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                                           \





                        the Word of God is our infallible Guide
               . . l


         Book, the absolute authority over all our
         lives. It is the lamp before  our feet, the Light
         upon our pathway, the Rock upon which we
         stand, the Armor that protects us, the
         Weapon wherewith we fight. There is  po-wer,
         divine power, in that simple Word:  "So saith
         the Lord!"
                                                                                                             -.
                                  See "Of Good Courage" -page 218





                                                                     Volume  LIII, No. 10, February 15, 1977  /
                                                                                 ISSN 0362-4692


218                                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER


                                                                                        -r                                       THE STANDARD BEARER
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   Of Good Courage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,218                           Editor-in-Chief: Prof.  Homer   C. Hoeksema  ~.                     .
                                                                                              Department Editors:  Prof. Robert D. Decker. Rev.  David J.  Engelsma.
Editorials  -                                                                                 Rev. Cornelius Hanko. Prof. Herman Hanko. Rev. Robert C.  liarbach.
                                                                                              Rev.  John A.  Heys,  Rev. Jay Kortering, Rev. M. Hoeksema. Rev.
   About That Presidential Pardon . . . . . . . . . . .  .221                                 George  C.. Lubbers. Rev.  Meindert  Joostens, Rev.  Mar~nus   Schipper.
                                                                                              Rev. Gix J. Van  Baren.  Rev. Herman  Veldman.  Mr. Kenneth G. Vink.
   Baptism on the Mission Field (5) . . . . . . . . . .  .222                                 Editorial Office:  &of.  Ii. C. Hoeksema
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MEDITA 770 N



                                                          Of Good Courage
                                                                              Rev. C. Hanko

               `Have I not commanded thee? Be strong  and of go'od courage; be not afraid, neither be thou
               dismayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersbever thou goest. " Joshua 119.


   "Have I not commanded thee?"                                                                 through the wilderness urges the people on the basis
   This is an obvious reminder of the command that                                              of that sure promise to be strong and of good cour-
the Lord had given to His servant Joshua in the past,                                           age, not to fear, nor to be afraid of the enemy, for
and now is bringing to his attention anew.                                                      the Lord God Who accompanies them will not fail
                                                                                                them nor forsake them. (Deut. 3 1: 1-6)
   In his farewell address to Israel, Moses reminded
the people of God's promise that He would go before                                                  Then Moses called Joshua, the new leader, spoke to
them and drive out the enemy to give them the land                                              him in the presence of the people, and urged him,
sworn to their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.                                              even as he had urged the people, "Be strong and of
The man of God who had led Israel for forty years                                               good courage," for the responsibility of leading this


                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                             219



people into the promised land rests on Joshua's                   could not possibly be safely crossed by two million
shoulders. (verse 7)                                              people, including women and little children, along
   Now Moses, the servant of the Lord, had  ,died on              with all their cattle and their sheep. On the other side
mount  Nebo. Until the day he bade  them good-by his              of Jordan the enemy awaited Israel in their strongly
strength had not failed, his eyesight had not grown               fortified cities, prepared to fight to the last man,
dim, his hearing had not been dulled. The Lord has                while Joshua's small army consisted of nothing more
sustained the old testament mediator in giving him                than raw recruits, poorly equipped for warfare. There
patience with a murmuring and rebellious people as                had been no long days of drilling and maneuvers in
the meekest of men. Yet Moses' own weakness had                   the wilderness. They were not equipped with batter-
shone through in that fateful hour when he had                    ing rams. to break down the massive walls of the
struck the rock instead of speaking to it, angrily de-            cities, or  ,with weapons to oppose a large army. An
claring that this rebellious people was not worthy of             impossible task awaited Joshua, and he knew it.
receiving water from the Lord. He had failed to be                  What made Joshua's responsibility so great was the
the proper representative of the Christ, the perfect              fact that Israel was no ordinary nation striking out to
Mediator Who was still to come, in Whom God sees                  gain land and power by conquest. They were God's
no transgression  iti Israel and no iniquity in Jacob. In         chosen people, separated from all the nations of the
spite of his own weakness, the Lord made Moses                    earth to  .be a  .peculiar people unto the Lord. Israel
strong, even of great courage these many years. He                had been promised this land already centuries before.
was privileged to see the promised land from afar, but            They were the heirs of the world and of the kingdom
was not allowed to finish the work of leading Israel              to come. In them the Lord had arisen, that by His
into the rest.                                                    might He might put all His enemies to flight in fear
   God had prepared another for that task. For forty              and consternation. On the one hand, this would seem
years Joshua had been very close to Moses. Joshua                 to make the entire venture very easy; they need but
had led the army of Israel to an early victory against            rely on their God to give them the land. On the other
the Amalekites. He had been one of the twelve spies               hand, this was a faith venture. Israel had to take the
to spy out the land of Canaan, and he was one of the              land by faith, entering, marching, fighting, con-
two who brought a favorable report. Joshua had been               quering in the Name of the Lord and by the power of
schooled, not in a military academy, but in the hard              His might. Not human strength or mighty hosts, not
school of daily experience. Now the Lord speaks to                charging steeds or warlike boasts could save from
him personally, commissioning him to be the Joshua                overthrow. They lacked all of that. They were called
(Jesus) of the old dispensation, a type of the greater            to go forth in faith, trusting in the Captain of their
Joshua Who would come to save His people from                     salvation Who had appeared to Joshua and given him
their sin and bring them into the heavenly Canaan of              his battle instructions, as it is recorded in Hebrews
everlasting Rest.                                                 11:30,  "By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after
   The commission is expressed in a few simple                    they were compassed about seven days."
words: "Go over this Jordan, thou, and all this                      "Be of good courage." Natural courage under these
people, unto the land which I do give unto them,                  circumstances could never serve their purpose. There
even unto the children of Israel." (Joshua 1: 2).                 are persons who have so much confidence in them-
   To that commission is added the encouragement:                 selves that they can face dangers and difficulties with-
"Be strong and of good courage." (verse 6) And                    out fear or trepidation. They are heroes in the eyes of
again, "Only be thou strong and very courageous."                 others because of their sheer recklessness. They
(verse 7) And then, as if to warn him of the stupen-              boldly throw all caution to the wind, to take a
dous task that rested on his shoulders: "Have I not               chance. If they succeed they find themselves in the
commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage,                  hall of fame; if they fail they are branded as fools.
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed!"                         These heroes seek the vain honor and praise of men.
                                                                  Spiritual courage is rooted in faith, faith in God.
   Three times this  call to courage is imprinted upon
the                                                               Faith gives the soldier the assurance that he is fighting
        soul  of Israel's leader to make a lasting impression
upon him, that he be steeled with courage in the                  the battle of the Lord, Who gives him the victory. He
super-human task that awaited him.  What applies to               is not afraid of the enemy, for the One Who is with
Joshua applied no less to all of the army, no less to all         him is more than all his foes. He is not a turncoat in
of Israel, no less to us in whatever station of life God          the face of battle; he stands firm, immovable in the
may place us.                                                     confidence that the victory is the Lord's. He is well
                                                                  equipped, for his uniform bears the insignia of Jesus
   A grave responsibility fell upon Joshua's shoulders.           Christ, given to him at baptism and  engraven  in his
Before him lay the Jordan river swelled by spring                 heart. His shield of faith is capable of quenching all
floods, a madly raging, boiling stream of-water that              the fiery darts of the wicked. His sword of the Spirit
                                                ._,


220                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



is the powerful, sharp Word of the living God, which         bf Satan's powerful opposition. We meet our  Ais,
no power of hell can resist. Faith supplies him with         because of our sins. We too often listen to the deceit-
endurance. As a good soldier of Jesus Christ he never        ful lies of our tempters. Like Joshua we know what it
grows weary, never complains that too much is                ineans  to be plunged from the heights of triumph into
demanded of him. Christ's soldier is willing to bear         the depths of despair. We need the encouragement of
reproach, to deny himself, to lay down his life for the      the Word of God: Be not afraid! Do not become
cause of his God, fighting in the strength and en-           discouraged because of the strength of the enemy and
durance of the Lord.                                         your own weakness. Do not give up when the
   This already precludes that a courageous soldier          6pposition seems too strong for you. Trust in the
must be strong. The admonition is most proper, "Be           Lord with all your might. Rely on Him. Cast all your
strong," for only then  canst thou be of good courage.       burdens upon His mighty shoulders, and He will see
But again, the soldier of the cross must not  rely  on       you through.
the arm of flesh. He must not seek himself or the            : Is  this  true, or do we only say that? Is God's Word
praise of men. He must heed the call of Scripture to         (rue, or are we following cunningly devised fables?
be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.         Our faith must answer these questions every day
Not by human strength, human reasonings, human               anew.
philosophies is the victory ever attained, but always         There is one more requisite for fighting the battles
only by the Spirit of the Lord working  mightily  with-      of the Lord. Joshua has been told by the Lord, that
in us, that no flesh may ever glory before the Lord.         he must observe to do all that Moses had commanded
This means, first of all, that the true soldier must love    him, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left.
his God above all, surrendering himself completely to        The Book of the Law, the Holy Scriptures must be in
God's cause in an evil world. He is fighting God's           the opening of his mouth, must be his meditation day
enemies, which have become his enemies. Saul lacked          and night. (verses 7, 8). A soldier must carry his
that love of God. Therefore he was afraid. When              marching orders in his hand. He must have his maps
Goliath blasphemed the God of Israel and challenged          and directives clearly before his mind. He must carry
Israel to fight a duel with him, Saul, who should have       out the orders of his general, no matter whether they
gone out to silence that blasphemy, sat cowering with        aie pleasant or unpleasant, no matter whether they
weak knees and chattering teeth in his tent. It took a       seem proper or all wrong to him. For us that means
David, filled with the Spirit and love of God, to strike     that the Word of God is our infallible Guide Book,
down the giant. Secondly, the true warrior of God            the absolute authority over all our lives. It is the
must love God's people. Under-shepherds of Jesus             Lamp before our feet, the Light upon our pathway,
Christ, whether ministers, elders, or deacons, or            the Rock upon which we stand, the Armor that
school teachers, fathers, or mothers, must be con-           p,rotects us, the Weapon wherewith we fight. There is
cerned about the flock. They must count it a privilege       p:ower, divine power, in that simple Word: "So saith
to be a part of that flock which Christ gathers and          t+e Lord!"
leads to the sheepfold of glory. Much more must
every one consider it a privilege to show concern for         ; We do this only when we have God's promise in
the sheep, to seek their welfare, help to feed them,         our hearts: "For the Lord thy God (Jehovah, thy
having patience with the stubborn sheep, showing for-        ymighty) is with thee whithersoever thou goest. We
giving mercies to the wandering sheep that returns,          are the Lord's, for He claims us as His own. We dare
bearing the lambs in his bosom, in Christ's name.            nbt venture out without Him. Alone we are afraid.
                                                             Without Him we soon become dismayed. But  prayer-
Thirdly, the true soldier must pray. Faith, love, con-       fdlly looking to Him-we are strong, even filled with a
secration to the task are not natural gifts. They must
be given to us from God. In the deep consciousness           courage that amazes ourselves. The battle we fight is
that without Him we can do nothing, and, on the              tlie Lord's. The victory is the Lord's, for Christ has
other hand, that we are able to do all things in Christ      ali-eady fought the battle and attained the victory for
Who strengthens us, our hearts and faces are lifted          us. The scars, the ruins, the devastation, the horrors,
heavenward for daily succor. Our eyes are fixed upon         of death that accompany any warfare belong com-
the everlasting hills, from whence  cometh our help.         pletely to the enemy. We come forth unscathed,
                                                             L&harmed,  stronger, more confident, more blessed
  Still there will be times of deep trouble and dis-         t!an ever. More than conquerors are we in our Lord
tress. God does not give His people the victory with-        Jesus Christ Who gives us the victory unto the ever-
out their tasting the bitter anguish of the battlefield.     lasting praise and glory of God's Name.
God does not make us strong and courageous except
in the hard school of bitter experience. We have our                          Know the standard
Jordans to cross, where the waters threaten to over-                              and follow it.
whelm us. We are confronted with formidable walls                      Read THE STANDARD BEARER


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         221



EDITORIALS


                             About That Presidential Pardon
                               Baptism on the Mission Field
                                                               (5)
                                                 Pro8 H.C. Hoekem

   No, we are not going to dabble in politics. Nor are                tors of the Selective Service Act were guilty of a lack
 we going to plead the rightness or wrongness of either               of patriotism, and that if they did not want to accept
 the position of the Republicans or that of the                       the responsibilities of citizenship, they are not en-
 Democrats in this matter. For one thing, the position                titled to the privileges of citizenship, that if they fled
 of both is characterized by the fact that the motiva-                the country when they were needed in our armed
 tions were pragmatic; and when it comes to pragmatic                 forces, they should not be allowed to re-enter the
 considerations, a political figure can only hope that                country without penalty. Others have pointed to the
 he is gauging correctly the opinions of the  half-plus-              alleged  unf;dirness  of pardoning these draft-evaders.
 one, the majority, of the electorate. If he does, he                 They claim that this is grossly unfair toward those
 wins; if he fails to do so, he loses the election. Be-               who obeyed the law, who served in the armed forces,
 sides, when it comes to presidential pardons, neither                who gave up some of the best years of their life, who
 former President Ford nor our new President Carter                   suffered hardships, who were wounded in battle, who
 has a clean record. The latter, as you know, has issued              were prisoners of war, and who were killed in the
 a blanket pardon to all draft-evaders  - and this is the             course of the Vietnam War. Still others have warned
 subject of this editorial. But the former has on his                 of the potential dire consequences of this act of Presi-
 record a pardon which will undoubtedly also go down                  dent Carter. It is claimed that a pardon of this kind
 in history books, the pardon of ex-President Nixon.                  can only serve to foment disrespect for the law of the
   We do wish, however, to pass judgment from a                       land, that in the  ,future there may very well be a rash
 Christian point of view on President Carter's recent                 of such draft-evaders in case of a military draft, seeing
spardon of almost all violators of the Selective Service              that it is possible to violate the law and then to go
 Act during the years of the Vietnam War. Why? In                     scat free. It is reasoned that many will figure that
 the first place, simply because it was an important                  they can safely afford to disobey a new draft law in
 action involving the life of our nation. This would be               the future, seeing that the government will not punish
 sufficient reason in itself to justify a Scriptural evalu-           such disobedience, but pardon it, and that then our
 ation. In the second place, however, there has been a                country might have difficulty in obtaining sufficient
 hue and cry raised in some quarters about this action                men to defend itself in case of attack. Further, it is
 of the President; and in this connection various rea-                claimed that this entire procedure has made a farce of
 sons have been proposed for condemning his action.                   the existent laws and principles which always allowed
 Should these be our reasons also? What is our                        for conscientious objection to military service. For
 Christian evaluation of those reasons? And, in the                   those who disobeyed the draft law claimed to have
 third place, this entire matter of obeying or not obey-              done so  - individualistically  - for conscientious rea-
ing the draft was in recent years a burning question                  sons;  atid the presidential pardon has in effect
 especially for young people. Moreover, clergymen  and                allowed them to get away with this kind of con-
church spokesmen frequently defended and en-                          scientious objectorship.
 couraged disobedience, while others left it to in-                     Now there may be some merit in some of the
 dividual conscience. It is by no means impossible that               above argumentation, though it is not impossible to
the future will bring young people, including our own                 find fault with it also. However, the point must be
 covenant youth, before these same questions again.                   made that none of these arguments go to the heart of
 And what must their attitude be then? How must we                    the matter; none of them appeal directly to the Scrip-
instruct them on matters such as this? It is for these                tural principles with respect to government and with
reasons that we reflect on this presidential pardon.                  respect to authority and obedience. Our point is that
   There have been various reasons proposed for judg-                 from the latter point of view, the draft-law violators
ing the presidential pardon of draft-evaders to be a                  were guilty of a wilful and flagrant transgression of
 wrong decision. Some have suggested that the viola-                  the law of the land, contrary to the ordinance of


222                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


God; and the government, represented in this instance          it imply that we personally and individually become
by President Carter, is guilty of a flagrant trampling         responsible before God if that war is morally wrong;
of justice, also contrary to the ordinance of God.             that responsibility belongs to the government, not to
  What is that ordinance?                                      the individual citizen. Only if and when the govern-
                                                               ment steps outside its proper sphere, and only, there-
   For rulers, that ordinance requires that they, as           fore, when the issue becomes one of obeying men
ministers of God, be revengers to execute wrath upon           rather than God, does disobedience become not only
him that doeth evil. It is highly questionable, to say         permissible but also mandatory. If the government
the least, whether Scripture even recognizes a right of        steps into our homes or into our parental schools and
"the powers that be" to grant a pardon. Perhaps there          says, "You may no longer pray here," then we must
is room for such a thing as "executive pardon" in              say, "We must obey God rather than men." Disobedi-
instances where a person's guilt or degree of guilt is at      ence becomes mandatory. But even then, we may not
least questionable. But that is hardly germane to this         resist and rebel, but must be in subjection and be
discussion. For, in the first place, there is no question      prepared to take the consequences of our dis-
of the guilt  involyed.  It is the right and calling of the    obedience. This, you see, the draft evaders did not
government to  wield the sword. That wielding of the           do. They claimed for themselves individualistically
sword includes the waging of war. For that purpose             the right to decide whether or not they would render
the government has thk authority to require military           military service in any given war. And this is not only
service of its subjects. And it is this authority  -  God-     individualism; it is the principle of revolution.
given authority (for the use of which the government
also is solely responsible before God)  - this authority        : The Christian, and especially the Christian youth;
was flagrantly flouted by those who evaded the draft           must not be deceived by this philosophy. We are  livi
and resisted it. But, in the second place, the very idea       ing in times when the air is filled with propaganda for
of pardon  - if we concede that it  belohgs  to the            this very principle of revolution  - even on the part of
authority of government  - implies the acknowledge-            those who for various reasons might be pragmatically
ment of wrong-doing and the confession of it. Now,             opposed to the presidential pardon of these law-
not only has there not been a judicial finding of guilt        breakers. And it is well that we be on the alert against
by the courts of the land (for the simple reason that          this lawlessness, and that we understand our duty as
the draft violators in most instances fled the jurisdic-       Christian citizens.
tion of our courts and went to other countries), but             The basic trouble is, of course, that our nation was
there certainly has been no acknowledgement of guilt           conceived in revolution and born in violence. These,
on their part. There has been no plea for mercy. On            it is becoming more and more evident, cannot be
the contrary, these men have defiantly continued to            escaped by our country. They belong to the very
insist that they were right in resisting the law. They         foundations of our national structure. But also in this
have even boldly claimed that the president's action           respect we, as people of God, must be  in  the world,
did not go far enough, and that he should also issue a         but not  of  the world.
pardon to military deserters and those who received                                                                    i
less than honorable discharges  - a claim which, on            BAPTISM ON THE MISSION FIELD (5)
their  premises, has some merit. No, the sole calling of         There are various other aspects of this subject
the government was to enforce the law and, so doing,           which are touched on by the Study Report which we
to punish the disobedient. To do anything else is cer-         must still consider. Among these are: 1) The refer-
tainly to place official sanction on disobedience and          ence to the Lord's Supper in the Form of Ordination
to encourage rebellion.                                        of Missionaries. 2) The matter of using the prescribed
  For subjects, that ordinance requires that they              Form for the Administration of Baptism (both of in-
"must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also           fants and adults, by the way) on the mission field.
for conscience sake." This being in subjection implies,        3) The obvious conflict between the Church Order
in the first place, that as long as and when the govern-       atid the position of the Study Report in regard to
ment acts within its proper sphere, i.e., the sphere of        baptism on the mission field. 4) The matter of the
ruler-subject relationships, the Christian citizen will,       significance of baptism as incorporation into the
for God's sake, be obedient. If it is the government's         church, a point at which, we ought to recognize, we
authority to wield the sword in the waging of war  -           come squarely into the realm of our Reformed Con-
and it is, and if it is the government's power to call its     fessions with respect to the doctrine of the church.
citizens to arms in order to wage war  - and it is, then       AI1 these matters, I am convinced, must take pre-
whether that war be just or unjust, and whether we             cedence over any consideration of the Biblical and
consider that war proper or improper, it is our calling        exegetical argumentation of the Study Report. Per-
to obey. This does not preclude our testifying of our          sonally, I am of the conviction that the Synod of
disagreement through the proper channels. Nor does             1975 misled our Study Committee when it referred


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                              223


them  first  to "take into account the Biblical doctrine,       there is the fact that the Reformed position on the
particularly the New Testament passages." This has              sacraments has always been that the two  belong to-
never been the  Reformed method. It must be kept in             gether.  The sacrament of baptism  demands  the sacra-
mind that we already  have  an interpretation of Scrip-         ment of communion, and he who is baptized is
ture in our confessions, both those of a major order            obligated  to partake of the Lord's Supper. This is
and those of a minor order. To these we should turn             probably most clearly stated in the fourth question
first  in the consideration of any question of this kind.       asked at the occasion of Adult Baptism: "Dost thou
This was what our churches  insisted.upon  in connec-           assent to all the articles of the Christian religion, as
tion with the Declaration of Principles, you will re-           they are taught here, in this Christian Church, accord-
call, while the pro-condition men at that time always           ing to the Word of God; and purpose steadfastly to
wanted to ignore the confessions and turn to Scrip-             continue in the same doctrine to the end of thy life;
ture. This is a wrong method. First we turn to the              and also dost thou reject all heresies and schisms,
confessions, and then to Scripture. Hence, in this              repugnant to this doctrine, and promise to persevere
series you will have to wait until the end before I             in the communion of the Christian Church, not only
even discuss the Scriptural passages. I am of the con-          in the hearing of the Word,  but also in the use  of  the
viction that our fathers were well aware of these               Lord's Supper?" (italics added) This, by the way, is a
Scriptural passages, and that what is furnished us in           very instructive paragraph with respect to this entire
our confessions of a major and minor order already              discussion. But we will limit ourselves at present to
takes into account these passages. And taking them              the matter of the Lord's Supper. And then we must
into account, our Reformed documents nevertheless               note that, on the position of the Study Report this
take a different position than that of the Study                promise is unrealistic and impossible of fulfillment.
Report. We should pay attention to this, and not try            For do not forget that under the Study Report's
to figure out ways and means of harmonizing that                position, it is possible that a person could be baptized
which is obviously contradictory. Yes, very frankly, I          a couple of years before a congregation is organized.
believe that the position of the Study Report is in             And it is perfectly obvious that this "promise to per-
conflict with the Form of Ordination, the Baptism               severe . . . in the use of the Lord's Supper" does not
Form, the Church Order, and the Confession on the               realistically mean two years later, or even mean that a
doctrine of the church. This aspect of my critique I            person  never  partakes of the Lord's Supper in case a
will continue in this installment.                              congregation is never organized. But if baptism on the
  First of  a& there is the matter of the Form of               mission field is permissible and mandatory according
Ordination mentioning as one of the duties of the               to the Study Report, it becomes necessary to tear
missionary that of administering the Lord's Supper.             apart the two sacraments. This we may never do.
  About this the Study Report says (Acts of Synod,                In the second place, the Study Report fails to face
1976, p. 108):                                                  an important question: why is the administration of
       Because our mandate speaks of the "administra-           the Lord's Supper specifically  included in  the
    tion of the sacraments" on the mission field, we            missionary's task? The Report makes short shrift of
    should also consider the Lord's Supper, although our        this and simply states:  ". . . we judge that the
    main concern is Baptism. Because the mandate of             administration of the Supper is not an aspect of the
    Christ in Matt. 25 (should be Matt. 28, HCH) does           specifically missionary task of the missionary. . .  ."
    not command the missionary to administer the Sup-
    per; because the book of Acts does not teach that           This is obviously not correct, for the simple reason
    part of the missionary labor was administering the          that the Form  specifically includes  this in the mis-
    Supper; and because the Form of Ordination of Mis-          sionary's task. The Study Report simply places its
    sionaries speaks of administering the Supper  after the     judgment ("we judge") over against the plain state-
    instituting of the church; we judge that the admin-         ment of the Form. Now  why  does the Form include
    istration of the Supper is not an aspect of the specifi-    this? You cannot answer this question by saying that
    cally missionary task of the missionary and should be       because a missionary is a minister, it belongs to his
    done only when a congregation is organized.                 duties in general to administer the Lord's Supper if
  Now I can agree in part with the above paragraph:             the occasion arises. The Form does not refer to those
I can agree with the conclusion that the administra-            occasions when a missionary might happen to be visit-
tion of the Supper should be done only after (not:              ing minister in his home church. Nor does our Form
when) a congregation is organized. This is surely the           refer to the practice of our home missionaries. It has
position of the Form of Ordination also, in the light           always been the practice in our churches that a home
of the fact that it speaks of this duty as  following  the      missionary leaves very soon after a church is organ-
duty of ordaining elders and deacons.                           ized. A church then receives classical supply, and the
  However, I must point out that the Study Report               visiting ministers administer the Lord's Supper. It
overlooks some important items. In the first place,             may very well be that a home missionary  rarely  has


224                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



the opportunity to administer the Supper at all. And                  3) At that point in time the missionary baptizes  -
yet the Form includes this in his tasks as missionary!             primarily confessing adults, and secondarily infants of
why?                                                               these believers. Through this very process the church
   The answer lies in the history of this Form which I             is established in that mission field. Even as baptism is
sketched for you at the beginning of this series of                incorporation into the church, so when such baptism
articles, and in the fact that this Form and its entire            takes place  initially  on the heathen mission field,
outline of a missionary's duties was originally de-                essentially the local congregation is constituted.
signed with a view to a missionary to the heathen.                   4) Thereupon elders and deacons can be ordained:
such a missionary would be the only one capable of                 for they must needs be adult, confessing, baptized
and authorized to administer the Lord's Supper  on                 believers.
the mission field, but  in a newly organized church.                  5) And then, under the supervision of the new
The reason is that the missionary is the only available            consistory, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper can be
minister of the Word and Sacraments; at that early                 administered by the only available minister at that
stage there are no native pastors as yet.                          point, the missionary.
  And all this simply serves to confirm what I stated                This, I repeat, is the plain meaning of the Form.
earlier about the meaning of the Form. It all fits
together, you see. This is the order:                                And principally all of this must be applied, in so
                                                                   far as necessary, also to the labors and duties of a
   1) The missionary preaches the gospel.                          home missionary.
  2) The Lord not only grants fruit on his labor in                  If we bear this in mind, there will be no difficulty
the form of some individual converts, but He makes                 in harmonizing the position of the Form of Ordina-
the work  fruitful unto the gathering of a church.  In             tion with the Church Order, with the Baptism Form,
other words, the Lord makes it plain that He will                  or with our Confession. About this, however, we
establish His church in that locality.                             must write later.

FROM HOLY WRIT


            Exposition of the Bbok of Galatians
                                                            (4)
                                                  Rev. G. Lubbers


PAUL'S GOSPEL NOT ACCORDING TO MAN                                 make known unto you." There is something causative
(Gal.  l:lO, 11)                                                   in this type of verb, like the Hebrew  Hiphil  form. He
  It must have been with great feeling and intensity,              would  cause  them to know. He is not imparting to
that Paul wrote in large, forceful letters the beautiful           them something of interest merely; he informs them
address "brethren." (Gal.  6:ll) What earnest appeal               of something, which has bearing on the very nature
there is in this term "brethren"! They are still so very           and authenticity of the Gospel which Paul preached
dear to Paul in spite of their begun aberration. Paul              to them. Let erring angels and men give heed! This is
addresses the Galatians as brethren in Chapter 3: 15               an apostolic "making known" in God's name. Let the
with great force in connection with the meaning                    Galatians heed and listen carefully and believingly.
the covenant in Abraham. Notice the earnest plea in                Not to do so will be fatal.
Chapter 4:  12! And do not overlook the appeal in                    The form of the verbs and the sentence here are
Chapter 5: 13, where they are reminded that they                   such that Paul emphatically calls attention to his own
have been called unto liberty in Christ Jesus. To call             personal, apostolic preaching in Galatia, and not to
them to their senses that they should not war and                  the preaching of one of his co-workers in the Gospel.
walk with chips on their shoulder, he addresses them as            He speaks of what was preached  by me.  The Greek
"brethren" in Chapter 6: 1. All these passages should              personal pronoun "me" (emou) is emphatic. His
be carefully viewed in their setting.                              preaching is not according to man, as is the so-called
  Paul will call their attention to a very important               preaching of those who would pervert the Gospel of
fact about the Gospel which he preached in their                   Christ. 0, Paul preached the word of the Cross as
midst, and which they had received. Writes he, "I                  good news. He indeed did preach (herald as a  town-


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  225



crier), but in so doing he was a true evangelist. This         That is the  inner essence  of the Gospel itself! Thus
preaching of justification by faith in Christ was the        too it is interpreted by Dr. S. Greijdanus in  his_JCorte
only good news for a poor sinner, who seeks peace            Verldaring  on Galatians. Paul is here not speaking of
with God and a free and good conscience. He                  how the Gospel was received in the first instance, but
preached so that the prisoners were set free from            he is emphasizing in a negative way that the Gospel is
their captive bars of  .Satan's hellish bondage and fear-    entirely Divine in nature.
ful accusations. Paul is not contending for mere trivial
things. He is making his grand apology for the truth         SERVANT OF MAN OR OF CHRIST?
of the--only Gospel under heaven, and the only Name          (Galatians 1: 10)
given by which we must be saved. (Acts 4: 12)                  There are but two alternatives for Paul. It is an
  The truth of the matter is that every  other  Gospel       either-or matter. If Paul preaches the Gospel of God,
which is not what Paul preached in Galatia is "`accord-      then he is a servant of Christ, but should he preach
ing to man." When Paul affirms of this Gospel which          the gospel according to man, then he is not in Christ's
he has preached that it is not according to man, he is       service at all, but in the service of the arch-foe, Satan.
making an implied positve affirmation that it is             To establish that he is not at all attempting to please
according to God and according to the glory of His           men, seeking to please them, he has but to appeal to
grace. (Eph.  1:6) Meyer interprets this phrase as           the Gospel which he preached.
meaning," not according to the estimate of man,"               But now Paul stands alone in the service of Christ,
and Lightfoot, "after human fashion and standard."           the risen and exalted Lord Who revealed Himself to
Luther interprets this affirmation to mean, "Paul            him on the road to Damascus. He only asks: what
learned not the gospel by the ministry of men." It is        wouldst thou have me do, Lord? He stands at his
our considered judgment that Paul is here not re-            Lord's bidding. He is a servant of Jesus Christ in all
ferring to how he received it, which he will also tell us    the world. He has a dispensation intrusted to him.
here, but that Paul is speaking of the  very  nature  of     Paul often refers to this in his letters and enlarges
His Gospel. It was a divine Gospel in the most ex-           upon it very much, magnifying his office, his min-
clusive sense of the word. It could only be known by         istry. It is a great grace of God to Paul that he may be
revelation, by being uncovered, disclosed by God             a minister, a servant of Christ in His church. It is
Himself in Christ. We see this is the words of Jesus to      Paul's humble boast that he is such a minister. It is
Peter in the regions of Caesarea Philippi, after Peter       for this purpose that Paul more than once begins his
had made the profound confession, the rock-bottom            letters presenting himself to the church as such a
confession as to identity of the Son of Man, namely,         "servant," a slave of Christ, even in chains. (See
"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."            Romans 1: 1; Phil. 1: 1, and Titus 1: 1) He glories in
(Matt. 16: 16) Such a confession could only come             the "dispensation entrusted to me" even though he is
from the lips of Peter and from his heart because            "less than the least of all saints." This grace was given
"flesh and blood" had not revealed this to Peter, but        to him that he might preach unto the Gentiles the
"my Father who is in heaven." This Gospel truth              unsearchable riches of Christ. (Eph.  3:7, 8) Woe is
concerning the Son of God, his dying on the Cross,           me, says Paul, If I do not preach! For then there is a
being raised the third day, and the building of  the         dispensation assigned to him  anway. But now he runs
church overagainst all the gates of hell, could never,       the race in his preaching of the mystery which from
never arise in the heart of any man. These are the           before the ages was hid in God Who created all things.
things which make Isaiah write, "for from of old men         (Eph.  3:9; Col.  1:25)
have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath         Dr. John Eadik writes in his commentary on
the eye seen a God besides thee, who worketh for             Colossians, page 93, on  t.his subject of Paul's ministry
him that waiteth for him." (Isaiah  64:4) Paul applies       and being a servant of Christ, as follows: "In the
this word in I Cor.  2:9 to the Mysteries of the Gospel,     divine arrangement (oikonomia) (Eph.  3:2) of the
which the unbelievers in the church could not under-         spiritual  ,house, the apostle held a function which has
stand when they crucified the "LORD of glory." For           special reference to the Gentile churches. Paul re-
these are mysteries which are only known when God            garded this as his distinctive office, and how he
by His Spirit, Who searches all things, even the deep        gloried in it. It had a breadth which suited his mighty
things of God, reveals them. Such are the very nature        mind, and it necessitated the preaching of an un-
of these Mysteries in God from the ages and revealed         conditional Gospel and it especially delighted his
in these last times.                                         ample heart. He would not be confined to the narrow
  Well may the Galatians give ear! And we, too, must         circuit of Judaism . . .  ." Thus wrote Eadie,  Anno
perceive and see!                                            1856.
   Paul's Gospel is not according to man. He has it by          In I Thes.  2:4 Paul avers that he writes that he did
revelation of Jesus Christ Himself!                          not preach as "pleasing men, but God which trieth



                                                                                                                           ml


226                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


the hearts." On this passage Dr. W. Hendriksen has           called into the office and dispensation of the gospel
some excellent observations, which are worthy of the         of the manifold riches of Christ.
time of anyone who desires to pursue this matter of             Paul had been a persecutor of the church of Christ.
Paul's seeking only to please God in his preaching of        He had made havoc of the church. He would have the
the Gospel.                                                  Galatians understand that his entire former walk and
  That Paul desires only to please God requires a            conversation had been once entirely in Judaism, the
"suffiency from God" he tells us in II Cor. 3 : 5. For       very Jusaism that now came once more in false
Paul does not try and seek to please men with itching        pretense to pervert the Gospel of Christ. Paul had
ears who will not hear the Gospel. He is in his              been delivered from this false teaching and walk, by
preaching a savor of life unto life in those who are         God Himself. And what a zealot Paul had been. He
saved, and a savor of death unto death in those who          had outdone many of his own country men of his own
perish. He is not like many who corrupt the Word of          age. He was an outstanding Jewish student, and
                                                             ardent advocate of the tradition of  `,my fathers."
God, but he speaks as of sincerity, but as of  God,  in      These "traditions" were not the sacred Scriptures at
the sight of God. (II Cor. 2: 16, 17.) He handles the        all, but they were the handed down interpretations
sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. He does not            and applications of the "law," and were sad to say.
seek to please men but the living God!                       corruptions of the law. A good case in point we have
                                                             in Matthew  15:4 where Jesus points out the corrup-
PAUL'S FORMER WALK IN JUDAISM                                tion by the traditions of the fifth Commandment
(Gal,  1:13, 14)                                             concerning "honoring father and mother." Such  tori
                                                             rupters are those denounced by Isaiah 29: 12 as those
   It was a mighty change which took place in Paul`s         who make void the law of God by their "traditions."
life when God took him, as in one moment, out of             These traditions allowed a son "to curse" his father
the ignorance of a follower of the "traditions of my         and mother under certain circumstances when it
fathers" to be a preacher of the Son of God among            pertained to giving the temple-Corban in the treasury.
the Gentiles !                                               These are blind leaders of the blind, who both fall
   That transition was a wonder, a real miracle of           into the ditch.
grace !                                                        Such was Paul in the highest sense so that he
   To see this, Paul shows what the real nature of his       brought men and women into prison for the faith in
former walk had been. He states that these Galatians         Christ. Paul was  enroute on exactly such a terribly
had "heard" of this former walk. It was well-known           evil mission, when Christ from heaven arrested him
the world over.. It had gained world-wide notoriety!         on the way, saying, "Saul, Saul, why  persecutest  thou
Then why does Paul bring up the subject here of his          me?" Three times Luke relates this in the book of
"past" in this connection? Was it to talk about some-        Acts. (Acts 9: 1-9, 22: 3-21; 26: 9-20)
thing painful in his life and of which he was ashamed?         But it pleased God to reveal His Son in Paul at his
Not in itself, but in the manner of his having been          own time!

GUEST ARTICLES


                                                   Prayer
                                               Rev. Rodney G. Miersma


  The subject of this article as seen in the title cer-      and he called his name Enos: then began men to call
tainly is not new to the believing child of God. Prayer      upon the name of the Lord." After this we have
occupies a very large part of our lives. This is true of     mention of many prayers, of which we draw to your
all the saints of all ages, from the beginning of time to    attention only a few: Abraham and Moses, Hannah,
the present, till Christ's return upon the clouds of         David and Solomon, Elijah and Daniel.
heaven. That the saints of the Old Dispensation were          This calling upon God's name continued in the
a praying people is evident immediately upon looking         New Testament times. Chief among those that prayed
in God's Holy Word. Already in Genesis  4:26 we              was Jesus Christ Himself. In fact, it was this life of
read, "and to Seth, to him also there was born a son;        prayer of our Lord which influenced the disciples to


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 227
                .


come to Him and ask, "Lord, teach us to pray."               worship. It is this prayer that perhaps is the least
Thus, we too are enjoined by the Word of God to              neglected by us. Regularly we come to church and we
pray. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye          pray as part of our regular worship. However often
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you"          this is not true with respect to the second way in
(Matt.  7:7); "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into        which we pray, as a family. Very often the hustle and
temptation'.' (Matt.  26:41);  "Praying always with all      bustle that is generated by the fast pace of modern
prayer and  s;pplication in the Spirit" (Eph. 6: 18);        day living leads us to neglect this important part of
and, "Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray. Is           our family life. Generally, the time set aside for
any merry? Let him sing psalms" (James 5: 13).               family prayer is that during which we are gathered
                                                             about the table for meals. But the picture often looks
   The reason behind the fact that the church is a           like this: in the morning the father has already left
praying church is that the church throughout the ages        for work by the time the children are up and ready to
is in the midst of a spiritual battle of faith in which      come to, the table, the school children are hurried off
she needs strength, guidance, and comfort. Very              to school, often without breakfast, and later on the
formidable are the forces of darkness against which          mother sits down to catch her breath and to feed the
she must constantly wage war. Three-fold is the              baby. Certainly that is not an atmosphere conducive
enemy: Satan and his evil host, the wicked world,            to family prayer. At noon the family is still separated
and our own sinful flesh. We all know about the devil,       by work and school. Hence, one would conclude that
that old serpent, and the myriad of angels that fell         in the evening an effort would be made to worship
with him. Thousands of years of experience he has            to&ether. But again, often this does not work out
had, giving him every opportunity to study all the           either. Mother has the meal prepared, but each
angles with respect to deceiving us.                         member of the family has to hurry so that this or that
   As a close ally of the devil, the wicked world con-       activity  inay be attended. Or perhaps the television is
tinues to entice the believer with its sweet siren song      on and  r'emains the focal point throughout the meal.
proclaiming the virtues of its pleasures and treasures,      But whatever the case may be, the opportunity and
its wealth and fame. And the time is quickly coming          obligatidn to pray together has been neglected. This
in which the world will no longer merely entice, but         is, of  cokse, to our shame.
also coerce, using the arm of persecution and the like.        The  t&-d way in which we can pray is the way of
Finally, there is that old man of sin and of our flesh       individual prayer. Here too we are often remiss in our
to contend with, which, in many respects, is our             duties.  We simply have no time for these quiet
worst enemy. Readily it obeys the dictates of the lust       moments when we can be alone with ourselves and
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes,  and.the pride of    with  our God. Our busy schedule will not allow it.
life.                                                        The alarm rings in the morning, having been set so
   So the position of the child of God is not an easy        that one can squeeze in that last minute of sleep.
one. Not only must he suffer in general such afflic-         There's no extra time for meditation, only enough
tions as sickness, sorrow, famine, drought, and war,         time  foti a dash to the bathroom, a quick bite to eat,
but he must also suffer what the world does not, that        and off we go. The evening, when we retire from a
is, suffering for Christ's sake. The world hates God,        day of labor, is no different. The warm bed beckons
hates His Christ, and hates anything that has to do          us, for  tb kneel on the cold floor beside the bed is not
with His kingdom. In order to stand and persevere            at all appealing. And so it goes, day after day, year
while he is thus engaged in battle, the Christian must       after year, until we have lost virually all communica-
have strength. And since the battle that he is fighting      tion with God.
is a spiritual battle, each child of God must have             This is a sad commentary on our lives. Something
spiritual strength, for the strength from below will         against which we must always fight. For in neglecting
not help him in this case. "Not by might, nor by             prayer we do not experience the peace that  sur-
power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts"            ptisseth all understanding. For as we are carried upon
(Zech.   4:6). This strength can not be bought, earned,      the wings of prayer to God's throne of grace we re-
or merited, but is the gift of God's sovereign grace in      ceive a  ,calm of the soul arising from the conscious-
Jesus Christ our Lord Who earned everything for us           ness that God is our Father in Christ Jesus, that He
by His death on the cross. The means which God has           cares for us, that the fulness dwelling in Christ is our
ordained whereby we receive this strength is prayer.         priceless possession, that therefore all things are for
   There are different ways in which the children of         us. Outside of Christ there is no peace. The ungodly
the kingdom of righteousness pray. Each Sunday               have no peace, their souls being restless like chaff
God's children as a congregation gather in the church        driven before the `wind. But the believer prays and
institute and bring their needs before the throne of         receives this blessed fruit of peace because his prayer
God's grace. This is a very important aspect of our          was the  :work of the Holy Spirit within him.


2 2 8                                                THE STANDARD BEARER



   In order to receive this fruit of the cross, this                land that yields two hundred bushels of corn to the
blessed peace, we must pray  aright. And to pray                    acre, or for so many other things which we think we
aright we must do so in accordance with God's Holy                  need but really do not. Rather we pray for grace that
Word. The Scriptures tell us how to pray, for they are              we may stand in the midst of whatever God pleases to
the self-revelation of God concerning Himself and                   send us. The luxuries of the earth we do not need,
also concerning His will for us. Thus, a knowledge of               but grace for our spiritual battle is an absolute nec-
the Scriptures is necessary to pray as we ought.                    essity. Jesus instructs us along these lines when He
Prayer and reading of Scripture go hand in hand. We                 says, "Therefore take no thought,  say&g, What shall
must pray according to the Scriptures, and we must                  we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall
read Scripture prayerfully. Humbly and prayerfully we               we be clothed? (For after these things do the Gentiles
approach God's Word as revealed in these Scriptures                 seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have
and let them speak to us under the influence and                    need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom
work of the Holy Spirit. Then, and only then, do we                 of God, and his righteousness; and all these things
come before God properly, in praise and thanksgiv-                  sljall be added unto you" (Matt. 6: 31-33).
ing..                                                                 When we pray in this manner we have evidence
   This leads us to the proper content of our prayers:              that we are one of the sheep of His pasture. Oh, what
praise. Praise Him, His virtues, His salvation in Christ.           comfort and peace this affords our weary souls, to
Praise Him for all His ways with you, for they are the              know that everything, even the forces of darkness,
ways of peace that terminate in your complete sal-                  yka, even death, must work unto our salvation under
vation unto His eternal glory. Praise Him for His                   the guiding and ruling hand of our God. The happiest'
wonderful and tender care over you. Praise His                      moments of our lives are when we can praise His holy
sovereign rule, His power to cause all things to work               name.
together for good to them that love God. Praise Him                   : And we need not fear, for when such a prayer rises
for rain and sunshine, but also for the heat that burnt             td God's throne of grace we have the confidence that
your crops. Praise Him for His hand  that is heavy                  it'will be heard. How so, you say? Simply because it
upon you, for the rod with which He  smite.s  you, and              is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is the only kind
for the wounds that He inflicts. This praise must be                of prayer that we may bring to the Lord, and it is the
forthcoming or our prayer will not yield that blessed               only kind that He will hear. This kind of prayer John
fruit of peace.                                                     had in mind when he wrote, "`And whatsoever we ask
   This peace follows the prayer that desires that His              wk will receive of Him, because we keep His  com-
will be done, His counsel realized: the prayer that we              m'andments, and do those things that are pleasing in
may receive grace to praise Him for His ways with us.               His sight" (I  J&n  3.22). The right kind of prayer,
In that light we do not pray for a new car, or for a                then, will be heard because He promised. We will
fancy house in the elite section of the city, or for                receive grace and power. Our faith  will  be  strength-



                                         CALL TO ASPIRANTS TO THE MINISTRY

  All young men desiring to begin studies this fall in the          comes supplied with a testimonial of his consistory that he is a
Theological School of the Protestant Reformed Churches,             member in full communion, sound in faith and upright in
located at 4949 lvanrest Ave., S.W., Grandville, Michigan           walk, and also a certificate from a reputable physician showing
49418 are hereby notified of the Theological School Com-            him to be in good health.
mittee meeting to be held on March 17, 1977 at  7:30 P.M. in          A complete high school education and the equivalent of a
the Theological School Building.                                    four year (125  hqur) college education are required for en-
Preseminary Department:                                             trance into the seminary department. Moreover, each entrant
                                                                    into this department must produce evidence that he has credit
  Permission to pursue the pre-seminary course of study shall       for the required college courses. Requirements are listed in the
be granted by  thk Theological School Committee. A transcript       school catalog, available from the School.
of grades from High School and College (if any), a letter of
testimony from a student's pastor  or consistory, and a certifi-      All applicants for enrollment in the seminary department
cate of health from a reputable physician shall be submitted        must appear before the Theological' School Committee for
along with the student's application.                               interview before enrollment. In the event you cannot be
                                                                    present at this meeting, please notify the undersigned secretary
Seminary Department:                                                of. your intentions, prior to the meeting. Mail all correspon-
  Permission to pursue the Theological course in the seminary       dence to the Theological School.
shall be granted by the Synod, upon recommendation of the                                               Richard H. Teitsma, Secretary
Theological School Committee, to such an aspirant only who


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  229


  ened and we  will  have peace and joy in our hearts, a         the world makes it harder and harder for us to stand.
 joy that knows no bounds.                                       Let us not shun this most beautiful and important
    In conclusion, therefore, it can not be emphasized           part of our inward lives, but strengthen it and nourish
  enough that we must pray. In prayer we come before             it before the face of God. Little children, older  chil-
  the throne of God's grace and presence and receive             dren, teen-agers, fathers and mothers, grandfathers
  from Him  a&that is necessary for our sojourn here on          and grandmothers, all of us, we can begin in a very
  this earth as pilgrims and strangers. Here we receive          humble way with the small petition, "Lord, teach
 -the peace that we so desperately need as the time for          thou us to pray."
  the return of our Lord comes closer and closer and

  MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE


        Letter to the Members of the Church at Philadelphia
                                                                                                 February 15, 1977

  To the members of the church at Philadelphia,                  an officebearer. This is true in the Church institute as
                                                                 well.  Th,e believer, holding the office which he does,
    It is time to continue our discussion of the wrong-          must exercise that office within the congregation of
  ness of separating from the church institute to form           which he is a member.
  small groups of believers who pursue, on their own,
  the study of Scripture. You will recall that we were             Perhaps we can drive this point home by pointing
  discussing particularly the importance of the church           out several practical implications of it.
  institute for the salvation of the people of God. And,           All the work of the church as institute (in preach-
  more particularly yet, we were discussing the offices          ing the gospel, administering the sacraments, and
  of the Church. We talked about the fact that Christ is         exercising Christian discipline) is really done by the
  the chief and only Officebearer in the Church; that            believers in their office which they hold. This is why
  His office is reflected in the office of believers; and        they must also be directly involved in all this work.
  that the office of believers is exercised through the          This is why they have the right to reorganize the
  special offices in the local congregation. The result of       institute when officebearers do not do their work
  this is that each local congregation is a manifestation        faithfully.
  of the whole body of Christ. One cannot claim to
  belong to the whole body of Christ without member-               The Roman Catholic Church, especially prior to
  ship in a local congregation.                                  the Reformation, refused to recognize the office of
    What has all this to do with the subject under dis-          believers. The clergy constituted the church; the be-
  cussion?                                                       lievers were shut out of it. The believers had no part
                                                                 whatsoever in the affairs of the church, no role to
    In the first place, I must emphasize to you once             play, no voice in church matters, no right even to
  again that the regenerated and converted child of God          investigate the Scriptures to learn directly from them
  who functions in the office of believers can only  exey-       what God revealed. Only the clerics, from the parish
  cise  that office through the special offices in the           priest to the pope, functioned in any kind of office.
. church. There is a knotty problem here which is not            This same state of affairs is going on today. This is
  understood as it ought to be by people even of Re-             also the case within many different Reformed and
  formed persuasion. Yet the principle stands as the             Presbyterian Churches. You have, e.g., the fact that
  central point in all true scriptural and Reformed              the people of God have no more access to ecclesias-
  Church Polity.                                                 tical assemblies to air their grievances. One hears
    There `are two sides to this matter. In a certain            again and again that the ecclesiastical channels are
  sense of the word the office of believers is the pri-          blocked, that the common man is ignored, that his
  mary office in the Church. The individual believer,            voice is silenced, and that only the ministers and
  after all, is prophet, priest, and king. In this way he        leaders in the church have any voice in church affairs.
  reflects the three-fold office of Christ his Savior and        This happens too when much (if not most) of the
  Head. He alone has the anointing of the Holy One. He           work of the church is done by committees and
  alone functions in the office which Christ has given           boards, by leaders and ministers without the "laity"
  him. He is a  Christian  only when he lives all his life as    even being informed of what is going on. But, most


230                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



importantly, this is happening in the whole area of        and separate that which Christ has joined together.
Bible interpretation. Learned men form committees           And having made this separation, they cut them-
appointed by one or another ecclesiastical assembly        selves off from the rule of Christ. If it is true that
and study matters which directly influence the life of     Christ rules His Church by His Word and Spirit, and if
the church. They are mandated to study the extent          it is true that the Spirit of Christ never works apart
and meaning of Biblical authority, the question of         from the Word, and if it is true that this Word comes
women in office in the church, the interpretation of       to the Church only through those offices which
Genesis l-3, etc. They produce lengthy and verbose         Christ has ordained, then to cut one's self off from
reports which are written in such a way that no one        those offices is to cut one's self off from the rule of
can understand what they mean  - perhaps not the           Christ Himself. One loosens himself from the Word of
committee itself; no one really knows what they are        Christ, frees himself from the work of the Spirit, and
trying to say; and no one can really tell in which         has no longer the rule of Christ in His life. This leaves
direction they are steering the church. And it all         the door open for the rule of sin.
comes down to interpretation of Scripture. In an
effort to establish some kind of position, these             What I am saying is that the preaching of the Word
learned committees monkey with Scripture, invent           is indispensable for the life of the child of God. That
various Hermeneutical approaches, come up with             is, the preaching of the Word in the ministry of the
verbose explanations of simple texts  - all of which is    Word, in the rule of the elders, in the exercise of
meant to leave the impression that the people of God       discipline, in the administration of the sacraments, in
who hold only the office of believer cannot really         the dispensing of the mercies of Christ  - the preach:
understand the Scriptures. Scriptural interpretation       ing of the Word through these special offices is a
must be left to the "experts."                             conditio sine qua  non for the life of the child of God.
                                                            This is the God-ordained way of saving His people.
  All this is very dangerous business. God's people        There really is no other way. We must not make our-
are all officebearers. They need not that anyone           selves wiser than God and find ways for ourselves
should teach them. They have the anointing of the          which God has not ordained. We must not think that
Spirit. Upon them falls the responsibility to preach       we can break God's rules for us and retain what God
the gospel, to administer the sacraments, to exercise      promises only by means of His Word.
discipline within the church.                                We must not be deceived into thinking that this is
  And yet, on the other hand, the office of believers      possible, by listening to glowing accounts of the
is exercised through the special offices in the Church.    marvelous edification and spiritual vibrancy which
The congregation preaches  - but it preaches through       comes through such unofficial meetings apart from
the minister. The congregation rules  - but it rules       the church. God has spoken concerning His way of
through the office of elder. The congregation cares        working. He has told us how Christ rules over our
for the poor  - but it does this work of mercy             lives. He has said that in this way, in obedience to
through the deacons.                                       Him, He will bless His people. It is disobedience to do
  And, therefore, officebearers hold authority in the      anything else.
congregation. Scripture is clear that the authority of       In the second place, this brings up some interesting
officebearers is authority over God's people. God's        and important questions which have to be answered.
people must submit themselves to the rule of their         Essentially these questions boil down to one central
officebearers. They must submit to the preaching, to       question (and it is a question which is often asked): If
the rule of the elders, to the mercies of Christ.          Christ speaks to us and rules over us only through the
  There is a kind of delicate balance here which is        official ministry of the Word, does not Christ also
the real genius of Scriptural Church Polity. It is not     speak to us in "unofficial" Bible study whether that
always so easy, perhaps, to maintain this balance; but     be in individual Bible study or in Bible study with
it must be preserved for the welfare of the church.        other saints of God?
And when this balance is preserved, then Christ rules        We shall have to wait with answering this question
over His Church. He rules through His Word which is        until the next letter; but I want to remark now that
authoritatively preached by those who are ministers        the relationship between preaching and our personal
and elders and deacons.                                    Bible study is a very rich relationship with many  dif-
  And it is precisely here that the trouble arises in      fe,rent ramifications.
those who turn their backs on the instituted church.        Another aspect of the whole question which often
These people seem to have the notion that they can         arises is: How does the preaching of the Word by the
function in the office of believers apart  from- the       church institute stand connected to the Christian's
special offices in the Church. For whatever reason         calling to witness?
they may do this, they ignore these special offices          Yet another question is: Does God ever save  any-


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        231


one apart from the preaching of the Word?                       enough, also in the context of our discussion, to
                                                                spend a little time with them.
  While these questions  are only indirectly related to           And so we must close for now.
the issue we are discussing, they are important                                              Fraternally in Christ,
                                                                                             H. Hanko

SIGNS OF THE TIMES


           "And Knowledge Shall Be Increased"
                                                     Rev. Mark Hoeksema


  The words of this title, taken from the book of the              Our increased longevity, the decline of epidemics, the
prophet Daniel (12:  4), are generally agreed to refer to          widening of literacy, the reduced hours of labor, the
the time preceding the end of all things, and to                   widening of political participation, our household
characterize that time. There can be little doubt that             conveniences, the reduction of the discomforts of
Daniel speaks here of what we call one of the signs of             winter and of summer, the growth of schools and
the times. And when we are aware of the events in                  colleges and universities, the flourishing of libraries
the world of our day, then we can see plainly that                 and museums, unprecedented opportunities to ex-
there is such an increase of knowledge. And in turn,               plore the world - all are by-products of the New
                                                                   Obsolescence and the New Convergence. They have
when we perceive this increase of knowledge, then                  become so familiar that they are undervalued. But
that perception strengthens our conviction that we                 some strange  fruit is apt to grow in the fertile
are surely in the last times, and that the end of all               orchards of our technological progress.
things as Scripture describes it is fast approaching.             Certainly all of this is true, although not exactly in
  Undoubtedly the meaning of the prophet Daniel is              the sense in which the author evidently meant it.
that knowledge itself shall be increased, that is, the          Mankind has taken all of the good gifts of the Creator
quantity of knowledge will  grow. Exactly this                  and has turned them to the service of sin. There are
phenomenon we are able to observe taking place in               wonders in our world today of which our fathers
our world at the present time. We  are,told that the            could not even conceive, let alone bring to pass. And
sheer quantity of knowledge increases proportion-               all of these things are in themselves good, the gifts of
ately every few years, so that the knowledge of today           God; never must they be seen to be inherently sinful.
is several times as great as it was a generation or even        But yet- these wonders are invariably turned to the
a few years ago, and are told at the same time that             service of sin, twisted as to their purpose and func-
this process will continue at a progressively faster and        tion to  `fit the needs and intentions of sinful man
faster rate. Whatever the reasons and implications of           under the control of the devil. And have their fruit
this may be (and there are many), the point is clear:           they will, as the writer observes. He calls it "some
the  knowledge of mankind is rapidly increasing.                strange fruit." But to the child of God this fruit will
  But knowledge never stands as an entity by or of              not be strange. For it is exactly this "Republic of
itself. Rather, it is applied to the world in which we          Technology" that will help to bring forth the anti-
live and to the problems which we face. Knowledge               christ and speed him on his rise to power and world
applied becomes technology. Thus, Daniel J. Boorstin,           domination, and, when that is achieved, to serve as
writing in  TIME  magazine of January 17, 1977,                 his  mea& to perpetuate his rule of darkness and at
speaks of the "Republic of Technology." While the               the  same time provide him with the instruments with
author certainly does not write from anything                   which he will attempt to annihilate the church of
approaching a Christian perspective, he makes several           Jesus Christ.
observations which we as the people of God ought to               That this conclusion is the truth will become clear
notice, evaluate, and apply.                                    if we look carefully at some of the observations made
   For example he says this:                                    in this essay and evaluate them in the light of the
       We have. reaped myriad benefits as citizens of the       Scriptures as they are being fulfilled before our very
    new `Republic of Technology. Our American standard          eyes. For example,  Boorstin observes that "tech-
    of living is a familiar name for these daily blessings.     nology creates momentum and is irreversible."


232                                                        THE STANDARD  .BEARER



"Driven by `needs' for the unnecessary," he says, "we                  that there will be no room for the-people of God.
remain impotent to conjure the needs away. Our                          Exactly how this technology will be utilized for this
Aladdin's lamp of technology makes myriad  n&w genii                   purpose we cannot now say, but the very fact that
appear, but cannot make them disappear." Here is the                   the technology is present and is being developed is a
spirit and rise of antichrist, which are irreversible and              sign of the coming of the end. Even more concisely
unstoppable. We as Christians, of course, understand                   does the author make this point as he speaks of the
that this rise and power of antichrist are not sover-                   characteristic of technology that it assimilates: "The
eign, and we may not take a deterministic or fatalistic                 Republic of Technology, ruthlessly egalitarian, will
view of them. We understand that such is the counsel                   accomplish what the prophets, political philosophers
of God which He is pleased to work out for the sal-                    and revolutionaries could not." What will it accom-
vation of His people and the glory of His name.                        plish? Assimilation, the attempted erasing of all dif-
  But to go on: "The supreme law of the Republic of                    ference among mankind, something which is indis-
Technology is convergence, the tendency for every-                     pensable to the rise and the power of antichrist. With-
thing to become more like everything else." To illus-                  out such assimilation he could never achieve the goal
trate and prove this assertion, the author makes these                 of world rule and domination. Of course, that is not
points:                                                                the answer of the world; it should be, in the light of
          Technology is the natural foe of nationalism. With           Scripture, but it is not, due to the blindness of sin.
       crushing  inevitability, the advance of technology              The rise and power of antichrist is so plain and clear
       brings nations together and narrows the differences             that even those of the world can perceive it with
       between the experiences of this people. The destruc-            startling clarity, but still they will not acknowledge
       tion of modern warfare tends to reduce the balance              the counsel and hand of God. That is to be expected,
       of advantage between victor and vanquished. The                 for that is the nature of sin, that is, deliberate and
       spectacular industrial progress of Japan and Germany            conscious denial of the revelation of God in the
       after World War II was actually facilitated by the
       wholesale destruction of their industrial plant.                Scriptures, and in the kingdom and coming of Christ
                                                                       His Son.
  Is not this strikingly similar to the portrait that the
Scriptures paint of the world rule of antichrist over                     But for the child of God all of this is clear. Clear,
all nations, accomplished in such a way that through                   that is, if you are aware, if you have your eyes, both
their uniformity they give to him willingly their                      natural and spiritual, open. Oftentimes we are in-
allegiance? And is it not also striking that according                 clined to ignore these signs of the times, undoubtedly
to this author even wars, themselves a sign of the last                because especially in the area of technology they have
times, serve the cause of antichrist and his universal                 become so commonplace and everyday. But we must
dominion? Or still more pointedly:                                     be awake. The world is consciously and knowingly
                                                                       striving to realize the Republic of Technology, which,
          Broadcasting is perhaps the most potent everyday
       witness to the converging powers of technology. The             when it is realized, will be the kingdom of antichrist.
       most democratic of all forms of public communica-               And the world makes no secret of its intentions, as is
       tion, broadcasting converges people, drawing them               evident from the essay to which I have referred in this
       into the same experience in ways never before pos-              article. The obligation of the people of God is, there-
       sible. The great levelers, broadcast messages and               fore, to take seriously the prophecy of Daniel; to be
       images, go without discrimination into the homes of             observant, to teach their children to be observant, to
       rich and poor, white and black, young and old.                  evaluate perceptively the signs of the times. But
  Surely you as the people of God are familiar with                    above all the calling of the people of God is to be
what Scripture calls the mark of the beast, without                    faithful in the maintenance of the antithesis between
which it will be impossible to buy or sell. Of precisely               the church and the world, so as not to be caught up
what this mark consists we cannot say, for that is not                 in and become part and parcel of the Republic of
revealed to us. But is not the potential of broadcast-                 Technology, the kingdom of antichrist. This does not
ing, and especially television, remarkable as a possible               mean that we may not make use of the fruits of
means of realizing the universal control of antichrist                 technology or that we must withdraw from the
over all things? And remember, that purpose is not                     world, but it does mean that we must use all things
neutral or harmless, but dangerous to the church, for                  with discretion, and to the service of the kingdom of
the intent of this "convergence" or "leveling" is                      Christ, at the same time keeping ourselves unspotted
uniformity under the rule of antichrist, which means                   from the world.


            THE STANDARD BEARER is a thoughtful gift for a "Shut-in".


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   233


THE DAY OF SHADOWS




                                         Little By Little
                                                  Rev. John A. Heys



  When God destroyed the world with the flood He             wicked purposes. And Lot himself revealed that there
destroyed thousands upon thousands of sinners. But           was in his flesh the power of sin and that he was very
He did not destroy sin. He did not even destroy all          much under its dominion.
the sinners. There were eight sinners saved in the ark.        There is even the foolishness of unspiritual think-
And while they were safely harbored there in the             ing on the part of Lot. When the angel hastens him
midst of the storm, they were still sinners. The             and warns him to hurry and not look back, Lot
enemies, the sinners outside of the Church were              pleads for entrance into little Zoar rather than to
destroyed by the flood; but sin went into the ark in         have to flee to the mountains,  which were a goodly
the hearts of Noah, his wife, his three sons and their       way farther away. We say foolish reasoning because
wives. The evidence of that we see in what happens           we must not think that there is no sin in little cities.
after they came out of the ark. And then we must not         Our bigger cities have their dens of iniquity, their
think only of Noah's drunkenness and Ham's filthy            red-light districts and areas of high crime, their  hold-
mind and shameful deed. We must realize that all the         outs of gangsters and the like. In a large city crime is
violence and crime of today, all the idolatry and cor-       better organized; and quite naturally there is a greater
rupt speech of today, all the disregard for the things       assembly of sinners. There are more sinners, and they
holy, all the atheism, evolutionism, modernism, all the      develop sin together to a greater degree of execution
worship of the devil and of the things of this earth, all    and godlessness. But just because a city is little does
the sin in every form and shape that we see today            not mean that one is going to be'free from sin in it, or
came out of that ark and in principle was  .in the           that there is only minor sin in it. We are not told why
hearts of those who went into that ark before the            Lot did leave Zoar, but he did somewhat later and
sinners of the world were destroyed.                         made his abode in the mountains to which the angel
  Had He desired to do so, God could certainly have          had referred. Could it be that Lot himself realized
made an end of all sin on this earth and wiped these         that the world is always wicked even though the form
also off from it and into the pit of hell where they         of sin is not always the same? Or is it that Lot with
cannot practice their evil any more. But the question        the little spark of spiritual life that still burned in him
is not as to what God could have done'but as to what         was simply being obedient to the command of the
it pleased Him to do. And it pleased Him to destroy          angel? He asked to be allowed to flee to Zoar rather
the sinners who were at that time fierce enemies of          than to the mountains till he could rest, and the evil
His Church, and to save some who still had sinful            which would take his life would not occur. He does at
flesh with all the vile motions of that sin within them.     least go to the mountains which the angel had
  A similar work of God we see when He overthrew             pointed out to him.
Sodom and Gomorrah and wiped out all the sinners               We do well to beware of Zoars as well as Babylons.
who were outside of His Church and were residing in          We are wise when we take the position of the Word of
these cities and their environs. He saved Lot, but not       God that the world is corrupt wherever we find it.
because Lot had no sin in his soul. He saved Lot but         Both the little city and the big metropolis are full of
not from all the power of sin. And that whole sad            sin. Both sin to their full capacity as well. There is
incident that we read of in Genesis 19: 30-38 gives          not a restraining power of the Spirit in the hearts of
evidence of this fact. Lot's daughters reveal no more        the little city that without regenerating its citizens
spirituality than his wife. They did not look back to        causes them to do good. All do not have the same
Sodom literally by a turning of their physical necks         circumstances. All do not dare to sin to the same
and focusing of their fleshly eyes, but spiritually they     degree. `But the Word of God in very simple yet
did look back, remembered the sins of Sodom and              powerful words declares that there is none that doeth
were not hesitant to tailor them to fit their own            good, no not one! There may be and there are  ex-


234                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



ternal restraints. There are fears that grip men's souls      head of the house he has a calling to provide for his
so that they do not practice fully what is in their           family, and therefore he has no choice but to join the
hearts, but the sin is there, and they practice it as         ranks with the unbelievers in dishonouring those God
much as they dare, are able, and in their sinful hearts       placed over them in the field of labor, have their
and minds think it  .wise at the moment to do. And            excuse already for the mark of the beast. And even
forget not that when these external (not spiritual)           more so, for in that day it will not be a question of
restraints are there, it is like the water restrained by      getting a poorer paying job and living way down the
the dam. It builds up, spreads out, and, when a little        scale, but of getting no job at all and having nothing
opening does appear, rushes forth as a torrent far            to give to the family. Watch out for little things.
more devastating than it would at first have been.            Watch out for the tip of the iceberg that sticks up just
That happened at the tower of Babel. This was no              a bit above the surface and has a tremendously big
spiritual restraining work of God's Spirit, even though       destructive power that does not yet meet the  eye:
it was in the souls of men, so that they thought dif-           It happens over and over again. And you hear
ferently and used different words to express their            people say it even very emphatically: "No one will
different thoughts. But sin simply spread out behind          take my faith away from me." They say that when
that dam and today displays itself in so many forms           they leave the sphere of where the truth is preached.
that it could not have assumed without that con-              They say that when they move into the world for
fusion of tongues.                                            business reasons and earthly gain. They may mean it.
   Let us also note in the life of Lot that it was one        They may think that they will remain faithful. But
series of little things that finally led him so far from      look again a few years later. Or, if you will, look at
God. It was the little thing of seeking water and food        their children and try to find a semblance of that
for his cattle. We would say, a necessary thing. But it       faith that could not be taken away!
led him to friction with Abraham. It was a little               Jesus said, "Remember Lot's wife." That is good
thing, relatively, to stay in the promised land and yet       advice; but while we are at it, let us also observe
to move toward, not into Sodom. It was then a little          closely Lot and his daughters. Let us note- what a
step to move then into the city, to marry a  Sod-             little wine did to Lot `to cause him to commit the
omite  and'to stay there because business demanded            same sin of incest twice! But especially let us look at
it. We have to live, we have to eat, we have to work,         what God said about the whole filthy business. He
do we not? Now it is a little city and a little journey       does not always say what He thinks at once. And
away from Sodom and not getting too far away. It              years went by. Generations came and went. But who
was a little wine and a little relaxation (also of his        were some of the fiercest enemies of the Church?
morals) and then the awfulness of all those little steps      Who withstood Moses and the Israelite in the wilder-
is seen in double incest!                                     ness as Lot's descendants, the Moabites and
  What shall we say about his daughters? With them,           Ammonites, did? And how true today! The children
too, it is a matter of a "little" infraction, and that for    of those who forsake the truth for the flesh's sake
a carnal reason. Let us remember this as we approach          and join forces with the world become the fiercest
the days of the Antichrist when we will have to               and most bitter enemies of the Church of Christ on
accept the mark of the beast or not buy or sell. The          this earth. God is not mocked. These daughters said
argument is raised so quickly today, and it was               that they had to preserve seed for their father, Lot.
mouthed by the daughters of Lot, that this or that is         But what kind of seed did they preserve for him? The
a necessity for us. Men link up and agree to breaking         friction, the warfare that was threatened between
the fifth commandment in their strikes of the labor           Abraham and Lot before they separated was as
unions they join, because it is their duty to provide         nothing compared with what now became true in the
for their families, is it not? We need to eat, do we          descendants of Abraham and Lot.
not? And Lot's daughters said, "We need to preserve             Lot's daughters as unmarried women knew too
seed for our father, do we not?" Lot never told them          much of Sodom's ways for their own good. And what
that. He may have expressed some sorrow and dis-              filthy minds they had in spite of their seemingly
appointment to them that they had to leave the men            pious concern for their father's name and seed. This
of Sodom to whom they were betrothed, and now he              was no ordinary adultery under the power of a
could see no grandchildren, and the blessing of God's         tremendous sexual appeal. It was not that result of
Word that we shall see our children's children could          what the world likes to call the strength of "body
not be for him. But who said that he had to have              chemistry." This was a cold, calculated perpetration
seed? And who said that he still could not find               of incest in which they are not at all averse to sharing
another wife? And they new husbands? Those kinds of           the same man! There is no love here. If they had had
deductions and excuses make us ripe for the mark of           love for their father they would not have led him into
the beast. The man who today uses the excuse that as          sin. They were driven by their own godless upbringing


                                             THE  STANdARD  BEARER                                                235


in a filthy city where their father for material reasons    forth out of that mountain to produce in the world
insisted on keeping them. And what a warning that           nations of enemies of God's Church. Let us beware of
ought to be to all parents who try to bring up their        "little" departures from the truth, "little" enemies of
children away from the Church and the truth because         the Church, and "little" changes from the  God-
they can get a dollar or two more among these un-           ordained way prescribed in His Word. Whether these
godly!                                                      be in the Church and its offices and polity, or have to
                                                            do with our walk of life before the world., Little
  What did we say about little cities having big sins?      things lead to big enemies. Little by little, bigger and
Lot and his daughters are not even a city, nor do they      bigger things come to pass. Fear the big things, but
live in the city. They are by themselves in the  moun-      watch out for the little ones. Little by little Lot
tain. And these few, spared the destruction of              drew farther and farther away from Abraham and
Sodom, these few not destroyed when the sinners of          from God; and now in this incest he is indeed far
Sodom were destroyed, did not have the sin in their         removed from where a child of God ought to be. Let
hearts destroyed. Instead, Sodom's sins come gushing        that be a warning for us today.

BOOK REVIEW                                                 after day. In a day when sin's sinfulness is  de-
THE GENIUS OF PURITANISM,  by Peter Lewis;                  emphasized, and when also the sins of God's people
Carey Publications,  Haywards Heath, Sussex, U.K.,          do not  ,receive due attention, it is well that we be
1975, 144 pp. (paper). [Reviewed by Prof. H. C.             reminded to take sin seriously. And surely, we would
Hoeksema]                                                   make no plea for the perfectionism and superficiality
  Written' by a Baptist who has a lively interest in the    of "happiness" religion. Nevertheless, to be pre-
writings of the Puritans, this little book gives the        occupied with spiritual depressions and discourage-
author's overview of the preaching of 17th century          ments in the Christian life is to be preoccupied with
Puritan pastors. In the first chapter, short biographies    the  abnormal  rather than the normal. The assurance
of several of these men are followed by the author's        of faith, though it may differ in degree in various
resume of the characteristics of Puritan preaching,         children of God, is normal. Besides, the  method.with
liberally sprinkled with examples and quotations            which the Puritans treated these discouragements
from 17th century writings. The next chapter is             smacks of subjectivism. On each page the believer is
about the Puritan in the pew, and it describes the          told to "search himself," to "reason with himself," to
more formal aspects of Puritan worship. The rest of         "ponder within himself" about his sin and his sorrow
the book treats the subject of spiritual desertions and     for it. This introspective approach the author sums up
depression  - the causes, the cure, and the role of the     as follows:  " . . .it is very significant that the Puritan
minister, both as preacher and as pastor, during these      pastors laid much stress upon mental acts as being of
times of trial.                                             vital practical use to the Christian . . . . Thus the
  The note of sincerity, the use of appealing               t e r m s `meditate,' `consider,' and `reflect' were
anecdotes and native wit, the appeal to Scripture, and       . . .terms belonging to the vital . .  .activity of the
the author's quotations of Puritan writings contribute      Christian. " This emphasis on spiritual depression and
toward making this book a bit of interesting and            on subjectivistic introspection lays one wide open for
edifying reading for the Reformed reader. It may be         the error of sickly mysticism, of which the Reformed
said that the author succeeds in achieving the purpose      believer must beware.
stated in the preface: "I have sought to show pastors
of our own day the way in which that most biblical            This is not the place for an exposition of the sub-
race of men . . .applied  a deep doctrinal sense and        ject of the assurance of faith. But had the author of
spiritual wisdom to the various problems, especially        this book and the Puritans themselves approached the
depressions and discouragements under which God's           whole subject of assurance and of self-examination
people have always had to  labour in this life."            for the `positve viewpoint and followed the lead of
                                                            our Reformed creeds, which teach us that assurance is
   There would appear, however, to be an imbalance          a spontaneous thing which is obtained from the
both in the book and in the genius of Puritanism with       promises of God's Word and the testimony of the
which the book is concerned. More than half of the
book is devoted to the subject of the Christian's           Spirit in the way of sanctification and in the fellow-
assurance. Worse than this, the subject of assurance is     ship of God's people, they would have been closer to
approached, as it were, from the back door, or from         the healthy spiritual balance of the Reformed truth
the viewpoint of the abnormal rather than the nor-          and practice.
mal. I refer to the preoccupation with the subject of         Though the book leaves the Reformed reader
spiritual depressions and discouragements as these          somewhat depressed, he may derive benefit and in-
arise from the knowledge of our sinfulness and the          struction from it, if he remembers to be more critical
sorrow we experience when our sins mount up day             of the emphasis of the Puritans than the author was.


236                                                         THE  STANDARD'BEARER


ALL AROUND US




                               The A E C L' s Constitution

              "Led by specialists. . .
                                                                      in Christian ethics"

                                                              Rev.  G. Van Baven





The AECL'S Constitution                                                      cannot understand the Scriptures apart from that
                                                                             historical context, and any interpretive approach is
  The new Association of Evangelical Lutheran                                inadequate which does not take it fully into account.
Churches, consisting principally of those who left the                       We acknowledge in humility that our understanding
                                                                             of the Scriptures is only partial, and that we need to
Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod in the dispute                               grow constantly in our knowledge of them, using
about the inerrancy of the Bible (and other things),                         every insight which the Holy Spirit grants to his
has presented to it a proposed constitution. This is of                      Church.
interest because it sets forth the position of this body                            As to the use of Scripture, it is false to say that
on the question of the inspiration and inerrancy of                          faith in Jesus Christ depends on a particular under-
the Bible. The constitution begins:                                          standing of how the Scriptures were inspired. Our
         We are persuaded  that the Church's one founda-                     trust in Christ does not flow out of some prior faith
       tion is our Lord Jesus Christ, proclaimed and cele-                   in the book which tells us of him; it is the gift of God
       brated in the Gospel. Upon him and him alone our                      through the Gospel, proclaimed and celebrated in
       faith rests. Every approach, no matter how  well-                     many ways, including our Holy Baptism.
       intentioned, that  makes faith in Christ depend in any                       On the contrary, it is the other way around: our
       way upon something other than the Gospel alone  -                     expectation that the Holy Scriptures will import to us
       such as rational proof, ecclesiastical authority, re-                 the infallible Word of God flows out of our faith in
       ligious experience, or a doctrine about the Bible - in                Christ who is the Bible's center. Among those who
       effect lays another foundation and asks us to put our                 treasure the Scriptures in this way there are differ-
       trust in something other than Christ alone. . . .                     ences of interpretation and varying views of the
          We believe that the Scriptures are God's written                   nature of the Scripture's inspiration; but these dif-
       Word, recorded by people of faith and inspired by the                 ferences in no way undermine or destroy faith.
       Holy Spirit, to give us the wisdom that leads to sal-                        Our faith is not dependent upon rational theories
       vation through faith in Christ Jesus.                                 about the Bible; it is dependent solely on the grace of
          God reveals himself in history and through history,                God, who calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with
       as we see most crucially in the life and death and                    his gifts, and sanctifies and preserves us in union with
       resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, the Word of God                    Jesus Christ in the one true faith. Any teaching other
       made flesh. The Scriptures are also historical docu-                  than this betrays the chief treasure of Lutheranism.
       ments: the Old Testament is our heritage from God's                          With faith in Christ, with reverence for the Scrip-
       people Israel, and the New Testament was written                      tures which testify of him, and with awareness of our
       and collected in the early Christian community. We                    limited understandings, we need to search the  Scrip-


                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER                                                        237


    tures continuously to learn more of what they say                    a. The membership of the Church must become
    about God's gracious acts on our behalf and  his  witi            more sensitive to what is good and what is evil in the
    for our lives. That is the purpose of Bible study: to             film arts so as to come to a meaningful evaluation and
    seek out God's living Word for us. We will not disdain            a discriminate use of the same.
    any tool which helps us in that search.                              b.  :It is imperative that the Christian community
  Thi's does this body manage, piously, to deny a                     should engage in the constructive critique of the film
fundamental tenet of the Christian faith. Let us like-                arts, being led by those who are specialists in art and
wise be warned concerning  this great evil which                      in Chl'istian  ethics.
threatens even now most of the denominations of our                      c. The fruit of this effort (b) should be presented
land.                                                                 to and shared with our modern society and the
                                                                      Church in general as a cultural and moral witness: for
                "LED BY SPECIALISTS . . .                             we are the "salt" of the earth and "light" in a secular
                 IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS'                                 world:
                                                                    Of course, there are many things wrong with- the
  Some ten years ago, the Synod of the Christian                  report  atid its recommendations. It is, admittedly,
Reformed Church (1966) received a lengthy report                  based upon the view of "common grace." It re-
concerning the "film arts" and adopted a number of                peatedly speaks of "film  avts"  - placing a beautiful
resolutions for the guidance of the church that "good"            front on the film industry.  And it assumes that it is
movies might be enjoyed by the membership. We                     correct  tb conclude that since most Christians watch
have had occasion, in the past, to call attention to              television dramatics, therefore it is not possible to
this report and its sad consequences. Bear with me                refuse movies in the theatre to them. Yet the report
while I do this again.  Among other things, the report            presents the clear suggestion that the calling of the
pointed out that television viewing made movie                    Christian, is to watch movies with "Christian" dis-
attendance acceptable too:                                        cernment.  And who must guide in all of this? The
         The advent of television, which is an essential          leaders and educators in the church.
    combination of radio and the film industry, is, from a
    practical point of view, forcing us in this direction.          One is, however, appalled at the "leadership"
    TV is found in 89% of our homes. This is tantamount           which is provided. Repeatedly, the worst of films are
    to a de facto acceptance of the film arts and the film        recommended for viewing by the Cliristian. Calvin
    industry as a legitimate cultural enterprise. It is there-    College, the leader and innovator in the field, has a
    fore incumbent upon Synod to acknowledge this if it           terrible record in this regard. I have observed re-
    is to make any relevant and fruitful deliverances with        peatedly in their  Chimes  that movies of the worst sort
    respect to the use of the film arts by the members of         are presented at Calvin. Some college courses require
    the Church. (pg. 339)                                         the student to observe movies as part of the course.
  The report continues by pointing out that the                   The  Chi&zes  of Dec. 10, 1976 describes one of the
presentation of sinful acts is permissible in the film            films  whi$h is scheduled for presentation:
arts under certain circumstances:                                        The Film Arts Committee of Calvin College will
         It is also possible, however, to incorporate sin in a        presen$  a three-day festival of films directed by
    dramatic presentation in such a way that it occupies              Stanley Kubrick during the upcoming Interim. Three
    the proper place it has according to God's revelation,            films  by Kubrick, one of America's most recently
    as a reality that must be overcome. Such a presenta-              establibhed auteurists, will be shown between Thurs-
    tion serves a cathartic purpose and has redemptive               day, Jdnuary 6 and Saturday, January 9. . . .
    value. It helps in the struggle against evil and is                  Car! Byker, chairman of the Film Arts Committee,
    morally acceptable. The film critique and reviews of              comments on the committee's rationale for present-
    Christians of other church groups have helped pro-               ing the Kubrick festival, saying, "Given that each film
    mote this type of  film. For this we must be grateful,           establiihes a world of its own, the Film Committee
    but we must also ask if there are not qualified                  attempts to present films which relate to the  &tory
    members in our own Church who could make valu-                   of  cinema  and the direction cinema will take in the
    able contributions. There is a positive task of claiming         future, and which comment on the nature of things in
    this area of the film arts for the Kingdom of our                the real world.
    Master, Jesus Christ. It is a strategic area and the time            "Tie Film Arts Committee thinks that Stanley
    is short, but of this task also it is true: Blessed is the       Kubrick satisfies these objectives in a way which few
    servant doing the work of the Master when He comes!               other modem American directors do. . .  ."
  The following is part of the concluding statements,
adopted by the 1966 Synod, concerning the cultural                       Byker states that "A Clockwork Orange is timely
                                                                     to the, Calvin community in that it speaks to moral
task of the church in the field of the film "arts":                  and esthetic problems which we face. The film dis-
         1) There is a large educational task that must be           cusses  :the question of the stability of society versus
   initiated by responsible agencies at the various levels           the suppression of its dissidents, the nature of be-
    of life in the Church.                                           havioral modification, the nature of religion in


238                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER



       society  - all of which, the Film Arts Committee              ourselves about watching only the "good" movies.
       thinks, are relevant to the Christian Community."             Those willing to return to such "vomit," will find
  Now Clockwork  Orange  is one of the most                          pleasure in all manner of corruptions.
pornographic, devilish of films produced by a de-                                  POSTSCRIPT TO THE ABOVE
generate world. I have not, obviously, seen the film. I
do not attend movies  - and believe viewing them on                    After preparing the above material, a large article
television is also not in harmony with the Christian                 caught my eye in the Grand Rapids  Press,  Jan. 7,
life. But I have checked reviews in other magazines on               1977. It reports a cancellation of the showing of the
this film. In the  Christianity Today,  July 6, 1973, a              film,  Clockwork Orange.  Among other things, the
review is given of this (and similar) film by Harold                 article stated:
O.J. Brown. He writes:                                                     The film, A CZockwork  Orange,  can't get the time
          Most significant is the apparent feeling that what is         of day at Calvin College.
       coarse and degrading when produced for  hoi polloi                  Originally scheduled to be shown Saturday night,
       (peep-show pornography on skid row) is elevating and             the film was canceled by Calvin President  Anthony
       liberating when it successfully exploits the jaded               Diekema.
       bourgeoisie ("art" pornography, from stage shows                    The action may become Diekema's most con-
       like  Oh!  Calcutta  through "social commentary"                 troversial since he took over administrative reins at
       pornography such as  I Am Curious  (Yellow) and  A               the college last year. The cancelkition is the first of its
       Clockwork Orange  to the crass but lucrative  self-              kind in the 10 years the college has sponsored a film
       prostitution of Brando in Last Tango). . . .                     series.
          The Christian has a biblical mandate to think                    "About every two years, there's a controversy over
       about and concern himself with what is true, honor-              one of the films," says Carl Byker, a junior, who
       able, just, pure, lovely, and gracious, with what is             chairs the Film Arts Coinmittee at the college. "But
       edifying and imports graces (cf. Phil. 4:8, Eph. 4:29).          any trouble was always after a film had been shown.
       Such a mandate effectively rules out the frequenting             This is the first time a film has been vetoed. . . ."
       of such spectacles as A Clockwork Orange . . . where
       one is not merely degrading oneself, but is in effect               The cancellation followed the film's endorsement
       paying the wages of prostitutes and their promoters.             by both the Film Arts Committee and the broader
                                                                        Cultural Affairs Coordinating Council. The two
          But even the secular public, which does not feel              groups composed of students and faculty, supported
       itself bound by the biblical injunction, can only be             the scheduling of the film by votes of  5-2 and 6-1,
       debased by productions of this type. The medium of             according to Byker.
       the film, especially in the hands of a brilliant director,
       is uniquely gifted to impress images on the beholder's              Irvin Kroeze, a professor of English and film
       mind that can continue to affect or even to obsess               studies and a member of the film committee, said he
       him long afterword.  A Clockwork Orange  has only                was "comfortable" with Diekema's decision, but
       evil characters, ranging from the contemptibly                   added he thought the film worthy of a screening at
       despicable to the violently vicious; it is difficult to          the college.
       imagine a full-length feature film dealing with so                   "I think it's a good film," said Kroeze, who has
       many different kinds of people and situations with-              seen it three times. "It's explosive and offensive in
       out a single character who is in any sense worthy of              some ways, but it has a positive message. . . ."
       approval or respect, but A Clockwork Orange does it.
       The implication is clearly that everyone is corrupt;                 Diekema, who had not seen the film before cancel-
       one has only to choose his corruption. . . .                     ing it, told faculty members in a memo that "this is
                                                                        an especially strategic time" to evaluate the degree to
  I'm sorry to have to report the above. It is a matter                 which "Calvin College has met its mandate as set
of public knowledge. It points to the sad con-                          forth by the Christian Reformed Church Synod of
sequences of "common grace" applied here to the                          1966. . . ."
"film arts." The late Rev. H.  floeksema warned years                       The cancellation, claimed Byker, was precipitated
ago that this fruit would be evident. He also warned                    by a petition circulated among Calvin students in
the C.R.C. that when they began shoving such                            November and December that objected to some of
apparently innocent films as  Martin  Luther,  they                     the choices made by the film council this year.
were opening up the flood-gates. Let us, too, be                            The film council, made up of four students and
warned. Increasingly one hears within our own                            three faculty members, selects films each spring for
churches the argument that since most of the people                      the next academic year. The petition, which netted
watch dramatic presentations on T.V., there can be no                    600 to 700 signatures, Byker said, isolated the selec-
reason for condemning movie attendance. Rather, I                        tions of: "Chinatown, " "Women in Love" and "A
would suggest that there be a serious re-evaluation of                   Clockwork Orange."
television viewing, to see if perhaps we are not fol-                       "The president let himself be pulled along by the
lowing the same path as the C.R.C. Let us not kid                        pietists at Calvin," says Byker.


                                                                          THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                                   239


                                                                           CHURCH  DIRECTO.Rb!

Faith Church, J&son, Mich.                  Kalamazoo,  Mich.                            Ebenezer, Forbes, N.D.                                       Treas.:      Mr. John W. Hevs
                                                                                                                                                                   1831 N. U.S. 287
Clerk:       Mr. Fred Hanko                 (not received as yet)                        Clerk:          Mr.  Lorenz  Bertsch
             23 15 Chippewa Dr.                                                                                                                                    Berthoud,  CO 80513
                                                                                                         Forbes, N.D. 58439
             Jenison, Mich.  49428                                                                                                                                 Phone: (303) 532-3425
                                            Covenant, Prospect Park, NJ.                 Treas.:         Mr. Gus Streyle
Treas.:      Mr. Andrew Brummel             Clerk:        Mr. Tom Nelson                                 Forbes: N.D. 58439
             2381 Oak Hollow Dr.                          12-64 Burbank St.                                                                           Pella, Iowa
             Jenison, Mich.  49428                        Fairlawn,  N.J. 07410          `Edmonton, Alberta, Canada                                   Clerk:       Mr. Bernie Menninga
                                            Treas.:       Mr. Clarence De Groot          Pastor:         Rev. RIG.  Moore                                          608 E. 2nd St., Apt. 215
                                                          176 Prescott Ave.                                                                                         Pella,  Iowa 50219
First Church, Grand Rapids, Mich.                                                                        12324 134th St.
                                                          Prospect Park, N.J. 07508                     Edmonton, Alta.  TSL  IV1                     Treas.:      Mr. Vernon De  Vries
Clerk:       Mr. T. Looyenga                                                                            Phone: (403) 455-9803                                       R.R. 3
             1125 Adams St., S.E.                                                                                                                                  Knoxville, Iowa 50138
             Grand Rapids,  Mich.  49507    Southeast, Grand Rapids, Mich.               Clerk:         Mr. Dave Zylstra
                                                                                                         12126 36th St.
Treas.:      Mr. J. Feenstra                Clerk:        Mr. John Flikkema                             Edmonton, Alta. T5W  2B6
             3695 Giddings Ave., S.E.                                                                                                                Lynden, Washington
                                                          1364 Worcester, N.E.                          Phone:`(403)  474-4483
             Grand Rapids,  Mich.  49508                  Grand Rapids,  Mich.  49505                                                                (not received as yet)
                                                          Phone: 454-1615                Treas.:        Mr. Fred Tolsma
                                                                                                         9656 63rd Ave.
First Church, Holland, Mich.                Treas.:       Mr. Tim Pipe                                  Edmonton,  Alta.  T6E   OC5                  Randolph, Wisconsin
                                                          3353  Senora,  S.E.
Clerk:       Mr. Terrence  Elzioga                        Grand Rapids,  Mich.  49508                                                                Clerk:        Mr. Gary Buteyn
             10335 Riley St., R. 2                                                       H u l l ,   I o w a                                                       R.R. 2? Box 133A
             Zeeland,  Mich.  49464                                                                                                                                Randolph, Wis. 53956
             Phone: (616) 7724036                                                        Pastor:
                                                                                         Pastor:        Rev. 
                                                                                                        Rev.  M&k
                                                                                                                  M&k H. Hoeksema
                                                                                                                        H. Hoeksema
                                            Southwest, Grand Rapids, Mich.                                                                                         Phone: (414) 326-5666
                                                                                                         1214 
                                                                                                         1214  TT'hird
                                                                                                                    'hird St.
                                                                                                                           St.
Treas.:      Mr. Edward Cammenga                                                                        Hull, 
                                                                                                        Hull,  Iowa
                                                                                                                  Iowa 51239
                                                                                                                         51239
                                            Clerk:        Mr. Gerald Feenstra                                                                        Treas.:       Mr. Jack Regnerus
             1512 West Lakewood  Blvd.                                                                  Phone (712) 439-1326 
                                                                                                        Phone (712) 439-1326 (res.)
                                                                                                                                        (res.)
                                                          7643 Cardinal Dr.                                                                                        444 Grove St.
             Holland, Mich.  49423                                                                       or 
                                                                                                         or 439;1283
                                                                                                                439;1283  (office)
                                                                                                                            (office)
                                                          Jenison, Mich.  49428                                                                                    Randolph, Wis. 53956
             Phone: (616) 335-5937                                                                                                                                 Phone: (414) 326-3734
                                            Treas.:       Mr. Kenneth L. Kuiper          Clerk:          Mr. Egbert Gritters
                                                          1820 Berkley, S.W.                             R.R. 1;
Hope Chirch,  Grand Rapids, Mich.                         Wyoming,  Mich.  49509                         Hull, Iowa 5 1239
                                                                                                         Phone:`(712)  439-2194                      Hope, Redlands, California
Clerk:       Mr. J. Kalsbeek
             4132 Hall St., S.W.                                                         Treas.:         Mr.  Peter R. Westra                        Clerk:        Mr. Edwin Gritters
             Grand Rapids, Mich.  49504     Doon, Iowa                                                   R.R. 2.                                                   934 College Ave.
                                                                                                         Hull, Iowa 51239                                          Redlands,  Calif. 92373
Treas.:      Mr. Leon Garvelink             Pastor:       Rev. Marvin Kamps                             Phone:`(712)  439-2407
             1539 Ferndale, S.W.                          P.O. Box 311                                                                               Treas.:       Mr. Christian Van Uffelen
             Grand Rapids,  Mich.  49504                  Doon, Iowa 51235                                                                                         25867 Mission Rd.
                                                          Phone: (712) 726-3382          Hope, Isabel, S.D.                                                        Redlands,  Calif.  92373
Hudsonville,  Mich.                         Clerk:        Mr. James Hoogendoorn,         Clerk:         Mr. Art Reichert
                                                          Doon,  Iowa 51235
Church                                                                                                  R.R. 1
                                                          Phone: (712) 726-3192                                                                      South Holland, Illinois
Address: 5101 Beechtree Ave.                                                                            Isabel, S.D. 57633                           Clerk:        Mr. Louis R.  Regnerus
             Hudsonville,  Mich.  49426     Treas.:       Mr. Minard Van Den Top                        Phone: (605)  466-3723
                                                          Doon,  Iowa 51235                                                                                        15562 Langley Ave.
Clerk:       Mr. Harry Zwak                                                              Treas. :       Mr. Milton H.  Colhnann
                                                          Phone (712) 726-3184                                                                                     South Holland, Illinois 60473
             3985 Van Buren                                                                             P.O. Box 126                                               Phone: (312)  596-0599
             Hudsonville,  Mich.  49426                                                                 Isabel, S.D. 57633                           Treas. :      Mr. Gilbert F. Van Baren
                                            Edgerton, Minn.                                          Phone::(605)  4 6 6 - 4 5 2 2
Treas.:      Mr. Gerald Miedema                                                                                                                                    15921  Parkside  Ave.
             2088 Timberlane                Clerk:        Mr. Andrew Brummel                                                                                       South Holland, Illinois 60473
             Jenison, Mich.  49428                        228 Park Ave.                  Loveland, Colorado                                                        Phone: (312) 331-3818
                                                          Edgerton, Minn. 56128
Jamaica Benevolence Fund:                                                                Clerk:         Mr. Milton J.  Alsum
             Mr. Ben Wigger                 Treas.:       Mr. Ronald Brands                              5201 Beryl Lane
             3560 Barker                                  241 Mill St.                                  Loveland, CO 80537
             Hudsonville,  Mich.  49426                   Edgerton, Minn:  56128                        Phone: (303)  667-7272


    The Protestant Reformed Christian School, South Holland, will be                                                                      NOTICE!!!
in need of two teachers for the  1977/78 school year. Applications can
be made by writing to (The Educational Committee, Mr. Adrian                                          Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches will meet in Hull,
Lenting, Jr., Secretary, 16511 South Park Avenue, South Holland,                              Iowa, on March 2, 1977, at  8:30 AM, the Lord willing. Delegates in
Illinois 60473).                                                                              need of lodging should notify the Clerk of the Hull Consistory.
                       WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                                                                                                        Rev. David Engelsma, Stated Clerk
                                                                                                                                                  Classis West.
    On February 5, 1977, our beloved parents, MR. AND MRS. JOHN
MANTEL SR., commemorated their 40th Wedding Anniversary. We,                                                        W E D D I N G   A N N I V E R S A R Y
their children, are thankful to God for them and express humble grat-
itude to our Father in heaven for the Christian home they have provided                               On February 24, 1977, the Lord willing, our beloved parents, MR.
us and for the Christian education that has been given us through them.                       AND MRS. JOHN HOEKSTRA will celebrate their 45th wedding
Our prayer is that God may continue to bless them in the coming years                        anniversary.,
both for each other and for us.                                                                       We are thankful to our Heavenly Father who gave them  to  US  to lead
     Their grateful children,                                                                 us in His  ways  and for preserving them these many years. It is our
           Mr. and Mrs. Glenn Greeley                 ,Mr. and Mrs. Glen Mantel               prayer that God may continue to bless them in their remaining years.
           Mr. and Mrs. Roger Hofstra                  Mr.  and  Mrs. Robert Mantel                                        Their grateful children, Miss Beverly Hoekstra
           Mr. and Mrs. John F. Mantel                 Mr. and Mrs. Gary Anker                                                                                   Mr. and Mrs. Bernard  Driesen
           Mr. and Mrs. Jim Hoogendoorn Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Alan Thielvoldt                      B o x 1 7 6                                                        Mr. and Mrs. John J. Hoekstra
           Mr. Marvin Mantel                           and 17 grandchildren                   Boyden, Iowa 51234                                                 and 8 grandchildren.


                                                                                                 I
THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                     SECOhlD  CLASS
       P.O. Box 6064                                                                                    POSTAGE PAID AT
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506                                                                          GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.
                                                                                                 I                             J

                                                               .      .        :.  -  .
                                  ~-_____~-                                                --



     240                                         THE STANDARD BEARER
                                News From  Our Churches
       Quite a few items of interest have accumulated                others, gather together to listen to tape recorded
    concerning the places in which our various congrega-             sermons from 1st Church in Grand Rapids. They also
    tions hold their worship services. Previously reported           meet together on Wednesday evenings to study Rev.
    was the news that our  Hudso-nville  congregation was            Hoeksema's book Behold He Cometh.
    now worshiping in their new church building. Even                 : Prof. H.C. Hoeksema sent along some information
    the church building committees which have a new                  about his visit to Iowa in December. On the 17th he
    building under their care have their problems. There             preached an installation service for his son Rev. Mark
    was no water in the new Hudsonville church one                   Hoeksema. On Sunday morning he preached in his
    Sunday. It seems a pipe was frozen.  Redlands  is hold-          former charge at  Doon. Rev. Mark preached his in-
    ing services in a temporary place of worship beginning           augural sermon in Hull that morning. For the after-
    this January. As  o.f the 1st of the year, our congre-           noon services, the Hoeksemas switched churches. It
    gation in Edmonton, Alberta is meeting in the                    seems Rev. Kamps was down with the flu in  Doon!
    Anglican Church at 122 Ave. and 139 St. in                       Prof. Hoeksema says this was the first time he
    Edmonton. Worship services are scheduled at 9:00                 preached in Hull since he officiated at Rev. Heys's
    A.M. and 2:00 P.M. Our church in Isabel, South                   installation in 1955.
    Dakota installed new pews in their church last                         Rev. Van  Baren placed the following interesting
    November. Isabel printed a thank you note to Mr. R.              note in the 1 st Church bulletin: "Last year the series
    Ezinga from our church in Loveland, Colorado for his             of the pastor's sermons on Genesis l-3 were recorded.
    help in installing the new pews. Our Holland, Mich-              These were later submitted to The Family Stations,
    igan congregation decided to make some major                     Inc., a network of religious FM stations  - the same
    changes in their church building. The Holland audi-              stations which earlier aired Rev. D. Engelsma's ser-
    torium will be enlarged by reclaiming the hall space             mons on Ephesians. We have been informed that this
    to the south. The present society rooms will be con-             series will be used, beginning on February 9. This is a
    verted into a new hall. An addition will be added to             network of seven stations (and four additional affil-
    the building on the south to include a new consistory            iates) located in California, New Jersey, Maryland,
    room, a nursery, a large assembly room and a new                 Massachusetts, Ohio, and Nevada. One of the stations
    kitchen. Both our Faith and Southwest churches are               is shortwave, broadcasting to Europe and Africa.
    making plans for new church buildings which they                 There is no charge for this ministry. The pastor has
    hope to construct sometime in the future. Our Hull,              also received a request from the shortwave division to
    Iowa church has established an organ fund, looking               help them prepare a chapter-by-chapter study of one
    forward to the time when they can install a new
    organ in their church.                                           or two books of the Bible for a half-hour broadcast to
                                                                     be beamed overseas. The opportunities to perform
       A committee of  Classis West has scheduled classical          this work arose through the efforts of Rev. Arie den
    appointments for our vacant church in Forbes, North              Hartog (pastor of our Covenant Church in Prospect
    Dakota as follows: Rev. G. Lubbers will preach for               Park, NJ) who sought to obtain broadcast time on
    them on January 9, 16, and 23. Rev. Miersma is                   these stations. We thank our heavenly Father for the
    scheduled on February 13, 20, and 27.                            possibility of performing this ministry."
       The congregation at our Hope Church in Walker,                      Recently, Rev. Van  Baren's sermons on Romans 9
    Michigan expressed congratulations to their pastor               were recorded, and presently the series on Genesis 4
    (Rev. R. Van Overloop) and his wife in the birth of a            and following are also being tape recorded for pos-
    daughter on January 22. Mother and baby are well.                sible broadcast by the Family Stations.
       A bit of news has been received from Skowhegan,                     A Quiet Thought from Redlands' bulletin: "The
    Maine. You may recall that Rev. Dale Kuiper labored              Church is not an art gallery for exhibition of eminent
    in Skowhegan for a time under the supervision of the             Christians, but a school for the education of imper-
    Mission Committee of our Churches. Two families                  fect ones."
    with whom Rev. Kuiper met and occasionally some                                                               o  K . G . V .


