                         THE
              STANDARD
A Reformed
     B
Magazine           E A R E R
Semi-Monthly       -I


                           PRC Synod 1993


Vol. 69, No. 18
July, 1993


                                                                                                                                      7=
CONTENTS:                                                                                          July,  1993               STANDARD
Meditation - Rev. Gise J. VanBaren                                                                                                   BEARER
      Prayer for Jerusalem's Peace . . . . . . . . . . ..*..*...*.................................... 411
Editorial - Prof. David J. Engelsma
      PRC Synod of Hucisonville, 1993 . ..*.**............................................                        413       ISSN 0362-4692
Procedure for Admission of Ministers,.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*........... 416    Semi-monthly. except monthly during June, July, and August.
Letters ,.....,.............,,......,....,..I.............................................................        417       Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.,
                                                                                                                            4949 Ivanrest Ave., Grandville. MI 46416. Second Class
When Thou Sittest in Thine House - Mrs. MaryBeth Lubbers                                                                    Postage Paid at Grandville, Michigan.
      The Reformed Family: Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*.................................. 419                    Postmaster: Send address changes to the Standard Bearer,
Newsletter from New Zealand - Rev. Rodney G. Miersma . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . 420'                           P.O. Box 603, Grandville, MI 46466-0603.
Synod 1993 ..~~.~~~~~.~...~..........~...............~..~~~~..............~.............~............. 422                  EDITORIAL COMMITTEE
,Go Ye Into All the World - Rev. Ronald J. VanOverloop                                                                      Edior: Prof. David J. Engelsma
                                                                                                                            Secretary: Prof. Robert D. Decker
      Calvinism and Missions: Ill. "Llmlted" Atonement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424                        Managing Editor: Mr. Don Doezema
Guest Article - Rev. Ronald L. Cammenga                                                                                     DEPARTMENT EDITORS
      The Shameful Sin of Homosexuality (1) ,,.,,,.,,,.......~.,,................... 426                                    Rev. Ronald Cammenga, Prof. Robert Decker. Rev. Arie
                                                                                                                            denHa&-& Rev. Barry Gritters. Mr. Fred Hanko, Prof. Herman
Report of Classis East - Mr. Jon J. M.&ken . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*.................... 429                Hanko, Rev. John Heys. Rev. Steven Key, Rev. Kenneth
News From Our Churches - Mr. Benjamin Wigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429            Koole, Rev. Jason Kortering, Rev. Dale Kuiper, Mr. James
                                                                                                                            Lanting, Rev. George Lubbers, Mrs. MaryBeth Lubbers, Rev.
                                                                                                                            James Slopsema, Rev. ChailesTerpstra,  Rev. GiseVanBaren,
                                                                                                                            Rev. FtonaldVanOvertwp,  Mr. Benjamk?Wigger,  Rev. Barnard
                                                                                                                            Woudenberg.

                                                                                                                            EDITORIAL OFFICE            CHURCH NEWS EDITOR
                                                                                                                            The Standard Bearer         Mr. Ban Wiaaer
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                                                                                                                            EDITORIAL  POLICY
                                          Delegates to Synod 1993                                                           Every editor is solely responsible for the contents of his own
                                                                                                                            articles. Contributionsof general interestfrom  ourreadersand
                                                                                                                            questions for The Reader Asks department are welcome.
                                                                                                                            Contributions will  be limited to approximately 300 words and
                                                                                                                            mustbaneatlymittenortypewritten,andmustbeslgned. Copy
                                                                                                                            deadlines are the first and fifteenth of the month. All
                                                                                                                            communications relative to the contents should be sent to ths
        In an effort to keep our readers informed of what's happening in the PRC                                            editorial office.
 in as timely a manner as possible, we again devote part of our July issue to that                                          REPRlNT.POLtCY
  denomination's annual synod. Pictured on the cover are three of the synod's                                               Permission Is herebygrantedforthe reprinting of articles In our
                                                                                                                            magszlnebyotherpubllcaUons,provided:  a)thatwchreprinted
 four officers: Rev. Barry Gritters, Rev. James Slopsema, and Rev. Ronald                                                   articles are reproduced in full; b) that proper acknowledgment
 VanOverloop  - first clerk, president, and vice-president respectively. Prof.                                              is made; c) that a copy of the periodical In which such reprint
                                                                                                                            appears is sent to our editorial office.
  Engelsma's editorial provides a summary of many of the more significant
  decisions taken by Synod 1993. And, for our Meditation, we share with you an                                              SUBSCRlPTlON POLICY
                                                                                                                            Subscription price: $12.00 par year in the U.S., $15.06
 abbreviated version of Rev. VanBaren's  pre-synodical sermon, preached June                                                elsewhere. Unless a definite request for discontinuance is
  7, the evening prior to the convening of synod on the 8th.                                                                received, it Is assumed that the subscriber wishes the
                                                                                                                            subscriptlontocontinue,andhewillbe  billedforrenewsl.  lfyw
        Rev. VanBaren admonished his listeners to pray that the peace of which                                              haveachangeofaddress,pleasenotiitheBusinessOfficeas
 David wrote in Psalm 122:6-9 might be evident at synod. In retrospect we can                                               early as possible in order to avoid the Inconvenience of
                                                                                                                            interrupted delivery. Include your Zip or Postal Code.
 testify to the fact that the Spirit so directed that such peace did prevail. There                                         ADVERTISING POLICY
 were at Synod, as Rev. VanBaren correctly anticipated, tangles to be unraveled                                             The StandardSsarerdoes  not accept commercial advertising
 and problems to be unknotted; but in every instance it was clear that the                                                  of any kind. Announcements  ot church and school events,
                                                                                                                            anniversaries, obituaries, and sympathy resolutions will  be
 delegates had come, not with personal or group "agendas" to be pressed, but                                                placed for a 33.00 fee. These should be sent to the Business
 with a determination to discover the leading of the Spirit by careful deliberation                                         Office and should be accompanied by the 33.00 fee. Deadline
                                                                                                                            for announcements is at least one month prior to publication
 of every issue in the light of God's Word.                                                                                 date.
        The decisions have nowbeenmade-some of them of no little consequence                                                BOUND VOLUMES
 for the PRC andits standing committees. We underscore, therefore, the closing                                              The Business Office will  accept standing orders for bound
 exhortation of Rev. VanBaren, that we continue to pray fervently that those                                                coplesofthe currentvolume. Suchordersaretilledassocn as
                                                                                                                            possible after completion of a volume year.
  decisions may contribute to the "peace of Jerusalem."
                                                                                                                  D.D.      16mm  microfilm, 35mm microfilm and 105mm microfiche, and
                                                                                                                            article copies are available through University Microfilms
                                                                                                                            International.
410  /Standard Bearer  I  July, 1993


   Prayer for Jerusalem's Peace

                                              troubled by all kinds of doctrinal dis-    ing away sin itself. Man's sin against
        "PrayforthepeaceofJerusalem:  they    putes. It must not be distracted by        God is the cause of all war. The world
shall prosper that love thee. Peace be        arguments of women in office, of cre-      refuses to recognize that the problem
within thy walls and prosperity within        ationism versus theistic evolution, of     is with the sin of our first father,
thy palaces. For my brethren and com-         homosexualism, etc. The church must        Adam, and his descendants. Man-
panions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be      rather preach the gospel -it matters       kind severed themselves from the face
within thee. Because of the house of the      not to many what the church says           of the living God: first through
Lord our God I will seek thy good. "          concerning doctrine and walk.              Adam's transgression and then
                           Psalm 122:6-9          But the Psalmist does not teach        through wilful, continued rebellion.
                                              that we are to pray for a "peace at any    Therefore Scripture declares that there
        We live in a troubled world. We       price."                                    is no peace to the wicked. Romans 8:6
liveamongchurches thatfaceallkinds                There is also often the desire to      states, "To be carnally minded is
of problems. There is great apostasy.         have a kind of peace established be-       death . . . . fl Only Christ provides peace,
In these circumstances it is urgent           tween church and world. Church             through the cross. "Peace," He says,
that we pray for peace-the peace of           and world can cooperate in the realm       "I leave with you. My peace I give
Jerusalem. This must be our prayer            of "art," entertainment, and benevo-       unto you, not as the world giveth,
for Gods church, for our churches,            lence. If we can find some common          give I unto you. Let not your heart be
and for Synod.                                ground on which we may cooperate,          troubled, neither let itbe afraid" (John
        The Synod also, in making all of      we will have harmony and not perse-        14:27). Christ removes the cause of
itsdecisions,mustbeseekingthepeace            cution.                                    warfare. He must remove all that
of  N Jerusalem." Because of the house            The psalmist, however, was not         separates us from the face of the liv-
of the Lord they desire that peace.           praying for a peace by way of coop-        ing God. And He did that when He
        The world claims to want peace.       eration with the world. The psalmist       offered Himself on the cruel cross of
And yet we hear of war, tribalism,            speaks of peace of the city of Jerusa-     Calvary.
sectarianism in Bosnia, in Northern           lem which had walls and bulwarks.              That peace He sheds abroad in
Ireland, Africa, and elsewhere. The           Jerusalem is a city with strong de-        our hearts (Rom. 5:5). For He regen-
cry is for peace. But there is no peace.      fenses - defenses designed to keep         erates. By His Spirit He calls from
        Today the attempt ,is made to         out the enemy. Obviously there was         darkness to light. Through His Spirit
have the different world religions join       to be no cooperation between the en-       and Word He guides in righteousness
in prayers for peace. The psalmist,           emy and Jerusalem.
however, was not speaking of that                 Peace is important. Therefore the
kind of peace. Surely he would not            church prays for peace-the peace of
promote a prayer service which joined         Jerusalem. That must be clearly dis-
the prophets of Baa1 and Jehovah in           tinguished from the peace which the
common prayer for peace in Israel.            world seeks. The peace that the
        Many in the churches cry for          church desires, the peace for which
"peace at any price." You have heard          we pray, is peace with God. It is a
it. The church, it is said, must not be       peace of fellowship and communion
                                              with the righteous God. That peace is
                                              ours through the cross. There is no
                                              other way to have peace with God.
                                                  The world strives for peace, by
Rev. VanBarenispastoroftheProtestant          which it means merely a cessation of
Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michi-        warfare. Sadly, the world wants to
gan.                                          remove the effects of sin without tak-                 Rev. Gise VanBaren

                                                                                                     July, 1993 I Standard Bearer I41 1


and truth so `that His people may             now of the Synod, must be peace              church, and the concern now of the
honor Him and serve their God. It is          based upon truth.                            Synod, is precisely this, that the work
because of that wonder of the cross               It is that peace that carries with it    of God may be conducted properly
that there is peace.                          the blessings of God. The psalmist           and His Name worshiped.
     Now the church preaches peace            twice speaks in our text of prosperity.         And God answers our prayers.
ti to you which are afar off and to them      "They shall prosper that love thee,"         We pray for peace even as His Word
whicharenigh" (Eph.27).  The church           and, "peace be within thy walls and          teaches. And God hears.
is called in Ephesians 4:3 to endeavor        prosperity within thy palaces." That             Why pray for what God has al-
"to keep the unity of the spirit in the       was not a selfish prayer of David.           ready promised? Has He not prom-
bond of peace." The church has al-            Some have made it to be such. David          ised to save His people in Christ?
ways been interested in that peace.           was king. He ruled in Jerusalem. If          WhythenjointogetherandaskGod's
     David, in our text, speaks of the        there was unrest in the city his throne      blessing upon us?
peace of Jerusalem. This is not a peace       would be threatened. And so, some                JesusHimselfremindedustoask,
that Jerusalem establishes with its           claim, David was a bit selfish. He was       to seek, to knock - and in that way
enemies outside of its walls. Notice          interested in preserving his throne.         God provides. Sometimes we forget
that the text speaks of "peace within         So he encourages the people, "Pray           that. It seems to me that the lack of a
thy walls, prosperity within thy pal-         for the peace of Jerusalem. And in           full auditorium in our prayer service
aces (or bulwarks)." It is inside Jerusa-     that kind of peace I will remain estab-      for Synod may be an indication that
lem that peace exists. The church has         lished on the throne."                       we are not praying as we ought for
a warfare with those without: the                 But that is not David's concern.         our Synod, and we are not as con-
world, the devil, and our own sinful          He speaks God's Word. Under the              cerned as we ought-to be for their
flesh. But within Jerusalem's walls,          inspiration of the Spirit he says, "Pray     labors. Scripture says, "Pray! Pray
within the circle of the communion of         for the peace of Jerusalem." It was not      for the peace of Jerusalem." Have
saints, there exists peace with God           to preserve David's- throne but to           you been praying for that in your
through Jesus Christ.                         preserve the house of the Lord that          homes and in your churches? Have
     This peace is our great concern.         was in Jerusalem. That is why David          youbeenprayingthatthatpeacemight
We have peace with God and there-             seeks the peace of Jerusalem. David          be evident in the  meetings  of our
fore peace with one another within            seeks peace because of its spiritual         Synod? Have you been praying that
the church. David saw that. He                profitability.                               the decisions of Synod may contrib-
wantedpeaceinJerusalembecauseof                   This prosperity is not merely            ute to the peace of Zion?
the house of Jehovah where God's              physical riches. David is not speak-             It is urgent. The church must
people worship Him. He empha-                 ing of a peace that contributes to           gather together and the individual
sizes, "Because of the house of the           material well-being. It is true that         must continue to pray that God who
Lord our God I will seek thy good."           often, in the Old Testament, Israel          has in His Word promised peace will
He was interested in coming there             received material gifts in the way of        give it freely and abundantly. It is
freely with all of the saints to offer the    obedience. When they disobeyed,              ours already through the cross of our
sacrifices and offerings. It was there        God punished them by taking from             Lord Jesus Christ. It is ours according
that God had established His Name.            them those things which they pos-            to the eternal counsel and purpose of
There God's people could praise and           sessed. Today this prosperity con-           God. And we enjoy that peace con-
worship Him.                                  sists of spiritual blessings. It is the      sciously in the way of earnest prayer
     Synod must seek this same peace          riches of grace freely given. It is a        and supplication.
in their meetings. The decisions which        spiritual joy and peace in the Lord.             God answers prayers uttered in
are taken affect all of our churches.         He who seeks the peace of Jerusalem          harmony with His Word. When we
The task is not simply to unravel             enjoys in that way fellowship with           pray for peace in Jerusalem, when we
some tangles and unknot some prob-            God and peace one with another. This         pray for the members of Synod who
lems. This work is to promote Scrip-          the church desires and prays for. All        labor toward that peace, God pro-
tural peace - peace in Jerusalem.             this prosperity flows from the cross.        vides according to His Word.
This demands of Synod decisions                   This comfort and peace we also               With respect to Synod and the
which glorify God's Name, maintain            seek of our God. We come to Him in           decisions it makes, continue to pray;
His Word, and promote the cause of            prayer and supplication for peace,           and continue to believe that God will
His church on this earth. His Name            spiritual peace, within the churches.        answer. This is seeking the good of
must be proclaimed still from our             Then we do not "major in minors."            God's church. Surely He will bless
pulpits and in the mission fields. And        We do not argue for the sake of argu-        His work in our churches and in the
this must be done in the way of up-           ment. We do not create problems              mission fields. There will be peace in
holding the truths of God's Word and          where there is no problem. We do not         II Jerusalem." 0
condemning all error. The concern,            backbite or slander, disturbing the
the deep concern of the church, and           peace of Zion. But the concern of the

412  /Standard Bearer  I  July, 1993


       PRC Synod of Hudsonville,
                                                     1993

    The Protestant Reformed                sion Committee geographically. The         case, The PsaIter, is an important el-
Churches in America (PRC) met in           United States, Canada, Australia,          ement of the unity of the denomina-
their annual synod from June 8             New Zealand, and Europe are the            tion and, as such, maybe revised only
through June 14. It was a larger synod     responsibility of the Domestic Mis-        by synod" ("Acts," Art. 30). The
than those of the past. Each classis       sionCommittee.  Therest of theworld        protest contended that synod's deci-
sent five ministers and five ruling        falls to the Foreign Mission Commit-       sion "elevates non-doctrinal matters
elders for a total of twenty delegates.    tee. Synod's adoption of this division     to the position of being essential for
The officers chosen by the delegates       of labor represented a change in mis-      church unity, which extra-scriptural
were Rev. James Slopsema, president;       sion policy.                               elevation -though purportedly for
Rev. Ron VanOverloop, vice-presi-              One protest against a decision of      the sake of unity-violates the unity
dent; Rev. Barry Gritters, first clerk;    last year's synod argued that the          of the church." Synod 1993 did not
and Rev. Dale Kuiper, second clerk.        church may not receive a "weaker           sustain the protest. Its grounds, in
                                           brother" who makes a matter indif-         part, were the following:
Protests and Overtures                     ferent in itself a matter of principle.
    Synod gave judgment on several         Synod rejected the protest declaring           The 1992 decision does not make
overtures and protests. Among them         that Romans 14 and I Corinthians 8           the use of the 1912 Presbyterian
were the following. Classis West pro-      teach that the church must receive           Psalter an essential element of unity,
posed a procedure to be followed in        such a weaker brother, although he           but rather an important  element. In
receiving ministers from other de-         may not judge his fellow member or           effect, the protest confuses the differ-
                                                                                        ence between the church's basis of
nominations. Synod adopted this            militate against settled and binding         unify and the important expression of
procedure, which is now appended           decisions of the churches.                   the  organic unify  of the churches. Our
to Article 9 of the Church Order of the        Another protest objected to the          essenfialunity,orbasisofunity,~s the
PRC. We publish this procedure else-       decision of the 1992 Synod of South          unityinthetruthasexpressedbyour
where in this issue of the Stnn&rd         Holland that an individual consis-           confessions - the "Three Forms of
Bearer. The Foreign Mission Com-           torymightnotrevisethebookofsong              Unity." The use of synodically ap-
mittee asked synod to divide mission       used by the PRC, The Psalter. The            proved songbooks is an expression
work between the Foreign Mission           decision of the 1992 synod was: "The         of our organic unity, comparable to
Committee and the Domestic Mis-            songbook  of a denomination, in this         the use of synodically approved cat-
                                                                                        echismbooks. That thisorganicunity
                                                                                       isimportantisevident from  thebless-
                                                                                       ing the PRC  have  experienced, and
                                                                                        continue to experience, from all the
                                                                                       congregations using the same
                                                                                        songbook. Any member can visit
                                                                                       any other congregation in the de-
                                                                                       nomination and sing the same songs
                                                                                       he singsin his own congregation. He
                                                                                       does not feel strange, but very much
                                                                                       at one with the members of this sister
                                                                                       congregation. The singing obviously
                                                                                       contributes to this unity.(The 1992)
                                                                                       synod's concern in this decision was
             Pre-Advice, Committee I: Prof. Hanko, Rev. Bruinsma,                      for good order in the Churches, and
                                                                                       synod  rejected (the particular
          Rev. VanOverloop, Mr. E. VanVoorthuysen,  Mr. C. Doezema

                                                                                                July,  1993 I Standard Bearer I  413


                                                                                           Missions
                                                                                                The Mission Committee gave an
                                                                                           encouraging report of the work in
                                                                                           Northern Ireland.

                                                                                             This has been an exciting time. We
                                                                                             believe we see the clear evidence of
                                                                                              God'sblessings  upon the labors. We
                                                                                              do not, and must not, expect great
                                                                                              numbers. But we believe it will soon
                                                                                             be  possible, with patient labor, to
                           Pre-Advice, Committee II: Rev. Haak,                               establishachurchhereinBallymena.
                      Mr. C. Kalsbeek, Mr. U. Tolsma, Rev. Gritters                           The Fellowship is con&dering  sev-
                                                                                              eral options concerning a building
  consistory's)  appealbecause (it) went       narians may receive from $5,400 to             for a permanent worship site here.
  about revising The Psalter in an im-         $7,000 per year.                               They express also their appreciation
  proper way, that is, without seeking             Synod asked the churches to take           to our churches for the help which
  synodical  approval.                         collections for the addition to the            has been provided for them in their
                                               Seminary building and urged the                need.
The Seminary                                   Theological School Committee  ag-
     Synod admitted sixnew students
into the Seminary. Four aspire to the
ministry in the PRC. One is from the
First Evangelical Reformed Church
of Singapore and intends to study for
three years in order to serve as a
minister of the Word in our sister
churches in Singapore. The PRC are
committed to help in the financial
support of this married seminarian
from our sister church. The other
student admitted by synod is a mem-
ber of the Reformed Church of
America (RCA) and will study for the                               he-Advice, Committee III: Mr. D. Engelsma,
ministry in that denomination. With                                  Mr. E. Grifters, Rev. Dykstra, Rev. Koole
the six presently enrolled, this makes         gressively to promote awareness of          The PRC now have a missionary on
a total of twelve full-time students in        the need for individual contributions       the field in Northern Ireland. Rev.
the Seminary in the coming school              to this project. About $10,000 is           Ron Hanko has accepted that call and
year.                                          needed in order to draw the plans,          has taken up the work. The calling
     At the suggestion of the Student          and about $100,000 is needed in order       church is the Hudsonville, Michigan
Aid Committee, synod increased the             to begin building.                          PRC. This congregation has exerted
maximum allowable aid that semi-                                                           itself on behalf of the work this past
                                                                                           year, includingloaningits pastor, Rev.
                                                                                           Gise VanBaren,  to the mission group
                                                                                           for six months.
                                                                                                Besides helping the Lynden PRC
                                                                                           in the broadcasting of its worship
                                                                                           service over a local station, synod
                                                                                           again  approved the denominational
                                                                                           support of the airing of the Reformed
                                                                                           Witness Hour radio broadcast over
                                                                                           five stations. These stations are in
                                                                                           Kalamazoo, Michigan; Oskaloosa,
                                                                                           Iowa; Denver, Colorado; Femdale,
                                                                                           Washington; and Edmonton, Alberta.
                                                                                           The cost is about $20,000 per year.
                                                                                           Synod appointed a committee to help
                         Pre-Advice, Committee IV: Rev. Kuiper,                            the Mission Committee develop anew
                          Mr. K. DeJong, Rev. Key, Mr. K. Vink                             approach to radio.
414  /Standard Bearer I  July, 1993


                                                                                       .sion); and heard from `its Contact
                                                                                       Committee that the committee has
                                                                                       accepted the invitation from'the'Inde-
                                                                                       pendent  Reformed Church of Cam-
                                                                                       .bridge, Ontario to speak in that area,
                                                                                       introducing the PRC.
                                                                                           `Although there was little contact
                                                                                       with the Evangelical Presbyterian
                                                                                       Church  ,of Australia during the past
                                                                                       year, two men from that Church are
                                                                                       being trained for the ministry in the
                                                                                       Seminary of.the PRC. These men, Mr.
            Pre-Advice, Committee V:` Rev. Miersma, Rev. Slqketha,                     ,Chris Connors and,Mr. David Higgs,
               Prof. En&ma, Mr. G. VanOverloop,  Mr. R;.Dran&                          are to finish.their  three-year program
    In light of the report'of troubles in    Joint Mission Committee, the Theo-        this coming year.
the Jamaica field during this past year      logical Training Committee, and the
and after lengthy discussion, synod          Contact Committee of the Evangeli-        Various Matters
instructed "the Mission Committee            calReformed  Churches of Singapore.           Investigatory work continues on
and First Church that First Church               Rev. Rod Miersma, pastor of the       obtaining synodically funded group
discontinue calling a missionary and         Protestant Reformed Church of             insurance for all the ministers in the
that the field be closed. Grounds: (1)       Wellington, New Zealand, was              PRC.
God in His providence has not en-            present at synod as a fraternal del-.         An index to all the "Acts of
abled us to work the vast and difficult      egate from that sister church. Rev.       Synod" of the PRC is being made by
field in Jamaica as this kind of field       Miersma addressed synod, bringing         Don and Judi Doezema and will be
requires. All the methods which have         the greetings of that congregation,       ready by the 1994 synod.
been attempted over the course of            expressing thanks for the help of the         The PRC continued their steady
over thirty years.. . have not resulted      PRCin America, andinforming synod         growth over the past year and now
in strong indigenous churches. (2)           of the condition and work of the New      number 1435 families.
The annual reports over the past sev-        Zealand church.                               The synodical  budget for 1994 is'
eral years give no indication that the           Synod recommended sending an          $840,000. This requires $570 from
life in the churches of Jamaica has          observer to NAPARC  (North Ameri-         each family in the denomination, the
progressed as a result of all our la-        can Presbyterian and Reformed Coun-       same as in 1993.
bors." Synod expressed its apprecia-         cil); authorized the Contact Commit-          Faith PRC in Jenison, Michigan
tion to First Church, Grand Rapids           tee to send observers to the Alliance     will host the 1994 synod, the Lord
for its work on behalf of Jamaica.           of Reformed Churches (ARC); did           willing.
    As a means to discover possible          not approve the request of the Con-           May God bless the deliberation
work in Africa, the -Foreign Mission         tact Committee to send observers to       and decisions of synod to the welfare
Committee is airing a 15-minute  ra-'        the International Conference of Re-       of the PRC, the maintenance and pro-
dio broadcast, "the Protestant Re-           formed Churches (ICRC) meeting in         motion of the truth, the good of the
formed Witness," on Radio Africa.            Zwolle, the Netherlands in Septem-        church catholic, and the glory of His
Rev. Richard Moore, pastor of the            ber (on the ground that synod lacked      adorable name.
Hull, Iowa PRC prepares the mes-             sufficient information to make a deci-                                           - DJE
sages. Synod approved the request of
the Foreign Mission Committee that
the committee obtain an additional
radio station in Africa. The commit-
tee maintains correspondence with
Ghana, Africa and is optimistic about
future work in Ghana.

Contact
    Synod concurred with the deci-
sion of the Covenant Evangelical Re-
formed Church of Singapore that Rev.
Jay Kortering continue another year
as pastor of that sister church. Rev.
Kortering continues to work with the                                         synod in session

                                                                                                   July,  1993 / Standard Bearer  / 415


     Procedure for Admission of Ministers from
                                            Other Denominations*
1. A minister from another denomi-                           1) A declaration of his rea-            shall proceed to the rest of the
     nation desiring entrance into the                           sons for desiring en-               examination. The examination
     ministry of the Protestant Re-                              trance into the ministry            shall follow the regular adopted
     formed Churches under Article 9                             of the Protestant Re-               schedule for the classical exami-
    of the Church O&r shall apply to                             formed Churches and an              nation of candidates for the min-
     the Protestant Reformed classis                             account of his back-                istry (cf. Article 4) with two addi-
     nearest to which he resides.                                ground in the ministry.             tions: Protestant Reformed
     a. The minister making appli-                           2) A testimonial from the               distinctives, and Knowledge of
          cation shall have publicly re-                         consistory or session un-           the  Church Order  of the Protes-
          signed his ministry and his                            der which he previously             tant Reformed Churches. In ad-
          membership in his former                               labored concerning his              dition, the applicant must express
          congregation and denomina-                             purity of doctrine and              a willingness to abide by any past
          tion.                                                  sanctity of life. If this is        decisions of the Protestant Re-
     b. The minister making appli-                               not possible because his            formed Synods concerning doc-
          cation shall meet with and                             leaving makes him a per-            trine and practice.
          seek the advice of a nearby                            sona non grata, the classis     4. After classis approves his exami-
          Protestant Reformed consis-                            shall make investigation            nation, with the concurrence of
          tory.                                                  of the applicant's previ-           the SynodicalDeputies,  theclassis
          1) The consistory shall in-                            ous labors.                         shall declare the applicant eligible
               terview the minister suf-                     3) A diploma, or statement              to receive a call into the ministry
               ficiently to make recom-                          of credits, from an ac-             of the Word and sacraments in
               mendations to the classis                         credited college and rec-           the Protestant Reformed
               concerning the appli-                             ognized seminary, to                Churches, without further need
               cant's qualifications for                         show this scholastic at-            of examination.
               them.inistryintheProtes-                          tainment of the applicant.      5. Thenewlyacceptedministershall
               tant Reformed Churches                        4) A statement of health                be required to sign the Formula
               and to                   determine                from a physician.                   of Subscription before the meet-
               whether they would be                 2. Classis  shall act upon the                  ing of classis adjourns and shall
               willing to hold his minis-                applicant's request, with the con-          be presented with a classical di-
               terial credentials until he               curring advice of the Synodical             ploma.
               accepts a call, should                   Deputies, taking into consider-          6. His eligibility for a call shall be
               classis approve his exam                  ation the following:                        announced to the churches.
               and declare him eligible                  a. All the documents listed un-         7. Until the newly approved minis-
               f         o    r         acall.               der l.c. above are found to be          ter accepts a call, his ministerial
          2) The advice of the consis-                       in good order.                          credentials shall be held by a Prot-
               tory shall be forwarded                  b. The need for ministers in the             estant Reformed consistory ap-
               to the Classical Commit-                      Protestant Reformed de-                 pointed by classis.
               tee along with the                            nomination at the time of the           a. This consistory shall super-
               applicant's formal re-                        application.                                vise the interim labors of the
               quest for entrance into               3. If the applicant's request is ap-                minister and shall see to the
               `the ministry of the Protes-             proved, classis shall set a date for             needs of his financial sup-
               tant Reformed Churches.                   convening another classis for the               port. Financialassistancemay
     c. The minister making appli-                      purpose of examining the appli-                  be sought from sister congre-
          cation shall furnish the fol-                 cant, andshallinstruct the Classi-               gations, if this is deemednec-
          lowing documentation:                         cal Committee to draw up an                      essary.
                                                         examination schedule. The exam              b. If the minister does not re-
                                                         shall commence with a specimen                  ceive a call after three years,
                    -                                    sermon, which sermon must be                    he, with the advice of his con-
*This procedure was adopted by the                       approved by classis and the Syn-                sistory, shall request Classis
1993 synod of the PRC.                                   odical Deputies before classis                  to renew his eligibility. iJ

416 /Standard Bearer  I  July, 1993


n Nonsensical, Simplistic,                   to tit into a logical, rational (istic)      W  PRCTruth
Paranoid, Theologically Biased,              scheme. There is no room for para-               I have recently begun reading
Rationalistic                                doxesorfortruthswhichappeartous              your magazine and would like to tell
    Re  "The Date is 1924" (Standard         to be contradictory. Our minds are           you that I enjoy it; however, I have a
Bearer, May 15), I find it both distress-    the final arbiter of what is true and not    question. On page 295 of the April 1,
ingand annoying that the editor does         true. Would to God that our PR               1993 issue, there is a reference to "the
the very thing for which he castigates       brothers would face up to this once.         pure PRC truth of God's eternal cov-
other churches. It is ludicrous to                               (Rev.) JeZle Tuininga    enant." What is "PRC truth?" Is the
suggest that there is one single date                Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada          Protestant Reformed Church the cus-
that accounts for all the woes of the                                                     todian of some special knowledge
Christian Reformed Church (CRC). I           Response:                                    (gnosis)? Please comment.
wish to God that the Protestant Re-              The Rev. Tuininga, leader in the                                      V.P. Agricola
formed (PRC), Canadian Reformed,             Alliance of Reformed Churches                                        Alberta, Canada
and others would stop this nonsense.         (ARC), must not call names, but dis-         Response
I wish they would cease being so             cuss the issues.                                 The phrase, "pure PRC truth of
myopic and realize that church his-              I propose the following as a start:      God's eternal covenant," originally
tory is far more complicated than                1) The doctrine of a grace of God        appeared in an article by Herman
suggestedby this editorial. Not every        in the blessed gospel for all who hear       Hoeksema.
thing that took place in 1924 was            the preaching as adopted in 1924 by              What he meant was that the PRC
above board and pleasing to God, but         the CRC in the first point of common         faithfully confess thebiblical doctrine
that surely wasn't the beginning of          grace has led to the teaching of uni-        of the covenant. Tested by Scripture
liberalism in the CRC. Nor was 1944          versal atonement; the denial of double       and the Reformed confessions, the
for that matter. The Reformed                predestination (election andreproba-         doctrine of the covenant held by the
Churches in the Netherlands (GKN)            tion); the silencing of the bold, faith-     PRC proves itself to be the pure Word
never had a "1924," so what caused           ful proclamation of the doctrines of         of God.
the apostasy there? And what about           sovereign grace; and the utter inabil-           Similar would be the expression,
thePresbyterianChurchwhichousted             ity to refute Arminianism,  semi-            "the pure Reformed truth of God's
Machen: It never had a 1924 or 1944,         Pelagianism, and outright universal-         predestination." The theologian or
yet it became apostate too. Let's stop       ism when they appear.                        church using this expression would
being so simplistic in our analyses.             2) The doctrine of a work of the         mean that the doctrine of election and
    I also ardently wish that the PRC        Holy Spirit within unregenerated             reprobation found in Reformed
would get beyond 1924 once and stop,         humans -the world outside of Jesus           churches is God's own pure truth.
ridingtheirhobby-horses. Their"fixa-         Christ -restraining sin and enabling             The PRC have a distinctive con-
tion" with 1924 borders on the para-         unbelievers to do good as adopted in         ception of the covenant. Hoeksema
noid. A "Vrijgemaakte"  ("Liberated")        1924 by the CRC in the second and            confidently claimed that it is nothing
student once put creation, the Refor-        third points of common grace has led         less than the (special) revelation of
mation, and 1944 in the same cat-            to the breakdown of the antithesis as        God in Holy Scripture.
egory. Sometimes the PRC do the              regards separation from and hatred               This claim is subject to the testing
same with 1924.                              of both the world's thinking (univer-        of Scripture and the creeds.
    Though I have no illusion that it        salism, a human Bible, evolution,                                                - Ed.
will ever take place, I wish our PR          feminism) and the world's behavior
brothers would come to see once that         (movie attendance, dancing, divorce          1 Roman Catholic Baptism
there is indeed a proper, biblicalview       and remarriage, homosexuality).                  When I became a member of my
of common grace, and that this in no             3) These pernicious fruits of the        church I took a vow to receive the
way threatens the biblical teaching of       doctrine of common grace adopted             body of doctrine contained in the
the antithesis, nor does it in any way       by the CRC in 1924 are not only natu-        Westminster Confession of Faith
jeopardize the emphasis on the sover-        ral fruits but also the judgment of          along with its catechism as being in
eign, particular grace of God. The sad       God upon the sin of deposing                 agreement with the Word of God.
fact is that the PR teachings on these       officebearers and casting out believ-        Therefore, I must voice disagreement
points (including the well-meant of-         ers and their children for the "of-          with your editorial response to the
fer of the gospel) arose from a pre-         fence" of holding fast the Reformed          subjectofrebaptismfoundintheStan-
conceived theological mold (bias)            truths of sovereign, particular grace.       dard Bearer, April 1,1993.
where the teachings of Scripture have                                         - DJE           The Westminster standards teach

                                                                                                     July, 1993 I Standard Bearer I417


                                                                  :

that there are certain qualifications as.        magazine; the-  Standard Bearer.  It         Jan; 1; 1993), Rev.. John Heys` wrote
to whomaybebaptizedandwhomay                     reflects your position which is clear        t h i s :
perform a baptism. I would refer any.            Calvinism, a ,view ,which is ever be-
interested parties to chapter 28 of the          coming rarer. Indeed there is a spe-           In the beginning God created, the
Confession and questions 165 and                 ties of Calvinism "which neither sat-          heavens and the earth in six days;
166 of the Larger Catechism. There isfies a' Calvinist nor `offends an                          and the seventh day He rested. As
one may read, "There `be `only `two              ,Arminian," to.quote a Scottish Free         : we are coming near to the day when
sacraments ordained' by Christ our               Churchman of the past.                         6,000  years have passed since that
                                                                                                weekin  which God created all things
Lord in the gospel; that is to say,                  However,Iwouldliketoaskyour                in heaven and on earth....
Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord:             opinion on a, matter which I came
neither of whichmaybe'dispensedby                .across  recently. Did Cornelius VanTil          How does .Rev. Heys come to
any, but by a minister of the Word               espouse the doctrine of "common              have confidence in the approximate
lawfully ordained." A Romanist min-              grace"? I would appreciate your              date of Creation being 6,000 years
ister does not meet this qualification.          knowledge on this area and anyinfor-         ago? Does he do this by the biblical
We also read, "..:whereby  the`parties           i-nation you can `offer.                     genealogies or by some other means?
baptized are solemnly admitted into                                           famf% Frew          I am not opposing his date. In
the visible church . . . . II Once again, the                          Springside, Irvine     fact, I am delighted to see him put the
Romish church may claim to be the                                               Scotland      figure of 6,000 years in print, for it is,
visible church, but we know better.              Response:                                    I believe, correct. But I am interested
Finally, we can find the qualification               Cornelius VanTil took his own            in knowing his proofs and defense of
that the one baptized must be a pro-             approach to the issue and expressed          the age of the earth.
fessingbeliever or the child of one. If          himself in his own philosophical man-                                        Al Salmon
this were the case, except someone be            ner, but he certainly embraced the                                    Moorestown, NJ
an uninformed babe in Christ, there is           theory of common grace. His views            Response:
no reason for him to be in a Romish              on the subject are found in his Com-             In reply to Brother Salmon's re-
church. It is for this reason that I             mon Grace and the Gospel (Presbyte-          quest that I give the reason for my
would say that someone from the                  rian and Reformed Publishing Co.,            assuming that the world is now about
Romishchurch was never baptized at               1972),  a collection of his essays and       6,000 years old, I suggest that it is
all but rather went through a ritual             articles on common grace. According          indeed a matter of the genealogies.
mockery of the sacrament. Just as the            to VanTil, God expresses a favorable         There are in the Old Testament re-
Lord's Supper has become invalid                 attitude toward the reprobate, not           peated references to time, both in the
when conducted by Rome, so has                   only in the bounties of providence           genealogies and in the recording of
baptism.                                         (rain and sunshine) but also in the          significant events. Though there are
     Now if you refer to the argument            well-meant offer of the gospel. With         some differences of opinion as to the
of John Calvin I would answer that it            reference to what the Christian Re-          exact number of years in the genealo-
was valid for his day. The church was            formed Church called the "general            gies, many Bible scholars agree that
still cutting its ties from Rome. For            offer of the gospel" as the manifesta-       the time from creation to the birth of
many Rome was the visible church                 tion of God's common grace, which            Christ is about 4,000 years. I have, for
during their youth and as such met               VanTil describes as "this most per-          example, aBible printedby the World
the qualifications to conduct baptisms           plexingaspectoftheperplexingprob-            Publishing Association. That Bible
(which also answers the question of              lem of common grace" (p. 75), VanTil         presents the first chapter of Genesis
the validity of apostate O.T. priests            declares that "we may think of the           asrevealingwhathappened4,004B.C.
conducting circumcisions). Once the              universal offer of salvation as an evi-      Similarly Alfred Edersheim, D.O.,
church had reformed and broken ties              dence of common grace" (p. 82).              Ph.D., in his book, Old Testament
for several generations this was not                 Throughout, VanTil is critical of        History, puts creation at 4,004 B.C.
longer true.             *                       HermanHoeksema'srejection  of com-           Nave's Study  BibZe,   published by
     I would be interested in receiving          mon grace.                                   Baker Book House, makes it 4,045
a copy of your 1988 "Acts of Synod                   Hoeksema devotedno fewer than            B.C. rather than 4,004.
and Yearbook of the Protestant Re-               14 editorials in volumes 19 and 20 of            Even as God rested the seventh
formed Churches in America" tolearn              the Standard Bearer to an examina-           day after six days of creating heaven
more of how you arrived at your                  tion of  VanTil's  view of common            and earth and all that they contain, it
stand on this issue.                             grace.                                       is evident that now, 6,000 years since
                                Ric Kostbar                                        - E d .    the creation of all things, we are com-
                               Howell, NJ                                                     ing close to that everlasting Day of
                                                 W The Age of the Earth                       Rest of which we read in Revelation
n Clear Calvinism                                    In his article, "Our Constant and        22:5-7.
     I wish to offer my thanks for your          Certain Safety" (the Standard Bearer,                         - Rev. John A. Heys
416 /Standard Bearer I  July, 1993


                      The Reformed Farnib:
                                               Freedom
            "Called unto liberty"           dance with the Scriptures. Secretly            America has produced a society of
                          Galatians 5:13    meeting for worship, furtively  read-          rebels? In such a society, women are
                                            ing a few verses from the Bible behind         free to divorce their husbands, hus-
     Ranking right up there on any          blackened blinds, baptizing our in-            bands are free to abandon their wives,
 American's priority list is freedom.       fantsin the pastor's study late at night       parents are free to turn over the care
Personal freedom, religious freedom,        without recording the child's name in          of their children to day-care centers,
and societal freedom are considered         the church registry are all outside the        children are free to sue their parents,
to be not only a privilege but the right    pale of our experience.                        the state is free to murder its unborn
of each and every one of us.                     In America it seems impossible,           children, the homosexual is free to
     Our nation was forged on the           something dredged out of darkest               leave his closet, the employer is free
anvil of freedom. In an eloquent            fiction, even to imagine life without          to be a Simontegree, the employee is
statement,memorizedby  schoolchil-          liberty. Bosnia and Croatia are just           free to be a Tom Sawyer, and the
dren throughout this land, the Decla-       countries in ethnic turmoil, far, far          sexual pervert is free to publish his
ration of Independence reads: "We           away, not even remotely connected              pornography. Everyone is free to
hold these truths to be self-evident,       to the life and freedom we have come           express any deviant thought of his
that all men are created equal, that        to enjoy. We are a free people. Com-           heart. And in the church women are
they are endowed by their Creator           plete liberty is ours. It is guaranteed        free to be ministers, elders, and dea-
with certain unalienable Rights, that       to us in our Constitution. No govern-          cons. No one bends the knee to any
among these are Life, Liberty and the       ment will ever tell us what to do, or          other. Each of us has rights, and no
pursuit of Happiness."                      how to do it, or when, or where. And           one is reluctant to exercise them. One
     Throughout our two hundred-            every advertisement and jingle touts           has only to "stand up" and claim
year existence, the courts of this land     this message. "Just do it!" "Do your           them.
have tested the extent of this liberty      own thing." UDo it your way."                       How different is Scripture's in-
again and again. How high is free-               As the passionate, though some-           terpretation of freedom. Here, free-
dom? How broad? How comprehen-              what addled, James Otis declaredback           dom has bounds. It has limitations to
sive? How loudly, or how softly,            in 1775 when the Sons of Liberty were          excess. It has restraints. The Apostle
does the bell of liberty toll?              meeting in a cramped and confining             Paul says in Galatians 5:13 and 14:
     As a nation, we have never been        attic in Boston: "It is all so much            "For brethren, ye have been called
subjected to any other country. No          simpler than you think," he said. He           unto liberty, only use not liberty for
soldier with drawn bayonet has ever         lifted his hands and pushed against            an occasion to the flesh, but by love
occupied our streets. The ominous           the rafters. "We give all we have,             serve one another. For all the law is
tramp of military boots at corner or        lives, property, safety, skills...we fight,    fulfilled in one word, even in this;
crossroads is as foreign to us as snow      we die, for a simple thing. Only that          Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy-
in July.                                    amancanstandup" (Johnny Tremain,               self."
     AsaReformedpeopleinAmerica,            by Esther Forbes).                                 Not a life of license, then, but the
committed to a particular religious             That's what freedom is all about           life of love.
belief, we have been free all these         - so a man can stand up!                           Just observe what has happened
many years to worship God in accor-             These are stirring lines from our          n biblical history to those who have
                                            history's record, and even the most            stood up, to those who have used
                                            indifferent student sits a little              heir liberty to license. Eve stood up,
                                            straighter upon hearing these patri-           md she was escorted out of Paradise;
Mrs. Lubbers is a wife and mother in the    otic, a&American sentiments.                   9dam stood up, and he spent therest
Protestant Reformed Church of South             Forged in freedom, but reared in           )f his days stooped over a hostile
Holland, Illinois.                          revolution, is it any wonder that              errain of thorns and thistles; Miriam

                                                                                                     July,  1993  I Standard Bearer  I419


 stood up, and she was smitten with              do I enjoy complete liberating free-         well. And he knew mankind well.
 leprosy; Moses stoodup,  calling God's          dom. There I can say with Paul that          Horses and human beings need the
 people "Ye rebels," and he never set           though I am a slave or prisoner, yet          harness.
 one foot on Canaan's soil; Jonah stood         am I free.                                         God has laid down his declara-
 up, and he was dropped into a howl-                 So much of Jesus' teaching was           tion for perfect freedom in the Ten
 ing, raging sea. All these stood up,           by paradox: through poverty I am              Commandments. His law is the har-
 and without divine restoration they            made rich; the least is the greatest; the     ness in which each of us may live and
 would have perished. Standing up               1astshallbefirst;outofweepingcomes            movecomfortably. All those 10 don'ts
 outside the liberty as prescribed for          rejoicing; it is in giving that I receive.    against which men of every culture
 each of us in God's Word has dread-            Paradoxically, then, it is in kneeling        and creed chafe - keep them per-
 ful consequences, now and in the life          that I stand up.                              fectly, do them willingly, and you
 to come.                                            ThelateRobertFrostdefinedfree-           move easy in the harness. Defy them,
      Freedom, according to Scripture,          dom this way: Freedom consists of             strain all your life long against this
 has very little to do with "so that a          "moving easy in the harness." The             harness, and you strangulate.
 man can stand up." It has everything           poet laureate from Vermont may not                This is the simple truth about
 to do with a believer on his knees.            have been familiar with the teachings         freedom.
 Only prostrate, at the foot of the Cross,      oftheapostlePaul,butheknewhorses                  Let freedom ring! 0
 confessing my pride and perversity,





                                                come to us from you. A special note           during the day. That may not seem to
     As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is    of appreciation to those who have             you to be cold for winter, but add an
good news from a far county.                    sent faithfully each month the bulle-         all-day drizzle, with a fresh southerly
                            Proverbs 25:25      tins, church and school newsletters,          blowing from the southpole, and you
                                                other church periodicals, and even            have abone-chiller.  Perhaps the saints
     GreetingsfromNewZealand!  As               such gems as the Doon  Press (by way          in Northern Ireland can relate to that
we are refreshed by the good news               of Grand Rapids, mind you). Such              kind of weather. Now add the fact
which we receive from you, so we                regular church and school news means          that most homes and churches do not
pray that likewise you may be re-               much to us and is enjoyed by all the          have central heating. The church in
freshed in hearing form us. There are           families of the church. A fl thank you"       which we worship is heated by little
many thousands of miles separating              also to the third graders in Loveland         electric heaters high up on the wall,
us, a distance which seems to shrink            who each wrote a letter, many of              where most of the heat stays as well.
with each letter that arrives in the            them expressing that they thought             Meanwhile a cold draft on the floor
mail box. Several years have gone by            that they had "the best teacher in the        serves to keep your feet ice cold.
since you have heard from us in the             whole world." You would be sur-               However, we do have nice days also,
form of a newsletter in the Standard            prised at some of the news we learned         which make up for the unpleasant
Bearer.  Therefore, in response to a            from these letters. Then there are the        ones.
number of requests from many of you             evangelism committees who send to                 As to the weekly activities, they
for such an article I will use this op-         us their latest pamphlets, all of which       are what you would normally find in
portunity in this guest article to tell         are quickly read and then advertised          any of the Protestant Reformed
you alittle more about us here in New           and distributed here in our evange-           Churches: twice weekly worship ser-
Zealand.                                        lism efforts.                                 vices, catechism classes, and Bible
     However, before we start the                   As you read this, perhaps trying          studies. The departure from the nor-
news going your way we want to                  to stay cool with an air conditioner          mal would be in the circumstances
thank you for all the news that has             during the hot summer months, the             under which these activities are con-
                                                saints here in New Zealand are trying         ducted. Much of this is due to the fact
                                                to stay warm, for it is in the middle of      that we do not have our own church
                                                the winter here in the southern hemi-         building. Those of you who belong to
                                                sphere. The winters in the Wellington         small and/or beginning churches
                                                area are cold, wet, and windy. By             know firsthand what some of the dif-
                                                cold we mean that on some mornings            ficulties and inconveniences are. In
Rev. Miersma is pastor of the Protestant        we have frost, with temperatures              our case we rent a church building
Reformed Church  of  New Zealand.               climbing to about 45-50 degrees F.            from an Anglican congregation

420 /Standard Bearer  I  July, 1993


around whose schedule we must                 small flock is concerned? None. We          mixed in all of this are little groups of
work, which means that we cannot              do not want to tell you about the           people who belong to no church at all,
have our services until 11:OO a.m.            various things that we are doing and        but meet in homes and halls. What
Sometimes we must look for another            leave the impression that wonderful         one has as a result is a country which
place, when the Anglican congrega-            results are being achieved as to num-       is at heart godless. This is manifested
tion needs the building on particular         bers added. When all is said and            in every aspect of life. Complete
occasions for their own purposes. This        done, no matter what one has desired        indifference to the truth is the rule of
is only part of it. One also must             and how much he has labored, one            the day. And because we are small
contend with worshiping in a build-           must always come to the humble con-         and not well known, we are looked
ing which is sometimes quite foreign          clusion that it is only the Lord who        upon as one of so many little house
to what one's own buildingwould be.           will add to His church, and He will do      groups, some of which are cultic. It is
The song books and Bibles in the              that in His own time, when it His           in this spiritual wilderness that we
pews will all be different from the           pleasure to do so at all in a particular    labor, a difficult and often discourag-
familiar Psdter and King James Ver-           place. Meanwhile, we continue with          ing labor, but we are confident that
sion. One encounters such things as           the seven families that the Lord has        God knows who are His own and that
kneeling benches, the pulpit off to the       given us, five of which worship to-         He will gather them by the preaching
sideinstead of in the center, announce-       gether regularly in Wellington, and         of His Word, which the world calls
ments and pamphlets advertising               two of which continue to worship in         foolishness.
another church's activities and be-           their own homes. One of these fami-             Our labors, however, have not
liefs. Thus, in order to have what we         lies lives on the south island and the      been limited to New Zealand. In
need for our services, we must put            other a hundred miles north of              response to a call for help from the
out, all of the Bibles, PsaIters, and         Wellington.                                 Evangelical Presbyterian Church of
pamphletsbefore the service, and put              A few words should also be said         Australia, the Session sent the pastor
them away again when we are fin-              to give you a picture of the spiritual      and his wife to labor in the Bumie and
ished. The same applies to the equip-         climate in which we are laboring in         Launceston congregations in Tasma-
ment that is used to record the wor-          New Zealand. Let me do so by way of         nia for a period of three months, De-
ship services and to the sign outside         contrast and comparison. The Prot-          cember 1992 - February 1993. The
the church with our name and time of          estant Reformed Churches in America         church here in New Zealand knows
services printed on it.                       traditionally have been established         from experience what it is like to be
    Being without one's own build-            and continue to exist for the most part     without a minister for years at a time.
inghas an effect also on the mid-week         in areas that are relatively conserva-      Having their own minister now, they
activities. All Bible studies and cat-        tive, and in large part both Dutch and      deemed it a privilege to have the
echism classes, and Session and evan-         Reformed. You are quite at home and         opportunity and the means to help
gelism meetings must be held in the           very much like your neighbors and           someone in similar need. We pray
homes of the members of the congre-           others in the community. They have          that theLordwilluse this to strengthen
gation. The underlying disadvantage           the same background both culturally         and advance the cause of His king-
of all this is that it is very hard to        and religiously. That is reflected in       dom also in this part of the world.
establish our own identity in the corn-       the whole community in its schools,         One cannot express in words the hun-
munity. Through the Session, and the          churches, government, and busi-             ger and desire that was manifested
evangelism society working under it,          nesses. Theirwholewayoflifeisvery           for the Word of truth and the joy that
we are trying to establish that identity      similar to your own, When you speak         was evidenced in its reception. Let us
both in the vicinity of the church and        to them they know and understand            remember the fellow saints of the
elsewherethroughoutthetwoislands.             what you are saying.                        EPC of Australia when we come to
A bookshop  and tape library are es-              Here in New Zealand the situa-          the Lord's throne in our prayers.
tablished and advertised, booklets and        tion is quite different. Thirty percent         In conclusion, we want to thank
pamphlets are distributed country-            of the population are either natives or     all of you as individuals, families,
wide, and lectures are regularly given        immigrants whose worship is both            churches, and denomination for your
in various parts of the country. In the       heathenish and idolatrous. The other        prayers and support. The workcould
last couple of months we have been            seventy percent are white European          not continue as it presently is without
holding an afternoon worship service          immigrants,ofwhichonlyaverysmall            your generosity and love. The Lord
every other week about forty-five             part attend church regularly. The           willing, my wife and I hope to see
miles north of Wellington. At this            small remnant that do attend church         many of you soon, since we are sched-
stage it is too early to tell whether that    regularly, with few exceptions, be-         uled to have a vacation in the U.S.A.
will bear the positive fruit for which        long to denominations that have long        during your summer. We covet your
we are looking and working.                   left the truths of the Protestant Refor-    prayers and pray that the Lord may
    What has been the fruit of this           mation, or never had them, the Ro-          bless us together in our Lord and
labor as far as adding numbers to our         man Catholic Church being one. Now          Savior Jesus Christ. 0

                                                                                                   July, 1993 I Standard Bearer I421


            Rev. Kuiper, Elders D. Engelsma and G. VanOverZoop,                 Elders E. VanVoorthuysen
                                     Rev. Dykstra                                     and R. Brands





               Rev. Miersma, Rev. Kuiper,
                       Rev. Slopsema                                  Rev. Haak, Rev. Koole;
                                                                   Prof. Engelsma, Rev. Dykstra





                          Rev. Haak, Elder C. Kalsbeek
                                                                                  Prof. Hanko

422 /Standard Bearer /July,  1993


              Rev. Key, Elder K. Vink

                                                                                    Rev. Miersma





                                                                                              Rev. VanOverloop



Rev. Haak





                      Rev. Key, Rev. Hanko,`Rev.  Spriensma;Elder R. Brands





                        I
   Rev. Bruinsma                                            Elder U. Tolsma, Rev. Gritters

                                                                                   July,  1993  I Standard Bearer  I423


                                      Calvinism and Missions
                III. "Limited" Atonement

     The only way to do the work of             "His friends" (John 15:13).  He is said     in its power, for in itself it does not
evangelism and missions is by pro-              to die "that He might gather together       actually save anyone, since it needs
claiming a "limited" atonement!                 in one the children of God that were        the consent of eachpersonif he is to be
     "But," it is objected, "how can            scattered abroad" (John  11:52).  It is     saved. WhentheatonementofChrist's
mission work be effective if you can-           said that Christ "hath purchased  fhe       death is made universal, then its in-
not say that Christ died for all?" "How         church  with His own blood" (Acts           herent value is destroyed. If even one
can one press the claim of the Gospel           20:28).
                                                  If Christ died for everyone of            of those for whom Jesus died is lost,
upon an individual, if it cannot be             Adam's posterity, why should the            then salvation is not certain for any-
said to that person that Jesus died for         Scriptures so often restrict the object     one. If salvation is made objectively
him?"                                           of His death to a few? How could it,        possible for all, then the atonement
     For centuries these rhetorical             with propriety, be said absolutely          did not, actually, save anyone.
questions have been stated as charges           that Christ is the Saviour of His people        The best approach-no, the only
against the Reformed faith, as objec-           and of His body, if He is the Saviour of    approach - to the question of the
tions which are supposed to show the            others also?                                extent of the atonement is from the
fallacy of this faith. A girl in my                                                         viewpoint of the atonement itself. So
congregation recently was bluntly                 TheReformersandtheReformed                often the discussionimmediately goes
told, "You don't believe in missions,         faith contend that only a "limited"           to and stays on what should be the
or in witnessing."                            atonement is definite and sure, that
     The Reformed fathers faced and           only the proclamation of a "limited"
answered these same objections.               atonement makes the preaching the                      If salvation is made
Those inwhom the faith of our fathers         power of God unto salvation.
is living still must also answer these            The only way to do the work of              objectively possible  for  all,
objections.                                   evangelism and missions is by pro-              then the atonement did not,
     A son of the Reformation, Francis        claiming a "limited" atonement!
                                                           * *  *  *  rt  *  ,*                  actually, save anyone.
Turretin, wrote the following words
in the late 1600s. Notice how biblical            Did Jesus offer up Himself a sac-
his presentation is.                          rifice as an atonement for the whole          first word, the adjective: limited,
                                              human race, that is, for every indi-          universal, definite. First we should
     The mission and death of Christ          vidual without distinction, or was            consider the other word, the noun.
  arerestricted to a  limifed  number-to      His. sacrifice of Himself with special        You will know which adjective to use
  His people, His sheep, His friends,         reference to a definite number of hu-         when you know what atonement is
  His body - and nowhere extended             mans? Was His sacrifice intended to           and what the Bible says about atone-
  to all men severally and collectively.      make salvation possible for all men,
  Thus Christ is called  II Jesus" because                                                  ment.
                                              or was it intended to make salvation
  He shall save His peopZe from their                                                           Atonement is a satisfaction for a
                                              certain for those who had been given
  sins (Matt.  1:21). He is called the                                                      debt. The atonement spoken of in
  Saviour of His body (Eph. 5:23). The        to Him by the Father? Did He die for          Scripture is the full payment of the
  Good Shepherd lays down His life            all men, or did He die for the elect          debt of sin.
  for "the sheep" (John  1095)  and for       only?                                             Atonement means, first, that all
                                                  By the way, do not overlook the           men are fallen in Adam and therefore
                                              fact that everyone "limits" the atone-        deserve eternal death. The atone-
                                              ment. One either limits its extent or         ment is made necessary by the fact
                                              its power. The Calvinist believes that        that all men as sinners must be pun-
Rev. VanOverloop  is pastor of Bethel         the extent is limited, for it does not        ished according to the demand of
Protestant Reformed Church in ElkGrove        apply to all individuals. The Arminian        divine justice;
Village, Illinois.                            believes that the atonement is limited            Letusleamfromthewayinwhich

424 /Standard  Bearer / July, 1993


the Reformed fathers answered the           lismisbyproclaimingadefiniteatone-             sure sends the gospel." Therefore,
universal atonement of the Arminians        ment, consider the argument of the             those who do not repent and believe
in the "Second Head of Doctrine" of         Puritan John Owen.                             in Christ are themselves tobeblamed,
the Canons of Dordrecht. They began                                                        and it is not "any defect or insuffi-
their defense of limited or definite            God the Father in His judgment             ciencyinthesacrificeofferedby Christ
atonement by declaring the biblical           and wrath punished His  onlybegot-           upon the cross" (Canons  11/6,7).
truth of the atonement and man's              ten Son at the cross for either:                 As we strive to be obedient to the
need for it.                                    1. AZI the sins of all men;                command to teach all nations, we are
                                                2. AZZ  the sins of some men; or
                                                3. Some of the sins of aZZ men.            sure  that the sovereign God is using
    Article1  Godisnotonlysupreme-                                                         us and our preaching as His means to
  ly merciful, but also supremely just.         It must be one of the three, there-
                                              fore we see:                                 apply to the consciousness of the elect
  And his justice requires that our sins        1. If the third is true, all men still     the atoning sacrifice of His Son. We
  committed against his infinite maj-         have some sins to answer for, and            obey by going forth, preaching and
  esty should be punished, not only           then ozone will be saved.
  with temporal, but with eternal pun-                                                     teaching. We do not have to tell our
                                                2. If the second is true, then Christ
  ishment,bothinbodyandsoul;which                                                          audiences that Christ died for them.
                                              suffered for all the sins of the elect in
  we cannot escape, unless satisfaction                                                    Such a statement cannot be found
                                              the whole world, and these are truly
  be made to the justice of God.                                                           anywherein Acts, the "mission" book
                                              delivered by what Christ finished in         of the Bible. We do not find Christ
                                              His death on the cross.
    Atonement means, secondly, that             3. But if thefirst be the case, why        and the apostles saying, "God loves
a substitute was provided to take the         are not all men freed from all their         you and has a wonderful plan for
place of sinners. God made His own            sins and saved from the punishment           your life." They did not say, "Jesus
Son to be the Substitute.                     of hell?                                     died for you."
                                                My friends, there is no substitute
    Article 2 Since therefore we are          for the time-honored, God-exalting
  unable to make that satisfaction in         truth of substitutionary atonement             As a minister of the Gospel
  our own persons, or to deliver our-         - that Christ our Lord acfually bore
  selves from the wrath of God, he            the sins of those for whom He died                I do not have to labor
  hathbeenpleasedinhisinfinitemercy           specifically. He stood in the place of                under the burden
  to give his only begotten Son, for our      the "many" who would actually ex-               of the impossible, namely
  surety, who was made sin, and be-           perience complete deliverance from
  came a curse for us and in our stead,       all their sins! Read Isaiah 53:ll; Mat-          persuading people to do
  that he might make satisfaction to          thew  20:28;  Matthew  26:28;  Mark                    for  themselves
  divine justice on our behalf.               10:45;  Hebrews 9:28;  and John 1O:ll.           what Jesus left undone.
                                              My Lord Jesus Christ substituted for
    Concerning this substitutionary           "sheep" given Him by the Father,
atonement made by God's Son, con-             and not for the devil's "goats!"                 We are commanded to preach,
sider two thoughts. First, there is no               *  +  *  *  *  *  *                   not worrying about which ones are
injustice in the fact that Christ died                                                     those for whom Jesus died, not wor-
for some and not for others. No one             The impact that the truth of defi-         rying about who are the elect and
deserves from Christ a chance to be         nite atonement has upon the work of            who the reprobate. We preach His
saved, for all are fallen and deserve       evangelism and missions is immedi-             Gospel. God saves His people.
only hell. It is only out of abounding      ate and great.                                     We do not have to use the trick of
grace that Christ died for any at all.          The  doctrine of limited atonement
                                                                                           telling everybody in our audience that
And second, so perfect and so com-          puts no restrictions on the proclama-          they should not leave the begging
plete is His substitution that though       tion of the Gospel. Some say it does.          Christ, who died for them, outside of
all who will go to heaven are com-          But this objection does not arise from         their heart and life. As a minister of
pletely destitute of any merit of their     Scripture. Nowhere in the Word of              the Gospel I do not have to labor
own, they do go to heaven; and they         God can it be found that to be able to         under the burden of the impossible,
do so only on the basis of their Substi-    preach the Gospel to all nations one
                                            must have the message that Christ              namely persuading people to do for
tute. "The death of the Son of God is                                                      themselves what Jesus left undone.
the only and most perfect sacrifice         died for all the sins of all men.                  Of this Gospel we are not
and satisfaction for sin: and is of             The church must proclaim the               ashamed, for it is the power of God
infinite worth and value" (Canons of        promise of the Gospel that "whoso-
                                                                                           unto salvation to everyone that be-
Dordt, II, 3).                              everbelievethin Christ crucified shall
                                                                                           lieves (Rom. 1:16).  With the Bible we
    Before we defend our proposi-           not perish but have everlasting life"
                                                                                           declare that all humans are sinners
tion that the only way to witness or to     to "all nations and to all persons pro-
                                                                                           and that from their sinfulness and
do the work of missions or evange-          miscuously and without distinction
                                            to whom God out of His good plea-              sins arise all their problems and  diffi-

                                                                                                    July, 1993 / Standard Bearer I425


culties, which are a partial expression      that salvation is only in Jesus (Rom.       strains us to preach the atoning sacri-
of the wrath of God (Rom. 3:23; 2:5-9).      4:24-5:l).  This is the Gospel Paul was     fice of Christ on the mission field (II
We preach the biblical truth that no         inspired to preach. And this is the         Cor. 5:14). The love of God, which
one is saved by works, that good             Gospel we strive to be faithful to          freely gives to us forgiveness of all of
deeds do not justify anyone in God's         preach.                                     our sins and the consciousness of a
sight (Rom. 3:20). We preach that out             We rejoice to be able to preach the    perfect righteousness constrains us to
of free grace God was pleased to send        Gospel in such a way that men are           preach. That God reconciled us to
His own Son, Jesus Christ, to be the         called to a real and actual salvation.      Himself by Jesus Christ and has given
perfect Substitute and Redeemer              We preach an atonement full and free.       to us the ministry of reconciliation
(Ram, 3:24). Because the identity of         We preach a powerful redemption.            provides us with more than enough
thoseforwhom Jesusis thesubstitute                On the contrary, the preaching         motivation to present the Gospel in
is unknown, we proclaim to all the           which declares that Jesus died for all      missions and evangelism. If it is
command to repent and believe the            cheapens the Gospel and its procla-         merely a potential atonement until
truth of the Bible concerning God's          mation. Such preaching cheapens the         my faith takes hold of it, then I will be
Son. We teach that God uses the              precious blood of the Son of God.           motivated; but the motivation would
instrumentality of faith in Christ's         Such preaching makes the value of           be fear, not love. It would be the fear
sacrifice to bring the consciousness of      His death to be little. It makes the        of not being strong enough in my
justification and salvation (Rom. 3:24,      Gospel and its preaching, not the           faith, not good enough in my works.
25; 4:5). We preach that the ability to      power and wisdom of God unto sal-               It is the conviction that Christ's
believe, to have faith, is a gift of God,    vation, but a possibility and potenti-      blood graciously atoned for all of the
and that it is no more a work than is        ality.                                      sins of wretched sinners that con-
circumcision (Rom.  4:11, 16). We                       *  +  *  *  *  *  *              strains us to go into all the world and
preach the assurance of salvation and            It is the personal experience of the    to preach and witness to every crea-
of peace with God to all who believe         power of the atonement that con-            ture.  0





                              The Shameful in
                       of Homosexuality (1)

     There is a strong movement in               A great deal of interest in the gay     legality of Amendment 2 is beingchal-
our day to legitimize the sin of homo-       rights movement has been sparked            lenged  in the courts.
sexuality. The homosexuals (or gays,         recently on account of the adoption
as they are called) have not only come       by the citizens of Colorado of Amend-       Homosexual Propaganda
out of the closet, but are demanding         ment 2 which prohibits the state's              In recent years the homosexuals
public acceptance of their homosexu-         adoption of any law or policy that          have become increasingly aggressive
ality. They defend their life-style as       would provide homosexuals, lesbi-           in promoting their cause. Television
an "alternative life-style." And they        ans, or bisexuals with minority or          and  radio, newspapers and maga-
insist that their homosexuality be re-       protected status. The adoption of this      zines (secular and religious) advance
spected as a legitimate  "sexual pref-       amendment has caused a national             the homosexual viewpoint. Writers
e r e n c e . "                              furor. The homosexual establishment         in psychology, education, sociology,
                                             is up in arms. There are charges of         law, religion, and ethics lend their
                                             discrimination against gays. Threats        support.
Rev. Cammenga is pasfor of the Profes-       ofboycott against Colorado have been            Various organizations are in-
fanf Reformed Church of Loveland,            made by entertainers, organizations,        volved in the push for homosexual
Colorado.                                    and various cities. As expected, the        recognition and rights. These organi-

426 /Standard Bearer /July,  1993


zations include the National Gay and         Clinton is delivering on his promises.     group is more intolerant and discrimi-
Lesbian Task Force, Gay Lobby, Gay           At his insistence the ban against gays     natory than the homosexuals them-
Media Task Force, Lambda Legal               serving in the military is being struck    selves.
Defense and Education Fund (which            down, and huge sums of money are                In several recent lawsuits, oppo-
conducts litigation on behalf of ho-         being promised for AIDS research           nents of homosexuality have been
mosexuals), the National Gay Rights          and care of AIDS victims.                  found guilty of discrimination and
Activists, and the radical group ACT-            One of the areas in which the          were forced to pay punitive damages.
UP (Aids Coalition tounleash  Power).        homosexuals have concentrated their             An admitted homosexual "Big
The movement has also gained sup-            propaganda energy is education. By         Brother" applicant was told thatmoth-
port from the National Democratic            promoting their cause in the schools,      ers of prospective "clients" (boys)
Party, the National Education Asso-          especially the high schools and junior     wouldbe notified of his homosexual-
ciation, and the National Organiza-          highs, the homosexuals are convinced       ity. He filed suit. The agency was
tion for Women. Gay activists have           that they can gain sympathy and turn       fined$6,000,prohibitedfrominform-
the support of one of the richest politi-    public sentiment in their favor.           ing mothers of the homosexuality of
cal action committees in the country,            A 1992 Denver Public Schools           itsvolunteers, and required to initiate (
the Human Rights Campaign Fund.              Health and Science Education teach-        an affirmative action program to bring
Through the assistance of this PAC           ers' guide entitled, "Gayand Lesbian       homosexuals into the program.
they have successfully engineered            Youth Tools for Educators," was pre-            The Attorney General of Hawaii
political support for their life-style.      sented to teachers by gay instructors      recently handed down an advisory
In certain parts of the country they         during a tax-payer-funded continu-         opinion stating that only the position
have also succeeded in forcing laws          ing education course. This guide con-      of pastor could be withheld from a
to be passed forbidding all discrimi-        tains a questionnaire designed to be       homosexual without breaking the
nation based on sexual preference or         answeredbyheterosexualjuniorhigh           laws against discrimination in that
sexual orientation. The American             andhighschoolstudents. Includedin          state. All other positions in a church
Psychological Association and the            the questions are the following: "Is it    could not be withheld from a person
American Public Health Association           possible your heterosexuality is just a    on the ground of "sexual orientation."
have also lent their aid by                  phase you may outgrow? Is, it pos-
downplaying the consequences, of             sible that all you need is a good gay
homosexuality and taking the posi-           lover? If you have never slept with a          Although the opponents
tion that homosexuality is no longer         person of the same sex, how do you                       of  homosexuality
to be regarded as deviant behavior.          know that you would not prefer to do
Psychology professors and sex thera-         so? How can you hope to become a                        are often labeled as
pists warn endlessly against the evil        whole person if you limit yourself to          intolerant and accused  of
of  u sexual repression" and encourage       an exclusive heterosexual object             discrimination, no group is
the homosexual to express his sexual-        choice and remain unwilling to ex-                       more intolerant
ity.                                         plore and develop your normal, natu-        and discriminate  y than the
        Public rallies, marches, and dem-    ral, healthy homosexual potential?"
onstrations are organized in order to        This in junior high and high school!           homosexuals themselves.
promote acceptance of homosexual-                In the New York City school sys-
ity. Colleges and universities spon-         tem, some recommended books on
sor an annual "Gay Awareness                 the reading list for jirsf graders are,         Two women in Madison, Wis-
Week." I/Two, four, six, eight! Gay is       "Daddy's Roommate" (about two              consin were fined $1,500, ordered to
just as good as straight!" chant mili-       homosexual men), and "Heather Has          write a formal letter of apology, re-
tant gays demonstrating for their            Two Mommies."                              port to a local homosexual group for
cause. Others carry placards declar-                                                    "sensitivity" classes, and submit to
ing, "God Loves Gays." A Christian           Fallout for Those Who Oppose               monitoring of their life-style for two
minister involved in such a demon-           Homosexuality                              years because they refused to take as
stration addresses a crowd asserting,            The homosexuals have succeeded         their roommate a lesbian who re-
"I see my homosexuality as a gift            in bringing bitter consequences to         sponded to their newspaper ad.
from God."                                   those who oppose them. The mur-                 Under a "gay rights" ordinance,
        One of the greatest victories for    derous hostility of homosexuals, seen      the Catholic Archdiocese of Minne-
the homosexuals was the election of          already. in the incident respecting        apolis was recently fined $15,000 and
Bill Clinton to the presidency of our        Sodom and Gomorrah recorded in             assessed $20,000 in damages, payable
country. A great deal of money and           Genesis 19, survives to this day. Al-      to homosexuals who complained that
votes were promised to the Clinton           though the opponents of homosexu-          the Archdiocese denied their club the
campaign in exchange for aggressive          ality are often labeled as intolerant      "right" to meet in church-owned fa-
action on behalf of the homosexuals.         and accused of discrimination, no          cilities.

                                                                                                      July,  1993  I Standard Bearer I427


     A 1992 New Jersey "gay rights"         "Gay Rights" legislation is to give              If you dare to cry faggot, fairy,
statute prohibits allemployers,  includ-    homosexuals protected status as a              queer, at us, we will stab you in your
ing churches, from discriminating on        discriminated-against minority. Their          cowardly hearts and defile your dead,
the basis of sexual orientation. The        aim is the repeal of sodomy laws,              puny bodies.
same law could force churches not           legitimizing of homosexual mar-                  There  will be no compromises. We
only to hire homosexuals but conduct        riages, requirements for churches and          are no middle-class weaklings.
                                                                                           Highly intelligent, we are the natural
homosexual marriages.                       schools to hire homosexual staff per-          aristocrats of the human race, and
     Seven states and more than 90          sons, special privileges in housing            steely-mindedaristocratsneversettle
cities, counties, and municipalities in     and medical care, and stiff penalties          forless. Those whoopposeuswillbe
America now prohibit discrimination         against any who discriminate against           exiled.
based on "sexual orientation."              them.                                            The family unit  - spawning
     In 1992, Mr. Bruce Skewes, a New           Several gay leaders and activist           ground of lies, betrayals, mediocrity,
Jersey high school English teacher,         groups are now  advocating violence            hypocrisy and violence  - will be
was forced to retire from the school                                                       abolished. The family unit, which
                                            in order to further the homosexual
system or face tenure charges simply        cause. Homosexual leader, Larry                only dampens  imagina  tion and curbs
                                                                                           free  wiU, must be eliminated....  AII
for giving out printed information          Kramer, founder of ACT-UP, stated              churches who condemn us  wiII be
about the medical dangers of homo-          in an interview with the Wall Street           closed.... AII  males who  insist in
sexual behavior.                            Journal, "It hurts me to say1 think the        remainingstupidlyheterosexualwill
     On August 30,1991,  the Office of      time for violence has now arrived....          be tried in homosexual courts of jus-
Student Activities of Denver's Met-         I'd  like to see an  AIDS terrorist            tice and will become invisible men.
ropolitan State College issued a direc-     army...."                                        We shall be victorious.... We too
tive to all 90 campus clubs requiring           Gay activist Michael Swift has             are capable of firing guns and man-
that membership in all clubs, includ-       served notice of the homosexuals'              ning the barricades of the ultimate
ingreligious and military, be opened                                                       revolution. ("The Gay Community
                                            intentions.                                    News," Feb. 15-21,1987).
to homosexuals. Failure to comply
would result in loss of on-campus               We shall sodomize your sons,                 Make no mistake, these are the
recognition and loss of all club privi-       emblems of your feeble masculinity,        goals of the homosexuals. They are
leges.                                        of your  shallow  dreams and vulgar        not at all interested simply in tolera-
     Homosexualinstructorsofa1991             lies. We shall seduce them in your         tion. They aim at the destruction of
Denver continuing education course            schools, in your dormitories, in your      the family, the destruction of mar-
presented teachers with a several-            gymnasiums, in your locker rooms,
                                              in your sports arenas, in your semi-       riage, and the destruction of the one
hundred-page guide entitled, "Gay             naries, in your youth groups, in your      institution which stands in their way,
and Lesbian Youth Tools for Educa-            movie theater bathrooms, in your           the church. 0
tors." The introductory article con-          army bunkhouses, in your truck                                 -to be continued.
tained the following statement:               stops, in your aII male clubs, in your
"There is no biblical sex ethic. The          houses of Congress....
Bible knows only a love ethic, which
isconstantlybeingbrought tobearon
whatever sexual mores are dominant
in a given country, culture or period."
In  addition to promoting acceptance                 Grant, Almighty God, that as we abound in so many vices, by
of homosexuality, this teachers guide                which we daily provoke thy wrath, and as by the testimony of
suggested that resources be distrib-                 our consciences, we are justly exposed to everlasting death,
uted to children, including informa-                 yea, and deserve a hundred and even a thousand deaths, - 0
tion and telephone numbers of homo-                  grant, that we may strive against the unbelief of our flesh, and
sexual support groups for children to                so embrace thineinfinitemercy, thatwemaynot  doubtbut that
contact.                                             thou wilt be propitious to us, and yet not abuse this privilege
                                                     by taking liberty to sin, but with fear, and true humility, care,
The Homosexual Agenda                                so walk according to thy word, that we may not hesitate daily
    It is a mistake to suppose, as is                to flee to thy mercy, that we may thereby be sustained and kept
often alleged, that the homosexuals                  insafety,untilhavingatlengthputoff  allvices,andbeingfreed
are merely interested in toleration.                 from all sin, we come to thy celestial kingdom, to enjoy the fruit
Nothing could be further from the                    of our faith, even that eternal inheritance which has been
truth. They do not want toleration,                  obtained for us by the blood of thy only-begotten Son. Amen.
but special protection of their life-                                                                      -]ohn Calvin
style, and punishment of those who                                                      Commen ta y on Micah, p. 408
in any way oppose them. The aim of

428 /Standard Bearer /July,  1993


                                 May 12,1993       on divorce and remarriage. This re-       Bruinsma, August 29 - Kuiper, Sep-
                                    Southwest      quest was declared to be illegally be-    tember 5  - Flikkema, September 12
                Protestant Reformed Church         fore the classis.                         - VanBaren.
                                                       Classical appointments were               The expenses of classis amounted
             Classis East met in regular ses-      granted to Southwest according to         to$1,119.50.  Classiswillmeetnext on
     sion on Wednesday, May 12,1993,  at           the following schedule: May 23  -         Wednesday, September 8, 1993, at
     Southwest PRC. Each church was                Spriensma, May 30  - Gritters, June       First PRC, Grand Rapids.
     represented by two delegates.                 13  - Woudenberg, June 20  -                             Respectfully submitted,
             Business for this session was rou-    Bruinsma, June 27 - Kuiper, July 11                               Jon J. Huisken,
     tine; classis adjourned before noon.          - Joostens, July 18 -VanBaren; July                                  Stated Clerk
     First PRC brought, via its credentials,       25 - Koole, August 8 - Slopsema,
     a request for classis to express itself       August 15 - Gritters, August 22 -





             We begin this issue of the church     couple of years. That something is        Installation is scheduled to take place
     news with some catching up in the             worship services conducted by our         on July 14.
     area of trios and calls being consid-         seminary students. From what we               ThelastweekinMaywasamemo-
     eredbyvariousofourdenomination's              have heard, both Seminarians, Allen       rable one for the congregation of the
     pastors.                                      Brummel and Douglas Kuiper, will          Hull,IowaPRC.  Itstartedwithacall-
             First we report here that Rev. R.     be kept busy nearly every Sunday of       to-Worship service on Wednesday
     Dykstra declined the call he was con-         the summer speaking a word of edifi-      night in their just completed new
     sidering to serve as pastor of the South-     cation. We take this opportunity to       church sanctuary. This was followed
     west PRC of Grandville, MI. After             encourage them in this regard and to      on Friday by an open house and a
     that decline, the council of Southwest        wish them the Lord's blessing in this     dedication service. This program was
     formed another trio, consisting of the        important work.                           filled with singing, special numbers,
     Revs.R. Cammenga, J. Slopsema, and                                                      andlettersfromformerpastors. Hull's
     C. Terpstra. At a congregational              Congregation Activities                   May30bulletinevenshowedasketch
     meeting held on June 9, Southwest                 From the Congregation of Trinity      of the new church on its front cover
     decided to extend a call to Rev.              PRC in Houston, TX we learn that          instead of the old church building.
     Slopsema.                                     their pastor-elect, Rev. Mahtani, re-     Just seeing that sketchis enough to be
             We could also mention that Rev.       turned home safely to Singapore after     assured that Hull's new building is
     and Mrs. Rodney Miersma, of the               a brief visit to Trinity at the end of    very nice indeed.
     PRC of New Zealand, have returned             April. On his return trip he had time         While Htrll's  congregation is just
     to the United States for a ten-week           to call on some American-Chinese          now beginning to enjoy its new church
     vacation. Plans call for the Miersmas         women in Honolulu with whom our           home, there are a couple other of our
I    to visit with family in Michigan and          churches have had some contact.           congregations who are just starting
     Iowa and to attend the PR Synod.              While he was there he preached to         down that long road to a permanent
             This summer, the Lord willing,        them on Psalm 46, "God is our Ref-        church home. The congregations of
     many of our churches will again enjoy         uge." We are also happy to report         the Bethel PRC in Elk Grove Village,
     something that has been missing for a         that Trinity's congregation has been      IL and the Peace PRC of Lansing, IL
                                                   informed that the Department of Im-       took official title of their respective
                                                   migration and Naturalization has          properties within days of each other.
                                                   approved their immigration petition       They now begin to realize, if only in a
     Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant      for Pastor Mahtani and his family.        small way, the hope of someday hav-
     Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michi-        This means that, the Lord willing,        ing a sanctuary they can call their
     gan.                                          Pastor Mahtani will arrive July 7.        own.

                                                                                                      July, 1993 1 Standard Bearer I429


i
         The Council of the Hope PRC in         Mission Activities                               be publishing and distributing a spe-
     Walker, MI recently informed their              .Rev. R. Hanko writes in a recent           cial tract that Rev. Hanko is writing
     congregation that there have been          letter to Hudsonville's congregation             entitled, "What Think Ye of Christ?"
     several families that have expressed       that at a recent Lord's day there were
     an interest in forming and joining a       59 people at the morning service and             Young People's Activities
     daughter congregation in response to       66 at the evening service. He also                   There was a YP Society Banquet
     the Council's recent survey. Hope is       states that since they have been in              for the Doon,  Edgerton, and Hull Yl?
     considering the proper procedure to        Ballymena with the C.R.F., they have             in the Doon,  Iowa PRC on May 11.
     follow'as a result of this survey.         not had a Sunday go by without see-              Rev. Dykstra spoke on the topic,
         All singers in the Southeast PRC       ing new faces in church.                         "Christian Service."  0
     in Grand Rapids, MI were invited to             The Covenant Reformed Fellow-
     join a newly organized choir. It ap-       ship is planning a series of evangelis-          Foodfor zliou&
     peared that enough members were            tic meetings this summer in                          "To lengthen my patience is the
     recruitedtobeginpracticeduringearly        Ballymena. Theywillbehavingmeet-                 best way to shorten my troubles."
     May.                                       ings every night of the week and will                                       G. Swinnock





                                                                                                             IN MEMORY
                   NOTICE!!!                                                                         In memory of our beloved mother,
         Classis West of the Protestant                                                          grandmother, and great grandmother,
     Reformed Churches will meet in                                                                        CORA BYLSMA,
     Lynden, Washington on Wednesday,                WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                         who was taken to her eternal home on
     September 1, 1993, at 8:30 a.m., the            The Lord willing, on July21,1993,           Ascension Day, May 29,1993 at the
     Lord willing. All materialfortheAgenda     our parents,                                     age of 94 years. Although we mourn
     is to be in the hands of the Stated          MR. and MRS. C.M. DOEZEMA,                     her loss, we rejoice in the promise of
     Clerk, 30 days before Classis con-         will celebrate their 40th wedding anni-          Deuteronomy3327, "The eternal God
 venes. All delegates in need of lodg-          versary. We are thankful to our cov-             is my refuge and underneath are the
     ing or transportation from the airport     enant God for giving us parents who              everlasting arms," which was such a
 should notify the Clerk of Lynden's            have taught us and have instructed us            comfort to her in her declining years.
     consistory using the forms for this        in His ways. May the Lord continue to                Children:
     purpose.                                   guide and bless them in the years                28g Stuart and Betty Bylsma
                 Rev. Ronald VanOverloop,       ahead. `I... and my words which I have           * Kenneth Bylsma (Anne,
                                Stated Clerk    put in thy mouth, shall not depart out                                       deceased)
                                                of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of            #k Marvin and Mae Koerner
       RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                   thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy            $ Edward and Barbara Cammenga
        The Men's Society of the Hull           seed's seed, saith the Lord, from                r# John and Thea Buiter
Protestant Reformed Church ex-                  henceforth and forever" (Isaiah                  g Frank and Esther Block
 presses its Christian sympathy to fel-         59:21  b).                                             28 grandchildren
 low member Egbert Gritters and his             * Steven and Neva Feenstra                             81 great grandchildren
family, in the loss of his father               * Robert and Debra Doezema                                             Grand Rapids, Michigan
       EGBERT 0. "ED" GRIlTERS.                 * Roger and Anne Veldman
 May the family find comfort in the             * Dorothy Doezema                                             NOTICE!!!
words of Psalm 48:14, "Forthis God is           * Glenn and Beth Feenstra                            The address  of, our  Synodical
our God for ever and ever: he will be           * Charles and Heidi Doezema                      Treasurer, Joel Zandstra, is now: 5052
our guide even unto death."                     * Tim and Joan Kaiser                            36th Avenue, Hudsonville, Ml 49426.
                  Rev. R. Moore, President             23 grandchildren                          Please make this change in your ad-
                   Jim Andringa, Secretary                                  Holland, Michigan    dresses for correspondence.

430 /Standard Bearer I  July, 1993


                                                           BRITISH
                                        REFORMED FELLOWSHIP
                                 FAMILY HOLIDAY CONFERENCE
                                                                                                                                                  OFFICEBEARERS'
Dates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 July - 6 August 1994.           CONFERENCE
                                                                                                                                                      Classis West
Place.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Scottish College of Textiles, Galashiels, Scotland.                                                 Meeting in Lynden, WA
                             (34 miles south of Edinburgh; 72 miles from Glasgow).                                                                  August 31,1993

Speakers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professors H. Hanko and D. Engelsma, PRC.                                                                  Theme:
                                     Rev. Sinclair Horne, Scottish Reformation Society.                                                           Reformed Missions
                                                                                                                                                    and Evangelism
Theme-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Doctrine of Sovereign Grace.
                                                                                                                                                   Keynote Address:
Accommodation: All rooms single study-bedrooms with washhand                                                                                           Acts 13:1-4
basins, and bed linen and towels provided. (One bathroom and two                                                                                "Missionaries Sent Out
toilets per ten rooms).                                                                                                                             From Antioch"
                                                                                                                                                   Rev. Russ Dykstra
Tours:  Edinburgh: Sites associated with Scottish Covenanters; Bass
Rock; Berwick-on-Tweed; Ettrick.                                                                                                                       Sectionals:
                                                                                                                                                 "Missionaries Within
cost:                                                                                                                                             a Particular Classis"
       Option (A) Full Board: Adults 2155: Children 5-12 f76;.children                                                                            Rev. Richard Moore
under 5 free.
       Option (8) Bed and Breakfast: Adults f94; Children 5-12 f47;                                                                             "Active Congregational
children under 5 free.                                                                                                                               Involvement"
       Option (C) Self catering: Six-bedroom family unit with separate                                                                           Rev. Ron VanOverloop
kitchen/lounge f200.
                                                               N          o     t       e       :      .                                        "The Macedonian Call"
       With regard to Options (B) and (C) meals can be purchased at the                                                                              Rev. Carl Haak
following rates: Lunch f5 (children half-price); packed lunch f3.50;
Dinner f7 (children half-price). However, all such meals must be                                                                             "Preparing to Give an Answer"
ordered at the time of booking.                                                                                                                       (I Peter  3:15)
                                                                                                                                                     Rev. Steve Key
       Contact persons (for information or reservations):
                                                     Mr. Tony Horne                                                                                "A Critique of the
                                                     9 Church Road                                                                              Modern Church-Growth
                                       Thornbury, Bristol BS12 1EJ                                                                                   Evangelism"
                                                            England                                                                               Rev. Charles Terpstra
                                                  (Tel. 0454-414517)
                                                                    or                                                                          "Distinguishing Between
                                                     Mr. Bill Oomkes                                                                         Essentials and Non-Essentials
                                               6299 Wing Ave. S.E.                                                                               on the Mission Fielfl
                                           Grand Rapids, Ml 49512                                                                                Rev. Wayne Bekkering
                                                                USA
                                                (Tel. 616-698-6697)





                                                                                                                                                  July, 1993 I Standard Fearer  / 431


   BEARER                                                                                                       SECOND CLASS
                                                                                                                Postage Paid at
                                                                                                                Grandville, Michigan
   I? 0. Box 603
   Grandvile,  MI 49468-0603


                NOTICE!!!
  The 50th anniversary celebration
           of Randolph Protestant                 Gods Eternal Good Pleasure                     In the 1940s Rev. Hoeksema
             Reformed Church                          by Herman Hoeksema                      preached a series of sermons on
                will be held                                                                  Romans 9 to 11. The sermons
                                                                                              were printed as pamphlets and
              Friday evening,                                                                 later bound. This reprint adds a
       September 10 (program),                                                                missing sermon and makes avail-
                 Saturday,                                                                    able to the reader a Scriptural,
           September 11 (picnic),                                                             Reformed explanation of sover-
                and Sunday,                                                                   eign predestination. The author
 September 12 (worship services).                                                             also examines the so-called Jew-
   Please note change of dates.                                                               ish question, a problem which
                                                                                              faced those who lived in the
     Former members and all friends                                                           World War II era and which we
are invited to join us.                                                                       today encounter with increasing
     For lodging with members of the                                                          frequency. 371 pages.
congregation, please contact                                                                      Available for $17.50 in the
    Pastor S. Key (414) 3265642                                                               U.S. and $18.50 outside the U.S.
                                                                                              All orders include shipping. To
  Mr. Gary Buteyt?(414) 326-5666,                                                             order, send payment to:
  or send a note to the church ad-                                                                         RFPA
       dress: 229 Hammond St.                                                                         c/o Daniel Bush
           Randolph, Wi 53956.                                                                         P.O. Box 2006
                                                                                                 Grand Rapids, MI 49501
                                                                                                           USA
                 NOTICE!!
     Classis East will meet in regular
session on Wednesday, September
8, 1993 at the First Protestant Re-
formed Church, Grand Rapids, Ml.
Material for this session must be in the
hands of the Stated Clerk no later than
August 7,1993.
                            Jon J. Huisken
                               Stated Clerk        WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
                                                   On June 23,1993,
   RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                      ART and FLORENCE SCHWARZ                                 2(-emem6er:
     The Council of the Hull Protestant        celebrated their 50th wedding anni-
Reformed Church herewith expresses             versary. We are thankful to God for                     Introdi&ctoly
its sympathy to- its fellow member,            blessing them together in their mar-
Egbert Gritters,  in the death of his          riage, and pray that He will keep them               suhcrip  tions to
father,                                        in His care. "The Lord bless thee, and
    MR. EGBERT 0. GRITTERS.                                                                      ?xe &did Bearer
                                               keep thee: the Lord make his face to
     May our covenant God comfort              shine upon thee, and be gracious unto
and sustain the bereaved family, "For                                                                     are stiK
                                               thee: the Lord lift up his countenance
I know that my Redeemer liveth, and            upon thee and give thee peace" (Num-                     f&+-price!
that he shall stand at the latter day          bers 6:24-26).
upon the earth" (Job 19:25).                                     The Schwarz Family
       Rev. Richard Moore, President                                    Loveland, Colorado

432 /Standard Bearer  I  July, 1993


