        The
  .STANDARD
       BEARER
         A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE                                             .



   It is simply not true that God in holy
baptism promises and seals something to all
who are baptized. No more than this is the
case with His Word, with the gospel of salva-
tion, no. more is it true with respect to the
seals of God's covenant. In holy baptism the
Lord God, in final analysis, seals something. to
no one else than to those who believe. For it
is the  righteousness which is of faith  which is
sealed and confirmed both in baptism and in
the Lord's supper.
                    From Believers And Their Seed
                                             D              See Editorial
            (What About "Covenantal Wrath"?)
                                                               - page. 22.2

                                                  Volume LV, No. 10, February 15,  1979'
                                                             ISSN 0362-4692


218                                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



                           CONTENTS:                                                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER
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   Embracing Things Unseen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 18                  Editor-in-Chief:  Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
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   More Fiction About the Covenant . . . . . . . . . . .22 1                    George C. Lubbers, Rev. Rodney  Micrsma,  Rev.  Marinus   Schipper,  Rev.
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   What about "Covenantal Wrath"? . . . . . . . . . -222.                        R e v .   H e r m a n   V e l d m a n ,   M r .   K e n n e t h   G .   Vfnk.
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MEDITA TIO N




                                Embracing Things Unseen
                                                                   Rev. H. Veldman





              "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. "
                                                                                                                                                                    Heb. 11:l


  Indeed, the just shall live by faith, Heb. 10:38. The                           apostle reminds the church of the former days in
church was in danger of falling back into the bondage                             which, after they had been illuminated, they had en-
of the shadows of the Old Dispensation. Notice what                               dured many afflictions. Perhaps they expected an
we read in chapter  lo:19 and 25. In verse 32 the                                 early return of Christ upon the clouds of heaven and


                                                THE STANDARD  BEAdER                                                 219



 were disappointed when this did not occur. And so             When a farmer plants his seed, he does not see the
 they were threatened with the danger of falling back          crop; he proceeds in the hope of obtaining it. Yet,
 into the bondage of the shadows of the Old                    also in this sense, sowing and harvesting are for him a
 Dispensation.                                                 matter of natural experience. He sees it happening
    This explains why the apostle writes to them that          every year. And, the world lives, not by faith, but by
 the just shall live by faith. We do not live by sight, the    sight. Its only sphere is what is carnal, satisfying to
 things that are seen. Perhaps, as Christ seemed to            the flesh. After it he lusts and he rejects everything
 delay His coming, the promise of God began to                 else. The world cares not for unseen things.
 appear more and more impossible. They became                     Things unseen! What is meant here, generally, is
 discouraged. However, we do not live by sight, but by         plain. Verse 3 speaks of the creation of the worlds.
 faith.                                                        Hebrews 11 speaks of the promise; this promise, we
    And' now we read of this faith in Hebrews 11. He           know, was fulfilled by.Christ. So, the facts of Christ
 causes to pass before their review the saints of the          and all things relative to Him are meant. Hebrews 11
 Old Dispensation. Well must the church bear in mind           also speaks of the city that has foundations, whose
 that, returning to the shadows of the Old Dispensa-           Builder and Maker is God. And, these things are
 tion, they were not moving toward them but away               unseen., They are not merely unseen in the sense that
 from them, inasmuch  ,as these saints of the Old              we do not see them, but in the sense that we cannot
 Dispensation also lived by faith which this church            see them. They do not fall within the range of our
 threatened to depart.                                         perception. We cannot see them, naturally, physi-
                                                               cally, or mentally. We cannot- touch them, handle
                                                               them, understand them. They cannot be grasped by
                   THINGS UNSEEN                               our five senses.                  :
    We do not have here a complete definition of faith.           This is true of the creation and preservation of the
 Scripture is no dictionary; it is not a book of               world. That God created the worlds and sustains
 exhaustive definitions of various and all concepts. If        them are strictly unseen. This we cannot see, under-
 it were, there would probably be no heresies. The             stand, or prove. Of course, that  ,God did not create
 Word of  G.od is the revelation of the living God,            the world, that man descended from an ape, etc., are
 accompanied by the operation of the Holy Spirit in            also unseen things, things that cam-rot be proved.
 our hearts, and unto the condemnation of the wicked              This also applies to Christ and His salvation. `His
as they oppose the truths  of,Holy Writ. And heresies          wonderful birth is unseen. 0, we may have been able
 there must be. That we do not have here a complete            to see a babe in Bethlehem's manger. But we cannot
 definition of faith must be evident. After all, faith is      see HIS birth, the birth of Immanuel, God's eternal
 also a bond whereby we are ingrafted into Christ, as is       Son. We cannot see the divine element. This also
 evident, for example, from John 15 where we read              applies to HIS suffering and death. And then there
that Christ is the vine and the believers are the              are the wonderful facts of His resurrection, ascension
 branches. This passage surely teaches that these be-          to heaven, and His-sitting at the right hand of God.
 lievers live out of Christ, and they live out of Him by       All this, as also God's creation, belongs to things past,
 faith. Besides, faith here is, of course, viewed from         the things that have happened.
 the viewpoint of Hebrews 11. All emphasis falls here
 upon the conscious activity of faith. Here, as empha-            Then, there are the things that are present: Christ's
 sized in Hebrews 11, the Christian is a pilgrim and           sitting.at God's right hand, the city that has founda-
 stranger in the earth; here we read of things unseen          tions, all the saints that have gone before us. Yes, this
 which God knows to be true, filling us with joy and           city is very real to us. But we have never seen it, never
 confidence; here faith isa power enabling the child of        heard from it. We cannot possibly have contact with
 God to bear all afflictions and sorrows for the sake of       it. It is all unseen.
 the glory awaiting us. This is the viewpoint of faith in         And, finally, there are the things of the future. We
 this text.                                                    believe in a new heaven and a new earth. We know
    The world moves in the sphere of the things that           that we must die, but all people know that; we also
 are seen, in the sphere of natural perception. Man has        believe in the resurrection, in a wonderful, immortal
 five senses: sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, and           glory to come. All this, in all its details, is also
 touching. He sees .-a building and knows it is a              unseen. But, the Christian walks by faith and not by
 building, smells a certain fragrance and knows that           sight.
 flowers are near, etc. He need not prove it is a
 building; his senses do not deceive him. Only, how-                                    BY FAITH
 ever, this is the world's only sphere. 0, in a certain           Faith is the evidence of things unseen. No, this
 sense also the world does not live merely by sight.           does not mean that, objectively, faith is the proof of


220                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



all these things. On the one hand, I can never prove          itself is the evidence of things unseen, our immediate
to  .the world that God created the heavens and the           assurance. By faith we are-united with the living God
earth, that Christ was born, suffered and died, and           through Christ Jesus, His Son; through faith we cleave
rose again. However, neither is this necessary. I see         unto Christ, live out of Him, and through faith the
the world in which I live.' Must I prove it? I see a tree     life of heavenly  _ and immortal glory has been be-
in my yard. Must I prove it? Scripturally, I see God          stowed upon us as a principle; by faith we are become
and believe in Christ, that He suffered and died for          pilgrims and strangers in the earth, citizens of the
me. Must I prove it? I do not need proof. Faith itself        City that has foundations. That faith, living out of
i3 this evidence.                                             Christ, reaches out to its fulfillment is therefore the
  That faith is the evidence of the things unseen             ground, the foundation of our  hope;`it gives the
means that it is this evidence in the sense of immedi-        Christian, within himself, the immediate assurance
ate assurance.' And it is that not merely in itself. If we    and certainty of the things unseen, enables him to
had faith and nothing more we would never be                  know these things as beyond any doubt.
certain of these things. This would be subjectivism.
Indeed, faith is this evidence only as through the                             ITS  BLESSEDNESS
scriptures. The Word of God alone gives content to              Do we believe? Are we sure of these things that are
my faith. Without the Word of God, I would know               unseen? Do we stand in the Christian hope, the
nothing.                                                      certain and joyful assurance of life and glory im-
  For, secondly, faith is the substance of things             mortal, the joyful readiness to regard all suffering and
hoped. for. What is the Christian hope? All men live          affliction as not to be compared with the glory that
by hope. Everybody is' always looking forward. Fact           shall follow?
is, we are all creatures of time. Besides, the present          If this be lacking in us  - why? Is not faith itself
never satisfies. But, the Christian's hope and that of        the evidence of things unseen? God gave this faith to
the world are so vastly different. The hope of the            us. Why, then, do we not believe? 0, it is because we
world is always earthly and carnal, always reaches out        do not exercise consciously this activity of faith. We
to things on this side of the grave. The hope of the          have in our members, we know, much flesh. Carnal
Christian, however, is other-worldly, eternal and             and sinful as we are, .we cleave to the things that are
heavenly. And, the wonder of this hope is also that,          seen; besides, our flesh so often times rebels against.
cleaving unto the things that are above, it also              the thought of suffermg shame for the sake of Christ.
includes everything of this present time. The child of          0, the futility of seeking the things that are seen!
the world seeks relief from sorrow and misery and has         The world, then, may point with disdain and ridicule
no place for it. The child of God, however, knows
that all things work together for his good. He includes       at the people of God as they suffer for Christ's sake
in his hope all the sorrows and miseries of this present      in the midst of the world  - see verses 36-38. But,
time, also death and all the powers of sin and all            what have they to offer as they seek the bread that
persecutions and afflictions which he must suffer as          perishes, cleave to this world that passeth away,
inflicted upon him by these powers of sin and of              heaping up for themselves treasures of wrath? But,
darkness. His hope is all-inclusive.                          oh, the joy of the things unseen! No wonder we read
                                                              of the people of God what we read in the verses
  Faith is the substance of things hoped for. This            36-38! Erelong the things that are seen will make way
does not mean that it is the content of our hope, as          for that which could not enter into the heart of man;
the word "substance" could imply. But, it is the              erelong our souls will be satisfied far above what we
ground or foundation of our hope, as also the Dutch           pray or ask; erelong this believing and hoping will
translation expresses it. And this must not be under-         attain unto that for which the Church has struggled
stood as if faith were the ground upon which our              and suffered throughout all the ages. Then we will be
hope rests, as if they were two. Faith-and hope are           satisfied, even forevermore.
inseparable. That these unseen things are the object            Indeed, faith is the substance of things hoped for.
of our hope is rooted in our faith. Fact is, faith is the
bond that unites us with Christ; hope is faith as it            It is the evidence of things unseen.
reaches out to the future. And therefore this faith             May we believe unto saving of our souls.


                               Know the standard and follow  it.
                            Read  The Standard Bearer


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                               221


EDITORIALS
ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema





                                                      More Fiction
                                              About the Covenant



  The Canadian  Reformed Magazine,  Clarion  (Jan.              write with sufficient clarity. But I can honestly say
27,  1979),  contiriues to make comments on what is             that I rubbed my eyes and then reread that sentence:
supposed to be my view of the covenant. This time               "Presently, Professor Hbmer C. Hoeksema still
the comments  come' from the Editor, Prof. Dr. J.               wrongly maintains . . . that there is no covenantal
Faber, who is also professor at the Theological Col-            wrath under the new dispensation. . . ." I thought to
lege of the Canadian Reformed Churches.                         myself, "Did I actually write that? Did I suggest it?
  Editor Faber writes on the subject, "Newer Studies            Did I write something from which that conclusion
on God's Covenant." But in some introductory re-                could be legitimately drawn?" But when I reviewed
marks on the subject of the importance of the                   what I had written about covenant-breaking (the
covenant in Reformed theology, he writes, among                 articles recently disputed by Rev. Geertsema), and
other things:                                                   when I reviewed my recent editorials in reply to Rev.
                                                                Geertsemti,  I failed to find it. Moreover, the simple
       It would be a sign of wistful thinking on my part if     fact is that I do not deny the reality of covenantal
    I stated  eat all Reformed people have always
    thought in this manner. There has been  and there still     wrath under the new dispensation, provided that idea
    is much debate  about covenant and baptism.  -One  is       of  "covenantal wrath" is properly understood. (See
    reminded of the debates in the thirties of this             the next editorial in this issue.)
    century, when in The Netherlands the reformational            Fiction Number Two is the idea that it was
  movement under the guidance of such brothers as K.            "reformational" on the part of K. Schilder and others
    Schilder and  S. Grijdanus, D. van Dijk and A. Janse;       t6 stress "the reality. of God's covenant with the
    again stressed the reality of God's covenant with the       believers 
    believers and all thei; descendants. They did not want                    and all their descendants. " (italics added)
    to know of an identification of God's election and          Nor is it  ti item at  which to point with pride that
   God's covenant, as if God had established His cove-          "They did'not want to know of an identification of
    nant only with  &I.is elect. They asked again that          God's election. and God's covenant, as if God had
    attention be given to the tremendous reality of God's       established His covenant only with His elect." Not
    blessirig  and His curse, to- the horrendous possibility    only is it certainly not to the credit  of a Reformed
    of God's wrath in  I-J& covenant. Presently, Professor      theologian  to make the scope of God's covenant
    Homer C. Hoeksema still wrongly maintains in the            broader than the scope of election, but there was
   Standard Bearer  that there is no covenantal wrath           nothing fresh and reformational about these ideas.
    under the new dispensation, and one sees the signifi-       They had long been present in the Dutch churches,
    cance of the struggle that led to the liberation of the     and they had also long  been promoted here in
    Reformed Churches in The Netherlands.                       America especially by the late Prof. W. Heyns in the
  When I speak of "fiction" in the title above this             Christian Reformed Church.
editorial, I am referring, first of all, to what Dr. Faber
writes about me in the above paragraph. When one                  But there  4s  more fiction in the article by Prof.
writes- a good .deal, I suppose ,it. is possible that he        Faber. In an earlier paragraph he writes in part:
forgets some of what he k;as written or that he fails to            They certainly recall thd w6rds of the Form for           r


 222                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



        Baptism that in  `all covenants there are contained two         lished by Himself, and maintained, through His work
   parts: "Whereas in all covenants there are contained                 of grace, by Himself and His people as two "parties."
        two parts, therefore are we by God, through baptism,            As far as God's part is concerned, the covenant is
        admonished of and obliged unto new obedience."                  determined by His Word (promise and demand), and
        One  can think of two parties (God on the one side,             by speaking His Word, God executes His decree of
        and the believers and their seed on the other side) or          election and reprobation.
        of  two elements  or aspects (promise and demand).            I remember well that Dr. Schilder used this same
        Whether the two parts, are meant as the two parties
        within the covenant, or the parts of the covenant,          illustration of the  .capital P and the small p in his
        Reformed people have thought of the covenant as a           conference with us in November of 1947, I can still
        mutua  obligatio,  a mutual obligation.                     see in my imagination the capital P and the small p
   We will pass by the matter of that undefined                     which he wrote on the blackboard in the old Theolog-
 "mutual obligation,"                                               ical School room in the basement of First Church. I
                                except to say that without
 further explanation we cannot accept it as fact rather             recall, too, that  he. even wanted to stress in that
 than fiction.                                                      connection the  infinite  difference between the capital
                                                                    P and the small p, God and man.
   The matter of "parties" in the covenant, however,                  The trouble is, of course, that no matter how great
 we characterize as pure fiction.                                   you make the capital P and how small you make the
   In the first place, it simply is not correct that "One           small p, man remains `a party in relation to the living
 can think of  two parties . . .  or of two  elements  or           God.
 aspects. . .  ." in connection with the Form for                     But this is fiction.
 Baptism. The Baptism Form very definitely uses the
 term "parts.`? Not only so, but the very language of                 Man is never a party in relation to the Most High.
 the Form makes it -plain. that it means "parts," not               The creature a party in relation to the Creator? The
 parties. For in then third paragraph of the Form it goes           dust in the balance and the drop of the bucket a
 on to describe not a party, but our "part" in                      party in relation to the Living God? All nations
 distinction from God's "part" which is described in                before Him are as nothing; they are less than nothing,
 the second paragraph: "Thirdly, since in all covenants             and vanity!
 there are contained two parts, therefore are we by                   No, God is His own Party. And there are no parties
 God through baptism admonished of and obliged                      (plural) in His covenant. But it is the privilege and
 unto new obedience, namely, that we cleave to this                 high calling of His people, by His grace, to become
 one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; that we trust                members of His covenant of friendship, and thus to
 in him, and love him with all our hearts, with all our             be of the party of the living God in the midst of the
 souls, with all our mind, and with all. our strength;              world.
 that we forsake the world, crucify our old nature, and
 walk in a new and holy life." From this it is plain that             But I suspect that- the differences between us and
 the Form is indeed speaking of a "part," not at all of             the Canadian Reformed brethren run deeper than
                                                                    these matters. I suspect that they have to do with the
 a party.                                                           very definition of the covenant of grace. And this
   But in a later paragraph Dr. Faber has more to say               suspicion is confirmed when I read in the above
on this subject:                                                    paragraph : "Covenant is the mutual relationship or
                                                                    agreement between God and His people. . . ." What is
          K. Schilder stressed time and again that God's            the covenant?- Is it a relationship? Is it.an agreement?
        covenant was established by God alone. Its origin is        The terms are not the same and interchangeable, you
        unilateral, mono-pleuric: it comes from one side only.
   God's is the initiative. But at the same time it is a real       know. And what is the nature of that relationship
  co-venant: two parties are in it; they come together.             and/or agreement? Further, does Dr. Faber now
        (con-venire),' the Party-with a capital P (God) and the     identify the covenant and the elect when he speaks of
        party with a small p (man). God's covenant is- bi-          the covenant as a relationship or agreement between
        lateral, di-pleuric. Covenant is the mutual relationship    God and  His people?  To me,' the expression  `His
        or agreement between God and His people,  estab-            people" refers to the elect.



                                   What  abo&  "Covenantal Wrath'? ?                                                 .'

   By Ycovenantal  wrath" or `Lcovenantal  `vengeance"              vengeance which is peculiar to the sphere of God's
I I understand a manifestation of God's wrath' and                  covenant. That is, it is peculiar not in its  nature  as


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                223



such: God's wrath is always the reaction of His              in the line of Arminianism and militates so flagrantly
holiness against sin and against the workers of              against the whole of Holy Scripture that we may
iniquity. But it is peculiar in its measure. That is, His    immediately rule out the very possibility that the text
wrath burns in special measure against sin and against       would teach such a falling away. Those whom God
the sinner in the sphere of His covenant. The children       has predestinated unto salvation will also surely be
of the kingdom who are cast out shall be beaten with         glorified.-The unchangeable love of God, the blood of
double stripes. Israel, reprobate Israel, shall dwell        Christ, the intercession of our great High Priest in the
alone in hell.                                               heavens, the powerful preservation of the grace of
  In explanation of this idea I offer a rather lengthy       God- all these are the sure guarantee that nothing
quotation from Herman Hoeksema's  Believers And              shall be able to separate them from the love of God
Their Seed,  pp. 137-145, a work which I translated          which is in Christ Jesus our-Lord. Regeneration and
from the Dutch several years ago and which has been          conversion and the entire work of God in- His elect is
published by our Reformed Free Publishing Associa-           begun by God, and He will never forsake that which
tion. Even as I have done before, so again I strongly        His hand has once begun. This is absolutely sure. And
recommend to our readers a careful study of this             if this is established, then it follows that in this
little book. Its polemical early chapters are beneficial;    passage we are dealing with men who live very close
but from a positive point of view, the later chapters,       to the stream of grace, so close that they understand
in which the organic view of the covenant is                 and taste something - or sometimes even much - of
developed, are even more valuable. The quotation             it, but always with a natural understanding `and an
which I here present has the added benefit of                impenitent heart.
explaining a difficult passage of Scripture, Hebrews           Now this can  .only take place and does only take
6:4-8. The quotation is from the chapter entitled,           place in the sphere of God's covenant as it is revealed
"The Reprobate In The Sphere, Of The Covenant." It           in the world. What is here stated could not be said of
here follows in its entirety.                                men of the world who perhaps come into contact
  This same idea is probably pictured most strongly          with the gospel of Jesus Christ only once or possibly
in Hebrews 6:4-8: "For it is impossible for those who        a few times. The text therefore teaches us nothing
were once enlightened, and have tasted of the                else than the influence which proceeds from this
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy           living in the sphere of that covenant of God upon
Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God,. and            those who remain ungodly. It is true that we may
the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall          undoubtedly add .here, that this strong language is not
away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing            applicable in all its force to  all the reprobate in the
they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,`and        sphere of the covenant. It even requires a certain class
put him to an open shame. For the earth which                of ungodly children of the kingdom to stand as high
drinketh in the rain that  cqmeth oft upon it, and           as those who are  -.here described without being
bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is             partakers of grace. Not all attain to this status. They
dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which         are perhaps to be sought among those who stand
beareth thorns and. briers is rejected, and is nigh unto     foremost in the church. But this, after all, concerns
cursing; whose end is to be burned."                         only a question- of degree. In principle this may
  This last passage of Holy Writ casts considerable          undoubtedly be said of all the ungodly in the sphere
light upon the question under consideration.                 of God's covenant. Of all of them it may be said that
                                                             in that sphere they receive something whereby they
  In the first place, it is plain that the text here         are distinguished from those who stand entirely
speaks of children of the kingdom in the outward             outside, .that by their being in that covenant - be it
sense of the word, of the ungodly in God's covenant,         then, that this is only in the outward sense of the
who never actually come to repentance. As might be           word  - they  .are spiritually influenced. But the
expected, this passage is often quoted by those who          question remains yet: what is it, really, that they
hold to the possibility of a falling away of the saints.     receive?
Superficially considered; one might be inclined to
draw this conclusion from the text. After all,                 In answer to this question we wish to remark, first
Scripture here describes men who were once en-               of all, that also in that covenant as they belong to it
lightened, who have tasted of the heavenly gift, and         in an outward sense they receive  no grace.  In some
who were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, who               circles they like to speak of a general covenant grace,
have tasted the good Word of God, and the powers of          a certain grace of which all covenant members, all
the world to come. It speaks of men who so much              those who are baptized, become partakers. According
resemble true children of God that it is well-nigh           to this view, taught for many years at Calvin College
impossible to distinguish them from the latter. But          and Seminary by Prof. W. Heyns - the view on which
the doctrine of a falling away of the saints lies wholly     we reflected earlier in this treatise - all those who are


 224                                            THE STANDARD BEARER


baptized receive a certain subjective grace by which         that rain that earth receives blessing from God. But
they are put in a position to accept or reject God's         also, if there lie hidden in that earth the seeds of
covenant. Of course, this is pure and simple                 thorns and thistles, and those seeds of thorns and
Pelagianism applied to the area of God's covenant in         thistles sprout forth through that gentle rain, then in
the world. This presentation is very dangerous, but it       that very same rain that earth receives the curse and
has nevertheless found wide acceptance in the                becomes ripe for rejection and destruction. By means
Christian Reformed Churches. According to it, the            of that rain, then, it exactly comes to manifestation
covenant is merely a promise to all. Those who are           what the real character of that earth is and what kind
baptized must consent to that covenant, they must            of seed lies hidden in it. Now the Scripture brings this
accept that promise, if they are to be truly members         in connection with those who indeed live under the
of God's covenant. And God bestows upon every                covenant but who nevertheless are and remain
covenant member sufficient grace either to accept or         ungodly. The rain falls in the sphere of that covenant
to reject that promise. Others do not go so far, but         many times. They do not dwell in the desert, where
speak nevertheless of a certain general covenant grace       all remains dry and barren. No, the rain of baptism
in the same sense in which some also speak of a              and of the Lord's supper, of instruction and
general, well-meant offer of salvation in the preaching      preaching, of the operations of the Spirit in the
of the gospel. That they are baptized, that they bear        church, of the powers of the world to come  - that
the sign and seal of the covenant on their forehead -        rain falls, plentifully or less abundantly, in the sphere
the sign and seal in which the Lord God signifies and        of God's covenant on earth. And if, now, there is
seals the benefits of the covenant,  - that they may         hidden in any heart the grace of God, the seed of
enjoy a covenant upbringing and may be under the             regeneration, then through the means of that gentle
good Word of God from earliest childhood, that some          rain that good seed sprouts forth and reveals itself
of them may even sit at the table of the covenant, in        presently in the good fruits of repentance and sorrow,
a word that with the church they may enjoy all the           in knowledge of sin, in faith and conversion, in the
means of grace, - this, then, is grace for all who live      knowledge of `the Savior, in the fruits of sanctifica-
and grow up under the covenant. And in all this they         tion and of the battle for God's covenant in the midst
may see the grace of God, God's well-meant offer of          of the world. In that instance everything is grace and
His covenant.                                                blessing. But when there is hidden in a heart the evil
                                           .                 seed of ungodliness, and nothing more, then also that
   Now let it be remarked, in the first place, over          comes to manifestation exactly through that same
against this view that also in the seals of the. covenant    rain. The heart in that case remains entirely without.
there is nothing common. There is neither in baptism         Then it may very well be that someone is enlightened
nor in holy communion a general offer of grace. It is        by the good Word  -of God according to his natural
simply not true that God in holy baptism promises            understanding, even to such an extent that in a
and seals something to aI1 who are baptized. No more         powerful manner he can speak of the mysteries of
than this is the case with His Word, with the gospel of      God's kingdom, while he nevertheless in the deepest
salvation, no more is it true with respect to the seals      sense of the word stands at enmity against it all. It
of God's covenant. In holy baptism the Lord God, in          may be, then, that he even obtains a certain taste of
final analysis, seals something to no one else than to       the things of God's covenant. They taste the good
those who believe. For it is the righteousness which is      Word of God. They acknowledge that it is good. They
of faith  which is sealed and confirmed both in              taste something of the powers of the world to come.
baptism and in the Lord's supper. The Lord does not          They can even see in a certain sense the beauty of
lie  - not even when the reprobate and ungodly               heaven, and speak of it. They cannot even, entirely
receive the seal of the covenant! When the Lord              escape the vibrations of the Holy Spirit as these
affixes His seal upon this truth that He reckons faith       operate and reveal themselves in the church. Rut with
for righteousness, then it is surely plain that such a       all this, they remain but natural men. Their own heart
seal is particular in its content and that no unbeliever     does not only remain outside all these things, but
can ever appeal to it.                                       even stands spiritually at enmity against them.
   But, in the second place, such a presentation is            And now, the consequence of all this is that such
exactly rejected and refuted by the passage in               ungodly men become hardened to the most hopeless
Hebrews 6. For the holy writer exactly demonstrates          degree, and either already in this life or in the day of
by the example which he uses that such an ungodly            judgment become revealed in all the dreadfulness of
man, though he may receive much, receives precisely          their wickedness. Far and away the majority of them
no grace and no blessing from God. He cites the              fall away already in this liffe. Sooner or later, under
example of "the earth' which drinketh in the rain            the influence of various circumstances, they are
which  cometh oft upon it." Now if in that earth the         compelled to reveal how they really have an inner
good seed lies hidden, and if under the influence of         loathing of the truth of God and of His covenant.
that rain that earth brings forth good fruits, then in       And it is precisely from among these that first the


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 225


apostate church and presently the power of the                sin comes to its most dreadful manifestation as sin. If
 Antichrist is born. And so the reprobate shell in the        Esau had not once possessed the right of the
 sphere of God's covenant never receives anything else        firstborn, he would never have become the fornicator;
  than cursing and wrath. In nature the chaff, under the      and he would never have been able to reveal himself
 influence of rain and sunshine, grows up luxuriantly,        in his Esau's nature. But  .now this is different. He
  along with the grain. But it nevertheless never             becomes Esau to the full, the ungodly man, who
 becomes anything else but chaff. In the field the grain      prefers a mess of pottage above the glory of God's
  and the weeds both sprout forth under the same              covenant. And God is justified when He judges Esau.
 influences; but those weeds never become grain. In           And thus it is with all the ungodly. Presently they
  the vine; in a certain sense of the word, the fruitful      shall be punished with everlasting. punishment in
  branches stand under the same influence as the              body and soul in the unspeakable anguish of hell. The
 unfruitful branches. In fact, the latter can frequently      equity of this judgment of God in proportion to the
 manifest themselves much more luxuriantly than the           wickedness of sin must be seen, in order that God
 -former. .But the unfruitful branches nevertheless only      may appear to be justified when He judges. Therefore
  become ripe to be burned. And it  is-no  different in       the terrible character of sin must also become
  the sphere of God's covenant. Israel dwells alone.          revealed to the full. And this comes to manifestation
  Also ungodly Israel on earth dwells alone. It becomes,      in the sphere of God's covenant, where the ungodly
  under the influence of God's covenant, much more            count the blood of the New Testament an unholy
  ungodly than the heathen round about Israel. Israel         thing.
  shall even dwell alone yet`in hell, For the. children of
  the `kingdom who are cast out shall certainly be              In the second place, it is exactly through this
  beaten with double stripes, precisely because they          divine arrangement that the antithesis comes to
  despised and trampled upon that which they once             manifestation and the battle for the cause of God's
  tasted.                                                     covenant in the world is fought. The believers do not
    At the same time, here also lies the answer to the        have their fiercest battle with those who are outside,
 question: what is God's purpose with all of this? In         but with those who in the external sense of the word
 the first place, we answer that it is exactly God's          are within. These are always inspired in principle, and
 purpose as far as such ungodly members of the                presently manifestly, with the spirit of the Antichrist.
 covenant themselves are concerned, that sin shall            It is through them that the church on earth suffers
 come to complete manifestation as sin. God.must be           and battles and wrestles for the sake of God's
 justified when presently He judges. The first root-sin       covenant. The spiritual seed is persecuted and
 of Adam in Paradise must bear its fruits to the full.        harassed by the carnal seed. The latter kills the
 The man of sin must come fully to revelation. Now            prophets and nails the Lord of glory to the accursed
 this takes place not in the world of the heathen where       tree and causes the blood of the servants of God to
 men do not live in the sphere of God's covenant. This        flow upon the earth. But in all this it nevertheless
 does not even take place fully when in that world of         serves to make God's elect people ripe, through
 the heathen the gospel is preached and some receive it       suffering and battle, for the final glory. For that
 while others reject it. But this takes place indeed in       people has the victory, through their King, Who is
 the sphere of God's covenant. It is also, then, in that      given to them by Israel's God, and according to His
 sphere that the power of the Antichrist is born. There       eternal good pleasure.

  FROM A FRIEND IN NEW ZEALAND                                              ..- . .



                      Reflections on a Year of Help


 (Editor's Note: I received the following letter for          Zealand and of Christchurch in particular. Mr.
 publication in our magazine. I publish it in the belief      Andrew W. Young, the writer, is an elder in the
 that it will foster our contacts with the OPC of New         Session of the, Christchurch congregation. You will


   226                                           -THE STANDARD BEARER


  also be interested to know that he has recently turned       point of view. Certainly, the popular, so-called
  down a professorship in Lincoln College at Christ-           "evangelical" churches .to which one was introduced
  church in order to `begin training for the ministry at       were thoroughly of this persuasion. In reality they
   our seminary. He and his wife, Nola, hope to arrive in      were self-confessed preaching or evangelistic
  Grand Rapids, the Lord willing, during May.)                 "centres". rather than true churches. Membership was
                                    2 1 st December, 1978      not a priority,. and consequently, congregations
                                                               tended to be unstable and susceptible to passing
  Dear Professor' Hoeksema,                                    whims.
     Greetings in the  Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  Out of my study window, I can see heavy rain clouds            It was into this environment that our Lord
  scudding across the sky. I am reminded by them that          reached, and in sovereign mercy, brought us to the
  the weather was exactly like this at this time last          knowledge of the Reformed Faith. The years
  year. I have occasion to remember that well. You             1973-1974 will always hold a treasured place. in our
  see, it will be exactly one year ago tomorrow since a        hearts as  years of spiritual awakening. Devoid of
  number of folk from our congregation gathered in dull,       ministers'able to teach us, we were wholly dependent
  cloudy conditions at Christchurch International Air-         upon the Holy Spirit to illumine personal study of
  port to welcome the Van Overloops to New Zealand.            the Scriptures and the works of sounder forebears
                                                               ihat had providentially come to hand. You can well
     That reminds me, too, that you have not heard             imagine our delight as we discovered for the first time
  very much from us over the past months. Perhaps the          the rich truths  of.  Scripture professed in historic
anniversary of the arrival of the first Protestant.            Presbyterianiam, and our &ief, too, as we beheld the
  Reformed ministers to come and help us in the                church that bore that name in our day. It was the
  Christchurch Orthodox Presbyterian Church, affords           desire to see once again a church in our land that was
  a fittirig occasion to reflect .upon what has transpired     truly  Presbyte&an in both doctrine and government,
  i>ver the past year.-                                        that led eventually to the organization of the
     Let me say at  the outset that I am only too well         Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Christchurch on
  aware of ,the difficulties there are in trying to assess     December  22nd, 1974  - exactly four years ago
  progreis in the life of a church. Much of what is really     tomorrow !
  significant passes unnoticed,`and  there is always that        During those four years, we laboured and studied
  temptation to want to measure things in terms of             td realize that ideal together with the four other
  numbers. But mindful of these and other obstacles, I         congregations of the O.P.C. in New.Zealand. Natural-
  shall do my best to present to you and the people of         ly the work has been slow, tind at times faltering. The
  your churches some. impressions of this first ye& of         fact that many of the founding members in our
  help.                                                        congregation were comparatively young meant
     In order that you might fully appreciate what it          we had little experience upon which to call.
  has meant to have one of your ministers in our midst,        Furthermore, the fact that we were without the
  let me tell you of the conditions in which many of us        services of a regular  .minister  was a considerable
  grew up. As in your own land, the mainstream                 deficiency, But in spite- of these things, the Head of
 Protestant churches in New Zealand have been                  the Church has .been pleased to .preserve us and bless
  thoroughly leavened with the heresies of modernism           us, and in these days, to provide us with long awaited
  for some fifty years. That means that the majority of        help. .
  us were brought up hearing that the miracles were             That, briefly, is the situation into which the  Va'n
  fables, the virgin birth a. lie, and the `resurrection of    Overloops .and later the Heys family &rived. Coming
  Christ. a simple, spiritual; rather than physical            from churches able to trace an unbroken heritage,
  phenomenon. For many of us, the extent of our                back to the Protestant Reformation, it might be
  formal religious education consisted of a few years          expected that they would find many things new and
  spent at Sunday Schools or Bible Classes of question-        perhaps distinctly "unorthodox" in our fledgling
  able worth. Family worship was `a ral'ity, even in the       congregation. Whether that was so or not, they are
  homes of office-bearers, and such a thing as a               best to tell. Certainly, on our part, we have been
  catechism unheard of, let alone learned.                     blessed with a clearer appreciation of the rich
     Sadly, for many of us it was only when we left our        distinctives of the Reformed idea of the church
  homes to study at university or work in larger cities        through their presence with us.
  that we learned anything of the gospel. There,                 Of those distinctives, that which  has been  im-
  through contact with Christian Unions and other              pressed-dpon us most of all, is the vital and central
  para-church organizations, we first heard about              piace of the church in the life of the people of God.
  regeneration and true, saving faith. And then what           While that was not entirely new to us, it is true to
  was learned was almost invariably from the Arminian          say, I am sure, that it has been brought into a brighter


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   227


 and sharper focus for us in these past months. There          outside of the church. That has changed. Now we join
 is a strong tendency among Christians in New Zealand          with the authors of Psalms 84, 122, 137, and others
 to look upon the church as something of a convenient          in joyful &teem of the house of worship.
 accessory to one's own personal devotional life,                Finally, I thirik that it is true to say that through
 rather than consider it .as it is, the essential organ for    the labours of your ministers and their families in our
 its well-being. It is often supposed that the individual      midst, we have come to appreciate the responsibilities
 Christian can function ably as an independent unit,           of both parents and the church as a whole toward
 feeding, teaching, counselling,  evangelizing,. etc. Need     covenant seed. It has been said by the late Dr. Charles
 I say how helpful it has been to have the beautiful           Hodge, that the appreciation of the rights and
 truths concerning the organic life of the church so           privileges of the seed of believers is always at its
 clearly expounded to us? While it is humbling to              lowest ebb when the church is doctrinally weak. That
 olie's pride to realize that we are not able, nor meant       would certainly appear to be true in New Zealand.
 to do all these things in isolation, it is also comforting    Baptistic views are extremely widespread, and even in
 to realize that the church is the God-appointed sphere        Presbyterian churches children are commonly
 for the gathering and nourishment of eis people, and          presented for "dedication" in infancy and only
 the realm in which gifts and graces find opportunity          baptised as believing adults. Furthermore, many
 for their exercise and cultivation. Indeed, the very          parents are content to leave the spiritual education of
 presence of a pastor in our midst for the first time has      their children entirely in the hands of some Sunday
 afforded a wonderful illustration of this reality.            School, and have no qualms whatever about sending
   That brings me to a second distinctive that has             their children to be indoctrinated with atheistic
 betn impressed upon us, namely, the importance of             dogmas at state schools.
 office-bearers in the church of Jesus Christ. In the            Over against this, we are endeavouring to make
 Presbyterian congregations in which we were raised,           sure that Christian parents understand the unique
 almost everything revolved around and depended on             position in which they and their children stand. The
 the minister. Elders seemed to do little more than            matter of school education is a pressing one for us,
 distribute communion tokens and stop occasionally             and in this respect, you have very much to help. Your
 for a friendly chat. Deacons (or managers, as they are        ministers and their families have provided a  g&.nd
 more commonly called) made sure that the bills were           example.
 paid, the buildings kept sound and the lawns mowed.
 Almost inevitably, whether deliberately contrived or            Perhaps these things may seem to be  .terribly
 not, `an  hiemrchy was established. But niore im-             .rudimentary and fundamental to you. But I trust that
 portantly, elders and deacons were recognized in              that in itself .is just cause for thanksgiving.  Well might
 much the same light as the elected officers of any            we- have spent the year deadlocked in quibbles over
 other society or club.                                        points pertaining to our minor differences. Instead, it
                                                               is evident from the various things I have mentioned,
   Of course, that is totally different to the Reformed        that solid foundations are being built.
 conception. To realize that Christ dwells in His
 church in a special way through those who represent              Really, that work is still just beginning. It would be
 Him in the various aspects of His ,mediatorial office,        wrong to create' the  ,~impression that the  above-
 certainly transforins one's respect both of the'office        mentioned  tn$hs have been thoroughly assimilated
 and thqse that serve in it. One listens td Christ in the      into our congregation -and their practical, implications
 preaching, submits to -His rule- in the oversight and         realized. There is still a long way to go in these things.
 government of the elders; and rejoices in His tender          And besides, there are sfill many areas of service to be
 mercies in -the ministrations of the deacons. We-have         developed and explored. We live in a country where a
 gained many new insights into these thingsin the past         mere.4% of  the population attend. churches, and of
 year, and can gladly confess that they have been              that number,. but a small fraction belong to Reformed
 made precious to us. It is as a direct c&sequence of          churches. Each  m.onth we  send5  some 200 or more
 seeing the.netid  that Christ be`represented  in all the      tapes to believers in isolated pockets who are~hungry
 aspects of His offick iii every congregation,. that we        for Reformed truth. They need to be gathered into
heave moved toward electing a deacon:                          chuyches, taught,  tid shepherded. To do that `we
                                                               need ministers  $nd elders and deacons. Young  meti
   Allied to these things has been a growing apprecia-         need to be trairied for the r'ninistry. And in all these
 tion of the importance of the means of grace for the          &de&ours;  we are heavily dependent on your help.
 spiritual growth of the Lord's people. Previously,
 many of us used to shrink a little at the bold                  In retrospect, then, it appears' that this past year
 statements in the Confessions and in the writings of          has been a very  important one for us both  in many
 the Reformed fathers concerning preaching, and the            ways. Your ministers have come tq us willing to serve,
 fact. there  ,is no ordinary possibility of salvation         and that they hiye done with unsparing diligence. But


228                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



more importantly, it is evident that God has been           reciprocate such that, walking together in perfect
pleased to bless those labours to the upbuilding of His     harmony,  .,we may go on to know the Lord and
people in the Christchurch Orthodox Presbyterian            glorify His Name in the earth.
Church. We are thankful for all you have done and
sacrificed to help us, and trust that if not at present,                 Your friend and brother in New Zealand,
then in the future, we will be able in some way to                                         (w.s.) Andrew W. Young

CORRESPONDENCE AND REPLY





                                   Abut Preaching
                                                 Rev. A. den Hartog





Dear Rev. den Hartog:                                       missionary who is sent by the church to minister in
  Your article in the September 15, 1978 issue of           some area designated by the church. If you mean that
The Standard Bearer  was read by me with great              "every individual member" must support the work of
interest as I came to know `through a very difficult        the church by his "tithes and offerings," I would
experience that "it was God's good pleasure through         wholeheartedly agree.
the foolishness of the preaching to save them that             I would be pleased to read your reply in  The  "
believe." (I Cor. 1:2 lb - American Standard Version)       Standard Bearer if you so desire.
Also see Question and Answer 65 of the Heidelberg                                 Thank you,
Catechism.                                                                        (w.s.) G.P. "Gerry" Vellenga
 To almost all of your article I could say "Amen,"
but I had `difficulty agreeing with a portion of the 4th    REPLY
paragraph. You state, "This work (to preach the             Dear Brother in the Lord Jesus Christ:
gospel) involves more than merely the regular preach-         Thank you very much for your letter to me and
ing in her own midst. Every church must preach to           the question that you ask on my Standai-d Bearer
the world-in which God has placed her, that all those       article of September 15, 1978. I am veti sorry that I
who are ordained unto eternal. life might believe and       did not reply to your letter sooner. This is inexcus-
be brought into the fold df the church." Then you go        able. I hope that you will.still  receive my reply.
on to say, "This is the work of the church as a whole
and every individual member qf the. church, not ~ply          With regard to  -the work of the preaching of the
the minister."                                              Wqrd there are I  believe two dangers that must be
                                                            avoided. I believe very strongly that the `work of the
  Now,  are you saying that "evkry individual mem-          preaching `of the Word in the official sense must be
ber of the chuizh" has the duty to preach? `.               carried on. by the ministers of the Word of God..
  The scripturks say, "Ye are our epistle, written in       These ministers must be sent by Christ Jesus Himself.
our hearts, known and `read of all men" in II Corin-        They are to be His official ambassadors. This is the
thians  3:2 ASV; but to infer that "every  indiiidual       clear teaching of scripture in passages such as Romans
member" has the  ,duty to preach takes, my breath           10: 14-l 5 and Galatians 1: 1. They come with the
away, as I believe-preaching is done by the ordained        `official and authoritative Word of Christ Jesus-Him-
man of God in  `a.: regular worship service with the        self. Christ is pleased to ordain and send these
consistory present. I do make  ti exception  ts the         ministers of the gospel through the-ordination of the


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      229



church. We have-an example of this in the sending out               abound with exhortations to the church to pray for
of Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13). I sense in your letter              the work of the ministry of the gospel.  Thirdly, the
a concern for the maintaining of the official preach-               child of God has the duty and obligation to do as the
ing of the Word by the ambassadors of Christ Jesus.                 Berean Christians did after they heard the preaching
This concern I share with you. This is especially                   of the apostle. He must go home and search the
important in our day when we see so many  self-                     scriptures to see if that which is declared in the
ordained and independent preachers going out on                     preaching is true. Finally, and this in relation to what
their own hook and thus usurping the office which                   I was speaking of in the article you referred to, it is
Christ has ordained in the church. Furthermore, there               the duty ,of the Christian to speak zealously about the
is today the notion that everyone can and should be a               preaching of the Gospel to others. We-must encourage
preacher in the same way that the ordained minister                 one another and exhort one another with the preach-
is. There is very much disregard for the official                   ing of the gospel. I believe that the chief work of
character of the preaching of the gospel of Christ                  missions which the individual believer has the calling
Jesus. There is little appreciation of the fact that the            to do is zealously to try to encourage others with
ordained preacher comes with the official authority                 whom he comes in contact to come to the preaching
of Christ Jesus. Ali of this I do not in any way want               of the  gospel in the church. If one looks at the
to minimize and I am sorry if my article gave this                  history of the growth of the church I believe that
impression.                                                        most of the genuine growth of the church has come
  I believe however that there is another danger with               when the saints of God zealously encouraged others.
respect to our understanding of the work of the                     to come to the preaching. In fact,' in a sense the
preaching. This is a danger that has  oft&n been                    regular members of the church are often more in a
present in the church of Christ Jesus which must be                position of being able to encourage others to come to
just as strongly warned against as the danger men-                  the preaching who are outside of -the church than
tioned above. Sometimes the work of the preaching                  ministers. are able to do. This is true because they
of the Word is understood in such a way that' the                   often live closer to these people than the preachers of
saints of  God. in the church consider themselves to                the gospel do. Often we hear about Christians who
Kave really no part in this work at all except that they           join the church because a friend or a relative first
come each Lord's Day to listen to it. Perhaps we as                 brought them to church and encouraged them to
Reformed people are more inclined to fall into this                 come. In this way every individual member is actively
error. We think of the preaching of the. Word as a                 involved in the work of the preaching of the gospel.
work that belongs exclusively to the minister                      The Lord has given us people who have, the gift to be
and perhaps to the elders of the church. I believe that            able to do this kind of thing very effectively. ,We need
the involvement of the member of the- church in the                to' encourage this very much in our churches.  Ulti-'
work of the preaching goes much further than merely                mately, I believe, all that is called personal evangelism
supporting that work by tithes and offerings. May I                or witnessing must be directed to the preaching.
suggest a few aspects of what I would call the church                 I hope this answers your question. I admit that  it-
members involvement in the work of the preaching.                  would have @en better to explain in the article what I
First of all, of course, all this work must come out of            meant by the statement you quoted.
the motive of the love and zeal for the gospel of
Christ Jesus and the extensipn of the church of Christ                                            Sincerely in Christ,
Jesus which should fill the,:hearts and souls of every                                         Rev. A; den Hartog
member of the church. Secondly,  the. scriptures

VOICE  OF OUR FATHERS


                                         Church and --State
                                                  Prof Robed D. Decker


                           `_
                                    :
               "We believe that our gracious God, because of the depravity of mankind, hath appointed kings, princes
          and magistrates, willing that the world should be governed by certain la& and. policies; to &e end that tithe


230                                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER



               diloluteness  of men might be restrained, and all things carried on amohg them with good order and
              decency. For this purpose he hath invested the magi&y with the sword, for the punishment of evil-doers,
              and for the protection of them that do well. And their office is, not only to have regard unto and watch for
              the welfare of the civil state; but also that they protect the sacred ministry; and thus may remove and
              prevent all idolatry and false worship; that the kingdom of anti-Christ  may be thus destroyed and the
              kingdom of Christ promoted. They must therefore countenance the preaching of the Word of the gospel
              everywhere, that God may be honored and worshipped  by every one, as he commands in his Word.
              Moreover, it is  the  bounden  duty -of every one of what state, quality or condition  soever he may be, to
              subject himself to the magistrates; to pay tribute, to show due honor and respect to them, and to obey
               them in all things which are not repugnant to the Word of God; to supplicate for them in their prayers, that
              God may rule and guide them in all their ways, and  that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all
              godliness. and honesty. Wherefore we detest the Anabaptists and other seditious people, and in general all
              those who reject the higher powers, and magistrates, and would subvert justice, introduce community qf
              goods, and confound that decency and good order which God bath established among men."
                                                                                                        Article XXXVI,  The  Be&c Confession





  I t   m i g h t   s e e m   s t r a n g e   t h a t   t h e   C h u r c h   i n   i t s    might add at this point that if this were a burning issue
confession of faith dealing with the doctrines of God                                        in Reformation times, it remains a thorny one today.
and His revelation, man and his. fall into sin, Christ                                       This is obvious from the-rather lengthy footnote the
and His cross, salvation, the church, and the last                                           Dutch Church felt compelled to append to this article
thing& would include a statement. of belief concern-                                         with which the Christian Reformed Church expressed
ing the state and its relationship .to the church. That's                                    "full accord" in 19 10.
not so strange, however, when one considers the                                                There may be some misunderstanding of the
historical context in which our Confession was born.                                         Article on the question of the origin of the state. The
In those times, Reformation times, the issue of the                                          Article might be interpreted to  mean that the state
relationship of the church t6 the state was a burning                                        originated with the. entrance of sin into the world.
issue. Specifically this was one of the issues at which                                      This, however, is not the case. Apparently the
Reformed believers  ,parted company with the  Ana-                                           Confession  speaks of the magistrates only as they
baptists `against whoni this article was penned. The                                         function now on account of the fact of the depravity
Anabaptists refused to recognize the temporal power                                          and sin of mankind. In this connection the  Confes-
of the magistrate. Government, the state, according                                          sion  speaks of the fact that our  "gracious  God,
to their  .conception was inherently evil. The state                                         because of the depravity of mankind, hath-appointed
belonged to the realm of Anti-Christ. The Anabaptists                                        kings. . . ." God did that in His grace. Not His
attempted, therefore, to establish their okn kingdom,                                        "common grace to. depraved mankind." There is no
the kingdom of Christ, here on this. earth in which                                          such grace for the ungodly, for God is angry with the
they had all things in common (the  "`community of                                           wicked- every day. Nor did God do this in His-grace to
goods" t o   which  the  ,Confession   refers). In- this                                     the ungodly. But God did this in His graciousness to
connection. it must not  be forgdtten that. the                                              His Church  a&l people in Jesus Christ. In order that
Confession  was ,-written -during times of fierce                                            -His Church might  be,,born, gathered and defended
persecution. The Reformed believers were charged                                             and preserved out'of `the nationS  God hath appointed
among other things of being seditious along with the                                         kings. The state, according to the grace of God, exists
Anabaptists. This article was written- as a defense of                                       -for  the sake of God's church.
their position, as an explanation of the Bible's                                               The state  originated in Paradise. Adam was the
.teaching on the place of the state relative to that of                                      head of his wife and the king of creation and the head
the church.  The article was also intended to prove                                          and father of  the entire  human race. Adam had the
that Reformed believers were not rebels against the                                          command to "dress and keep" the.`garden.~He  was
state. This explains the emphasis on the-fact that it is                                     appointed of God to rule his wife anh posterity and
the  "bounden duty" of all men everywhere to be                                              to rule over the entire creation. His calling and task
-obedient to the magistrate. And it is remarkable that                                       was to  bress the `entire creation into the service of
even though persecuted -severely by the state, the                                           God. `Hence Gbd ordained from the very beginning
fathers still insist that the Bible calls all men to live in                                 that His sovereign rule and control over all things and
obedience to that state. This explains the presence of                                       all men in everysphere  of life should be represented
Article XXXVI in our Confeshion.  It was intended as                                         here upon earth by vice-regents whom He appointed.
a  kind of  apologia  to the state on  tbis.question.  We                                    Thus the state really developed along the line of the


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   231


development of the ,organism of the human race. The         doer and praise the evil doer. This is a terrible, crime
father of a family was its head. He became the ruler        for which. they shall be held accountable by the
of the clan and eventually the king of the people. The      sovereign Judge of heaven and earth. To accomplish
appearance of sin into the world became the necessity       their God-ordained purpose the magistrates must seek
of the sword.. This the Bible states emphatically. We       the`welfare of the civil state, restrain the dissoluteness
read in Genesis  9:5, 6: "And surely your blood of          of men, and maintain good order and decency.
your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast          The 
will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand                 Confession speaks of the calling of the state as
                                                            including the duty "to protect the sacred ministry;
of every man's brother will I require the life of man.      and thus remove and prevent all idolatry and false
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood          worship; that the kingdom of antichrist may be thus
be shed: for in the image of God made he man." This         destroyed and the kingdom of Christ promoted."
is part of the Word of God and the revelation of.the        They must therefore countenance the preaching of
Covenant of God to Noah after the flood. We might           the Word of the gospel everywhere, that God may be
add it is a- Word of God which is applicable for. all       honored and  1 worshipped by everyone, as he com-
times and cultures. Because man is created. in the          mands in his Word. An objection was brought against
image of God, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man           this phrasing by the Reformed Churches in -the
shall his blood be shed." Capital punishment is             Netherlands which was sustained and resulted in the
required by Scripture, and the state which rejects this     addition of the footnote which was also adopted by
only reaps to itself a veritable harvest of murder and      the Christian Reformed Church in 1910. This
bloodshed! This  means that the magistrate receives         footnote has to do with the relation between the
his `authority from God Himself. This also means that       church and the state and the question of a "State
the magistrate must give ati account of all his rule and    Church." To put the question another way, does the
government, of his use of that authority conferred          state have the duty to  .enforce the first table of the
upon him to God. He must give answer to God of his          decalogue as well as the second? Does the state have
wielding of the sword which God puts in his hand.           the calling to prevent and punish desecration of'the
  The purpose or calling of the magistrate is equally       Sabbath, blasphemy, idolatry, etc.? This is not such
plain from the Scriptures. Their calling is to punish       an easy question. There are many complex factors
those who do evil and praise those who do well. In          entering in. In general, however, it would seem to be
Romans 13 :l-5 God commands; "Let every soul be             inharmony  with Scripture to take  tht: position that
subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power       the state does have the calling to enforce the first
but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God,         table of the law as well as the second. Surely nowhere
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the      is there a distinction made in the Bible. Nevertheless
ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to     this enforcement of the first table of the law by the
themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to        magistrates' must be limited to the sphere of the state
good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be          and may not be made to infringe upon either the
afraid of the power? do that which is good, dnd thou        sphere of the church, the home, or  ,the shop. In the
shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister       social and civil relationships of men to men the first
of God to' thee for good. But if thou do that which-is      table of the law must be enforced. This precludes the
evil, be afraid; for he.beareth not the sword in vain:      establishment of a state church, denies the right of
for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute        the church to assume power in the state as Roman
wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore' ye must          Catholicism  teaches, denies the right of the state to
needs  ,be subject, not only for wrath, but also for        enforce the promotion of true religion at the point of
conscience sake." Similarly we read in I Peter              the sword,  but. still maintains that the Church and
2: 13-l 7 : "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of        State are not  independsnt of each other. The State
man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as      has the duty to protect the Church from evil men, yet
supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are           has no authority over the doctrine of the Church. It
sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for        may not punish heretics with excommunication and
the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of      banishment.
.God, that with well doing ye-may put to silence the          Finally it is the duty of all men to obey the
ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your       government. They must show them honor and
liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the            respect, pay tribute to them, and pray for them that
servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brother-          the Church may lead a quiet and peaceable life in
hood. Fear God. Honour the  king." Both of these            godliness and honesty. The only qualification to this
passages clearly teach that government is ordained by       is when the state requires that which is contrary to
God and therefore must be obeyed for God's sake. It         the Word of God. Then the believer must obey God
is true that man; times the magistrates are unfaithful      rather than men. Even then he' may not rebel, but
in their calling. Sometimes they even punish the well       must with patience suffer if need be for well doing.


232                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



IN  HIS FEAR





                                Our Beautiful  Naine
                                              Rev. Meindert Joostens





  Initially it was a matter of derogation. We read in      say senf me? "And God said unto Moses, I am that I
Acts chapter. 11 that the disciples of Christ were         am . . . I am hath sent me unto you." God describes
called Christians first in Antioch. This was quite a       or reveals Himself by this  riame Jehovah which is
witness on the part of the world regarding the             really nothing more than the verb "to be." God is the
followers of Christ. They called themselves by many        eternal "I am" Who is immutable! So, especially in
names: brethren, believers, saints, disciples. But -the    the Old Testament, names are very significant. This
name Christian was not among them. It originated in        must not escape qur attention as we explore our
the world. The testimony of the world was that the         wonderful name, Christians.
disciples were followers of Christ. They walked in His        To see the full beauty and significance of-this name
footsteps. They were indeed disciples in the true          it is most logical for ,us to begin with Christ Whose
sense of the word! For this  verjr reason this most        namesake we are. As all of us remember from our
beautiful and descriptive name was sufficient to            catechism lessons, that name Christ in the  Old
condemn them to death. During the persecutions of          Testament is equivalent to the name Messiah and
Rome upon the church, that wonderful name was the          means, "the anointed one." And as such, Christ
judge, jury, and executioner of the child of God.          stands in, the tradition of those who were anointed to
ChriSt had forecast as much  when He said, "And ye         sacred office in the Old Testament. Or perhaps it is
shall be hated of all men for my' namesake: . . ." For      better to say that the idea of anointing in the Old
Him they suffered shame, were persecuted, and sawn         Testament was God's  Did Testament picture and
asunder. This is almost enough to make us judge the        shadow leading Israel unto the reality of Christ Who
name ugly on account of its consequences. Yet, it is a     is the officebearer of God  par excellence.  The
most beautiful name! This beauty in. all its profound      significance is quite plain. Oil was a picture of the
and challenging character w&be clearly understood if       Holy Spirit. And therefore, very simply, to be
tie for a few moments pay attention to it.                  anointed to sacred office in the Old Testament
  It is most important for us to understand the idea        signified that one was first of all designated by God
of a name. Today it has lost its significance almost        to fill a certain office, and in the second place such a
entirely. Whether we would use names or numbers             one was qualified. by the Spirit of God to function in
would make no great difference. Names today merely          that office. Take the concrete example of David. God
differentiate one from the other. The Bible, however,       sent Samuel to the house of Jesse and pointed the
attaches much more significance to names! In fact,         prophet to his youngest son as God's anointed, and in
names are basic to the revelation of God Himself to        that anointing God qualified him for that royal
His people. To point this out I need only call to mind     position by His Spirit. But this as well as all the
one very well-known example. When God appeared to          examples we take from the nation of Israel are but
Moses to give instructions as to his return into Israel     pictures and foreshadow Christ. For this reason the
to deliver them, Moses asked of God: whom shall I           three distinct offices in the Old Testamknt, prophet,


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                233


priest, and king, never came together in one person.        priests, and kings in Christ. Let us consider for a few
For the picture and shadow must always of necessity         moments what this means. Christ as prophet is the
be incomplete and imperfect. Yet in the fulfillment         Word of God, Who is God's revelation unto us. He
of the type the three distinct offices come into one.       reveals unto us the secret counsel of the will of God
The Bible spells this out very clearly. In Acts,            and makes plain the mysteries of the Kingdom. T&is
Stephen speaks concerning Moses'. speech to the             He spoke through the prophets of the old dispensa-
Israelites, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise        tion. Thus He spoke when He walked among us. Thus
up unto you of your brethren, like unto me, him shall       He speaks by His Spirit today. Imagine, we stand in
ye hear." Moses spoke of the Word that became flesh         the office of prophet before God and man. This
and dwelt among us, God's prophet! The writer to            means that God has given unto us the unction of the
the Hebrews discovers, for us in extensive detail that      Holy One whereby we know the will of God and the
Christ was God's priest after the order of                  mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ. The Spirit of
Melchisedec, whose priesthood stood above the               Christ enables us to know God and His dealings with
Aaronitic. (Hebrews 7) There can be little question         us so that we may use His Word -as a perspicuous
about the royal office of Christ. The Scripture is          Book to lead us in this life. And what a privilege to be
perhaps most plain here telling us that He is the Son       an anointed priest in Christ! The essence of the
of David Who sits upon His Father's throne everlast-        priestly office is consecration and dedication to God.
ingly. But His kingdom is not of the earth earthy but       For this reason in the Old Testament the priest had
heavenly and glorious.                                      written upon His garment, "Holy unto the Lord."
  But you say we have gone so far afield from the           Christ exhibited this in the fact that in all things He
consideration of our name, Christian. Not so! In fact       was obedient unto His Father. It was written of Him,
we are now ready to progress into the true beauty of        "Lo, I come; in the volume of the book it is written
our name. I cannot refrain from quoting what I              of me, I delight to do thy will, 0 my God: yea, thy
considers to be one of the most beautiful questions         law is within my heart." (Psalm  40:7  &  8) Again.
and answers of the Heidelberg Confession. I have in         imagine the horror of being able to stand as priests
mind question 32 and its answer, "But why art thou          before God in consecration according to the new man
called a Christian? Because I am a member of Christ         in Christ. To be able to love Him and serve Him in the
by faith, and thus am partaker of His anointing; . . ."     whole of bur life. And we are kings with Christ. The
Now it becomes plain to us why we understand Him            royal power over creation which we lost in Adam is
whose namesake we are! You and I partake of His             restored in Christ so that we'reign over all that God
anointing by faith! This means that as we are               gives to us and make it subject to His pleasure and
ingrafted into Christ by faith we are made partakers        glory.
of His threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.
Here is the beauty.of our name. It is not so that he is        But in closing we must be reminded that the
merely our namesake as some of us are named after           wonderful name Christian also designates a grave
our father or grandfathers. For there is little beauty      responsibility and calling. In Christ we are prophets!
here. I may be named `after my grandfather and may          We are to speak the truth in love. The lie may never
respect him to the utmost but there is nothing of his       be found upon our lips. The confession of God must
character or assets transferred upon me just because        be continually upon our lips. That means practically,
he is my namesake! It is quite different with the           that we must steep ourselves in the `Scriptures. For
name Christian! I am not speaking of nominal                how can the words of my mouth be a confession of
Christianity, but of the fact that we are called            my God except I know Him Whom I confess. It is our
Christians because we are ingrafted into Christ by a        office in Christ to confess His name! And in Christ we
true and living faith! It is more than a name. It is a      are priests! Paul speaks of this in Romans 12 saying,
name which designates us spiritually to belong to           that we must present our bodies as a living sacrifice,.
Christ and to share in His life and merits. His             holy, acceptable unto God. My body in all its
character as the officebearers of God characterizes us.     functions and activities is to be a sweet smelling savor
We are Christians! This is not only a name but more.        in the nostrils of G6d. We must be in our lives thank
It is a description of what we are.                         offerings well-pleasing unto our God. Finally, in
                                                            Christ we are kings! A king rules in his domain and.
  To carry this glorious name is a wonderful privilege      wages war against those who intrude into his
because God has so called us. He could have just as         kingdom. Such is the child of God who fights the
well called us the sons of Beelzebub. It is only by His     battle of faith daily, seeking to reign over that which
grace that we are partakers of Christ .by faith. It is a    God instructs to him to His glory.
gift of God. It is the Husbandman Who grafts into the
Vine, not we ourselves. Therefore that name is                We have a wonderful name. Living in the con-
wonderful because it is wholly undeserved. But more         sciousness of what this name signifies we must walk
than this, it is all too wonderful that we are prophets,    in His fear!


234                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER


ALL AROUND US





                                               The Age of the Earth

                                                           Rev. G. Van Baren





  The evolutionists seem  td have a field day with the                   evolutionists claim  - the entire globe would be
dating of the age of the earth and the universe.  And                    covered with a layer of meteoric dust fifty-four feet
uninformed laymen, as most of us are when it comes                       deep.
to matters "scientific," would find it difficult to                             The space scientists worried about making a
refute their arguments. Only by faith we believe that                    landing on the moon  - they thought that it would be
the worlds were framed by the Word of  Gsd   - and                       a soft landing, and treacherous, but we now know
that, too, in  .harmony  with the account of Genesis.                    that the layer there is not 54 feet deep, but only
And although one may never supplant that faith with                      one-eighth of an inch.
mere scientific proofs, there are those in the realm of                         The oceans would be expected to yield vast
science who present another viewpoint on the age of                      amounts of nickel, since nickel forms a major part of
the earth. An interesting article was quoted in the                      meteorites. Yet the  actual amount of the' element
Christian News  of Nov. 20, 1978 from the "Christian                     found in the sea water indicates an accumulation
Victory" magazine for July-August, 1978. I quote                         period of only a few thousand years, rather than
some interesting parts of it:                                            millions and billions.
                                                                                Another point is the decay of magnetism. There is
          How old the earth? To this question the several                now a scientific dating system which dates the earth
       .hundred  members of the Bible-Science Association                as less than 15,000 years. Scientists have brought to
       and the Creation Research Society say "NO". (No, it               light the fact that earth's magnetism is decaying. . . .
       can not be billions of years old). The fact is that the
       earth cannot possibly be even 20,000 years old, andis                    Robert L.  Whitelaw,  Professor of Nuclear and
       more likely no more than 6,000 to 8,000 years old.                Mechanical engineering at Virginia Polytechnic In-
       This is a time period which  fits in with Bible                   stitute, has pointed out that the Carbon-14 content
       chronology. Of course, it does not fit in with the wild           of the atmosphere has not, as evolutionists assume,
       guesses of evolutionists. . . .                                   been constant over the centuries, but rather is
                                                                         building up. The rate of build-up is about 20 percent
          In  his  book,  Biblical Cosmology and Modern                  over its decay rate. It is calculated that the time
  Science,  Dr. Henry Morris presents a formula on                       during which Carbon-14 has been accumulating in the
       population growth. To achieve the present world                   atmosphere in order to reach its present level has
 .population  within 4,500, the approximate-amount of                    been less than 16,000 years. Professor Whitelaw, after
       time since the Flood, only 2.4  .children per family              calculating all factors involved, has arrived at the
       would be required, and 43 years to a generation.                  actual date of creation, which is about 7,000 years
          To postulate earth's population beginning one                  ago.
       million years ago is ridiculous. The earth could not                 The rock-dating methods which are most common-
       contain the people. One million years would require               ly used are the Uranium decay and the  Potassium-
       28,600 generations, producing a population of                     Argon methods, but both of these have been proven
       105000.  Actually, not even 10100 people could be                 faulty and unreliable in cases where the actual age of
       crammed into the entire known universe, certainly                 rock formations is known from history. In one case,
       not the earth. . . .                                              lava rocks which were known to  have.been formed in
          It  has.been  determined that over  14,000,OOO  tons           1800 and 1801 in Hukalai, Hawaii, show an age of
       of meteoric dust settles to the surface of the earth              160 million years by the Potassium-Argon method.
       each year. If the earth were five billion years old - as          Science  magazine, issue of Oct. 11, 1968, reports


                                                T H E   S T AN DARD  BE ARER                                                 235


    dates of 12 to 21 million years for volcanic rocks           to show. But we ought not to think that worldly,
    known to be less than 200 .years old. There are              unbelieving scientists have all the "scientific"
    numerous other reports showing the unreliability of          ariswers. May iYe ever give glory to God Who made
    the dating methods.                                          the heavens and the earth and all they contain in six
  You can take the -above for what it is worth. We               days of creation!
continue to maintain the creation account on the                    Incidentally, the same paper, Christian News, Jan. 8,
basis of a living faith which holds to the testimony of           1979, presented a reprint of the editorial of Prof. H.
the Word of God. Yet one is impressed that there are             C. Hoeksema on, "Preaching  - The Instrument of
those who find that the evidences within the earth               Reformation." Certainly, the editorial was appropri-
can also be used to support that Biblical account.               a t e   - and obviously considered applicable and
How reliable these "proofs" are, I am in no position             instructive to others as well as to us.




                                 On Women's Voting "Rights"

  The General Synbd of the Reformed Churches,                    tion." The question had also been raised several times
Liberated, in the Netherlands faced the question last            before at Synods of the "Liberated" Reformed
year of the Xght" of women voting at congregation-               Churches in the Netherlands.
al meetings. There seemed to be  strpng support for                 The proposal failed. But one must be somewhat
this, but the proposal failed. There were those in               surprised that such a proposal should arise or be
favor of such a "right," yet "advised that the                   seriously proposed. The same proposal both in the
churches were not ripe yet for such a step, and                  Reformed Churches of the Netherlands and the
therefore should not take it." The Clarion, Nov.. 18,            Christian Reformed Church here led to women
1978, presents the report. As the matter came to the             serving in all the offices in the Netherlands and as
Synod in the Netherlands, there was consideration of             deacons now in the C.R.C. There seems to be a close
the fact that noted Reformed men of the past                     relationship  between granting this "right" to women
supported the idea, that the Synod of Arnhem, 1930,              and the "right'.`. of women to serve in the offices.
made the decision "not to grant the right to vote in             Scripture must continue to be the infallible guide in
the church to the female members of the congrega-                all of this.




                                 Women in Office (Continued)  '

  The  ,arguments concerning  women in office  con-                     We herewith ,inform the- Chris& Reformed
tinue.  .Iri the Banner,  official organ of the Christian            Church in North America that, since we believe this
Reformed Church,  .there have appeared letters in                    decision to be contrary to the Word of God (I Tim.
"Voices" in which C.R.C. congregations express                       2:12; Acts 6:3), our Confession (Belgic Confession,
dissatisfaction with the synodical decision concerning               A.rt. 30) and the Church Order  of the Christian
women deacons. These same letters insist that their                  Reformed Church (Art. 2, 3, and 47), therefore we
congregations refuse to consider the decision settled                do not and will not consider this decision of Synod
                                                                     settled and binding upon the conscience and practice
or binding upon them. One such letter appeared in                    of our congregation.
the Jan. 19, 1979 issue:                                            One can, first, sympathize with this rather  an-
       The consistory and congregation of the North              guished statement and the position this church
   `Blendon Christian Reformed Church, Hudsonville,
    Michigan, have taken note of the decision of the             expresses against the drdination of women as  -dea-
    Synod of 1978  allotig women to be ordained to the           cons. However, this congregation (and those who
    office of `deacon.                                           agree with their stand) face a rather serious dilemma:


236                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER


anarchy or anti-scriptural submission. That they can                  them the point of his contention, he faces the alterna-
not agree with the Synodical decision is understand-                  tive: submit to the decision and consider it binding -
able. Yet to state publicly that they refuse to be                    or leave that denomination. Does North Blendon  con-
bound by it is anarchy. Their own Church Order, Art.                  sider the decision of such serious nature that they will
30, states, "The decisions of the assemblies shall be,                follow that alternative? Or is it one more Synodical
considered settled and binding, unless it is proved                   decision against which there are a flurry of objections
that they conflict with the Word of God or the                        which soon die down until another point of difficulty
Church Order." Now this article can hardly mean that                  arises? At what point does one stand up for his
a .synodical decision is binding unless one proves to                 convictions - and face the inevitable consequences?
himselL or to his own satisfaction, that the decision is              To "wash one's hands of the matter" while remaining
contrary to Scripture. He must prove this to the body                 corporately united to a body is not only inconsistent
against which he is aggrieved. If he fails to prove to                but ultimately impossible.



                                                 Battle of the Bible

  Reformed (and Presbyterian) churches, even those                        original manuscripts of the Bible, flatly contradicting
considered once very sound, increasingly bring up                         the Westminster Confession of Faith. . . . Worse still,
again the question of the interpretation of "infallibil-                  our Synod has not disciplined those false teachers,
ity" of the Bible. The Presbyterian Journal, Jan. 17,                     giving implied assent to these errors. We dare not be a
1979, reports concerning the Prosperity' A.R.P.                           part of such."
(Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church) of Char-                               The session also charges that First Presbytery
lotte, N.C. That congregation decided unanimously to                      recently approved and installed a minister who "de-
withdraw from the A.R.P. denomination.                                    scribed Genesis l-l 1 as a `myth,' " while refusing to
          In a letter to members and friends of the                       ordain Mr. Stephen Stout, the man they called to be
       congregation, the session cited as reasons for the                 their own pastor.
  withdrawal what it considers to. be the  ARP
       denomination's growing carelessness with the doc-                We are unacquainted with the history of the above.
       trine of  Bibheal  inerrancy and the local First               Yet the complaint sounds familiar. The growing
       Presbytery's refusal to approve their call of a pastor.        opposition to the truth of the infallibility of
          On the  infallibility  issue, the session asked             Scripture is seen within even such churches which
       rhetorically: "Is this a false warning? We do not think        formerly held to that -without compromise. How
       so, because the faculty of our. denominational                 urgent, then, is the calling of the church of Christ to
       (Erskine) Seminary blatantly attributes error to the           be stedfast and faithful - even to the end!

BIBLE STUDY GUIDE



                          I. Corinthians, God  *is Faithful
                                                          ( C o n c l u s i o n )

                                                           Rev. J. Kortering




  We have learned from chapter 12 that the apostle                    down the overemphasis on tongue-speaking as it was
has given us an indication that he intends to put                     practiced in the church of Corinth. This is seen in the


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   237



fact that he mentioned it last in the list of Spirit-filled      Keeping this in mind, we can appreciate the
gifts  (12:8-10). He pointed out that not all the              emphasis the inspired apostle places upon prophesy-
members of the church should expect to receive it              ing: it is more desirable as a gift because one can
(12:29, 30). Finally, he directed them to a more               speak unto spiritual edification. One who speaks in
excellent way for the communion of the saints than             tongues speaks to God, not  to. men (vs. 2,  3), and
tongue-speaking, namely, to love one another                   therefore edifies himself  not the church, (vs.. 4, 5).
(12:3 1).                                                      Paul relates this to his own ministry. It would not
  Now in chapter 13 he explains how love is a more             profit the church of Corinth anything if he came
excellent way. Two reasons are given in chapter 13.            speaking in foreign languages to them, (vs. 6).
Love is basic to all Christian action; without it, even        Similarly, if people did not understand the sound of a
becoming a martyr is vain, (vs. l-3). Such love makes          trumpet in Old Testament times, that it was a call to
all Christian action beautiful, (vs. 4-8). The second          battle, blowing a trumpet would accomplish nothing,
reason is that love will endure while all other gifts of       (vs. 7-9). We cannot have meaningful friendship if we
the Spirit mentioned are temporary and will cease,             speak foreign languages, (vs. 10, 11). The conclusion
(vs. 8-13). These gifts of the  spirit are temporary           is this: if the Corinthians desire to have spiritual gifts,
because the writing of the Bible is not complete, and          they should seek those gifts which will edify the
until then, speaking in tongues, etc., will certify that       most, and if they speak in foreign languages they
God is working through the ministry of a certain               should pray for interpretation, for that is the only
man. As soon as the Bible was completely written and           way they can enjoy true communion of the saints,
given to the church these temporary gifts ceased.              (vs. 12-16). Correctly, Paul states that he would
Love, however, continues to bind together in true              rather pray five words in a known tongue than
brotherhood, unto eternity.                                    10,000 in foreign languages that no one can
                                                               understand anyway, (vs.  .18, 19). Interestingly, he
  Edification is the important thing. Paul now                 adds that when God sent a prophet to Israel and he
proceeds to show that if one weighs the advantages of          spoke to them intelligibly, it was a blessing; and when
prophecy overagainst speaking in tongues, the balance          a prophet came, speaking in an unknown tongue, it
falls in favor of prophecy.  The reason for this is            was a curse, a sign of unbelief, (vs. 20-22). They
edification. Prophecy edifies God's people; speaking           should rejoice then that God sends someone to them
in tongues is very limited in edification. Before we           who will bring them the gospel in a known language.
analyze his reasons for this, we should consider what          This holds true for those who will come to worship
the difference was between speaking in tongues and             with them. If they are all babbling in an unknown
prophecy. In the light of these chapters  (12-14), we          language, he will leave them and say they are all mad;
conclude with Hodge that speaking in tongues                   but if they speak in a known language, he will be
involved the following: " 1. The word tongues in this          convicted of sin and believe in Christ unto salvation,
connection, as already proved, means languages.                (vs. 23-25).
2. That the speaker with tongues was in a  stat? of
calm self control, he could speak or be silent,                  Paul did not say it was wrong for them to speak in
(14:28). That what he said was intelligible to himself,        tongues. He recognized that. the Spirit did give that
and could be interpreted to others. 4. That the                gift to the church, (vs. 26). Rather, he spells out the
unintelligibleness of what was said, arose not from            proper use of it. This included not more than two or
the sounds uttered being inarticulate, but from the            three speaking at a service, and that too only when
ignorance of the hearer. The interpretation of                 one also had the gift of interpretation. If no one
particular passages must, therefore, be controlled by          could interpret,  the tongue speaker should keep
these facts," page 157 commentary. Prophecy,                   silence, (vs. 27, 28). The same held true for prophecy.
however, was different. It involved speaking forth, in         Only two or three at a service, and then, too, what
the comnion language spoken by all the people                  was prophesied should not contradict the Old
present, the truth that God had immediately. revealed          Testament Scripture or the other inspired books
to that person. This too is different from preaching as        already written, but should be tested by the objective
we have it today. Prophecy was also a temporary gift           testimony of the Written Word, (vs. 29-33). Since
(13  :8). It, however, involved divine revelation and          women are more emotional than men, they were
intelligible communication. Preaching as we have it            assuming leadership in the speaking in tongues. So
today is authoritative only in that it is in agreement         Paul had to admonish them that it was not their duty
with God's revelation, the Bible. God no longer gives          to be leaders in the church; they should keep silence
immediate revelation to preachers or anyone else. His          and learn from their husbands at home, (vs. 34, 35).
revelation is the Bible and every faithful preacher will       Since these instructions were given by Paul through
search the Scripture and preach its message and then,          inspiration, the whole church should recognize that
being sent by Christ through His church, has the right         they come from God, and all should yield themselves
to say, "Thus saith Jehovah!"                                  in obedience to them, (vs. 37, 38).


238                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



  9. The problem of doctrinal error  regarditig  the          the living will be immediately translated and the dead
resurrection of Christ from the dead, (chap. 15).             raised from the graves, for the corruptible must
Some in the church denied Christ's bodily resurrec-           become incorruptible and death swallowed up in
tion: "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from            victory, (vs. 5 l-58).
the dead, how say some among you that there is tie               10. Instruction to take collections for the saints in
resurrection of the dead?" (vs. 12). This opposition          Jerusalem, (chapt. 16). Poverty afflicted this con-
to the resurrection came either from the heathen              gregation in Jerusalem. So, as in other churches, Paul
"converts," who still mocked the resurrection as the          exhorts the Corinthians to collect money on the first
Athenians did, (Acts  17:32), or from the Jewish              day of the week, the Lord's Day, that everyone, give
element who came under the influence of the                   as God has blessed him, and that the money be ready
Sadducees who denied the existence of angels and life         when he comes, (vs. l-4). He plans to stay at Ephesus
after death, (Acts  24:6-9 and  26:6-9). Over against         till Pentecost and then perhaps he will come and
them, Paul asserts the fact of the resurrection. First        winter with them  .(vs. 5-9). Timothy will come first
he  Yefers to the historical proof. He preached the           and Paul asks them to treat him kindly, that he may
resurrection because Christ appeared after the resur-         be without fear, and later Apollos will also come, (vs.
rection to Peter, to the twelve disciples, to 500             1 O-l 2). He urges them to be submissive one to
brethren, to James, `to all the apostles, and even to         another and follow good leadership, as for example
Paul himself, (vs.  l-11). This is important historical       the house `of Stephanas, (vs. 13, 14). He expresses
.evidence  because it verifies the theology of God's          appreciation for their sending to him the delegation
Word, namely, that without the resurrection, there            and sends his greetings to them in return, (vs. 15, `16).
could be no salvation, preaching would be vain, we
would still be in sin, (vs. 12-19). However, He is risen         Questions for consideration.
and is the source of life even as Adam wasthe source             1. Discuss how your family and church is affected
of death. Christ is the first-fruits, and through the         by the community in which  you live. Pay special
general resurrection He will be able to present the           attention to the sinful influences it may have on
completed kingdom to God, (vs. 20-28). He refers to           both?
some custom of their day as, "baptized for the dead."            2. In light of this epistle, what is the proper
Someone did this - we do not know how or why, but             method we should follow in dealing with sins which
Paul simply refers to this as further proof that it           are evident in other members of `the congregation?
would be futile to do this unless a person believed in
the resurrection. He finally points out that if there is         3. A local congregation may be spiritually weak as
no life after death, we might live carelessly and that        the church of Corinth was, what hope have we for the
would be deception, (vs. 30-34).                              future well being of such a congregation?
                                                                 4. What legitimate things should we forego today
  The human difficulty of accepting the resurrection,         for the sake of weaker brothers or sisters in our
lies in the mystery of the resurrection body. The rest        church?
of the chapter deals with the change that takes place
in our bodies when we pass from death unto life. He              5. Should our young people consider foregoing
compares it to the seed planted in the earth: it              marriage because of the fear of persecution under the
sprouts into a beautiful flower or stalk of grain; it is      coming anti-Christ?
the same seed; it dies in the earth; then it is changed          6. Does the solution to the problem of women not
into a beautiful flower, (vs. 35-37). There are               wearing a veil to church in Corinth, chapt. 11, say
different kinds of bodies: animals have their own             anything to us about women wearing slacks to
body; even the stars are called heavenly bodies. Each         church, or about the length of man's hair?
h_as its own beauty, (vs. 35-41). Thus the resurrection          7. Discuss how we can show Christian hospitality
of the body is like the sowing of a seed. After death it      to strangers in both our homes and churches.
is put into the earth in corruption, dishonor,
weakness, and natural, but in the resurrection it rises          8.  Analyze the modem tongues movement and
in incorruption, glory, -power, and spiritual, (vs.           show how Paul's teaching in this epistle contradicts it.
42-44). There is a definite order, first the natural then        9. How is the doctrine off the resurrection, central
the spiritual (vs. 45-50). In Christ, all will be changed,    to the comfort of the gospel?



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


                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                       i39





                                                        Book Review

COMMENTARY ON MARK,  by Henry Barclay                                           Englishman and served as pastor and professor in
Swete; Kregel Publications, 1977; 434 pp., $12.95.                              some of the Anglican Churches and colleges in that
(Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko)                                                    country. He was an outstanding scholar and his work
                                                                                is of considerable value.
   This commentary, which is a part of Kregel Re-                                  His commentary is not characterized by lengthy
print Library, is not a book intended for laymen. It                            exposition of the text, but concentrates upon textual
makes use of the Greek text which is reprinted in the                           notes, work studies, summaries of many other
commentary and contains a fairly lengthy critical                               writers, and brief explanations of the thought. It
apparatus along with the text. Its value is for min-                            includes a valuable introduction. The commentary is
isters primarily.                                                               recommended to our ministers and professors as
   The author, who lived from 1835 to 19 17, was an                             excellent background material for a study of Mark.




                                                         RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY

                                             The Men's Society of the  Redlands  Protestant Reformed Church
                                          expresses its sincere sympathy to one of its members, Mr. Everett Van
                                          Voorthuysen in the loss of his mother, MRS. EVERETT VAN
                                          VOORTHUYSEN, SR.
                                             "The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their inheritance
                                          shall be forever." (Psalm  37:18).

                                                                                              Rev. J. Kortering, Pres.
                                                                                                 Otto Gaastra, Sec'y.





                            N O T I C E ! ! !                                                                    NOTICE!!!

   The, Board of  ,Northwest  Iowa Protestant Reformed Christian
School is in need of a teacher for the lower room. This includes Grades            Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches will meet in
1 and 2, and kindergarten. All those interested send their application to       Edgerton, Minnesota on March 7, 1979 at  8:30 A.M. Delegates in need
the following address: Northwest Iowa Protestant Reformed Christian             of lodging should inform the clerk of the  Edgerton consistory.
School, P.O. Box 67,  Doon,  IA 51235.                                                                                    Rev. David Engelsma, Stated Clerk




                                                                                         -


                                     News From Our  Churches-


   First Church in Grand Rapids is conducting  Sun-                             mately twenty "Visitor's cards" were fnled in. On his
`day worship services in Bradenton, Florida, as a                               last Sunday there, 47 attended the service. About half
church extension work. Professor Robert Decker was                              of those present were not Protestant Reformed.
the first of our ministers to go there and preach. Prof.                        There appears to be a definite interest in starting a
Decker preached there on three Sundays beginning on                             Protestant Reformed Church there. Rev. den Hartog,
December 3 1, and on New Year's Day.` Prof. Decker                              pastor of our church in New Jersey followed Prof.
reported in the First Church bulletin that the preach-                          Decker. He also plans to preach in Bradenton for
ing of God's Word was gladly received. Approxi-                                 three Sundays.

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





240                                            THE STANDARD BEARER




         Rev. Joostens and Mr. Clare Prince left for Jamaica    ormation."
       on January 17. They spent ten days on the island as        Also in Loveland, the Ladies' Circle, which always
       emissaries of the Mission Committee of our churches.     seems to have an activity in progress, sponsored a
         The Mission Committee is also working with our         Dessert Auction on January 26. The Ladies' Society
       Kalamazoo Church in mission efforts in Charlotte,        in Redlands, California is busy collecting for their
       Michigan. Worship services began there on January 7.     "Bakeless bake sale."
       Our retired ministers are sharing the preaching load       The Bible Society of our church in Isabel, South
       there. There are four interested families attending      Dakota, decided to have a turkey dinner in the
       these services.                                          church basement on the evening of December 20.
                                                                Being able to have such an activity as this certainly is
         The congregation of our Hope Church in Walker,         an advantage a small congregation has over a large
  Michigan, has approved a number of significant pro-           one.
  posals during the course of two recent congregational
  meetings. It was decided to include $10,000 in the              Another severe snow storm disrupted activities in
  church budget for Home Missions. This amount is in            the  midwest again this January. Several of our
  addition to that assessed each of our congregations           churches in the Grand Rapids area canceled worship
  by Synod for Home Mission work. These funds will be           services on Sunday, January 14. The big storm arrived
  used to support Rev. Robert Harbach, home mis-                12 days earlier this year.
  sionary, who is working under the direction of the              Faith Church in Jenison, Michigan, recently ap-
  Hope consistory and the Mission Committee in                  proved the purchase of an Allen 603 organ for their
  Victoria, British Columbia. Hope also approved a              new church sanctuary and approved the construction
  proposal to send a gift of $10,000 to our church in           of a parking lot. To finance some of the costs of these
  Wyckoff, New Jersey, to assist the congregation of            rather expensive projects, the church is scheduling a
  our Covenant Protestant Reformed Church in its                cash drive in the near future. Faith Church first
  efforts to build a suitable building for worship ser-         scheduled worship services in their new sanctuary on
  vices. Hope also is going ahead with some church              December 10.
  remodeling of its own. The consistory room and small            The Randolph, Wisconsin, bulletin carried the note
  meeting room will be carpeted and paneled.                    that "The budget as adopted (1979) means that next
         Hope Church has also taken on a project of note. It    year Randolph will be able to function without
  has come to their attention that Mr. and Mrs. Andrew          subsidy. We thank our God for giving us the financial
  Young of Christchurch, New Zealand, will be coming            means to be self-supporting."
  to the United States this spring so that Mr. Young can          While in Edmonton to conduct the annual church
       attend our seminary. Since the US Immigration Ser-       visitation, Rev. George Lanting, pastor of our church
  vice does not allow foreign students or their wives to        in Loveland, lectured on the topic, "The Biblical
  `work while studying in this country, a committee has         Calling of Women in the Church."
  been formed in Hope Church and given the mandate                The Lecture Committee of our Michigan area
  "to seek to provide financial help for Mr. A. Young."         churches placed bulletin announcements asking that
  Information concerning this need was also given in            the night of Wednesday, May 2, be reserved for the
  the Report of Classis East in the last issue.                 annual Spring Lecture. They hope to avoid conflicts
         The Church Extension Committee of our congrega-        with one or more weddings, banquets, school pro-
  tion in Loveland, Colorado, recently mailed 850               grams, or other gatherings.
  copies of the pamphlet "The Fruit of Church  Ref-                                                            K. G. V.


