
His kingdom; and though it is true that at the end of          day He will do even more, - He will take him to glory!
the world He shall come again in connection with His             0, it brings tears of rejoicing to my eyes, as it must
kingdom; the penitent malefactor need not be                   also have filled the eyes of the penitent, - today they
concerned about some far distant realization of a              together, the penitent with His Lord, would enter with


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     297



  the victor's song upon their lips into the paradise of           planted in his heart to true consciousness. Every word
  God !                                                            in that little gospel, as it was applied by the Holy Spirit
    The promise of glory to a penitent sinner!                     to his heart, began to spell out salvation for him.
    To a sinner who was supernaturally changed in the                 Jesus! That is Jehovah saves!
  last moment of his earthly existence!                               Of Nazareth! Signifying that this Jesus, Who is truly
    No preacher was there at the cross to plead with him           Jehovah Who saves, was come in the flesh!
  to  accept  Jesus before it was too late. No siren call             King of the Jews! Thus pointing him to His regal
  of the gospel offering him a proffered salvation, which          status. as God's appointed and anointed King; but then,
  he could accept or reject at will, was heard above the           too, as the Messianic King that was to come out of the
  din of the rabble that milled about the cross. No                Jewish race.
  warnings of hell-fire were held over his head. This man             And as the Spirit began to interpret the words in his
  had no preacher, no offers, no mother's prayers, no              heart, the words of the inscription he read with new
  last rites by a priest, no book of common prayers, no            meaning. Now they did not only say that Jesus of
  nothing. All he was was a poor, miserable, lost,                 Nazareth was the King of the Jews, but this Jesus was
  hell-bound sinner by nature; but who suddenly,                   his Saviour, and this King of the Jews was his Lord and
  supernaturally, was regenerated and converted by the             King. Now all the cross was for him, and He Who is
  pure and sovereign grace of God. Here was a case                 innocently hanging there and condemned to die was
  where no preacher could `boast that he had saved                 the One Who was dying also for him. How could he'
  another soul for Christ; but it was clearly a case where         remain silent with such a revelation? 0, Lord Jesus,
  Christ saves His own souls, the soul of one who was              remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom!
  given unto Him of the Father. Here was clear evidence               When the elect cry unto Him, verily He will hear
  that He did see His seed, as the prophet Isaiah long             them, and surely answer their petition!
  before had prophesied that He would.                                Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with Me
    0, do not misunderstand! We do not mean to say                 in paradise!
  with all this that the sinner is saved without any                  The penitent malefactor, the first fruits of a
  divinely appointed means. Nor would we ignore the                veritable harvest !
  preaching of the gospel as the divinely ordained means              For they shall come from the east and from the
  whereby Christ saves His people.                                 west, from the north and from the south, who are
    But we do mean to say that all that was necessary for          ordained to eternal life, and they shall sit down with
  the malefactor to know concerning the God of his                 Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with Jesus and the
  salvation was right before him. That little gospel, that         malefactor.
  inscription above Jesus' head, proved to be all that was           Sinners they all are, who are saved by grace!
  necessary to bring the spiritual life which God had              Who shall fill the paradise of God!



  Question Box

                         Some Pertinent Questions About
                               Our R,eformed Position (3)
                                             . Pro-f H. C. Hoeksema.

  Question                                                    ; therefore we both labour `and suffer reproach,:becaus.e
    Our readers will recall that one of our Canadian  j j we. trust in the living God, who is the Savrour of .a11
 readers sent'in a series of questions, of which we have `men, specially of those `that believe."
 thus far answered only the first. We are now up to the                                   _
                                                              i      Perhaps we should point' out immediately that the
  second question, which was put as follows: "In view of j Dutch rendering is slightly different: "Want hiertoe
  I Tim. 4: 10, can we not say that there is common'                                           _.  --_
                                                              -larbeiden wij  ooki'enworden  gesmaad, omdat wij
grace, or a favor from God for all men, believer and jgehoopt hebben  <p *den  -leGenden God, die een
 unbeliever alike?  "                                         jBehouder  is aller menschen, maar allermeest der
  Reply                                                       `geloovigen." The chief differences are: 1) The word
    First. of all, let us get the text before us: "For jBeJzouder  (Preserver) instead of  .Savior. 2) The


298                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



insertion of the word  maar  (but) in the last clause:        interpretations appears to me to be the idea of
"but especially of those that believe."                       the text. In the fast place, the text uses the usual word
  This difference in translation also serves to focus our here for "Savior." And while it is possible to use the
attention on the various possibilities as far as the          term as above, there ought to be good reason for such
meaning of the text is concerned.                             an interpretation  - good reason which I believe is
  Among those who choose the translation                      lacking. For one thing, the term "Savior" is not used
"Preserver" there are two groups of interpreters. One elsewhere in I Timothy in the sense of "Preserver." For
group simply refers the text to the preservation of another, the context seems to me to point to the fact
God's providence. In this present time and this present that the apostle has in mind salvation. Notice that in
life God preserves all men. He upholds them, keeps verse 6 the apostle speaks of being "a good minister of
them in existence, provides for them with respect to          Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of
the things of this present life and with respect to all good doctrine." Notice, too, that in verse 8 he speaks
their earthly way, day by day and step by step. He of "godliness" as having "promise of life that now is,
does this by His almighty and omnipresent power. But, and of that which is to come." It would be very
so the explanation runs, God cares for His children in a strange, I believe: if in such a context the apostle
special sense. He protects them and delivers them out would use the word "Savior" (So&r)  in the general
of trouble and provides for them in all their needs, also     sense of God's providence. In the second place, the
as far as the things of this present earthly life are         word "but" must really be inserted in the text by these
concerned, in a special sense of the word. In this sense, interpretations in  larder to make a contrast between
God is "a Preserver of all men, but specially of them         God's preserving of men in general and His preserving
that believe." There is another group of interpreters of believers. And,' in the third place, I do not believe
who explain the first part of the text (God is a that under these  bterpretations the text furnishes a
Preserver of all men) to the general preserving power of sufficient reason why the apostle and others "both
God's providence, and then explain the last part as labour and suffer reproach." About this last point
referring to the grace whereby God preserves His later.
people in Christ Jesus unto everlasting salvation, so that      Hence, we prefer the English translation: "who is
they persevere unto the end. In other words, the last the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
part of the text refers to preservation and perseverance        But this must not be misinterpreted, then, in the
as the Canons of Dordrecht speak of it in Chapter V.          Semi-Pelagian and' Arminian sense, as though the text
  As far as either of these interpretations is concerned, teaches that God, is the Savior of all men, head for
we may point out that they do not lend support to the         head, but that this is realized only in belivers. This is a
theory of common grace, that is, to the idea of an very common  pe;rversion of the text. And I say
attitude of favor on the part of God toward mankind intentionally "perversion." I refuse to call this an
in general, including the reprobate. The mere fact that interpretation. And there is one very obvious reason
God providentially upholds and preserves men in this          why the above cannot possibly be true. One does not
present, earthly existence is not grace. To be sure, have to go outside of the text itself to see this. If God
when God preserves men, He displays His own is said to be the Savior of all men, head for head and
goodness, also before the eyes of the ungodly. His soul for soul, but only the believers are actually saved,
work is always good; and He always makes Himself then it is perfectly obvious that the text  lies:  for if
known in all His works as the good God. There is no           only believers are I actually saved (and they are), then
question about that! But when you talk about "grace," God is only the Savior of them, not of all men. One
you are talking about the attitude of God, about His can change the text and say: God is the possible Savior
will to bless, to show favor. And then we must of all men, or, God is willing. to be the Savior of all
remember that there is no such thing as  bare                 men. But this is  lnot what the text states. And you
providence, a naked power to uphold and preserve and          must come to the conclusion that God is not the
govern. The motive of God's providence is either love         Savior of anyone: jeven for believers, then, He is only a
or hatred; the operation of God's providence is either possible Savior; and it is up to them whether they want
in grace or in wrath. When God providentially to be saved or do not want to be saved. I say again:
preserves the  ungodIy, gives him earthly existence, this is a perversion of Scripture, and no Reformed man
gives him a house, gives him food and drink, even gives will ever accept this view. Nor is it anywhere supported
him prosperity and wealth and abundance, then it in our Reformed creeds; in fact, it is pointedly
always remains true that "The curse of Jehovah is in          contradicted by the creeds.
the house of the wicked," Prov. 3 :33. And when God
providentially preserves the righteous in the same               How, then, must we understand the text? Let me
sense, then it always remains true that "He blesseth the briefly draw the following lines.
habitation of the just." His grace is never common.              In the first place, God is the Savior, the One Who
       However, for various reasons neither of the above saves. To save means to deliver from the greatest


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  299


  misery (sin, death, damnation) and to make partaker would-be Savior. God does not save all men, head for
   of the greatest possible glory and blessedness. It           head, nor is He their Savior. He is the Savior of  His
  implies that we are dead in trespasses and sins, that we      people, and of them alone. But He is indeed the Savior
  are lost in ourselves, that we are hopelessly guilty, that    of all kinds, or classes, of men. He is the Savior of rich
   we are chained by nature in the bondage of sin and           and poor, bound and free, male and female, kings and
   corruption  - incapable of doing any good, and               subjects, masters and servants, Jews and Gentiles. But
  inclined to all evil. But God is the Savior! He saves! He     from among all kinds and classes of men, He is
  provides the atonement for all our sins, and thus             specifically the Savior of  believers.  And this is the
  provides the right to be delivered from the bondage of        teaching of the text. Paraphrased, the text then is as
  sin, the right to be called sons of God, the right to         follows: ". . . Who is the Savior of all (kinds of) men,
  eternal glory - all through the perfect righteousness of more closely specified, (or: namely) of believers from
  Christ His Son. And He also actually delivers us, by          among all (kinds of) men." Thus understood, the text
  irresistible grace, by His Spirit and Word, regenerating,     is in harmony with the current teaching of Scripture
  calling, bestowing faith, justifying, sanctifying,            concerning particular salvation. Thus understood, the
  preserving, and glorifying us. And all this He does           text presents a thought which is familiar in this epistle
  sovereignly and for reasons which He has taken out of         to Timothy (cf. I Tim. 2:1-4). And thus understood,
  Himself! His work of salvation is grounded in and             the text indeed maintains that God is the Savior, Who
  proceeds from the fountain of eternal and  iovereign          actually does save His people.
  election.                                                        Finally, if we understand the text in this way, we
     Notice: God  is  the Savior. Not: He wants to be.          can also understand why the apostle connects this
  Not: He offers to be. Not : He is partly the Savior. But:     with the fact that "we both  labour and suffer
  He  is.  He actually saves! And He saves to the               reproach," and connects it as a  reason,  "therefore."
  uttermost! As such He has revealed Himself in our Lord Why does he labor - and who labored as the apostle
  Jesus Christ.                                                 Paul did in the cause of the gospel? Why does he suffer
     In the second place, it is the "living God" Who is the     reproach  - and who suffered more than he in the
  Savior. The text makes a point of this: ". . . we trust in    cause of the gospel? Why did the apostle (and his
  the living God, who is the Saviour of all men. . ." God       fellows) not simply give up, rather than labor
  is the living God. He is the life in Himself. He is the       strenuously and suffer reproach? The  ans6er is: our
  source of all life, and He is the only source of life. As     labor is never in vain in the Lord! We trust not in a
  such He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ our Lord,        dead God, not in one whose work is doubtful, not in
  "the way, the truth, and the life." It is this living God     one of whom we must stand in doubt whether. he can
  Who is the Savior. He is able to bestow life on dead          save anyone. No, we trust in the living God! And the
  sinners; and He does indeed bestow life upon dead             living God is the Savior. Moreover, He is the Savior of
  sinners when He saves them. When He does so, then             all men, that is, of believers from among all kinds of
  they become partakers of His life, become godly, and          men. God surely saves His own! Nothing can hinder
  have "promise of life." (vs. 8)                               that! And therefore we labor confidently, not
     In the third place, the living God is the Savior of all hopelessly. We labor and suffer reproach in the
  men,  according to the text. We have already shown            confidence that God will surely grant fruit upon that
  that this cannot mean  every individual man.  This is         labor.
  simply not true; and thus to misinterpret the text              (Note: My Canadian questioner has  more questions;
  would require that we change God from Savior to               but these must wait until the next issue. HCH)


                   As To The Ethics Of Criticism
                                                  Pro$ H. C. Hoeksema

  Question                                                      upon occasion I have done this. For example, I did this
i  _ From a reader in California I received a question via with a sermon preached by Dr. S. Woudstra which was
    this is a new one for me - long distance telephone.         furnished me on cassette-recording by a reader of the
  The question is as follows: "Is it ethical for a minister
  to criticize or to approve of a tape-recorded sermon of Standard Bearer. The reference of my questioner, let
  a minister of another denomination?"                          me say, was not to that event. Nevertheless, this is an
                                                                example of what is referred to by the question. And I
  Reply                                                         want to assure my questioner and our readers that if I
    Some of our readers will probably remember that             had considered `this to be unethical, I would not have


300                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



done it. I considered it to be perfectly ethical to            he should above all quote accurately and completely,
adduce this as evidence and to warn the Reformed               taking care especially not to quote out of context.
Churches of New Zealand against the teachings of the           These are general rules of criticism, applicable to the
professor-elect of Geelong.                                    printed as well as to the spoken word.
  Now as to the question in general, the following:              6. As to someone from one denomination criticizing
  1. A sermon is public, and, in fact, through                 the sermon of a minister of another denomination?
recording devices is made even more public. Some of Why not? I consider it to be not only my right, but
our Protestant Reformed sermons and radio sermons              also my duty to uphold the truth and to condemn
and lectures go all over the world.                            heresy.
  2. If such a recording is not copyrighted, or if there is      7. I take it that most preachers would not mind
not a note of any kind strictly prohibiting                    approval of what they say. The shoe pinches, as a rule,
reproduction or transcription into printed form, I see         only when the criticism is negative.
no reason why this may not be done.                              8. The Standard Bearer is open. Within the limits of
  3. A recording is a very accurate way of obtaining           propriety and decency and courtesy, he who is
the material of a sermon or lecture to be criticized           criticized may reply. One limitation on this, however,
either positively (approval) or negatively (disapproval).      would be the case of someone who himself has access
I would certainly trust a recording better than my             to a religious journal. Then the ground rules would be
memory, better than my long-hand notes, and better             different. For example, if the Standard Bearer would
than most shorthand records. I would hesitate to               criticize an editor of the  Reformed Journal,  then the
criticize (or to approve) in public print a sermon which       editor of the Reformed Journal would be welcome to
I merely heard and for the criticism of which I would          reply in the Standard Bearer, provided the Reformed
have to rely solely on my memory.                              Journal would also publish the articles from both sides.
  4. One who breaks out into the public eye and ear,             9. Finally, I have this advantage, if such you want to
whether in speech or in print, must expect to be               call it. In the instance cited by my questioner I would
criticized. I would almost add, "If he can't stand the         not have to file a protest if I accuse such a minister of
heat, let him get out of the kitchen."                         heresy. Someone of the  same  denomination is duty
  5. One who criticizes should be honest and fair, and         bound to follow the ecclesiastical way.



All Around Us

                                       Continuing Presbyterians

                                                   Pro5 H. Hanko
  We have, from time to time, made mention in these            made public, but the conservatives have committed
columns of the struggle going on in the Presbyterian           themselves definitely to secession. I use the word
Church US over the liberalism and doctrinal apostasy           "secession", although this is probably not a word
present in that denomination. Last year, four different        which the conservatives themselves would choose to
conservative groups within that denomination banded            employ. They insist, and correctly so, that they are the
together for the purposes of making plans to preserve          "Continuing Church" which intends to maintain a
the true Presbyterian confession in doctrine andchurch         Presbyterian Church which has always been faithful to
polity. There was some question about whether this             the heritage of the Westminster Confessions.
conservative group should remain in the denomination Neverless, secession from the existing denomination is
until the merger with the United Presbyterian Church           necessary to accomplish their goal.
went through, at which time the so-called "escape                 There have been other congregations which already
clause" would be used to retain church property; or            have severed  the.ir relations with the Southern
whether to secede from the denomination earlier and            Presbyterian denomination. in the past years. And
bring a new denomination into existence.                       recently 20 congregations in Alabama severed their
  The latter course of action has recently been the one        relations with their presbytery and with the
decided upon. The "Steering Commitee for Continuing            denomination. These congregations will eventually
Church" voted unanimously to bring the new Church              go along with the new denomination which will. be
into being this year. The details of precisely what            formed.
course of action will be taken have not yet been                 We are happy for this decision and wish the new


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        301
-

Church well. We add, however, the hope and prayer Arminianism. This is essential, too, for Arminianism is,
that this new Continuing Church will recognize the after all, the kind of departure from the truth which
fact that all Arminianism is also at odds with the inevitably leads to the modernism and liberalism which
Westminster Confessions and that, therefore, is now the cause of trouble in the Southern Presbyterian
faithfulness to these creeds requires a rejection of such Church.

                                              Creedal Authority
     Practically every denomination which has a creedal         w i t h i n   t h e   Classis  o f ,   s i n c e r e l y
basis demands a promise of its officebearers that they          and gladly declare before God and with you that I
will be faithful to  tl-ne Confessions which that               believe the Gospel of the grace of God in Jesus Christ
denomination has adopted as its doctrinal foundation.           as revealed in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
This, all denominations affirm, is necessary to preserve        Testaments and as expressed in the Standards of the
doctrinal purity and the unity of the faith. These              Reformed Church in America. I accept the Scripture
denominations recognize the fact that there are                 as the  only rule of faith and  life. I accept the
constant threats of false doctrine, for heresy always           Standards as historic and faithful witnesses to the
                                                                Word of God.
creeps in by one means or another. And a                           I promise to walk in the Spirit of Christ, in love
denomination which loses her doctrinal heritage, loses          and fellowship within the church, seeking the things
her right to call herself by the name of the Church of          that make for unity, purity and peace. I will submit
Christ.                                                         myself to the counsel and a&o&ion  of Classis
     But strange things happen within the Church. For           always ready, with gentleness and reverence, to give
various reasons a denomination may lose her doctrinal           an account of my understanding of the Christian
integrity and harbor within her denominational walls            faith. I will conduct the work of the church in an
men who no longer believe nor teach what the creeds             orderly way and according to The Book of Church
of that Church profess to be the truth of God's Word.           Order.
They make the promise of loyalty to the Confessions,               Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for strength, I
                                                                pledge my life to preach and teach the Good News of
but they do not keep their promise; and, indeed, in             salvation in Christ, to build up and equip the church
some instances, they make the promise knowing at                for mission in the world, to free the enslaved, to
that moment that they  callnot and shall not keep the           relieve the oppressed, to comfort the afflicted. and to
vow they have made.                                             walk lititibly with God. I ask God, and you his
     And so a situation arises in the Church in which a         servants, to help me so to live until that glorious day
plea is made to revise the Confessions, to mitigate             when, with joy and gratitude, we stand before our
somewhat their binding force, or to dispense with the           great God and King.
creeds altogether as authoritative within the Church. It      We will not quote here the original Form of
happened in the past, and it is happening today.            Subscription. The one which is presently used in the
     And, quite naturally, where a situation exists in      RCA is almost identical with the one in use in our
which ministers and officebearers are no longer faithful Churches. And only a cursory glance will show how
to the doctrinal truths of the creeds, sooner or later radically this Form is being changed by the proposed
those who protest the binding character of the creeds version.
will get their way.                                           An article in the February 2 issue of the  Church
     In the Reformed Churches such allegiance to the        Herald  defended strongly the old subscription and
creeds is promised by officebearers when they sign a pointed out very clearly that the new proposed version
Subscription to the creeds which dates back to the would not protect doctrinal integrity in the Church
Synod of Dordrecht. This Subscription is used in this       and maintain loyalty to the Confessions, but would
country by The Reformed Church of America, the leave room for the teaching and preaching of doctrines
Christian Reformed Church, and the Protestant               contrary to. the Confessions.
Reformed Churches.                                            But an article in a later issue of the Church Herald
     Recently, a couple of articles have appeared in the    came to the defense of the proposed revision. While
Church Herald,  the official organ of the Reformed maintaining that the proposed subscription would
Church in America, which discuss a proposed revision indeed retain confessional integrity, it nevertheless
of the Subscription to the creeds which officebearers pointed out that the new subscription had one distinct
are required to sign. The adoption of the proposed advantage. That advantage, as the author sees it, is the
revision is presently being discussed on the classical change in the conception of the ministry which the
level. We quote it here in full.                            new subscription embraces. He writes:
           I               in becoming a minister of the          First, the proposed Declaration sees each minister
      Word of God in the Reformed Church in America,            as not merely the judge and arbiter of every other


302                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER


       minister's beliefs and actions, but as a brother and       mentioned in the proposed subscription. Instead, as the
       co-worker in the vineyard of God. . .                      author of the above quotes makes clear, this introduces
          Second, the proposed Declaration affords the            a rather novel concept of the Christian ministry and
       minister a response of joy and gratitude appropriate       changes radically the whole purpose of the
       to his divine calling.                                     Declaration. Why should this be thought necessary?
          Third, the work of the ministry is seen within the
       full and real context in which we know it . . . Here is      In the second place, there is a radical change in the
       the minister not only in preaching, teaching, and          vow with which one promises to be faithful to the
       writing, but as pastoral counselor, as chaplain in the     Confessions. The only statement in the proposed
       military service, the prison, or the psychiatric           Declaration which deals with this matter is: "I accept
       hospital, as friend to the needy, as one who incites to    the Standards as historic and faithful witnesses to the
       mission, as prophet of justice, and as parish              Word of God." Compare this with the promises made
       administrator . . .                                        in the old Declaration. In the latter a minister declares
  There are a couple of remarks about this which that the Confessions contain the truth of the Word of
ought to be made. We make these remarks because of God. He promises actively to teach and to defend these
our deep concern for doctrinal integrity in the Church doctrines; to reject all heresies opposed to  fhese
of Christ and to underscore the importance of loyalty doctrines; neither directly nor indirectly to contradict
to the Confessions.                                               them either in public preaching or in writing. He
   In the first place, the author of the above quotes is, promises that, if he should have any disagreement with
no doubt, correct when he claims that the new the Confessions, he will be honest and upright before
subscription alters rather radically the conception of the Church; he promises not to propose or teach or
the ministry. What about this?                                    defend any differences he may have, either publicly or
  This is one aspect of the new Declaration which is so privately, neither in preaching nor in writing and to
striking. It barely touches upon the whole matter of follow the ecclesiastical way in bringing these
subscription to the creeds. And this is a major change differences to the attention of the Churches. He
indeed. The original Formula of Subscription was promises to remain silent about these differences and
deliberately and consciously drawn up with only one submit himself to the judgment of the ecclesiastical
purpose in mind: to be used as an instrument by means assemblies. And all this he promises to do, with the
of which ministers promise to be faithful to the creeds. penalty for failure to do this being de facto suspension
It was not intended to define a minister's calling in the from office.
Church. It was not intended to deal with the question               Let the reader judge if there is not a great difference
of loyalty to the Scriptures. It was not drawn up to between these two promises which one makes.
elicit promises to "walk in the Spirit of Christ, in love
and fellowship." Not that these things are                          The Confessions are very precious to the Church,
unimportant. But they belong elsewhere. The work of and very important in the preservation of the faith.
the ministry is defined in the Church Order and in the They must be defended and preserved, for they are a
Form for Ordination. Loyalty to the Scriptures and bulwark against error. But they can only be defended
faithfulness in one's walk is promised when one takes when these Confessions are the living confessions of
his ordination vows. It was intended to be a vow of the officebearers not only, but also of all the people of
loyalty to the creeds. Nothing else. This is barely God.




                                                          Tax Credit
                                                          For Tuition

  Once again the whole question of relief for parents the bill is reported out of committee. But the
who send their children to private schools is in the air.         supporters of the bill are convinced that it will meet all
Wilbur Mills, long an opponent of any kind of aid to              the objections which the Supreme Court has recently
private schools, has now reported that he favors a new made against any aid to private schools. Whether it will
bill which will give parents tax credits for the children meet the objections of those who fear any kind of
they have attending private schools. The details of the           federal control of their Christian Schools remains to be
bill are not yet known with certainty, and we refrain seen.
from commenting on the matter until such a time as


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   303


Contending for the Faith


~ The Doctrine of Atonement (Reformation Period)
                                                    THE SYNOD OF DORT
                                                         THE CANONS

                                                              H. Veldman


   The seventh and final  articie of the Rejection of               way we do on every part of the Apostles' Creed. In all
 Errors of Head II of our Canons, relative to the                   the important things they agree with us. If this be true,
 atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, reads as follows:              then this judgment of the fathers of Dordt is surely too
       Who teach: That Christ neither could die, needed             severe. And the undersigned has also heard that the
    to die, nor did die for those whom God loved in the             Arminian believes in man's need for salvation and that
    highest degree and elected to eternal life, and did not         the blood of Christ alone is payment for our sins. But
    die for these, since these do not need the death of             this is exactly what the fathers deny in this seventh
    Christ. For they contradict the Apostle, who declares:
    "Christ loved me, and gave Himself for me," Gal.                and last article of this Rejection of Errors in Head II of
                                                                    our Canons. According to them, the Arminians tea&h
    2:20.  Likewise: "Who shall lay anything to the charge
    of God's elect? It is God that justifieth; who is he            that Christ neither could die, needed to die, nor did die
    that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died," Rom.            for those whom God loved in the highest degree and
     8:33, 34, viz., for them; and the Satiour who says: "I         elected to eternal life, inasmuch as they do not need
    lay down My life for the sheep," John 10:15. And:               the death of Christ. Are the fathers of Dordt correct
    "This is My commandment, that ye love one another,              here? But we do well to bear in mind that this seventh
    even as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man              article constitutes a part of our Confessions, and also
    than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend,"        that we subscribe to these confessions.
    John 15:12, 13.                                                   The fathers here do not `"suck this charge against the
   According to the fathers of Dordt, the Arminians Arminians out of their thumb." In this seventh article
 taught that Christ neither could die, needed to die, nor we have the clearest expression of what the
 did die for those whom God loved in the highest Remonstrants really mean and want. They begin with
 degree and elected to eternal life because they do not the denial of election and of the sovereignty of the
 need the death of Christ. So, according to our Fathers, grace of God. This denial they express in their first
 the Arminians taught that Christ did not die atoningly.            point of the Remonstrance, in which they set forth
 They denied the atonement of the cross. Is this true,,             their conception of conditional predestination, that
 what the fathers here allege to have been taught and as            God elected those of whom He foresaw that would
 being taught `by the Remonstrants? Is this accusation believe and reprobated those of whom He foresaw that
 of the fathers not too severe? Is it true that we must they would not believe. And now they end with the
 not be too harsh in our condemnation of the                        denial of the necessity of the death of Christ as a
 Arminians and their view of the sufferings and death of payment of the debt of sin and an atonement for the
 our Lord? True, they may differ and do differ from us              guilt of the elect. They do this openly here. They were
 with respect to the atonement of Calvary. But this compelled to come to this denial. We must bear in
 does not mean, does it, that they deny the atonement?              mind that we are dealing here with Arminianism.
 They simply have a different conception and view of Arminianism teaches this denial and must teach it. Any
 the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ. But,                  Arminian, if he be  consistetit in his view of
 they certainly mean well. It was not too long ago that Arminianism, must come to a denial of the atonement
 the undersigned talked with a man who belonged to a of the cross of Calvary. It is impossible to maintain
 church where the preaching is Arminian. And when I that Christ died for the whole human race and every
 said to him that his church denied the atonement of man, head for head, and then to insist that he also
 Christ he was very vehement in his denial of this charge believes in that death of Christ as atonement. Both
 and insisted that his minister surely believed in the cannot be maintained. And the history of doctrine
 qtbnement. I have been told that Arminians believe in verifies this. This explains why the Arminians, having
 all the fundamental truths of the Word of God as do                denied the particular character of the cross of Christ,
 the Reformed. Most Arminians, then, believe the same               came with their view of this death of Christ, namely


304                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



the governmental theory of the death of our Lord executes this soldier as a demonstration of what he
Jesus Christ. We will presently call attention to this justly could have done to the entire company of
theory of the cross. But we should certainly soldiers. This is the governmental theory of the cross
understand that the Remonstrant was compelled to             of Christ, the Arminian version and presentation of the
come to this view. To this we have called attention          cross of Calvary. All mankind has sinned against the
several times in preceding articles. It is not amiss to call Lord. If the Lord were to execute His justice upon this
attention to this again. If Christ did not suffer and die    sin, then all mankind would be executed by the Lord.
for a deftite people and pay their debt, then His death But then nobody would be saved. But now Christ steps
cannot be an atoning death, cannot be a satisfaction of forward and offers Himself to God as a sacrifice to
the justice of God. To this we have called attention         God for the sin man has committed. This death of
repeatedly in the past. One often hears that the             Christ will serve as a demonstration of the justice and
distinction between the Arminian and the Reformed righteousness of the Lord. And if we, viewing this
believer is that the former believes in a universal          death of Christ, will only acknowledge our sin and the
atonement whereas the latter believes in a particular righteousness of God we will be saved. However, this
atonement. This, however, is not correct. One cannot         governmental theory of the cross is a fallacy for two
really speak of a universal atonement. Atonement is          fundamental reasons. In the first place, no
always particular. There is no such thing as a universal     demonstration of either the love of God or the
atonement. This became very clear at the time of the         righteousness of God can possibly induce a single
Arminian controversy at the time of the Synod of sinner to turn unto the Lord. The sinner hates the
Dordt. The Arminians, instead of speaking of the cross living God. He despises the communion and fellowship
of Christ as atonement, advocated a theory of the            of the Lord. And, he is dead in sins and in trespasses. If
death of Christ which is known as the governmental           a sinner is to be saved, then something must happen in
theory of the cross.                                         his heart.  He must be changed by the almighty and
  However, in this seventh article they not only irresistible power of the grace and spirit of the Lord.
openly express this serious error, namely the denial of No demonstration of either the love or the
the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ, but they also        righteousness of the Lord could possibly induce him to
attempt in a way of reasoning to show that it could turn from his wicked way and to turn unto the Lord.
not be different. One can easily understand their            But there is also another reason why this governmental
reasoning. First, they speak of those whom God has           theory is a terrible fallacy. This theory is supposed to
loved from before the foundations of the world. From         maintain that the death of Christ is a demonstration of
eternity God has elected and destined them for eternal       the justice and righteousness of the Lord. However,,
life. From this it follows, according to the Arminian,       this is exactly what this theory fails to do. We must
that therefore in God's thoughts they never were             bear in mind that, according to the Remonstrants,
children of wrath. Before God they were eternally            Christ died for all men, head for head. This means that,
beloved children of the Lord. So, if therefore no wrath      according to them, Christ did not pay for sin and the
rested upon them, how could Christ then ever have to         guilt of sin. Had He paid for &he guilt of sin, and for
suffer for them in order to remove that wrath that           the guilt of the whole world, then all men would surely
never existed? And therefore the Arminians concluded have had to be saved. Then nobody could possibly .
that the death of Christ was for this reason no              perish, inasmuch as all their guilt had been paid and
payment for guilt and no removal of the wrath of God,        everlasting life had been merited for them. This means
but an example of meekness and love, or also a               that, according to the Arminians, God executed an
demonstration of what God could justly have done             innocent man upon the cross of Calvary. And this is
with us. And this is the governmental theory of the          not true. God does not execute innocent people. He is
sufferings and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.               just and righteous in all His ways. And the Lord did
  The governmental theory of the death of Christ is          not execute an innocent man upon the cross of
that theory of the cross which sets forth the death of       Calvary. Christ was indeed guilty, the guiltiest man
Christ as a public demonstration of the justice and          throughout the history of the world. Only, we
righteousness of God, a demonstration of what God understand, He was guilty, not because He bore His
could justly have done with us. Perhaps we are               own guilt, inasmuch as He Himself was holy and
acquainted with an example that is often used. A             without sin, but because He bore the sins of all the
regiment of soldiers has incurred the  eghteous wrath        elect throughout all the ages. The cross of Christ is
of its commander. That regiment has deserved death.          indeed a demonstration of the justice and
But, if the commander were to punish his regiment,           righteousness of the living God, but only when we
this would mean the death of this entire body. But maintain the Scriptural truth of particular atonement,
now a soldier of that regiment steps forward and offers that God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all, of all the
his life as payment for the sin which the regiment has       elect whom God has loved from before the
committed. And the commander accepts this offer,             foundations of the world. The governmental theory,


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    305


     however, teaches that God executed an innocent man foundations of the church of God. This theory makes
     upon the cross of Calvary. This is not a demonstration the salvation of a sinner forever impossible. For unless
     of the righteousness of the  .living God, but it is a sin is paid according to the unchangeable righteousness
     travesty on the justice of the Lord, a perversion of His of the alone living God, no sinner can possibly return
     righteousness. And how can a perversion of God's into the favour of God and be saved.  And this
     righteousness of the Lord ever serve as an inducement governmental theory must inevitably lead to
     to the sinner to acknowledge God's justice and to turn          modernism, the denial of all sin; it must lead to
     unto the Lord? This theory destroys the very humanitarianism,



     Studies in Election

                                                    Its Value
                                                     Rev. Robert C Harbach

     17. Its Value. Conclusion                                         It is the apprehension of this truth which enables
                                                                     the true minister of Christ to hold his spiritual balance,
        The truth of the election has very practical value in        continuing firmly to his ministry's end. What
     the certainty of the true Christian's salvation. It is a discouragements he meets! Few attend a faithful
     folly to attempt having assurance of Salvation not ministry of the Word. Visible fruits are rare. He is
     founded on the basis of election. It makes no sense to frequently warned that if he continues preaching along
     acknowledge the effect while the cause is denied. No thhB lines of divine sovereignty he will have no one to
     true assurance comes to the Christian until he can whom to preach. He is tempted to think that the seal
     believe that the glorification of the elect is so infallibly    of God's approval is not on his ministry, that he is a
     fixed in the eternal purpose of God that it is                  colossal failure and ought to give up. There is enough
     impossible for any of them to perish. Nor will his faith in his circumstances to fill him with dismay, to tempt
     be firmly strengthened until he believes that he belongs him to go along with popular opinion or to enter a
     to the company of the elect. For him to do so is not            more lucrative ministry. This is the rocky path all our
     presumption, for the regenerated person has the right ministers have trod.
     to regard himself as a member of the household of                 What is it which revives the drooping spirits from all
     faith. For the Spirit renews only those predestinated to such temptations? What keeps a servant of the Lord
     be conformed to the image of God's Son.                         sure that he has not drawn a bow at a venture, but that
:       The Apostle Paul pointed back to this unshakable he is an ordained instrument in God's hands to
     basis of assurance when he taught, "Whom He did accomplish His eternal purpose? It is his faith in the
     ,predestinate, them He also called, and whom He called, whole Counsel of God. He is commissioned to preach a
     them He also justified, and whom He justified, them general proclamation of a particular gospel, knowing,
     He also glorified" (Rom.  8:30). Begin on that that in my age, it is not God's pm-pose that all or even
     foundation of divine, sovereign predestination and the many be saved. The Lord taught His church .that His
     end, glorification, is guaranteed. God  lovetl the elect flock is a "very little" one (Luke 12:32), and there is
     with an everlasting love. Then He is for them, and "if only "a remnant  according to  the election of grace."
     God be for us, who can be against us? Who shall lay The disciples were, on one occasion, somewhat curious
     anything  t.o the charge of God's elect? Who shall as to whether there are "few that be saved." In the
     separate us from the love of Christ?" What mighty Sermon on the Mount He stated that many would take
     streams flow from this fountain of election! But what the Broad Way to destruction, but that few would
     folly to attempt choking the stream! There is no course the Narrow Way that leads to life. The servant
     eternal security of the sheep except on the foundation faithful to his Lord's word knows and understands
     of God's decree. The sheep need this firm foundation this. He knows that some believe because it was given
     as they are naturally timid and often beset with doubts to them in behalf of Christ to believe in Him (Phil.
     concerning their final perseverance. They therefore 1:29), and that the rest believed not because they are
     find great comfort in discovering in themselves the not Christ's sheep (Jn. 10:26). He knows that God is
     marks of election. Then they rejoice in the certainty of using him and other such servants to gather together in
     their eternal life!                                             one the children of God scattered abroad, in fact, to


306                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


gather together in one all things in heaven and in earth      and destiny, when they strive to overthrow our souls."
in Christ (John 11:52; Eph. 1: 10). It is this purpose of       In this day of unbelief there is denial of every article
God according to election, which always stands, that          of the faith; no surprise then that men deny the gospel
keeps him in perfect tranquility and garrisons his heart      and election. The modernist denies the gospel. The
and mind in Christ Jesus.                                     Arminian fundamentalist denies election. In that way,
   There is no peace of mind like that which rest upon        he, too, denies the gospel, for there is no gospel apart
the sovereignty of God brings. He who is sure that            from election. (Simple proof: Genesis 3: 15). A worse
God's decrees cannot fail, that His eternal counsels          enemy there can hardly be than the modernist. Yet his
must come to pass, and that whatever God has                  denial is more open. It is like denying the whole house
ordained for Him to do must be accomplished, is a             - all its structure. The Arminian's denial is a denial of
triumphant conqueror. There may be many                       the foundation. For election is basic; the gospel is
adversaries, appalling ruin all around, thousands falling     founded thereon. Successfully deny the gospel and
on his right hand, his own many failures emphasizing          man is ruined; but so deny election and God is ruined.
his own weakness and inadequacy. Yet he is sure that          His sovereignty is denied. His will to do what He
the plan of God is being realized as ordained. He is sure     pleases with His own is denied. Denied is His
that those ordained to eternal life will believe, that the    government, His right to punish evildoers. Denial of
sheep given to Christ must be saved, and that of their        election, in effect, forces God to universalism  and the
neither to be increased nor diminished number He              salvation of all men. He not only must save them, but
should lose nothing. He is confident of this very thing,      do  their  will, not His will. He is governed by the
that God who began the work of election, salvation            overriding principle of  their  will. They run the
and regeneration, will complete it unto the day of            universe, not He. The denial of election in effect
Jesus Christ.                                                 breaks down the bulwarks of heaven,  .the walls of
   The ministry characterized by election preaching is        salvation, cracks the foundations of God's kingdom,
perfectly cognizant of the promise, "My Word. . .shall        splits His throne, crumbles His sceptre and hurls them
not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that         all to the ground in smithereens, while the violent
which  I please, and it  shall  prosper in the thing          godless trample God prostrate under their detestable
whereto I sent it" (Isa. 55:ll). The preached Word            feet. Deny election and God is a "God" with His hands
may not accomplish that which the preacher desires,           tied; that is, .He is no God. Election is based on the
nor prosper as the saints had hoped, but the good             attributes of God, on His infinity, eternity, simplicity,
pleasure of God shall most certainly be done. If God          immutability, independency, wisdom, holiness, justice,
has ordained that the sheep and the lambs shall be fed,       goodness, truth and love. Denial of election, then, is
then nothing in the world can prevent the giving them         denial of all God's attributes. It is atheistic. It robs
the true Bread from heaven. When so many have                 God of His Godhood. Put aside election and the
nothing whatever to do with the church, the Lord's            question is, "How man shall handle God." But with
servants find comfort where He did, in the truth that         election the question is, "How God shall handle man."
"all that the father giveth Me shall come to Me" (John        A God without election is a God without
6: 37).                                                       omnipotence. Election honors God, saves His justice
  "But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is          and manifests His eternal power and Godhead.
godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call unto          The spirit of the gospel honors election. The spirit
Him" (Ps.  4:3).  Spurgeon, in his great  Treasury of of the gospel puts us down in the dust before God's
David  (I& Funk  & Co., NYC, 1882, I,  38), wrote             footstool. There man in that spirit learns to cry, "If He
" `But know. ' Fools will not learn, and therefore they       slay me, it would be just. I am of no account, nor is
must again and again be told the same thing, especially       the whole human race of any account anyhow  -
when it is such a bitter truth which is to be taught          merely the small dust of the balance. Yet though He
them, viz., the fact that the godly are the chosen of         slay me, still I will trust Him" This is no fatalism. The
God, and are, by distinguishing grace, set apart and          believer comes to know his election (I Thes. 1:4), yet
separated from among men. Election is a doctrine              he examines himself with the question, "Do I trust in
which unrenewed men cannot endure, but                        the Lord? Do I have faith in His blood, the faith of
nevertheless, is a glorious and well-attested truth, and      God's elect? Do I seek salvation by grace only? Do I
one which should comfort the tempted believer.                see more power in the blood of Christ to save me than
Election is the guarantee of complete salvation, and an       evil in all my sins to damn me? Do I belong to IHim?
argument for success at the throne of grace. He who           and that because God gave me to Him (John 6:37)? Do
chose us for Himself will surely hear our prayers. The        I hate sin and love righteousness? Do I live and walk in
Lord's elect shall not be condemned, nor shall their cry      the light? Then I am elect.I" The gospel does this for a
be unheard. David was king by divine decree, and we           man because election is the very content of the gospel.
are the Lord's people in the same manner; let us tell         With election removed the gospel becomes a species of
our enemies to their faces that they fight against God        humanism Election puts first things first. It puts God


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                               307
I


     first because it puts Christ first. It puts Christ first, for so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight." When
     not election but Christ is first. It leads to despair of any are saved and numbered among  -the elect, the
     self (a main step to true happiness) and trust in Christ whole of heaven sings, "Grace be unto God for His
     alone. He himself saw all things in the light of unspeakable gift!" And when the wicked come into
     predestination, election and reprobation. He prayed, "I eternal judgment, heaven responds, "Holy! holy! holy!
     thank Thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven and earth, Amen! Hallelujah!" (Rev.  4:8; 19: l-6). To Whom be
     because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise glory forever and ever. Amen.
     and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even



     From Holy Writ


                  Pure  and Undefiled Religion  (IO)
                                                   Rev. Robert D. Decker

                                     Chapter  1:22-25, Doers  of  the Word and Not
                                   Hearers Only

       Are you ready for judgment day? It's coming soon! the gospel is: "For we must all appear before the
     Jesus said, "Behold I come quickly." Indeed, the "end judgment seat, to receive the deeds done in the body,
     of all things is at hand." The events of today's world in whether good or bad." (II Cor. 5 : 10, cf. also Rev.
     the light of the Scriptures speak clearly of Jesus' swift 22: 12, 13). Is it any wonder then that the inspired
     return in judgment. There is the obvious, gradual writer says: "But be ye doers of the word, and not
     moving together of the nations, the awakening of hearers only, deceiving your own selves?"
     primitive peoples, as. for example on the African             James speaks of being doers of the Word. The Word
     continent. The Gospel is being preached all over the is the "word of truth" (vs. 18) as well as the
     world. There are signs in God's creation: earthquake "implanted word" (vs. 21). These concepts we have
     and famine in divers places. The false Christs and false already expounded in previous articles. In brief, the
     prophets  - some even doing signs and wonders  - Word of which the text speaks is the Holy Scripture as
     saying, "here is Christ or there," are on every side. preached. That Word is further defined in these verses
     There is abounding lawlessness. All this means, the as "the perfect law of liberty." Now, James is not
     Bible tells us, Jesus is coming. Are you ready to stand merely referring to the ten commandments, but to the
     before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ?                  entire Word of God from the point of view of its being
       Perhaps you wonder what all this has to do with the the law of liberty, i.e., the revelation of the will of God
     passage we are treating. The answer is, it has everything for His redeemed children. That law described as
     to do with what James speaks of here. The sacred "perfect." We met this term in verse 4 and saw that it
     writer speaks of being doers of the word and not means; "complete" and comes from a root which
     hearers only. That is, of course, a further explanation means, "goal or purpose." The idea is that the Law
     of what was said before concerning our calling to (Scripture) was not complete in the Old Testament age
     receive the implanted word with meekness; but, what of type and shadow. It was no more than "the
     is more, only doers of the Word will enter the schoolmaster to lead Israel to Christ" (Gal. 3:24). But
     Kingdom of God. The Bible everywhere emphasizes now the Law is complete having been fulfilled in the
     that all men shall be judged according to their deeds. Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the cross
     "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the and exaltation of Christ the Law has reached its purpose
     which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And or goal.
     shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the          This is why the Scripture describes the Law as, "the
     resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto Law of liberty." Jesus said it to the believing disciples:
     the resurrection of damnation." (John  5:28, 29). In "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples
     the parable of the last judgment, Matt. 25 :3 1 ff., the indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
     sheep are judged worthy of life; "inasmuch as ye have shall make you free." (John  8:3 1, 32). The Law of
     done it unto one of these the least of these my liberty then is the Word of truth, the word of Jesus
     brethren ye have done it unto me." The plain fact of Christ which proclaims the glad news of freedom to


308                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



God's elect. It is the Word which proclaims Christ his heart! When the Word calls him to repentance and
crucified and raised. The freedom from guilt of sin faith toward God, admonishes him to seek his refuge in
and from the prison of death  - the freedom to love the cross of Christ, lays before him the way of freedom
God and the neighbor and thus to live in the Spirit and exhorts him to love God and the neighbor, seek
rather than walking in the works of the flesh (cf. Gal. the Kingdom fast, deny himself, take up his cross, and
5)' that is the Law of liberty.                           follow Jesus - this hearer who is not a doer neglects to
  Of that Word, the Law of liberty, we must be doers care! He is a CARE - LESS hearer and not a doer. He
and not hearers only. James describes the one who is a goes his way of disobedience and sin and leaves the
hearer but not a doer by using a simple figure. He is Word where he heard it, within the four walls of the
like (or pictured by) "a man beholding his natural face sanctuary. He couldn't care less!
(the face of his birth) in a glass" (vs.  23) This man      But, and here's the contrast, the doer of the Word is
gazes intently or fixes his eyes upon the face of his different. He, "looketh into the perfect law of liberty,
birth in that mirror, "and goeth his way, and and continueth therein" (vs. 25). This man looks, i.e.
straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." he takes a long, serious, careful look into the Word.
(vs. 24). Applied the figure is obvious. This man "And continueth therein," that means "remains near"
beholds himself in the mirror of the Word, the Law of to the Word. When he goes his way, leaves the house of
liberty and this means that he considers himself God to go out into his work-a-day world, he remains
attentively, he perceives himself. In other words, he near to the Word. He carries that Word in his heart
knows what he sees in that mirror. He knows that the wherever he goes. This man, says James, "being not a
mirror of the Word pictures him as a depraved sinner forgetful (careless) hearer" is "a doer of the work." He
with no worth before God. He knows that he needs the is a performer of the work of the Word, the perfect law
grace of God in Christ Jesus to be saved. He hears the of liberty. He performs those works which are the
Word preached and he understands it also as it applies fruit of a true and living faith, performed according to
to himself. But looking into the mirror and seeing the law of God, and thus are to the glory of God. IIe is
himself he goes his "merry way." He takes repeated the spiritual man, born again with the Word of truth,
looks at himself in the mirror, hears sermon after the one who receives the Word with meekness. And,
sermon "and goeth his way" - he simply leaves.            what does he do? The first work of the law of liberty
  And,  straightway  - this word speaks volumes! which he does is repent, and he does that daily. He
"Immediately," he forgets what manner of man he was knows that the doctrine of total depravity means that
- literally translated, "what manner of man he was he is the sinner, that the doctrine of sovereign, gracious
continuing to be." He deliberately, wilfully, wickedly election means that he has been set apart by God to
leaves the mirror of the Word. The point is, he rejects reveal His glory in all his life. The Word of God really
the Word in unbelief. That's the meaning of governs his everyday living. He thinks according to that
"forgetteth." It means, "neglecting to care." He knows Word, acts out of that Word. His desires and decisions
the truth, he can even detect heresy in its most subtle are motivated by the Word. The Word guides him in his
forms, but he does not care. It's in his head but not in home, his work and his play.
                                                                            (To Be Continued)



The Day of Shadows

                                   Distinguishing
                                                  Grace
                                              Rev. John A. Heys

  Someone some years ago said, "Grace is God giving         There is truth in this statement, although it could be
everything for nothing to those who deserve nothing." stated more strongly by saying, "Grace is God giving


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 309


everything for nothing to those who are good for spiritually dead. And God did not find something good
nothing." Still better it would be to say that grace is in Noah. Noah. found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
God giving everything good to those who deserve only         Noah, as one of these who deserve nothing, as one
the bad. Grace is God paying the wages of of these good for nothings, as one of these who in
righteousness to those who deserve the wages of sin. himself deserved the very opposite of the riches of
Grace is not simply God giving everything for nothing God, at Christ's expense received the opposite of what
to those that deserve nothing. It is God giving every he deserved.
good thing for nothing to those who deserve the very
opposite.  That element is so often overlooked, and          This does not mean that man cannot and does not
when it is, men do violence to the truth of God's grace. develop in sin. He certainly does. He becomes bolder
                                                           and bolder in manifesting openly the formation of the
   The Arminian with his offer of salvation to all who thoughts of his  evil heart. He seeks and finds greater
hear the preaching, with his lie that God loves opportunities to put into practice the evil imagination
everybody and has a wonderful plan for everybody, of the thoughts of his heart. He becomes more clever
goes out from the position that man has a right to have in his deeds of rebellion against the living God. He
salvation offered to him. He closes his eyes to the fact finds it possible to seize more and more of the
that no man in himself has a right even to hear the creatures of God's earth (and even of the moon) to
preaching of the gospel. All deserve to be cast away seek for himself and wherewith to fight to obtain
from God's presence and only to hear words of God's glory.
condemnation and curse. It is not simply that we             Before the flood there was abundant opportunity
deserve nothing. The fact is that we deserve to be for man to develop in sin with these totally depraved
destroyed, and in God's grace receive the very opposite hearts. They lived to be nine hundred and more years
of what we deserve.                                        old, and they were able not only to become more cun-
                                                           ning in their wickedness but also to teach it to genera-
  Another definition of grace, which uses the letters in tions that followed them. The old pros had many ama-
the word in the order in which they appear, and then teurs to coach, and the amateurs had many idols of
forms new words beginning with those letters is "Grace wickedness to worship and to imitate. Let it be a
is God's Riches At Christ's Expense."                      warning to us today when we have the same situation,
  This is better in that it explains how that grace of not due to the lengthening of man's life but due to the
God can come upon those who deserve the very preservation of the imagination of his thoughts in
opposite, how He can give life to those who deserve books and magazines, and to the means of communica-
death, can bring into the glory  of'heaven those who tion which are ours today, as well as means of
deserve the torment of hell, deserve to be robbed of swift transportation to go and see and learn how the
everything good and still receive the riches of God. other part of the world sins. But in that day death did
Christ bought that riches by His blood. He took on not put an end to their development in sin after
Himself what they deserved. Their wages were not threescore and ten years, even as today the sinfulness
simply forgotten and unjustly overlooked. God paid of men is preserved for coming generations after the
them upon His Son; and because of this they may now death of the sinner, so that the present generations can
receive everything good. However, this definition also develop in it at a more rapid pace than in former years.
overlooks the fact that the one enjoying this riches of      There were also the inventions of  Jabal, Jubal and
God at Christ's expense deserves the very opposite.        Tubal-Cain wherewith the highway of sin was paved.
  This truth we must bear in mind and not overlook Added to this was the unholy.marriage of the sons of
when we read Genesis 6:8, "But Noah found grace in God with the daughters of men, resulting in a race
the eyes of the Lord." We cannot appreciate that that, preferring the ways of sin of their mothers, and
statement unless we confess that Noah deserved the of going the way of least  resistence, brought a new
same destruction that came upon the whole old world.       dimension to sin, and a new threat to the faithful
Genesis  6:5 must not be changed to read, "And God children of God.
saw that the wickedness of man was very great upon           How wonderful then, upon that background, to
the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts read, "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord."
of his heart had become only evil continually." Instead And, as we said, to appreciate this we must put Noah
we must read it as it is and understand that this is a in the class of those whose every imagination of the
statement concerning the imagination of the thoughts thoughts of the heart is only evil continually. We miss
of the heart of every man from the moment he comes the whole point here, if we do not do that. We lift the
into this world. And it includes Noah and his family as statement out of its whole context, if we try to find
well as those who perished in the flood. All are con- something in Noah that made him deserving of the
ceived and born in sin. All come into this earthly life riches of God and everything good.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                              310


  What is more, we change the word of God here to           All men suffer and die, the righteous with the
read, "But Noah found righteousness, a righteous unrighteous. And the possession of good health (for a
judgment in God's eyes." Yea, we so twist the text time), the abundance of this earth's goods, and a good
that it is God finding something in Noah rather than position in the world are not assurances that we are the
Noah finding something in God.                            objects of God's grace. The unbelievers usually have
  And these words do not simply look forward to more of these than we do. What we are  spiritually
what will happen some one hundred twenty years later assures us that we are the objects of God's love, His
when Noah is saved in the ark and through the waters mercy and His grace. In this we find that we live under
of the flood. It does not look forward simply to the His grace.
day when his soul entered the glory of God's kingdom,       God's grace distinguishes us, makes a distinction
nor to the day when he will with body and soul between us  and the world. God's grace sets us apart
experience the riches of God at Christ's expense. Noah from the world. When we see the world in its sin, when
found it in the day when all that wickedness was being we see the neighbour in his ways of unbelief and
practiced left and right, openly and boldly, and when transgression of God's law, when we see him in his
it became quite evident that there is no "common idolatry and immorality, we surely can and must say,
grace" of God that gives to those deserving the "There, but for the grace of God, go I." God% grace
torment of hell a little restraint of sin to make life made the difference, and even made us see the
possible for man. There were no such restraints irn the difference.
heart. Every formation of thought in the heart of man       It is not that we or Noah do something and
was only evil continually.                                therefore become the objects of His grace. He does not
  Wherein, then, did Noah find grace in the eyes of find good in us - and Genesis 6:8 does not mean that
the Lord?                                                 because Noah did something on his own and of
                                                          himself, he obtained God's favour - but we find Him
  The question is not, "What did that grace of God do to be good. We find out that His grace is upon us when
for Noah? What blessings came upon him because of we see what spiritual miracles He performs in us to
that grace?" The question at the moment is, "How did change us and give us a heart that has imaginations of
Noah become aware of the fact that he was the object its thoughts that every time are only righteous
of God's favour?" When you find something, you have continually. Look at that beautiful verse in I John 3:9,
it to enjoy. What truth did Noah enjoy in the midst of where John speaks of the new man in Christ,
all this world that so openly manifested the evil "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for
imaginations of thoughts of evil hearts?                  His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because
  The answer is that he found himself to be spiritually he is born of God."
different. He found something in his own life that          The grace of God does that. On the one side of the
made it plain to him that he was the object of God's "But" is all that evil in which the world was developing
favour. He found in himself the life of Christ, a heart because it was devoid of the grace of God, and on the
that had imaginations of its thoughts that were other side is Noah who was spiritually different,
pleasing in God's sight. He found that in his heart he because he was the object of that grace. Grace made
hated all this wickedness, that he was a pilgrim and the difference, not Noah.
stranger in the midst of this world, that although he       We do not distinguish ourselves in this world by
did not deserve this and deserved the opposite, he was becoming believers. God's grace causes us to become
a saint among  stiners, a seed of the woman amidst a believers, and so He distinguishes us from the rest of
world full of the seed of the serpent.                    the world. We find grace in His eyes when we find that
  Of course, as the object of God's grace Noah will He has made us to be believers.
not enter into that destruction which God predicts in       As believers hang not your head in shame before the
the verse preceding the statement that Noah found world of unbelievers, cower not before them in their
grace in the eyes of the Lord. God's grace is God giving bold wickedness and speech of ridicule. You are the
every thing  good to those that deserve the very most distinguished people in the world. You are the
opposite. He will be saved from the waters of the sons of God among the children of the devil. Lift the
flood. He will be saved from the holy wrath of God head high and shout it out that you are more than
that sent those waters. And we will be saved from conquerors in Him that loved us.
death and the grave,, from hell and from the                Be careful not to boast as though this were your
condemnation we deserve before God's judgment seat. work. God's grace makes the difference. And that
But in this life, while we have all of our aches and grace also gives us the humility to sing,
pains, and while we walk through this valley where the         All that I am I owe to Thee,
shadow of death is cast, we taste that grace of God,           Thy wisdom Lord hath fashioned me;
know  that we are the objects of His favour when we            I give my Maker thankful praise,
find that we are spiritually different from the world.         Whose wondrous works my soul amaze.


311                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


                    TEACHER WANTED                                                  NOTICE!!!
       Adams Street Protestant Reformed Christian School        Secretaries of Synodical  standing committees and
has need of one teacher, in an elementary grade, for special committees, as well as clerks of the Classes, are
the 1973-l 974 school year. Interested Protestant reminded that all reports to be included in the 1973
Reformed teachers should address inquiries to:                Agenda must be sent to undersigned on or before April
         Mr. John Van Baren                                   15. If necessary, supplemental reports may be
         2860 52nd St.                                        submitted later, but this material will not appear in the
         Grandville, Michigan 494 18                          Agenda.
                                                                   Stated Clerk Synod
                          NOTICE!!!                                Rev. D. H. Kuiper
       According to the decision of the Synod of 1972, the         1314 Main Street
Consistory of the Hudsonville Protestant Reformed                  Pella, Iowa 50219
Church was appointed the calling church for the 1973
Synod. The Consistory of Hudsonville Church here-by                                 NOTICE!!!
notifies the churches that the 1973 Synod of the                 The Loveland Protestant Reformed Christian School.
Protestant Reformed Churches in America will of Loveland, Colorado,  is-in need of a teacher to teach
convene, the Lord willing, on Wednesday, June 6, Grades l-4 for the 1973-74 school term. Any of our
1973, at 9  AM,  in the  Hudsonville  church. The Protestant Reformed teachers who are interested
pre-Synodical service will be held Tuesday evening, should address inquiries to:
June 5, at 8 PM in Hudsonville Church. Rev. C. Hanko,              Clyde L. Campbell
President of the 1972 Synod will preach the sermon.                 1021 East 57th street
Synodical delegates are requested to meet with the                 Loveland, Colorado 805 37
consistory before the service. Delegates in need of                (Sec'y. of the Board)
lodging should contact Henry Boer, 7871 Emberly,
Jenison, MI 49428.                                                       RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
         Henry Boer, Clerk                                      The Consistory and the Congregation of the
                                                              Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church expresses
        CALL TO ASPIRANTS TO THE MlNISTR  Y
             Seminary and Pre-seminary Students               their sincere sympathy to our beloved pastor, Rev. C.
                                                              Hanko, in the death of his sister
  All young men desiring to begin their studies this                           MRS. JENNIE BOLT.
fall in either the pre-seminary or seminary department          May our God comfort the bereaved by His Spirit
of the Theological School of the Protestant Reformed and His Word. "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
Churches are requested to appear before the death of His saints." (Psalm 116 : 15).
Theological School Committee at its meeting which is               Consistory of the Hudsonville
to be held on Friday May 4 at  7:30 P.M. in the                    Protestant Reformed Church
Southwest Protestant Reformed Church located at                    Hemy Boer, Clerk
1854 Porter St., S.W., Wyoming, Michigan.
  The qualifications requisite to enrolling in the
seminary course are:                                                      RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
  1. You must present a letter from your consistory              The Adult Bible Class of the Hudsonville Protestant
certifying that you are upright in walk and pure in           Reformed Church expresses their sympathy to
doctrine.                                                     members Mr. and Mrs. Otto Kamminga in the loss of
  2. You must present a certificate of health, signed her mother
by a reputable physician.                                                         MRS. H. ZWAK.
  3. You must be a graduate from high school and be              "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His
able to Show you have completed the required subjects ,saints." (Psalm 116 : 15).
listed in the Bulletin on The Pre-seminary course. This            A. Karsemeyer, Pres.
Bulletin can be obtained from the Secretary of the                 N. Van Overloop, Sec'y
Theological School Committee or the Rector of the
Seminary.                                                                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
  The qualifications to enter the pre-seminary                   The Adult Bible Class of the HudsonvilIe  Protestant
department are the same as the above except "3" Reformed Church expresses their sympathy to
should read "a graduate of high school."                      members Mr. and Mrs. LaVern Schut in the loss of her
  In the event you cannot be present at this meeting, father
please notify the undersigned secretary of your                             MR. G. SCHROTENBOER.
intentions, prior to the meeting.                                "All things work together for good to them that
         R. H. Teitsma, Secretary                             love God." (Romans 8:28)
         1659 Shangrai La Dr., S.E.,                               A. Karsemeyer, Pres.


THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                             SECOND CLASS
       P.O. Box 6064                                                                            POSTAGE PAID AT
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49566
                                  -                                                           GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
                        rriili                                                                  ..Y .__i Qn
                                       _-    .._ ._ _ . _
312                                              THE STANDARD BEARER

                                  News From Our. Churches
   From a January bulletin from  Doon we learn that leave on Friday, March 16, and spend four successive
Rev. Kortering and Rev. Moore conducted church Sundays in Pennsylvania, during which time he would
visitation, during the week of January  28th, in preach twice on each Sabbath, hold mid-week meetings
Lynden, Redlands, and Loveland. "In order to make of some sort, and make contact with various interested
this trip more profitable for our churches," the families there.
announcement continued "(the two ministers) will                                     **II***
preach or lecture in each place. Rev. Moore will preach        The preceding news item reminded me of a
in Lynden and lecture in Redlands, and Rev. Kortering "Pastoral Letter regarding Key 73" which I had been
will lecture in Loveland." From the January 28               storing in my box since the early part of January. The
bulletin of our  Redlands congregation, we learn that letter, addressed by the consistory to the congregation
the topic of Rev. Moore's Tuesday evening lecture of Loveland, included a reprint of the consistory's
there, was "The Antithesis and Our Christian Walk." reply to hn invitation "to, participate in Key 73 and to
And from a Loveland bulletin we gather that Rev. cooperat with Key 73 task force."
Kortering delivered a public lecture, dealing with                   9
                                                               Hard1 , surprisingly, the reply included a statement
Christian Education, in the church auditorium. The to the effect that the Loveland congregation could not,
program was sponsored by the Board of the Loveland           "in faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ, participate in
Protestant Reformed Christian School.                        this end avor." Among the reasons submitted was the
                                                             fact that "participation in Key 73 would involve us in
   At the time of  *t&s*  &?ting, the March 29               a certain union with other churches and groups with
congregational meeting of our new church in the whom,  1' fact, we are not united in the truth of the
Jenison area is still two weeks in the future. By the g 0 spel.           ey 73 would have us unite with these
time you read this, however, the congregation will have churchesi"and groups in evangelism, that is, preaching
already chosen a minister, to be called from a trio the gospel. But the gospel that must be preached is the
consisting of Rev. Engelsma, Rev. Van Baren, and Rev. very thing that divides us, since some of these churches
Woudenberg. In addition, a name for the new and grouips have perverted and forsaken the gospel . . .
congregation will have been chosen. As we mentioned As a result of their apostasy from the truth of the
before, suggestions were dropped into the collection gospel, some of these churches and groups employ
plates on March 4. From those suggestions the methods! of evangelism that are dishonoring to the
con&tory selected the names Bethel, Faith, and glorious `Name of God and abhorrent to us, e.g., the
Jenison, which will be submitted to the members of high-pressured efforts to get quick, easy decisions for
the congregation for their vote at the meeting on            Christ; the use of `gospel rock'; the emotional
March 29.                   *****                            non-doctrinal approach of the `Jesus movement'; and
                                                             other methods that do not consist of preaching Christ
   Our news last time included some reference to the         crucified to guilty sinners."
efforts of our mission committee, through the work of          The positive note, at the conclusion of the. reply, is
Rev. Veldman, in Florida. More recently the                  especially noteworthy.     "The Protestant Reformed
Committee has directed its attention, also, to the state     Church of Loveland takes seriously Christ's command
of Pennsylvania. It seems that a number of individuals to her to preach the gospel. We preach the gospel to
in Philadelphia encountered us through the Standard the members of the Church for the feeding of the flock
Bearer  and through various writings of Rev. H.              and to those outside the Church for the gathering of all
Hoeksema. They contacted our Mission Committee,              those whom God has eternally ordained unto eternal
requesting a preaching supply so that they might have life. We wholeheartedly support genuine evangelism,
an opportunity to become better acquainted with our even as we hold dear the true unity of Christ's Church.
views, with which, incidentally, some already feel they      By God's grace, we intend to carry out our high calling
are in complete agreement.                                   to preach the gospel to everyone to whom God sends
   The Mission Committee, anyway, determined to              us in 1973 . . ."
send Rev. Engelsma, who was subsequently released by           That was at the beginning of January. As you read
his consistory in Loveland, to labor for a one month this issue of the  Standard Bearer,  Rev. Engelsma is
period in Philadelphia. Rev. Engelsma planned to fly to laboring in Philadelphia. May we conclude with the
Gran-d Rapids, where he would lease a car, which             closing words in that pastoral letter: "Pray that God
would be driven to Philadelphia, and which would then        may give us an open door and that we may be faithful
be available for his use during his four-week stay in        in our calling."
that city. Our minister from Colorado expected to                                                                D.D.


