     STANDARD
c     BEARER
      A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE





           .





           The acceptance of the doctrine of Predestina-
        tion, with election and reprobation, is not
        according to man, It is not a matter of logical
        argument. It is above all a matter of the regen-
        erated heart that, unconditionally, accepts the
        clear testimony of Scripture. It implies, above
        all, the full acknowledgement that God is GOD
        and that, therefore, He is absolutely sovereign,
        also in the matter of the salvation of man. And
       this acknowledgement is always in conflict with
        our carnal nature. [See page 3011





                                          Volume L, Number 15, May  I.1974  


290                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


MEDITATION


                     God's Glory In Our Salvation

                                                  Rev. M. Shipper


            `<For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God
            by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. "
                                                                                          I Corinthians 1: 2 1.


  Did you notice that three times God's Name is              wisdom of the wise, and by bringing to nought the  _
mentioned in this text?                                      understanding of the prudent. It seemed good to Him
  That should tell us something!                             to do this by saving those that believe through the
                                                             foolishness of preaching.
  It is He Who has the preeminence!                             The preaching, you understand, of the cross of
  If you pass this by, and look only at the last part        Christ!
of the text, and conclude that the salvation of
believers is the important element in the text, then            You will note that earlier in this chapter (verse 1 S),
you would miss the significant element!                      the apostle spoke of the Word of the cross (not the
                                                             preaching, as the translation has it). This Word of the
  Important as the matter of our salvation may be, in        cross, as we pointed out on another occasion, is the
fact so important that we have included it in our            Word which God Himself speaks, and therefore it is
theme, yet we would miss the Word of God here if we          the power of God unto salvation, or a power in those
were to conclude that this was the main thought.             being saved. Now, however, the apostle in our text
  In this day and age, when Arminianism is rampant,          informs us that God is pleased to have that Word of
when even those who call themselves Reformed are             the cross also preached. There is no contradiction
laying stress on saving souls for Christ; when those         here. Rather, there is development of truth. In the
who would be Reformed contradict by saying: not              first instance, the apostle informs us that there is in
man's salvation is first, but God's glory. And when          the cross of Christ the Word of God which is God's
they are being scandalized for doing so, it is time to       power working in those who are being saved; a word
show that the latter, not the former, stand in good          which, at the same time, is foolishness in them that
company.                                                     perish. In the second instance, the apostle informs us
  They stand on the basis of Scripture, and in the           that that same Word of the cross which God speaks
line of the prophets and apostles!                           and which is His power unto salvation, He is pleased
                                                             also to have preached. And this preaching, which the
  They see also in our text that it is the revelation of     world also counts foolishness, God uses to confound
the wisdom and of the good pleasure of God which             the world's wisdom, while at the same time He uses it
receives all the emphasis!                                   to save them that believe.
  It is God Who is revealing His wisdom when He                 But always, whether it be the Word of the cross
confounds the world which, with all of its wisdom,           which God Himself speaks, or the preaching of that
refuses to acknowledge God. It is God Who brings to          Word as delivered by men appointed and sent by
light His sovereign good pleasure, when He through           Him, the content is the same, - the Word of the cross
the preaching of the gospel, which the world counts          of Christ!
foolishness, ordains to save believers. That there are
believers who are being saved through the foolishness           And mind you, that when the Word of God speaks
of preaching is entirely the result of God's sovereign       of the cross of Christ, it has more in mind than to
and eternal good pleasure.                                   portray for us the bloody spectacle that took place
                                                             nearly twenty centuries ago on the hill of the skull,
  Such is the idea and significance of the Word of           when the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified in the midst
God in our text!                                             of the malefactors. That Word of the cross is also the
  God will magnify His wisdom by destroying the              symbol of particular atonement, a symbol of the


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                               291


judgment of the world, a symbol of justification and        education, or some other sphere. We are wise enough
life for all those who are under the blood of the cross.    to see and prudent enough to observe that with all
That Word of the cross is the symbol of the gateway         the latent powers we have of atomic energy, of
to eternal bliss in the house of God's everlasting          science and invention, of abundance of education, we
covenant.                                                   are heading for a catastrophic end, unless someone
   It is all this that God ordains to be preached!          appears soon who will lead us out and show us the
                                                            way. But a Saviour Who must die on a cross, and by
   That is, that Word of the cross must be audibly          the shedding of His blood will save anybody,  -
proclaimed, declared by heralds. In unmistakable            nonsense! We will have nothing of Him! The whole
language the glad tidings of salvation through the          idea is pure foolishness!
cross of Christ must be spoken by messengers
prepared and sent by Christ Himself into all the              And God says, I will make your wisdom to be
world, and to whomever God in His good pleasure             extremely foolish. And what you call foolishness,
will have the gospel come.                                  precisely that will I use to condemn the world and to
                                                            save My people!
   It is this Word of the cross, and its preaching which
the wisdom of the world counts foolishness!                   The only way in which anyone shall be saved is
                                                            through the Word of the cross and its proclamation!
   Surely, when the apostle speaks of the foolishness
of preaching, we are not to conclude that preaching           Disregard the cross, make light of the blood of the
the Word of the cross is actually folly. Rather, we are     cross and count it an unholy thing, and there is no
to understand that the apostle takes the term               hope of salvation for you.' Call the preaching of the
"foolishness" out of the mouth of those who are             Word of the cross foolishness, and you have closed
worldly wise. He means to say, this is what the world       your ears to the only Word that can save you. This is
actually assesses the Word of the cross and its             the only way to salvation pleasing to Me!
proclamation to be, - namely, foolishness.                    God's good pleasure!
  And make no mistake about it, God very really               Ah, it is the most beautiful word in all Scripture
confronts the world, with all its wisdom, and makes         depicting His sovereign counsel and decree. God
that world to look at the cross, and to behold the          found eternal delight in saving His people precisely in
central figure on Calvary as He sheds His life's blood,     this way.
and to hear the announcement, the proclamation,               Why was this way the only way pleasing to Him?
that through the blood of Christ God is saving those
that believe. He will not allow that the world with all       In the first place, because it was in this way He
of its wisdom shall not know anything about it, or          would display His own wisdom. God's wisdom is that
worse still, to ignore it. He makes it so that the world    divine attribute according to which He chooses the
must make a judgment, it must say something. It             best possible end, and determines and uses the best
makes no difference whether that world was present          possible means to attain to that end. The best
when Christ was crucified, which, incidentally, it was;     possible end is His own glory, and the best possible
or whether that world two thousand years later is           means to attain to that glory God also determines and
confronted with the gospel - always God sees to it          uses, namely, His own coming in the Person of His
that the world is to give its assessment. It must say       Son into the world and in our nature, assuming our
something about the Christ of the cross!                    guilt, and bearing in our stead His own wrath over
                                                            against our sin and guilt, and imputing unto us His
  Always the world replies, - foolishness!                  own righteousness and glorifying us with His own
  They laugh, and exclaim: hum-bug, pure                    glory in heavenly places. in Christ Jesus. That is
foolishness!                                                briefly the wisdom of God! It is His wisdom,
  The world asks: Would `you have us believe that a         displayed in the cross of Christ, while it confounds
Man Who calls Himself a mere worm, can possibly be          the wisdom of the world and makes that worldly
the Saviour of the world? Do you mean to tell us that       wisdom exceedingly foolish. And what the world
the world can be saved by the mere blood of an              with all its wisdom calls foolishness, is the display of
innocent Man? 0, we recognize all right that there is       Divine wisdom to save unto the uttermost all who
something wrong with the world. It is surely sick, and      have grace to see it, believe it, and adore it. It was
we need someone who will lead us out of the mess            therefore God's good pleasure through the preaching
and make this world a better place to live in. And we       of the cross to save those believing, in order thereby
are looking for just such a saviour who will bring          to reveal His sovereign and eternal wisdom.
peace to the nations of the world. We are not ready           And, in the second place, in close connection with
to say where this saviour will come from, whether he        the preceding, it was His good pleasure through the
will come from the sphere of science, or the sphere of      preaching of the cross, to be acknowledged as God,


292                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


and God alone. This He accomplishes, first of all, bv        grace is bestowed, embrace the preaching of the Word
making foolish the wisdom of the world. We read in           of the cross with joy and great spiritual satisfaction.
the context: "For it is written, I will destroy (bring      They find in that preaching the God of their salvation
to nought) the wisdom of the wise, and I will bring to       drawing them unto Himself. So, God in His great
nothing the understanding of the prudent." And this         wisdom is pleased to save them and none other.
is precisely what He does when He evokes from the
wise and prudent their judgment concerning the                 And what is it that they believe?
preaching of the cross. He would make their wisdom             First of all, that God is God! That He, and He
to become revealed as utter folly. But, secondly, He        alone, is the all-glorious God, Who does all things for
accomplishes this by saving those who believe. Them         His own glory; also the work of their salvation from
He would save through the Word of the cross, and its        beginning to end.
faithful proclamation.                                         Secondly, they believe that the preaching of the
                                                            cross, with all that that entails, and with all its
   Herein we see the connection between God's glory         contents, is the highest possible revelation of the
and our salvation!                                          glorious wisdom of God.
  Believers are they who possess a certain spiritual           Thirdly, they believe that their faith, whereby they
knowledge of all that God has revealed of Himself in        consciously embrace Him as the God of their
His Word and through the preaching of that Word,            salvation in Christ, is given them, not on the basis of
and have come to rely on and trust in that God as the       merit, but of pure and sovereign grace.
God of their salvation in Christ. Thisfaith, this act of       And they exclaim from the bottom of their hearts,
believing, they do not have of themselves. It is a grace    0, God, how good and how great Thou art! Eternity
divinely bestowed on them. They, upon whom this             will not be long enough to extol Thy praises!


EDITORIALS


                                         Editor's Notes


  QUESTION BOX inquirers, please have patience.               PLEASE NOTE that the correct mailing address of
We have several interesting questions on hand, and          both your editor and the Theological School is
will make a beginning with some answers in the May          GRANDVILLE, Mich. 49418, not Wyoming. We have
15 issue. But lack of that valuable commodity, time,        experienced some delay in our mail because of
on the part of your editor, together with an                incorrect address. For your convenience, here are the
abundance of interesting material for our magazine,         new addresses:
have made postponement of Question Box necessary.
                          ***
  ONE THOUSAND! As you will notice from the                        Prof. H. C. Hoeksema,
ads in this issue, the campaign for one thousand new               4975 Ivanrest Ave., SW.,
subscribers is still going on. The Business Office still           Grandville, Mich. 494 18
needs more names and addresses of potential readers                Phone: (616) 534-7308
to whom a sample copy of our magazine may be sent.
The use of the business reply envelope enclosed with
this issue is not limited to the paid subscriptions               Theol. School of the Prot. Ref. Churches,
advertised in this issue. You may use this envelope               4949 Ivanrest Ave., S.W.,
also to send in more names and addresses. Please do               Grandville, Mich. 49418
so! We need your help!                                            Phone: (616) 531-1490


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                             293




                                           "Encounter  `75"
                                                    Prof H. C. Hoeksema


   This is apparently the name being given in                   denominations and even, if they are inclined to come
Australia to the movement patterned after Key `73 in            under it, Roman Catholics. Such an umbrella is far
the U.S. Under the heading, "Dateline Australia,"               too large for Reformed Christians and for Reformed
Alan Nichols writes about this in the magazine  World           churches. The only umbrella of suitable size for
Vision  (April, `74, p. 13). Mr. Nichols is a  Churchof         Reformed Christians who take their Reformed faith
England clergyman in the Diocese of Sydney,                     seriously and honestly is the umbrella of our
Australia, and is Director of Information (whatever             Reformed Confessions. And though some may think
kind of gospel ministry that may be!) for the Diocese.          the statement too strong, it needs saying: an umbrella
This department in  World Vision  is said to focus              such as is described above will not serve to protect a
"from month to month on significant trends on the               participating church from the fierce wrath of God
several continents." And the contributors (Mr.                  Almighty which will rain down upon its
Nichols among them) are introduced as "skilled                  pseudo-evangelistic efforts and its ungodly
evangelical observers strategically located  Around the         ecumenism. For we must remember that the blessing
globe." Mr. Nichols writes as follows:                          of the Lord can never rest on such ungodliness; and if
       . . .The vision is spreading that we need a              not His blessing, then only His curse can rest upon it.
    concerted effort to evangelize Australia, together          Another possibility there is not.
    with a determination to be responsible for East Asia.       2. The evangelism of this movement will be of the
       With the first aim in view, "Encounter `75" is           same kind as that of Key `73. Encounter `75 is
    being planned. It is not a mass audience crusade, but
    an umbrella cooperation to bring together all the           deliberately being patterned after  Key  `73, and will
    evangelistic efforts planned for next year by               provide "a basic strategy and a resource book for use
    Protestant denominations. The goal is to reach every        by all Christians willing to take part." We cannot
    doorstep (if not living room) of every Australian           warn strongly enough against this and against related
    home. The Baptists and Methodists had already               materials produced  bj; the Christian Reformed
    planned an Australia-wide campaign within their own         Church in connection with Key `73. We refer to
    number, and they are happily bringing their plans           booklets like "Who In the World?" and other such
    under the umbrella.                                         mat&-&. There is, after all, but one "basic strategy"
       Patterned after "Icey `73" in the U.S., "Encounter       for evangelism. That is: PREACH THE WORD! But
    `75" will provide a basic strategy and a resource book      be very sure that it is the Word of the SCRIPTURES,
    for use by all Christians willing to take part. In the      the faith once delivered to the saints, and not a word
    state of Victoria the Roman Catholics will probably         of man.
    bring their "Holy Year 1975" into the campaign.
       "Encounter `75" will be the biggest effort to get          To our Australasian brethren we write: we in the
    church people into vigorous evangelism since the            U.S. have been through all this in connection with
    19 50 Billy Graham campaigns. An upsurge of                 Key  `73.  Our  Standard Bearer  has given extensive
    commitment to the missionary cause is bound to              critique of Key `73 and related matters. And in
    follow, with Australia expressing a new sense of            1  ectures and pamphlets we have instructed and
    responsibility for evangelizing East Asia and the
    Pacific.                                                    warned people of God in the U.S. against this
                                                                movement. You may profit, if you so desire, from
  Reformed Christians ought to take warning when                our experience. Upon requests from brethren in New 8
they read reports such as this, lest they and their             Zealand and Australia we have already shipped to
churches be lured into such a movement by                       New Zealand 200 reprints of an article by Prof.
pious-sounding propaganda. We say this, not because             HBnko on this subject, 1000 copies of Rev.
the proposed "Encounter `75" is likely to be a                  Engelsma's pamphlet on Key `73 to Australia. And
colossal failure from a practical point of view, even as        we are currently preparing to send 1000 copies of a
was Key `73, according to some of its own promoters.            reprint of a Standard Bearer editorial to Australia. We
But we sound this warning because:                              assure the brethren there that we stand ready to help,
1. The movement by its own admission is intended                in the interest of our mutual love of the Reformed
to be  an umbrella,  and that, too, an umbrella big             faith. Any requests for literature sent to our Business
enough to include under it all Protestant                       Office will be taken care of promptly.


  294                                           THE STANDARD BEARER





                   The OPC and the "Free Offer"(S)
                                          CONTRARY TO THE SCRIPTURES


                                                    Pro8 H. C. Hoeksema


     In our last installment on this subject (April 1          child of God that their doctrine is in harmony with
  issue) we began to call attention to the current             this current line of Scripture.
  teaching of Scripture with respect to God's attitude            At the same time, I make bold to say that we, on
  toward the ungodly reprobate, a current teaching             our part, can explain - and have many times in the
  with which any honest exegete must,reckon when he            past explained  - any passage which the proponents
  wants to explain those passages of Scripture which           of the "free offer" may put forth in a way that is in
  have frequently been quoted as proof for an attitude         plain harmony with this current doctrine of
  of favor and lovingkindness on the part of God               Scripture.
  toward the wicked. This matter of Scripture's current
teaching,  as over against the method which merely               And now we turn to the New Testament, in order
  cites a few texts in isolation from that current             to cite a few more passages. For there we find the
  teaching,. is of the utmost importance. For the Word         same teaching as in the Old Testament Scriptures.
  of God is one, and does not contradict itself.                 Think, first of all, of the Lord's teaching that it is
     Hence, this is a matter of utmost seriousness for         the poor in spirit, they that mourn, the meek, they
  the proponents of the "free offer." If they are honest       that hunger and thirst after righteousness, the
  exegetes of Holy Scripture, they must face up to this        merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, who are
  current teaching of God's Word. And then they must           blessed and who enjoy the favor of God. Matthew
  do one of two things: 1) Either they must show               5:3-g. And consider the opposite truth as it is taught
  plainly that their doctrine of a "free offer" and of an      in Matthew 7: 15-23: "Beware of false prophets,
attitude of love on the part of God toward the                 which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly
  reprobate wicked, as it rests upon a relatively few          they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by
  passages of Scripture, is in harmony with that current       their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs
  teaching of the Bible. And this, I am convinced, they        from thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth
  cannot do. 2) Or they must frankly and honestly              good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
  admit that their doctrine does not meet the test of          A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can
  God's Word. A third possibility does not exist: for          a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that
  Scripture does not contradict Scripture.                     bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast
    And it is a striking fact that men like Murray and         into the oven. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
  Stonehouse in their pamphlet and Errol1 Hulse in his         them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,
  pamphlet never trouble themselves about this                 shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven: but he that
  problem. Striking it is, because the passages which          doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many
  constitute a problem - I say it is an insurmountable         will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
  problem  - for their view outnumber by far the               prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast
  passages to which they appeal for support. I myself          out devils? and in thy name have done many
  have only quoted these passages, without expounding          wonderful works? And then I will profess unto them,
  them. I did this for two reasons. In the first place, as     I never knew you; depart from me ye that work
  far as the fundamental teaching of these passages is         iniquity." These words of the Savior Himself
  concerned, they are clear. They speak for themselves.        emphasize the same truth as that set forth in the
  Most of them speak literally of the fact that God            passages cited from the Old Testament: God's favor
  hates certain men,' that He is filled with wrath against     and love are on the righteous, and He hates all the
  them, that He purposes to destroy them,. that His            workers of iniquity.
  curse rests upon them. And, secondly, the burden of            Or consider a chapter like Matthew 23, where the
  proof is upon the proponents of the "free offer."            Lord Jesus pronounces manifold woes upon the
  They must prove to the satisfaction of any simple            scribes and Pharisees. These are the self-righteous


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                       295



ungodly who never come to repentance, who do not                 the creature in preference to the Creator. Let, then,
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Note that Christ               that awful lie become fully manifest as the lie! That is
pronounces nothing but woes upon them, finally                   God's purpose. That is the reason why He "gives
declaring: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how            them over." He does this through the sinful lusts of
                                                                 their own hearts. God's wrath operates upon and into
can ye escape the damnation of hell?: Wherefore,                 those lusts, cursing, corrupting. And they reveal
behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and              themselves in all kinds of debauchery. They practice
scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify;             uncleanness. Men burn in their lust one toward
and some of them ye shall scourge in your                        another,  and. men with men work that which is
synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:                unseemly. Women seek satisfaction of their carnal
That upon you may come all the righteous blood                   lusts in ways contrary to nature. They appear to be
shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous                 filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
                                                                 wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness. They
Abel to the blood of Zacharias the son Barachias,                become full of envy, deceit, debate, murder,
whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.                   malignity, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters,
Verily, I say unto you, all these things shall come              inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
upon this generation." Where, I ask, is there so much            without understanding, covenant-breakers, without
as a hint of the love or favor of God upon these                 natural affection, implacable, unmerciful. And all this
wicked?                                                          corruption and wretchedness, all this death and
  A very significant passage in this connection is               misery is the result of God's righteous wrath revealed
                                                                 from heaven over them that keep the truth in
Romans 1: 18-32, which speaks of the wrath of God                unrighteousness!
revealed from heaven over all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men. Note carefully that this                    Who, then, when he reads this chapter, still has
                                                                 any desire to speak of a "general goodness of God"?
passage does not speak of a wrath of God that is to be
revealed after the day of judgment, but of a wrath in           The same writer adds - and we conclude with this
this present time, operating from heaven upon                 quotation:
mankind as it exists in this present world. About this              Nor do we ever find different language in the New
passage the Rev. Herman Hoeksema writes, in part, in             Testament. It knows nothing of a goodness, favor,
his God's Goodness Always Particular, pp. 141, ff.:              grace, lovingkindness, blessing of God upon the
                                                                 ungodly reprobate. He that believeth on the Son hath
      This explains the revelation of wrath from heaven          everlasting life, but he that obeyeth not the Son shall
   of which Rom. 1 speaks. The very fact that man                not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him,
   knew God and would not serve Him as God, makes                John  3:36. God is merciful to whom He will be
   him the original object of God's wrath. For, God is           merciful and whom He will He hardens, Rom.  9:18.
   terribly displeased with both our original and our            The Scripture saith unto Pharoah that God hath
   actual sins, and will punish them both in time and            raised him up for the very purpose of manifesting His
   eternity. When, therefore, man holds the truth in             power and wrath in him, and to serve the
   unrighteousness, God's wrath is revealed from heaven          proclamation of His glorious name over the whole
   upon him. It is revealed in its terrible operation. And       earth. Unto this purpose He endures with much
   this operation of God's wrath is the curse. This curse        longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted unto
   pursues man, makes him wretched, foolish, so that he
   bends the knee in worship before man and beast and            destruction, Rom.  9:17,  22, 23. The elect indeed
   the creeping thing. Idolatry is no proof of grace, but        obtained salvation, but the rest were hardened. God
   the result of the operation of God's wrath revealed           gave them a spirit of slumber, eyes that they should
   from heaven. Man who pretends to be wise is made              not see, and ears that they should not hear. Their
   foolish by God in His wrath, so foolish that instead of       table became a snare unto them, and a trap, and a
   calling upon the living God he seeks his refuge with          stumblingblock, and a  recompence. Rom.  11:7-g.
   the brute beast and the dumb idol!                            Things take place in parables, in order that they that
                                                                 are without, seeing may see and not perceive, hearing
      And this wrath of God operates to the bitter end.          may hear and not understand, lest they be converted
      That is the teaching of the first chapter of the           and their sins be forgiven them, Mark  4:11,  12.
   Romans. Not of a restraining grace but of a pursuing,         Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias
   always pursuing wrath, the chapter speaks. Always             said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened
   this wrath abides on the ungodly. Always it presses           their heart; that they should not see with their eyes,
                                                                 nor understand with their heart, and be converted
   him more deeply into degradation. Always it makes             and I should heal them, John  12:39, 40. And God
   him more foolish, more wretched, more of a                    resisteth the proud, but He giveth grace unto the
   reprobate mind. This is the meaning of the repeated           lowly, I Pet. 5:5.
   "God gave them over" that occurs in this chapter.
   The words do not express a mere negative notion.             Notice that all these passages speak of God's wrath
  -They do not mean the same as "to let go." They             operating in this present time, in this present world,
   denote an operation of God's wrath whereby the
   ungodly wander away into the death-ways of their           in and through the things which also the ungodly
   ungodliness and corruption even unto the end. They         receive. They speak of the fact that in this present
   changed the truth of God into the he. They glorified       world God is angry with the wicked, that He reveals


296                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



His wrath, makes the ungodly miserable, foolish,            and of a favor or lovingkindness of God extended to
hardens him and through the things of this present          the reprobate ungodly and who would claim that
time, even through his very prosperity, sets him on         Scripture teaches this will have to contend with the
slippery places and casts him down into destruction.        fact that the current teaching of Scripture is the very
                                                            opposite.
   And he who would speak of a "common grace"                  What is your conclusion, reader?


                                  A Step Toward A New
                                 Confession in the GKN(2)
                                               Pr0.f H.C. Hoeksema


             [Editor's Note: Herewith we present the second and third  parts of the "Unanimous
             Testimony of Faith" submitted to the Synod of the GKN The first section appeared in our
             April 15 issue.1


II. The Faith Which We Confess         1                    and has given us an understanding, to know the
  Keeping in mind that which we have already said           Truthful One. And God has revealed it to us by the
regarding our faith in general and our confession of it,    Spirit so that we should know that which has been
that which we further confess as the content of our         given to us by God in grace (Matthew 11:27, I John
universal Christian faith can be summarized in the          5:20, I Cor. 2:10-12).
following 10 points:                                         2. God and Man
 1. God Our Father                                            We believe that God has created man good and
  We believe and confess that God is our Father in          after His image, that He has equipped him as man and
Jesus Christ our Lord. When we speak of Him in this         woman in order to live in fellowship with God, to
way we are saying:                                          know His will and to obey it in freedom;
  that He Who has revealed Himself in Christ is the           that he also has created man in order to inhabit
Origin and Creator of heaven and earth, of all things       and rule the earth as God's covenant partner and
visible and invisible, and that He continues to direct      representative and thus to attain to the temporal and
all things to the goal that He has set in creating the      eternal destiny which God had reserved for him.
world;                                                        Man, however, as far as his history extends, has
  that He is also the one Who has. reconciled the           yielded to the foreign temptation to take the gift of
world to Himself in Christ and continues to call it to      his freedom into his own hand and not to exercise it
Himself by His Word and Spirit in order to live in his      in obedience to God; he has separated his glorious
fellowship;                                                 and powerful responsibility for his own life and for
                                                            the entire history of the world from the fellowship
  that He for this purpose `has established His             with His Creator and has turned away from God.
kingship in Christ among men and that He will bring         Thereby, from the moment that man came under the
this kingdom to victory in the way of salvation and         temptation of evil and fell into sin the history of the
judgment.                                                   human race has taken a turn which is in conflict with
  We thus confess God, the Father, as Creator,              its divine destiny. For man has indeed remained man
Redeemer and Finisher of all things. And we believe         and has not been deprived of his human gifts and
that one cannot in truth speak of Him in his                responsibility, but instead of the privilege of
incomprehensible greatness, wisdom and love in any          possessing and exercising these in the undisturbed
other way than by Jesus Christ our Lord and in the          fellowship with God, this evil choice, as the mother
fellowship of the Holy Spirit. For no man knows the         of all evil has obtained mastery in his life. In the place
Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son wills         of an undivided heart, division has come; in the place
to reveal Him. And we know that the Son has come            of freedom, temptation and slavery. Yes, sin has


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                              297


`obtained control to such an extent in the heart of         Invisible God, the Word that was in the beginning
man and in the entire human race that the good at no        with God and was God and became flesh; the only
time or any place exists without the evil; and that sin     Begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
has become a power which penetrates and determines           4. Justification and Reconciliation
the entirety of human life, individually and
corporately; even when man begins to struggle against          We believe that the reconciliation accomplished by
evil and its effects he encounters an enemy whom he         Christ concerns first of all the relation of man to
can no longer overcome. Therefore we believe that           God. For even as the root of all evil lies in the
men, each one individually, and all of them together,       departure and alienation of man from God, so the
stand guilty before God; are not able to save               entire salvation of life is included in the reconciliation
themselves and to attain to their destiny; that also no     of man with God.
human ideal, however exalted it may be, nor even the           This reconciliation depends so completely upon
law of God Himself can provide for this, but that           God's grace in Christ that the Scripture says that God
only in the power of the blood and of the Spirit of         justifies the ungodly. For this does not only mean
Christ does the reconciliation and the renewal of           that when we turn to God He will accept us but
human life lie.                                             rather that God in Christ's atoning sacrifice has taken
                                                            away the judgment upon our sins before we came to
 3. Jesus Christ, God's Son and our Lord                    Him or called to Him, and has opened for us the way
  We believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the one sent         to Himself. Therefore it can be said that man is
from the Father, the Messiah promised to Israel, the        justified by faith alone, without the works of the law,
Savior of the world. For thus He has made Himself           in order to express that the reconciliation with God
known during his life on earth, as the Son of God           does not rest in our good works or in repentance but
who came to call men back to God and to bring them          only in the completed work of Christ, and that we
by the power of his words and deeds under God's             may be a partaker thereof freely, by faith alone.
saving lordship.                                              The power of this reconciliation is so great that it
  Moreover He has also for our salvation assumed our        embraces the entirety of our life. For by reconciling
guilty existence that was subject to death and has          us to God Christ saved us from the power of sin and
given Himself for us when He, in the deep humiliation       brought us under His lordship. Therefore, with- an
of His suffering and death on the cross put Himself in      appeal to this great mercy of God, we are admonished
our place in the judgment of God as the Lamb of God         to present our, entire life as a sacrifice to God, to
Who takes away the sin of the world.        :               forgive others as people whose guilt is forgiven and to
  God Himself has confirmed in the most glorious            show to one another the love with which God has
way that which His Son had thus finished, in                loved the world; and furthermore to live no longer
accordance with His will when He raised Him from            under the lordship of the powers and people who are
the dead, exalted Him as Lord and Christ, and gave          estranged from God but to stand in'the  freedom with
Him a Name that is above every name in heaven and           which Christ has made us free; that is, in submission
on earth. For not only does that which he has done          to God and in imitation of Christ.
retain eternal power, but He Himself also rules us as         This connection which the Scriptures establish
the living Lord by His Word and His Holy Spirit. Yes,       between the reconciliation and the renewal of our life
we believe according to His Word that to Him all            is so close that they warn us that without
power has been given in heaven and on earth against         sanctification no one will see the Lord (Hebrews
every power of sin and darkness, and that He will lead      12: 14) and that the tree is known by its fruits
the world to the righteousness and liberation of God's      (Matthew 7:16-20). Therefore the church has rightly
holy and eternal kingdom.                                   confessed the relation between faith and works and
  Therefore our words fail when we value and                has connected the certainty of faith to its fruits
confess Him according to His true worth. He is our          (Lord's Day 32). Hereby the ground for our faith is
Brother and He is our Lord. He has become like us in        not again transposed to our good works but the holy
everything, born of a woman, generated from the             purpose that God has established in the reconciliation
seed of David and yet not by the power of natural life      of our human life is impressed upon our hearts with
but He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the        such power that this connection must continue to fill
virgin Mary. He became poor while He was rich and           us with fear and trembling and must force us that
became man by emptying Himself. For it was God              much more to seek the only source and power for all
Himself Who came to us in Him and reconciled the            our life not in ourselves but in the love with which
world to Himself. And so we confess and adore Him           God has loved us.
with the exalted names which the Scriptures                  5. The Kingdom of Christ
themselves give Him, such as the Image of the                 We believe that the Kingdom of Christ has gone


298                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



out into the world as a saving spiritual lordship to              God's gracious election however has become
join battle with the powers of darkness, sin and death         apparent in particular in the calling of Israel, the
which hold the life of man in servitude. Christ                people of God's Covenant, whom He endued with the
exercises this lordship by His Word and the Holy               special knowledge of His will, with the ministry of
Spirit as the ministry of reconciliation, and we believe       reconciliation and prophetic revelation, and whom
that God saves all who heed it from the power of               He, in spite of all its errors, preserved and destined as
darkness and transports them into the kingdom of the           His people to be a blessing for all nations on earth.
Son of His love.                                               For in the Messiah of Israel the mercy of God and His
   This lordship of the crucified and risen Lord is            love for mankind has appeared so clearly and
proclaimed to us as the triumphal disarmament of all           powerfully that in His church no distinction of sex,
principalities and powers (Col. 2: 15). In the light of        or race, or class, or nation is valid any longer but
these words which far surpass all our thoughts                 Christ is all and in all.
concerning the world that is visible to,us and discloses          Therefore we believe that there is one, holy,
the depth of the power of the cross against all shame          catholic, Christian church, built upon the foundation
and human pride, we believe that this lordship of              of the apostles and prophets, and. which knows no
Christ is not limited to a specific life relation, also not    other boundaries than those of the Lordship of the
to that of the church, but that where it is accepted it        Word and the Spirit of Christ and whose oneness and
reveals itself as a liberating and renewing power in the       holiness lie exclusively in its submission to this
entirety of the life of men. It establishes peace and          lordship, Moreover this dependence of the church
righteousness; it joins battle with injustice and              upon its Lord is so complete that the church may also
suppression; it kindles hope in the hearts of man; and         be called the body of Christ, in order to express that
it keeps faith in the future alive. And although there         it derives its existence, its oneness and its diversity
are many forces in the world which want to liberate            solely from its fellowship with Him.
life from misery and injustice, in which we recognize
that God continues to write His law on the hearts of             We believe that this congregation which is built in
man, nevertheless the Lordship of Christ is to be              its holy faith by the ministry of Word and sacrament
discerned and known herein that it does not teach us           has been put in the world to confess God's Name, to
to search for the salvation of life in the power and           proclaim the gospel to all nations, and in its activities
will of man himself but in the power of His blood and          in the world to stand in the service of the coming of
His Spirit and in the return of man to God. Therefore          the Kingdom of Christ.
the Kingdom of Christ and the service of                         When we thus speak about the church we realize
reconciliation that proceeds from it in the world is           that the church as we have learned to know it from
for man, but not according to man. It both saves and           history and as it exists to this day displays only very
it judges; it both establishes peace and it divides. Only      partially the image of the one, holy, and universal
then will it fill the entire earth and make all things         church and that it has often been difficult, and still is,
new when every knee will bow before Him and every              to recognize it as such.
tongue will confess Him as Lord and the last enemy,
which is death, will have been destroyed.                        When we nevertheless persist in this confession
                                                               concerning the church it is not as if we wanted to
 6. The Church                                                 retain an unreal and unattainable ideal, but rather
   We' believe that Christ whose Kingdom                       because we believe that God who knows His own has
comprehends all times and places, has Himself                  preserved his church in the midst of much apostasy
gathered a church and still continues to gather it by          and deformation and every time anew will bring it to
the preaching of the Gospel from all the nations of            clearer manifestation; and further because in the
the world.                                                     midst of the dividedness of the church in which often
   It may also be said of this church that it has been         something entirely different than the richness of
chosen by God before the foundation of the world               diversity comes to light it remains an urgent task for
(Eph. 1:4). For the only and unshakable ground of its          the entire church to do everything possible to
existence lies in God's council and good pleasure to           manifest the visible unity which the Lord Himself has
form a new mankind in Christ from the world which              oriented toward the faith of the world (John  17:23)
has fallen and is estranged from God, and to call it as        and which is a sign of true discipleship (John 13 :35).
His people to Himself.                                         This unity in the midst of all human estrangement
                                                               and brokenness belongs essentially to the church
  Therefore we recognize this church where men                 which herein also is the light of the, world and the
from ancient times have understood the voice of God            city on the hill, visible to all. In the expectation of
and have followed it and. have lived in the expectation        the one flock under the one shepherd, the church is
of the coming salvation.                                       ever and again called to the testing of its confession


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   299



and life according to the Gospel that is revealed in       tradition until He comes. It eats of the bread and
order to unite all under the one Name.                     thus, going from strength to strength, faces the
 7. Baptism and the Holy Supper                            future. It hands the cup from person to person, those
                                                           who are going to those who are coming; and it does
  We believe that by the Holy Baptism in the name          this in the expectation of the great future of which
of the Triune God we are taken up into the                 the Scriptures often speak as the great weeding
fellowship of Christ and of the church as His body.        banquet in which Christ will unite His people in His
  By means of joining this sign of the washing away        fellowship in the Kingdom of His Father.
of sin to incorporation into the church, Christ has         8. The Holy Spirit
grounded our membership in the church entirely in
the atonement as it has proceeded from God has been           We believe that the church can exist in the world
accomplished by Christ, and is communicated by the         only by the power and the guidance of the Holy
work of the Holy Spirit to all who believe. Therefore      Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son. For
baptism can be called the sign and seal of God's           the Spirit maintains fellowship between the church
covenant, the baptism into the death of Christ, and        and its Lord in heaven and leads it through history
the baptism with the Holy Spirit.                          toward the future of Christ and of His Kingdom in
                                                           glory.-
  From this meaning of baptism and all its
descriptions, it clearly appears that the church is not       We believe that the Spirit is the gift of Christ and
a mere institution of man to which we are able to join     that no one can belong to Christ and His church
ourselves and from which we can separate ourselves         without the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit turns us away
according to our wishes, but that our membership           from ourselves and converts us to God. He teaches us
therein depends only on God's electing grace by            to put our trust completely in the sacrifice of Christ
which He has called us to Himself and to His holy          offered once for all on the cross, to call upon God as
church. Therefore baptism and our incorporation into       our Father and to dedicate our whole life to Him. He
the church remain valid our whole life long and we         is not the Spirit of slavish fear, but the Spirit of
cannot divest or separate ourselves from them              freedom and childlike confidence, the Spirit of grace
without separating ourselves from Christ.                  and of prayer.
  The church from early times onward has rightly             We believe that we share in the gift of the Spirit of
baptized also the children of believers. For God calls     Christ as members of His Body. For we participate
us to His gracious fellowship with all that we have        personally in the salvation of Christ solely in
and all that we are, also with our children. Therefore     fellowship with all who belong to Him by a true faith.
the little children who themselves are yet incapable of    Therefore we confess the communion of the saints.
a deliberate choice of faith are by baptism, as            For as there are many members, each with its own
children of believers, to be  incorporate,d into the       gift in the rich diversity of the fullness of Christ, so it
church and brought under the lordship of the Word          is one and the same Spirit who performs this all,
and the Spirit of Christ.                                  namely the Spirit of the body. Moreover, for the
  Christ has also, in the night in which He was            advancement of the unity of the faith and love, Christ
betrayed, instituted the Holy Supper and has given to      has established offices and ministries in the church to
His disciples the bread and the wine to eat and drink      build it in the faith and to equip it for service, both in
as signs of His body and blood unto a lasting              its mutual relations and in its dealings in the world.
remembrance.                                               We therefore recognize the Body of Christ, the
                                                           working of the Spirit, and the maturity of the
  Therewith He has directed the eyes of His church         believers, of which the Scripture speaks most clearly,
for all times to the atoning sacrifice which He            where the church has not lost its way by various
brought once for all, whose saving power may be            errors but, held together by the bond of love in the
proclaimed and celebrated at the Supper of the New         multiplicity of gifts in the one Spirit and in the
Covenant and therein shall in this sacrifice that is       distinctiveness of the members displays the one body
bestowed and confirmed to his own in a most                and knows how to make this serviceable for the
personal way.                                              advancement of the Kingdom of Christ.
  Therefore we in the Holy Supper direct our hearts
upward where Christ is. For it is from His own hand         9. Church and World
that we eat and drink and it is His own presence that         We believe that God has called His church out of
makes the holy bread and the holy drink to be a food       the world and thus has made a distinction between
and drink of eternal life.                                 church and world. We understand the world to be the
  By thus continuing to celebrate the Holy Supper,         life that has been estranged from God and His service
the church proclaims the death of its Lord as a holy       and the way of thinking and doing that derives from


 300                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


 this estrangement. Therefore we also believe that the       in hope, we know the present to be bound upon our
 marks of the church are not a given implied in its           soul, not as a burden but as a gift and a task from
 separation itself but consist in the dedication of life     Him who goes before us into the future, and who will
 to God, in the understanding and the doing of His           require an account from everyone concerning his
 will, in the struggle against sin, and in thus not being    -deeds, whether they be good or evil. Therefore our
 conformed to the world.                                     expectation is also our perseverance and our prayer is
   Although God is angry against and hates sin, He           for steadfastness to abound in the work of the Lord,
 has nevertheless loved the world in His mercy and has       knowing that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him
 reconciled it to Himself. Therefore we believe that         and that which happens for the hallowing of His
the church in its dealing with the world must be             name and for the coming of His Kingdom is not in
 controlled no less by God's love for the world than         vain or for nought.
by His aversion toward sin. For God has not only
commissioned the church to proclaim the Gospel to            III. Conclusion
all men to the end of the age, but He has also
overcome the power of evil in Christ so that the                When we now finally once more look at what we
world is preserved for the future of the Lord and for        have confessed above regarding the saving power of
the consummation of His Kingdom. Therefore the               the blood and the Spirit of Christ and the image of
church may not withdraw itself from the world, as if         the church as that is pictured for us in the Scriptures,
this had been abandoned by God to the powers of sin          we realize more deeply and we confess with shame
and corruption; but it is called, in imitation of its        how far short we have fallen in our life as new men
Lord, to proclaim the Gospel and to turn with help           and in the manifestation of the body of Christ. For
and love to that which is lost, to the poor and the          while we confess that our entire salvation depends on
oppressed; also to join the battle for peace among the       faith, upon the imitation of and the future of Christ
nations and for making and maintaining those laws            our Lord, our heart is often divided, is misled by love
which promote freedom and righteousness for all              of self and is ensnared by fear of men and worldly
people; in order thus also to point a way to the             intentions. And while the church confesses her unity
Kingdom of peace and righteousness, in which God             and certainty in Christ, it is shamefully divided, is
will dwell among men, no one will do unrighteousness         diffident in its confession, and often succumbs to the
or suffer unrighteousness, and God will wipe away all        temptation to be led more by the wisdom and the
tears from their eyes.                                       favor of men than by obedience and love to the Lord.
                                                                All of this must surely not make us detract from
10. The Future of the Lord                                   the confession that Christ is the only and complete
   We believe that we are on the way to the future of        Saviour or to preserve it for better days. To the
the Lord, in which He will make all things new and           contrary, the awareness of our own weakness and sin
will glorify our presently imperfect existence that is       should make us understand and recognize more
subject to death. For even as Christ has made Himself        deeply how great and incomprehensible the love is
one with us in all things, so we also will participate in    with which God has sought us in Christ, and
His resurrection and victory over death. Therefore the       continues to seek us; it must also prevent us that
Scripture calls Him the Second Man, the Beginning,           much more from wanting to found the certainty of
the First Begotten from the dead in order to express         our faith and confession, for ourselves or for others,
that Christ by His resurrection is the beginning of a        on anything or anyone else than on Jesus alone.
new world and a new humanity in which all who                  Nevertheless it must be said of our confession as
belong to Him will receive incorruptible life. But this      has been written of the Kingdom of God, namely that
is all from God Who completes what He has begun,             it does not consist in words but in power; for faith
Who makes the dead to live and calls that which is           also is dead if it does not bring forth fruits; and it is
not into being, and has given us the life-giving Spirit      not at all a true church if it is not prepared to reform
as a first down payment and seal of eternal life.            itself again and again according to the Word of God.
  Therefore we confess that we live in the hope of             Therefore we conclude by saying that we cannot
the coming Kingdom of God. A hope that is so great           confess the Name of God except in deep humility and
and glorious that we cannot imagine the reality              with a continuing call for the help of His Spirit in
thereof, and much less can we bring it about,                order to preserve intact that which He has entrusted
although God has put us in this life to serve in the         to us and to put it in service of that for which He has
coming of His Kingdom. This hope is so closely               given it to us. And as for what further concerns the
joined with our faith that we recognize that without         church in its activities in the world: although it lives
it we would have put our faith in Christ in vain and         from the forgiveness of sins and confesses that it has
would be the most miserable of all men. But in living        not yet laid hold and is not yet perfect, nevertheless


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                       301


it may never, in all its decisions and questions to              given it. For those who will have confessed Him
which it is put, and in all its speaking or remaining           I before men He will confess before His Father who is
silent let go of the great question what it `will answer / in heaven; but those who will have denied Him before
its Lord when He will come and will ask it to give an i men, He will also deny when in the great judgment
account of its confession before Him, that is: of its  / the Father will have entrusted all judgment to the
response to that which He in His grace has said and [ Son.
                                                           !




                     The Standard Bearer
                              In Retrospect
                                     Rev. G. Van Buren


                The year 19.53 is a year remembered well by most of, the older members of the
              denomination. It marked the point of departure by many who had formerly belonged in the
              Protestant Reformed Churches. The controversy caused deep grief and even division within
          families. Many articles in the Standard Bearer during this period treat that controversy. God
              used that controversy, too, to strengthen the church and to cause it anew to search the
              Scriptures to see what things were true. The following is an editorial of the late Rev. H.
              Hoeksema who experienced the brunt of the battle of those days.

                                         "THEHEARTOFTHEMATTER"

                                              Rev. H. Hoeksema

  The later it becomes in the day of the recent                    And when all the dust of lying and camouflage is
history of our Protestant Reformed Churches, the                 raised (should be: laid) and the ecclesiastical sky is
more it becomes and will become apparent that the                cleared up, history will justify, not them, but us.
heart of the whole'matter is the doctrine of election
and the truth of sovereign grace.                                                          *****
  This we should never forget.                                     The history of doctrine clearly shows that what
                                                                 calls itself church in the world never maintained and
  This truth the Protestant Reformed Churches                    stood foursquarely, for any prolonged period of time,
always wanted and still want to maintain.                        on the truth of election and reprobation and of the
  But this truth those that apostatized from us and              sovereign grace of God in the salvation of the sinner.
from those churches deny.                                          We but have to mention the names of Augustine,
  They may claim, as they still do, that they are                Calvin, the Synod of Dordrecht, Kok, Kuyper, to
Protestant Reformed and that they are a continuation             verify this statement.
of the Protestant Reformed Churches; but no one                    Augustine, we know, defended the truth of
with a sound and unprejudiced mind will believe                  sovereign grace over against Pelagius. And over against
them, and history will surely justify us in claiming             all opposition he became more strongly confirmed in
that not they but we are the Protestant Reformed                 this truth as the years of his life sped by.
Churches..                                                         The question that was in dispute between
  They may seek refuge in all kinds of lies, slander,            Augustine and Pelagius was, strictly speaking, not
and false quotations, and even become' guilty of                 directly concerned with the truth of predestination.
perjury, as they do, this merely corroborates the fact
above mentioned and even shows that  Itheir own                     It rather was concentrated about the total depravity
conscience condemns them.                                        of man.


302                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



   Pelagius taught, as is evident especially from the        Julianus.
teachings of`his chief disciple, Coelestinus, that Adam        It is interesting to note that they came with the
would have died even if he had not sinned; that all          same arguments which the opponents of this truth
children are born in the same state and condition in         advance today. They appeal to such passages of
which Adam stood before the fall; that the sin of            Scripture as I Tim. 2:4, Matt. 23:37, and Rom. 2:4.
Adam, therefore, concerned him alone and not the             But they also adduced other arguments such as that
whole human race; that, whereas the whole human              the doctrine of predestination implies the acceptance
race was not corrupted in Adam and dies because of           of the -person, that it makes God the author of sin,
his sin, all do not participate in the resurrection          that it denies the responsibility of man, that it is
through the resurrection of Christ; that the law as          determinism and fatalistic.
well as the gospel can cause us to enter into the
kingdom of heaven; that, before the coming of Christ,          But also Augustine's disciples began to have
some have lived without sin; that grace is not               questions.
necessary to live a holy life; that grace is given to man      In his lifetime there arose those that are known as
according to his merit.                                      Semi-pelagians. They taught that God, on His part, is
   It stands to reason that, when Augustine opposed          ready to save all men, that God's calling comes to all
this Pelagian doctrine, he must needs come to the            men, but that while God seriously offers salvation to
doctrine of predestination. The truth of total               all, all do not accept it. Only those are saved that
depravity and that of absolutely sovereign grace are         believe and those God has from eternity chosen in His
inseparably connected.                                       foreknowledge.
   Only one that teaches that God, on His part, is             When these Semi-pelagians spread their doctrine,
willing to save all on condition of faith, can teach         which soon was embraced by many, Prosper, one of
that it is our act of conversion that causes us to enter     the disciples of Augustine, addressed several questions
into the kingdom of God.                                     to him; and from the very nature of these questions it
                                                             is evident that even he is in doubt and is in need of
   On the contrary, one that maintains the truth of          more light. He would like Augustine to show very
Scripture that God does not promise salvation to             clearly what danger there is in the Semi-pelagian
every man on condition of faith, but that He saves           conception, he points out that even the fathers before
only His elect, will also insist that, not our act of        Augustine had taught a predestination which is based
conversion, but only the power of God's                      on foreknowledge, and especially would he like
predestinating grace can cause us to enter into the          Augustine to show that the doctrine of predestination
kindgom of heaven.                                           does not eliminate the ethical choice of the will of
  Hence, through the controversy with Pelagius,              man.
Augustine was led to a deeper contemplation of                 From these very questions it is evident that even
predestination and God's sovereign grace.                    Prosper, one of the most faithful disciples of
   He emphasized that man is utterly dependent upon          Augustine, began to question Augustine's
sovereign grace and, therefore, on sovereign election,       presentation of the truth of predestination.
to know or to will or to do any good at all. Nor can           Augustine, however, answered all these questions
anyone make himself ready or worthy to receive this          in two tracts. In these he maintains very strongly the
grace. Grace is strictly first and absolutely sovereign.     truth of election and reprobation, enters rather
And this grace is bestowed only on the elect, through        broadly into the various questions asked him, and
the Holy Spirit that is given unto them. Man can do          emphasizes that his doctrine is not based on any
nothing about it. The Holy Spirit is the great gift of       philosophical arguments, but only on the testimony
God, the beginner and perfecter of all the work of           of Holy Writ.
salvation, and this Spirit is given only to the elect.         However, the opponents were not convinced by
  The point I wish to make, however, in this                 these tracts.
connection, is that the church as a whole and
officially did not maintain this truth very long in all        This could be expected.
its purity.                                                    The acceptance of the doctrine of Predestination,
  Even in his lifetime it was already denied or, at          with election and reprobation, is not according to
least, camouflaged.                                          man. It is not a matter of logical argument. It is above
                                                             all a matter of the regenerated heart that,
  That those who always were enemies of the truth            unconditionally, accepts the clear testimony of
of predestination attacked him does not surprise us,         Scripture. It implies, above all, the full
of course.                                                   ,acknowledgement  that God is GOD and that,
   They were especially men like Coelestius and              therefore, He is absolutely sovereign, also in the


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                303



matter of the salvation of man. And this                     the former he wants to explain only from the good
acknowledgement is always in conflict with our               pleasure of God. But next to this, he also teaches a
carnal nature.                                               general will of God for the salvation of all men. It
  Instead, therefore, of allowing themselves to be           stands to reason that, in the light of this general will
persuaded by the arguments of Augustine, the                 of God unto salvation the doctrine of reprobation
Semi-pelagians strengthened themselves in their              could not be maintained. That many are lost cannot
opposition. With all sorts of human arguments they           be attributed to God's will of reprobation but only to
blasphemed the truth of predestination and placed it         their own will. That many are saved is because of
in a very unfavorable light. Once more they argued           God's gracious election, but that some are lost is
that Augustine's doctrine was fatalistic, that by it         caused only by their own rejection of the grace of
men are driven to sin and death. A pious life, so they       God.
argued, was of no avail since God does not want to             Thus came the Synod of Orange in 529.
save the reprobate anyway. God, according to the               This synod has often been characterized as
doctrine of Augustine, so they said, wills sin and is its    standing on the basis of Augustine's doctrine of
Creator. The choice of man's will, whether it be to          election and reprobation and fully maintaining the
g o o d   o r   e v i l , means nothing since  God"s         Augustinian doctrine of predestination.
predestination determines and works all things, both
good and evil.                                                 Nothing could be farther from the truth.
  Thus they blasphemed.                                        It was rather clearly evident that the synod was
                                                             very much afraid of the strict doctrine of
  On the other hand, however, these men cast the             predestination as Augustine had maintained it.
accusation of downright Pelagianism far from them.
And so they assumed a position between Augustine               It is true that the synod confessed the total
and Pelagius, which is, of course, impossible.               incapability of the natural man to do any good. But,
  They believed in original sin, but denied that             on the other hand, the infallibility and irresistibility
through this, man is dead in sin and misery. He is not       of the grace of God was denied. As to the doctrine of
entirely incapable of choosing the good. He is only          predestination, the synod really said nothing at all
weakened. The seeds of virtue are still implanted in         about a reprobation, but thought it sufficient to
his soul, but they can sprout only thrdugh God's             reject a predestination to evil. They assumed really a
grace. Man, therefore, has a certain receptivity for the     thoroughly apologetic attitude over against the
grace of God. He has a free will and this ,cooperates        semi-pelagians.
with the grace of God in the internal calling. God             May this bit of early history warn us not to assume
certainly wills that all men shall be saved. The call of     a half-hearted attitude over against the stand of those
the gospel comes to all. And that many are not saved         that have recently departed from us and apostatized
is due only to man's rejection of God's calling. God's       from the Protestant Reformed truth.
election is based on His foreknowledge. Of
reprobation they must have nothing. All men can be              Remember that their official stand is that the
saved if they only will.                                     promise of God is for every one, on condition that
                                                             they believe; and that our act of conversion is a
  It is true that the teachings of Augustine still found     prerequisite which we must fulfill before we can enter
defenders. Among these was Prosper, `whom we                 into the kingdom of God.
mentioned before. But their defense was very half
hearted. They conceded too much to the opposition.             Reformed? Protestant Reformed?
Prosper, for instance, certainly, maintained the               God forbid that we should ever be deceived to even
doctrine of election and reprobation, and especially         imagine that it is!





                       Know the standard and follow it. Read THE STANDARD BEARER.


304                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


ALL AROUND US


                                  A Portrait of a Heretic
                                                   Pro$ H. Hanko


   It was originally my intention to comment in this           There was dishonesty in his speech and in his
article on the report of a speech  by Dr. H. Berkhof        a n s w e r s   t o   q u e s t i o n s .   H e   d e s c r i b e d   t h e
which we quoted in the last issue of the  Standard          historical-critical method of Bible interpretation as
Bearer, It is better to postpone this for the time being    being nothing more than inquiries into innocent
`and devote this column to a report of an interesting       questions of authorship, date of writing, purpose of
speech delivered by Dr. John Tietjen, the ousted            writing of a particular book of the Bible. This is a
president of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis,               falsehood, as Tietjen well knew - although perhaps
Missouri. The Seminary belongs to the Lutheran              90% of his audience did not.
Church  - Missouri Synod (LCMS). Dr. Tietjen has               Although he was careful, he repudiated the
been touring the country to make propaganda for his         confessions. This too is typical of heretics.
cause and for Seminex, the Seminary in exile which          Historically heretics have always wanted to bypass
he has established along with the professors and            the confessions and appeal directly to Scripture. This
students who support him.                                   sounds pious, but it is wrong. Tietjen openly
  Prof. Hoeksema and I attended this speech and             advocated this approach, as became evident in the
took a tape recording of the speech ,and most of the        question hour.
question hour which followed (until the recorder ran           We quote the question hour below. There was only
out of tape.) The impression which most strongly            a fraction of the questions answered before time ran
emerged was that Dr. Tietjen presented a picture of a       out; and we did not get the last part of the last
typical heretic.                                            question on our recorder. This was unfortunate since,
  Dr. Tietjen is, as so many heretics in the past have      in a way, the last question was the most important of
been, a gracious, urbane, witty and personable man.         those answered. Here follows our transcript.
He is an able and gifted speaker. He held most of the
audience in his hand. He laughed easily  - even at              Q. Why are you called Modern or Liberal if, as you
.himself. He took great pains never to speak a harsh            say, we believe in the Bible in its- full purity and
                                                                truth?
word; in fact, he never mentioned his opponents. He
was, beyond doubt, influential in persuading many of            A. I don't know why I am labelled Moderate or
the rightness of his position.                                  Liberal, or why some people are  labelled
                                                                Conservatives. I think probably that is a result of an
  His speech proper is not really worth including in            effort of the Press who have tried to find convenient
the article. As a matter of fact, he really said almost         ways to tag people about whom they are writing, so
nothing in the twenty-five minutes he addressed the             they may describe one group overagainst another
audience. He was very careful to include a personal             group. And they have decided that one group is to be
confession of faith in his speech which sounded as if           called Conservatives, and the other group is to be
he were the most orthodox and conservative of                   called Moderates. Everybody has an idea that when
Lutherans, but which was sufficiently broad and                 you talk about the Missouri Synod people you have
                                                                to be talking about everybody as Conservatives. For
general and vague that other interpretations could be           we aII really are that. I consider myself to be a
given to his words. In the speech (and in the question          conservative and a confessional Lutheran. If people
hour) he spoke, e.g., of believing the authority of             want to make me a label, I guess there's not too much
Scripture, but never explained what he meant by this            that I can do about it. But I am sure I am not a liberal
and in how far he accepted it. He professed faith in            in the sense that I am against any of the teachings of
miracles, but spoke of the greatest of miracles as              the Church.
being the faith, love and peace experienced by those            Q. Dr. Tietjen said, "I believe that Concordia
`who are a part of Seminex. He claimed to believe in            Seminary is in trouble because the faculty has taken
the historicity of Genesis 2, but said the important            the Scriptures in utter seriousness and tend to let
thing in that chapter is that you and I are Adam and            them speak for themselves in fuIl force." Would you
Eve.                                                            please explain this statement.


                                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                              305


A. Yes, I think that when I was a student at                                           Testament courses. But I couldn't preach on the Old
Concordia Seminary, primarily emphasis of the                                          Testament. I preached on the Epistles and the
Seminary was on dogmatic subjects. That is, on the                                     Gospels. Since I have come back to Concordia
great doctrines as they have been formulated by our                                    Seminary, I have learned a great many things from
systematicians, especially as they were formulated by                                  the professors and the students who are there. I now
Dr. Franz  Pieper.  It's not that we didn't study the                                  am able to preach on all the Old Testament with great
Bible; we did. But' the primary emphasis  ,was on                                      ease and freedom, as a result of their helping me to
looking at the system of doctrine as it comes to us                                    become a better student of the Bible. And I think
from the past. And those who did teach us to study                                     that's probably true for a lot of people in the
the Scriptures had a particular way of going about it.                                 IIlillbtl-y.
That is, they were the exegetes, as we call them                                     Here appears a question which was answered by
( p e o p l e   w h o   d i g   o u t   t h e   m e a n i n g   o f   t h e        another man, a missionary  who had also addressed
Scriptures). . . . They did the work, and they
presented the work to us. And we listened to them,                                 the meeting.  We  omit it because it wasn't really
and we absorbed what it was that they had to say.                                  relevant.
When I got back to Concordia Seminary in 1969, I                                       Q. If the LCMS is so bad, why don't you just kindly
discovered that things were different. The emphasis                                    get out?
was really not on Dogmatics; the emphasis was on the                                   A. Oh yes, I thought about that. That is one of the
s t u d y   o f   t h e   B i b l e .   T h o s e   w e r e   t h e   m a j o r        options that are open to anyone in the midst of a
concentration of courses at the Seminary. And even                                     problem, and I realize that it is an option open to me.
the teaching of the study of the Bible was different                                   And I don't mind telling you that there are a large
from what it was in my time. The basic emphasis of                                     number of people who have suggested that to me.
the professors was to help the  student  become his                                    However, the Lutheran Churches and the Missouri
own exegete so that  he  would be able to figure out                                   Synod is  my  Church. I have been brought up in this
the meaning of the text on his own. And what we                                        Church body. It is the Church body that has nurtured
have done is to take with utter seriousness that Bible                                 my faith and through which I have found my Lord,
which is out there before us. And we have attempted                                    and in which I have had opportunity to be of service
to find out what it is that God has given to us in His                                 to God in a variety of different ways. Why should I
Word. We do that in a variety of different ways. We                                   leave my Church just because it made some mistakes?
are concerned to know (and here is where that                                          I think that what I should do is to  help  my Church
bug-a-boo phrase that gets everybody worried comes                                     correct its mistakes. Our Church body is in trouble;
in) the historical-critical method. We are concerned to                                that is, it's in trouble especially at the national,
know about the history that is behind the writing of                                   synodical level. I don't think it is in trouble in the
these books. How did they come to be? It's                                             grass roots. I find, as I go around, that there is a great
important to know when the particular writing was in                                   deal that is warm and wonderful and marvelous about
use so that you may know the  purpose; because                                         the LCMS, and in the people that serve this Church,
writings are always written for a purpose, including                                   and in the pastors that are attempting to minister to
the writings of the Holy Scriptures. We were                                           them. That's why I am expending my time and
concerned to know the particular nature of the                                         energy in talking to pastors and people in the
material that we were studying so that we might                                        Missouri Synod. Because I think that as we talk with
understand its meaning. It makes a difference if a                                     one another and understand what the facts and
particular portion of the Scripture is history, or if it's                             problems are in our Church, the rank and file of the
a story, or if it's poetry, or if it's prophecy, or if it's                            people in the Church will know how to solve the
law, or if it's apocalyptic literature. That's the whole                               problems. And I think we're going to be a better
business of criticism. You have to make a judgment                                     Church as a result. I want to stay here and be a part
or an evaluation of the nature of the material. And                                    of it.
we were concerned by its discovery to help our young
men do that work by themselves. And in the process                                     Q. With such deep doctrinal differences between
of merely studying the Scriptures on its own terms                                    Moderates and Conservatives, is there any hope for
apart from some kind of traditional understanding,                                    the Synod? or is schism the only way? Must we wait
that is, some sort of expectation of what you were                                     for the next Conference for a change?
going to find when you read a particular section of                                   A. Yes, there is hope. No, we don't have to wait for
Scripture; we came to all sorts of new understanding                                  the next Convention for a change. It is a false hope to
and new insights, into the message of the Scriptures.                                  assume that the solutions lie in Church Conven-
But then, in addition, we went at the Scriptures the                                   tions, in structure, in organization. This is one
way a Lutheran always does: we searched the                                            of the things that I am trying to say, in what I said.
Scriptures in order to see the message of the gospel                                  (The reference is to his speech in which Tietjen
that is being proclaimed there. And for that reason                                    rejected the authority of church assemblies, H.H.)
we have been called gospel reductionists in the                                       There is hope, precisely because there is a God, and
Church,  - whatever that ghastly phrase may mean.                                     there is His good news which is the power that makes
And so -, but what we have attempted to do is to lay                                   us one. As we speak His good Word to one another,
out actual material of the Bible. You know, I had Old                                 we can overcome the differences. As I talk to the


306                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



        people of the Church, I find two things about people             by which to tell us what we are to  find in God's
        in the Church. Number one: they are concerned that               Word. And that's why we are setting forth that that is
        the Missouri Synod should continue to be a Church                the principle against which Martin Luther had to
        that stands for something. They want it to stand on              contend at the time of the Reformation. It's the
        the Bible and on the Lutheran Confessions. They                  principle of elevating the tradition above the
        want to stand for the doctrine of the Church. They               Scriptures1 It's the principle of what's making the
        don't want a watered-down teaching. And I agree                  Church as an institution above life. And that can be
        with them on that. The second thing I find as I speak            the reason for the problem that we have and why
       to the people of the Church is that they want an end              there is a Seminary in exile. L
        to the hostility and to the recriminations and to the
        conflicts. They can't understand why good people in              Q. (The recording was not clear here, but the gist of
       the Church can't live together in peace. They                    the question was clear, H.H.) If the gifts  which God
        recognize very clearly that there have to be some               has raised up among us are not being used to  I-Es
       things on which we aren't all agreed. There is a kind            glory must we still use them? And if Genesis 1 and 2
        of variety that we have to put up with with one                  are not historical writing, how can I believe in Jesus
        another. But we can agree on everything that is                  as my Savior?.Seminex  students are being taught this.
        essential, on everything that is part of God's message
       to us. And we will agree on that, as, whoever we are,            A. The first part of that question was about the gift
       whatever our difference is, we get together in                   of the Spirit not being used to God's glory. The
       honesty, in openness, to talk with one another. The              question is: Is it really so that they are not being used
       trouble that I see in the Church right now, and that's           to God's glory? Is an act of faith and commitment,
       the big barrier to reconciliation, is that people aren't         a confession, a moral stand, something counter to
       listening. Some people. They're not hearing what is              God's glory, or does it give Him the glory? Now we
       being said. You know what's going to happen at the               can be disagreed among us as to the actions of faculty
       end of this meeting? There are going to be some                  and students. You are entitled to your own opinion
       people who are going to come up to me and are going              about this. But I would hope that you would not sit
       to say, "Why don't you believe in the Bible as the               in judgment on their motive in doing what they did
       inspired Word of God?" They haven't heard what I                 and assume that they had therefore in some way
       said. That's the trouble. We need to open up our ears            acted contrary to God's glory. As far as Genesis 1 and
       and our hearts to one another and really listen. And if          2 is concerned, as whether it is historical or
       we listen and talk and make the Bible the basis for              unhistorical, that's really a loaded term. It is indeed
       our speaking and praising the Holy Spirit, there is no           about what happened. Genesis 1 and 2 and 3 and
       reason why we can't overcome the conflicts that we               following are descriptions of what happened. What
       have in the Church.                                              really happened. There are many of us in the Church
                                                                        assuming that in telling what happened, history
       Q. If everything that has been done has been purely              writing is being used. There are many others in the
       based on and approved by the LCMS, then why do                   Church who are saying that in telling what happened
       you have to be acting and teaching in exile? And do              there is a form of. . . .
       you believe that the whole Scripture is inspired?
                                                                      Here, unfortunately, the tape ended. The gist of
                                                                   w h a t   D r .   T i e t j e n   s a i d ,   h o w e v e r ,   w a s   t h a t   t h e
       A. If everything that you are teaching, . . . what is
       that? . . . is in accord with what the Missouri Synod       important point was what kind of history was given
  has taught, has been based on and approved by the                to us (the assumption being that there are different
       LCMS? And it is based on and approved by the                kinds of history), but that we are Adam and  Eve. We
       LCMS? You see that's the problem. The assumption            are sinful. That is the significance of  these chapters.
  is that there is some kind of an ecclesiastical                  In this way Tietjen really committed himself to a
       authority that tells you what to teach, and it does         view which does not accept the narratives of Genesis
       that through its conventions. And I am an employee          as giving us history which is part of the revelation of
       of the Synod. That's what I've been told. I hate to         G o d .   I t   o n l y   t e a c h e s   u s   l e s s o n s .   B y   t h i s   s t r a n g e
  tell you how many times that phrase has been made                double talk, many have left the impression that they
       plain to me. I get-my pay from the Synod. I am an           accept the narratives of Genesis 1-3 as sober and
       employee of the Synod, and the Synod tells me what          factual history,  .but they, at the same time, repudiate
  to teach. Well, good people, that's not what it is.
  We're called to teach what God tells us to teach. And            it and claim that there are only lessons which are
  we find out what He tells us to teach in His Word and            taught to us.
  we need to be faithful to that Word. There are
  indeed, differences of opinion among us, about what                  It is a mystery to me how it is possible that the
  it is that we find in God's Word. And we can go into a           leaders of the Church (LCMS) can continue to allow
  half dozen of them at this particular meeting. And               men like Tietjen to remain in the Church and spread
  there are some in our Church who are wanting it to               their heresies and lead many astray. As long as they
  be so, that Church Conventions are the instruments               do this, there is little hope for the LCMS.


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                307



THE DAY OF SHADOWS


                          The Serpent Strikes Again

                                                 Rev. John A. Heys



  Eight adults, after spending one year and ten days        Noah would not have and could not have spoken a
in the ark, came forth into a new world. There was          curse upon Canaan, the youngest son of Ham.
not at that time a child upon the face of the whole           All this we present to indicate that for a brief
earth. All eight were full-grown, mature adults who         period of time there was a new world wherein
had just come through quite a trying experience.            apparently righteousness dwelt. Of course there was
They were aware of abounding death and destruction.         sin. All are conceived and born in sin, and the
They knew of a raging storm, of volcanic eruptions,         drunkenness of Noah, about ten years after the flood,
of turbulent seas as the fountains of the deep opened       is not the first sin to appear in the new world. Nor
up, of brilliant lightning flashes and terrible thunder.    was it the first sin that Noah manifested in his life
And all of these were so different from anything they       after his safe journey in the ark.
had ever gone through before, or even heard of before
in all these years of their lives. And we may note that       You see, the flood did not destroy sin but sinners.
Noah was six-hundred years old when he entered the            Sin went into the ark, and it went in exactly in the
ark and that Shem, his firstborn, was a hundred years       hearts of Noah and his wife, and in the hearts of his
old when his firstborn, Arphaxad, was born two years        three sons and their wives. Shem and Japheth
after the flood. That flood was, then, together with        performed a righteous, commendable deed, when
their perfect safety and safe return to the dry land, a     Noah became drunk, but also in their lives much sin
tremendous experience to eight souls who were well          had manifested itself before they performed this deed
able to appreciate it all and to remember it as             of which God spoke His approval and upon which He
something far different from anything they had seen         pronounced His blessing.
or heard of in hundreds of years for Noah and his             You cannot destroy sin by waters of a flood. You
wife, and for decades for the rest, as a work of God,       cannot destroy sin by the most powerful hydrogen
the like of which they had never before experienced.        bomb. And you certainly cannot destroy sin by
  And here again the Scriptures make one                    legislation, and rules, and prisons. You can frighten
tremendous leap forward in the account of the               man from the outward carrying out of his sinful
history of God's church and the unfolding of God's          thoughts. You can curb him behind the prison walls
covenant. Genesis 10 and 11 list for us the                 and bars. But sin is a spiritual reality and is removed
descendants of Noah through Shem, Ham and                   only by spiritual means. And God, Who saved Noah
Japheth. And we find that Canaan is the youngest son        and his family from the sinners who threatened to
of Ham. Assuming (which is all we can do) that even         bring an end to God's church here on this earth, did
as Shem begat his first son two years after they came       not remove all sin from the lives of these His children.
out of the ark, so Ham and Japheth begat sons about         He never does that except in the way of death, when
two years after the flood, then Canaan at the earliest      the old man of sin is robbed of his tools and
was born about ten years after the flood. Only the          instruments - the members and faculties of his body
sons of these three sons of Noah are mentioned, and         - whereby he lives in sin. God implants a new heart
there certainly were daughters born in between these        in His elect. He causes them to be born with the life
sons. At any rate, the incident of Noah and his             which is from above. But that life is there in His child
drunkenness did not take place the year after, the flood    alongside of the old nature that is still so powerful
and shortly after the first harvest of grapes. It did       and skilled in the ways of evil.
take time as well for the fermentation to make such           Constantly the child of God, the new man in
potent wine. But; the point we wish to make at the          Christ, must tight the evil that he would not, and
moment is that Canaan was already born. otherwise           work out (or through) his own salvation with fear and


308                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



trembling. He has a battle to fight within his own           open display thereof, and, in an attempt to corrupt
soul. He himself is his worst enemy. He is a wretched        the church from within, to seek to transform it into a
man who finds that the good that he would, he allows         camp of enemies of the living God.
not, and the evil that he would not, that he does. And
we may be sure that Noah and his family found this              God was there in His grace, however, as He always
to be the case already in the ark, and doubly so when        is, and Satan did not obtain the victory which he
they returned safely to the dry land, when there was         sought. Ham was delighted and was not touched by
so much more for the flesh to seek and to serve.             the wickedness of his father's sin. He, to put it
                                                             mildly, found it amusing, and to state it more
   Then, too, it must not be forgotten that Noah and         correctly enjoyed this display of the sins of the old
his family entered the ark with `a full and very             world.
detailed knowledge of all the sins for which God                But before we proceed to condemn Ham and shake
destroyed the first world. And drunkenness was one           our heads in disgust and righteous displeasure, let us
of them. So was sexual immorality that so often              ask ourselves how often we not only delight in sins
accompanies drunkenness. They did not have to learn          but "have pleasure in them that do them" as Paul
sin and develop in its practice. The first world even        writes in Romans  1:32. No, we may be filled with
caught on very soon after Adam's fall, and the               indignation to see some forms of immorality and
firstborn of the first pair of parents quite quickly and     may join groups that fight pornography. And yet we
easily introduced murder; and Lamech introduced              can so easily be those who strain at a gnat and
bigamy and adultery as well.                                 swallow a camel. We can cry that the morals of our
  But the Serpent, that old dragon and Satan, strikes        children are being corrupted, and then be untouched
again, after the flood when he succeeds in getting the       ourselves by the fact that God is insulted. We can be so
head of the Church, the spiritual leader in that             concerned about violations of the second table of the
church, to introduce before the eyes of his family           law and be untouched by the breaking of the first
these sins for which God destroyed the first world!          table. To steal is bad, but to take God's name in vain
These were not the only sins for which God came in           is only showing poor taste. To murder is to be
that judgment. Every imagination  :of the heart of           condemned in no uncertain terms, but to destroy the
man's mind (Genesis 6:5) was only evil continually.          truth of God, and thus to try to murder Him, is a
The earth was corrupt (Genesis 6: 11) and tilled with        freedom of religion that we ought to grant to all men.
violence.                                                    And we can easily become "ecumenical-minded" and
                                                             find pleasure in them that do destroy the truth
  The Serpent, however, here succeeded exactly in            concerning God. The concern is not so much what
getting that spiritual leader of the whole church into
an open practice of the sins which brought the first         you believe about God, but whether you can get a big
                                                             organization that caters to man's social advancement.
world to its judgment day, and brought Sodom and             We can call abortion murder (and it is!) and send
Gomorrah to their destruction. It was not Shem, Ham          letters and petitions through the mail to get
or Japheth who initiated this public drunkenness and         signatures for legislation that will take the filthy
immoral exposure. It was Noah, the preacher of               magazines off the shelves of our stores, and even
righteousness, of whom it is stated in Hebrews 11:7          deceive ourselves into thinking that we are Shems and
that by faith  he  built the ark to the saving of his        Japheth's who are covering up their father's
family. The top man, the priest whose calling it was         nakedness; and then we can turn around and support
to dedicate and consecrate the whole church (his             movements that present the Almighty  - THE
family) to God is used by Satan to strike a blow at          ALMIGHTY, if you please - as a helpless beggar who
that church, which he hates so vehemently.                   has done all he can, but is at your mercy as to
  And now we come to the words wherewith we at               whether his "wonderful plan that he has for you" can
first were tempted to begin this contribution to our         be anything more than just a plan, a pipe-dream,
rubric, The Day of Shadows, namely, the words of             wishful thinking. Down, we say, with pornography,
Solomon in Proverbs 20: 1 "Wine is a mocker, strong          curb all crime in our streets. But at the same time we
drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is        say, Down with a sovereign, almighty God Who does
not wise." Satan used the fruit of the tree of               all His own good pleasure and is in no way and at any
knowledge of good and evil to bring sin into the first       time dependent upon man in the matters of his
world. Here he struck his first blow against the             salvation, and in the matters of his natural life.
Church of God and implanted the seed of sin that               May God grant us grace to fall on our knees when
would fill the earth with every evil practice the mind of    we read of Noah's sin - we who are the heads of our
man can invent. Now, in the new world, he uses the           homes and of our churches, the elders, both teaching
fruit of the vine to humiliate the head and priest of the    and ruling elders, and deacons, and the educators and
church and advertise the sins of the old world by an         instructors of the covenant children in the schools -


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                              309



and of Ham's delight in it, so that we see our own sins      The cross is all important, and God forbid that we
as well and look to the cross of Christ for deliverance    should glory save in that cross of Christ. But we need
from our own wickedness. May we receive grace to           that operation of the Spirit, which the crucified
pray for His Spirit to cleanse our hearts and minds so     Christ received, for our purification, to keep us from
that our hands with our tongues are kept clean and         walking in sin. When the serpent, that old dragon and
pure, and our eyes filled with tears when `we see sin.     Satan strikes at us - and especially when he does this
May it be as with the psalmist that "Rivers of waters      at those in the offices in the church - we need more
run down mine eyes, because they keep not Thy              than an ark and a building in which to hide against
law." Psalm 119: 136. And, if that is not the case with    the attacks of Satan. We need the sanctifying power
us, let us be silent and not assume a holier-than-thou     of the Spirit of Christ to work repentance and sorrow
attitude either over against Noah or Ham.                  and hatred against sin in our hearts.
                                                             Here, in the heart, is where we have the victory
  But Christ is the answer, and not by His example         over Satan. Even when he brings severe injury and
but by His cross and the power of sanctification           death to the body, we have the victory in a cleansed
which He earned for us on the cross and bestows            heart and mind, and may look for Christ to come
upon us by His Spirit. This is our only hope against       with a complete victory at the end of time, that not
every blow that the serpent directs towards us. It was     only destroys sinners as the flood did, but all sin
this work of the Holy Spirit that brought Noah to          within us, so that there is not a new world in
sorrow and contrition over his sin, and that caused        distinction from the old world, but a new Jerusalem,
Shem and Japheth not to find pleasure in them that         a holy city where with perfect bodies in a perfect
                                .-
do sinful deeds.                                           environment we shall serve God in perfection.





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                                                 Book
                                             Reviews


NOT KEY 73 BUT THE KEYS OF THE KINGDOM,                       Caledonia,  Mich. The price is  65c a piece, postage
by Rev. P. Kingma and Rev. M. Werkman. [Reviewed              paid; ten or more, 6Oc, 25 or more 50~.
by Prof. H. Hanko]

  This brief pamphlet contains two speeches which             ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY, Two Essays, Anders
were delivered in 1973 in opposition to the Key 73            Nygren; Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1973; 128 pp.,
Movement. They were delivered by two ministers in             $1.95 (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko]
the Canadian Reformed Church. The speeches stress
particularly the false ecumenism of the Key 73                  These two short essays are interesting and
movement and, from a positive point of view, the              provocative. The first essay treats "The Permanent
nature of the church and preaching `as taught in the          Element in Christianity" and has to do primarily with
creeds in relation to the gathering of the Church.            the Philosophy of Religion. The second essay, by far
While the Key 73 movement has dissipated, the                 the best, is "The Atonement as a Work of God."
pamphlet is still worthwhile reading. It can be               While the approach is somewhat rationalistic, there
obtained from the Lecture Committee of the                    are some interesting insights into important questions
American Reformed Church, 3167  - 68th St.,                   which make the book worth reading.





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                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                       311



                                    News From Our Churches
    Rev. R. Harbach has accepted the call to serve as                       Southwest Church, Rev. Joostens planned to speak
home missionary. He plans to preach his farewell                            on "The Implications of the Sabbath Rest." Rev.
sermon on May 5 and expects to be in Houston soon                           Joostens was also asked to speak for the Sunday
thereafter. Rev. G. Lubbers, who is currently working                       School teachers at their spring mass meeting in Hope
in Houston, has declined the call extended to him                           Church on May 1. His topic was, "The Peace of
from our Prospect Park congregation. Rev. Lanting                           Nebuchadnezzar."
has accepted the call from Loveland, Colorado.                                 The bulletins of our Grand Rapids' churches
    Rev. and `Mrs. Veldman, at the time of this writing,                    carried invitations "to come to First Church after the
are in the middle of a four-week stay in Skowhegan,                         Good Friday service for a short but inspiring Cantata
Maine. Rev. C. Hanko and Rev. J. Heys planned to                            `On The Passion of Christ.' " The program was
leave on Tuesday, April 16, for a twenty-eight day                          presented by the Choral Society of First Church,
visit to Jamaica. During that time they hoped to,                           directed by Mr. Roland Petersen.
among other things, examine the students who have                                                            *****
studied under Rev. G. Lubbers, and see to their                                A March 3 1 bulletin from Hull carried an
ordination into the ministry in local churches on the                       announcement concerning a meeting of the society of
island.                                                                     our school in  Doon. The meeting, which was to be
                                *****                                       held on April 3, was called for the purpose of
   As is typical of this time of year, announcements                        considering a "proposal to hire three full-time
concerning lectures and end-of-season mass meetings                         teachers for the school year 1974-1975, and to
are appearing in church bulletins. The annual Spring                        consider the remodeling of the all-purpose room into
Lecture held in the Grand Rapids area was scheduled                         a third class room."
for Thursday, April 18. Prof. H. C. Hoeksema was to                                                          *****
speak on the topic "Why Are We Protestant                                      The Annual Protestant Reformed Young Peoples'
Reformed?" The First Protestant Reformed Church                             Convention will be sponsored this year by the
of Holland, Michigan, sponsored a lecture, by Prof. H.                      societies  of. Hull,  Doon, and Edgerton. The
Hanko, entitled "The A.A.C.S. (Association for the                          convention will be held at the Dordt College Campus,
Advancement of Christian Scholarship) and the                               in Sioux Center, Iowa, .on August 13-15.
Kingdom." That was to be held in Holland on April
25. At the Men's League Meeting, held on April 22 in                                                                             (continued on back page)


                        ANNOUNCEMENT                                                          WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
   There is a young man from outside the Grand Rapids area who                 On April 23, 1974, MR. JOHN and MRS. ADA  (GRIFFIOEN)
intends, the Lord willing, to attend our Seminary in the Pre-Seminary       MULDER, 715 Grace Street, Waupun, Wisconsin, celebrated their 40th
Department next September. He is looking for room and board near to         wedding anniversary. Their grateful children, Walter and Linda Mulder,
school. If anyone is interested in providing such room and board, please    (Winter Haven,  Fla.);  Arie and Marlene Mulder,  (Shawano, Wis.); Peter
contact Prof. Hanko at 453-1650 for further information.                    and Julane Wiersma,  (leeland,   Mich.) and 9 grandchildren.

                   IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!
   The Installation of Rev. Robert C. Harbach as Home Missionary of                           WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
our Protestant Reformed Churches, is to be held, the Lord willing,
Wednesday evening, May 8, 1974, at 8 P.M., in the Hope Protestant               On. May 13, 1974, the Lord willing, our parents, MR. AND MRS.
Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Rev. R. Van Overloop,            PETER ZANDSTRA, will celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
pastor of the calling church will preside, and Prof. Herman Hanko will      We, their children, give thanks to God for parents who prayerfully
preach the installation sermon.                                             strive to fulfil their covenant  responsiblities.
                                                The Consistory of Hope
                                            Protestant Reformed Church          May God continue to bless them, and us, in the years to come.
                                       - Arnold Dykstra, Assistant Clerk                   Joel, Paul, Jeanne, Bern and Ruth.


                 WEDDING ANNlVERSARY
   On March 30, 1974, our parents, ADRIAN J. and  JACOBA                                    EXPRESSION OF SYMPATHY
LENTING commemorated their 35th wedding anniversary. We, their               The Men's Society of the South Holland Protestant Reformed Church
children, are grateful to our God for keeping them in his loving care       expresses its sincere sympathy to one of its members, Mr. George D.
these many years. We pray that God will bless them for the remainder        Vroom, in the passing away of his father, MR. RICHARD VROOM.
of their earthly pilgrimage.
   Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Lenting, Mr. and Mrs. Adrian J. Lenting,              May the God of all grace comfort the bereaved brother and his
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Lenting, Mr_.  and Mrs. Jacob C. Lenting,              family by His Word and Spirit.
Mr. and Mrs. William A. Lenting, Cornelia Lenting, Robert Lenting,                                                                       L. Lubbers, Pres.
James Lenting and 13 grandchildren.                                                                                                   G. Flikkema, Sec'y.

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





312


     A scarcity of news makes it possible for us to again
pull something out of the box, I notice that the box                                  THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                 Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
has been holding, since last October, an interesting             Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
newsletter which was distributed by the Evangelism                  Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids, Mich.
                                                             Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
Committee of our South Holland Church. I'd like to           Department Editors:  Prof. Robert D. Decker, Mr. Donald Doezema
lift a paragraph from that letter:                           Rev. David J. Engelsma, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman  Hankto:
                                                             Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A.  Heys, Rev. Jay Kortering, Rev.
                                                             Dale H. Kuiper, Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Marinus  Schipper, Rev.
                                                             Gise J. Van  Baren, Rev. Herman Veldman
 - "It is with deep sense of thankfulness that we take       Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
                                                                                 4975 lvanrest Ave. S.W.
pleasure in announcing to the Congregation the                                   Grandville, Michigan 49418
                                                             Church News Editor:         Mr. Donald Doezema
purchase of a Voice of Music CASSETTE TAPE                                               1904 Plymouth Terrace, S.E.
                                                                                         Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
DUPLICATOR. This means that we can now                       Editorial Policy:  Every editor is solely responsible for the contents of
`produce, simultaneously, 6 (home use) cassette tapes        his own articles. Contributions of general interest from our readers
                                                             and questions for the Question-Box Department are welcome. Contri-
while we are recording the large reel tape for our           butions will be limited to approximately 300 words and must be neatly
                                                             written or typewritten, and must be signed. Copy deadlines are the first
Radio Broadcast. (In the past, each request for a            and the fifteenth of the month. All communications relative to the
                                                             contents should be sent to the editorial office.
cassette tape had to be produced separately, entailing       Reprint  Policy:   Permission Is hereby granted for the reprinting of  arti-
                                                             ClaS in our magazine by other publications, provided: a) that such re-
much extra time and effort on the part of the                printed articles are reproduced in full;  b) that proper acknowledgement
                                                             IS made:  c) that a  COPY of the periodical in which such reprint appears
individual who performed this work on his own                is sent to our editorial office.
time.) This new machine will enable your Committee           Business Office:  The Standard Bearer
                                                                                 Mr. H. Vander Wal, Bus. Mgr.
to maintain a cassette library of sermons, lectures,                             P. 0.  BOX  6064
                                                                                 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
programs, convocation addresses, etc. These will then        Business A-gent for Australasia:Mr. Wm. van Rii
be available for distribution to shut-ins, sold to
members of the Congregation and to fill' requests
from our Radio audience for $2.00 each (our cost)."

     The newsletter went on to state that, "although
this piece of specialized equipment will surely
multiply our effectiveness, its cost will reduce our
finances to a very low level." The letter had, in fact,      Bound Volumes:  The Business Office will accept standing orders for
been prepared for distribution on that particular            bound copies of the current volume; such orders are filled as soon as
                                                             posslble after  COmpletiOn of a volume. A limited number of past vol-
Sunday in order that it might serve as an explanation        umes may be obtained through the Business Office.
for the collection which would be taken on that day
for the work of the Evangelism Committee. The                                                0        0        0
following week, the Committee reported "with
humble thanks to our God . . . that the Special
Collection of the last Lord's Day amounted to $504"
-                                                                                            CONTENTS:
     which, by the way, more than paid for the new
machine!                                                     God's Glory In Our Salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .290
     "Besides broadcasting," the newsletter continued,       Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .292
"we also have a new pamphlet in preparation. It is a         "Encounter `75" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293
reprint of two radio sermons our, former pastor,             The OPC and the "Free Offer" (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
Professor H. C. Hoeksema, gave on John 3: 16: God's          A Step Toward A New Confession in the GKN (2) . . . . . . .296
Great Love Toward The World.  The supply of our              The Standard Bearer in Retrospect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 1
Consolation booklet,  God  Is Our Refuge And                 A Portrait of a Heretic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..30 4
Strength,  is depleted and is in need of a fourth            The Serpent Strikes Again . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
printing. The Lord has given us much work to do. Let         BookReviews................................... 0
us `work while it is day, ere the night  cometh in           News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .311
which no man can work.' (John 9:4b)"
                                                   D.D.


