A Reformed
     .B~ER
Semi-Man thly
Magazine
                        . . ..-^-.-- ._.. ---- .__. .,_,_ -.--._. ..-. -. ._ -._-.__--.. . . . .._.. __I.--`L





                 -._



                                          See "No Compromise" - page 275

Vol. 70, No. 
March 15,1994


     CONTENTS:                                                                                                                                                  March 15, 1994                                                                        SiikDMD
I                                                                                                                                                                                                      <*  :  ^i,  q-
Meditation - Rev. Cornelius Hanko                                                                                                                                                                                                                     l3iwER
           Judas the Betrayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...*.*.                                         267
Editorial - Prof. David J. f!ngelsma                                                                                                                                                                                      ISSN 0362-4692
           The Nose of the Camel (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .       271     Semi-monthly, except monthiy during June, Juiy. end August.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          PuMiah-ad by the Refom'md  Free Publishing Aaaocietlon, Inc.,
The Reader Asks . . . . ..`........."...................................................................271                                                                                                               4949  lvanreat  Ave.,  Qmndvllle,  MI  40416.  Second  Class
A Word Fitly Spoken - Rev, Dale H, Kuiper                                                                                                                                                                                 Postage Pald at Gmndville, Michigan.
           Seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*............. 272                               Poetrnast~: Send eddreed changes to the Standard Bearer,
A Cloud of Witnesses - Prof. Herman C, Hanko                                                                                                                                                                              P.O.  Box 603. Grendville, MI 49466-0603.
           Caspar Olevianus: Author of the Heidelberg Catechism (2) . . . . . . . 273                                                                                                                                     EDITORIAL CDMYllTEE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Ediior: Prof. David J. Engelama
Bring the Books - Charles H. Spurgeon                                                                                                                                                                                     Secretary: Prof. Robert D. Decker
           No Compromise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275                                  Managing Editor: Mr. Don Doerome
Day of Shadows - Homer C. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                        DEPARTMENT EDITORS
          `Chapter 3                                                                                                                                                                                                      Rev. Wilbur BruInam& Rev. Rwmld Cammange, Prof. Robert
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Decker, Rev. Arie denHartog, Rev. Berry Qrittem, Rev. Carl
           The`first Three Days of Creation (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277                                                                             Ha& Rev. Corndiue  Henko, Prof. Herman Henko, Rev. John
Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass - Prof. David J. Engelsma                                                                                                                                                          Heya, Rev. Steven Key, Rev. Dale Kulper, Mr. James Lentlng,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Rev. Qeorge Lubbers, Mrs. MaryBeth Lubbers,  Rev. Thomas
           2. Wars - Sign of the End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280                                                              Mbmms,   Rw.  Audred  Sprlenama,  Rw.  Chartea   Terpatre,
Contribution - Rev. John A. Heys                                                                                                                                                                                          Rev. QiaeVenBamn, Rw. RonaldVenOverloop,  Mr. Benjamin
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Wgger.  Rev. Bernard Woudenberg.
           God's Wonderfully Different People 111111.1........1.1.................,..`.`... 283                                                                                                                           EDtTORW  OfFtCE              CHURCH NEWS  EDtTOR
Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*................. 285                                           TheStenderdBeemr             Mr. Ben Wager
News From Our Churches l- Mr. Benjamin Wigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286                                                                                                         4948 lvmreat                 6597  4OthAve.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Qrendville,  MI  46416       Hudaonville,  MI  46426
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          BUSINESS OFFICE              NEW  ZEALAND  DFFtCE
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The  Stenderd  Bearer       The Stenderd Bearer
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Don Doezeme                  do 8. VenHerk
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          P.O. Box 603                 58FrMerSt.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Qmndville, Ml                Walnulomata, Nan Zeelend
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            43466-ww                   NDRTHERN tREtAND.OFFtCE
           G.K. Chesterton once described the Calvinist (which Chesterton was not)                                                                                                                                        PH:  (616)  531-1460         do Mr. Jomdhen M&My
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   6318)  536-1776     164 Church Rd.. Glewhem
as the man who, like Gideon, thinks that the ranks of the church ought to be                                                                                                                                              FAX:  \616) 531.3022         Bellymma,  Oo.~&trlm  BTk 3EL
thinned, not swelled.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Northem Ireland
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          EDlTORtALPDLtCY
          There is truth to the gibe. .                                                                                                                                                                                   Every c&or la wkly rwponnlble  fw the contenta of hia own
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          ert+des. Conhibutionaotg~rdinterestfmmwrrsademand
          The Calvinist sees the glory of the church to be its gospel of truth, not the                                                                                                                                   queatlon8  for  The  Reader  Ask8  depertmnt   era welcome.
size of its membership. He is impressed with the teachings of the Bible and                                                                                                                                               Oontrlbutfons wIH be limited to eoomxlmatdv 300 word8 and
church history that the true church is always a "remnant" - the remnant                                                                                                                                                   deadlines   are  the  Rmi'end  fifte&th   of  the  &nth.
according to the election of grace. He is fearful of the presence in the                                                                                                                                                  communkatlone  relative to the contents should be sent to the
congregation and denomination of members who fill the pews, keep the budget                                                                                                                                               dnorial ofke.
down,andloudlybewailthechurch'sdoctrinalrigorandpradicalnarrowness.                                                                                                                                                       REPRINT POW
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          P~~ionIrherebyg~torthe~tingo(artideslnwr
          Particularly, the Calvinist dreads the spirit and program of that evangelis-                                                                                                                                    megwinebyotherpublkedbw,liccaknr,:a)th8twoh~
tic fervor that pursues the policy of church growth by adulterating the gospel                                                                                                                                            erUdeeemmpmdwedinfuW;b)thatpiopwwJamwb@ment
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          iamsde;c)thatem~ofthe~~krwMchwchrepht
and relaxing the standards.                                                                                                                                                                                               eppeemiaeanttooureditoriafoffice.
          There is reason for this Calvin&tic dread in our day.                                                                                                                                                           SUBSCRIPTtDN POUCY
          So was there in the days of the great English preacher, Charles Haddon                                                                                                                                          Subacriptk3n   price:  512.00  per  yeer  In  the  U.S.,   515.00
Spurgeon. Therefore, as a faithful minister, the last of the Puritans addressed                                                                                                                                           elsewhere.  Unleae  a definite request  for diacontlnuence la
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          received,  it  la  euumed  that  the  aubacriber   wishes  the
the temptation in his own inimitable way: "Eagerness for numbers, and                                                                                                                                                     aubacrlpiiontocontinue.endtmwiHbebUledfcwumwd.             ifyou
especially eagerness to include respectable people, has adulterated many                                                                                                                                                  hsveachn(leotsddmw,plMsenotitytheBudinewOmcew
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          early  e8  poa8ibb  in  order  to  avoid  the  lnconvenienca  of
churches, and made them lax in doctrine and practice, and fond of silly                                                                                                                                                   kttempted delbery.  lnduda your Zip or Postal Cede.
amusements."                                                                                                                                                                                                              ADVERTISINQ PoLMiY
          Thin the ranks, if need be.                                                                                                                                                                                     The Sfmderd8e8mrdow  not ecceptcommardal  advertialng
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          of my kind. Announcemmt8  of clwroh  end eohod wenta,
          But there is a surprising lesson to be learned from the experience of                                                                                                                                           mnkemerbe,   obitu8rie8, nd aympettrj reeokdionr  will be
Spurgeon's church: sound, solid doctrinal preaching and insistence on the high                                                                                                                                            pbwdfora53.DOfw.   ThwerlmuldbeamttotJwBuJnw8
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          OIficendahouldbseccompmiedbythe53.Wfee.  Deadline
standards of the Bible fiZZed the church.                                                                                                                                                                                 fwnnounwmrmtabetIwtonemonthprlortopublketion
          In the mercy of God, in`a day of half-filled churches in the morning service                                                                                                                                    date.
and empty churches at night, this is the experience of the Protestant Reformed                                                                                                                                            SOUND VOLUYBS
Churches today.                                                                                                                                                                                                           TheBu*nsssOffk8wlH8ccapt8tendlngordemforbound
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          coplwoftheourmntvdume.  Suchordemamfilbd.3eaoonea
          The readiness to thin swells.                                                                                                                                                                                   po88lbleafterccmpletlonofawlumeywr.
          Read Spurgeon's "No Compromise."                                                                                                                                                                                16mm  mlcmfilm,  65mm microfilm  end 105mm miwnlche. and
                                                                                                                                                                                                               - D J E    artkb  mpb8  are  wallable  through  Univemity  Micmfilma
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          I-.
266lStandard  Bearer/March 15,1994


                            Judas the Betrayer

    Judas, one of the twelve.                       When Jesus sent out the twelve          traitor, knowing what was going on
                           Matthew 26:4?        into Judea  to preach the kingdom of        in his soul. It is painful for a father to
                                                heaven Judas was/with them, and             see unbelief cropping up in his fam-
         The nefarious sin of Judas Iscariot    likely was also given power to per-         ily, it is distressing for a minister to
was only aggravated by the fact, re-            form miracles. One can only wonder          find that his labors are being rejected,
peatedly mentionedin the Scriptures,            who was his companion on this mis-          yet how much more grievous it must
that he was one of the twelve most              sion, and who associated with him as        have been for the holy Jesus to expe-
intimate of Jesus' disciples.                   they traveled from place to place.          rience that His preaching was de-
         The name Judas has the beautiful           At the turning point of the Lord's      spised, and that there was one among
meaning of  U Jehovahbe praised." Yet,          Galilean ministry, when the bread-          His very disciples who preferred the
because of its association with this            hungry multitude forsookHim,  leav-         glamour of the moment above the
man, it bears a stigma that cannot be           ing only the twelve with Him, Jesus         glorious treasures of the kingdom of
ignored. Who would want to be called            put the question to them, "Will ye not      heaven.
Judas?                                          also go away?" Here was the oppor-              Yet Jesusknew that what applied
         He was distinguished as Iscariot       tunityforJudastoleave,buthestayed.          to the scribes and Pharisees was also'
because he came from the city of                    Peter had answered, "Lord, to           true of Judas, "Ye believe not, be-
Kerioth in Judea.  Since all the other          whom shall we go? thou hast the             cause ye are not of my sheep." He was
disciples were from Galilee, he was             words of eternal life. And we believe       aware that the Scripture was being
the only one from Judea.  This also             and are sure, that thou art that Christ,    fulfilled that said, "Yea, mine own
distinguishes him from the other dis-           the Son of the living God." Judas           familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
ciple with the same name whose sur-             would have no part of that confes-          which did eat of my bread, hathlifted
name was Thaddeus;                              sion, yet he showed no sign of dissent.     up the heel against me."
         Whenever the names of the twelve           At that trying moment Jesus un-             It was finally at the Last Supper
disciples are recorded in Scripture,            burdenedHis soul, saying, "Havenot          that the Lord exposed the traitor and
the name of Judas always appears                I chosen you twelve, and one of you is      sent him out into the night to perform
last.                                           a devil?" Yet Judas failed to heed the      his evil purpose.
         How painful it must have been          warning.                                               *  *  *  *  *  *  *
for Jesus, knowing that Judas would                 When the chief priests and rulers           We ask ourselves: Why did Judas
be the betrayer, to choose him as His           in Jerusalem turned against the Christ      become a disciple of Jesus, and why
disciple. It was even more painful to           and sought to kill Him, Judas must          did he stay as long as he did?
have in His company day after day               have had second thoughts, but did               Having heard Jesus preach and
this proud, dishonest, ambitious in-            not show it.                                having seen His miracles, Judas con-
dividual, who played the part of a                  When Jesus went to Perea to es-         cluded that Jesus was the promised
deceiver so well that he remained               cape the wrath of the Jewish leaders,       Messiah who would crush the power
undetectedbythe other disciples even            Judas went'along. When word came            of the Roman emperor and restore the
until the end.                                  to them from Bethany  that Lazarus          earthly throne of David.
         Fully aware that Judas was greedy      had died, and Jesus was determined              Now it is true that the other dis-
and dishonest, Jesus still entrusted to         to return to Judea  to raise him from       ciples, as well as Jesus' mother, were
him the purse that contained the funds          the dead, Thomas said to his fellow         expecting an earthly kingdom and
of the small band of disciples.                 disciples, "Let us also go, that we may     still held to that expectation even af-
                                                die with him." Judas went along,            ter Jesus arose from the dead. But
                                                certainly not with the intention of         there was a difference. They believed
                                                dying with Jesus, but likely ponder-        that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of
Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the        ing a way of escape.                        the living God, in whom they had
Protestant Reformed Churches.                       AllthistimeJesusputupwiththe            eternal life. Judas was an unbeliever.

                                                                                                    March 15,1994/Standard  Bearer/267


The others all clung to Jesus even          neighbor, but each one pleaded, "Is it             The Lord struck down the entire com-
when the hope of an earthly kingdom         I, Lord?" Each one, that is, except                pany that came against Him, so that
vanished. Judas had set his heart on        Judas. Rather belatedly he tries to                they lay helpless at His feet. He
an earthly kingdom, and even                cover up, yet avoiding the name Lord,              showed that Judas' betrayal was use-
dreamed of holding some prominent           by saying, "Is it I, Master?"                      less. He could readily have walked
position, possibly Secretary, of the            Off ended by this horrible duplic-             away and escaped from their hands.
Treasury.                                   ity, Jesus exposed his treachery, and                  Jesus did cause them to arise, and
    When that dream began to fade,          added, "That thou doest, do quickly."              freely surrendered Himself into their
particularly at Jesus' rejection in Ga-         At that moment the devil took                  hands to be bound and led away as
lilee, his disappointment filled him        personal charge of Judas to make sure              their prisoner.
with anger. The situation worsened          that he would not falter. He entered                   ThefinalblowcametoJudaswhen
when the leaders in Jerusalem sought        into the deceiver and accompanied                  it was all over. The remorse of hell
to kill Him. By the time the entire         him on his mission. Hastily the chief              began to torment him. He could no
company left Perea to return to Judea       priests and rulers, a band of Roman                longer live with himself. The reward
the soul of Judas was like a troubled       soldiers, and the temple guard, as                 of iniquity burned in his pocket. He
sea,seethingwithhatredagainstJesus.         well as a crowd of people, were                    hastened to the temple and sent the
    He revealed a bit of his inner          aroused, equipped with swords and                  coins ringing along the temple floor,
feelings in the house of Simon the          clubs, to go out to the garden to take             with the anguished cry, "I have sinned
leper,whereMaryanointedJesuswith            Jesus prisoner.                                    in that I have betrayed innocent
precious ointment. There hemuttered             It is amazing that Judas and his               blood." But even his accomplices
loud enough for Jesus to hear him,          company could be so blinded in their               despised the traitor and wantednoth-
"Why was not this ointment sold for         sin that they failed to realize that they          ing to do with him.
three hundred pence, and given to the       could never capture Jesus against His                  He was alone, bitterly alone. What
poor?" Johnadds the comment, "This          will, no matter how large their com-               could he do but find a rope, and a
he said, not because he cared for the       pany nor how well prepared they                    branch of a tree that extended over
poor, but because he was a thief, and       were to fight. On the other hand, little .         the precipice, to hang himself. Evi-
had the bag, and tookaway what was          did they realize that, since His hour              dently the rope slipped, or the branch
put therein."                               had come, one man alone could have                 failed to hold his weight, for he fell
    Five days later, on Wednesday of        gone out to take Him prisoner.                     downand"burstasunderinthemidst,
the passion week, Judas went off by             Let us pause a moment to con-                  and all his bowels gushed out."
himself to barter with the chief priests    sider the pernicious                                                  Thus another Scrip-
and rulers in their plot to kill Jesus.     power of sin and unbe-                                           ture was fulfilled, "And
Having settled on a reward of thirty        lief, the woe of him who                                         they took the thirty
pieces of silver (never realizing that      becomes a tool of Satan               Except                     pieces of silver, the price
this also was foretold in the Scrip-        against the living God.           for the grace                  of him that was valued,
tures) he agreed to make no attempt         Consider and weep, lest               of                         whom they of the chil-
                                                                                         God,
to carry out their plot until after the     we become proudin our                                            dren of Israel did value,
                                                                                you and I.
Passover, to avoid an uproar among          own conceits. Consider                                           and gave them for the
the crowds that attended the feast.         that you and I are inca-            would be                     potter's field, as the Lord
    The next day, on the way to the         pable of any good what-              walking                     appointed me" (Zech.
upper room, some of the disciples           ever, and inclined to all            the same                    11:12,13).
vied for the position of honor next to      evil. Except for the grace             path                           Judas went to his
Jesus at this last feast. After the Lord    of God, you and I would                      to                  own place, where not so
reprimanded them they all avoided           be walking the same                                              much as a drop of water
this place, so that Judas, who must         path to destruction.               destruction.                  is granted to cool the tip
have kept his distance from Jesus,           *  *  *  *  *  *  *                                             of his tongue even for a
had no choice but to recline next to            Judas, the betrayer,                                         split second. He is still
Him.                                        was a complete failure!                            receiving His just reward, and al-
                                                                                                       --
    About half way through the meal             The first blow struck when he                  ways will.
Jesus, sorely troubled in spirit be-        stepped up to Jesus and planted a kiss                 Having loved His own, our Lord
cause of the betrayer at His side, and      on His cheek The address of Jesus,                 loved us even unto the end. He bore
aware that His hour had come, as-           "Friend" (do you play the friend to                it all, including Judas, even unto the
tounded them all by declaring,              theverylast?), cut deepintohis guilty              accursed death of the cross, that we
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, that       soul. Added to that were the scorn-                may have life eternal with Him in
one of you shall betray me."                ful, condemning words, "Betrayest                  glory! Unchanging love, boundless
    Not one of them looked at Judas         thou the Son of man with a kiss?"                  mercy, inite grace!  0
or directed a questioning glance at his         The second blow followed at once.

268lStandard  Bearer/March 15,1994


          The Nose of the Camel (1)

    The Arabs have a proverb, so we           wholesale acceptance of divorce and                The first ground examines the
are told, that one must keep the nose         remarriage for any reason or for no            Scriptures on the issue. The ground
of the camel out of his tent. Failing to      reason at all.                                 begins with the statement that "the
keep out the nose, the Arab will soon              Do business with an intrusive             Scriptures do not give a direct answer
have the entire camel in his tent.            camel at the point of his nose.                to the question whether or not the
    The proverb expresses the rule,                The Reformed Churches in the              sisters are to participate in the elec-
well-known in Latin,  `"Obsta                 Netherlands ("Liberated"  - hereaf-            tion of officebearers." In an impor-
principiis! fl - that is, "Resist the be-     ter GKN:Lib)  have recently ignored            tant section, the first ground adds yet
ginnings!"                                    the wisdom of this proverb. They               another negative declaration: "The
    Applicable to all of life, the rule is    have done so in a synodical decision           Scriptures do not give a general order
especially urgent for the church. If          that is significant not only for them-         for the women to be silent in the
the beginnings of corrupt doctrine,           selves and those churches that are in          congregation." This is an odd state-
impure worship, unsound  govem-               fellowship with them but also for all          ment of the issue at a cruciallyimpor-
ment, or an unholy life are permitted         Reformed churches that are fighting            tant point in the first ground. Are
in the church, later it will prove to be      to resist the powerful influences of           there indeed Reformed people who
impossible to withstand the evils in          feminism. Breaking sharply with the            hold that "the Scriptures . . . give a
their fully developed forms. Once the         Reformed tradition and overturning             general order for the women to be
nose of the camel is securely thrust          their own past synodical decisions,            silent in the congregation"? Is this
into the ecclesiastical tent, the rest of     the GKN-Lib decided that women                 indeed the reason why the Reformed
the bulky beast is sure to follow.            have the right to participate in the           tradition has always held that women
    Examples abound. Tolerance of             congregational meetings as voting              are not to participate in the congrega-
the explanation of the days of Genesis        members. This was the decision of              tionalmeeting,  particularlybyvoting
1 as long periods of time has led to          their General Synod of Ommen 1993.             for ministers, elders, and deacons,
theistic evolution and the rejection of            The synod gave four grounds for           namely, that the Reformed churches
the h&tori&y  of the first                                      the decision. All of the     thought that "the Scriptures . . . give a
eleven chapters of Gen-                                         grounds are lengthy. I       general order for the women to be
esis. The "well-meant                                           give them here only in a     silent in the congregation"?
offer," withits universal           Do business                 summary. The com-                In demonstrating this odd, nega-
grace in the preaching,                with an                  plete text of the grounds    tive declaration, the first ground of
hasresultedin the teach-              intrusive                 can be found in English      the General Synod of Ommen ap-
ing of universal atone-                 camel                   translation in the Liber-    peals to Acts 2:17,18  and Acts 21:9 as
ment and universal elec-                                        ated publication,  LUX       proving that women receive the gift
tion. Introduction of               at the point                Mm& (Dec. 1993, pp. 6-       of prophecy; to I Corinthians 11:5 as
choirs, soloists, and dia-          of  his nose.               8), and in the Canadian      proving that women may pray and
logue into the public                                           Reformed magazine,           prophesy "provided it takes place in
worship, in disregard of L                                      Clarion (Nov. 5, 1993,       a manner that concurs with her (sic)
the second  command-                                            pp. 465,466). The Sep-       position"; and to Acts 1826, Romans
ment's regulative principle of wor-           tember 181993 issue of the Liberated           10:16ff.,andPhilippians4:3,4asprov-
ship, has been followed by liturgical         magazine,  De Reformatie,  gives a             ing "an active involvement and par-
dance. The remarriage of the "inno-           noteworthy analysis and defense of             ticipation of women in the service of
cent party" has opened the way to the         the decision in Dutch.                         the. gospel."

                                                                                                     March 15,1994/statwW  Bearen


      This section of the first ground         another curious statement: "In vot-           Spirit of Christ in the church. At the
 concludes with interpretation of the           ing the congregation has no authority       very least, the "voice of the congrega-
 two passages of Scripture that are             over the consistory." This wording of       tion" has been muted, if not distorted,
 fundamental, not only for the issue of         the issue evades the point of the objec-    in the vital matter of the election of
 women voting at the congregational             tionby the Reformed tradition against       officebearers.
 meeting but also for the issue of             women voting at the congregational                The fourth and last ground deals
 women  holding office  in  the church.        meeting. The Reformed objection has          with the objections that permitting
 ThesepassagesareICorinthians14:34-            notbeenthatthecongregationalmeet-            women to vote at congregational
 36 and I Timothy 2:11-15.  According          ing has authority over, or governs,          meetings is concession to the feminist
 to the decision of the Liberated synod,       the consistory, so that women voting         movement in the worid and the first
 I Corinthians 14:34-36 only forbids           at the congregational meeting will be        step toward opening up the offices in
 women, during worship, to judge               governing the consistory. But the            the church to women. This ground
 prophets: "I Cor.  14:34-36  denies           objection has been that the meeting of       flatly denies that "the granting of
 women the judging of prophets dur-            the congregation shares in the govem-        voting rights to the sisters should . . .
 ing worship, because that would give          ment of the churchwiththe consistory,        be considered a first step on the road
 those women authority over them."             so that voting women will cooperate          toward the openingup of the office of
 I Timothy  2:11-15  only prohibits            with the consistory in governing the         minister or elder to the women." It
 women from exercising authority               church. The Reformed have looked at          assures the members of the GKN-Lib
 during the worship services of the            the congregational meeting, in fact, as      that this decision is not to be "re-
 church:                                       not truly a "congregational meeting"         garded as a concession to a drive
                                               but rather a "public meeting of the          towards a false spirit of emancipa-
   ITim.2:11-15forbidswofientospeak            consistory at which the members of           tion."
   in a position of leadership and au-         the congregation are present" (Job.               Notwithstanding these assur-
   thority during worship, since that          Jansen,  Korte Verklaring van de
   causes her to abandon her own posi-                                                      ances, there is indication in the last
   tion and to usurp the place of the          Kerkenordening,  in explanation of Art.      ground that the GKN-Lib made their
   man.                                        29 of the Church Order of Dordt con-         decision under pressure both from
                                               cerning ecc1esiastica.l gatherings).         the worId and from the churches. The
     The second ground of the synod                The third ground argues that the         General Synod of Ommen spoke a
in support of openingparticipationin           women may participate in the con-            goodwordforthe"spiritofthetimes":
the congregational meeting to women            gregational meeting since the Spirit         "The spirit of the times does not nec-
attempts to establish that the congre-         chooses officebearers through the            essarily always have a negative im-
gational meeting in the life of the            "voice of the congregation." This            pact." There is veiled warning of
Reformed church exercises no ruling            "voice" is made up of the women as           problems both within the congrega-
authority. "In an election the congre-         well as of the men. To express this          tions and as regards relations with
gation does not govern, not even for           "voice," the women are given the             other churches, if women are not per-
a part.N "The election is in the nature        gifts of the Holy Spirit no less than the    mitted to vote at the congregational
of a calling to office . . . and not in the    men. This ground has interesting             meeting:
nature of exercising authority or              implications. First, Reformedwomen
power."                                        must  vote at the congregational meet-         When the Scriptures do not forbid
     The question whether the con-             ing. For women to fail or refuse to do         women's voting rights and yet it L
gregational meeting exercises author-          so is neglect of their calling. For a          withheld from them, this could lead
ity, particularly by its election of           church to forbid women to vote at the          to an  unnecessary alienation with
                                                                                              respect to the gospel, both inside and
officebearers, is, of course, at the heart     congregational meeting is interference         outside the church.
of the controversy over the participa-         with Christ's calling of women. The
tion of women. If the.meeting of the           Scriptures that in the first ground              TheGKN-Libplainlydonotwant
congregation to elect officebearers is         were quite unclear whether women             the camel of feminism in their church
an aspect of the government of the             are to participate in the election of        tents.
church, participation by women is              officebearers have suddenly become               They have, however, accepted her
forbidden. For the apostle "suffer(s)          perfectly clear, that it is the solemn       nose.  0
not a woman to teach, nor to usurp             duty of believing women to partici-
authority over the man, but to be in           pate in this election.                                                         - DJE
silence" in the life of the instituted             Second, by disallowing women
church (I Tim. X2).                            participation at the congregational
    In defending its contention that           meeting all these years, the Reformed
the congregational meeting does not            churches have been sinning, not so
exercise authority, the synod makes            much against the women members of
                                               the church as against the Word and

270lStandard  Bearer/March 15,1!H4


                                                                                                                  .,     ..,
                                                                                                                                ,_
                                                                                                                                      _)





n Still the 7,000                             tradition is in most of this country,           I wish to assure you that there are
                                              and throughout the world, an almost         yet more than 7,0,00 who have not
    I express my sincere appreciation         invisible presence. Arminianism             bowed the knee to Baa1 and pray that
for the Standard Bearer, to which1 am         dominates, and Arminianismis a half-        you keep up the good work.
a recent subscriber. The very exist-          way house to outright secularism. So                               James C. Prude
ence of this publication comes to me          it is perhaps well that in this darkened                           Wyoming MI
as a most pleasant surprise.                  day Calvinism is not the stuff of com-
    BiblicalChristianityfirmlyrooted          mon currency. It is a good day to be
in the Pauline-Augustinian-Calvinist           "contra mundum."




                              G o v e r n m e n t   A i d
                     to Christian Schools
                   --------7%*&T
                                                ;  I  i  $           \
                                            *  .?.            g$&$q<,,   r:' I

    For the past few years the State of       any governmental aid or benefits as a       prudent to refuse these vouchers.
Illinois has sponsored a Pupil Trans-         matter of principle. This would in-             This is not to say, however, that
portation Reimbursement program.              clude a refusal, I suppose, of Medi-        all cost reimbursement programs
Illinois, and perhaps other states in         care, Medicaid, social security dis-        should be summarily rejected. For
similar programs, offer parents of non-       ability payments, flood disaster re-        example, it is h&d to see how school
public schools a partial reimburse-           lief, farm assistance programs, col-        milk subsidy programs or the Illinois
ment for costs of busing their children       lege tuition grants, low interest loans     PupilTransportationReimbursement
to Christian schools, if the school con-      for college education, etc.                 program ($80 per year reimbursed to
firms attendance. There is also talk                  But perhaps a more reasoned         parents busing children more than
about tuition vouchers becoming               approach toward government aid or           l%m.iles fromnon-public school)pose
available to parents of our Christian         cost reimbursement (especially edu-         a realistic threat to government con-
schools. The argument is made that            cation costs which Christian school         trol over the schools these children
these forms of government aid are             taxpayers pay twice!) would be for          attend. Moreover, the fact that the
merely permissible assistance to the          Christians to deny or refuse such aid       school officials must notify the par-
pare& rather than government aid to           when the aid is accompanied by a            ents of this program annually, and
our schools. What should be our posi-         realistic threat of corresponding and       certifyattendancebythepupil,hardly
tion regarding receiving such aid?           unwanted government control over             raises the specter of dreaded govem-
                      Garrett Flikkzma       the recipient or the use of the funds.       ment control.
                           Lansing IL                 This threat has always made pa-         Finally, your specific concern re-
                                             rochial and private schools wary of          garding the Illinois Pupil Transporta-
                                             receiving government direct aid for          tion Reimbursement program now
             We have asked                   tuition and books. The old adage of          appears to be a moot point. The
        James Lanting, editor                "He who pays the fiddler calls the           Illinois legislature has not appropri-
        of our "Church and                   tune" is generally applicable to sub-        ated any funds to this program for the
        State" column to re-                 stantive government aid programs.            `93/`94  school year and the Reim-
        spond to this question.              And if tuition vouchers payable to           bursement Office of the State Board
                - Ed. Comm.                  parents would necessarily entail the         of Education recently informed me
                                             threat of government intrusion and           thatthisprogramhasbeenabandoned
                                             regulation causing us to compromise          for lack of funds.
RESPONSE:                                    our Reformed educational principles                                  lames Lanting
    Some Reformed Christians refuse          or relinquish control, it would seem

                                                                                                 March 15,WWStandard Beam271


                  A Word Fitly Spoken


                                        Season(s)

           On the fourth day of the creation week, God             explain the presence of fossils of tropical life
      said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the           forms, both flora and fauna, in the,Arctic regions.*
      heaven to divide the day from thenight; andlet them              Scripture also uses the term seasons figura-
      be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and             tively to represent a period of time, determined by
      years" (Gen. 1:14). The word seasons in this verse           God,andcharacterizedbyadefinitesetofcircum-
      doesnotreferexclusivelytoourfourseasons;infact,              stances. We may read of seasons of rain (Deut.
      it refers to the four seasons only potentially, since        11:14),  the season of the wilderness wanderings
      our seasons did not begin until after the flood. ,But        (Josh. 24:7), the fruitful season of the righteous
      there are many other kinds of periods or seasons that        man (Ps. 1:3), the night seasons and their tears (Ps.
      are controlled by God through the heavenly bodies,           16:7,22:2),  animals given their meat in due season
      especially the moon; UHe appointed the moon for              (Ps. 104:27), a time and a season for every purpose
      seasons" (l's; 10419).  Included here are the woman's        under heaven (Eccles. 3:1), that God changes the
      period, the tides of the seas, bird and animal migra-        times and the seasons (Dan. 2:21), a season of
      tions, animalestrus seasons, optimum time forplant-          convenience (Acts 24:25),  a season of sorrow (II
      ing, and so on. God rules providentially through the         Cor. 7:8), the saints reaping of a reward in due
      sun and the moon, governing these day-to-day af-             season if they faint not (Gal. 6:9), the requirement
      fairs of His creatures.                                      that the Word of God be preached in and out of
                                                                   season (II Tim. 4:2), the times and seasons just
           The seasons of the year began after the great,          before the Lord's return (Acts 1:7, I Thess. 5:1), the
     universal flood at .the time of Noah. When the                pleasures of sin which satisfy but for a season
      "fountains of the great deep were brokenup, and the          (Heb. 11:25), a season of heaviness brought on by
      windows of heaven opened," the earth was tilted on           manifold temptations (I Pet. 1:6), and the season of
      its axis twenty-three and a half degrees fromnormal.         Satan's loosing (Rev. 20:3). The child of God may
      The result of this tilting is that the pathway of the        always be confident that the length of all these
      direct rays of the sun is' not endlessly upon the            seasons, as well the circumstances that define
      equator, but the sun's pathway "moves" between               them, are ordained by God for his temporal and
      twenty-three and a half degrees north (our Summer            eternal welfare.
      solstice) and twenty-three and a half degrees south
      (our Winter solstice), passing the equator only on the           Someone has asked, a bit impatiently, "If
      vernal and autumnal equinoxes. Thus, when God                Winter'shere, canSpringbefarbeh.ind?"  Granted,
      had received as a sweet. smelling savor the burnt            most people do not enjoy the Winter as much as
      offerings of Noah and his family after 375 days of           the other seasons. But it is God who "giveth snow
      confinement in the ark, God promised that while the          like wool; he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.
      earth remained "seed time and harvest, and cold              He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can
      and heat, and summer and winter,and day and night            stand before his cold? He sendeth out his word,
      shall not cease" (Gen. 822). From the time of cre-           and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow,
      ation until the flood,not only did it not rain (Gen. 2:5,    and the waters flow" (Ps.  145:16-M).  Winter
      6), but there were no seasons either. Seasons, rain,         ought not to be the season of our discontent. There
      the`water cycles, and storms all belong to the world         isbeautyin"thesweepofwindanddownyflake."
      that now is, rather than to the world that then was (II      The crisp air is invigorating and' conducive to
      Pet. 3:6,7).  It is likely that duringprediluvianhistory     work. Home life is enriched with simple plea-
      there was a universal, warm climate; this would              sures. (Remember J.G. Whittier's Snowbound


272lStandard  Bearer /March 15,1994


          from AmericanLit. class?) Favorite books are found
          and re-read; new books are given a careful reading.
          And the snow itself teaches us what we are through
          the blood of Jesus Christ. Even whiter than that!



                    Rev.  Kuiper  is pastor of Southeast Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.





                             Caspar Olevianus:.
                         Author of the Heidelberg Catechism (2)


Introduction                                 understand Latin (even most of the          made to God in the river of Bourges.
    In the last article we introduced        students were not very proficient in            Although the town clerk sup-
our readers to Caspar Olevianus who,         the language) Olevianus, though able        ported this public proclamation of
along with Zacharius Ursinus,                to slip in a few Reformed remarks           the gospel, Olevianus was brought
authored the Heidelberg Catechism.           from time to time, could scarcely be        before the city council, which was less
    Our readers will recall that we          an effective teacher of the truths he       receptive to the idea. Somewhat re-
discussed Olevianus's early life in          had learned to love.                        luctantly, and probably because the
Trier, the city of his birth, his studies         In his discomfort over his vow         citycouncildidnotreallyunderstand
for law in France, his studies in theol-     and his determination to reach the          what was at stake, the men of the
ogy and preaching in Geneva, and his         people, he decided to hold a public         councilvoted to permit him to preach.
subsequent return to the city of his         lecture in German, the language of              The crowds grew rapidly, and
birth.                                       the people. It was subsequently an-         soonaProtestantandCalvinisticcon-
    Although Olevianus was hiredin           nounced. A large crowd assembled.           gregation was organized. But Arch-
Trier as teacher in the local school,        The success of the lecture was the          bishop John, a cleric in the church of
and was limited to teaching philoso-         beginning of a series of lectures in the    Rome as well as Elector of that region,
phy in Latin, his conscience still           German tongue, lectures which be-           heard reports of what was going on.
plagued him that near death in the           came expositions of a Reformation           He knew the significance of it, and
Auror River in Bourges, France he            Catechism.                                  soon, marching with a number of
had vowed that he would preach the               Because the people received what        soldiers to the gates of the city, he
gospel in Trier if God would save            he had to say eagerly and because the       demanded that such "nonsense" stop.
him.                                         crowds continued to grow, he asked          When the city refused to open the
                                             permission of the council to preach to      gates to him, he tookup headquarters
Work In Trier                                the people, which permission was            near the city and began to harass the
    Because few people inTrier could         reluctantly given. He chose for this        citizens by taking away their status as
                                             sermon the subject of justification by      a free city, burning their crops, seiz-
                                             faith, which he ably set forth in a         ing and attacking citizens as theytrav-
                                             crowded room, and which became an           eled to and from the city, issuing
Prof. Hanko is professor of Church His-      occasion for him to attack various          many fierce threats, cutting off the
tory and New Testament in the Protes-        Romish practices. At last he was            city's water supply, preventing sup-
tant  Reformed  Seminary.                    beginning to keep the vow he had            plies of food from entering the city,

                                                                                                March 15,1994/Standard  Bearer/273


and summoning more soldiers to               was 26. It is hard to believe that they       Palatinate. Ludwig was an `ardent
make a determined march on the city.         were so young. The Catechism gives            Lutheran who hated anything  Cal-
    Finally John attacked the city,          evidence of authorship by spiritually         vinistic. The pulpits and schools were
threw Olevianus into jail, banished          and theologically mature men. And             the first objects of Ludwig's attacks.
all who upheld Protestant practices,         so they were. Maturity before one's           Olevianus was fired from his post
and restored Roman Catholicism. It           thirties-that is the measure of their         and put under house arrest. When
was a totaltriumph for Rome. To add          God-given abilities.                          this arrest was lifted it was only to
insult to injury, John instituted an             The Catechism is a                                      banish from the entire
annual "Olevian Processionn to cel-          professor's book and a                                      Palatinate anyone who
ebrate the banishment of this man of         preacher's book. It is             T h e                    breathed a Reformed
God. It was nearly 250 years before          systematic doctrine cov-                                    word. Over 600 preach-
any worship services other than              ering the whole of the            Catechism                 ers and teachers, includ-
Romish were held in this city.               Christian faith. Itis how-                 is a             ing Olevianus and
    Olevianus was held in prison for         ever not the doctrine of          professor's               Ursinus, fled, and the
ten weeks and was finally released           the classroom or lecture              book                  Calvin Reformation
only at the insistence of the Elector        hall, but the doctrine of            and a                  came to an abrupt halt.
Frederick the Pious, who paid an enor-       the pulpit and the faith                                       Olevianus went for a
mous ransom for the release.                 of the people of God. The         preacher's                short time to a castle of a
Olevianus never again returned to            systematic theology of               book.                  friend in central Ger-
the city of his birth.                       the creed reflects the gifts                                many to tutor his son
    He had thought (and promised)            of Ursinus; the passion-                                    and help in the- Refor-
to preach the gospel in Trier; he kept       ately pastoral approach of comfort in         mation work which was being done
his promise, though only for a short         doctrine is the delicate touch of the         in that area. In 1548 he went to
time; God had need of him elsewhere.         preacher.                                     Herbom, another city in Germany, as
The year was 1560; Olevianus was                 Olevianus's work on the Cat-              the chief preacher of the church there
only 24 years old.                           echism was by no means all he did in          and as promoter of the Reformation.
                                             Heidelberg. His congregational re-            The result was that, although
Work In Heidelberg                           sponsibilities were enough to keep            Lutheranism was the dominant faith
    Although Olevianus had many              him busy, but he was also deeply              in Germany, there were various places
offers to work elsewhere, he chose to        involved in continuing reform in the          where Calvinism flourished and a
go to Heidelberg at the invitation of        Palatinate. He was instrumental in            Reformed church grew strong.
Frederick. In Heidelberg he became           bringing into the Palatinate hundreds              In the same year that Olevianus
leader and director at the college.          of Reformed teachers to teach in the          came to Herbom he started a Semi-
There he completed his doctoral stud-        schools and preachers to preach in            nary, more properly, an Academy,
ies in theology and was appointed to         the pulpits. He was deeply involved           for the school taught also the subjects
the chair of dogmatics. For use in his       in the defense of the Reformed faith          which were necessary for pre-theo-
lectures, he made a summary of               over against Lutheran and Roman               logical studies. Olevianus once again
Calvin's  Institutes,  which book was        Catholic attacks. He was especially           occupied the chair of dogmatics.
the major textbook in the class.             instrumental in solidifying genuine           Under his labors and leadership the
    His abilities were not, however,         biblical church government in the             Seminary expanded and grew with
primarily the abilities of a professor;      Palatinate - although not without a           incredible speed. A year after it had
he was above all a preacher. And so,         bitter battle with those who wanted           been started, the famed Piscator  came
when Zacharius Ursinus came to the           the State to rule the church.                 to the school, along with 12 other
university, Olevianus moved out of                                                         teachers of prominence in the Re-
the chair of dogmatics to make room          The Last Years                                formed movement. The student body
for Ursinus; and Olevianus became                But even such good things as              was a cross-section of Europe's Cal-
chief pastor in St. Peter's Church and       Olevianus's work in Heidelberg had            vinists.
later in the Church of the Holy Spirit.      to come to an end.                                 But we near the end of the story.
Here, on the pulpit, expounding God's            There are so many things in God's              Though only 51, Olevianus was
Word, he felt at home. Here Gbdused          eternal purpose that seem all wrong           worn with labor and toil in the cause
his gifts to the advantage of the church.    to us. Just at that point when so many        of the gospel. As he lay dying, he
   And so it was that both a profes-         battles seemed to be won and when             confessed: "I have only learned to
sor, gifted in theology, and a preacher,     Heidelberg was becoming a center              know in this sickness what sin is, and
eloquent and faithful in the pulpit,         for Reformational studies, God                how great is the majesty of God." He
were, under God's providence, cho-           stopped it all.                               spoke of a dream he had had: "Yester-
sen to write the Heidelberg Catechism.           In 1576 Frederick died and his            day I was filled for more than an hour
Ursinus was 28 years old; Olevianus          son Ludwig came to the throne of the          with unspeakable joy. It appeared to

274lStandard Bearer March 15,1994


me that I was walking in a meadow           that"onlycomfortinlifeandindeath,"          the profound truth: "Are infants also
resplendent with light, and while I         he went to be with the Lord.                to be baptized? Yes: for since they, as
was moving about, heavenly dew fell             Olevianus's power was in his            well as the adult, are included in the
on me, not in drops but in streams.         preaching. Nevertheless, one more           covenant and church of God; and
Both my body and soul were filled           accomplishment, and that in the field       sinceredemptionfromsinbytheblood
with exceeding great joy."                  of theology, must be mentioned. He          of Christ, and the Holy Ghost, the
    Piscator,  hearing this, said: "So      wrote abook,  undoubtedly the best of       author of faith, is promised to them
the good Shepherd has led you into          all his writings, entitled "The Cov-        no less than to the adult; they must
His green pastures." Olevianus re-          enant of Grace." What is so striking        therefore by baptism, as a sign of the
plied: "Yes, he has led me to the           about this book is that, although           covenant, be also admitted into the
fountain of living water." He re-           Olevianus often spoke of the cov-           Christian church . . ." (Q. & A. 74).
quested that Psalm 42 and Isaiah 53         enant as a pact or an agreement (an
be read to him. He asked that those at      idea in keeping with his times), he           (Note:TheaB.VanHalsemahaspub-
his bedside sing a Reformation hymn,        also, amazingly, spoke of the cov-            lished a short story of the three men
and he joined with them in a weak           enant as a b.ond of friendship and            [Frederick III,  Ursinus, and
voice. He died shortly after, telling       fellowship, an idea which was not to          Oleyianus]  who were instrumental
                                                                                          inwritingthe  Catechism. The titleis:
those around him: "I would no longer        be fully developed in all its beauty          "Three Men Came To Heidelberg."
postpone my journey to the Lord. I          until the theology of Herman Hoek-            An unpublished syllabus entitled:
desire to depart and be with Christ."       sema. Such is a measure of the stature        "The Heidelberg Catechism: Origin
He said his farewells to his wife, his      of this eminent man of God through            and History," written by Fred W.
aged mother, his children, and his          whose hands God gave us our Hei-              Klooster,  has much material of value
friends, taking the time to bless each      delberg Catechism. No wonder that             in it.) 0
of them. And so, living and dying in        in that very Catechism should appear




                              No Compromise*

    This is the suggestion of the               To this end let ,us revise our doc-     so by their infant baptism, and so that
present hour:. if the world will not        trines. Some are old-fashioned, grim,       great sentence, "Ye must be born
come to Jesus, shall-Jesus tone down        severe, unpopular; let us drop them         again," is deprived of its force. Re-
his teachings to the world? In other        out. Use the old phrases so as to           pentance is ignored, faith is a drug in
words, if the worldwillnot  rise to the     please the obstinately orthodox, but        the market as comparedwith "honest
church, shall not the church go down        give them new meanings so as to win         doubt," and mourning for sin and
to the world? Instead of bidding men        philosophical infidels, who are prowl-      communion with God are dispensed
to be converted, and come out from          ing around. Pare off the edges of           with, to make way for entertainments,
among sinners, and be separate from         unpleasant truths, and moderate the         and Socialism, and politics of varying
them, let us join with the ungodly          dogmatic tone of infallible revelation:     shades. A new creature in Christ
world, enter into unionwithit, and so       say that Abraham and Moses made             Jesus is looked upon as a sour inven-
pervade it with our influence by al-        mistakesand  that the books which           tion of bigoted Puritans.... That is
lowing it to influence us. Let us have      have been so long had in reverence          what "modem thought"is telling us;
a Christian world.                          are full of errors. Undermine the old       and under its guidance all religion is
                                            faith, and bring in the new doubt; for      being toned down. Spiritual religion
                                            the times are altered, and the spirit of    is despised; and a fashionable moral-
                                            the age suggests the abandonment of         ityissetupinitsplace.Do yourselfup
                                            everything that is too severely righ-       tidily on Sunday; behave yourself;
* An excerpt from the sermon of this        teous, and too surely of God.               and above all, believe everything ex-
title preached in 1888 by Charles Haddon        The deceitful adulteration of doc-      cept what you read in the Bible, and
Spurgeon. This excerpt is takenfrom the     trine is attended by a falsification of     you will be all right. Be fashionable,
printedcopyoftheseemwzdistributed  by       experience. Men are now told that           and think with those who profess to
Chapel Library in P&sgcola, Florida.)       they were born good, or were made           be scientific - this is the first and

                                                                                               March 15,1994/Standard  Bearer&?75


great commandment of the modem                   This, then, is the proposal. In                especially eagerness to include re-
school; and the second is like unto it       order to win the world, the Lord Jesus             spectable people, has adulterated
-donotbesingular,butbeasworldly              must conform himself, his people,                  many churches, andmade themlaxin
asyourneighbours . ..thusisthechurch         and his Word to the world....                      doctrine and practice, and fond of
going down to the world.                         . . . This cannot be. Hitherto the             silly amusements. These are the
     Men seem to say- It is of no use        way of God with his                           L                    people who despise a
going on in the old way, fetching out        church has been to sever                                           prayer-meeting, but
one here and another there from the          a people from the world             God save us                    rush to see "living wax-
great mass. We want a quicker way.           tobehiselect-apeople                                               works" in their school-
To wait till people are born again, and      formed for himself, who                 fi0m                       rooms. God save us
become followers of Christ, is a long        shall show forth his                  converts                     from converts who are
process: let us abolish the separation       praise. Beloved, God's                who are                      made by lowering the
between the regenerate andunregen-           plan is not altered. He                 made                       standard, and tarnishing
erate. Come into the church, all of          will still go on calling            by lowering                    the spiritual glory of the
you, converted or unconverted. You           those whom he did pre-                                             church!.... Trueconverts
have good wishes and good resolu-            destinate. Do not let us           the standard.                   are never daunted by
tions; that will do: don't trouble about     fly in the teeth of that L                                    d    truth or holiness  -
more. It is true you do not believe the      fact, and suppose that                                             these, in fact, are the
gospel, but neither do we. You be-           we can save men on a more wholesale                things which charm them....
lieve something or other. Come along;        scale by ignoring the distinction be-                   . ..Are you afraid that preaching
if you do not believe anything, no           tween the dead in sin and the living in            the gospel will not win souls? Are
matter; your "honest doubt" is better        Zion.... If there is no need of a sepa-            you despondent as to success in God's
by far than faith. "But," say you,           rate church now, what have we been                 way? Is this why you pine for clever
"nobody talks so." Possibly they do          at throughout all these ages? Has the              oratory? Is this why you must have
not use the same words, but this is the      martyr's blood been shed out of mere               music, and architecture, and flowers,
real meaning of the present-day reli-        folly? Have confessors and reform-                 and millinery? After all, is it by might
gion; this is the drift of the times.        ers been mad when contending for                   and by power, and not by the Spirit of
    I can justify the broadest state-        doctrines which, it would seem, are                God? It is even so in the opinion of
ment I have made by the action or by         of no great account? Brethren, there               many. Brethren beloved, there are
the speech of certain ministers, who         are two seeds  - the seed of the                   many things which I might allow to
are treacherously betraying our holy         woman, and the seed of the serpent-                other worshippers which I have de-
religion under pretence  of adapting it      and the difference will be maintained              nied myself in conducting the wor-
to this progressive age. The new plan        even to the end; neither must we                   ship of this congregation. I have long
is to assimilate the church to the world,    ignore the distinction to please men....           worked out before your very eyes the
and so include a larger area within its          . . . All the converts that the church         experiment of the unaided attractive-
bounds. By semi-dramatic perfor-             will ever make by softening down its               ness of the gospel of Jesus. Our ser-
mances they make houses of prayer            doctrine, and by becoming worldly,                 vice is severely plain. No man ever
to approximate to the theatre; they          will not be worth one bad farthing  a              comes hither to gratify his eye with
turn their services into musical dis-        gross. When we get them, the next                  art, or his ear with music. I have set
plays, and their sermons into political      question willbe, "How can we get rid               before you, these many years, noth-
harangues or philosophical essays -          ofthem?" Theywouldbeofnoearthly                    ing but Christ crucified,.and  the sim-
in fact, they exchange the temple for        use to us. It swelled the number of                plicity of the gospel; yet where will
the theatre, and turn the ministers of       Israelites when they came out of Egypt             you find such a crowd as this gath-
God into actors, whose business it is        that a great number of the lower order             ered together this morning? Where
to amuse men. Is it not so, that the         of Egyptians came out with them.                   will you find such a multitude as this
Lord's day is becoming more and              Yes, but that mixed multitude be-                  meeting, Sabbath after Sabbath, for
more a day of recreation or of idle-         came the plague of Israel in the wil-              five-and-thirty years? I have shown
ness, and the Lord's house either a          derness, and we read that "the mixt                you nothing but the cross, the cross
joss-house full of idols, or a political     multitude fell a lusting." The Israel-             without the flowers of oratory, the
club, where there is more enthusiasm         ites were bad enough, but it was the               cross without the blue lights of super-
for a party than zeal for God? Ah me!        mixed multitude that always led the.               stition or excitement, the cross with-
the hedges are broken down, the walls        way in murmuring. Why is there                     out diamonds of ecclesiastical rank,
are levelled, and to many there is           such spiritual death to-day? Why is                the cross without the buttresses of a
henceforth, no church except as a            false doctrine so rampant in the                   boastful science. It is abundantly suf-
portion of the world, no God except          churches? It is because we have un-                ficient to attract men first to itself, and
as an unknowable force by which the          godly people in the church and in the              afterwards to eternal life! In this
laws of nature work.                         ministry. Eagerness for numbers, and               house we have proved successfully,

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  these many years, this great truth,        cleave a man's chine (backbone), and         Lord's hands, that glorious  two-
 that the gospel plainly preached will       split a rock in halves. How is it that it    handed sword will mow down fields
  gain an audience, convert sinners,         does so little of its old conquering         of men as mowers level the grass with
  and build up and sustain a church.         work? I will tell you. Do you see this       their scythes. There is no need to go
      We beseech the people of God to        scabbard of artistic work, so wonder-        down to Egypt for help. To invite the
 mark that there is no need to try           fully elaborated? Full many keep the         devil to help Christ is shameful. Please
  doubtfulexpedientsandquestionable          sword in this scabbard, and therefore        God, we shall see prosperity yet, when
  methods. God will save by the gospel       its edge never gets to its work. Pull off    the church of Godis resolvednever to
  still: only let it be the gospel in its    that scabbard. Fling that fine sheath        seek it except in God's own way. 0
 purity. This grand old sword will           to Hades, and then see how, in the





                                                       Chapter 3
                      The First Three Days
                                             of Creation

      In this chapter we turn to the         even by so-called theistic evolution.        Genesis 1 is important in connection
 consideration of the specific creative      The Bible places God and His speech,         with the attacks which have been
 works of the Lord our God on the first      and that, too, all alone, on the fore-       made on the meaning of the creation-
 three days of creation-week. These          ground. God spake, and it was done;          narrative and the nature of the cre-
 are recorded in Genesis 1:3-13.             He commanded, and it stood fast.             ative work. Because of the fact that
     By way of introduction, we may          There simply is no room in the record        the entire subject of creation versus
 note that each creative work is intro-      of Scripture for any notion of a pro-        so-called theistic evolution and the
 duced by the significant formula,           cess of any kind. This cannot be de-         questionwhethertheisticevolutionis
i "And God said . . . . fl By these words    rived from the text of Scripture itself,     compatible with Holy Scripture is
 Scripture very definitely and directly      but must needs be introduced from a          closely connected with this matter of
ascribes the works of creation to God        foreign source. Scripture certainly          the time-factor, and because of the
 Himself. Moreover, in close connec-         presents the work of creation as im-         fact that it is frequently proposed that
 tion with this, the Bible attributes        mediate and instantaneous.                   it is not necessary in the light of Scrip-
 these works of creation to God's                                                         ture tobelieve that creation took place
 speech, the Word of God. That Word          The Days of Creation                         in six ordinary days, but that Scrip-
 of God spoken produces the various              We may notice that with respect          ture itself leaves room for various
 creatures that are described in this        to all the days of creation-week Scrip-      other theories, it is important that we
 chapter. God is the Creator! We             ture concludes the record of each day        examine this matter in the light of
 should note carefully that the text of      with the statement, "And the evening         Scripture.
 Scripture simply does not leave any         a.nd the morning were the first day . . .        There are various theories abroad         .
 room for any devious process of evo-        the second day . . . the third day," etc.    which seek to introduce into the cre-
 lution, nor for any kind of process of      And the beginning of each new day is         ation-narrative a period of time which
 development through the operation           indicated by the words, "And God             is far longer than six days. In fact,
 of so-called natural law and second         said . . . . II These two elements, which    these theories, in one way or another,
 causes, such as might be described          are common to all the six days of            want to make room in the narrative of
                                             creation, are very closely related. To-      Genesis for hundreds of millions and
                                             gether they mark the beginning and           even billions of years. The purpose of
 The lute Homer Hoekserna was professor      the conclusion of a specific part of the     these theories, of course, is to make
 of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the       work of creation.                            room in the Genesis narrative for the
 Protestant Reformed Semis  y.                   The subject of the time-factor in        unimaginably long periods of time

                                                                                                  March lS,I994lStat?dard Beam277


which the process of evolution re-           time and the actual order and the               emphasized as strongly as possible
quires. Moreover, it is claimed by           actual accomplishment of the creative           thai this is solely a question of the
`some that it is even a scientifically       work. This theory, therefore, leaves            Bible, and that, too, as the infallible
proven fact that our universe is a           the entire question of the exact his-           and inspired Word of God. This ev-
very, very old universe, and that we         torical events of creation and the time         ery believing child of God ought to
must speak of its age in terms of            of creation and the duration of the             see very clearly. If anyone tries to
billions of years. In this context, there    creation workwide  open for the claims          convince him of the period theory,
are those who attempt to maintain, on        ofevolutionismanditsnecessarylong               then he must tell him, "Show it to me
the one hand, that some kind of theory       periods of time.                                fromtheBible,andIwillbelieveit." If
of evolution (some speak of "theistic            Still another theory claims that            anyone attempts to maintain the liter-
evolution") is compatible with Holy          what we have in the book of Genesis             ary framework theory, then he must
Scripture; and, on the other hand,           is the narrative of creation as Moses           be told, "Show me in the light of
there are also those who claim to be         and the children of Israel understood           Scripture, and I will concede that it is
strongly opposed to any theory of so-        it in their times and from their point of       possible." If anyone attempts to main-
called theistic evolution, who empha-        view and with their degree of knowl-            tain a so-called Sitz im Leben theory
size that this theory is contrary to         edge, but that this does not necessar-          and to claim that what we have in
Scripture, but who nevertheless do           ily mean that we in the 20th century            Genesis 1 is the work of creation as
not consider the question of the six         must understand and view that work              Moses and Israel understood it, but
days of creation animportant one and         of creation in exactly the same way,            that this does not limit us to that same
do not insist that these six days were       from our point of view and with our             literal presentation, then we must be
six ordinary, twenty-four hour days,         vastly increased degree of scientific           reminded that the Bible speaks of
but rather concede that creation may         knowledge.                                      creation not merely as Moses under-
have taken place over an extremely               Now it must be emphasized that              stood it, but as God tells us of it. And
long period of time. They do this in         this is a very important matter. In the         if we are to be convinced that the Lord
order to maintain that the theory of a       first place, it is important because if         was occu     ?d with creation forbil-
very old universe is compatible with         Scripture itself  ~i-ules out                                 lions of years, then we
the belief in creation.                      these long periods of                                         must be convinced from
    Thus, there are various theories         time, then, apart from              We must not               no other source thanHis
concerning this time-factor. We have         any other question, the               become so               own Word. This can-
already mentioned one of these theo-         entire possibility of any          ,sophisticated             notbestressedstrongly
ries: therestitution theory. Another         process of evolution or                                       enough. It holds for the
theory is the inter-period theory; it        of progressivism in cre-                      and             simplest, most unedu-
seeks to insert between the various          ation is also ruled out.                so vain               cated person, but also
days of creation long periods of time.       This is also to be empha-                in our               for the highly learned
This theory, however, is not currently       sized with respect to                  conceits               man of science. We
very popular. A more commonly                those who claim to op-                 that we                must not become so so-
held theory is that which attempts to        pose theistic evolution                                       phisticated and so vain
transform the days of Genesis 1 into         but who do not insist that               begin                in our conceits that we
long periods of millions and hun-            creation took place in six          to challenge              begin to challenge the
dreds of millions of years, and thus to      days, thus allowing for               the Scrip-              Scriptures with outside
make room for the idea that the earth        long periods of time. It              tures with              evidence. The Word of
is several billion years old.                shouldnotbeoverlooked                   outside               God is absolutely true,
    There are also theories which sim-       that this position is taken                                   and that Word of Godis
ply,seek  to do away altogether with         in order to cater to the              evidence.               an absolute authority.
the question of the time-factor. One         claims of science that our L                                  Nothing may be placed
of these is the "framework hypoth-           earthis  an old earth. This                                   next to it; nothing may
esis." This view maintains that it is        is rather naive. The evolutionist sees          interpret or claim to interpret that
not the intent of Genesis 1 to present       very clearly that somehow he must               Word of God for us. On this we must
an exact report of what happened at          introduce billions of years into the' be adamant. We must never allow
creation, but rather that the six days       context of Scripture's account of cre-          men to come to the Bible with so-
of creation-week are but a literary          ation. The strange thing is that some           called scientific proof and with their
framework, or scheme, which is de-           Christians do not see this nearly as            scientific theories, and then begin to
signed to tell us something about the        clearly and are willing to concede this         question whether what the Bible says
order of the work of God and to              very crucial point, failing to see that at      is true or whether it can be possible
express that this work of creation is        this juncture in a very practical way           that the Bible must be literally under-
complete. Genesis 1 is not designed          the entire question is decided.                 stood or whether perhaps we- must
to tell us anything about the actual             In the second place, it must be             find some other means, some other

278lStandard  Bearer /March 15,1994


way,. of explaining what the Bible            whileitisundoubtedlytruethatScrip-            nonsensical and non-understandable
says This is a fundamentally wrong            ture uses the term "day" figuratively         method of expression it would be if
approach. It is essentially the ap-           to refer to other than a period of 24         the Lord our God meant to tell us that
proach of the same unbelievingratio-          hours, we must remember that even             He created the workof this first day in
nalism that has in many, many circles         then thebasisof such figurative speech        hundreds of millions of years, and
dethroned Scripture as the sole au-           rests in theliteralmeaningof the term         then told us that it was done in a day,
thority of faith and life.                    day. Besides, there are certain factors       limited by morning and evening. If
    Let us state the matter very em-          which we must remember in this con-           we add to this the sc;iptural data that
phatically as follows: If the Bible says      nection. One of these is the very             from the very first there was day and
that creation took place in six days,         sound principle of interpretation that        there was night, with the latter di-
andifscientificmansays                                       wherever possible, in the      vided from the day, and that when
that this is impossible                                      ,light of Scripture itself,    the fourth day came with its rule of
and that it must have                . . . anyone            the text must be taken in      the day and the night by the two great
been millions of years,                                      its natural and literal        lights.which God created on that day
and if then we had abso-             who reads               sense. If we depart from       - the sun and the moon - that also
lutely no way of casting             the record              this literal sense, then       then we have the very same mode of
even a shadow of a                   of Genesis              Scripture itself must fur-     expression and the very same termi-
doubt upon this claim of             spontane-               nish the reason for un-        nology, without a single indication of
science, thenby faith we                ously                derstanding a, given           anychange,thenitisabundantlyplain
must continue to say,                                        term in other than that        that Scripture leaves its readers no
without compromise,                understands               natural and literal sense.     option but to understand that God
"The Word of God is                 it literally.            In this context no such        created all things in six days, days
true, and science is dead L                                  Scriptural reason for          that are consecutively numbered,
wrong."                                                      departure from the lit-        dayslimitedbymomingandevening,
    Hence, the question is: What does         eral meaning can be produced; on the          days characterized by the division of
the Bible say about this matter?              contrary, anyone who reads the record         day and night, days such as we know
    In the first place, negatively, let       of Genesis spontaneously under-               them. If the people of God cannot
us note that there is not a single hint in    stands it literally. That is its natural      read the Scriptures as we have them
Scripture which so much as suggests           and plain meaning; and anyone, from           in Genesis 1 in that way, then it be-
any of the theories mentioned. This is        the uneducated to the learned, under-         comes wholly impossible to be as-
a very important point with a view to         stands this. On any other basis the           sured of the meaning of any Scrip-
this question. It is especially impor-        understanding and interpretation of           ture.
tant in the light of the truth of the         Scripture becomes a hopeless impos-               Finally, we must remember that
perspicuity of Scripture. Note well,          sibility.                                     when the Lord our God thus created
the question is not one of human                     Secondly, we must take careful         all things, in so doing the ordinance of
opinions concerning Scripture. The            note of the fact that in each case these      our weekwas by Godincreated in the
question is not even whether the text         days of creation-week are numbered,           universe. This,infact, formsthebasis
in Scripture could possibly allow for         and numbered consecutively. Never             of the injunction of the Fourth Com-
these various theories  - although            does Scripture use the term "day"             mandment, according to Exodus
also that question would have to be           accompanied by a numeral, except to           20:8ff  .: "Remember the sabbath day,
faced solely on the basis of Scriptural       denote a literal and ordinary day.            to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou
evidence. But the question is: What                  Thirdly, we must also notice that      labor and do all thy work but the
does the text in Genesis actually and         in connection with these days the text        seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord
in fact teach? That question must be          speaks of evening and morning. By             thy God...." And there follows in
faced on the basis of Scripture. Scrip-       these points of reference each of the         verse 11: "For in six days the Lord
ture - perspicuous Scripture - must           creation-days is marked off, limited.         made heaven and earth, the sea, and
interpret Scripture. While there have         In the record of the first day,the            all that in them is, and rested the
been many arguments and sugges-               evening spoken of is mentioned first,         seventh day."
tions as to what the Genesis record           and it is the evening of that first day.          The maintenance of the above
possibly allows room for, sound,              The morning spoken of is mentioned            position and the maintenance of the
Scriptural argument supporting any            second, and it is the morning of the          Scriptural truth of creation are in-
one of these theories cannot be ad-           following day, thebeginningofwhich            separably connected. The latter can-
d u c e d .                                   marks the end of the first day. We            not be maintained apart from the
    In the second place, let us take          may most properly read the text here          former.  IJ
note of the following elements in the         as follows: "And there was evening,
statement of Scripture here. First of         and there was morning: day one."
all, the text speaks of a day. And            What a very strange, yea, altogether

                                                                                                     March 15,1994/Sfandard  Bearer/279


 2.  W a r s -- Sign of the End

    War!                                     places. All these are thebeginning of    the nearness of the end of the world,
    Bombs and bullets; rape and tor-         sorrows.                                 and many people have been duped by
ture; death and maiming!                                                              these claims. The secrecy of these
    Even we Americans, who have                First, the disciples of Christ have    revelations contradicts the very idea
not had the dogs of war unleashed on       no reason to fear: "See that ye be not     of the biblical signs of the end, for
our land, on our cities, and on our        troubled." In Luke 21:9, we are told:      biblical signs are open and obvious.
homes, tremble at the horror of war.       "Be not terrified." Second, war is         The claim to special revelation about
Scarcely less horrible than war is the     necessary:    "All these things must       the end is a markof  the false prophets
aftermath of war: famine, pestilence,      come to pass." Third, the hope that        who try to deceive the elect in the last
and social chaos.                          our world will be blessed with peace       days, according to verses 23-26 of
    War is no stranger to us. Those of     is a vain hope: "Ye shall hear of wars     Matthew 24. It is the false prophets
us who are eighty have lived through       and rumors of wars . . . nation shall      who say, "Behold, he is in the desert
two world wars,the  Korean conflict,       rise against nation."                      . . . behold, he is in the secret cham-
and the war in Vietnam. We have                Christ now begins to answer the        bers," i.e., "I have some private, se-
witnessed countless other smaller, yet     disciples' question: "What shall be        cret information about Christ's com-
violent,conflictsbesides. Whoknows         the sign of thy coming, and of the end     ing. Listen to me and follow me."
when and where war will next erupt?        of the world?" The disciples thought           Even though the signs of the end
If we include the strife between the       that the end would be preceded by          are obvious to all, they serve as signs
races within the same country, it be-      one, great sign. Jesus does not deny       only to the believer. The unbeliever,
comes clear how prevalent, and how         this, as verse 30 shows, for He speaks     as always, sees, but does not perceive
near to us all, is war.                    of "the  sign of the Son of man in         and heed. The reason is not igno-
    Our natural reaction to war and        heaven." But He teaches that there         rance, but unbelief. Only faith reads
the rumors of it is fear, even terror.     are also other signs of the end, and       thesignsarightandtakesthewaming
Then we quickly suppose that war is        one of these is war.                       to heart: The end is near! Jesus is
really unnecessary. How often did              Signs of the end of the world are      coming!
we not hear that, perhaps even say         events in creation, in history, and in         Thesignsoftheenddomorethan
that, concerning the war in Vietnam?       the church that show that Jesus is         merely indicate that the end is com-
From this, we move on to the hope          coming, that the end of the world          ing. We cannot compare them, say, to
that war will be removed from the          approaches, and that the end is near.      a road-sign, that says, "Chicago - 99
world and that peace will prevail.         Such an event in creation would be an      miles." Such a road-sign does indi-
    The words of Jesus Christ on war       earthquake; such an event in the           cate that Chicago is coming up, but it
in Matthew 246-8, as He continues          church would be apostasy; such an          does not bring Chicago any nearer. A
His instruction about the end of the       event in history would be war. These       sign of the end does bring the end
world, contradict our natural reac-        signs are specified in the Scriptures,     nearer. It is itself a means by which
tion to war:                               and they are events that take place out    the end approaches, or, to view it
                                           in the open, where they are obvious to     differently, a way in which every-
  And ye shall hear of wars and ru-        everybody. They are not private, se-       thing is made ready for the end of the
  mors of wars: see that ye be not         cret signs that are given to a few         world. Rather than compare the sign
  troubled: for all these things must      special individuals by special revela-     of war to a sign-post that declares that
  come to pass, but the end is not yet.    tion. This, of course, has always been     a large city is so many miles away, we
  For nation shall rise against nation,    a characteristic of the cults. Their
  and kingdom against kingdom: and                                                    could compare it to the first, far-off
  there shall be famines, and pesti-       leaders have claimed special revela-       rumblings of thunder that indicate
  lences, and earthquakes in divers        tions given to them privately about        the approach of the storm. This is

28OIStandard  BearerMarch  Vi,1994


why Jesus says that the signs gener-             tempo of war picks up as we come             war - the beating of the swords of
ally and war in particular are neces-            nearer to the end. .Man develops in          the nations into ploughshares, when
sary. This is also the idea of Jesus'            sin and becomes a more and more              the nations will not learn war any-
calling war the beginning of sorrows             terrible warmonger.                          more. We long for the day when
in verse 8.                                          But war is also the judgment of          Jehovah our God will make wars to
    War is one of those                                         God upon sinful man-          cease unto the ends of the earth (Ps.
signs of the end. Some-                     I                  kind. `Wars are con-           46:9). But we desire this only in the
one will certainly ob-               Only faith                trolled by God and sent        way of the removal of sin from the
serve that there have al-               reads                  by God. This is taught in      earth. The desire for peace,while  the         .
ways been wars in the                                           Revelation  6:3, 4, the       nations go on in their sins and even .
world. They are not lim-              the signs                 well-known vision of the      increase in wickedness, is an attack
ited to the period shortly             aright                   red horse of the apoca-       on God's justice. It is nothing less
before the return of               and takes the               lypse. The Lamb, the           thari man's age-old longing to have
Christ. This is true. One             warning                  risen Christ, is sending       sin without paying the wages of sin.
of the main lessons of                to heart:                forth God's judgments              Also, the church looks for peace
history is that man's de-                                      on a wicked world at the       to be accomplished by Christ at His
sire for peace has never               The end                  end of the ages. The          second coming, not before. Matthew
been achieved. Man has                 is near!                bloody horse and its           24 in general and verse 6 in particular
constantlybeenwarring,        L                                rider are given power          contradict the notion that there will
or preparing to wage
      -  _  _           -  -                                    "to take peace from the       be a period of peace prior to Christ's
war. But this fact only shows that               earth, and that they should kill one         coming, brought about by the conver-
Christ has always been coming. From              another; and there was given unto            sion of the world. The historyof the
the moment of His ascension, He has              him a great sword." The nations are          world is one of war. It must be.
been coming again to earth. Accord-              seeking peace. This is in' their inter-          Thenecessityofwaristobefound,
ing to Scripture, the entire period              ests. But Christ causes the red horse        first of all, in the fact that it is neces-
from the ascension to the moment of              to run through the earth.                    sary for a wicked world to be pun-
His appearance is the last hour, and                 For wars are necessary! This is          ished. It is the church's calling to
already soon after His ascension it              what Jesus said,inMatthew  24~6: "All        make this known to the world in her
was said, "The e,nd is near." Wars,              these things (namely, wars and ru-           preaching. The church does not un-
therefore, have always been present              mors of wars) must come to pass.R            derwrite the world's folly, that peace
in the world. But as time goes on,               The world is always insisting that           is possible for an unrighteous world.
there is an intensifying of war both as          war can be banished. Peace is always         She does not cry, "Peace, peace," when
regards the extent of war and as re-             just around the comer. A few more            there is no peace. But as Noah did to
gards its severity.                              good diplomats, some more confer-            the ungodly world of his day and as
    War is the product of the sinful             ences, a little more good will among         Enoch did to the. ungodly of his day,
heart of man. Wicked man is the                  men.... Many religious people are in         the church warns the world of the
cause of all war. The blame for it rests         the forefront of the movements for an        judgments of God's wrath. These
on him. Man's greed, man's lust for              end to wars. Theywouldrun Jesus off          judgments are already falling on the
power, and man's pride spawn wars.               their pulpits, if He were to preach          world in the horrors of war. The
The injustice, the ferocity, the cruelty         today what He proclaimed in Mat-             present judgments are the harbingers
of mankind in war are appalling.                 thew`24, namely, the necessity of wars.      of worse judgments to come.
Fallen man is at war with God, and he            Once and for all, Jesus exposed man's            It is especially the necessity of
manifeststhatinhisenmitywithother                dream of peace as a delusion. Once           wars for the coming of Jesus Christ
men - nation against nation, king-               and for all, He refused to have the          ,that concerns us. When Jesus said
dom against kingdom, and race                    banner of His Name flown over the            that wars were necessary, He meant
against race. Not one of us can excuse           attempts of men, including religious         that LheywerenecessaryforHis  com-
himself, therefore. It is common to-             men, to put an end to war. Christ did        ing and for the end of the world. He
day for people to blame others for               not pray and desire that there be no         linked wars and the end of the world,
war. The young blame the older gen-              wars, but He willed that His people          .when He added, "but the end is not
eration; the citizens blame their rul-           not be troubled because of the wars          yet." There is a relationship between
ers. But the responsibility for war              that would and must come.                    wars and the end. Wars serve the
belongs to us all. Through Adam's                    We who are the disciples of Christ       coming of the end. Wars prepare for
disobedience, the guilt of which we              must take this seriously. We do not          the coming again of Jesus Christ. Jesus
all share, we all brought war into the           join in the efforts for an earthly peace;    comes speedily through wars.
good world of God. From the view-                we do not pray for an earthly peace;             How is this the case? First, wars
point that war springs from wicked               we do not expect such a peace. We            make impossible for a time the estab-
man, it is understandable that the               certainly do desire the abolition of         lishmentofthekingdomofAntichrist,

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so that the church has the opportu-        are not shaken with doubts and fears,      coming storm. The storm is approach-
nity to preach the gospel. By this         nor may they be, for they know that        ing. Therefore, war tells us that the
preaching, the truth of God is wit-        war serves the coming of Christ and        end is certain, and it tells us that the
nessedin allnations, so that the Name      the end of the world.                      end is near, so near that we may not
of God is praised and all of God's             War is a sign of the end! It has a     and cannot forget about the end.
elect are saved. When the nations          twofold message to us who follow               The certainty and nearness of the
finally achieve peace, they will turn      Christ. On the one hand, it indicates      end, as indicated by wars, are strik-
against the church, to destroy her.        that the end is not yet. So we read in     ingly taught by the Lord in verse 8,
`Second, wars show the utter hope-         verse 6: "but the end is not yet." The     where He calls wars U thebeginningof
lessness of man apart from God in          meaning is that when wars rage and         sorrows." The word, "sorrows," lit-
Jesus Christ. In the bloody history of     the world is filled with the rumors of     erally means "labor pains" or
the human race, it becomes unques-         wars, the end of the world will not        "birthpangs." It refers to the pains of
tionably plain that man cannot make        come at once. There is still much that     awomanwhoisinlabortobringforth
peace in the creation or build the         has to happen before the Lord can          a child. History is now in travail to
kingdom characterized by peace.            return: The Antichristian  world-          bring forth the end of the world, the
Third, war serves the end in this way      power must arise and establish itself;     coming of Jesus Christ. It is pregnant
that through the worldwide turmoil         wars must cease for a short while; the     with  theend. Godhasmadeitsofrom
of wars and commotions there will          great tribulation must break upon          the moment of Christ's ascension into
arise a mighty leader and mighty na-       God's people. Jesus stated that the        heaven.
tion which will dominate all nations       time of wars and commotions would              Thebeginningoftheselaborpains
and to which all the nations will yield    not immediateZy  be followed by .the       is wars. They are terrible pains. The
themselves. Out of the turbulent sea       end, in order to prevent a false and       birth is yet in the future. The birth
of the nations comes the beast of Rev-     dangerous expectation of the end           does not come with the beginning of
elation 13. This willbe the Antichrist.    among His disciples. This has              the labor pains. The mother in labor
    Exactly because wars are neces-        troubled the church, now and then.         knows well that worse pains must
saryforthecomingofJesus,weshould           Even today, there are those who re-        follow before she gives birth. Yet,
not be troubled by wars. This is Jesus'    spond to war or some other calamity        with the onset of the pains the birth is
word to His disciples: "See that ye be     by looking for the end at any moment.      near, and all the attention is directed
not troubled." According to Luke           Implied in Jesus' warning that the         to the approachingbirth.
21:9, He tells us: "Be not terrified."     end is not yet is theinstruction that          So we regard wars, riots; and all
Such'is our natural reaction to wars       endurance is the important virtue of       kinds of social strife. Creation and
and the rumors of wars. In itself, war     the Christian in the last days.`War  is    history are convulsed, convulsed to
is a dreadful evil - for the people of     only the first, faint rumblings of the     produce the day of Jesus Christ. Ter-
God too. They are exposed to all of        impending storm. The storm is still in     rible in themselves, the pains are en-
the miseries of war. Their sons fight      the distance.                              dured, and even joyfully endured, by
and die; their homes are destroyed;            But war is the rumbling of that        those who expect the Son. Q
their lives are threatened. But they




         For the earnest expectation  of the creature waitethfor tfie man@station
     of tfie sons of GodI
         For the creature u/as made su6ject to vanity, not u&fin&$ but 6y reason
     of hint who fiatfi hdjected the sume in hope,
          Because the creature itsecf abo shafibe &e&eredj+om  the 6ondage of
     corrvption itito tkeglbrious Cierty of the ctXdren of God..
                                                                                           ~omans 899-21


282lStandard  Bearer/March 15,1994


                               God's Wonderfully
                                      Different People.

         It is indeed striking, and very          nowhere else in Scripture can we find       taining what they formerly con-
     revealing, that the apostle John pre-        the name antichrist, there are refer-       demned.
     sents in the Scriptures the awesome          ences to his coming. In II  Thes-               That happened in the land of
     truth that in his day there were many        salonians 28 we read: "And then             Canaan. There were twelve tribes
     antichrists. We do well to bear in           shall that wicked (person) be re-           that called themselves Israelites,
     mind that the word "antichrist" re-          vealed." And in verse 4 it is stated of     which name means "Prince of God,"
     fers to those who are against Christ.        him that he "opposeth and exalteth          or, if you will, "Ruling with God."
     That prefix "anti" means against, even       himself above all that is called God,       But these twelve tribes became di-
     as we use it in the word antifreeze,         showing that he is God." Also in the        vided into two kingdoms, the Ring-
     which -plainly means that which is           Old Testament,. before Christ was           dom of Judah, and the Kingdom of
     against freezing. And here John pre-         born, we have reference to those who        Israel. Those ten tribes, with the name
     sents that word antichrist five times        will be antichrists, even though they       Kingdom of Israel, set up idols in
     in his first and second epistles, refer-     were not called antichrists. For Christ     Bethel and Dan, calling their citizens
     ring to men who were against Christ.         had not yet appeared.                       to worship contrary to God's calling.
         In I John 218 we read: "It is the            Now those who are called                Them God caused to be destroyqd as
     last time; and as ye have heard that         antichrists by John were clearly work-      a nation, and to be swept away from
     antichrist shall come, even now are          ing against Christ. Today also there        the land which God had given them.
     there many antichrists; whereby we           are many antichrists, though they do        They were brought into a godless
     know that it is the last time." Then in      not call themselves by that name. The       nation. No longer were they called
     verse 22 he wrote: "Who is a liar but        apostle John was not writing about          Israelites, that is, Princes of God. For
     he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?    those who were outside of the church-       they in no way, and to no degree,
     He is the antichrist that denieth the        world. Note that John, after speaking       worshiped God.
     Father and Son." In I John 43 we             of the antichrist in verse 18, writes in        What is more, when Christ mani-
     read: "Every spirit that confesseth          verse 19: "They went out from us, but       festedHimselfasourSavior,many-
     not that Christ Jesus is come in the         they were not of us, for if they had        and in fact most of those who were of
     flesh is not of God; and this is that        been of us, they would no doubt have        the seed of Abraham, dwellingin that
     spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have        continuedwithus." Theseantichrists          land of Canaan - crucified Christ.
     heard that M should come; and even           had been members of the church              As Johnreports, theydeniedthat Jesus
     now already is it in the world." If we       wherein John taught the truth con-          is the Christ. Still more, when we look
     turn to II John verse 7 we read: "For        cerning Christ as our Savior. And           at the whole church-world today, we
     many deceivers are entered into the          they had manifested themselves as           find churches that have been led by
I    world, who confess not that Jesus            members of a false church.                  Satan to maintain and defend what
     Christ is come in the flesh. This is a           We have that awesome situation          formerly they had denied and fought
     deceiver and an antichrist." Although        so strong and revealing today. Satan        against. Andalongwith the doctrinal
                                                  is constantly striving to ruinChrist's      changes came also a defense of sinful
                                                  church. He does that by causing many        deeds.
                                                  churches to become much  .more                  The Roman Catholic churches hail
     Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the      worldly. They allow not only false          Mary, giving her credit for our salva-
     Protestant Reformed Churches.                doctrines, but also sinful deeds, main-     tion; as if she brought Christ into the

                                                                                                        March 15,1994k%?ndardBeareo283


world by her own strength. But even         tion. Christ did not die merely, or in          preached to us; and whether we con-
after their departure from the truth,       the first place, to realize for usescape        sider that to be a joyful, blessed truth
many churches that came into being          from the punishment which we de-                that causes us to become a people
as Reformed churches separated              serve. That is not then the first ele-          redeemed to perfection. That truth
themselves from the truth of God's          ment of our salvation that God re-              we find so beautifully presented in
Word, and today defend and allow            vealed on the day when Adam and                 Titus 2:14. There our God through
sinful walks of life. However, take         Eve fellinto  sin. ,The basic element of        Paul wrote: "Who gave himself for
note of what we read in Matthew 1:21.       our salvationis that of makingus hate           us, that he might redeem us from all
There we read: "And she shall bring         Satan and sm. We must, first of all, be         iniquity, and purify unto himself a
forth a son, and thou shalt call his        saved from spiritual death, into which          peculiar people, zealous of good
name Jesus: for he shall save his           Satan led us. There can be and will be          works."
people from their sins." Get that           deliverance from punishment; but that               Now that word peculiar means
truth! He is Jesus, that is, Savior, and    is only to those whom God causes to             "distinctly different" or "beyond the
He shall save us, not merely from the       hate sin and Satan who worked sin               usual." Those whom Christ saves
punishment which we deserve, but            and spiritual death in us.                      are, from. a spiritual point of view,
from committing sin.                            The mother promise, which is                distinctly different. Those following
    What is more, Christ teaches us,        presented in Genesis 3:15, declares:            the antichrists think we are peculiar,
in what is called the Lord's Prayer, to     "And I will put enmity between thee             that is, odd, and therefore want noth-
begin our prayer with these words:          (Satan) and the woman, and between              ing to do with us. But never mind
"Hallowed be Thy name, Thy king-            thy seed and her seed." Now to hate             what those with false doctrines have
dom come, Thy will be done on earth         Satan means to love God. It is either           in mind.
as it is in heaven." That comes  first,     . . . . or! There is no other spiritual love        We are a peculiar people in the
and may not be omitted from our             or hatred. It is love of God, or love of        sense that we differ very greatly from
prayers. We must pray for strength to       Satan; and walking as God wants us              those with false doctrines. But the
do God's will. Our Savior Himself,          to walk, or as Satan got us by nature           point here presented by Paul is that
the day He was crucified, cried out in      t o   w a l k .                                 we are a blessed people. Take note of
His prayer: "0 my Father, if it be              LookupMark12:29-31.  Therewe                thefactthatPaul,andourGodthrough
possible, let this cup pass away from       read: The first of all the command-             him, states that we are redeemed from
me; nevertheless not as I will, but as      ments is this: "Hear, 0 Israel; the             our iniquity, purified, and made zeal-
thou wilt" (Matt.  26:39).  We also         Lord our Lord is one Lord; and thou             ous of good. works. In that light we
must pray for strength to do God's          shalt love the Lord with all thy heart,         must consider that word peculiar. As
will. And by all means we must do           and with all thy soul, and with all thy         we usually use that word "peculiar,"
this no matter what the physical cost       mind, and with all thy strength: this           we mean odd. But as our God pre-
may be. We must pray to God, be-            is the first commandment." Get that!            sents it here through Paul, we are
cause we love Him, and therefore            This is the first commandment! Sal-             presented as a beautiful people, a
pray in love.                               vation is basically freedom from sin.           people that differ completely from
    The salvation which we want is at       Freedom from punishment comes                   Satan and all those of his kingdom of
times salvation from the punishment         next; but it can be there only when we          sin. We are like Christ, through His
which we deserve. But it must be            are freed from sin. Salvation from              cross and Spirit. That we are a pecu-
rooted in the longing to be saved from      punishment is the fruit of salvation            liar people presents a very comfort-
our sinful thoughts and desires. Even       from sin, and from love of sin.                 ingtruth. Fornote that, aspaulwrites,
unbelievers want to be saved from               Thisissobeautifullypresentedin              we are a peculiar people, zealous of
afflictions, which they deserve to have     theHeidelbergCatechism,Lord'sDay                good works. We are so different from
upon them. Some willcommit suicide          I. The truth found there is that our            those of Satan's kingdom of sin.
foolishly, thinking that they will es-      onlycomfortis:  "ThatIwithbodyand                   Thank God, then, for making you
cape their pain and suffering. But if       soul, both in life and in death, am not         different from Satan and his seed. Be
relief from pain and suffering is all       my own, but belong to my faithful               thankful that your peculiarity means
that for which we pray and want, we         Savior; who . . . hath delivered me from        that you are like Christ. Do not feel
are adding to our sins. Christ did not      allthepowerofthedevil...andmakes                hurt, but rejoice and be thankful that
die merely to realize for us escape         mesincerelywillingandready, hence-              we are a "peculiar people," that is,
from the punishment which we de-            forth, to live unto him." Deliverance           "zealous of good works." We have
serve.                                      from Satan's power is the basic ele-            the beginning now. But presently we
    Go back to what God spoke the           ment of our salvation. It is God's gift         will in the full sense of the word be
day Satan got us to fall into sin. He       whereby we can walk in love toward              distinctly different in the glory of the
told Satan that He would put enmity         Him.                                            kingdom of heaven.
between him andHis elect. That  is the          The question for us, therefore, is              As Peter also wrote: "Ye are a
first and basic element in our salva-       whether we hear that glorious truth             chosengeneration,aroyalpriesthood,

2WStandard  Bearer/March %,I994


a peculiar people; that ye should show        lous light" (I Pet. 210). As a peculiar      ent people, a spiritually exalted
forth the praises of him who called           people we are a wonderfully differ-          people.  0
you out of darkness into his marvel-




The Epistles of Peter, by J.H. Jowett         the situation of his own day. This           before reconstructionism and the-
(Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications,           application is fitting for our day.          onomy were developed.
1993),  174 pp., $9.95 (paper). [Re-                  ,The work suffers from an almost         Gentry, in an altogether
viewed by Prof. Herman Hanko.]                total lack of appreciation for the cov-      unconvincingway, attempts to prove
                                              enantal character of Elijah's ministry.      that post-mil was the teaching of the
    Rev. John Henry Jowett was a              Krummacher sees the ministry of the          church fathers and of Calvin  -
Congrqgationalist  preacher in En-            prophet as terminating on individu-          Calvin's commitment to post-mil be-
gland during the last part of the 19th        als.                                         ing supported by one brief quotation.
century and the first part of the 20th.               The treatment of I Kings 19:18,      His own argumentation from history
He was, from 1918 till his death in           which Krummacher explains in a               is clear proof that post-mil ideas are
1923, ministerinwestminster  Chapel           chapter titled, "The Hidden Church,"         of relatively recent origin. Only a
inlondon, a predecessor of Campbell           says not one word about the origin of        post-milcouldfindproofforhisviews
Morgan and Martyn Lloyd-Jones.                the "hidden church" in God's eternal         in the writings of pre-Reformation
    This book is not a commentary in          election of grace. This, of course, was      and Reformation fathers.
the strict sense of the word. It is rather    the apostle's inspired explanation in            His proof from Scripture is like-
a collection of meditations onvarious         Romans 11:2-10.                              wise unconvincing. Some instances
passages in Peter's two epistles - 18                 For commentaries as for doctrine     of this are: The covenant with
on the first epistle and 11 on the sec-       and church, "evangelical" is not             Abraham is basically. post-mil be-
ond. The sub-title accurately describes       enough. It is necessary to be Re-            cause, in speaking of the land which
the contents: "A Practical and Devo-          formed.  n                                   God promised to Abraham, God was
tional Commentary."                                                                        speaking of the kingdom of Christ in
    While the book will not serve the                                                      the world, and because the fact that
purpose of assisting one who engages          tie ShallHave Dominion, by Kenneth           Abraham was to be the father of all
in a careful and verse-by-verse study         L. Gentry, Jr. (Tyler, Texas: Institute      nations is proof that the kingdom
of the epistles, it will add to such a        for Christian Economics,  1992),             shall be earthly (pp. 192, 193). The
study a worthwhile dimension. And             584pp.,  $19.95. [Reviewed by Prof.          three songs (of Mary, Zacharias, and
it can be read as good devotional             Herman Hanko.]                               Sirneon)  are also proof of an earthly
reading which will surely aid in the                                                       kingdom. All the texts referring to
study of this part of Scripture. I                    While nothing essentially new        salvation for all and salvation for the
                                              appears in this book, the author, an         world point to this earthly kingdom
                                              ardent defender of the post-millennial       of Christ. The great commission es-
Elijah the Tishbite,  by F. W.                position, outlines the basic argument        pecially is said to substantiate
Krummacher. Grand Rapids, MI:                 for postmillennialism while attack-          Gentry's claim that Christ's kingdom
Kregel  Publications, 1992. 336 pp.           ing vehemently all forms of pre-             will come on this earth.
$11.99 (paper). [Reviewed by the              millennialism and a-millennialism.               Matthew 24 and the book of Rev-
Editor.]                                      Theinterestingpartofthebookis that           elation have already been fulfilled,
                                              i&&vendetta  against a-millennia&m           and all references in Scripture to tribu-
    This sermonic commentary on the           he is particularly concerned with the        lation and Antichrist ("a contempo-
ministry of Elijah is profitable devo-        writings of Protestant Reformedmiri-         rary, heretical tendency regarding the
tional reading for the layman and of          isters.                                      person of Christ that was current
some use to the preacher. It is the                   In the judgment of this reviewer,    among many in John's day," p. 374)
companion-piece to the author's simi-         his case for post-mil is not nearly as       are descriptions of events that have
lar work, Elisha.                             effective and persuasive as Lorraine         already taken place, many at the time
    Krummacher was a devout evan-             Boettner's book  The Millennium.             of the destruction of Jerusalemin A.D.
gelical preacher in Germany .in the           But Gentry's volume goes beyond              70. Luke  18:8 is either a question
midst of the unbelief of church and           Boettner in defending the basic ideas        which requires self-examination or is
theologians in the 19th century. With         of Reconstruction and Theonomy -             a reference to the destructionof Jerusa-
commendable courage, he applied the           something which Boettner does not            lem (p. 431). II Timothy  3:1-4, 13
Word of God of Elijah's ministry to           do; Boettner's book was published            refers to Paul's day.

                                                                                                   March 15,1994/Standard  Bearer/285


        But of great concern is the post-     truths are mentioned only a couple of      meaning. But not only is Rev. Fraser
millennial view, necessary to this            times and then in passing.                 correct in interpreting Romans 7, he
position, that the great calling of the           I ask again: Who is pessimistic?       shows his firm commitment to the
believer is to engage in social action                                             n     truth of Scripture and his loyalty to
so that he, by his work, transforms all                                                  the WestminsterConfessionsbyaclear
of culture so that it comes under the                                                    andbiblicallysoundinterpretationof
rule of Christ in a kingdom here be-          A Treatise on Sanctification: An Ex-       these important chapters in Romans
low (see, e.g., p. 361). It is this view      plication of Romans Chapters 6, 7          which he discusses in the book An-
which drags the believer away from            and 8:2-4,  by Rev. James Fraser (Old      other example of this is his handling
his calling to seek the things which are      Paths Publication, 1992), 493 pages,       of the crucial concept in Romans 6:
above where Christ is seated at the           $29.95. [Reviewed by Prof. Herman          "dead to sin."
right hand of God (Col. 3:1-3). This is       Hanko.]                                        However, a different explanation
its spiritual danger.                                                                    of God's covenant, especially the place
        To believe anything else than this        It is often true that one must go      of children in God's covenant, leads
post-mil dream is to be defeatist (p.         back to the old writers to find worth-     to anincorrect interpretation at times.
16) and pessimistic (pp. 17,25). How          while reading material. Rev. James         Fraser was very clearly under the
this charge can be leveled in good            Fraseri the author of this book, was a     influence of Puritan thought. Thisis
conscience is a mystery to me. Post-          relatively obscure minister in the iso-    reflected in his view that children of
mil is the pessimistic viewpoint if           lated village of Alness in Scotland        believers are to be considered as
there everwas  one. None of the saints        who died in 1769. This bookwas  not        unconverted until such a time as they
now living shall participate in this so-      published until after his death.           show faith in Christ.
called glorious kingdom of Christ here            Reformed theologians of our day,           The interpretation of Scripture is
on earth. The saints who have al-             in their discussion of the crucially       interspersed with essays on various
ready gone to glory are not going to          important passage in Romans 7:14-          ideas and refutations of erroneous
participate in it. In fact, the kingdom       25, have fallen back on the old and        explanations of the text. Sinclair
of Christ itself, when realized, will         rejected Arminian interpretation           Ferguson probably gives goodadvice
still be a kingdom in which is "birth,        which holds that Paul is describing in     when he suggests that the reader, in
aging, death, time, sin, and curse" (p.       these verses his pre-conversion state.     his first reading of the book, skip
363).  Whowants akingdomlike that?            This was the view taught by Jacobus        "over the sections where Fraser dis-
Such a kingdom is pessimistic in the          Arminius in the Reformed Church of         cusses the views of commentators of
extreme.                                      Amsterdam, a view which first              his own era." He can, advises
        But with ardent devotion toit, the    aroused the suspicions of his col-         Ferguson, read these the second time
post-mil has no time or inclination to        league, Plan&s. Herman Ridderbos,          through the book
speak of the glory of the church in           in his book, The Theology of Pad, takes        The volume is enriched by an
heaven, the hope of the believer to be        the Arminian position; the same is         "engaging pen-portrait of Fraser"
withChrist,thecomingofChristupon              true of Anthony Hoekema, late pro-         (Ferguson) which is written by John
the clouds of heaven to destroy the           fessor of dogmatics in Calvin Semi-        MacPherson.
wicked, the final vindication of all          nary.                                          We highly recommend this book
God's works in the judgment, the                  Fraser will have none of this. Over    to our readers and thank Old Paths
resurrection of the body, and life in         100 pages is spent by the author in        Publications for making it available.
the new heavens and the new earth.            which he gives a brief history of the      It offers valuable insights into the
In a book of over 500 pages, these            interpretation of this passage as well     difficult andimportant subject of sanc-
                                              as a thorough treatment of its correct     tification.  0




                                              Minister Activities                        consists of the Revs. A. denHartog,  C.
                                                  Rev. R. Dykstra, pastor of the         Terpstra, and G. VanBaren.
                                              Doon, IA PRC, declined the call ex-            In a follow-up to a recent issue of
                                              tended to him from the Loveland, CO        the "Church News," we are happy to
                                              PRC. Since that decline the Councilof      report that Prof. R. Decker, of our PR
                                              Loveland has formed a new trio from        Seminary, has made a complete re-
Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant      which their congregation will call, in     covery from the emergency appen-
Reformed Church of Hudsonville, Michi-        theircontinuingefforttoobtainaman          dectomy he underwent in late. No-
gan.                                          of God's own choosing. That trio           vember. He was able to resume his

286lStandard  BearerlMarch15,1994


teaching responsibilities at the Semi-          The Council of our Hope PRC in       positions to two teachers. Under-
nary in early January, and he was also     Walker, MI also called a special con-     standably their excitement continues
able to begin preaching for various        gregational meeting for mid-Febru-        to grow as they see the Lord prosper-
PR congregations in the Grand Rap-         ary to discuss the need for a daughter    ing their way. There remains much
ids, MI,area  on January 30.               congregation. You may remember            work to be done, and all involved
                                           thatatitsannualcongregationalmeet-        covet our prayers as they continue
                                           ing last year, this planned discussion    working toward their goal.
Congregational Activities                  was tabled. Members were asked
    The midweek Bible Study group          now to take the survey forms distrib-
of our Trinity PRC in Houston, TX          uted before the meeting along to that     Evangelism Activities
met recently to view and discuss slides    meeting and that thosebereturnedby            The South Holland, IL  PRC's
of Singapore and India presented by        February 27. We will do our best to       EvangelismCommitteerecentlyspon-
their pastor, Rev. Mahtani. Ourread-       keep you informed as to the outcome       sored an Evangelism Awareness
ers might also be interested to note       of this ongoing project.                  Night. Scheduled for that evening
that Trinity's congregation experi-            The Building Committee of our         were presentations onvarious aspects
enced some growth over the winter          Byron Center, MI PRC reported hap-        of their work, an introduction to the
months, with "snow birds" (their           pily to their congregation that enough    books of the "Reformed Bookshelf,"
term) arriving from our northern PRC       donations had been received to make       and a presentation by the Trinitarian
and calling the Houston area home          it possible to order some additional      Bible Society,
forallorpartofthewinter. Andbyall          `pews for their auditorium. Installa-         Rev. R. Cammenga spent two
accounts these visitors are.most  wel-     tion may even have taken place by         Sundays in mid-January with the
come.                                      now.                                      group in the San Luis Valley in south-
    Trinity also sent me a copy of the                                               ern Colorado. The core group there
religious page that appeared in the                                                  consists of four families with chil-
January 15th issue of the Houston          School Activities                         dren, an older couple, and three indi-
Chronicle. On that page is an article          The Randolph, WI PR School So-        viduals.
picked up by the Associated Press un-      ciety recently reported that the State
der the title, "Wal Mart irks some in      of Wisconsin has given approval to
Iowa by opening doors on Sundays."         theirbuildingplans. Demolitionwork                    Foodfor 5!7iqpit
In this article Rev. W. Bekkering, of      has already begun, and soon the ac-           "God has but three things dear
our own PRC in Pella, IA, is quoted as     tualremodelingandbuildingprocess          unto Him in this world, His saints,
being against this move by Wal Mart        can begin in earnest. The Board has       His worship, and His truth, and it is
to open its doors on Sunday. Rev.          also adopted a name for their school,     hard to say which of these is dearest
Bekkeringis quotedin part, as saying,      choosing to call it Faith Christian       unto Him."
"Thisviolates ourreligiousandtradi-        School. It has also offered teaching                    - Thomas %oodwin 0
tional convictions against Sunday
shopping." Wal Mart, whichopened
its doors in Pella nine years ago, be-
lieves it is simply satisfying a de-
mand. How sad that the world today
considers any objection from the
church community against stores be-                 TEACHER NEEDED!!!                  RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
ing open on Sunday as newsworthy.              Covenant Christian High School            The Martha Ladies' Aid Society of
Today any objection seems to be the        is urgently seeking applicants for        the Hull Protestant Reformed Church
exception rather than the rule. It is      teaching positions for the 1994-i 995     express their Christian sympathy to
also interesting to note that Rev.         school year in the following areas:       Mrs. Tony Jansma, Mrs. John
Bekkering's objections are being used      Science, History, English, and Choir.     Hoksbergen, and,their families in the
by our Lord to serve as a faithful         Consideration will be given to both       death of their mother,
testimony to the world of our beliefs      part-time and full-time applicants.        MRS. ALBERTA BLEYENBERG.
concerning Sunday. This news item          Those interested should contact           May they find comfort in the words of
was carried by the A.P. and appar-         Agatha Lubbers, (616) 4535046             II Corinthians 5:1, "For we know that if
ently made its way into newspapers         (school) or (616) 456-2057 (home), or     our ,earthly house of this tabernacle
all over this country.                     Rick Noorman, (616) 457-6087. Ap-         were dissolved, we have a building of
    Due to the size of Hope PRC's          plicants may send a letter of applica-    God, a house not made with hands
congregation in Walker, MI, and the        tion to the school at                     eternal in the heavens."
growing need, the congregation has                   1401 Femdale SW.                            Rev. R. Moore, President
begun scheduling a night nursery.                  Grand Rapids, Ml 49504.                       Marie Brummel, Secretary

                                                                                            March 15,1994/Standatd  Beared287


                                                                                                                         SECOND CLASS
                                                                                                                         Posfage Paid at
                                                                                                                         Grandville, Michigan
             P.O. Box 603
             Grandville, MI 49468-0603


            RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                      RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                          WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
              The Council of the First Protes-            The Council and congregatioh of              On March 10,1994, our beloved
          tant Reformed Church of Grand Rap-          Hull Protestant Reformed Church ex-          parents,
          ids, Michigan extends its Christian         presses Christian sympathy to our               HENRY and ANN MIERSMA,
          sympathy to Elder Robert Pastoor            fellowofficebearers, Alvin Bleyenberg        celebrated their 50th wedding anni-
          and family in the death of his mother,      and;lohn M. Hoksbergen in the death          versary. We are thankful to our cov-
          and to Deacon Larry VanPutten and           of their mother and mother-in-law,           enant God for the faithful instruction
          family in the death of his wife's grand-     MRS. ALBERTA BLEYENBERG.                    they have given us over these many
          mother,                                         "For we know that if our earthly         years. Our prayer for them is that
               MRS. MlNi'4lE PASTOOR.                 house of this tabernacle were dis-           goodness and mercy may follow them
              "*.* all things work together for       solved, we have a building of God, an        all the days of their life; then to dwell in
          good to them that love God, to them         house, not made with hands, eternal          the house of the Lord forever (Psalm
          who are called according to his pur-        in the heavens" (II Corinthians $1).         23:6).
          pose" (Romans 8:23).                                    Rev. R. Moore, President              Rodney and Sharon Miersma
            Rev. Meindert Joostens, President                           Egbert Gritters, Clerk         Dale and Velerie Kuiper
                  Theodore S. Looyenga, Clerk                                                          Gary and DaVonna Holstege
                                                                                                       Will and Nona Postma
                                                                                                       Alvern and Fran Miersma
            RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                                     Gene and Daris VanBemmel
              The men of the Hope Heralds               RESOLUTION OF,SYMPATHY                         Carlyle and Marcia Miersma
          would like to express our Christian             The Ladies' Society, Ruth, of the                  28 Grandchildren
          sympathy to one of its long-time mem-       Hope Protestant Reformed Church,                       2 great grandchildren
          bers, Mr. Rich Bloem, in the death of       Walker, expresses its heartfelt sym-                                        Roo4l Valley, Iowa
          his son,                                    pathy, to Mrs. Richard Bloem, and
                         JIM BLOEM.                   husband, in the death of their son,
              "He`that dwelleth in the secret                   J A M E S   B L O E M .
          place of the most High shall abide              May their comfort be in Psalm
          under the shadow of the Almighty. I         1305, "I wait for the Lord, my soul
I         will say of the Lord, He is my refuge       doth wait, and in his word do I hope."
          and my fortress: my God; in him will              Mr. Tom L. DeVries, President
          I trust" (Psalm 91 :I, 2).                            Joanne Bomers, Secretary
                         Mike Kooienga, President                                                      tiEDDING ANNIVERSARY
                           Brian Kuiper, Secretary                                                     On March 22,1994,
                                                                                                       GERRIT and LUCY GESINK
                                                                                                   will celebrate their 60th wedding anni-
            RESOLUTION C$F SYMPATHY                                    NOTICE!!                    versary. Their children, grandchil-
              The Men's Society of the Hope               All standing and special commit-         dren, great-grandchildren, and fellow
          Protestant Reformed Church, Walker,         tees of Synod, as well as individuals        members of the San Luis Valley Prot-.
          expresses its Christian sympathy to a       who wish to address Synod 1994, are          estant Reformed Mission rejoice with
     I    fellow member, Richard Bloem, and           hereby notified that all material for the    them and pray that God will continue'
          his family in the death of his son,         1994 Synod of the Protestant Re-             to bless their life together. "The Lord
                      JAMES BLOEM.                    formed Churches should be in the             bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt
              Maytheyfind comfort in thewords         hands of the Stated Clerk no later than      see the good of Jerusalem all the days
          expressed in Isaiah 258: "He will           April 1. Please send material to the         of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy
          swallow up death in victory: and the        Stated Clerk:                                children's children and peace upon
          Lord God will wipe away tears from off                Rev. M. Joostens                   Israel" (Psalm 1285, 6).
          all faces."                                         2016 Tekonsha S.E.                       7 children
                         Pete Petroelje, President         Grand Rapids, Ml 49506.                     22 grandchildren
                           John Kuiper, Secretary                                                      7 great-grandchildrenAlemosa, cdorado
          288lStandard  Bearer/March is,1994


