           The
      STANDARD
          BEARER
            A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE





       Pilgrim  .church, reflect back on how
     you commemorated the birth of your
     Lord. Was it done in such a way that you
     were in .the world ,but not of it? Or were
     You swept along with festivities of
     foolish men as they fattened themselves
     for the day of slaughter? Watch and
     `prepare yourselves for Jesus' second
     coming.

       See "Eating and Drinking" - page  180


b                                               Volume LVI, No. 8, January  15,198O  -


170                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



                          CONTENTS:                                                                              THE STANDARD BEARER
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MEDITA TION


                                         The Covenant of the
                                                   Day and Night
                                                              Rev. M. Schipper


                 "And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord; If ye can
             break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be
             day and night in their season;
                 Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a
             son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. "
                                                                                                                                           Jeremiah 33 : 19-2 1.

   The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah in                                   For the prophet had been thrust into prison
the prison!                                                                   because he had spoken the word of the Lord. He had


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                171



warned the people of Judah, not only of the pending            An ordinance intended to continue so long as the
captivity in Babylon, but also that their peace and         world shall endure!
safety lay in complete subjection to the king of               This cannot mean that the world is eternal, for the
Babylon. If they would not obey this word they              Word of God clearly indicates it shall perish, wax old
would perish, but if they would obey it the Lord            as a garment (Psalm  102:26). And the apostle Peter
would prosper them, and return them after seventy           informs us that the heavens shall pass away, and the
years to their own land. However, the leaders of            earth also shall be burned up, and we are to look for a
Judah spoke lies to the people; warning them not to         new heavens and a new earth where righteousness
be in subjection to  Babylon% invading king, while          shall dwell (II Peter 3 : 1 O-l 3).
they at the same time saw to it that Jeremiah be
counted worthy of death. However, the princes of the          Nor does it mean that the Creator on occasion
people rescued the prophet from death, and instead          could not set aside the ordinance. For we know that
he was thrown into prison.                                  at the time of the deluge it appeared that the end of
  From behind the bars of his cell he is called once        the world had come. And from a certain point of
more to speak the word of the Lord. Indeed, the day         view so it was. But remarkably the Lord God showed
                                                            to Noah that while the earth remained, seed time and
would come when Judah's captives would return               harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, the day
from bondage to their own land. The Lord will cause         and the night shall not cease. Significantly it is to be
the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David,          observed that the rainbow appears to Noah after the
and in those days shall Judah be saved and Jerusalem        flood as being indicative of the covenant of the day
shall dwell safely (verses 15, 16). David shall never       and night. We remember too the time of Joshua in his
want a man to sit upon the throne of Israel (verse          battle with the Amorites, how at his word the Lord
17); nor shall the priests, the Levites, want a man to      God caused the sun and the moon to stand still until
offer up sacrifices (verse 18).                             Israel obtained the victory over their enemies (Joshua
  It is in this connection that the Lord speaks of the      10:  12,13). And at the time of Hezekiah the Lord
covenant, the covenant of the day and the night. If         made the shadow to go back ten degrees on the sun
that covenant of the day and night shall fail  - which,     dial of Ahaz, to prove to the God-fearing king that his
of course, is quite impossible  - then shall the            life would be extended. And, would we be entirely in
covenant which God made with David also fail  -             error if we concluded that at Calvary, in the hour of
again, an utter impossibility.                              the Saviour's deepest agony, when He perceived His
  As we stand at the threshold of another year, and         God-forsakenness, that God caused the day to
have recently witnessed the passing of an old year; as      become as dark as night?
we witness the change of the times, the seasons, the           Yet, in spite of all these changes, which it is the
years, which is in strict accord with God's covenant        prerogative of the Creator to make, He incessantly
of the day and night, we must be reminded that God          maintains His covenant of the day and the night.
also is realizing His own covenant of grace and peace       From the creation of the world to the second coming
in Christ with us the believers; and with our spiritual     of the Lord Jesus, when He will cause the sun to be
seed.                                                       turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, until
  In the light of our text we are brought to consider,      then these heavenly bodies shall control the times.
first of all, the covenant of the day and of the night,     Each day the sun will rise and set. Each season shall
and its spiritual counterpart.                              follow the other in its proper order. Each year will be
  From the beginning of the creation there has              succeeded by another.
continued the ordinance of the day and night                   Such is the covenant of the day and of the night!
(Genesis 1: 14-19). God said at the dawn of creation,          And what is so remarkable is the fact that while
Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to       the covenant of the day and night continues
divide the day from the night. Let them be for lights       faithfully to be realized, God at the same time and
in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the       within the same circumstance is realizing and bringing
earth. And God made two great lights, the greater, to       to fruition His other covenant, the covenant of grace
rule the day, and the lesser, to rule the night. And He     in Christ. Moreover, it should not pass our notice that
made the stars also. And God said, Let them be for          the sole purpose of the former, namely, the covenant
signs, and for seasons, and  fordays, and years. So the     of the day and night, is the realization of the latter.
created lights were not only to rule the day and night,     Creation and time is the necessary sphere in which
but also for the dividing of the times, the seasons, the    the covenant of grace is realized. That covenant of
years.                                                      grace therefore is from the beginning and it stretches
  This is the establishment of the covenant of the          out to the end. A covenant of grace, not of works, or
day and the night!                                          of nature. Really the Bible knows nothing of such


172                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



distinctions. They are  .only philosophical, sucked out      Who will grow up unto David. This is none other than
of the thumb of man. There is, according to                  the Lord Jesus Christ, the true seed of David, the
Scripture, only one covenant of sovereign and elective       Lion of Judah's tribe, the Son of Abraham, Isaac, and
grace. That covenant is it which God made with               Jacob. In and through Him will the covenant with
Christ and His people in Him in eternity; and which is       David, with the covenant fathers, be fulfilled. And as
realized within the brackets of time as the divine           for the  .office of the priests, the Levites, it shall
Sovereign realizes His covenant of the day and the           continue (Verse 18). The sacrifices of atonement shall
night. That our text speaks of the covenant of grace in      continue to be brought, and the blood of the
terms of David, God's servant, and with the Levites,         covenant shall continue to flow. In that atonement
the priests, points only to the old dispensational           the children of Judah must continue to look to the
revelation of it.                                            Branch, the Lord our righteousness (verse 16).
  An inviolable covenant!                                       How comforting, indeed!
  Not to be broken!                                             It is the word of the Lord! The word which
  That is true of the covenant of the day and the            Jehovah, the covenant making and covenant keeping
night. No mere man can ever change it. Though he             God, speaks to His people!
often attempts to monkey with the creational                   Not a word of mere man, whose breath is in his
ordinance by setting his clocks ahead and backward           nostrils, and whose breath must continue to be given
to accommodate his pleasure and his business, thus           him or he perishes. Of man, who of himself cannot
attempting to change the times and seasons which             speak the truth. Of man, whose word is no more
God has set in His covenant of the day and night,            reliable than fickle man himself.
nevertheless man is bound by the order of the Creator          Not even is it the word of Jeremiah. Of himself the
in the sphere of His creation. It is the sole prerogative    prophet had nothing to say. Always the prophet must
of God, as we already pointed out, to alter the order of     first be filled with the word of God before he can
creation when the cause of His covenant of grace is at       speak, and only then does he bring the word of God.
stake. But for the rest, the covenant of the day and
night He maintains so that we may reckon with it.              Nay, but it is the word of Jehovah God!
  How terrible it would be if this covenant should be          The unchangeable, the eternal God! Whose word is
broken! What do you suppose would happen if the              unalterably true, and which never fails to come to
light did not appear tomorrow morning? What                  pass!
terrible catastrophe would befall us if the present            Jehovah's word        concerning His inviolable
winter would continue into the coming summer?                covenant!
What awful consequences would follow if man's days             Not only concerning the covenant of the day and
should be extended until say a thousand years! How           night, but more particularly pertaining to His
ridiculous the thought that the seed of corn would           covenant made with Christ in the eternal counsel of
never stop growing!                                          peace. The word which has been spoken within the
  Because the covenant of the day and night is not           brackets of the covenant of the day and night from
broken, man may freely reckon with it. So the farmer         the dawn of creation. That word which was spoken in
may plan to sow his seed in the springtime. So the           Paradise the first in the hearing of our fallen parents,
young man may seek his virgin. So the old man may            Adam and Eve. That word which was spoken at the
prepare his house for the moment of death. So the            time of the destruction of the first world in the flood
young child may be instructed in his youth, that             to Noah. That word which was spoken to the
when he is old he may not depart from it.                    covenant fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; to
                                                             David, Solomon, and the Levites. That word which
  So inviolable also is God's covenant of grace!             God spoke in the fulness of the times in the Logos,
  0, indeed, the children of Judah believed that God         the Person of the Son of God in the flesh. That word
had broken that covenant (verse 24). They actually           which was realized in principle at the cross of
said that the two families, that of David and that of        Calvary, when God sealed that covenant in the blood
Levi, had been cast: off. And because of this                of the Redeemer. That word which He speaks to us
misconception Jeremiah, from behind his bars, must           now in the changing of the years.
speak the word of the Lord, the  .word that clearly            My covenant shall stand, and I will realize it
contradicts the awful misconception of Judah's               perfectly through the Branch of My righteousness.
people.                                                        That speech of Jehovah God is intended for your and
  God's answer is: My promise to David shall be              my comfort. As it was intended to comfort the children
realized in the Branch of righteousness (verse 15). He       of Judah about to go into captivity. 0, how they
is the Branch of righteousness overagainst Judah's sin,      needed that comfort! They had imagined that God


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                      173



had forsaken His covenant promise to David because            as assuredly My everlasting covenant of grace shall
the `priesthood had become corrupted, and therefore           remain. I will be your God! And ye shall be My people
offered no more sacrifices for sin. To that hopeless          forever!
lot God says virtually: I will multiply the seed of              Is that your comfort, dear readers?
David until the Seed shall come, the Branch. I will
keep the house of Levi until the sacrifice is brought            Then all things may pass away, as do the years; but
that will bring an end to all sacrifices in the Lamb of       your God remains forever the same. Then your
God which taketh away the sin of the world. I will            friends may leave you, but your covenant Friend
keep my covenant so long as the covenant of the day           remains forever at your side.
and the night endures.                                           Then remember, too, that so long as night passes to
  That speech of comfort comes to us now!                     day, God's friendship relation to you is in progress,
  Indeed, the times may change, for that is nothing           and will not stop until you shall see Him face to face,
more than the covenant of the day and night. But just         and dwell in the house of His covenant forever!

EDITORIALS
ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema


                                        Replete With Errors

  It is surely to be hoped that the readers of  The           supralapsarian. So the statement comes down to this:
Banner do not simply swallow uncritically what Dr.            one cannot hold to a supralapsarian view of God's
James Daane writes on the subject of reprobation and          decree and with consistency be an infralapsarian. It is
related subjects. For his writings are filled with more       like saying that one cannot be a cow and with
fiction than fact and more error than truth, and as           consistency be a horse!
such are very, very misleading. In fact, Dr. Daane is
promoting an altogether new theology: not only                   3) "A second consequence of decretal theology's
new in comparison with the theology which has been            shaping       o f   t h e   C h r i s t i a n   R e f o r m e d   m i n d   i s
traditionally Christian Reformed, but new in that it is       that anyone who articulates non-decretal,  infralap-
a definite departure from all that has ever been              sarianism       gets a         heavy-handed treatment and
Reformed, all the way back to John Calvin. For this           large      variety       of heretical labels from the
reason I insist that if Daane's views are consistently        supralapsarian,         hyper-Calvinist theologians in our
held and applied to the body of theology, the result is       Reformed             community."          T h e   e r r o r s   h e r e   a r e
another gospel, which is not the gospel.                      numerous: a) There is no such thing as a non-decretal
  An example in point is Dr. Daane's second article           infralapsarian. b) Supralapsarians are not to be
on "Tuininga and Reprobation,"  (The Banner, Nov.             identified with hyper-Calvinists, especially not in the
16, `79, pp.  16,17). That article is replete with errors.    Reformed community.                    c) Supralapsarians have
We cannot take the space to refute them all in detail.        historically not given infralapsarians heretical labels.
But permit me to list a few and to comment briefly.           One gets the impression that Daane does not know
                                                              the difference between supra- and infra-, and even
  1)  ". . . although our creeds are infralapsarian           that he identifies infralapsarianism with Arminianism.
rather than supralapsarian, one cannot hold to                But whatever may be the case, notice that Daane
decretal theology and be an  infra-." Our creeds are          merely makes a claim but offers no evidence.
indeed infralapsarian (especially the Canons), but
they are all thoroughly "decretal," and there have               4) "They (decretal theologians) sometimes seek to
been many Reformed and decretal theologians who               soften this (that God must be regarded as the
were infralapsarian.                                          ultimate cause of all things, including the fall and
  2) "One cannot hold to Cornelius Van Til's and              reprobation) by urging that man is the secondary
Herman Hoeksema's view of God's decree, and with              cause of the fall and of reprobation." No decretal
consistency be an infralapsarian." Cornelius Van Til          theologian would make man the cause  - even
can speak for himself. As far as Herman Hoeksema's            secondary cause  - of reprobation. This would
view is concerned, a statement like this is sheer             a m o u n t   t o     conditional reprobation,                  which is
nonsense. Why? Because Herman Hoeksema was a                  anathema to decretal theologians (both supra- and


174                                               THE STANDARD BEARER


infra-), even as is conditional election.                     have a theology which is far more evangelical, in the
   5)  ".  1 . reprobation is the ultimate expression of      typical American sense, than Reformed." Let it be
individualism." Reprobation is indeed individual, but         noted, however, that this "typical American sense" is
not the expression of  individualism.  According to            the characteristically Arminian sense, the sense of
God's decree, the body, the church, the elect race,            crusade evangelism and decisionism. Daane is even
the organism, is saved, while some individual branches         correct when he fears "that this process is also going
are reprobate and go lost. Reformed theology is never         on in Christian Reformed churches." But he is wrong,
individualistic: Pelagianism and Arminianism are              dead wrong, as to the cause. He ascribes this to the
individualistic to the core.                                   "basic individualism that lies so deeply in the
                                                              Reformed doctrine of election." T h i s   i s   b o t h
   6)  ": . . our view of election . . . is dominated by      doctrinally and historically incorrect. When does it
our view of reprobation." Then why, pray tell, does           happen that Reformed and Presbyterian churches
reprobation have such a small and limited place in the        begin to become victims of American evangelicalism
Canons? A statement like this is sheer nonsense.              (Arminianism)? It happens exactly when they begin
   7)  ". . . no Reformed theologian in all the centuries     to veer away from the Reformed doctrine of election
since the Canons of Dort has been able to construct a         and reprobation and to teach in one degree or
theology which shows the Biblical relation of your            another that salvation or the possibility of salvation is
and my election to the election of Jesus Christ." This        universal, that the gospel is a general, well-meant
is simply not true. I am well aware that Dr. Daane            offer of salvation, that there is a love of God revealed
likes to present himself (as in his  The Freedom of           in the gospel to all men, etc. This is what happened in
God)  as a theologian who stresses the election of            the Christian Reformed Church in 1924. It is what
Christ and the relation of our election to it. But            happened in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church in
Daane's view is both unbiblical and confused. Fact is         this country in the crisis of the Clark Case. It is what
that Herman Hoeksema stressed the primacy of the              has happened repeatedly in other forms and at other
election of Christ in relation to our election and in         occasions in other denominations. Why, doctrinally
relation to the covenant for many years. It is high           speaking, does it happen? It happens not be-
time that Dr. Daane should come to grips with this            cause the Reformed doctrine of predestination is
view    o f   H o e k s e m a    instead    of forevermore    individualistic. But it happens because the incipient
misrepresenting his views. Isn't it strange that the          Arminianism toward which they veer and with which
man whom Daane regards as the epitome of decretal             they compromise the doctrine of predestination is,
theologians is the very one who has done for years            like all Arminianism and Pelagianism, inherently
what Daane says no Reformed theologian has been               individualistic. When once these churches turn in the
able to do? Daane can  find this view very clearly set        direction of such individualism, it becomes impossible
forth in the first chapter of Hoeksema's Christology          to stem the tide. Some fifteen years ago the Christian
in  Reformed Dogmatics.                                       Reformed Church was powerless to condemn the
  There are more errors, but it would require                 error of universal atonement (a typically American
extended discussion to enter into them.                       evangelical doctrine, to use Daane's expression).
                                                              Today the Christian Reformed Church  - regardless of
  Let me conclude by calling attention to Daane's             what their synod's decision is going to be on the Boer
contention that it is individualism which has made            Gravamen  - is showing itself powerless to maintain
Reformed churches easy victims of an "American                the doctrine of reprobation. When did all of this
evangelicalism      that is        characterized by    its    begin? Fifty-five years ago, when the Synod of 1924
individualism." There is truth in this contention. It is      attempted to say "both . . . and" with respect to the
true, as Daane also states, that "many of the more            t r u t h   o f    sovereign,    particular    grace    versus
`conservative' Reformed and Presbyterian churches             Arminianism .


                                 An Old Argument in New Garb

  There is one segment of Dr. Daane's evaluation of                   Some of my readers may perhaps back off and say
Tuininga's view of reprobation which demands special              that these matters are too deep for them to evaluate.
attention. In writing about decretal theologians'                 But there is a very simple and valid way to evaluate
insistence that God must be regarded as the ultimate              decretal theology. Would you dare, or have you ever
cause of all things, including the fall and reprobation,          heard a decretal theologian, say such things in prayer?
Daane writes:                                                     Can you conceive of anyone confessing his sins and
                                                                  saying to God, "But You, God, are the ultimate cause


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                             175


    of my sins"? Decretal theology betrays its unbiblical      illogical jump from the specific to the general: 1) We
    character by its inability to come to expression in our    cannot say in the particular instance of confessing our
    prayers and in our worship of God. But what cannot         sins that God is the ultimate cause of our sins. 2) We
   be said in prayer and worship is surely not good            cannot say this in prayer and worship in general (an
    theology. The view of God's sovereignty which says
    that God is the ultimate causation of everything and       unproved assumption). 3) What cannot be said in
   thus also the ultimate cause of reprobation is not a        prayer and worship is not good theology. 4)
    part of the content of your Christian faith or mine. If    Conclusion: decretal theology is not good theology.
    it were, we would express it in our prayers and               In the fourth place; we may apply the test of
   worship of God. But who does? Not even those who            Scripture and ask the following questions: 1) Does
    argue for this kind of theology!                           Scripture itself ascribe the facts and events of sin to
  What about this argument, or test, proposed by Dr.           God's  .de'cree? 2) In Scriptural prayers and worship
Daane? We may leave aside the precise terminology,             are the facts and events of sin accomplished by sinful
about which there may be difference of opinion. Not            men ascribed to God's decree and providential
everyone may agree, for example, on an expression              activity? 3) `Does Scripture in any way in prayer
like "ultimate cause." The basic question is whether           attribute the sins of God's people to the sovereign
the facts and events of sin and the fall have a place in       God?
the sovereign decree of the Most High. On this all                The answer to all three questions is Yes.
decretal theologians (including infralapsarians, who
prefer to speak of "permission") agree. Against this              Numerous passages of Scripture might be cited in
Dr. Daane proposes the test described in the above             answer to the first question. But let me cite one
paragraph.                                                     which refers to the central sin of the ages,. the
  In the first place, let me point out that Daane's            crucifixion. By the way, it took place in worship:
argument, if you analyze it, proves to be nothing but          Peter was preaching! I refer to Acts  2:23, "Him,
a very old argument in a new garb. What is that old            being delivered by the determinate counsel and
argument? It is the argument that decretal theology            foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
makes God the author of sin. Or, in another form, it           hands have crucified and slain."
is the argument that decretal theology denies the                 In answer to the second question, I refer you to
responsibility of the sinner and  - for this is its            Acts  4:24-30, where we read in part: "And when
corollary  - ascribes the responsibility to God instead.       they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God
  In the second place, what is the uniform answer of           with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which
confessionally decretal theologians to this argument?          hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that
They repudiate it! In connection with reprobation              in them is . . . For of a truth against thy holy child
(Canons I/A/15) they say:  ". . . which by no means            Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both  Herod, and
makes God the author- of sin (the very thought of              Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the  peo.ple of
which is blasphemy). . .  ." And in the Conclusion of          Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever
the Canons they state that "the Reformed Churches              thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be
not only do not acknowledge, but even detest with              done. . .  ."
their whole soul" such a doctrine. Scripture deals                In answer to the third question, I refer the reader
with principally the same argument in' Romans                  to Isaiah 63: 17, which is part of a prayer of Isaiah
9:  19,20: "Thou wilt say then' unto me, Why doth he           and the remnant: "0 Lord, why hast thou made us
yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay            to err from thy ways, and hardened our heart from
but, 0 man, who art thou that repliest against God?            thy fear?" In this connection I want to point out,
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it,              too, that according to the original Hebrew the idea of
Why hast thou made me thus?"                                   causation is plainly present here. For both the verbs
  In the third place, Daane ought to be ashamed of             in this text are in the  hiphil degree, the degree of the
his scholasticism. For the argument proposed by                verb in Hebrew which plainly denotes causation.
Daane is essentially rationalistic and thus scholastic.          There may be many questions which we cannot
And that from the man who so often rebukes decretal            fully understand about the relation of God's
theology for its scholasticism! Any Reformed man               sovereignty and man's responsibility. But two things
should know that the "very simple and valid way to             are abundantly plain from Scripture: 1) Scripture
evaluate decretal theology" is the time-honored test           frequently teaches both truths, but never places them
of Scripture and the creeds., And since the creeds             in contradiction of one another. 2) Scripture itself
themselves are in question in the basic issue here (the        does not hesitate to employ far stronger expressions
Boer Gravamen), the test becomes that of Scripture             concerning God's sovereignty and sin than many a
directly. Besides, even in his rationalistic test Daane        theologian,      even Reformed theologian, dares to
makes a very serious logical error. He makes an                employ.


176                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



THE LORD  GA.VE THE WORD





                          The Principles of Missions
                                  (From The Perspective Of The Pauline Epistles)

                                              ProJ: Robert D. Decker



  There is a good deal of material in the Epistles          peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
generally which has a direct bearing on the Principles      Christ." (Romans 1: l-7) Note how strongly the
of Missions. This is especially true of the Epistles of     Apostle expresses his consciousness of his office. He
Paul. This is to be expected for several reasons, the       identifies himself as the servant or slave of Jesus
first of which is that the Apostle Paul was  the            Christ. He is consecrated entirely to the service of
missionary to the Gentiles. This being the case, the        Christ. He is called to be an apostle, and that means
Epistles of Paul are emphatically missionary epistles.      he is separated unto the gospel of God. By the
Quite in general it may be said they were written           crucified, resurrected Son of God he has received
while Paul was on the mission field. Those Epistles         grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith
addressed to churches, were in every instance ad-           among all nations. These are the credentials wth
dressed to congregations rather recently converted          which the Apostle comes to the saints at Rome. This
out of heathendom. These were concerned with                same consciousness of office and calling must
problems encountered by "young" mission churches.           characterize every faithful missionary of the gospel.
Those written to individuals were concerned with the        So deeply did the Apostle feel this that he went so far
office and task of the preacher-evangelist, as well as      as to write to the Corinthians: "For though I preach
with proper relationships among the believers in            the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is
society.                                                    laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the
                                                            gospel!" (I Cor. 9: 16) Paul says necessity is laid upon
  There are three principles which emerge in the            him, he must preach the gospel. If he does not preach
Pauline Epistles. There is the Apostle's deep-seated        the gospel he is damned! "Woe is unto me!" The
consciousness of his office and the urgency of his          missionary or minister who cannot say that had
task as an Apostle who is called, sent, and qualified       better tender his resignation immediately! In a
by Jesus Christ. Paul gives expression to this              strikingly beautiful and profound passage the Apostle
especially in the salutations of the various epistles.      speaks of this consciousness in somewhat different
This is what he writes to the church at Rome: "Paul,        terms: "Now thanks be unto God, which always
a servant (slave, R.D.) of Jesus Christ, called to be an    causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest
apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he        the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For
had  afore promised by his prophets in the holy             we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them
scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,      that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one
which was made of the seed of David according to the        we are the savour of death unto death; and to the
flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power,        other the savour of life unto life. And who is
according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection    sufficient for these things? For we are not as many,
from the dead: by whom we have received grace and           which corrupt the Word of God: but as of sincerity,
apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all           but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in
nations, for his name: Among whom are ye also the           Christ." Paul thanks God who always causes the
called of Jesus Christ: To all that be in Rome,             Apostle and preachers to triumph in Christ. By them
beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and       God makes manifest the sweet smell of His  knowl-


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                               177



edge everywhere. That is true both in them that are           must characterize every missionary and preacher of
saved and in them that perish. To the former the              the gospel. The Apostle writes to Corinth: "For a
Apostles and preachers are  a,savour of life unto life        great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there
and to the latter a savour of death unto death. No            are many adversaries." (I Cor.  16:9)  If God had not
one but God Himself is sufficient for these things!           opened that great and effectual door the Apostle
Now, why is that true? Because, the Apostle answers,          could not have preached and could not have
we do not corrupt the Word as do so many. Out of              withstood those many adversaries. Likewise  "the
sincerity, out of God and in the sight of God the             Apostle testifies that when he came to Troas to
apostles and preachers speak in Christ. In another            preach- Christ's gospel, "a door was opened unto me
passage in the same epistle the Apostle expresses the         of the Lord." (II Cor. 2: 12) So conscious of his
same consciousness: "And all things are of God, who           dependence upon the Lord is the apostle that he
hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and            instructs the Ephesians: "Praying always with all
hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To           prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching
wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world            thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto              all the saints; And for me, that utterance  may'be
them; and hath committed unto us the word of                  given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to
reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for               make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray          am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak
you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he        boldly, as I ought to speak." (Eph. 6: 18-20) The
hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;              Apostle is keenly aware of the fact that, apart from
that we might be made the righteousness of God in             God's giving him boldness, he is not able to proclaim
him." (II Cor. 5: 18-21) In this passage the Apostle          the gospel as it ought to be proclaimed. Thus he made
speaks of the fact that God committed to the                  the same request of the Colossians. (Cf. Col.  4:3) In
Apostles and preachers the ministry of reconciliation.        this same connection the Apostle instructs the
Thus they are ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador           Corinthians that in the preaching of the gospel God
is the official representative of the king. He speaks         must give the  .increase or the work is futile. (I Cor.
the official word of his sender. This means that God          3,:7)
beseeches the people of God through the preachers:
"be ye reconciled to God." Finally, when speaking to            It is perfectly clear from the Pauline Epistles that
Timothy of Jesus Christ: "Who gave himself a ransom           God through Christ accomplishes the work of
for all," the Apostle testifies: "Whereunto I am              gathering His elect out of the nations by one means
ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the             and one means only, the preaching of the Word. Jesus
truth in Christ, and lie  ,not;) a teacher of the Gentiles    said, "My sheep hear my voice." (Cf. John 10:  16,27)
in faith and verity." (I Timothy  2:6, 7)                     This is what distinguishes the sheep from those who  _
                                                              do not belong in the fold. Unbelievers do not hear-the
  From these same passages it is obvious that                 voice of the Good Shepherd and that is because  they._
according to the Pauline epistles the  missionary-            do not belong to the sheep of Jesus. For this reason
preacher is an ambassador of God in Jesus Christ. He          they believe not. But, says our Lord, "My sheep hear
is one who is  sent  on an official task by God through       my voice." Notice they do not hear about Jesus or
Christ. This certainly means that the work is entirely        concerning Jesus from someone else. They hear His
God?. It does not depend upon the preacher. God               voice. They hear Jesus Himself and Jesus knows them
calls the missionary. God appoints him to the task            in all His saving love and they follow Him and find
and qualifies him for the work. God sends him                 pasture for their souls. How is that  ppssible? How can
according to His own good. pleasure. Through the              the sheep hear Christ now? The answer is by means of
preaching of the Word by the "sent" preacher God              the preaching of the Word. This is the plain teaching
through Christ "gathers, defends, preserves unto              of Romans 10: 13-15: "For whosoever shall call upon
Himself, by  his. Spirit and Word, out of the whole           the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall
human race, a church chosen to everlasting life."             they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
(Heidelberg Catechism, L.D. XXI) Concerning his               and how shall they believe in him whom they have
being qualified by the grace of God the Apostle               not heard? and how shall they hear without a
writes to the Corinthians: "But by the grace of God I         preacher? And how shall they preach except they be
am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed                sent? . .  ." From this passage it is unmistakably
upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more                  evident that the hearing of the gospel is indispensable
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of         to faith and, therefore, also unto salvation. "How
God which was with me." (I Cor. 15 : 10)                      shall they believe in him whom they have not heard?"
  In the third place, the Apostle is deeply conscious         Because hearing the gospel is indispensable to faith
of his utter dependency upon God. This certainly              the gospel must be preached. If the gospel is to be


178                                          THE STANDARD BEARER


preached in the proper sense (authoritative proclama-        The Scriptures teach the same truth in I-Corin-
tion) the preacher must be sent (appointed and            thians  1:2 1 ff. The question is not: Can God (is He
qualified) by Christ. Through the preaching by the        able to) save in some other way than preaching? The
one sent, Christ Himself is heard. This means most        question is:  Will  He? The answer of Scripture is, no.
emphatically that not the word of the preacher or         It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
merely something about Christ is heard. Christ            them that believe and to make of no effect the
Himself is heard through the Word preached. Thus,         wisdom of this world. That is God's eternal good
hearing Christ, the sheep believe, and believing they     pleasure; that is the way He is pleased to do it. His
call upon His name and are saved. This is why too the     foolishness is wiser than men. And, the reason for
only proper preaching there is is expository preach-      this, according to I Corinthians 1, is, "That no flesh
ing. The Scriptures must be explained and applied for     should glory in his presence."
therein is the Word of God in Christ which alone is
able to save our souls.


FROM HOLY WRIT





                           Exposition of Galatians
                                                Rev. G. Lubbers




THE APOSTOLIC  VkRDICT  ON THOSE WHO                      battle cry is: Rise, shine, and Christ shall give you  _
PRACTICE WORKS OF THE FLESH  - continued.                 light! (Eph. 5 : 14)
(Gal.  5:21)                                              THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT IN THE CHILDREN
  Paul binds this matter once more upon the               OF LIGHT (Gal. 5 : 22-24)
consciences of the Galatian churches. He reminds
them of the judgment to come "before" it comes. He           Paul had been speaking of the titanic battle in the
will be free of their blood as a preacher (Ez.            redeemed saints, as long as they are in the flesh, in
3: 16-21). He had before warned them when he was in       verses 16, 17. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and
their midst. And now he warns them again. In each         the Spirit operates mightily against the flesh, so that
case it was "forewarning," that is, it was warning "in    in this battle we are not overcome, but evermore and
advance." It was looking in both cases to that great      anon give strong resistance (H.C. Question 127). And
day when the world shall be judged by one man,            this we do by God's grace and Spirit until at last we
Jesus Christ (Acts  17:3 1). The preposition in the       have the complete victory; then we shall have
Greek "pro" anticipates the Day of Christ, when He        apprehended (grasped) the prize of the upward
shall come in his Kingdom with all His holy angels,       calling, unto which we have been apprehended of
and in the midst of the saints. These are the warnings    Christ Jesus, our Lord. Then we shall have come to
we need, and which warnings the Holy Spirit employs       the complete and full resurrection from the dead in
to keep us in the ways of obedience. Had Paul not         body and soul (Phil 3:  10-14).
given these warnings in the church he would have            Meanwhile the elect, called, justified believers do
presumed to tempt God by separating what God in           experience with holy joy the infallible  fruits of
His good-pleasure has most intimately joined to-          election  in our life as these are pointed out in the
gether (Canons, III, IV, 17). We should flee from the     Word of God (Canons I, 12; H.C. Questions 64, 86,
works of darkness and walk as children of light! The      87). Compare also II Peter  1:4-l  1, and Matt. 7: 17. For


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  179



our faith is such that it is energized by love in Jesus         "under grace," and that this love is indeed the bond
Christ, as the fulfilment of the'law (Gal.  5:6).               of perfectness (I Cor. 13 :8-l 3 ; Col. 3 : 14). But now it
   Paul singles out a list of virtues, Christian fruits,        is already the fruit, the basic fruit of the Spirit in our
fruits of the Holy Spirit of Christ, the head of the            heart, where it has been shed abroad, so that we stand
Church, which we bear in Christ as branches in the              and rejoice in the hope of glory (Rom.  5:2). This is;
true Vine (John 15: l-10). To be sure, these are all            therefore, the basic fruit in which all other Christian
but a small beginning in us; all is imperfect and               virtues are summed up in one word! Therefore it is
polluted with sin. We do not ever do what we will to            placed first!
do perfectly (See Questions 5, 60, 62, and 114 of the              The second fruit of the Spirit mentioned is "joy."
H.C.). Nevertheless, those who are led by the Spirit            Those who inherit the kingdom of God in Christ
have the fruits of the Spirit in their lives here  upon         inherit joy in the Holy Spirit. For the kingdom is not
earth,  which is fruit upon their lips and in their lives;      meat and drink, but righteousness,. peace, and  joy in
these are fruits upon the altar of consecration as              the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14: 17). Jesus often speaks of
King-Priests of God. His seed remains in us (Heb.               this joy to His disciples. This joy is really "the joy
13:15;IPeter2:5;1   John3:9,  10).                              that was set before him" as a beckoning, and cheering
  With the foregoing in mind, we undertake to look              future in His way of suffering, as the Man of sorrows
into these fruits of the Spirit here mentioned. The list        (Heb.  12:20).  Thus He endured the Cross and
here too is not exhaustive; however, it is abundantly           despised the shame and dealt very prudently as
representative! Paul lists these Spiritual fruits in three      Jehovah's Servant (Isaiah  52:13-15). And in this
successive triads. We will consider these in the order          prospect of joy He is very highly exalted at God's
given by Paul.                                                  right hand. This is the same joy which a woman has
                                                                after she has travailed with child, and rejoices that a
   The first triad is: love,  joy, and  peace!                  man-child has been born. It is the eternal joy of
   It is indeed perfectly clear in the light of all of          heaven, of which we now, in hope, have a foretaste.
Scripture why Paul first calls attention to the fruit:          Thus we have joy unspeakable and full of glory (I Pet.
love! Had Paul only spoken of this one fruit,  which is         1:8; John  8:56). Yes, this is the full cup of joy and
called love, he would in essence have said it all. For          bliss which is the portion of those who have
love is the root, the fountainhead of all other                 fellowship in the Spirit with the Father and the Son
Christian virtues. Good works proceed out of true               (I John 1: l-3). Such walk in the light as God is light,
faith in Christ as a spiritual tie. And this true faith is a    and in this way their joy is "full," as legally adopted,
gift of God which works by love. And this faith  fulfils        freeborn sons and daughters of Sarah, the heavenly
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. It fulfils       Jerusalem. They are justified and, therefore, also
the law as the expression of the will of God for our            sanctified in the complete redemption in Christ. This
life to reveal the fulness of the glory of God's image          is a joy not only in days of prosperity, but also in
in us His children! And thus by love we serve one               days of extremely long adversity and affliction for
another here in this life imperfectly, but presently in         Christ's sake (James 1: 2). Yes, truly we have not seen
glory perfectly. Then shall the law be fulfilled in its         Jesus the risen and glorious Lord after His ascension
last jot and tittle in all the saints in glory. Here we         into the most holy place, in that temple not made
will see the fulness of the glory of Christ's grace,            with hands, but God grants us this joy now in the
which fills all in all (Matt. 5 : 17-21). Such is the new       love which he gives us for the brethren, so that by
commandments in Christ's blood, the covenant in our             love we serve one another! Outside of such love for
hearts. For this reason all shall know that we are              the neighbor and the fellowship of saints in the Spirit
Christ's disciples if we have love one for another              there is no joy. Joy is found only in the more
(John  13:34,35). This is the love which we cherish             excellent way! The Spirit is not divided against
toward one another because of God's great love for us           Himself!
in the propitiatory sacrifice of His only begotten Son.           The third perfection in this first triad is "peace."
This is the love of the Cross in which God established          Also peace is an essential quality of the kingdom of
His love to us when we were yet sinners. We love so             God! It is really a kingdom of peace in the city of
much because much has been forgiven us, in the                  peace, Jerusalem, from whence all the freeborn sons
justifying free gift of grace (Rom. 5: 8; I John                of Sarah are born in contradistinction from the sons
4: 16-18,  19,20). This is the love concerning which            of Hagar, the bond-woman (Heb.  7:2; Gal.  4:24-31).
Paul sings his grand anthem of praise in I Cor. 13: l-7.        Such is the mystery of godliness in the fruits of-the
This love is greater than faith or hope, since it is basic      Spirit. Wherefore Jesus does and can speak of "my
to both and is eternal. When we see God presently               peace. " This is the peace which He became for us on
face to face, and no longer simply know in part, then           the Cross (Eph.  2:14; Col.  1:20; John  14:27;   16:33).
shall it be seen in all its glory that we are completely        This is a peace which He left us as His legacy, as the


 180                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



church, and which He gives to us in a way which the             have the firstfruits of the Spirit, and who live in the
world can and does never give it. He does not give it           ardent hope of the reception of the full harvest, and
by vain and impotent promises as do worldly men,                the final adoption of sons, to which the entire
teachers,    politicians, psychologists, and worldly            creation looks to be delivered from the bondage of
psychiatrists of every hue and color. This is the peace         corruption, into the glorious liberty of the children of
of the justified saints, the adopted sons, who have             Sarah. Such have received justifying grace by faith
received the Spirit of the Son, the Spirit of adoption,         and have peace with God. They walk in their liberty
which cries Abba Father in their heart. It is the peace         with a free and good conscience (Rom. 8: 18-23; 5: 1;
of those, who are not servants any longer, but sons,            Gal.  4:31;Heb.   9:13-15).
heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Rom.
8: 14-16; Gal.  4:6,7).  It means that we are turned               We know that longsuffering is an attitude of love
from warmongers into peacemakers, living in the                 and tender mercy on the part of God to His adopted,
peace of Christ, living in peace with our neighbor, not         justified children, freely by His grace. They are the
devouring, consuming one another any longer. And                apple of His eye, His peculiar treasure in all the earth.
then it means the inner peace of heart and content-             God is merciful, gracious, and longsuffering only
ment with God's way with us, a peace of God which               upon Israel. Such is His very clearly revealed Name,
passes all understanding (Phil 4:  6,7). It means that we       which shows us the "his glory" as it passed before
abide under the shadow of the Almighty, and under               Moses, while he was in the cleft of the rock (Ex.
the blessing of Christ's nail-pierced hands, that blesses       34:6). That is His glory in the saints, that He is
us now from heaven, even as He blessed His disciples            longsuffering over His elect who cry unto Him day
in the upper room in the evening of the resurrection            and night, in every land and age (Luke  18:6; Rev.
day (John 20: 19). Here we experience God in Christ             6: 10). His was a great longsuffering over Israel in
as the God of all peace, in which love and joy flood            Egypt under the persecution and tyranny of Pharaoh;
our souls in the firstfruits of the full harvest. All           here He cherished them as vessels of mercy in the
torment of hatred and unrest is gone forever. This is           midst of the vessels of wrath, which were being
the crowning of the love and joy in the infallible              upheld in God's "forbearance" in this awful and
fruits of election in blessed peace, to be finally              painful history, wherein Jehovah shows that He is the
worthy to stand before the Son of man (Luke 2  1:36).           "I Am That I AM." He heard the "cry of my people"
                                                                (Ex.  3:7,9). Here is no general love and mercy
  We now come to the second triad of fruits of the              displayed, which also includes Egypt as the objects of
Spirit: Longsuffering, gentleness, goodness.                    His longsuffering, but here is elective love, for a
  We begin with discussing the fruit of the Spirit              people whom He "foreknew" in sovereign mercy, and
called  longsuffering.   This, too, is a fruit of the Spirit    whom He could and would never "cast away" (Rom.
which is only found in the sons of adoption, who                11: l-6).


SIGNS OF THE TIMES




                                    Eating and Drinking
                                                   Rev. Kenneth Koole



  The world has just passed through a sign of the               24.37-39 "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also
times. Did you notice?                                          the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days
  The western world does so on an annual basis.                 that were before the flood they were eating and
                                                                drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the
  Our Holiday Season is a sign  of,the times.                   day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not
  That this is true is evident when one reads Matthew           until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                181



also the coming of the Son of man be."                      the 120 years went by and there was nary so much as
  These words which Christ spoke come at the                one drop of rain. The very length of time it took
conclusion of a list of the signs in the world's history    from Noah's first declaration of the impending
that would precede His second coming.  A,nd one of          destruction by a flood until it actually fell bolstered
these indicators of Christ's return is the manner in        the world in its vain hope that creation would escape
which the world would and now does ignore the signs         all consequences of man's frivolity and their defiance
of coming judgment and impending doom. The                  of God. By the time 120 years passed by, mankind
world, said Christ, would busy itself in "eating and        was quite secure in its conviction that all things
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage." The             would continue as they had from the beginning. They
striking thing is that while man ignores the signs, he      banqueted and were jolly and reveled in festivities
does not do so ignorantly. He does so on purpose. He,       until the day Noah entered into the ark. Seeing all the
in his pride, is determined to refuse the church the        wild animals gather themselves and enter the ark two
satisfaction of seeing his fear of the return of Christ,    by two must have given them pause. This was out of
that most righteous, awful Judge.                           the ordinary. But when nothing happened after six
                                                            days their self assurance must have returned. One can
  That this is so is evident from the phrase of the         imagine them shouting out asking Noah how he liked
text that states that the  wicked will take the same        being cooped up with his zoo. And they went back to
attitude in the end that they took in the days of           their merry making  - until the seventh day. Then the
Noah. And the fact is, the wicked in that day did not       windows of heaven opened, dropping a tidal wave of
perish in ignorance. Noah was a preacher, his pulpit        water, and the fountains of the deep burst asunder.
was the ark, and his audience was the whole wicked          The wicked never knew what hit them until they
world as it passed by to gawk at this monstrous boat        opened their eyes in hell. Then they knew the word
he was building on dry land in those days before rain.      of God's judgment was not to be mocked with
Noah called it an ark, but the world must have named        impunity, and they knew they had laughed for the
it "Noah's Folly." For 120 years the theme of Noah's        last time.
sermon was "The Coming of Destruction upon the
Earth," and his three points were these: I. How This          Now, look about you. Consider the season, with its
Destruction Shall Fall; II. Who Shall Be Destroyed;         festivities, through which we have just passed. The
and III. Why This Judgment Must Come. No doubt              manner in which the world gears itself up for the
his sermon could be placed in the Guinness Book of          holidays is itself a sign of the times. Christmas is a
World Records under the various headings  - Same            time of eating well; New Year's is considered a day
Sermon Most Frequently Preached; Sermon Heard By            for drinking. Gluttony and winebibbing become the
the Greatest Percentage of the World's People; and          way of life. And the way of life during the holidays is
Sermon Most Universally Despised and Ignored. And           simply a reflection of what man craves for the whole
I might add, while God did not use this sermon to           of this life  - the satisfying of fleshly lusts until one
make so much as one new convert, it was, without a          wants no more. Indulging the body, that is the goal of
doubt, the most effective sermon ever preached. It          man. We have passed through the climax of man's
served to make the world ripe for judgment by water,        year, a small preview of the utopia man hopes to
and so to bring salvation to the church. The                establish. And all this is done with no thought of the
effectiveness of preaching can not be measured              end. Man has every expectation that life will continue
always in the number of converts, you know. Billy           as it has always done.
Graham's fans might not recognize this, but the               Man looks to the future with concern, to be sure,
church of these last days had better.                       but still optimistically. He is determined to live as
  But the point that must be made is this: the world        though there will always be a world for his children's
which ate and drank and married in Noah's day was           children. That is the point of the phrase "marrying
not ignorant of the gospel which testified of their         and giving in marriage." Not only does man marry
impending destruction. It is simply that they so            with the idea of satisfying his sexual appetite, but
despised this gospel that they refused to let it            also with a view to having children to perpetuate his
interfere with their way of life. The more they heard       name (though not so many to interfere with his
Noah preach, the more they sought their pleasure            indulging in eating and drinking). And man gives his
through the lusts of the flesh. In direct proportion to     children in marriage so that his children will give him
their hardening of their hearts against the preaching       grandchildren, and thus his name will continue after
of coming judgment they gave vent to their digestive        he dies. No, man does not want to think of the end.
and sexual appetites. Their knowledge of God's word         That is the whole idea of his New Year's hope for
through Noah intensified the carnal manner in which         peace. A nuclear holocaust would make the continued
they lived. Their self-confidence over against the          existence of his generations impossible. So man looks
words of coming destruction must have increased as          with unfounded hope to the future, and in the midst


182                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



of his frivolity refuses to consider that the Lord of      coming again to destroy wicked men is hardly
glory is going to return to reward him as his works        something men want to sing about. Interesting, is it
have been. He puts away the thought of his temporal        not, how boisterous the world is when remembering
sins bearing eternal consequences.                         the birth of Jesus as a helpless little baby, and how
  When Christ returns to the earth in the flesh the        silent that world is about the glorious ascension of
second time, this time as the Lord of glory with great     that same Jesus as the Universal King to the throne of
power, man shall not be prepared, no more than he          heaven? That Jesus is too much a threat to their
was in the day of Noah. And the lack of preparation        merry making.
will not be due to ignorance, but rather to willful           The manner in which the world celebrates the
negligence. Neither will it be due to lack of warning,     Christmas season is not a passing fancy. Over the
In the end the whole world will know that the Lord         years it has developed, becoming more and more
of glory is coming the second time, this time upon         commercial, and involving more and more madness.
the clouds, not bringing rain but lightnings and fire.     So deeply has it become entrenched in men's lives
Regardless, they will ignore the rumblings; they will      that they cannot imagine the year without it. In fact
turn to their tables; and they will fatten themselves      those who do not participate are called "Scrooges"
for the slaughter. They will assure one another that       and "Grinches." It is becoming a universally accepted
all things must continue as they have from the             way to end the year..
beginning. (They do not even remember the flood,              In part, all of this is a side effect of the gospel as it
despising the first judgment as well as the second.)       goes forth and reaches the ears of all people. Through
  That the world is not ignorant of Christ's return is     it the remnant is saved, but also by means of it all
manifest by the way  in which men celebrate the            become acquainted with who Christ is and with the
year-end holiday. The highlight of the year for both       saints hope for His return. And while the promises do
church and world is Christmas. The name of Christ is       not appeal to most men, the curious mixture of pagan
on everyone's lips. The same silly voice that croons       and  pseudo-Christian  practices of Christmas in-
"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and that belts         troduced right along with the gospel appeals to
out "Deck the Halls," also sings "Silent Night, Holy       everyone. The "Christian" holiday gives man the
Night," and "0 Come All Ye Faithful," and even the         occasion to do precisely what he desires most,
Hallelujah Chorus. Tell me the world is ignorant of        namely, to indulge in satisfy&g the flesh. We can
Christ the king. Tell me the world is ignorant'of who      expect the growth of men's carnal appetites to
the Savior is. Tell me they have no knowledge of His       continue to snowball as the gospel goes out to the
promise to come again. The fact that they sing of His      ends of the earth.
first coming testifies that they are aware of His            So in this sign too there is development as
promise to come again. All nominal Christendom             mankind, in the spirit of self-seeking brotherhood,
knows that the historical Christian church speaks not      joins hands and waltzes its merry way to hell.
only of His birth and subsequent death, but also of
the Savior's coming again to make a full  lend of all        Pilgrim church, reflect back on how you com-
iniquity, to establish an everlasting kingdom of peace,    memorated the birth of your Lord. Was it done in
and to create new heavens and a new earth. The             such a way that you were in the world but not of it?
fearless, profane manner in which godless men make         Or were you swept along with festivities of foolish
the songs of the birth of Jesus their own shows that       men as they fattened themselves for the day of
there is no part of the Savior's history hid from them.    slaughter? Watch and prepare yourselves for Jesus'
It is just that looking for Jesus the Judge Who is         second coming.





               Know the standard and follow it.
            Read THE STANDARD BEARER.


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                183



CQNTRIBUTED  ARTICLE





                        Apostasy: Its Sinister Nature

                                               Rev. Robt. C. Harbach





I Tim. 4:1-3                                                  I. In Its Departures.  This text is one of the many
                                                            prophecies of apostasy in holy scripture. As to its
  "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the           source, it originates not in man, not in Paul, but in
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving       the Holy Spirit. Paul maintained this. So did Peter:
heed to seducing spirits and doctrine of devils" (v. 1).    "No prophecy of scripture is of any private interpre-
Or the words may be rendered, "Now the Spirit               tation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the
speaks distinctly that in the later times some will         will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were
apostatize from the faith, holding the mind toward          moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet.  1:20, 21). So the
deceitful spirits and doctrines from demons." We live       Spirit prophesies of apostasy to come in later times.
in days of departure and defection from right. Men          He utters the prophesy in verbal, plenary, infallible
are prone to the left, to the evil, corrupt and             inspiration. Paul, the writer, claims that what he
dishonest. This is prominently so in government and         writes is under such inspiration. So his writings are
politics, where one looks till eyes are sore to find        divinely inspired scriptures (2 Pet. 3:  15f). "Now" the
adherence to Christian principle. True this is also in      Spirit speaks through Paul. He had said, "For I know
the social sphere which has largely degenerated to a        that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in
prurient,  festering;Canaanite  community. Especially is    among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own
there defection from the right in the area of religion,     selves shall men arise speaking perverse things, to
in the once orthodox churches, in doctrine and in           draw away disciples after them" (Acts  20:29f).  The
manner of life. This is an ancient evil; it is nothing      Spirit also speaks these words to His church today
new. Always there was first a period of spiritual           and to us. He speaks expressly, or distinctly, clearly,
progress, then defection followed. In Seth's day, men       so that men, though fools, shall not err as to His
called on the name of the Lord, but then, soon, all         meaning.
flesh corrupted its way and the earth became filled           He states distinctly that in later times this defec-
with violence. (Violence is dealing with the left hand,     tion will occur. No date is set as to when this will be.
as in the modern sign of the raised left fist.) Then the    But, as it gets later and later, there will be increasing
sons of god, Sethites, began to amalgamate with the         indicators of a continuing falling away until  the
daughters of men, with apostate Cainites. There was         falling away (2 Thess.  2:3, marg.), as the Dutch Bible
spiritual progress in Noah's day when God's people          has it, Dat eerst  de  ofval gekomen. These later times
walked in His covenant and in defiance of the               were not long in coming, for only about a year later
Babel-builders. Then came their complaining                 Jude reports them as then present. "There  are  certain
wilderness wanderings and entering into Canaan to           men crept in . . . (already)  turning  the grace of our
forsake Jehovah and worship Baal. Finally, Christ           God into lasciviousness, and (now)  denying  the only
came to His own nation. A few followed Him, but the         Lord." Apostasy has already sprung up and the
nation at large apostatized to the false  anti-Christian    apostates presently despise dominion, currently speak
church. Paul warned of this apostasy.                       evil, are found at the moment feeding themselves


184                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



without fear, foaming out their own shame. This, says         providence. This latter comforting truth is deemed
Jude, is all going on now. These wretches  are  dirt          outmoded. Man can find his own comfort; so he
spots,  are  murmurers, complainers, who are walking          rejects heaven for the dark spirit-world, and goes
after their own lusts, and are not manifesting them-          trash picking in the world's garbage dumps. Still,
selves as having the Spirit.                                  superstition is the "in" thing. Superstition and the
   So?Tte will depart. It begins with some, but in-           great heathen religions are inseparable. This is true
creases to many (Matt. 24: 12). So it continues, down         not only of Hinduism, Romanism, and Theosophy,
to the very end, when apostasy is "cured" with no             but also of apostate Protestantism. Next, consider the
less than its total destruction (2 Thess.  2:8;  1:8-9).      theme,
Some will apostatize from the faith, from the whole              II. In Its Utterances.  "Speaking lies in hypocrisy."
Christian faith, from the creeds and confessions of           Or the verbal expressions of apostates are "in
the true churches, and from the therein outlined              hypocrisy.of lie-speakers." These hypocritical liars are
doctrine, discipline, worship, and godly living (1 Tim.       the false prophets and teachers of the false church.
6:3). They will (now do) depart  from  the faith, so          Their constituency is in the posture of holding the
that they were once of the true church. But they              mind toward these deceitful and deceiving spirits.
departed from it, did not continue with it, and so            These dupes yield their empty minds as offerings to
showed they were not of it (1 Jn. 2: 18-19).                  their empty gods. They do this in connection with
   Consequently, we find them giving heed, or hold-           hypocrisy. The word `hypocrisy' has the idea in it of
ing the mind toward seducing spirits. This is not so          wearing a mask. It means `to talk down under' a
much a lust of the flesh as a lust of the mind, an            mask, as does a stage actor. It means to put on an act.
intellectual, spiritual-ethical lust in which they are        These hypocrites aim at palming off their lies on the
offering up, abandoning their minds to enticing               unwary and deceived. They have so long believed
spirits. They deliberately devote their minds to the          their own lies that they would no longer recognize
influence of  deceitful  spirits. (The same word is           the truth if it hit them in the face. Lying comes
found in 1 Jn. 1  :S). Deceitful spirits lead astray from     natural to those "having their conscience seared with
the. truth. There are many such spirits in the world.         a hot iron." Lie-speakers have a burnt-out conscience;
The political world is  .infested with them; so the           it is seared, cauterized, burnt hard. They have not
military, civic, and religious communities, according to      only grieved the Spirit, resisted the Spirit, but have
Rev. 16: 13. But these  ,deceitful spirits -are not the       quenched the Spirit, which puts them in an irremedial
same as the spirits of the occult; they are not demons.       condition (Prov. 29: 1). Their conscience is violently
According to  ,the Apostle John, they are false               forced, hardened with the hot iron of false doctrine.
prophets (1 Jn. 4: 1). They lead astray, being wander-        So they are callous. They shut the kingdom of heaven
ing planets (Jude  13), causing those they lead astray        against men. They themselves go not into the
to wander off into oblivion. They are impostors, and          kingdom, nor do they allow others in. Now consider
both their spheres of operation and their names are           this theme,
well known to us. Beware of false prophets. From                III. In Its Super-Pietism.  _  In their hypocrisy they
such withdraw thyself.                                        are "forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain
  They are also holding the mind toward doctrines             from meats, which God hath created to be received
of, not devils, but demons. Actually, these are not           with thanksgiving of them which believe and know
doctrines  about  demons. The scriptures themselves           the truth" (v. 3). In v. 1 we have their activity, v. 2
contain that. But these are doctrines  from  demons,          their character, v. 3 their teaching. Negatively, their
indicating their  source.  So that these teachings are        teaching prohibits marriage; positively, it commands
from  a wisdom which is from beneath, which James             abstinence from "meats," foods. The reference is not
brands as demoniacal. Demons are behind the occult,           to meats as such, but to abstinence from certain
the mediums with their gods (the heathen sacrifice to         foods and drinks. This is the ascetic "taste not, touch
demons, 1 Cor.  10:20),  behind astrology, witchcraft,        not, handle not!" philosophy. Such heretical teaching
spiritism, Satanism, palmistry, phrenology, the               crept into the church in monasticism and asceticism.
demonism of Haitian voodoo, of Jamaican obeah and             Some may wish to follow the old dispensation's ban
the ridiculous UFO fantasies. (Take note of where the         against such foods as oysters, shrimp, lobster, etc.,
UFO books are located in the stores  - in the `Occult'        doing so in the interest of what is believed to be the
section.) All this low Animism is made respectable            best nutrition. This in itself is tolerable; so also if it is
under "scientific" studies in "parapsychology," as it         simply a. matter of personal preference. But if done
is called,  .delving into the psychic, or contact with the    for religious reasons, it becomes untra-pietism, unless
dead (the very possibility of which the inspired Job          one desires to make such practices a matter of his
flatly denies, chap. 5: 1). All of these ancient, revived     faith, keeping such faith to himself, and does not
dalliances with the devil are evil rejections of divine       press it on others, which would be extremism and


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                                            185


fanaticism. God created both marriage and foods. To               2:4). To know the truth is to have thorough, precise
forbid either is against both the creation ordinance             recognition of it. Truth recognized is cherished,
and the revealed will of God; The biblical ordinance             relished, loved, stored in the heart. You eat, drink,
concerning foods, as found in Gen. 1 and 9, includes              sleep and breathe the truth as your total way of life.
divine sanction of both the vegetarian and the meat              Nothing in your life is merely secular. All of life is the
diet. God created vegetables and meat to be received              spiritual activity of a prophet, priest, and king. The
with thanksgiving. The natural man is unable to so                purpose of God's once-for-all delivering the faith to
receive them. He is by nature unthankful (2 Tim.                  the saints, is, negatively, not to depart from it, and,
3:2). Only believers can do this, those who know the              positively,  Jo earnestly contend for it, and. (2 Tim.
truth. They have come to knowledge of truth (1 Tim.               1: 13) hold it fast.


FAITH OF OUR FATHERS





                                                          Of God
                                                     Rev. Ron Van Overloop




  In our continuing consideration and study of the                   just and terrible in His  judgments;x  hating all  sin,Y
Westminster Confession we now turn to Chapter II                      and who will by no means clear the guilty.2
which deals with the Being of God. The Confession                       a. Deuteronomy  6:4;  I Corinthians  8:4,6.
has considered the subject of the Holy Scriptures in                    b. I Thessalonians  1:9; Jeremiah  1O:lO.
                                                                        c. Job  11:7-g;  Job  26:14.
Chapter I. The valid assumption is that any true                        d. John  4~24.
knowledge of God as well as of any subject comes                        e. I Timothy  1:17.
from the Scriptures. Again let us notice the abun-                      f. Deuteronomv  4:15.16:  John  4:24:  with Luke  24:39.
                                                                        g .   A c t s   14:11,-S.   '  '
dance of Scripture texts given as proof for the                         h.  James  1:17;  Malachi  3:6.
statements made in the Confession. I would urge you                     i. I Kings  8:27;  Jeremiah  23:23,24.
to look up these texts. To  do this as a part of your                   k. Psalm  90:2;  I Timothy  1:17.
                                                                        1. Psalm 145 :3.
personal or family devotions would prove enlighten-                     m. Genesis  17:l;  Revelation  4:8.
ing and valuable.                                                       n. Romans  16:27.
                                                                        o. Isaiah  6:3;  Revelation  4:8.
  This second chapter of the Westminster consists of                    p. Psalm  115:3.
three articles, the first two of which we will consider                 q. Exodus 3: 14.
together now.                                                           r. Ephesians  1:ll.
                                                                        s. Proverbs  16:4;  Romans  11:36.
        Chapter II - Of God, and of the Holy Trinity                    t. I John  4:8,16.
                                                                        u. Exodus  34:6,7.
      1. There is but one  onlya living and true  God,b                 w. Hebrews  11:6.
   who is infinite in being and  perfection,c  a most pure              x. Nehemiah  9:32,33.
    spirit,d invisible,e  without body,  par&f  or  passion@            y. Psalm  5:5,6.
   immutable,h   immense,i  eternal,k incomprehensible)                 z. Nahum  1:2,3; Exodus  34:7.
    almighty,m most  wise,n most  holy,0 most  free,P  most             2. God hath all  life,a  glory,b  goodness,c   blessed-
    absolute,9 working all things according to the counsel            ness,d in and of Himself; and is alone in and unto
    of His own immutable and most righteous  will,1 for               Himself all-sufficient, not standing in need of any
   His own  glory;s most  loving>  gracious, merciful,                creatures which He hath  made,e not deriving any
   long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, for-               glory from  them,f but only manifesting His own
    giving iniquity, transgression, and  sin;u the rewarder           glory,  in,  by,  unto,  and upon them: He is the alone
    of them that diligently seek  Him;w and withal most               fountain of all being, of whom, through whom, and


186                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



       to whom, are all things;s and hath most sovereign                     1. There is but one living and true God. There have
       dominion over them, to do by them, for them, or                    been an untold number of false gods. Satan is called
       upon them, whatsoever Himself  p1easeth.h In His                   the "god of this world" in II Corinthians  4:4. The
       sight all things are open and manifest;i His knowledge             final man of sin, that son of perdition, shall as God sit
       is infinite, infallible, and independent upon the                  in "the temple of God,  shewing  himself that he is
       creature,k so as nothing is to Him contingent or
       uncertain.1 He is most holy in all His counsels, in all            God" (II Thessalonians 2 :  3,4). In opposition  to,- the
       His works, and in all His c0mmands.m To Him is due                 claims of all false gods, it is to be affirmed that there
       from angels and men, and every other creature,                     is but one true, one living God. "There is one God"
       whatsoever worship, service, or obedience, He is                   (I Tim.  2:5) and "unto thee it is  shewed, that thou
       pleased to require of them.n                                       mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is
         a. John  5~26.                                                   none else beside Him" (Deut.  4:35).
         b. Acts  7~2.                                                      2. This one God is a Spirit, without bodily parts or
         c. Psalm  119:68.
         d. I Timothy 6: 15; Romans  9:5.                                 passions. When natural man finds it impossible to
         e. Acts  17:24,25.                                               deny God, he will strive to demean God, so He is but
         f. Job  22:2,3.                                                  a man. God is then defined in terms of this world, or
         g. Romans  11:36.
         h. Revelation  4:ll;  I Timothy  6:15;  Daniel  4:25,35.         limited to the laws of nature. Even believers can
         i. Hebrews  4:13.                                                easily fall into this evil when in their mind's eye they
         k. Romans  11:33,  34;Psalm  147:s.                              make literal the' figurative (anthropomorphic)
         1. Acts  15:18;  Ezekiel  11:5.
         m. Psalm 145: 17; Romans 7: 12.                                  language of Scripture.
         n. Revelation 5: 12-14.                                            The very nature of matter and of human passions is
   Without considering whether He is, the Confession                      inconsistent with the infinite and absolute perfections
begins with a consideration of what or who God is.                        which are of God's essence. God is not material,
The Scriptures in Genesis 1: 1 assumes the Being of                       corporal, or mortal.
God and so the standards of the Church of Christ
must do the same. Only a fool says there is no God                          Therefore, He is not subject to limitation of any
and demands argument or proof that God is (Psalm                          kind. He is' absolutely and perfectly free in His
14:1;53:1).                                                               Essence and attributes. Because He is without limita-
                                                                          tions,  .His attributes must be perfections.
   It is not necessary to prove that He is. It is difficult
enough for us creatures of the dust to know who and                         3. As the Perfect One, God is Self-existent,
what He is. It is only by the Spirit, Who searcheth the                   Self-sufficient, and absolutely independent. As the
deep things of God, that we can know God (I Corin-                        One Who has life, He is the Giver of it. That it exists
thians 2:  10,12). Such things are foolishness unto the                   in anyone or in any creature is only because He has
natural man because he  cannot,  is not able, to know                     given it to them. "He giveth to all life, and breath,
them (I Cor. 2: 14). Does that mean that those who                        and all things" (Acts  17:35b). To determine what life
are spiritual can know everything? No. Those with                         is, look not at it and study not it as it exists in man,
the mind of Christ can know spiritual things, in-                         but look to Him Who is THE living One. The same
cluding God, but this spiritual knowledge is limited,                     holds true for glory, goodness, blessedness, etc. If we
and then especially when it comes to the Being of                         define goodness only in terms of Him Who is truly
God. Although we have been made responsible for a                         good, and stick to that definition, we would be
study of the Westminster Confession, we must diverge                      compelled to broaden our conception of sin.
slightly. The Westminster Assembly, besides pro-                            Because He is Life and the Giver of life and breath
ducing the Confession, also wrote two Catechisms,                         and all things, then it must follow that He needeth
the Larger and the Shorter. An interesting human                          nothing from man (Acts  17:25).  As Eliphas, the
interest story is reported by many authorities of the                     Temanite, said, "Can a man be profitable unto
Westminster Assembly. It seems that they were                             God, . . . ? Is it . . . any gain to Him that thou makest
struggling to find a simple answer to the question,                       thy ways perfect?" (Job  22:2). No, "for of Him, and
"What is God?", for the Shorter Catechism. Many                           through Him, and to Him, are all things: to Whom be
attempts failed. In one of the prayers during the                         glory for ever. Amen" (Romans  11:36).
labors the Assembly found the answer. Listen to this                        God is Self-existent and Self-sufficient. All other
most impressive answer, "God is a Spirit, infinite,                       beings of right belong to Him. They are absolutely
eternal and unchangeable, in His being, wisdom,                           dependent upon Him in their being and subject to
power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." Beauti-                   Him in all their actions. A more literal rendering of
ful in its simplicity!                                                    Acts  17:28 would be, "For in Him we live, and  are
                                                                          moved,  and have our being."
  Let us consider some of the elements mentioned in
these articles.                                                             This leads us to God's sovereignty, i.e., His


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                       187


absolute right to govern all the works of His hands        directed against His nature. His power is manifested,
according to His own good pleasure. It is an infinitely    but never exhausted. Nothing can ever separate us
good, wise, powerful, holy sovereignty, which is not       from His love.
limited by anything outside of His own Being and              God's absolutely perfect goodness is the sum total
perfections. What a great God!                             of all His perfections. Included is God's love, grace,
  4. Let us briefly consider some of His attributes.       mercy, and longsufferingness. This goodness is never
  God is infinite,  ,without limit in His Being and        in conflict with His righteousness. Nor is it mani-
virtues. He not only does not, but also cannot exist       fested alternately with His justice. Nor is God
within the limitations of time and space. When we          partially gracious and partially just. Both are equally
apply God's infinity to time,. then we say that God is     good and right. Both are perfectly harmonized by His
eternal, He shall "endure for ever" (Psalm  9:7). He       infinite wisdom.
had no beginning and He can have no end. There is no          God is absolute truth. He is true within Himself so
succession of thought, feelings, or purpose. There can     that His grace and justice are perfectly true to the
be no increase of His knowledge, no change in His          standard of His own nature. His knowledge is
purpose. "The counsel of the LORD standeth forever,        absolutely accurate and His wisdom is infallible. Also
the thoughts of His heart to all generations" (Psalm       God is true in all His revelations, both promises and
33: 11). The unchanging knowledge of God eternal           threatenings.
sees us as we are ever changing. There is, therefore,         God is perfectly righteous, i.e., He is in perfect
no need for Him to react or to change His mind. The        agreement with His own Being. "He cannot deny
past, present, and future are all alike to Him.            Himself" (II Tim.  2:13). He is so pure He cannot
  When we apply God's infinity to space, then we           "b e h o l d   e v i l ,   a n d   c a n n o t   l o o k   o n   i n i q u i t y "
must say that He is omnipresent or immense. The            (Habakkuk 1: 13). It is this purity which causes God
entire indivisible Godhead in the whole of His Being       to regard all that is contrary to Himself and His
is present simultaneously every moment at every            righteousness to be a sin worthy of punishment. "It
point of space- and beyond. Space does not restrict        is a righteous thing with God `to recompense tribula-
God to be within it. He is not merely quantitatively       tion to them that trouble you" (II Thess.  1: 6). The
greater than space, but is qualitatively above it.         perfect judgment of the righteous God is that "they
Therefore (and Yet), He is omnipresent in every point      which commit such things are worthy of death"
of space (Acts  17:28).                                    (Romans  1:32).
  "All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of           We now consider the last article of this chapter.
Him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4: 13b). The                    3. In the unity of the Godhead there be three
infinite intelligence of God includes omniscience               persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God
(knowing all) and absolutely perfect wisdom. Whereas            the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy  Gh0st.a
we know things as they come  to our perception, God             The Father is of none, neither begotten nor pro-
knows them immediately and in their essence. Acts.              ceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the  Father;b
15: 18. While our knowledge is in bits and pieces,              the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father
God's is total and complete. Whereas we can forget,             and the Son.c
God's knowledge is permanent. "Such knowledge is                   a. I John  5:7;  Matt.  3:16,17;   28:19;  II Cor.  13:14.
too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto             b.  Jbhn   1:14,18.
                                                                   c. John  15:26;  Galatians  4:6.
it" (Psalm  139:6).                                           The Westminster Confession is more brief on the
  Wisdom is the ability to use one's knowledge to          subject of the Trinity than the Belgic Confession,
achieve the highest end in the' best way. The manifold     which uses four articles (8-l 1) to cover this subject
wisdom of God (Ephesians 3: 10) is present in all of       matter.
His works (Psalm  104:24). God's highest end towards
which He directs all is His own glory. To that end He         God is one, yet three; three, yet one. God is not
chose Christ and elected in Christ, (Ephesians             one  and  three, but three  in  one. He is not three in the
1: 10-12). Hence He works all things together for the      same sense that He is one. God is one in His Being
good of those predestinated to be conformed to the         and nature. The divine essence cannot be divided.
image of His Son (Romans  8:28,29).                        And so all divine perfections belong to each of the
                                                           persons in the same sense and degree. God has one
  God's power is omnipotence because of His in-            life, one will, one purpose, etc.
finity. He is infinite in what He can do and is perfect
in all He does. His power is independent of all that is       Within that one nature there is a three-fold
outside of His own perfect Being. "Our God is in the       personal distinction. Each is 100% God. Each person
heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased"          possesses all of the attributes 100%. Therefore, each
(Psalm  115:3).  But this omnipotence cannot be            is absolutely equal with the others. The Larger


188                                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



Catechism goes further than the Confession.                                        the first Person is fatherhood, or begetting or
          Q. 11. How doth it appear that the Son and the                           generation. That of the second Person is  sonship  or
       Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father?                                   being begotten. And the property of the third Person
                                                                                   is procession or spirited.
          A. The scriptures manifest that the Son and the
       Holy Ghost are God  .equal with the Father, ascribing                          These distinct properties do not separate, but are
       unto them such  names,a   attributes,b   works,c and                        indicative of how the three Persons work together in
       worship,d  as are proper works to God only.                                 the One Being. There is mutual love and mutual
         a. Isaiah  6:3,5,8;  Compared with John  12:41;  and with                 dependence. They work together in a perfectly
       Acts  28125; I John  5:20;  Acts  5:3,4.                                    harmonious operation. This threeness of Persons
         b. John  1:l;  Isa.  9:6;  John  2:24,25;1  Cor.  2:10,11.
         c. Col.  1:16;  Genesis  1:2.                                             makes fellowship  with,m the Trinity possible.
         d. Matt.  28:19;  II Cor.  13:14.                                            We love the humility and expectancy of the Belgic
   Personally the three Persons within the Trinity are                             Confession expressed in the following sentence from
distinct. Attributes the three Persons have in com-                                article nine. "And although this doctrine far surpasses
mon, whereas properties are peculiar to the Persons.                               all human understanding, nevertheless, we now be-
The names of each Person give their property, that is,                             lieve it by means of the Word of God, but expect
the peculiar order of operation which determines the                               hereafter to enjoy the perfect knowledge and benefit
relationship of each to the others. The property of                                thereof in Heaven?


T H E S T R E N G T H O F Y O U T H





                                              The Call to Separation
                                                                       Rev. Rodney Miersma




  The life of a Christian young person is not an easy                              But there are opposing forces in this world that try to,
life. A young person is at an age at which he begins to                            make you walk a different path than the one pointed
assume more and more responsibility for himself. No                                out in the Holy Scriptures. This opposition exists
longer are parents simply making decisions for you,                                because there are two kinds of people in the world.
but you are called upon to make decisions by                                       On the one hand there are the people of the world
yourself with your parents' guidance.                                              who hate God and the truth, are children of wrath,
  Decisions must be made with respect to one's                                     and love to walk in sin. On the other hand there are
everyday activities, about work, schooling, and many                               people of God who are the temple of the living God
other areas of one's natural life. Decisions must be                               who principally walk in the light.
made regarding one's spiritual life as well. For many                                Spiritually these two `people are worlds apart,
years already you were instructed in catechism, in                                 having nothing in common with each other. Your
church, in school, and at home in the fundamental                                  calling then is to be separate from them. That is the
truths of the Word of God. Now more than ever                                      difficult part of your life, to remain separate from
before you are learning to apply these Scriptural truths                           those that walk in darkness. But that it is your calling
to your life. Consciously you are becoming more and                                there can be no doubt, for Scripture is very clear on
more aware of the close relationship between what                                  this point.
one believes and what one does.                                                      Through the hypocrite Balaam God said in
  In this connection you realize that your life would                              Numbers  23:9, "For from the top of the rocks I see
not be so difficult if there would be no opposition.                               him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                189



shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among         certain spheres? Is it possible as a young person to
the nations." God says the same thing in Deut.  33:28      seek the goal of being a Christian politician, or a
where we read, "Israel then shall dwell in safety          Christian lawyer, or a Christian artist, or a Christian
alone." And years later the prophet Isaiah spoke the       scientist? Or is this a contradiction in terms? The
same Word of God in Is. 52: 11, "Depart ye, depart         Anabaptists believe that children of God may not
ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go      enter  .into such vocations. They believe that such
ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the     occupations are in themselves not compatible with a
vessels of the Lord."                                      Christian life.
  It is sometimes argued that'this applied only to Old        Young people, the separation is a spiritual separa-
Testament Israel as a nation. Such argumentation           tion. You stand before your God in a relation of love
does not present the truth. The apostle Paul in II Cor.    and covenant freindship. This is true no matter where
6: 17, 18 writes, "Wherefore come out from among           you are and no matter what you are doing. All things
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch        must serve His glory. This is the basic difference
not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will    between you and the world. You can labor within the
be a Father unto you, and  ye. shall be my sons and        same sphere together, but in a God-glorifying manner.
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." This certainly        Hate sin and love God; flee from the corruptions of
can mean nothing less than that we too must be             the evil world and walk in a new and holy life. You
separate. God's ethics do not change, for His people       and every child of God must cast off everything that
are one people, whether they be manifested in the          would lead us to apostasy and everything that would
Old Dispensation or in the New. The apostle John           imply that we are one with the world spiritually.
emphasizes this in Rev.  18:4, "And I heard another           You must reveal that you are a different people.
voice from heaven, saying, `Come out of her my             You have a God different from those served by the
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that     world. You have different goals and ideals. This is re-
ye receive not of her plagues."                            vealed in your speech, thinking, reading, and singing.
  The question that now rises in your mind is              This is also manifested in the amusements that you
somewhat like this, "How do'1 apply this truth to my       seek, the friends with which you associate, and in your
personal life? What does this mean for me?" This is a      social life.
good question which deserves consideration since
many have answered the question incorrectly. Monks,          Think about this for a moment. So what if you
hermits, the Amish, and the Mennonites interpret this      separated yourself from the world physically? Would
to mean a physical separation. Therefore, they             that make you spiritually better if your mind is still
seclude themselves in a monastery, or in an isolated       defiled with the dirt of the world? Have you really
cave, or in a closed commune. What they have tried         separated yourself from the world if you take its
to establish is their own little kingdom in their own      smut and read it in the privacy of your home? What
little corner of the globe.                                about the songs that you sing? Are they to God's
                                                           glory or are they the suggestive and passionate songs
  Is this God's will for us? Is this the meaning of the    that appeal to your flesh? You see, physical
Scriptural passages quoted above? Should we as             separation does you no good if you carry the world in
Protestant Reformed Churches buy up huge sections          your heart. You must stand out as children of God.
of farmland with a Protestant Reformed city as a           recognizing what is unclean and refusing to touch it.
business center providing jobs for only Protestant         In other words, you and I are not called to come out
Reformed people?                                           of the earth, but to forsake the kingdom of darkness.
  If you would answer  "yes," would that solve your
problems as young people? Would such a separation            The apostle Paul in II Cor. 6: 14 gives a very good
                                                           illustration of what is meant. He says, "Be ye not
help in any way toward a more godly life? Would            unequally yoked together with unbelievers." In the
such a style of living fulfill the mandate to be           Old Dispensation God expressly forbade the yoking
separate, to stay away and touch not the unclean           together of an ox and an ass (Deut.  22:lO).  One
thing? The answer is very simple, "No!" Wherever           might not yoke together in this fashion a clean animal
you would go you would take the world with you. By         with an unclean. The two animals would have to
nature it is possible to be separate locally, but          labor side by side in order to accomplish the same
spiritually to be one with the world. Physical             task since they were bound together by the one and
separation, then, is not the answer.                       the same yoke. Thus, in a figurative way, Paul warns
  Let us look at the problem from a different angle.       us not to have fellowship with unrighteousness. Does
Does the separation of Scripture then mean that we         this mean that you may not work side by side in the
may live as we do now, not physically separated from       factory or at a desk in the same room with an
the world, but that we must abstain from working in        unbeliever? No, Paul does not mean this. Paul says


190                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



that the unbeliever's yoke may not be upon us. The        walk in them?"
standards of the unbeliever must not serve as the rule      But on the other hand do not say that you are
under which we labor.                                     above this admonition because you already obey it.
  Soon you will be seeking a job, if you do not           Come now, do you not find yourselves often
already have one. Following Paul's exhortation we do      contaminated by the world? The songs on the radio
not let the union serve as our yoke whereby we work       are appealing; the influence of TV is anesthetizing
with the ungodly. In the field of entertainment we        (mind-deadening); the colorful pages of worldly
must not let the world  ,tell us that we may go to the    magazines cause us to drool, sometimes even to foam at
movies because there may be some good there by            the mouth. The young people of Satan seem to have
which we can learn how to fulfill our cultural            such an attraction because of all their worldly goods
mandate. All very high-sounding and pleasing to the       and glitter. However, heed the Word of God, TOUCH
ear, but straight from hell, you can be sure. Never       THEM NOT!
may the unbeliever be our direction determining our         To walk the life of a child of God you will need
thoughts and deeds. We must separate ourselves from       grace because the life of a Christian is a constant
the unclean thing.                                        struggle. Certainly, you are righteous, but right in the
  Why must this be so? Not because I say so. We           middle of unrighteousness. You are the light, but in
obey this admonition because "Thus saith the Lord."       the midst of the darkness of sin and death. You have
He has the absolute right to require that the creature    been recreated in Christ Jesus into a new man, but
shall serve Him and separate him-self from all that is    the old man still has plenty to say.
not according to the purity of His sovereign will.          In all this you must remember that you  aye
  Do not shrug this off as the impossible. Do you         children of God. You will, in the way of obedience to
actually think that the Lord would require of-you the     His Word, experience in all its riches that you are His
impossible? You are a believer, are you not? You do       sons and daughters, and that His lovingkindnesses are
confess that you are righteous, do you not? Are you       upon you forever. Of this you can be sure because the
not of the light, and of Christ, and the temple of the    same God that says "Be ye separate" also says as the
living God? Did not God say "I will dwell in them and     Almighty Lord "And I will receive you."





                                        Book Reviews

GOD'S ULTIMATE PURPOSE,  An Exposition of                    In many respects, this book is no exception.
Ephesians  1; by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones; Baker Book        Ephesians 1 is one of the greatest and most beautiful
House, 1979; 447 pp., $9.95. (Reviewed by Prof. H.        chapters in the whole Bible, for it treats of the great
Hanko.)                                                   work of salvation which God works through Jesus
                                                          Christ for His elect people. Lloyd-Jones has caught
  This is now the fifth volume Baker has printed of       the central truth of this chapter and has brought it
the sermons on Ephesians by Dr. Lloyd-Jones. The          home with unusual force and beauty. The book is
other volumes reprinted sermons on Ephesians 2, 5,        well worth the rather modest price and will be useful
and 6. This volume contains 37 sermons on the first       and enjoyable for ministers who contemplate
chapter of the book which were preached when Dr.          preaching on this chapter or on the whole book; but
Lloyd-Jones was still minister at Westminster Chapel.     it is also a book which anyone can and ought to read
  We have reviewed other of these books and have          with profit and edification.
found them uniformly good and interesting, valuable         Nevertheless, we were somewhat disappointed with
additions to one's library. They are full of fine         this volume. Dr. Lloyd-Jones seems to be at his best
exegetical and homiletical insights. Lloyd-Jones is a     when treating the more practical sections of
careful expository preacher and his ability to            Scripture, but seems to be somewhat less satisfying
elucidate the text and make the Word of God live for      when dealing with doctrinal sections. This is not to
God's people comes through clearly in these books.        say that the many doctrinal truths which are


                                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                    191



contained in this chapter of Ephesians are not                              salvation, writes at length about the fact that this
carefully treated. But some of the more important                           assurance often comes through extraordinary
truths are not as fully expounded as one would like.                        mystical experiences which are so intense that they
to see them. Surely, one of the great themes of                             almost destroy the one who has received them. After
Ephesians 1 is the truth of sovereign election and                          quoting many Puritan divines who described such
predestination discussed by the apostle in vss. 4  & 5.                     experiences,       he speaks of the fact that such
Yet the treatment of these truths is sketchy at best.                       experiences ought to be the experience of every
In the one chapter in which vs. 4 is treated, only a                        Christian. He thus sows doubt in the minds of many
couple of sentences actually deal with the exposition                       people of God who have never had such deeply
of the truth of election. The rest deals with peripheral                    mystical experiences, for he makes those experiences
though related questions. In fact, in his treatment of                      the hallmark of Christian assurance.
this truth Lloyd-Jones discusses the whole doctrine of
conditional election which was repudiated by the                               While perhaps not the best of this series on
Synod of Dort, but writes concerning this view:                             Ephesians, we recommend the book to our readers to
                                                                            be read with caution, but with great profit.
        There, then, are some of the facts which we should
     bear in mind before we begin to argue and to make                      STORY BIBLE FOR OLDER CHILDREN, by Anne
     sweeping statements. However, let us be clear about                    De Vries. Paideia Press, 1978, 346 pages. (Reviewed
     the fact that we are not saved by the view we take on                  by Gertrude Hoeksema)
     this question. As I have already explained, there are
     two possible views. One is that God has chosen us in                      This book, also translated from the Dutch, is
     spite of ourselves, the other is that God has chosen us                designed for older children  - that is, older than eight
     because He has foreseen that we would exercise faith.                  years  - and contains many more stories than Mr. De
     But I repeat that the view you take on this question                   Vries' earlier book, and covers the Old Testament
     does not determine your salvation. We are not saved                    only. Basically, it is similar to his first story Bible,
     by our understanding of these things, but by a simple                  with added details and a more sophisticated
     childlike trust, and absolute faith and confidence in                  vocabulary.
     the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on our behalf.
     The view we take does affect `our understanding, our                      Mr. De Vries takes some liberties with the
     intellectual apprehension; but thank God, that is not                  Scriptural narrative by adding his own description of
     what saves us. We can be as certain that John Wesley                   circumstances or surroundings, and I do not think
     is in heaven as that Jonathan Edwards and George                       they are always accurate or justified. For example, he
     Whitefield are there.                                                  writes about Adam after the fall and expulsion from
   It is disturbing that Lloyd-Jones does not sharply                       Paradise, "When storms or earthquakes struck, they
condemn this heretical view of conditional election,                        shook with fear. During the long, dark nights, they
does not even say with certainty what is his position.                      sought shelter in a hole in the ground or in a cave  -
This is all the more disturbing when we consider that                       two frightened, lonely people clinging to each other."
he is a professed Calvinist.                                                p. 17. About Adam, the man whom God had created
                                                                            perfect, this is sheer speculation.
   One other element was somewhat disturbing. In his
rather lengthy exposition on vs. 13, especially the                            By the time children are older than eight years old,
whole concept of sealing, the author shows his deep                         they need insights and interpretations of Scripture,
indebtedness to the Puritans and particularly the                           and instruction in its doctrinal truths as they affect
more mystical writings of the Puritans. He, after                           their lives. Possibly this book of Biblical narratives,
interpreting this matter of sealing as the assurance of                     superficially treated, is not necessary for them.



                WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                                                                     NOTICE!!!
   On February 1, 1980, the Lord willing, our parents, MR. AND                 Classis  West of the Protestant Reformed Churches will meet on
MRS. HENRY T.  KIEL will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary.          Tuesday, March 4, 1980, in South Holland, Illinois at  8:30 A.M., the
We, their children and grandchildren, give thanks to our heavenly           Lord willing.
Father for the Christian love and upbringing they have given us.               Material for the agenda of  Classis  must be in the hands of the Stated
   Our prayer is that He will continue to bless them in the years ahead.    Clerk thirty  (30) days before  Classis  convenes. Delegates in need of
                                  Their children and grandchildren          lodging should notify the Clerk of the South Holland Council.
                                      Thomas and Kathleen  VerBeek                                                Rev. David Engelsma, Stated Clerk
                                         Kristine
                                      Jeffrey and Barbara Steenholdt
                                         Amy and Mindy
                                      Thomas Kiel
                                      Sandra Kiel
                                      Daniel Kiel


THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                  SECOND CLASS
          P.O. Box 6064                                                                             POSTAGE PAID AT
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49606                                                                     GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.



                                     --~-- _~~.         __~-~   -
192                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                  .`--



                           News From Our Churches

   Professor Herman Hanko has received a call from                     The Covenant Christian High School Alumni Choir
our church in Redlands, California, to serve as their                presented a Christmas concert in First Church on
pastor. The  Redlands trio also included Rev. James                  Sunday evening, December 16. The program was
Slopsema and Rev. George Lanting.                                    titled "A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols." Each
   Rev. Dale Kuiper, pastor of our church in Lynden,                 of the nine sections of the program began with the
Washington, declined the call extended to him by our                 reading of an appropriate scripture passage (beginning
Hope Church in Walker, Michigan.                                     with Genesis 3 announcing the Redeemer's work and
                                                                     concluding in the 9th lesson with John 1) and
   Rev. James Slopsema has declined the call to be                   following with one or more songs by the choir. The
missionary in the Mt. Vernon, Washington area. Our                   audience was asked to sing with the choir on several
church in Lynden is the calling church for this field.               of the songs. The printed program was actually a
Lynden has formed a new trio consisting of Rev.                      booklet containing some original art work and the
Kenneth  Koole, Rev. Marvin Kamps, and Rev. John                     text of each of the songs. This beautiful program was
Heys.                                                                a fitting and appreciated addition to the Christmas
   Again we observe that news travels a long way to                  season.
go a short distance. The news that Rev. John Heys                      The congregation of  o,ur Covenant Church in
has announced to his congregation in Holland,                        Wyckoff has scheduled their annual potluck supper
Michigan that he, with the approval of his consistory,               for January 11.
has decided to seek emeritation at the next meeting
of  Classis East was printed in bulletins of our                       Rev. Meindert Joostens, pastor `of First Church in
churches on the east and west coasts, but not in any                 Grand Rapids, was unable to preach on December 16
bulletin of our Michigan churches received thus far.                 because of a severe sore throat. The doctor later
                                                                     thought he had mono. On December 24 the doctor
   The work of erecting a new church building for our                diagnosed the illness as hepatitis and prescribed four
congregation in Wyckoff, New Jersey has begun. The                   weeks of complete rest. During all of this, one of the
December 23 bulletin of our Covenant Church                          Joostens children had the chicken pox, and Mrs.
reports that visible progress is finally being made on               Joostens is due to give birth to a child very shortly.
the building project. The excavation has been
completed and the footings poured. The carpenters                      First Church in conjunction with the Mission
will probably be at work framing the building by the                 Committee of our churches is sending Rev. and Mrs.
time this issue appears in print.                                    Wayne Bekkering and Mr. and Mrs.  Glare Prince as
                                                                     emissaries to Jamaica in January of 1980. The
   The Annual Congregational meeting of our church                   primary reason for this visit is to make preparations
in Pella, Iowa was held after the morning worship                    for the calling of a missionary to Jamaica after the
service on Thanksgiving Day. Each of our churches                    1980 Synod. Rev. Bekkering is making the trip in
has some unique practice or custom. The scheduling                   order that he may acquaint himself and his wife with
of their congregational meeting seems to be unique to                the Jamaican mission field. He will then be better
Pella.                                                               able to decide a call to Jamaica should he receive one.
   Rev. Engelsma spoke at the annual Christmas                       Rev. Bekkering and Mr. Prince will be investigating
Chapel of our Christian Day School in South Holland,                 housing and transportation for a missionary. In
Illinois on December 20. The congregation of our                     addition, they will attend the  Classis meeting of the
South Holland Church was invited to attend.                          Jamaican Churches, visit the various churches and
   The Protestant Reformed Young People's Federa-                    attend to the needs of the people. This visit will be
tion Board sponsored a Christmas Singspiration after                 from ten days to three weeks in duration.
the evening service in our Hudsonville Church on
Sunday, December 23.                                                                                                 K. G. V.


