           The
          STANDARD  e
 ~  .r     B E A R E R
  ?         A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE





             But far more important and wonderful is the
           fact that  G.od has preserved His truth among us.
           Consider that  with me: in an age of doctrinal
           apathy He has kept us doctrinally sensitive! In
           an age of almost. unprecedented departure from
           the truth, He has kept us faithful to it. In an age
           of compromise and conformity, He has kept us
           standing fast. He continues to sanctify us in an
           age of immorality and lawlessness that knows no
           bounds. He, the God of our salvation, has done
           all of this! The praise and thanks belong to Him
           alone. But don't you see that our calling in this
           light becomes  tihe more serious? The gospel of
           Jesus Christ must be preached.
           [ See: Peace, A Sword, And Our Seminary, page lo]




(                                     .:Volume LI, Number 1, October 1, 1974


2                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



MEDITA TIO N


                     "When Shall These Things Be?"

                                                      C. Hanko

            And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many
            shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.
                                                                                               Matt. 24:4, 5.

     It was Tuesday evening of the passion week, just             These things!
three days before our Lord surrendered Himself to
the death of the cross to bring the ransom for our                These terrible judgments of God. The wrath of the
sins. It had been a busy day, since it was the last time     Almighty poured out upon a rebellious nation that
that Jesus would be teaching the people. Feelings            can piously keep its holy days even while their hands
were running high, for the chief priests and rulers          are stained with the blood of God's servants, the
would gladly have silenced Him, even as they were            prophets. Jerusalem in ashes, not one stone left upon
secretly plotting to kill Him, but they feared the           another, a silent testimony that it will never be
people. Jesus in full confidence of His victory              restored. When?
through the cross, spoke in parables concerning His               Surely there must be a connection between all this
second coming and the final judgment. He concluded           and the return of their Lord. They were convinced
His witness, shaking, as it were, Jerusalem's dust from      now more than ever that He was indeed the Christ,
His feet, with the terrible indictment, "0 Jerusalem,        the promised Savior. Yet they were equally convinced
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest       from all that they had seen and heard that soon He
them which are sent unto thee, how often would I             would be torn from them. Yet He would return. He
have gathered thy children together, even as a hen           must return to restore the kingdom of Israel. But
gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would         when? And how would they know?
not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth,               Give us a sign! A sign of Thy coming and of the
till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name     end of the ages.
of the Lord."                                                     Jesus complies with their request by giving them
     Deeply impressed by what they had just heard, the       not just one sign, but many. He bears with their
disciples are concerned about the temple, which for          weaknesses by patiently pointing out that the
so many centuries had been the center of Israel's            destruction of Jerusalem and of its temple will not
worship, the very dwelling place of God among His            mark the end of the ages, but belongs with the signs
people. Anxiously they ask: "What about these                of the end. This, as well as many, many other things
buildings when the Holy City is destroyed?" To               must come to pass, but the end is not yet. He offers
which Jesus answers, "See ye not all these things?           them signs, yet not only them, but also us, to whom
Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one      belongs the fulness of time. For these signs are always
stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."          present throughout this dispensation, ever increasing
     In silent pondering they follow their Master,           in number and in intensity as the end approaches. He
leaving the Holy City behind, to spknd the night on          who has eyes to see, let him see.
the Mount of Olives. As they sit on the mount,                    Take heed!
overlooking the city, now bathed in the golden
splendor of the sunset, they take up the subject once             Be alert. Watch! Let no man deceive you.
more. Mark informs us that particularly four of them,             For already the first of these signs carries with it all
Andrew and Peter and James and John become the               the cunning treachery of the devil. He will come as an
spokesmen for the rest, asking: "When shall these            angel of light. He will say through His representatives:
things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming          "I myself am the Christ, the only real one: follow
and of the end of the world?"                                me."


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 3



  The Christ of Scripture is the Anointed of God,              False teachers bringing false doctrines are prevalent
sent with the authority of God to speak His Word             everywhere. The plea for ecumenism has helped to
with an absolute "Thus saith the Lord."                      break down denominational walls and wipe out
  Already in the early church there were men who             doctrinal differences. The word "love" is the slogan
professed to have certain God-given powers, as sent of       of the day, yet not love for God or for the truth is
God. We read of Simon  Magus (Acts  8:9), who                meant, but rather a sentimental love for humanity to
through sorcery bewitched the people into thinking           make this a better world and to introduce a universal
that he was a great power of God. Later he was               peace among men. Arminianism, Pelagianism and
exposed by Peter when he wanted to buy the gift of           Modernism walk as companions together, despising all
the Holy Spirit with money. Peter did not spare him,         those who interfere with this friendship. The
but laid God's curse upon him.                               infallibility of the Bible is denied, while all kinds of
                                                             pseudo-Bibles under appealing names are being
  We are all aware of the proud pretensions of the           introduced to replace the time-tried versions. The
Romish pope, claiming to be the real successor of the        market is literally flooded with deliberate corruptions
apostle Peter and vicar of Christ. Although he plays         of the inspired Word of the living God. And these
the friend with his "erring brethren", the protestants,      corruptions are written in such a way that they have a
whom in times past he anathematized and even                 strong appeal to the unwary. Along with this there is
caused the gutters to flow with their blood, he has          a growing yearning for the mystical and emotional.
never yet retracted any of his contentions as "head of       The neopentecostals, for example, boast of living in a
the universal church." The fathers referred to him as        higher sphere than the common believer, where they
the antichrist in person. No doubt they were                 sin no more, where they can indulge in speaking in
mistaken in that, since antichrist is a political figure,    tongues, faith healing, and driving out devils.
yet history may prove that he plays an important role
in the reign of the beast of Revelation 13.                    Our Lord forewarned us, "Many shall arise and say,
                                                             I am Christ." Today this Scripture is being fulfilled
  The chief pretender of the Christ as Saviour of the        before our very eyes.
world is, of course, antichrist himself. His very name
describes him as opposed to the Christ, setting                Be not deceived!
himself overagainst the Christ of God in his attempt           Jesus wants us to know that their earmark whereby
to destroy Him. He is described to us in Revelation          we may recognize them is deceit. They are sincere in
13: l-4, as the beast that arises out of the sea of the      the sense that they deliberately seek to deceive. And,
nations, having great power, so that the whole world         Jesus warns, they also succeed, for  they. deceive
wonders after the beast, accepts his blasphemy, and          many.
worships the dragon who gives him his  ,power. He              They deceive. They come as wolves in sheep's
exerts such great power that no one dares to make            clothing to devour the sheep.
war against him. He is hailed as the only real Savior of
the world, the only one who ever has been able to              We should see the picture. Outwardly they have a
solve the world's problems and bring universal peace         strong appeal. They call- themselves pastors, or radio
and blessedness.                                             pastors, or Christian psychologists, sent of God. They
                                                             hold an open Bible in their hands. Maybe they are
  Jesus warns us that these pseudo-christs also have         supported by an impressive choir, soloists, or other
their prophets, who are just as deceptive as they are.       attractions. They draw huge crowds from miles away,
In verse 14 of this chapter He says, "And many false         for who is like unto this preacher, and who can
prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many." And           appeal to so many? They have an appealing message.
again in verses 23 and 24, "Then if any man shall say        Jeremiah said of the false prophets of his day a word
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.      that can well be repeated here, "They heal the breach
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,     of the sin of my people lightly by crying `peace,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch             peace, ' when there is no peace." They want to win
that, if it were possible, they shall. deceive the very      the whole world for Christ, or they aim at banishing
elect."                                                      all warfare, poverty, and race hatred from the earth,
  Of these we read in II Peter 2: 1, 2, "But there were      to make this a wonderful place to live. It is often not
false prophets also among the people, even as there          even as much what they say as what they do not say.
shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall         They have a form of godliness, yet they deny the
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord            work of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the
that bought them (the atonement of the cross), and           Word, which is the power thereof. Outwardly they
bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many            seem very pious, as if they would put true believers to
shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom        shame. They speak of a zeal, an enthusiasm as can be
the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."                   found nowhere else. The crowds follow them, at


4                                              THE STANDARD BEARER



least for a time. And sneeringly they ask the small          a dragon. Although he calls himself the Christ, or
minority that objects, "Do you think that you have a         representative of the Christ, he is instigated in all that
monopoly on the truth?" False prophets, blind                he says by Satan from hell. "And he exerciseth all the
leaders of blind followers, who are the instruments of       power of the first beast before him, and causeth the
darkness to introduce the false church of antichrist.        earth and them which dwell therein to worship the
     Now then, with that general description in mind,        first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he
what are the fundamental errors that we must look            doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
for? With Scripture as our criterion what must we            down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
look for as characteristic of all their messages? The        And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means
answer is: all the emphasis falls on' man, with God          of those miracles which he had power to do in the
disappearing ever farther in the background. All that        sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the
the fathers fought, bled, and died for at the time of        earth, that they should make an image to the beast,
the Reformation is consistently denied. They want            which had the wound by a sword, and. did live. And
nothing of the truth of sovereign predestination.            he had power to give life unto the image of the beast,
They consider election a cold doctrine, while they           that the image of the beast should both speak, and
shudder at the very mention of reprobation. God's            cause that as many as would not worship the image of
justice and holiness are hardly mentioned, especially        the beast should be killed." (Rev. 13 : 12-l 5.)
because they preach a God who loves all men and                He appeals to his many converts. Or he tells of his
wants all men to be saved. They deny man's                   ability to speak in tongues, to heal sicknesses and
depravity. `Sin' has become a nasty word. Many may           diseases, even to cast out devils. He penetrates the
have faults, frustrations, or problems, but let's not        homes of thousands, if not millions, with his radio
talk about sin. There is much good in the worst of           and TV programs. But a mere glance at some of our
men; we should strive to improve on that. Christ died        modern inventions gives us some idea of the powers
for all men. It is considered rank heresy to maintain        he will exert in the future. Today what we see and
that Christ laid down His life only for His sheep. Even      hear is instantly recorded. A few seconds later a
substitutionary atonement is become foreign to the           replay can be made of that very happening. This can
average preacher.. A Christ who died only to save            be preserved indefinitely to be played back at will,
sinners is not the full and complete Savior they seek.       anywhere, at any time. Powerful computers are now
They want a Jesus Who also works toward social               being used to store information and to produce it at
reform, world betterment, exerting His influence in          will with uncanny accuracy. We cannot help but
every sphere of life. They deny that salvation is solely     marvel at what these modern machines can do. Surely
the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. If they speak      the time is not far off when those in authority will
of the work of the Holy Spirit at all, they insist on a      know more about us than we can remember of
cooperation between Him and man. But they prefer             ourselves, and may know every move we make or
to stress what man must do to overcome all the               every word we utter, whether in public or in the
misery he sees round about him. From all this must           privacy of our homes. The devil is doing his utmost,
follow that a teaching of eternal security simply does       since he knows that he has but a little while. He does
not fit. One must persevere; he must be active in            all that he can to prevent the return of Christ and the
society, doing good to all men. Heaven seems to be a         final judgment, when he and his followers will have
matter of concern only when one dies.                        their own reward in utter darkness.
     Along with all this, the church seeks to make             But God is Ring forever; let the nations tremble.
friends with the world, so that the antithesis between       He who sits in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord will
light and darkness becomes obliterated. The office in        hold them in derision. For already He has exalted His
the church becomes a function, which women can fill          Christ as Lord over all. And Christ Himself assures us,
as well as men. The preaching of the Word is                 "Behold, I come, quickly, and My reward is with Me,
substituted with dialogue, congregational                    to give unto every man as his works shall be."
participation, or even movies. The sacraments are
desecrated to a love feast of sorts. Church discipline is      Take heed! Beware! Be alert!
not exercised any more, so that the keys of the                The church of Jesus Christ must keep her spiritual
kingdom have fallen into disuse. The portal of Sion's        eyes wide open. We must recognize and be able to
fortress stands wide open for free access of whoever         interpret correctly the signs of the times.
cares to enter.                                               To do that we must know the truth. And to know
     Be not deceived. For the deceiver of men also           the truth we must diligently study the Scriptures. The
knows how to seal his testimony with signs and               unfaithful perish because of lack of knowledge. The
wonders. Revelation 13 tells us of the second beast          foolish virgins sleep the sleep of death even while
who has the appearance of the lamb, yet he speaks as         they know they lack the oil of preparedness. The


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                       5



admonition of Scripture applies to all of us, "Study              any of us have known. They must be equipped now
to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that                 with the whole armor of God, helmet, breastplate,
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word              girdle, shoes, sword and shield, to fight the battle of
of truth."                                                        faith against all the onslaughts of the evil one in a day
  But we must do this also with our families. Our                 when the  apostacy will be so great that they stand
children will see more precarious times than we see.              virtually alone. He that endures unto the end shall be
They will undoubtedly face more severe trials than                saved; more than conqueror in Christ Jesus our Lord!



EDITORIALS


                                         INTRODUCTORY NOTE

                Our readers will recall that our June issue carried an editorial entitled "A Realistic
              Response To `A Dream' "  - a `reply to an editorial by Rev. John Vander Ploeg in  The
              Outlook.  As you were informed in an earlier note,  The Outlook  promised to reprint my
              editorial, and Rev. Vander Ploeg promised a reply. I was informed by letter that both my
              editorial and Rev. Vander Ploeg's reply are scheduled to appear in the September issue of
              The Outlook, which, as of this writing, has not yet appeared. Rev. Vander Ploeg graciously
              furnished me an advance copy of his reply; and so the Standard Bearer is able to carry his
              reply and my comments in this issue. I give first place in our editorial columns, therefore, to
              Rev. Vander Ploeg. My reply follows his article.



                       A Dream, A Response, And A Request

                                                 Rev. John Vander Ploeg
                                             Managing Editor, The Outlook

  "The church", Calvin says in  his Institutes,  "is              this we are not only permitted but we are also
called `catholic', or `universal', because there could            obligated by our Lord to hope and pray and work.
not be two or three churches unless Christ be torn                  And now let's face it!
asunder - which cannot happen!"                                     When we think of how little we are doing to pursue
  But where is the visible manifestation of this?                 and to promote a truly Scriptural ecumenicity, can
  The lack of this is a cause for deep sorrow.                    we deny that we have done little more than merely
  And to be comfortably unconcerned is sin.                       scratch the surface, if we are doing anything at all?
  Of course, this is no plea for that counterfeit and               We are opposed to affiliation with the NCC and the
unscriptural ecumenism which is the idol `of modern               WCC. We have our serious misgivings about our
churchmen. Churches riddled with heresy may try to                continued relations with the Gereformeerde Kerken
recoup their waning fortunes by one merger after                  in the Netherlands; even though we may think that
another; but ultimately they will produce nothing                 we have taken ourselves somewhat off the hook by
else than the great Babylon of apostate Christendom.              the use of a different name for the relationship since
To this we must be and remain unalterably opposed.                the CRC Synod of 1974. And so we remain opposed
  But we must also be                                             to ecumenical ventures that are of a dubious nature
                          positive.                               or even worse.
  Reformed Christians are to be in the forefront                    Fine! But we must also be 
among the advocates of inter-church fellowship,                                                   positive.
cooperation, and also church union - but only when                  It is because of that conviction that, in my
this can be achieved on the basis of Scripture. For               judgment, it was justifiable when recently I proposed


 6                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


 that, as conservatives. of various denominations, we        honestly say that I know a better way to do it." He
 join together in fostering an ecumenical undertaking        adds: "I propose a conference (as long as necessary)
 that should, we hope, be able- to stand the test of         of concerned (or conservative) Christian Reformed
 Scripture.                                                  brethren and Protestant Reformed brethren (We are,
      A Dream - To repeat in its entirety what I wrote       of course, all `conservative')". About this let me now
 last May under the title, "I Too Have a Dream", is          offer the following observations:
 not necessary because a resume' of it appears in the          a. It would be unfortunate indeed if this proposal
 editorial by Professor H. C. Hoeksema in the June           of Professor Hoeksema would sidetrack us from
 issue of  The Standard Bearer  -  which we have             getting together with conservatives from other
 reprinted, and to which I am taking the opportunity         denominations. The danger is that we together might
 to reply. Briefly and simply, there were three things       exhaust our time and energy and efforts in a futile
 in my dream and these may bear repetition.                  effort to resolve a controversy that is of fifty years'
      First,  it was proposed that we call together a        standing.
 Congress of Conservatives, that we meet for a day or          If PRC and CRC brethren do meet for discussion,
 two, and that we ask spokesmen for various groups or        can we do this with the assurance that a possible
 bodies to address the gathering on what each one            failure to remove our mutual differences of long
 would envision as "The Path to Unity".                      standing will not stymie our further efforts to get
      Second,  it was suggested that possibly a working      together with conservatives of our churches? Frankly,
 organization might be brought into being with               I do not welcome any prospect of coming to an
 Conservatives United as a possible name for such a          impasse  onby to find ourselves on a dead-end street
 body.                                                       with respect to what we originally had in mind.
      Third, the thought was thrown out,that eventually,       b. Will our PR brethren, if we come together, have
 by the sovereign grace of Him Whose guidance we will        anything new to say to us, anything different from
implore, that the outcome of all this might even             what they have been saying to us since  1924? Lest
 prove to be a United Reformed Church in the United          this be misunderstood, let me add that I honestly
 States and Canada.                                          respect the doctrinal convictions of our PR brethren
      A Response - There were several responses to           as well as their perseverance in adhering to them
 what I had written, largely favorable. However,             regardless of what the cost may be.
 Professor H. C. Hoeksema's editorial was the only             But is there absolutely no possibility for those who
 published response and it is for that reason that it is     affirm the so-called doctrine of "common grace" and
 being acknowledged by our reprinting of it, by              those who deny it to live in closer church fellowship
 making some comments about it, and also by adding           and union? Is this difference so basic and serious that
 a request.                                                  it is impossible for us to tolerate each other as we
      1. First, let me express appreciation for the          seek to join hands in trying to promote the union of
 brotherly spirit in which his editorial has been written    all who have so much more in common with us than
 and for the consideration he has given and is further       our difference at this particular point?
 willing to give to what I have attempted to say. The          c. Are we willing to meet with.our PR brethren as
 approachable stance he evinces encourages me to             Professor Hoeksema proposes? Definitely yes! Like
 believe that fraternal discussion should be possible        Calvin we must be willing to cross seven seas (or did
 and also that it ought to be pursued.                       he say ten?) to unite the church. We are willing to
      If anyone is wondering about my delay in replying      meet according to the plan that Editor Hoeksema
 to Professor Hoeksema's editorial, let'me say, what I       proposes. Of course, we can meet only as individuals
 have already relayed to him in correspondence, that         and not in any official CRC capacity.
 the Reformed Fellowship board wished to see my                And, in view of the fact that Professor Hoeksema
 reply before it was published. Lest there be any            has proposed this plan, we now leave it up to him and
 misunderstanding, let me add to this, however, that         his colleagues to take the initiative and to make the
 not once has the board ever tried to tell me what to        arrangements. Although we would prefer to have this
 write editorially and what not to write. However, if        get-together subsequent to the proposed Congress of
 the Congress of Conservatives proposed is to be a           Conservatives, we are willing to accept the time our
 Reformed Fellowship venture, it makes sense that the        PR brethren prefer to meet. Our understanding is,
 board and the editor should be agreed on a plan of          however, that this is not  to'be a substitute for the
 action in as far as possible.                               Congress of Conservatives now being planned.
      2. Professor Hoeksema makes an alternate                 A Request - Professor Hoeksema has addressed a
 proposal. He writes: "I believe I have a better plan.       proposal to us and, as already stated, we have decided
 To put it in your words, Editor Vander Ploeg, I can         to comply. Now we in turn make a request to him


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 7


and his colleagues, and it is our hope and prayer that    of his convictions. However, it does seem to me to be
they also may find it possible to comply with our         premature or much too early in the day to make
request.                                                  accusations of schism. To cherish the vision or goal of
  The request is this: that, as we approach each          having all those who are Scripturally conservative or
other, they may find it possible and  also signify a      genuinely Reformed in a United Reformed Church
willingness to view our common battle for the historic    hardly calls for an indictment or an apology. As
Christian faith in a broader perspective than just the    prophets, priests, and kings, are we not all entitled
"common-grace" controversy and the record of 1924.        and also obligated to cherish and also to pursue such
                                                          an ideal, even though we do it unofficially?
  As conservatives we wish to assure our PR brethren
that we are as wholeheartedly and adamantly                      Is there not sufficient evidence in Scripture that
committed to the Scriptural teachings on the              such an ecumenicaI goal is fully warranted? And that
Antithesis and Sovereign Grace as they obviously are      it is our right as well as our duty to seek this, to work.
to a denial of "common grace". We may also grant, in      for it, and also to pray for it?
as far as comparisons can be made, that in our                   True, our efforts may lead to an impasse and to
Reformed structure of theology the former is more         frustration. But let's venture forth together in this
basic than the latter. And it is also possible that as    ecumenical undertaking  - guided, of course, by
CRC conservatives not all are necessarily committed       Scripture and our Reformed confessions. Editor
to the teaching of "common grace" as we are to the        Hoeksema, what do you say?
conviction that the Antithesis and Sovereign Grace               This is our request.
are clear as broad daylight in the Bible.                        Hopefully and prayerfully, we ask you to proceed
  Professor Hoeksema entitled his editorial, "A           with us in this way.
Realistic Response to "A Dream". Allow me now to
be just as  realistic  in repeating and underscoring a           We are looking forward to meeting with you at a
request. It is this: that we do not make mutual           mutually agreeable time and place and according to
agreement on 1924 a sine qua non or a fixed               an acceptable plan we are asking you to propose.
prerequisite for further progress toward a meeting of            We are confident that as we mutually draw closer
minds and closer fellowship among ourselves. Can          to our Lord we will also draw closer to each other for        "
you, Professor Hoeksema, see any possibility of           the welfare of His church and for the honor of His
moving toward a healing of the breach or a closing of     Name!
the gap between us in spite of certain difference that           We gladly give the same permission to  The
may remain with respect to our evaluation of 1924?        Standard Bearer to reprint these lines as was accorded
  Professor Hoeksema's loyalty to the PR Church           to us in reprinting the editorial of Professor
and his aversion to schism are understandable because     Hoeksema.



                                      Analysis and Response

  First of all, I want to express my thanks to Rev.       stance less approachable. I believe that clarity and
Vander Ploeg and  The Outlook  for reprinting my          forthrightness are essential in understanding one
editorial response to Rev. Vander Ploeg's proposal to     another, lest either party should be disappointed in
call a Congress of Conservatives, as well as for his      case of a future meeting, due to the fact that the
words of appreciation concerning my "brotherly            meeting does not live up to what he had expected of
spirit" and "approachable stance." In my opinion, it      it.
is at least a step in the right direction when we can            In the second place, frankly I am rather
have an editorial exchange such as this; and I hope       disappointed at  The Outlook's  reply to what I
that this can be continued, so that this matter of a      thought was a clear-cut proposal, a very open-hearted
possible meeting may be resolved. For that reason I       proposal, and a positive proposal. I had hoped that by
again invite The Outlook to reprint my editorial, and     this time at least the preliminary meeting on
I invite Rev. Vander Ploeg to reply. And let me say       arrangements for a conference might have been held.
from the outset that if I express myself forthrightly     But in the hope that my proposal may still meet with
in this response, this must not be understood as          acceptance from Reformed Fellowship, I make the
implying that my spirit is any less brotherly, nor my     following analysis and response.


8                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER


Analysis                                                       among ourselves." He poses the direct question: "Can
     Permit me briefly to mention what I consider to be        you, Professor Hoeksema, see any possibility of
key elements in Rev. Vander Ploeg's reply. They are            moving toward a healing of the breach or a closing of
as follows:                                                    the gap between us in spite of certain difference(s?)
                                                               that may remain with respect to our evaluation of
1. Editor Vander Ploeg says that we must be positive.          1924?"
cooperation, and also church union L but only when             Response and Comment
"Reformed Christians are to be in the forefront                1. Permit me to answer that last question first. My
among the advocates of inter-church fellowship,                answer is No. My reasons are as follows:
this can be achieved on the basis of Scripture." On               a. Rev. Vander Ploeg himself spoke in his first
this I agree completely. Only that basis should be             article of the possibility of removing obstacles 
defined a bit more precisely by adding: "and the                                                                    (The
confessions."                                                  Outlook, May, 1974, p. 8). It was in that same spirit
                                                               that I proposed a CRC  - PRC conference. I want
2. About my proposal Editor Vander Ploeg makes                 obstacles  removed,  not ignored or stepped over or
some observations which  seem to me to be rather               stepped around.
grave reservations:                                              b. The differences of 1924 were considered of
     a. He fears that the effort to resolve a controversy      such importance by the Christian Reformed Church
that is of fifty years' standing will be futile.               in 1924 that common grace was elevated to the status
     b. He fears that an impasse in a possible CRC  -          of official church doctrine, binding upon all
PRC conference will stymie efforts toward a Congress           ofticebearers and members, so that we were expelled
of Conservatives.                                              on account of refusal to subscribe to this doctrine. In
                                                               1959-`62 this same position was maintained when
     c. He asks whether we will have anything new to           certain ministers and churches which left us sought
say at a conference, as also whether there is no               affiliation with the CRC.
possibility of those who affirm and those who deny
common grace living in closer church fellowship and              c. This is obviously contrary to my proposal in the
union.                                                         June issue of the  Standard Bearer.  I proposed the
                                                               subject, "The Path to Unity." And in point 3 under
     d. He agrees to the meeting which I proposed,             my reasons I wrote: "It is no secret that I believe that
BUT with the important reservation that I and my               all of their (the CR brethren) troubles are related -
colleagues make the arrangements. And again: "We               historically, doctrinally, church politically, and
are looking forward to meeting with you at a                   ethically  - to 1924. They may not believe it, and
mutually agreeable time and place and according to             they may not agree. But I would like the opportunity
an acceptable plan we are asking you to propose. "             to be enlightened by them and proved wrong if I am
3. Finally, under the heading A Request Rev. Vander            wrong. Can we not discuss? Need we be afraid of
Ploeg makes some more observations connected with              discussion, even if we may seem at first to be poles
his request :                                                  apart?"
     a. He claims that he and his conservative fellows           d. My position with respect to CRC  - PRC
are "as. wholeheartedly and adamantly committed to             relations is essentially the same as that which you
the Scriptural teachings on the  .Antithesis  and              stated in an editorial about the CRC - RCA "budding
Sovereign Grace as they (the PRC) obviously are to a           romance" in  The Outlook  of November, 1972:
denial of `common grace.' "                                    "What's wrong with this budding romance? The same
     b. He is willing to grant that "common grace" is          thing that is wrong with a boy and a girl who are head
not as basic to the structure of Reformed theology as          over heels in love and go blissfully on with their
are the antithesis and sovereign grace. He suggests the        courtship while they close their eyes to their basic
possibility that not all CRC conservatives are not all         religious differences or sweep them under the rug for
necessarily committed to the teaching of "common               the time being as if sometime, somehow, somewhere
grace. "                                                       these differences will resolve themselves." And again:
                                                               "What's wrong with this budding romance? Amos hit
     c. He takes exception to my objection against the
last element of his "dream," i.e., that of working             the nail right on the head: `Shall two walk together
                                                               except they be agreed?' " I would not want to have
toward a United Reformed Church.                               written  - and you, too, would not want to have
     d. And Rev. Vander Ploeg's request is: "that we           written  - about any possible "budding romance" of
do not make mutual agreement on 1924 a sine qua                CR and PR brethren what you felt impelled to write
non or a fixed prerequisite for further progress               in  The Outlook  of February-March, 1973, pp. 8, 9:
toward a meeting of minds and closer fellowship                "With no interest in discussing the real issues that


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  9



have kept the CRC and the RCA apart, everything at          liberty to name the Christian Reformed and the
the meetings was sweetness and light with a budding         Protestant Reformed representatives on the planning
romance as a likelihood and hardly a cloud in the sky.      committee, if you wish, besides you and myself.
At least for the time being, sticky issues were               Rev. Vander Ploeg, I would like a simple Yes or No
comfortably set aside." Or again, (The Outlook, Nov.,       answer. to the. complete 4-point plan which I
1972, p. 4): "Well, where do we go from here with all       proposed, together with the 3 reasons which I
this?  Refuse even to talk together? Of course not.         adduced. You quote John Calvin as willing to cross
Just turn our back on any and every ecumenical              seven seas for the sake of the unity of the church. My
suggestion or venture? Not that either. It was John         proposal is much more simple: you need only cross
Calvin, to the best of my memory, who said he was           the city of Grand Rapids to 4949 Ivanrest Avenue.
`willing to cross seven seas' to promote the unity of
the church. And, although we should shun counterfeit        3. You ask whether we will have anything new to
and unscriptural ecumenicity like the proverbial            say. And you express fear that a conference will be
plague, we too should be willing to do no less. But to      futile. My reply is:
follow the primrose path of walking and working               a. I could reverse the question: will you have
together before we are agreed on the basics is              anything new `to say? You see, brother Vander Ploeg,
shortsighted and irresponsible. (italics added) `Timid,'    questions like this are premature. Let  us confer  on
someone says. Don't you believe it; this is realistic."     the basis of Scripture and the confessions. We claim
With these thoughts I agree. Perhaps - and some of          that the Three Points are an essential denial of the
your comments seem to indicate this  - you do not           antithesis and of sovereign grace. You claim to hold
think that our differences about common grace               to both, and even to hold adamantly to the antithesis
belong to the  basics.  We do not agree. But at a           and to sovereign grace. Let us try to resolve that
conference you would have the opportunity to                difference.
demonstrate that they do not belong to the basics,            b. There has never really been either a written
and that, too, on the basis of Scripture and the            discussion or a face to face conference about these
confessions. We believe - and we shall continue to          matters. For years your leaders would not so much as
believe and teach until you show us to be wrong -           answer what we wrote. And the one attempted
that the Three Points strike at the very heart of the       conference (at the Pantlind Hotel in 1939) was a
truth of our Reformed confessions. Or, as my late           dismal failure for two reasons: 1) None of your men
father put it in one of his brochures: they are a triple    were prepared, although Rev. Hoeksema came with a
breach in the foundation of the Reformed truth.             thoroughly prepared position paper. 2) None of the
                                                            Christian Reformed men would discuss, although
2. You have not accepted my proposal. That is, you          both our men and Dr. Schilder implored them to
accepted it with the important reservation of leaving       discuss. I was only 16 years old at that time, but I can
the planning to us. This is not acceptable to us. And       still remember Dr. Schilder coming to my father's
here are my reasons:                                        door on the evening of that day and saying in utter
  a. This venture, if it is to succeed, must be mutual      disgust, "`k heb de  smoor in.  (I'm thoroughly
from the outset. We - you and I and our colleagues -        annoyed, or exasperated.)" Hence, I propose that we
must agree together to call a conference to remove          should do what for fifty years has not been done.
the obstacles which separate us. If we are not agreed         c. And to yourfears of futility I  answer': let us be
on this, and agreed to act jointly, there is no use in      positive. Let us not talk about futility before we even
making a beginning. Besides, I am afraid that the           plan to confer. Do you claim to stand on the basis of
outcome of a unilaterally arranged and called               Scripture and the confessions? So do I. You convince
conference will be that we are accused finally of           me on that basis, or allow me to convince you. I
attempting to foment schism in your churches; and I         assure you that if I prepare a position paper for such
will not give occasion for such an accusation.              a conference I will conscientiously document
  b . How can the meeting be "at a mutually                 everything that I say. I would expect the same of a
agreeable time and place and according to an                Christian Reformed position paper. And if we openly
acceptable plan" unless it is mutually- planned and         meet on the basis of Scripture and the confessions,
arranged? Besides, I proposed that this joint planning      and do so prayerfully and in dependence upon the
committee should also take care of the "ground              Spirit Who leads His people into all the truth, laying
rules" for the conference.                                  aside any prejudices, cannot such a conference
  c. If I may put it rather bluntly, what is sauce for      succeed - even as that which you propose? I would
the goose is sauce for the gander. In your dream you        say that it must succeed.
called for joint planning, as I understood you. I also      4. Finally, you  .inquire  whether I will agree to a
am calling for joint planning. And I gave you full          broader conference even if the conference which I


IQ                                              THE STANDARD BEARER


proposed would not succeed, or even  before  the                 c. I am of the firm conviction that we Protestant
conference which I proposed. My answer is as                  Reformed and Christian Reformed conservatives
follows:                                                      should walk together to the broader conference
      a. I will not commit myself beforehand to a             which you propose  agreed.  For how can two walk
broader conference. I want to know what the nature            together except they be agreed?
of that conference will be, who wiil be present, who             d. I am open to conviction with respect to the idea
are to be counted as conservatives, how the                   of working toward a "United Reformed Church." To
conference will be conducted, etc.                            me, it would be schism. What it is for you, I leave to
      b. I did express willingness to attend a preliminary    your conscience and judgment. You see, brother
planning session such as you suggested. And I                 Vander Ploeg, for me as of this moment a United
promised to raise my questions and make my                    Reformed Church would have to be a Protestant
suggestions. I am a man of my word. To that promise           Reformed Church. Such is my deepest conviction!
I will stick  - provided I and one or two of my                  Again, you have my permission to reprint this in
colleagues may have full opportunity to speak.                The Outlook. And I look forward to your reply.


SEMINARY CONVOCATION:

                           Peace, A Sword, And Our Seminary

                                                 ProJ: Robert D. Decker
                                 ( The text of the address given at the convocation of
                                 the Protestant Reformed Seminary, September 4,
                                 1974J


      There are some statements in Scripture which            to set people at variance and to cause division! What
capture in just a few words the entire truth. Jesus'          Jesus presents in these words is what has come to be
word recorded in Matthew  lo:34 is one of these               called in the Reformed faith and tradition, the
statements: "Think not that I am come to send peace           antithesis. By this term we mean the separation put
on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."             by God between the truth and the lie, Christ and the
The Savior states His purpose in coming with these            devil, light and darkness, good and evil, sin and grace.
words. We ought to understand that' this is not the           We mean the conflict resolved at the cross of Jesus
only such statement from the Lord. He tells us                Christ. And most emphatically we mean the calling of
elsewhere, for example, that He is come not to call           the Christian to be not conformed to this age but
the righteous but sinners to repentance; or that He is        transformed by the renewing of his mind in order to
come to seek and to save that which was lost. Hence,          prove the good and acceptable will of God.
we. must not conceive of this word as an exhaustive             Now it is not merely coincidental that Jesus states
definition of what Jesus came to do on this  .earth.          this purpose in this context. He is commissioning and
This word does, however, get at the heart of the              qualifying the twelve apostles to go and preach the
Savior's purpose in coming. Jesus came to save His            gospel of the kingdom to the lost sheep of the house
people.from their sins by way of His atoning death on         of Israel. Nowhere does the conflict become more
the cross as sealed in His resurrection from the dead.        sharply revealed or the battle more hotly contested
Thus the Son of God in the flesh fulfilled the eternal        than where the gospel is preached. For this reason the
counsel of God and in Him and His Body, the                   Savior encourages the twelve concerning the
Church, the glory of God shall be perfectly manifest          opposition they will encounter and the persecution
in the new creation. But all of this is accomplished          they will experience as they go preaching. They have
exactly in the way of Christ's coming not to send             no reason to fear for the Father cares for them. There
peace on earth but a sword.                                   is no cause for dismay or disappointment when the
      The meaning of our Lord's Word is quite obvious.        gospel they preach is rejected and opposed, for Jesus'
Christ did not come to send peace on earth, He came           very purpose in coming is not to send peace but a
to send a sword, i.e., conflict, war, bloodshed. He came      sword!


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 11



   And there is the word for us as we begin another         defiance of God and His cause. The patriarchs were
 season of seminary instruction. The antithesis is          strangers in a strange land. The conflict was revealed
 maintained and realized in the church and in the lives     in that it was Israel in, Egypt's bondage. It was the
 of the people of God by means of the preaching of          heathen of Canaan against God's chosen. Finally, it
 the gospel. It is the business of the seminary to train    was the whole world united against God's Old
 preachers of the gospel for the churches. Hence, we        Testament church: Assyria, Syria and Babylon!
 speak on the subject; "Peace, A Sword, And Our             Wherever, therefore, God revealed Himself in the old
 Seminary."                                                 dispensation there was division, strife, a sword.
   There is an apparent contradiction here. "I am not          The climax to this battle came in the fullness of
 come to send peace on earth" appears to be the exact       time when God sent the promised Son into the world.
 opposite of what the Bible says elsewhere concerning       The sword became obvious already at His birth, or
 the mission of `Jesus' Christ. At His birth                shortly thereafter, when  Herod attempted to destroy
 announcement the angels speak of "Peace on earth           Him and it continued all through the ministry of the
 and good will among men." The prophet, Isaiah, in          Lord Jesus. Wherever Jesus Christ appeared there was
 chapter 9 of his prophecy lists among  His Names:          the sword. He was tempted of Satan after being 40
 "The Prince of Peace". There are many passages             days and nights in the wilderness, He was
 which speak of Jesus' purpose in coming in terms of        contradicted, denied, and rejected of men. Always
 His bringing peace. Ephesians 2: 14, 15 teaches that       there was during those three and a half years of His
 Christ is our peace, that He made both one, broke          public ministry the deliberate attempt on the part of
 down the middle wall of partition between us, having       Satan and the world to destroy the cause of God
 abolished in His flesh the enmity between us, making       represented in the person of His Son. That became
 one new man out of two; and now notice, so making          most clearly revealed at His cross where the whole
peace!  In Luke  1:79 Zacharias sings of Him as He          world cried, "away with Him, crucify Him," and
Who cam,e to "guide our feet into the way of peace."        attempted to destroy Him forever! But it was at the
But here Jesus states emphatically; "I am not come to       cross that the Prince of Peace crushed the head of the
send peace, but a sword." How must we understand            serpent. The Bible tells us that at the cross Christ
these words? How can Jesus be "the Prince of Peace"         destroyed him that had the power of death, even the
if He came to send a sword?                                 devil. And death is swallowed up in the victory of the
   There is, of course, no contradiction. The Bible is a    resurrection of Jesus Christ.
perfect harmony. Jesus' statement of purpose is               After the ascension and return of Jesus Christ in
precisely according to the eternal counsel of God.          the Spirit the battle continues even though the issue
God's eternal purpose in Christ Jesus according to          has been decided and the victory has been won
which He saved the Church, created the worlds is;           through the cross. If tradition be correct only one of
war, division, strife, a sword. The revelation of this      the twelve apostles died in bed. So it has been
purpose of God is given already in Paradise. In             throughout the ages. By means of false teachers in the
Genesis 3: 15 we read: "And I will put enmity               church, the temptations of the world, the devil and
(hatred) between thee and the woman and between             his host oppose the gospel and attempt to destroy the
thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and         cause of Christ. It is a battle which rages even in the
thou shalt bruise his heel." This word was spoken by        lives of the children of God. It is the struggle between
God to Satan moments after Satan had tempted our            the old man of sin or the flesh and the new man in
first parents to fall. God said there is going to be        Christ. A daily and bitter struggle it is. The apostle
hatred between the two seeds: namely, that of the           Paul's anguished confession of his own struggle
woman or the church (elect) and that of the serpent,        against sin recorded in Romans 7 is testimony
or the world (the reprobate). There is conflict here,       enough!
strife,. a battle and bloodshed! And the first instance       So we see there is no contradiction between this
of that bloodshed soon followed when Cain slew his          word of Christ and what Scripture says elsewhere of
righteous brother Abel.                                     the purpose of His coming. Christ is indeed the Prince
   The Bible from this point on records the history of      of Peace and He came to bring peace. But not the
that great conflict between the two seeds. Enoch, the       peace of the world - He came to bring the peace of
seventh from Adam,  prophecied of the impending             the kingdom of God. He did not come to bring peace
judgments upon the ungodly and he was translated            to the ungodly on the earth. The gospel of the
that he should not see death. Noah for a                    kingdom of heaven is not one of earthly peace or
hundred twenty years was a preacher of righteousness.       tranquility for all men. The message of Christianity is
He testified clearly "the flood is coming" and he           not one of reconciliation and harmony or even one of
gained not one convert, in all that time. Nimrod and        co-existence among the people of the earth. And it
the world of his day built their tower of Babel in          certainly is not one of union between the church and


12                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



the world or between light and darkness! Christ came       counsellors  or youth ministers. Neither does our
to send a sword! He came to fight and to destroy the       seminary specialize in all these areas - and may God
ungodly as God had purposed from all eternity.             forbid that it ever should in the future. What the
According to the book of Daniel He is the Stone cut        churches do need is faithful preaching. The church
out of the mountain by no human hand which grinds          needs preachers who will in obedience to Jesus Christ
to powder the kingdoms of this world. He came to           wield the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of
bruise the head of the serpent and He dealt the death      God! Preachers who will proclaim, "the Kingdom of
blow at the cross! The cross is the destruction of the     Heaven is at hand," preachers who will not corrupt
forces of unbelief under Satan. And the Word of the        the Word by coming to the church with excellency of
cross destroyed the  anti-Christian  wisdom of this        speech and'worldly wisdom, but preachers who will
world. By that same cross Jesus Christ brought the         speak out of sincerity in Christ and who will be
peace of the Kingdom of Heaven to His people. And          determined to know nothing but Christ crucified
that is the significance of this word for our seminary.    among God's people - this is the great need of the
      God has been very gracious to us from every point    churches. And to train such faithful preachers and to
of view. From an external viewpoint or materially we       be trained as such faithful preachers of the gospel God
have been given beautiful facilities in which to work.     calls us together tonight as Theological School of the
All the means and resources to provide good, sound,        Protestant Reformed Churches.
Reformed theological education are at our disposal.           God's Word to us is plain. Professors of Theology,
But far more important and wonderful is the fact that      teach these students the Word of God, vindicate
God has preserved His truth among us. Consider that        sound doctrine over against all heresy repugnant
with me: in an age of doctrinal apathy He has kept us      thereto. Let these students see the Reformed Truth
doctrinally sensitive ! In an age of almost                of the Holy Scriptures in all of its power and beauty.
unprecedented departure from the truth, He has kept        Give these students just that, nothing less and nothing
us faithful to it. In an age of compromise and             more. That is your charge from God Himself. And
conformity, He has kept us standing fast. He               this charge from God means you will be opposed. The
continues to sanctify us in an age of immorality and       gospel does not appeal to men. The Word of God is
lawlessness that knows no bounds. He, the God of           sharper than any two-edged sword, it cuts and divides
our salvation, has done all of this! The praise and        asunder, and pierces even to the joints and marrow,
thanks belong to Him alone. But don't you see that         and is a discerner of the thoughts of the heart. For
our calling in this light becomes the more serious?        the truth we are called to teach many have given their
The gospel of Jesus Christ must be preached. The           very lives. Be encouraged by the Word of Christ Who
gospel which has as its content the Holy and inspired      said: "Think not that I am come to send peace on
and infallible Word of God must be preached. The           earth, I came not to send peace, but a sword."
Scriptures must be preached. The Word which                   Students, as preachers some day, the Lord willing,
declares the kingdom of heaven is at hand must be          you will stand in the vanguard, you will be in the
preached. Hence, the Word which declares the               front lines of the battle! You may be sure that battle
absolute sovereignty of God against the background         is going to increase in its intensity for sin is
of the total inability of the natural man to do any        developing and the man of sin  .is more and more
good. The gospel which has as its theme, salvation by      becoming evident in the world in which we live. All
grace through faith and that not of ourselves - it is      things are obviously rushing madly toward the end.
the gift of God, must be preached. The'gospel which        Study! Work hard! Pray! The gospel for which you
proclaims the destruction of the kingdom of man and        are training and being trained to preach  demands
the triumph of the Kingdom of Heaven to be realized        your all!
at the appearing of Jesus Christ is the Word which
must be preached. And the preaching of that Gospel            Church of Jesus Christ, pray for us. We are grateful
is the                                                     to God more than we are able to express for all your
           only  means by which the truth will be
maintained over against the lie, our churches will         prayers, gifts, and words of encouragement in the
continue to manifest the marks of the true church of       past. We beg you to continue to remember the
Jesus Christ in the world, and the only means by           seminary. It needs the support of God's people. And
which God's people will be set at variance with all        all of us together ought to set ourselves to the task
unbelief and sin.                                          with joyful zeal! In the face of the inevitable
                                                           opposition to the gospel of Jesus Christ which we
      And let it be underscored it is the seminary's       shall surely encounter we are not afraid. We fear none
business to train faithful preachers of that gospel.       of those things which shall come to pass, for the very
This is the great need of the churches. The Church of      hairs of our head are numbered and we are of more
Jesus Christ does not need all kinds of "special           value than many sparrows for whom our heavenly
ministries." The church does not need psychological        Father cares. Our Father in heaven Who numbers the


                       T H E O L O G I C A L   S C H O O L
                                        . . . O F   T H E . .   .
                        P R O T E S T A N T   R E F O R M E D   C H U R C H E S
                                 4949  IVANREST  AVENUE, S.W.
                                  GRANDVILLE,  MICHIGAN 49418
                                       PHONE:  (616) 531-1490
                                           October,  1974
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,                                                       i
            It has been some time since we have written to You; and with a new se-
mester of school begun, we have a.good opportunity to bring YOU up to aate
on the news at Seminary.                                                                          .     finished
            you will probably be interested to hear that all the work 1s
at the Seminary Building. Doors have,been installed on the clas$rovms. .
Outside, the landscaping is done and the attractiveness of the premlse&zs
enhanced by a beautiful law3 and various shrubs and flowering trees.
lam is watered by an undergro~d sprinkling  system-                                A new sign of brick
and silver lettering has been s'et up by the Toad.                           With.the changing of the
leaves from summer green to au?urfln's blaze of color, it is truly beautiful
on "Seminary Hfl1".

auditorium was

                                                                              have had in all the
school's history,                                                            student body goes like
of the Seminary's existence.               The breakdown in thetwo students in the fresh-
this.         There are, in the pre-seminary department,
man class, one in the sophomore Class, five in the junior Class, and four
seniors.         There are four students in the SeminarY, all in their first year.
Of the total of sixteen, four students are fra outside the denomination.
                                                                    .
            aready last semester we began somethIng new in Seminary.                                   Every Wednes-
                                                                                        .
day morning betwekn second and third perlods, the whole SemInarY  Comes to-
gether in the Assembly Room for chapel.                            The faculty members take turns leaa-
ing chapel exercises.                                                                                    .
            NOW that we have much more room, we are giving special attentl;on to the
expansion of our LibraY'Y.             Those of YOU who have been in the builalng have
                                                .
seen how inadequate our library 1s~                     A great deal of work has been done to
put the lilxary on the Dewey Decimal  System.                            This work is just about complet-
                                                              .                    .         library to make
 ea.        We are now concentrating our attention on expmal;;ttkEoks me expensive;
 it the help it ought to be for students ana faculty.
 ana so if any of our readers would like to help, donations of either money and-
worthwhile theological books are much appreclatea.
            We hope to write you again soon. Brethren, pray for  US,  as  We  do  for
 y o u .                                                     With Christian greetings,
                                                             The Faculty


14                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


ALL AROUND US


            The Lausanne Congress On Evangelism

                                                        ProJ: H. Hanko

      Lausanne, Switzerland is about forty miles from            to Christ and the gospel every kind of syncretism and
Geneva, the home of John Calvin during most of the               dialogue which implies that Christ speaks equally
years of his reformatory labors and the site of the              through all religions and ideologies." Further, in
headquarters of the World Council of Churches                    Article 5 we find the statement: ". . . Reconciliation
(WCC). Gathered at Lausanne were some 2400                       with man is not reconciliation with God, nor is social
official participants and a large number of observers            action evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation
for the International Congree On World Evangelism.               . . . " While the Congress did not become a
Members of the Congress came from over 150 nations               self-perpetuating body and did not set up an official
to consider together the calling of the Church to                structure, nevertheless, a Continuation Committee of
bring the gospel to every creature.                              thirty members will be chosen to carry on the work
      The idea of such a Congress was born in the mind           of the Congress. And it was the expressed hope of
of Billy Graham, who also functioned as honorary                 many delegates that a permanent organization would
chairman, and was put together by a planning                     result which would, in time, replace the WCC in the
committee of twenty-nine members with the help of                allegiance of evangelicals.
150 international evangelical leaders functioning as                An evaluation of the Lausanne Congress would
conveners. The Congress met for ten days for                     show that it was a rather typical evangelical meeting.
speeches, conferences, discussions of position papers            The "Covenant" shows that there are some strengths
and strategy papers  - all for the purpose of uniting            in the evangelical movement. There are parts of the
evangelicals to get on with the task of "evangelizing            Covenant which are basically sound. E.g., Article 2
the world." The Congress climaxed with the signing               deals with "The Authority and Power of the Bible."
of a rather lengthy document called "The Lausanne                The committee to draw up the preliminary document
Covenant" by most of the participants and some                   did not present as strong a version as was finally
observers in which was expressed  ,"an evangelical               incorporated into the text. The strengthening of this
consensus on matters" affecting evangelism.                      article was due to the suggestion of Francis Schaeffer,
      The Congress was obviously in competition with             the well-known leader of `L Abri in Switzerland. It
the World Council of Churches. Many evangelicals                 reads:
have become disillusioned with the WCC. The areas of                       We affirm the divine inspiration, truthfulness and
disagreement are two. Many are unhappy with the                      authority of both Old and New Testament Scriptures
WCC because of the increasing emphasis which this                    in their entirety as the only written word of God,
organization puts upon social involvement. Others                    without error in all that it affirms, and the only
express concern over the fact that the WCC more and                  infallible rule of faith and practice. We also affirm the
more leans towards the position that the Christian                   power of God's word to accomplish his purpose of
                                                                     salvation. The message of the Bible is addressed to all
faith ought not to enter into competition with pagan                 mankind. For God's revelation in Christ and in
religions and Jewish orthodoxy. Leaders of the WCC                   Scripture is unchangeable. Through it the Holy Spirit
have expressed the conviction that faith in Christ is                still speaks today. He illumines the minds of God's
not essential to salvation, but that the convictions of              people in every culture to perceive its truth freshly
any man, regardless of his religion, are sufficient.                through their own  .eyes and thus discloses to the
      The competition into which the Lausanne Congress              whole church ever more of the many-colored wisdom
entered was evident in various ways. The mere fact                  of God.
that the Congress met so near WCC headquarters was                 Furthermore, the Congress,  -by its "Covenant"
intended to serve notice to the WCC that it had better           repudiated such modern heresies as Universalism,
change its stance on various issues if it wants                  Syncretism, and Humanism. As a slap at the WCC, it
evangelical co-operation. There were also various                reaffirmed its intention not to support the social
articles in the "Covenant" which were quite                      gospelism of that organization.
obviously aimed at positions in the WCC. E.g., in Art.             But there are many weaknesses. If the Congress
4 the Congress stated: "We also reject as derogatory             had met in Lausanne during the days of John Calvin


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         15


and he had been an interested observer from his             social stance towards the world's problems.
vantage  ,point in Geneva, he would have left the           According to reports, a great deal of the discussion
Congress with a heart saddened by the colorless and         and debate. of the Congress centered exactly in this
bland Arminianism of the "Covenant".                        question. In fact, there were many "rump sessions"
   As is characteristic of evangelicalism, the              of representatives who were not satisfied with the
"Covenant" is an Arminian document. This is true            direction the Congress was moving in this area.
from two different points of view. On the one hand,           But the position of the "Covenant" is ambiguous.
the  "Covenant"~ fails entirely to set forth the truths     On the one hand, the "Covenant" explicitly
of sovereign grace rooted in sovereign election. The        repudiates the trends found in the WCC. But on the
closest that the "Covenant" comes to anything               other hand, a rather strong statement on the Church's
resembling this is a statement in Article 14: "We           social responsibility was included. Article 5 is entitled
believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father         "Christian Social Responsibility", and reads:
sent his Spirit to bear witness to his Son, without his            We affirm 
witness ours is futile. Conviction of sin, faith                                 that God is both the Creator and the
                                                      in        Judge of all men. We therefore should share his
Christ, new birth and Christian growth are all his              concern for justice and reconciliation throughout
work." But on the other hand, even this mild and                human society (This second statement is supposed to
bland statement is contradicted by other statements             be a conclusion from the first, a conclusion indicated
which set forth clearly the Arminian position. While            by the use of the word "Therefore". But how this
liberal Universalism is rejected, the "Covenant"                statement follows from the first is more than I can
nevertheless affirms:  ". . . God loves `all men . .  ."        see. Why does the fact that God is both Creator and
(Article 3) Or again, in the same article: "To proclaim        Judge of men necessarily imply that God is concerned
Jesus as `the Saviour of the world' is not to affirm            for justice and reconciliation throughout human
that all men are either automatically or ultimately             society, and why does it follow that we must share
saved, still less to affirm that all religions offer            that concern? Of such non sequiturs are heresies
salvation in Christ. Rather it is to proclaim God's love        made. H.H.) and for the liberation of men from every
                                                               kind of oppression. Because mankind is made in the
for a world of sinners and to invite all men to respond        image of God, every person, regardless of race,
to him as Saviour and Lord in the wholehearted                  religion,  colour, culture, class, sex or age, has an
personal commitment of repentance and faith."                  intrinsic dignity because of which he should be
  It is not surprising that, within this context, the           respected and served, not exploited. Here too we
Arminian ideas are set forth of a gospel which is "an           express penitence both for our neglect and for having
0 ffer", "an invitation", a means of "persuading                sometimes regarded evangelism and social concern as
people to come to (Christ) personally and so be                mutually exclusive. Although reconciliation with man
reconciled to God." (Cf. Article 4 on "The Nature of           is  not reconciliation with God, nor is social action
Evangelism") There is no mention whatsoever of the             evangelism, nor is political liberation salvation,
                                                               nevertheless we affirm that evangelism and
gospel' as the power of God unto salvation; as the             socio-political involvement are both part of our
sovereign means whereby God calls His elect out of              Christian duty. For both are necessary expressions of
darkness into light, and as a means to harden the              our doctrines of God and man, our love for our
reprobate in the way of their impenitence and                  neighbour and our obedience to Jesus Christ. The
unbelief.                                                      message of salvation implies also a message of
  Such Arminianism is, after all, a form of                    judgment upon every form of alienation, oppression
Universalism insofar as a "gospel offer" is a                  and discrimination, and we should not be afraid to
                                                               denounce evil and injustice wherever they exist. When
manifestation of a  universal  love of God. It is a            people receive Christ they are born again into his
peculiar thing that evangelicals cannot seem to get it         kingdom and must seek not only to exhibit but also
through their heads that this "mild" form of                   to spread its righteousness in the midst of an
Universal&m is after all a fundamental concession to           unrighteous world. The salvation we claim should be
the most liberal  Universalism;. and that therefore,           transforming us in the totality of our personal and
Arminianism is incipient modernism. The path which             social responsibilities. Faith without works is dead.
the Lausanne Congress has chosen to walk is the path          The difference between this statement on social
which leads, in a matter of a short time, into the arms     responsibility and the position of liberals is only one
of the WCC which organization they have tried so            of degree. There is no basic doctrinal difference
hard to condemn.                                            between the two positions.  Evangelicals are simply
  Another interesting facet of the Congress was the         not yet prepared to go as far as liberals and
struggle over the question of the social calling of the     modernists. But when one sets himself upon a given
Church. There were many so-called "Third World"             path, he will move ahead. He cannot stand still. The
representatives present. Especially these pushed hard       official delegates at Lausanne are walking down a
to bring the Congress to the position of taking a           road that leads to WCC headquarters in Geneva.


16                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


      And so, in conclusion, we ought to observe that       with the whole Key `73 Program; it is continuing at
once again evangelicalism has taken a giant stride in       Lausanne; what shall be the next step in that
the direction of using evangelism as a means to             direction time will tell.
further the cause of ecumenicity. This was begun


TAKING HEED TO  THE DOCTRINE

              "Hyper-Calvinism" and the Call of the
                                               Gospel  (4)
                                                Rev. David Engelsma

      Throughout their history, up to the present day,      believeth on Christ shall not perish but have eternal
the Protestant Reformed Churches have been                  life. He cannot personally address the good news" (p.
misrepresented as hyper-Calvinists, because of their        123). De Jong speaks of Hoeksema's "depreciation of
denial of the well-meant offer of the:gospel.  This has     genuine responsibility and real decision" (p. 177). In
been done by charging that they preach only to the          short, Hoeksema is a hyper-Calvinist, unwilling to
elect, by charging that they refuse to call everyone to     preach the good news promiscuously, and unable to
Christ, by charging that they do `not believe in            call all sinners, in all seriousness, to repentance and
missions, and by outrightly referring to them as            faith.
hyper-Calvinists. In various ways, men have                     We must refrain from taking up De Jong's amazing
represented their opposition to the well-meant offer        assertion that preaching is not "in the first moment
of the gospel as a denial of the serious call of the        the communication of a certain group of . . .
gospel to all who hear the preaching and a weakening        doctrines," and that preaching is not "in the first
of the Church's calling to preach the `gospel to every      instance an explication of an objective set of
creature, commanding all who come under the                 circumstances (or) a communication of a certain
preaching to repent and believe. This is total, and         truth," but that preaching is "in the first moment"
usually inexcusable, misrepresentation.                     and "in the first instance" a "summons to share in
      A.C. De Jong did this in his book, `The Well-Meant    Christ's victory over sin" (pp. 110, 111). Let it
Gospel Offer: The Views of H. Hoeksema and  K,              suffice to say that we regard preaching differently.
Schilder, a book that has framed the opinion that many      "In the  first instance," preaching is exactly the
have of the Protestant Reformed Churches' denial            communication of doctrine and truth, that is, the
of the well-meant offer. De Jong criticized                 announcement of that which God has done and will
Hoeksema's denial of the offer as a virtual destruction     do in Jesus Christ. It is the official declaration of
of lively gospel preaching. He  ,suggested that             news, the good news of God's gracious salvation. It is
Hoeksema's rejection of the offer means that                "t h e   e x p l i c a t i o n   o f   a n   o b j e c t i v e   s e t   o f
Hoeksema cannot, indeed does not want to, preach to         circumstances". "Christ died for our sins according to
all, and that Hoeksema cannot call everyone who             the scriptures . . . and he rose again the third day
hears the preaching to believe on Christ. For               . . . " (I Cor. 15 : 3, 4). Good, apostolic
Hoeksema, preaching becomes "`the communication             gospel-preaching is, in addition, a declaration of "all
of a certain group of logically interrelated doctrines"     the counsel of God" (Acts  20:27). Then, and only
(The Well-meant Gospel Offer, p. 110). "There is in         then, it is also a "testifying . . . repentance toward
Hoeksema's theology a subtle mutation of preaching          God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts
into a report of an objective and fixed set of              20 : 2 1). To construe preaching as "in the first
circumstances" (p. 111). Hoeksema merely "admits            moment" .in the imperative mood (telling man what
that all sinners are called to repent and believe" (p.      he must do), and not in the indicative mood (telling
111). But his denial of the offer really makes this         man what God has done and promises to do), is to
impossible: he can only call men "to a decision for or      p r o d u c e   t h e   m o n s t r o s i t y   t h a t   p a s s e s   f o r
against a set of truths . .  ." (p. 111). Because he        gospel-preaching today: a few minutes about Jesus
denies the offer, Hoeksema is guilty of "restricting        followed by a twenty minute altar call. But we let
the proclamation of the good news that whosoever            this go. Our concern is only to show that Hoeksema's


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         17



denial of the offer had nothing to do with any                to all who hear the Word" (p. 63). Almost
hesitancy on Hoeksema's part to give a summons to             impatiently, Hoeksema rejected the misrepresentation
all who come under the preaching to believe on                of his stand against the offer:
Christ, and that his denial of the offer implied no                  Let us keep this point firmly in mind. The
restriction of full, lively gospel-preaching.                     question is not what God demands. The question is
  What it is that the Protestant Reformed Churches                also not whether God wills that the gospel shall be
object to in the well-meant offer of the gospel, what             preached to all without distinction to whom He sends
the issue really is in their denial of the offer, is made         it according to His good pleasure. No, the question is
crystal-clear in Hoeksema's book, Een Kracht Gods                 simply this: is that gospel according to its content a
Tot Zaligheid of Genade Geen Aanbod ( 4 Power of                  well-meaning and common offer on God's part (p.
God unto Salvation, or Grace No Offer,  193O)l                    68)? Rev. Keegstra, please, there is between us no
                                                                  difference over the fact that many who are called by
Already in the earliest history of the Protestant                 the gospel perish in their unbelief! Nor is there any
Reformed Churches, men tried  to'leave the                        question between us about the equally firm fact that
impression that the issue was the failure of the                  the guilt of such unbelief does not lie in any lack in
Protestant Reformed Churches to do  jusTice to the                Christ, but in themselves (p. 105).
call of the gospel to everyone who hears the
preaching. Hoeksema insisted that this was                      What then was the issue in the common grace
misrepresentation, and that the issue was, something          controversy of  1924? Why did Hoeksema refuse to
quite different.                                              subscribe to the doctrine of the well-meant offer of
                                                              the gospel, even though the price he paid was
  A certain Rev. Keegstra had  w&ten that                     expulsion from the Christian Reformed Church? Why
Hoeksema's denial of the well-meant offer of the              do the Protestant Reformed Churches repudiate the
gospel as adopted by the Christian Reformed Church            offer today? Hoeksema opposed the doctrine of the
in 1924 was really a denial that the gospel must be           well-meant offer of the gospel that was taught by the
preached to everyone and a denial that God seriously          Christian Reformed Church in the first point of
calls everyone who hears the preaching to repent and          common grace of 1924. The teaching of that first
believe. Against Keegstra, Hoeksema wrote that the            point is that God has a "favorable attitude . . .
issue involved in denying the offer had nothing to do         towards humanity in general and not only towards
with the question whether the gospel should be                the elect," that there is "a certain favor or grace of
preached to everyone :                                        God which He shows to His creatures in general," and
       Our difference does not at all have to do with the     that "the general offer of the gospel" is an expression
    question, whether the gospel, according to the will of    of that favor or grace of God to all men. With
    God, must also be preached to all who are in our          reference to this first point of common grace and its
   audience, reprobate as well as elect. This is t&en for     doctrine of the offer, Hoeksema wrote:
    granted on both sides  (A Power of God unto
   Salvation, p. 20).                                                what is the real point of the first point fhet puntje
                                                                  van dit eerste punt)? Only this, that the offer of the
      Note well, (the issue) is not whether the gospel            gospel is common? No, but that this offer of the
   must be proclaimed by the preach& to alI men who               gospel is common grace (emphasis his-DE). The
   sit in his audience without distinction., Every                preaching of the gospel, so the Synod of 1924 has
   Reformed man believes this (p. 27).                            taught, is God's grace, not only for the elec,t, but also
  Nor is this the issue, that the Protestant,Reformed             for the reprobate, not only for those who are saved
Churches dislike to  call everyone who hears the                 by it, but also for those who perish under it. That is
preaching:                                                        the point. The preaching of the gospel is grace for all
      We have nothing against a universal                        (PP.  16,171.
                                               demand of
   faith and conversion. About  this there is no                The well-meant offer teaches that God goes out, in
    dispute. . . That the demand of conversion and faith      the preaching, to many sinners in love and grace,
   applies to all, even though all cannot fulfill it and      desiring to save them and trying to save them, but
   even though it is only almighty grace that enables one     failing to save them. Concerning such a view,
   to fulfill it, we readily grant (p. 30).                   Hoeksema wrote:
  Hoeksema expresses agreement with Calvin who                       I find this in one word, terrible. For to me it is
taught "that through the ministry of the gospel by               nothing less than a direct denial of the almighty grace
men, many are called in the external  sense of the               of the Savior, a denial of the sovereign grace of God;
word; called to faith and conversion; called to the              an enthronement of the will of man (p. 45).
salvation in Christ; that many come under the                   The issue at stake in the doctrine of the offer is
promise: whoever believes has eternal life. But this is       nothing less than the truth qf sovereign grace: ". . .
something entirely different from confessing that             the standpoint of 1924 is Arminian. That the
God now well-meaningly offers His salvation in Christ         preaching of the gospel is common grace - this is the


 18                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



 Arminian conception" (p. 17). In opposition to the                        2. The sure promise of God which He realizes in us
 well-meant offer, Hoeksema held, not that there is no                  as rational and moral creatures not only makes it
 call to all who hear the gospel, but that "the                         impossible that we should not bring forth fruits of
 preaching of the gospel is grace on& for the elect, and                thankfulness but also confronts us with the obligation
 that it is not and can never be anything else for the                  of love, to walk in a new and holy life, and constantly
 reprobate than a judgment and a savor of death to                      to watch unto prayer.
 death." This is the issue; this is "our difference with                   All those who are not thus disposed, who do not
 the Christian Reformed Church" (p. 17).                    .           repent but walk in sin, are the object of His just
       The well-meant offer teaches that God's grace is                 wrath and excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven.
 universal. The Protestant Reformed Churches                               That the preaching comes to  all; and that God
`maintain that God's grace is particular, specifically                  seriously commands to faith and repentance, and that
 now in the preaching of the gospel. The truth that                     to all those who come and believe He promises life
 God% grace is particular is essential for a confession                 and peace.
 of the  sovereignty  of grace  - if God's grace in the                It is indisputable that the Protestant Reformed
`.preaching is for everybody, it is not sovereign grace.            Churches' rejection of a well-meant offer and a
 And the truth that God's grace in the preaching of                 conditional promise is not, and never was, motivated
 the gospel is particular, sovereign grace is the very              by hyper-Calvinism, that is, by a refusal to preach the
 heart of the Reformed faith:                                       gospel to every creature, a refusal to call every hearer
                                                                    to repentance and faith, and a refusal to proclaim to
           For him who loves the Reformed faith, the
        confession that God's grace is particular is of the very    everyone the promise that whoever believes shall be
        highest importance. He sees it as one of the most           saved. This was simply not the issue. As we will see
        fundamental articles of faith. He maintains thereby         more fully in a following article, the issue in the
        that God the Lord is absolutely sovereign and that He       doctrine of a well-meant offer of the gospel is this:
       .alone determines who shall be saved. With this              does God love and have a gracious attitude towards
        confession, as far as he is concerned, stands or falls      everyone who hears the preaching, and does He, in
        the entire Reformed faith. By this confession, it is        the preaching, desire to save everyone? As Hoeksema
        maintained that God is God, that no one is God              never wearied of asking, "What  graie does the
        except Him ("Foreword" of A  Power of God).                 reprobate receive in the preaching?"
       The Protestant Reformed Churches have
persevered in warding off the hyper-Calvinistic danger                Just as it is misrepresentation to set forth
 on the left hand, even as they did battle with                     Hoeksema's rejection of the offer as hyper-Calvinism,
Arminianism on the right hand. In the early  1950's,                so it is nothing but a caricature to portray him and
through a fierce internal struggle, they rejected the               others who deny the offer as men who, by virtue of
doctrine of a conditional covenant, a doctrine                      their rejection of the offer, lack the ardor of the
essentially the same as that of the well-meant offer of             apostle Paul to gain and save many (I Cor. 9: 19ff), as
salvation. At that time, they adopted "A Brief                      men who are unable or unwilling to beseech others to
Declaration of Principles" in which `they confessed                 be reconciled to God (II Cor. 5:20), and as men who
the doctrine of God's unconditional covenant of                     take delight in preaching men to hell. Invariably,
grace, and the truth of the unconditional promise of                critics of his `opposition to the offer have painted
the  gospel.2 Even though they had their eye on the                 Hoeksema in these colors. Essentially, it is nothing
teaching that the preaching is a conditional promise                more or less than the hoary Arminian calumny of the
of God to all hearers, a teaching found at that time                Reformed preacher, because of his confession of the
within their own denomination, they did not react by                doctrine of reprobation. Everything that has been
swinging over to the other, hyper-Calvinistic extreme.              said along these lines about those who deny that God
In the very "Declaration" in which they condemned                   is gracious to all in the preaching holds with equal
the doctrine of a conditional promise, they                         validity for those who confess reprobation. But the
steadfastly confessed that the preaching of the                     portrayal is false, if not malicious. In the spirit of
(particular) promise is and must be promiscuous, and                Calvin, who called the doctrine of reprobation the
that the preaching calls all hearers to repent and                  "deer&urn  howibZeyy3  (without for a moment ceasing
believe :                                                           to confess and publicly proclaim it), Hoeksema
                                                                    admonished his students never to take the word,
          This preaching of the particular promise is               "reprobation," on their lips, in their preaching and
       promiscuous to all that hear the gospel with the             teaching, without trembling. In his book, A Power of
       command, not a condition, to repent and believe."            God, after he has explained II Corinthians 2: 14-16,
          "And we maintain:                                         Hoeksema wrote :
          1. That God surely and infallibly  fulfnls His                  From a human viewpoint, a preacher may wart to
       promise to the elect.                                           save all who are in his audience, and want to take


                                                         THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                  19


         them with him to heaven. Certainly he  will not,
         cannot, and may not seek to be a savor of death unto             IThe book has not been translated. All quotations from it are my
         death. His calling is to be a good savor of Christ, and       translations of the Dutch.
         to preach God's Word faithfully. If he does this, his            2This  "Declaration of Principles," which was intended "to be used
         task is fulfilled, and he leaves the outcome to the           only by the Mission Committee and the Missionaries for the
         Lord.                                                         organization of prospective Churches" appears in the back of the book
                                                                       containing the church Order of the Protestant Reformed Churches. The
   But the faithful preacher also "prepared himself to                 book can be obtained from the Stated Clerk of the Churches.
be willing to be a savor of death unto death, as well as                  3/nstitufes,   I II, XXIII, 7. Calvin is speaking of God's decree that
                                                                       some men perish eternally through the fall of Adam which He ordained.
 a savor of life unto life. For such is t`he will of God.              "Here the most loquacious tongues must be dumb. The decree, I admit,
And only in this way is he always a conqueror" (p.                     is dreadful; and yet it is impossible to deny that God  foreknew  that the
 96).                                                                  end of man was to be before he made him, and foreknew, because he
                                                                       had so ordained by his decree."



THE DAY OF SHADOWS

                         SEPARATION AND DEVELOPMENT

                                                            Rev. John A. Heys
   It pleased God to give to Noah and his wife three                   enmity against Satan and his whole kingdom. When,
sons through whom He would replenish. the earth                       then, the seed of the serpent sought to build this
with seed. It also pleased Him to separate the                        universal kingdom of the Antichrist so shortly after
descendants of these three sons and to scatter them                   the flood, the hatred of that seed against God
over the face of this earth. This occurred after these                display&d itself; and the heel of the seed of the
descendants had begun to build the tower of Babel.                    woman was in danger of being crushed. Behind it was
                                                                      Satan himself seeking to keep this Seed of Abraham,
  But in seeking to understand and appreciate this                    namely, Christ, from being born and from receiving
work of God whereby He separated people who were                      His kingdom. And let it never be forgotten that the
blood relatives, and caused them to become fiercely                   church is always smaller than the world. The number
national, and peoples who lived in murderous ejnmity                   of God's people - although an innumerable host - is
and bloody warfare against each other, we must bear in                always a little flock in comparison with the hordes of
mind that precious truth of Scripture that "all things                Satan's spiritual seed.
work together for good to those that love God", as                       And for the sake of His Church God divided the
well as the truth that God has a sovereign, eternal,                  power of the enemy by causing the seed of Shem,
unchangeable counsel according to which all of                        Ham and Japheth to separate from each other and
history unfolds. And it unfolds according to His                      develop into nations, tongues and tribes. It must not
covenant, promise which, Paul teaches us in Galatians                 escape our attention that when God confused man's
3 : 16, was given to Christ.                                          speech, He did more than give them different words
  It is the Church of Christ that is in danger here                   to pronounce for the same object. THAT is not today
when the whole human race of that day  3ought  to                     the difference between an American and a Chinese or
unite, remain one universal kingdom in defiance of                    Japanese. That is not the difference between a
God's command to scatter, multiply and reilenish the                  Communist and a citizen of a democratic nation.
earth. Creation was for the sake of Christ and His                       Speech, we should remember, is the expression of
Church. The fall of man was for that sake a fact in                   what resides in the soul. Words are but tools, means,
the history of this world. The flood was sent for that                agencies for expressing what dwells in the heart and
reason. And now the confusion of man's speech                         soul of man. The work God wrought there at the
causing the peoples to scatter was for the good of                    tower of Babel went much deeper than the tongues,
God's Church of which Christ is the Head.                             the lips and even the gray matter of the brain of man.
  At the tower of Babel God's word to Satan became                    It was a work in the very souls of these descendants
quite evident in its truth, namely, that there would be               of Noah's three sons. And they had to cease building
two seeds, two kinds of people from a spiritual point                 the tower, not because they could not understand
of view in the world, that the one would seek to                      one another's words, for that could be overcome, just
destroy the other in a hatred of God, while the other                 as many Chinese and Japanese use our words. It takes
would have the victory through Christ Who, by His                     a little while, but one can learn to use the words of
cross and Spirit, fills this people with love to God and              another race and nation, and communicate. But there


 20                                              THE STANDARD BEARER



 was wrought in the builders of the tower of Babel -               The confusion of man's speech must serve that
 the Church had no part in it and did not lift a finger         purpose. Sin must be seen in all its sinfulness before
 to lay a brick - a disagreement as to how the tower            Christ can return. And hell must become the place
 should be built. There came a difference of opinion, a         where the inhabitants see not a little foolishness and
 conflict in the souls of the various descendants of            incorrect    thinking but the desperately wicked
 Shem, Ham and Japheth. Therefore they not only                 character of the whole human race as it fell in Adam,
 quit constructing a building on which they could not           and see the strict and perfect justice and holiness of
 agree, but willingly, and with bitterness in their souls,      God Who punishes sin with death and the lake of fire.
 separated from each other. And Nimrod's whole
 Antichristian kingdom fell into ruin!                             But there is another side exactly because all things
                                                                work together for good to those that love God. This
       Now two seeds, the one of the woman and the              confusion of speech was wrought by God for the
 other of the serpent, will develop, but in different           good of the Church. That positive aspect we must
 ways. The seed of the serpent will develop in sin; and         never forget. And that does not mean simply that the
 sin will reveal itself in all its evil and godlessness. The    church is now safe to grow, while the rest of the
 seed of the serpent will now be able to develop in sin         human race is busy fighting itself, and while factions
 and produce sins that it could not possibly have               live in war and strife with other factions. All this is
 practiced without this confusion `of speech and                true, and as we look back on history we can see how
 scattering to produce separate races and nations. Each         this has benefited the church and always left a
 nation, tongue and tribe will now develop sin in its           country to which the believers might flee to preserve
 own way and with its own nature. Each will bring a             the truth and develop in it.
 particular aspect of sin to its full development so that
 when, according to God's counsel, all the nations are             God has designed a church which is the body of
 again united by the Antichrist of Revelation 13, the           Christ, and a body has not only a definite number of
 tree of sin will have produced all the'fruit it can, and       members but a variety of members all in their own
 all the varieties of fruit that it can. Even as races and      places with their own work to perform and with their
 nations have their own spicy or bland foods which are          own talents for the performance of this work.
 peculiar to them, their own music, their own                   Together it becomes one organism in which each
 philosophies, their own crafts and arts, so they have          member contributes something to the rest and works
 their own sins in all these departments of their lives,        in harmony with the other members under the
 and wherein they develop in sin. And when in the               control of the head. And the church of Christ, of
I days of the Antichrist all these nations who have             which He is the Head, (and therefore it is His church)
 been, according to God's counsel, working at their             does consist of peoples from every nation, tongue and
 sins and developing sin with their own natures,                tribe, with different natures, temperaments and
 temperaments, resources and talents shall unite, we            talents. It must not be, and is not, a church of
 will have that mystery of lawlessness, that man of sin,        Abraham's fleshly seed, even though for a time it
 of which Paul writes in II Thessalonians 2:3 and 4.            pleased God that, with few exceptions, the members
 And when they unite it is not in order to serve the            of it would be his children. Yes, Premillenialism to
 living God, but it is exactly a repetition of the tower        the contrary, Stephen as guided by the Holy Spirit,
 of confusion so that they seek to make a name for              and not misguided by his own fallible mind, spoke, as
 themselves, the name: Rebels before God! Each tribe,           recorded in Acts 7, of "the church'in the wilderness."
 race and nation will try to make a name for itself             Yes, the church was there. The believing Jews are in
 apart from God with its own philosophy and world               the kingdom, but they are also in the church of
 and life view. Each will rebel in its own sphere and in        Christ.
its own way. And when it sees, as it does today, that             To change the figure and use one that both Paul
 it cannot go on this way and that man will wipe                and Peter use, let us think of that church, not as the
 mankind from off the face of this earth, they will             body of Christ, but as the temple of God in which He
 agree to make a united name of rebellion against God           dwells by the Spirit of Christ. Here again not only a
 to defy Him, sit in His temple, take ,over His whole           predetermined size and shape is implied, but
 creation for the lust of the' flesh and build their new        suggested at once also are materials of many kinds.
 "tower" with the conviction that this time they are            Peter speaks of the believers being lively stones. The
going to succeed. And it will for a time look as                holy city, the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21, which
though they have succeeded and that God is dead!                is also called the bride of Christ, and thus His Church,
Each nation will contribute its own part to this last           is presented and pictured as made up of precious
desperate act of defiance against the living God; and           metals as gold and silver, of beautiful gems and pearls.
the two witnesses shall lie dead in the street, and the         And in Malachi 3: 17 we read of Christ coming to
serpent will seem to have had the victory.                      make up His jewels.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   21



  But at any rate the church becomes the beautiful         He knows whose names are eternally written in His
building of God, by His grace, as God in inscrutible       book of life.
wisdom designed it from eternity, and to realize it          For the glory of that church the peoples were
not only sent His Son to purchase it, but also             scattered, for the believers to develop along their own
confused man's speech, scattered the one human race        lines appointed for them and with the natures,
into various nations, tongues and tribes to prepare His    t emparaments, talents and experiences divinely
material for that holy temple.                             planned for them, so that by His grace they all
  Here the Heidelberg Catechism speaks so                  contribute what He has given them; and "the nations
beautifully again in Lord's Day 21, when asking the        of them that `are saved shall walk in the light of it (the
question, "What believest thou concerning the `holy        holy city); and the kings of the earth do bring their
catholic church' of Christ?" and answers, "That the        glory into it. And they shall bring the glory and
Son of God from the be-ginning to the end of the           honour of the nations into it." Revelation 21:24, 26.
world, gathers, defends and preserves to Himself by          Christ by His Spirit works this unification. The evil
His Spirit and Word, out of the whole human race, a        spirit, Satan, seeks to heal that breach by education,
church chosen to everlasting life, agreeing in true        science, treaties and alliances of men, and by fear of a
faith; and that I am and forever shall remain a living     war that threatens the extinction of the whole human          .
member thereof."                                           race. For a time he will seem to have succeeded. But
  The Son of God gathers that church and gathers           it is Christ by that still, small, but irresistibly
black and white, yellow and red, peoples from every        powerful, voice of His Spirit Who gathers out of all
country and from the islands of the sea. This He does      these nations, tongues and tribes ONE church
not do equally. A temple is not all stones. A body is      prepared to be one body, with one life, and one
not all heart or legs. But enough of each nation,          purpose in life, namely, to glorify the sovereign,
tongue and tribe are gathered by that Son ,of God to       all-glorious God of our salvation.
realize the church He chose. And the right members           Indeed, all things work together for our good!
of each nation, tongue and tribe He gathers, because


CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

          Eschatology - The, First Period - The Resurrection

                                                 Rev. H. Veldman

  In our discussion of the history of doctrines as set     attempt to eliminate from the conception of the
forth by the church during these early years of the        resurrection all those elements to which reason might
New Dispensation, 80 - 250  A.D., we will now call         object and in that way of rationalism sometimes
attention to the doctrine of the resurrection of the       almost loses the reality of the resurrection. As might
flesh or of the body.                                      be expected the  Gnostics  denied the resurrection of
                                                           the body entirely.
   The late Rev. H. Hoeksema, in his notes on the             Hagenback makes the observation, in footnotes
history of dogma, observes that the teaching of the        which appear at the conclusion of his writing in his
glorious resurrection of the body was general in this      History of Doctrines, Vol. I, page 218, that it
period, and that it was generally accepted that the        naturally excites surprise that, while Paul represents
same body that was buried would be raised in the last      the resurrection of Christ as the central point of the
day. However, several speculative questions were           whole doctrine, the fathers of this present period
raised even at this time in connection with the            keep this fact so much in the background; at least it is
resurrection of the body. These questions concerned        not, with all of them, the foundation of their
especially the form of the resurrection body and           opinions concerning the resurrection of the body.
more particularly those members for which there will       This, however, does not apply to all the fathers of
be no place and no function in glory, as for instance,     this early period. Some, as Athenagoras, who devoted
the digestive and the sexual organs. And, as'far as the    an entire book to the subject, and Minucius Felix, are
latter was concerned, Irenaeus uses the rather less        entirely silent on the resurrection of Christ, whereas
appealing illustration of the mule. Origen makes an        others also rest their arguments chiefly upon reason


22                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



and analogies from nature, as the change of day and          Athenagoras proves, also, what our Saviour meant,
night, seed and fruit, etc. I am sure ,that it will be of    when He said to the Galileans, "Ye are the light of
interest to call attention to the writings of these          the world."
fathers in connection with the  glgrious Scriptural
truth of the resurrection of the body.                          We cannot quote, of course, this treatise of
                                                             Athenagoras on the Resurrection in detail. He
                                                             addresses himself to the view of wicked men that the
                    ATHENAGORUS                              resurrection is impossible. They, who oppose the
      In Athenagoras, whose very  game is a retrospect,      resurrection of the dead, must show that this
we discover a remote result of St. Paul's speech on          resurrection is either impossible for God, or contrary
Mars Hill which the apostle  deliver&d in the city of        to His will. If they cannot do this, let them cease
Athens (see Acts 17). Do we not recognize the name,          from their godless unbelief, and from their blasphemy
Athens, in his name, Athenagoras? We read in Acts 17         against sacred things. Then, in chapter III, the writer
that  "when they heard of the resurrection of the            declares that God Who could create can also raise
dead, some mocked." But here, `in Athenagoras,               from the dead. He writes, and we quote:
comes a philosopher, from the Athenian  agora, a                    For that power which could give shape to what is
convert to St. Paul's argument in his Epistle to the             regarded by them as shapeless matter, and adorn it,
Corinthians, confessing "the unknown God,"                       when destitute of form and order, with many and
demolishing the marble mob of deities that so                    diverse forms, and gather into one the several
                                                                 portions of the elements, and divide the seed which
"stirred the apostle's spirit within hiin," and teaching         was one and simple into many, and organize that
alike the Platonist and the Stoic to `sit at the feet of         which was unorganized, and give life to that which
Jesus. "Dionysius the Areopagite, and the woman                  had no life, - that same power can reunite what is
named Damaris," (see Acts 17:34) are not longer to               dissolved, and raise up what is prostrate, and restore
be despised as the scanty first-fruits `of Attica. They,         to life again, and put the corruptible into a state of
too, have found a voice in this splendid trophy of the           incorruption. And to the same Being it. will belong,
Gospel; and, "being dead, they yet speak" through                and to the same power and skill, to separate that
him.                                                             which has been broken up and distributed among a
                                                                 multitude of animals of all kinds which are wont to
      Athenagoras has written a treatise on the                  have recourse to such bodies, and glut their appetite
Resurrection. As a firm and loving voice to this                 upon them, - to separate this, I say, and unite it
keynote of Christian faith, it rings like an anthem              again with the proper members and parts of members,
through all the variations of his thought and                    whether it has passed into some one of those animals,
argument. Comparing his own blessed hope with the                or into many, or thence into others, or, after being
delusions of a world lying in wickedness, and looking            dissolved along with these, has been carried batik
stedfastly to the life of the world to come, what a              again to the original elements, resolved into these
sublime contrast we find in this figure of Christ's              according to a natural law - a matter this which
witness to the sensual life of the heathen, and even to          seems to have exceedingly confounded some, even of
                                                                 those admired for wisdom, who, I cannot tell why,
the groping wisdom of the Attic ages. This treatise is           think those doubts worthy of serious attention which
the outcome of meditation on that sad history in the             are brought forward by the many.
Acts, which expounds St. Paul's bitter reminiscences,          Incidentally, we are quoting here from Volume II
when he says that his gospel was, "to the Greeks,            of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, pages 149  f.f. Here the
foolishness." Of the Athenians, we read in Acts              writer declares that the living God, Who created all
17:32, that when they heard of the resurrection of           things, can certainly raise the dead, can certainly
the dead, some mocked, and others said that they             reunite what has been dissolved, yea even although
would hear him again of this matter., The apostle had        what has been broken up has been distributed among
left them under the confused impressions they had            a multitude of animals.
expressed in the words, "he seemeth to be a
setter-forth of new gods." Paul had preached unto              In conclusion, the writer sets forth his conviction
them Jesus and the resurrection, and what did the            that the necessity of the resurrection also follows
Athenians want of any more wares of that sort,               from the purpose of man's creation.  M6n was
especially under the introduction of a poor Jew from         certainly not created at random and in vain, but for
parts unknown? Did the apostle's prophetic soul              some purpose. Besides, the resurrection of the body
foresee Athenagoras, as he "departed from among              also rests upon the fact of a future judgment. Man
them"? However that may be, his blessed Master               must be possessor both of a body and soul in the
"knew what he would do." He could let none of                hereafter, in order that the judgment passed upon
Paul's words fall to the ground, without taking care         him may be just. And he declares that the
that some seeds        should bring forth fruit a            resurrection iS necessary when viewed in the light of
thousand-fold. Here come the sheaves, at last.               the chief end of man.                     (to be continued)
                              -


                                                                   THE STANDARD  BEARER,<.   :                                                           23


                                    News From Our' ChurdhBs
                                                                    CL-&i+SIS REPORT
                                                                    September 14, I974
   The convocation exercises of the Seminary were                                    After the presentation of the students, the
held on September 4. Prof. R. Decker gave the                                     chairman again took the floor for the closing remarks.
inspirational address, entitled "Peace, A Sword, and                              "What," he asked rhetorically, "do you suppose a 66
our Seminary." After the address, Prof. H. C.                                     year old minister is thinking when he sees a student
Hoeksema presented the students to the overflow                                   body of this size?" Perhaps the age marks the identity
crowd assembled there in Southwest Church. By the                                 of the speaker, too, but playful witticism of that sort
time he had finished, no fewer than fifteen young                                 could only have come from . . . our Rev. H. Veldman.
men (and one member of the student body was                                          Rev. R. Van Overloop closed the meeting. Before
absent) had risen for the introduction. That in itself,                           he led in prayer, however, he made a special appeal to
as the Rector pointed out, in his remarks, made of                                those in the audience to remember the professors and
this particular Convocation an historic one. He                                   the students, in their private prayers and in their
recalled that it had been but eleven years ago that our                           family devotions. For a task which has, in addition to
Seminary started the term with two professors and                                 its joys, also its problems, of which we can see, as
only one student. Now . . . twelve pre-seminarians                                Rev. Van  Overloop mentioned, only the surface,
and four seminarians - under three professors. And,                               these men are much in need of our frequent and
in addition, for the first time in the history of our                             fervent prayers. And for an institution which plays
theological school, three young men from outside our                              such a vital role in the life of our denomination, we
denomination are enrolled for training in our                                     do well to heed that request.
Seminary Department, and one in the Pre-Seminary.                                                                                                      D.D.

                                                                    Report of Classis  West
                                                              held in Randolph, Wisconsin
                                                                    on September 4, 19 74
   Rev. Richard Moore, president of the previous                                  ministers from  Classis East were also present as
Classis, led Classis in opening devotions. After singing                          synodical  deputies to witness and approve the
and prayer, he read Psalm 127 and spoke to the                                    examination of a candidate for the ministry, and they
Classis on verse 1: "Except the Lord build the house,                             were given advisory vote. Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
they  labour in vain that build it: except the, Lord                              presided over the Classis.
keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."                                    The main work of this Classis was the examination
   The eleven churches in  Classis  West were                                     of Mr. James Slopsema, who had accepted the call
represented by a minister and an elder except for                                 from the Edger-ton congregation. Mr. Slopsema
Edgerton which was represented by two elders. Three                                                                              (continued on back page)


       CONGRATULATORYkNNOUNCEMENT                                                              RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
   On behalf of our congregation we extend to Rev. George Lubbers                   The Ladies Aid Society of the First Protestant Reformed Church
our hearty and sincere congratulations upon the completion of forty              wishes to express its sincere sympathy to one of its members, Mrs. A.
years of faithful ministry in the Word of God in and for our Churches,           Schmidt, in the loss of her husband
serving both as pastor and missionary.                                                                  MR. ALBERT SCHMIDT
   We give thanks to our faithful Covenant God Who has given him this            May the Lord comfort her in her bereavement, and may she know that
great privilege and the grace to serve in this glorious ministry which He        He who controls all things doeth them well.
has abundantly blessed.  Soli Deo  Gloria1
                                                                                                                        Mrs. T. Newhof, Pres.
   It is our prayer that the King of His Church will continue to bless                                                  Mrs. C. Pastoor, Sec'y.
and provide for Rev. and Mrs. Lubbers as they continue to serve in the
midst of His Kingdom.

                                          Consistory of First Church
                                          Grand Rapids, Michigan
                                              Rev. G. Van  Baren, Pres.
                                              James Heys, Clerk                                RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                                                                                    The Mr. and Mrs. Society of the Hull (Iowa) Protestant Reformed
                              Correction                                         Church wishes to express its sincere sympathy to two of its members,
                                                                                 Mr. Alvin Kooiker and Mr. Glenn Kooiker in the passing of their
My telephone number is incorrectly given in the 1974 Yearbook of our             mother, MRS. NICK  KOOIKER. May they be comforted with the
churches. Please write the following correction in your Yearbook, lest           promise found in Rev.  14:13   - "Blessed are the dead who die in the
you "get a wrong number" if you attempt to call me: (616) 534-7308.              Lord."
Incidentally, if there should be other mistakes of this kind, I will gladly
print corrections in the  Standard Bearer.                                                                              Rev. J. Kortering, Pres.
                                                            - H. C. Hoeksema                                            Mrs. Ken Hoksbergen, Sec'y.


THE STANDARD'BEARER
          P.O. Box 6064                   j                                                                                          SECOND CLASS
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506  :                                                                                                     POSTAGE PAID AT
                                                                                                                                  GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.

                                               -L___-_------.--.-





24


preached before the delegates at a worship service of
the Randolph congregation on the evening of                                                                THE STANDARD BEARER
Septem.ber 3. His text was I Corinthians  10:13.                                         Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
                                                                                         Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
Classis examined the candidate in Dogmatics,                                               Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids, Mich.
Knowledge of Scripture, Knowledge of the                                         Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
                                                                                 Department Editors:  Prof. Robert D. Decker, Mr. Donald Doezema
C o n f e s s i o n s ,   C o n t r o v e r s y ,   a n d   P r a c t i c a l         Rev. David J. Engelsma, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman Hanko'
                                                                                      Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A.  Heys, Rev. Jay Kortering Rev:
Qualifications. With the concurrence of the synodical                                 Dale H. Kuiper, Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Marinus  Schipper:  Rev.
                                                                                 Gise J. Van  Baren, Rev. Herman Veldman
deputies,  Classis approved the examination and                                  Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
advised  Edgerton to proceed with the ordination of                                                   4975  lvanrest  Ave. S.W.
                                                                                                      Grandville, Michigan 49418
Mr. Slopsema. The president expressed Classis' joy at                            Church News Editor:          Mr. Donald Doezema
                                                                                                              1904 Plymouth Terrace,
this occasion, and the Classis prayed God's blessing                                                          Grand Rapids, Michigan
upon this young man and his ministry by singing,
"May the grace of Christ the Savior/And the Father's
boundless love/With the Holy Spirit's favor/Rest
upon him from above."
      As one man was entering the Classis, another was
leaving. Classis approved the "Ministerial Certificate
of Dismissal and Testimonial" of the Pella consistory                            6uSineSS   office:  The Standard Bearer
                                                                                                      Mr. H. Vander Wal, Bus. Mgr.
concerning Rev. Dale Kuiljer and transferred-him to                                                   P. 0. BOX 6064
                                                                                                      Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506
Classis East. Rev. Kuiper had accepted the call of                               Business Agent for AustraJasia:Mr.  Wm. van Rij
                                                                                                                        59 Kent  Lodga  Ave.
Hudsonville to be Home Missionary. The president                                                                        Christchurch 4, New Zealand
                                                                                 Subscript;ion  Policy:  Subscription price,  $7.00  per year ($5 oo for
bade him farewell on Classis' behalf, and Rev. Kuiper                            fiUStralaSla).   Unless  a definite request for discontinuance is  reciived  it
                                                                                 IS assumed that the subscriber wishes the subscri tion to continue  wijh-
responded, asking that he and his family be                                      out the  formalltY  of a renewal order, and he  WI I be billed for renewal
                                                                                                                                            .P
                                                                                 If YOU have a change of address, please notify the Business Office  a;
remembered in prayer.                                                            early as possible in order to  avold  the inconvenience of delayed deliv-
                                                                                 ery. Include vour Zio Code.
      Pella was given classical appointments in her                              4dver+ing  iolicy:   The  Standard Bearer  does not accept commercial
                                                                                 sdvertlsmg  of  arjy kind. Announcements of church and school events
vacancy. Sept. 29, Oct. 6 - Bekkering; Oct. 13,20 -                              snnlVerSarieS,   obituaries, and sympathy resolutions will be placed for  i
                                                                                 93.00 fee., These should `be sent to the Business Office and should be
Engelsma; Nov. 3, 10  - Kortering;. Nov. 17, 24  -                               sccompanled  by the $3.00 fee. Deadline for announcements is the 1st
                                                                                 Jr the 15th of the month, previous to publication on the 15th or the
Moore; Dec. 15, 22  -  Slops&ma; Jan. 5, 12  -                                   1st respectively.
                                                                                 9ound Volumes:  The Business Office will accept standing orders for
Hoeksema; Jan. 26, Feb. 2 - Lanting; Feb. 16, 23 -                               >ou?d copies of the current volume; such orders are filled as soon as
                                                                                 possible after completion of a volume. A limited number of past vol-
Miersma; March 2, 9 - Kamps.                                                     umes may be obtained through the Business Office.
      The cost of the Classis was $2,452.&l.                                                                      0         0       0
      Classis will meet next in South Holland on March
5, 1975, the Lord willing.                                                                                        CONTENTS:
                                                Rev. David Engelsma
                                                     Stated Clerk                WhenShallTheseThingsBe.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
                                                  Classis West of the            Introductory Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
                                Protestant Reformed Churches                     ADream,AResponse,AndARe&est                             . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
                                                                                 Analysis and Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
                                                                                 Peace, A Sword, And Our Seminary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
                           Subscribe Now                                         Faculty Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
                                    to                                           The  Lausanne Congress On Evangelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                             Fyper-Calvinism  and the Call of the Gospel (4) . . . . . . . . . . 16
                                    Or                                           Separation and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
                      Send a Gift Subscription                                   Eschatology - The First Period - The Resurrection. . . . . . .21
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