            The                         .              3
     STANDARD <-
      *  BEARER  `( .
f- A  REFORRilED  SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE





          The preaching of the Word is central! It is                                     :
           all-important. It  is' the chief thing. Take it away,
           and the church cannot survive. Corrupt it, and
           the church will soon become corrupt and
           decadent. Remove its sharp edges and dull its
           ringing tones,  `and a congregation will  b-ecome
           spiritually lethargic and somnolent. Understand,
           I am not thinking of preaching in general, of
          much that passes -for preaching today.  I mean
          p rap er preaching,    t h a t .   i s ,   t h e   a u t h o r i t a t i v e
           proclamation of the Word of God according to
          the Scriptures and in the service of the Word of
          C h r i s t .
           `[See page 317





.                                            VolumedLI, Number 14, April 15, 19751


314                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER


MEDITA  TIO N

                                         Triumph Over Death
                                                                        Rev. M. Schipper
                "0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grale, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin;and
               the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our
               Lord Jes&`Ch;ist. "
                                                                                                           I Corinthians 15 : 5 5-57

   Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is                                    The last enemy that must be destroyed is death.
written, Death is swallowed up in victory!                                           And with it the power of the grave that silently, but
 And the saying to which the apostle refers must be                                  efficaciously works, disintegrating our flesh until it
found in two prophetic utterances. The first, that                                   returns to the dust from whence it came.
which Isaiah declared in Isaiah 25  :7, 8: "And he will                                A power not to be sneered at! "
destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast                                 Taking hold upon every man that is born of a
over all people, and the vail that is spread over all                                woman. Rich and poor, young and old, strong and'
nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the                                weak, righteous and wicked,  - all are required to face
Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces . .  ."                             this enemy.
The second, that which  Hosea declared in  Hosea
13: 14: "I will ransom them from the power of the                                      An enemy whose power can also be understood.
grave; I will redeem them from death. 0 death, I will                                For the apostle explains.
be thy plagues (or, where are thy plagues?); 0 grave, I                                The sting of death is sin! Sin, like a deadly
w i l l   b e   t h y   d e s t r u c t i o n   ( o r ,   w h e r e   i s   t h y    scorpion in whose tail is a stinger, which if it strikes
destruction?): repentance shall be hid from mine                                     you, will give you a fatal blow. Sin gives to death its
eyes."                                                                               power. Take sin away, and death has'no power. Take
    Summing it all up, the apostle declares:                                         sin away, and death is only a servant.           .
   Death is swallowed up in victory!                                                   And the strength of sin is the law! The law here
                                                                                     must be understood in its principal sense. Not
   Not only does the apostle exuberantly rejoice in                                  particularly the ten words,  " Thou shalt not!" but the
the victory, but also in the truth that this victory is                              one word: "Thou shalt  !" Thou shalt love the Lord
the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose as indicated                                thy God with all thy heart and mind and strength.
in the prophecy.                                                                     The law which demands positive and strict obedience.
   But at the same time, a victor's song of triumph!                                 The law which blesses you when you keep it, and
   What a fitting conclusion to that great chapter on                                curses you when you disobey. "Cursed is everyone
the subject of the resurrection!                                                     that continueth not in all things that are written in
                                                                                     the book of the law to do them.`? (Gal. 3: 10)
   Triumph, a complete victory, we have in the
resurrection through our Lord Jesus Christ!                                            And so there is an unbreakable chain  - the law,
                                                                                     sin, guilt, corruption, death, and the grave.
   Victory over death!                                                                 Sum it all up: Death and Grave!
   A mighty enemy!                                                                     Indeed, a mighty, invincible enemy!
   The apostle mentions death and the grave. But we
know that for those who are not in Christ, another                                     Against whom you cannot stand alone!
must be added; namely, hell.                                                           But against whom you do not stand alone, when
    A great triad of destruction!                                                    you are in Christ Jesus our Lord!
    A sequence that ends in eternal desolation for all                                 Our Lord Jesus Christ!
those who are apart from Christ!                                                       He is the Victor, Who gives us a glorious victory!
    That the apostle does not mention hell, is                                         And be sure to notice His Names. In them you
undoubtedly due to the fact that he is speaking to the                               have the indication of a complete Mediator. He is
children of God. For them the conclusion is not hell,                                Jesus, Jehovah, Who saves His people from their sins.
but everlasting glory.                                                               He is Christ, Anointed One, that is, appointed and
                                                                                     qualified to restore us again into the favor of God; as
   But death and the grave are still a serious reality!                              God's Prophet, revealing unto us all the counsel of


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  315



 God; as God's Priest, bringing in His own body the               0 grave, where is thy victory?
' sacrifice that atones for our sins, with the satisfaction       You have none, for you have been completely
 of which He can intercede for us with the Father; as          overcome. The law is fulfilled. Sin and death have
 our Lord, claiming us as His precious possession, and         been overcome. Death and the grave are now become
 ruling over us in such a way that His law is written in       only servants that must rid  us. of the last vestige of
 our hearts, and bringing us victoriously into His             carnal nature, and become the lighted pathway that
 heavenly kingdom.                                             must lead to everlasting glory.
      He it was Who was sent of the Father into the               Thanks be. unto God!
 world to assume our nature, to take upon Him our sin
 and guilt, and to walk the way of the' cross in our              For it is He that giveth us the victory through our
 stead. He it was Who gave Himself willingly unto the          Lord Jesus Christ!
 death of the cross, the accursed death, in order to              0, indeed, it is through our Lord Jesus Christ!
 satisfy there for our sin and guilt before the tribunal          But our Lord Jesus Christ is also from Him!
 of God. He it was Who was forsaken of God, in order
 that we might never be forsaken of Him. He it was                So our victory is from God, Who gave His only
 Who died our death, in order that He might forever            begotten Son, Who became our Lord Jesus Christ!
 break its power, which could destroy us. He it was               Indeed, God was `in Christ reconciling us unto
 Who entered the grave, not only to destroy its power,         Himself, not imputing our trespasses unto us; but
 but to make it a passageway to eternal glory for all          instead imputing His righteousness unto us, after He
 His own.                                                      had imputed our guilt unto Him.
      The risen and living Redeemer!                              In His eternal love and mercy, in His sovereign
      He is Victor!                                            grace, He gave Christ  .to and  ,for us, and incorporated
                                                               us into Christ. So He makes us to become partakers
      He fulfilled all the demands of the law of God for
 us, so perfectly that we stand in the judgment of God         of all Christ's benefits. By grace through faith, which
 as those who had never sinned.                                is His gift to us, we are united to Christ, and enter
                                                               into Christ's victory.
      Wherefore God also raised Him from the dead,
 unto which He was delivered because of our  offens.es,           According to this faith, we also now stand, when
 but Who was raised because of our justification. Not          the time comes to enter into the sphere of death and
 only did He remove sin, the sting of death; but He            stand before the open grave, not with tears of sorrow,
 also destroyed sin's power, by fulfilling all the law,        but with tears of joy and gladness  - exclaiming over
 walking in perfect obedience. "Lo, I come, in the             against death and the grave, "Thanks be unto God,
 volume of the book it is written of Me, to do Thy             who giveth us the victory!"
 will, 0 God." This is what He said, and this is what             When we.stand in the midst of death and witness
 He did.                                                       the departure of our dear ones, who die in the Lord,
      So death and the grave, though they are still            we do not weep and howl as those who have no hope;
 realities for the children of God, are nevertheless our       yea, rather, we make confession of our faith, and sing
 passage way to glory. Hence, we know that if our              from the heart praise and thanksgiving unto God.
 earthly house of' this tabernacle were dissolved, we             Who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
 have a building of God, a house not made with hands,          Christ !
 eternal in the heavens. (II Cor. 5:  1)
                                                                  It is this faith that overcomes the world. It is this
      Glorious victory!                                        fa,ith that triumphs over death and the grave. It is this
      As a mighty hunter standing with his foot upon the       faith that causes our thanks to rise unto God. It is
 prey and exclaiming in loud and audible tones his             this faith whereby we remain steadfast, unmoveable,
 triumph in the hunt, so the Lord stands as it were            always abounding in the work of the Lord.
 with His foot upon the enemy of death, grave, and
 hell, exclaiming in triumphant tones His victory over            And that faith is rooted and founded in the
 our enemy.                                                    everlasting gospel.
      And the apostle takes up the refrain, and wants us          In Christ Jesus, our Lord., we are more than
 to sin it with him.                                           conquerors!
      0 death, where is thy sting?                                Thanks be unto God!


                           Know  the standard and follow it. Read THE STANDARD BEARER!
 I                                                                                                                     1


     316                                                           THi STANDARD BEARER



     EDITORIALS

                                                             Editor's Notes
         G O D 'S COVENANT FAITHFULNESS, the                                                                 *****
     c o m m e m o r a t i v e   v o l u m e   b e i n g   p u b l i s h e d   i n
     connection with the Golden Anniversary of the                                      Speaking of books, a new catalog of our RFPA and
     Protestant Reformed Churches will be ready,                                      other Protestant Reformed publications has been
     hopefully, on or about the 1st of May, according to                              prepared, and it should be ready for distribution  in's
     the latest, information we received. Past experience                             couple of weeks. All of our latest publications, as well
,    has taught me not to get my hopes too high about                                 as our older publications, will be listed in that
     these publishing `dates; but we shall see. At any rate,                          catalog.
                                                                                                                            :
     the Reformed Free Publishing Association is ready to                                                    *****
     accept your orders; and if you want to be among the
     first to get a copy, mail your order in now. The price                              We take this means of expressing our Christian
     is $5.95 per  tiopy. How many copies will your family                            sympathy to a colleague and associate editor, Prof.
     want? Send your order, with payment, to: Reformed                                Robert Decker, in the recent death of his father, Mr.
     Free Publishing Association,  P.G. Box 2006, Grand                               Peter Decker. May the Lord comfort the bereaved
     Rapids, Michigan 4950 1.                                                         and cheer them with His unfailing promises.


                          Thoughts On Our Golden Anniversary  ,(3)
                                                                     PrpJ: H. C. Hoeksema

        If someone asked you what is the single, most                                 systematically instructed in the truth according to
     important factor in the life of our Protestant                                   our Heidelberg Catechism and the thousands of hours
     Reformed Churches which has served to keep us what                               of catechism classes are so many thousands of reasons
     we were from our beginning and which still                                       for thanksgiving  - not to men, but to our God!
     distinguishes us as a denomination today, what would                                Some might probably answer: the most important
     you answer?                                                                      factor is the readiness of our churches to rise to the
        Some would undoubtedly answer: our insistence                                 defense of the faith and to oppose militantly every
     upon doctrine, the doctrine of our Reformed                                      departure from and attack upon the Reformed faith.
     confessions. And undoubtedly this doctrinal emphasis                             In other words, they would say that our readiness to
     has played and still does play a significant part in the                         engage in apologetics and polemics was the key factor
     stance of our churches  - especially in an age which is                          throughout these fifty years. Now no Reformed man
     averse to sound doctrine, and, in fact, averse to any                            in his right mind would ever minimize the importance
     doctrinal emphasis whatsoever. For doctrine, after all,                          of defending the faith and of warding off every error
     is nothing other than the teachings of the Word of                               repugnant thereto. It is simply a matter of record that
     God; and what the Word of God teaches constitutes                                a Reformed church which refuses to stand fast in the
     the  content  of saving faith. Faith has as its content all                      defense of the faith of the gospel and which refuses
     things promised us in the gospel and briefly                                     to warn against and to ward off heresies is not worthy
     comprehended in the articles of the Apostles' Creed.                             of the name  Reformed.  Just read our Church Order
     Moreover, Christian life without doctrine, practice                              and our Formula of Subscription, and you will soon
     without principle, is like a ship without a rudder, or                           discover this. Besides, the whole record of church
     like  .a skyscraper without a foundation. Reformed                               history supports this claim. And above all, how often
     doctrine is without doubt of great importance, and                               the Scriptures emphasize this! True, there have been
     has undoubtedly been of great importance during the                              those  who`.have pointed to this militant stance of our
     fifty years of our history which we thankfully                                   churches and who have then claimed that our
     commemorate this year. Well may we thank our                                     Protestant Reformed Churches live by reaction, live
     faithful covenant God that He has given us pastors                               by negatives. But those who make this claim either do
     and teachers who instructed us and our children                                  not know what they are talking about, or they are
     diligently in the truths of our Reformed creeds. The                             deliberately lying; and neither of these is a happy
     t h o u s a n d s   o f   s e r m o n s   i n   w h i c h   w e   w e r e        state in which to be. The fact of the matter is that no


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                               317


church can live by negatives; and the very fact of our       of our history and say, "After all, it's not the
fifty years' existence obviously gives the lie to this       lectures, not the exposition of doctrine, not the
suggestion of our  detracters.                               exposing of the errors of common grace  - however
  Nevertheless, however important the above factors          important these may be  - which attracts people to
may have been in our history and still are today, I          our churches. But it is the preaching! When God's
would not point to either one of them as the  chief          people hear the preaching of the Word in which the
factor.                                                      God of our salvation is central, in which there are
                                                             sounded the clear notes of sovereign grace and of
  What, `then,. is, by God's grace, the strength of our      God's everlasting and faithful covenant, then their
churches in my opinion?                                     hearts are warmed and they realize that. they have
  The preaching of the Word!                                been missing something which they sorely need and
   Understand, there is no disjunction between               desire; and then they are attracted to our churches."
doctrinal emphasis and' the preaching of the Word.           And in later years I learned to know this by
Nor is there a disjunction between the preaching of          experience  in my own ministry.
the Word and the defense of the faith. Properly                 Let us remember, too, that this is true not only on
conceived, there is perfect harmony `between these          the mission field, but in the established congregation
three; in fact, they may never be disjointed.               as well. The preaching of the Word is central! It is
Moreover, sound and pure preaching of the Word will         all-important. It is the chief thing. Take it away, and
undoubtedly bear fruit in that the people of God            the church cannot survive. Corrupt it, and the church
become well-founded in doctrine. And it will bear           will soon become corrupt and decadent. Remove its
fruit, too, in that we and our children become              sharp edges and' dull its ringing tones, and a
equipped not only to discern and to guard against           congregation will become spiritually lethargic and
false doctrine, but also to eschew error and to love        somnolent.
with all our heart the truth.                                   Understand, I am not thinking of preaching in
  And yet it is the  preaching  that constitutes the        general, of much that passes for preaching today. I
spiritual strength of our churches. And if ever we lose     mean  proper  preaching, that is, the authoritative
that preaching, it will be the end of our churches and      proclamation of the Word of God according to the
the end of our right of existence as a communion of         Scriptures and in the service of the Word of Christ.
Protestant Reformed Churches.                                   Such preaching is, in the first place, emphatically
  This is, of course, a patent truth according to our       preaching of the WORD, and that, too, according to
confessions. Our Belgic Confession singles out the          the Scriptures. This is really the crux  sof the matter.
preaching of the Word as the first mark by which the        Any preaching that is worth its salt must be preaching
true church may be discerned. Our Heidelberg                of  the Word  of  God.  Preaching that departs from this
Catechism, while it does not elaborate on the subject       key characteristic has been bastardized.
of preaching, nevertheless speaks of it as the means            This means, secondly, that proper preaching is
whereby the Holy Spirit works and strengthens faith.        exegetical.  It expounds and proclaims the Word of
And even our Canons of Dordrecht more than once             God  according to the Scriptures.  The preacher must
emphasize the importance of the preaching of the            say, "Thus saith the Lord!" But woe unto him if he                                         .
W o r d .                                                   says, "Thus saith the Lord," when the Lord has not
  But this is also a matter of experience.                  spoken! Woe unto him if he, so to speak, puts words
  I remember well that in the days of my youth this         in the Lord's mouth! And therefore, the preacher is
was always a source of wonderment to me. I never            bound to the Scriptures throughout. He must unfold
.quite believed it: I thought that  if,you could go out     those Scriptures to God's people. He must proclaim
and convince people by stringent argument and clear         to them the gospel of grace, the gospel of the
proof from Scripture of the rightness of our doctrinal      promise, the riches of salvation, sin and grace, faith
position, you. would win  .them and they would be           a n d   r e p e n t a n c e , atonement and justification,
compelled     t o   j o i n    our Protestant Reformed      r e g e n e r a t i o n   a n d   c a l l i n g ,   s a n c t i f i c a t i o n   a n d
communion. If  .you could only go out and show              perseverance, eternal life and glory, woe and weal,
people, say, that the Three Points were all wrong and       heaven and hell, blessing and cursing  - all according
that the doctrine of the well-meant offer is essentially    to the Scriptures, and that, too, the Scriptures as
Arminian, they would have to be convinced and               conveyed on the wings of a particular text.                                    .
would. have to join the fray against these false                In the third  .place, this implies that preaching must
doctrines. And indeed, such instruction is necessary        be  specific.  It must be sharp! It must never engage in
and is part of the calling of the church. But I was         generalities. And let me add: if the preacher sticks to
always a little surprised when my father would              his text and makes it his purpose to set forth all the
return from a home missions tour in the earlier years       riches, all the meaning and significance of his text, his


3 1 8                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


preaching  will be  specific. But I mean, too, that the                                 And that means: WORK, preacher, work! Work
preaching itself, the  proclaiming  of the Word, must be                             with the Scriptures. Work incessantly. Let nothing
sharp!  In this respect there must be a certain amount                               deter you  from,this aspect of your ministry. If you
of "over-kill" in the preaching. Preaching must not                                  fail to devote your energies to this, if your exegetical
suffer from the "blahs." It must be calculated to jolt                               labors and your sermon preparation begin to get
people, to make them listen, to pay attention, to                                    second or third place in your pastoral life, if you
make them hang on every word!                                                        "pull one out of the file" or "turn the pile over"
                                                                                     when you move to a new congregation, you are doing
   Why is this?                                                                      despite to the Word of God which you are called to
    Is it because the  keen. exegesis, the clear                                     preach. You could better resign from the ministry.
organization; the compelling logic, the ringing oratory                              God hates a lazy preacher!
of the preacher, or his persuasive conversational                                      And it means, too, that you must constantly
approach  - is it because these must do the work of                                  examine your own preaching critically. A preacher
saving God's people and building His church?                                         ought to be his own severest critic. It is a very easy
   We know better.                                                                   and natural course for preaching to become dull, to
                                                                                     become humdrum. To prevent this requires constant
   No, it is because the preaching of the Word is the                                vigilance and conscious effort on the part of the
cutting-edge of the Spirit of Christ, because it pleases                             preacher. And it requires consecration and prayer and
God to call His people and to gather His church                                      listening  to'the Word of God.
t h r o u g h   p r e a c h i n g   t h a t   i s   e x c l u s i v e l y   a n d
emphatically preaching of HIS WORD. And all the                                        And consistories and congregations: expect and
exegesis, the logic, the clarity of organization, the                                demand and insist upon this kind of preaching! If
simplicity of explaining deep and rich truths, the                                   there is-anything in the church that you must guard
talents of speech  - all these must be subservient to                                zealously, anything that is indispensable in the life of
this purpose of God through the Spirit of Christ.                                    the church, anything that has been for fifty years and
                                                                                     will be in the future of the'utmost importance for the
   Hence, in the  first place, PREACH, preacher!                                     spiritual health of our churches, it is the preaching of
Preach!                                                                              the Word!


ALL AROUND US

                                                                         Profi H. Hanko

                                      A  New. Middle East Council of Churches
   Pastor Beshai Saeed Beshai, Pastor of the Suez                                       "Such a Council has become a strange mixture! a
Evangelical Presbyterian Church throughout Egypt,                                    hybrid! a monstrosity ! The blood of our great
sent an article to the editor of our paper asking that                               grand-parents, Protestant martyrs of Egypt, forgotten
it be published. Prof. Hoeksema and I decided to                                     and neglected, is trampled under false ecumenical
publish it under this rubric. It carries the title which                             feet. Nay, the most precious blood of Christ's
appears at the head of this article and is slightly                                  sufficient sacrifice is despised in  this premeditated
edited. It reads as'follows:                                                         crime of involvement in such a sacrilege of the mass
                                                                                     and its worship of the host and its mariolatry. Such is
    "As I stated and foresaw in 1963, three church                                   the M.E.C.C.! the synagogue of Satan! This new
families: The Protestant  (113), the Greek Orthodox,                                 M. E.C. C. has three presidents: Bishop Samuel,
Chalcedonian  (113), and the Oriental Orthodox,                                      Coptic; Bishop  Hakim,  Greek Orthodox; and Rev.
non-Chalcedonian  (113), Copts, Gregorians and                                       Aharonian (Armenian) Protestant. It has a majority
Syrians, have agreed to form jointly the new Middle                                  of two-thirds Orthodox churches, and one-third
East Council of Churches (M.E.C.C.), each church                                     Protestant Churches,. This Council will try to shape
family representing the bodies of churches  .belonging                               the future of the religious outlook in the new Near
to its fellowship. I am sad that our  Coptic                                         East.
Presbyterian Evangelical Church of Egypt is a                                          "A dialogue is going on between this M.E.C.C. and
member of the M.E.C.C. which in turn is a member of                                  the Roman Catholic Church to find a common ground
the W.C.C. in spite of many repeated disavowals of                                   on which the R.C. Church will agree to join this coun-
such membership in the W.C.C.                                                        cil. They are eager to prepare the way for its entry into


                                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                 319


the same religious set-up. Such dialogue will extend                                           "Bible-believing churches, look  bout! Pressure and
to other religious majorities of the Orient, until                                          oppression may soon come upon you as is the case in
eventually, and after it is too late to separate, it will                                   many lands of Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe,
prove to have been dialogue with the Devil! It will be                                      where the churches belonging to the W.C.C. are
Antichristian! the religion of Antichrist! Syncretism,                                      seeking to be  the. only ones officially recognized by
which means agreement of liars!  Ai the supreme                                             the local governments.
Council of the Evangelical Churches of Lebanon and                                             "We need in our regions a `Continuing Presbyterian
Syria, a proposition was made to the floor that all                                         C h u r c h ' .
small Evangelical Churches be suppressed.                                   .                  "Brethren and sisters, pray for us."

                                              From "Playboy" To "The Banner"

   We were not a little surprised to see in ,the March                                      point of view, the legitimacy of something like
21 issue  of  The Banner a guest editorial by Dr. Martin                                    adultery in extreme situations." (Quoted from A
E. Marty, professor of. the History of Modern                                               Christian Handbook On Vital  Issues, p. 747). This
Christianity at the University of Chicago and                                               same book quotes Marty as saying: "Such doctrines
Associate Editor of The Christian Century.                                                  as the Trinity, divinity of Jesus and the authority of
    Our  surprise was due to the fact that Dr. Marty has                                    the Bible are meaningless symbols  be.cause  sfich
often been under attack in the Missouri-Synod                                               beliefs have not resulted in any different type of
Lutheran Church as one who has consistently stood                                           action or reaction to the world." ( T h i s   q u o t e
with' the liberals in their controversies with the                                          originally  appeared in the November, 1966  Cleveland
                                                                                            Plain Dealer. )
conservatives within the Missouri Church. He has,
over the years, denied many of the fundamentals of                                            Although the Editorial  in The Banner  was
the Christian faith. A number of years ago,  he was                                         relatively innocuous, (it was a rather brief and general
part of a panel which discussed "Religion and the                                           criticism of conservative theology), it strikes us as
New Morality". The discussion of this panel appeared                                        being very strange  that  The Banner  could give
in Playboy magazine in June, 1967. In the  cdurse of                                        editorial space to such an enemy of the Christian
t h e   d i s c u s s i o n   D r .   M a r t y   o p e n l y ,   a d v o c a t e d         faith. To jump from the columns of  Playboy  to  The
f o r n i c a t i o n   a s   a   w a y   o f   l i f e   u n d e r   c e r t a i n         Banner  is a prodigious leap. One is astounded that
circumstances. The July, -1967.  Playboy  quoted Marty                                      The Banner should assist in this.
as saying:  ". . . I could conceive, from the pastoral

                                                         Grade School Ecumenism

    A reader gave us a clipping from  the'Byron Center,                                         Tomorrow" was shown. It is a missionary film by the
Michigan paper which contained a picture and an                                                 Consolata Fathers.
article dealing with a joint mass held by students of a                                        This  constittites a dreadful sin on the part of those
Roman Catholic School and the local Byron Center                                            in Byron Center  S.chool who agreed to this. It is the
Christian School. The article is  ,entitled: "Two                                           responsibility `of Christian School teachers to give
Schools Participate in Ecumenical Mass" and reads as                                        covenant children instruction which is rooted in the
follows:                                                                                    Reformed faith  - a faith for which their, fathers died,
          Holy Family School' in New Salem extended an                                 ,    often at the hands of Roman Catholics. How can
      invitation to the sixth grade students of Byron Center                                these teachers do this in any conscientious way when,
      Christian School, through their principal, Mr.                                        by such a mass, the teachers tell their children that
      Bonama, to join their sixth grade students  in.                                       the mass is a, legitimate ceremony  in.  whrch to
      attending a Unity Mass at St. Mary's Church on                                        participate. Without saying anything about how the
      January  ,23. The  invit&on was accepted' and                                         school can busy itself with matters that are
      forty-four students from the Byron Center School
      came. Mr. DeArnent,  a student teacher, accompanied                                   ecclesiastical and belong to the institute of the
      them, as Mr. Babeldyke, the. assistant principal was                                  church, and without saying anything about how
      unable to come. Twenty-seven students from Holy                                       young children  can unofficially have a part in the
      Family school participated. Mrs. Genevieve Fein is                                    celebration of the sacrament of the death  of our
      their teacher, as well as ,the school principal. Rev.                                 Lord, it is impossible for these teachers ever to point
      Ephraim Davanzo officiated at the mass.                                               their children  to our own precious Heidelberg
          Following the mass, refreshments were served in                                   Catechism which calls the mass "an accursed
      the lunch room  &d a  ffim, -"Africa, Land of                                         idolatry". What will these children think when they


 320                                                         THE STANDARD BEARER


 hear a sermon on that Lord's Day in their church?                        truth by the Romish Church? They will  be unable to
 What will  gd through their minds when they                              defend their position, and  will stand in the vanguard
 remember that they had a part in such a celebration?                     of a false ecumenism which brings Roman Catholics
 and that God forbids, idolatry upon  penalty of death?                   and "Reformed" together. And the responsibility for
 What will happen when these same children grow up                        all this falls upon the heads of muddle-headed
 and take their place in the Church? when upon them                       teachers `who  ' have abrogated their Christian and
 falls the responsibility to defend the historic                          covenantal responsibilities to play games with the
 Reformed faith overagainst the corruptions of the                        truth.
                                                      Destination Anaheim
   The Missouri-Synod Lutheran Church is torn by                               and the disobedience of some to her by-laws. Missouri
 trouble.. Internal dissension is leading rapidly to a                         can't afford ti array of these men proceeding to act
 schism which will split the Missouri Church down the                          officially as they choose. Anaheim, at a minimum, if
 middle. Anaheim, California is the place where the                            Synod is to be restored to that decency and order the
 next convention will be held; and most members of                             Scriptures call for, must ask erring presidents to
                                                                               apologize to the church, to undo their' mistakes, to
 the Church believe that the convention in Anaheim                             promise to end their practice of by-passing the
 will determine, once for all, the future of the Church.                       regulations all Missourians have commonly agreed to;
   In the March 10, 1975 issue of  Affirm,  the  edit&                         and it must create a means whereby those who refuse
 lists the major issues which will be on the top of the                        to act in this way can be removed from office by
Convention's Agenda and which will have to be                                  Synod's president. . . .
 resolved. We quote briefly from the article.                                       Last July Affirm carried an analysis of what had
                                                                              happened at District conventions around the cou&y.
           The growing. feeling is that three or four major                    It reported that the large Michigan District had
        matters must be finally resolved at Anaheim. By grace                  qemorialized the Anaheim convention to make it a
        they will be.                                                          synodical policy that "all who continue their active
          .In whatever form the District publications and the                  support for ELIM be de&red ineligible for synodical
        resolutions state it, they essentially agree that                      office or divine call into the preaching and teaching
        Seminex must be abolished. (Seminex is the rival                       ministries of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod."
        Seininary set up by those who taught false doctrine in                      This request to act decisively on ELIM adherents
        Concordia Seminary and were put out of their                          will come before the convention as will similar
        teaching posts. H.H.) Of course, Missouri can't                       requests. That ELIM has become a church within a
        prevent the Seminex group from continuing to                          church is commonplace among Missourians today.
        function, if it chooses to do so, but it can determine to              And as long as ELIM exists, it will present Missouri a
        break off. all relations with it, continue to refuse                  serious problem. . . . (ELIM stands for "Evangelical
        recognition. to its graduates as candidates for                        Lutherans In Mission", and constitutes an
        Missouri's ministry, and generally shut a firm door on                organizatior? within the denomination which has
        this unhappy episode in Missouri's history. . . .                     sought to promote the causes of the liberals. H-H.)
           There is further concern over the placement of                 These immediate issues arise out of the deep
        Seminex graduates.  Some of them have been installed             d o c t r i n a l   d i f f e r e n c e s   b e t w e e n   l i b e r a l s   a n d
        as pastors in a disorderly manner, . . .                         conservatives. What the Convention decides on these
           A growing consensus exists that Synod  must deal              issues will determine the doctrinal direction of
        with the question  of  District Presidents,  their role,         Missouri for many years.

                   You would have us to rest content `tith the -permission of God only. But God, by His prophet, asserts
               that His will and His hand are in the whole matter as the moving cause. Now just consider, then, which of
               the two is the more worthy to be believed, God, Who by His Spirit, the only fountain of truth, thus speaks
                concerning Himself; or you, prating about His hidden and unsearchable mysteries out of the worthless
               knowledge of your own carnal brain? What! when God calls in Satan for His purposes, as the instrument of
               His vengeance, and openly gives him commandment to go and deceive the prophets of Ahab, does this
               positive command differ nothing from a mere permission? The voice of God contains in it no ambiguity
               whatever. "Who (saith God) will go and deceive Ahab for me?" Nor does God command Satan in any
                obscure manner: "Go thou and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets" (I Kings 22). Now I wish
               to know from you whether the doing of things is the same as the permitting it to be done? When David had
               secretly abused the wife of another man, God declares that He will cause all David's wives to be dragged
               forth, to make an example of the same disgraceful sin openly in the sight of the sun. God does not say, "I
               will permit it to be done," but "I will do it." But you, in your wonderous defence of God (as you think),
               would aid Him by your fallacious help in thrusting forward your imaginary permission! How very
               differently does David think and act! He, while revolving in his mind the fearful judgment of God,
               exclaimed, "I was dumb because Thou didst it!"         -  John  Calvin, The Secret Providence  of  God,  p. 288


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  321


SIGNS OF THE TIMES
                            Give Me...Your  Children
                                                    Rev. G. Van Buren

  I recall studying in the history of,our country the          Together with local government, it has passed laws to
account of peoples of many lands emigrating to this           regulate the public school system. The government
land "of freedom". It seemed to me a moving event              determines who may or must teach; it determines
when these individuals entered the harbor at New               where one is required to send children; it determines,
York and beheld the Statue of Liberty welcoming                to a large extent, the subjects which must be taught.
them to their new homeland. The poem affixed to                The federal government has exercised such control
that Statue contains the stirring lines, "Give me your        usually under the "civil rights laws" of the land.
tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to                The federal government has done much to control
breathe free. . .  ." Today, however, one might suggest       schooling through the federal funds contributed to
that these lines could be modified to suit the                schools. By the threat of withholding. such funds,
situation of our own day.' This Statue, standing as           local school systems have been compelled to follow
representative of this mighty land, could well                certain government guidelines for the operation of
proclaim our present philosophy, "Give me your                these schools. It is also for this reason that the
children to train and educate to make them fit                Christian schools ought by all means to refuse
citizens of this land of increasing socialism and             governmental assistance. Federal funding ultimately
government control." Perhaps far more than we are             would mean federal control.
ready to acknowledge, the government of our land
has sought to gain control of the children of the land           Increasingly, government on various levels seeks to
- and of our children, too.                                   control education. Without doubt, the days ahead
                                                              will mark more and more of such control also over
  Of course, there is wisdom in the attempt to train          our own schools. Nor is government content to
children from their early youth. Scripture itself             control children while they are in school. There is
reminds children of God of the importance of                  agitation for instruction and control over the children
teaching children when they are young. "Train up a            from birth through at least the age of 14. The
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he         argument is that there are many children who,
will not depart from it." Proverbs  22:6.  On this basis,     because of economic privation or parental unconcern,
covenant parents instruct their children not  only, in        are not receiving the early instruction which they
the homes, but also in our own Christian schools.  `.         need in order to develop into worthy U.S. citizens.
  There is an awareness in our land, among the                The federal government must, therefore, see to it that
"progressive" and "liberal" elements, that only if  all       such provision is made that these may be properly
children in this country receive the kind of training         trained in their youth. So, members in Congress
they deem necessary, will we develop the sort of              submit bills which, hopefully, will remedy this
country they envision  - a country of peace and               situation. Yet when one considers the bills which have
prosperity where all are equal. These leaders know            been submitted, one is struck by the fact that these
that there is little hope of re-training those who are        will surely open the door toward total government
older. Older people are too fixed in their ways. But          control over not only underprivileged children, but
the young can be trained. Such training must not be           over  all children.
left to individual parents or to private schools. There          One of these bills came to my attention recently.
must be a master plan which will provide for the              This bill is numbered: H.R. 155, submitted to the
instruction of  all  children without exception.              House of Representatives, 94th Congress, 1st session.
  Step-by-step, in recent years, the groundwork is            The bill itself contains many things which seem, at
being laid for the eventual closing of private and            least in superficial, study, to be harmless. It would
Christian schools. Laws have been passed, and are             appear to be an enlargement of what has been called
being considered, which would allow for the full              the "Head Start" program for the underprivileged.
control of the schools by federal government. Perhaps         This bill is called, "The Comprehensive Child
sooner than we now imagine, private and Christian             Development Act."
education will be ended. That must  .happen if the               Many have objected to the bill' because of the
universal kingdom of the antichrist is to be                  unbelievably large sums of money required to initiate
established.                                                  and maintain its proposals. According to the bill
  The federal government has made long strides                itself, "There is hereby authorized to be appropriated
towards control over the education of the children.           the sum of  $2,000,000,000  for the fiscal year ending

                                                      i


322                                                                THE STANDARD BEARER


June 30, 1976; the sum of  $3,000,000,000  for the                                     upon the preschool children: "It is the purpose of
fiscal year ending September 30, 1977; and the sum                                     this Act to . . . make child development services
o f   $4,000,000,000   f o r .   t h e   f i s c a l   y e a r   e n d i n g           available to all children who need them, with special
September 30, 1978." There are those who claim that                                    emphasis. on preschool programs for economically
this is but the "tip of the iceberg". Expenditures are                                 disadvantaged children and for children of working
expected to soar far beyond these suggestions in the                                   mothers and single parent families. . .  ." Surely there
bill.                                                                                  is a recognition of the necessity to provide training
    But our concern is not first of all the matter of the                              from infancy on ("preschool programs"). Thus
cost. What ought to trouble us is the repeated                                         children can reach their "full potential" presumably.
emphasis upon the "rights" of children. This bill also,                                  The Act makes plain, too, that it is not merely
throughout, assumes that children have certain                                         designed for the underprivileged. The purpose of the
"rights". The assumption is that children have the                                     Act is also to "establish the legislative framework for
"right" to good medical care; they have the "right"                                    the future expansion of such programs to provide
to education from infancy on; they have the "right"                                    universally available child development services." It
to good nutrition. The difficulty' which arises with                                   might indeed be argued that  "UniversalIy available"
this idea of one's "rights", is that  responsibihty  and                               services are not compulsory. Fact is, however, that
duty  are ignored or distorted. The  re3ponsibiZity   of                               what is "universally available" and what is deemed to
fulfilling these "rights" inevitably is placed upon                                    be essential for the "achievement of the full potential
some governmental agency. Rather than emphasizing                                      of America's children" would also shortly be made
the  duty  of parents, governmental agencies assume                                    dompulsory. Presumably, children have the "right" to
that they ought to be responsible for taking over                                      use that which is available for the development of their
these parental tasks. Certainly, that sort of action can                               potential. And government can well insist that each
only inevitably lead not merely to "communism"                                         must make full use of their "right".
which so many seem to fear, but rather toward the
anti-Christian kingdom (which, will likely be very                                       The bill before Congress suggests, too, that this
socialistic).                                                                          proposal will give "thousands of American women
                                                                                       the opportunity to achieve their full employment
    One finds various disturbing elements in a bill such                               potential." In other words, women are encouraged to
as H.R. 155. First, there are presented assumptions                                    leave their children from shortly after birth in. order
which are unproven. As a reason for this "child                                        to work  - and others will take over the task of
development program," it is stated that "millions of                                   training their children. Instruction will no longer be
American children are suffering unnecessary harm                                       given at home, but government agencies will see to
from the present lack of adequate child development                                    that. All this is, of course, voluntary. But the way is
services, particularly during their early childhood                                    being opened so that none will feel obliged to carry
years." It is simply an unproven statement that there                                  out their parental responsibilities. "Big Brother" will
are "millions" of such children. Another real question                                 take care of the children. The implications of all this
c o u l d   b e   a s k e d : "What are  adequate  child                               are ominous. What is now suggested as a voluntary act
d e v e l o p m e n t   s e r v i c e s ? " .                                          in freeing one's self from the restrictions of raising
   The bill further suggests that "comprehensive child                                 children, can and will soon become compulsory (in
development programs, including a full range of                                        order to develop the full potential of America's
health, education, and social services, are essential to                               children).
the achievement of the full potential of. America's                                      One writer, in opposing a similar bill, stated, "I can
children and should be available to all children                                       not escape the haunting fear that if this measure is
r e g a r d l e s s   o f   e c o n o m i c ,   s o c i a l ,   a n d   f a m i l y    enacted we shall be taking a final, fatal step down the
background." The question arises, "Who is to                                           road which leads to a completely controlled existence
determine what is  essential  for the development of                                   of the kind portrayed by Orwell's "1984" and
full potential?" Certainly with a bill of this nature, it                              Huxley's "Brave New World" and, most recently, by
will be governmental authorities which ultimately                                      the work of B.F. Skinner. Rather than breeding that
determine what  is essential  for the development of                                   race of wise and just philosopher-kings dreamed of by
the potential  in  all  children (not only for the poor                                Plato, however, we are more likely to end up
and deprived, but for  all  children).  Ifthe government                               producing a race of docile automatons. The proposal
determines that it is  essential  for the development of                               as it is now designed cannot possibly rise to the level
the full potential of my children that they receive no                                 of its utopian expectations; and that failure will, in
Biblical instruction but rather training in the theories                               time, `produce widespread frustration and, in all
of evolution, it seems to me that this bill would allow                                likelihood, a yet more stringent program to remedy
for such determination.                                                                the deficiencies of this one. And that, in turn, will be
   The  prsposed  bill desires to place special emphasis                               a good deal less voluntary."


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                       323


   In all of this, one is reminded of that end-time             attempt of this world- or of our government to
when  anti-Christ shall attempt to control all things.          control or to teach our children. On the other hand,
To gain such control, he must begin with the youth.             we ought to be very faithful in instructing and seeing
Communist countries are well aware of this  - and               to the instruction of the covenant seed. The time is
proceed from that principle. He who controls the                short. What our children learn well now, can not be
youth will possess and direct them also when they               taken from them; Soon this privilege of training our
grow older.                                                     own children could indeed be taken from us. Watch,
                                                                therefore, and be `diligent in this important calling
   Children of God ought to resist steadfastly every            given to us!


 THESTRENGTHOFYOUTH
                                         Confessing Faith
                                                 Rev.  J. Kortering

   Most churches have a door marked, "Consistory".              diploma. This is different. This exam has to `do with
Outside that door many a child has stood and peeked             faith/
inside wondering with child-like curiosity as to what              You can be sure, then, that., the emphasis and
was going on inside. The clink of money, the clearing           purpose is not first of all academic;  it. is not first of all
of throats, the quiet conversation, the smell of stale          a personality profile; it is not first of all to determine
smoke  - all made up a rather strange combination.              emotional stability. Rather it is spiritual. You have
Before that door many a young elder or deacon                   come to express your faith and what that means to
paused with second thoughts, weighing his future                you and how you will gladly speak of it to others.
with some degree of trepidation. Before that door
many a sinner bowed with humble submission,                        The questions will be directed to achieve this end.
burning with shame, but  more, so longing for the               You can be sure that your minister or elder is not
forgiveness of Christ and His church. Before that door          asking questions to try to trick you, try to give you a
an occasional member stands with wrath and fury,                hard time, try to make you look bad in the eyes of
waiting to vent his wrath upon those who are                    others. They desire to know what you believe as well
entrusted with the rule of Zion. Before that door               as how you live. Your presence in  the. consistory
appear the troubled who seek peace, the weary who               places you in the midst of officebearers of the church
long for rest, and sorrowing who come to find                   who function in the love of Christ. There is joy in
comfort.        t                                               their hearts. simply by having you in their midst and
   Young people also find it necessary to stand before          telling them you desire to make confession of your
that door. That moment is filled with its own kind of           faith.
emotions, a mixture of anticipation, of fear, of                   Faith involves believing. Your presence before the
' somber reflection, of relief. It is  all, involved in what    consistory must indicate that you do believe. The
we call making confession of our faith.                         questions asked will be formulated to show to the
   Some of you youthful readers `may be planning on             consistory that you know what you believe and
appearing at your consistory's door soon. Others of             believe `what you know.  .In addition to this, they will
you may be giving this some "thought". This is                  be interested in discerning that your faith is sincere
written particularly for you.                                   and that it is confirmed also by a godly walk in the
                                                                midst of this world.' You must expect to be asked
THE EXAMINATION                                                 questions that have to do with your knowledge of the
                                                                Bible, of Reformed truth as taught in our churches,
   Those, words are frightening; they arouse all sorts          of your personal understanding of these truths and
of horrendous memories from past experiences.                   whether they are for your own salvation and  .eternal
Examination!                                                    hope in Christ.
   This examination is of a different kind. You have              Let me emphasize something that we consistory
never had such an exam before in your life. You will            members. look for at such a time. True, we rejoice
not appear before the consistory for an interview for           when young people are able to answer questions
a job.' This is not an interview to see whether you             about doctrine and prove these from the Bible. True,
qualify for a promotion. Neither is it an oral exam to          we are thankful when our young people can express
determine whether you will graduate and get some                their belief in the historic Reformed faith and are


324                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER


willing to reject the errors so prevalent in our day. We           and in various degrees began to understand the Word
are also thrilled to hear them say they have to                    preached and your need for that instruction,
struggle against sin and that they intend by  ,God's               admonition, warning, and comfort. You began to
grace to walk uprightly in the world. All this we seek             realize that  tms is what faith is all about. From a
and believe is necessary. But the attitude of young                child you repented and believed in response to the
people makes such a difference.  Sincerity  is the key             call of the gospel.
word. Knowledge without conviction is a farce, piety                  Now you desire to make confession of faith before
without godliness is a sham. Give this some thought
before you stand before the consistory door.                       the church. This is something special. Making
                                                                   confession of faith is an opportunity for you to
                                                                   express before the church that the promises of the
PREPARATION                                                        gospel are real as far as you are concerned. Your
   It's sad but true that some young people become                 parents and the church believe that the promise is
very cynical when they talk about making confession                unto believers and their children. They had placed the
of faith. This is particularly true of older young                 sign  of.the covenant, baptism, upon you as an infant
people, of whom it might have been considered                      in obedience to that glorious truth. Now you have
normal to have made confession of faith, but they                  come to an age in your life when you want all to
haven't. Rightly or wrongly, such young people                     know that that sign of the covenant was not placed
usually have an arsenal of reasons why they haven't                on you for your destruction, but as a sign of your
seriously considered appearing before the consistory.              salvation. You are old enough to announce to the
Sometimes with a degree of maliciousness, they                     church that you possess that faith in common with all
castigate other young people who have made                         the members of the body of Christ. You desire to
confession of faith and tauntingly point out, "0 sure,             receive all the benefits of being a member of Christ's
they make confession of faith, but do you know                     church, not only the preaching of the Word, but also
why? It's just expected of them; like so many robots               the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. You are willing
who have completed the catechism course, they                      to accept the responsibility of membership in Christ's
parade to the consistory without even giving it                    Church and want all to know that you willingly do
thought as to why. Why, so and so just wants to get                that. Therefore you go to the consistory to confess
out of going to catechism, that's all. You know how                (speak together with the church) and stand before the
it is with so and so, his folks put such pressure on him           church to profess (speak before the church) your
that the poor fellow isn't even able to think for                  faith. It is a blessed experience that must not be
himself."                                                          postponed if it can be done honestly and sincerely
   Is there any truth to all of this?                              now.
   Ask yourself and be honest.                                       But, how can you know whether you are ready for
                                                                   such a step?
   If there is, then standing before that door would be
less than honest and one can better wait until the                   Here is a time in your life when you have to
proper motive comes to the fore.                                   determine your spiritual maturity. It is important
                                                                   that you do not confuse this with spiritual perfection.
   And what is the proper motive?                                  None of us ever become so mature that we do not
   Jesus expressed it this way, "Whosoever therefore               haveto continue to grow. We can always learn more
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also               of the truth, the  Bible,`and how this must be applied
before my Father in heaven," Matt.  10:32.  We must                to our daily life. Making confession of faith does not
distinguish between possessing faith and confessing                mean that you have to conclude that you know
faith. Surely, covenant young people possess faith                 everything and that you are walking in victory over
early in life. Within the sphere of a Christian home,              all sin. Take courage, this will never happen until we
church, and school, young people are surrounded                    leave this life for glory. Don't wait with making
with God's Word. You know this from your own                       confession of faith for this.
experience, more than likely. You were taught to                     Rather, evaluate whether you are mature enough
read the Bible,- to think of your sins, to believe that            to answer the three questions presented to you (see
Jesus died for your sins and that your heavenly                    page 59 of our Psalter). Maturity involves three
Father forgives you when you come to Him in true                   things, that you are knowledgeable of the truth, that
repentance. You studied the truth of God's Word and                you understand what faith is and why you make
leamed in greater detail Who God is, our natural                   confession of faith in a Protestant Reformed Church.
depvity, our only Mediator, Jesus Christ.  By. your                Secondly, you have come to that conviction that this
own spiritual growth you learned the need of prayer,               truth is right and that you are thankful to God that
t h e   j o y   o f   s i n g i n g , the blessedness of quiet.    you may be known as a believer. You hold the truth
meditation. You sat in church and in different ways                of the Scripture to be precious and are- not ashamed


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 325


to be known as a Reformed Christian. Conviction              intend to contribute everything that you have for the
saves one from being cast to and fro by every wind of        good of the church and the advancement of Christ's
doctrine. Thirdly, you must also be filled with the          kingdom? Or do you have reservations, maybe
love of God in Jesus Christ, so that you are assured         intentions of leaving the church? There may be
that you are one of God's elect and that you are             different reasons for this, a job far removed, an
thankful for your salvation and will gladly, in loving       impending marriage, a career in the armed services,
obedience, serve the Lord with all your life.                etc. If you know that you will not be remaining with
  You may ask: well, how can I determine whether             the church, you should not make confession of faith
or not this is true of me? What guidelines are there         in the church; this is hypocrisy. You should be
for such personal evaluation?                                sincere in answering the questions.
  Test your intellectual understanding of the truth             Finally, ask yourself what  ~ Christ means to you
by reviewing the booklet, "Doctrinal Review", by             personally. Do you doubt your salvation? This, too,
Rev. H. Hoeksema. Read those questions over, think           must be resolved if it exists. You must come to a
about the answers; and if you can answer those               point when you can say, "I know whom I have
questions, you have the knowledge of the truth in a          believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep
brief form.                                                  that which I committed unto him against that day,"
                                                             II Tim. 1: 12. You must be sincere in your desire to
  Concerning your convictions, think along these             walk as a Christian, not to be seen of men, but to
lines. Do you have any doubts about the Bible, the           express gratitude to your Father for His salvation.
Reformed Confessions, or what is preached in church.         This is a difficult way, marked by tears, burdened.by
If you do, you must honestly work these out before           jeers, and weighed with self-denial. Yet it is most
making confession of faith. You can study more;              blessed.
there is plenty of material available. You should go
privately and discuss these with your parents or your           When you stand before the consistory door and it
minister; they will do `all they can to open for you the     is opened to you, enter with believing heart, and trust
Scripture. By all means, pray about it and ask the           that God will put words upon your lips that will
Holy Spirit to guide you. How do you evaluate your           express the desire of your heart. You may be sure
relationship with the church? Are you serious about          that God will supply all your needs in Christ Jesus.
membership? Do you sincerely pray to God that He                As you leave, may the Lord seal that profession
may keep you as a faithful member and that you               with His blessing.


FROM HOLY WRIT
                    Exposition of Hebrews 12:  18-24 (cont.)
                                                    Rev. G. Lubbers

THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT  -                          and the sins are removed forever and are remembered
JESUS (vs. 24)                                               no more, and which covenant cannot be broken.
                                                             (Heb. 8:7-13) The viewpoint here is of a "better"
  The greatest and climactic detail concerning the           covenant, comparing the Old Testament Covenant
glory of the heavenly Jerusalem is that we have now          with the New Testament in Christ's blood. Here the
"come to" the Mediator of the new covenant. We               covenant is called "new." The term for "new" here in
have not come to the' law-giver, Moses, who was              the Greek is not  kainos,  that which  isunworn, newly
faithful in all of God's house as a servant (Hebrews         made, but here it is  neos,  which is new and does not
3:3); but we have come to Jesus, the High Priest of          belong to the old order of the shadows and types of
our profession, Who is the Son, and Who is the               the  Sinaitic  tabernacle. It is the covenant which is
builder of the house. He is a priest forever after the       new because it is the complete removal of our sins
order of Melchisedec, by virtue of God's Word of             and guilt and is the covenant life of the heavenly
promise and of oath which cannot be broken.                  Jerusalem and the temple of the living God dwelling
   In Hebrews  8:6 the writer says that Jesus has            with His people. It is the new covenant based upon
obtained a more excellent ministry than that of the          the better promises of God which assure us the
priest of the Old Testament tabernacle. The reason is        eternal, spiritual verities, which cannot be lost or be
that He is the Mediator of a better covenant. It is the      taken from us. They are eternal, secure; and belong to
covenant in which the law is written upon the hearts,        the things which the Judge of all men approves.


 3     2    6                                   THE  .iTANDARD  BEAdEk


      For this covenant is such that it is the application      This word of warning here deals not simply with
 of "blood of sprinkling." This blood is the blood of         the danger of falling into transgression of some of
 the Son of God in our human nature. It was shed on           God's commandments because of the weakness of the
 t h e   c r o s s , and now, the King-Priest has also        flesh, but it deals with the sin of apostasy from faith
"sprinkled" this blood on the mercy-seat of the Ark           in Christ to unbelief in rejecting Christ, accounting
 of God's covenant, so that the throne of God is a            the blood of Christ as being "common," not having
 throne of pure grace for us and is the mercy-seat. We        redeeming power. Such is the sin of  unbeliefi   This
 have access to God forever by this blood of sprinkling       was the sin of unbelief of Israel of old when they
 of the Mediator, Jesus. For this Jesus' bloqd is not         refused to obey the Lord and enter into the land of
 common blood; it is the blood of the Lamb of God,            promise. They could not enter because of their
 which taketh away the sin of the world. (John  1:29)         unbelief. (Heb. 3: 19)
 It has eternal value, we must remember; it is blood            A little survey of Hebrews will demonstrate that
 which cries for forgiveness and atonement. It                such is the repeated refrain and warning of this letter.
 "speaks" of the mercy and forgiveness of God. Peace          Already in Hebrews 2: l-3 there was such a warning
 with God has been made for us by this blood. (Col.           uttered by the writer. It warns against neglecting so
 1:20)  and we have redemption from sin through this          great salvation, and points out what happened to
 blood. (Eph.  1:7; 2: 13) And we have free access into       Israel of old when they did not give heed to the word
 the holiest place of God by means of this blood. This        which was spoken by angels to Moses at Horeb. And
 "blood of the Lamb," which the Mediator brought, is          then the writer makes the comparison with what will
 the means of mediation. It is the atonement price            happen if we neglect what was spoken by Christ
 which was paid! All other blood which is shed is like        Himself as the Lord of His church while on earth, and
 the blood of Abel in the church. Many saints  .have          which was later confirmed by the preaching of the
 died by the sinful hands of cruel men, even all the          apostles who heard Christ personally in all of His
 prophets; and their blood cries for vengeance. But           preaching. God is a jealous God in both dispensations;
 this blood "speaks" another language.. It' speaks of         however, He is more severely so in the New
 peace, reconciliation, righteousness, and joy in  the.       Testament dispensation. Or, again, notice how the
 H o l y   G h o s t .                                        writer warns against an evil heart of unbelief to turn
  . And now we need not tremble when God speaks               away from the living God (Heb.  3:12), and shows
 from Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the             what happened to Israel as they died during the forty
 heavenly Jerusalem. We can look away to this Jesus,          years' wandering in the wilderness.  This, is a warning
 Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured            finger, the warning against apostasy, basic apostasy
 the cross and despised the shame and is set down on          from- the faith in Christ, to mere worship in
 the right hand of God. To this new  status quo we            ceremonial ordinances which are of no profit. In
 must cling with all our hearts, and not be moved from        Hebrews  6:6  `we have that awesome word of God
 the hope of our calling. And, therefore, we must not         concerning those who have once been enlightened,
 have feeble hands and weak knees, but be strong and          tasted- of the heavenly gift, and fall away. These
 vigilant in the battle of faith. We must not allow a         cannot again return to faith, but are like the earth
 root of bitterness and unbelief to take over in the          which brings up thorns and thistles. It can only be
 church, and that many be troubled and depart from            destroyed. And in Hebrews  10:26-30  we have a
 the faith.                                                   description of. those who trample the Son of God
                                                              underfoot,. count the blood of Christ a common
 THE  F I N A L ,   G R E A T   W A R N I N G   A N D         thing, and who do despite to the Spirit of grace.
EXHORTATION (Heb. 1  i: 25-28)                                These will fall into the hands of the living God. God
      We call attention to the fact that in Hebrews the       is a God of vengeance; He will judge His people. That
 writer has much  ,exhortation  to the readers. It might      is the' "word of exhortation" to those concerning
 seem that the letter to the Hebrews is predominantly         whom the writer is "persuaded better things." (Heb.
 instructive. There is much instruction, indeed;              6:9;         10:39)
 however, all the instructive passages are given and            And now the writer pens his. final great warning.
 elicited from the Old Testament Scriptures in view of        He takes his warning from the keynote of Hebrews
 exhortation to the saints not to apostatize from the         1: 1. This "note" is "God  - spake in times past, and
 living God, as He speaks to us in these latter days in       He speaks (hath spoken) now in these last days in His
 His Son. (Heb. l:l-4) So much so is this a letter of         Son." For unbelief is rejecting God, Who speaks to us
 exhortation, that he calls the entire letter "a word of      either  .in the prophets or in His Son. He that rejects
 exhortation." (Heb.  13:22)  We do well to keep this         Moses rejects Christ;- for "he spoke of me." (John
 over-all hortatory character of the Epistle in mind          5:46, 47) Christ is the great subject in all of the Old
 when we set ourselves to understand this final word          Testament Scriptures. Hence, let us never fail to see
 of exhortation to these Hebrew saints.                       this fact blazoned upon the sacred page. He that


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 327


  rejects Christ rejects the One Who "speaketh" in the          whether in the Old Testament at the `foot of Mt.
  Scriptures; he rejects the testimony which God gave           Sinai, or promulgated from the heavenly Mt. Sion, is
  concerning His Son and concerning all things in Him.          ever a rejecting of the divine Speaker, God. That
  (I John  5:9-l 2)                                             shows us the heartbeat of unbelief; it is against this
 THE GREATER REJECTION IN THE NEW                               that we are warned in every age.
  TESTAMENT  THAN IN THE  OLD TESTAMENT                            The writer reasons from `the lesser to the greater,
  ( H e b .            12:25-27)                                from the fearfulness of rejecting "him that spoke on
     It is a dreadful thing to refuse to- listen to God,        earth" to what would happen if "we turned away
  Who cannot lie. It is not simply a refusing of God's          from him who speaketh to us from heaven." The
  Word, but it is really a refusing of God Himself. The         latter is far worse in its breadth and implication.
verb for refuse  in  the Greek is  paraiteeseesthe.  It         Why? The former who spoke on earth were but
  means: to entreat, to beg off, to reject, to decline          earthly messengers. They were truly messengers of
  receiving. It is according to the tense used a final,         the Most High, but they were still but men and
  once for all rejecting of God Who speaks, Who reveals         nothing more. Human prophets, who said, "Thus
  Himself in His prophets and in His Son. Unbelief is a         saith the LORD." But he who speaketh from heaven
  dreadful thing. It  ,is an attempt to decide for oneself      is God in the flesh. He says, "But  I say unto you."' He
  what is good and  .evil,.right and wrong. It is the sin of    is  Immanuel, God-with-us. He is the, chief Prophet,
  the apostate from God, the hater of God. Against this         Who revealed to us the entire, secret counsel of God
  basic sin of unbelief to which the Judaizers would            concerning our redemption. God spoke in these last
  tempt them, force them even to succumb by                     days to us in His Son. (Heb. 1: 1) And this Son is He
  persecution and  .affliction, the believers are warned        Who "upholds- all things by the word of his power."
  and also strengthened  .by means of this exhortation.         By Him were the ages made in their beginning and in
  The church militant must be on their guard. We must           their providential control according to the counsel of
  stand our spiritual sentinel watch, be sober and              God. That was speaking "from heaven." This is my
  vigilant, and not fall asleep. Hence, the "beware" in         beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. He that hath
  our text to the Hebrews. They must be watchful unto           seen the Son hath seen the Father.
  prayer.                                                         So we see the greater rejection of the speaking God
    The writer emphasized that the word spoken by               in the New Testament. Where there is more light and
  the "one speaking" is a divine word. The term used is         more revelation there is a greater rejection of the
  chreematizon ta, that is, "the one giving divine com-         majesty of God in His Son. If those who rejected in
  munications." (Heb.  2:3) It was no mere human                the Old Testament in the wilderness and in Israel's
  word that was spoken at Sinai, nor by Christ on               prophetical history did not escape the judgment of
  earth. No prophecy is of private interpretation, but          God, who will escape the jealous and holy wrath of
  holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy                 God who rejects His Son? Upon such the wrath of
  Spirit. (II Peter  1:21) So that rejecting of the gospel,     God abides forever.


  THE  DAY.OF SHADOWS

                                     Covenant Certainty
                                                    Rev. John A. Heys,

    It would be expected of a man who had such rich             this priest of the most high God. Then it is that God
  promises as Abram that he `would do a great deal of           appears to him in a vision and tells him that He is his
  thinking about them. And Abram did do exactly that.           shield and great reward.
  He lived in the hope of their fulfillment, and these            In answer to these comforting words Abram asks,
  promises were with him every day. The evidence of             "Lord Jehovah, what  canst thou give me, seeing I go
  this is found in Genesis 15 when God appears to him           childless,. and the steward (heir) of my house is this
  and tells him that He is his shield and great reward.         Eliezer of Damascus?" This shows that Abram had
    Abram had just returned from rescuing Lot from              been thinking very seriously and very much about
  the four kings of the north and east. He had refused          that covenant promise of being a great nation. More
  any reward from the king of Sodom. And he had                 and more he came to the painful awareness that all
  given tithes to Melchizedek and had been blessed by           this could not be realized as long as he did not have a


  328                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER



  son. Implied, of course, in God's promise of making                    perhaps, but it was not doubt and certainly not
  him a great nation was the promise of seed. But God                    unbelief.
  had never said in so many words what he now
  declares to Abram, that "he that shall come out of                       And God  - who knows the exact moment for
  thine own bowels shall be thine heir." He had merely                   every point of revelation  - speaks to Abram a new
  promised to make of him a great nation and to give                     detail in the promise: "he that shall come forth out
  him this land. And Abram had believed God. But as                      of thy bowels shall be thine heir." At a time when
  the years went by and he became older and  Sarai                       Abram needed encouragement and stood in need of a
  remained just as sterile, it caused much thought in                    fuller revelation of the details of the covenant
  Abram's mind and life as to the fulfillment of this                    promise God is there to tell him that he will have a
  promise. And now when God tells him that He is his                     son of his own.
  shield and great reward Abram reveals how close to                       And a former detail is enhanced by a reference to
  the surface, how frequently before his consciousness                  the stars of the heavens. God had said that He would
  was this promise and the need of a son for its                         make of him a great nation. Now He points out that
  fulfillment. Apparently entirely out of context                       it will indeed be an innumerable host, so that if
  Abram speaks of the need of a son to be his heir. And                  Abram can count the stars in the heavens, he can
  yet it is not so out of context at all. For God being                  count all the multitude of seed that God will give
  his shield and God being his exceeding great reward                   him. Now' Abram can see that God is indeed his shield
  mean nothing if the covenant promise is not fulfilled.                 and great reward. In this way he can see that all the
  A b r a m   m u s t   b e   shi.elded  f r o m   s h a m e   a n d     covenant promises can be and will be fulfilled by
  disappointment as far as the covenant promises are                    God. And what a wonderful vision this turned out to
  concerned as surely as he must be from all the                        be!
  Canaanites who resented having him in their land.                        Abram's further request, "Lord Jehovah whereby
And what reward is there and how  .is God Abram's                       shall I know that I shall inherit it?" (this whole land)
  exceeding.great reward if all these covenant promises                 is likewise not gendered out of doubt and unbelief,
  are not fulfilled?                                                    but out of faith and its eagerness for that which is
     God is Abram's and our exceeding great reward                      promised. Abram was not questioning God's ability,
  only in Christ. He is our exceeding great reward, and                 nor His faithfulness to His promises. He was asking
  Abram's as well, only when He comes into our flesh,                   for a sign because he wanted so badly to rejoice in
  dwells with us, saves us by His blood and takes us up                 this which God promised. He did not doubt. He was
  into that covenant life which He has promised in the                  not guilty of unbelief. But he did not want to doubt
  new Jerusalem, the holy city. But all this requires                   or disbelieve in the future either. He wanted to
  seed. A son must be born to Abram that will in time                   believe and to be strong in his faith; and therefore he
  bring forth this Christ, this Seed of the woman that                  asks for a sign, for a word from God that will keep
  will give us the victory and shield us forever from our               him from falling into unbelief and doubt.
sin and guilt.                                                             God gives him a most wonderful and significant
    And realizing that he must have a son, Abram had                    sign. Abram is called to gather and arrange an heifer,
 been thinking not only about these covenant                            a ram, a she goat, a turtledove and a young pigeon.
 promises; he had  ,been looking to see how God was                     For such was the custom in that day in that part of
 going to fulfill them. He had looked to Lot, but God                   the world from whence Abram came when one made
 took Lot away and removed him far from Abram's                         a covenant with another. The animals were to be cut
  side. Now he is looking at his servant Eliezer of`                    in two, and the two halves were to be separated from
 Damascus. If nothing happens, if God does not give                     each other at such a distance that a man could walk
 him a son before he dies, Elieier will inherit all his                 between the two parts. The same was true of the two
 goods, and it will have to be through him that God                     birds which were placed one on each side but were
                                                                        not divided. And then the two parties drawing up the
 fulfills His promise.                                                  covenant would pass between the parts with the
    Understand well that Abram does not doubt God's                     understanding that if the one or the other would be
 promise. We read that he believed God and that it was                  unfaithful in the covenant, all his cattle would be
 accounted unto him for righteousness. He believed.                     slain and divided. It was a method of swearing by a
 And his cry, "What  canst thou give me (as long as                     ritual. It was expressing their seriousness and intent
 thou givest me no child)?" is not at all a complaint. It               to be faithful to the covenant drawn up between
 is no accusation of unfaithfulness on God's part. It is                them.
 a question that had been turning around in Abram's                       But Abram does not pass between the parts! He
 mind for a long time. How can God do this when He                      sees  - after he had all day driven off the wild birds
 gives me no child? It was puzzlement, bewilderment                     that came to devour the flesh  - God, in the form of a


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      329


smoking furnace and a burning lamp (the only form                           But all this insults the living God and distorts the
of fire known in Abram's day) passing between the                       whole truth of Scripture. And it all makes salvation
parts. God swore to His faithfulness. He did not                        so utterly hopeless for us. It never tries to explain
demand or allow Abram to swear his faithfulness to                      how a spiritually dead man can even hear the call to
the covenant.                                                           fulfill the condition  `or want. the salvation. And it
  This is not simply due to the fact that Abram had                     never  tries to do this because it simply and boldly
requested a sign and God had not requested one from                     denies that man is spiritually dead. It wants to believe
Abram. It is' due to the fact that there is only one                    in a man who is spiritually sick and desperately weak,
party in God's covenant, and that party is God                          but left with enough power to desire the "offered"
Himself. We are of the party of God and are not a                       salvation. It ignores completely the fact that there is
little party next to the  ,big Party. As our Baptism                    absolutely no suggestion of any conditions to God's
Form has it, there are contained in all covenants two                   covenant in  .this entire chapter,
parts. But there is in God's covenant only one party,                       God does not tell Abram that He will be his shield
and that is God Himself.                                                and great reward if . . .  : Unequivocally God declares
  For this reason `God's covenant is certain. Lord                      that He  is  his shield and  is  his great reward without
Jehovah has sworn, and He has passed between the                        any bargaining with Abram. The same is true as far as
parts, giving His word that He will keep every detail                   giving him a son that comes out of his own bowels. It
of that promise. A covenant that rests on our                           is not promised conditionally. God declares what HE is
faithfulness is bound to fail. And the next chapter                     going to do and what HE is going to give to Abram.
indicates how miserably Abram failed in that                            And exactly to teach Abram  - and us  - that all His
covenant when he took Hagar to be his wife in order                     promises stand because of His great faithfulness, He
to raise up this seed that would come out of his                        gives Abram a part to fulfill together with the ability
bowels. The covenant would have failed, before this                     to do so. And this He does in answer to Abram's
son out of Abram's bowels, namely, Isaac, could be                      request for a  ,.sign. The sign God gives is one that
born!                                                                   declares to Abram and to us that God  - while we
                                                                        only look on and watch  - fulfills all the requirements
  Yes, Abram drives off the  .fowls, the unclean birds                  of His covenant and swears by Himseif that He will
that' came to eat up  theflesh. But he did this with                    keep His word.
strength that God gave him; and even then a deep
sleep fell upon him and an horror of great darkness.                       And lest we and Abram's seed begin to doubt His
So frail is man that he will fall asleep on the job. And                faithfulness, God also reveals the future history of
any covenant founded on his faithfulness and                            Abram's seed predicting the long bondage in Egypt.
dependent upon it falls before it can be begun.                         This was not a case of God being unfaithful to His
                                                                        promise but `biding His time because the measure of
  It is well for us to remember this and to hold on to                  iniquity of the Amorites was not yet full. And carried
it in the Arminian age in which we live. On every side                  over into our age it means that even though the
w.e are bombarded with philosophies and theories of                     Antichrist comes with `his dreadful persecutions and
men that present God's promises as conditional.                         temporary victories, we must not immediately cry
There is that which man must first do. There is the                     out of God's unfaithfulness but realize that the hour
indispensable requirement which he must fulfill                         of His Son's return is not yet come according to an
before God will act and send His blessing. A pleading                   eternal and unchangeable counsel. God will fulfill His
and eager God is presented Who cannot save until                        promise in its minutest detail. He will keep His word
man has expressed his desire for  sa1vatio.n. A willing                 and is both our shield and great reward. He will not
God is preached Who has stipulated the condition of                     become such;  `He is such right now, and in flawless
faith so that if man will only meet this simple
requirement of God, He on His part will be only too                     covenant faithfulness He is working all things
glad to save and bless everlastingly.                                   together for good to those that love Him.




                                                     TEACHER NEEDED
                 i                South Holland  Protestan;  Reformed Christian School will be in need
                               of a teacher .for grades 4, 5 and 6 for the 1975-1976 term. Those
                               interested please contact G. F. Van  Baren, 15921  Parkside  Ave., South
                               Holland, Illinois 60473, or call  (312) 331-3818.


 330                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER


 CONTENDING FOR  THEFAITH

                                      Eschatology-The First Period

                                                             Rev. H Veldmati


   We concluded our preceding article with the                            all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection
 statement that we would again quote Justin Martyr                        of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which
in which he even stigmatizes as heretical the doctrine                    will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, as the
` that souls are received into heaven immediately after                 prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.
 death. Chapter 80 of his dialogue  with Trypho, the                  In this quotation Justin Martyr declares very
 Jew, reads as follows (in this quotation he also reveals             plainly that he `believes in a thousand years in
 his millenial tendencies) :                                          Jerusalem. However, he also declares that many
          And Trypho to this replied, "I remarked to you,             others, true Christians, think differently. But he is
        sir, that you are very anxious to be safe in all              very  severe  in his condemnation of those who teach
        respects, since you cling to the Scriptures. But tell         that the souls of the departed go immediately to
        me, do you really admit that this place, Jerusalem,           heaven upon death, declares concerning them that
        shall be rebuilt; and do you expect your people to be         they are not Christians.
        gathered together, and made joyful with Christ and
        the patriarchs, and the prophets, both the men of our           Of interest in this connection is also what we read
        nation, and other proselytes who joined them before           in Philip Schaff's  History of the Christian Church,
        your Christ came? or have you given away,  and.               Vol. II. On page 602 we read:
        admitted this in order to have the appearance of                        5. Impenitent Christians `and unbelievers go down
        worsting us in the controversied?"                                to the lower regions of Hades (Gehemra, Tartarus,
          Then I answered, "I am not so miserable a fellow,              Hell) into a preparatory state of misery and dreadful
        Trypho, as to say one thing and think another. I                  expectation of the fmal judgment. From the fourth
        admitted to you formerly, that I and many others are              century Hades came to be identified with Hell, and
        of this opinion, and believe that such wiIl take place,           this confusion passed into many versions of the Bible,
        as you assuredly are aware; but, on the other hand, I             including that of King James.
        signified to you that many who belong to the pure               Our readers may also be interested in this
        and pious faith, and are true Christians, think
        otherwise. Moreover, I pointed out to you that some           quotation from Philip Schaff,  Vol. II,  .page 602:
        who are called Christians, but are godless, impious                     6. The future fate of the heathen and of
        `heretics, teach doctrines that are in every way                  unbaptized children was left in hopeless darkness,
        blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish. But that you               except by Justin and the Alexandrian  fathers, who
        may know that I do not say this before you alone, I               extended the operations of divine grace beyond the
        shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the           limits of the visible church. Justin Martyr must have I
        arguments which have passed between us; in which I              believed, from his premises, in the salvation of  alI
        shah record myself as admitting the very same things              those heathen who had in this life followed the light
        which I admit to you. For I choose to follow not men              of the Divine Logos and died in a state of
        or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines                     unconscious Christianity, or preparedness for  '
        delivered by Him. For if you have fallen in with some             Christianity. For, he says, "those who lived with the r
        who are called Christians, but who do not admit this              Logos were Christians, although they were esteemed
        truth, and venture to blaspheme the God of                        atheists, as Socrates and Heraclitus, and others like
        Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of                     them."
        Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead,             Did Justin Martyr believe that also, Socrates was a
        and that their souls, when they die, are taken to             Christian? To believe that  this Greek philosopher was
        heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians, even         a Christian is rather difficult. One might  conclude-
        as one, if he would rightly consider  it;would not
        admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genistae,       this, however, from this quotation. And on page 768
        Meristae, Galilaeans,  Hellenists, Pharisees, Baptists,       of the same volume Philip Schaff writes this:
        are Jews (do not hear-me impatiently when I tell you                    The book On the Universe was directed against
        what I think), but are only called Jews and children              Platonism. It made  ah things consist of the four
        of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as God                 elements, earth, air, fire, and water. Man is formed of
        Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him.                 ah four elements, his soul, of air. But the most
        But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on              important part of this book is a .description of Hades,


                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                                           331



    as an abode under ground where the souls of the                   disciples, He thus ascended to the Father; - (if all
    departed are detained until the day of judgment: the              these things occurred, I say), how must these men not
    righteous in a place of light and happiness called                be `put to confusion, who  allege that "the lower
    Abraham's Bosom; the wicked in a place of darkness                 parts" refer to this world of ours, but that their inner
    and misery; the two regions being separated by a                   man, leaving  .the body here, ascends into the
    great gulf. The entrance is guarded by an archangel.               super-celestial place? For as the Lord "went away in
    On the judgment day the bodies of the righteous will               the midst of the shadow of death," where the souls of
    rise renewed and glorified, the bodies of the wicked               the dead were, yet afterwards arose in the body, and
    with all the diseases of their earthly life .of everlasting        after the resurrection was taken up into heaven, it is
    punishment. This description agrees substantially                  manifest that the souls of His discibles  also, upon
    with the eschatology of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and               whose account the Lord underwent , these things,
    Tertullian.                                                        shall go away into the invisible place allotted to
  In chapter  XXX1 of his treatise against heresies,                   them by God, and there remain until the resur-
Vol. I of the  -Ante-Nicene Fathers,  page 560,                        rection, awaiting that event; then receiving their
Irenaeus' writing on the preservation of our bodies as                 bodies, and rising in their entirety, that is bodily, just
confirmed by the resurrection and ascension`of Christ                  as the Lord arose, they shall come thus into the
                                                                    presence of God. "For no disciple is above the
and of the souls of the saints during the intermediate                Master, but every one that is perfect shall be as his
period as being in a state of expectation, writes the                 Master." As our Master, therefore, did not at once
following:                                                             depart, taking flight to heaven, but awaited the time
       Since, again, `some who are reckoned among the                  of His resurrection prescribed by the Father, which
    orthodox go beyond the pre-arranged plan for the                  had been also shown forth through Jonas, and rising
    exaltation of the just, and are ignorant of the                    again after three days was taken up to heaven; so                    .
    methods by which they are disciplined before hand                  ought we also to await the time of our resurrection
    for  into-rruption, they thus entertain heretical                  prescribed by God and foretold by the prophets, and
    opinions. For the heretics, despising the handiwork of            so, rising, be taken up, as many as the Lord shall
    God, and not admitting the salvation of their flesh,               account worthy of this privilege.
   while they also treat the promise of God
   contemptuously, and pass beyond God altogether in                 So, according to this church father, there were
   the sentiments they form, affirm that immediately               heretics who, despising the handiwork of God, affirm
   upon their death they shall pass above the heavens              that, immediately upon their death, they shall pass
   and the Demiurge, and go to the Mother (Achamoth)               above the heavens and the Demiurge and go to that
   or to that Father whom they have feigned. Those                 Father whom they  had.' feigned. These heretics did
   persons, therefore, who disallow a resurrection                 not admit the salvation  of  their flesh and treated the
   affecting the whole man, as far as in them lies remove
   it from the midst of the Christian scheme, how can              promise of God contemptuously. Over against them
   they be wondered at, if again they know nothing as              the church father places the example of the Christ, in
   to the plan of the resurrection? For they do not                Whom, according to him, these heretics professed to
   choose to understand, that if these things are as they          believe. Christ dwelt for three days in the bosom of
   say, the Lord Himself, in whom they profess to                  the earth, as foretold in the Scriptures, particularly'
   believe, did not rise again upon the third day; but             by the example of- Jonah who was in the belly of the
   immediately upon His expiring on the cross,                     fish three days and three nights. And this, of course,
   undoubtedly departed on high, leaving His body to               will also be the experience of all His people, inasmuch
   the earth. But the case was, .that for three days He            as a servant is no greater than his master.
   dwelt in the place where the dead were, as the
   prophet says concerning Him: "And the Lord                        In our following article we will continue with our
   remembered His dead saints, who slept formerly in               discussion on this doctrine of Hades as set forth by
   the land of sepulture; and He. descended to them, to            the church fathers during this early period of the
   rescue and save them."                                          church in the New Dispensation. Then we expect to
                                                                   quote from Tertullian. He has an interesting chapter
  Hereupon Irenaeus quotes several passages of the                 on: Whither does the soul retire when it quits the
Scriptures to show that Jesus, before ascending to His             body? He also cites opinions of philosophers which
Father in heaven, was first in the heart of the earth,             are all more or less absurd. He also sets forth the
quoting, among other passages, that Scripture which                Christian idea of the position of Hades and the
draws a comparison between Jonah and the Son of                    blessedness of Paradise immediately after death. And
Man. And then Irenaeus continues as follows:                       he then sets forth the privilege of the martyrs. It was
      2. If, then, the Lord observed the law of the dead,          Tertullian's belief that the martyrs were accorded
   that He might become the first-begotten from the                special privileges in distinction from other people of
   dead, and tarried until the third day "in the lower             God. But this must wait until our following article.
   parts of the earth"; then afterwards rising in the flesh,
   so that He even showed the print of the nails to His                                       *****


  332                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



                                           Mission.  Committee News                                                                     "
    In this article we shall try to answer some of the                              the piano, that is, for the congregational singing. Let
  questions that you raise concerning the mission                                   me quote another part of his letter: "We experience
  endeavors of our churches as they are implemented                                 the usual southern hospitality, which in itself is not
 by the  Mission.Committee.                                                         only proverbial but remarkable, to say the least.
    What's doing in Houston? Very much, indeed., Rev.                               There is a spirit of Christian love. An atmosphere of
  Harbach is conducting worship services each Sunday                                t r u e   s p i r i t u a l   p e a c e   s e e m s   t o   p r e v a i l ,   w i t h
 at  lo:30 A.M. and  3:30 P.M. Sunday School is being                               countenance shining in happy expressions. This we
taught, beginning at  9:30 A.M. Miss  Cari Sugg teaches                             believe is due to the fact that we are basically joyfully
 the small children, and Rev. Harbach leads the older                               thankful that we belong to the sovereign triune God,
 children and adults in the lessons as they are found in                            whose covenant love embraces us from all eternity in
 our own Sunday School Guide. A mid-week meeting                                    the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and who
 is held in which Rev. Harbach has already completed                                controls all circumstances for His glory and our
 a study of the Thirty-Seven Articles of the Belgic                                 profit. Our intention is to keep on keeping on. The
 Confession. This group is now studying the Book of                                 question, "How does Rev. Harbach like it in
Revelation. This meeting is held in one of the homes                                Houston?" is now answered.
 of the members. Three catechism classes are                                            Now let us attend to the questions regarding the
 conducted by the missionary-pastor each Saturday                                   Maine mission station, like, "How many people are
 morning. When one includes the pastoral visits he                                  we working with?" and, "what are the prospects of
 makes, it makes for quite a full calendar for our                                  organizing a congregation in Skowhegan?" Lets try to
 M i s s i o n a r y .   T h e   m e m b e r s h i p   i n c l u d e s   m a n y    sift through these questions a bit.
 professional men, and some of the wives and mothers                                    Rev. Kuiper and his family are settled in their new
 have teaching experience. One  .family  lives 40 miles                             place of labor and are happy in their work. The
 westward and another ten miles farther than that.                                  children are enrolled in a Christian school some miles
 Their meeting place is the Memorial West Community                                 out of town. We paid a short-drop-in-visit while on a
 Club;,but  when the swimming season is on, they will                               color tour last Fall when they had barely moved in
 meet in a Methodist church building a little distance                              and were far from settled in a fairly large house on
 away. In a letter to us Rev. Harbach sounds  ,like he                              the edge of a huge city park, through which flows the
 might be on the Texas Promotional Committee. Like                                  Kennebec River; in fact, the road down from Quebec
 this: "Texas is a State which has everything that other                            runs parallel to that river for miles. In the Fall it is
 states have, and more: prairie, desert, canyons,                                   rather full with free-floating logs on their way to the
 mountains, forests, thickets, marshes, seashore, lakes,                            sawmills. But to get Rev.  .Kuiper's viewpoint of it all,
 ponds, bays, bayous, rivers, oil fields, cane fields,.                             let us peek over his shoulder as he writes to his
 citrus country, farmlands and ranches." Sort of                                    consistory, (Hudsonville) and to the mission
 makes one feel he should phone his realtor and list his                            committee. "The work with the three families that
 home for sale. In the animal kingdom he lists, deer,                               asked our churches to come and help them is very
 alligators, armadillos, snakes, nutrea (which has a                                encouraging and enjoyable. They are faithful in
 beaver-like fur), and myriads of birds of all sorts, even                          church attendance and in mid-week meetings. Their
 the whooping crane which is on the danger list. He                                 view of the Christian's life in the midst of the world is
 assures us that there is more in Texas than the                                    the same as ours. Consequently, they receive the
 youngest of us could  .possibly  enjoy in a life time.                             preaching and instruction gladly, and we have good
    Our missionary-pastor also enjoys his work among                                communion together. So thoroughly are they
 that group of believers in Houston. He is working                                  convinced of the Reformed truth that, on their own,
 with a core group who are sincerely interested in                                  they have begun investigating the possibility of
 working toward a formal organization of a Protestant                               starting a small Christian school where their children
 Reformed church. Some good solid steps have been                                   might at least receive a few years of good covenant
 taken in that direction. In the year that he has                                   instruction. But the work involves more than meeting
 labored there he has preached once through the                                     with those already Reformed. And this is where the
 material of the Heidelberg Catechism; and the first                                work-becomes difficult. Over the past months many
 catechism season is now over. They can hear the                                    calls have been made in homes of those of other
 Reformed Witness Hour Sunday afternoon at  2:30,                                   religious persuasions. One finds a startling laxity in
 .and all their activities are also advertised on the                               respect to church attendance, a frightening lack of
 religious page of the Chronicle. Did you know that                                 knowledge, ah almost complete lack of appreciation
 Mrs. Harbach also has a role to play in that mission                               for the church institute. Numerous people we have
 field? Where her husband works, she plays  - plays                                 spoken with claim to be good Christians but have not


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  333


been in church for years, and reveal that they believe      few can read the Bible, and those have only a few
only those parts of the Bible, that they choose to          dis-connected stories in their knowledge. They have
believe. There have been a few visitors in the worship      not been catechized in O.T. History as our people are;
services from time to time, but' for the most part we       and until now circumstances have prevented personal
have not been able to spur people into coming. This is      contact with old and young. You understand that we
New England, through which the truth has passed             have worked with them intensively for only three
long ago, and which is now largely given over to            years; and that is a very short time to expect to
modernism (universalism and Unitarianism). And if           establish churches in the faith, especially those which
not that, then wholehearted. acceptance of free-will        are far removed from the stream of Reformed faith.
Arminianism in its worst form. During the past few          The ministers and churches have always appreciated
weeks we have had some homes closed to us because           o u r   h e l p   - financially, but also in regard to
people have found the Scriptural Reformed truth to          instruction in doctrine and Christian living. We
be a stumbling block. They are scandalized, outraged,       believe that there is no valid reason to abandon the
by what I point out to them from the Bible. How             field, but to work more strenuously if possible. The
long God will have work for us here we do not know.         four young ministers are very dedicated to the truth
We are naturally disappointed by this turn of events,       that has been taught them. The letters reveal the zeal
but overall we are not discouraged." And then we get        with which they labor, the love for the Scriptures and
a build-up to pay them a visit: "Maine is still             the ministry of the Word, which must also be evident
ninety-five percent forest covered. Lakes and streams       in their preaching. God has certainly given fruit upon
are everywhere. Small mountains can usually be seen         the labors performed during the short time a
to the north and to the west. English, French, and          missionary has worked the island. More will be said
Indian influences are to be seen everywhere,                about this project after the emissaries come back
reminders of the historic battles of the Revolutionary      from their April visit. The two emissaries who are
times. We look forward to taking several short trips        visiting the field in April will take care of many
this summer, when the land is released from her             details which need personal attention. They will listen
heavy burden of ice and snow. Perhaps some of you           to the sermons of the four. young ministers, and
will decide to come this way this summer. If so, we         determine the growth in their abilities, as well as the
promise you a warm. wlecome and good Christian              fruit of their ministry in the congregations. Their
fellowship!" Rev. Kuiper closed the letter with the         three-week stay will be filled with the concern for the
plea to remember him and his family in our prayers.         physical and spiritual welfare of these saints.
  There still remains the question regarding the            Meanwhile, the Mission Committee asks you to
Jamaican field. Well there's nothing exciting, or even      remember these  wandermg sheep in prayer as you
new. The four young ministers are doing very well,          bring the needs of our other fields to the Throne of
and the- people of their congregations are all              Grace.
appreciative of having "their own minister". The                               J. M. Faber, Sec'y.
Mission Committee still has contact with nine
churches. Remember that there were originally
twenty? The nine faithful are where Rev. Elliott lives,     book Review
Mahoe,  which is some thirty miles from Islington,
which is also being served by Rev. Elliott;  Fort           MY HEART'S DESIRE FOR ISRAEL,  by Richard R.
Williams,  `which is enjoying the services of Rev.          De Ridder; Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing
Brown;  Lacovia  is being instructed in the faith by        Co.,  ,1974; 126 pp., $1.95 (paper). [Reviewed by
Rev. Nish;  Belmont  has Rev. Williams for their pastor;    Prof. H. Hanko]
Dias,  which was Rev. Frame's church until his sudden        This book written by the Guest Professor in
death lately is being served by one of the ministers;       Missions at Calvin Seminary, and is part of a series of
Fellowship Hall  is being served by an Elder; Cave          books called "World Focus Books" edited by Harvie
Mountain  has Rev.  Beckford to lead them in the            M. Conn. The sub-title reads: "Reflections on
Scriptures;  Waterworks  and  Mt. Lebanon  are vacant,,     Jewish-Christian Relationships and Evangelism
but the latter has a very capable Elder to serve them.      Today." The book deals with the perennial question
We know that the Jamaican brothers and sisters are          of mission work among the Jews and has as its theme
not yet a group of strong Protestant Reformed               that we live in a time of ideal conditions for Jewish
churches; but that cannot be expected after only a          evangelism. The disappointment of the book was that
couple of years indoctrination. Many evils still exist      it fails to deal with the exegetical questions involved
to one degree or another, such as the Holiness              in Romans 11, e.g., and the various other problems
influence and the Arminian lie. There is still some         which have consistently come up in connection with
opposition to infant baptism because they do not            evangelism among the Jews from the viewpoint of
understand God's Covenant, which is not strange, for        their place and purpose in God's work of salvation.


334                                                              T H E   iTANDARD   B E A R E R



                                                                         B               o               o                     k
                                                                           Review                                         '

EXPOSITION OF THE PARABLES,  by Benjamin                                                 classify as parables; and besides, there are expositions
Keach;  Ki-egel Publications, Grand Rapids,  Mich.; 904                                  of what the author calls "similitudes." As an example
PP., $12.95 (cloth). [Revised by Prof. H. C.                                             o f   s u c h "s i m i l i t u d e s , " we may mention the
Hoeksema]                                                                                "Similitude of the Fan in His Hand," Matthew 3: 12.
  This is a large volume containing a mass of material                                   As far as the quality of the expositions is concerned, I
in rather fine print, and it is another volume in the                                    have two comments. In the first place, the author
Kregel Reprint Library. Considering  .the size of the                                    f r e q 'u e n t l y   m a k e s   t h e   m i s t a k e   o f   ~attaching
volume- and the mass of material contained in it, as                                     significance to details in the parables which do not
well as the quality of this book and its attractive                                      really `have significance, but may be called
format, this book is well worth the price of $12.95.                                     embellishments. In the second place, even in
                                                                                         c o n n e c t i o n   w i t h   h i s   l e g i t i m a t e   a n d   c o r r e c t
    I am sure that to most of our readers the name of                                    explanations of various parts of the parables the
the author will be unknown. Hence, let me introduce                                      author has a tendency to go off on tangents and to
him by quoting the biographical note from the dust                                       engage in rather lengthy and tedious explanations of
jacket: "Benjamin Keach was, born in February of                                         subjects  -which are but indirectly related to the text.
1640 in Buckinghamshire, England and died in                                             This is not unusual, however, in writings of the period
London, 1704. He was a self-taught man and suffered                                      to which this author belongs.. Nevertheless, it means
much persecution for his faith; Among those struggles                                    that to reap any value from this book one has to have
was the infamous trial for views which he had                                            the patience to wade through a considerable amount
expressed regarding The Second Advent in a                                               of material that is really extraneous and that,
catechism he had published. He was given two weeks'                                      besides, is written in a rather heavy style and in a
imprisonment including exposure in the pillory, and                                      format typical of that period. If one has the patience
fined twenty pounds. This sentence was rigorously                                        to do this, he may indeed reap considerable benefit
executed and Keach's little book was burned by the                                       from this book.
public hangman.                                                                               I must.. also caution that the doctrinal position of
    "Keach gained fame as a powerful preacher and                                        Benjamin Keach is certainly not beyond criticism.
.defender of Baptist doctrine; being one of the main                                     For example,,. he tries to hold to sovereign election,
c o n t r i b u t o r s   t o   t h e   B a p t i s t   r e v i s i o n   o f   t h e    but conditional reprobation. (pp. 536,ff.)
Westminster Confession made in 1689. He began to
preach at 18 years of age and during a long, profitable                                       Nevertheless, one could certainly do worse than to
ministry, over forty works came from his pen. The                                        add a book such as this to his library. There is much
church owes its hymn singing to this warrior for he it                                   instruction to be gained from it. And in a day when
`was who first introduced the practice of singing                                        there is much religious trash on the market and many
hymns in worship."                                                                       books which evince no respect for the Scriptures as
                                                                                         the Word of God; books which are genuinely pious
   As to the contents of  the. book, it contains                                         and which aim to be true to the Word of God are
expositions of more than the parables. Included                                          worthy of recommendation.
among the parables are some which I would not




                            .IN  MEMORIAM                                                                            IN MEMORIAM

   The Ladies Society of The First Protestant Reformed Church of                              Our beloved brother, DONALD NEIL SLABBEKOORN, was called
Grand Rapids, Michigan, mourns the loss of a faithful member, MRS.                       to eternal glory on March 22, 1975. We wish to express our deepest
MILDRE'D VAN EENENAAM, whom the Lord suddenly took from                                  sympathy to the bereaved, Mrs. Faye Slabbekoorn and her children.
our midst on Sunday, March  23,1975. We express our sympathy to the
bereaved family and assure them with the words of the Psalmist that                           "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,  I.
"The salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the              will fear  ,no evil: For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they
time of trouble." (Psalm  37:39)                                                         comfort me." (Psalm  23:4)
                                                                                                                                           The Members of the Mission
                                                   Mrs. Tom Newhof, Sr., Pres.                                                             of The Protestant Reformed
                                        Mrs. Otto Vander Woude, Vice Sec'y.                                                                Churches  - Houston, Texas


                                                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                              335
                                                                                                          `r


                                            News From Our Churches

                          Report of Classis West                                               to Synod that "the Synod of `75 study, evaluate, and
   Classis West met in South Holland on March 5 and                                            correct the present Constitution of the Mission
6. Eleven ministers and eleven elders attended -as                                             Committee of Synod" was sent on to Synod. A
delegates.' Rev. B.  Woudenberg.  opened the meeting                                           consistory's request for advice to proceed with the
by speaking on Ephesians  4:7, 8.  Rev; W. Bekkering                                           second step of censure was dealt with in executive
presided over the sessions of  Classis.                                                        session.
   Classis treated an appeal, an overture, and a                                                    Classis received reports from several committees.
discipline matter. An  appeal.of a consistory's decision                                       T h e   R e a d i n g   S e r m o n   C o m m i t t e e   ( E d g e r - t o n
was declared illegal on the ground that it had not                                             consistory) reported that "there are a number of
been finished in the minor assembly according to                                               sermons out  .for which the committee has no record.
Article 30 of the Church Order. A brother's overture                                           It is suggested that each church that has sermons send
                                                                                                                                                              (continued on back page)




                RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                                                WEDDING  ANNIVERSARY
    The Sr. Mr.  & Mrs. Society of the 1st Protestant Reformed Church                               On April 19, 1975, the Lord willing, our parents, MR. AND MRS.
hereby expresses its sympathy to fellow members, Dr. and Mrs. Dwight                           KENNETH LANNING, will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary.
Monsma in         t h e   pas&g   o f   t h e i r   m o t h e r ,   M R S .   T O M   V A N    We are thankful to God-for parents who have guided and instructed us
EENENAAM and to Prof. and Mrs. Robert Decker in the passing of                                 in the way of the truth, and we pray that He will continue to bestow
their  father, MR. PETER DECKER JR.                                                            His blessing upon them in the years to come.

    "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were                                                                                                           Judith Lanning
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,                                                                    Mr. and Mrs. Lester  Barnhill and Lisa Marie
eternal in the heavens."  (II Cor.  5:T  .I                                                                                                                                    Gary Lanning

                                                           Rev. G. Van  Baren, Pres.
                                                              Mrs. K. G. Vink, Sec'y

                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                                              WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
    The members of the Priscilla Society of the First Protestant                                   On April 25, 1975, the Lord willing; our beloved parents, MR.  &
Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, wish to express their                               MRS. JACOB KUIPER, SR., will celebrate their 40th wedding
confidence that God will surely comfort their President, Mrs. Dorothy                          anniversary. We are thankful to our Heavenly Father for covenant
Decker in the loss of her husband, MR. PETER DECKER.                                           parents and the instruction we have received from them. It is our prayer .
                                                                                               that they may continue to experience the Lord's blessings on their
    That she and her family may indeed experience that comfort                                 earthly pilgrimage as they have in the past.
through the Word and from their fellow saints, is our prayer.                                                                                                             Mr. Henry Kuiper
                          Mrs. Don Knoper, Vice Pres.                                                                                                         Mr.  & Mrs. Isaac Kuiper
                        Jessie Dykstra, Sec'y.                                                                                                              Mr.  & Mrs. Jacob Kuiper, Jr.
                                                                                                                                                               Mr.  & Mrs. Gerald  ,Kuiper
                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                                                                                    Mr.  & Mrs. Robert Van Dyke
                                                                                                                                                             Mr.  & Mrs. Clarence Kuiper
    The Congregation of the  Doon (Iowa) Protestant Reformed Church                                                                                           Mr.  & Mrs. Allen Brummel
wishes to express its sincere sympathy to its minister, Rev. R. Moore                                                                                         Mr.  & Mrs. John Hoekstra
and family, in the death of his father, MR. RALPH MOORE.                                                                                                   Mr.  & Mrs. Arthur Bleyenberg
                                                                                                                                                                         Miss Betty Kuiper
    May they be comforted by trusting in the God of all wisdom Who                                                                                            Mr.  & Mrs. Robert Kuiper
doeth all things well.                                                                                                                                                   Miss Linda Kuiper
                                               The Consistory of  Doon Protestant                                                                                   and 25 Grandchildren
                                                                    Reformed Church
                                                    John Van Den Top, Vice Pres.
                                                           Edwin Van  Ginkel,  Clerk

                                                                                                                     WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                            On May 1, 1975, the Lord willing, our parents, MR. AND MRS.
    The Adult Bible Class of the  Doon  (Iowa)  Protestant Reformed                            J O H N   C .   L U B B E R S ,   w i l l   c o m m e m o r a t e   t h e i r   40th  w e d d i n g
Church expresses our deepest sympathy with Rev. and Mrs. Richard                               anniversary. As their children, we give" thanks, to our God for so
Moore and family in the loss of their father and grandfather,  M,R.                            graciously sparing them for these many years and seek His blessing on
RALPH MOORE.                                                                                   them in their remaining days together.                 '
    May God comfort them by His Word and Spirit. "And we know that                                                         Ed and Lorraine Miedema
all things working together for good to them that love God: to them                                                        Don and Correne Van  Overloop
who are called according to His purpose."  (Remans   8:28)                                                                 Gary and Carol Lubbers
                                                               The Adult Bible Class                                       John and Joan Bouma
                                                           Henry Bleyenberg, Sec'y.                                           and 18 grandchildren.


                                      __  ~-~~~  -~~~ _ ._.~~ ~~~ --~
 THE STANDARD BEARER             :                                       I
        P.O. Box 6064                                                    4'    `;     ,L,.'         :
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506                                                    :           -<     ,.
                                                                                       :

                                      -


336


the following information to Rev. J. Slopsema: the
catalogue number of each` sermon, the text, the
author, and the person responsible for these sermons
on loan." The Church Visitors reported on their visits
to all the churches of the West in the past year.
   Subsidy requests from seven churches were
received, totalling $32,420. These were sent on to
Synod with  Classis' approval, except for one request
which  Classis rejected.  Classis also recommended to
one church that it raise  #its pastor's salary.
   The spring meeting of  Classis always conducts the
.elections of delegates to Synod and of other
functionaries. Elected to the Synod of 1975 in Hull,
Iowa as minister delegates  were:,D. Engelsma,  J:
Kortering,  .G. Lubbers, and B. Woudenberg. The eldei
delegates are R. Brunsting (Hull), J. Flikkema (South
Holland), L. Huisken (Redlands), and J. Kalsbeek, Jr.
(Doon). Secundi minister delegates are W. Bekkering,
G. Lanting, R. Miersma, and R. Moore. Secundi elder
delegates are J.  .Haak (South Holland), A. Hendriks
(Edgerton), B. Menninga (Pella), and H. Vander
Meulen (Lynden). D. Engelsma was chosen' stated
Clerk of  Classis; J. Kortering, assistant stated clerk; R.
Moore and J. Slopsema, to the classical committee; D.
Engelsma,  primus  delegate ad examina; G. Lubbers,
secundus delegate ad examina; and J. Kortering and
G. Lubbers, church visitors.
  Classis adjourned. about  2:30 P.M. on Thursday
afternoon.  Classis, will meet next in Isabel, South
Dakota on September 3, the Lord willing. The cost of
Classis was $2454.85.
                     Rev. David  Engelsma:  Stated Clerk
              Classis West of the Prot. Ref d. Churches
                         *****
  A committee. for conferences scheduled a
denominational officebearers conference for the day
before  Classis in South Holland. A  sizeable number,
about 100, attended the all-day' conference on the
diaconate.     Rev. G. Lubbers gave a paper on
"Ministering to the Saints," and M.  Alsum, a former
deacon of the Loveland church, gave. a paper on "A
Layman's `Observation of the Office of Mercy." A
lively discussion of the deacon and his calling
followed. The papers and discussion were profitable,
and the fellowship of. the saints was enriching. These
conferences are a worthwhile aspect of the life of our
churches.
                                                             D.E.


