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                  . ..-.- .- ..--..--_-  __-..__ -.__-____-_- ..- ..___. . _ _                               --+





                  -


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                                (I_,.,/_`    1     *_,
                                                          ,.     .t               1\     _     rll     ,.
                                                                       .*'



                           See "Be Ye Angry and Sin Not" - p. 326
                                 .


April 25, 1994


     CONTENTS:                                                                                                                                             April 15, 1994                                                (1);  $&I)~
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      `1
                                                                                                                                                                                                                          &!j'..,- BHRER
Meditation - Rev. Cornelius Hanko
          Coming to God . ..*.**....,.,..,....,.........................................................                                                                                                    315       ISSN 0362-4692
Editorial - Prof. David J. Engelsma
          The Nose of the Camel (3) .,,,..,........,*....**..*............,.......................                                                                                                          317       Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.,
Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*..........................................................                                                             319       4848 lvanrest Ave., Grandville, MI 48418. Second Class
Decency and Order - Rev. Ronald L. Cammenga                                                                                                                                                                           Postage Paid at Grandville, Michigan.
          Questions of Article 41 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..~~~~.~.~~..~~...~....~.......................... 320                                                                                              Pcatmaator:  Send address changes to the Standard Bearer,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      P.O. Box 683, Grandville, MI 48466-0603.
Come, Lord Jesus - Rev. Gise J. VanBaren                                                                                                                                                                              EDlTORlAL  COMMtlTEE
          Locusts from the Bottomless Pit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322                                                                   Editor: Prof. David J. Engelama
Taking Heed to the Doctrine - Rev, Bernard Woudenberg                                                                                                                                                                 Secretary: Prof. Robert D. Decker
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Managing Editor: Mr. Don Dcerema
          But What About Logic? .~..~....~....~.......................~~~.~~.~~..~............... 324
In His Fear - Rev. Arie denHarfog                                                                                                                                                                                     DEPARTMENT EDlTORS
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, Rev. Ronald Cammenga, Prof. Robert
          Be Ye Angry and Sin Not (`I) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..~............... 326                                                                         Decker, Rev. Arle denHartog, Rev. Barry Grttters,  Rev. Cart
Search the Scriptures - Rev. George C. Lubbers                                                                                                                                                                        Haak, Rev. Cornelius Hankc, Prof. Herman Hank-c, Rev. John
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Heys, Rev. Steven Kay, Rev. Dale Kulper, Mr. James Laming,
          The .Behavior Required of Timothy as an Evangelist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328                                                                                                                Rev. George Lubbers, Mrs. MaryBeth Lubbers, Rev. Thomas
Day of Shadows - Homer C. Hoeksema                                                                                                                                                                                    Miersma, Rev. Audred Spriensma, Rev. Charles Terpstra.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Rev. QiseVanBaren,  Rev. RcnaldVanOverlccp,  Mr. Benjamin
          The First Three Days of Creation (cont.) ..*.........,..................s....... 330                                                                                                                        Wigger, Rev. Bernard Wcudenberg.
Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .              333       EDtTORlAL  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    OFFICE        CHURCH NEWS EDtTOFi
News From Our Churches - Mr. Benjamh Wigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335                                                                                                       The Standard Bearer         Mr. Ben Wigger
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      4848 lvsnreet               6587 48th Ave.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Grandvflle, MI 48416        Hudscnville, MI 48426
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      BUSINESS OFFICE             NEW ZEALAND OFFICE
     i//i7   TlM;  &L!i@   n  "o                                                                                                                                                                                      The Standard Bearer         The Standard Bearer
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Don Doezema                 do B. VanHark
I                                                                                                                                                                                                                J    P.O. Box 603                66 Fraser St.
          The menu this time is varied.                                                                                                                                                                               Grandville, Ml              Wainuicmata, New Zealand
                                                                                                                                                                                                                        48463uGl3                 NORTHERN IRELAND OFFICE
          There is biblical exposition: Rev. C. Hanko's meditation on                                                                                                                                                 PH: (616) 531-1486          do Mr. Jonathan McAuley
                                                                                                                                                                                                                               (616) 536-177'6    164 Church Rd.. Glenwherry
Hebrews 11:6, Rev. G. VanBaren's study of the locusts `from the                                                                                                                                                       FAX (616) 531-3833          Ballymena. Cc. Antrim BT42 3EL
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Northern Ireland
bottomless pit in Revelation 9:1-12, Rev. denHartog's treatment                                                                                                                                                       EDtTORlAL  POLtCY
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Every editor is solely respcnsible for the contents of his own
of anger in the Christian life in light of Ephesians 4:26, Rev. G.                                                                                                                                                    articles.  Ccntdbutfcnscfgeneratintere.stfrcmcurreadersand
Lubbers' exegesis of I Timothy 4:12,1? (the calling of a young                                                                                                                                                        questiins fcr The Reader Asks department are welcome.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Ccntributicns will be limited to approximately 366 words and
pastor), and Prof. H.C. Hoeksema's work with Genesis 1.                                                                                                                                                               mustbeneatfywrittencrtypewritten,andmustbesigned.          Copy
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      deadlines are the first and fiieenth of the month. All
          There is theology: Rev. B. Woudenberg's examination of the                                                                                                                                                  ccmmunicaticns  relative to the contents should be sent to the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      edll0rlal offloe.                            I
logical nature of biblical truth and Prof. Hoeksema's develop-                                                                                                                                                        REPRINT POUCY
ment of the doctrine of creation.                                                                                                                                                                                     Permission isherebygrantedfcrthe reprinting cfarticlesin  cur
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      magazkte byctherpuMloattcns;prwkk?d:  a) thatsuchrepn'nted
          There is the exploration of Reformed church government:                                                                                                                                                     articles are reproduced Infulb b) that proper ackncwfedgmeni
Rev. R. Cammenga's explanation of the questions of Article 41                                                                                                                                                         is made: c) that a copy of the perlcdicel in whllh  such reprint
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      appears I8 sent to wr ediicrtai cfftce.
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tional meeting.                                                                                                                                                                                                       Subaoriptkm  pica:  $12.83 per year In the U.S.,  S15.W
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                      subscrtpticntccontktue,andhewillbebilledfcrrenewal. lfycu
creation) and about the end (the locusts out of the abyss).                                                                                                                                                           haveachangeofaddreas,pieasencttkytheBustnessCfficeas
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      early as possible in order to avcid the inconvenience cl
          There is controversy: with feminism, with the notion that                                                                                                                                                   interrupted delivery. Include ycur zip cr Postal Code.
truth is illogical, with evolution, with the approval of homo-                                                                                                                                                        ADVERTISING POUCY
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The .Sran&rdBeamrdces not accept commercial advertising
sexuality.                                                                                                                                                                                                            of any kind. Anncuncemente  cf church and schcd events,
          In addition, there are book reviews, church news, and a                                                                                                                                                     anniversaries, obituaries. and sympathy msokrticne will be
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          Something for every taste.                                                                                                                                                                                  BOUND VOLUMES
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          Rather, many things for the varied tastes of the Reformed                                                                                                                                                   ccpiwcftheourrentvclume.  Suchcrdersarefilledassccnas
                                                                                                                                                                                                                      possible after ccmpfeticn of a vclume year.
believer.                                                                                                                                                                                                             16mm microfilm, 35mm miucfilm  and 185mm microfiche, and
                                                                                                                                                                                                  -    D    J    E    artiie copies are available thrcugh  University Microfilms
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314/Standard Bearer/April X,1994


                                  Coming to.God

    But withoutfaith it is impossible to      with grace for grace.                             munion of life with the living God. As
please him; for he that cometh to God              Prayer is more than that. Prayer             David says, "I have set the Lord al-
must believe that he is, and that he is a     is  thanksgiving.  Our Heidelberg Cat-            ways before me." It gives us a small
rewarderof them thatdiligentlyseekhim.        echism mentions prayer as the high-               foretaste of our eternaljoy, as we sigh,
                          Hebrews 11:6        est expression of gratitude. We say               "Ohhowgreatisthygoodness,which
                                              with the psalmist: "Bless the Lord, 0             thou hast laid up for them that fear
    "Lord, teach us Jo pray." This            my soul: and all that is within me                thee."
was the request of one of Jesus' dis-         blesshis holy name. Bless thelord, 0                      Thus our life becomes a prayer, a
ciples while He was stillwith them. In        my soul, and forget not all his ben-              praying without ceasing.
response Jesus taught them the well           e f i t s . "                                             Yes, that is prayer! Yet, foremost,
known model prayer (Luke 119-4).                  Prayer is also seeking. Our text              prayer is telling the praises of God`s
    How often that same desire arises         speaks of that, and God encourages                Name  as our highest good!
in our hearts. Prayer is one of the           us: "Seekye my face." Not as if God                       Enoch's coming to God was a
most blessed privileges we have. Yet,         is ever far fromus,  but-we are often far         walk with Him.
at the same time, it is most difficult for    from Him. Isaiah declares: "Seek ye                           *  *  *  +  *  *  *
us to pray as we ought.                       the Lord while he may be found, call                      Our text teaches us that he who
    Even with the model prayer as             upon him while he is near,." Jesus                comes to God "must believe that he
our guide we still struggle with our          adds: "Askanditshallbegiven: seek                 is."
imperfections and weaknesses. No              andye shallfind;knockanditshallbe                         Donotfailtonoticehowpersonal
matter how long we live,' in this life        opened unto you."                                 this is. Prayingwith the congregation
our prayers remain very imperfect.                What a blessed assurance! God is              on Sunday is important. Family
    Enoch was a man of prayer. We             ready to receive us twenty-four hours             prayers are essential to a Christian
know that because the Scriptures tell         a day and every day. We need no                   home. And time for private prayers
us that "he walked with God."                 appdintment long inad-                                             and meditation is essen-
    He was also a m&n of strong faith.        Vance. We need not                                                 tial to a true spiritual
He lived close to God, in deep depen-         write a letter, or use a         Our Advocate                      walk before the face of
dence upon Him. It was Enoch's                telephone, or seekan  ad-            is before                     God.
prayer-life that pleased God.                 vocate. Our Advocateis                                                  Wemustbelieve. For
    It is in connection with Enoch's          before the throne, and             the throne,                     without faith it is impos-
walkwhichpleasedGodthatweread:                by His Spirit in our                  and by                       sible to please God, or
"But without faith it is impossible to        hearts we have a direct             His Spirit                     even to call upon or trust
please him: for he that cometh to God         line of communication to          in our hearts                    in Him.
must believe &at he is, and that he is        the throne of g-race.                we have                            The prayer of the
a rewarder of those who diligently                Prayer includes  wor-                                          unbeliever is an abomi-
seek him."                                    ship, praise, adoration.  We     a direct line of                  nation to God. Godturns
    Prayer is a "coming to God."              come into God's pres-           communication                      awayfisfacein disgust.
    That implies that prayer is  asking.      ence,westandbeforeHis             to the throne                    Unbelievers are carnal,
As needy, dependent creatures we              face,webowatHisfoot-                 of  grace.                    selfish enemies of God,
make all our needs known in prayer            stool to pour out our                                              who at best make and
and supplication. We come to the              souls to Him as we can                       I                     worship an image of
overflowing Fountain of life as empty         to no other. God knows                                             God. Their prayer is a
vessels to be filled out of His fullness      us, knows our inmost heart, our deep-             sham, a pretense that God abhors.
                                              est thought, our every need better                        Faith is the substance of things
                                              than we ourselves.                                hoped for, the evidence of things not
Rev. Hanko is a minister emeritus in the          But prayer is more than that. It is           seen. It is the living bond that unites
Protestant Reformed Churches.                 intimate covenant fellowship,  com-               our heart to the heart of God through

                                                                                                            April 15,1994/Standard  Bearer131 5


the Spirit of Christ in us, the bond of               God does not treat us like au-         nothingwavering," for he who wavers
intimate covenant fellowship with the          tomatons, mere receptacles of His             is like a staggering drunkard. That
M o s t   H i g h .                            grace and blessings, but deals with us        man receives nothing from the Lord.
    Prayer is the cry of faiththat arises      as rational, moral creatures, even as             When we ask for the forgiveness
from the heart of God's child. As the          His elect, redeemed, justified, and           of a certain sin we must also be truly
baby naturally seeks its mother's              sanctified children in Christ Jesus.          sorry for that sin and must put it
breast, finds comfort                                          He unites us to Himself       away. When we pray for spiritual
and refuge in mother's                                         by a bond of living faith,    growth, this must be accompanied by
arms, and turns to her                                         and brings us into inti-
                                       Prayer is                                             a striving to walk in newness of life
with all its needs, so the                                     mate fellowship with
                                     the c y of faith                                        before our God.
ch.ildofGodseeksGod's                                          Him through that amaz-            Diligent, persistent praying does
face in utter dependence               that arises             ing wonder and gift of        not mean that we may try to impose
upon Him, and finds                  from the heart            prayer.                       our whims upon God by our many
full satisfaction in allhis          of God's child.               As guilty sinners be-     pleadings. God surely knows farbet-
needs.                                                         fore His face, who in-        ter than we what is good for us. Sub-
    We must believe                                            crease our guilt every        mission to God's willmust  character-
that God is.                                 I moment of our existence, we have no ize all that we ask.
    Faith is the knowledge of God,             right to pray; we deserve to be ban-              Persistent prayer must arise out
whereby we say in deepest convic-              ished from His presence. We.plead,            of the need and anguish of the soul. In
tion, "My God." We have been called            not on our own worthiness or righ-            his wrestling with the Angel of Jeho-
out of darknessinto God's marvelous            teousness, but on the righteousness           vah, Jacob clung to Him with weep-
light as His sons and daughters, re-           of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.          ing and supplication, imploring His
stored in the image of God in true                    We are but sinful creatures of the     blessing. Jesus, in Gethsemane, of-
knowledge, righteousness, and  ho&             dust, mere specksin comparison with           fered up prayers and supplications
ness, to know, to love, and to serve           the Most High, unfit to pray as we            with strong crying and tears to God.
Him in sincere adoration. We say in            ought, yet we have boldness to call           Paul prayed repeatedly for deliver-
deepest conviction, "Whom have I,              upon His name on the merit of our             ance from his thorn before he found
Lord, but thee, on earth orin heaven?"         Savior Jesus Christ, and in the confi-        peace. We also must often storm the
    Our sinful inclination is to make          dencethatHeisatalltimesourAdvo-               throne of grace before we are heard.
for ourselves an image of God and to           cate before the face of God.                  God rewards those who diligently
bow in worship before that image.                     We have access to the mercy seat       seek Him.
We have our own idea of what God is            of Almighty God, who is also our                  True, sometimes God is already
or should be. We make a god that is            merciful Father. We come in the con-          answering our prayer while we call
dependent on us, or who sits en-               fidence that, "Like as a father pitieth       upon Him. Even as God's Spirit cre-
throned on high to serve us. Depend-           his children, so the Lord pitieth them        ates the need in our hearts, God is
ing on our own strength and ingenu-            that fear him. For he knoweth our             already prepared to fillthatneed. But
ity, we can get along most of the time         frame; he remembereth that we are             thereareothertimeswhenGoddeems
without Him. Only in times of deep             dust."                                        it necessary to withhold His answer.
distress,whenallelsefailsus,wetum                     What a blessed privilege for us to     Then our prayers become a matter of
to him expecting that he is waiting            live in intimate communion with our           praying, seeking, and knocking. But
and eager to help us.                          God in prayer! What would we do               never do we seek His face in vain, for
    But that is not the God of the             without it?!                                  He always seeks our eternal good.
Scriptures. Let it be said with awe                   It compares to Enoch's walkwith            We must always pray in the con-
andreverence: GodisGOD. Heisthe                God.                                          fidence that our heavenly Fatherwith-
fullness of all His divine perfections,                   *+*****                            holds no good thing from those who
the ever-glorious, blessed, adorable                  Our text also teaches us that he       fear Him. Only then can we confi-
God! He is the triune, living God,             who comes to God must believe that            dently end our prayers with an
who lives His own blessed life .m              "He is a rewarder of them that dili-          "Amen," it shall surely be as we have
intimate covenant fellowship within            gently seek him."                             asked.
His own Being, and has no need of                     Thisimpliesthatourprayersmust              For to our God belongs the king-
men's hands to be worshipedby them.            not be, as they often are, a mere for-        dom, the power, and the glory for-
God does not exist for us, but we exist        mality. Sincere prayer arises from the        ever.
for Him. He does not need us, but we           heart.                                            There was progress in Enoch's
cannot live without Him. He gives us                  Our prayers must be sincere in         walk with God. Every step brought
life, breath, and being, that to Him           the sense that we truly desire what-          him closer to heaven, until one day
may be the praise and glory forever            ever we ask for. James warns us in his        God took him home.
and ever.                                      epistle that we must "ask in faith,               Lord, teach us to pray! 0

31 G/Standard Bearer/April15,19Q4


          The Nose of the Camel (3)
                                             a'z+g+pl?,,:  .p"f?; ,;:i;yc :;, :. , i * ,-    :               ;      1. I     ~     I     :-     -.,+


     Last year the synod of the Re-                 votingrights  to the sisters shouldnot.
formed Churches in-the Netherlands                  be considered a first step on the road        hold the voting rights (of women at
("Liberated" - hereafter GJSN-Lib)                  toward the opening up of the office           the congregational meeting) out of
decided that women may participate                  of minister or elder to the women.            fear for the spirit of the times." In-
in the congregational meeting as vot-                                                             deed, they find it in themselves to
ingmembers. They may enter into all                     About the sincerity of the Dutch          speak a good word on behalf of the
the debate that takes place at this            Reformed synod, one need have no                   modern feminist movement: "The
meeting. They may vote on all mat-              doubt. Nevertheless, the members of               spirit of the times does not necessar-
ters that come before this meeting.            the GKN-Lib and the Reformed                       ily always have a negative impact,
Most importantly, they may vote for            churchesinfellowship with the GKN-                 even the present manner of electing
pastors, elders, and deacons.                  Lib should not be misled by these                  has been influenced by it."
    By this decision, the GKN-Lib let          reassurances. Allowing women to                        There is no sharp denunciation of
the nose of the camel of feminism into         vote at the congregational meeting of              the feminist spirit of the times. There
their church tents. In time, this deci-        the Reformed church is a "concession               is no urgent warning that the Re-
sion, unanimously taken, will be fol-          to a drive towards a false spirit of               formedchurchesstandinmortalperil
lowedby decisions approving female             emancipation." The granting of vot-                of being influenced by this
deacons, elders, and ministers. These          ing rights to the sisters at the congre-           antichristian movement.
decisions will necessarily involve re-         gationalmeetingshouldbeconsidered                      Instead, "the spirit of the times,"
jection of the biblical teaching that the      a "first step on the road toward the               that is, thefeminist spirit of the times,
husbandis authoritative head of wife           opening up of the office of minister or            "does not necessarily always have a
and family.                                    elder to the women."                               negative impact. II
    The GKN-Lib deny that their de-                    The reassurances by the synod of               Such lack of appreciation for the
cisionapprovingfemaleparticipation             the GKN-Lib are not at all reassuring.             power and danger of modem femi-
in the congregational meeting is the           For, first, this synod showed itself               nism does not engender confidence in
nose of the feminist camel in the tent;        strangely unaware of the tremendous                the synod's reassurances that its deci-
They were at pains to deny this in the         pressure that the feminist movement                sion allowing women to vote at the
very decisionby which they approved            is presently exerting upon Christ's                congregational meeting does not rep-
women voting at the congregational             church and surprisingly indifferent                resent a concession to the spirit of the
meeting. The conclusion of their de-           to.the  mortal threat that this ungodly            age nor open up the way to women
cision attempted to put to rest any            movement poses to the church. In a                 officebearers.
fear that this decision represents a           time when feminism, with the drive                     Radically different was the atti-
concession to worldly feminism:               for acceptance of homosexuality, is                 tude of Abraham Kuyper toward the
                                               the  issue in Western society and when             same movement. Writing some 80
  Allowing women to vote is not an            church after church, including Re-                  years ago, when the feminist move-
  expression of un-scripturalindividu-        formed churches, are falling to this                ment was not nearly as powerful as it
 alism or of democratising  in the            movement, the GKN-Lib abruptly                      is today, Kuyper warned the Re-
 church, and must therefore not be            overturn their own and the Reformed                 formed believers in the Netherlands
 regarded as a concession to a drive          traditionbypermittingwomentovote                    against feminism in these words:
 towards a false spirit of.emancipa-          at the congregational meeting. As
 tion;                                        they do so, they express that the threat             The spirit of the age is such an almost
                                                                                                   irresistible force. Also from our own
 Since voting must not he regarded as         of feminism is of little concern to                  circles, one who is not very solidly
 a form of governing, the granting of         them: ti (The church should not) with-               grounded is easily swept along with
                                                                                                          April 15,1!394/Standard  Bearer/317


 it (De Eerepositie der Vrouw, Kok,         tionalmeeting is the nose of the camel       nism at the beginning to poke its nose
 1914, p. 5).                               of feminism in the church tent. The          directly into the consistory room, the
                                            rest of the camel is looming just out-       Reformed church would bump that
    A second reason for finding the         side the tent. The opening to the beast      nose out without further ado. But
reassurances by the GKN-Lib                 has been made. Before long, the en-          women at the congregational meet-
unconvincing is the history of other        tire camel will be in the tent.              ing has possibilities. After all, the
Reformed churches. Other Reformed               The reason lies in the nature of         congregational meeting does not rule
churches have traveled the same path        camels and of congregational meet-           the church, not in the Reformed sys-
that is now being followed by the           ings.                                        tem.
GKN-Lib. One, well-known to the                 It is the nature of camels to follow             In fact, however, this unusual
GKN-Lib, is the Christian Reformed          their nose.                                  meeting does exercise authority and
Church in North America (CRC).                  It is the nature of congregational       does govern the church. It shares
    In 1957, the CRC approved               meetings that they rule the church.          authority with the consistory, and it
women voting at the congregational          They do not rule over the consistory.        cooperates with the consistory in rul-
meeting. In this decision, the CRC,         They do not rule apart from the              ing the church.
like the GKN-Lib, expressly denied          consistory. But they do rule with the                That the congregational meeting
that "participation in such meetings        consistory.                                  governs is evident to all on the very
would also involve the right to hold            This is invariably denied by the         face of it. Votingis governing. Voting
office" ("Acts of Synod," p. 311). But      Reformed church that is determined           for the governors of the church is an
the oPening up of all the offices in the    to have women at the congregational          especially powerful form of govem-
church to women did follow in the           meeting as it is making the decision.        ing.
CRC. At every step of the way, ap-          Inits decision, the synod of the GKP-J-              The Reformed creeds, forms, and
peal was made to the decision of 1957       Lib emphasized that the congrega-            church order make plain that the con-
permitting women to vote at the con-        tional meeting does not govern and           gregationalmeeting exercises author-
gregational meeting.                        that the congregation's voting for           ity, that its decisions are binding, and
    In support of its recommenda-           officebearers is not an exercise of au-      that its functionis government. Ques-
tion to the 1978 synod that the CRC         thority.                                     tion 85 of the Heidelberg Catechism
permit consistories "to ordain quali-           It may readily be admitted that a        says of the minister and elders that
fied women to the office of deacon,"        Reformed synod can make a good               they were "appointed by the church."
the advisory committee reminded             case for this view of the congrega-          Article 31 of the Belgic Confession
synod of the decision of 1957 permit-       tional meeting and, therefore, for the       teaches that the officebearers are "cho-
ting women to participate in the con-       participation of women. The meeting          sen to their respective offices by a
gregationalmeeting("ActsofSynod,"           of the congregation is a,peculiar  gath-     lawful election by the church." The
pp. 103,104).                               ering in the Reformed system of              Reformed "Form of Ordination of'
    The decision by the CRC in 1990         church government. Article 29 of the         Elders andDeacons"  regards the elec-
permitting "churches to use their dis-      Church Order of Dordt does not men-          tion of these officebearers at the meet-
cretion in utilizing the gifts of women     tion it as one of the (authoritative)        ing of the congregation as the lawful
members in all the offices of the           ecclesiastical assemblies. It lives in       callby  God's church. Article 22 of the
church' included a reference to the         the Reformed mind that the congre-           Church Order of Dordt refers to the
decision of 1957 "allowing women to         gational meeting functions under the         voting by the congregation as the
vote at congregational meetings" in         supervision of the consistory. The           "election" of the elders and requires
its grounds ("Acts of Synod," p. 654).      decisions made at the meeting are            the consistory to install the men who
    This is the lesson of history. A        confirmed by a subsequent decision           are chosen at the congregationalmeet-
Reformed church begins with a deci-         of the consistory.                           ing.
sion approving female voting at the              The congregational                                          Denial that the con-
congregational meeting. The deci-           meetingis a "soft spot"                                      gregational meeting
sion passes at synod and is accepted        in Reformed church                                           shares in the government
by the people on the basis of a firm        polity. This is why the             Only timing;             of the church by the
declaration that the decision has noth-     camel of feminism                   not principle,         consistory, in the inter-
ing to do with, and will not lead to,       thrusts its nose in at                restrains              ests of having women
women in office. Nevertheless, in a         precisely this spot. This                                   vote, is demeaning to the
few years decisions follow that open                                           the entire camel.
                                            is the one place where                                       congregational meeting
up all the offices to women. A ground       Reformed church gov-                                         and ought to be offensive
for these decisions is the church's         ernment is vulnerable                                        to the congregation of
original approval of women voting at        totheintrusionoftheworld'sagenda,             Reformed believers.
the congregational meeting.                 that the headship of the husband be                  Permitting women to vote at the
    Women voting at the congrega-           destroyed. Were the camel of femi-            congregational meeting is the nose of

318IStandard Bearer/April 15,19Q4


the camel because this voting is a                                                                            The Protestant Reformed               tion (of ministers) shall be submitted
form of rule in the church. If the                                                                       Churches have somewhat strength-           to the approbation of the congrega-
women are authorized by Christ to                                                                        ened the "soft spot" of the congrega-      tion.... From the nomination the male
rule at the congregational meeting,                                                                      tional meeting against the camel's  members  assembled on a  congrega-
they cannot be forbidden to rule in the                                                                  nose. To Article 4 of the Church           tional meeting . . . shall elect by secret
offices. Only timing, not principle,                                                                     Order of Dordt, concerning the law-        ballot." 0
restrains the entire camel.                                                                              ful calling of ministers, they have                                           - DJE
                                                                                                         added this decision: "The nomina-

                                                                             1  Getters




       .,.,.,
                            ^"
                                   ~            1               ..r    ..i,
                                                                             j Another Opinion on the KJV
                                                                                   From time to time, the Ring Jamesversionof            Imagine the difficulties missionaries would
                                                                         i the Bible is praised in the Standard Bearer.              face if they had to translate the Bible in a lan-
  .,..., ., ..,                                 .,.                    . ..&; Whenever this is done, I pay special attention guage which the tribe no longer spoke.
                  ...~,. .-II-~-x.-,~.  because the topic is of interest to me. I wonder                                                 Is the problem the absence of a superior
                                                                         ; whether  you will give a hearing to a person with         alternative? If so, would it not be the Protestant
  .I . . . . ..-.---. i' another opinion.                                                                                            Reformed Churches' duty to do the job them-
  ,.,.....,,,... .,,., ,,.... ,. .   .   j,                                        As far as New Zealand is concerned, the           selves?
                                                                         i language of the A.V. is different even from more              Another thing. A preacher may say some-
                                              ..,                        i formal speech, and if what one hears over the             thing like: "Now about this word here in the
  1.. _                                       " . "...., i, radio waves from your country is any guide, it                           A.V., that is not properly translated." (This has
                                                                             is not much like American, either.                      been done in the SE) I wonder why this is not
                                                                                   The language of the A.V. is outdated, and         recognized for what it is: the questioning of the
  ,.  .._  ._. i                                                               because of that inaccurate. Can what is inaccu-       whole of the text of the A.V. Do that once, just
                                                                         ! rate be called the Word of God? Consider, we              once, and a precedent hasbeen  set, and the skids
  ..,. ".. _ _^_ _..^," .,.. _ :. .
                                                                         I hve now, not three hundred years ago.                     have been put underneath the whole book.
                            a
 "~__-I"-                                            -" .,.I e."-;.                Moreover, the language of the A.V. falls              As I see it, a church which objects to the
                                                                         i under the heading of "jargon." The Readers                modem translations which are now available
 ,.                                      ",.                             ; Digest Great Enqclopaedic Dictiona  y defines             has only two options:
  ,,  ,,............ _... .,. .,-i jargon to be, amongst other things:                                                                   a) Do the job itself to its own satisfaction.
                                                                                                                                         b) Use a straight word for word transla-
  _.,_
                       .                ,.                     "
                                                                 .               mode of speech full of unfamiliar terms or pecu-    tion only.
                                                                         : liar to a class or profession.                                                                  Arie vanZoest
                                                                                                                                                                  Owaka, New Zealand
 _ .                                                 .I..  .\  The  Oxford  L&mqs:
 .,                                            ..:                                                                                   RESPONSE:
                                                                                 the special words used by members of a special          We give hearings to people with other opin-
 ."~"__ ll^-".-^  .-.,.,. _ .,.- i ). profession or by students of a particular subject.                                             ions.
 _ _ . _... .- . . ". ..-.._ -._ ._,;                                                                                                    To correct a translation in some passage
                                                                                   With regard to this matter, I do not object to    from the Hebrew or Greek original is not to
  .,. ,,,                                                .,             j: the use of a
                                                                        .I                 ' rich vocabulary per se, but more        disparage, much less to reject, the entire trans-
                                                                        !; particularly to the use of a language which is no
 /.                                                                                                                                  lation.
                  `~.~~-~^-..~-`~ 1 ,-t longer in formal common use. It creates a kind                                                   If the KJV's  language has become outdated,
 ,. .,,.. ^ ,... I,. I ,I,. r I .  ;,; of barrier which, in my opinion, should not be                                                the church must make this judgment, and the
                                                                        t there. Such a barrier is neither necessary nor
        _                                                                                                                            church should either approve another transla-
                                                       ~~~~~~~ i desirable. Is it essential that, as a general prin-                 tion or make a new one. 0
                       a                                                ~
                                                                  : ciple, truth is stated in outdated language?                                                                   - Ed.

 ~^,_
            ,...
                         "
                            .~,.~                         .           -.:





                                                                                                                                                              April 15,1994/Standard Bearer1319


                   Questions of Article 41

     Furthermore, thepresident[ofclassis]         The response to these questions               There is concern for the office of
shall, amongother things, put thefollow-      is never to be the response of the           elder: "Is church discipline exer-
ing questions to the delegates of each        individual delegate who answers. It          cise`d?"  and, "Do you need the judg-
church:                                       must not be his personal response,           ment and help of the classis for the
     I. Aretheconsistorymeetingsheld          the expression of his own personal           proper government of your church?"
in your church?                               opinion. But he is to respond as the         There is concern for the office of dea-
     2. Is church discipline exercised?       representative of his consistory. For        con: "Are the poor and the Christian
     3. Are the poor and the Christian        this reason, consistories ought to dis-      schools cared for?" There is concern
schools cared for?                            cuss the questions of Article 41 when        for the office of the ministry. This
     4. Do you need the judgment and          appointing delegates to the upcom-           belongs to the question, "Is church
help of the classis for the proper govern-    ing meeting of classis. Along with the       discipline exercised?" An important
ment of your church?                          adoption of the classical credentials        aspect of church discipline is the faith-
              Church  Order,  Article 41      and a discussion of the contents of the      ful preaching of the Word.
                                              agenda, the consistory ought to in-               Earlier versions of Article 41 ad-
I n t r o d u c t i o n                       struct its delegates in the answers that     dressed the office of the ministry more
     The questions of Article 41 asked        are to be given to the questions of          directly. All of the earlier versions
of the delegates from each consistory         Article 41. Especially if the delegates      called for the preaching of a specimen
by the president of the classis have a        are to request the "judgment and help        sermon by the ministers of the classis
very important place on the agenda of         of the classis for the proper govern-        in rotation. This sermon was not for
every meeting of the classes. At each         ment of (their) church," must this be        purposes of meditation at the begin-
meeting, these questions must be              done by official decision of the             ning of the meeting of the classis.
asked and satisfactorily answered.            consistory. Sucharequest ought  tobe         Instead the sermon was to be evalu-
No meeting of classis may be ad-              included in the "Instructions" on the        ated and "criticized" by the other
journed until the questions of Article        classical credentials.                       delegates to classis.  In this waypreach-
41 have been treated.'                                                                     ing skills would be honed. The stipu-
     In putting these questions to the        Concern for the Labors                       lation of the Synod of Dordt, 1578, is
delegates at classis, the president is        of Officebearers                             typical: "Each minister in turn shall
acting on behalf of the classis. It is            All of the questions of.Article  41      deliver a short sermon, concerning
really the classis that is putting these      concern the work of the officebearers.       which the others shall judge and ad-
questions before the various con-             The mutual supervision of the                monish him concerning what needs
sistories. In this way the churches           churches over each other is especially       improvement." This provision of
exercise mutual supervision over each         mutual supervision of the  office-           Article 41 was dropped by the revi-
other,  oneof thefundamentalreasons           bearers. This is vital for the life of       sion of the Church Order of Dordt by
for belonging to a federation of              each church and for the church               the Christian Reformed Church in
churches. And in this way they carry          federation. If the churches are to be        1914. And although there were rea-
out the obligations that arise out of         kept in the true doctrine and in
the principle of corporate responsi-          godliness of life, the officebearersmust
bility.                                       faithfully carry out their respon-
                                              sibilities. The purpose of the questions     l    The interested reader  is referred to
                                              of Article 41 is to place each consistory    two excellent articles dealing with the
                                              before the question, "Are you doing          questions of Article 41 in the Sfandard
                                                                                           Bearer, 
                                              the,work to which Christ has called                      vol. 68, pp. 326 and 344, by Rev.
                                                                                           Russell Dykstra. These articles are the
Rev. Cammenga is pastor of Southwest          you?" Besides mutual supervision,            substance of an address given by Rev.
Protestant Reformed Church in                 the questions of Article 41 call             Dykstra at an Officebearers' Conference
Grandville, Michigan                          consistories to self-examination.            in Classis  West.

32OIStandard Bearer /April 15,1994


sons why it was eliminated, chief of        consistory, especially the president              There has been difference of
which being that by this time minis-        and the clerk, faithfully carry out their     opinion from time to time whether a
ters were receiving a thorough semi-        duties?                                       consistory must first make a concrete
nary education, nevertheless direct             The second question is, "Is church        decision before it seeks the help of          ,
concern with the preaching in the           discipline exercised?" Vital for the          classis. It ought to be plain that this is
churches has to some extent been lost       spiritual life of the church is the faith-    not the requirement of Article 41 and
to Article 41. It might be worthwhile       ful exercise of Christian discipline.         oughtnottobearequirementimposed
that a question be added to the four        Do the elders supervise the confes-           upon consistories by a classis. For
that we have at present under Article       sion and walk of the members of the           one thing this ignores long-standing
41 that deals with the preaching.           church? If there are those who err in         precedent in the Reformed churches,
    In the course of time, the ques-        doctrine or life, are they dealt with?        especially of the Netherlands,
tions asked under Article 41 have           Does the preaching equip the elders           according to which consistories
undergone some change. In the past,         for their disciplinary work and sup-          brought many questions and pleas
delegates were asked  whether~  the' port the discipline of the elders in the             for help to classes and synods. For
consistory was honoring the decisions       congregation?                                 another thing, if a consistory is forced
of the major assemblies, whether it             And, "Are the poor and the Chris-         to make its own decision before
was doing its utmost to keep the            tian schools cared for?" Here the             coming to classis, it does not any
church free of heresy, whether              workof  the deacons comes especially          longer need the. help of the classis.
consistorymemberswereinfullagree-           under consideration. There are really         The situationis often that aconsistory
ment with the doctrines of -the Re-         `two questions here, and they could           cannot even make a decision because
formed faith, and whether the .work         better be divided and asked sepa-             of divided opinions within the
of missions was being promoted. This        rately. It is possible that the poor are      consistory. Or it may be that a
points out that it might be possible to     cared for, but that the cause of Chris-       consistory does not want to make a
expand thelist of questions thatmake        tian education is neglected. Do the           decision all on its own because the
up the questions of Article 41 in our       deacons search out the poor? Do they          issue has significant ramifications for
Church Order.                               "carefor" thepoor,notonlybygiving             `the churches as a whole. Before
    The president of classis is given a     themfinancialrelief,butalsobybring-           making such a far-reaching decision,
certain amount of flexibility in asking     ing them the comfort, and sometimes           a consistory wisely consults with the
the questions of Article 41. The article    the rebuke, of God's Word?                    sister churches of the classis.
states, n... the president shall, among       Are the Christian schools cared                 This is not to say that a consistory
other th&gs, put the following ques-        for means that the consistory must            may bring all sorts of hypothetical
tions to the delegates of each              promote Christian education. It must          questions to the  classis. Consistories
church . . . . P Leeway is given to the     point parents to their calling to send        must be dealing with concrete situa-
president to add to the questions, or       their children to the Christian schools,      tions. And classes must be sure, too,
at least follow up the questions of         Protestant Reformed Christian                 that thereis evidence that aconsistory
Article 41 with related questions. In       schools where this is possible. The           does really need the help of the classis.
my own experience, I have never seen        elders must do this. The minister             A consistorymust demonstrate area1
a president of  classis do this. But        must do this in the preaching. And            working with the problem. No
Article 41 allows for it.                   the deacons must do this by assisting         consistory ought to be perrnitted to
                                            parents who need financial help in            shirk its rightful responsibilities and
The Questions                               order to send their children to the           have the classis do its work.
    The first of the questions under        Christian schools.                                The question also arises whether
Article 41 is, "Are the consistorymeet-                                                   the assistance of the classis ought to
ings held in your church?" The point        Do You Need the Judgment                      be in the form of a definite and bind-
of the question is whether the              and Help of the Classis                       ing decision of the  classis. It may
consistorymeetings are held regularly       for the Proper Government                     indeed be the case that this is neces-
in each church, at least once a month.      of Your Church?                               sary and desirable. A consistory may
Are these meetings publicly an-                 This question is of a different na-       even request such a decision on the
nounced so that members of the con-         ture than the other three questions. It       matter it brings before the classis un-
gregation may appear before the             provides aconsistorywith the oppor-           der this question of Article 41. Yet
consistory if they desire? And, not         tunity to seek the assistance of the          there are times when it is sufficient
only are the consistory meetings for-       classisinits government of the church.        that a general discussion be held on
mally held, but are they conducted          It must be underscored .that such a           the floor, all the delegates contribut-
according to the stipulations of the        request must be made officially by a          ing, so that in a less formal way the
Qmrch Order,  so that the meetings          consistory to the classis, not the re-        "mind of the classis" is made known.
are characterized by decency and            quest merely of an individual del-            Usually this is the procedure that has
good order? Do the officers of the          egate at classis.                             been followed in our churches, and

                                                                                                   April 15,1994/Standard BearerI


usually this is sufficient to assist the      ning of the meetings of the classes.         . . that an inquiry on the part of the
                                                                                            .
consistory that has requested classis'        They .were  the very first thing on the      classis  into the spiritual state of its
assistance. A distinction between a           agenda after the constituting of the         severalcongregationsconstitutesthe
formal decision and the general con-          classis. The provision of the Synod of       central and principal task of classis,
sensus of the classis is pointed to in        Embden, 1571, is typical:                    and therefore should take precedence. '
                                                                                           Hence Article 41 should not be taken
the language of the fourth question:                                                       up at the end of classical meetings
"Do you need the judgment (formal               After the president shall be chosen,       butattheoutset.(ActsofSynod1942,
decision) and help (general advice) of          by the general vote of the ministers       p. 110.)
the classis . . . . n                           and after he has offered prayer, he
                                                shall ask each one individually                  Our classes ought to return to the.
When the Questions of Article 41                whether they hold consistory meet-
                                                ings in their churches. Whether          practice of asking the questions of
Ought to be Asked                               church discipline is maintained.         Article 41 at the beginning of their
        In our churches the questions of        Whether they have any struggle with      meetings. Then, too, if matters of
Article 41 are asked at the very end of         any heretics. Whether they have any      concern are raised in connection with
the meeting of classis, nearly the last         doubtconcerninganyarticlesofdoc-         these questions, the classes are in a
item on the agenda. This is poor                trine. Whether the poor and the          better position to deal with them.
procedure. By doing this we expose              schools are cared for. Whether they      Perhaps a committee canbe  appointed
ourselves to the temptation that the            need the advice and help of the other    to do some investigating or to bring
significance of these questions is              ministers forruling the churches, and    advice to  classis. This would better
slighted and the asking and answer-             other such things.                       assure that the questions of Article 41
ing of them becomes a mere formal-                The Synod of 1942 of the Chris-        continue  to occupy the important
ity.                                                                                     place they were intended to occupy
        In the early history of the Dutch     tian Reformed Church expressed its         on the agenda of our classical meet-
Reformed churches, the questions of           agreement with this practice:              ings. 0
Article 41 were asked at the begin-




                               Locusts from the
                                      B o t t o m l e s s   P i t

        We read in Revelation 9:1-12  of      forth from the seventh seal. Then          literal locusts. The description df
the locusts that come out of the bot-         follow seven vials or bowls out of the     them in Revelation does not allow fdr
tomless pit. A horrible, terrifying           seventh trumpet. The seals represent       such interpretation. Yet the  reseti-
picture is presented. Read the pas-           the "normal" number of disasters           blance  is there. As locusts  devoiir
sage carefully. For those who would           (one-fourth of the earth is affected)      and destroy, so do these locusts. As
seek an extensive treatment of the            that fall on the earth. The trumpets       locusts afflict an area for about five
passage, I would urge them to read            mark an increase to one-third. The         months, so do those in Revelation.
Behold, He Cometh;chapter  21, writ-          `vials represent the total destruction             Verse 1 speaks of the "star" which
ten by the Rev. Herman Hoeksema.              that comes at the end of the age.          fell-from heaven with'the key of the
        Theselocusts come forthbecause            The time in. which -we live re-        bottomless pit. This star cannot be a
of the blowing of the,.fifth  trumpet.        minds one greatly of that period when      literal&r. -That UstarM is Satan, for lie
Recall that Revelation presents first         these locusts prevail over the earth.      is pqese&d here as an intellectual
seven seals. Seven trumpets come              Are we not living even now in that         being.  He takes thekey to thebottoti-
                                ,,  _'., _
                                I             period of the. sounding of the trum-       .less pit tind opens it. '               _* .,
                                                                                                                                  . -
                         .-                   pets? Do- we not observe iri many                  Fro&that  bofto&less  pit  conWs
Rev. VanBarenispastorof  theprotesfant        areas an increase of death, destruc-       forth a %rde of locus& that cover the
Reformed Church of Hudsonville,  Michi-       tion, and devastation?                     earth. These "locusts~~~ouldnot  come
gan.                                              The locusts are, obviously, not        forth at any time, but"only  when tlie

322lStandard  Bearer/April 15,1994


pit is opened. These would be part of            Note that these locusts have                genes. He makes amazing comput-
the host of fallen angels who are not        crowns like gold on their heads, faces          ers. He speaks of the "information
allowed to carry out their terrible          as men, hair as women, and teeth as             highway" which will interconnect
devastation until God gives to the           lions. There is that which is very              every home with every other home.
"star" the key to open the pit. This is      attractive in this. Power or rule. is           One can point to many other of his
a band or army of Satan that particu-        portrayed by crowns like gold. There            great inventions as well.
larly troubles mankind, but are held         are pictured intelligence and wisdom                The locusts have "hair as the hair
in the pit until the time appointed for      in the faces as men. One sees beauty            of women." In speaking of the "hair
their release. Only now in this end-         andlovelinessinthe"hairaswomen."                of women," Scripture points to that
time is Satan given permission to open       These are the demons who play upon              which portrays what is sexually at-
the pit.                                     the sinful desires and lusts of men.            tractive to men. The "locusts" have
    The portrayal of these locusts           These appeal to the "lust of the flesh,         especially encouraged this aspect of
suggests also what takes place in the        the lust of the eyes, and the.pride  of         the depraved nature of man. The
last days. There are two parts to these      life."                                          pervasiveness of lust, of sexual per-
locusts: the front and back. .The front           Paul speaks of these in Romans             versions, of "alternate life-styles" is
is extremely appealing: "Like horses         1:23-24, "And changed the glory of              evident today. Many deplore the
prepared unto battle; and on their           the incorruptible God into an image             rapes, the pornography, the child
heads were crowns like gold, and             make like to corruptible man....                abuse, and other corruptions of our
their faces were the faces of men.           Wherefore God also gave them up to              society. Still, under the name of "free-
They had hair as the hair of women,          uncleanness through the lusts of their          dom of expression" vast amounts of
and their teeth were as the teeth of         own hearts, to dishonor their own               filth flow out of the printing presses,
lions." The back part of the locusts,        bodies between themselves . . . . N And         radio, television, videos, and books.
however, portrays a different and            again he writes in verse 32, "Who               It is what many find appealing and
dreadful aspect: "They had tails like        knowing the judgment of God, that               attractive.
unto scorpions, and there were stings        they which commit such things are                   Homosexuality has been de-
in their tails: and their power was to       worthy of death, not only do the same,          fended and even promoted. Those
hurt men five months." That explains         but have pleasure in' them that do              who oppose this are called bigots.
the statement in verses 5 and 6, "And        them."                                          Those who oppose are even being
to them it was given that they should             Have you observed what is tak-             charged with violation of the laws of
not kill them, but that they should be       ing place today? Though the sinful-             the land. This life-style is even pre-
tormented five months: and their tor-        ness of mankind has been evident                sented as beautiful and meaningful.
ment was the torment of a scorpion,          through the ages since Adam's fall,                 But also there comes the sting of
when he striketh a man. And in those         that corruption is rapidly increasing           the tail (like unto scorpions) of these
days shall men seek death, and shall         in our day. The "locusts" are over-             locusts. Though many refuse to ret-
not find it; and shall desire to die, and    running the earth-yet not many pay              ognize this too, still the stingis appar-
death shall flee from them."                 any attention.                                  ent throughout the world. There is on
    The activity of these locusts is              Allow me to point out just a few           the part of many a discouragement
limited to those who have not the seal       things. Man has placed great empha-             and disillusionment. There are those
of God in their foreheads (v. 4). Chil-      sis on material posses-                                        who would even take
"dren of God are not affected; but the       sions. He has gone to                      I                   their own lives - but
measure of wickedness in the world           great lengths to accumu-                                       have not the courage to
is ,being filled - with the related          late more. He has used          The unbeliever                 do so.
consequences. But man, extolling the         his newly found ability       fills the measure                   This "sting" is per-
beauty of the heads of these locusts,        to control much of the          of iniquity -                  hapsmostobviousinthe
insists on denying a connection be-          creation. With pesticides         and already                  spread of AIDS disease.
tween the heads and the tails.               and. herbicides and fer-                                       This disease, most often
    What is the meaning of the heads         tilizers he will increase           in this  Iife              associated with homo-
of these locusts? These are "like unto       his crops. He takes ad-             suffers the :.             sexual&m and drug us-
horses prepared unto battle." They           vantage of the energy           consequences.                  age, is pandemic. Mil-
go forth prepared to influence and           sources of this earth to                                       lions have been spent to
seducemankind.  Fromahumanyiew-              keephimwarmandpro-
                                                _  _                                    I                   find : cures. Anger is
point, these appear to succeed. ,Thgse       vide the power fortrans-       .  :  A,    I  `.               shownwhenthis  disease.
demons are making use?,of `.books,           portation of everysort.                         is in any way called a punishment of
magazines, television, movies,.radio,        ;. ~ Manalso  makes use of his intelli-         ..God. The cause and effect are so
songs, advertising, and ".peer pres-         gence (the "man's face" of the locust)          obvious that none can- deny it; Man
sures," to influence and -affect the         to produce ever more spectacular in-            seeks to find ways of preventing the
thoughts of mankind.                         ventions: He seeks to manipulate                disease-whilecontinuinginthe sin.  :

                                                                                                      April 15,1994lStandard Bearer1323


The sting, however, remains. Other          of the environment is affected. For-         of the tail of the locust. The unbe-
"stings" are evident with different         ests have been devastated. Seas have         liever fills the measure of iniquity -
pervading sexual sins as welb adul-         `been polluted. The fish of the seas         and already in this life suffers the
tery, fornication, divorce and remar-       have been decimated. Belatedly man           consequences. Man's response is not
riage, etc.                                 attempts to remedy some of his past          confession and repentance. Scrip-
    The past generation has seen a          excesses. The sting, however, remains.       ture's testimony concerning man is,
vastincreasein the sum-total of man's           Manyotherinstancesof this same           "Neither repented they of their mur-
knowledge. Inventions proliferate.          thing can be observed by those with          ders, nor of their sorceries, nor of
Man has been able to increase pro-          eyes to see. It also becomes clear how       their fornication, nor of their thefts"
ductivity both in farming and manu-         thatthisaffects"onlythosemenwhich            (Rev. 9:21).
facturing. It is the "face of a man" as     have not the seal of God in their fore-          For the Christian it is a time to
seen in the locusts. But now the tail       heads." Although there are instances         look up, for redemption draws nigh.
also is being increasingly seen. The        wherechildrenof Godareaffectedby             We live in amazing times. We see the
by-products of man's inventiveness          these locusts as well, clearly it is the     fulfiBment  of the prophecies of the
have been the cause of pollution and        deliberate and willful sinfulness of         Word of God. Then we know that the
diseases of various sorts.' The whole       mankind that is followed by the sting        return of our Lord is at hand. 0





                But What About Logic?

    Study to show thyselfapproved unto      third possibility in-between? And, if        It has within itself the idea of reason-
God, a workman that neecleth not fo be      so, what would that be?                      ing or thought, as J.H. Thayer in his
ashamed, rightly dividing the word  of          But the matter is worthy of our          Greek lexicon says, "as respect to the
truth.                                      consideration; for the fact is that logic    MIND: reason, the mental faculty of
                        II Timothy 2:15     is a perfectly biblical concept - even       thinking, meditating, reasoning, cal-
                                            if it is not always recognized as such.      culating." And so it was that the
    Being too logical, strangely, has           Commonly, of course, logic is            apostle John took up this term and
become an all too common criticism          thought of as having originated with         used it at the heart of the powerful
in these days since Karl Barth first        the Greek philosophers, particularly         opening verse of his Gospel account,
expressed his fascination with para-        Aristotle. There is reason for that.         John 1:l: "In the beginning was the
doxical "yes" and "no" disjunctives.        Aristotle in his day did do a great deal     Word (logos), and the Word (logos)
And so it is that Dr. J. DeJong,  editor    to analyze the principles of logic and       was with God, and the Word (logos)
of the Clarion, in his recent debates       lay them out in a form which couldbe,        was God," of which Thayer again
with. Prof. Engelsma, faulted him for       and was, used by scholars after him.         goes on to comment, "In John, (logos)
his "logical scheme of thought." One        For well over a thousand years the           denotes the essential Word of God,
can only wonder, is he suggesting it        Logic of Aristotle was the standard by       Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom
would be preferable to be illogical?        which the validity of arguments was          and power in union with God, his
Or would he appreciate beingidenti-         tested. But that does not mean that          minister in creation and government
fied as that? Or is he suggesting some      logic began with him. The fact is that       of the universe, the cause of all the
                                            all the basic principles of logic are        world's life both physical and ethi-
                                            found implicit in the Bible itself.          cal." The very idea of reasoning and
                                      _-        Etymologically the word "logic"          logic is, to be found implicit within
                                            derives from, the Greek word Logos,          this very biblical term.
Rev. Woudenberg  is pa&or of the Protes-    which is a perfectly biblical term. It is        Now~. at this point, it might be
tant Reformed Church of Kalaniazoo,         translated"word,"butinitsfullmean-           argued that this was because the lan-
Michigan.                                   ing it is far more profound than that.       guage was Greek, and by it Greek

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thought was being taken in and inte-        John saw, and on the basis of it went          which truth must come, and it can be
grated into biblical thought  - until,      on to identify "the Word" as being             found only through the Scriptures,
that is, one discovers the real source      "God," the one by whom "all things             the revelation given by and about his
of John's idea, not in Greek philoso-       were made" (John  1:3). John saw               Son. This is where true logic must
phy, but deep within the Old Testa-         Solomon's vision realized in Jesus             start.
ment Scriptures themselves. Very            Christ (John 1:14), as though through              And that principle leads on to
clearly, what John was saying had its       the communications of logical thought          another, the fact that truth so received
roots in what Solomon had said long         the divine life is realized.                   never contradicts itself.
before the Greek philosophers ever              But there is more. For out of this             In the traditional study of logic
began to write: "I wisdom dwell with        there proceeds what is perhaps the             this was recognized and expressed as
prudence, and find out knowledge of         basic principles of what we now call           "the principle of the undivided
witty inventions.... Counsel is mine,       logic.                                         middle." Thepointisthateverymean-
and sound wisdom: I am understand-              To begin with, there is the matter         ingful expression of thought must
ing; I have strength.... The Lord pos-      of origin. Where does truth and                beginwithanopeninggeneralpropo-
sessedmeinthebeginningofhisway,             proper thinking start?                         sition, to which then is added a more
before his works of old. I was set up           At this point the Greeks tried .to         particular idea or middle proposi-
from everlasting, from the beginning,       pick themselves up by their boot-              tion, and leading in turn to a conclu-
or ever the earth was.... When he           straps, with what they called "induc-          sion which was not understood at the
prepared the heavens, I was there . . .     tive logic," a method of seeking to            start. But, in order for such a process
when he appointed the foundations           extract from the examination of na-            of thought to be valid or logical, the
of the earth: then I was by him, as one     ture a series of basic truths out of           middle term must not divide. That is
brought up with him: and I was daily        which they could begin their process           to say - and that is what logic is all
his delight, rejoicing always before        of deductive reasoning. But, as bril-          about -- when speaking, one must
him" (Prov. 8:12-30).  Herewas  clearly     liantly as it was done, it only led into       take care that what he says does not
the thought which John picked up            a futile circle of reasoning which never       lead to more than one conclusion, and
and echoed again in his striking re-        rises above itself; that is, it works to an    particularly not to conclusions which
frain. John too, with his use of the        extent with matters of-nature, but it is       are contradictory to each other.
word- logos, was pointing to what           never able to ascend'mto the matters               This principle, althoughnot tech-
Solomon had designated by the use of        of the spirit and of God.                      nically expressed, is clearly set forth
the Hebrew word for wisdom, chokma,             Solomon, however, saw some-                in the Bible, only in what is essentially
and upon it had built the whole of his      thing better, as he went on to note in         a far deeper and more profound sense.
book of wisdom, the Proverbs of             Proverbs 9:10, "Thefear  of the Lord is        The Bible leaves no room for contra-
Solomon. It was a wisdom which had          the beginning of wisdom: and the               diction. Once God has spoken, He
been given him by a special bestowal        knowledge of the holy is understand-           does not change, compromise, or in
of God, and which was pronounced            ing." He recognized that the begin-            any.way  say the opposite. God does
superior to that of every other man (I      ning of knowledge, and of reasoning,           not contradict Himself. This was
Kings 3:12).                                must be found in receiving the Word            implicit already in the way He intro-
    At the heart of his work, Solomon       of God, from which it then applies             duced himself to Moses- before one
expresses a most profound and basic         itself to life; and so his book consti-        word of Scripture was ever written.
truth; hepersonifieswisdom, andiden-        tutes, from there on, a series of obser-       He said, Exodus 3:14: "I AM THAT I
tifies it with the one who was "pos-        vations concerning this applicationin          AM and he said, Thus shalt thou say
sessed" by Jehovah, "from everlast-         the lives of those who do and are              unto the children of Israel, I AM hath
ing, from the beginning, or ever the        blessed, and who failing to do so are          sent me unto you." It means that
earth was . . . . N And out of this wis-    found fools. Noting this, John went            whatever God has determined to be,
dom, or according to it, the creation       on to say that "the Word was made              He will be; and whatever He has
was made. This wisdom- this word            flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we             determined to say or do, He will al-
orlogic,ifyouwill-Solomonspeaks             beheld his glory, the glory as of the          ways say and  do.. God does not
of as having been there at the creation     only begotten of the Father,) full of          change, as Moses went on to say at a
of the world, 8:29-30: When he gave         grace and truth" (John 1:14). Truth            later time, in Numbers 23:19, "God is
to the sea his decree . . . -when he ap-    and beauty come to us from God                 not a man, that he should lie; neither
pointed the foundations of the earth:       through the Son, who is the source of          the son of man, that he should repent:
then I was by him . . . and I was daily     all that we know of God: "No man               hath he said, and shall he not do it? or
his delight, rejoicing alway before         hath seen God at any time;.the  only           hath he spoken, and shall he not make
him." Wisdom gave to the'creation  its      begotten Son, which is in thebosomof           it good?" When God says-a thing, it
divine delight; for with that term we       the Father, he hath declared him"              is true;`He  never says one thing and
have Solomon's beautiful and pro-           (John 1:X3; see also Matt. li:27). The         means, or goes on to say, another. If
phetic visionofthe Son of God. This         point is clear, God is the source from         one were to put it in logical terms,

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God never divides his middle term.                  the minds of others. Every language        `Acts  1791: "They received the word
     In fact, when it finally comes                 does it in its own way, but each is a      with all readiness of mind, and
down to it, this is what language is all            logical structure that arises innately     searched the scriptures daily, whether
about. Language, after all, is not                  from a nature given man by God.            those things were so." And so we
something made by man, in spite of                  .God has enabled him to speak, and to      find all through the New Testament,
what modern evolutionary thinking                   do it accurately with logic.               that nothing is left to stand by itself.
may suppose; it was given to man at                     And in that also is found the key      Repeatedly, what is taught is brought
his creation by God, the means by                   to the understanding or interpreta-        out in light of what had been taught
which God might communicate with                    tion of the Scriptures. That is impor-     before. Although himself inspired,
man, and man with God. What lan-                    tant; for, as we all know, if one takes    each author confirmed what he said
guage by its very nature provides is a              individual passages of the Bible by        with those Scriptures which had been
means for distinguishing the various                themselves, they can be made to say        given before. There was always that
thoughts which are held within the                  almost anything. And that is done.         basic presupposition, as Jesus said in
mind, and relating them to each other               All kinds of heresies live in the claim    John 10:35, "The scripture cannot be
in a logical stream of thought which                that they were taken from the Bible,       broken." It cannot contradict itself.
can be taken up and replicated in the               leaving so many with that almost           And so, one can know what the Bible
mind of another, drawing the two                    cynical question, how can anyone           says in a particular place, when with
togetherinameaningfulcommumca-                      know what the Bible actually says?         sincerity and faith he understands it
tion of life. And the complexities of                   But to this there is an answer, a      in logical harmony with the rest.
language, which can become quite                    simple basic rule laid down by the             "Study to show thyself approved
exacting, are but so manylogicalfunc-               Bible itself and used through the ages     unto God, a workman that needeth
tions by which. ideas and their rela-               by the true students of God's Word.        not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
tionshipscanbeclearlydistinguished                  Each passage of Scripture -must be         the wordof  truth," (IITim.2:15).  Such
andusedand accurately replicated so                 interpreted in harmony with all the        study is logic, God's gift by which
as not to divide the thought and cre-               rest. This is what the Bereans did,        truth may be known. 0
ate confusion or misunderstandingin




          Be Ye Angry and Sin Not (1)

     Be ye ungry  and sin not: let not the          often speak of the anger and wrath of      Our God is a consuming fire to all
sun go down upon your wrath.                        God.                                       workers of iniquity. The wrath or
                            Ephesians 4:26              The modernist suggests that any        anger of God is the reaction of His
     It is not sin to be angry, but when            idea of wrath in God must be ex-           perfect holiness against all sin and
  we are angry it is hard not to sin.               cluded. Such ideas of God belong to        wickedness. A God who is not a God
  Anger is a tender-virtue, and through             primitive concepts of God. We must         of infinite and perfect wrath against
  our ineptitude it is easily corrupted             create in our mind rather a God who        all evil is no God at all. The true and
  and made dangerous. He who would                  is never angry but who is a God only       living God is a God of jealous anger.
  be .angry without sin must not be
  angry at anything except sin.*                    of benevolence and kindness, mild-         In His jealousy He defends the honor
                    I.i            ;
                    a. ^                    "  '    ness and gentleness.                       and glory of His own name and main-
    _ There is such -a. thing as holy an-            `. Such thinking about God; how-          tains the truth and righteousness of
ger. That this is true.is clear from the            ever, is idolatry and not based on         His cause.
                                                                                                     . i ;" , `, -1
fact, first of all, that the' Scriptures            God's revelation of Himself in the                . .
          .,-                                       Bible. The  unchangeable:,God   re-           :.-          ,-
                                                                                                    .) .  .i.
      ..,.       `
                    :                               veaied,in  the Bible is a Godof-dread-     f: 1. The qu&ationsin  t&paper  are taken
                             .+         .,,  ~.     ful wrath and perfectly holy anger.        i?om an.art,icle by the Puritan preachsr
                                                    `He is angry .with the wicked every        John-Trappi  .which  was reprinted in the
.Rev.  de;Hartog is pastor ofHope  Protes-          day. He reveals His wrath from             Sword an'd%owel  tiagkke,  vdlume 4,
tan t Reformed Church in Redlands,  C$i-            heavencontinuallyagainstallungod-          1993, published by the Mekopolitan  Tab-
for&a.                                              liness and unrighteousness of men.         emacle in London, En&ind.

326/StandardBearer/AprillFi, 1994


     We as God's people must reflect           circumstances of the life of man. It is       comes angry.
 the same love for God. Any blas-              the calling of man to realize and ac-
 phemy against God by wicked men,              knowledge this. But even thoughthe              First, what an ugly thing is anger,
 any dishonoring of His name, any              wrath of God is revealed from heaven            detaching a person from self-con-
 transgression of His holy Word, any           upon his evil way, man does not turn            trol, and disfiguring his appearance
 denial of His glorious truth ought to-        from it. All the days of his life he lives      with gkuing eyes, furious expres-
 arouse in the child of God a holy             in enmity against God.                          sion, and distorted features - even
                                                                                               to the flaring of the nostrils! The
 anger, a zeal for the honor and glory             More and more, as the end of the            Hebrews call anger aph (the nostrils
 of the name of God. A lack of such            world approaches, we witness the                -thebreath-theface),becausethe
 holy zeal reflects a sinful carelessness      dreadful depravity of the anger. of             nostrilsflare,thenthecolourchanges,
 and complacency regarding God and             modem man. Our society often glo-               the tongue stammers, the teeth gnash,
 His Word. Would to God that more              rifies it through the mass media.               the hands clap, the feet stamp, the
 of such holy anger and zeal were              Wicked men are encouraged to vent              pulse beats, the heart pants, and the
 evident in God's people today. Moses          their anger. They claim to be justified         whole person swells  like a toad and
 was filled with this holy anger when          in their anger because of the bad rap           flushes in the face.
 he saw Israel worshiping the golden           that society has given them. They
 calf. This zeal was found in Phinehas         may therefore lash out against society            Our chief purpose, however, is
 when he destroyed the brazen form-            in anger, by destroying the property          not in an abstract way to speak about
 cator in Israel. This holy anger was          of their fellow man, and by commit-           the wicked anger of the world. Our
 seen in Elijah when he killed the 450         ting the most atrocious crimes, such          purpose is to help us examine our
 prophets of Baal.                             as assault, mutilation, murder, and           own anger in the light of God's Word
     Perfect and holy anger was re-            rape. The songs (gangster rap music)          and to deal with it by His grace and
vealed by our Lord Jesus Christ on             of this world reveal the wicked anger         Holy Spirit according to the prin-
 several occasions in His ministry. It is      of modem-day youth. Millions of               ciples of the Word of God. Scripture
 a mistake to imagine that Jesus while         recordings are sold of this most dev-         has very much to say about the sin of
 He was on earth never became angry.           ilish music, and it is more and more          anger. It gives us many admonitions
 We read that Jesus was grievedby the          being accepted as a legitimate form of        as to how we are to deal with it.
 hardness of heart of the wicked lead-         free expression.                                  In the first place we must under-
 ers of the Jews. "And when he had                 How much of modem-day psy-                stand that most of our anger is deeply
 looked round about on them with               chology encourages the venting of             sinful. It comes forth from the dark-
 anger, being grieved for the hardness         pent-up rage in almost any form one           est depths of our depraved nature. It
 of their hearts he said..." (Mark 3:5).       wants. This is supposed to have thera-        is driven by a devilish spirit in us.
 The supreme manifestation of the holy         peutic value, By doing this you gain          Certainly all anger against God is
 anger of the Lord was seen at the time        inner peace and feel good about your-         terribly sinful. We need to realize
 of the cleansing of the temple. In love       self. If you are angry with someone           how much of our anger is really
 for the house of the Lord which the           because of what he has done to you in         against God. When we are angry
 wicked rulers of the Jews had made a          the past, maybe even many years ago,          with the circumstances of our life,
 "den of thieves and robbers" Jesus            you are encouraged to get it out of           especially with the trials and hard-
 braided a whip together and ran               your system. "Let it allhangout," the         ships of our life, we are really angry
 through the temple, throwing over             common expression was a few years             with God, who sovereignly directs
 the tables of the money changers and          ago; Vent your anger. Say what you            the circumstances of our life. We
 driving out the buyers and sellers.           want. Express your venomous and               need to examine our hearts in this
 The psalmist many years before had            devilish anger. Never mind what               regard and repent from this great sin
 prophesied of this when he wrote,             radical and unholy, wicked things             before God.
 "the zeal of thine house has eaten me         you say. Never mind the hatred,                   The solution to all such anger is
 up" (Ps. 69:9).                               strife, and division you cause by your        acknowledging the sovereignty of
     Almost all of man's anger how-            deeds and words of hate and anger.            God in our life and believing by faith
 ever is evil.:. It comes from man's           You are perfectly" justified! Your            that all things which God sends us in
 depraved lust. It is directed against         neighbor has done you evil and you            our life are according to His perfect
 God. It is devilish. Wicked man has           have the right to lash out against him.       wisdom and for our good. Wee need
 the audacity to be angry with God.            By doingthis you will resolve your            to bring our sinful anger against God
 `Wicked man is angry w&God  be-               anger and get a handle on your life.          in repentance to the cross of the Lord
 "cause of the circumstances of his life.      II .We must see how terribly wicked           Jesus Christ. It is only this that will
 He refuses t$K&ze  tha$@e  circum~            all'this2reasoning  is in the sight of        give us peace with God. We must
 stances of his-life are ofte&e:the  direct    G o d .                                       eray for graceto bear joyfully the
 judgment of,God upon his wicked                   The ugliness of the depraved na-          cross which the Lord sends us: Por
 life. The sove.reign  God rules all the       ture of man is revealed when he be-           the present time the Lord calls us to

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endure patiently the trials of our life,          Psalm 37. "Fret not thyself because of      the other hand, the Lord has blessed
believing that God directs them for               evildoers, neither be thou envious          His people with true and enduring
the greatest good of our final salva-             against the workers of iniquity....         riches. "A little that a righteous man
tion. Never must we, -even for one                Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:        hath is better than the riches of many
moment, allow in our hearts anyincli-             fret not thyself in any wise to do evil"    wicked" (Ps. 37~16). There is no rea-
nation of anger against God to con-               (Ps.  37:1, 8). We fall into this sin       sonforustobeangrywiththewicked.
tinue, but we must speedily confess it            sometimes. We are envious of their          Rather, we ought to be thankful to
as great sin and turn from it with                prosperityandaretemptedtogoalong            God for what He has given us in
utmost urgency.                                   with their evil life-style. But the Lord    Christ Jesus and understand that the
    Nor ought we ever to be angry                 says in this Psalm that the wicked          riches of salvation cannot. be com-
with our ungodly neighbor because                 shall soon be cut off. They shall be        pared with all the riches of this world.
of envy. Of this the psalmist warns in            utterly destroyed out of the earth. On                       . . . to be continued 0




            The Behavior Required of
            Timothy as- an EvangeliGt
                                                         L e s s o n   1 4


    Let no man despise thy youth; but be          there, named Timothy." He was,              enceofallthepresbytery(ITim.414).
thou an exatiple  of the believers, in word,      then and there, set aside to be a life-     No man can, may, or shall annul this
in conversation, in charity (love), in spirit,    long officer in the church, which of-       great sovereign work of God. And
in faith, in purity.                              fice proved to be the exalted office of     now Paul most solemnly bids Timo-
                        I Timothy 4:12,13         an Evangelist, the highest in rank          thy that he stand unmoved in his
                                                  under that of the apostles of Jesus' office. Let no man despise him in his
    To be sure, Timothy is placed                 Christ. For the latter see Acts 1:15-26.    office because of his age, his youthful-
hereunderaveryweightyinjunction,                  Paul boasts of this exalted office in       ness.
as a God-appointed officebearer in                Galatians 1:l; I Corinthians 15:9-11.           That Timothy was prepared for
the church of the living God. As were                 The office of an Evangelist fol-        this office in a very providential way
the Nazarites in the Old Testament,               lows in dignity and magnitude after         was God's workin Jesus Christ. He is
so must Timothy be a good example                 that of the apostleship. See Ephesians      to be Christ's soldier, and must keep
of all godliness. He must not fail in             4:llff. As Paul received his instruc-       the deposit which hadbeen entrusted
this pursuit of godliness as did                  tion from the exalted Christ face to        to his care. Such a keeping of the trust
Samson, but he must be a shining                  face, so Timothy received this knowl-       means a life wholly consecrated  to.
light as were such worthies as Samuel             edge of the gospel from the lips of         Jesus Christ. (The  %reek verb
and John the Baptist. And, as the                 Paul (I Tim. 4:6;II Tim. 4:10-17).          pulassaein  means to guard, to watch.)
Nazariticvow of Samueland John the                         *  *  *  *  * *  .*                He is to have the great and precious
Baptist was for life, so it must be with              0, Timothy, let no man despise          pearl of the gospel in sacred custody.
Timothy.                                          thy youth as a God-determined and               Timothy is not toallow  the-critics
    Timothy was an outstanding                    God-given officebearer in the house         to fabricate a fabulous Achilles' heel;
young man. He was a real "find."                  of God, in the church of the living         Timothy must clothe himself in the
Notice that Luke writes in Acts 16:1,             God. My son Timothy, remember this:         firm and unmovable assurance that
"And behold a certain youngman was                youwerenotelectedbythevoteofthe             his calling of an evangelist is not of
                                                  people to this office of evangelist; on     men but of God. Hence, let no man
                                                  the contrary, you were made an evan-        despise thy youth.
                                                  gelist in a2Z churches by God Himself!               *****al-*
Rev. Lubbers is a minister emeritus in the        GodmadeyouaministerinHischurch                  "But be thou an example of the
Protestant Reformed Churches.                     by the laying on of hands in the pres-      believers."

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          Timothy is not merely to be this    in that he walks in "love" (charity).          of the Nazarites in the old dispensa-
  as a believer in the midst of all the       Closely connected with such love is            tion (Samson, Samuel, John the Bap-
 body of Christ, the saintsin the church      that we walk in faith. It has been             tist). In II Chronicles 30:19 the word
  of the living God. He must be an            stated by one able commentator that            refers to the holiness required of those
  exampleofthevery"godliness" which           "love" is the horizontal relationship          who labored in the sanctuary of Jeho-
  is the sanctified life, which is really     with our neighbors, while faith is the         vah.
  Christ in us. Meanwhile, we should          vertical relationship with God. We                 Here in I Timothy 4:12 the term
  not overlook the very fine nuance of        walk in our new relationship of faith          refers to the holy personal walk re-
  the Greek. Timothy is to be an ex-          in the living God and thus walk in             quired of Timothy as a useful vessel
  ample, not to the believers, but of the     true faith in the loving of our neigh-         in the great house of God. (See II Tim.
 believers. Also in his office the man of     bor.                                           220-26.)  Let all who labor in God's
  God works out his salvation with fear               Perhaps we could look at the im-       spiritual temple take this exhortation
  and trembling, whereas it is God who        plication of these terms a bit more in         to heart!
  energizes us both to will and to do         depth. Paul, speaking of our hope of             Paul writes, "Till I come, give
after His good-pleasure (Phil.  2:12,         righteousness and of the liberty which         heed to reading, to exhortation, to
  13).                                        is ours inchrist,  writes a very brief         doctrine" (v. 13).
          Timothy is here exhorted to work    statement in Galatians 5:5,6: "For we              Let us notice the following.
  out his salvation as officebearer in the    through the Spirit wait for the hope of            It should be evident after a bit of
  following Christian virtues.                righteousness by faith. For in Jesus           careful reflection that Paul is  refer-
          First, he is exhorted in both       Christ neither circumcision availeth           ring not to personal reading of doc-
  "word" and "walk." This is a very           anything, nor uncircumcision; but              trine, but to the reading of the words
 beautiful twofold description. The           faith which worketh by love."                  of the covenant by Timothy in the
  term "word" refers to what comes                    Such is the deep biblical principle    public gathering in the worship ser-
  forth from the heart. Timothy's speech      of the holy calling to walkin all purity       vice -be it in a synagogue, a house,
  must be a sanctified offering on the        as a servant in the house of God.              or elsewhere, on the Day ofthe Lord
  altar of God. How mindful the psalm-        Whereas the question is not one of             or in a midweek gathering. This is
 ist is of this in Psalm 19:13,14.  Must      being youthful rather than elderly,            suggested by the implication of the
 not the words which we use as chil-          Timothy is towalkasaveritablespiri-            term "reading" bothin the OldTesta-
  dren of God, as well as the office-         tual example of the brotherhood of             ment and in the New Testament. The
 bearers. in the church of the living         Christ in the world. In such purity of         term for reading in the Hebrew lan-
 God, be ever, as it were, seasoned           a good conscience he can stand in his          guage is a verb, charu,  which means to
 with salt? (See Matt. 5:13-16;  Mark         office in the boldness of his holy call-       call, to call clearly. This is translated
 9:49; Luke 14:35;  Col. 4:6; James 3:12.)    ing. And the mouths of the critics are         inthe Septuagint Greek by the term
 Notice too that the Old Testament            stopped.                                       epignooskoo,  to know well, to know
 speaker of the "Covenant of Salt"                    In a backward glance at this spiri-    accurately. Such reading is quite dif-
  (Lev.2:13;Num. 18:19;IIChron. 13:5).        tual anthology we see the wisdom of            ferent from what is known as "sight-
 It must be with sanctified lips that the     GodinchoosingTimothyforthisgreat               reading." There was always the ele-
 sacrifice of praise be brought (Heb.         and spiritually delicate task of being         ment of a comparative study of the
 13:15).                                      a good minister of Jesus Christ. Thus          Scriptures. We see this in Luke 4:17-
          Next, we consider the term and      hewillworktheworkofGod,andthe                  22. Already at Mount Sinai Moses
 concept "walk." This word is always          sure foundation will stand, having             read the word of the Decalogue to all
 used to designate the spiritual de-          this seal, "the Lord knoweth them              Israel (see Ex. ZO:l-2417;  Heb. 9:11-
 portment of a man. It is never used to       that are his; and, let everyone -that          22). That which was readin  the gath-
 designate mere human discourse. It           nameth the name of the Lord depart             erings of the congregation was al-
 is a word which is ever used to desig-       from unrighteousness."                         ways the words of the Covenant of
 nate the moral and spiritual behavior                And the church, the temple of the      God. These were very accurate words,
 either of an individual in the church        living God, is truly a holy catholic           the very oracles of God entrusted to
 or of the church as a whole. When            church. She shall be a people who are          Israel (Rom.  3:1, 2).  ,These words
 Paul refers to his walk of life prior to     spiritual Nazarites. The term used             were fulfilled in the death and resur-
 the great grace when Christ dwelt in         here by the Holy Spirit is worthy of           rection and ascension of Christ. (See
 him, he calls it his former conversa-        special notice. F. Hauch, in the Theo-         Heb. 9:23-28.)  Now these words were
 tion in Jewry. (See the followingpas-        logical Dictiona  y of the New Testa-          entrusted to Timothy in the laying on
 sages: Gal. 1:13; Eph. 422. For the          ment, Vol. I, page 123, writes: "In the        of hands by Christ Himself. (See
 conversation according' to the new           few O.T. and apocryphal passages               I Tim. l:ll, as well as I Tim. 6:20,21.)
 man in Christ, see Heb. 13:7; James          the reference (of the term ugneia) is to           Of course, this did.not eliminate
 3:13; I Pet. 1:15; 2:12.)                    `culticpurity.' I) It refers to the special    the need for private study by Timo-
          Timothy must also be an example     vows and the life-time dedicated state         thy (I Tim. 4~15). Surely he needed to

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be well-prepared to fulfill his man-          Some Questions and Suggestions:                  ing and preaching of .the word? (See
date from Paul as written in II Timo-                 Does it not follow from the rich         Acts8:35.)  DowenotreadthaV'Philip
thy 2:1,2, etc.                               significance of the reading of the               opened his mouth, and began at the
         Therefore, we may safely say that    words of the covenant both in the Old            same scripture (Isaiah  53:7), and
the reading here was the accurate,            Testament and in the New Testament               preached unto him Jesus"?
knowledgeable, Spirit-led reading of          that every Scripture is full of exhorta-             May we from this biblical per-
a man who from his childhood had              tion and doctrine? Is it possible to             spective not conclude that the preach-
known the fheopneutic  Scriptures (II         teach the Bible without at once also             ing of Timothy was divinely indis-
Tim. 3:15). A man who had attained,           exhorting the hearers unto salvation?            pensable for the salvation both of
a qualified reader who increased in           Believe these covenant words from                Timothy and of his hearers? Is it not
knowledge, was acknowledged by all            theheart,whetheryoubeJeworGreek                  a mortal danger to deny the need of
who heard him "read." It was no               and be saved. (Read Romans lO:l-                 the means of grace, particularly the
rriere reading of "words" but an un-          21.)                                             officialpreachinginthe  church? Must
folding of the mystery of godliness                   What does it mean that Timothy           a minister carefully preach the Word,
which was great (I Tim. 3:16). It was         saves himself and his hearers if and             if he is to say, "By this Word that I
a reading which must, even today, be          when he diligently gives heed to him-            have preached unto you thou shalt be
emulated by qualified preachers of            self and to the doctrine? Is it possible         saved"?
the Word.                                     for elect sinners to become partakers                May we say that only if the entire
         Always the burning question on       subjectively without having heard                sermon swears by the Name of God
the lips of Jesus to the readers of           Christ in the preaching! (Read Ro-               will the minister dare to say: "Amen"
whoin Paul speaks in Acts 13 was,             mans  10:13-15.)  Is private reading             -i.e.,Godwillmoresurelysaveboth
"`How readest thou?? (Take a little           really sufficient for the individual elect       .you and me, congregation, than what
time and study Matthew 12:3,5; 19:4;          sinner, or are we all in need of God-            I can assure you with my weak
21:16,42;  22:31; 24:15!)                     ordained preachers? Did Philip sim-              affirmation as a mere man"? Amen.
                                              ply read to the Ethiopian eunuch, or             Yes, Amen. (See Isaiah  65:16;  II
                                              did the eunuch need the official read-           Corinthians  1:20,21.)  0




                                                              Chapter 3
                       The First Three Da s
                             of Creation (cont.Y
God's Creation of the Firmament               as it is actually described in the Gen-          to be like a solid dome, stretched over
(Gem 16-8)                                    esis record.                                     the earth like a gigantic curtain, with
         It has been a favorite device of             This attempt runs somewhat as            various movable lights located above
some to hold up the biblical record of        follows.                                         it, traveling above a stationary earth.
creation to ridicule and scorn as some-               First of all, they find in the record    Supposedly, when it rained, God
thing that can be attributed to               of Genesis a very primitive and scien-           opened windows in that firmament,
Babylonian myth for its origin, but           tifically impossible conception of               and the waters which were above that
that cannot possibly serve as a record        things. The earth is supposedly pre-             curtain came down upon the earth.
of real works of God whereby He               sented as a plane. It is flat and - if               Secondly, they boast that modern
brought into existence a real universe        they really want to emphasize the                man with all his scientific enlighten-
                                              ridiculousness of the biblical presen-           ment knows much better. He knows
  r:.                                         tation -they point'out that the Bible            that what looks like a solid firma-
                                              speaks of it as four-cornered. This              ment, the blue sky, is nothing but a
The late Homer Hoeksema was professor         earth is held up by pillars, and it is           thin, transparent atmosphere, with
oj Do,&natics  and Old Testament in the       surrounded by a great ocean. Above               the vast reaches of space beyond it.
Protestant Reformed Seminary.                 this earth the'firmament is supposed             He knows that the earthis not flat, but

330tStandard Bearer/April 15,1994,


that it is a ball, or sphere. He knows         gave to Moses concerning His own               ters that are separated by the firma-
that the sun and the moon and the              work of creation. And 2 only we                ment. They are below and above the
stars are also so many spheres, and            study this narrative in that spiritual         firmament from the viewpoint of the
that many of them are far larger than          attitude of faith, believing its verbal        earth, the viewpoint which pervades
our little planet earth. He knows that         inspiration, then we will find it to be        the narrative of Scripture - not be-
the sun does not move above the                full of a merciful attempt on the part         cause the earth is the local center of
earth, rise and set over it, but that          of the infinitely great Creator to get         the physical universe, but because the
actually the earth moves about the             into our little minds a little of the          earth is the center from the point of
sun. And while he will admit that              almighty and great work which He               view of its significance. By the waters
there are many things which he can-            performed. But then our attitude will          below are meant the waters that be-
not yet explain and that remain to be          be that of humility and of readiness to        long to the earth as it then was in its
investigated, he will insist, especially       listen, rather than to criticize.              chaotic, or unfinished state. The wa-
in this space age, that the inventive              In the second place, it can be un-         ters above are not the clouds. For, in
genius and scientific prowess of man           derstood that unbelief casts its cruel         the first place, the clouds were not as
is on the verge of great discoveries           and sarcastic barbs of ridicule at the         yet. But besides, the clouds are not
which will lead to a solution of many          Bible and at those who in faith insist         above the firmament, but below it.
of the remaining mysteries of the uni-         that what the Bible says is true. But it       They belong to the earth. In the wa-
verse and which will certainly con-            is indeed a sad thing that those who           ters that are on the earth the clouds
tribute greatly to the advance of civi-        call themselves Christians can some-           have their origin; and thither they
lization and knowledge.                        times join in the same mocking at-             return also in the rain. The clouds,
    But that creation story? Why,              tempt to reduce the truth of creation          together with the atmosphere that
that is absurd! It cannot possibly be          to an absurdity in order to justify one        surrounds the earth at a considerable
believed - at least, not if we are to          or another departure from the literal          depth, the oceans and seas, and all the
take it literally. It is a piece of curious    presentation of Holy Scripture, all in         inland waters (the rivers andlakes) -
mythology devised by primitive                 the name of Christian faith. There is          these all belong to the waters that are
peoples, based on optical illusion  -          a goodly amount of such haughty and            below.
which we can probably understand               conceited ridicule today that is con-              By the waters above are meant
in the light of the fact that men had no       ductedunder the banner of the Chris-           the waters that are now diffused
telescopes and none of the instru-             tian church. And to those who en-              throughout the entire firmament and
ments of modern science, nor any of            gage in it, as well as to any church           distributed in the heavenly bodies.
the modern means of investigation              which listens to such philosophy, there        There are those who consider it pos-
and of probing the secrets of the uni-         is but one word to say: "Repent! for           sible that these heavenly bodies be-
verse, but which we cannot possibly            you are making common cause with,              came light bearers on the fourth day,
believe.                                       the enemies of the Word of God and             but that they were already formed on
    This is but one of the ways in             of the cross of Christ."                       the second day. Whether or not that
which the Bible is denied. There have              In the third place, let it be noted        is possible certainly cannot be deter-
been refinements of such attempts.             that this caricature of the biblical nar-      mined; nor is this the important ques-
But theridiculingof thebiblicalrecord,         rative doesnot  at all accordwithwhat          tion with respect to the creation of the
the literal creation record, has only          the Bible actually says. The narrative         second day. As such, the waters that
been refined in the process; and the           does not tell us that the earth is flat. It    belong to the heaven in its unformed,
darts cast have only been made the             does not teach that the firmament is.          chaotic state, and which later are
sharper.                                       some kind of solid dome. Nor does it           formed and finished in the sun and
    In regard to this attempt, let us          say anything about rain or about the           moon and stars, constitute the waters
note, in the first place, that the differ-     source of possibility of rain. In fact, it     above. And these are separated from
encewithrespect to the Genesis record          is quite biblical to believe that it did       the waters below, the waters of the
is not one of scientific knowledge, but        not rain for centuries to come.                earth in its unfinished state.
one of spiritual attitude. It is unbelief          Instead, therefore, of assuming a              In the second place, that which
which exalts itself and boasts with            haughty and critical attitude, let us          causes the separation between the
pride and haughty delight that it              believe that God made the heavens              waters below and the waters above is
knows so much more about the na-               and the earth, and that He certainly           described in the text as the firma-
ture and the origin of the universe in         also knew how to tell His people               ment. The firmament is that which
this day of advanced science than did about it in. this creation narrative.                   from our earthly point of view we see
those primitive peoples of long ago.               Turning now to the creative work           as the blue sky, as it stretches itself
Faith views this narrative not as an           of the second day, we may note, in the         apparently like a beautiful dome over
invention of Moses or as a myth which          first place, that there is a distinction       the earth on a clear and sunny day. It
he learned from Babylonian sources,            made between the waters below and              is in reality an immense ocean, filled
but as the inspired record which God           the waters above. These are the wa-            with what the biblical term appar-

                                                                                                        April 15,l W/Standard Bearer/331


ently describes as a very fine, beaten       bodies were absolutely empty, the            fire against the day of judgment and
out, or stretched out substance, and         light would never reach us. If space         perdition of ungodly men. This world
which the Bible describes as a molten        were mere emptiness, nothingness,            is to be destroyed. For the temporal is
looking glass (Job  3798):  "Hast thou       there could be no communication. of          but the image of the eternal. No, it is
with him spread out the sky, which is        any kind.                                    not to be annihilated, so that all re-
strong,andasamoltenlookingglass?"                Finally, we must remember that           turns to nothing. But it will be de-
We refer to the vast reaches of this         this firmament, which God called             stroyed in the day of the Lord. The
firmament as "space" or as uouter            Heaven, is not unlimited inits extent.       universe, not only the earth, but also
space." We must remember, how-               We speak sometimes rather glibly of          the sun and moon and stars as well, is
ever, that space is not "nothing," or        space as being endless or infinite. But      to be burnt up. And from the ele-
mere emptiness. But space is the             we must remember that there is noth-         ments a new heaven and earth are to
created and limited vast reality in          ing infinite in this world. It may be        be formed, in which righteousness
which all the physical world floats.         true that we cannot imagine a limit to       shall dwell.
     The original Hebrew word, for           the firmament, or a limit to the world.          Scripture speaks of this. In Rev-
firmament signifies something                It may be true that when we think of         elation 6:14 the breakup of the physi-
"beaten or stretched out, a finely           a limit, or end, to space, we are ready      cal universe is described in part as
beaten substance." This suggests that        with the question, "And what is be-          follows: "And the heaven departed
God formed the firmament by beat-            yond space?" - somewhat in the               as a scroll when it is rolled together;
ing or stretching out the original wa-       same way as we are ready with the            and every mountain and island were
ters, everywherepresentin the chaos,         question, "And what was before the           moved out of their places." When we
the unfinished earth and heaven. Part        beginning?" This doesnot change the          remember that the heaven, or firma-
of these waters were stretched, ex-          fact that the vast and deep ocean of         ment, separates the heavenly bodies,
panded, thinned out, into a very fine        the firmament is limited. For it is          and bear in mind that this heaven is
substance. Thus the Bible speaks of          created, it is a creature. And the           rolleduplike  ascroll, thenwecanalso
the firmament. This is true in the           creature is not infinite, but finite; not    understand what is stated in the pre-
passage already quoted, Job 37:X3,           endless, but limited. Moreover, above        cedingverse: "And the stars of heaven
which speaks of the sky as stretched         the heaven of the firmament is the           fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree
out, but strong.. Psalm 1042 speaks          heaven of glory and the heaven of            casteth her untimely figs, when she is
similarlanguage: "Whocoverestthy-            heavens. The firmament is even pre-          shaken of a mighty wind." This is in
self with light as with a garment: who       sented as the pillars upon which that        harmony with the picture of the final
stretchest  out the heavens like a cur-      heaven of glory rests. Through the           catastrophe which shall come with
tain." Isaiah 40:22 speaks as follows:       heavens JesusChristpassedwhenHe              the day of the Lord, according to II
"It is he that sitteth upon the circle of    ascended; and through the heavens            Peter 390: "But the day of the Lord
the earth, and the inhabitants thereof       the souls of the saints pass to glory.       will come as a thief in the night, in the
are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth             All this mighty creation came into       which the heavens shall pass away
out the heavens as a curtain, and            being by the Word of God. God                with a great noise, and the elements
spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell        "made" the firmament, we are told in         shall melt with fervent heat, the earth
in." Job 26:7 speaks of God as stretch-      the text; and He made it so that it          also and the works that are therein
ing out the north over the empty place.      divided. But this making of the firma-       shall be burned up." The only thing
     All of this stands in close connec-     ment was by the almighty creative            that keeps the fire from igniting and
tion, in the third place, with the pur-.     Word, spoken on the second day. He           consuming all things is the firma-
pose of this firmament, namely, to           spake, and it was done; He com-              ment, kept there by the same Word of
separate the waters from the waters.         manded, and it stood fast.                   God that created it. When that firma-
This also implies that it separates,             In conclusion, we must remem-            ment shall be rolled up, the heavens
keeps apart, and keeps in their places       ber that this firmament, occupying as        being on fire shall be dissolved, and
all the different bodies of creation. It     it does an essential place in the very       the elements shall melt with fervent
serves as a medium to sustain all the        structure of the present universe, was       heat-all in order to give way to the
various bodies in space in their proper      not made to be permanent. Thoughit           new heavens and the new earth, in
orbs and in their relative position.         was created good, that is, fit to serve      which all things shallbe united in our
The firmament is a vast ocean, deep          the purpose for which God made it,           Lord Jesus Christ. 0
and wide, in which all the heavenly          that purpose was not His final pur-
bodies and the earth float. It supports,     pose; and it was not God's purpose
them and presses on them from all            that the firmament should abide for-
sides; anditkeeps  themin theirpaths.        ever. By the Word of God the heavens
At the same time, that firmament is          were of old, and by the Word of God
the means of communication. For if           the heavens and the earth which are
the space between us and the light           now are kept in store, reserved unto

332lStandard  Bearer /April 15,1994


 Uncommon Decency: Christian Ci-             person's freely chosen life-plan" (p.       rily with the Puritans in the 17th cen-
 vility in an Uncivil World, by Rich-        138).                                       tury, although references are made to
 ard J. Mouw. Intervarsity Press, 1992.           With an incorrect theological ba-      later Puritans as well.
 173~~.  $8.99 (paper). [Reviewed by         sis for a starting point, it is not sur-         The primary concern of the book
 Prof. Herman Hanko.]                        prising that very little good leader-       is to demonstrate that the Puritans, in
                                             ship is provided in telling us how          their treatment of the law of God,
     Relying heavily on I Peter 3:15         precisely to be civil towards unbe-         faced the dangers of antinomianism
 ("But sanctify the Lord God in your         lievers. While from time to time we         on the right and the dangers of legal-
 hearts: and be ready always to give         are urged not to surrender our Chris-       ism on the left. They developed a
 an answer to every man that asketh          tian principles, we are told that we        view of God's law which was both
 you a reason of the hope that is in you     ought to seek legislation of public dis-    biblical and in the tradition of the
 with meekness and fear"), the author        plays of morality; that we ought, in        orthodoxy of the Westminster Con-
 deals with the important question of        theological discussions with others,        fessions.
 the manner in which the Christian is to     to listen carefully, for civility means          The book is not difficult to read
 promotehisChristianprinciplesinan           finding truth in other religions (p.        and has many good points about it
 ungodly world. He faces head-on the         106); and that we ought in industry,        that make it a valuable addition to
 problem of how Christians are to wit-       film, and politics, to learn as well as     one'slibrary. It is an excellent book to
 ness to the right and good while at the     educate so that, speaking out of a          introduce the novice to Puritan think-
 same time being kind, civil, decent,        Christian context, we may promote           ing on what was an important part of
 and non-confrontational. In his de-         general themes such as righteousness,       their theology. It deals with problems
 velopment of this theme, the author         honesty, etc. In fact, toleration and       which the church faces today as the
 rightly points out that we must reflect     compromise are essential because            church continues to fight the battle
 God in His kindness and gentleness;         God's shalom  (peace) only comes            against the enemies of antinomianism
 he makes the valid point that in our        gradually into the world (p. 37).           and legalism. It gives considerable
 defense of the truth we may not stoop           The emphasis in all the book is         information concerning the idea of
 to any kind of tactic, but must be          too much on man. Insufficient em-           the covenant of works: its origin, its
 reasonable, fair, and honest in our         phasis is placed on God's glory and         importance in Puritan thinking, and
 treatment of another's position (pp.        honor which are trampled under foot         its influence on subsequent thought.
 54ff.); and he argues that coercion         in a sin-filled world. n                    This alone makes it worthwhile for
 and efforts to legislate morals are not                                                 Protestant Reformed people who have
 within the prerogatives of acting civ-                                                  rejected the idea of the covenant of
 illy in an uncivil world.                   The Grace of Law: A Study inPuritan         works.
     Nevertheless, the argument of the       Theology, by Ernest F. Kevan. Soli               A bonus in the book is its treat-
 author is flawed.                           Deo Gloria Publications, 1993.294~~.        ment of the so-called third use of the
     It is flawed in its theological ba-     $12.95 (paper). [Reviewed by Prof.          law. Historically, as is the teaching of
 sis. Our civility, he says, is rooted in    Herman Hanko.]                              our Heidelberg Catechism, the law is
God's universal love, in His desire                                                      said to have two purposes: a mirror
 that all men be in conformity with              Although thisbookis actually the        by which we know our sin, and a rule
 God's will; and that all men must           doctoral thesis of the late Principal of    for the grateful life of sanctification
 serve Him. All men are image-bear-          LondonBible College, its great worth        for the believer. Some of the Puritans
 ers (p. 88) and, therefore, eventually      is evident from the fact that this vol-     also spoke of a third use: the restraint
 right will prevail in this world; good-     ume is its second reprinting.               of sin.
 will will have the victory; and the             .Dr. Kevan explores the biblical            We recommend the purchase of
 cause of Christ will be triumphant.         teaching -of the indispensable place        thisbooktoourreaders. Whether one
 All this introduces an incipient            which God's law occupies in the life        acquires a used copy from previous
 Arminianism, an Arminianismwhich            ofthe  Christian, and the spiritualchar-    editions or whether one buys it new,
becomes explicit when the author             acter of God's law and God's grace in       get it and enjoy its thorough study. n
 speaks of hell as U the culmination of a    relation to that law. He deals prima-

                                                                                                    April 15,1994JS&dard Bearer1333


Revealed to Babes: Children in the           as though it were merely a right to          and preached the doctrines of grace
`Worsh'ip of God, by Richard Bacon.          n the outward privileges of the church"      commonly called the five points of
Audubon, NJ: Old Paths Publica-              (pp. 15-19).                                 Calvinism. Spurgeon  was pastor of a
tions, 1993. 75 pp. $4.95 (paper).               The main error of the book con-          huge congregation in London for al-
[Reviewed by the Editor.]                    cerns its chief purpose. This is the         most forty years. God blessed his
                                             application of the truth of the cov-         ministrywithenormousinfluencethat
        Presbyterian pastor Richard Ba-      enant to acondemnation of nurseries.         continues todaythroughhiswritings,
con reminds Reformed parents and             Nurseries  - rooms in the church             especially his commentary on the
churches that the children of believ-        building where infants are cared for         Psalms and his printed sermons.
ers are privileged and required to           duringworshipservices-are"idola-                  In addition to a biography and an
participate in the public worship of         try and will-worship" (p. 61). The           examination of Spurgeon's preach-
the congregation. The basis is their         ground for this startling charge is the      ing, there are chapters on his social
inclusionin God's church by virtue of        "regulative principle" of worship (p.        concern, his involvement in the poli-
the covenant.                                64). God must be worshiped as He             tics of his day (Prime Minister
        Although very brief, the explana-    has commandedinHis  Word. He has             Gladstone was an admirer of
tion of God's covenant with heliev-          commanded that children participate          Spurgeon  and visited his services),
ers' children is in the main sound and       in worship. Nurseries violate this           and his stand for the truth in what is
profitable. The author recognizes that       commandment. Therefore, nurseries            known as the "Downgrade Contro-
predestination cuts through the              are transgression of the second com-         versy."
sphere of the covenant. Not all the          mandment.                                        There is much that pastors can
natural children are elect. He points            This is another instance of such         learn from Spurgeon. There are also
out that God works conscious faith in        extremism in application of the regu-        elements of Spurgeon's ministry that
the elect children by the Word in the        lative principle of worship as to bring      pastors should studiously avoid. One
worship services at a very young age.        the principle itself into disrepute          is the preparation of Sunday
.He impresses on parents and churches        among Reformed Christians. On                morning's sermon on Saturday
that                                         Bacon's reasoning, every time par-           evening.
                                             ents keep their infant child home when           Gifted in many ways, Spurgeon
  raising covenant children is argu-         the congregation gathers for worship,        had a way with words. Reacting
  ably the most important thing that         the parents break the second com-            against the jingoistic militarism of
  Christians do in the Kingdom. God          mandment.                                    Prime Minister Disraeli, Spurgeon
  has chosen in His sovereign wisdom             Why does the Presbyterian not            debunked the reasons put forward to
  and mercy to make the church her-
  self the "seedbed  of election" (p. 5).    make a valid point this way? In the          justify war ("British interests"), de-
                                             covenant, God wills to be worshiped          claring, "the fact is that the national
        There is a lack of clarity on the    by the children as well as by their          bulldog wants to fix his teeth into
question whether the holiness of in-         parents. Therefore, as soon as the           somebody's leg" (p. 143).
fant children signified by baptism is        children are old enough to have some             The authorshave collaborated in
actual, inward sanctifying grace of          idea what worship is, to sit still and be    presenting a fine and worthwhile
the Spirit or merely the external posi-      quiet, and to listen and understand,         portrayal of a truly "marvellousmin-
tion of formal membership in the             parents are called to take the children      istry."  n
church. On the one hand, it is recog-        to church with themselves. And the
nized that Calvin taught that infant         children are privileged to go. 4             The Law, the Gospel, and the Modern
baptism means the regeneration and                                                        Christian,  by Greg L. Bahnsen, Walter
(actual) sanctification of elect chil-                                                    C. Kaiser, Jr., Douglas J. Moo, Wayne
dren in infancy:                             AMarvellousMinisty: How theAll-              G. Strickland,  Willem A. Van
                                             round Ministry of Charles Haddon             Gemeren.       Grand Rapids, MI:
  Calvin also was of the opinion that        Spurgeon  Speaks to us Today, by Tim         Zondervan Publishing House, 1993.
  infants of believers are both holy         Curnow,  Errol1 Hulse, David                 416 pp. (paper). [Reviewed by Prof.
  before their baptism and that, in fact,    Kingdon, and Geoff Thomas.                   Herman Hanko.]
  many of them are actually regener-         Ligonier, PA: Soli Deo Gloria Publi-
  ated and saved prior to their bap-         cations, 1993. Pp. xiii + 147. $8.95             The question of the relation be-
  tism. Calvin emphasized in his I+          (paper). [Reviewed by the Editor.]           tween the law and the gospel has been
  stitutes  of  the Christian Religion                                                    on the agenda of the church from the
  that baptism is tied to regeneration           This is an account of the interest-      time of the Reformation. It is a ques-
  (p. 14).                                   inglifeandfmitfulministryofCharles           tion of no little importance in the field
On the other hand, Bacon speaks of           Haddon Spurgeon. Spurgeon  was a             of theology not only, but also in the
the "federal" holiness of the children       Baptist preacher in London, England          field of ethics. The latter is undoubt-
                                             in the 19th century who confessed            edly the reason why the authors have

334lStandard  Bearer/April 15,1994


added to the title the words "and the         the hopes that our readers will be         dispensation? What relevance do the
modern Christian."                            tempted to purchase it.                    civil laws of the Old Testament have
        The five men who have collabo-            The book reveals a much wider          for the new dispensational church? If
ratedinthewritingofthisbookareall             chasm between these thinkers from          Reformed believers are to answer
leading figures in the evangelical            various traditions than most people        Bahnsen's theonomy, this is one ques-
world and significant scholars. They          are conscious of. The variety of view-     tion they have to face.
represent different backgrounds and           point comes as something of a sur-             The bookcontains some realnug-
traditions, however. Greg Bahnsen             prise to anyone who has not carefully      gets which delight the soul. Kaiser's
represents the theonomic position of          studied these various theologies. The      insistence on a unilateral and uncon-
post-millennialism; Walter Kaiser             book is an extremely helpful aid in        ditional covenant warms one's heart;
comes to the questionwithnew, fresh,          learning these differences.                and his discussion of the meaning of
andunbiasedideas;WayneStickland                   Interestingquestionsarebrought         torah in the Pentateuch as instruction
is a representative of the dispensa-          up which need to be answered. Does         and faith is excellent.
tional view of the law; Douglas Moo           the law itself have power to give life,        It is interesting that Bahnsen, in
writes from, the perspective of               as Leviticus l&5 (quoted by Paul in        his defense of theonomy, appeals to
Lutheranism; Willem  VanGemeren               Galatians  3:12) seems to suggest?         the doctrine of common grace, espe-
speaks more from the Reformed tra-            Does the law have power to give            cially as applied to civil good and
dition.                                       eternal life? Does the law have two or     government. Does Bahnsen mean to
        All this makes the book a fasci-      three uses? What is the relation be-       suggest that the kingdom envisioned
nating one. But added to its fascina-         tween the law and sanctification?          by theonomists can only finally come
tion is the fact that each chapter (writ-     Does dispensationalism really teach,       about through common grace?
ten by one of the five men mentioned          (as John Gerstner insisted in his              Everyone.who  is interested in the
above) is followed by a short critique        Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth)        all-important question of the relation
prepared by the other four. The ben-          that there are two ways of salvation       between the law and the gospel ought
efit and worth of this is that the areas      -oneforJewsandoneforthechurch?             to read the `book; it will help him
of agreement as well as the basic dis-        Strickland emphatically denies this.       understand the problems involved in
agreements are sharply defined.               Is Strickland correct when he insists,     the question; and it will force upon
        We cannot, of course, give a thor-    contrary to some dispensationalists,       him the necessity of thinking his way
ough review of the contents of the            that dispensationalism does not nec-       through the difficulties to come to
book. It is best to be limited to some        essarily imply an antinomian posi-         clearer understanding of the truth of
general remarks about its value, in           tion over against the law in the new       God's Word in this matter. 0




Young People's Activities                     food seems to run through each one.        a sloppy-joe dinner followed by a
        Icansafelysaythatvirtuallyevery       Randolph, WI society sponsored a           service auction - that is,the young
one of our churches' young people's           Belgian waffle breakfast. The young        people auctioned off their services for
societies has been, is now, or will be        people of First in Grand Rapids, MI        any household chores or other work
involved in some fund-raiser for this         made and sold pizzas. The Young            which someone might desire to have
year's convention, scheduled for the          People's Society of South Holland, IL      done.
first weekin  August in Lynden, WA.           made 349 subs (their most ever) for
I count at least twelve current activities    their congregation's enjoyment.            School Activities
that could be mentioned in this news          Hudsonville, MI young people held              Mr. Dale Bekkering, a member of
column.SoItrustthatyouwillforgive             their annual Beast Feast (wild-game)       our Grandville, MI. PRC, and a bibli-
me if yours is not included. Just keep        dinner.    The young people of             cal counselor with the Biblical Coun-
those good ideas coming, and                  Immanuel PRC in Lacombe, AB                seling Center of West Michigan was
continue your commitment to the up-           Canada sponsored an evening of vol-        the featured speaker at a recent meet-
coming convention.                            leyball, games, and fellowship with        ing of the Hope PR Christian School
        Activities vary from church to        refreshments and hotdogs served af-        Circle. He spoke on the topic, "Grief,
church, but the common thread of              terwards. The congregation of the          How Can We Help?" He focused
                                              Peace PRC in Lynwood, IL was able          primarily on helping children cope
                                              to purchase Easter lilies from their       with various kinds of grief.
Mr. Wigger is an elder in the Protestant      young people. And, finally, the con-           The Association for FR Second-
Reformed Church af Hudsonville,Michi-         gregation of the Kalamazoo, MI PRC         ary Education in South Holland, IL
gan.                                          was able to get together in March for      recently invited their members to

                                                                                                  April 15,1994lStandatd Bearer1335


                                                                                                                                 SECOND CLASS
                                                                                                                                 Postage.Paid  at
                                                                                                                                 Grandville, Michigan
             +'.O. Box603
            Grandville,  MI 49468-0603


          gatherforaspeciallectureattheSouth            Family and the New Age Movement,"                Minister Activities
          Holland PRC to hear Prof. Hanko               at our First PRC in Grand Rapids for                      Georgetownhasalsoformedtheir
          speak on the Subject, "The Increasing         their Mr. and Mis. Society.                      first trio, from which they hope, the
          Needfor AProtestantRdformedHigh                   At its inaugural meeting, the                Lord willing, to call their first pastor
     :    School."                                      newly elected Council of our                     soon. On this trio are the Revs. C.
              The Lacombe, AB, Canada PR                Georgetown PRC, currently meeting                HaaJs, J. Slopsema,  and C. Terpstra.
          School Board recently decided to es-          in Bauer, MI, elected Mr. Jay Kuiper,
          tablish a library for all their grade-        4964' Laurelwood, Hudsonville, MI                              ~`oodFor  zX.uyjht
          school children, and also to make             49426, (616) 669-5561, as clerk. Any-                     The Lord Christ leads none fo heaven
          these books available to societymem-          ,one needing to contact that congrega-           but whom He sanctifies on earth. This
          bers. To help them with this project,         tion can notify him.                             living Head will not admit of dead mem-
          they were looking for anyone able to                                                           bers.
          donate good Reformed books. Inter-                                                                                         John Owen Q
          ested? Please contact Tim Zylstra at
          (403) 782-4579 or Wilbur Linker, (403)
          782-4089.

          Congregational Activities                         WEPDING ANNIVERSARY                             RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
I                  In a reminder that the time is           The Lord willing, on April 20,1?94,                   The Junior Mr. and Mrs. Society
          coming soon when the world will               our parents and grandparents,                    of the Hope Protestant Reformed
          seek to snuff out any witness whatso-               MR. and MRS. ROGER                         Church, Walker, MI, extends its Chris-
          ever of the gospel, the congregation                   (FLORENCE) KEY,                         tian sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. David
          of our Immanuel PRC in Lacombe,               will celebrate their 40th wedding anni-          (Sue) Higgs and their family, in the
          AB, Canada was recently notified by           versary. We are thankful to our heav-            death of Sue's mother,
          the radio station in their area that the      enly Father for their enjoyment of a                MRS. KNOEL GREATBATCH.
          time for broadcasting the Reformed            Christian marriage, and for His giving                    "Be of good courage, and he shall
          Witness Hour had been changed to              us God-fearing parents who taught us             strengthen your heart, all ye that hope
          11:30 p.m. Sunday night. The radio            also the fear of the Lord. It is our             in the Lord" (Psalm 313:24).
          station told them that this was the           prayer that God may continue to bless                         Rev. J. Slopsema, President
          only time they would make available           them in the way that lies ahead, and                             Mary Kalsbeek, Secretary
          to them. Immanuel therefore can-              that they may experience His peace
          celed the broadcast of the Reformed           which passes all understanding.
          Witness Hour on that station, and are         0 Pastor Steven tind Nancy Key                            WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
          looking now for a suitable alterna-                 Stephanie, Michelle, Elisabeth,                     On April 15, 1994,
          tive.                       ._                                             Mary Anne            ROLAND and JANE PETERSEN,
              In an unrelated matter, the con-          0 Daniel and Judy K.6@                           celebrated their 40th anniversary of
          gregation of Immanuel recently had                  Jonathan, Deborah,Timothy, Brian           loving marriage.          As children and
          to choose between which phase of              0 Thomas Key                                     grandchildren, we rejoice with them
          their long-range building plans they                                   Grandvllle, Midrlgan    and thank them for their good practi-
          wanted to consider first - their par-                                                          cal parentry, based on and pointed to
          sonage, or their church. They chose to                                                         the Word.
          make plans to build their church.                                                                       "From achild thou hast known the
                   After the evening service of Feb-                 IQ~TICEM                            holy scriptures, which are able to make
          ruary 27, the congregation of our                 Classis East will meet in regular            thee wise unto salvation through faith
          Grandville, MI PRC met for a short            session on Wednesday, May 11,1994                which is in Christ Jesus" (I Timothy
          program to commemorate the 10th               at the First Protestant Reformed                 3:15).
          anniversary of their organization.            Church, Holland, Ml.                             0 Glenn and Marie1 Grevengqed
                   Rev. W. Bruinsma was recently                Jon J. Huisken, Stated Clerk                        Dania and Lincoln
          asked to speak on the subject, "Your                                                                                       Grand Rap!ds,  Mlchlgan


          336lStandard  Bearer/April 15,1994


