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BEACON Mr. Brisk Christian Stewardship

BEACON · a journey and left his possessions in the 1i; ... are these talents which C;od lias given 11s as stewards? \\re often thinl; ... Tcs, this church is small,

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BEACON

M r . Brisk

Christian Stewardship

V0LU:hE XXX l l JANUARY 197.: NUXBER 8

Pub l~s l~c l l n!on:hl?. c\rc l>t J u n c and h 11 6: u r t CONTRIBUT ING EDITORS: by the. Fedei;!;~:~ -f Protc>ial,t Hefor ~ i l r c l \ orlnr Prcs:.lc s STCIC::CE.

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F Z O . ~ i ~ t ~ ~ 3 ~ 0 6 5 ; i u ~ y Repent! - ;- K ;,. . ,

-- - - - - * - , : ;.,\ Mr Brisk L - . *- 1 . ~ 2 : "

-. - < , - ,:;ilc

"Whotroever Thing, ore Pure" - ' I L I I I Dt r- 1~ :

CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP The basic preniisc. of Christiiu~ steward-

ship is that God is the Creator, Possessor. ant1 Upholder of i111. "The earth is thr Lortl's and the fr~lncss thereof," co~~fcsses D:~vid in Psalrn 24. "For Hc hat11 fotlntled it upon the was, and c~stnblishccl it upon thv floocls." Stewarclship prrsupposes God's ahsoliitc o~cnership of all. Existence of anything apart from Cod is impossible. If Cot1 \$,ere to hut forgrt a tiny portion of His Crc!:~tion, t l~v very idea of that tliing uoi~ltl crase t t ~ esist. Cod may use His Crretio~i us He nlonc sees fit, holding Him- srlf accountablt. to no one.

There can he no cl~lcstion that Cot1 llas placed man in the position of steward over Creation. hlost men, of course, tlo not ad- mit to that stew;irtlsl~ip. They will never untlerstand that Gotl has called them and all Creation into being for the sole purpose of the glorification of His name. Only the Christian will confess that Cod o~vns all, ant1 that man n111st use all for that pltrlmse.

I wcluld ask you to sprnd a few nlinutes \\pith me on the subject of a parable which is fr~miliar to all of us, the parable of the talents found in h,Ii~tthe\v 25. A man took a journey and left his possessions in the 1i;lnds of three stcwards, who were to havc chilrge over them until his return. The man knew his servants well, giving each care over his estate to the ex?ent that he knew their abilities. The hvo with the greater abilities and responsibilities did wcll, gain- ing more for their master. I-Ir with the lcast ability didn't even use it, gaining nothing. \men the master returned, each servant was rewarded accordingly, not for his ability but for his faithfulness.

Notice that the master in giving charge of his possessions to Iiis three servants said nothing about rewurd or recompense. ITe merely gave charge to them over thcse things and left. So also is the relationship of God, the hlaster, and man, the steward. Cod has no agreement with man allowing liim to use His Crcation in order for marl to earn a certain reward. Cod has said,

'Take all 1 have given you. Honor iuld glorify my Same therewith."

\That, tlrcn, are these talents which C;od lias given 11s as stewards? \\re often thinl; of a talent as the ability to sing or perform a task well. ri talent might h r material poswssions. If they are but these, u7e may readily conclude that Cod has given us the position of the steward \\-it11 one talent.

One c;~n h,~rdly make an ;ill-inclusi~c* l i \ t of all our talents. Thr rrader can add many more to this list. To most of 11s Cod ha\ given Cliristian honleg and schools. lye have our church and its tloctrine. U e have God-fe;~ring friends mcl mates. God has blessed 11s materially far more than in other nations of the world. He has givm us strong bodies and kecn minds. To all 11as heen gi\,en that nlucli under-ratecl gift of time. \ire have the abilities to love and worship Cod. \\'e have our salvation.

The point of the parable is not how much money the two stewards earned by the retclrn of the master, but the fact that they \\?ere faithful in wh:~t the master had set them over. They used the master's pos- sessions for his welfare and not for their own. Note the disproportion between the work and the reward. Each earned little more for the master, but were made ruleis over many things. So also God rewarclc Ilis faithful stewards on this earth. Those who are faithful in what Cod has given. how- ever little it may be, are rewarded in the end with eternal life.

Our hunian hearts, ready to make es- cusCs, sympathize with the last sen-ant. His reasoning seemed not so bad, "I knew yo11 were a hard man, hut see, I took good care to hide your talent, and I now return it unharmed." \ire see him taken aback when accused of being \vicked and slothful. There is no middle point behveen faithful and unfaithful. He was unfaithful in his omission. His position was taken from him; h e was cast into outer darkness. He used the master's talent to fulfill his own lazi- ness.

Ifankind is the slothful servant. He ev-

BEACON LIGHTS h e

idences t!:is toda). in his srlfisll 11s~ of the wi~y of the .slothful senant r~ntil lie receives Cod-$ven Creation. He destroys ancl pol- his final reward at the cnd of time. lutes a urorld that is not his own and is Only God's children are those good ;~nd not :O he used for his end. Already lic faithfill servants. As covenant young people, begins to reap his reward in environmenti~l count !.our talents. Il'hether you have five, problen~s and international conflicts over LWO, or one is no matter; be faithful in the natural resources. He \rill cont in~~e in thc, use of them.

FEATURE

What Kind of Friend a Member of the Protestant Reformed Church Should Choose?

MARLENE FISHER

I'm lost somewhere between t l ~ e cvils of gether to mourn with him and to comfort the world and the comfort of God's I-Ioly him." Church. There doesn't scrm to be imyone to talk to. \Vhere are my Friends?

Right no\\- 1 rcally don't unde~shnd Cod's reasoning in limiting the number of young people of my age in our church. But 1 must realize that e\,erything works out for the good for those who love Cod. n l ~ t it's hard.

This subject has always crossed my mind and when I was asked to \=.rite abo~lt it I realized this \\,as my chance to e.tprctss my opinions.

Tcs, this church is small, my Christian schools were small. and now my college is rather .small. So where do you look for friends? IIow tio you Lnow who is a good friend?

A friend is a person yo11 can trust, you can ?hare your likes and dislikes with. h friend is one with whom you arc a1lic.d in a stnlgglr or cause, a comrade, one \vho snpportc, sympathizcs or patron- izes ~ 4 t h your cause or movement. AF Deuteronomy 13:6 states, ". . . or Thine friend, xvhich is as thine own soul." 1;riends are at your side when the times are rougl~ and when you ha\-r needs. -4s in Job Ell, "No\v wvhcn Job's three friends hcarcl all this evil that was come upon him, thcy came everyone from his own place . . .; for they had made an appointment to-

It's a \vonderful tlliug to he able to sit do\\-n and tall; openly with a friend ;%bout Cod. Fricncls like that are hart1 to find br.cause :otrr are lookina for sonleone with \vhom yo11 can share the co~nmu~lion of Cllri\l. A11 !our life is for the honor ancl glory nf Cod's Wame. This includes yollr rc.lationshil) \vith friends.

\iTllile in college people haw asked me why I never go away with them on a Sunc1a)- dftcmoon or why I didn't take that great job offered to me just because they wanted me to work on Sundays. \\'h). is Sunday so special? Can you really call people like these friends? I can't really see that I share all my feelings with them. I'm not saying you can not be acquainted wit11 them but they can't seem like friends. As James 4:4 states, ". . . wvhosoever there- fore will be a friend of the world is the tmrmy of Cod." We can not judge who is a child of Cod but we can watch their way of life and compare it to the uay Jesus has taught us to leacl. In hlatthex- 7:20 "\\'herefore by their fruits ye shall know them."

Irk turn, you h a w to be a true fricnd and ;III esample of what you exyect your friends to be.

It's hnrd and it's lonely but with God's grace and mercy you must understand that the reward comes in the end.

Ttoo BEACON LIGHTS

TUDY REV. M. KAMPS

Repent!

At first ~ I I ~ ~ I I eonsidrring wlln~ to write, I t h o ~ ~ g l ~ t that 1 would write on the sub- j c ~ t "llr~pcnt ilncl Uclie\tt*," wllictr is the tlt.~n:untl of (:or1 to all that hear the preach- inx of the, ~osl~c ' l . 1311t I hnvc clecicled to limit tllc. scope, of this article and dlr fol- lo\ving to thc 511l)jc.ct of rcprntt~ncr, even thonsl~ I an1 \v(.II ii\v;irc of the fact that in ;I sense rcpcl~ta~~cc and faith stand in an ir~sep;~ral~lc rclatio~rship. It is hoped that in th: fut~irc. the opportunity \\rill be givcn in \vhich \vc. ran discuss the matter of the demnnrl of Cod that all thut hear the gospc*I belicvc tll;~t which is declared. But let us no\v consitler the concrpt of repent- ancc in thc light of God's IVord.

A fr\v (111vbtionb cnmc to mind concern- ing tlle m.~ttc,r of repentance. First, is repentance c~l~ligatory up011 all men? Sec- ondly, clots Cod through tlre gospel confront

just in all His works and riglrtcous i l l 1111 His \x7ays. \\'e may not in pridc sot our- selves up as thc j~~dgcs of God itpplying our standards of conduct. But \vr :~sk this question re the justice of this denla~lcl in order that \re may lead ourselvcs illto thr 3vens of Scripture on this point.) In tllc fol~rth place we ask, is the demand of God thzt all men everywhere repent exprcssi\.cs of His \\dl? And finally, how is it to l ~ c explained that some repent and othcrs do not?

\\'r have set for ourselves, yollng rrndcr, an interesting though adn~ittedly u difricult task. Especially the third and fourth qurs- tio~rs \\-c hare raised c1n prove to Ix a bit troublesome. \i'e must. therefore, Inllor in faith looking into the. givens of Script~~re for anslr-crs to the questions \vv have r:lised. Scripture alone can rightly be ar~tlroritative.

c\.ery miln \\-ho ever lived with the demand Repentance, \vhat is it? \\'hat is its con- to rcpcnt? In t l ~ c third place, is the de- tent? Scripture uses n~ore than one t r ~ ~nar~t l of God tlrat thc, sinnrr repent just, to express the idea of repentiince. Ilc~pc~nt- \ i r l i ( \ i ~ thc. tl(.~n;uncl confronts one \vho is dead ance means, "to turn about." Iicpcnt;~nci~ in sin and ~lntlcsr the powrr of the prince is to turn from follo\\ring aftcr I1eat1it.11 of the air? (\\'(: ilsk this last question, of gods to the keeping of thc law of tlrc one course, in f:~itl~ acb~o\\~ledging that. God is true God. In Zacl~ariah 1:3-4 \src rent1 of

BEACON LIGHTS Three

the \vord of Cod to the prophet, "Therefore say unto thrm. thus saith the Lord of hosts: Turn yr unto me, said1 the. Lord of hosts,

I \\ill turn unto you, with the Lord of I ~ o s i ~ . Be not as your fathrrs, unto whom the former prophets have crirtl, say- ing, Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Tun1 ye now From your evil ways and from yonr evil doings: I I I I ~ they clid not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord." In hlat- thew 18:3 we find the word "convrrt" wliich means a150 "to tur!! al)ont," Christ is speakinp, ". . . Verily I s;iy unto you, Es- cept yr be converted and beconie as little chilclren ye shall not enter into the kina- dom of heaven." The tenn "conver~'! or "cn~lvcrsion" n111st he understood as tlenot- in? a completc turning about. .i\lso in the Se\v Testsrxic~nt Isre have the tenns "repent" and "repentance." \Ve find the verb "re- pent" in \lark 1:14-15. ".hd after that John s i f x put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the Mng- doin of Cod, and saying, the time is f111- filled, and the !iingdom of God is at hand: repent ye ancl believe dle gospel." Thc notnl "repentance' 'is found in .Acts 11:18: "\\'hen thcy heard these things, they held thrir peace, ,uld glorified God, saying, Then hat11 Gotl also to the Ccntiles granted repent- ance unto life."

I11 the light of Scripture we can no\v answ-er the preliminary question, what is rcpentance? Repentance is a complrte about face, a radical and complete clia11ge of mind and heart. This turning about or changing of the mind must be understootl in the spiritual sense of the word. Repent- ance is not to be equated with a rnerc5 change of outward conduct or morality. As if a man of the world has repented \vho has given iip his beer bottle and life of c1mnl;enness to live soberly. 54i1ny persons

_rive up escessive tlrinkir~g because they h o \ v \\hat damage licluor or beer can do to the mind and bocly, and the consequences it \sill havc in their relation- ship to members of their family in partic- ular and society in general. Repentance does not describe one who nr~tler the threat of imprisonment turns From a life of theft to labor with his hands. You understanel, don't you, that many unrepcnbnt persons live a life of outward conformity to the I;1\~s of the land and even of Scriptitre

rnerely for the sake of social respectahilib and to avoid the unpleasant consequencb of violating the Iiiw* of the land. Repeg- ance is a matter of the heart. Outward concluct that docs not procrecl, thbugh it I)e in harnlony with the law .of God es- tcmnlly, from a repentant heart and mind is not pleasing 1111to Cod. That \vhich is not clone in faith is sin. God srarches the irr\\~arcl parts and demanck t n ~ t h within!

But t n ~ e repentancr is to ti~rn from sin :IS sin. Repentance is to t~trrl from sin not merely the consequences of .sin. Sin is the trampling under foot of the la!v of the Holy and Slajestic God. Sin is to den. God, \vhcl is the fountain of all good and who must be lovecl ancl senletl. Sin is the lifting up of the creature in pride over agains? the demands of Cod. Now, one who repents is tmly sorro\ful of heart for his sin n,~zinst the majesty and holiness of C:otl. Repentance is heartfelt sorrow for sin a~ltl sorrow which manifests itself in a complrtcs and radical turning :il,o~~t from sin to Gocl. Repentance is to turn from the liatrcd of God and His la\\, to the love of Cocl and the day and night ineditating in His Ia\c~; froill the desire to revel in sin Lo t l ~ r desire to promote the causr of the killadom of God in thc midst of thc world. To repent is to flee from the \vorks of darkness to walk in the man?elous light of God. It consists of putting oil the old man and his deeds and the putting on of the Ilea7 mall \vhich is made after the image of God.

IVe should note briefly that rcLprntance can 1,r viewecl as "initial" repmtmcc and daily or continnal repentance. Rrpcntance is not a once in a life time thing. Rather it is a once decisive turning fro111 sin to God and a continual repentance of the sins committed after our iuitial conversion or repentance. Matthew 18:3 is speaking of coi~tinual, daily repentance. Rev. 2:s is also speaking of daily repentance, "He- member, therefore: from whence thou art fallen and repent and do the first works or else 1 w i l l come unto thec quickly, and wjll remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." In botl~ of these passages the \\'ord of God is directed to thosc who had been converted and who had repented and believed. but tvllo now h:id rnadc tl~emselves, as we do every day,

BEACON LIGHTS

guilh. of ot1rc.r sins, of odlirh t11vy ~ I I S ~

ag:~in repcnt. Ilcpentance is tlrrrcfore both oririnal :111(1 tlnily repentance.

I\'? now addrcss ourselvc.~ to tl~c' first question \vhicli I raised at the Iwginning of this ;~rticlc: Is it obligaton upon r v e v nmn that l i c . rc.pmt of his sin and walk in the \%I!. of rc.prntancc? \\'e answer, of course! 13\rc~y niitn must rcpc'11t for his sin. Evc>r); nrnn is Imrn dTi~tl in sin. Every man by nirt11rc3 is tlie \w+lful se~-v;~nl of sin arid hiis 111:rtlr hinisrlf g~~ilt!. 1)c~forc. Cod. If \vc look to Scripture we see t1i;it John the H;rpti\t. \vho while preaclii~~g in the w~ilclcmcss of Judea, cried 0111 to all: "Re- pent ye: for tlie k in~<lon~ of hr:ivc.n is at hi~ncl" (llatt. 3:2). 11s we saw ~.:~rlier Christ, The Prc.;~clrcr, came into G;ilili.c? early in His mi~~istry preaching ancl saying: "the tinic. is f~~llillecl, ancl the kingclom of Cod is at h;tncl repent ye and belir>vc* the gos-

pel" (\lark 1: 15). 111 Acts 17 wr rc.;ltl the words of l'n~~l as he declared tlrc, will of God to the hrnthen of the city of 1i11m:ln wisdom. t\tl~c.r~r. P:~ul had made Lno\vn to these Athc-nims the \\ill of Him who was tinkno\\n in :\tlien~. Paul declared God's \\ill to br. "but no\\- God commandetl~ all men rvrn\vliere to repent" (Acts 17:30b).

\Ye see tlic.n, in the first place., that repentalice, ;I t ~ ~ m i n g from sin as sin 11n1o Cod in lo\-c, is demanded by Cod. Sccond- 1>-, we note tlii~t Acts 17 teaches us that all men cvcq\vliere are called to rcpent- ancr. It is tnlc. thcn that none who hear the demand of God in the gospel to repent can ignore* thtrt demand \vith ilnpunity. They that (lo ignore the clernnntl of Cod that they reprnt \\.ill be cast into Hell. <:od does not beg, ple;rd, wish or hope that thc sinrirr repent - IJc is Cod, who demands it of all.

"to be continued"

Young People, read this very good article - Ed.

VS. R R O R

REV. ROBT. C. HARBACH

Mr. Brisk \Vl~oso findetlz a wife fiircletll a good thing, and obiainc~h facor of tlrc Lord. llorrsc~ citrtl ricl~es arc ( r r l itllreritance from fatlrcrs; hrrt a prtrcletlt ruif(> is fro~rr Jc,/~orwlt (I'rov. 18:23, KJV; 19:14, ASV).

Mercy, likc Rebekah, "wa\ very f:iir to a marl of t l ~ r \\orld, kolidly, down to his look upon," or \\.as of "exh-enicly bcauti- marrow. J. man of business, of sonic I,rced- ful appearance," and so the "more all~~ring." ing. but a total strancer to philanthropy Attracted to her was a handwme, dark- and the power of good. He made suit to haircd man, \\r~tli fine features, black, close- SIercy. He pretended both religion and cropped, pointed goatee and Prl~ssian-style love to her. She amazed him with her mustaclir. IIij name \<.as Drislc. IIe was always being busy in doing, eitl~cr for

BEACON LIGHTS Five

herself or others, making garments, and never Lvasting time in frivolous amusmlerlts. So t knowing that her labors were purely of a benevolent nature, \Ir. Brisk once blundered embarrassedly in asking her what by her talents she could earn in a clay! Her reply that it was her aim to "be rich in good \vorks, to lay up in store a good foundation against the time to come, t l~at 1 may hold on eten~al life." really tl~rew him. He never called on her again. Slcrcy in name he liked. but llercy in practice: he rejected.

Was she disappointed in being too ~11111 for IJriskl Sot in the least; it was not for her to be unequally yoketl with an turbc- li\.er. Her sister, Rountih~l, had fallen for :m ~tnb~lie\.er \vho professed faith in God, but he became s clog to her soul. Evcntu- ally he turned her out of the house. Slercy determined to learn from that. She \\-nitcxl Cad's time until He brought her nilcl Slattheu:, a son of Christians's, together.

Young people \\ill be \vise not to rc~ly entirely on their onn judgn~ent in thc matter of finding a life's mate. They \\ill do wisely and \\,ell to avail themselves of the good counselling of parents, pastors, elclew and Christian school teachers. it is very dangerous to have recollrse to im- proper counsellors. \Vl~at kind of counsellors ought to be consulted? No1 the moclr~li psychologists, but spiritual men (Gal. 6:l) u-110 will guide nith the souud co~u~selling principles of \loses (see Gen. 24), Solomon (see Proverbs and Song of Songs), Jcsus (seca S,latt. 5:"-32; 19:3-12) and Paul (see 1 Cor. 7 and Rom. 7:l-l). In matters of love, courtship, and marriage. don't neglect or refuse to take counsel, and always b(! guided by the absolute nile, "only in ihr Lord."

On these important matters, learn to search out the counsel of ;111 Scripture. Genesis 24, according to custonl, relates a marriage and arrangement for it by prosy, Trusting in God, relying on His providence. Isaac and Rehrkah are a simple example of a successfi~l and happy marriage. But their wooing and \vrdcling, from thc sc;lnt report, seem to have occurred on the sarrle day. The narrative of Adam and Eve sho\vs that their courtship was simultaneous xvith their married life, and may be con- sidered in detail only by ;I sanctified

in~i~dnatioll. Thr \r~etlcIed livrs of hbral1r7111 and Sarah, iind Jacob and Rachel have their tlisa])pointing features, in view of the fact that Cod's coven:~nt calls for a life of pnrc monogamy. From this high stnnd- nrtl llavid and Solomol~ boll1 departed. Thc story of Rl~tl; 2nd BOX. slio\vs evidence of a true 1o1.e. Lut. irk the midst of the , . commonplace, seems, 011 the face of it, to have I~een brot141t abol~t b y unconl-m- lio~lal schenling. economic n~otives, and a merely legal union. It seems that the \\'ortl of Cud, eshibiting so graphically the nohler ; L I I ~ the baser aspecb of lifc:, almc)st no- n-11we satisfactorily treats tlle 1)rtrothal period. One ~nlirt take and s t ~ ~ t i y ;ill the rc~lated accounts of Scripture together, in- cluding tile applicable parts of the Book of Proverl>s. 'I'lr? I I I I IC~~ nrglected, and al- most dcliberutely avoided Song of Songs must a!so be consulted; as it ideally treats the pures: co\ cnant love.

1-oung people must hot11 be prr:,arecl :tiid prepare themsel\.es for marriage io a C111?sti;11i of their o1.n intellcctu;il itntl spirit~lal rlc.vclopment. Choose friends not ~tccording to outward appc;lrarlcc, Ilancl- some li~iiltl, or beautiful figure only, l ~ u t a<-- cortli~lli: to n.lretl~er there is t n ~ t l ~ in the inwi~rcl parts. Training for marriage must I)c.gin in cliilclhood, with increasingly and progressively more consideration given the matter as youth and marriage:ililc age are altained. Not every church is ilbl(. to pro- vide tlie best fanlily-centered social life for its yoimg people so that they may form \vhol~~some friendships and elljoy happy fello\vship with "members of the opposite sex." Then plans o~lgllt to be made to eventually leave home for life in ~notlrcr Protestant Reformed Church \\!here opportunities of Christian fello\vsllip in the you11g people's societies may be II;IcI. l\'hen old enough to be ' leeping cornpiany," or \\.hen it is proper to be "going steady," there must be always kept in mind the high, God-honoring purposes outlined UI

tlx! Book of the Covenant. Tour aim will not be to see how many "love affairs" ~ O I I

can chalk up to esperiencc. That is sornewhat "tinhornish," like G h ~ g notches in a gun. \\There you see "dangcr" signs on the llighvay, you wisely avoid such places. Isn't it a "danger" sign when you see an engagement ring on a young

BEACON LIGHTS

woman's right hand? Flee youthful lusts. Be not motivated I)y the Illst of the. Hcsh (mere sexual desire), nor the 111rt of the eye (mere pl~ysical beauty), nor thc pride of life so called social stantlir~g, I)lmd- lines, ae;~ltli, cconomic security, ctc. ). The finding of the right mate is primarily not a matter of your pc.rsona1 choice, I ~ u t of dis- covering the one of Cocl's choice., ;mtl of marrying only in the Lord.

0t1r yt11111q l)cc)plc, 1 S I I O ~ I I C I ~ I ~ i n k , ;ire iustn~ctetl in (;ad's covenant, that they may early lea111 tthc true, covennnt, family- centered co~~crption of niarried lifc. l lany of the so-cnllcd Christian high sclrools re- veal that thcir student bodies h:~ve not much, if any, conception of covc.~~i~nt life. Very little of this is seen, us ;I c;irnr-over from the hotne and church, in thc school. The whole tiling lras to be oricntcd to evenittally getting a good paying job, but while prc*poring for that, one must have a hilarious time of it. Histon and lifc are not sh~tliecl from the point of \.iew of God's covenant, but from a comtnercial point of vie\r, that is, with ;r view to entering IIpOtI the most profitable llusiness. \ \hy shoultln't the Christiar~ sc.l~ool be a counselling centcbr, in the Ixst S'IIS~! of the idea, whcre coven:u~it youth, to ;I degree, arca preparcrl for happy marriage in the Lord? So oftcsn it is that upon glndttation, maniage is taken as the escape-hatch from the nionotony of the piircntal home, or as the opportunity to join :I new and perhaps long-coveted social set, and not to reflect Christ and Iiis church ;~ntl to build up His cl~urcl~ with covenant I';~ti~ilies.

\\'hat do I Ic;~rn from the story (11' Slercy and her Brisk suitor? She was Inore than a virtuous woman. She was also a worthy \\.oman. Not cvery woman is both \~irtuous and worthy. Every \\*orthy woman is also virtuous, b t ~ t not ever): virtr~olts woman is worthy. hIany \vomen are 1latur11I virgins, but are so proud of their virginity as to make it a sc*lf-I-ighteousr~css. T l~cy feel they ought to 11c given a 1ned:11 whcn they finally reach tlre marriage altar. 'I'hey forget that \\.hen they "have done all thosr things which are conimanded," they must say, "\\re are unprofitable scrvi~nts; we have (only) dor~e that which \\as our duty to do!" (Lukc* 17:lO). But " ~ I I I I I I I > I L ' wed- lock is far better than proud virginity''

(riugustine). "A proud \ d e is \vitliont dis- cretion, and is a shame to her h~rsl>iund: hut a orthy thy wife is a crown to her hus- band" (Prov. 11:92; 124).

Slercy could not >-et find a man who liked her conditions or qualifications for herself ant1 her proposed rnate. She was industrious, "laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come." She \viis lovc-ly :~nd pure. She was unsusyicious, oblivious to tllc \vomcn \\rho lirlcer to gossip. She wvns \\*ell-mannered and gracious, cheerful and generous, seli-sacrificing, yrt lively. Soon enough she met SIatthe\v, a man \vho liked her contlitions, :~ntl \vho loved her Lord and her.

But \vhcn a young man proposes mar- riage, doesn't it seen1 like an ;~mi~-l.ing presu~nption? Hc promises hcr 111. will ~uvigatc I~cr on the sea of tnatrimor~y tlirough 1111 the storms. fogs ant1 hurricanes of life, to sail clear of rocks, shoals ;md icebergs. to (lo this \vith no esprsrirnce, often \vith 110 port in sight, ant1 in spitc of thousands of ship\\~ecks alor~g the way. Isn't she, too, a wonder of presumption? She "pructically says, 'I have but one lifr to li\.e, and I entrust it all to you. Sly nmm is weak, I>ut I will depend on t l ~ c \tvcng~lr of yours. I don't know much of the* world, but I rely on your \\isdom. I put my body, my mind, my soul, my time . . . in your keeping. I makc no resene. Even rny name I resign and take yours, though mine is a nanle that suggests all that was honor- able it1 Iny father, all that \ u s good in nly mother . . . . I start with you on ;t

journey \vl~icli shall not part except on the edge of your grave or mine. Iluth, the Sloabitess, made no more thorough self- abnegation than I make, when I take her tremendous \vords, . . . 'Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return from follo\ting thee; for whithcr thou goest, I will go; and \\,here thoti lodgest I will lodge. Thy pcoplr- shall bt. nly people, and thy God Iny Cod. \Vliere t11o11 diest \\<I1 I dic, ;~ntl there ufill I be I~rlricd. The Lord do $0 to me, and Inore also, if aught but de.lth p x t thee and me.' Side by side in life, sick by side in death, sidc by side in heaven. Ucfore God ;u~d man, and my immortal soul in the o;tth, I swe'u eternal fidrlity!" Rev. T. De\Vitt Talm;tdge, D.D., "The. ili~rriage Ring," 1886).

BEACON LIGHTS

CRITIQUE ' VI VAN DEN TOP

"Whatsoever Things are Pure" "Did you hear the latest?" "So, what?" "IIell. Joe and S i ~ e m m t rngagctl la:t

\reek ancl they arc gettin< married ne\t \reek; draw your o\v11 concl~~sion." "0 well, it happens to a lot of Licl~."

0 0 S 0

Doe_. that little gossipi~lp con\~ersatioii rnalre vou laugh or maybe smile? Or maybe you think that it is ,an esaggeration. This sort of conversation is neither cute nor an exaggeration. Besides heing gossip, the above quot? demonstrates a wrong view of the sin of adultery. The situation nor the comment< are unreal, both arc, com- mon place in the \vorld today.

. h y Christian \vho pays any attention to the world about him cannot help but b(. stnlck ancl nauseated by the constant heavy rmphasis on ses. Young people today are told that the new morality is tile tiling to follow, situation ethics \rill guide you to do the right thing. Absolute values do not exist: you must do whatever is right in that particular situation. So it naturally foUo\\-s that if yon love each other vcry much and you intend to get mamed my- \\,a)-. then fornication is not wrong-in fact it is something to be enjoyed.

Sound familiar, young people? Fronl ever)- side wr are bombarded with the sex ideal, ~5th the "go all the way" philosophy. Virginit). is a thing of the past as is "thou shalt not commit aclulteq~." After all, it is a real big thing to come in aftcr n date and "brag" about how aggressive you or

(Phil. 4:s). This means that we do not uproariously laugh at "shady jokes," neither do we flallnt the idea of sex as ;a primary factor in dates and marriage. \Ve are com- manded to hc pure.

Purity is a niost beai~tfiul attribute of Cod. The idea of purit)- includes holiness, something undcfilecl and perfectly clean. Silvrr is trirtl by fire; the inipurities are all burned a\rray and ;+I1 that is left is pure silver. Tllc perfect p~ui ty of God wc ,are called to reflect.

Pruity of thou~ht , purity of lifc, punt). of action are all intertwined wit11 our dating life. \Vc are so much bombarded with the tvorld's pllilosophy of sex that \Ire are I~egniletl by it. God demands that me as young people refrain from forrlication and adulten. This lliczns more than not ~e t t ing \ pregnant (for \vith the modem contracep lives of today that is no 1ongc.r the prob- Irm ); it means to be pure - to refrain from the act of fornication completely. In ordcr Lo do this young pcople must bc very \vise to keep out of situations which may lead to impurity of action. For to go in this tlircction i. not in Iine with "\vhatsoever things are pure."

For girls, this very concrrtcly means that \ve do not nttmct young guys by es- posing our boclics or by n~akfng up as a seciucing girl of the world. Guys no longer then will use sexiness as a grading factor in looking for a girl to date. For our

your date \-as. Christian young people, we are callccl

CONTRIBUTIONS

to toll- a very different, antithetical line in $33.90 this regard. God's \i-ord says, "Whatsoever Hope Walker) 75.74 - things are pure . . . think on tllesr things"

Eight BEACON LIGHTS

- , . . - . . :.,: . . . - .. . - - .~ , - -.-- . . l~oclirs arc te~nplcs of the. I1111y Spirit ~und Purity is an inner beaut!. wllicl~ \r.c not merr sc3x ~nagnets. Cod crwtetl 11x11:. pray that Cod may increase icfithin us so and female ;~ntl the true meaning of this that \vr may reflect it more in onr dating beautiful \\;onJer will find rightful esprcs- ;,nd ever).day life. In sincerity, we ask sion - r r f t ~ r rncrrriclga. To cornmit the sin our Cotl, "IIelp me to present iriy I)ody. a

of fornication is a dr~~crat ior l of tlie body living sacrifice, Iloly, acceptable unto Tht*e'' crcatrtl for us. (Romans El) .

CONTRIBUTIONS

Where were you? \\'litsr~ r i~rri\,ccI at IIopr Church on

Decen11)or 2 for tlrr singspiration, I was rrally c1isturlx:d. I had hoprtl to see a cl11irc11 Gllcd wit11 Christians \vllo Ir~vr. to sing praises to their Ilaker.

I saw thankful Christiuns - 11ut not ncarly e~ioi~gll of t1lr.111. I saw 11 church barely tluee rr~iartt*rs fi~ll.. 'I'liis ::rticlr. is not t1irc:cted at thost. of you w l ~ o werr there. It set-nls tllat tlic s:lmc f:iitlrft~l on(*.; attend each sinp.spirntion. llatllrr, this :~rticle is directed ;tt those of you n.ho \i7erc not there, both jrotung crnd old.

One c ~ f the standarcl excuses itunong the older peclplc of our c l i ~ ~ r c l ~ r s fr~r not at- tending oiir singspirations is tllis: "Thc sing- spiri~tions arc only for tile yo~trig." Hluntly s p e a h g , tl~at is hop\r.ash. 'l'hc: singspirn- tions iire for c~l:er!yl~od!y, repcrrtllcss of age. 01. ;igaii~, ;inlong o!der people, I have

heard this .statement: I ha\.e conlpany "coming after church." or "I t~nvc to go away on company." To this I say: "\\%at bettc:r way is there to sprnd Suridny eve- ning with your friends than to praise God in song? 1 might adcl that tlicrc is plenty of time for "socializing" :~fter\vards.

But in all this let 11s not forget our youth. They .stay llome becausc. "my friend isn't goin,q." To i~ic, tllat's ;I Rinisy escuse. \\'e sl~ouldn't cro 11cc;iuse our Erierid is going, But rather because we frel that [cc should be here.

One stock cscl~sc that e\,ciybocly can use is this "olti f;~itllful": Thcre \vorl't be m y room; that church is to sm;+ll." \T:ell, I'm to the point where I'd almost like to see people turned away, just to see a full churcl~.

L.et's face it, people of Gocl, singspiration attendance has fallen olI drastically in the last three years, and it is time for each nnd every one of us to t d c a long hard look -

st the rclsons rcc. 11:1d for ~ ~ ~ i s s i n c the last singspiration.

4 s u rectantly np;,oin:rcl mcnilic.r to the Public Hel:~tions Committee of the Bs.\cos LIGHTS, 1 ;1111 jilbt hczL!in:li~i4 to ~)econle a\varc of the problcms in scheduling our singspirations. "fhe main problem is con- Ricting dxtrs with the monthly clisctlssion Froups \vhich many of our churches have I~egin. Ho\vevcr, it seenls t11~1t we have ::voided all SIICI) conflicts for 1974 sing- spirations. .Is ;i com~ni,tt~r, \ve have tried r.vc:r!.-

tlli11~ from eyc-catchi~ig bulletin nanouncc- ~ n m t s to schrdt~lc posters for the back of our ch~~rclles, trying to get people to attend, hut nothing sccms to \vork. IVc'vr done just about all \ve can: now it's lip to you to come.

In conclusion, 1 would like tr) s~lggest that eccrybody shollld 111;ike it ;I point to hy to attend tlre next singspiration. hla>l,c, in some small way, this article will hcalp. I hope so.

The Federation Board and Beacon Lights Staff welcomes our new editor- in-chief, Mr. Jim Vanoverloop to the Beacon Lights Staff. We are grateful that he is willing to undertake these important duties on behalf of the young people represented by our magazine.

We also express our appreciation to Mr. Cal Reitsma for all the time and effort he has expended as the past editor of the Beacon Lights.

To both of you we wish God's blessing.

The Beacon Lights Staff The Federation Board

BEACON LIGHTS Nine

Prayer of the Sin-Weary Christian

VI VAN DEN TOP

I f I hocc rcmrnded any ml today, If I fed my sin11 wjth passion and lust,

I f I 11at;c catrseti one foot t o go astray. If I considered all pk~osures a "mrrst,"

I f I I w w rcolked in nlr~ otcn sinful way. If I forgot in God is mrJ trtrst,

Dear Lord, fmgice. Dear Lord, forgitie.

I f my marks of discipleship were not tnre

If I longed not Thy t d l to do Anti I encied the tcnrld with their fair

skies .sg hltre, Dcc~r k ~ r c i , forgice.

I f one cmrld not tell b y meeting me That I tcas on elect: chosen b y Thee

Btrt rather appeared as ooery other to be Dear Lord, forgicv.

If 1 was not proud to b a r Thy nume I V h m I or others took if in vain, But rather kept still for fear of shame, Dwr Lord, fwgiw.

I f my fait11 was tceak tcl~en t c ~ t ~ p t a t i o n ~ w\cre strong,

I f I tcacercd and ddotrhtecl anti tl~orrght

all was wrong If I guce in and qirietkj rocrtl olong, Dear Lord, forgive.

If I neglected the aoenue of j1rclyc.r And tcent all clay without rneeting Thee

there, Trying alone m y burdens to bcor, Dear Lord, forgive.

-and notc if I hate asked onliss, I h a w just one prayer

And that is this: FORGIVE, DEAR LORD, FORGIVE.

Ten BEACON LIGHTS

CURRENT EVENTS AND COMMENTS Recapture

RACHEL LUBBERS

Li~ughter mingles with thr continuing lu~m of chit-chat of people wl~o fill Illany rooms. Cards have I>c:e . r~ dealt for :unothc-r hand of game playing ;md it secnls that no matter where yo11 look you see food. Sm;ill cl~ilclren are heart1 rvc*nwhere laughing nncl sc~ur;~ling in pliiy. Evenone s r e m to I > r frc*li~~g ;I hit of 11;lppiness and c o ~ ~ t c ~ ~ t ~ r ~ e r r t ant1 sn~il~:?; sccsrn to ;rppcbnr more frc~cl~~ently on the faccs of rnany. A spirit of I~npllincss prevails where yo11 look or listen. Joy is no\\ more easily found than it will Ix: in 3 \veek or two \vl~c.n the worltl again steps to its own kind of music. 13ut ;I nc3\v !Y.;II. is iust opening up, rrctuiring 11s to d v e it a good st:~rt. It is time to crc'ate c.sciterr~ent and to have plenty of grcseting* for ;111 those we come into contact with. It is time to get together and cc.lc-brate for today is l974!

Altho~~gh in days to conle the spirit will lei~vc. ;tnd evcrytl~inr: will fi111 illto tlre rontinr attitude o ~ ~ c c itgain, still we cannot allo\v oursel\~rs to flip-flop throupl~ this year unalert. \Ire cannot mo1.e into this yibar with a lazy i~ttitnde or show indif- ference to timc. As Christiul~s, time is l~c~corning of morr :~nd more vi~luc ;ind of morr arid niore irnportancr to us. 'I'ime tlocs not slo\v do~mr for us and ncithcr is c.;~cl~ resounding second b'ing spaced further apart. Ri~ther, if w e are not kccpine pace with the ticking clock it is time for us to speed up a little. Conshtrrtly, we ~ n ~ ~ s t keep LIP \\-it11 thc duties of the Christians: never puttiug off those duties to sqlleeze and cranl then1 in at another hour or even forgetting h e m all together. \Ve have to take the time we have now and use it for Cod's purpose of having 11s here.

T o vie\$- t11i.v caven nlorc: clrarly rig111 no\v let 11s lift the slindr and take one last rluick peek back to the year we huve just left and see what major history lies outside our window. First we see the long turning ;~ncl tangling hmlgglc of the L7ietnarn war finally come to some LSnd of finish and

~\.t*ary, tirc.11, and \vounded soldiers r e t r ~ ~ n - iny to tl~vir homr country. The mrn wl~o for yc.;tr< 11;1\,e I,c~c~n hrlcl c;lptit,e by enc.nli~*.; no\v itrc. coming back to n fiirnily and :I

world t11c.y cortld h;:rdly Innnnlrc to vis11n1ii.r :m>rnorc8. \'ie\rinf rl\c\vl~ere. \vr find rvorldwitlc. strikes taking place out of selfisllnc~ss so thitt man c;\n rnect i~is grt-lady deln;cntls :u~tl \vishes. \\'I. ;tlso find the po\\.er of the Suprrmc Court over against the ~ni~jorities vote pass the cruel injustice of ;ihortions. In the background abortions clinics :ire being set up Icg:~lly so hundred.; of lives car1 b r sitcrificed by appointment day i1ftc.r tl:ty after d;~y. No matter \vlierc yo11 go, ),OII find hr~ndrc~tls of unbrliev;~l>lc~ murders \wing committed d;~ily. .%long \\.it11 those ;ire m;rss n~t~rclerers \r,l~ich one car1 hardly believe have ;tctonlly taken plact. and urllich years :1go \verc. 111111eard of. .\I- ways thcri. art. riots whicl~ flnrc. I I ~ time and tilne again o\vr icsr~c.s th;~t ransr o~rc. man to fight against :lnotllrr. In the fnrc- grountl \rft. see ;mother r i h g \var in the lliddle Enst. \\:e ice \\':rtc.r<ate interfering trqicnlly nith the govemtnent of this C ~ I I I I -

@, lending to the loss of respect for authority, gov~nr~ncnt , :~ncl the eonfider~rc. of tllc ~ ~ e o l ~ l e . Then there is also thcb enerm crisis \vhich today yc-t strikes against us :rntl which pri.sscs people every\vllerc into a state of fear.

.lnrl so i t continues - the ever-turning picture.. Yes, of course, thc rntire picturc is not o11c of disorder, s:~tl~~cs.;, and fright; hotrevcr, these past events are ones tll;i~ ihoultl shitke 11s to conscio~~sness, drive us to our calling, and enable us to live better tllarl c+vc.r :IS \vatchful Christians.

Thr shatlc is now pr~llccl and the p ic t~~rc has tlissppenrccl, but t l ~ c c-vents have not tscapetl. Cautiously we step into 1974 un- a\vare of how this year's picture may 11c paintetl. But we do Lmow that hen-ever it may be we milst stand prepared. Cocl nus st bc our swide and onr faith must be in prayer.

BEACON LIGHTS

Dialogue? Someone's Out There "Those men in Skylab sure are finding

out a lot about our solar sy>tc.ni," lit* snid.

"Oh," I snid.

" H I I ~ you know, they are just scratclihig the surface when it comes to finding o ~ ~ t how we got here and how things :stre intc.rrelated." he said.

"You ho \v , we've been trying for years to figure that out; and personally I think that therc is some intelligent life out t l~rrr in space soniewhere. .\fen have been try- ing for years to correspond with anyone that may hr out there," ho said.

"Sure, vlr send out radio waves :u~tl wr scan tire hc;l\.ens with our finest electronic ecluipment, trying to pick up liny com- ~n~lnication nrr can from others out thcrc." h r said.

"Oh."

"Back in 1908, Swedish ci~crnist Sv:~nte -4rrheniur proposed a theory that the carth was seeded with living cells by someone. So\v Leslie Orgel of the Salk Institute be- lieves that the seeding was deliberate; it could also ex~la in why we have only one genetic code here," he said.

"Oh."

"\\'e have ZOOS, wildlife sanctuaries, bird preserves, tribal reservations, etc. We put creatures in isolated circumstances so we can study them," he said.

"Oh."

"I think there is someone watching us, maybe like an experiment or sometliing. This earth is like a huge labontory and they are watching and contmling what hap- pens here. A lot of U.F.0.s have been seen by reliable men throughout history," he said.

"Oh," I said.

people saw rockets, saucers, and space cap- sr~les li~~ndreds of thousantls of years ago. A l l the f:~cts indicate it."

"Oh."

"\\'illi all our intelligence, we cm1 answer al~nost any question that comes up; how- ever, tliere mr~st be someone out there In~~ghing at us in our efforts to determine ollr origin. They must be super-brains of some sort to remain llndetected for so long."

"Oh."

"You don't seem to be very c-scited about \\,hat I'm tallring about; aren't you iriteresied it1 things like this?" he asked.

"I am interested in the heavens and the t~i~rth. In fact I am interested in the entire ~lniverse. I also believe that there is in- telligent life apart from this earth. I be- lieve people \\-err put on this earth for a sl)eciiic purpose. I I,elievc wc can and do communicate with that other being, but \tre don't need sophisticated electronic equipment to do so. I think that this Being is so intelligent that there is nothing that Hc does not know. I believe He is so powerful that there is nothing that He can- not do. 1 l~elieve that nicn cannot begin to fathom His knowledge, power, and glow. 1 call Him God," I said

"011," lie said.

"I just read 'Chariots of the Gods' the other day. I'm cominced that ancicnt

BEACON LIGHTS

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BEACON LIGHTS