               The .
          STANDARDS
               BEARER
                A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE
f





          .  .  . God determined from before the founda-

          tions of the earth how large His church
     I    should be. God determined the size, the
          shape, the dimensions, and even the number
          of stones and the kinds of stones required for
          His glorious dwelling place. Every stone is
          hand picked.
          See "The Holy Catholic Church"
                                                              - page 482




                                             Volume LVIII, No. 21, September 15, 1982 -


482                                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER



                                             !                                                           ~                               THE STANDARD BEARER
                                        CONTENTS                                                                                                  ISSN 0362-4692
                                                                                                                        Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
                                                                                                                        Published b the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
  Meditation-                                                                                                                 SecondClass Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.
                                                                                                              Editor-in-Chief:  Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
       The Holy Catholic Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .482                                       Department Editors:  Rev. Wayne Bekkering, Rev. Wilbur  Bruinsma, Rev. Arie
  Editor's Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .484                            denHartog,  Prof. Robert D. Decker, Rev. David  J. Engelsma, Rev. Richard
                                                                                                              Flikkema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman Hando, Rev. John A. Heys, Mr.
                                                                                                              Calvin Kalsbeek, Rev. Kenneth  Koole, Rev. Jay Kortering, Rev. George C.
  Editorial-                                                                                                  Lubbers, Rev. Rodney Miersma, Rev.  Marinus  Schipper, Rev. James Slopsema,
                                                                                                              Rev. Gise J. Van Baren, Rev. Ronald Van Overloop, Rev. Herman Veldman.
       A Dreadful Sacrilege! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485                                Editorial  Ofice: Prof. H.C. Hoeksema
                                                                                                                               4975 Ivanrest Ave. S.W.
  The Lord Gave the Word-                                                                                                      Grandville, Michigan 49418
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           and their Mission Calling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .487                                    Editorial  Policy: Every editor is solely responsible for the contents  .of his own
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MEDITATION

                                            The Holy Catholic Church
                                                                                             Rev. C. Hanko

                   Ques.  54. What believest thou of the "holy catholic church" of Christ?
                  Ans. That the Son of God from the beginning of the world, gathers, defends, and preserves to
                  Himself by His Spirit and Word, out of the whole human race, a church chosen to everlasting
                  life, agreeing in true faith; and that I am and forever shall remain, a living member thereof.
                                                                                                                                   Heid. Catechism, Lord's Day 20

  I believe a church.                                                                                           Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Christ, the Author and
  I do not believe  in  a church. I do not rely upon                                                            Finisher of my faith. Therefore I believe a church.
the church for my salvation, since God is the God                                                                   It is not man's church. It is not in that sense my
of my salvation in Jesus Christ. With the fathers of                                                            church. It is  God's  church, and therefore also the
the past I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and                                                             church of Jesus Christ, which He gathers unto
in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, and in the                                                            Himself. We marvel as we speak of it. For it  be-


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                               483



longs to those things,, those wonders of grace,            compares the church to a city, the holy city, the city
which eye cannot see, ear cannot hear, and which           of the Great King, founded upon Zion's holy hill. In
exceed our fondest imagination.                            other passages the church is compared to the Bride
  There is one church. This is not an external, visi-      of God, or even family, sons, and daughters of the
ble unity. For part of the church is already in heav-      Most High. Sometimes we are compared to a body
en, part is still scattered over the earth, and part is    consisting of many members, and are referred to as
still to be born. All the ecumenical attempts of our       the Body governed by Christ, its Head. Then again
day toward an outward unity, regardless of creed or        our unity is expressed in the figure of the vine and
practice, must fail and can only lead to the coming        its branches, or the olive tree.
of the antichrist. For the unity of the church is the        A very common figure in Scripture is that of a
unity of divine election in Christ, manifested in a        temple, the House of God. Solomon's temple, .as it
true faith, even as our fathers declare.                   stood in the land of Canaan and in the center of the
  This is a  hoZy church. In its visible manifestation     Holy City, was an earthly picture and type of the
it is still very imperfect, even unholy. Scandalous        church. We think of this costly, ornate building, its
things are often spoken of thee, 0 church here on          cedar beams, its golden splendor shining in the
earth. True, the church becomes visible in the walk        dazzling brightness of the sun, its altars and its
and confession of the believers. It is also visible in     sacrifices of atonement, its priests and its hallowed
the institute as the congregation functions through        worship. But besides that, we think of the holy
its office bearers and as the church assembles             place, where the table of shewbread represented
under the preaching of the Word and the adminis-           Christ, and the candlestick represented the church,
tration of the Sacraments. But the preaching is still      while the altar of incense brought the prayers of the
imperfect, the celebration of the Sacraments is still      saints before the face of God, purified in Christ.
spotted with sin, and the fellowship among the             Above all, our attention is called to the Most Holy
members still leaves much to be desired. There is          Place, where God dwelled among His people in the
always a carnal element that meets along with the          lighted cloud and above the ark of the covenant.
church, as chaff among the wheat. The believers            With Israel of old we say, "How amiable are Thy
are still sinful saints. Yet, in spite of all that, the    tabernacles, 0 Lord, God of Hosts. Even the spar--
church is sanctified in Christ, the flock of our Lord,     row builds its nest within Thy sacred walls." Nor
a holy priesthood, God's precious possession. The          can we forget that this House of God stood in the
individual believers are called saints and have the        center of Jerusalem with its massive walls and iron
assurance that according to their new life in Christ       gates, and its sentinel that kept watch by day and
they can sin no more.                                      by night. We, too, confess, with a broader vision
                                                           than the Psalmist had, "Walk about Zion, and go
  This church is cathoZic, that is, universal. There is    round about her; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye
a "church" that lays a false claim to that name and        well `her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye
tries to deprive us of it. Yet the true catholic church    may tell it to the generation following. For this God
is recognized by the pure preaching of the Word,           is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide
the proper administration of the sacraments, and           even unto death" (Psalm 48:12-14).            I
the proper exercise of church discipline. As our             Chosen unto everlasting life.
fathers teach us to confess in this Lord's Day, "The         Only God could plan a house magnificent. We
Son of God gathers, defends and preserves to Him-          confess "a church chosen unto everlasting life."
self by His Spirit and Word, out of the whole              The eternal Architect chose our Lord Jesus Christ to
human race, a church, chosen unto everlasting life,        be the chief cornerstone, the firm foundation, and
and agreeing in a true faith." Adam and Eve, Abra-         the unifying strength of His church. God gave to
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, Moses, Elijah, and David,           Christ a people, His flock, His precious possession.
Peter, James, and John, Paul, Augustine, and Cal-          That is, God determined from before the founda-
vin, and many more belong to that church. Yes,             tions of the earth how large His church' should be.
every believer in Christ, whether young or old,            God determined the size, the shape, the dimen-
male or female, bond or free has a place in that           sions, and even the number of stones and the kinds
church, even until the last elect is gathered in: God      of stones required for His glorious dwelling place.
has His people among Jews and Gentiles, in Singa-          Every stone is hand picked. Every stone is unique,
pore as well as in Australia, in America as well as in     different from all the rest, in order that each stone
Europe. It consists of an amazing variety of race          may serve its own purpose in the building. An
and color, which together makes up the fulness of          amazing variety of people make up the one church
the Body of Christ.                                        which God has chosen unto His glory in eternity.
  "Glorious things of thee are spoken, 0 city of             We cannot fail to add that while the church is
God" (Psalm  87:3). Scripture sometimes, as here,          under construction throughout history there is a lot


484                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



of material that is used for the construction and for    centuries, both in the old and new dispensation,
the scaffolding, which now detracts from the             and, yet the building, as it is being reared up in
beauty of the building, but finally will be broken       heaven, is not complete. Each stone is the personal
down and burned like straw and stubble. Election         concern of our Lord. "For we are His (God's) work-
includes reprobation. The wicked perish in their         manship,  created,in Christ Jesus unto good works,
sins, but only after they have served their purpose,     which God hath before ordained that we should
in spite of themselves, toward the gathering of the      walk in them" (Eph.  2:lO). We can express it this
saints and the coming of God's kingdom.                  way; we are being fitted for our own place in that
  The Son of God gathers His church.                     temple of God. Maybe we occupy a prominent
                                                         place in the forefront where all can see, maybe
  We know that David prepared an abundance of            even a small place in some hidden corner, yet the
material for Solomon's temple. In this mass of ma-       privilege of serving in that building to the praise of
terial there was one huge, unsightly stone, that did     our God is sufficient honor for each of us.
not seem to fit anywhere in the plans of the build-
ing. For some time'it was "a stone of stumbling and        No hammer blow is heard, no sound of chisel or
a rock of  offence" for the builders of the temple.      of axe, no noise  oft grinding as the building takes
Finally it dawned on them that this stone was ap-        form and shape. The work is done, not by power,
pointed for the one place where it fit exactly, the      not by might, but by the Spirit of our God. It is the
chief cornerstone. We see the fulfillment in the         power of the still, small voice, that nevertheless is
Savior Himself, for,                                     able to save or to destroy. For Christ builds His own
                                                         church by His Word and Spirit. Some would call it
        The stone rejected and despised                  the foolishness of preaching. We speak of the
        Was made the cornerstone.                        power of God within us unto our salvation.
        How wondrous are the ways of God
        Unfathomed and unknown!                            Christ defends and preserves.
God purchased His church with His own blood in             We are still a militant church being prepared for
His dear Son Jesus Christ. God laid the foundation       the church triumphant. The gates of hell gape wide
for the church by Christ's death, resurrection, and      over against us as they pour forth their evil spirits
exaltation at His own right hand in the heavens.         to destroy us. But we rest assured in the confidence
  "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and            that "a Mighty Fortress is our God." This does not
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and     mean that we sit idly by while the battle rages
of the household of God: and are built upon the          round about us. We are the watchmen on the walls
foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus       of Zion. We are kept only by the power of God
Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; in           through faith.  Therefore we are called to stand fully
Whom all the building fitly framed together  grow-       equipped with the whole armor of God, which is
eth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in Whom ye          His Word. We know the pain of our present afflic-
also are building for an habitation of God through       tion. Yet we also know that we are being cut,
the Spirit" (Eph. 2: 19-22).                             ground down, shaped, and polished for our own
                                                         unique place in the House of God. When that place
  You who are fellow citizens of the saints,             is ready and we are ready for that place, Christ
members of the family of God, are built into a holy      reaches down and fits us into our particular spot
temple in the Lord! There is one Masterbuilder,          where we can serve best to the glory of Him Whose
Jesus Christ, Who takes the stones out of the stone      House is being built.
quarry of the human race as ugly, filthy stones and
forms them into precious, shining jewels in the            Amazing grace! I believe a church, which also
House of God. This construction work has been            means, "that I am and forever shall remain a living
carried on since the dawn of history, even for many      member thereof!" Amen.


                                      Editor's Notes

ABOUT BOUND VOLUMES.  Our Business                       office received the bound volumes a few at a time.
Manager informs me that all. copies of the bound         Mr. Vander Wal is a bit concerned that some of our
volume of last year (Volume 57) have been distrib-       regular subscribers to bound volumes may have
uted as of this date. This volume was very late, due     been overlooked, due to the confusion. If you have
to problems at the bindery. Moreover, our business       not yet received your copy, please write to our


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  485



Business Office immediately. We also have a few             some interesting mail about either our RFPA books
surplus copies, available at $12.00 each, plus              or our Standard Bearer. Let me share a few excerpts
postage.                                                    from recent letters.
                        *****                               -From Rochester, Minnesota:  "I am interested in
ABOUT CHURCH NEWS. Effective immediately                    learning what publications you have available. Do
(or earlier), be sure to send church bulletins and          you publish a catalogue? Do you publish only
other church news to our new Church News Edi-               books, or are there other things (e.g. pamphlets,
tor, Mr. David Harbach, 4930  Ivanrest Ave. (Apt.           magazines, etc.)? I have profited from Herman
B), Grandville, Michigan 49418. Mr. Harbach will            Hoeksema's  Reformed Dogmatics  and now Gertrude
be taking over our news department at the begin-            Hoeksema's  PeaceabZe Fruit.  -Thus my interest in
ning of our new volume-year, October 1. Thanks to           your publications."
Mr. C. Kalsbeek, our retiring news editor! Other            -From Southampton, England: "Thank you for
staff changes will be announced in our next issue.          sending me such an interesting parcel of literature.
                        * * * * *                           I enclose $3.00 in payment, together with your In-
                                                            voice...."
INDEX.  The annual index-thanks `to Mr. Don
Doezema-appears in this, the final issue of                 -From Hong Kong: "I should be most pleased if I
Volume 58. For those interested in the proposed             might purchase from you a copy of the book:
master-index to the entire Standard Bearer, I have          Homer Hoeksema, The Voice of Our Fathers. I saw
no specific news at this moment. At last report, I          this mentioned in `Christianity Today.' I am partic-
was informed that the work is still proceeding and          ularly interested in Reformed theology, especially
the index is still forthcoming. Patience! It's a monu-      the doctrines relating to the covenant of grace.
mental task!                                                Please would you let me know the cost of this book
                        *****                               plus postage.. . . I should also be grateful if you
                                                            would also enclose a catalogue of all your publica-
FROM OUR MAILBAG. From time to time both                    tions, which I suspect may include some of interest
our editorial office and our business office receive        to me."

EDITORIAL


                                     A Dreadful Sacrilege!
                                               Prof. H. C. Hoeksema


  From time to time we have reported in these                 In recent weeks several Dutch papers  (Refoma-
columns concerning the rapid deterioration and              torisch Dagblad, Waarheid + Eenheid, Einhovens
apostasy in doctrine and practice which is taking           Dagblad, Trouw) as well as RES News Exchange have
place in the church of our forefathers, the Gerefor-        carried reports and comments about the baptism of
meerde Kerken van Nederland (the GKN). And                  twins of a Lesbian couple in the Gereformeerde
while these reports, in so far as they convey infor-        Kerk at Rotterdam-Delfshaven. (If memory serves
mation concerning  synodical decisions, certainly           me correctly, this was the church of which the late
help us to gain an understanding of what is taking          Dr. Schilder was minister-emeritus prior to his
place across the sea, sometimes it is perhaps a bit         being'deposed by the Synod of the GKN in the
difficult to gain an impression of their actual impact      1940s.) Here, briefly, are the facts of this case:
and of the real extent of the apostasy. After all, de-
cisions usually deal with theory. But what about            1) More than two years ago twins were born to a
actions? Thus it is, for example, with the decision of      woman living in a Lesbian "relationship" with
the Dutch churches concerning admission of homo-            another woman, both apparently members of the
sexuals. That is a decision, a stand. Is it practiced in    Rotterdam-Delfshaven church. The twins were
the church? And if so, to what does it lead, and            conceived by artificial insemination.
what is its impact on the life of an actually existing      2) The sacrament of baptism was applied for. Bear
congregation?                                               in mind that the Dutch churches have already offi-
  Here is a concrete example.                               cially admitted homophiles to church membership,


486                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



and thus to the Lord's table. Principally, of course,         Needless to say, there have been many critical
this means that they also have the right to the sacra-      voices raised against this in the Netherlands. It has
ment of baptism. However, who expects the impos-            been discussed and criticized in a broadcast of the
sible, namely, that children be born to homosexu-           evangelical broadcasting association,  EvangeIische
als? But this happened-or rather, it happened to            Omroep; and it has been criticized in more than one
one member of this Lesbian pair, through the addi-          church paper. According to one report which I
tional corruption of artificial insemination. This          read, there were some 650 concerned members in
precipitated this new problem of baptism. By the            the congregation of Rotterdam-Delfshaven. The de-
way, all the news dispatches speak of these twins as        cision was said to militate against the feelings of the
belonging to this Lesbian coupZe (twee vriendinnen          "average church member," who wants a normal
die in een lesbische relatie leven). This is, of course,    church-life and not "that progressive business."'
physiologically impossible. Whether it is recog-            Yet a lady elder, a Mrs. Griffioen, was reported to
nized in Dutch civil law or in Dutch church law, I          have said that the consistory had not yet received
do not know. One of the Dutch papers, however,              any official protests, and that while there had been
makes mention of the fact that in the same church           a request for an emergency congregational meeting,
of Rotterdam-Delfshaven some two years ago the              such a meeting could not be held until the end of
local preachers led a church service in which a             August-after the date fixed for the baptism.
homophile couple were confirmed in their "rela-             Another spokesman was quoted as saying that this
tionship" of living together.                               was simply a thing to which everyone would have
                                                            to become accustomed.
3) The consistory of Rotterdam-Delfshaven, how-
ever, did not dare proceed with this baptism imme-            But what a dreadful sacrilege!
diately (the original application was more than two           Can you imagine our beautiful Baptism Form (if
years ago). Their objection was not to artificial           they still use it in the GKN) being read in such a
insemination. The consistory hesitated because this         situation? Can you imagine the solemn questions
was something new and because they were unac-               being asked of and answered by such a Lesbian
quainted with the baptism of children out of homo-          couple? Can you imagine the language of the Prayer
phile relationships. They, therefore did not dare           of Thanksgiving being uttered: "Almighty God and
take a stand, knowing, too, that there was con-             merciful Father, we thank and praise Thee, that
siderable unrest and objection from within the con-         Thou hast forgiven us, and our children, all our
gregation. Hence, the consistory sought the advice          sins, through the blood of Thy beloved Son Jesus
of the Classis  of Rotterdam. Meanwhile, the consis-        Christ, and received us through Thy Holy Spirit as
tory asked the homophile "couple" involved for              members of Thine only begotten Son, and adopted
"understanding" with respect to the delay.                  us to be Thy children, and sealed and confirmed
4) The  classis did indeed delay-for almost two             the same unto us by holy baptism, we beseech
                                                            Thee, through the same Son of Thy love, that Thou
years. Strange to say, according to a spokesman for         wilt be pleased to govern these baptized children by
the  classis, Mr. G. J. Smouter, what troubled the          Thy Holy Spirit, that they may be piously and
classis, however, was not the issue of homosexuali-
ty, but that of artificial insemination. Perhaps what       religiously educated (in a Lesbian home which we,
really troubled the  classis, however, was the prob-        the church, approve, HCH), increase and grow up
lem of finding a way out of the situation and at the        in the Lord Jesus Christ," etc.?
same time permitting the baptism. What was the                The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah! Compounded
way out? They came to the conclusion that this was          by the sin of adultery!
a matter of personal responsibility before God, so            A horrible abomination sanctioned by the sacra-
that it was left to this "couple." And they reasoned        ment of holy baptism!
that although they might wish that this had not
happened, and although they might express disap-              And whose is the greater condemnation? Not the
proval about the conception of children through ar-         Lesbian couple's, but that of the church which ap-
tificial insemination, nevertheless they must not           proves all this-in the name of being Reformed!
allow the children to be the sacrificial victims of the
problem. And thus the Classis  of Rotterdam neatly                        Take fime to
thought to decide the case without deciding the
issue.                                                             read and study the
5) With their hand strengthened by this approval
of  classis, the Consistory of Rotterdam-Delfshaven                Standard Bearer
announced that they would proceed with the bap-
tism on Sunday, August 22.                                                                                        J


                                          THE STANDARD BEARER                                            487



THE LORD GAVE THE WORD


            The Protestant Reformed Churches
                        and their Mission Calling
                                            Prof. Robert D. Decker


  Last spring, April 22 to be exact, the Protestant      After all, we never need to be ashamed of the
Reformed Church of Kalamazoo, Michigan spon-             gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to
sored a Mission Emphasis Day. Speakers at the            everyone who believes (Romans 1: 16). God always
Conference were: Rev. Steven  Houck, Rev. Lau            causes the faithful preacher and church to triumph
Chin Kwee of the Evangelical Reformed Church in          in every place.
Singapore, Rev. John A. Heys, Rev. Ronald Van               In the past, the emphasis of Protestant Reformed
Overloop, and the undersigned. The day proved            missions was on Church Reformation and Exten-
extremely profitable for the goodly number able to       sion. This is expressed in the Preamble to the Mis-
attend. For this reason we decided to publish the        sion Constitution which in part reads: "We believe
speeches in this column for the benefit of a larger      that this missionary activity includes the work of
audience. The undersigned gave the introductory          church extension, and church reformation, as well
speech in the morning on the subject: The Pro-           as the task of carrying out the Gospel to the un-
testant Reformed Churches and Their Mission              churched and heathen. However, we are convinced
Calling.                                                 that our present duty lies primarily in the field of
  That the Church of Christ has the calling to do        church extension and church reformation."
mission work is plain from Scripture. The risen          Obviously our churches believe they have a calling
Christ said, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,    to preach the gospel to all creatures. Belonging to
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of         this calling is the work of church reformation.
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to         However, our churches believe their present duty
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded           lies primarily in church reformation and extension.
you: and lo, I am with you  alway, even unto the         Operating from that basis the work in the past was
end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:19, 20). Our         directed toward the Reformed community and
Lord spoke these words to the apostles just prior to     especially toward the Christian Reformed Church.
His ascending into glory. Because the apostles to-       This was adopted by the Synod of 1940 and
gether with the prophets and with Christ as the          remains in force today. Under this preamble our
Cornerstone are the foundation of the church this        mission work was done for the first forty years or
word applies to the church in every age (cf.  Ephe-      so of our history.
sians  2:20). This is also evident from the fact that       That history is very interesting. In 1924 there
Christ promised to be with the church unto the end       were three churches cast out of the Christian Re-
of the world. The Book of Acts records the explo-        formed Church. These were the Protesting Chris-
sion of the church from Jerusalem throughout the         tian Reformed Churches of First Kalamazoo; East-
Mediterranean world. This calling in missions is         ern Avenue, Grand Rapids; and Hope, Riverbend.
also plain from the fact that Jesus told us: "This       1931 marked the appointment of the first Mission
gospel must be preached to all the world, for a          Committee. By 1934 there were nineteen congrega-
witness to the nations." When this work is ac-           tions, largely the fruit of the work of Revs. G.M.
complished, "then shall the end come" (Matthew           Ophoff and H. Hoeksema. Our first home mission-
24:14). Revelation 6 gives us the vision of the white    ary, Rev. Bernard Kok, labored from 1936 to 1941.
horse and rider going through the earth conquering       Other missionaries were called and labored in the
and to conquer.                                          states and after the war in Canada. The work in
  All of this applies to our churches. We must be        Canada was among the post-war Dutch immigrants
busy in this work in obedience to the command of         who had their roots in the Liberated Churches. By
the King of the church. We must and we can, by the       1950 there were twenty-five churches with some
grace of the Holy Spirit. By that grace we can           six thousand members. After the split of 1953 Rev.
preach the gospel boldly, optimistically, joyfully.      G. Lubbers became home missionary laboring for


          488                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



          ten years in Colorado and the Dakotas and                God! Thanks be to Him! But it is no time to be at
          Houston, Texas. The churches of Loveland, Colora-        ease in Zion. Ours is a time when the very founda-
          do; Forbes, North Dakota; and Isabel, South Dakota       tions of Reformed orthodoxy are being shaken and
          were organized under his preaching. Rev. R.              broken down. Let that church which thinks it
          Harbach succeeded Rev. Lubbers. Rev. Harbach             stands take heed lest it fall! Our calling is to preach
          worked in Houston and in British Columbia. Some          and teach and witness to the truth of the blessed
          families from the latter area joined the Lynden,         gospel of sovereign grace. We must have mission-
          Washington and Edmonton, Alberta churches as             aries. We must make use of the radio and the print-
          the result of Harbach's ministry. Houston was also       ed page. We must continue what we are doing as
          organized under his preaching. Later, through the        churches individually and as a denomination in
          ministry of Rev. B. Woudenberg (pastor of Lynden         Birmingham and elsewhere.
          at the time) the congregation of Edmonton, .Alberta        This work is extremely difficult. There is wide-
          was organized.                                           spread ignorance of the most simple truths and
            The year 1962 marks a significant date in the his-     Bible doctrines and facts. This is because of the
          tory of Protestant Reformed missions. The Lord           apostasy in the seminaries and the consequent
          opened a door for us in Jamaica. A pastor in             failure of the pulpit to feed the people of God. Even
          England heard the Reformed Witness Hour over             J.H. Bavinck remarks about this in his book,  Intro-
          Transworld Radio. He contacted Rev. C. Hanko             duction To The Science of Missions, published some
          and asked that we take over the work among some          thirty years ago. Truly the lament of the prophet
          twenty congregations in Jamaica. This we have            Hosea  applies to our times: "My people are
          done by means of emissaries and correspondence.          destroyed for lack of knowledge." Our home mis-
          Rev. Lubbers served as missionary to Jamaica from        sionaries live with this reality every day. Only a
          1970 to 1975. Why are 1962 and Jamaica so signifi-       remnant receives the gospel of sovereign grace. The
          cant? For some forty years we were involved in           vast majority despise it and oppose it. Church
          Church Reformation and extension almost exclu-           Reformation remains our calling.
          sively. Many accused us of "not believing in mis-          But we must go to the nations as well. We must
          sions." When Martin Luther was accused of this he        go to Jamaica while the door is still open. There are
          replied that he was too busy reforming the church        many needs, many sick, many weaknesses, sins,
          to do mission work. That is our answer too. The          many poor. These things ought not deter us. They
          churches needed to be established in. the truth.         are all the more reason why we must preach the
          When the churches had been founded, God gave us          gospel there. The poor we have always with us,
          work in Jamaica and now in Singapore as well. But        Jesus said. He also told us: inasmuch as ye do it
          there's more. Jamaica is different, decidedly differ-    unto one of the least of these, My brothers, ye do it
          ent. They are not white, but black. They are not         unto Me.
          Dutch, but Jamaican. They are not middle or upper
          middle class, but poor, extremely poor, especially         We must continue in Singapore. God has opened
          by our standards. They are not well versed in the        a large and effectual door for the gospel there. Rev.
          Reformed Creeds. They are babes in the faith. All        den Hartog, in a private letter, claims there is
          these and more differences present their own             enough work for two more missionaries. We must
          problems. One has but to listen to those who have        go wherever else God may send us.
          been there to know that. Prior to 1962 we labored          In this work we must never be discouraged. It is
          among groups of people very much like us. These          God's work! The elect are in the nations, and by the
          were steeped in the Dutch Reformed tradition and         preaching of the Word the Son of God will gather
          theology. Now we labor among peoples very differ-        them. The ungodly will be left without excuse.
          ent from us in a different land with a different         When the gospel shall have been preached to all the
          culture, different customs and mores. But the need       world for a witness to the nations, then the end
          is the same: the life-giving gospel of the sovereign     shall come (Matthew 24:14). In no less a work God
          grace of God in Jesus Christ.                            gives us the privilege to participate. We are more
            What is our present calling? Church Reforma-           than conquerors. God calls us and He equips us to
          tion, to be sure! The Protestant Reformed Churches       be His instruments and He gives the fruit. We need
          have a tremendous calling and responsibility. God        never be ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is
          has preserved the Reformed truth in our churches.        the power of God to salvation to everyone who be-
          We have good, solid, expository preaching and            lieves. With the Apostle Paul we confess: "Now
          catechism instruction. Discipline is exercised and       thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to
          the sacraments are administered. We have                 triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour
          covenant, Christian schools and dedicated, capable       of His knowledge by us in every place. For we are
          teachers. Our churches are strong by the grace of        unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are
--- _.
Li


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                              489



saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are         rupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of
the savour of death unto death; and to the other the      God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ". (II
savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for       Corinthians 2: 14-17).
these things? For we are not as many, which  cor-

THE DAY OF SHADOWS

               Instructive Burial Arrangements
                                               Rev. John A. Heys



  It has been stated that there is nothing more cer-      continue to live, as well as those who are expected
tain in life than death. There is truth in this, and      to die and baffle the physician and even get up off
whether we be rich or poor, bond or free, male or         their "deathbed" to live active and productive
female, Jew or Gentile the day of our death is cer-       lives. The time of our death is not for us fixed and
tain for us. The only exception is that those living      certain, even though the fact that it is coming is so
when Christ returns will be changed and at once           sure that there is no room to doubt it. Through al-
enter into heavenly glory or hellish agony. We may        most six thousand years of history man has not
not like to think of our coming death. We may try         been able to point to one person who escaped death
by surgery and medication to delay it. But it is an       and has continued on this earth beyond the age of
experience that we may be sure lies in the future         Methuselah, who was not touched by death until
for us.                                                   he reached nine hundred and sixty-nine years.
  However, it would be wrong to say that it is the          Now Jacob was aware of all this. And Jacob was
most certain thing in life. The most certain thing in     aware of it because he knew that his death was not
life is that God will fulfill His counsel; and there-     far away, for he had not only reached the age of one
fore all His promises to His people will be fulfilled     hundred and forty-seven, but he could tell from his
to the last letter of every word in them, and the         physical limitations and frailties that he was rapidly
wages He has decreed for the ungodly will be paid         going down hill. And there were things that he not
in full in the lake of fire. And therefore the be-        only wanted to do, but he knew that he must do
lievers may face this certain death with the firm         before he closed his eyes in sleep. Therefore he
conviction'that death for them is gain and will bring     called Joseph to him and made him swear that he
them to the enjoyment of what God promised in a           would see to it that he would be buried in the land
heavenly glory, while unbelievers have reason to          of Canaan. So we read in Genesis 47:29-31.
live in fear and dread of that day when all the
deceptive earthly joys come to an end and they re-           One thing Jacob wanted to make sure. He was
ceive their reward in a woe that will never end.          living with his sons in Egypt, and he knew that his
   Because.we know that death lies ahead we buy           sons would remain there for many centuries. For
cemetery lots, make out wills, try to set our house       his grandfather Abraham had been told by God that
in order, and even perhaps pick the text and the          they would be strangers in a land that was not theirs,
songs for our funeral service.                            and would be afflicted four hundred years before
                                                          they would come out again into Canaan. Genesis
   But although death is very certain, the time of        15:13-15 reveals that to us. But even though they
that death is not so certain in the minds of all those    would continue in that land for many years, he
that die. The physician at times may predict quite        wanted his body buried in a land that by promise
accurately how many days, hours, or minutes one           was theirs. And he wanted that burial shortly after
has yet to live. But some die suddenly, unexpected-       his death. Joseph later on commands that his bones
ly, at times when their loved ones have no thoughts       be carried to Canaan when the Israelites would in
of the nearness of death at all. It takes them by sur-    God's time be delivered from that people that
prise not only, but they are wholly unprepared for        would afflict them. But Jacob says to Joseph, "Thou
it. A cemetery lot must quickly be purchased. A           shalt carry me out of Egypt." And "thou" is
will contemplated but not consumated cannot now           singular, referring to Joseph, not to the Israelites
be drawn up and filed with an attorney.                   when they come up out of Egypt under the leader-
   Then, too, there are those who expect to die and       ship of Moses.


490                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



  Did Jacob have a special reason for asking Joseph        could not know Him as we do, and could not see
to do this and to swear an oath that he would do so?       beauty in His cross the way we do, Jacob could
Was it that he trusted Joseph more than the other          with Job say, "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and
sons? Was it that he was confident that Joseph had         that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth;
the king's favour and could easily get permission to       and though after my skin worms destroy this body;
do this? Was it because Joseph was his favourite           yet in my flesh shall I see God" (Job 19:25,26). And
son? And did he have to demand an oath of Joseph?          do not forget that Job lived before Jacob's day.
Had Joseph ever done anything to give his father           There is nothing strange about it that the saints in
the impression that he would go back on his word?          those days knew that they had a Redeemer Who
All these questions arise when one reads these lines       would raise their dead bodies. Rather than being
about Jacob demanding this oath of his son.                strange, it is wonderful that they knew and
  One truth stands out among all the answers that          believed all this. It is the result of a wonder of grace
might be given to these questions, and that is that        which God wrought in them to give them spiritual
Jacob was very serious about this matter. Be it his        life, faith, and hope.
favourite son, be it that this son had influence with        Jacob had in him the same spiritual life that God
the king of Egypt and could obtain permission to           gave not only to his fathers, with whom he would
bury him shortly after his death and back in the           be buried, but to Job and all the Old Testament
land of Canaan, this was no whim or fancy of               saints. This life takes hold of God's promises and
Jacob. It was not a wish of a senile father with           causes all those who have it to seek first the king-
childish preferences. You can rule all that out of the     dom of God and its righteousness, and to say with
picture. Those words, "deal kindly and truly," are         David (who likewise had that life), "One thing have
the same words that Abraham's servant used                 I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I
before Bethuel when he requested Rebekah's jour-           may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of
ney with him in order that she might become                my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
Isaac's wife, as recorded in Genesis  24:49. There it      enquire in His temple" (Psalm  27:4). It works the
was not a case of sentimentality. By no means is it a      confidence in those who have it to say also with
case of fleshly emotionalism and sentimentality            David, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
here.                                                      all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house
  It is true that Jacob` states that he desires to lie     of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6).
with his fathers. It is also true that family plots are      And because Jacob had such hope and confi-
purchased and designated so that families can be           dence in God's promises he is moved to want his
buried together, and that bodies are flown from            body buried in the land of promise. He wants that
places on the other side of the globe to be buried         which comes when the promises of God are all ful-
where their relatives can visit the grave and place        filled. He wants his body to be there when God ful-
flowers upon it. But Jacob's desire is spiritual. It is    fills these promises. As an Old Testament saint he
not because he was born in Canaan. It is not even          could not see the details of that fulfillment as clear-
because his fathers were buried there. What benefit        ly as we can, but he saw a fulfillment coming. And I
do the dead derive from such a burial? To the soul         might add that we today do not see the fulfillment
departed for heavenly glory, what does it matter           either as it actually shall be. We still, though our
where the body is temporarily hidden from the              vision is brightened and contains more detail, see as
eyes of men and set aside until the resurrection           in a glass darkly. Revelation 21 and 22 are a beauti-
day? Jacob is not looking at that piece of land called     ful testimony of what lies ahead. But it is all written
Canaan. Nor in the first place is he looking at his        in earthly language. We too still see the promises
fathers buried there in that one small spot in             afar off, even though we are much closer to their
Canaan. Turn to Hebrews  11:13-16 and let                  fulfillment. We seek "an heavenly" country; but,
Scripture interpret Scripture. Then you are safe,          not having been there, we cannot say anything
and then you will learn to see matters as God wants.       more about it than what is presented to us in Holy
you to see them.                                           Writ in earthly language. That language expresses
  Jacob had seen the promises of the new Jeru-             its beauty in terms of earthly beauty. How much
salem afar off, was persuaded of them, and                 more wonderful it shall then be! The psalmist says
embraced them, and confessed that he was a                 in Psalm 103: 11 that as the heaven is high above the
pilgrim and stranger on the earth (also in that land       earth, so great is God's mercy toward them that
where he wanted to be buried), because he desired          fear Him. We may also say that as high as the
a better country, that is a heavenly one. Jacob had        heaven is above the earth, so great is the glory and
his eye on the promise of God. He had his eye on           wonder of that which is promised us in earthly
Christ. 0 yes he did. For all God's promises center        language.
in and revolve around Christ. And although Jacob             And before we conclude - even though we had


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                491



more to write on this matter - let it be pointed out         to the promise. He directs their thoughts, even after
that there is another aspect of this request of Jacob        he is dead, back to Canaan and to the promises of
that must not be overlooked. There is instruction            God connected with that land. He, as well as Abel,
here. And I do not mean merely that we can learn             "being dead yet speaketh" (Hebrews 11:4).
from this deed of Jacob. I mean that Jacob is here             Do we as parents do that? Do we so live that we
teaching his sons as a faithful covenant father. He is       point our children to what we are going to leave
about to die, and he knows it. The day will soon             behind for them, or to what God has laid away for
come when he cannot instruct his sons any more.              His people in the heavenly Canaan? At the
His mouth will be stopped. His body will no longer           moment, the Israelites had it good in  Goshen. In
be seen. He will no longer be there to rebuke,               fact, they never had it so good before this as pil-
exhort, and point his sons (who had their flesh and          grims and strangers in Canaan. And our children
had given him many moments of anxiety as to their            never had it so good in all the affluence and lux-
spirituality) to God's promises. Putting them to the         uries  - even in these times of gross inflation. We
task of burying him in the land of promise will              do well to strive, therefore, more diligently and
focus their attention on that promise of God. They           faithfully to point them to the heavenly Canaan,
will not as easily forget it as they would have with-        and to live a life that sets such an example not only,
out this example which their father sets. And I              but so that their memory of us after we have de-
might add that Joseph's request that his bones be            parted points them heavenward and not to the
carried along to Canaan by the Israelites served that        things below which moth and rust corrupt and
same purpose, namely, to keep before them the                thieves break through to steal.                             _)
hope of the promises of God. Jacob points his sons

THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH


                     Children, Obey Your Parents
                                                Rev. Rodney Miersma



  Children, whether they be little children which            unto Me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven. " This is
are held in one's arms or older children who have            also plain from the promise of God to Abraham in
already  .come to years of discretion, occupy a very         Genesis  17:7, "And I will establish My covenant
important place in life. Except for Adam and Eve,            between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their
our first parents, everyone must first pass through          generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a
the stages of childhood before becoming an adult.            God unto thee, and to thy seed  after thee. " Thus,
The children of today will be the leaders of tomor-          when the Spirit was poured upon the church on
row. Thus, all education today is centered about             Pentecost, Peter could say, "for unto you is the
the child. To see this one only has to look at all the       promise and to your children, and to all that are afar
educational facilities and the money spent to main-          off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call"
tain them and their numerous programs. If you                (Acts 2:39).
children reading these words do not see this clear-             Now that you know that you are important, what
ly, your parents certainly do when they see the              is your inward feeling and attitude? Are you
annual tax bill and the amount allotted for educa-           inclined to rise up in pride and put yourself "in the
tion. This is in addition to the tuition that is paid for    driver's seat," so to speak? Do you look down in
your Christian instruction.                                  disdain upon your parents, teachers, consistory, or
  Not only are you children of today the country's           government officials? Children, the apostle Paul
citizens of tomorrow, but from the viewpoint of the          has something special to say to you. In Ephesians
church you are the church of tomorrow - its future           6:1-3 we read, "Children, obey your parents in the
deacons, elders, ministers, and covenant parents of          Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and
the next generation of believers.                            mother; which is the first commandment with
  Yes, you are important as children. The Bible              promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou
also teaches this. Jesus said in Matthew 19: 14, "Suf-       mayest live long on the earth."
fer little children, and forbid them not, to come               What does this imply for you? First of all, it pre-


492                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



supposes that you as children are members of the         to do something, invariably the question "why?"
church of Jesus Christ, and that too, as manifested      will be heard. If this sounds familiar, if you always
in the congregation to which you belong. As Paul         ask your parents, "why?" then you have not
addressed the saints in Ephesus, the faithful. in        learned to honor your father and mother as God's
Christ Jesus, the children also were included in that    representatives of authority. To honor your parents
address. Thus, you too must learn to say, "Blessed       means that you fear God. It also means that you
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,          obey your parents as those who speak the will of
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in      God, your heavenly Father.
heavenly places in Christ." You too have been re-          The apostle Paul, in his own way as inspired by
deemed by Christ's blood, are God's workmanship,         the Holy Spirit, answers your question of "why?"
created in Christ Jesus unto good works which He         He says, "for this is right." "Why must I obey my
before prepared that you should walk in them. As         parents? Why must I do as I am told and do it when
children you also must put off the old man of sin        I am told?" Infallibly and authoritatively the
and put on the new man in Christ, keeping the cam-       answer of Scripture always is, "for this is right."
mandments of God and delighting to live with Him.        For children who are in the Lord, as you are, this is
  Yes, you are in the Lord and must obey in the          the proper thing to do. A referee must call the game
Lord your parents. This is not merely Paul saying        according to the rules of the game. He must be fair.
this to you, nor is it merely I who am saying this to    He must call the game right, justly. For children to
you, but "thus saith the Lord!" God Himself says to      obey their parents is just, is fair, is according to the
you, "Honour thy father and mother." He says,            rules. God is just; Christ is just; and all of God's
"My little children, I am the Lord thy God; obey         rules are just and right. Therefore, that which is
your parents in the Lord." That is correct, you are      just is that which befits the creature according to its
told by the Lord Who made heaven and earth to            nature and under God's ordinances.
obey your parents.                                         Consequently, it is very fair on the part of
  Obedience, what is it?                                 parents to say to their children: "Listen to us; do as
  Obedience presupposes that your father and             we tell you." It would not be just for God to ask
mother have authority over you. Authority is the         you children to be teachers and to bear the respon-
right which one receives from God to rule and to         sibility of ruling. That would be unjust, requiring
expect obedience. Parents receive this from God,         you to do what is beyond your ability and power.
and are thus obligated to discipline and to punish if    God has thought it well that children shall listen,
obedience is not forthcoming, since you are to           shall hear, shall obey. That is where you will find
honor your father and mother. To honor someone           your true beauty, for the adornment of the child is
means that that person is important, worthy of           obedience.
respect. The opposite of honor is to count lightly or      To obey is not easy for you. In fact, it is contrary
to think little of. I am sure that all of you are        to your very nature. Thus, if obedience is your true
familiar with the cartoon that appears in most daily     beauty, then by nature you are ugly. You need to
papers under the caption,  Dennis the Menace.  We        pray, pray to God for the grace to obey your par-
laugh at his pranks and remarks, considering them        ents. And grace you will receive, for God has put
cute. But little Dennis has never learned the lesson     His law and His love in your hearts by His Holy
of Scripture, what it means to honor. father and         Spirit. With this law and love you will walk in obe-
mother. Instead we find in him an example of one         dience. Assurance of salvation will be the fruit of
who is a mocker of God's holy laws, making a joke        such a walk in life, for a tree is known by its fruits.
of that which God considers serious. This is a re-         But we are not finished yet. There is something
flection of the mentality of the sinful and fallen       unique about this commandment. It comes with a
world of mankind who do not know God as their            promise: "that it may be well with thee, and thou
Savior.                                                  mayest live long onthe earth." At the time the law
  How. does one show honor? By obedience! You            was given, this promise referred to the land of
cannot honor your father and`mother if you do not        Canaan, which makes it easier to understand now.
obey your father and mother. So often you want to        The land of Canaan was a picture of the heavenly
ask the question, "Why, why must I obey, why             Canaan. Those dwelling in Canaan do so as heirs,
must I do what you tell  me'to do?" To this your         their possessions being pictures of the eternal in-
parents must answer, "Because I am clothed with          heritance in the heavens above. To live long on the
authority." Too often today children sit upon a          earth is the portion of those whose inheritance is
little throne in the home from which they seek to        among all those who are sanctified to the Lord.
rule over all those whom God has placed in author-         The earmark of a child of God is that he has
ity over them. Whenever the parent tells the child       learned the new obedience of faith and love in


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                               493



Christ. It is not possible to be obedient to God while     and confess your sins and ask the Lord and' your
one is disobedient to one's parents. A disobedient         parents to forgive you, then you are happy, blessed,
child does not honor his father, does not obey, does       and beautiful children in grace. Then, when your
not show the fruit of the Spirit in his walk and life      father and mother correct you, you will obey them
and confession. In such the infallible fruits of elec-     and honor them as though God Himself were
tion are not seen. A disobedient child goes his own        speaking to you. Then you, who as a child is obedi-
way. That, dear children, is the way of death. Such        ent, will be the man who is obedient, the man in
a one will not live in the land, but will perish in his    Christ forever.
sins.                                                        Finally, remember this, that your first teachers
   Do you wish to dwell forever in the land? Then          are your father and mother as they instruct you be-
obey your parents in the Lord, whether in the              ginning in the home. Here is laid the basic pattern
home, in the school, or in the church. This is  well-      for-all obedience in every relationship of life. When
pleasing unto the Lord. The Lord loves obedience,          you are not obedient to your teachers, and to the
as can be seen from I Samuel 15:22: "Hath the Lord         authorities on the street, and to the consistory, it is
as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifice, as      because you have not learned well the basic lesson
in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is       of obedience and honor to your parents for God's
better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of      sake. But when you obey God in every sphere of
rams."                                                     life you are walking in the kingdom of heaven on
  Thus, you too must learn that you are in need of         earth, as obedient subjects of the King. May the
daily conversion to God. When you are obedient             Lord so bless you!

GUESTARTICLE

                           Liberty and Maturity (19
                                              Rev. Wayne Bekkering


  Let us look at this truth from the point of view of      and holiness and true knowledge (which is the
Galatians  5:l. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty       image of God) he now stands in enmity and un-
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not en-         righteousness and ignorance. He has been reshaped
tangled again with the yoke of bondage."                   into the image of Satan in sin. His mind which was
  The apostle Paul was the minister of God to the          once filled with the righteousness of God is now
Gentiles. Through Paul and his helpers God was             filled with a horrible darkness. The freedom of
bringing to the Gentiles the glorious gospel, the          righteousness which he once had,' to go about in the
gospel of liberty.                                         creation as king under God, is now a horrible
                                                           trembling in expectation of judgment, and justly so
  Paul first proclaims unto them bondage. That is          because God is angry with sin and the sinner. That
one emphasis of the message that he comes with.            Paul preached. He preached God. He preached
You are in bondage, he teaches them. There is a            God as the holy, just Judge of heaven and earth
universal bondage that grips all mankind. The              Who will not lightly pass over sin. He preached that
apostle deals with that in all of his letters to. the      man was in a horrible bondage; but thanks be to
churches. The apostle Paul in Romans  5:12 identi-         God, he also' preached the way out. He preached
fies the very source of that bondage through the sin       Jesus Christ and Him crucified, Him risen for the
of one man, Adam, in the beginning. That fall of           salvation of sinners hopelessly bound in the
Adam brought upon all men without exception a              bondage of sin.
universal, a total, a horrible bondage: the bondage
of sin.                                                       There is only one way, the Way, the Truth, and
  Even though God had created man good and up-             the Life, Jesus Christ. The way out of sin is by the
right so that he had the ability `and right to serve       sovereign, powerful grace of God, whereby He
God, yet through man's own willful disobedience            takes the heretofore dead sinner and with the
he lost that right. The image of God in which he           miracle of regeneration He quickens him, makes
was created was turned into the very opposite.             him alive so that he is born again. Now that sinner
Rather than to stand before God in righteousness           has been relieved of that bondage of sin and corrup-


494                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



tion. He has been renewed again into the image of         placed upon the people so that, as they worked
Him that created him. So that once again he has the       under the law and tried to grapple with the perfec-
beginning of the ability to serve God, and that is        tion of that law, they always came to the conclusion
freedom. The right and the ability to serve our God       that they could never fulfill it. Then in desperation
in thanksgiving. That is the essence of the gospel        and yet in faith they cried out, "Oh God be merci-
which Paul preached to the Galatians. They re-            ful to me the sinner." Then God caused them to
ceived that gospel willingly. They rejoiced in the        hear the blessedness of the promise of the old dis-
reception of that gospel; and not only that but they      pensation. God said in effect, I know your difficul-
made application of that gospel in their lives. Paul      ties. Take for yourselves a lamb and bring it to the
says in Galatians  57, "Ye did run well, who did          priests. The priests will slay the lamb and will offer
hinder you that you should not obey the truth?"           the lamb upon the altar, and when I see the blood
Something happened! Something terrible hap-               of that lamb I will pass over you. I have heard your
pened.                                                    cry; I will no more remember your sins against you.
   Now, what happened was this. There were cer-           That lamb was a picture of none other than the
tain Jews who were listening to Paul's gospel and         Lamb' of God which taketh away the sin of the
who were saying, yes, that is good news...but. They       world, Jesus Christ.
were saying, yes, what we hear Paul saying is the            In the Old Testament that law had a distinctively
fulfillment of the Scriptures...but. But don't forget     external character. Now that law continues. That
what Moses said. Don't forget all the traditions          same law. God's expression of perfect holiness and
which we have been taught. Don't forget those             righteousness continues into the new dispensation.
laws and regulations, because they lead us to holi-       No longer, however, is it a crushing external
ness, do they not? They were saying, You believe in       burden which was a yoke of bondage.
Christ now? That is good. But now that you believe
in Christ, come with us and we will increase your           Now by the work of God's grace and Holy Spirit
understanding of these things. Submit yourselves          the principles of God's law are written in our hearts
to circumcision first of all, and then we have a few      - not upon the tables of stone, but upon the fleshly
other regulations that we consider to be very im-         tables of our hearts. Those laws are infallibly in-
portant. We want to add to what Paul says.                scribed in the blood of Jesus Christ so that God by
                                                          His grace binds His laws upon our hearts and upon
   Paul had preached freedom from sin through             our minds. Now our whole perspective is different.
faith in Christ Jesus alone. Justification by faith       If we be in Christ Jesus we are new creatures. Old
only, Paul taught, but they said, yes, justification      things have passed away and behold all things are
by faith and by walking in the good law of Moses,         new. That is right. The law in its damning bondage
God's law. But Paul said, No! Paul said that that is a    is passed away for the redeemed sinner. The law
reintroduction into bondage. Paul would have              now written in our heart is a guide to thanksgiving,
nothing of Christ-and, or Christ-but. Paul would          obedience, and holiness to the Lord that saved us.
have Christ  onZy  as our liberty. "For liberty Christ
has freed us" is the literal idea of our verse. For         That is how we must understand the law in the
liberty unto liberty has God freed us from bondage,       new dispensation. We are not without the law. We
and now in no wise allow yourselves to be "had in"        are not against the law, but we are "in the law"
to the bondage of the law. The literal idea of "en-       through Jesus Christ.
tangled" is to be "had into." The idea of it is that        What difference does that make, you may ask. It
which grabs hold of one and pulls one down. "En-          is still law, isn't it? Oh, a world of difference it
tangled" is a good word to express the idea.              makes. It is like the difference of a little child who
   They had been freed from that awful universal          does not want to do the dishes. The child begins to
bondage of sin, but Paul warns that these men             grumble and to weep and to stew. Finally the ex-
came to introduce a new yoke of bondage. The law          ternal law has to be applied, and the child finally
with its regulations as it was required by these          submits. Unwillingly and grudgingly the child goes
J u d a i z e r s .                                       through the task. Finally the child finishes and
                                                          says, "There, now I have fulfilled the requirements
   There is a fine line that we have to `understand       of the law." But what a grievous thing that is. How
with respect to the law. In certain places Paul says      much better it is (and this is the goal, the ideal, of
that the law is good and in other places he rejects       the New Testament child of God who has become
the law categorically as though we have in the            free and mature in Christ Jesus) when the parents
Scripture two opposing views of the law, which of         tell (the law) the child to do the dishes and the child
course, is not the idea.                                  responds willingly and obediently. Now what a dif-
   The idea is this. In the old dispensation the law      ference that makes! A whole difference in attitude
was used by God as an external code that was              and in motivation. The whole situation in the


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  495



household is different when there is an inner will-          goal for the child of God who is coming to the full
ingness to walk in God's way; That is where we are           stature of the new man in Christ. To want to have
in the New Testament by grace in Christ Jesus.               everything so carefully defined is really a basic im-
  To present the way of holiness and obedience to            maturity. We have not yet begun to dare to walk in
the New Testament Christian as the way of regula-            the freedom of the Spirit wherewith Christ has
tions, of external codes - do this and don't do that         made us free. We like to have some external "guide
- is to present a way that leads to bondage. Paul            bars" to help us because we feel so secure with
says, You have been freed, you have been deliver-            them. But, lo and behold, those "guide bars"
ed, you have been liberated. Now stand fast in that          become for us a prison of bondage. We must be fin-
liberty and do not become entangled in the yoke of           ished with external guide bars. We must strive to
bondage. Don't do that to yourselves through im-             live out of the principle of freedom and thanks-
maturity. Don't allow these Judaizers to do that to          giving of the new man in Christ.
you. Resist them steadfastly. "Stand fast in the                Is that easy? Oh no, that is not easy. That is a
liberty wherewith Christ has made us free." Christ           very difficult calling, and that is why we revert so
has liberated us unto liberty  - not so that we              quickly and say, Just tell me what to do and I'll do
should become free to be entangled again into regu-          it. Don't bother me with all the latitude that the
lation of anyone else except the Lord Christ.                Word of God allows. I am not a theologian, after all.
  The Judaizers of Paul's day were trying to en-             I am not able to distinguish the way. But God says,
tangle the Christians in a new yoke of bondage.              I have given you the Spirit. I have enabled you by
That is why we see Paul contending so fiercely               grace to know the way. You need not an instructor.
against those who would reintroduce the law as an            You have an instructor in your hearts. Go to the
external code.                                               Word. There is the guide for thankful, holy living.
                                                             The Spirit of God within me, testifying with my
  Those attempts have continued throughout the               spirit guides me and shows me the boundaries and
ages. There are always those who would seek to               also makes me willing to walk in them.
add to or to take something away from the Word of
God. Each of us has that inclination or tendency                Then we do not have to become judges of one
within us. We like to have everything all neat and           another. God judges us. I can do things that you
orderly. Our children say, What can we do, and we            cannot do. You can do things that I cannot do. But
like to say, You may do this, this, and this, but not        we trust that we are all servants of the living God,
this, that, or another thing. Then we know and the           Who is able Himself to make us stand in freedom,
children know where the law is. That may work for            in obedience, and in thanksgiving.
immature children, but that is not the ideal nor the                                               (to be continued)

IN HIS FEAR


                     The Church Prayer Meeting
                                                 Rev. Arie den Hartog



  Church prayer meetings are not commonly held               prayer meetings to be a great source of blessing
in our Protestant Reformed Churches, in fact they            both to the church as a whole and to ourselves per-
are not very common as far as we know in any of              sonally. It is our purpose in this article to tell you
the Reformed Churches. They have long been a                 something about these meetings. We want also to
tradition in Presbyterian Churches as well as a              consider some of the biblical bases for holding such
number of other churches. There are those who                meetings. Finally, we want to relate some of what
claim that they were regularly held in the church            we can see to be the great blessings these meetings
from the time of the apostles. We have had the op-            afford the church. It is our conviction that we as
portunity to experience such meetings during our             Protestant Reformed Churches can learn from
labors as missionaries in the Evangelical Reformed           these meetings and that we could well consider
Church of Singapore. These prayer meetings were              holding similar meetings in our own midst.
already an institution in what was then the G.L.T.S.            Let me begin by describing what is meant by a
when we came to Singapore. We found these                    prayer meeting. A prayer meeting is a regular


496                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



weekly meeting of the church which is especially          ized by the evils and excesses which we find in
for the purpose of corporate prayer of the church. It     many modern-day church meetings. They are not
is held in the recognition of the urgent need for the     characterized by a lot of disorderly shoutings of
church always to continue in prayer unto the Lord.        hallelujahs and amens and all sorts of emotional
The meetings which we have experienced usually            outbursts. Neither are these meetings the forums
consist of the following. They are opened with            for all sorts of silly stories and all sorts of unbiblical
prayer and singing. This is followed by an exhorta-       prayer requests. The meetings are always subdued,
tion from the Word of God on the subject of prayer:       reverent, and orderly. They always include biblical
the need and the urgency of prayer, the require-          instruction on prayer. The church is constantly ad-
ments of proper prayer, the proper subject of             monished against improper and unscriptural prayer
prayer, the biblical principles of prayer, and such       and exhorted to pray reverently and sincerely. At
like subjects. In the E.R.C.S. this exhortation is        these meetings the church as a whole earnestly and
usually given by an elder of the church who also          sincerely seeks to worship the Lord in prayer, to
serves as the ,chairman  of the prayer meeting. This      praise Him and to give Him thanks, and to make
is followed by the announcement of the current            supplication of Him for His mercy and grace.
concerns and needs of the church for which the              Is there biblical warrant for holding such meet-
church is exhorted to pray. The church is especially      ings? We believe there is. In the first place, of
exhorted to pray for the ministry of the gospel, for      course, the Word of God exhorts us everywhere on
the worship services, and for the work of the             the great urgency of prayer. Paul calls the church to
special offices in the church. After this, opportunity    pray without ceasing. In Romans  12:12 the apostle
is given to the members of the church to make             exhorts the church to continue instant in prayer. In
prayer requests. This will include expressions of         several places the apostle exhorts the church to
thanksgiving and praise to God for blessings re-          pray for the ministry of the gospel (see Ephesians
ceived, requests for prayer for the grace of God to       6: 19 and II Thessalonians 3: 1 and 2). In Ephesians
bear the burdens of life, to  .endure  hardships and      6:18 the church is exhorted: "Praying always with
persecutions and trials, and to stand steadfast in the    all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watch-
face of temptations and discouragements. If there         ing thereunto with all perseverance and supplica-
are any sick in the church this is made known at          tion for all saints." In I Timothy  2:l we read: "I
the prayer meeting. If a member of the church has         exhort therefore that, first of all, supplications,
not been in church for some time this is made the         prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be
subject of prayer. If there are newcomers to the          made for all men." James exhorts us: "Confess
worship. services who have been attending the wor-        your faults one to another, and pray for one
ship services for several weeks they are prayed for.      another, that ye may be healed. The effectual
Often, also, requests are made for prayer for a           fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much"
member of the church who in the providence of             (James  5:16). There are many elements in all of
God has come in contact with a friend or colleague        these passages of the Word of God that we could
to whom they are speaking about the Lord. Often           call attention to, but space prohibits. Surely the
prayers are offered to God for our beloved Protes-        Word of God emphasizes the urgency of prayer. It
tant Reformed Churches in the U.S.A. Sometimes            emphasizes that we must pray continually and with
also a member of the church will stand up to make         perseverance. It emphasizes that we must pray for
a personal confession of faith or a short exhortation     the church and for the ministry of the gospel. It
to encourage others in the church in a certain area       emphasizes that we must pray for one another and
of Christian living.                                      for all men. Many more passages of Scripture could
  After the period of prayer requests the whole           be enumerated.
church enters into a time of prayer. In the E.R.C.S.        Our Heidelberg Catechism teaches us that
this is done while everyone is on  bended knee be-        prayer is the chief part of thankfulness to God and
fore the chairs. The chairman will open with prayer       that God gives His grace and Holy Spirit to those
after which various members of the church will            only who -with sincere desire continually ask them
lead in prayer. There are also sometimes periods of       of Him and are thankful. These are tremendous
silent prayer. Leading in prayer is done spontane-        statements. They are the clear teaching of the Word
ously and again usually by the leaders of the             of God.
church,                                                     Indeed we ought always to be asking ourselves,
  Perhaps for many of us Protestant Reformed              are we being faithful in prayer? Are we continuing
people this type of meeting would seem quite              in prayer with all perseverance? When we pray do
strange. Many of us have never experienced such a         we pray earnestly and sincerely and not just
meeting. Lest you get the wrong impression let me         generally, formally, and coldly? Do we pray con-
assure you that these meetings are not character-         stantly for the needs of the church of Jesus Christ


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                                497



     and for the ministry of the gospel? Do we pray ear-       or purpose. The Lord delights in His people when
     nestly and with fervent love for our fellow saints?       they worship Him in `prayer. God is pleased to
     How often would we avoid strife and bitterness and        glorify His own name in the midst of His church
     anger in the church if we spent more time praying         when that church is gathered in His house for
     for one another? Do we know the great needs and           prayer. God hears and answers the prayers of His
     concerns of our fellow saints or do we care only          people when they pray for His church, for the min-
     about ourselves? When we pray do we pray only             istry of the gospel, and for one another.
     for our own needs or also for the needs of one              Through the prayer meeting the members of the
     another?                                                  church are exhorted continually to pray for the
       According to the Word of God there are various          church. The specific needs and concerns of the
     ways in which we ought to pray. We should pray            church are set before the people of God to arouse
     privately in our inner closet. We ought to pray           their earnest concern for the church. The people of
     together with our families, We ought also to pray         the church are made aware of what is going on in
     corporately as a church. One of the ways in which         the various aspects of the life of the church and are
    we do this is at our worship services, especially in       exhorted to be concerned about all that is going on
    the congregational prayer. Are there also other            and to pray. Through the means of prayer God's
    times when the church should be praying together           people learn to humble themselves before God, to
    as one body of Christ?                                     worship Him and give Him thanks, and to make
       The Bible places great emphasis on corporate            earnest supplication of Him. In the prayer meetings
    prayer in the church. The many exhortations to             the saints of God exhort and encourage one another
    pray that are found in Paul's epistles are made to         in the difficulties of the Christian life. The Bible ad-
    the church as a whole and certainly imply corpor-          monishes us to bear one another's burdens. Surely
    ate prayer. We have a number of beautiful exam-            we do this especially when we pray one for an-
    ples of the apostolic church in corporate prayer. We       other. Through corporate prayer the church is
    read of the apostolic church in Acts that "they con-       united together in the blessed bond of the love of
    tinued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fel-       God and one another in the communion of the
    lowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers"         saints. Through the prayer meeting the church
   (Acts  2:42). Notice that prayer was something that         learns of the real and specific needs of their fellow-
    the apostolic church continued in stedfastly and           saints and learns to be concerned for one another
    that they did this along with continuing in the            and sincerely pray for one another. Through the
    apostles' doctrine. This was a time of great need in       prayer meetings personal fellowship with one
    the church and there was therefore urgency for             another is promoted and greatly blessed of God.
    prayer. But is it not true that we today live in a time    What a great encouragement it is to hear the church
    of great need for the church? We find another beau-        as a whole praying for one's needs and concerns!
    tiful example of such corporate prayer of the              The prayer meetings do much to encourage person-
    church in Acts  12:5. "Peter therefore was kept in         al piety and godliness among the members.
    prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the           The Lord in His grace has used our churches to
    church unto God for him." This was a time of great         teach the saints of God here many things. We can
    crisis in the church when James had been killed            also learn from them. I believe that the prayer
    and Peter had been put into prison. And what did           meetings in the E.R.C.S. ought to be an example
    the church do? They prayed together without                unto us.
    ceasing.
       One of the beautiful names which we find in the
    Word of God to describe the temple, and so also the             The Standard Bearer
    church, is the name "House of Prayer." This indi-
    cates that one of the chief purposes of the church is            makes a thoughtful
    to worship God in prayer. How often do we go up
    unto the house of the Lord with the definite pur-
    pose of worshiping the Lord in prayer? This indeed                     gift for the sick
    is the purpose of the prayer meeting.
       The prayer meeting is a great blessing to the
    church. This is true of course because God is                          or shut-in. Give
    pleased to bless His church upon the prayer of His
    saints. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous
    man availeth much. Prayer is not a futile exercise             The Standard Bearer.
--~ or mere outward religious ritual that is of no profit


498                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



TRANSLATED TREASURES


                           A Pamphlet Concerning
                  The Reformation Of The Church
                                                  Dr. A. Kuyper


56. Concerning Reformation Through A Break                   He who works for the reformation of the church
       With The Existing Church.                           in the name of the Lord neither can nor will do this
  It is more important, if that is possible, that ref-     in pride, much less with a contemptuous scorn for
ormation by means of a break with the church has           others. Rather, he will lack in himself the courage
the conviction of sin and guilt as its point of de-        to lift his hand for such a task and he will anxiously
parture, than in reformation through spiritual             ask himself if it be the Lord's will that his guilt
revival and gradual church renewal.                        before the Lord is to be punished more and more
                                                           severely by this plague of desolation in the church.
  He who risks a break with the existing church            The true minister of repentance who is capable of
without this consciousness of sin and guilt de-            this work will thus concede that he hopes for
nounces faith in God's providential order.                 nothing else than an increase in the burden of his
  For such a one it' is as if the reformation of the       own sin. Nevertheless he conducts himself out of
church arises only because of the opposition and           pure obedience and compels others to treat all
ambition of some so that God the Lord would in-            things according to the Word of God.
deed give to us a good church if only the stubborn-          God Himself is the only Author of reformation
ness of a few did not stand in His way. And the            which takes place by means of a break with the
chief desire of their heart is then that they, as the      existing church. This does not give us an excuse to
better ones, should try to make these evil people          neglect devotion to duty and a license for spiritual
harmless, so that in this way they can bring' into         laziness. He who takes this position has the whole
being a good church for the Lord. Three kinds of           Word of God against him. This becomes in fact
sins arise out of this one sin. First, there is no         Antinomianism. But it is nevertheless true that ref-
awareness of one's own corporate guilt. Secondly,          ormation cannot proceed in a proper way unless
there is an exaltation of one's self over others. And      the Holy Spirit performs the merciful work of
thirdly, there is the delusion that a good church is       arousing in hard hearts the conviction of sin, and of
not a gift of God to us, but is a gift from us to the      making one see a judgment of God in the decay of
Lord.                                                      the church. This kind of conviction cannot be culti-
  If one confesses on the other hand, that a good          vated artificially. If the one person parrots the other
church is an excellent and gracious gift of God            that all church renewal must proceed from confes-
which He freely grants us and which we receive             sion of guilt, this is useless and never brings anyone
without any merit on our part, then one sees at            further than a mere empty show. Confession of
once that if the Lord withholds this good from us,         guilt can arouse truth, reality, spiritual stamina,
this must lie in the sin of the church. In this way a      when the Holy Spirit Himself speaks as the  Con-
bad church is always a chastisement and a judg-            victor in the guilty heart. And having done this the
ment because of our unrighteousness. He who                same Holy Spirit then comforts, oh so tenderly, that
recognizes this judgment of God in the sad state of        same guilty heart.
the church can no longer think that the piety of             There must still be added something else.
one's own people should be as a sacrifice for the          Church reformation is not something which
evil of others. But on the contrary, he will confess       happens through the work of one person. When
that all guilt and sin is communal, and that exactly       Luther began his work, he did take the lead; but his
his own people, according as they know more truth          work would have disappeared in oblivion and
and have received more abundant grace, have                death if a number of other persons, already
transgressed more abominably. Not the wild                 matured and prepared, and only waiting for his
animals which mangle you, but the children of the          signal, had not added their strength to his. So it is, if
house are the ones who violate that love which is          conviction of ecclesiastical guilt is aroused in only
most nrecious.                                             one heart, this is not enough. Such a conviction


                                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                                499



must simultaneously arise in many and cause an                                                     time in which he notices that that same conviction
awakening of the Spirit among the Lord's people.                                                   is in the hearts of others. This would hold in
Only in this way does that warm fervor arise which                                                 contempt and reject the demand of God. A man
melts everything, that scintillating life which                                                    may imagine that this is true. He may even tell
awakens everything, that power which conquers                                                      others that those who have insight into conviction
all opposition. Then one sees how only God the                                                     of ecclesiastical guilt and see the sin of the church
Lord can be Author of such a reformation. One im-                                                  as sin against God nevertheless must passively wait
mediately realizes that a man can arouse an -en-                                                   until the Lord either performs an extraordinary sign
thusiasm for his ideas in a small circle of friends,                                               by which the situation changes without our effort,
but to produce a similar spiritual movement in a                                                   or that all hearts are so aroused to church renewal
broader circle, this no man can do; this is only of                                                that they become as a voice of the rushing of many
the Lord.                                                                                          waters. But he obviously does not understand even
    This is not to say that a person in whom that con-                                             the first principle of obedience.
viction is aroused must and may sit still until the



                                                                                      Index

                              TEXTUAL INDEX                                                        Gospel in Leviticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 3 10
                                                                                                   Gospel ofJohn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 190
Nehemiah 4:13-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH                      7     GospeZ ofluke. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 310
Psalm 122:6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJH 242                  In the Sanctuar), . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 239
Matthew  1:22,23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 122                    J. Gersham Machen, A Silhouette . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 215
Johnl:ll.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 290                Lesser Parables ofOur  Lord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 310
John  1:12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 434              Letters ofPaul, Hebrews, and the Book ofPsalms  . HH 94
Acts........................................J K 15                                                 L i l i t h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G   H   9 5
A&2:2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 386                 My God is Yahweh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 454
R o m a n s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . J   K   1 6    New Century Bible Commentary, The Acts of
Romans (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 66                    the Apostles, Romans, Galatians, Colossians,
Romans (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 137                   Philemon, Gospel ofMatthew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 261
Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 182             New Century Bible Commentary, The Exodus
Galatians (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 225                  Isaiah, Job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 455
Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..J K 349                New Century Bible Commentary, The Gospel
Ephesians (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 429                    ofMark, Ephesians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 262
Ephesians 2:19-22. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 26                       Parables ofOur Lord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 190
Philippians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 472               Phantastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GH 95
Philippians 3:9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 50                    Promise and Deliverance V. IV. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 310
I Thessalonians 5:21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 146                       Reformers and Their Stepchildren, The . . . . . . . . . . HH 21
II Thessalonians 2:11-14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 362                          Sermons on the Saving Work of Christ. . . . . . . . . . . HH 23
I Timothy 6:6-8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 194                   She Shall Be Called Woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH  167
Hebrews  11:27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV 218                     Theological Reflections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 454
Hebrews  11:28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 314                    Training of the `Ilvelve,  The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 47
Hebrews  11:29 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 458                    Treasury  of  Quotations on Religious Subjects. . . . . FBP 503
Jude 3c . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 98              Trumpeter of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 406
                                                                                                   Unconditional Good News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 358
                               BOOK REVIEWS                                                        We and Our Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 151

Book ofJeremiah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 406                                                                   -A-
Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals. . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 454
Christ of the Covenants, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 166                           Abortion , And: The Evil of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 11
Christian Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 357                    Abortion, the Horrors of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 210
Christian Poetry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GH 190                   About Being Baptized for the Dead. . . . . . . . . . . . CH 447
Church in the Twentieth Century, The. . . . . . . . . . . HH 453                                   Acts-Christ Gathers His Church (Conclusion) . . JK 15
Doctrine ofscripture,  The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 214                           And: the Evil of Abortion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB                            11
Dutch Reformed Church in the American                                                              Annual Secretary's Report-R.F.P.A. . . . . . . . . . . PK 68
    Colonies, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 311                    Anything Goes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RF 135
Eerdman's  Handbook to the World's Religions . . HCH 406                                           Apostasy in the Netherlands, The Depth of . . . HCH 317


 500                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER



 Apostasy in the Pew, Signs in the Church (11). . . KK 19                             Double Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 87
 As Others See Us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 208         Dreadful Sacrilege, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 485
 Ascended on High . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 170          Dwelling Safely in Goshen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 323
 Author of Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 86
 Authority of Scripture, The GKN on the                                                                                    -E-
    Nature of the (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH        5
 Authority of Scripture, The GKN on the                                               E.R.C.S., The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 197
    Nature of the (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 29          Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH       7
 Authority of Scripture, The GKN on the                                               Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 78
    Nature of the (9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 53          Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 245
 Authority of Scripture, The GKN on the                                               Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 389
    Nature of the (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 221          Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 416
                                                                                      Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 484
                                     -B-                                              "Electric" or "Media" Church, The. . . . . . . . . . GVB 250
                                                                                      Election and Assurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 372
 Baptized for the Dead, About Being . . . . . . . . . . . CH 447                      Election in Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 375
 Battle of Armageddon, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 393                Election Means Preference? A Response . . . . . . . KK 382
 Becoming Children of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 434                 Election Preaching and the Demand for
 Bible and TV Guide, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 40                    Repentance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RH 90
 Bible Conference in Birmingham, The . . . . . . . RDD 55                             "Eodem modo" Rejected in the Conclusion
 Bible: Right or Wrong?, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RF 156                   of Canons, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 380
 Bible Study, The Principles and Practices of (1) . RH 422                            "Eodem modo" Rejected in the Conclusion
 Bible Study, The Principles and Practices of (2) . RH 443                               of Canons, The (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 391
 Biblical Universalism? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 12              "Eodem modo" Rejected in the Conclusion
 Bitter Cry of Unbelief, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 131               of Canons, The (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 440
 Born of a Virgin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 122     "Eodem modo" Rejected in the Conclusion
 Building With Sword and Trowel . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH                     7       of Canons, The (4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 462
 By Hunger Driven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 475           Ephesians-The Church, One in Christ (1) . . . . . . JK 349
                                                                                      Ephesians-The Church, One in Christ
                                     -c-                                                 (conclusion). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 429
                                                                                      Evangelism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 180
 Call to Obedience, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJH 160            Evil of Abortion, And: the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 11
 Canons, Pastoral Character of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RH 17                  Evils of Gambling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ." . . . . . . GVB 11
 CastOutByHisOwn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MS 290                Examining Church Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JS 184
 Catechism Preaching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 328            Examining Church Membership (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . JS 206
 Children, Obey Your Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJH 41
 Children, Obey Your Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RM 491                                                       -F-
 Christian Attitude Towards Sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 354
 Christian Attitude Towards Sex (2). . . . . . . . . . . AdH 397                      Faces of Semi-Arminianism, The . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 125
 Christian Dating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RGM 346         Faltering Faith and Manifold Mercy . . . . . . . . . . JAH 186
 "Christian" Rock?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 140         Father and Exalted Son Meet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 352
 Christ's Return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WGB 284        Final Judgment, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 338
 Church and the Sacraments, The. . . . . . . . . . . . WGB 255                        Final Judgment of the Elect, The . . . . . . . . . . . . WGB 333
 Church Extension and Evangelism . . . . . . . . . . RDD 128                          Fly in the Ointment?, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 293
-Church of the Present Day and Persecution, The KK 470                                Forgiveness Full and Free . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 227
 Church Prayer Meeting, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 495                   Freedom of Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 341
- Confession of Faith, The Responsibility to Make RC 401                              From Your Business Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HVW 102
 Confession of Faith-What is it? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 63
 Confessions in the Life of the Church, The . . . . . HH 416                                                              -G-
 Contending for the Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CH 98               GKN on the Nature of the Authority of
 Creation Destroyed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WGB 305                Scripture, The (7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH          5
 Creation On Trial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 297         GKN on the Nature of the Authority of
 Creation? or Evolution? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RC 466              Scripture, The (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 29
                                                                                      GKN on the Nature of the Authority of
                                     -D-                                                 Scripture, The (9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 53
                                                                                      GKN on the Nature of the Authority of
 Dance is Redeemed-Finally, After Many                                                   Scripture, The (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 221
    Years, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 451    Galatians-Our Liberty in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 182
 Dear Ann Landers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 85            Galatians-Our Liberty in Christ (conclusion) . . . JK 225
 Depravity, Our Natural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 188             Godliness With Contentment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 194
 Depth of Apostasy in the Netherlands. . . . . . . . HCH 317                          God's Predestinating Purpose Realized . . . . . . . . MS 362
 Difficulties of Westminster Seminary . . . . . . . . GVB 181                         Gospel According to  Reader's Digest. . . . . . . . . . GVB 139
 Divorce and Remarriage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 446               Government Support, United Schools for, . . . . GVB. 209


                                                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                              501



                                        -H-                                                       Missed Opportunity, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 420
                                                                                                  Missionary Methods (8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 83
Hebrew Vowel Points or the Power                                                                  Missionary Methods (9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 177
   Thereof,The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..HC H 198                       Missionary Methods (10) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 280
Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 40-43 . . . . . . . CH                                     2      Missionary Methods (11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 321
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 45 . . . . . . . . . . . CH 74                                     Missionary Methods (12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 395
Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 46,49 . . . . . . . CH 170                                        Missionary Methods (13) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 441
Heidelberg Catechism, Questions 50,51 . . . . . . . CH 266                                        Missionary Methods (14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 464
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 52 . . . . . . . . . . . CH 338                                    Moral Majority and the Trying of the
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 53 . . . . . . . . . . . CH 410                                       Spirits, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RM 230
Heidelberg Catechism, Question 54 . . . . . . . . . . . CH 482                                    More Janus-Headed Theology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 389
Holy Catholic Church, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 482                             More Suggestions About our Synodical
Homosexuality, The Vile Sin of (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 61                                     M e e t i n g s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H C   H   4 6 1
Homosexuality, The Vile Sin of (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 302                                 Moses' Forsaking of Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 218
Horrors of Abortion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 210                        Moses' Keeping of the Passover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 3 14

                                          - I -                                                                                             -N-

I Believe in Jesus Christ . . . Dead and Buried . . CH                                      2     Necessary Distress, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                 .JK 59
I Believe in the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 410                         NecessaryMove,A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AH 282
In God's Holy Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 26                        News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 23
Inflation Strikes Our Magazine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 221                                 News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 72
Institute and its Importance, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . RH 245                                News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 96
Institute and the Office of Believers . . . . . . . . . . . . . JS 252                            News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 120
Institution of the Evangelical Reformed                                                           News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 144
   Church of Singapore, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 269                               News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 168
Instructive Burial Arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 489                                 News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 191
Israel's Passage Through the Red Sea. . . . . . . . . . HV 458                                    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 216
                                                                                                  News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 263
                                          -J-                                                     News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 288
                                                                                                  News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 336
Jacob Blesses Pharaoh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 448                         News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 360
Jews Be Evangelized, Should. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 40                                 News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 408
Johnny Can't Listen to the Sermon. . . . . . . : . . . GVB 327                                    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 432
                                                                                                  News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 456
                                         -K-                                                      News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CK 480
                                                                                                  News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .504
Kromminga On an Alternate Seminary . . . . . . . GVB 40                                           Non-Functional by Editorial Decree . . . . . . . . . HCH 76
                                                                                                  Non-Functional by Reason of Losing the Marks . BK 128
                                         -L-
                                                                                                                                            -o-
Letter from the Theological School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 35                      Of Christ the Mediator l-4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RVO 87
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 79                      Of Christ the Mediator 5-8. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RVO 154
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 133                     Of "Sacred Cows" and "Sour Milk" . . . . . . . . . GVB 179
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 175                     Open Letter of Thanks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LCK 405
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 210                     Organization of the E.R.C.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 274
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 223                   Our Children: God's Gracious Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . RF 43
Letter to Timothy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 295                     Our Lord's Coronation . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . . CH 266
Liberty and Maturity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WB 493                        Our Natural Depravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 188
Love for the Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CJH 242                       Our Publications and Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RVO 114
                                                                                                  Our Resurrection Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 427
                                        -M-
                                                                                                                                            -P-
MakingofaBook,The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .EK 113
Making of a Book (in Pictures), The. . . . . . . . : . HCH 110                                    Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the
Making of the  Standard Bearer,  The . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 104                                   Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 31
Man's Chief End (1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RCH 141                        Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the
Man's Chief End (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RCH 158                           Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 164
Marks of the Church and the Means of                                                              Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the
   G r a c e , T h e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . R D   D   2 5 9       Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 201
Marks of the False Church, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 256                                Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the
"Media" Church, The "Electric" or. . . . . . . . . . GVB 250                                         Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 234


502                                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the                                                            Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet
   Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 307                                                Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper
Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the                                                                (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 319
   Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 319                                             Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet
Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the                                                                Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper
   Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 343                                                 (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 343
Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the                                                            Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet
   Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 477                                                Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper
Pamphlet Concerning the Reformation of the                                                                (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 477
   Church, A, by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . HH 498                                             Reformed Church in Singapore, A. . . . . . . . . Mr. DE 278
Parachurch Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 248                                 Reformed Free Publishing Association and
Pastoral Character of the Canons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . RH 17                                        the  Standard Bearer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 101
Paul's Letter to Philippi (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .,. . . . . . JK 472                        Report of Classis East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJH 24
Postmillennial, The So-Called Proof-texts of (IX) GL 33                                               Report of Classis East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJH 240
Postmillennial, The So-Called Proof-texts of (X) . GL 81                                              Report of Classis East . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJH 431
Postmillennial, The So-Called Proof-texts of (XI) GL 152                                              Report of Classis West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 48
Postmillennial, The So-Called Proof-texts                                                             Report of Classis West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 3 12
   of(XI1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..GL 204                   Report on Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 425
Postmillennial, The So-Called Proof-texts                                                             Responsibility to Make Confession of Faith, The RC 401
   o f ( X I I I ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G L   2 9 9    Resurrection of Jesus Christ, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 74
Postmillennial, The So-Called Proof-texts                                                             Rift in the Clouds, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JAH 212
   o f ( X I V ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G L   4 6 8      Righteous in Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 50
Predestination and Preaching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 370                                     Robert Schuller on "Success" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 209
Principles and Practices of Bible Study, The (1) . RH 422                                             Romans-Justification by Faith (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 16
Principles and Practices of Bible Study, The (2) . RH 443                                             Romans-Justification by Faith (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 66
Protestant Reformed Churches and Their                                                                Romans-Justification by Faith (conclusion). . . . . JK 137
   Mission Calling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 487                          Rough Speech of a Tender Love, The . . . . . . . . . JAH                        13
Protestant Reformed Evangelism (1) . . . . . . . . . RDD 117
Protestant Reformed Evangelism (2) . . . . . . . . . RDD 128                                                                               -s-
Proving All Things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 146
Public Confession.of Sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 45                              "Sanctified in Christ"-Real or Not?. . . . . . . . . HCH 149
                                                                                                      Schuller, Robert on "Success" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 209
                                           -Q-                                                        Seeking a Wife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RM 57
                                                                                                      Semi-Arminianism, The Faces of. . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 125
Question Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH                  45      Seminary, Kromminga On an Alternate . . . . . . GVB 40
Question Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 163                      Seminary Convocation Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH                      7
Question Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 188                      Seminary Graduation Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 416
Question Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 286                      Seminary Graduation-1982. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 413
Question Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 328                      "Shepherd Case," The
QuestionBox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . CH 393                                                         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 326
                                                                                                      Should Jesus Be Evangelized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 40
Question Box. . . .,. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 427                    Significant Little Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 151
Question Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 446                      Signs in the Church ( 1 1), Apostasy in the Pew. . . KK 19
                                                                                                      So-Called Proof-texts of Postmillennialism (IX). . GL 33
                                           -R-                                                        So-Called Proof-texts of Postmillennialism (X) . . GL 81
R.F.P.A. Publications Committee and its                                                               So-Called Proof-texts of Postmillennialism (XI). . GL 152
   Work,The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..HCH 108                           So-Called Proof-texts of Postmillennialism (XII) . GL 204
Recent Reformed Criticisms of the Canons                                                              So-Called Proof-texts of Postmillennialism  (X111(  GL 293
   o f D o r d t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D E   3 7 7        So-Called Proof-texts of Postmillennialism (XIV) GL 468
Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet                                                                 Sovereign Reprobation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RC 368
   Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper                                                                   Special Issue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 101
   (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 3 1                     Special Issue. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 245
Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet                                                                 Spirit of the Glorified Christ, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 386
   Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper                                                                   Spiritual Submission to One Another . . . . . . . . . . GL 403
   (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 164                     Standard Bearer  and Polemics, The. . . . . . . . . . . . HH 106
Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet                                                                 Still Non-Functional. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 173
   Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper                                                                   Strength of Youth: Asset or Liability . . . . . . . . . . RM 345
   (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 201                     Suggestions for Improving Synod. . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 437
Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet                                                                 Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches-
   Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper                                                                      1982...................................HC  H 414
   (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 234
Reformation of the Church, A Pamphlet                                                                                                     -T-
   Concerning the, by Dr. A. Kuyper
   (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 307                     TV Guide, The Bible and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 40


                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                 503



Tale of Three Houses and a Church, A . . . . . . . . . RF                  69
To Glorify God. . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RCH 158                  Book Review
True Calvinistic Revivals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 163

                                    -u-                                           TREASURY OF QUOTATIONS ON RELI-
Unconditional Election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SH 365         GIOUS SUBJECTS, F.B. Proctor; Kregel Publica-
United Schools for Government Support . . . . . GVB 209                           tions, Grand Rapids,  Mich.; 816 pp. (cloth), $14.95.
Urgency of the Preaching of the Gospel, The . . AdH 329                           [Reviewed by Prof. H.C. Hoeksema]
                                                                                     This large volume is a reprint of a work originally
                                    -v-                                           published in 1887 under the title Classified Gems Of
                                                                                  Thought. There is a vast amount of material in a
Vile Sin of Homosexuality, The (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . DE              61     book like this. This material ranges from brief
Vile Sin of Homosexuality, The (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 302                 sermons and sermon notes and outlines to brief
Voting on Sunday. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 139       paragraphs and statements on many different sub-
                                    -W-                                           jects. The quotations found in it are from a wide
                                                                                  variety of evangelical writers. And according as the
Watch, Therefore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RGM 232         writers vary, so do the quotations. Some are
Westminster Confession, Chapter VIII l-4. . . . RVO 87                            Reformed and quite usable; some are definitely less
Westminster Confession, Chapter VIII 5-8 . . . . RVO 154                          than Reformed and even contrary to the Reformed
Westminster Confession, Chapter IX. . . . . . . . . RVO 237                       faith. The value of the book is enhanced by a large
Who is Jesus? , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 39    General Index and  by an Index of Texts.
"Wiser" Children of Men, The. . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB                10
Women Smoking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 286           For those who like to make use of quotations in
                                                                                  their sermons or speeches, I can see some value in a
                                                                                  book of this kind. This reviewer,  .however, makes
                                                                                  very little use of this kind of material. It should be
                                                                                  kept in mind, however, that the choice and the
                                                                                  quality of the quotations found in a book of this
                                                                                  kind are largely dependent on the author who
                                                                                  collected them. In other words, the choice of a
               RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                             collection of quotations is a strictly subjective
   The Senior Mr. and Mrs. Society of the First Protestant Reformed               matter. However, there is such a wide variety and
Church expresses their sincere sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Dan                       such a large choice in a book of this size that
Baldwin in the passing of his mother, MRS. RUTH BALDWIN.                          anyone who uses the book can make his own
   "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my                choice from Proctor's choice.
help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth."
(Psalm  121:1-2)
                                                   Rev. M. Joostens, Pres.                            WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
                                                   Mrs.  R. Pastoor, Sec'y.          On September 19, 1982, the Lord willing, our parents, MR. AND
                                                                                  MRS. JOHN  WIGGER will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary.

                                                                                    We, their children and grandchildren, arethankful to our Heavenly
                 LEAGUE MEETING NOTICE                                            Father for giving us God-fearing parents who have brought us up in
                                                                                  the fear of the Lord. We pray that God will bless them and keep them
   The Fall Meeting of the League of Eastern Men's and Ladies'                    in the years to come.
Societies will be held, the Lord willing, on Tuesday, October 5, 1982,
at 8:00 p.m. at Southeast Protestant Reformed Church. Members                        "For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting and His truth  en-
and friends are urged to attend.                                                  dureth to all generations." (Psalm  100:5).
   Rev. Richard Flikkema will speak on "The Spiritual Strengths and                                                  Bern and Kaye Wigger
Weaknesses of the Protestant Reformed Churches, and Possible                                                            Jennifer, Stephen, Rocky, Philip
Remedies."                                                                                                           Ben and Judy Wigger
                                                                                                                        Tim and Tom
                                                    Elsie Kuiper, Secretary                                          Chuck and Barb  Ensink
                                                                                                                        Scott, Brian, Sarah
                                                                                                                     Dave Wigger
               RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                           RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
   The members of the Priscilla Society of the First Protestant Re-
formed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan, extend heartfelt and                       The Adult Bible Class of the Hudsonville Protestant Reformed
sincere Christian sympathy to their member, Mrs. Gerrit Bol                       Church expresses its deep sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Lubbers
(Eleanore),  in the passing to Glory of her father, MR. HENRY  MEU-               in the death of her brother, CALVIN DE ROO.
LENBERG.  May God comfort her by His word and Spirit.                               "And we know that all things work together for good to them that
   "When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also                love God, to them who are the called according to His purposes."
appear with Him in glory."  (Cal.  3:4).                                          (Remans   8:28).

                                             Mrs. Ralph Meyer, Pres.                                                             Bernard Bruining, Pres.
                                             Mrs. Ryven C. Ezinga, Sec'y.                                                        Faye Dykstra, Sec'y.


     THE STANDARD BEARER         _~___~._  .~_  ~_  _ --  -~  ~--  ~~.  ,,
           P.O.  Box 6064
Grand Rapids, Michigan  49506





5     0     4                                     THE STANDARD BEARER

                             News From Our.Churches
     Candidates Tom Miersma and Jon Smith have re-.                     been placed on hold, it seems only a matter of time
ceived and accepted calls from our Edmonton, Al-                        before this project will be reactivated.
berta, Canada, and Edger-ton, Minnesota congrega-                             The life of our schools continues to be enhanced
tions, respectively. Before the news of candidate                       by the work of an organization called the Federa-
Miersma's answer to the call from Edmonton reached                      tion of Protestant Reformed School Societies. One
South Holland, Illinois their bulletin announced:                        of the purposes of this organization is to, "promote
"Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches                        the development, understanding, and presentation
has been postponed to Tuesday, September 21, so                          of distinctive Christian education." In keeping with
that one, or possibly two candidates may also be                        that purpose a summer mini-course with the gener-
examined at this Classis." The result of all this                        al theme, Teaching Our Children Scriptual Values,
could be a very unusual situation for the Protestant                     was planned and held at the Southwest Protestant
Reformed Churches in America: a time in which                            Reformed Church of Grandville, Michigan in
none of the parsonages of our churches are vacant.                       August. Rev. Heys, pastor emeritus of our Holland,
Though my memory of the statistics may be defi-                          Michigan church, presented three lectures on the
cient, to my recollection at least, this is something                    aforementioned theme: 1) "The Covenant Child, A
new for our churches.                                                    Divinely Privileged Child"; 2) "The Christian
                                                                         School's Calling Because of this Privilege";
                      * * * * *                                          3) "Cultivating Thankfulness in the Divinely Privi-
                                                                         leged Child." It would be impossible for me to re-
     "We thank the Lord our Covenant God that soon                       view those lectures in this column, so I urge those
He will allow us to open the doors of Christian                          who are interested to obtain the magazine in which
education." By the time you read this column those                       these lectures-will be printed, i.e.,  Perspectives in
words written by Rev. Joostens, pastor of First                          Covenant Education. Send to: Perspectives, Protes-
Church in Grand Rapids, to his congregation would                        tant Reformed Teachers' Institute, c/o Covenant             .
sound better in the past rather than future tense of                     Christian High School, 1401  Ferndale Ave., SW.,
the verb. Nevertheless, it is fitting at this time that                  Grand Rapids, Michigan 49504.
we consider the faithfulness of our Covenant God
with respect to our schools. Nearly all of the grade-                         One final school-related item yet: A  back-to-
school children in our congregation have available                       school thought from an August 3 1, 1980 Pella, Iowa
to them instruction in our own parental schools. In                      bulletin: "Discipline in the school is only effective
addition, in the Grand Rapids, Michigan and                              if it is reinforced at home. The old rule of, `If you
Lynden, Washington areas a Protestant Reformed                           get a whooping at school, you'll get another one
high school education is also available. Further,                        when you get home' is valid. If the parents are lax
steps are being taken in other areas toward the                          regarding discipline, then no amount of strict dis-
establishment of parentally operated Protestant Re-                      cipline at school will (humanly speaking) really
formed schools:                                                          change the child's life." From The Bible Educator,
                                                                         July, 1980.
     1) The Society for Protestant Reformed Educa-                                            *  * * * *
tion of Houston, Texas has been busy working on a
constitution for a parental school.                                           This is the last issue of volume 58 of the Standard
     2) Recent bulletin announcements from our                           Bearer, and it will be the last in which the letters CK
Randolph, -Wisconsin  congregation.reveal  that the                      will conclude it. Many thanks to those who have so
school society, there continues to labor toward a                        faithfully sent bulletins and other church and
school of their own.                                                     school related materials my way. Please keep up
                                                                         the good work; but now send it to the address of my
     3) A society and board for secondary education                      successor: Mr. David Harbach
continues to labor in South Holland, Illinois.                                          4930 Ivanrest Ave. Apt. B
     4) Although the-plans for the building of a Hope                                   Grandville, Michigan 49418
Satellite School in Hudsonville, Michigan have                                                                               CK


