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A Reformed                                                                      ,
Semi-Monthly
Magazine





                    Third Biennial Conference of the British Reformed Fellowship
                                                     in Galashiels, Selkirkshire, Scotland


Vol. 71, No. 2
October  1,1994


                                                                                                                                                                 $".  ,;rz  1

          CONTENTS:                                                                                               October  I,  1994                              `
                                                                                                                                                                  $f&j                    $?jDMD
     /                                                                                                                                                     I
                                                                                                                                                                                          BHER
          Meditation - Rev. John A. Heys
                 Making Our Calling and Election Sure ..~~.~.......~~~~...........~~..~~~~~~........ 3
          Editorials - Prof. David J. Engelsma                                                                                                                  ISSN 0362-4692
                 1994? ~~~~...........~~~..~.........~~~~.~~~~..~...........................~~............................ 5                                    Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
                 The 1994-l 995 Standard Bearer: Volume 71 **.........n..n........*......n..*m.                                                          5      Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Associations  Inc.,
                                                                                                                                                                4949 Ivanrest Ave., Qrandville, MI 49416. Second Class
                 Lessons from the Recent False Prophecy                                                                                                         Postage Paid at Grandville, Michigan.
                         of the Date of the End of the World ..,.............,.,.....,,....,,,,,......... 6                                                     Pwtmwtw:  Send address changes to the Standard Bearer,
          Letters I,,,,.......,,,,,.,,,,..,........,,,,,,,,,.,,.,,......................................................                                 7      P.O. Box 663, Qrandville, MI 49466-0603.
          The Reader Asks ,,,....,.,..,.,..,.,...........,,,.,,,..,......,...,,,.............................I.II.                                       8.     EDfTORtAL COMMtTTEE
          All Around Us - Prof. Robert D. Decker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9    Editor. Prof. David J. Engelsma
                                                                                                                                                                Secretary: Prof. Robert D. Decker
          Special Article - Mr. Bill Oomkes                                                                                                                     Managing Editor: Mr. Don Doezema
                 Third Biennial Conference of the British Reformed Fellowship . . . . IO                                                                        DEPARTMENT EDITORS
          A Word Fitly Spoken - Rev. Dale H. Kuiper                                                                                                             Rev. Wilbur Bruinsma, Rev. Ronald Cammsnga, Prof. Robert
                 With . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..~......~...........~.~~~.~.~............~~~~~.........~....~~~~.~~.............. 13                   Decker, Rev. AdedenHartog,  RevRussellDykstra, Rev. Barry
                                                                                                                                                                Gritters. Rev. Cad Haak, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof. Herman
          Search the Scriptures  - Rev. Car/J. Haak                                                                                                             Hanko, Rev. John Hey.% Rev. Jason Kodering, Rev. Dale
                 John the Baptist's Witness to Christ . . . . . . . . . . . ..*..............................*. 14                                              Kuiper, Mr. James Laming, Mm. MaryBeth Lubbers, Rev.
                                                                                                                                                                Jaikishln Mahtani, Rev. Thomas Miersma, Rev. Charles
          In His Fear - Rev. Arie denHartog                                                                                                                     Terpstra, Rev. GiseVanBaren,  Rev. RonaldVanCvsrtwp. Mr.
                 Weak and Strong Faith ,...............................*....,.............*................. 15                                                 Benjamin Wigger. Rev. Bernard Woudenberg.
          Decency and Order - Rev, Ronald L. Cammenga                                                                                                           EDITORIAL OFFICE           CIWRCH  NEWS EDlTOR
                                                                                                                                                                The Standard Bearer         Mr. Ben Wlgger
                 Censure at Major Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..*....................................... 17                                      4949 lvanreat               6587 46th Ave.
          Day of Shadows - Homer C. Hoeksema                                                                                                                    Grandville, Ml 49416        Hudsonville, MI 49426
                                                                                                                                                                BUSINESS OFFICE             NEW ZEALAND OFFICE
                 The Last Four Days of Creation-Week: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19                                                 The Standard Bearer        tiStandard Bearer
                                                                                                                                                                Don Doazema                 c/o B. VanHerk
          Book Review ,,..........,,..,,..,*..,,,,.......,,...............,..................,.....................                                    22       P.O.  Box 663               66 Fraser St.
                                                                                                                                                                Grendville, MI              Wainuiomata, New Zealand
          Report of Classis West ,,.,........,.,,.I,,,.,,,,,..,..........,,,,,..,,,,,.............,,.,.,,,,,,.                                         22         49468-6663                NORTHERN IRELAND OFFfCE
          News From Our Churches - Mr. Benjamin Wigger ,...,......................,.,.... 23                                                                    PH: (616) 631-1496          c/o Mr. Jonathan McAuley
                                                                                                                                                                         (616) 5361776      164 Church Rd., Glenwherry
                                                                                                                                                                FAX:  (616) 531-3633        Ballymena, Co. Antrlm BT42 3EL
                                                                                                                                                                                            Northern Ireland
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                                                                                                                                                                Every editor Ie eolety reeponeible for the contents of his own
              lh"  This  kssul@  ,,  ,>                                                                                                                         artktes.  Contrlbutionsofgenemtlntemstfromourreadereand
                                                                                                                                                                questions for The Reader Asks department are Welcome.
                                                                                                                                                                Contrlbutlons wtll be limtted  to approximately 366 words and
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                 Mr. Bill Oomkes reports on the third conference in the British Isles sponsored by the                                                          deadlines are the first  and fifteenth of the month. All
                                                                                                                                                                communkaticne  relative to the contents should be sent to the
          BritishReformedFellowship (BRF). The first was heldin Wales, the second, inNorthern                                                                   ediirlal offlca.
          Ireland, and this one, in Scotland.                                                                                                                   REPRINT POLICY
                 There has been steady growth from some 50 at the first to the approximately 120                                                                Permtsskxtlsherebygrantedforthemprinttngofadicleslnour
          who attended the latest conference.                                                                                                                   magazinebyotherpubllcations,provkbd:a)thatsuchreprintsd
                 The Protestant Reformed Churches support these conferences. They send the                                                                      artlclw am reproduced In full; b) that proper a&IX+wledgment
                                                                                                                                                                Is made; c) that a copy of the pedodicel In whiih such reprint
          speakers at the request of the BRF. They also maintain the mission in Northern Ireland                                                                appears is cant to our ediiodal offtce.
          whose missionary (Rev. Ron Hanko) and mission-group (Covenant Reformed Fellow-                                                                        SUBscRlPTlDN POLICY
          ship) have a vital place in the counsels and activities of the BRF.                                                                                   Subscription price: $12.66 per yeer in the U.S., $15.00
                 Significant contacts were made at the conference near Edinburgh this summer.                                                                   dsewhere.  Unless a deftnite request for discontinuance Is
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                                                                                                                                                                su~dcriptiontocontinue,andhewHIbeMNedforrenewU.  lfyw
          gation on the occasion of that church's approving the ordination of women. There was                                                                  hsveachanOeofaddress;pleawnotifytheBudnessOffiMlas
          the preacher from East Germany who labors to bring the Word to the disillusioned and                                                                  eady as possible in order to avoid the inconvenience of
          despairing young people in his own and surrounding countries (and who lamented                                                                        Interrupted delhrsry.  Include your zip or Postal Cods.
I         bitterly the divisive, destructive influences of the charismatics from the United States                                                              ADvERllslNQpwcY
          now swarming in that part of the world). There was the young Chinese pastor of a                                                                      The SfandardBearerdoes  not accept commercial advertising
                                                                                                                                                                of eny kind. Anrmuncements  of church and schooi events,
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          women who received the doctrines of sovereign grace gladly.                                                                                           for ennoummsnts  Is at least one month prfor to pubtlcation
                 This was encouraging, if not exhilarating.                                                                                                     date.
                 There was also a burden, a heavy burden: the lack, widely, in the United Kingdom                                                               SOUND VOLUMES
          of the instituted church that confesses the Reformed faith and practices Presbyterian                                                                 The Business Office will acwpt standing orders for bound
          church government. Many groan under this burden. How they desire the church.                                                                          copiwdthecurrentvdume. Suchordersarefilledaesoonas
                                                                                                                                                                posslbte after completion of a volume year.
                 God hear and help them!
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          2/Standard Bearer /October 1,1994


                                                                                                          R@\K  &Jhn  H~~ys I


                          Makin Our Calling
                                                   il
                             and E ection Sure
    Wherefore the rather, brethren, give       Peter was confronted by women who            Himself fulfills all that is necessary to
diligence to make your calling and elec-       said, "Surely thou also art one of           realize that salvationinus. In fact, the
tion sure: for ifyedo these things, yeshall    them; for thy speech betrayeth thee."        very day that the human race, repre-
never fall                                     And rather than to reveal his calling        sentedbyAdamandEve,turnedaway
                             II Peter 1:lO     and election, Peter swore, saying, "I        from God, and in hatred went against
    What we are here commanded to              know not theman." In so doing, Peter         Him, God came and promised His
do is that which by God's grace we             was by no means making his calling           electpeoplethat Hewouldbringthem
can do, because of what He does. We            and election firm and steadfast. But         back to a spiritual life that would
are not here commanded to make our             in His grace God made him give dili-         manifest love of Him and unto Him.
calling and election sure in God's             gence to make his calling and election           Now believing parents do not
mind and will. In fact, the word here          sure. For Peter remembered what              and cannot give their children the
translated as II sure" means sure in the       Jesus had said to him, namely, that he       desire and ability to walk in love
sense of firm and steadfast. We are            would deny Him. And he went out,             toward God, and serve Him with
not called here to make our calling            weeping bitterly. He, with heart and         heart and mind and soul and strength.
and election firm and steadfast in             mind, went back to his calling and           No matter how much they desire to
God's mind and will, but in our own            election.                                    do so, not one parent is able to im-
hearts and minds. Since our God is                 We do well, therefore, to hold on        plant that love of God in his children.
Jehovah, who is the I AM, our calling          tightly to the truth that our constant       As we sing it in that song presented a
and election are firm and everlast-            calling, every day and everywhere, is        moment ago, we owe God thanks for
ingly steadfast in His mind and will.          to make our calling and election firm        every bit of our salvation which He
But because we very often behave as            and steadfast in our spiritual hearts        gave us, and will give to our children.
those who do not heed God's com-               and minds. Just look up what our                 Parents cannot give their children
mand to us, we need to be called day-          God says to us through David in              spiritual life, or make them thankful
by-day to make our calling and elec-           Psalm  139:14. There we read this            for the salvation which God began in
tion sure, that is, firm and steadfast in      awesome truth: "I will praise thee;
ourheartsandminds. Forwe walkso                                                             them. Parents can teach their chil-
                                               for I am fearfully and wonderfully           dren to thank God for the salvation
often as those whom He has not called          made: marvellous are thy works; and          which He began in them. But every
as His elect.                                  that my soul knoweth right well." We         elect, born-again child of God, from
    Let us bear in mind that Peter,            sing that truth, as we find it correctly     the oldest to the youngest depends
who wrote this command, had quite              and beautifully expressed in the             upon God for love of God, and
an experience in his own life before he        Psalter,  number 383, the first stanza,      strength, as well as desire, to praise
wrote this epistle. Of that experience         where we read this comforting truth:         andthankGodforthesalvationwhich
we read in Matthew 26:57-74.  Our                  All that I am I owe to Thee;             He began in them.
Savior, Jesus Christ, was brought be-              Thy wisdom, Lord, hath fash-                  As God Himself said it to Satan,
fore Caiaphas, the high priest, so that               ioned me;                             the day he caused Adam and Eve to
the unbelieving Jews could have Him                I give my Maker thankful praise,         die spiritually, He will put enmity
crucified. In this passage we read                 Whose wondrous works my soul             between Satan and His own elect. He
what Peter experienced that day. He                   amaze.                                did not say to Satan that He would
had followed those unbelieving Jews                Let it then be borne in mind that        ask Adam and Eve to have enmity
and was where Christ was being                 the Almighty God gives us every bit          against Satan. He promised to do so
charged as worthy of death. There              of our salvation, as a free gift, includ-    Himself; and we must always look at
                                               ing the desire for it. He calls us           salvation in every child of God as His
                                               because He, before the foundation of         gift and due to His work. We must,
Rev. Heys is a minister emeritus in the        the world, elected us in His Son to be       therefore, sing that blessed truth, "All
Protestant Reformed  Churches.                 His covenant seed. And in time He            that I am I owe to Thee." What God
                                                                                                      October 1,1994lStandard  Bearer/3


declares, and we find in Genesis 3:15,       that God offers and desires to give         Peter. The question is how often we,
begins all of God's testimony to His         salvation to all who hear His word          by our acts, say that we do not know
elect about the salvation He planned         preached. And then it is simply a           Christ as our Savior.
and promises to realize in every de-         salvation from the punishment for               Enjoying the world and its enter-
tail of that salvation. Promising en-        which sin calls. In many churches           tainment, especially today by radio
mity of Satan He promises His love           today the main part of salvation,           and television, is so appealing to our
coming in His elect. What is more, we        namely, salvation from that hatred of       flesh. Satan surely has realized a
have in John 6:44 the awesome truth          God which is in our fleshby nature, is      tremendous development of sin. Even
which we must accept and not throw           not presented. Salvationis presented        in the church-world the Sabbath is
away. There we find God saying that,         merely as deliverance from punish-          growing in sinfulness, churches  al-
"No man can come unto me, except             ment and as God's holy work of vis-         lowingandhappily committingmuch
the Father, which hath sent me, draw         iting in His wrath. But we must hold        desecration of the Lord's day.
him."                                        on tightly to God's declaration to Sa-          The question is whether we, when
    We should hold on tightly to that        tan that He will put enmity in the          in God's house on the Sabbath day,
truth. For we live in a world wherein        hearts of His elect against Satan and       sing because we enjoy the music,
the Arminian lie is that God offers us       sin. That means that God promises to        rather than the truthin that song. We
salvation, and will give it to us if we      make His elect hate Satan, and love         can quickly fall away from the truth in
first have the desire for it. But that we    Him as their God. If we merely want         God's Word, and find delight in what
desire it is possible only after God has     salvation from punishment, we are           man has composed. It is so tempting
already begun it in us. We do not ever       still acting in hatred against God. We      to sing a song wherein lies are pre-
receive any part of salvation until          hate punishment, but do not hate sin.       sented, because we enjoy the music
God has already given us a new spiri-        In that statement of our God to Satan,      and are not bothered by that lie which
tual life that salvation brings us. One      then, we are promised the gift of love      is sung.
who calls a dead person to do some-          of God, which means salvation from              We are not then making our call-
thing will find that the person does         our sinful hearts and minds. If we do       ing and election sure. We are brush-
not even desire to do it. "No man can        not get that gift we cannot and will        ing that calling and election aside.
come unto me, except the Father              not receive the gift of salvation from          Let us then heed God's Word
which hath sent me draw him."                punishment. Working out our own             through Peter. Let us make our call-
    We do well then to take hold of          salvation is not a work rooted in love      ing and election firm and steadfast.
this command that we make our call-          of God, but is a manifestation of love      Let us walkin love toward God, not in
ing and election sure, that is, firm and     of our own flesh.                           the love of Satan, and what he strives
steadfast in our hearts and minds.               We must therefore bear in mind          furiously to make us do. Make your
We should do so in light of what Peter       that the Almighty God predictedwhat         calling and election shine forth every
wrote in preceding verses. For in            He is going to do, namely, cause His        hour of every day. 0
verse one of this first chapter he calls     elect to hate Satan and sin, and to love
us to be people "that have obtained          Him as their God, and in that love                        Not My Will
like precious faith." And this, be-          make their calling and election firm        "Thy will be done, 0 Father,"
cause N divine power hath given to us        and steadfast. We reveal that in our            My Savior prayed;
all things that pertain to life and god-     hearts by God's grace. In His grace         And laying down His life on earth
liness."                                     God makes us walk as those who love             My sins He paid.
    This stands clearly and signifi-         Him. Our fleshly desire often is merely
cantly against the false doctrine which      to seek escape from the punishment          "Thy will be done, 0 Father,"
is in the church-world today. There is       which we deserve. But God mani-                 So I would pray;
so much claim that God "invited us"          fests His love of those He eternally        Although I may not understand
to become those whom God will save.          chose in Christ. Our salvation is not           What comes my way.
God's call then is presented as a re-        merely deliverance from punishment.
quest rather than a divine command.          Basically it is our deliverance from        "Thy will be done, 0 Father,"
God pleads with us to make our call-         our hatred of God. It causes us to love         Not my own will;
ing and election firm and everlasting.       God, and to desire to serve Him with        The blessing of Thy boundless love
    But let us once again go back to         heart, mind, soul, and strength.                Is greater still.
what God declared the day that Satan             In that light we have that com-
got us to be spiritually dead. He here       mand that we make our calling and           "Thy will be done, 0 Father,"
stated, "I will put enmity between           election  firmand steadfast. Incidents          `Tis best for me;
thee and the woman, and between              like that which happened in Peter's         And I know Thou wilt give me strength
thy seed and her seed." There is much        life happen all around us every day.            To live for Thee.
opposition to that truth in many             We should therefore hold on tightly                                  Annetta Jansen
churches today. The false claim is           to this command of our God through                                   Don; Michigan

UStandard  BearerlOctober  1,1994


    (The following announcement first             Christ did not come, nor did the         call on him to recognize the error of
appeared in the Janus y 1,1993  issue of      world end, last month, as Harold             his allegorical exegesis and to direct
the Standard Bearer where it was prom-        Camping prophesied in 1992 in his            his followers to a true Reformed
ised that, contra y to the prophecy of Mr.    book, 1994?  I now call on Mr. Camp-         church where sound, grammatical-
Harold Camping, this announcement             ing to repent of his sin of disobeying       historical-spiritual exegesis is the ba-
would run in an October, 1994 issue of        Christ by predicting the date of             sis of all preaching and teaching.
the magazine).                                Christ's coming and to repudiate the                                          - DJE
                                              very idea of. such predictions. I also



                                    The 1994/l 995
     Standard Bearer: Volume 71

    The new - 71st-volume of the              ily life, will be shared by Mrs.             nual staff meeting was Rev. George
Standurd  Bearer begins with this is-         MaryBeth Lubbers and Rev. Ron                C. Lubbers. His name is also missing
sue. There will be a few changes in the       VanOverloop.                                 from the list of regular writers on the
content. A wider selection of active              The staff approved a new rubric          masthead. The years (85) and  ill-
and retired ministers will write the          that will treat the officesin the church.    health have compelled him to resign
meditations. We will occasionally             An elder and a deacon in the Protes-         from the staff. On behalf of genera-
republish meditations from old vol-           tant Reformed Churches have agreed           tions of readers, including the present
umes of the SB.                               to open up this subject.                     generation, the staff of the SB has
    Rev. Carl Haak will write the                 Theotherrubricsandwriterswill            expressed deep appreciation to Rev.
expositions of Scripture in the rubric,       remain the same as last year.                Lubbers for the writing he has done
"Search the Scriptures." These out-               Weintendtoproducetwoorthree              over the past 60years. His first article
lines are intended, among other pur-          special issues featuring particular as-      appeared in the SB  in 1933 when he
poses, to help the Bible study groups.        pects of the Reformed faith and life.        was still a seminarian, and he has
Rev. Haak's guides to the gospel of           The October 15, Reformation Day is-          written faithfully ever since. The area
John have already begun to appear.            sue will be devoted to the topic, "The       of his main labor in writing, and a
    We have emphasized and ex-                Reformation and Worship." We so-             special gift, has been exposition of the
panded the column on missions by              licit the suggestions of our readers as      Scriptures. The fruits of his exegetical
asking Rev. Russ Dykstra, Rev. Jay            to worthwhile themes of future spe-          work in the SB and in a long preach-
Kortering, andRev.  JaikishinMahtani          cial issues.                                 ing ministry are the three books that
to cooperate with Rev. Ron VanOver-               The staff reappointed the editor,        he wrote after his emeritationin 1978.
loop in producing 12 articles for "Go         staff secretary, general adjunct, man-       Two are commentaries,FreebomSons
Ye into All the World."                       aging editor, and special issues com-        of Sarah: An Exposition of Galatians
    "When Thou  Sittest  in Thine             mittee.                                      (1983) and The Glo y of the True Tab-
House," ourrubricfor Reformedfam-                 Noticeably missing from the an-          ernacle: Jubilee Exposition of He-

                                                                                                    October 1,l WI/Standard Bearerl5


brews(1984). Theotherisanexegeti-
cal-critical examination of millen-
nialisminbothitspostmillennialand
its premillennial forms, The Bible
Versus Millennial Teachings: An Ex-
egetical Critique (1989). All three
books are still in print.
         To Rev. Lubbers, our heartfelt,
public thanks.
         To all the present writers, our
thanks as well, and the fervent plea
that you meet the deadlines.
         May God bless our planning and
working, so that the SB serves the
Word of God in the coming year.
                                    - DJE

                               Lessons from the
                    Recent False Prophecy
                                              of the Date
                   of the End of the World

         The false prophecy referred to is    Daniel had shut -up and sealed in          umph" (II Sam. 1:20).
that of Mr. Harold Camping, that the          Daniel 12:4,9. Camping ran, but God            But there are important lessons
world was to end in September, 1994.          did not send him.                          that Reformed Christians must learn
It was a false prophecy. It was not               As we will discover in the days        from the debacle of Camping's failed
merely a mistaken prophecy that               ahead (I write on September 9, before      prophecy of the world's end.
might be corrected by adjusting the           the consequences of the false proph-           Lesson 1. The Reformed Chris-
numbers in the mathematical puzzle            ecy can become apparent), the proph-       tian must reject those teachers of the
that is the book 1994?                        ecy will have destructive effects both     Bible who practice allegorical inter-
         The prophecy itself was teaching     upon the gullible souls who were           pretation. These teachers are as unre-
about a great gospel-truth-the per-           deluded by it and upon the cause of        liable and dangerous as the teachers
fection of all of God's purposes in           conservative Christianity.                 who deny the full inspiration of the
Jesus Christ - that not only had no               The prophecy of September 15-          Holy Scriptures. Therootof themonu-
basis in Scripture but also willfully         27,1994  as the date of Christ's return    mental folly of the prediction of the
contradicted Scripture. The Bible             was false prophecy.                        date of Christ's return is Camping's
clearly teaches that no one, not even             Merely to call attention to the        repudiation, or ignorance, of sober
the angels, not even the Son Himself,         failed prophecy serves no good pur-        grammatical-historical-spiritual ex-  *
knows the time of the second coming           pose. In view of Camping's reputa-         egesis. The Family Radio expositor of
of Christ (Mark 13:32,33). Thus does          tion as a  Reformed  teacher, those who    the Bible practices an arbitrary, fanci-
the Bible forbid and condemn the              are jealous for the honor of the Re-       ful interpretation according to which
forecasting of the definite time of the       formed faith could desire that the         everything and anything in the Bible
en'd.                                         prophecy be buried in oblivion: "Tell      has symbolical meaning. Ahasuerus
         The prophet, Mr. Camping, pre-       it not in Gath, publish it not in the      is a type of God. Israel's eleven-day
sented himself as the one man gifted          streets of Askelon; lest the daughters     journeyfromHorebtoKadesh-bamea
and authorized by God in the last             of the Philistines rejoice, lest the       in Deuteronomy 1:2 represents and
days to disclose to the world what            daughters of the uncircumcised tri-        teaches that there were 11,000 years

6lStgndard BearerlOctober 1,1994


from creation to the coming of the          but also by the pastors and elders of       Jesus Himself said so.
Messiah. The deepest meaning of the         the denomination. Mr. Campingwas                There is a good purpose with the
2,000 swine in Mark 5:1-17  is that         never called by God's church and,           false teaching of Harold Camping
there are about 2,000 years from the        therefore, by God Himself to be the         about the date of the coming of Christ.
birth of Jesus to His coming again.         teacher of God's church. He is not          It is not the lame defense of his foolish
This is profanation of the Holy Scrip-      subject to the oversight of the church.     prophecy that Campingbegan to sug-
tures. This characterizes all the man's     He simply put himself forward as the        gest already before it was exposed as
handling of the Bible. This is the          teacher of the church by virtue of his      falseby the event, the defense, namely,
death of a church and the ruin of the       havingread the EnglishBible  for many       that, even though the date was wrong,
faith.                                      years and by virtue of his circum-          his prophecy got many to thinkabout
    Lesson 2. The Reformed Chris-           stances. He is on his own. Invariably,      the final judgment. Fact is, the natu-
tian must insist on having teachers of      this spells disasterboth for the teacher    ral effect of the false prophecy is that
the Bible, the "pastors and teachers"       and for his disciples. The first seven-     those who believed the prophecy and
of Ephesians 411, who are trained in        teen articles of the Reformed Church        prepared to meet God on September
sound, solid hermeneutics (the sci-         Order of Dordt (which professing            15-27,beingbitterlydisappointed,will
ence of interpreting the Bible) and         Reformed people, churches, and              give up on a second coming and a
exegesis (the practice of interpreting      movements ignore to their own peril!)       final judgment altogether. But God
the Bible). This training is given in a     express the Reformed adherence to           may use the evil of the prophecy to
good Reformed seminary. Many cry            the biblical principle that pastors and     drive His people to the Scriptures to
out today against the seminaries be-        teachers must be called.                    learn the truth of eschatology.
cause these distressed saints suffer            Lesson 4. The Reformed Chris-               There is need of this.
from products who are either incom-         tian must be thoroughly grounded in              Camping's is by no means the
petent or unwillingto teach the people      the doctrines of the Bible as they are      only error abroad in conservative
the pure Word of God from a Bible           confessedin the Reformedcreeds and          circles concerning the end.
believingly regarded as inspired,           as they are faithfully taught by the            More importantly still, the end is
word for blessed word. God knows            church through the office of the min-       near. The signs point this out to faith.
there is reason for this lament. But the    istry. Particularly, the Reformed           The great apostasy is well underway.
solution is not sincere, but untrained,     Christian must know the truths of           All that remains is the rising of the
laymen with their English Bible and a       eschatology, the doctrines of the last      man of sin and the establishment of
Young's Concordance.  Such teachers         things. The Reformed man or woman           the kingdom of the beast with its
are as much an evil for the church and      who knew the basic truths concem-           persecution of the saints:
for the soul that hungers for the Word      ing the second coming of Christ was             Then, the Lord will come down
as are the graduates from the mod-          not, and could not be, deceived by          from heaven in the body, the dead
ernist seminary. Harold Camping is          Harold Camping. Christ cannot come          will be raised, and the final judgment
the living proof.                           until Antichrist has been revealed (II      will sit.
    Lesson 3. The Reformed Chris-           Thess. 2), and Antichrist is not Satan          Not in 1994.
tian must demand that those who             himself but Satan's man and world-               Not at any knowable or predict-
teach him the Word of God be called         wide kingdom (II Thess. 2; Rev. 13).        able date.
by God through the instituted church,       Before the end, there will be great             But soon.
be ordained into office by the church,      tribulation (Matt.  2421; Rev. 13), and          Of this we are confident.
and be subject, ever after, to the su-      this tribulation is not spiritual apos-         The coming of September, 1994
pervision of the church. This supervi-      tasy but actual, physical persecution.      did nothing to quicken this hope.
sion must vigilantly be exercised not       Besides, no human being knows the               The going of September, 1994 did
only by the elders of the local church      exact, definite time of Jesus' coming.      nothing to dampen it. 0
                                                                                                                           - DJE

  ~iS$$@EFS
     i.._i. -

Unadulterated Calvinism                     of today that examines with clear,          Christ's coming in 1994, referred to in
    Thank you so much for your con-         biblical exegesis, and discerns the         the September 1,1994issue  of the SB?
tinued excellent witness, exposition,       precise issues of, the doctrinally              Also, send me all pamphlets, ser-
and defense of historic, unadulter-         muddy thinking in today's ecclesias-        mons, and other materials on
ated Calvinism in the pages of the          tical-theological events.                   eschatology, particularly the subjects
Standard Bearer.  Speakingasan  ortho-          Would you please send me a copy         of the second coming and of the tribu-
dox Calvinist (but stillin the PCUSA),      of the issue of the SB dealing with the     lation / rapture, publishedby the Prot-
the SB is the only witness that I know      prediction by Harold Camping of             estant Reformed Churches.
                                                                                                     October 1,l SfWStanckrd  Beam7


         Keep up your splendid work and         has unwittingly done so. The word                 In our present affluent society,
     witness.                                   "overly" has always a negative con-           where things of time and sense oc-
                         Gaylord M. Sheets      notation: overly strict, overlyprotec-        cupy so much of our energy and at-
                           Columbus, OH         tive, overly defensive, overly religious,     tention - also in our own circles -
     RESPONSE:                                  overly critical, hence too much of a          "quoting Bible texts in our conversa-
         Materials that you request are in      (possibly) good thing, and on that            tions" is almost considered an
     the mail.                                  account obnoxious, even when we               anomaly. The question is if that is still
                                  - E d .       preface it with the minimizing words          adhering to our much-flaunted slo-
                                                "een beefje" (a little bit). But can this     gan,  Ecclesia reformata semper
     Comment on a Book  Review                  truly be said of these characters?            reformat& est. I thinknot. I share this
         Although I appreciate the Rev.             It seems to me that the good rev-         in fraternal love.
     David Engelsma's reviewing the book        erend is not able to place himself                                  Cornelius Lambregfse
     The Inquisitor`s Secreta y by W. J.D.      sufficiently in the life-or-death situa-                                  Jenison, MI
     vanDijck  (which I translated from the     tion of these dear brothers and sisters
     original Dutch into English) in the        in Christ Jesus who recently had all          Determined to Worship
     July, 1994issue of the StandardBeareu,     come out of the powerful and cruel            in the Reformed Manner
     I was rather taken aback by his re-        stranglehold of the Roman church                  Don't you just shake your head
     mark, "At points, the book is, as the      and its corrupt teachings and had             and wonder why some CRC mem-
     Dutch would say, `een beetie over-         begun to taste the liberating power of        bers, in my case since birth (and I am
     vroom' (`a little too pious'). Charac-     the Word of God and of the Holy               now 59), are packing up and leaving
     ters converse by quoting Bible texts to    Spirit. Hearing people expound the            what I have always thought to be a
     each other."                               Word of God, reading it oneself, and          part of the pillar and ground of truth,
         I hope that he will take it in good    especially possessing a copy of it was        the mother of believers, and joining
     grace that I make a few comments on        enough to be caught and eventually            Protestant Reformed congregations
     this judgment. First, a more correct       martyred for it. I believe it was the         or, in my family's spiritual life, trav-
     translation of the Dutch phrase he         world-renowned Dutch historian                eling200 miles round trip to southern
     uses wouldbe, "alittle overly pious."      Johan Huizinga who estimates that             Ontario to worship in a Reformed
     I am sure that is what he means. This      between seven and seventy thousand            manner in either an Independent or
     statement byitselfis mild enough not       people in the Lowlands had to seal            Orthodox Reformed church?
to find fault with it. Still, it bothers        their faith with a cruel death by the             My great-grandfather in Fries-
     me, especially when he corroborates        sword or at the stake. No wonder              land, Feike Ajen Steensma, back in
it by saying, "Characters converse by           they always met in secrecy, where             1880 walked fifteen miles every Sun-
     quoting Bible texts to each other." I      they encouraged and comforted each            day as a charter member of the
     am sure that what he means is that         other by, as the reverend calls it, "quot-    Gereformeerde Kerk in St. Jacobi
when people converse with each                  ing Bible texts to each other." To me,        Parochie, and I do not consider driv-
     other, they frequently quote Bible         however, that was truly testifying to         ing 200 miles round-trip to hear Re-
texts. I grant that at times this can be        what was their "onlycomfort  in lifeand       formed preaching and to rejoice and
overdone, but are these characters              death. R Let us never forget that every       commune with saints of that most
guilty of that?                                 square foot of the land of our fore-          precious, like-minded faith to be that
         Now words can be used care-            bears was bought with the blood of            much of a burden.
lessly, and I think the Rev. Engelsma           these first "Reformed" people.                                         Fred C. Sfeensma
                                                                                                                           Fairport, NY



I
Public Confession of Sin                        should be voluntary in order to have          are of their nature of a public charac-
                                                real meaning.                                 ter, or have become public because
         Recently in Adult Sunday School            Please comment.                           the admonition of the church was
the following question was raised:                                  Herman VanderVos          despised, shall take place (upon suffi-
"When a public sin has been commit-                                      Bozeman, MT          cient evidence of repentance) in such
ted, does the church have the biblical          RESPONSE:                                     a manner as the consistory shall deem
right to demand a public confession?"               The article of the Church Order of        conducive to the edification of each
         Although the question did not          the Protestant Reformed Churches  which       church. Whether in particular cases
get answered, the discussion seemed             speaks to your question is Article 75,        this shall take place in public, shall,
to favor that a public confession               "The reconciliation of all such sins as       when there is a difference of opinion

E/Standard Beak ioctober 1,1994


 about it in the consistory, be consid-        edifying way for the congregation                In any event, public confession
 eredwith the advice of two neighbor-          and the repentant sinner involved. If       which is not voluntary is meaning-
ing churches or of the classis."               the repentant sinner is willing to con-     less. Unwillingness to make a public
         The answer to your question is,       fess his/ her sin before the consistory,    confession on the part of someone
 yes, the con&story  has the right to          but is unwilling to make public con-        who has committed a public sin may
 demand a public confession, ifit deems        fession of the sin, he/ she would have      very well indicate to a consistory that
 this to be conducive to the edification of    the right to appeal the consistory's        there is "insufficient evidence of re-
 the church.  The breach caused by the         decision to the broader assemblies          pentance."
 sin must be removed in the most               (classis, synod) of the denomination.                       - Editorial Committee



                                               the Classis. There were some objec-         operativein their particular settings."
w A  Classis  in Disobedience                  tions that the meetingwas called with-      Classis, by taking this decision, al-
         In the August issue we reported       out sufficient notice, but these were       lows what the synod said "the clear
that the 1994 Synod of the Christian           not accepted. A majority of the del-        teaching of Scripture prohibits."
Reformed Church (CRC), by a vote of            egates as well as of the large crowd of         Does not this decision of Classis
95-89, refused to ratify a change in its       visitors felt there was an urgency to       East de facto place the entire Classis
Church Order which would allow                 respond to First Church's request.          outside of the CRC? Serious business
women to be ordained as ministers                  After much discussion and many          indeed!
and elders. In two related decisions           questions concerning how exactly to             The repercussions of all this are
the synod retained the decision of its         word the motion, the Classis decided        not likely to be confined to Classis
1992 synod which encouraged local              "in principle" to disobey the synod's       Grand Rapids East. Many of the
churches to allow "women to teach,             ban on women in office. Final word-         larger churches and prestigious pul-
expound the Word of God, and to                ingofthemotionwillbecompletedat             pits (Calvin, Plymouth Heights,
provide pastoral care, under the su-           theregularlyscheduledClassismeet-           Seymore Square) reside in this classis.
pervision of the elders." Synod of             ing in September.                           Many denominational employees, as
1994 appointed a study committee to                That this is a very serious devel-      well as professors at both Calvin Col-
present a definition of "expounding,"          opment ought to be self evident. A          lege and Seminary, are members of
which presumably would distinguish             Classis has decided to disobey a syn-       the churches in Classis East.
it from preaching. The synod also              odical decision. That's always very             Another, quite different response
urged local congregations which have           serious. It means that Classis East         to synod's decision on women in of-
already ordained women' elders to              and its member churches have de-            fice comes from the co-editors of The
release them from office by June 1995.         cided not to follow the ecclesiastical      Outlook,  Rev. and Mrs. Thomas
An estimated 15 of the 900 congrega-           way of protesting the synodical  deci-      VandenHeuvel.  They see synod's
tions in the CRC have ordained                 sion and thus attempting to demon-          decision as a "Window of Opportu-
women as elders.                               strate to the synod of 1995 that the        nity." Though they are "plaguedwith
     At least one Classis has decided          synod of 1994 was in error. What is         apprehension that Synod 1995 or a
not to enforce synod's latest ruling on        more, in this particular instance the       subsequent synod will overturn this
this matter. Classis Grand Rapids              synod of 1994 made a strong pro-            year's decision," the VandenHeuvels
East met in special session on July 21         nouncement on biblical evidence. The        say, "this battle is over and we must
at the request of First CRC of Grand           main ground for its decision not to         go on now.N
Rapids. First Church had decided               ratify the church order change was              The actions of Classis GrandRap-
they would elect only adjunct elders,          that "the clear teaching of Scripture       ids East wouldindicate that the battle
a position women were allowed to               prohibits women holding the offices         is far from over. Though it is our
hold since 1992. Since their regular           of minister, elder, and evangelist."        fervent prayer that our "mother
elders serve two-year terms, they are          Anothergroundstatedforcefullythat           chu&" will maintain and enforce its
nqw at the point of having only the            it was therefore impossible to leave        1994 decision, we are convinced it's
pastor as a regular elder. They re-            ordination of women as an option for        only a matter of time before women
quested support and direction from             local church& since "the synod can-         are allowed to serve in all offices in
                                               not allow what Scripture does not           the CRC.
                                               allow." Classis Grand Rapids East                                        The Banner
                                               decided "in principle" to "permit its                           Christianity Today
Prof. Decker is professor of Practical The-    individual churches the freedom to                                      The Outlook
ology in the Protestant Reformed Semi-         decide whether or not the word'male'           Reformed Believers Press Service
nary.                                          in article 3a of the church order is                          REC News Exchange

                                                                                                      October 1,1994/Standard  Bsarm9


     H The Synod of the Reformed                     ety, restraint, and sound judgment in               The synod elected Pastor Jerry
     Presbyterian Church                             all areas of life?" to ti . . . do you prom-    O'Neill, of the Columbus, Indiana,
     in North America                                ise not to be given to much wine . ..?"         RPC, president of the RP Seminary.
         This denomination, given its long               The synod also approved several             O'Neill was also appointed professor
     history and its distinctives, tooksome          changes and additions to the RP Tes-            of pastoral theology. He will assume
     very important decisions at its synod           timonyregardingwomen'sandmen's                  both positions upon Dr. Steward's
     which met at Geneva College June 1%             roles. Among these changes or addi-             retirement next year.
     23. A resolution to resubmit the over-          tions are the statements that "the of-              In an earlier issue we reported on
     ture on-Query  #8 (of the questions put         fice of elder is restricted in Scripture        the "Catholic Evangelical Statement"
     to candidates for office in the RF'CNA)         to men," and "we deny that the exclu-           signedbyseveralleadingevangelicals
     to sessions for voting was introduced           sion of women from the office of elder          (Michael Horton, Richard Mouw,
     by Dr. Bruce C. Steward, president of           hinders any woman's divine voca-                James I. Packer, et. al.). The synod
     the RP Seminary in Pittsburgh. Dr.              tion or neglects any woman's spiri-             voted to urge Dr. John White, presi-
     Steward's resolution was passed af-             tual gifts for ministry." These addi-           dent of Geneva College, to withdraw
     ter the proposed Query revision was             tions and changes must now be sent              his signature from the joint statement.
     amended from "... do you promise                down in overture to be voted on by              Dr. White complied. 0
     not to be addicted to wine, and to              sessions and elders.                                             Covenan  ter Witness
     show yourself to be a model of sobri-

                                                                                                                  Iv/L:  B///L  f~m&2s


      ~,Third Biennial Conference of
                           the British Reformed
                                                Fellowship
I                                               I                                                                                               I
          On July 30, all of the British Re-         to their third biennial conference,             ond time to a BRF conference, so we
     formed Fellowship's interest was  fo-           which took place on the campus of the           were eagerly looking forward to re-
     cused on the arrival of the conferees           College of Textiles, located in                 newing acquaintance with those
                                                     Galashiels, Selkirkshire, Scotland.             whom we had the privilege of meet-
                                                     Most of the 120 who were registered             ing two years ago, as well as forming
     Mr. Oomkes is a member of the Byron             had arrived by the 6:00 p.m. dinner             new relationships. Those who  at-
     Center Protestant Reformed Church.              hour. For our family it was our sec-            tended came from Singapore (6), East





                                                        Lecturers interact  with conferees.

     1 O/Standard Bearer /October 1,1994


                                                                                        live  in.                              1
                                                                                                      communion, and finally to
                                                                                        learn. I am convinced that all of the
                                                                                        aforementioned was accomplishedin
                                                                                        the followingweek "The whole week
                                                                                        was a foretaste of heaven" is the de-
                                                                                        scription given by a first-time visitor.
                                                                                        On Sunday we had two worship ser-
                                                                                        vices led by Professors Hanko and
                                                                                        Engelsma, with the morning worship
                                                                                        precededby a 45-minute prayer time.
                                                                                        In the afternoon, the children up to
                                                                                        age 15 met in one group, and all the
                                                                                        other single young people in another
                                                                                        group. These were similar to a Sun-
                                                                                        day School and Young People's Soci-
                                                                                        ety meetings. Each night "ended"
                                                                                        with devotions at 10:00 p.m. Most
                                                                                        discussionsbeganafterdevotionsand
                                                                                        lasted into the "wee" hours of the
                               Literature fable                                         morning. In the case of the young
                                                                                        people and young adults, who met
Germany (3), USA (16), and the rest         cause, and had to go half way around        every night in the Hankos' flat, some
from the UK.                                the world to the Protestant Reformed        of those discussions lasted all night
    A little information about the BRF      Churches to find it. He also stated         long. They had their own version of
might be helpful. The British Re-           that the BRF is most grateful for that      aYou.ngPeople's  ConventioninScot-
formed Fellowship was set up in 1990        support.                                    land, with the participants from as far
by a group of Christians concerned                 The conference began on Satur-       away as Singapore. According to our
for the defense and propagation of          day night with an "Introduction and         15-year  old daughter, who experi-
thehi.storicReformedfaithintheBrit-         Fellowship Ministry" by the presi-          enced her-second BRF Conference,
ish Isles. Their doctrinal basis is the     dent of BRF, Pastor Jim North. He           this gathering was certainly a bless-
inspired, infallible, and inerrant  Holy    used Mark 6:31 as his theme: "Come          ing for all the young people.
Scriptures and the doctrines set forth      ye yourselves apart into a desert place,         The theme of the conference was
in the "Three Forms of Unity" as well       and rest a while." The emphasis was         "The Doctrine of Sovereign Grace."
as in the Westminster Standards.            on the call of Christ to come apart         The six speeches given by Professors
Their threefold objective is to pro-        from the busyness of the world, to          Engelsma and Hanko were as fol-
mote the knowledge of the Reformed
faith; to organize meetings, confer-
ences, and preaching services to pro-
mote this faith; and, finally, to en-
courage formation of groups at the
local level to promote the Reformed
faith. In 1992, they had twenty mem-
bers,  andin 1994,120 members. With
the cooperation of our missionary,
Pastor Ron Hanko, they have held
numerous meetings in all areas of the
United Kingdom. They also publish
a 40-page quarterly booklet, called
the British Reformed Journal. (This is
available in the US for E7.00 Sterling
annually by writing to the editorial
office, 9 Church Road, Thombury,
Bristol, BS12 lEJ, United Kingdom.)
In his closing remarks the secretary
noted that the BRF had looked for a
long time, seeking a denomination
that would lend its support to their                                    Young members of the BRF

                                                                                                     October 1,1994lStandard  Beareri 1


lows: "Sovereign Grace and Predes-               On Monday afternoon, Tuesday                  very important part of our life. Many
tination," which included a discus-          all day, and Friday afternoon we                  teary eyes were evident when we said
sion of both election and reprobation,       toured the different sites where the              good-bye. One could not help but
of the relation between sovereign            Covenanters (e.g., Thomas Boston)                 conclude that our covenant God has
grace and predestination, and of the         preachedandwheretheywerehanged                    usedthePRCinanimportantworkin
revelation of predestination in the          or beheaded and buried. We were                   gathering and strengthening His
Old Testament (DE); "Sovereign               also given a tour of the St. Giles Ca-            people in the UK. God has used the
Grace and the Cross of Christ," in-          thedral where the great Reformer John             BRF, the Covenant Reformed Fellow-
cluding a discussion of the relation         Knox preached. This was all accom-                 ship, and our churches to proclaim
between the particular atonement of          plished under the direction of Rev.               the truth of sovereign grace. Pastor
Christ and sovereign and particular          Sinclair Home, the secretary of the               Hank0  has spoken literally all over
grace (HH); "Sovereign Grace and             Scottish Reformation Society. He also             the UK on behalf of the BRF. There is
the Preaching of the Gospel," includ-        spoke to us on Monday evening on                  much work to be done in the UK. We
ing an analysis and critique of the          the "Relevance of the Covenanting                 have seen that the Word of the Lord
well-meant offer of salvation and of         Witness for Today." He spoke on the                does not return void. The Lord has
the preaching as a means of grace            history of the Covenanters and the                 surely left a faithful witness in the
(DE); "Sovereign Grace and the De-           application of their witness for Chris-           United Kingdom.
velopment of Sin," which included            tians in the modern world. This                        Plans are already in place for the
the treatment of the idea of grace in        proved to be extremely rewarding                   next conference in 1996. A beautiful
the restraint of sin, and how God            because, as the saying goes, history               site has been chosen in East Sussex,
restrains sin as it develops organi-         repeats itself.                                    England, just south of London. The
cally (HH); "Sovereign Grace and the             These conferences have become a                Lord willing, we hope to see you
application of Salvation," which dealt                                                          there.  0
with a discussion of how God saves
sovereignlyinregeneration,faith,and                                          Praising Jesus Christ
conversion (DE); and finally, "Sover-                                                   i.
eign Grace and the Circumstances of                        As long as I shall live below on earth
Life," which dealt with the idea of                   I render to my Ring what he is worth
common grace as it is supposedly                      In word and deed, with shouting and with song.
found in the good gifts which God                     Because he chose me, I am full of mirth;
gives to man, and also a demonstra-                   He wrote my new name long before my birth,
tion of the believer's comfort in par-                Wherefore my soul makes music all day long.
ticular grace and how grace is his only               His precious blood
consolation in the trials of life (HI-I).             With joy me flood:
All these speeches were followed by a                 "Thy heart is mine
question and answer session. The                      And mine is thine!"
thoroughness of the speeches gave                     So sadness flee
time for some very thought-provok-                    And joy fill me
ing and well thought-out comments                     For Jesus is my Lord divine!
and questions. Those who attended                                                       . .
this conference were well-versed in                       When from the heart I prry with all my might,
the Scriptures, which was evident in                  When tongue and lips sing praises day and night,
the discussions. The speeches also                    When I serve him as his obedient child -
proved to be the topic of discussion                  Then will the world mock me with rank delight,
after devotions. These speeches were                  But I ignore her pride and feel no spite;
well received and greatly appreci-                    Her scorn is impotent, however wild.
ated. One Scottish seminary student                   What he decrees,
remarked to me that he appreciated                    I am at peace.
the boldness with which theseprofes-                  In him I dwell
sors spoke the gospel.                                Who makes all well.
    Tapes of these speeches are avail-                He is the Best,
able for a cost of $16.00 US from Bill                The First and Last,
Oomkes, 6299 Wing S.E., Grand Rap-                    Whom~ I do love, and ever shall!
ids, MI 49512 USA; or fromDesmond                                                              -Jacobus Revius (1586-1658)
Callender, 127 Cregach Road, Belfast                                    From: Over-ysselsche Sangen  en Dichten, II, 3
BT6 OLA, Northern Ireland for E8.00                                                                tr. Cornelius Lambregtse
Sterling.

12lStandard Bearer /October 1,1994


                                                   With
   From time to time it is necessary  for pastors to         "we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus
remind their catechumens, both young and old,                Christ"  (Rom.  5:l).  The  God  of  peace,  harmony,
that they must memorize the prepositions  in their           unity gives us to share in this blessed virtue. Argu-
answers carefully. These little words indicate the           ing from the greater to the lesser, the apostle Paul
relationship that nouns, pronouns, and verbs have            writes that if God did not spare His own Son, "How
in  regard  to  each  other.  It  makes  a  world  of        shall he not with him also freely give us all things?"
difference  whether  something   is  for  or  against,       (Rom. 832). Through the resurrection  and ascen-
under or on, before or after. Prepositions  form a           sion  into heaven,  Christ is  exalted and  enriched
family of words which show these relationships               with a glory in which all the saints share. We are
very clearly. The study of prepositions  is impor-           "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Rom.
tant in any language,  but never more so than in the         8:17).
Hebrew and Greek. The word with deserves our                     According to Genesis 5:22 and 6:9, Enoch and
attention in the Scriptures, for it is often used by the     Moses walked with God in the midst of a world that
Holy Spirit to set forth relationships that can only         hated them and persecuted them. Living in a world
be called sublime. With can indicate sameness of             that more and more resembles the world before the
direction; it can show that two or more share in an          flood, as members of the party of the living God, we
activity, arrangement, or benefit; or it can reveal a        know Him, walk with Him, enjoy the highest Good,
combination,  accompaniment,   or  presence.  Al-            and reveal His praises.
though  with  is  found  hundreds  of  times  in  the            The future of the children of God is bright in
Bible, we will examine only a few occurrences to             light of the promise of the risen Savior, "And lo, I
show what tremendous  truths are set forth by this           am with you, even unto the end of the world" (Matt.
little word.                                                 28:20).  The  presence  of  the  Lord  is  our  comfort,
    "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word             strength, and sure defense. Although bodily He is
was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:l).              in heaven, "with respect to His Godhead, majesty,
Not  only do these opening  words of the fourth              grace, and Spirit He is at no time absent from us"
Gospel  prove  the  eternity,  the  divinity,  and  the      (L.D. 18). "Your life is hid with Christ in God" (Col.
distinct Person of the Son, but they also reveal to us       33). When Christ sat down at God's right hand, He
an aspect of the covenant life within the Trinity of         took His church with Him there; as the Head was
God. The Son is in perfect harmony  with the Father          raised far beyond death and the evil one, so every
and the Holy Spirit; He lives the same life, seeks           member of His body is safely hid in God where they
and  delights  in  the  same  things,  has  the  same        can never be destroyed.
motive and goal. The original term suggests that                 When Christ returns at the end of this world,
the face of the Son is always toward the Father. The         "the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which
Son had glory with the Father before the world was           are alive and remain shall be caught up together
(John 17:5), and in the days of His flesh had favor          with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air;
with God (Luke 2:52), and spoke of those things              and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (IThess. 4;16;
which He had seen with His Father (John 838).                17). At His coming, the prayer of Jesus shall have
    "Behold,  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and  bear  a      been  perfectly  answered,  "that  the  glory  which
son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Is. 7:14),           God has given him might also be given unto them;
which  being  interpreted  is,  God  with  us  (Matt.        that they may be one, even as we are one" (John
1:23). God and man are so united in the virgin's             1722). Then "the tabernacle  of God is with men,
Son that the covenant of God, the might and wis-             and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his
dom of God, the treasures and pleasures of God,              people, and God himself shall be with them, and be
become our benefit. Having  been justified by faith,         their  God"  (Rev.  21:3).  0

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

                                                                                              October 1,l WStandard Bearer/U [


  ,&g/n&j &@ &@@?@S


                                                    John 1 :I 9-34
                             John the Ba tist's
                               Witness to ehrist
                                         -                                                                                        I
        These verses begin the historical      ger of the Lord whose callingit was to     Christ unless the Spirit gives us to see
part of John's gospel. In the prologue         make ready a people for the appear-        Him with John the Baptist's eyes and
(vv. l-18) John has spoken of the deep         ing of Christ and personally to point      we rejoice in Him as "the Lamb that
and weighty truth of Christ's per-             out the Christ when He appeared            was slain" (Rev. 13%).
sonal deity and incarnation. Now we            (Luke 1:41). Is not this the purpose of
come to the narration of Christ's              the preaching of the gospel by the         Outline of verses 19-34
earthly ministry. We note that John            church today?                              1. John and the Jews. w. 19-28
does not include anything of the first             Verse 19 informsus that thepopu-           a. The Jews'inquiryof Johnand
30 years of our Lord's life but begins         larity of John caused the Jews to send         his answers.
at once with "the record" or witness           a delegation to John the Baptist to                  1) "Who art thou?" Not the
of John the Baptist. (The only details         inquire concerning his identity. John                Christ. w. 19,20
of Jesus' first 30 years are given in          faithfully and humbly answers their                  2) "Art thou Elijah?" No.
Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 1 and 2.)             questions and unmistakably identi-                   v. 21
And that "record" of John the Baptist          fies himself as the forerunner of the                3) "Art thou that prophet?"
is to Christ's deity: "This is the Son of      Christ. He also makes plain the rea-                 No. v. 21
God" (v. 34).                                  son for his baptizing. John adminis-                 4) "What sayest thou of thy-
        John the Baptist is one of the most    ters the sign of what the Christ will                self?" "I am the voice...."
remarkable personalities in the Bible.         indeed do, namely, baptize with the                  w.  22,23
His coming was foretold in the Old             Holy Ghost. John also shows humble                   5) "Why baptizeth thou
Testament prophecies (Is. 40:3-5; Mal.         faithfulness to his task by emphasiz-                then?" To prepare the way
3:l; 4:4-6). His privileged work was           ing the pre-eminence of Christ over                  for Christ. w. 25,26
to be the forerunner of the Lord (Luke         the forerunner.                                b. John's acknowledging of
1:7). He served thus by preaching                  What a moment in the history of            Christ's pre-eminence. v. 27
repentance, with baptism as a sign of          the unfolding of God's covenant sal-                 - the notation is made that
the remission of sins (Luke 3:3-9).            vation is recorded in verses 29-34!            a.llthishastranspiredatBethabara
Jesus called him the greatest of the           Here at long last the promised Savior          on the Jordan River. v. 28
prophets (Matt. 11:7-9). He lived as a         stands before His people in all the        2. John and Jesus. w. 29-34
Nazarite in the desert and was filled          grace of God as the only sacrifice for         a. John's great moment: Point-
with the Spirit from his birth (Luke           sin. It was for this moment that John          ingout  the Christ as God's Lamb!
1:SO).  Multitudes flocked to the Jor-         had been sent, and it was for this             v. 29
dan River to hear him, resulting in the        moment that all the people of God              b. John's words of explanation
conversion of many people, among               had waited for 4,000 years. All the            for his baptizing. w. 30,31
whom were publicans and soldiers               Old Testament promises pointed to-             c. John tells of the Spirit's
(Mark 1:5; Luke 3:10-14).  His minis-          ward this moment of the coming of              anointing of Christ and Christ's
try was marked by scathing rebukes             the Christ to begin and accomplish             baptizing with the Spirit. w. 32,
of the religious formalism of his day          the workof  God. Really, havingcom-            33
(Luke 3:7-9). John the Baptist, then,          pleted this task of pointing out the           d. John confesses the deity of
was the divinely appointed harbin-             Christ and witnessing of His deity,            Christ. v. 34
                                               the work of John the Baptist is com-
                                               pleted. Never was there a fuller tes-      Questions for Discussion
Rev. Haak is pastor of the Protestant          timony given to Christ upon earth          and Further Study:
Reformed Church of Lynden,  Washing-           than that which was givenby John the       1. What was the purpose of the min-
ton.                                           Baptist. We know nothing of the            istry of John the Baptist? What Old

14llStandard Bearer/October 1,1994


Testament prophecies spoke of him?                 sion? Why did John cry in the wilder-           God"? (See Gen. 22:s; Ex. 12; Is. 53:7;
Why did he labor in the wilderness?                ness rather than in the temple?                 Peter 1:19.) Show that already in this
What is the significance of his dress?             6. What is the significance of John's           title we have implied the truths of
(Matt. 4:3). Explain the parallels be-             baptism? (See Luke 3; Matt. 3; Acts             substitutionary atonement and satis-
tween John theBaptist's ministry and               191-9.)                                         faction for sin.
the preaching today.                               7. Discuss the significance of the              11. Why did the Holy Spirit descend
2. What were the motives behind                    humility of John before the Christ.             upon Christ as a dove? (See Matt.
the Jews sending this delegation to                How does this speak to us? (I Peter             413-17.)
inquire of John concerning his iden-               5:5)                                            12. What does John mean when he
tity?                                              8. What is the meaning of John's                says that he "knew him not"? (v. 31)
3. Why did the Jews askif John were                words to the Jews in verse 2, when he           How was the Spirit's descending upon
Elijah? How did the Jews understand                says"whomyeknownot"?(SeeRom.                    Christ at the time of His baptism a
the prophecy of Malachi 4:4-6?                     217-19.)                                        crucial sign of His identity and the
4. What prophet did they refer to in               9. Were the Jews acquainted with                work that He came to do?
verse 21? (See Deut. 1815-18;  Acts                the significance of cleansing with              13. What is it to be baptized with the
3:22; 237.)                                        water? (See Lev. 11-15; Ez. 36:25,26;           Holy Ghost?
5. What is the importance of John's                37:23; Jer. 33:8; Zech. 13:l.)                  14. Discuss how verse 34 ties into the
using Isaiah 40:3 as the prophecy                  10. What are the thoughts suggested             main purpose of John's gospel. 0
which explains his identity and mis-               by the Savior's title, "The lamb of





                 Weak and Strong Faith
                                              I                                                                                                 I

     As Reformed Christians we be-                 to imagine that they have faith when            rally rebellious hearts and makes us
lieve that faith is a gift of God. There           they do not. Outside of the grace of            willing and able to believe in Him.
is nothing more significant and im-                God no man will ever come to God                None of us believe of ourselves. We
portant about the nature and charac-               and believe that He is. The rebellious          believe only because God gave us the
ter of true saving faith than this truth.          sinner will never acknowledge God               wonderful gift of faith. Faith is the
It is not only difficult for the natural           and submit to Him. He is so enslaved            greatest gift of God to His elect. All
man to believe, it is impossible. Faith,           to sin and the devil that he                                the other blessings of salva-
is not something simple, a simple                  willnever of himselffor-                                          tion are received by
decision to "accept Christ," which all             sake his sin even                       Even when                   God's      children
men have the natural ability to per-               though he knows that        tormented with the terrors               through the gift of
form at their own free will. For the               it will lead him to de-           of  the judgment  of  God          faith. Without faith
natural man faith is absolutely im-                struction. Even when         the natural man cannot be               we  cannot  be
possible.                                          tormented with the              persuaded to flee to God             saved. Without
     It is a devilish delusion that is             terrors of the  judg-                 for  salvation.               faith we cannot
propagated in many churches that                   ment of God the natural                                           please God. Without
faith is something as easy as the pro-             man cannot be persuaded to                                  faith we would all perish
verbial "rollingoff a log." This idea is           flee to God for salvation. No man will          everlastingly.
completely contrary to what theBible               ever of his own freewill accept Christ.              Faith gives us a true knowledge
teaches about faith and deceives many                      Faith comes only by the mighty          of the greatness of our own sin and
                                                   and wonderful operation of the Spirit           the awful judgment it deserves. Faith
                                                   of God in the hearts of His elect. It is       makes us conscious of the desperate
                                                   a work that He alone can and does              situation we are in. Faith causes us to
                                                   accomplish by the irresistible  opera-         know the Lord Jesus Christ as the
Rev. denliartog  is pastor of Hope Protes-         tion of His grace and Holy Spirit ac-          only hope of our salvation and con-
tant Reformed Church in Redlands, Cali-            cording to which He breaks our natu-           strains us to flee to Him.
fornia.
                                                                                                            October  1,1994/Standard  Beami


    Faith enables us to know and un-        activity of our faith. Faith as the gift     commands us to abide in Him. He
derstand the mysteries of the Word of       and power of God is given to us in our       adds to this command negatively the
God about God Himself and about             regeneration. We are passive in re-          absolute statement that without abid-
Jesus Christ the only Savior. Through       ceiving that gift. God does not give us      inginHimwecandonothing,andthe
faith the child of God receives for true    faith because we first asked Him for         positive statement that by abiding in
all that God has revealed in His Word.      that gift or because we are ourselves        Him we shall bring forth fruit to the
Faith makes us wise unto salvation.         willing to receive it. God by His irre-      glory of God.
    Faith is the spiritual bond that        sistible grace of regeneration deliv-              When we speak of weak and
unites us to Christ. We are, according      ered us from our natural rebellion           strong faith we have reference espe-
to the language of Lord's Day 7 of the      and unbelief and worked faith in our         cially to the activity of faith and to our
Heidelberg Catechism, engraftedinto         h e a r t s .                                calling and responsibility to exercise
Christ by a true and living faith. This          Through the power of God we             our faith as children of God. We may
is a wonderful thing. By faith we           become active in faith. By the activity      never charge God for giving us only
know Christ spiritually as our Lord         of faith the elect child of God con-         weak faith. Weak faith is a disgrace;
and Savior and we are mystically            sciously knows the almighty sover-           it is a sin on the part of the child of
united to Him. Through faith we have        eign God of salvation and relies on          God. We dishonor God when we fail
intimate communion and fellowship           Him completely. Faith is active for-         to exercise our faith and yield to the
with our beloved Savior  and Lord.          saking of our sin and wickedness and         temptations of sin. Faith is one of the
He lives in us and we live in Him.          going out to Christ. True faith in-          great pieces of the armor of the Chris-
And we are by faith made conscious          volves denying all confidence in our-        tian soldier. We are exhorted by the
of this great wonder. This truth of the     selves and depending completely              inspired apostle of our Lord in
wonder of faith is illustrated by our       upon Christ and His righteousness,           Ephesians 6 to put on that armor. If
Lordinthebeautifulfigureofthevine           His strength, and His faithfulness.          we do not put on that armor con-
and the branches recorded in John 15.       Faith is the activity of the heart of the    stantly we will fall miserably before
He tells us there that He is the vine       child of God by which he embraces all        the onslaughts of our enemy, the devil.
and we are the branches. Through            of the promises of the gospel, and           We must be concerned about and
our living union with Christ Jesus He       believes that these promises are true        ashamed of a weak faith. It is often
abides in us and we in Him.                 and certain. By faith we find in the         the case because of our sinful nature
    By faith we rejoice in Christ Jesus,    gospel all our comfort and assurance.        that we have weak faith. This is
though now we do not see Him, with               Only when we understand                        inexcusable and will have very
joy unspeakable and full of glory (I        this about faith can we un-                              serious consequences for
Pet. 1:8). Through faith the perfect        derstand how it is that            We may never              our Christian life. For
righteousness of Christ Jesusbecomes        the gospel everywhere                charge God              this reason we are called
ours and we have the blessed assur-         commands us to repent            for gizhg us onZy           to examine ourselves con-
ance of the forgiveness of all our sins     and believe. That com-              weak faith.              stantly whether we are in
throughHis cross and theknowledge           mand of God demands a                                     the faith or not. We need
of the favor and love of God for us.        conscious and active response                          often to confess the sin of lack
Through faith all the blessings of sal-     of the child of God. In this respect         of faith and of weak faith that so often
vation which Christ merited for us on       faith is not at all passive. Faith de-       characterizes us. We need to repent
the cross become our possession.            mands a tremendous and constant              from that sin and know what we must
Through faith we receive the strength       activity on our part. Even then Scrip-       do about it.
and power of Christ Jesus so that we        ture clearly states that God works in              We have a beautiful biblical illus-
can boldly say with the inspired            us "the willing and the doing." Also         tration of all of this in the account of
apostle Paul: "I can do all things          the activity of faith flows forth from       Peter walking on the raging waters of
through Christ which strengtheneth          the working of God in us. Neverthe-          the Sea of Galilee. We can find this
me" (Phil. 414). Through the power          less, by this work of God we our-            account recorded in Matthew 14 for
of faith we are able to endure the          selves also become consciously will-         our instruction about strong and weak
sufferings of this present time, in the     ing and active, so that we can rightly       faith. Peter really was often charac-
hope of the glory that awaits us in         say, "I believe. I trust completely in       terized by a mixture of strong and
heaven. Through faith we have the           Christ Jesus. All my glorying is in          weak faith, as we so often are. When
certain hope of the return of our Lord      Him alone." (See Canons, Third and           Peter saw Jesus walking on the stormy
at the end of the ages and watch daily      Fourth Heads, Articles 11 and 12.)           sea Peter asked Jesus for permission
for the signs of the times with eager       When God in His Word commands                to come out and walk with Jesus on
expectation of the fulfillment of that      us to believe, then we must respond          the fearful billows of the sea. Jesus
hope.                                       with the heartfelt confession, "Lord, I      commanded Peter to come, and by
    It is good to distinguish faith as      believe!" In the discourse of John 15        faith Peter went out to Jesus. What
God's power working in us and the           on the vine and the branches Jesus           exhilaration Peter must have felt at

1 G/Standard Bearer/October I,1994


first when the power of Christ en-                  Another familiar story about Jesus         Once again there are many great
abled him to walk on the water. But             andPeterillustratestherealityofweak        spiritual lessons to be learned from
an instant later Peter was sinking in           and strong faith. This history is re-      this history. How foolish it is for any
the sea and crying out to Jesus to save         corded in Matthew. I refer to the          of us to boast in the strength of his
Him. It was necessary for Jesus to              whole account of Peter's denial of the     own faith. How miserably even a
catch Peter and keep him from certain           Lord and what led to this sad history.     seemingly strong disciple of Jesus can
drowning in the sea because of the              Remember how the Lord told His             fall because of the weakness of faith.
weakness of his faith. After Jesus had          disciples on the night in which He         "Let him that standeth take heed lest
lifted Peter into the boat He rebuked           was arrested to be crucified that they     he fall." Most beautiful is the truth
Peter sharply with the words, "Oh               would all be offended at Him and           that Jesus constantly prays for the
thou of little faith, wherefore didst           forsake Him and flee? At that time         faith of His own so that their faith
thou doubt?"                                    Peter, in seemingly strong and bold        does not fail.
      This account is a vivid illustra-         faith, said that he would never for-           In our next article we want to
tion of the Christian life. It has many         sake his Lord and that he was ready        consider some of the characteristics
spirituallessons for us concerning the          even to die with Jesus. And remem-         of a weak faith. We ought to be con-
nature of faith and the urgency of              berhow Jesus had to waml'eterabout         cerned about weak faith. Being weak
exercising that faith. What wonderful           denying His Lord that very night.          in our faith has very serious conse-
power was given to Peter when He                Jesus spoke concerning this as involv-     quences. We need to be on our guard
looked at Jesus and went out to meet            ing the desire of Satan to have Peter      against those things that weaken our
Him on the tossing waves of the sea!            and to sift him as wheat. What a           faith and avoid them. In the life of
But also how quickly Peter began to             dreadful thing this was by itself! Sa-     every Christian, even the greatest of
sink in the sea when he took his eyes           tanisconstantlyworkinghisevilwork          them, faith has its so-called ups and
off Jesus. How in a moment Peter                to destroy the faith of God's saints.      downs. But this does not mean that
could change from strong to weak                Through this evil work Satan desires       we maybe careless about this. We are
faith! How beautiful the truth that             to have those who belong to God by         called by God to be strong and coura-
Jesus responded to the cry of Peter,            faith. The grievous fall of Peter took     geous in our faith. We need strong
"Lord, save me!" by catching Peter              place as Jesus had prophesied. But no      and robust faith to live in this wicked
and deliveringl'eterfrom  death. Cer-           doubt the most important detail of         world. What according to the Word
tainly this vividly illustrates that in         this history is the fact that Jesus, in    of God are the characteristics of a
the final analysis our salvation is de-         warning Peter about his impending          strong, vibrant faith which pleases
pendent on the Lord and not even on             fall, also assured Peter that He had       God and glorifies His Name? What
the strength of our own faith. What a           prayed for him that his faith would        are the ways in which God strength-
comfort this is!                                not fail.                                  ens His work of faith in us? 0


r-              -
     D@~cg@fK)y 4m?@f a?&!7
I


     Censure at Major Assemblies

      At the close ofthe classical and other    The "Censure" of Major Assemblies          ing, and properly to discipline themif
major assemblies, censure shall be exer-            The censure referred to in Article     they refuse to listen." The censure of
cised over those, who in the meeting have       43 is to be distinguished from other       Article 35 is exercised by the presi-
done something worthy of punishment,            forms of censure referred to in the        dent while the meeting is in progress,
or who have scorned the admonition of the       Church Order.                              whereas the censure of Article 43 is
minor assemblies.                                   The censure of Article 43 is to be     exercised by the assembly itself "at
              Church Order, Article 43          distinguished from the censure of          the close" of the meeting.
                                                Article 35. Article 35 calls for the           The censure of Article 43 is also
                                                presidents of our assemblies "to see       distinguished from the censure re-
                                                to it that everyone observe due order      ferred to in Article 81. Article 81
Rev. Cammenga is pastor of Southwest            in speaking, ' to silence the captious     provides for the mutual censure of
Protestant Reformed Church in                   and those who arevehement in speak-        officebearers within the same
Grandville, Michigan

                                                                                                   October 1,1@4Watniard  Bearetil7


co&story, censura morum: "Themin-            rience in attending the broader as-        at every meeting. If no one-feels the
isters of the Word, elders, and dea-         semblies. Often the meetings were          necessity of this, it may then be noted
cons, shall before the celebration of        characterized by disorder and mis-         in the minutes that no censure ac-
the Lords Supper exercise Christian          conduct. Men would speak out of            cording to Article 43 was necessary.
censure among themselves and in a            turn. Tempers would flare. Angry               The concluding minute of the
friendly spirit admonish one another         words would be exchanged. To curb          Particular Synod of Alkrnaar, 1593,
with regard to the .discharge  of ,their     this evil and to safeguard the orderli-    reads: "And furthermore, with this
office." Censura moruk takes place in        ness of the meetings, Article 43 was       the Synod was concluded; and the
theconsistoryandconceinsitselfwith           formulated.                                censurebeingheld,nothingwasfound
the officebearers' II discharge of their         The earliest of the Dutch Re-          (God be praised!) to be worthy of
office." The question is: "Is there          formed synods, the Synod of Wezel,         punishment, but all things took place
anything in the work of the minister,        1568, mentioned several sins that were     with edification and peace, and thus
elders, or deacons which should be           worthy of the "punishment" called          the actions were concluded with
criticized? Is encouragement needed          for in Article 43: Unbecoming jests,       thanksgiving to God." Well may we
by the officebearers with regard to          lewd remarks, lying, slander, insult-      pray to God that the samemaybesaid
their work?" The censure of Article          ing remarks, sudden bursts of anger,       of the meetings of the broader assem-
43 takes place at the major assem-           striving to exercise dominion over         blies of our churches!
blies, not at the consistorial level.        the church or over one's colleagues,
Article 43 does not concern the work         negligence in handling the Scriptures.     Censure of those  "... who have
of the officebearers so much as their            The censure of Article 43 is cen-      scorned the admonition of the mi-
conduct at classis and synod.                sure by the major ecclesiastical body,     nor assemblies."
    The censure of Article 43 is also to     This wouldbe done by official motion
be distinguished from the censure            from the floor and carried by a simple         Besides calling for the censure of
referred to in Articles 79 and 80. Ar-       majority vote.  In the  name  of the       those who have done somethingwor-
ticles 79 and 80 refer to the censure of     body the censure would thenbe exer-        thy of punishment, Article 43 calls for
officebearers on account of public,          cised by the president, or, in case the    the major assemblies to censure those
gross sin. This censure is an aspect of      person is no longer in attendance, by      "...who have scorned the admonition
Christian discipline and culminates          the secretary in writing.                  of the minor assemblies."
in suspension and deposition from                The matter of Article 43 ought to          It is difficult to know with cer-
office. The censure called for in Ar-        be faced at the conclusion of the meet-    tainty who are referred to in this part
ticle 43 concerns misconduct at the          ings of the broader assemblies, just as    of Article 43. The Synod of Dordt,
major assemblies, but not necessarily        the questions of Article 41 are rou-       1578, spoke of those "... who have
misconduct so serious that it is to be       tinely asked at the conclusion of the      scorned the admonition of their
classified as public, gross sin. This is     meetings of classis. In our churches,      consistory."        The Synod of
not to say that misconduct in an as-         the broader assemblies never con-          Middelburg,         1581,     replaces
sembly meeting, if it be of a very           sider at the end of their sessions         fl consistory" with "minor assem-
serious nature, may not be reported          whether anyone is worthy of censure        blies." From the original reference to
by the assembly to one's consistory.         according to Article 43. Hardly ever       "consistory" it has been argued that
This may be done. Then it is possible        is such censure necessary. Most of the     Article 43 refers to an officebearer
that such misconduct becomes the             meetings of our broader assemblies         who has been admonished by his
occasion for the exercise of formal          are conducted in an orderly way and        consistory on the occasion of  censura
discipline by a consistory.                  delegates observe proper decorum.          morum, but who has not submitted
                                             There have been times, however,            himself to the admonition. A
Censure of those who "...have done           when censure according to Article 43       consistory may, then, present this
something `worthy of punishment"             was worthy of consideration.               matter to the classis and, if necessary,
                                                 In the earlier history of the Re-      to the synod.
    Article 43 calls first for the cen-      formed churches the assemblies con-            Another possibility is that some-
sure of ti . . . those who in the meeting    cludedbyfacingthequestionwhether           one has scorned the admonition of a
have done'something worthy of pun-           anyone was worthy of censure ac-           minor assembly in that he has not
ishment."                                    cording to Article 43. Our churches        fulfilled a certain mandate from the
    Article 43 has a place in our Church     ought to consider resurrecting this        assembly. It may be that he has ne-
Order  because of the situation that         practice. It would be well at the end      glected to carry out certain work as-
prevailed in the early history of the        of the meetings of classis and synod       signed to him by the assembly. Or he
Reformed Churches in the Nether-             that the president ask whether any         has ignored instructions received
lands. In the first years after the          member feels that censure according        from the minor assembly.
Reformation, many entered the ser-           to Article 43 is required. This forces         Most likely, however, the correct
vice of the church who hadlittle expe-       the body to face the matter concretely     explanation goes in a different direc-

h/Standard  Bearer/October I,1994


tion. . The reference is to delegates,       error is a refusal to consider past         nanced  bv the broader assemblies,
consistories, or other individuals  in-      decisions settled and binding.              but must rbe censured under Article
vglvedin ecclesiastical deliberations.           Included in scorn for the deci-         43.
These may "scorn" the decisions on           sions of the minor assembly wouldbe                Article 43 serves a good purpose
the floor of the major assembly. They        scorn for the men who sit at the minor      in our Church Oider. That purpose is
may speak disparagingly of the deci-         assembly. Frequently this shows it-         to safeguard the orderliness of the
sions-of the minor assemblies, or they       self in protestants who are objecting       meetings of the broader ecclesiastical
m&y demonstrate a refusal to be in           to a decision -of a minor assembly.         assemblies, and thus the glory of God
submission to the minor assemblies.          Often they do not show the proper           whose injunction to His church is,
Their error is ,not that they disagree       respect for the officebearers of the        "Let all things be done decently and
with a decision; the right to disagree       minor assembly, generally the               in order" (I Cor. 14:40). 0
is guaranteed by Article 31. But their       consistory. This must not be counte-





                  The Last Four Days of
                                 Creation-Week:
                                    lntrodu@ion

    By way of introduction, we wish          become the fashion of the day in the        of evolution, or so-called progressive
to emphasize again a principle which         church and iti theology to compro-          creationism, by which He originated
is basic to the understanding of Gen-        mise in the face of this charge and to      all things and brought them into be-
esis 1 and which is fundamental to           attempt to effect amarriage of Jerusa-      ing. The same attempt i,s made with
our Christian faith with respect to          lem and Athens, of creationism and          respect to the days of creation-week.
creation, namely, that there is no an-       evolutionism, of alleged faith and al-      The days tie changed into periods,
tithesis between faith and reason, but       leged science.                              for example, for but one reason: to
that the antithesis is always between            The result of this unholy mar-          attempt to satisfy  the claims of
faith and unbelief. This must be em-         riage is certainly not that creation-       eiiolutionistic scientism.
phasiztid again and again. The Word          faith is upheld, but that the Word of              The sad result of all this is that
of God is not unreasonable, that is,         God must be twisted and perverted           even in the church today there are
contrary to reasonable conception and        untilit can no longer be recognized in      those who hold up  $rict creation-
understanding. The Christian faithis         such theories: The attempt is made          faith to mockery and contempt as
not contra@  to.reason.  We say this         supposedly to make the church ap-           something foolish, unscientific, un-
because it is rather fashiqnable in our      pear  scientifically"respectable.  To       reasonable, and out-of-date. They
day to present matters as though  any-       make this attempt palatable to chil-        take the side of the enemy of the
one who adheres strictly to Scripture's      dren of God who earnestly desire to         Christian faith and the enemy of the
creation-record is some kind of blind        hold on to the Scrip&es, various            Word of God.
fool who flies in the face of reality and    subterfuges are employed. Thus, for                We emphasize this, not because
is altogether unreasonable. It has also      example, ii is claimed that the impor-      we have to prove that the Word of
                                             tant questionistihocreatedallthings,        God is reasonable: this cannot be
                                             not how all things were created, as         proved, but can only be pointed out.
                                             though the `two could ever be sepa-         Nordowesaythisbecausefaithinthe
                                             rated. This is done in order t,o make       Word of God is based on human rea-
The late Homer Hoeksema was professor        it possible to maintain that God some-      son and must ineet the test of reason:
of Dogmatics and Old Testament in the        how is the orignator  of all things, but    for the Word of God and its authority
Protestant Reformed Semina y.                that nevertheless there was a process       ark absolutely above all testing. Nor

                                                                                                   October 1,1994/Standard  Beareri


do we say this in the vain hope of             show by mere reason how all things            as being the center of the universe,
convincing unbelief on its own ratio-          from nothing developed.                       while science today knows very well
nalistic ground. There is but one cure             What is unreasonable about that           that this is not true. They object
for unbelief, and that is the grace of         Christian faith? What is reasonable           because Genesis makes the distinc-
conversion. But we say this for those          about that unbelieving evolutionism?          tion between day and night prior to
children of God who must constantly                It is reasonable to start with God,       the existence of the sun. They object
bear the brunt of the barbed taunts            and it is unreasonable to commence            because Genesis puts the creation of
and mocking jeers of those who as-             with nothing. For God is the sover-           the vegetable world before that of the
sault their creation-faith by this             eign reality!                                 heavenly lights. They object, too,
method. Tlne devil is an excellent                 It is reasonable to believe in vari-      because according to Genesis innu-
psychologist, you know. He knows               ous creative acts whereby God Al-             merable large worlds are called into
the power of repetition. He knows              mighty called into existence all things       existence in a mere day, while much
that if the subtle lie is repeated often       and every separate creature. It is            more attention is paid in creation-
enough and by the right people, he             contrary to all reason, and in conflict       week to our little globe, the earth.
can create doubts and wavering in the          with all experience as well, to present       These are some of the objections that
soul of any child of God, and make             creatures, widely apart and distinct,         the wisdom of the world has raised
him be.gin to think within himself, "I         as evolving from one another.                 against the record of Genesis 1.
wonder whether I am right after all."              It is reasonable to believe that              But let us see what is scientific.
Today there is many a child of God             God called into being the raw mate-               Evolution has its own theories, of
who, impressed by the learning and             rial of the universe, the chaos; that in      course, in opposition to the Word of
the theological or scientific status or        it He called the light into being; that       God. In fact, it is rather peculiar how
the sheer numbers of those who cast            He created the separation of the fir-         many theories have been devised with
doubts on the simple creation-truth            mament, in which the worlds float;            respect to the formation of the heav-
of Gods Word, is assailed by doubt             that in it by creative power He sepa-         enly luminaries. But actually, if you
and weakness of faith and becomes              rated the dry land and the water; that        have dealt with one, you have dealt
inclined somewhat to give up the               fromitHecalledforththeentireworld             with all of them. Let us take one of
battle.                                                 of vegetation, creating each         these theories for a moment, present
     There is but one cure                                      plant with the power of      it simply, and analyze it. It runs, with
for such doubt:                                                   reproducing itself af-     variations, as follows: the various
                                 . . . there is nothiw               ter itskind. We say:
                                                                                       I     heavenly bodies had their origin in an
etly and-  calmly                     in the narrative-               all this is reason-    extremely hot, fiery mist or gaseous
take your Bible in                                                    able! There may        cloud. We may ask at once: whence
hand. Read it in              of creation that is con-                be many things         did such a fiery mist arise? But they
its simplicity and            tray to any reasonable                  that are too deen      do not tell you -because they can-
its clarity, as the           conception and under-                   for human mind         not. Then this fiery mist began to cool
Word of your God.           standing of the origin of                 to grasp. Indeed,      off unevenly, and as it did so, it lost its
You w.ill find that                    the universe.                 we must expect          balance andbegan to whirl. If you ask
there is nothing in the                                            this in view of the       how it came about that this cooling-
narrative of creation                                            infinite perfections of     off process set in, while that gaseous
that is contrary to any rea-                               the divine and the finitude       cloud had been there to begin with for
sonable conception and understand-             of the human mind. But there is               a longtime, there is no answer. If you
ing of the origin of the universe. You         nothingnonsensicalandfoolishabout             inquire as to why it cooled off un-
will find nothing whatsoever that is           it all. There is nothing that cannot be       evenly andbegan  to whirl and rotate,
in conflict with the reality of existing       conceived. And all is in harmony              and even continued to rotate, with
things as we know them. The differ-            with reality and full of wisdom.              perpetualmotion, once it was started,
ence between a believing Christian                                                           the only answer that canbe furnished
and a modem evolutionist is not that           God's Creation of the Heavenly                is that it just happened that way.
the latter offers a reasonable interpre-       Luminaries (Gen. 1:14-19)                     Moreover, the theory is that as this
tation of the origin and beginning of              What we have stated in the intro-         fiery mist cooled off and began to
things, while the former, against all          ductory paragraphs is also true with          rotate, there were large portions
reality, tries to make himself believe         respect to the creation of the heavenly       thrown off into space, and these, in
nonsense and foolishness. The differ-          luminaries.                                   turn, cooled off and began to rotate
ence is that the Christian commences               The wisdom of the world objects           and revolve, and thus all the heavenly
with God and proceeds from the faith           that the account in Genesis is not            luminaries of our solar system were
that God with wisdom framed all                scientific. They object because, they         formed with the sun at their center,
things, while the modem unbeliever             say, the viewpoint of Genesis is geo-         inclusive of the earth and its moon.
starts with nothing and attempts to            centric. That is, it presents the earth       This same process supposedly took

2CVStandard Bearer /October 1,1994


placeinothergalaxiesinthefarreaches          fore the sun. That vegetable world            and the lesser light to rule the night,
of space.                                    thrived in the light that God had al-         he made the stars also." Hence, God
    Of course, it must be added that         ready created.                                created, in the first place, those light-
this required an astronomical num-                Finally, as to the creation of innu-     centers which possess and radiate
ber of years! .Certainly, from the point     merable worlds in one day, we may             their own light, such as our sun and
of view of reasonableness, we are not        certainly point out, in the first place,      some of the stars. In the second place,
ready to exchange this science, so-          that there is no objection whatsoever         He created those lights which merely
called, for the narrative of revelation!     to the facts of size and distance which       reflect the light of these light-centers,
Yet even theistic evolutionism at-           the science of astronomy teaches us           such as the moon and the planets and
temptsthevaincompromiseoftrying              -in so far as these facts are accurate        other stars. All of these are included
to patch up this foolishness with the        and verifiable. We are told that the          in the creative workof  the fourth day.
injection of some religion!                  sun is almost 93 million miles away               The creation of the fourth day,
    Nor are the objections raised by         from our earth and that it is many,           therefore, constitutes a marvel of
unbelieving science at all valid.            many times the size of our earth. We          beauty and order. Nothing in all the
    As to the alleged geocentricview-        are told, in fact, that the earthis but an    universe stands still. Everything
point of the creation narrative, let us      infinitesimally small speck in com-           moves. All the great lights in all the
note that there is absolutely nothing        parison with many of the heavenly             expanse of the heavens move con-
in the entire narrative - nor any-           bodies. Thus there are many facts             stantly. There is our own earth in its
where in the Scriptures-that makes           about the universe which astronomy            constant rotation and its incessant
the earth locally and physically the         has discovered. In fact, men have by          journeying. There are the planets that
center of the universe. We may well          no means uncovered all the mysteries          revolve, like our earth, about the sun.
remember that the entire narrative is        of the firmament. To all such data            There are the mysterious, long-tailed
written from the viewpoint of one            there is no objection on the part of the      comets, which in their long journeys
who takes his position on the earth,         Christian whatsoever. On the con-             make known to us their presence only
and that, too, without a telescope.          trary, to faith this simply emphasizes        occasionally. There are the myriads
Thus it is, too, that the language of        the power and wisdom of our God;              of stars in their constellations. And
Holy Writ is not the technical lan-          and it lends new meaning to such              all these creatures have their place
guage of the astronomer, but the same        testimony of the Scriptures, "For as          and keep their paths according to the
everyday language which we speak             the heaven is high above the earth, so        ordinance of Him who called them all
today. No more than anyone today             great is his mercy toward them that           by name. The more that little man is
views the setting sun and declares,          fear him" (P.s. 103:ll).                      able to probe into the far reaches of
"Well, the earth has made another                Nor do these facts contradict the         the universe with his eye and to dis-
half turn," no more do the Scriptures        truth that the heavenly lights were           cover these works of God's hand and
speak such language. On the other            called into existence in one day. Let         their marvelous  armngement  and
hand, we must indeed remember that           alone the fact that their material was        order, the more amazingbecomes the
the .Bible presents the earth as the         called into existence on the first day        mighty work of God that was formed
center of creation from the viewpoint        and that the waters above, to which           on the fourth day and is still main-
of its significance and its history. The     the heavenly luminariesbelong, were           tained from moment to moment by
earth was destined to be the home of         separated on the second day, so that          the Word of His power.
the highest creature. This is true not       what took place on the fourth day was             Smallwonder that with thepsalm-
merely in view of the fact that the          that by God's created Word the light          ist of Psalm 8 we are taught to ex-
earth is created as the home of man.         that was originally created was dis-          claim: "WhenIconsider  thy heavens,
Butitistobeinhistorythehomeofthe             persed and concentrated in various            the work of thy fingers, the moon and
Son of Godin the flesh, the King of all,     light-bearers, we may point out that          the stars, which thou hast ordained;
in whom ultimately all things in             the very data about the size and num-         What is man, that thou art mindful of
heaven and on earth are to be united.        ber of the heavenly bodies serve only         him? and the son of man, that thou
    Further, as to the objection about       to underscore for faith the greatness         visitest him?" (w. 3,4). Or consider
the priority of day and night, the           of the work of the Almighty on the            the silent, yet powerful speech of this
answer of the Scriptures is very             fourth day, when He said, "Let there          work of God as it is articulated in the
simple. The light was created before         be lights in the firmament of the heav-       19thPsalmz  "The heavens declare the
the light-bearers; and God Himself           ens."                                         glory of God; and the firmament
brought about the alternation of day             In answer to the question what            sheweth his handywork. Day unto
and night, very likely through the           was created on the fourth day, the            day uttereth speech, and night unto
concentration of that light. That same       Scriptures inform us in Genesis 1:16          night sheweth knowledge. There is
prior creation of the light, on the first    of the creation of sun, moon, and             no speech nor language, where their
day, is the answer to the objection that     stars: "And God made two great                voice is not heard. Their line is gone
the world of plants was created be-          lights; the greater light to rule the day,    out through all the earth, and their
                                                                                                   October 1,1994/Standard  Beard21


words to the end of the world. In          there is nothing hid from the heat         wisdom made the heavens: for his
them hath he set a tabernacle for the      thereof" (w. l-6). Or heed theinjunc-      mercy endureth for ever.... To him
sun, which is as a bridegroom coming       tion of Psalm 136: "0 give thanks to       that made great lights . . . the sun to
out of his chamber;and rejoiceth as a      the Lord of lords: for his mercy           rule by day . . . the moon and stars to
strong man to run a race. His going        endureth for ever. To him who alone        rule by night: for his mercy endureth
forth is from the end of the heaven,       doeth great wonders: for his mercy         for ever." 0
andhis circuit unto the ends of it: and    endureth for ever; To him that by





                                           mary of the New Age Movement. He           the New AgeMovement,  but he evalu-
                                           traces its origin to the social revolu-    ates this movement.. We are cau-
                                           tion of the 196Os, and demonstrates        tioned against a radical reaction to
7Xfzder.s tanding the NewAge,  byRusse1    how the goals of the hippie culture        everything that comes out of this
Chandler. GrandRapids:  Zondervan          have now become the ideals of our          Movement, but we are also warned
PublishingHouse,  1993.367~~.  $10.99      present society. While many evan-          against the subtle influence this Move-
(paper). [Reviewed by Rev. Wilbur          gelical authors take aim at specific       ment may have on us as God's people.
Bruinsma.]                                 practices of those who trivialize and      Using Scripture, Chandler exposes
                                           exploit the New Age Movement, or of        the errors of reincarnation, relativ-
    Scanning the shelf entitled "New       those who carry the Movement to its        ism, humanism, and finding  salva-
Age" in the bookstore or library, one      occultic extremes, Chandler exposes        tioninmanratherthanin  JesusChrist.
finds few books which serve as intro-      the world-view of the entire Move-         Although the author is weak on such
duction to the broad scope of theNew       ment. He lays out for the reader in an     key doctrines as the divinity of Christ,
Age Movement. Most of the books,           understandable way many of the ab-         the authoritative character of Scrip-
both those in favor of New Age             stract premises that are foundational      ture, and total depravity, neverthe-
thought and those against it, treat        to every facet of New Age practice.        less he uses these truths correctly to
only a particular aspect of the move-      Only after the premises and goals of       combat the errors of the New Age.
ment. ,For one who is new to the study     the New Age thought are brought to             To those interested in further
of this movement, this can be both         light does the author proceed to dem-      study of the New Age Movement this
confusing and frustrating. He needs        onstrate the wide influence of the         book is a welcome addition to one's
to find a book which furnishes a com-      manyindividualsandinstitutionsthat         library. Those who are interested in
prehensive guide to and evaluation         promote New Age ideals.                    beginning a study of the New Age
of the New Age Movement.                       What adds to the value of this         Movement are well advised to read
    Russel Chandler in his book pro-       book is that the author does not sim-      this book first before picking up an-
vides an excellent and readable sum-       ply "report" on the study he made of       other.  LI





    Classis West met in Hull, IA, on           Classis noted the absence of Rev.      role in Classis West in recent years,
Wednesday, September 7. For most           Steven Houck, who was recuperating         serving both as Church Visitor and
of the delegates. this was the first       from recent heart surgery, and ex-         Stated Clerk, His labors were much
opportunity to see the beautiful new       tendeditsgreetingstohimandprayers          appreciated. With gladness  Classis
church building of our Hull congre-        on his behalf. Classis also extended       West received Rev. Gise  VanBaren,
gation. Classis met all day Wednes-        its farewell and thanks to Pastor Ro-      now serving in Loveland, CO, into its
day, finishing its business around 7:OO    nald VanOverloop, who has already          fellowship once again, after an ab-
in the evening. Rev. MichaelDeVries        takenuphisnewlaborsinGeorgetown            sence of some 29 years during which
served ably as the chairman of this        Protestant Reformed Church. Pastor         he served in Classis East.
meeting of Classis.                        VanOverloop  played an important               Classis spent most of its time con-

22lSandard Bearer /October 1,1994


sideringtwooverturesfromtheDoon              supported and supervised. Under             Conference on Reformed Evangelism
consistory. The first overture seeks a       the current system the ministerial cre-     whichis scheduled tobeheld  inHous-
change in the procedure for calling a        dentials of a pastor who "retires"          ton, TX on April 3-5. The congrega-
seminary professor. Under the cur-           remain with the congregation where          tion of Trinity ispromoting.this con;
rent system, synod elects and calls a        he last served, even if he moves and        ference heavily, both throughout the
professor for service in the seminary.       transfers membership to another con-        churches and in the Houston area.
Upon accepting the call to be a profes-      gregation. The supervision of the           (Any who have not received bro-
sor, the minister becomes emeritus           minister, together with the responsi-       chures and registration forms for the
from his congregation and serves in          bility of seeing that his financial ne-     Conference may receive such infor-
the seminary until retirement, when          cessities are cared for by the churches     mation by writing Trinity Protestant
he is declared emeritus again, but as        also belongs to his last congregation,      Reformed Church, 214  Barker-
a professor. The overture seeks to           even if they are hundreds of miles          Clodine Road, Houston, TX 77094.)
establish a procedure by which the           from where he now lives. The over-                  Classis also heard a report from
synod elects an appointment to the           ture of Doon proposes to give super-        one of the consistories concerningtheir
seminary, with an alternate. The             vision of the emeritus minister's work,     work in a discipline case.  Classis
synod would then designate a calling         support, and spiritual care to the local    granted approval for the consistory
church in the Grand Rapids area,             congregation where he is a member.          to proceed with the erasure of hap-
which church would then call the             This would be accomplished by al-           tiedmembership of one who is walk-
minister who was appointed to teach          lowing the minister's credentials to        ing impenitently in sin.         .'
in the seminary. The man who ac-             transfer with his membership, rather                The deptiture  of Rev. VanOver-
cepts the call would then have his           than keeping the minister's creden-         loop necessitated some elections. Rev.
membership and ministerial creden-           tials in the last church he served. This    StevenKeywaselectedasStatedClerk
tials transferred to the calling church      change involves making a change in          of Classis West, with Rev. Wayne
and be under the supervision of that         Church Order Article 13, as well as         Bekkering as Assistant Stated Clerk,
consistory. Classis West considered          the Constitution of theEmeritus  Com-       and Rev. Gise VanBaren  was elected
the overture and decided to forward          mittee.                                     to serve as an alternate Church Visi-
it to Synod with approval, recom-                In other business Classis gave ap-      tor.
mending only some rather minor               proval to a request from Trinity PRC,               TheI next meeting of Classis West
amendments.                                  Houston, TX, to approach the                is scheduled to be held in Loveland,
        The second overture, which           churches in Classis West for special        CO on March 1,1995.
Classis also forwarded to Synod with         offerings. These collections wouldbe                             Rev. Steven R. Key,
approval, seeks a change in the sys-         taken to help offset the cost of the                                     Stated Clerk
tem by which emeritus ministers are





                                             tinual faithfulness today and in the        thyself and them that hear thee." This
Congregational Activities                    future.                                     service was followed by a get-ac-
        September 5 marked the first an-         God in His faithfulness has given       quainted hour in the fellowship hall
niversary of the first meeting for wor-      Georgetown their first pastor, Rev. R.      of Hudsonville.
ship of those who would eventually           VanOverloop. It was with much joy                   Rev.VanOver1oopbeganhismi.n
be organized into the Georgetown             and thanksgiving that the congrega-         istry at Georgetown the following
PRC of Bauer, ML One cannot help             tion of Georgetown, along with oth-         Sunday. He chose for his first sermon
but stand back and marvel at what            ers from nearby churches, met at the        thatmorningamessageentitled,"l?ray
our heavenly Father has done in this         Hudsonville, MI PRC on the evening          for Me," based on Ephesians 419.
past year. His faithfulness in the past      of September 1 to witness Rev.                      Georgetown has scheduled their
can only assure all of us.of His con-        VanOverloop's  installation.                first annual church picnic for later in
                                                 Prof. R. Decker, as Georgetown's        the month of September, at which
                                             moderator, had charge of that ser-          time there will be a welcome program
                                             vice. He preached from I Timothy            for the VanOverloop family.
                                             4~16: "Take heed unto thyself and
Mr. Wigger  is an elder in the Protestant                                                        We can also include here a note
                                             unto the doctrine; continue in them:        that Pastor VanOverloop now serves
Reformed Church  of  Hudsonville, Michi-     and in doing this thou shalt both save      as bulletin clerk at Georgetown. You
gan.

                                                                                                    Qctober 1,1994/Standard  Beareri


                                                                                                            SECOND CLASS
                                                                                                            Postage Paid at
                                                                                                            Grandville, Michigan
     P.O.Box603
     Grandville, MI 49468.0603
I                                                                                                                               I

can reach him by phone with any               MI I'RC, was already busy at work,
announcements at (616) 662-0257.              appropriately on Labor Day, with a              The radical mistake of the human
      On the morning of August 27 the         fund-raiser for that convention. They     race is that of pushing God into sec-
congregation of our Southeast PRC in          sponsored a combination Pancake           ond, or third, or last place, of putting
Grand Rapids, MI held what they               Breakfast and Car Wash at our Hope        the will of self in the place of the will
refer to as Breakfast at the Beach, a         PR Christian School in Walker, MI.        of God, of giving higher value to
breakfast for members of all ages held                                                  other goals than to the purpose of
at North Shore County Park, on the            Denominational Activities                 God.
shores of Lake Michigan.                          An overflow crowd squeezed into                        - G.W. Bromiley 0
      In mid-August the congregation          the Faith PRC in Jenison, MI on Sun-
of our Byron Center, MI PRC met and           day evening, August 28, to enjoy an
decided to approve the purchase of a          hour of Christian fellowship in both
new organ for their church audito-            singing songs of praise and in hearing
rium.                                         the "Voices of Victory," a quartet of                   NOTICE!!!
                                              men from a couple of our churches,              The Stated Clerk of Classis West
Mission Activities                            give a shortened version of a concert.    is now Rev. Steven  R. Key. His
      After Rev. Haak' s decline of a call    It proved to be an inspirational night    address is: 225 Pierce, Randolph, WI
to serve as home missionary to work           of praise to God made up of audience      53956.
at San Luis Valley in Southern Colo-          singing and some good old-fashioned
rado, the calling church, our Loveland,       quartet four-part harmony as well.
CO PRC, formed a trio of men con-
sisting of the Revs. W. Bekkering  A.
denHartog,  and T. Miersma. And at
the congregational meeting held Au-
gust 28, Loveland extended a call to                                        OPEN LETTER
Rev. A.  denHartog  to serve our                                                to the PRC
churches in that capacity.                                                      in America
      This past summer, while on a
two-week preaching assignment to                                                                     April 28,1994
our mission in the San Luis Valley,                       We received with thanks your love offering of
Pastor J. Mahtani, of our Trinity PRC                US$1,660.68 to our Church Building Fund.
in Houston, TX, was able to give a
slide presentation to the members of                      We are still not given the approval by the relevant
the mission entitled, "Evangelism in                 authorities to make use of our church for temporary
Houston."                                            worship. As'such, we are still making use of rented
      The Council of our Loveland con-               premises for our Sunday worship. All the activities
gregation has posted a list of people                that were planned to be carried out in the new church
who attend the mission along with a
list of their children and their ages.               were either shelved or carried out in rente'd pre-
Members of the congregation have                     mises.
been encouraged to write to one or                        Do continue to pray with us that we will wait
moreof thesefamiliesinanattemptto                    upon the Lord and not be weary and faint.
get better acquainted;                                    May the Lord continue to bless you richly.
Young People's Activities                                                                         Yours faithfully,
      We could not help but notice that                                  First Evangelical Reformed Church
the host society of next year's Young                                                                  of Singapore
People's Convention, the Young
People's Society of our Grandville,

PUStandard  Bearer/October 1,1994


