          The
STANDARD
          BEARER
- A   R E F O R M E D   S E M I - M O N T H L Y   M A G A Z I N E





                         Thank God  - He not only  permits,  but  sends
                     afflictions in His wisdom; and when He sends
                     them upon His people, He does so in His love
                     and grace. What an awful thing it is when one, in
                     his desire to defend the false view of common
                     grace, will attribute to Satan what Scripture
                     ascribes to God. Only as  I know that whatever
                     befalls me is sent by my God for Jesus' sake
                     unto my eternal profit, can  ~find assurance and
                     comfort through every adversity on this earth.
                               See "Does God Send Sickness?" - page  73.1





L                                                                    Volume LII, Number 10, February 15,1976  -


I    722                                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



                                 CONTENTS:                                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER
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     Meditation -                                                                     Published by the Reformed Free Publishin Association,  Inc.-
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       The Zeal of Jerusalem's Watchmen . . . . . . . . . .722                    Editor-in-Chief: Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
     Editorials -                                                                 Department   Editors:.  Prof. Robert D. Decker, Rev. David J. Engelsma
                                                                                  Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman Hanko, Rev. Robert C.  Harbach:
        Our Australasian Tour (9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .725              Rev. John A.  Heys, Rev. Jay Kortering, Rev. Dale H. Kuiper, Rev.
                                                                                  George C. Lubbers, Rev. Meindert Joostens, Rev. Marinus  Schipper,
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        As Others See Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .726         Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
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     MEDITATION


                        The Zeal of Jerusalem's Watchmen
                                                                         Rev. C. Hanko

                    I have set watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem,  which.shall  never hold their peace day nor night; ye that
                    make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish and till he make
                    Jerusalem a praise in the earth Isaiah 62~6, 7.

            .  . "and give him no rest."                                            covenant over against all the attacks of the powers of
                                                                                    darkness in this present evil world.
        This is a bold statement. I would never dare to
     make it. Much less would I have the courage to carry                               The One who gives me this instruction is no less
     it out, if it were not that my Lord Jesus Christ urges                         than the Angel of Jehovah. The Angel is addressing
     me to do so.                                                                   Jerusalem as His militant church on earth, spurring
                                                                                    her on to hold undauntedly to the faith entrusted to
        "Him" refers to Jehovah, the eternal "I AM." He is                          her and to keep her eye fixed upon the glory prom-
     the Immovable Rock who maintains His cause and                                 ised in the world to come. This Angel is the Christ, of


                                               THE STANDARD  BEARER                                             723


 Whom the Psalmist spoke in prophetic vision, "The           looses on earth is loosed in heaven. Christ opens and
 zeal of Thy House hath eaten Me up." (John 2: 17)           closes the gates of the kingdom through her, thus
   Jesus' disciples witnessed that zeal throughout His       assuring her that the gates of hell can never over-
 entire earthly ministry. They stood amazed, for this        whelm her.
 zeal literally devoured  Him; yet He never faltered.           As if that were a small thing, Jerusalem is uniquely
 Deliberately .He walked in the ever darkening shadow        the City of God. God dwells in the midst of her. Her
of the cross as the suffering Servant of Jehovah, even       inhabitants are saints in Christ, citizens of the heav-
 when every step He took brought Him closer to the           enly commonwealth, who live in most intimate
 abyss, the yawning pit of utter darkness and horrors        communion of life with God, and thus with one
 of God-forsakenness. In holy zeal Jesus clung to the        another. The enemy rages within and without,. the
 cross even when His enemy, Satan, desperately               struggle is long and bitter. The anxious night causes
 wanted to tear Him down to prevent Him from bring-          Jerusalem's children to ask: "Watcher, what of the
 ing atonement for the sins of His people. Trium-            night?" And the reassuring answer echoes back: "The
 phantly His zealous voice echoed through the depths         morning cometh, even though it is still night." In the
 of hell: "It is finished!" With renewed ardor Christ        darkest hours God is her Refuge and her Strength, a
 made His march of triumph through the tomb,                 very present Help in trouble. (Psalm 46: 1)
 through the heavens to the Heaven of heavens, where
 all power was entrusted to Him over every creature of          Even when the antichristian powers seem to over-
 the universe. Even now Christ zealously labors in           whelm the church, she still looks in eager anticipation
 fervent devotion to God. He rules as King of kings          for the day when the new Jerusalem will descend
 and Lord of lords, -carrying out the counsel of God's       from God out of heaven and the tabernacle of God
 will that all glory may be unto the Father, world           will be eternally with men. Then the iron doors will
 without end. He gathers His church unto Himself as          be changed into pearly gates that stand wide open;
 eagerly as a bridegroom prepares for his wedding day.       the lurking enemy is banished forever. Jerusalem's
                                                             streets will be of gold, her mansions fully occupied,
   God's zeal for the perfect revelation of  His own         and her glory like the dazzling brightness of the sun
 glorious NAME is the zeal of Christ. Christ's zeal fills    at noonday. God's glory will shine forth upon the
 the Spirit of Christ, Who, in turn, arouses that zeal in    uplifted faces of the saints, who devote themselves in
 our hearts, as the zeal of God's House.                     holy ardor to Him, yes, to HIM, the ever blessed, the
   Christ urges us from heaven: Give Jehovah no rest;        wholly adorable Lord over all.
 no, not until He makes Jerusalem the praise of the
 whole earth.                                                  In her present situation `with the enemies still
                                                             threatening from every side, Jerusalem's safety rests
   "I have set watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jeru-              with her sentinels who guard her walls. These senti-
 salem "                                                     nels have a threefold task to perform. They must be
   In the old dispensation Jerusalem was situated            alert for any sne'ak attack of the enemy, to warn the
 upon mount Zion as a mighty stronghold with mas-            inhabitants to take up arms to defend themselves.
 sive walls and strong, iron gates. Jerusalem repre-         They must also know the time, so that day and night
 sented the militant church of God as she still fights       they may call the hour, announce the signs of the
 the battle of faith against all of God's enemies, which     times, and give the citizens ample time to adorn
 are her enemies: boldly confident of the victory in         themselves in festive array for the arrival of their
 her God. Of her the inspired poet sang: "Walk ye            King. These watchmen are at the same time the
 round about Zion, and go round about her: tell the          King's heralds, proclaiming to Jerusalem the messages
 towers thereof. Mark ye her bulwarks, consider her          of her King.
 palaces: that ye may tell it to the generations follow-       It is no wonder that these men are carefully
 ing. For this God is our God forever and ever: He will      screened, chosen, appointed, trained, equipped, and
 be our guide even unto death." (Psalm 48: 12-l 4)           mandated by no one less than God Himself. Jeru-
   Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Christ, the      salem's inhabitants are informed of God: "I have set
 mighty Conqueror, came to earth for the very pur-           watchmen upon thy walls, 0 Jerusalem!" In the
 pose of fighting her battles and destroying her foes.       broadest sense of the word, these watchmen include
 As her victorious Lord He is now enthroned in the           every member of the church in the office of believers.
 heavens. By His Spirit He takes up residence in her         Parents are watchmen in the home, teachers are
 midst, even in the hearts of Jerusalem's inhabitants.       watchmen in the school, the single adults, the aged,
 Do you not hear it? There is the shout of a King            the young people, and even the children are watch-
 among them. (Num. 23:21) He entrusts to His church          men, each in his own divinely appointed place with
 the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatsoever she           abilities entrusted to him from God. A great responsi-
 binds on earth is bound in heaven, whatsoever she           bility rests upon the shoulders of each and every


 724                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



 believer to guard his soul from the assaults of the evil    his soul, that he prefers to talk  ,about nothing but
one, and to protect his fellow Countrymen from attack.       that. His occupation, his duties, his cares, his times of
                                                             relaxation are all subservient to this one calling to be
    Each one of us wears the uniform of Jesus Christ,        a faithful sentinel upon Zion's walls. He chooses
 which we receive at baptism, and which we  keep,            rather to suffer affliction with the people of God,
 even though in time tattered and tom, until we ex-          than to enjoy the pleasures of sin, which are but for a
 change it for white robes of righteousness, palm            season. He esteems the reproaches of Christ greater
 branches of victory, and the crown of glory. The            riches than the treasures of this world. He confesses:
 same. God who assures Jerusalem that He supplies her        "If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand for-
 with watchmen also pledges to her that they. will be        get her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my
 faithful. They ,"shall never hold their peace day nor       tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not
 night." Never will they allow the enemy to approach         Jerusalem above my chief joy." He begins to under-
 without giving warning. Never will they fail to call the    stand just a little bit how that zeal of God's House
 hour, whether that be at noonday or in the dark             could devour his Christ.
 hours before the dawn is breaking. Never will they
 cease to call: "Prepare thyself, 0 Israel, for thy King     Yes, I begin to understand what my Lord means
cometh unto thee." No, false sentinels do hold their         when he urges me, "And give Jehovah no rest, till He
 peace to deceive the people, but true watchmen never        establish, and till He make Jerusalem a praise in all the
 can. Jerusalem's citizens may rest assured of that.         earth."

   Yet, knowing my own weaknesses, my own fail-                 He spurs me on to prayer, even to watch and pray.
ings, how can I be sure? What man is there among the         That prayer must be a divinely acceptable prayer, not-
children of men who is qualified for this task? The          concerned with all my present whims and fancies, but
Lord assures us that when He sets His own watchmen           motivated by the Spirit of Christ within me, so that I
upon our walls He Himself also qualifies them for            sincerely pray: "Father, I want nothing more than
their calling. He mandates them through His Word             that Thy NAME be hallowed. Father, I long for the
and by His Spirit in their hearts. He says: "Ye that         coming of Thy kingdom. Father, teach me to do Thy
make mention of the Lord, keep not silent." The              will, but also cause Thy will to be done by the angels
same Spirit Who calls also qualifies them by His             in heaven, by every creature on the earth, even by the
constant witness within them.                                evil forces of hell. Yes, Father, for Thine IS the
   I find that the expression, "Ye that make mention         kingdom, Thine the power, Thine the glory into end-
 of the Lord," might well be expressed as: "ye who           less eternity.
 are Jehovah's remembrancers."                               The exalted Christ urges us to pray much, even
   Jerusalem's watchmen are gifted of God to be              without ceasing. He spurs us on to storm the throne
 Jehovah's remembrancers.                                    of grace with constant prayers, to clamor for a hear-
                                                             ing, to insist on receiving what we ask, to compel the
   Anyone who remembers. is one who knows. He                Lord to rend the heavens and come down to deliver
 knows because he is taught of God. The Dutch has a          l$is church. As Jacob wrestled with the Angel to
 word for that. It is, "Godgeleerde," which means, one       obtain the blessing, as the importunate widow never
 who is taught of God; in that sense a theologian. He is     ceased to harass the unjust judge, or as the man who
 taught, not by a mere inner voice, but by the Holy          wearied his neighbor with midnight pleas, even so
 Spirit Who speaks to him through the Scriptures. He         may and must we beg of our God to carry out the
 is taught, not merely intellectually, so that he can        counsel of His  wiil, the yearning desire of His own
 converse freely about the things of God, but he is          soul, that Jerusalem may be established as the capitol
 taught to know God in love, so that he confesses            City and center of the new creation, reflecting and
 from the heart: "This God is my God forever and             showing forth in spotless holiness thy praises of her
 ever."                                                      God.
   This theologian keeps God in remembrance as                 The zeal. of God fills Christ Jesus as Lord in
 before his mind's eye. Like  Enoch, he walks with           heaven. He, in turn, inspires His church, His Bride,
 God. Like David, he has the Lord always at his right        with that same holy ardor.
 hand. Like Asaph, he confesses: "Thou hast  holden
 me by my right hand: thou shalt guide me by Thy              He calls to us: "Behold, I come quickly."
 counsel, and afterward receive me in. glory." Like
 Paul, he counts it a privilege to know nothing but.           To which we can only respond: "Yea, Lord Jesus,
 Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. That truth SO inspires     come . . . q u i c k l y . "


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                725



EDITORIALS



                         Our Australasian Tour  (9)

                                              prof H.C. Hoeksema


   After the respite of a partial day's rest at Mel-        facilities on Ivanrest Avenue thousands of miles away.
bourne, we resumed the work of our tour on Wednes-          As to size, the Geelong College is not much larger
day, July 9. We left at 8:45 in the morning on a long       than our Seminary, either as to faculty or student
taxi ride to the railroad station in downtown Mel-          body. (And from some recent correspondence, I have
bourne, where we caught a train for Geelong, some           been given to understand that since the time of our
60 miles away. Interestingly enough, we learned from        visit all the students at Geelong from the Free Church
our cabby that Geelong has gotten the nickname of           have withdrawn, for some reason which I have not
"Sleepy Hollow ." We, of course, were not really            yet learned.) During the afternoon Mr. Cromarty
interested in the city of Geelong itself - although it      acted as our host and our guide on a sightseeing tour
seems to be a rather peaceful little harbor city to the     to some of the sights in the immediate Geelong area
southwest of Australia's largest city, Melbourne. Our       as well as along the ruggedly beautiful coastline in
interest lay in the fact that Geelong is the site of the    that vicinity. Our attentions, however, were divided
Reformed Theological College, the training school for       rather unequally between sightseeing and listening to
ministers in the Reformed Churches of Australia and         Mr. Cromarty's briefing concerning the Reformed
New Zealand and known to our readers through our            Theological College and, in particular, concerning
comments concerning the views of Dr. Runia and Dr.          the development of the Woudstra situation, with which
Woudstra in past issues of our Standard Bearer. Our         he was intimately acquainted. Our chief interest, how-
friends who were in charge of arrangements for our          ever, was in holding a meeting if possible and of becom-
tour of the Australia mainland had made arrange-            ing acquainted with some of the personnel of the col-
ments for us to visit Geelong also. And although some       ege; and arrangements were made for such a meeting on
effort had been made to have us officially invited to       the following day at  1:30 P.M. in the conference
the College, this, as we had expected, did not              room of our motel. Present at that meeting were the
materialize. `A friend had generously made all the          members of the faculty (Prof. Barkley, Prof.
arrangements for our stay at the Commodore Motel,           Wilkinson, and Prof. Harman), an Anglican minister, a
which is directly behind the premises of the                Reformed Presbyterian minister (Rev.  McEwen,
Reformed Theological College. He had also made              whom we had occasion to meet again in Melbourne),
arrangements for us to use the conference room at           and a Free Presbyterian minister, and about a dozen
the motel, so that we might be able to hold an              students. It had been suggested that we talk about
informal meeting with interested persons. Our               current theological trends, or issues. We gladly
contact man among the students was Mr. John                 accepted this suggestion: for it gave us the oppor-
Cromarty, a student from the Free Presbyterian              tunity to discuss various issues which are vital and
Church, and the man who was the first among the             which are very much on the foreground in Reformed
students to detect the errors of Dr. Woudstra. We met       circles today. But we wished to do this, of course,
him over lunch at the motel, where we talked over           from our Protestant Reformed viewpoint; and in
arrangements for possible activities during our brief       order to accomplish this for an audience which was
stay at Geelong. After noon lunch, Mr. Cromarty             not well acquainted with our Protestant Reformed
introduced us to Prof. Barkley, the principal of the        position, we first gave a brief introduction concerning
college; and then he took us on a tour of a building        the origin and the position of our churches. After our
which houses the Reformed Theological College, a            introductory talk, the meeting was opened for ques-
building which is actually a rambling old mansion.          tions. And there were a good many interesting ques-
Perhaps comparisons are odious; but as we were              tions, including several in connection with the ques-
touring the building, I thought to myself that I much       tion of a free offer, common grace, and the AACS.
preferred our modem, commodious, and comfortable            Our meeting lasted more than two hours; and after


726                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



the meeting itself there were some who lingered to         render assistance and strengthen the ties between our
make further acquaintance and to ask more  ques-           denominations would be that of receiving students
tions. Since our visit we have not had much of any         for the ministry from the Evangelical Presbyterian
direct contact with those whom we met at that time.        Churches at our Theological School. But to return to
We did receive requests for catalogues of, our Semi-       my account, we spent Thursday night and all day
nary and for information concerning seminary notes         Friday with the Morgans; and our visit with them was
and other publications, as well as requests to be          delightful. On Friday we engaged in long conversa-
placed on the mailing list of our Theological Journal.     tions with Mr. Morgan. He had prepared a list of ques-
We found the meeting to be extremely interesting           tions which he wished to discuss with us, chiefly con-
because it gave us an opportunity to gain some             cerning various doctrinal matters. Not only was this
insights into Geelong and into the state of theological    interesting for its own sake, but it also furnished us
education in the Reformed Churches in that  part of        an insight into the large degree of agreement in view-
the world. We were also very pleased to make the           point between their churches and ours. During the
acquaintance of several of the students and to lay the     afternoon of that day we did a little sightseeing,  b
groundwork for possible future contact.                    driving to the heights of Mt. Dandenong, whence we
                                                           could get a view of metropolitan Melbourne, though
  Late in the afternoon of July 10 we boarded the          it was through the smog. I may mention that we
train for. our return to Melbourne. On our trip back       interrupted our sightseeing to pay a visit to the firm
to Melbourne we were accompanied by a young man            which was supposed to be the Australian distributors
of the Launceston Evangelical Presbyterian Church,         of our RFPA publications. One of our incidental
David Higgs, who was also a house guest at the             purposes during the trip was to check up on the
Morgans, whom we were expecting to host us at Mel-         channels of distribution for our publications; and
bourne. At the Melbourne station we were met by            wherever we had the opportunity, we did this, and at
Mr. Ian Morgan, a man who has played aleading part         the same time tried to establish better channels and
in the doctrinal odyssey of the Evangelical Presby-        to obtain new distribution centers for our literature.
terian Church. At the time of our visit Mr. Morgan         On Friday evening there was a cottage meeting at the
was still a lay member, though a man of wide               home of the Morgans which was attended by some 15 ,
theological knowledge who has been with the EPC            people. At this meeting there was considerable
movement from its beginning. He has been  respop-          interest in the subject of Christian education, which
sible for instruction in dogmatics for the students of     was supposed to be the main subject of discussion for
the EPC. Since the time of our visit, the Presbytery of    the evening. But there was also interest in the subject
the EPC has ordained Mr. Morgan as a teaching elder        of common grace and also the subject of the AACS.
in charge of theological instruction. I may point out      And so as the evening wore on, those present ended
at this time that the Evangelical Presbyterian Church      up being divided into three smaller groups: a group
does not have a seminary, but what is called a Col-        talking about Christian education with Mrs. Hoekse-
legiate of Theology. They have mapped out for their        ma, another group talking with Rev. Hanko, and a
theological students a five year course, which, how-       third group engaged in discussion with me. The hour
ever, is conducted on an extra-mural basis, and largely    became late all too soon, and thus ended our stay in
by correspondence. Our seminary has already been           the Melbourne-Geelong area.
giving some assistance by correspondence, and we             On Saturday morning, July 12, we regretfully had
hope to continue this in the future. It remains to be      to say good-bye to the Morgans; and after our auto
seen, however, whether it will be possible and             trip to the Melbourne airport, we caught our TAA
advisable to provide a greater degree of assistance. If    flight for Sydney, almost 500 miles to the north on
this should be mutually acceptable and should prove        the east coast of the continent. But that is a new
feasible, one of the best ways in which we could both      story, and it will have to wait until our next issue.



                                                              fY         TT
                                   As Others  =iee us

  Our readers have for some time now been receiving        interesting to our readers to see an evaluation of a
an account and evaluation of our Australian tour           portion of our tour from the viewpoint of those who
written from the viewpoint of one who made the             received us. And such an account - with respect to
tour. It was interesting to me, and I think it will be     our Tasmanian tour  - I found in the most recent


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                727



 issue of the quarterly magazine of the Evangelical            A little later in his article Pastor Rodman adds the
 Presbyterian Church of Australia,  The Evangelical          following:
 Presbyterian. I wish to pass it on to our readers.            "Since my return to Australia, we have had the
    The editor of  The Evangelical Presbyterian, you         pleasure of having Prof. and Mrs. Hoeksema together
 will recall, also traveled, in 1974. And Rev. Charles       with the Rev. C. Hanko visit our country and preach
 Rodman is still busy writing in his magazine concem-        in most of the congregations of our Church. The
 ing his trip. The first section which I wish to quote is    appreciation of their visit is given in another section
 from an account of his visit to Grand Rapids in             of this magazine. I would like, however, to add my
 August of 1974:                                             own comment, that the visit gave cause for our
    "After taking the Lord's Day services at the             people to rejoice in the God Whose truth the Pro-
 Willowdale Church (Toronto, Ontario - HCH) i on             fessor so ably expounded. It is music to one's ears to
, Monday morning I made my way to Grand Rapids via           hear a man who is clear-cut when he expounds the
 Chicago to visit Prof. H. Hoeksema of the Protestant        truths of the Reformation. In the Launceston congre-
 Reformed Church of America, with whom I had                 gation, Rev. C. Hanko related the story of how their
 correspondence some time prior to my overseas trip,         denomination came into being. This was most inter-
 along with others of our Church.                            esting and informative."
    "The Protestant Reformed Church, like our own,              On page 15 of the same issue of The Evangelical
 cannot accept as Biblical the proposition that God in       Presbyterian' there is a further report concerning our
 the offer of the gospel, manifests a sincere and            visit. That report here follows in full, with a couple of
 earnest desire for the salvation of all men, even the       corrections of dates and references made.
 reprobates. Such a concept does nothing but form an            "Launceston: We were privileged indeed to have as
 ambiguous bridge of doctrine between the Biblical           our guests Prof. and Mrs. Hoeksema and Rev. Hanko
 and Reformed doctrines of grace on the one hand and         on the week-end of 5th and 6th of July. On the
 Arminianism on the other. While we abhor  hyper-            Saturday afternoon the Rev. Hanko gave an outline
 Calvinism, which as Rabbi Duncan expressed it `is all       of the history of the Protestant Reformed Churches
~ house and no door', we have, by the grace of God,          of America and their struggles against the theory of
been delivered from Arminianism which he depicted            `common grace', which began to gain a foothold in
 as being `all door and no house.' On coming to a            the theology of the Reformed Churches some 50
 knowledge of the Reformed Faith, we were amazed             years ago as a result of its formulation and propaga-
 to find that the same tenets, which we had rejected         tion by one Abraham Kuyper some years earlier in
 when we turned our backs on Arminianism, had been           Holland. The teaching of `common grace' is now
 embraced by many calling themselves Reformed                generally embraced as having been always a part of
 under the guise of common grace.                            the Reformed system of theology.
    "In our controversy with the Free Church in                "This meeting was followed by a fellowship tea
 Australia which began in 1963, we identified the            prepared by the ladies of the church.
 doctrinal system arising out of the idea of a universal
 desire in God for the salvation of all men, as modem          "The evening meeting was taken by Prof. Hoekse-
 modified Calvinism as distinct from the earlier modi-       ma who spoke on `The Reformed Faith in Crisis',
 fied Calvinistic system known as the Doctrine of the        where he ably held forth the cardinal truth of our
 M a r r o w .                                               faith, and showed how the faith is constantly under
    "In refutation of these errors and in vindication of     attack; one of the most recent attacks being
 the position of our Church, our Presbytery published        embodied in a movement known as the `Toronto
 `The Vindication' in 1965 and later a booklet entitled      Movement .'
 `Universalism and the Reformed Churches  - A                  "Then a wonderful weekend was concluded when
 Defense of Calvin's Calvinism.'                             the Professor addressed the congregation on the
    "During the controversy and after, we had thought        Sabbath morning, speaking on the text from Isaiah
 that we stood alone. We were greatly encouraged             45:22-25, `Look unto me all ye ends of the earth and
 when we learned that there were scholars, ministers,        be ye saved, for I am God and there is none else.' The
 elders and a denomination that had not bowed the            exposition of this text will be remembered by us all
 knee to this form of pragmatic teaching. It was, there-     for a long time. As one member expressed - `I could
 fore, a particular joy for the writer to stay with Prof.    have sat there for another two hours' - so intent was
 and Mrs. Hoeksema and family while in Grand                 the attention on the preached word.
 Rapids, and also to meet his fellow colleagues of the         "Burnie: (Wynyard) Reported that they also experi-
 theological seminary with others of the Protestant          enced God's blessing in the preaching of the Word
 Reformed Church."                                           when Prof. Hoeksema spoke on John 3: 16.


728                                              THE STANDARD BEARER


   "Taranna: Pastor Lyons was especially pleased to               "Melbourne:  After a visit to Geelong to meet the
meet the visitors as he had corresponded with them             Faculty and some of the students of the Reformed
for many years.                                                Theological College, the visitors stayed two days with
   "Winnaleah: Winnaleah was very privileged to be             Mr. and Mrs. Morgan and family. During that time,
included in the itinerary of Prof. and Mrs. Hoeksema           with little respite, they patiently discussed many
and Rev. Hanko. A late afternoon Bible study was               theological issues, and on the second evening  con-
taken by Prof. Hoeksema who gave a very instructive            ducted a very informative cottage meeting on the
exposition of Ephesians  2:8, 9, and later answered            subject of Christian education.
questions on other topics. About 40 adults and chil-
dren attended, and a family tea which followed was a              "Brisbane: We regret that a report of the meeting
happy time of fellowship.                                      in Brisbane is not to hand."


GUEST ARTICLE




                 The Communion of the Saints  (2)

  The truth of the communion of the saints is far              cannot join with the world in its associations, in its
more than merely an abstract doctrine that we only             societies, in its entertainment, in its goals and pur-
confess with our mouth. It is a blessed, practical,            poses. The saints find fellowship and communion
spiritual reality for the saints of God that is begun          with those who are members together with them of
here on earth and shall be perfected in glory. This            the body of Christ. With the members of the com-
article of our faith involves many important implica-          munion of the saints the child of God has all things in
tions for the calling of the individual saints of God.         common. The spiritually healthy child of God seeks
How often do we think of ourselves as members of               that fellowship. He does not seek to live all by him-
the communion of the saints? We are not merely so              self as an individual. He loves and seeks the fellowship
many individual members of the church of Jesus                 of the saints.
Christ. We are all members of one living organism of              The calling of the saints toward the communion of
the body of Christ and so also members of one                  the saints is fundamentally that they dwell together
another. This is a practical reality that all of the saints    as saints. That we are saints means that we have in
of God must keep in mind. We live then not unto                principle been delivered from the bondage of our
ourselves or for ourselves, but we live for the sake of        corruption and the dominion of sin over us. We have
the body of Christ, the communion of the saints, that          been in principle consecrated to God and His glory.
God may be glorified in the one glorious church of             This implies in the first place that there is a love for
Jesus Christ.                                                  God and for the truth of His `Word. The apostle Paul
  The child of God must love the communion of the              in Ephesians 4: 15 speaks of this: "But speaking the
saints and must seek it constantly. He finds no com-           truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things
munions with those that are of the world and who               which is the head, even Christ." The reference here is
walk in darkness. "For what fellowship hath                    surely first of all to the speaking of the truth of God
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what com-              and of His Word. The communion of the saints is
munion hath light with darkness? and what concord              characterized above all by saints who come together
hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that             because of their love for the truth of God's Word.
believeth with -an infidel? And what agreement hath            This they confess together as saints; this Word they
the temple of God with idols?" (I Cor. 6: 14-16.) The          testify of to one another; and in this Word they
friends of. the child of God cannot be those of the            rejoice together. The exhortation of Paul in this text
world for he has nothing in common with them; he               must (very really be followed in the communion of
stands antithetically opposed to them. Therefore he            the saints. There must be a speaking of the Word of


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  729


 God in love to one another in order to exhort, com-           ness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
 fort, encourage, and admonish one another with the            In the communion of the saints the saints mutually
 Word of God. The saints speak to one another the              exhort one another unto truth and righteousness and
 Word of truth that is for the use of their mutual             pray for one another that God may be glorified in the
 edification. The saints come together often for this          communion of the saints.
 purpose. Their coming together is not to talk only
 about the vain things of the world, but to talk with             God has given to each of the saints a calling within
 one another about the Word of God and the calling of          the communion. As we noticed last time, God has
 the saints of God in the light of that Word of God, as        through the Holy Spirit endowed each of the saints
 well as the understanding of the whole of life in the         with certain gifts and talents and with a certain
 context of that Word of God. This must characterize           measure of grace. By virtue of these gifts and the
 all of the fellowship of the saints, not only that of the     grace of God, each of the saints has a particular place
 worship services and the societies. Do we do this with        within the church. Some seem to be more honorable
 one another and do this on a. very practical spiritual        and of greater significance than others. Nevertheless
 level? Or do we concern ourselves only with the things         all of them are indispensable to the fullness of the
 of the world when we come together? What about our             communion of the saints as God has created it and
 young people? Do we speak the truth in love to one            calls it into being in a certain local manifestation of
 another? Is the truth of God a living subject of our          His church. All of the saints from the greatest to the
 conversation that characterizes all of our conversa-          least have a place in the communion of the saints.
 tion?                                                         The individual saint of God has significance only as
                                                               he stands related to the whole of the communion of
    In the second place the saints of God walk together        the saints. Even the greatest of the saints of God has
in righteousness and holiness. It is only when they            no significance of himself independent from the com-
 walk in the light .of God's righteousness and holiness        munion of the saints. And even the seemingly least
 that fellowship is possible. This is revealed first of all    honorable of the saints is indispensable to the com-
 in their love for one another. Paul speaks in Ephesians       munion of the saints and has a place of significance in
 4:3 of "endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in        the communion. And God has adapted all of the
 the bond of peace." And in the preceding verse he             saints together so that, as Paul says, "Those members
 tells us how that is done, "With all lowliness, and           which we think to be less honorable, upon these we
 meekness, with longsuffering forbearing one another           bestow more abundant honor; and our uncomely
 in love." And again in verses 31 and 32, "Let all             parts have more abundant comeliness. For our
 bitterness, and wrath and anger, and clamor, and, evil        comely parts have no need: but `God has tempered
 speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and          the body together having given more abundant honor
 be kind one to another, -tenderhearted, forgiving one         to that part which lacked." (I Cor.  12:23,24.) The
 another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven          calling of all of the saints of God is therefore to work
 you." The communion of the saints as manifest in              toward the full manifestation of the communion of
 this life is among those who remain sinners, who bear         the saints to the glory of God. And in that calling
 about with them the old man of sin. That sin causes           every saint has need of all of the other members of
 strife and conflict and division in the church. That is       the body, and stands in the service of all of the other
 why the saints are called to be longsuffering with one        members of the body with the particular gifts and
 another in their weakness and sins. They are called to        measure of grace that God has given to him. Whatever
 walk in all lowliness and meekness, not esteeming             that particular place the child of God has received in
 themselves to be better than any other; not boasting          the body, whether minister, elder, deacon, or simply
 in sinful pride in their own righteousness. The com-          a- saint in the office of all believers, he must be faith-
 munion of the saints is `only possible if there is kind-      ful to serve the whole of the body of Christ that the
 ness and tenderheartedness  among the saints, and             name of God might be glorified.
 only when the saints forgive one another their sins
 seventy times seven.                                            The communion of the saints comes to its most
                                                               glorious manifestation in the institutional life of the
   Together the `saints strive to walk in true holiness        church, and even more particularly in the gathering
 before God. They separate themselves from the wicked-         together of the saints of God for worship. It is
 wickedness of the world in their conversation and             especially in the worship services where God causes
 their walk. They strive to consecrate their whole lives       the Word to be preached by those whom He has
 unto God and His glory. They seek in humility and             ordained in the church as pastors, that serves, as Paul
 kindness to admonish one another in that way of               says in Ephesians 4, "for the perfecting of the saints,
 consecration to God. Paul says in Galatians 6: 1,             for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the
 "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which         body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of faith
 are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meek-      and knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect


730                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of       of God and of knowing the doctrines of our faith
Christ." In the worship service the saints of God            ought surely to be zealous members of societies in
express their common faith, hope, and doctrine.              our churches.
When the saints are gathered together for worship
they glorify God together in the singing of the songs          We must not limit the communion of the saints,
of Zion; they come together as the church of Jesus           however, only to the institutional life of the church.
Christ in prayer before the throne of grace; and they        It extends to all of the relationships of the saints and
bring together their gifts and offerings for the support     their calling toward one another in all of life. In Acts
of the poor and needy and the maintenance of the             2:41-47 we have a very beautiful picture of the
church. The calling of the child of God toward the           communion of the saints as it existed in the early
communion of the saints is above all that he gathers         church. This passage surely has reference to a peculiar
with the church in worship. The love of God and His          time in the history of the church, a time of great.
Word and the love for His people draws the child of          difficulty because of the infancy of the church,
God to the worship services from Sabbath to Sab-             because of the persecution and extreme poverty that
bath. The worship services give opportunity,for  every       the church was experiencing at the time. Nevertheless
child of God to exercise his calling as member of the        there are in this passage indications of the love and
communion of the saints. It is his responsibility to be      concern for the communion of the saints that must
there. The child of God enters into the house of God         always exist among the saints of God. The saints of
with all of the saints with a glad heart. He is called to    God must always desire to have fellowship with one
greet the saints of God in true brotherly love. He has       another and exercise their calling toward one another.
opportunity to speak with the fellow saints of the             Many passages of Scripture can be sighted which
wonders of God's Word and of  His grace. Also the            speak of the various aspects of the communion of the
time after the services ought to be used for this            saints in general. The apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8
purpose.                                                     states, "Look not every man on his own things, but
   Included in the institutional life of the church are      every man also on the things of others." How much
also the catechism classes, the Sunday school classes,       of our lives are spent only living unto and for our-
and the various societies. These are wonderful oppor-        selves? How much do we do only for the purpose of
tunities that God gives to us to gather together in the      what benefit we ourselves can get out of it? Do we
communion of the saints. Today in many churches,             really spend very much time out of genuine Christian
societies and Bible study classes have fallen very           love for one another? Do we give not only of our
much in disrepute. They `are either not held at all or       monies but also of our time and of the gifts that God
very poorly attended, and even those which are held          has given to us for one another? This work does not
are often little more than social clubs. It is very          belong only to the minister, the elders, and deacons
urgent that we continue this aspect of the com-              of our church but also to every individual member.
munion of the saints that God has given to us and to           The apostle Paul in I Corinthians 12 verses 25 and
use these as wonderful opportunities to study the            26 states that the care of the saints for one another
Word of God together with our fellow saints. It              must be such that "whether one member suffer all
belongs to the calling of every child of God to be an        the members suffer with it; or one member be
active member of these meetings, to come carefully           honored, all the members rejoice with it."
prepared for the study of the Scriptures, `and to take
an active part in the discussions for his own benefit          The communion of the saints must become
and that of his fellow saints. How little time we some-      especially manifest to those whom God gives par-
times take for the study of God's Word. We give the          ticularly difficult trials and afflictions in this life.
excuse often that we are too busy with the affairs of        There is in our midst much evidence that God has
this world. While for the most part we as a denomina-        richly blessed the communion of the saints in this
tion have very good attendance at society meetings,          respect. Of this many of the saints of our churches
there are still many among us who do not attend              have testified. This does not, however, make the need
these meetings. There are those among us who care-           to emphasize this aspect of the communion of the
fully prepare for society meetings but there are also        saints unnecessary. We all must remember our calling
many who come to these meetings evidencing that              in this respect. The apostle James in chapter 1 of this
they have not even opened their Bible to study the           epistle states: "Pure religion and undefiled before
Scripture passage which is to be discussed. The result       God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and
of the latter is that often these discussions flounder       widows in their afflictions, and to keep himself un-
sadly or they are dependent entirely on the discussion       spotted from the world." (vs. 27.) Our Lord Jesus
leader. We who confess the truth of the communion            Himself, when He speaks of the judgement, speaks of
of the saints and who are Reformed Christians who            the saints as those who inherit the kingdom prepared
understand the urgency of growing in the knowledge           for them, "for I was an hungered and ye gave me


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   731


meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a          true Christian love.
stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed
me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." (Mt.               "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for
25:35,36.)  It is the calling of the child of God in the    brethren to dwell together in unity! For there the
communion of the saints to search out those whom            Lord commanded the blessing, even life for  ever-
Christ was talking about and to minister to them in         more." (Ps. 133: 1,3.)


SIGNS OF THE TIMES




                        Does God Send Sickness?

                                                 Rev. G. Van Baren


   A number of weeks ago I had an opportunity to            not simply a difference between the Protestant Re-
address several Reformed Doctrine classes in a Chris-       formed Churches and the Christian Reformed
tian High School on the subject of "Common Grace."          Church, but represents a clear departure from that
The differences between the Christian Reformed              which is truly Reformed. We ought also to be aware
stand and our own were obvious. The usual objec-            of such an insidious error and be warned against it.
tions were raised. Probably none of the students were          John Calvin certainly maintained that God  sends
convinced of the error of common grace. The visit           adversities. In commenting on Isaiah 45:7, he writes,
did, however, serve to point out clearly the differ-        "We ought therefore to hold this doctrine, that God
ences between our two denominations on this sub-            alone is the author of all events; that is, that adverse
ject.                                                       and prosperous events are sent by him, even though
   I introduce this subject here and now because I          he makes the use of the agency of men, that none
noted a clear and logical development in the wrong          may attribute it to fortune, or to any other cause"
direction on this subject of common grace. The errors       (Commentary on Isaiah).
which were maintained- are errors against we also              And does not the Heidelberg Catechism clearly
ought to be warned in these last days. The one error        speak concerning this in Lord's Day 10, question 27:
involved the question of whether God sends sickness.        "What dost thou mean by the providence of God?
We had been discussing the "first point" of common          The almighty and everywhere present power of God;
grace. I had pointed out that if God sends good things      whereby, as it were by his hand, he upholds and
upon both elect and reprobate  in His grace, then           governs heaven, earth, and all creatures; so that herbs
properly He sends the "bad" things, as floods, sick-        and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years,
ness, etc. in His wrath both on elect and reprobate.        meat and drink,  health and sickness,  riches and
At that point there arose very strong objection both        poverty, yea, and all things come, not by chance, but
from the minister-teacher and the students. "Did God        by his fatherly hand."  What comes by God's
send  sickness?" "Was it not rather true that God per-      "fatherly hand" is definitely sent by Him.
mitted the devil to send some of these things?"               But of greatest weight is the teaching of Scripture
"What kind of God do we have, what kind of
example would He be to us, if He sends these bad            itself. There one can find instance after instance of
things?"  "Did Jesus ever make anybody sick? Didn't         the fact that God does not simply permit Satan to
Jesus rather only heal people?"                             send evil things upon us, but that God sends that
                                                            which is termed "evil." I speak here of the "evils" of
   All of this smacks of a dualism and resembles some       sickness, floods, and similar adversities. There is that
of the ideas of Pentecostalism, and is surely out of        passage of Isaiah  45:7, "I form the light, and create
the realm of what is truly Reformed. The question is        darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do


732                                               THE STANDARD BEARER


all these things." The contrasts of the text make plain         for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the
that God is speaking of that which we would term                Lord . . ."
"good" and which we term "evil." God "creates"
these  - that is surely stronger even than the  term              The testimony of God's Word is clear throughout.
"send." To the devil is not attributed such power.              Consistently, it reminds of the fact that God sends
                                                                these evils upon.wicked men, and He sends them also
   With such instruction Amos 3:6 is in agreement:              upon His people when He would chastise them for
"Shall a trumpet be blown in a city, and the people             certain walks of disobedience. This is not to say that
not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, and the           Satan does not seek to use and direct these same
Lord hath not done it?" The "evil" here again is not            things for his own evil advantage. As with Job, Satan
"sin" which God has done, but the evils of troubles             seeks to use adversities to cause God's people to curse
and afflictions. God did it.                                    God - though God uses and sends the same things to
                                                                strengthen His people in their faith.
   But, did not Christ only heal? Did He ever make
anyone sick? Though it is true that we have no record             This is a comforting truth too for the saints. We
of Christ making anyone sick during His sojourn on              know and must know that God is ever Sovereign. He
this earth, the record also clearly shows that Christ           not only permits certain things to occur, but His hand
also sends that which men consider adverse. He cast             directs these. The wicked experience the wrath of
out the demons who entered into the herd of swine               God when the "evils" of this time befall them.
which rushed headlong into destruction in the sea                 But the child of God, too, often experiences the
(Matt.  8:30-32). He cast out money-changers and                same "evils" upon himself. The floods affect him;
buyers and sellers in the temple, twice. He called the          sickness befalls; there is suffering and persecution.
scribes and Pharisees the most terrible of names (chil-         What must the child of God say? Does God send also
dren of snakes or vipers, Matt. 23:33); He spake ter-           this - or does Satan send it? Does God only permit
rible woes upon them, suggesting their eternal punish-          what befalls His saints?
ment in hell - something far worse than the sending               Job has something to say about that. Job faced
of mere bodily sickness. And He Himself reminds His             "evils" such as few children of God ever must endure
disciples that He came not to send peace but the                here on this earth. In. one day he lost all of his posses-
sword (Matt. 10:34). One must bear in mind also that            sions and all of his children. The blows struck him
those miracles of healing were performed by Christ              one .after the other. So terrible was the disaster, that
not merely because He wanted to heal people - but               one wonders how any could endure. Would not grief
in order to teach emphatically spiritual truths con-            overwhelm Job? Nor was God punishing Job for some
cerning the way of salvation for God's people.                  sin. Job walked uprightly before God in all his way.
  One can find many instances in Scripture where                That is not to say that Job was without sin. No man
                                                                born of Adam is without sin on this earth. But Job
God  sends  adverse things upon the wicked in His
wrath. In fact, Scripture testifies that even those             was a faithful child of God who sought God in all
things which God sends upon the wicked which they               that he did. Nor did Job's vast wealth lead him to set
would call "good" are sent.in His wrath (cf. Ps. 73).           his heart, on earthly things. When Satan challenged
We read in Judges 9:23, "Then God                               God to afflict Job, insisting that Job only served God
                                        sent' an evil spirit
between Abimelech and the men of Shechem . . ." An              because it was profitable to Job, God gave Satan
evil spirit is sent of the Lord also upon Saul (I Sam.          specific approval to touch Job, but within certain
                                                                limitations. Thus Job first lost all his possessions and
16: 14; 18: 10; 19: 9). Many passages in Jeremiah teach
especially that God sends the "evil" on the wicked              his children, and later his health as well.
and often upon His apostatizing people. We read in                And what did Job say? In chapter 1, verse 21, he
Jer. 6: 19, "Hear, 0 earth: behold, I will bring evil           beautifully expresses what is the experience of every
upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts,             child of God, "Naked came I out of my mother's
because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor              womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord
to my law, but rejected it." And again, Jer. 11: 11,            gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the
"Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring            name of the Lord." You see, Job did not say, "Satan
evil upon them, which they shall not be able to                 hath taken away," but, "Jehovah takes it away." Job
escape . . . " Or, Jer. 18: 11, " . . . Thus saith the Lord;    recognized the hand of God in the sending of
Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device           adversity upon him.
against you . . ." Or, Jer.  32:42, "For thus saith the           Again, when Job's health fails as well at the instiga-
Lord; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon           tion of Satan, Job's wife says to her husband, "Curse
this people, so will I bring upon them all the good             God and die." But Job answers, "Thou speakest as
that I have promised them." Or Jer.  45:5, "And                 one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we
seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not;           receive good at the hand of God and shall we not


                                              `THE STANDARD BEARER                                               733


receive evil?" Ah, yes; whoever suggests that we do          this Psalm the writer expresses a knowledge of the
not receive of God that which is evil, speaks as the         reason for this too: "Before I was afflicted, I went
"foolish women." To "receive evil" of God surely             astray; but now have I kept thy word" (vs. 67).
means that God has sent that.                                   Only because I am convinced that God sends afflic-
  But is it that important whether one says that God         tions, can I confess with the Word of God in Romans
sends sickness or that the devil sends sickness? It          8:28, "And we know that all things work together for
certainly is. If Satan sends all these things, then I can    good to them that love God, to them who are called
quickly fall into the error of pentecostalism, and with      according to his purpose." Or, II Cor. 4: 17, "For our
earnest prayer believe that God must deliver me from         light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh
the clutches of Satan. Each time sickness falls, I           for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
would tremble  - believing that I had once more              glory ."
fallen into Satan's hands. What terrible affliction             Thank God  -  He not only  permits,  but  sends
would then be mine!                                          afflictions in His wisdom; and when He sends them
  But thank God! We know and confess that it is              upon His people, He does so in His love and grace.
God in mercy for Jesus' sake Who also sends afflic-          What an awful thing it is when one, in his desire to
tions upon us. True, I don't enjoy all afflictions           defend the false view of common grace, will attribute
which He sends. But I understand that in His divine          to Satan what Scripture ascribes to God. Only as I
wisdom, He sends this for my spiritual profit. Did not       know that whatever befalls me is sent by my God for
the Psalmist understand this well when he. expressed         Jesus' sake unto my eternal profit, can I find assur-
in Ps.  119:75, "I know? 0 Lord, that thy judgments          ance and comfort through every adversity on this
are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted      earth. Let us never speak as "foolish women," but in
me"? The Psalmist knew both that God afflicted  -            truth according to that Word which God has given His
and that it was done in faithfulness. Repeatedly in          church.


THE DAY OF SHADOWS


                            Seen of the Living God
                                                  Rev. John A. Heys

  To know, apart from the grace of God, that the             salvation. It makes him climb the mountain to lift his
living God sees us is an awesome, yea a terrifying           prayers unto this living God and to sing His praises
experience.                                                  with a loud and joyful voice.
  That knowledge drove Adam and Eve into the                    These truths are to be seen in the life of Hagar who
thickest part of the trees in the garden of Eden. And        was used by Sarai and Abram to strive to bring forth
it will cause the ungodly in the day when Christ re-         the covenant seed that was implied in the promises
turns to call for the hills and the mountains to cover       which God had given to Abram. She conceived and
them and hide them from His all-searching and holy           despised her mistress, Sarai. When she could no longer
eye.                                                         take the harsh treatment that Sarai brought upon her,
  But to know in the grace of God that He sees us in         she fled and was on the way to Egypt, for she was an
all our afflictions and oppressions of the wicked            Egyptian.
enemy is for the child of God a glorious and comfort-          The angel of the Lord found her in the wilderness
ing truth and blessed experience. To know that God           by a fountain and confronted her with the evil of this
always sees us in Christ; to know that He never sees         flight, for evil it was. We can understand her action,
us in any other way than as those who belong to              and apart from the grace of God we would have done
Christ, who have been redeemed by the blood of His           the same, and perhaps sooner than she did. But it was
cross and whose names were eternally written in His          wrong for her to flee from her mistress, and the angel
Lamb's book of life, affords the children of God             told her this very truth.
unspeakable comfort and assurance. This brings him             After all is said and done; she asked for the harsh
out into the open to seek the face of that God of his        treatment that Sarai inflicted upon her. She was still


734                                          THE STANDARD BEARER


Sarai's maid; and that is also why the angel asked her     with more ability to put delicious and dainty food on
in those very words, "Hagar,  Sarai's maid, whence         the table, and more expensive clothes on their backs,
camest thou?" That she was mistreated we cannot            in a more comfortable home, to which and from
deny. And that holds true for both Abram and Sarai.        which we ride in a later model automobile. And the
Cruel was  Sarai's treatment. Lacking in compassion        living God sees it all. But the tragedy is that we do
was Abram's behaviour after Hagar conceived by him.        not see it as sm. Therefore when the living God Who
He owed her gentle and thoughtful protection, a            has seen it sends, not the angel of the Lord, but the
home and nourishing food with safety. And she owed         officebearers of Jesus Christ to ask us, "Servant of
him her presence there by Abram's tents and in the         the living God, whence camest thou, and whither wilt
service of his wife until she had borne him this child.    thou go?" we dare even to answer that we are serving
It was his as much as it was hers. And the fifteenth       the living God by our deeds of rebellion.
verse of Genesis 16 also declares that she bare A&zm         Not so with Hagar. She confessed, "I flee from the
a son. Incidentally, we may note that God does not         face of my mistress, Sarai." Confronted by the angel
say that she bare this son to Sarai - which was a great    of the Lord she confessed, that  Sarai was still her
comfort to Hagar. For one of the reasons that she          mistress and that she had not gotten from under the
fled was that she could not bear the thought of giving     obligation to serve her. Therefore she did not answer
up her own flesh and blood to become Sarai's child.        the "Whither wilt thou go?" She had no plans any
It would be too painful to be in the same household        longer of going further to Egypt. She would go back.
with that child, to see it every day and be kept from      To admit that Sarai was her mistress was to confess
caressing and caring for the child while Sarai would       that she did wrong by leaving, and ought not to con-
claim all the joys and benefits of motherhood.             tinue in that `way. She did not oppose the angel of the
  And now the angel of the Lord came to her with           Lord or in any way try to defend herself in her sin.
questions, even as God came to fallen man with the           Hagar recognized this angel of the Lord as God
question, "Adam where art thou?" Now the question          Himself. For she called Him, "Thou God seest me."
was, "Whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou            And though the English translation presents Him as
go?" That pinpointed the matter at once. For Hagar         the angel of the Lord, He is the Angel of the Lord.
had at once to admit that she came from the service        No mere angel is He, but the Christ Himself in His
of Sarai and that she intended to get as far from it as    Old Testament form before the Son of God took
she possibly could. She was forced to admit, "I came       upon Him the human nature that was prepared in the
from where I belong." And she was confronted with          virgin Mary. She was afforded that rare privilege of
the fact that although she fled to escape the treat-       having the Christ Himself appear to her and promise
ment she did not want for her sin of despising Sarai,      her a son. She knew that she was with child, but not
she did not flee from and escape the searching eye of      until now did she know that it was a son that she
God. She was not simply running away from  Sarai           would bare to Abram. And, of course, neither Abram
and going to peace and safety. She was running up          nor Sarai knew as yet that it was a son and that what
against the living God. and, continuing in the way of      they had sought would be accomplished. It remained
sin, she would be walking, yea running, to her             for them to learn from Hagar that she would bring
destruction in the wrath of an holy God. She was not       forth a son, that this son would not be Sarai's son but
fleeing to safety in Egypt. She was rushing to a con-      her own, and that God Himself had promised her that
frontation with the living God.                            she might keep this son.
  How often, is it not that we forget that, and con-         Hagar was amazed,. and expressed this also in the
cern ourselves only with what we, think is safety for      name which she gave to that Angel of the Lord, and
the flesh. How often are we not ready to trample           in the statement which in the English translation is in
God's law under foot to obtain some carnal ad-             question form, "Have I also here looked after Him
vantage, while wholly ignoring the living God before       that seeth me?"
Whose judgment seat we will have to appear? How
often, is it not, that we are on the way to Egypt (that      The emphasis falls on the verb seeth and not on the
is, to the world) for some advantage of the flesh,         words "after" or "here." She did not mean that she
fleeing from our duty before God and refusing to           was surprised that she saw God here in the wilderness
humble ourselves in obedience to  His law? The             rather than back at home in the house of Abram and
employer mistreats us, cheats us, takes advantage of       Sarai. Nor did she mean that after not looking for
us, and so we rush to Egypt for the world's tactics of     Him before, she now does here in the wilderness. But
the strike, or of the boycott, and trample the fifth       consider that she was walking in sin. Consider also
commandment under our feet. And we think all the           that she was mistreated by Sarai and brushed off by
while that we are doing ourselves and our families         Abram and felt so very alone. "Does God care?" must
good because we come home with a fatter check, and         have been a question in her soul for many, many


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 735


days. "Does He really see me in my sad plight which          on the way to Egypt, that is, on the way to the world
was not my doing but that of my mistress, who                in all its unbelief and wickedness. In Egypt we can
simply gave me to her husband, and now treats me so          only hear Him speak His curse and pronounce His
cruelly?" And she found that God did see her and             woes upon sinners. They are outside of Christ and
was with her and now came to turn her back from her          have not been redeemed by His blood, and for them
sinful flight to set her feet on the way of righteous-       there are no benefits of the cross. Those whom He
ness. The emphasis falls upon the fact that God saw          sees outside of Christ, He sees in righteous indigna-
her, and not that she had seen God. This is plain, first     tion and wrath. And it is terrible to be seen of the
of all, from the fact that she expressed the activity of     living God that way! Paul, speaking of a very particu-
God in the. name which she gave to Him. It is to God         lar grace of God, declares in Romans 8: 1, "There is
that she gave a name. And, in the second place, when         therefore now no condemnation to them that are in
she gave a name to the well she again spoke of God -         Christ Jesus." And the plain implication is that there
that He is. the living and seeing God. Her own actions       is terrible condemnation for those who are outside of
are not on the foreground.                                   Him. What is more, Paul does not say, "There is
  And let us take note for a moment of the fact that         therefore now no condemnation to them who will
we so often measure God's loving care for us by              join themselves to Christ Jesus, but who ARE in
material gifts and works that benefit the flesh. That        Christ Jesus. And a little later in the chapter he points
loving care, however, is also to be seen in His works        out that God predestinated a people in Christ and that
whereby He turns us from a sinful way and brings us          we are in Him by sovereign, eternal election before
on our knees in repentance. We soon take it ill when         we are called to enjoy the blessings in Him.
God, through one of His servants, rebukes us for a             These who are seen by Him in Christ may rest
sinful way and for laxity in our spiritual life. But that    assured that He sees them in love and that He cares
rebuke which He administers through one of His               for them. These upon whom He looks that way may
officebearers also is a sign that He sees us in love and     look upon Him with confidence and sing:
has a Father's concern for us. And it is wonderful and         To the hills I lift my eyes;
blessed to be seen of God in that way. It is a privilege       Whence shall help for me arise?
of grace that Christ as the Angel, that is, the Mes-           From the Lord shall come my aid,
senger of the Lord, comes with a message `that is              Who the heavens and earth has made.
designed to bring us back to a walk of life wherein we         He will guide through dangers all,
can know the blessed watchfulness of God over us               Will not suffer thee to fall;
and thoughts of peace unto us.                                 He Who safe His people keeps
  We cannot find that knowledge and have that joy              Slumbers not and never sleeps.

FROM THE HOLY WRIT


                              Exposition of Hebrews
                                       (13:11-14 contiriued)
                                                   Rev. G. Lubbers



GOING OUTSIDE OF THE CITY TO BEAR                            new ground of boasting; all other teachings are
CHRIST'S REPROACH - continued (Hebrews 13 : 13)              strange and heretical. But this also calls forth the
   When the believers pass through that gate in which        hatred and scorn and derision of those who glory in
they separate themselves forever from the types and           works, and not in the cross. Here is the borderline
shadows as a way of salvation, then they will glory in       between the sons of the flesh and the sons of the
the cross of Christ through which they have been             promise. And the sons of the flesh ever are full of
crucified to the world, and by which cross the world         enmity against the sons of Sarah, Jerusalem which is
is crucified to them. (Gal. 6: 14.) This makes for a         above. (Gal. 4:21-3 1) But they will not be heirs with


736                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



the sons of the free-woman, but  shall be cast out.          10; Phil. 3:20, 21) Here in that heavenly city we will
(Gen. 21: 10) But those who remain within the gate           have the true tabernacle of God with man. (Rev.
are really the sons of the bondwoman, Hagar, who are         21:3) In this hope of better things let us go forth
cast out of the inheritance of Isaac and the "Seed"          outside of the gate bearing Christ's reproach, in order
which is  called in Him. (Gen. 21: 12) Against this          to be rewarded with him with the crown of life after
back-ground we must see the "reproach" which the             we have endured and been approved. (I Peter 1: 6,7;
Hebrews Christians will need to endure when they             James 1: 12) Rejoice then with joy unspeakable out-
cling to Christ, the Head, and will not allow any man        side of the "gate" of all unbelief which is disobedient
to judge them in "meat and drink, or in respect of a         to the Son and which will not see life, but will remain
feast-day, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, which           under the wrath of God!
are a shadow of things to come." (Col. 2: 16,17)  This
is the glorious prospect of those who heed the injunc-       THE ONE SACRIFICE LEFT FOR US TO OFFER
tion, "Let us go forth, therefore, unto him without          THROUGH CHRIST (Hebrews 13 : 15)
the camp, bearing his reproach."                                Christ is the end  (telos)  of the law for righteous-
  But Jesus had said, "In the world you shall have           ness to every one that believes. He that believes hath
tribulations." (John  16:33a) Often Jesus told His           eternal life; He has passed from death into life and
disciples that they would need to suffer for His sake,       shall not come into condemnation. If we confess with
for righteousness' sake. That would be inwardly              the mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in our hearts
blessed. For the "reproach of Christ" is the reproach        that God hath raised Him from the dead, we shall be
wherewith He was reproached of the world, the seed           saved. (John 3:36; 5:24; Rom 10:4-10) The believer
of the Serpent. But never is that reproach so bitter         confesses unto salvation. From the  fumess of his
and fierce, as when this comes from those who have           heart his mouth speaketh. This speech is the fruit of
heard the Christ preaching His Cross as the con-             the Holy Spirit, the fruit of faith.`And this speech is a
demnation of all human pride, and of those who               spiritual sacrifice  when directed to God in thanks-
would glory in the flesh and not in God. We must             giving.
here, "outside of the gate", look unto Jesus the                The writer to the Hebrews mentions here that we
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
which was set before him, endured the Cross and              must bring sacrifices of praise to God. He puts it in
                                                             the "let us" form. He includes himself amongst those
despised the shame and was set down on the right             who go outside of the gate to bear Christ's reproach.
hand of God.                                                 He will lead them personally outside of the city and
  Then we lift up our eyes to a better city, which has       teach by word and by good example. And here out-
twelve gates whither the twelve tribes of Israel enter       side of the gate, and by the power of the cross of
in. Outside of this city will be all the unbelievers who     Christ, by the death and resurrection of the Son of
"reproached" the church of the living God in the             God, through which he has been renewed unto the
world, and mocked and persecuted her unto the                image of God, he will bring sacrifices of praise. That
death. For without are the dogs, and sorcerers, and          is the only  sacrifice  left in the New Testament
whoremongers, which includes also those who re-              church. Yes, it is a sacrifice. It is laid on the altar of
proach the church for Christ's sake. These make a lie;       incense before the throne of God. It is praise which is
these have strange and manifold doctrines by which           presented to God. It is holy singing and confession
the church must not be carried away. (Phil. 3:2; Rev.        and prayers, all the days of our life, but especially on
22: 15) The writer to the Hebrews stresses that "we          the New Testament Sabbath Day, the Day of- the
have here no abiding city". Never did we have here an        Lord. No, he will not be judged in Old Testament
abiding city. All the history of the earthly city of         new moons, meats, drinks, sabbaths of the lunar
Jerusalem testifies to this fact. We have here but to        calendar. These were a "taskmaster" to Christ, which
read all the prophets as they predict the fall of the        hemmed him in till the time appointed. He clings to
earthly city in the captivity to Babylon. Jerusalem is       Christ, the Head, from which all the body grows with
a heap of ruins, a den of dragons, when sacked and           the increase of God. (Col. 2: 19; Eph.  4:16) Those
destroyed by the hordes which come across the                who have gone forth outside of the camp of O.T.
Euphrates. (Jer. 9: 11) She is desolate and without an       Israel's laws and shadows have the spirit of the risen
inhabitant. No, we seek, with great longing, one             Lord. They are ingrafted into Christ the Head, and it
which is about to come. This Jerusalem will descend          is  impossible  that he would not bring forth fruit of
out of heaven. .It is the city which has foundations,        thankfulness. (Rom. 6: l-7) For we are not under law
whose builder and maker is God. We do not look               (upo nomou)  but under grace  (upo  charin).  This
back, but we look forward with our eyes riveted upon         means that he must bring the sacrifices of praise to
that heavenly city. We seek the things above, where          God. He is here not tied to the Old Testament priest-
Christ is. Our ,citizenship  is in heaven. (Hebrews 11:9,    hood of Aaron, but he is in the living spiritual priest-


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                       737


hood in Christ Jesus. He is an office-bearer who can         the poor and needy. Then all our speaking of the
come into. the temple to bring his sacrifice. It is the      wonder of what Christ did for us outside of the gate
fruit of his Zips. And upon these lips God has placed        is tinkling brass and a sounding cymbal. How does
His praise, Soli Dee Gloria; it the praise of the glory      then the love of God dwell in our hearts? If God so
of grace. (Eph. 1: 6) It is the song than which there is     loved us, how ought we to love one another. (I John
none greater: the Song of Moses and the Lamb, tell-          3: 16, 17) True sons of Abraham will walk in the
ing redemption's story of the sovereign love and grace       footsteps of a living faith which believes in God even
of God. Here is no glorying of the wise in his wisdom,       when all seems dark and impossible. So also in the
nor of the rich in his riches, nor of the mighty in his      church we must have a faith which believes in God,
might; but here is a glory in this, that we know that        that God gives us abundance, that those who have
`God is the Lord, who exercises lovingkindness,              nothing have no lack. (II Cor.  10:6) God has His
judgment and righteousness in the earth - at Calvary,        secret blessing upon the liberal soul. He puts it into
where Christ becomes unto us the wisdom of God,              his hands to distribute it to the poor. With such
righteousness, sanctification and complete redemp-           sacrifices God is well-pleased.
tion. Eternity will not be long enough for the re-
deemed to bring the sacrifice of praise, the fruit of           For in such sacrifices there is a "communication".
the lips. In God's eternal tabernacle which is heaven-       The translation "to communicate" is not good here.
ly, we will bring these sacrifices.                          In the Greek text there is not a verb or infmitive
                                                             noun. The Dutch translates 
  And they will be "acceptable to God". In the dawn                                                        "mededeel-zaamheid".
                                                             This refers to the inner quality and propensity to
of history, when the Son of God was gathering His            exercise the fellowship of goods as an expression of
church, there was a sacrifice which pleased God. It          the love of Christ. The resultant notion can be then
was the sacrifice of Abel. (Gen.  4:5; Heb.  11:4; I         to communicate goods, necessities to the poor. This,
John 3: 11,12) God was not pleased with the sacrifice
of Cain. Why? He did not bring it through Christ. The        too, we must not forget. We live in an age when we
writer to the Hebrews emphatically places on the             allow all kinds of organizations to rob us from these
foreground that these sacrifices must be "through            joys. We must allow this to be our spiritual sacrifice
him". (Di' autou) He alone is the way to the Father,         of love and mercy. Blessed are the merciful, for they
whether that be now on earth as we walk by faith, or         shall obtain mercy.
presently in glory when we shall see God face to face
in the face of Jesus Christ. "No one cometh.unto the            This, too, we must do and perform through Christ.
Father, except through (by)                                  In the power of His death and resurrection we must
                                me." (di' emou) On this
one point the Lord is very emphatic: by IMe, and by          do so. And we must be thus, through Him, an
no one else! And no sacrifice of praise is acceptable in     imitator of Him, Who had compassion upon the
                                                             multitudes. This is not a mere social gospel, which is
all the earth and heavens if it is not brought through       no gospel, but this is the working out of our thankful-
Jesus, Who suffered without the gate for our sins.
There is no sacrifice of praise which is not connected       ness with fear and trembling, looking for the reward
with the sin-offering. The whole burnt-offering only         of grace. Then it shall be said: "what ye have done to
means something after the sin-offering has been              the least of these which are mine, ye have done so
brought outside of the camp of Israel.                       unto me." That will be in the city which we are seek-
                                                             ing, the abiding city!


PRACTICAL SERVICE OF GRATITUDE PLEAS-
ING TO GOD (Hebrews 13 : 16)
   The Lord is not well-pleased with a dead faith                                   TEACHERS NEEDED
which does not reveal itself in good works. Faith               The Society for Protestant Reformed Education of HULL, IOWA is
without works is death! The writer to the Hebrews            in need of a teacher-administrator and 2 teachers for the 1976-77
has this in mind when he says, "but do good and to           school year. For more information contact: Bernard  Driesen,  Boyden,
 communicate -forget not". To "do good" is a transla-        Iowa 51239; or phone  - collect  - (712) 725-2071.
tion of a word which means to do well, to do beauti-            Adams Street Protestant Reformed Christian School will be in need
ful deeds. We think here of the almsdeeds which              of two teachers for the 1976-1977 school year. Inquiries may be sent to
Dorcas did, when she made coats and garments for             Mr. Kenneth  Schipper,  care of the school, at 1150 Adams Street  SE.,
the poor. Such mercy is truly beautiful. We often            Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49507.
 forget this. We feel that if only we go to church               Due to our decision to add a fourth teacher to our Staff, the
 punctually, listen to the sermons, and sing of the          SOUTH  H O L L A N D   P R O T E S T A N T   R E F O R M E D   C H R I S T I A N
wonderful love of God, that this is sufficient. It is all    SCHOOL is accepting applications for the position. Anyone interested
                                                             should write or phone Mr.  Menno Poortenga, 18425  Oakwood  Ave.,
 dead works if we close up our bowels of mercy for           Lansing, Illinois 60438. Phone:  (312)  474-0675.


738                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



A-LL AROUND US

                                     The Vidalia Resolution
                                                            Rev. H. Veldman
  In the Banner Herald, a monthly  publication of the                      God are instructed and fed, strengthened and re-
Primitive Baptists, published at Jessup, Georgia,  in                      buked, exhortedand corrected; but nowhere does the
the November, 1975 issue, appeared  an article with                        Bible teach that God uses the gospel as a means of
the above heading. We believe this article to  be of                       regenerating sinners." And be it further
interest to our readers. We now quote:                                         RESOLVED, That we advise, beg and implore our
          The Voice of Our Past                                            churches to kindly, lovingly and faithfully  .guard
                                                                           our people against any teaching contrary to this faith,
          THE VIDALIA RESOLUTION                                           that strife and division may be avoided and the bond
          WHEREAS, the doctrine of the use of the                          of fellowship between our churches may be preserved
       preached word as a means in the regeneration of                     and strengthened. And be it further
       sinners is again being agitated among us, causing great                 RESOLVED, That we here assembled pledge our-
       unrest among our brethren in Georgia, and among                     selves to one another and to our brethren everywhere
       those associated with us in other states, and grave
       fears are entertained that our fundamental doctrines               to teach and labor to establish these doctrines most
       are being compromised and that doctrines, time and                 firmly in the minds and hearts of our people.
       again rejected by Primitive Baptists, are being fastened          To read something like this surely warms our
       upon us as a part of our faith, and                             hearts. We, as Protestant Reformed Churches, also
          WHEREAS, Such teaching among us has always                   believe that the divine decree of election is eternal,
       led to strife and ultimate division, be it                      particular and unconditional. We surely believe that
          Rl%OLVED, That we reaffirm our belief in and                 this divine decree is absolutely sovereign. It is for this
       loyalty to the time-honored faith of Primitive Bap-             reason that we reject the general, well meaning of the
       tists, which faith we understand to include the doc-            gospel to all who hear it. And we also believe that
       trine of eternal, particular and unconditional election         regeneration is immediate.
       - that a definite number of particular persons were,              However, we do wish to ask two questions. First,
       before time, chosen of God unto salvation or eternal            do the Primitive Baptists also believe in double pre-
       life, that this number can not be increased or dimin-           destination? Double predestination believes in sover-
       ished; that this definite number of particular persons
       were embraced in the covenant of Grace and given to             eign reprobation as well as in sovereign election. They
       Christ to redeem, and that Christ in His death on the           are inseparable. One cannot believe in the one with-
       cross died. for these and none others, and that their           out also believing in the other. And, secondly, what
       eternal salvation was thus made infallibly secure. And          objection do the Primitive Baptists have, doctrinally,
       be it further                                                   against the baptism of infants? We believe that this
          RESOLVED, That as touching the doctrine of                   doctrine of the baptism of infants very beautifully
       regeneration or effectual calling we reaffirm the               emphasizes the sovereignty of God's election, bearing
       declaration of our people expressed in 1909, and pub-           in mind, of course, that the sacrament of baptism
       lished in what is known as "The Cordele Statement,"             does not speak of a universal love of God to all who
       in which it says, "Through the gospel the children of           are baptized.

                                 The Presbyterian Advocate
  This is a new magazine. We will let this magazine                        ship" of the United Presbyterian Church in the
speak for itself. In its first issue (the only issue we                    United States of America. I am an ordained minister
have received as of now), its reason is stated as                          of the denomination and write on behalf of those
follows, on page 3 of its October, 1975 issue, under-                      ministers and ruling elders of our church who remain
neath the heading, THE REASON FOR THIS MAGA-                              loyal to the Bible and to the historic confessions of
ZINE :                                                                     the Reformed and Presbyterian churches. The current
                                                                          ruling faction of the church, the liberal modernists,
           The PRESBYTERIAN ADVOCATE is the re-                            are now attempting to remove every one of these
       sponse of one angry Presbyterian to the arrogant, irre-             faithful men from their pulpits and offices in the
        sponsible, and vicious actions of much of the "leader-             denomination.


                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER                                                          739



           I intend to publish this magazine on a frequent                  ing them, also in the Christian life of these redeemed      '
    basis and to continue publishing it as long as I have                   and their eternal life in a new age inaugurated by the
    something I want to say and as long as I can finance                    final return of Christ in royal power.
    its publication and delivery. One thing I promise: the                      The sovereignty of God as manifested in the life of
    content and continued publication of THE  PRBS-                         the redeemed elect means that the entire spectrum of
    BYTERIAN ADVOCATE will not be influenced in                             life and civilization should be transformed and
    the slightest by hostile ecclesiastical activity against                brought into submission to Him, and that He gives
    it or against me.                                                        definition to the very processes by which this is
           In addition to exposing the follies which presently           accomplished.
    beset the church I look forward to developing in                            The consequence of these principles is a faith
    future issues, material of a more constructive nature,                   Calvinist in doctrine, Reformed in worship, and Pres-
    to exploring the true presbyterian Christian heritage                    byterian in government. Its principal historic subordi-
    and how it can aid us to live godly creative lives in all               nate standards are:,
    the many dimensions of personal and corporate life in
    the modem world.                                                          The Gallic Confession of Faith                1559
                                                                             The Scats Confession of Faith                  1560
                         Grael Brian Gannon, Editor-Publisher                 The Belgic Confession of Faith                1561
                                    Park River, North Dakota                 `The Heidelberg Catechism                      1563
                                              October 1,1975                  The Second Helvetic Confession of Faith       1566
                                                                              The Canons of the Synod of Dordrecht          1619
   Then, on page 4 of this magazine appears a                                 The Westminster Confession of Faith           1647
 STATEMENT OF BELIEF. We also wish to quote                                   The Westminster Larger Catechism              1648
this.                                                                         The Westminster Shorter Catechism             1648
            The doctrinal position of the PRESBYTERIAN                       The Formula Consensus Helvetics                1675
   ADVOCATE will take shape in subsequent issues as                       We shall await future issues of this magazine.
    the various points are discussed. Briefly it may be said            According to the reason as stated for its appearance
    to derive from the supreme authority of an infallible               and its statement of belief, this magazine intends to
         Bible given from heaven, interpreted in its own terms,
         and issuing in subordinate standards whose principal           be Calvinistic  in its doctrine, adhering to the Re-
         theme is the majesty and absolute sovereignty of               formed confessions. However, one thing troubles us:
         God, that man's chief end is to glorify and enjoy Him,         the author of this magazine appears to stand alone.
    -enabled-by redemption from sin through the substi-                 Of course, there is nothing wrong, in itself, in stand-
         tutionary satisfaction of the justice of God by the            ing alone, if need be. However, does not a congrega-
         death of Christ and by the Holy Spirit's applying the          tion in any way support him? Does he stand all alone,
         merit of Christ's death to the elect and in regenerat-         all by himself, and why?

  Liberal Congregation Leaves Missouri Synod
   From the  Presbyterian Journal,  the October 29,                         of who owns the church property.
1975 issue, the following article appears, on page 5,                     However, according to a certain Wanda Van
 under the above heading:                                               Gelder, there must have been some irregularities in
           OKLAHOMA CITY - Grace Lutheran Church, a                     this action of Grace Church to separate itself from
    250-member congregation here, has become the first                  the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. This article
    congregation to withdraw from the Lutheran Church-                  oontinues:
    Missouri Synod (LCMS) in the current  liberal-
    conservative dispute.                                                      However, Wanda Van Gelder, a leader of the con-
                                                                            servative group in the church, said the vote could be
           In a congregational meeting, members voted 111                   legally challenged due to improper procedures. She
    to 56 to sever all ties with the Missouri Synod and to                  said 71 new voters were added and 10 inactive mem-
    join the Lutheran Church in Mission (LCM) . . .                .        bers were reinstated to voter status before the meet-
           The Grace church is the first liberal congregation               ing began.
         to withdraw in protest against conservative p&ies.                    Miss Van Gelder also asserted that one person who
            According to the Oklahoma City Times, the Rev.                  voted for withdrawal had been confirmed as a mem-
         Edwin T. Heyne, pastor of the Grace church (and                    ber at a service only four hours before the meeting.
    leader of the liberal majority congregation), said he
    has been unpopular with some members of his church                  (Editor's note: Just before press time we received
         for several years, ever since he openly supported              word that representatives of the minority  congroga-
         busing for integration in the city schools here. He            tion, including Miss Van Gelder, have  ,obtained  a court
         added that he expects no problems over the question            order barring the disposition of the church's assets.)


740                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



VOICE OF OUR FATHERS


                            Man's Creation and Fall  (3)
                                                        ProJ: Robert D. Decker

               "We believe that God created man out of the dust of the earth, and made and formed him after his own
               image and likeness, good, righteous, and holy, capable in all things to will, agreeably to the will of God. But
               being in honor, he understood it not, neither knew his excellency, but willfully subjected himself to sin,
               and consequently to death, and the curse, giving ear to the words of the devil. For the commandment of
               life, which he had received, he transgressed; and by sin separated himself from God, who was his true life,
               having corrupted his whole nature; whereby he made himself liable to corporal and spiritual death. And
               being thus become wicked, perverse, and corrupt in all his ways, he hath lost all his excellent gifts, which he
               had received from God, and only retained a few remains thereof, which, however, are sufficient to leave
               man without excuse; for all the light which is in us is changed into darkness, as the Scriptures teach us,
               saying: The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not: where St. John calleth men
               darkness. Therefore we reject all that is taught repugnant to this, concerning the free will af man, since man
               is but a slave to sin; and has nothing of himself, unless it is given from heaven. For who may presume to
               boast, that he of himself can do any good, since Christ saith, No man can come to me, except the Father,
               which hath sent me, draw him? Who will glory in his own will, who understands, that to be carnally minded
               is enmity against God? Who can speak of his knowledge, since the natural man receiveth not the things of
               the spirit of God? In short, who dare suggest any thought, since he knows that we are not sufficient of
               ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but that our sufficiency is of God? And therefore what the
               Apostle saith ought justly to be held sure and firm, that God worketh in us both to will and to do of his
               good pleasure. For there is no will nor understanding, conformable to the divine will and understanding,
               but what Christ hath wrought in man; which he teaches us, when he saith, Without me ye can do nothing."
                                                                                          The Belgic  Confession, Article XIV


  In the previous two articles  on this chapter of the                   emphasizes when it says: "he . . . willfully subjected
Confession we have treated the subjects of the crea-                     himself to sin." Man, in other words, was not com-
tion of man out of the dust of the earth and the fact                    pelled to sin against his own will and desire. Thus
that he was created in the image of God. These sub-                      man is responsible for his own fall and its conse-
jects are stated in the opening sentence of Article                      quences. The Reformed faith has always been very
XIV. It is our intention to focus on the rest of this                    careful to maintain this truth lest the fall be con-
article as it speaks of: "the fall of man, and his                       strued in such a way as to make God the author of
incapacity to perform what is truly good." Even at                       sin. The very thought of that is blasphemy. This is
this point there are several subjects which might                        also very plain from the Scriptures: "Let no man say
profitably occupy our attention and be treated in                        when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God
several articles. Among these are the history of the                     cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
fall itself as this is given in Genesis three; the contro-               man: But every man is tempted when he is drawn
versial question of God's sovereignty and sin; the                       away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust
covenant of works view; man's depravity and the                          hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it
bondage of the will of man. We shall limit ourselves                     is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1: 13-l 5) At
to a discussion of man's "incapacity to perform what                     the same time, neither our Confession nor we wish to
is truly good" and only briefly touch upon these                         deny God's sovereignty with respect to sin. Sin is not
other subjects. We do this because our times demand                      some eternal force along side of God. The fall of.man
it and because one's views on man and his depravity                      was not some unthought of or unplanned occurrence
radically affect his views on God Himself and the                        which frustrated -God's original purpose with creation
gracious character of the salvation of His elect people                  and to  which. He had to react. Scripture makes
in Christ.*                                                              abundantly evident that God's purpose from  all
  Concerning the fall itself Article XIV makes several                   eternity is to manifest His incomparable glory in
points. Man's sin was voluntary. This the Creed                          Christ through His cross and resurrection; i.e., in the


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                          741


 way of sin and grace. Though,we who are mere sinful            image of God, "all his excellent gifts." That man
 men and less than specks of dust cannot comprehend             "lost" the gifts of God's image must be understood
 this "mystery of the gospel," we must believe and              properly. He did not merely lose those gifts, but they
 confess it. And this too is all of grace! God created          were changed into their very opposites. Man's knowl-
 Adam in such a way that he could choose the good or            edge was changed to darkness so that he can only lie
the evil, and God always deals with man as a rational           about God; his righteousness was changed into un-
 and willing creature, even though He retains His own           righteousness; his holiness into corruption so that he
 sovereignty. Thus Adam sinned of his own will and              is no longer consecrated to the service of God. Man
 brought upon himself and his posterity death and the           always changes the truth into the lie, holding it under
 curse of God.                                                  in unrighteousness. Indeed he has lost "all his excel-
   `We believe too on the basis of the Word of God              lent gifts." In a real sense man has become the image
 thatman fell by the instigation of the devil. Sin had          bearer of the devil.
 its origin .in heaven when Satan and a host of angels             A word needs to be said conceming`the often dis-
 with him "left their first estate," (Cf. The Epistle of        puted phrase, "and only retained a few remains there-
 Jude) Satan, in the form of a serpent, approached              of." This and a similar statement in the Canons of
 Eve in the Garden of Eden and tempted her. Eve                 Dordrecht are used as proof for the view of common
 gave way to "the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the       grace. The argument is that man has retained some
 eyes and the pride of life" and ate of the tree of the         "remnants" of the image of God as a fruit of God's
 knowledge of good and evil, thus disobeying God's              common (not saving) grace which He bestows on
 coinmand. (Genesis 3:6) And she gave to her husband            mankind in general. Thus, it is said, man is still able,
 and he ate also. Thus it was that,man: " . . . willfully       by God's common grace, to do some good. He can
 subjected himself to sin . . . giving ear to the words of      develop culture and learning; produce many good
 the devil. For the commandment of life, which he               things, etc. But this is not the teaching of the Belgic
 had received, he transgressed; and by sin separated            Confession. What the Creed is saying is merely that
 himself from God, who was his true life."                      man has retained some remains of his rationality and
   Finally, in this connection let it be understood that        morality. He did not become something other than a
the record of the fall of man as presented in Genesis 3         man through the fall. Man did not become an inatio-
 is literal history. There was a real garden of Eden, a         nal beast. He is still able to know the difference be-
 real woman and man, a real devil, a real serpent               tween good and evil. He can still come to some
 through which the devil spoke;.and Eve ate real fruit          knowledge of God through the things that are made.
 from a real tree. If this be offensive to the sensitivities    But notice that these are only "remains" or remnants,
 of today's sophisticated intellectual, it can only be          very small elements of what Adam possessed in the
 because he lacks God-given faith to believe the simple         state of rectitude. Notice too that man retains these
 truth of the Bible. The warning of Peter Y. De Jong is         "remains" only in order that he may be without ex-
 well taken: "The story, so often represented as a              cuse. This is plainly the teaching of Scripture. Know-
 myth or symbol by modern theologians, is affirmed              ing the difference between right and wrong, knowing
 as history by Christian believers. The whole structure         that there is a God; man always changes the truth
 of Christian theology is radically affected by whether         into the lie; and changes the glory of the incorrupt-
 or not we maintain the historicity of Genesis 3. Those         ible God into an image made like unto- corruptible
 who reject the story of the fall of necessity adopt            man. (Romans 1:  18ff.) Man is the enemy of God;
 views of the image of God in man, the nature and               deliberately he chooses the evil and always hates the
 consequences of sin, and even the essential character          good. He is wicked, corrupt, and perverse in all his
 of God's grace in Christ radically different than those        ways; he is, in fact, dead in trespasses and sins.
 championed by historic Christianity. Without hesita-           (Ephesians 2: 1) There is no grace in all this. The mes-
 tion and compromise the church should repudiate                sage to spiritually dead, sinful man is always: "Thou
 every attempt to make the story of the fall more               art inexcusable, 0 man." (Romans 2) For this reason
 palatable to modem man." (The Church's Witness To              "the wrath (not grace) of God is revealed from
 The World, vol. 1, pp. 259-260)                                heaven against all the unrighteousness of men.",
                                                                (Romans 1: 1 Sff.) This is clearly taught in the Canons
   By his fall man brought upon himself and his                 as well:
 progeny dire consequences. The  Cbnfession   empha-
 sizes this in the strongest  .language when it. says:.                "There remain, however, in man since the fall, the
 " . . . having corrupted his whole nature . . . and being          glimmerings of natural light, whereby he retains some
                                                                    knowledge of God, of things natural, and of the dif-
 thus become wicked,-perverse, and corrupt in all his               ferences between good and evil, and discovers some
 ways, he hath lost all his excellent gifts, which he had           regard for virtue, good order in society, and for main-
 received from God.". Thus, as a consequence of his                taining an qrderly external deportment. But so far is
 sin, man corrupted his whole nature and lost the                  this light of nature from being sufficient to bring him


742                                                         THE STANDARD BEARER


       to a saving knowledge of God, and to true conversion,                 subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be."
       that he is incapable of using it aright  even in things               Notice that according to this text the carnal mind,
       natural and civil.  Nay further, this light, such as it is,           the mind of the flesh is not only not subject to God's
       man in various ways renders wholly polluted, and                      law, but it cannot be subject to that law! (Cf. Canons
       holds it in unrighteousness, by doing which he be-                    III, IV, 1-3; Heidelberg Catechism, L.D. II)
       comes inexcusable before God." (emphasis mine,
       R.D.D., Canons of Dordrecht, III, IV, 4)                                 The conclusion is inevitable. No one is able to
                                                                             work out his own salvation with fear and trembling
This is the historic, Biblical, Confessionally Reformed                      unless God first works in him both to will and to do
truth concerning the fallen, natural man.                                    of His good pleasure. (Philippians 2: 12, 13) Man by
   The punishment for sin is grevious. Man becomes                           nature is no more able to will his own salvation than a
"subject to sin." Sin is his Lord and he is its slave. He                    corpse is able to rise out of its coffin. He is liable to
can only serve sin in all that he does. This is the                          death and curse. The message of the gospel of our
Reformed truth overagainst all Pelagian-free-willism.                        Lord Jesus Christ is and ever must be: "By grace are
This is the doctrine of total depravity. The terrible                        ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
truth of depravity is not that man is a big sinner, not                      is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8)
that he sins all the time; but that man can donothing                           May God in His grace grant us the strength to hold
but sin. He lacks the ability to do any good at all. To                      this truth firmly for the glory of His Name. This is
prove this the Confession cites the words of Jesus:                          our only comfort in life and in death.
"No man can come to me, except the Father, which
hath sent me, draw him," (John 6:44); and the words                              *Anvone  interested in more intensive study of these doctrines is
of I Corinthians 2: 14: " . . . the natural man receiveth                    urged to consult:
                                                                             Herman Hoeksema's  Reformed  Dbgmatics,  pp. 169-280, Reformed Free
not the things of the spirit of God." The Confession                         Publishina Association, Box 2006, Grand Rapids,  Mich.  49506.
also makes reference to Romans  8:7 which reads:                             Edward  i. Young's Genesis 3, Banner of Truth Trust, 7Bb Chiltern
"Because the carnal mind (literally: "the mind of the                        Street, London. (This is an excellent "devotional and expository"
                                                                             study of the ttiird chapter of Genesis by the late professor of Old
flesh", R.D.D.) is enmity against God: for it is not                         Testament at Westminster Seminary.)





                          IN MEMORIAM                                                                     NOTICE!!!
   On Sunday, January 25, 1976, the Lord gathered to Himself our                Covenant Christian High School  is.in need of an Administrator for
dear daughter and sister ERMA JEAN KORTERING, at the age of 51               the coming  1976-77  school year. Please send applications and qualifica-
years.                                                                       tions to: Mr. Gordon Van Overloop, 3711 Hillcrest, Hudsonville,
    Her life was a testimony of the precious truth of Isaiah  26:3, "Thou    Michigan, 49426.
wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee because he
trusted in thee."

                                   Mr. and Mrs. Justin Kortering                            RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                                   Lafern
                                   Jess                                         The Ladies Society of the Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church
                                   Rev. and Mrs. Jay Kortering               expresses hereby their deepest sympathy with one of their members,
                                   Mr. and Mrs. Ervin Kortering              Mrs. Hilbert Kuiper, in the recent loss of her mother, MRS. JOHN
                                   Mr. Ken Schuitema                         VANDE WEERD of Rock Valley, Iowa. May our God comfort her and
                                                                             the bereaved family through the Spirit of Him Who assures us, "I am
                RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                       the Resurrection and the Life, he that believeth in Me . . . shall never
   The Ladies Society of The First Protestant Reformed Church of             die."
Holland  (Mich.) wishes to express their heartfelt sympathy to the Justin                                       The Ladies Society of the
Kortering family in the loss of ERMA KORTERING, our member, who                                                 Hudsonville Prot. Ref. Church,
was gathered with the saints above on Sunday morning, January 25,                                               Mrs. B. Bruining, Sec'y.
1976.

    May God's Word bless and comfort them in this hour of sorrow.
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee:
because he trusteth in Thee." (Isaiah  26:3)                                                RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                                   Mrs. Gordon  Wassink, Sec'y.                 The Adult Bible Class of the Hudsonville Protestant Reformed
                                                                             Church wishes to express their sincere sympathy with their members,
                               NOTICE                                        Mr. and Mrs. G. Lubbers, Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Lubbers, and Mr. and Mrs.
                                                                             R. Lubbers in the loss of their sister, MRS. G. JAGER who was taken
    Classis  West of the Protestant Reformed Churches will meet on           into the Rest a short time ago. May they confess with the church of all
March 3, 1976, in Edgerton, Minnesota, at  8:30 A.M. Delegates in need       ages: "As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be
of lodging or transportation should notify the clerk of the  Edgerton        satisfied when I awake, with thy likeness." Ps. 17: 15.
consistory.                                                                                                     The Adult Bible Class of the
                                    Rev. David Engelsma,                                                        Hudsonville Prot Ref. Church.
                                    Stated Clerk                                                                Mrs. G. Cnossen, Sec'y.


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         743


                                          Church Direct&y,.c


Faith Church, Jenison, Mich.                  Southeast, Grand Rapids, Mich.            Hope, Isabel, S.D.
Clerk:      Mr. Fred Hank0                    Clerk: Richard Teitsma                    Clerk: Mr.  Jake  Reichert
            2315 Chlppewa Dr.                           3681 Mohave Dr., SW                       PO Box 106
            Jenison, Mich.  49428                       Grandville,  Mich. 49418                  Isabel, S.D. 57633
            Phone: 457-2127                   Treas.: Robert  Noorman                             Phone: (605) 4664124
Treas.: Mr. Andrew Brummel                              949 Oakdale,  SE                Treas.: Mr. Jerrold Reichert
            4151 w. Omaha, SW                           Grand Rapids, Mich. 49507                 PO Box 38
       '
  .         Grandville,  Mich. 49418                                                              Isabel. S.D. 57633
            Phone: 532-6751                   Southwest, Grand Rapids, Mich.                      Phone: (605) 466-3168
First Church, Grand Rapids, Mich.             Clerk: Gerald Feenstra                    Loveland, Colorado
                                                        7643 Cardinal Dr.
Clerk:      Mr. James Heys                              Jenison, Mich. 49428            Clerk:    Mr. Milton  Alsum
            1432 Giddings, SE                           Phone: 669-1484                           50201 Beryl Lane
            Grand Rapids, Mich. 49507                                                             Loveland, Colo. 80537
                                              Treas.: Kenneth L. Kuiper
Treas.: Mr. Wm. Oomkes                                                                            Phone: (303) 667-7272
                                                        1820 Berkley, SW
            4141 Burton, SE                             Wyoming,  Mich. 49509           Treas.: Mr. Tom De Vries
            Grand Rapids, Mich.  49506                  Phone:  243-4019                          Route 2, Box 41
First Church, Holland, Mich.                                                                      Loveland, Colo. 80537
                                              Doon, Iowa                                          Phone: (303) 667-7874
Clerk:      E. Kortering                      Clerk:    John Kalsbeek, Jr.
            253 E. 19th St.                                                             Lynden, Washington
                                                        Box 67
            Holland, Mich. 49423                        Doon, Iowa 51235                Clerk:    Hans Vander Veen Jr.
            Phone: 3964966                              Phone: (712)  7263148                     3 13 Garrison Rd.
Treas.: Gerald  Vanden Berg                                                                       Sumas,  Wash. 98295
                                              Treas.: Minard Van Den Top
            3734 Adams St. RFD No. 2                                                              Phone: (206) 9884060
                                                        Box 224
            Hudsonville, Mich. 49426                    Doon, Iowa 51235                Treas.: Vernon  Maas
            Phone: 896-8422                             Phone: (712) 726-3184                     2083 Birch Bay - Lynden Rd.
                                                                                                  Ferndale, Wash. 98248
Hope Church, Grand Rapids, Mich.              Edgerton,  Mhm.                                     Phone: (206) 3662373
Clerk:      Mr.  John  Kalsbeek               Clerk: Henry Huisken                      Pella,  Iowa
            4132 Hall St., SW                           930  Mechanic
            Grand Rapids, Mich. 49504                   Edgerton, Minn. 56128           Clerk: Bernie Menninga
                                                                                                  608 E. 2nd St. (Apt. 215)
Treas.: Mr. Leon  Garvelink                             Phone: (507) 442-6791                     Pella, Iowa 50219
            1539 Ferndale, SW                 Treas.: Allen Brummel                               Phone: 6284397
            Grand Rapids, Mich. 49504                   R.R. 1,Box  115
                                                        Edgertbn,Minn.  56128           Treas.: Vernon De Vries
`Hudsdnville,  Mich.                                    Phone: (507) 442-5931                     RR3
Clerk:      Mr. Harry Zwak                                                                        Knoxville, Iowa
                                              Ebenezer, Forbes, N.D.
            3985 Van Buren                                                                        Phone: 842-5397
            Hudsonville, Mich. 49426          Clerk:  Lorenz Bertsch                    Randolph, Wisconsin
                                                        Forbes, N.D. 58439
Treas.: Mr. D. Van Overloop                             Phone: (605) 358-8691           Clerk:    Mr. Gary Buteyn
            5726 - 36th St.                                                                       RR 2, Box 133A
            Hudsonville, Ml& 49426            Treas.: Gus Streyle                                 Randolph,  Wise. 53956
                                                        Forbes, N.D. 58439
Benevolence Treas., (Jamaica Fund)                                                                Phone: 3265666
                                                        Phone:.(605) 358-8811
            Mr. B. Wigger                                                               Treas.: Mr. Henry Zandstra
            3560 Berker                       Edmonton, Alberta, Can.                             RR 1, Box 158
            Hudsonville,  Mich.  49426        Clerk:    Mr. David Zylstra                         Randolph,  Wise. 53956
Kalamazoo,  Mich.                                       12126 - 36th St.                          Phone: 3263305
                                                        Edmonton, Alberta  T5W   2B6
Clerk  & Treas.:                                                                        Hope, Redlands, California
                                                        Canada
            Mr. Wm. Clason                              Phone: (403) 4744483            Clerk: Larry Huisken
            13 17 Pinehurst Blvd.                                                                 820 College
            Kalamazoo, Mich. 49007            Treas.: F. Tolsma
                                                        9656 - 63 Ave.                            Redlands, Calif. 92373
Prospect Park, New Jersey                               Edmonton, Alta., Canada         Treas.: Bud Van Uffelen
Pastor: Rev. A. den Hartog                              T6E  OG5                                  25867 Mission Rd.
            176 Prescott Ave.                           Phone: (403) 434-3579                     Redlands, Calif. 92373
            Prospect Park, N.J. 07508         Hull, Iowa                                South Holland, Illinois
Clerk:      Mr. Tom Nelson                    Clerk:    Mr. Henry Hoekstra              Clerk: Eugene Kuiper
            12  - 64 Burbank St.                        RR #2                                     1211 E. 164th St.
            Fairlawn, N.J. 07410                        Hull, Iowa 51239                          South Holland, Illinois 60473
            Phone: (201) 797-8993                       Phone: (712) 439-l 113                    Phone: 339-6262
Treas.: Mr. Clarence De Groot                 Treas.: Mr. Tony  Jansma                  Treas.: Gerrit Holleman
            176 Prescott Ave.                           RR2                                       18330 Stony Island Ave.
            Prospect Park, N.J. 07508                   Doon, Iowa 51235                          Lansing, Illinois 60438
            Phone: (201)  2786791                       Phone: (712) 726-3435                     Phone: 474605  1


THE STANDARD BEARER
         P.O. Box 6064                                                                       SECOND CLASS
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49596                                                                POSTAGE PAID AT
                                                                                         GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.





744


                                News From Our Churches

             REPORT OF CLASSIS EAST                           Rev. C. Hanko and Rev. M. Schipper,  Primi   and
                    January 7, 1976                         Secundi  respectively, were chosen delegates ad
         Southeast Protestant Refor'med Church              examina.
                                                              The questions of article 41 of our Church Order
                                                            were asked and answered satisfactorily by each of the
   Rev. H. Veldman led the classis in opening devo-         churches.
tions and after reading the credentials declared classis
to be properly constituted. Rev. C. Hanko, by order           Upon accepting an invitation from Faith Church as
of rotation, presided over this classis.                    meeting place for our April 7, 1976,  classis,  classis
                                                            stood adjourned. Rev. J. Heys closed with prayer.
  The business before the  classis was routine and
could be quickly disposed of. The usual committees                                      Respectfully submitted,
were appointed by the chairman and later reported to                                    Assist. Stated Clerk,
the classis. Elders B. Windemuller and P. Knott served                                  Rev. M. Joostens
on the Finance Committee. They reported a total                                    *  *  %  *  *
expenditure of $315.87 for this session. The  classis         The retired clerk of Southwest Church asked that
authorized the synodical treasurer to reimburse these       mention be made of the new consistorial clerk  and
expenses. Elder H. Zwak thanked the ladies of South-        bulletin clerk of Southwest Church. The new clerk is
east Church for the coffee and donuts which they            Mr. Gerald Feenstra, 7643 Cardinal Dr., Jenison,
served us. Kalamazoo Church, being vacant, again            Michigan 49428. Phone - 616-669-l 484.
requested classical appointments for the coming
quarter.  Classis granted their request, and the chair        Office Bearers Conferences are not held exclusively
appointed Rev. J. Heys and elders J. Bishop and J. De       in the Michigan area. Rev. R. Moore was to speak on
Zeeuw to construct a schedule.  `Classis adopted the        the subject, "Christian Giving and the Budget" during
following classical `appointment schedule for Kalama-       an Office Bearers Conference on January 27 in the
zoo: January 18  - Rev. M. Schipper; January  25..-         Doon, Iowa, Church.
Rev. C. Hanko; February 8 - Rev. M. Joostens; Feb-            The lecture series in Rock Valley, Iowa, continued
ruary 22 - Rev. G. Van Baren; March 7 - Rev. J. Heys;       on December 3 with a speech by Rev. D. Engelsma of
March 21 - Rev. R. Van Overloop; April 4 - Rev. H.          South Holland, Ill. The subject was "Modern Transla-
Veldman. Because of distance and other considera-           tions of the Bible  - A Help for Understanding or
tions, classis did not place Rev. A. Den Hartog on this     Misunderstanding." The next- speech in the series was
schedule.                                                   scheduled on January 14.  Rev...' Kortering's subject
                                                            was "God loves the world, not all men." While `on his
  Subsidy requests also had to be treated at this           visit to Northwest Iowa, Rev. Engelsma also con-
classis. The classis approved and forwarded to Synod        ducted a chapel service in  Doon at the Northwest
Kalamazoo's request of  $6,300.00 and Prospect              Iowa Protestant Reformed Christian School.
Park's for $9,500.00.                                         Many of our churches conduct monthly Sunday
  The voting for synodical delegates resulted in the        evening discussion group meetings. For example, the
following; Minister delegates: Primi:  Rev. C. Hanko,       topic at the January 11 meeting in Isabel, South
Rev. J. Heys, Rev. M. Joostens, and Rev. G. Van             Dakota, was "What Is Our Calling As Church In the
Bar en.  Sucundi:  Rev. A. Den Hartog, Rev. M.              Racial Situation?"
Schipper, Rev. R. Van Overloop, and Rev. H. Veld-
man. Elder delegates:  Primi:   D. Engelsma, J.M.             A Point to Ponder from Loveland's bulletin:
Faber, J. Kalsbeek, and R. Teitsma.  Secundi: G.              "A man who is at peace with God will be often in
Feenstra, F. Ondersma, H.  Vander Kolk, and H.              God's company."
Zwak.                                                                                                            K.G.V.


