                         s.





                    7-k                 '               :
     STANDARD -
                    BEARER
r                   A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE                                     .





     II             an individual in the congregation can
           . . .

     sing an entire song without really realizing
     that he has sung at all. But such worship is
     not really worship at all. In fact, it is parti-
     cularly offensive in the sight of God . . . . It is
     almost as if thisXind  of formal worship is
     worse than no worship at all."
            See "Our Order of Worship"
                                                              - page 466




.                                                  Volume LX, No. 20, September 1, 1984  -


                                                               THE STANDARD BEARER




                                                                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER
                              CONTENTS                                                                               ISSN 03624692
                                                                                           Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
                                                                                           Published b the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
 Meditation  -                                                                                   Secon CKClass Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.
                                                                                 Editor-in-Chief:  Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
    Self-Examination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458        Department Editors:  Rev. Ronald Cammenga, Rev. Arie den Hartog, Prof. Robert
 Editor's Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .461    D. Decker, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman C. Hanko, Rev. Ronald Hanko,
                                                                                 Mr.  bavid Harbach, Rev. John A. Heys, Rev. J. Kortering, Rev. George C.
                                                                                 Lubbers, Rev. Thomas C. Miersma, Rev. Marinus Schipper,  Rev. James Slopse-
 Editorial  -                                                                    ma, Rev. Gise J. Van  Baren,  Rev. Herman Veldman.
    The Hypocrisy of a Heresy Declaration . . . . . . .461                       EditorialOffice:  Prof. H.C. Hoeksema
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    Our Order of Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .466'                                Grandville, Michigan49418
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MEDITATIQN



                                                   Self-Examination
                                                                        Rev. C. Hanko





                  Ques. 80: What difference is there between the Lord's Supper and the popish mass?
                 Ans.: The Lord's Supper testifies to us, that we have a full pardon of all sin by the only
              sacrifice ofJesus Christ, which He Himself once accomplished on the cross; and, that we by the
              Holy Ghost are engrafted into Christ, Who, according to His human nature is not now on
              earth, but in heaven, at the right hand of God His Father, and will there be worshipped by us:
              - but the mass teaches that the living and the deadehave not the pardon of sins through the suf-
              ferings of Christ, unless Christ is daily offered for them by the priests; and further, that Christ is


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                459



           bodily under the form of bread and wine, and therefore is to be worshipped in them; so that the
           mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice and sufferings of Christ, and
           an accursed idolatry.
             Ques. 82: For whom is the Lord's Supper instituted?
             Ans.: For those who are truly sorrowful for their sins, and yet trust that these are forgiven
           them for the sake of Christ; and that the remaining infirmities are covered by His passion and
           death; and who also earnestly desire to have their faith more and more strengthened, and their
           lives more holy; but hypocrites, and such as turn not to God with sincere hearts, eat and drink
          judgment to themselves.


  We are confronted here with the question: Who               and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh dam-
are the true partakers of the Lord's Supper? Our              nation to himself, not discerning the Lords body"
Book of Instruction has repeatedly reminded us                (I Cor.  11:28, 29).
that the Table of Holy Communion assures us of                   This accounts for our customary preparatory ser-
Christ's one perfect sacrifice on the cross as a com-         vices. In the week of preparation we face the ques-
plete atonement for all of our sins. Moreover, that           tion: Who examines whom? And, of what does this
we become partakers of Christ and of all His bene-            true examination consist?
fits by a living faith wrought in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit of Christ. In the Lord's Supper we wor-              Well may we ask: Who am I that is called to do
ship a living Savior, Who from heaven bestows                 the examining? Immediately the unbeliever is ruled
upon us every spiritual blessing that God has                 out. Since partaking of the Lord's Supper is an act
prepared for us, even from eternity. Our celebra-             of faith, he cannot partake without eating and
tion of the Lord's Supper is an act of faith, which, in       drinking condemnation to himself. Nor can he be
turn, is blessed by God with an enrichment of His             honest with himself and with an examination of
grace.                                                        himself. Our Catechism also rules out the hypocrite
                                                              and any one who does not turn to God with a
  It is in this connection that the fathers felt com-         sincere heart.
pelled to warn us against the mass of the Roman
Catholic Church, in which we had our roots in the                The hypocrite belongs to the carnal element in
past. We should remember that the mass is not the             the church. Likely he is baptized and reared in the
same as the Supper, but actually precedes it in the           church. He attends the public worship, even as he
Romish church. In the mass the priest supposedly              was instructed in the catechisms and made confes-
performs a miracle. Bread and wine are said to be             sion of faith. He prays. He reads the Bible. He may
changed into the body and blood of Christ. There-             even be thoroughly acquainted with the content of
upon the bread and wine, now supposedly the body              the Scriptures, so that he knows sound doctrine. He
and blood of Christ, are sacrificed in "an unbloody           may be able to discuss fluently the truths of God's
manner" for the daily sins of the participants. The           Word, may become an elder or deacon, or even `a
mass is considered an extension of Calvary and                minister. To all appearances he is sincere in his
serves to remove sin and convey grace. When the               confession and walk, so that he is considered a
communicant receives the wafer on his tongue he               sincere child of God. He also wants to make that
is supposed to receive the body of Christ, which he           impression upon others. Possibly the question
tastes, swallows, digests, and thus receives the              arises in your heart: Might that be true of me? Ac-
blessings of salvation. The number of times the               tually, anyone who is afraid that he might be wear-
communicant partakes, not whether he partakes in'             ing a mask of hypocrisy need have no concern. The
faith, is important. It is no wonder that our fathers         hypocrite knows very well that he is not sincere,
call this entire ceremony an accursed idolatry, plac-         not in his prayers, nor in his church attendance,
ing our trust in the wafer rather than in the one             nor in the celebration of the Lord's Supper. He may
perfect sacrifice for sin once completed on the cross         deceive others, but he does not deceive himself.
of our Savior.                                                Judas is the perfect example of the hypocrite. He
                                                              could spend three years with Jesus and the
  This makes the question more important for us:              disciples. He could listen as Peter was the spokes-
Who is the true partaker of the Lord's Supper? Am             man, declaring, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
I? In confronting this question we are in full har-           living God." He could hold out even after Jesus'
mony with the Scriptures, in which we are ad-                 word of warning, "One of you is a devil." He con-
monished: "But let every man examine himself,                 tinued to play the hypocrite right up to the last
and so let him eat of that bread (still examining             greeting and kiss in the garden. Hypocrites are
himself), and drink of that cup, for he that eateth           warned that they have no place at the Lord's Table.


460                                         THE STANDARD  BEfiRER



  Scripture also warns against those who do not            and, moreover, whether our daily walk of life is in
turn to God with sincere hearts. These are ungodly         harmony with our profession. Do we desire, will
persons within the church. They love the things of         and think, speak and act as children of God? As our
this world and the service of sin, yet they want to        Form for the Lord's Supper expresses it, "Consider-
keep a back door open to heaven. Maybe they sleep          ing that we seek our life outside of ourselves in
in church. Maybe they allow their thoughts to              Jesus Christ, we acknowledge that we lie in the
wander. They are not singing from the heart, even          midst of death; therefore, notwithstanding we feel
though they may be very good singers. They only            many infirmities in ourselves, as namely, that we
close their eyes and wait out the congregational           have not perfect faith, and that we do not give
prayer, which never touches them. They are not             ourselves to serve God with that zeal as we are
edified by the preaching, but they either blame the        bound, but have daily to strive with the weakness
minister for this, or it is no great concern to them.      of our faith, and the evil lusts of our flesh; yet, since
They never feel a need for celebrating the holy Sup-       we are (by the grace of the Holy Spirit) sorry for
per, but they do so anyway from some ulterior              these weaknesses and earnestly desirous to fight
motive. They do experience a certain remorse for           against our unbelief, and to live according to all the
their sins. Either they are afraid of being dis-           commandments of God: therefore we rest assured,
covered, or they are sorry for the consequences            that no sin or infirmity, which still remains in us
they experience from their sins. They may even             against our will, can hinder us from being received
pretend to turn to God, yet not with sincere hearts.       of God in mercy, and from being made worthy par-
Theirs is an Esau's sorrow, which has nothing in           takers of this heavenly meat and drink."
common with a true repentance. Conversion is a               That leaves us with the question: Of what does
sincere sorrow that we have offended God with our          this self-examination consist? After taking an
sins, even as David cried out, "Against Thee,              honest inward look at ourselves, we might ask:
against Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil        What do the other members of my family think of
in Thy sight" (Psalm 51:4). Conversion brings us on        me? What impression do I leave with my fellow
our knees in true repentance, confessing and for-          church members? Do my friends and acquain-
saking our sin, and pleading for forgiving mercies.        tances speak well of me as a child of God? On the
For the sincere child of God there is a continual sor-     other hand, does the world hate me? In one word,
row for sin, guilt, and depravity, with a seeking          am I a friend and companion of those who fear the
after God and a longing for perfection. Those who          Lord?
do not experience this true conversion are admon-
ished to refrain from celebrating the Supper, lest           Yet, this examination of ourselves includes more
they bring greater condemnation on themselves.             than that. The Form for the Administration of the
                                                           Lord's Supper leads us in the right direction, in-
  The sincere examiner is the child of God, who            forming us that the true examination of ourselves
lives by faith and seeks to be strengthened in the         consists of three parts. It is interesting to note that
faith.                                                     these `three parts are also the basis for the division
  Whom does he examine? Himself. Does this                 of our Heidelberg Catechism and are found in the
mean that he stands off at a distance, as it were, to      first part of our Baptism Form. They are drawn
take an objective look at himself? Does this  self-        from many passages in the Psalms, such as Psalm
examination imply  that&begin by asking myself:            51, 116, 130, as well as from the three parts of
Am I a Christian? Am I a child of God? Does this           Paul's epistle to the Romans.
mean that I look to myself for some virtues, good            I must know how great are my sins and miseries.
works, or even a bit of perfection? If that were the       I must realize that I am conceived and born in sin,
case, I might despair of myself, be filled with            and therefore am subject to all misery, yea, to con-
doubts and fears, or else assume the Pharisee's            demnation itself. We must consider our sins and
position: "I thank Thee, Lord, that I am not as other      the curse due to us for them, so that we abhor and
men are." Scripture nowhere admonishes this,               humble ourselves before God. With the Psalmist
since I cannot look at myself objectively, any more        we cry from the depths of our sin and misery: Lord,
than I would get up in the morning, look in the mir-       hear my voice. If Thou shouldst mark my ini-
ror, and ask myself whether I am the same person           quities, Lord, how could I ever stand before Thee?
who retired in sleep last night.                           (Psalm  130:1-3).
  Scripture does admonish us to examine ourselves            Moreover, we must know how we are delivered
whether  we  are  in the faith  (II Cor.  135). That is    from all our sins and miseries. We must examine
something quite different. Then we ask ourselves,          our hearts whether we believe this faithful promise
first of all, whether we are sound in doctrine,            of God, that all our sins are forgiven us for the sake
whether we believe the truth of the holy Scriptures,       of the passion and death of Christ, so that His


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                               461



perfect righteousness is imputed to us so perfectly         true gratitude to God in our whole lives, and to
as if we in our own persons had satisfied for all our       walk uprightly before Him, laying aside all enmity,
sins, and fulfilled all righteousness. We must have         hatred, and envy, resolved to walk in true love and
the song in our hearts: "Blessed is the man whose           peace with our neighbor.
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, in           All those God will certainly receive in mercy and
whom the Lord imputes no iniquity, in whose spirit          count them worthy partakers of the Table of His
there is no guile" (Psalm 32: 1, 2).                        Son Jesus Christ (Form for the Administration of
  Finally, we must purpose henceforth to show               the Lord's Supper).



                                             Editor's Notes


  Sixtieth Anniversary.  We called your attention           ville Protestant Reformed Church on September 27,
earlier to the fact that the current volume-year,           D.V. The Board has asked your editor-in-chief to
which will be concluded with the Sept. 15 issue, is         speak at this occasion. The subject of my address
our sixtieth. To mark this anniversary, there will          will be: "One Hundred Fifty Years and Sixty."
appear in this issue and the next a special section                            *       *       *        *       *
entitled "Our Rich Heritage," in which you will be
given a sampling,of the writings which appeared in            We at the Seminary mourn the loss of a faithful
our  Standard Bearer  beginning with Volume                 secretary, a true friend, and a cheerful and helpful
                                                 1.         person, Mrs. Geraldine Meyer, who had worked
               *     tit    *    *      *                   for the faculty for almost  19  years. Mrs. Meyer
  Celebration. The Board of the RFPA thought it fit-,       went to glory unexpectedly on Saturday, August 4,
ting to commemorate this sixtieth anniversary, and          at the age of 70. We extend our Christian sympathy
you are invited to this celebration at our  Hudson-         to her husband, Ralph, and to the bereaved family.

EDITORIAL


       The Hypocrisy of a Heresy Declaration
                                               Prof: H.C. Hoeksema



  At its annual Synod in June the Christian                   The Christian Reformed decision, which follows
Reformed Church in North America, according to a            the recommendation of the  Synodical Interchurch
report in RES News Exchange (July 10, 1984),  voted         Relations Committee, is quoted in full in the  RES
to declare a church that supports  apartheid  to be         News Exchange. It reads as follows:
heretical. The background of this decision is, of                It is the judgment of the Synod  that
course, the situation in South Africa, where there             l where citizenship  (with  the full rights  and privileges
are Reformed churches, black and white, which are               of membership)  in a territorial state  is allowed  or dis-
members of the Reformed Ecumenical Synod. This                  allowed   on  the  basis  of  race  or  nationality  (ethnic
decision is in support of the stand of the Dutch                identity);
Reformed Mission Church, which has declared the                *where   membership  (with   the  full  rights   and  priv-
issue of apartheid to be a status confessionis, that is,        ileges   of  membership)   in  a  congregation   of  the
                                                                church  of  Jesus  Christ  is  allowed   or  disallowed   on
"a concern about which it is impossible to differ               the  basis of  race or  nationality;
without its affecting the integrity of our communal            *where   participation in  the Lord's   Supper  is  allowed
confession of Reformed churches.                                or  disallowed   on  the  basis   of  race  or  nationality;


462                                                              THE STANDARD BEARER



       *where   free  and  untrammeled  participation  in  the                  Neither is it my purpose to criticize this Synodi-
        economic  life  of  a  community  is  allowed   or  dis-              cal pronouncement on the ground that it makes
        allowed   on  the  basis   of  race  or nationality;                  bold charges of heresy without appealing to Scrip-
       *where   unrestricted  participation  in  the  public  edu-
        cational  system   of  a  society  [or  political  entity)   is       ture or the creeds. I looked in vain for such
        allowed  or disallowed  on the basis  ofrace  or nation-              grounds. They were not included with the report of
        ality;                                                                the RES News Exchange. Nor were there grounds
       *where   unrestricted  participation  in  social  units                given in the Report of the Interchurch Relations  ..
        [marriage/family,  political parties,  service or cultural            Committee in the Agenda. After all, a proper judg-
        associations,   labor  organizations,   athletic  organiza-           ment of heresy should have grounds; and these
        tions,   etc.]   or  social  functions  (weddings,   funerals,        grounds should be from Scripture and the confes-
        recreational  or  cultural  gatherings,   etc.)   or  public          sions. But no such grounds are cited. Nevertheless,
        facilities  (medical,   travel,   entertainment,  athletic,           let us pass this by.
        recreational,  service,  etc.)   is  allowed   or  disallowed
        on  the  basis   of  race  or nationality;                              The point I wish to make is that this is a piece of
       .or  where  the  according   to  any  human  being   of  the           ecclesiastical hypocrisy.
        official  status   of  a  person   with   full  dignity,   rights,      Consider:
        and  privileges   is  conditional upon his/her having been
        assigned by authority a specific racial or national                     1) That the Christian Reformed Church in the
        identity;                                                             1960s was confronted by a clear instance of the
       there race and/or  national identity have  been made  an               denial of the doctrine of particular atonement by
       absolute  that   fundamentally   conditions   and  qualifies           one of its own seminary professors. But all that
       the  common  humanity  of  all  human   persons   (as  ab-             Synod would say about this heresy was "am-
       solute,   if  not  more   so,  than  the  created  distinction   of    biguous and abstract."
       male  and  female).   As  a  result,   the  state,   which  under
       God  is appointed  the guardian  of `the rights  and priv-               2) That the Christian Reformed Church in the
       ileges   of  every   human  being  and  the  defender   of             late 1970s was confronted by the denial of the doc-
   justice,   becomes  a  power   structure  enforcing  a  false              trine of sovereign reprobation. But the Synod rein-
       ideology   and  administering   systematic  injustice.  As  a          terpreted the Canons of Dordt in order to solve the
       result,   also,  the  church,  which  in  Christ   has  been           problem.
       made  and called  to be the one new reconciled human-                    3) That the 1984 Synod trampled the clear
       ity, denies  its confession of unity in Christ  (one, holy,            testimony of Scripture in order to open the office of
       catholic  church)   and  repudiates   its  calling   to  live  to-
       gether   as  the  one  body   of  Christ   that   acknowledges         deacon to women.
       only   the distinctions  of  spiritual  gifts.                           4) That recent Synods have opened the door to
         Where such an ideology  is the guiding principle for                 the corruptions of the movie and to dancing  - in
       the systematic policies of the state  and where the evil               the name of common grace.
       of  such  an  ideology,   with   all  its  sinful  consequences,         5) That the Christian Reformed Church still has
       has  been clearly and persistently exposed  from within                on its own record the adoption of the heretical doc-
       the  church  itself  and  where  the  church(es)   neverthe-           trines of common grace and the general,  well-
       less  continue to support  and/or  do not oppose  such an
       ideology   and  its  resultant   injustices,  and  where  they         meant offer of the gospel - not to mention the in-
       reflect that same  ideology  in their own  life and struc-             famous and unjust deposition of ministers and con-
   ture, a status confessionis concerning this  matter must                   sistories to whom it had given the testimony that
       surely (though  humbly and with anguish]  be acknowl-                  they were Reformed.
   edged.                                                                       But it is so easy and so safe and harmless to one's
         Any   church  that   supports   or  warrants   such  an              own denomination to make heresy pronounce-
   ideology  in the name  of the Word of God is untrue to                     ments about other, unnamed, churches which are
       the  Word   of  God,  and  the  teachings  it  propounds   in          thousands of miles away on another continent! And
       support  or defense  of such an ideology  must  be judged              especially when it concerns an issue like apartheid,
   heretical.  And  any  church  that   does   not  vigorously                it can appear to be so very pious and righteous in
       oppose  such an ideology  must be judged  guilty  of dis-              the eyes of some segments of the church today!
       obedience  to  Gods   Word   and  to  Christ   its  Lord.
  Now it is not my purpose to enter into the issue of                           But our Lord would surely say, "Thou hypocrite,
apartheid,  although I always have the impression in                          first remove the beam that is in thine own eyes;
connection with pronouncements of the kind under                              then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the sliver that
consideration that they are the work of ecclesiasti-                          is in thy brother's eye!"
cal social activists and that they illustrate the old
proverb that "the best steersmen are on the shore."                                Read the Standard Bearer
But for our present purposes let us assume that this
sweeping  Synodical pronouncement is correct.


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                               463



                                      Our Rich Heritage  _


  (How The Standard Bearer Has Instructed And               covenant as He does not and cannot establish with
            Guided Us For Sixty Years)                      the wicked world. It is the covenant of grace and
[In this section you will find quotations on various        friendship always referred to in Scripture to which
subjects from articles going back all the way to            the Lord also here has reference. It is exclusive of
Volume I. They are random quotations from the               all the wicked, for these shall be destroyed. Neither
writings of various editors and departments. They           can there be any question that the Lord here men-
will show that our magazine has from the begin-             tions His covenant with Noah and his sons as the
ning spoken with one voice and emitted one sound.           reason why and the purpose for which they are
For this reason, and to arouse your curiosity, I have       saved from the flood. The covenant is the reason
not included the author's names with these quota-           and basis for the salvation of Noah from the destruc-
tions. HCH]                                                 tion of the first world, in as far as God will never
                                                            destroy the righteous with the wicked. The
  . . . Scripture teaches no dualism, but an anti-          righteous shall inherit the earth. And even though
thesis. There are no two primal causes and eternal          all the wicked of the earth are destroyed, God will
principles, constantly warring with each other, but         remember His covenant with His people and save
God is One. He alone is eternal and the Primal              them. Noah, therefore, is saved from the flood, not
Cause, and there is no other eternal principle or           as mere ,man, or as a sort of progenitor of a second
primal cause next to Him. Neither is He both good           human race, but as the just man in his generations,
and evil, nor are the principles of good and evil to        as God's covenant friend, that has found grace in
be traced to His Being, for He is a Light and there is      the eyes of the Lord. God will confirm His cove-
no darkness in Him. But this good and glorious God          nant with him. By virtue of that covenant God is
according to His eternal and sovereign good                 the Friend of those that are His friends, and He
pleasure wills to reveal His praises, His eternally         loveth the righteous. Hence, on the basis of the
adorable virtue antithetically, that is, in opposition      covenant of grace Noah enters into the ark and is
to darkness. Darkness, evil, sin are not primal prin-       saved from the flood. But it is also  fhe  purpose  for
ciples, eternally coordinate with Light, Goodness,          the which Noah is saved. God intends to continue
Righteousness, but the former are subservient to            His covenant in the world even after the flood.
the latter, darkness must serve to bring out the            (Vol. 2, p. 43)
glory of the light, the Devil serves to enhance the                            *    *    *    *    *
unsearchable riches of God's Being and virtues and
works.                                                        It is evident that this (the separation at the tower
  In the light of this idea of an antithesis we can         of Babel) was not a matter of grace, neither was
understand the placing of "the tree of the knowl-           there any restraint upon the development of sin irn-
edge of good and evil" in paradise. By means of it          posed by the confusion of tongues. Only the race
God carries the antithesis into the life and before         was forced into new channels of development, and
                                                            these same organic lines of development sin would
the consciousness of Man, made after His image.             needs follow in the future. This development is
  Adam was God's covenant-friend. He stood in               such that a premature unity and world-kingdom is
covenant relation to his God. This covenant-rela-           prevented for the time being. The power of  anti-
tion is not to be conceived as a sort of contract or        Christendom that is in the world cannot realize its
alliance between God and Adam, mechanically                 needed unity and establish its great and universal
established. We do not read of a compact between            kingdom. Henceforward the sinful world shall be a
them according to which each agreed to live in rela-        kingdom divided against itself. For as each nation
tion to the other. On the contrary, the  covenant-          separately strives to attain the purpose that could
relation is rooted in man's very creation, and is           not be attained in Shinar's valley, nation rises
established the moment Adam stands as  image-               against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and
bearer of God in the garden of Eden. (Vol.  1, p. 7)        there are wars and rumors of war. And as long as
               *     *     *     *     *                    this separation and division and conflict continue,
                                                            the kingdom of Antichrist cannot come and the
   .  .  . The Lord shall bring the flood of waters upon    man of sin cannot reveal himself in all his power. In
the earth and all that is in the earth shall die, but       the meantime this development of the race in dif-
with Noah He will establish His covenant. It is a           ferent nations along organic lines, as it is today,


464                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



serves God's purpose with regard to the realization      have to do with a common historical phenomenon.
of His church and covenant. For out of every nation      He was king-priest, and there was to him a people
and tribe and tongue He gathers His church, and          over which he ruled and whose highpriest he was.
the elect are combined into the one great body of        The appearance of Melchisedec implies that even at
Christ Jesus. The diversity of nations and tongues       the time of Abraham there was found in the land of
must, of course, serve the riches of the body of         Canaan a tribe or group of people who knew the
Christ. For in that new organism, realized accor-        Lord and worshipped the most high God and who
ding to the eternal counsel of God, each individual      through their priest-king brought Him sacrifices in
and group of individuals must take their own prop-       His sanctuary. Melchisedec was king-priest of
er place. Presently, from these nations shall the        Salem, and in this place there was still found a peo-
entire multitude, which no man can number, be            ple who truly loved and served the Lord. The land
gathered and shall constitute the glorious harmony       was also inhabited by the Canaanites. But in the
of the new and heavenly Jerusalem. (Vol. 3, p. 342)      midst of the Canaanites there also lived a people
               *     *     *     *    *                  that knew the Lord and were represented by
  Scripture loves to compare man's life to a way.        Melchisedec: If the priesthood of Melchisedec
From a spiritual-ethical viewpoint man is not adrift     sprang from redeeming grace, it was a remnant not
aimlessly, but he walks in a definite path. There is     out of Paradise but out of the ark. In the ark was the
progress, advance in his life. There is direction in     church of God. And out of the visible church there
this progress. He walks in the way of righteousness      will again come forth the seed of the woman and
or in the paths of unrighteousness, in the way of        the seed of the serpent according to the two lines of
light or of darkness, in the way of God's covenant       election and reprobation. The main line of the cove-
or in the way of the world. And there is destination.    nant runs through the generation of Shem and is
He is walking in the way of sin to eternal desolation    limited to the seed of Abraham. But this does not
or in the way of righteousness to eternal glory.         mean that with the calling of Abraham all God's
                                                         people had died with the exception of Abraham.
  According to the way in which he should go,            Only gradually was the fear of God limited to the
must be the training of the child.                       seed of Abraham. In the light of these observations,
  That is, his bringing up, his education must be        it is not strange that even at the time of Abraham
such that it leads him in the way of God's covenant;     there was found in the land of Canaan a people
for that is, undoubtedly, the way in which he            who truly feared God. So much for the historical
should go!                                               appearance of Melchisedec. (Vol. 8, p. 13)
  A question, parent-reader: Can you say before                         *     *    *     *        *
God and your conscience that you heed this ad-             As was said, further, the prophecy of Isaiah is
monition to the utmost of your power?                    characterized by remarkable farsightedness and
  That is what you and I promised when we                breadth of vision. In it the time of salvation extends
presented our children in baptism unto the Lord.         to the end of this world, thus to the regeneration of
  How much time do we personally devote to the           all things and the appearance of Christ with His
training of our children in the way in which they        church on the new earth. This period of salvation is
should go? Do we ever take them around us in our         set forth by the prophet as having three stages. The
home to instruct them in the fear and admonition         first is the deliverance out of Babylonian exile. This
of the Lord? Do we teach them in the Word of God,        salvation, in turn, forms the ground in which a new
in the knowledge of the truth? Do we admonish            salvation is typically described. The people of Israel
them, pray with them and for them? Do we know            will be delivered from its spiritual bondage to sin.
where they are when they are not at home? Are we         The chains of idolatry will be broken. The central
acquainted with their companions, with the friend-       point of the second stage of salvation is the suffer-
ships they form? Do we know what they read? And          ing servant of Jehovah. He becomes the redeemer
do we teach them to read proper literature, so that      of His people. He is lifted out of His humility. He
they may develop a taste for what is wholesome           becomes the judge of all the world. He destroys all
spiritually? (Vol. 8, p. 524)                            the wicked, and the fruit of His redeeming work is
               *     *     *     *    *                  a new humanity, serving God in Spirit and in truth,
                                                         and a new heaven and a new earth. This is the third
  The explanation of Melchisedec as a historical         stage of salvation. (Vol. 18, p. 134)
phenomenon in his priesthood is not the so-called
common grace but simply the grace of God which                          *    *     *     *        *
is in Christ Jesus and which operated in the genera-       But is it not true that the school is exactly that
tions of the true people of God. The narrative of        sphere where the error of Common Grace is most
Genesis strongly suggests that  in. Melchisedec we       prevalent and dangerous? Common grace and the


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                             465



Christian School are mutually exclusive. We all             ceZZence.  (Vol. 24, p. 293)
know the purpose of the school. In the church we                              *    c        Y    *    *
prepare our seed to assume their place in the midst
of the church, to be able to partake consciously of           Why did the Lord give us such a large part of His
the means of grace, such as the preaching of the            revelation in the form of history, if it was not His
                                                            purpose to instruct our children, the children of the
Word and the sacraments, and to walk consciously
as members of the body of Christ. But in the school         covenant, thoroughly in the works which He has
we prepare the same children to assume their place          accomplished for our salvation in the past? More-
in the midst of the world. It is therefore of the ut-       over, and in close connection with this, all the main
most importance that we teach them in such a way            doctrines of the church, as revealed in the Bible,
that they, in that world, may be a distinctive peo-         are historical and should be thoroughly taught in
ple, an wholly other people, walking in the world,          their historical form, in order, before we teach our
                                                            own system of doctrine. What else are we taught in
but not as of the world. Feed my child the poison of        so-called Biblical History but the truths of creation
Common Grace and I have utterly failed in my
Christian calling, in my Protestant Reformed call-          and the fall, the truth of the covenant, the covenant
ing. Our beginning as a Protestant Reformed people          with Noah, Abraham, Israel; the giving of the law,
urges us to hold fast that which we have, especially        the apostasy of the old covenant people, and their
with regard to the Christian School. The principles         rejection in the end? What else are we taught than
of our churches and the antithetical instruction of         the great doctrine of predestination as manifest in
our children are inseparably connected. (Vol. 20, p.        the line of Seth and Cain, the line of Shem and
217)                                                        Ham, the line of Abraham and the nations, in the
               *     *     *     *     *                    line of Jacob and Esau, in the line of the children of
                                                            the promise and the children of the flesh? Besides,
  He has shown a new obedience.                             are not all the great truths concerning our Lord and
  The old obedience was shown by Adam in                    Savior Jesus Christ taught in the historical form in
Paradise. And that was relatively easy for him. He          Scripture? I mean such truths as the incarnation
was created in the image of God, good and upright.          and the cross and the atonement, the resurrection
And he walked with God, knew Him at the cool of             and the exaltation, the truths of the outpouring of
day. It was his joy to love his God and to walk in in-      the Spirit on Pentecost and the establishment of the
timate communion with Him. And God smiled on                church of the new dispensation: all these truths are
him.                                                        ,revealed  in Scripture, not in the form of a,
                                                            dogmatics system, but in the form of historical
  But Christ has shown the new obedience, such as           facts, revealing to us how God established His
no man ever did. This obedience is new in the sense         covenant and kingdom on the ages of the past.
that it was never seen before on earth. A new obe-          Besides, are we to omit and to ignore such impor-
dience, for He loved God while God struck Him               tant parts of Scripture as the miracles and parables
down in hell. That is something different from              of Jesus and the discourses of our Lord and of the
Adam's life in Paradise. And Christ never ceased            apostles? On the contrary; especially the older
loving God, even though it pleased God to bruise            children should be taught all these things and
Him with an eternal bruising. He loved God even             become acquainted with the riches of Scripture as
for the righteous wrath's sake that burned Him in           the living Word of God, rather than with the dead
unspeakable anguish.                                        intellectualism of cold dogmatic system. (Vol. 25, p.
  That, my dear reader, is fulfilling covenant              29)
obligations. Let us not talk so glibly of fulfilling our                      *    *        *    *    *
covenant obligations in the face of such  Gethsem-
ane and Golgotha.                                             The question is, of course, whether faith may be
                                                            presented as a condition of salvation, and whether
  Oh yes, we must trust God and love Him with all           the establishment and continuation of God's cove-
our hearts, with all our souls, with all our mind,          nant with us is in any sense of the word contingent
and with all our strength! I would ask: who of you          upon our fulfilling the conditions of faith and obe-
ever came anywhere near such a description of ac-           dience. This, unless we juggle words, is the plain
tual human endeavor to please your covenant God?            and simple meaning of the question; and in this
Don't you feel ashamed of your lack?                        simple form it certainly will stand before the minds
  Well, Christ, the covenant Head of the covenant           of the people.
of grace, with Whom God established His eternal               But I dare say that, in this sense, the term condi-
covenant, representing you and me, and all God's            tion not only has no room in the Reformed system
elect people, this Christ has loved God exactly like        of doctrine, but is, as far as our Confessions are
that. He is the party of the second part  par  ex-          concerned, thoroughly unreformed.


466                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



  For our Confessions uniformly present faith not            into Christ.
as a condition which we must fulfill, but as a God-            Let us consult our confessions on these points.
given means or instrument empowering the soul to
cling to Christ and to receive all His benefits, and           In the Heidelberg Catechism, Lords Day VII,
that is a radically different conception from that of        question and answer 20, we read: "Are all men,
condition. And as far as obedience or walking in the         then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ?
way of the covenant is concerned, also this is never         No; only those who are ingrafted into him, and
presented as a condition but rather as the fruit, in         receive all his benefits, by a true faith." (Vol. 26, p.
fact, as the inevitable fruit, of our being ingrafted        29)
AkY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE


                               Our Order of Worship
                                                    Prof. H. Hanko




  Singing is always an important part of the wor-            true, for fellowship can not really take place unless
ship of God. In our last article we discussed some           those who have fellowship together can talk
aspects of singing; in this article we propose to con-       together, can communicate with each other. This is
tinue this discussion.                                       no less true of the fellowship between God and His
  Singing must always be from the heart. This is an          people. They talk together. God speaks to His peo-
obvious fact and it is not uncommon to hear the              ple and they speak to Him. There is true worship
minister remind the congregation of the importance           when this holy conversation takes place.
of this. Such a reminder is not out of order. While it         There are several places in the worship service
is true of all our worship that it is easy to slip into a    where God's people speak to Him. One of these is
mere routine, to go through the motions of worship           the singing of Psalms. But it stands to reason that
outwardly while our thoughts are far away from               we are not really speaking to God unless we sing
what we are doing, this is especially true of singing.       from the heart. If our singing is mechanical, formal,
Most in the church have sung the Psalms of the               outward, mere lip service, while our hearts are not
church for years and years. They know the words              aware of what we are singing, we are not really
and the music by heart, and need not give any                talking to God. It is a kind of an insult. It is like
thought to what they are singing while they engage           coming to someone's house and, while professing
in this part of worship. The result is that an in-           to engage in conversation with that person, doing
dividual in the congregation can sing an entire song         nothing else but reciting memorized groups of
without really realizing that he has sung at all. But        words without any thought to what we are saying.
such worship is not really worship at all. In fact, it       Surely our host would have reason to be highly of-
is particularly offensive in the sight of God. The           fended when we do this. No less is this true of God.
Scriptures make it very clear that God is angry with         Our "conversation" must not be the thoughtless
this kind of worship. How often is it not true in the        recitation in song of verses we have memorized
Old Testament that God speaks in anger against a             while we are not giving one bit of thought to what
people who worship Him with their lips while their           we are saying.
heart is far from Him? It is almost as if this kind of         To sing from the heart means, as Paul expresses
formal worship is worse than no worship at all.              it in Colossians  3:16, to "let the word of Christ
  When we worship God in His house on the                    dwell in you richly in all wisdom;" and thus "to
Lord's Day, a kind of a holy "conversation" takes            teach and admonish one another in psalms and
place between God and His people  - as we have               hymns and spiritual songs." All of this impliesthat
had occasion to notice before. Worship in God's              when we sing, we sing in such a way that the
house is an aspect of covenant fellowship. That              thoughts expressed in the songs are thoughts of our
fellowship between God and His people is charac-             minds. It is a strange thing that we are able to sing,
terized especially by "conversation." This is always         to read, to recite without this happening. Who has


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 467



not had it at one time or another that he can read an       no place for choirs in the life of the people of God;
entire page or more in a book without realizing             singing is an important part of the life of the people
what he is reading. Not one single thought of the           of God, and they find a particular delight in joining
entire page has passed through his mind. The same           with fellow saints in choir singing. But choirs have
thing can happen in singing. We can sing an entire          no place in the worship service. One does not come
song without any conscious awareness of what we             to the worship service to be entertained, but to wor-
are singing. But singing as an act of worship can           ship. And, as we said, this worship is the worship of
never be this way. The words must pass through              the congregation. The congregation must speak to
our minds consciously so that we know what we               God. When choirs sing this is impossible.
are saying, and so that we make what we are saying            It has been argued that congregational singing is
an expression of our own thoughts.                          not very edifying because the people are not
  But this is never enough. What we say must also           trained to sing together. There are many voices in
be an expression of our faith. It is possible to say        the congregation, sometimes very loud, which are
something which we do not believe ourselves. I              off key; there are others who sing so loudly that their
would suppose that every one has also had the ex-           voices stand out in a kind of raucous counterpoint
perience at one time or another of being in a               to the singing; the music is often not sung properly;
meeting where a thoroughly Arminian hymn is be-             the attacks and stops are not together; and the
ing sung. He feels himself caught in a dilemma:             result is that the congregational singing is more
whether to join with the others and sing even               noise than music. These "unedifying" aspects of
though he knows that what he is singing is not the          congregational singing are effectively removed
truth of God's Word, or to refrain from singing and         when a trained choir, under a director, sings in the
stand there with the hymnbook in his hand and his           place of the congregation.
mouth closed. It is better to do the latter. Singing, to
be truly an act of worship, must be an expression of          But none of these arguments ought to deter us
faith. While the thoughts of the words which he             from insisting that the congregation itself must do
sings pass through his mind, he must also at the            the singing. It is true that each member of the con-
same time make these words his own personal con-            gregation ought to sing the very best he can. It is
fession. To cite but one example: when he sings the         also true that the congregation must strive together
well-known words, "The Lord my Shepherd holds               to make its singing as beautiful as possible. Slop-
me within His tender care . . .  ," he must speak           piness in singing detracts indeed from the beauty
these words in such a way that he makes this state-         and edification of the congregation to some extent.
ment his own personal confession; he speaks to              But these things are not the main elements in the
God in his singing so that he tells the Lord that he        worship of singing. They may offend one with a
believes that Jehovah his Shepherd holds him in             trained ear so that he refuses to sing along with the
tender care. Then he sings from the heart.                  people of God, but this is his problem, not the prob-
                                                            lem of the congregation. God is pleased with such
  That the worshiper should do this is not strange,         music as comes from the heart. He delights in the
for his confession is always what God has said first        singing of the person who pours out his soul to the
of all in His Word. The child of God appropriates           Lord in song - even if that singing is not always on
by faith what God has said in,His Word and makes            key. The congregation which sings together of her
that his confession as he speaks to God. In fact, any       faith and hope and longing, with joy and gladness,
confession is always only what God has first said. If       making a joyful noise unto the Lord, is the con-
he should speak anything but what God has first             gregation whose worship arises before the face of
said, it is no longer a true confession.                    the Lord as a sweet-smelling savor with which the
  But when he sings as a confession of his faith, he        Lord God is pleased. Everyone must sing, whether
sings in such a way that this truth of God's Word is        he has the ability or not, for this is pleasing in God's
his own conscious and personal experience. He               sight.
does not sing, only believing objectively the truth           We have talked before about a certain "line"
which is the content of his song, but he sings as that      which ought to run through the worship service. By
truth has become a part of his own personal ex-             this we mean that the worship service ought to be,
perience as God has given to him salvation in the           as much as possible, an organic whole. It ought to
circumstances of his own pathway in life. Out of            flow smoothly from one element in the worship to
his own life, as God leads him through this life to         the next. There ought to be progression in thought
everlasting salvation, he sings his songs of praise to      and idea, progression in the whole service so that
God.                                                        each element of the worship flows as naturally as
  It is for this reason tso that the idea of a choir in     possible from the preceding element. The singing of
the worship services is abhorrent. Not that there is        the Psalms is an important part of tying the worship


468                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



together.                                                which is in common use is the Presbyterian PsaZter
  There are, of course, no hard and fast rules to        first published in 1912 by the United Presbyterian
govern this. Each minister ought to decide, in con-      Church. This is the  Psalter  with which we are ac-
nection with the choice of songs, how he intends to      quainted and which we have come to know and to
do this. Sometimes, e.g., this order is followed:        love. It is sometimes objected that this  PsaZter
Song 1, a song of praise to God; Song 2, a response      leaves much to be desired. There are lyrics in it
to the law; Song 3, a song which introduces to the       which are not too faithful to the Scriptures; there
congregation the main idea of the sermon which           are tunes in it which are not genuine church music,
immediately follows; Song 4, a song which em-            and are, in fact, folk songs and barroom ditties;
phasizes the climax and conclusion of the sermon,        there are various numbers which are extremely dif-
or which elicits from God's people a response in         ficult to sing; there are numbers in which the music
keeping with the thought of the sermon. But this         simply does not fit the words.
order need not necessarily be followed in every            While all these things may be true, it remains a
case. There are certain times in the life of the con-    fact that the  PsaZter  we now use is a beautiful
gregation when a worship service begins with a           PsaZter with many, many numbers in it eminently
song which expresses some profound experience            suited to congregational worship. On the whole, it
through which the congregation has passed.               is true to God's infallibly inspired Word, and its
Perhaps, e.g., a congregation has lost one of its        music is usually very beautiful and inspiring. We
members in a sudden death; perhaps a member has          should not let the shortcomings of the PsaZter give
been, or is about to be, cut off for impenitence;        us the impression that the whole book is really no
perhaps a particular joyful event has taken place in     good.
the congregation, such as the acquisition of a new         Nevertheless, this PsaZter is by no means the only
undershepherd. It would be altogether appropriate        Psalter in use in churches which limit their singing
that the congregation begin its worship with a song      to the Psalms. And there are many beautiful num-
which expresses what is especially on the minds of       bers in other Psalm books (some chorale numbers
all God's people. There are also occasions for songs     set to the tunes of the old Dutch Psalter of
of penitence and sorrow for sin, occasions for songs     Dathenus, the Scottish Psalter) which we could
which express the truth of God's Word as it has          profitably sing. It might be well, as our churches
become a particular element in the confession and        from time to time consider a revision of the PsaZter,
walk of God's people.                                    that some of these other Psalter numbers be intro-
  All in all, the minister has a wonderful oppor-        duced into the worship. Perhaps our schools could
tunity to use the songs sung in the worship service      make use of some of the other Psalters in the class-
for leading the congregation into the proper frame       room singing so that our children would learn to
of mind to worship and for tying the various             sing them. In this way, over the years, our congre-
elements of the worship service together into one        gations would be taught to make use of these songs
smooth-flowing whole. Perhaps sometimes a word           as well.
of introduction is in order when a song is an-             At any rate, singing is a beautiful and wonderful
nounced; and perhaps it is sometimes well for the        part of worship. And we ought to learn to make the
minister to call the attention of the congregation to    most of it. It is inexcusable for a saint to stand dur-
a particular verse or expression in the song which       ing the singing with his mouth shut, no matter what
expresses the reason why he chose that particular        the quality of his voice. And it is incomprehensible
song. But all these things help to make the singing      that a child of God can fail to join in this part of the
more sincere and edifying.                               worship of his God.
  In the Protestant Reformed Churches the PsaZter

               The Standard Bearer makes a
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                    Give the Standard Bearer.


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                             469



GUEST ARTICLE


     The King James Version of the Bible (V)
                                               Rev. Steven Houck




(A BIBLE FOR WHICH MEN DIED  - continued)                 confiscated and burned. Tyndale himself was
  But even more than the Greek New Testament,             slandered by his enemies. They maliciously circu-
the Roman Church feared the translation of the Bi-        lated the slander that his New Testament was only
ble into the language of the people. In the Trans-        an English translation of Luther. Tonstal preached
lators' Preface to the Reader we find the following       against Tyndale's Testament and alleged at St.
reference to this attitude of the Roman Church: "So       Paul's Cross that it contained not less than two
much are they afraid of the light of the Scripture        thousand mistranslated texts. His enemies finally
that they will not trust the people with it, no not as    captured him in early 1535 and imprisoned him for
it is set forth by their own sworn men, no not with       eighteen months in the castle of Vilvorde. All who
the  Licence  of their own Bishops and Inquisitors.       talked with him in the castle witnessed of his purity
Yea, so unwilling they are to communicate the             of character. He was even instrumental in the con-
Scriptures to the people's understanding in any           version of some. But on the 6th of October, 1536,
sort, that they are not ashamed to confess, that we       they led him forth to the place of execution where
forced them to translate it into English against their    they tied him to the stake. Tyndale then cried with
wills." Thus all the wrath of Rome came down upon         a loud voice and fervent zeal, "Lord! open the eyes
those who were involved in getting the Bible into         of the King of England." That was his dying prayer.
the hands of the people.                                  Then the hangman strangled him to death and
                                                          burned his body.
  John Wycliffe, translator of the first complete
English Bible, was one of the first to feel the wrath       John Rogers, who completed and edited
of Rome, even though he translated from the Latin.        Tyndale's version, found himself in great trouble
He translated the Bible with the expressed purpose        when "bloody Mary" came to the throne. It was
of promoting the Reformation of the church. But           not long before he was imprisoned by that enemy
the circulation of his Bible was bitterly opposed by      of God and His Word. For half a year he remained a
the Roman Church. Those who read it and dis-              prisoner in his own house, and during all of 1554 he
seminated it were denounced as heretics. Wycliffe         was confined to  Newgate  prison with thieves and
himself was accused of being "a master of errors"         murderers. He was very harshly and cruelly
and was condemned as a heretic. Even though they          treated. All that time he was refused permission to
could not capture him in life because of his power-       see his wife and ten children. It was not until he
ful friends, nevertheless, forty years after his death    was led to the stake on January 4, 1555 that they
they disinterred his body, burned his bones, and          met him. There he was burned alive to become the
scattered the ashes in the Swift River.                   first victim of the wicked Mary.
  William Tyndale, who so greatly influenced the            Thomas Cranmer, who exerted a great deal of
King James Version, was so persecuted that he was         pressure to get the Bible into the hands of the peo-
not even allowed to translate the Bible in England.       ple, could not escape the wrath of Queen Mary
He had to do it in Germany. But even there he was         either. He was tried and convicted of heresy with
not left alone. He was hunted down by both the            others of like faith. Before he was executed, he was
emissaries of Henry VIII and of the Roman Church.         forced to watch the burning of Latimer and Ridley,
In order to elude them he was compelled not only to       who were also of the faith of the Reformation.
move with great secrecy, but to assume other              Mary thought that she had won the day when
names. When finally his translation came off the          Cranmer signed a recantation of his Protestantism.
press and was circulated in England, it was brand-        But when the fire was put to him, he publicly
ed as "crafty, false, and untrue" and was forbidden       repudiated his retractions and held the offending
to be kept and used in the land. Many copies were         hand, which had signed the recantation, in the


470                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



flame until it was consumed. In his death he did not       are sold today than any other, even with all the
forsake the faith.                                         competition from the modern versions.
  Although Coverdale did not die at the hand of               As far as we know, the King James Version, also
Mary, he did suffer persecution with the rest. He          called the "Authorized Version," was never
was imprisoned for two and a half years. Several           authorized. Even though it was appointed by the
times he was examined by his inquisitors and was           King, it was never approved by Parliament nor the
in extreme danger of losing his life.                      Convocation nor the Privy Council. Nevertheless, it
  The very existence of the "Geneva Bible" was             is recognized by God's people as the "Authorized
due to religious persecution. Queen Mary sought to         Bible' ' - God's Authorized Bible. God has so
stamp out the Word of God in England and to                worked in the hearts of His people that it has been
destroy the faithful with fire and sword. As a result,     recognized by generation after generation of
hundreds of Protestants fled England to find refuge        English speaking Christians as God's Word. Yea, it
on the continent. Many of them settled in Geneva           has been recognized as the Bible God has given to
and there translated  theBible into English. Thus          us in His good providence. There is no other trans-
the "Geneva Bible," in a very unique way, is a Bi-         lation so universally regarded as God's Word. It is
ble that came out of persecution.                          the Bible which we must use and which must be
                                                           our authority in life and doctrine.
  Even some of  the- translators of the King James
Version had to suffer for the cause of the Holy              Even though the King James Version is not ab-
Scriptures. They were dedicated to translating the         solutely perfect, it is an excellent translation and by
Bible accurately into the language of the people.          far the best version available today. We must not be
Many of them sacrificed much for the work and              taken in by the modern versions and their claims.
were rewarded with very little. The translators'           Our 370' year old Bible is to be preferred above all
Preface to.the Reader makes it very clear that there       others because it is better than them all.
was much opposition to their work. They write,             1) It was translated by men who are unsurpassed
"Thus not only as oft as we speak, as one saith, but       in their knowledge of Biblical studies.
also as oft as we do any thing of note or conse-
quence, we subject ourselves to everyone's cen-            2) The translators were pious men of God who
sure, and happy is he that is least tossed upon            believed in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures.
tongues; for utterly to escape the snatch of them is       3) It is the mature fruit of generations of English
impossible." But none of this could keep them from         translations as well as the careful work of its trans-
doing their  work.?Like their predecessors, they           lators.
were willing to endure great hardship in order that        4) The King James Version is based upon the
they might see the Holy Scriptures in the language         "Received Text" rather than the critical texts of
of the people. Dr. John Reynolds, the Puritan who          modern versions.
petitioned the king for the new translation, died
before the. work was finished. His death was               5) It is a word-for-word translation which faith-
caused in part by his diligent study and work on the       fully and accurately reflects the originals.
translation. But when his friends urged him to             6) The language is one of reverence and respect
cease his labors he replied that "for the sake of life,    which gives honor to the majesty of its Author.
he would not lose the very end of living!" The King        7) Of all the English versions of today, it alone is
James Version is a martyrs' Bible because the Word         the Bible of the Reformation.
of God meant more to these men than the life of
this world.                                                8) Our spiritual forefathers thought so highly of it
                                                           that they were willing to suffer and even die for it.
GOD'S WORD TO HIS CHURCH
  The new translation did not immediately take             9) It is the version which has been recognized for
                                                           generations and generations as the Bible God has
over all others. For some time there was a struggle
with the "Geneva Bible." But in the end, the peo-          given to His English-speaking church.
ple of God recognized the superior qualities of the          The translators' admonition to the reader con-
King James Version so that it conquered all others.        cerning the new translation is certainly just as ap-
It has gone through hundreds and hundreds of edi-          plicable to us today as it was in 1611. They exhort
tions in the past 370 years. Some, changes have            us, saying, "Ye are brought unto fountains of living
been made in the spelling, punctuation, italicizing,       water which ye digged not. Do not cast earth into
and cross references. Nevertheless, the King James         them with the Philistines, neither prefer broken
Version which we have today is basically the same          pits before them with the wicked Jews. Others have
as that published in 1611. It is still the choice of       labored, and you may enter into their labors; 0
God's people too. More King James Version Bibles           receive not so great things in vain, 0 despise not so


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 471



great salvation! Be not like swine to tread under              stretcheth out his hand and calleth, to answer, Here
foot so precious things, neither yet like dogs to tear         am I, Here we are to do thy will, 0 God."
and abuse holy things . . . . If light be come into the           Indeed, in the King James Version of the Bible
world, love not darkness more than light; if food, if          we find the fountain of living water. Do not despise
clothing be offered, go not naked, starve not your-            it and reject it for the modern versions as so many
selves . . . . It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands    today. Stand up for the truth of God and defend
of the living God, but a blessed thing it is, and will         your Bible against the attacks of its enemies. Do not
bring us to everlasting blessedness in the end,                let them take your Bible away from you. It is yours
when God speaketh unto us, to hearken; when he                 by the good providence of God.
setteth his word before us, to read it; when he
BIBLE STUDY GUIDE



               I John - True Fellowship in Love
                                             (Conclusion)
                                                    Rev. J. Kortering                       /!               /'
                                                                                                           I,'
                                                                                                   ,..'





  The keynote of fellowship in love is emphasized              ways. First, that we avoid sin in the first place: "I
much in our day. Oftentimes, leaders in the church             write that ye sin not . . . . we know Him if we keep
emphasize love at the expense of the truth or its op-          His commandments . . . . In Him is the love of God
posite, emphasize the truth at the expense of love.             perfected. . . . We ought then to walk as He walked"
The Holy Spirit has given us this small letter to               (2:1-6).  The second is that if we do sin we may
teach us that true fellowship is in the truth and              enjoy forgiveness, for we have an advocate with the
must be sanctioned by love. Let's see how this is              Father, Jesus Christ, and He is effective as an ad-
true from the letter itself.                                   vocate for He is the propitiation for our sins and
A BRIEF OUTLINE                                                that of the whole world  (2:1, 2).
   1. Introduction (1: l-4). The usual identification             3. True fellowship is in the way of loving the
of author and intended recipients is lacking. In-              brethren, not in the love of the world (2:7-17).  God
stead, he begins by introducing Christ Who is the              comes with His commandment that we should love
Word of Life, and John states that he was eyewit-              one another. This commandment is both old and
ness of His work (1: 1). In addition, Christ is the            new. The true light (Christ) has come into the
manifestation of eternal life  (1:2). The purpose of           world, and anyone who says he is in the light, but
writing this letter is to declare the truth of Christ in       hates his brother, is in darkness. In contrast, those
order that we may have fellowship with the Father              who love their brothers and sisters are in the light
through Him and that this fellowship includes both             (2:7-11). He makes special mention that he writes
.Christ and one another  (1:3). In this fellowship is          unto little children because their sins are forgiven
true joy  (1:4).                                               and they have known the Father. He writes unto
  2. True fellowship is in the light  (1:5-2:6). God           fathers because they have known the Father from
Himself is light and in Him is no darkness at all              the beginning. He writes unto young men because
(1:5). Fellowship with Him is expressed not by                 they have overcome the wicked one and they are
walking in darkness, but rather by walking in the              strong because the Word of God dwells in them
light. In this way we know that the blood of Jesus             (2: 12-13). None are to love the world, nor the things
cleanseth us from sin (1:6, 7). We must not say that           of the world such as the lust of the eyes and the
we have no sin (this would make God a liar); rather            pride of life. If we love that world, the love of the
we must confess our sin and be forgiven and                    Father is not in us and we will perish. The love of
cleansed  (1:8-10).  He tells us that he is writing this       the Father is demonstrated in doing His will and,
letter to guide us in being victorious over sin in two         by doing that, we will abide forever  (2:15-17).


472                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



  4. John warns against heretical teaching and ex-          love each other. God dwells in us by His Spirit, and
horts us to confess that Jesus is the Christ (2:18-29).     to confess that Jesus is the Son of God is proof of it
There are many antichrists, and their presence indi-        (4:11-15). God is love, and one who dwells in love
cates that it is the last time. The heretics which left     dwells in God. Boldness is proof of love, perfect
the church, only prove by that act that they were           love casts out fear. We love Him because He first
not really one with them. They must understand              loved us (4:16-19). If we claim God's love, but hate
that all who deny that Jesus is the Christ is anti-         our brother, we lie, for how can we say we love
christ  (2:18, 19, 22, 23). The faithful have the unc-      God Whom we have not seen if we cannot love the
tion of the Spirit and know the truth. This truth is        brother whom we do see. We must love God and
the same word which they had from the beginning             our brother also  (4:20, 21).
which the Spirit taught them. He exhorts us to                 9. True fellowship expresses itself in obedience
abide in Christ and do what is right, so when He ap-        (5:1-12).  Children of God express their faith by
pears we shall not be ashamed  (2:20, 21, 24-29).           believing in the divinity of Christ, this is witnessed
  5. We are admonished to live consistently, to             to us by the three in heaven (Father, Word, and
flee from sin, and walk in righteousness  (3:1-12).         Spirit) and the three on earth (Spirit, water, and
The love of the Father is demonstrated in that we           blood). Our faith is in the Son of God (5: 1, 6-12).
are called the sons of God. Our  sonship  will              This is also shown in our daily conduct, we love
become even more clear when Christ shall return,            God and keep His commandment and thus over-
for then we shall be like Him (3: 1, 2). As sons of         come the world  (5:2-5).
God we purify ourselves and overcome sin. If we                10. The assurance of our salvation is expressed
continue in sin we cannot claim to be His sons              (5:13-21). Through faith in the Son of God we have
(3:3-6).  This contrast is set forth; one who continues     eternal life (5: 13). Our confidence in Him is that we
in sin is of the devil, one who is born of God does         may ask anything according to His will and He will
not continue in sin for His seed remains in him.            give it  (5:14, 15). This is so powerful that we may
This is the manifestation of sonship:  we forsake sin       pray for the forgiveness of each other's sins (ex-
and walk in righteousness  (3:7-10).  Cain and Abel         cluding the sin unto death) (5:16, 17). We know that
illustrate this contrast  (3:11, 12).                       whosoever is born of God does not continue to
  6. The proof of our sa-lvation is seen in our prac-       commit sin, but keeps himself pure. Our .security  is
tice of love (3: 13-24). Hatred is natural, love is         in God and His Son. We are to keep ourselves from
spiritual. If we love the brother, it is proof that we      idols  (5:21).
are spiritually alive. All who hate a brother are           QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
murderers. Rather, we should follow our Lord Who
loved so much He laid down His life for us                     1. What evidence is there in this letter that John,
(3:13-16). Love is demonstrated by deeds of love -          the brother of James, was the author?
e.g., sharing our goods with the poor (3: 17, 18). God        2. Consider why John calls the heretical views of
commands us to believe in Jesus and to love one             Cerinthus and his followers "antichrist"? What
another. If we fail in this, we may receive forgive-        evidence is there today that these antichristian
ness; if we practice it we become confident of our          views are also present?
sonship  for it is proof that Christ abides in us              3. Show from this letter that John is combating a
(3:19-24).                                                  heresy that denies that Jesus is really the Son of
  7. We are to try the spirits (4:1-6).  The spirits are    God. Also, how does he show that a denial of the
teachings of men, they are to be tested by the Word         divinity of Christ is a denial of our true fellowship
of God. If they confess that Jesus is come in the           with the Father.
flesh, they are of God; if not, they are antichrist.           4. Go through this letter and quote passages that
We confess this because we have overcome these              show that true fellowship with God is in the truth
false spirits by God's presence in us. The world            and that the lie destroys this fellowship.
confesses the lie and has a large following. We who
are of God confess the truth and all who know God              5. This is often called the "epistle of love."
hear us.                                                    Make a list of texts that teach us what love really is
                                                            (over 30 of them). How do these passages teach us
  8. Another exhortation is given to practice               that true love of the neighbor cannot exist without
brotherly love (4:7-21).  We are to love one another,       love of God?
for love is of God, and all who are born of God have
this love. Without love, we know not God  (4:7, 8).            6. How do you explain the paradox of  1:8 and
God manifests His love in the sending of Christ to          3:9?
die. It is not that we love God, but that He first loved       7. Explain in the light of many passages in this
us  (4:9, 10). In that great love of God we ought to        letter, e.g.,  1:13,  1:15, 16,  3:10,  4:5,  5:19 the  doc-


                                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                      473



trine of the antithesis, that is, the church must be                       tioned in  4:20.
spiritually separated from the world.                                         10. Why does John qualify our asking anything
  8. How can we apply the instruction to share                             in prayer by "according to His will"? How  specif-
our goods with the poor brother  (3:17) to our                             ically must we do this?
brother today? Does this include an individual                                11. Give specific ways in which you believe our
responsibility as well as one of the whole church?                         congregational life would improve if we would all
  9. Illustrate how we can be guilty of the sin men-                       heed the words of this epistle. _,
ALL AROUND US


                                               Women in Office
                                                                 Rev. G. Van Buren



  By now, virtually all,within Reformed circles are                              Over  three days,  almost every crucial question was
aware of the action of the Christian Reformed                                  answered  by a vote so close that as few as three dele-
Synod this past June in allowing women to serve in                             gates   made   the  difference.
the office of deacon - and amending their Church                                 Early  in  the  discussion,   conservatives  seemed   to
Order that this could immediately be done.                                     have   things   going  their  direction  as  the  CRC   Synod
  The whole of  .the decisions related to this ques-                           approved  81-76  a statement that "the headship  princi-
                                                                               ple,   which  means   that  the  man  should   exercise  pri-
tion was confusing and even contradictory. The                                 mary leadership  and direction-setting in the home and
Synod first adopted a study-committee report                                   in  the  church,  is  a  Biblical   teaching  recognized   in
which emphasized the Scriptural teaching of the                                both the Old and New  Testaments."
headship of man. That was adopted, however, by a
very slim margin. Many took this decision to mean                                But  the next  day,  by  a more  convincing voice  vote
that the deacon's office would be kept closed to                               which  was   not  challenged,   the  Synod   declared   that
women. So it was reported in the news accounts.                                there  is  insufficient   Biblical   evidence  to  say  that  the
                                                                               same   headship   principle  is  a  creation  norm.   There-
Tearful women were observed on Calvin's campus                                 fore,  said  the  CRC,   the  headship   principle  is  not  ap-
who were themselves convinced that their cause                                 plicable  to  areas   of  life  outside   the  home  and  the
had failed.                                                                    church.
  Still, the very next day the same Synod adopted                                That  statement  backed  off  substantially  from  the
the motion to allow women to serve as deacons in                               main  committee  report  which  had  supported   a  kind
the church. Though the offices of elder and                                    of universal male  headship.
minister remained closed to women, most were of                                   Then,  in  still  another  vote  which  appeared   to  con-
the opinion that this would shortly change too in                              tradict  the  first  position   on  headship,   the  Synod   re-
the C.R.C.                                                                     jected   82-77  a  statement  that  the  first  position  ex-
  The various church periodicals, as well as the                               cludes women from the offices of minister,  elder,  and
local press, carried extensive accounts of the deci-                           evangelist.   No  one   at  this  year's  Synod   explicitly
sion taken. Perhaps the account in the Presbyterian                            pushed   to  have   these  offices  opened   to  women,  but
Journal,  July 4, 1984, is as comprehensive and                                the reluctance  to approve  a statement of principle ex-
                                                                               cluding   that  possibility  was  disturbing   to  many   con-
representative as any:                                                         servatives   in the church.
      Women in the Christian Reformed Church may  be                              The  actual decision  to open  the office of  deacon  to
    elected to the office of deacon,  but not to the office of                 women  came  on  an  82-75  vote,   but  was   qualified   in
   ruling   or  teaching   elder,   following   a  series   of  some-          several   important   ways.   For  one   thing,   in  congrega-
   times confusing  decisions  here by the church's  Synod.                    tions  where  deacons   sit  regularly   with  elders   in  the
      This year's Synod  has been seen  by many  through-                      church "consistory" (the CRC  equivalent of a Presby-
    out the church as a watershed,  as some  conservatives                     terian  session],  such  deacons  are  clearly forbidden  to
    dug   in  their  heels  to  prevent  opening   any  offices  to            exercise  "consistorial"  authority.   In  many  CRC  con-
   women  while  a  small   minority  on  the  other  side                     gregations,   the  two  bodies   sit  together   in  what  is
   hoped   for  a  crack  in  the  dike  which  would   open   all             sometimes  called  the church "council,"  and functions
   offices.                                                                    are  at least  blurred by the joint  work. The Synod  here


474                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



       asked   churches,  if  they  elect  women  as  deacons,   to                  studies   and  discussions   about  women  in  church  of-
       keep   the  functions  separate.                                              fice.  When  I  ask  others   if  they  believe  that  women
         Further, every  CRC  minister is guaranteed  freedom                        will someday  hold  all the offices in this denomination,
       of  conscience   in  connection  with  the  ordination   of                   the  answer   is  almost   invariably,   "Yes,  it  will  come."
       women  as  deacons.   No  minister  may  be  required,                             Some   fear  it  and  wonder   how   long  it  can  be  held
       under  the new rules,  to participate in such an ordina-                      back.  Others  hope  it and wonder  how  the day  can be
       tion  if he  chooses  not  to do  so.                                          hastened   .  .  .  .
          .  .  . Although   the  limits  of  this  year's  action  are             Some already envision some practical problems
       clear,  many   in  the  church  remain  fearful  that  there               which can arise. One writes in "Voices" in the Ban-
       will be a continuing  effort to open  the offices of elder                 ner, July 16, 1984,
       and  minister  as  well.   "If  that  is  the  case,"  says  John
       H&ink,   editor   of  Christian Renewal,  a  conservative                          Choose   four  men  for  deacons,   and  choose  four
       CRC-tabloid   in Ontario,.  "what  happened  here is  the                     women for deaconesses,  not related  to any of the men.
       beginning   of  the  disintegration   of  the  Christian   Re-                     When  you   have   consistory  meetings   until  about
       formed   Church."                                                              eleven  or  twelve   o'clock,  or  when  the  deacons   and
          Those  who   believe  all  offices  should   be  o$n   to                  the  deaconesses   are   sent   out  on  missions,   and  a  dea-
       women,   while   thought   to  be  a  small   minority,   have                 coness  comes  home  to  her  husband,   he  can  ask,
       hardly  hidden  their views.  The Rev.  Andrew  Kuyven-                        "What  man  have   you   been  out  with  tonight?'  Also,
       hoven,  editor  of the official denominational  magazine,                     when the deacon  comes home to his wife, she  can ask,
       the  Banner,  has  written  repeatedly   in  support   of  the                 "What  woman have  you been out with tonight?"
       wide   open   position,   allowing   minimal  space   in  the                Outside of any `possible practical problems
       magazine  for the more  widely  held  conservative view-                   which might arise, the more fundamental problems
       point.   "He   acts   more  like   a  papal   authority  than   an         remain. Those who support the position of women
       elected  officer  of  a  Protestant  denominatior$   com-                  in church office, usually are ready to admit that
       plains   Hultink.                                                          certain passages in the N.T. clearly forbid this. The
          One   reason   for  conservatives'   distress   is  a  set  of          passages are so clear, that they are forced to admit
       statistics published early  last spring  by the Banner  in-                this. But the answer to the dilemma is that this
       dicating   the  grassroots   support   for  women  in  all  of-            teaching  4 is applicable only to that age of the
       fices  continues  to  grow   in  the  CRC.   "Naturally,"   one       I    apostles when the position of women was far dif-
       layman   told  the  Journal,  asking   not  to  be  identified,            ferent from what it is today. What was true then,
       "they  control the magazine,  the college,  and the sem-
       inary.   They  can  teach  future  members anythingthey                    was true for practical reasons  - not for principle
       want to."                                                                  reasons. Therefore, because of changing situations
                                                                                  today, we need no longer observe the requirements
  The president of this year's Synod, Rev. Roger                                  of Scripture on that point.
Van Harn, wrote in the Grand Rapids' Press, Aug.
4, 1984, concerning his own impressions of this                                     Such interpretation, of course, is traced back to
decision:                                                                         the CRC decision called "Report 44" treating of the
          The  students   of  tomorrow  will  find   the  conditions              infallibility of Scripture and setting forth principles
       of today  hard  to imagine  -just  as it is hard  for some  of             of Biblical interpretation which allows for this
       us  to  imagine   the  days   when  churches  did   not  have              presentation.
       microphones  and  did   not  need   Sunday  bulletins.                       Also, though many of our CRC brethren would
          The  students  will have  grown   up hearing  mena?rd                   deny it, much of this whole problem is traceable to
       women  preach from their pulpits.  They  will  have  re-                   1924 and the adoption of Common Grace as church
       ceived   the  bread  and  wine   of  holy  communion  from                 dogma. On the basis of the third point of Common
       male   and  female  hands.   They  will   have   watched  an               Grace, the Spirit of God graciously works in the
       offering  plate  move  from a silver-haired  deacon  work-                 reprobate wicked so that they can produce works
       ing  one  end  of  the  pew   to  a  nervous   novice  young               which are good and pleasing to God - though not a
       enough   to be her grandson   working  the other.                          "saving" good. The women's lib movement in our
          The  students   will  learn  that  for  the  first  35  years           land ultimately must be regarded by some in the
       the  CRC   worshipped   only   in  Dutch,  for  the  first  70             light of the "gracious" operation of the Spirit. It is
       years   its members sang only   psalms,  and for the  first                reasoned that not all of this can be bad. Some is
       127   years   they  ordained   only   men.   (And   that  the
       church  for  the  2000  years   before  this   time,   also   only         good: the fruit of common grace. There is reason,
       ordained   men?   G.V.B.)                                                  then, to join in such movement  - and follow its
                                                                                  principles within the church. The battle was lost in
          I  am  convinced  the  day   is  coming   when  men  and                1924 - though the skirmishes continue even til to-
       women  will  serve   together  in  all  the  offices  in  the
       Christian   Reformed   Church.                                             day.
          My  prophecy  is  not  bold.   For  the  last  10  years   I              I can join President Van Harn in predicting that
       have,  been  engaged   -  sometimes   embroiled   -  in                    shortly the office of teaching and ruling elder must


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                     475



be opened to the women as well. But I would go                In the meantime, one wonders what the "conser-
further. I can predict that these same arguments           vative" will now do. Their entire reaction to date
used to gain admittance of women to the office in          resembles nothing so much as the action of the
church, can and will be used in future years to ad-        small boy to the neighborhood bully. As the bully
mit the practicing homosexual to these same of-            approaches, the young boy draws a chalk mark on
fices. Some mainline denominations already are do-         the sidewalk, declaring, "If you cross this line, I'll
ing this. The condemnation of homosexuality  in.           knock your block off!" Then, as the bully crosses
Scripture can also then be said to be a "time-condi-       the line, the little boy backs up several feet and
tioned" command. And if God gives gifts and desire         draws another line. He states the same warning  -
for the ministry to practicing homosexuals, it is His      and observes the same response. Then: another line
own indication that He would have them serve               - and another response. The question is: which
within His church. Why limit or restrict God-given         line is going to be the last one?
gifts?
IN HIS FEAR


                      Servants of the Lord in our
                                   Daily Occupation
                                              Pastor Arie den Hartog





  We are the servants of the Lord. We believe that         Though we may serve earthly masters, our real and
God is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. He          only Lord is our God.
is our Lord for He is our creator and redeemer, and           Even as we must serve the Lord in all areas of our
it follows from this that we must be His servants.         life so also we must serve Him in our daily occupa-
We have been made the servants of the Lord bi His          tions. In fact, of course, for most of us our daily oc-
wonderful grace. We were by nature the servants             cupation takes up most of the time and energies of
of the devil and of sin. But through His wonderful          our life. We must not imagine that we need to serve
grace in Christ Jesus we have been redeemed in             the Lord only in church. Our service in the church
order that we might serve Him all the days of our          is of supreme importance. Without serving the
life. It is indeed a great blessing and wonderful           Lord in church we cannot serve Him in any other
privilege that we are the servants of the Lord. We         area of our life. That we are servants of the Lord
have a most glorious and blessed master. He has            must have a tremendous effect on how we conduct
given us all things. We have nothing of ourselves.          ourselves in our daily occupation. The apostle Paul
All that we have belongs to the Lord first of all.          speaks of this most beautifully in Ephesians 6510.
Even our very soul and body and all that we are
belong to Him. We must therefore serve Him in                    Servants  be obedient  to them that are  your masters
love and gratitude. We must consecrate our whole               according   to  the  flesh,  with  fear  and  trembling,   in
life to Him. To do anything less `is a great sin. We           singleness   of your heart, as unto Christ;  not  with eye
                                                               service as men pleasers;  but as the servants  of Christ,
must present our bodies a living sacrifice unto the            doing   the  will  of  God  from  the  heart;  with  good  will
Lord, for this is our reasonable service. To serve             doing   service,  as  to  the  Lord,   and  not  to  men:  know-
Him means that we seek to do His will. It means                ing  that   whatsoever  good  thing   that  any   man   doeth,
that we seek to promote the cause of His kingdom               the same  shall  receive of the Lord  whether he be bond
in this world. It means that we seek in all our life to        or free. And ye masters,  do the same  things  unto  them,
bring glory unto His name. To serve Him means                  forbearing  threatening:   knowing   that  your  master
that in every area of our life we live in righteous-           also   is  in  heaven;   neither  is  respect  of  persons   with
ness and truth according to our Lord's command-                Him.
ments. God is our supreme Lord and Master.                    In our daily occupation most of us are servants


476                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



and some of us are masters. We believe that the            Their only concern is to agradize themselves and
employee-employer relationship of our modern day           amass to themselves greater and greater fortunes.
parallels in almost all essentials the relationship of     They care not about the law of God. They care not
master-servant of which the Bible has so much to           about the God-ordained order for society and the
say. The only real difference is that as employees         servant-master relationship. Therefore laborers rise
we are free, whereas a servant was usually bonded          up in rebellion against their employers. They use
to his master.                                             violence and the united power of unions to ac-
  In order to understand what it means that we are         complish their ends. There is no limit to their greed
the servants of the Lord we must first of all be pro-      and lust. They care not that in that violence and
foundly conscious of the fact that also in this area of    greed they destroy the property and even the life of
our life all that we are and all that we have is the       their fellow man. In their lust for material gain and
Lords. He created us. All our members are written          earthly glory and power they care not if they lie and
in His book. He determined all our talents and             steal and cheat in order to deprive their fellow man.
abilities. He gave us our life, our strength and           They are ready to impoverish their fellow man only
health. He gave us opportunities to get a certain          that they themselves might have great wealth. The
amount of study and training in preparation for our        masters or bosses of this world are no better than
occupation. In His wonderful providence He pro-            the servants or employees. They will build bigger
vided an occupation for us. If we are in business          and bigger kingdoms for themselves on this earth.
and our business has prospered, that is only               In order to do this they will engage themselves in
because of the Lord. God the Lord of heaven and            all sorts of corrupt practices. The larger and more
earth and of all men did not make us all equal. He         sophisticated the modern corporations become the
gave varying powers of intellect and ability to men.       greater becomes their potential to practice fraud
He gave different opportunities. One can become a          and corruption. The bosses of this world will use
doctor or a lawyer or a company executive or hold          their employees only for their own advantage. They
some other occupation that has great esteem among          refuse to pay them their just wages. They care not if
men. Another can advance no further than a com-            their employees languish in poverty. They consider
mon laborer. The business of one may so prosper            their employees but ignorant and lowly servants
that it developes into a great and wealthy corpora-        who are unworthy of any more than mere sub-
tion where millions of dollars are turned over-every'      sistence and minimal wages. Both the servants and
year. The business of another might continue small         the masters of, this world are evil. They are both an
and struggling. If we are Reformed Christians who          abomination in the sight of God. Though they ac-
believe in the absolute sovereignty of God over all        cuse and excuse one another, both stand con-
things then we believe that all these things are of        demned under the judgment of God. It is not true
the Lord.                                                  that one evil justifies another. It is not true as the
                                                           wqrld reasons that when a master refuses to pay a
  As long as we are on this earth we-have a calling        just and equitable wage to his employee that this
to labor in an earthly occupation. Our Lord  !             gives the right to the employees to band together in
despises the sluggard and the man who refuses to           wicked and rebellious unions to destroy the property
work. It is through laboring with our hands the            and even the life of their employees. Neither does
thing that is good that the Lord blesses us with           the employer have the right to take advantage of the
material things. Through these things we are en-           weakness and situation of their employees to pay
abled of the Lord to raise up a Christian family and       them absolutely the smallest wage that he can get
to provide a home and provisions for such a family.        by with. Who can measure the violence and
But our earthly occupation is secondary. It is only        wickedness that there is today on the part of both.
temporary. Above this we are called to be the ser-         evil masters and wicked rebellious servants!
vants of the Lord in His everlasting kingdom which           The Christian lives in the midst of this evil world
is manifest here already on this earth. We must use        of violence. He surely may not have any part in that
our `earthly occupation even for the purpose of            wickedness at all. It is for this reason that our
seeking the kingdom of our God and the glory and           churches have always insisted that a Christian may
righteousness of that kingdom. We must in our              not be a member of the wicked labor unions of this
earthly occupation live righteously and  holily be-        world. This position is clearly based on Scripture.
fore the Lord, for this is our highest calling.            Though it is increasingly difficult for the Christian
  If we consider the ungodly man of the world we           to maintain this position in this ungodly world, as a
can see so much evidence of how he refuses to              servant of the Lord he must maintain it.
serve the Lord in his daily occupation. Therefore            Because the Christian is the servant of the Lord
the world is filled with violence and corruption.          he submits himself to the ordinances of the Lord.
Wicked men are filled with greed and materialism.          These ordinances are absolute for him. God has


                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                 477



stated clearly in His word that servants must be in       main to be the best and most faithful workers.
subjection to their masters. Employees must be              Because the Christian in his daily occupation
obedient in all things to their masters. Though the       realizes that he does all things unto the Lord, he can
Christian employee is free to change his place of         find joy and satisfaction in even the most tedious
employment, as long as he is in a given company he        and, laborious of tasks. His great joy and satisfaction
must submit to his employer. He must do this not          is in doing all of his work faithfully and righteously
only to the good and gentle but also to the forward       before the Lord.
(see I Peter 2: 18). Christian servants are subject to
their masters for the Lord's sake. In doing this they       The servant of the Lord does not make material-
honor the Lord.                                           ism his idol. It is not the great concern of his life on-
                                                          ly to get richer and richer. He knows that it is
  The Christian employee who is the servant of the        harder for a rich man to get into the kingdom of
Lord does his work heartily. Paul tells servants in       heaven than for a camel to go through the eye of a
Colossians  3:24, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heart-     needle. He is aware of the great danger that the love
ily as to the Lord and not unto men." The faithful        of riches will lead him away from his Lord. The
Christian servant does his work well. He uses all of      Christian servant is thankful when the Lord pros-
his abilities and energies in the employment of his       pers him. He sees that whatever the Lord gives to
master. He does his work willingly and cheerfully         him is also required of him. He stands under the
and not grudgingly. Very practically that means the       solemn obligation to be a faithful steward of all
Christian puts in a good day of hard and faithful         which the Lord has given to him. To whom much is
work. His work shines with excellence according to        given much is required.
his abilities.                                              The servant of the Lord works with his hands
  The Christian servant performs his work in              also in order that he might have matkrial  possession
righteousness and truth. He is honest in all things       to give for the support of the cause of the church
and above reproach. He labors in the thing which is       and kingdom of God and for the relief of the poor.
good. Constantly he is faced with the wicked cor-         Because he knows that he is the servant of the Lord
ruption and deceit of this world. He may even see         and all of his possessions are first of all the Lord's,
the evil men of this world advancing in material          he gives liberally and cheerfully as the Lord has
prosperity and position through corruption and            prospered him.
violence. He may find that his very working col-
leagues advance above him through wickedness.               If we are Christian masters we also have a great
Though he may be tempted in his sinful nature to          calling before the Lord. Though we are masters
follow corruption for material gain he remembers          over our employees we must never imagine that we
that he is a servant of the Lord and therefore he         are supreme and sovereign lords who can do as
resists this temptation. Though the Christian ser-        they please. Christian masters are also servants of
vant may properly seek for material gain upon the         the Lord. To be a master involves a greater respon-
labors of his hands, he never pursues material gain       sibility than a servant. Men have been entrusted to
at the expense of righteousness and truth.                your care and oversight. This is very serious. The
                                                          Christian master must show himself to be an im-
  The faithful employee brings honor unto his             itator of his Lord in heaven. The servant of the Lord
Lord. It is not his desire to be a men pleaser but        who is a master of men gives to them their just
rather to please his true Lord and Master. Indeed,        dessert. He pays to them a fair and just wage. He
when the Christian labors faithfully as before his        forebears threatening. He is good and kind and gen-
Lord he bears a good testimony. The lazy and              tle with his servants. He is deeply sympathetic to
slothful servant brings great shame to his lord.          their needs and situations in life. He honors his
Though the world often accuses the Christian and          employees for the service they have rendered to
mocks him for his adherence to righteousness and          him and never despises them. He knows that his
truth, he faithfully labors to please his Lord in         Lord in heaven is not a respecter of persons. He
heaven. The world often persecutes the Christian,         realizes that before the Lord there is neither bond
but when the Christian labors faithfully in his oc-       nor free. All God's people are brothers in Christ
cupation he puts to silence the accusations of wick-      Jesus. God does not regard the master of this world
ed men. We have many examples of this is Scrip-           more highly than the servant. He does not `regard
ture. Consider the examples of Joseph and Daniel          the great and glorious, the wealthy and the mighty
and Nehemiah. Though they worked in heathen               of this world. For the most part His people are
courts they were a great testimony through their          found among the lowly and despised of the earth.
diligent and faithful labors as servants. History has     The master of this world will often find that his
repeatedly proven that though the world may make          very servants are greater in godliness than himself,
all kinds of accusations against Christians, they re-     and this is occasion for humility on his part and


478                                        THE STANDARD BEARER



reason for dealing in deepest respect and love with       looks unto the reward of his Lord in heaven. This
his servants.                                             motivates both employer and employee to labor
  Whether we be servants or masters in this world         with fear and trembling, doing that which is good,
we must all give an account for what we do unto           that they might be found pleasing in the sight of the
our Lord in heaven. He will judge us all. Both  the:      Lord of heaven, and bringing glory to His name.
faithful servant and the faithful and godly master


                                        Book Review

COMMENTARY ON JAMES, by Peter H. Davids;                  Davids' exegesis, but one will gain some fresh in-
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982; 226 pages, (cloth)         sights into this book of the New Testament. The
$14.95. (Reviewed by Prof. R.D. Decker)                   book is useful for pastors, professors, seminary stu-
  This commentary is part of the New Internation-         dents, and anyone who has a working knowledge of
al Greek Testament Commentary, edited by I                the Greek language. Because the commentary is
Howard Marshall and W. Ward Gasque. Peter                 directly from the Greek, a knowledge of the ori-
Davids, Associate Professor of New Testament at           ginal is a must for anyone using this commentary.
Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Ambridge,
Pennsylvania, is rapidly acquiring a reputation as
one of the leading New Testament scholars among
evangelicals. He is deserving of this in the opinion               Remember the sick
of this reviewer. This book contains an extensive
bibliography and indexes as well as se&-al charts.                  and shut-in with u
Obviously a great deal of research has gone into its
writing.
  Davids applies the hermeneutical  ' method of                                gift of the
Redaction Criticism to the interpret- James.
Redaction Criticism, a relatively recent school of                  Stbndard Bearer.
thought, arose in connection with studies of the
synoptics. More recently it has been applied to
other of the books of the New Testament.  This-
school has all but replaced Form Criticism. Redac-                          RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
tion critics regard the writers of the New Testament
as editors who gathered the materials for their par-         The Consistory of the Hope Protestant Reformed Congregation of
                                                          Redlands, California, expresses its sympathy to our fellow Office-
ticular books from various Gospel sources. The            Bearer, Mr. Otto Gaastra, to the widow, Mrs. Sue Gaastra, and to the
writers then wrote their books with their own             Gaastra family in the death of their father, grandfather, and husband,
specific purposes. Thus one can discern distinctive       MR. MEINDERT GAASTRA, who was taken by his Lord on June 16,
                                                          1984.
themes, messages, and emphases in the various                "But now they desire a better country, that is, a Heavenly; where-
books of the New Testament. Redaction critics, for        fore God is not ashamed to be their God, for He hath prepared for
example, speak of the "Theology of Matthew" or of         them a city." (Hebrews 1 1 :I 6)
"Pauline Eschatology." The various New                                                                  Rev. V. Koole, Pres.
Testament writers are considered to be indepen-                                                         Larry Huisken, Vice-All
dent theologians. Some redaction critics  be1iev.e  in                       WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
some form of the doctrine of the Inspiration of              On September 11, 1984, the Lord willing, our beloved parents,
Scripture by the Holy Spirit, Few believe the doc-        grandparents and great-grandparents, OTTO AND  CORNELIA
trine of plenary inspiration and an infallible Scrip-     VANDER WOUDE will celebrate their 66th wedding anniversary.
ture as we do. Writing from this perspective                We are thankful to our Heavenly Father for these many years they
Davids, in an introduction of some sixty pages, dis-      have had together and for blessing us with God-fearing parents who
                                                          guided us in His ways. It is our prayer that the Lord will continue to
cusses the following subjects: Authorship and Date,       bless them and keep them in His care during their remaining years.
Form and Structure, A Possible  Sitz  Im  Leben              "So we Thy people and sheep of Thy pasture will give Thee thanks
(this refers to the historical circumstances, culture,    forever; we will shew forth Thy praise to all generations." (Psalm
etc., in which James wrote), Theology, Language           79:13)
and Style and Text. The rest of the book is an            Their children                            1 son-in-law
expository commentary on the text of James. The              William and Florence Corson            Tom and Angie Redder
                                                             Eugene and Margaret Byker                 13 grandchildren
style is lucid. One will not always agree with               John and Arlene Vander Woude              13 great grandchildren


                                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                               479



                             NOTICE!!!                                                    ' WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
  Classis West of the Protestant Reformed Churches will meet on                  On August 26, 1984, our dear parents and grandparents, MR.
September 5, 1984 in Doon, Iowa, at 8:30 A.M. Delegate in need of           AND MRS.  *ROBERT  PASTOOR, celebrated their 30th wedding an-
lodging or of transportation from the airport should notify the Clerk of    niversary. We are thankful to them and to our faithful heavenly Father
the Doon Consistory.                                                        for the years of dedicated instruction, guidance and love which they
                                                                            have given and continue to give us. We pray that the Lord may richly
                                    Rev. David Engelsma, Stated Clerk       bless them in the years which lie ahead.
                                                                            Doug and Joanne Pastoor             Dan and Lori Pastoor
                                                                                 Nicole                            Bradley, Nathan
                  WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                                       Jim and Jane Pastoor                Larry and Pam Van Putten
                                                                                 David                          Steve Pastoor
   On September 10, 1984, the Lord willing, our parents, MR.  81                                                Tom Pastoor
MRS. HENRY W. KUIPER will celebrate their 30th wedding anniver-
sary. We have been greatly blessed through the years by their Godly
rearing and instruction. We pray that they will experience God's                                           NOTICE!!!
nearness and guidance as they continue on this earthly journey
together.                                                                        The Consistory of the Lynden Protestant Church hereby an-
                                                                            nounces that Rev. D. Kuiper is eligible for a call in our churches. We
   "0 continue Thy lovingkindness unto them that know Thee; and             recommend the brother to be considered for service in our denomina-
Thy righteousness to the upright in heart." (Psalm 36:lO)                   tion.
Henry and Teresa Kuiper            Henry Buiter and Judith Kuiper                                                   The Consistory of  tHe Lynden
Keith and Wanda Bruinsma           Christine Kuiper                                                                   Protestant Reformed Church
   Brian, Greg and Sheila          Karla Kuiper                                                                       D. Scheele, Clerk
Barbara Kuiper                     Dolores Kuiper
Daniel Kuiper                      Mary Kuiper                                                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                                                                                 The Men's Society of the Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church
                                                                            extends its Christian sympathy to Mr. Hilbert Kuiper on account of
                          IN MEMORIUM                                       the death of his brother, MR. JOHN KUIPER.
   Priscilla Society of the First Protestant Reformed Church, Grand              "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
Rapids, Michigan, mourns the sudden loss of a loved, faithful and ac-       life: and I will dwell,,in the house of the Lord forever." (Psalm 23:6)
tive member, MRS. GERALDINE MEYER, whom the Lord took to her
Heavenly Home on August 3, 1984. Her presence will be sorely                                                             Henry A. Bergman, Sec'y.
missed by us all.                                                                                           NO+ICE!!!
   We extend our sincere Christian sympathy to her family and pray
that the Lord will sustain them in their time of sorrow.           ,!                                    NOW AVAILABLE!!!
   "I have the Lord always before me: because He is at my  ,right                A new pamphlet entitled WOMEN IN CHURCH OFFICE, by  Rev..
hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory        Ron Cammenga, is now available. These pamphlets are free of charge
rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope." (Psalm 16:8, 9)               and can be obtained by writing to: Hull Protestant Reformed Church,
                                                                            1204  - 3rd Street, Hull, Iowa 51239.
                                       Mrs. Ryven Ezinga,`President          . . _
                                       Miss Elaine Rietema, Secretary                                       NOTICE!!!
                           OPEN HOUSE                                                   ATTENTION ALL THOSE WHO RECEIVE AND ARE
                                                                                            INTERESTED IN THE STANDARD BEARER
   September 7, 1984, marks the 50th anniversary of Rev. George
Lubbers' work both as minister of the gospel in our Protestant                        This is the 60th year that the Lord has given us as Protes-
Reformed Churches and as our domestic missionary in the States and          tant Reformed Churches the blessed privilege to sound forth
in Jamaica.                                                                 His glorious truth in THE STANDARD BEARER. We would like
                                                                            to commemorate this occasion with a special night of praise to
  The Council of First Church (Grand Rapids,  Ml) hereby expresses
our thanks to God for His gift to our Protestant Reformed Churches in       our Covenant God and Father. Prof. H.C. Hoeksema will be
the faithful labors of Rev. Lubbers and his wife. We express our con-       giving a speech entitled  - "150 YEARS AND 60" in the  Hud-
gratulations and best wishes to both of them for their unselfish devo-      sonville Protestant Reformed Church on the evening of
tion to the service of our God as represented in our Protestant             -September 27, 1984, at 8 P.M. After the program there will
Reformed Churches. Their lives have testified of the truth found in I       be refreshments. Be sure to reserve this night!
Cor. 9:14: "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach                                                         James Koole
the gospel should live of the gospel."                                                                                     R.F.P.A. Board  Secy.
   The afternoon of Saturday, September 15, from 2 to 5 P.M., has
been set aside at First Church as an Open House for Rev. and Mrs.                                          NOTICE!!!
Lubbers. Come and reminisce with the Lubbers over the eventful 50
years of their labors.                                                                  ATTENTION ALL R.F.P.A. SOCIETY MEMBERS!!!
                                          The Consistory of First Church              The Annual Meeting of THE STANDARD BEARER PUB-
                                            of Grand Rapids, Ml             LISHING SOCIETY will be held, the Lord willing, on September.
                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                     20, 1984, at the Southwest Protestant Reformed Church at
                                                                            8 P.M. Our speaker will be Prof. Robert Decker. We urge all
   The Congregation and Council of  SouthEast Protestant Reformed           those who are members and all who would like to become
Church extends its Christian sympathy to our brother and fellow             members to be there.
office-bearer, Deacon Marvin Mastbergen and his family, in the death
of his father, MR. JOHN MASTBERGEN, age 80, on July 14, 1984.                         The following men are up for nomination: John Cleveland,
   "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were           Jonathan Engelsma, Peter Faber, John De Vries, Henry Kamps
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands,         and John Kalsbeek, Jr. From these six men three are to be
eternal in the heavens." (II Corinthians 5: I)                              chosen.
                                                   Rev. Carl Haak, Pres.                                                   James Koole
                                                   Marlow  Kuiper, Clerk                                                  `R.F.P.A. Board  Secy.


   THE STANDARD BEARER
         P.O. Box 6064                                                                                                                                    r,;PEi.;H 1
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506                                                                                                                                        I     .

                                           ____--                                                                       - -- ~___
                                    J
4 8 0                              ' !*-;I; _ : ,.  ,..,THtisS~ANaAR&-.B~~~e~~~~~;  ;:.j;.:<   >$-:;,j';$i-$
                                               -r( .r -,-.i.-`>~.*;,  <~ ,:, *..,>:. ,_ ..- /_ .e /~ ; ;..A <&+.r~&+.. ;f ,.i,r,~;..,.,~~~"): ,, j....
                          News F&k Our Churches
                                                                                                                                                              August 14,1984
   Candidate Ken Hanko has accepted the call as                                           relationship with other churches in Singapore . . .
missionary to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. We thank                                           and admissions to the Lord's Supper."
God that He has verified the calling of Candidate                                               In September, 1983, an association of Presbyter-
Hanko to be a minister in our Protestant Reformed                                         ians in Northern Ireland (Association for Christian
Churches. Rev. Ron Hanko has declined the call to                                         Education in Ireland - ACEI) began the first paren-
Loveland Protestant Reformed Church. Rev. David                                          tal Christian School in Northern Ireland  - Cove-
Engelsma has also declined the call to Faith Protes-                                     nant Christian School of Newtownabbey. Since
tant Reformed Church and to Lynden Protestant                                            then, Deane Wassink has agreed to teach one year
Reformed Church. I would think that Candidate                                             at this school, teaching six or seven grades with the
Hanko will be examined by Classis  East, September                                       help of another teacher provided by  ACEI. There
12,  at Holland P.R. Church. His new address is:  17                                     are opportunities to spread the witness concerning
Miami Rd., Norristown, PA 19046.                                                          Christian schools among Reformed and Presbyter-
   Rev. and Mrs. Ronald Van  Overloop  and family                                        ian people who do not yet see the need for Chris-
have moved from Birmingham, Alabama to the                                               tian schools in Northern Ireland. Deane and his
Chicago, Illinois area. Their new address is: 1047                                       family will leave today,. D.V. So far, half of  .the
Florida Lane, Elk Grove Village, Illinois 60007.                                         amount needed to send Mr. and Mrs. Wassink  and
Telephone number 312-529-4676.                                                           their family to Northern Ireland has been collected.
                                                                                         If this cause of God's covenant commends itself to
   Rev. Bruinsma is waiting on the  pro'cressing  of                                     you and you are willing to give, make your check
papers for a work permit. A house has been found,                                        payable to South Holland Protestant Reformed
and leasing arrangements are being worked out.                                           Church (Fund for Reformed Education in Ulster)
The house is located on the Coast Rd. between Fer-                                       and send it to Mr. Jack Lenting, 17014 Wausau
ris Cross and Cave, in excellent proximity to our                                        Ave., South Holland, IL 60473.
churches. Rev. Bruinsma will be teaching the
students and ministers at his home which is set on                                              The congregation of First Church in Grand
eight acres of land. The Bruinsmas are planning to                                       Rapids will probably be staying at Fuller and
educate their children at home. A vehicle will be                                        Franklin at least until the end of August and prob-
shipped to Jamaica for Rev. Bruinsma's use. While                                        ably longer. They are hoping to break ground
he waits, Rev. Bruinsma and also Rev. Joostens will                                      around the middle of September.
be preparing educational materials for use in                                                   The Convocation of the Theological School of the
Jamaica.                                                                                 Protestant Reformed Churches, will convene at
   Rev. Arie and Sherry den Hartog wrote in a June                                       Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church, Hudson-.
26 letter, "We are quite anxious about beginning                                         ville, Michigan, Wednesday, September 5, at 8:00
our second congregation at Blair Road. The actual                                       ,P.M. Prof. H. Hanko is to deliver the convocation
worship services there however will not start till at                                    address.
least the end of the year. We expect that it will take                                          Rev. Kortering's address in the Acts and Year-
quite some time to get authorization from the                                            book of Synod is incorrect in three places. Make the
government to hold worship services there. Before                                        following correction on pages 125, 129, and 136:
that, we cannot do any of the renovation work                                            change 3112 Calvin Ct. to 3212 Calvin Ct. If you
either because the way the place is renovated will                                       use the wrong address the mail will probably be
depend on what we can get approved. We expect                                            sent back to you. If there are any more corrections
all of this will take to the end of the year.                                            to be made please notify me.
   "The church here is still a young church in a                                                The Reformed Witness Hour has caught up in
pagan society and there are just so many issues that                                     the mailing of its sermon booklets. The Radio Com-
arise which must be answered on the basis of the                                         mittee still covets your prayers and support. The
Word of God through careful study and discussion,                                        new Church Order book can be purchased from the
(e.g.), how to deal with students that go abroad to                                      Seminary Bookstore, 4949  Ivanrest Ave., S.W.,
study . . . proper procedure of discipline in the                                        Grandville, MI 49418. The cost for the book `plus
church . . . separation stand in the church and our                                      charges for shipping and handling is $6.50.                                     DH


