Clarionclarionmagazine.ca/archives/1998/253-276_v47n11.pdf · 254 CLARION, MAY 29, 1998 Judge not This is what our Lord Jesus Christ tells us. You can find itinMatthew 7:1 and Luke

ClarionTHE CANADIAN REFORMED MAGAZINE

VOLUME 47, NO. 11 MAY 29, 1998

Synod ’98 in progress

254 CLARION, MAY 29, 1998

Judge notThis is what our Lord Jesus Christ tells us. You can find

it in Matthew 7:1 and Luke 6:37. (The same warning is foundin Romans 2:1, 14:4, 1 Corinthians 4:5, James 4:11.) Thereare two different ways of judging. The one is wrong; theother is a must. When Christ and his apostles warn us not tojudge others, this judging means that we must not condemnothers. We are not called or even allowed to condemn oth-ers. Such a judgment is not up to us.

Do judgeHowever, there is a different judging that does not in-

clude a condemning rejection of persons but, rather, judgesideas and actions. This is a judging in the sense of examiningwhether ideas or actions are good or are wrong. In Luke12:57 the Lord asks the multitude, “Why do you not judgewhat is right?” (The same sense is found in John 7:24, Acts4:19, 1 Corinthians 5:12 and 11:13.)

For this second sense of judging a norm is needed. Whatis right and what is wrong is determined according to anorm. This norm is, of course, God’s Word. God has made allthings. God has also determined what is right and what iswrong. And He has revealed this to us in the Scriptures.

Here enters the difficulty of sin. In a sinless world, tohave God’s Word would be enough. Through sin, man seeksto twist God’s Word in such a way that it says what sinfulman wants it to say. This is the deceit of Satan as it began inparadise. Over against this satanic deceit of twisting the truthof God, the church has received the calling to preserve thetruth of the Scriptures. In the course of the centuries, thechurch has defended and maintained the truth of God’sWord in its creeds and confessions. In opposing false teach-ings, the church has said that God’s truth is as she confessesit in her creeds and in her confessions.

The adopted normWhen we look at our creeds, the first and basic one is the

Apostles’ Creed (or the Twelve Articles), usually read or sungin the afternoon service. The Nicene Creed, the next one, isan elaboration of the Twelve Articles, specifically on thepoint of the divine and human natures of our Lord JesusChrist. Our third creed, the Athanasian Creed, is a furtherelaboration of what the church confesses to be the truth ofGod about himself as our triune God and about the two na-tures of Christ. By way of these creeds, the church main-tained the truth of the Scriptures over against the heresies ofthe early days.

In the days of the Reformation, the truth of God’s Wordhad been obscured and twisted by the church of Rome. InHis grace, God led His people back to His Word throughLuther and Calvin and those who followed them. There wasalso a struggle with the Anabaptists and other radical move-ments. Over against Rome and the Anabaptists, the churchesof the Reformation maintained once again the regainedtruth of God’s Word. They did this in the Belgic Confessionand the Heidelberg Catechism in the Netherlands, and withother confessional statements in Scotland, England, Ger-many, France, and so on.

When we compare the Belgic Confession and the Hei-delberg Catechism, we discover that they elaborate in moredetail the contents of the Twelve Articles, adding a sectionabout God’s Word (Belgic Confession, Articles 3-7), aboutthe sacraments (Belgic Confession, Articles 33-35; Heidel-berg Catechism, Lord’s Days 25-30), the Ten Command-ments (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 34-44), and pray-ing (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 45-52).

In the centuries after the Reformation, the churches didnot faithfully adhere to the truth of Scripture as confessed inthe confessions. But God again gave a return to His Wordin Europe, for example in the Netherlands (Secession,Doleantie and Liberation); in Scotland (Free Church); andNorth America (Orthodox Presbyterian Church) – to mentiononly these. Remarkably, return to God’s Word was, in allthese cases, accompanied by a return to the confessionalstandards of the churches.

Why did churches which returned to God’s Word alsoreturn to adherence to the confessions? Because they be-lieved their confessions to speak according to God’s Word.They also returned to them in order to have them as a help-ful tool to abide faithfully by the truth of the Scriptures. Thenorming norm for the church is God’s Word. The (by-the-Scriptures) normed norm is the confession. And so ourchurches bind to the doctrine of the Word of God as it issummarized in the Twelve Articles which are worked out inour other creeds and confessions. This is the doctrine taughtin our Reformed Churches.

In order to abide by the Scriptures, our churches have thefollowing article in the Church Order:

All ministers of the Word, elders, deacons, and pro-fessors of theology shall subscribe to the Confessions ofthe Canadian Reformed Churches by signing the form(s)adopted for that purpose.

Anyone refusing to subscribe in that manner shall notbe ordained or installed in office. Anyone who, being inoffice, refuses to do so shall, because of that very fact,

EDITORIAL

By J. Geertsema

Judge Not That You Be Not Judged!Or Should We Judge?

be immediately suspended from office by the consistorywith the deacons, and classis shall not receive him; andif he obstinately persists in his refusal, he shall be de-posed from office (Article 26).

As Reformed Churches, we say herewith that one who can-not or can no longer fully stand behind, defend, and abideby what we confess to be the truth of God’s Word cannotbe an office bearer in our churches.

We do not condemnDo we now judge those who cannot place themselves

unreservedly behind the confessions in the sense that wecondemn them? Certainly not. It is a judgment of ourchurches concerning what is right or wrong according tothe truth of God’s Word. It is not a condemnation. Again, acondemning judgment is not up to us. We can and do ac-knowledge the fact that there are many non-Reformed Chris-tians who sincerely believe in our triune God, and in thisfaith love Him and seek to serve Him with their whole heartand life. In no way do we condemn them. But we do whatour calling from the Lord is. We maintain and abide by Histruth as we confess it. For this is the apostolic, catholic doc-trine of the Scriptures.

It is, therefore, a cause for great sadness when one ofthe ministers says that he can no longer function in themidst of the churches because he can no longer maintainhis signature under the Subscription Form. We appreciatehis honesty. We do not judge and condemn him. But wepray that God will give him a change of mind so that he canagain fully and unreservedly accept being bound to thedoctrine of the Word of God as this is confessed andtaught in our churches.

CLARION, MAY 29, 1998 255

Published biweekly by Premier Printing Ltd.,Winnipeg, MB

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE:Editor: C. Van DamCoeditors: R. Aasman, J. De Jong, J. Geertsema, N.H. Gootjes, G.Ph. van PoptaADDRESS FOR EDITORIAL MATTERS:CLARION46 Sulphur Springs Road, Ancaster, ON L9G 1L8Fax: (905) 304-4951E-Mail: [email protected] FOR ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS: (subscriptions, advertisements, etc.):CLARION, Premier Printing Ltd.One Beghin AvenueWinnipeg, MB, Canada R2J 3X5Phone: (204) 663-9000 Fax: (204) 663-9202Email: [email protected] Wide Web address: http://clarion.home.ml.org/

SUBSCRIPTION RATESFOR 1998

Canada*U.S.A. U.S. FundsInternational

* Including 7% GST – No. 890967359RTAdvertisements: $11.25 per column inchUnless a written subscription cancellation is received weassume you wish to continue to subscribe. You will be in-voiced prior to the subscription renewal date.Publications Mail Registration No. 1025 ISSN 0383-0438

IN THIS ISSUEEditorial – Judge Not That You Be Not Judged!

Or Should We Judge? — J. Geertsema ....................254Treasures, New and Old – Play Like Gretzky

— J. VanWoudenberg..............................................256The Appropriation of Salvation – Some Comments

— J. De Jong ............................................................257Book Review – J. De Jong, ed., Bound Yet Free:

Readings in Reformed Church Polity (second of two parts) — J. De Gelder ......................260

Church News ............................................................262Middle East Reformed Fellowship –

News from MERF – Canada — J. Mulder, Mrs. J. Van Dam ................................263

Dreaming, Planning, Building in Calgary — John Hoogerdijk..................................................264

Letters to the Editor ....................................................266Book Notices ............................................................266Book Review – Has the (Evangelical) Church

Lost its Way? — R. Schouten ..................................268Press Release..............................................................269Our Little Magazine — Aunt Betty ............................270

RegularMail

$34.00*$39.00$58.00

AirMail

$59.00*$52.00$85.00

What’s inside?From publishing condensed versions of the re-

ports going to General Synod Fergus (see recent is-sues of Clarion) we change gears to begin reporting onSynod. Clarion has a reporter on site in Fergus follow-ing the action, summarizing the decisions, and puttingit all into a reader-friendly package. Our man in Fer-gus is the Rev. P. Aasman of the church in Grand Val-ley. In these pages you will find his first report togetherwith some pictures.

A federation of churches in North America withwhom our differences are not confessional but in em-phasis is that of the Free Reformed Churches. Our re-spective sister churches in the Netherlands have beentalking. Here and there we have been talking on ourcontinent too. Clarion is happy to facilitate this dis-cussion by publishing Dr. J. De Jong’s “The Appropri-ation of Salvation – Some Comments.” We echo theauthor’s concluding wish: “May God guide us in seek-ing to understand one another better, so that we mayattain a greater and more perfect unity in Christ.”

After reviewing Bound Yet Free (edited by Dr. J. DeJong) in the last issue, Rev. J. de Gelder now providessome further reflections on the collection of essays.

These are the main items. In addition, you will finda few more things to read.

GvP


In the world of sports, the matter of“role modeling” is important. Childrenadmire and sometimes even adore sportsfigures. Parents often hold the sportshero up before the eyes of their childrenas a role model to follow in sportsman-ship, dedication, and skill. “Son, get outthere and play like Gretzky!”

Role models, however, can become“gods” that people worship, doing any-thing to imitate them or to get their auto-graph. But not everything Wayne Gret-zky has done and does is something thatshould be modeled. Nor is the game ofhockey that important. Yet, having rolemodels and being one is in itself not bad.In fact, role modeling is a very appropri-ate response to the gospel of salvation.

Paul begins his first letter to the Thes-salonians by thanking God for the workthat God had done in the midst of theThessalonians. The Holy Spirit has usedthe preaching of the Word to touch theirhearts: “In spite of severe suffering, youwelcomed the message with the joygiven by the Holy Spirit” (1:6). Paul thenpraises the Thessalonians by saying,“And so you became a model to all thebelievers in Macedonia and Achaia”(1:7). In other words, reception of thegospel resulted in the Thessalonians be-coming role models to others.

The Thessalonians became “mod-els.” Paul uses a word for “model” thatrefers to the imprint left in the wax by asignet ring. The imprint is a picture or animitation of the signet ring. Paul hadsaid to the Thessalonians, “You becameimitators of us and of the Lord.” Paul,Silas, and Timothy, the first preachers inThessalonica, were “imitators” or “mod-els” of the Lord. That meant that just asChrist Himself had been driven com-pletely by devotion to God, so had Paul,Silas, and Timothy. In that way they imi-tated Christ, and in so doing became apicture of Christ and a role model forthe Thessalonians to follow.1

This example caught on with theThessalonians so that they in turn becamemodels for others. “The Lord’s messagerang out from you.” The Thessalonianswere like loud speakers for the Word ofthe Lord. How did the word “ring out?”By the Thessalonians all becoming

preachers? No, through their modeling!“Your faith toward God became known,”it “came out.” The Thessalonians did notkeep their faith a private matter.

The Thessalonians welcomed Paul,Silas, and Timothy and gave them agood reception, even though others re-jected them. Hearing the Word, they“turned to God from idols.” They com-pletely reversed the direction of theirlives. Typically each family, city, andtrade had its own god. The Thessaloni-ans turned away from all this “to servethe living and true God.” They no longerdivided their loyalties between manygods; they now loyally served the oneliving God whom they knew controlledeverything: family life, finances, thestate, labour, the economy. God’sWord: that is what now counted! Hispaths: those were now the importantpaths to follow, no matter what the ob-stacles, nor what others thought.

All that would have profoundly af-fected practical every-day life. Theywould have “stuck out” from the crowd.They trusted in their God to give themall that they needed, and that came outin their attitude. They lived, not in fear ofcold fate, but knowing that their Godwas in control of everything.

They lived as expectant people wait-ing “for His Son from heaven.” The peo-ple around them may have lived as iflife on this earth would go on forever,and that after they died their soul wouldgo, who knows where. Others may havelived entirely for the here and now, fol-lowing the popular philosophy, “eatdrink and be merry, for tomorrow youdie!” just like many in our society do to-day. But the believers in Thessalonicahad an entirely different outlook: Christwas coming to judge the living and thedead. And everyone will have to give ac-count for every word spoken and deeddone. They lived with that in mind.

As such they lived fully aware of thecoming wrath of God against sin (1:10).That did not mean that they lived inconstant fear of the last day. No, theylooked forward to it eagerly. They knewJesus as the one “who rescues us fromthe coming wrath.” As such their liveswere completely focused on Christ. They

understood that apart from Him all theycould look forward to was the sufferingof eternal wrath, but that with Him theycould be assured of the eternal inheri-tance. Realizing that all their hope restedcompletely in Christ, they did not liveabrasive or arrogant lives, but lives ofhumble gratitude. That’s the only way itcan be with such an outlook.

By living in this way then, the Thes-salonians became role models. SaysPaul, “that indeed is the appropriate re-sponse to the gospel.” Paul knows thatall this had been done with many weak-nesses, but yet he praises them in orderto urge them on, and also to urge us tolook to the Thessalonians as role mod-els. In response to the gospel, we shouldstrive to imitate the Thessalonians (andthus imitate Christ) by turning every as-pect of our lives away from sin and to-wards the service of the one and onlytrue God. That means that we shouldforsake all false gods, whether these bethe gods of self, money, sports, pride,whatever. We should live aware of thecoming wrath of God against sin, thustaking sin seriously by fleeing from it.At the same time we should live in hum-ble joy and confidence that in Christ wehave the complete forgiveness of all oursins. As such we should live for God inour marriages, in raising our children,in our financial management, on thejob site, at school, on the bus, wherever.We should live in hope, trusting our gra-cious and sovereign God to give us to-day what we need as we walk in obedi-ence to Him, and to give us tomorrowthe inheritance in store for us that is sim-ply incomparable to anything, no matterhow great, in this sin filled world. That’swhat it means to have the Thessaloni-ans as role models – and in so doing tobecome role models ourselves.

1Cf. Philippians 3:17, Titus 2:6-7; 1 Timothy4:12; 1 Peter 5:3.

Rev. J. VanWoudenberg strives to live asrole model in Watford, Ontario, where heis Minister of the Word and Pastor to theCanadian Reformed Church.

TREASURES, NEW AND OLDMATTHEW 13:52

By J. VanWoudenberg

Play Like Gretzky!And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you

not only in Macedonia and Achaia – your faith in God has become know everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to

God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath. (Thessalonians 1:7-10)


In the final two issues of 1997, wepublished a document written by Rev. A.Baars (and translated by Rev. P. Vander-Meyden) entitled “The ‘Appropriation ofSalvation’ in the Creeds.” This documenthad served as a discussion paper in theNetherlands between the ChristelijkeGereformeerde Kerken (sister churchesof the Free Reformed Churches in NorthAmerica) and our own sister churches.This document has also been formallyaccepted by the Christelijke Gere-formeerde Kerken in their 1995 synod.The reason for publishing this docu-ment in Clarion was to encouragegreater understanding between the FreeReformed and the Canadian ReformedChurches. As a follow up (be it some-what belated due to Synod issues), weare now printing Dr. J. De Jong’s re-sponse to this document. This will be fol-lowed by the response of Rev. P. Van-derMeyden, minister of the FreeReformed Church at Grand Rapids. Theinterchange will be concluded with aneditorial summary of where we are aton these particular issues. – Editor

Some commentsNow that we have published the

overview of Rev. Baars on the appropri-ation of salvation, we may offer a num-ber of reflections both on the statementand on the current state of our relation-ship with the Free Reformed Churches.As Rev. VanderMeyden pointed out,communication is needed to evaluatethe nature and the weight of the “misun-derstandings” and disagreements be-tween us. My remarks then must be seenin the light of Rev. VanderMeyden’s callfor continued discussion and interactionon these points.

To be sure, Rev. Baars deals withonly one perceived point of differencebetween us and the Free ReformedChurches, that is, the appropriation ofsalvation. However, this is perhaps oneof the more prominent areas of concern,and several other aspects, as, for exam-ple, the role of experience in preach-ing, all hinge on this area. Thus, we dealwith a fairly comprehensive area of con-cern in the relation between our twochurch federations.1

Our readers may know that theoverview on the issues as adopted bythe synod of the Christelijke Gere-formeerde Kerken in Holland met with avery positive response from the deputiesof the Reformed churches (liberated). Ingeneral they voiced their agreement withthe document. Later the Committee ofthe Reformed Churches drew up a mem-orandum of their own on this subjectwhich overlaps in many ways the senti-ments expressed in this overview.2 So itwill not be strange if we begin by echo-ing the same sentiment. In general, wecan only concur wholeheartedly with thestatement of Rev. Baars, and in fact canbe thankful for the effort he has taken tolet confessions be heard in his approach.Thus the reflections given here are madein the context of an overall appreciationfor the overview as published in TheMessenger, and in the context of an over-all unity of faith with the author.

Granting and appropriatingLet me begin with what in itself is a

relative minor concern, but one whichbecomes more significant in the contextof the entire overview. Rev. Baars makesa very careful and in my view correctdistinction between granting and appro-priating the promises of salvation. Thereference to Lord’s Day 23 is fitting, asthe language here distinguishes twosides to appropriation: the granting of thepromises, and the appropriation of thegranted promises. However, in the con-text of covenantal language I would notrefer to this, (as he does in section 3), asa “subjective-objective” framework. Forin the first place, if we use these terms,clearly the objective has priority. Afterall, the granting comes first, just as wesay that the Holy Spirit comes first in thegranting of faith. However, the entireframework does not fit in a covenantalcontext. For, secondly, God’s prior claimextends to the whole subject: heart andlife. The personal appropriation canmost assuredly be distinguished fromGod’s prior claim, but can also be seenas an outworking of God’s prior claim.Therefore we never have an “objectivepole” matched at some later time by a“subjective pole” entirely divorced from

it. To fall into this sort of a scheme wouldbe systematizing that which is beyondhuman understanding.

Beginning versus continuation?Isolating a subjective pole becomes

more of a pressing difficulty in the light ofthe further train of thought in theOverview. Rev. Baars has taken a cau-tious and reserved approach in his study,yet clearly intimates that the Canons ofDort focus on the beginning of the newlife in the heart of the believers. In section5, in dealing with the Belgic ConfessionArt. 24, he says: “Here regeneration isviewed as the manifestation of new lifewhich is the fruit of faith. The Canons ofDort speak of regeneration as the begin-ning of new life,” (emphasis Baars). Myquestion is whether one can make sucha firm distinction on this point. It is truethat some expressions in the Canonslean in the direction of emphasizing thebeginning of regeneration. For example,Canons III/IV, 12 speaks of regenerationas “a new creation, a raising from thedead, the making alive,”– all terms andimages which include the idea of an en-tirely new beginning, a creation out ofnothing. At the same time, the expres-sions in the same section are not limitedto the beginning of the work of God inthe believer. For example, Canons III/IV,11 refers to a continuing process when itsays: “He takes care that the gospel ispreached to them (the elect, JDJ), andpowerfully enlightens their minds by theHoly Spirit, so that they may rightly un-derstand and discern the things of theSpirit of God.” Here the language em-phasizes an ongoing work of God, andall further statements in the article reflectGod’s continual dealings in the life ofthe believer even to its very end on earth.

Thus, the distinction in the Overviewis too forced. Indeed, one can distin-guish the beginning and the continua-tion of regeneration. There is an incep-tion, a planting of the seed of the word, touse an image of Scripture (cf. Mt. 13:1ff.),which then is nourished and cultivatedby God through the entire life of thebeliever. But this distinction cannot be-come a separation: the beginning is nor-mally coupled to the blossoming, the

THE APPROPRIATION oF SALVATION– Some Comments

By J. De Jong


growth and the culmination of what is es-sentially the continuing process of re-generation. And although the manifesta-tion of the new life is reflected in Art. 24BC, its beginning is equally reflected inthe Belgic Confession, Art. 22. There thephrase is: “the Holy Spirit kindles in ourhearts a true faith.” What highlights thebeginning more than the term kindles?

In sum, the confessions are one andthe same in positing a beginning to re-generation, but primarily see regenera-tion as a continual process of growth infaith and sanctification.

Word and SpiritThe Overview is very careful on the

relation between the Word and Spirit,and here again we can only voice gen-eral agreement and appreciation. How-ever, the line of argument betrays a cer-tain tendency to isolate the role of theSpirit above and beyond the Word. Rev.Baars takes great pains to emphasize thesovereignty of the Spirit even above themeans He uses (end, section 4), and then,focusing especially on the beginning ofthe Spirit’s work in the heart of the be-liever, insists that “the ‘how’ of the ap-propriating work of the Spirit at the be-ginning of spiritual life is for the most parthidden,” (section 5). All this is true if itconcerns a description of the work of theSpirit. Jesus Himself said: “The windblows where it chooses, and you hear thesound of it, but you do not know whereit comes or where it goes,” Jn. 3:8. And inthe parable of the sower, He speaks ofseed that would sprout and grow in away “he knew not how,” Mk. 4: 23.

However, the tenor of the Overviewseems to be that this hidden work of theSpirit needs more attention in the pastoralapproach and in the preaching ministry.For does not Rev. Baars have preciselythis beginning of the Spirit’s work in fo-cus when he says: “It would be wrong ifwe would neglect all this teaching with-out putting it to good use. It ought tofunction in our preaching and pastorallabours, in our discussion about spiritualguidance and spiritual life,” (end section5)? Or, if the beginning of the Spirit’swork is not in focus, does not the dangerarise that we begin to concentrate on theSpirit’s work apart from the Word?

Rev. Baars clearly maintains that theSpirit works both through (or by) theWord and with the Word, (section 4).The Spirit works through the Word, butalso prepares the hearts to receive theWord. Do we then agree that this alsoapplies to the first moments in regenera-tion? We must be conscious of the allimportant role of the Word both at thebeginning and in the entire process of re-generation. Lord’s Day 7 says that faith is

worked in my heart “by the gospel.” Art.35 BC says that spiritual rebirth, or re-generation “is effected by the word of thegospel in the communion of the body ofChrist.” Peter speaks of being born anewthrough the proclaimed Word, 1 Peter1: 23ff, and James exhorts us to receivewith meekness the implanted word that“has the power to save your souls,” Jas.1: 21. James also says that “God gave usbirth by the word of truth, so that wewould become a kind of first fruits of hiscreatures,” Jas. 1:18. Lord’s Day 35 saysthat faith comes to us through thepreaching of the gospel. Therefore, weneed to emphasize the role of the Wordat the very beginning of regeneration.

Faith or regeneration?Often one of the sensitive issues in the

discussion on appropriation concerns theorder of the two elements: faith and re-generation. Does faith precede regenera-tion, or follow from it, as a shoot from aplant? The line of Art 24 BC is that faithnot only precedes regeneration, but isactive in fostering it.3 The line of theCanons of Dort seems to reflect an oppo-site approach. Canons III/IV, 12 states:“Hence all those in whose heart Godworks in this amazing way are certainly,unfailingly, and effectually regeneratedand do actually believe.” Given this vari-ation in formulation, the distinction thatRev. Baars makes between the emphasisof the Belgic Confession (emphasizing theprocess of conversion) and that of theCanons (emphasizing the beginning ofconversion) acquires all the more signifi-cance. For one could receive the impres-sion from the Overview that the begin-ning of regeneration does not necessarilyincorporate the element of faith. Theseed is planted before faith itself germi-nates. This may be a question of misin-terpreting Rev. Baars’ intent, since this isnot explicitly stated in the Overview. Butif the discussion is limited to the Canonsof Dort, one opens oneself to followingthe line of the Canons that faith follows re-generation, and hence is not present atits very beginning.

A closer look at the Canons of Dortindicates that there is really no differ-ence with the Belgic Confession on thispoint, and even the Canons themselvesbring out both views on the relation be-tween faith and regeneration. It is re-markable how often the Canons stress thepriority of the gift of faith, placing it evenbefore justification and sanctification. InI, 4 the Canons first introduce conver-sion as “embracing Jesus the Saviour witha true and living faith.” In I, 7 the Canonsspeak first of the “gift of true faith,” thenof the gift of justification through faith,sanctification, and the other blessings of

Christ. In Canons II, 8 we have the sameorder: “God further willed to give them(the elect, JDJ) faith . . .” and then followthe references to justification and re-newal. In Canons III/IV, 10, we read:“He gives them faith and repentance; Hedelivers them from the darkness andtransfers them to the kingdom of HisSon.” All these references illustrate thecrucial place of faith in the thought ofthe framers of the Canons.

Therefore we need to keep the Wordand Spirit closely together – I would thinkmore closely than reflected in theOverview of Rev. Baars. We cannot fora moment forget the crucial role of faithas the means God uses to bring His electbefore His face in glory, even at the verybeginning of regeneration. And we can-not for a moment forget that rebirth in-cludes within it a specific knowledge offaith. In other words, in our preaching wecannot deal with an unexplainable andinexpressible mystical experience, butneed to articulate in clear terms that re-birth incorporates a living faith, theknowledge of God as revealed in Christ.

Faith as root and shootThe Overview goes a long way to

underscore the promissory character ofthe language of Scripture (section 3). Wealways need to appropriate the promisesof God through faith, and there is neverroom for an automatic salvation. In thisvein we may speak of the need for expe-riential aspects in the appropriation ofsalvation. Faith requires constant activity!

There are two dangers here. Thefirst is to isolate the beginning of con-version, and make that a life-transform-ing event of such significance that all re-quirement of ongoing conversionbecomes secondary and less importantto the believer. The continuation of theconflict with sin is here reduced to amere scrimmage in the light of the allimportant “new birth,” in whatever wayone may view this one-time experi-ence. Here the Reformed answer is thatno specific accent needs to be placedon the initial experience of faith or re-generation. In fact, in most cases it can-not even be isolated. The life of conver-sion and faith, as a continual dying tosin and rising to obedience, is one uni-fied life-experience of faith and obedi-ence in the lives of God’s elect.

The other danger is that faith is seenas an ongoing act of appropriation, tothat point that one only possesses faith inthe measure that he is actively engagedin the act of appropriating salvation,and as soon as this fails, all faith wouldbe lost. In other words, faith is seen assomething you can have one day, andnot have the next. Here the Reformed


say: The words of Scripture are promis-sory, and always we need to appropri-ate them in faith. Yet there is a distinc-tion between root and shoot. Once wecome to faith, we receive a gift that isdeeply rooted in the human heart, pen-etrating the inner most recesses of man,and involving his whole being, mind,will and soul. Faith is more than an on-going act of obedience: it involves atransformation of the will by which weare, in a more or less steadily rootedpattern, inclined to hate evil and turn tothe good.4 To be sure, we must cultivatethis faith every day! But that whichgrows through the Word is nourishedday by day through the presence ofGod’s Spirit, and we at the same timemay grow in the knowledge and assur-ance of God’s salvation in our hearts.

Is this the same as positing an auto-matic salvation? Or taking salvation forgranted? Not at all! For the call to obe-dience and continual appropriation ofthe Word of God remains. However, wecan also be sure that once God has be-gun a work in us, He will bring it to com-pletion. We need not fear the loss of thefaith and commitment tomorrow thatwe have gained today. The Canons stressthat faith grows with assurance, and de-spite many falls this assurance deepensover time, Canons I, 12, V, 9,10.

Admittedly, as the Canons say, therecan be grievous falls in the lives of theelect. Yet the language of the Canons ofDort is carefully chosen. Canons V, 5does not speak of losing one’s faith, butof an interruption in the “exercise offaith.” Canons V, 6 speaks freely of the“grace of adoption” and the “state of jus-tification.” Were the fathers positing anautomatic salvation? Were they suggest-ing that once one is in the fold, he cantake his place for granted? I do not thinkso. Rather, they were carefully distin-guishing between root and shoot. TheScriptural image of the seed of the wordand its germination plays a dominantrole here. A seed once germinated, willonly continue to live and take deeperroot. And once it takes root, if so plantedby God, it cannot be uprooted. Therecan and will be trials and struggles, andtimes of weakness in faith. Repeatedlythe believer will admit that “we do nothave perfect faith and we do not serveGod with such zeal as he requires.”5

Yet the believer is continually broughtback to the rock of God’s Word! There-fore in our preaching and pastorallabours, we should not isolate a begin-ning, giving it special attention, but fo-cus on the whole process of regenera-tion, with its beginning, continuation,and consummation, and with extensiveattention to the many trials and con-

flicts facing believers along the way.Then the focus will continually fall onboth the daily trust required in faith, andon the growth in knowledge and assur-ance resulting from maintaining the ex-ercises of faith.

The role of the preaching The brings me to the last element of

importance in this connection, the roleof the preaching in the appropriation ofsalvation. This does not figure stronglyin the overview of Rev. Baars, and it ismentioned only sporadically. Theoverview stresses that the preachingmust reflect in descriptive terms uponthe beginning of regeneration, or thenew life, (end section 5). This would im-ply a focus upon experiential aspects inthe preaching, with a particular empha-sis on those elements of regenerationthat do not include conscious appropri-ation of the Word as preached.

The response memorandum of thedeputies of the Reformed Churches (lib-erated) written by Rev. A. Hendriksgoes into more detail on this question.6

The Reformed (liberated) deputies saythat, among other characteristics, thepreaching must be discriminating, andexperiential. The preaching must bediscriminating, not in the sense that thecongregation is divided into those whobelieve and those who are unbelieversor hypocrites. The whole congregationmust be seen as the one people of God.Yet within the family of God there arepeople in various states of faith and var-ious situations and circumstances intheir spiritual life. Therefore the preach-ing must always include both comfortsas well as admonitions and threats. Butthese threats and admonitions must bedirected to believer and unbelieveralike, for we all need to hear the regularwarnings, corrections and exhortationsof the gospel. Grace is conferredthrough admonitions, Canons III/IV, 17.It is through this preaching of the fullcounsel of God to the whole congrega-tion that God in effect discriminates: Hegathers His elect and drives the unre-pentant away.

As Rev. Hendriks points out, thepreaching must be experiential. Thepreaching must be priestly, and notspeak only of what God brings to us insalvation, but also of what He works inour hearts.7 The order of salvation needsto be brought forward, and aspects ofthe order of salvation must be treated inevery sermon. Only, says the memo-randum, this should be done within theoverall framework of due respect forthe history of redemption.8

Here again I see the position in theOverview as being in danger of becom-

ing somewhat one-sided. The emphasisseems to fall on the descriptive functionof the preaching and pastoral ministry,specifically with regard to the beginningof regeneration in the life of the believer.At the same time I believe we muststress the prescriptive role of the preach-ing and pastoral ministry not only withregard to the beginning, but with the en-tire process of regeneration. In otherwords, we need more stress on the roleof the preaching as instrument in regen-eration rather than as a vehicle used toinform us about it. Here again, I do notwant to read all kinds of ideas into theOverview, but only wish to draw atten-tion to what I perceive as a tendency toone sidedness.

So much for my thoughts on thisOverview. I think it is a fine gesture onthe part of Rev. Baars to put this docu-ment into discussion as he has done inHolland, and it as also a fine gesture ofRev. VanderMeyden to make it availableto the English speaking world in order topromote greater understanding amongReformed believers. For my part, it cer-tainly helps us in understanding the FreeReformed, and it indicates we are veryclose together in these matters. May Godguide us in seeking to understand oneanother better, so that we may attain agreater and more perfect unity in Christ.

1Although the document functioned in Hol-land, for the sake of making the materialmore relevant to our situation, I am assumingthat there is relative unanimity between thesister churches in North America of the twofederations in dialogue in Holland.2See “Nota over de toeeigening van het heil”in Acta van de Generale Synode van deGereformeerde Kerken in Nederland, BerkelRodenrijs, 1996, (Barneveld: Vuurbaak,1996) 308-323. This memorandum was writ-ten by Dr. A. Hendriks of Amersfoort.3“This true faith, worked in man by the hear-ing of God’s Word and by the operation ofthe Holy Spirit, regenerates him and makeshim a new man.” Note the emphasis on thepreaching of the Word as the means used tocreate faith.4So also J. Van Genderen and W.H. Velema,Beknopte Gereformeerde Dogmatiek, (Kam-pen: Kok, 1992), 543: “Whoever labels faithas uncertain, or as something only on theroad to certainty, denying that this certaintyis given with the fides quae, shortchanges theessence of faith.” (My translation).5Quoting the Form for the Celebration of theLord’s Supper.6See the “Nota” referred to in note 2.7The memorandum here quotes W. Kremer’sPriesterlijke prediking (Amsterdam: Ton Bol-land, 1976).8The memorandum says literally: “the orderof salvation must have an unmistakableplace in the preaching, but it must, accordingto a phrase of K. Schilder stand under the di-rection of history of salvation,” (my transla-tion) See the Acta, 322.


Bound Yet Free: Readings in ReformedChurch Polity. J. De Jong, ed., Win-nipeg: Premier Publishing, 1995. 252pages $ 11.00 CDN

Valuable building-blocksBound Yet Free is a valuable and

highly recommended book. It is an ex-cellent and helpful collection of churchpolitical study material, accessible to allwho are interested in the Biblical foun-dations for Reformed church polity, andwho desire to learn how these princi-ples functioned in various historicalcircumstances.

The material collected in this bookplaces emphasis on Biblical data. TheWord of God is confessed as thesource, as well as the norm, not onlyfor all our thinking about church polity,but also for our application of churchpolitical rules.

There is, however, quite some vari-ation among the authors. This is espe-cially true in the practical elaborationand application of these rules. The edi-tor realizes this. In his preface he indi-cates “that there is some overlap of ma-terial in the selections.” I would saythat there is quite some overlap. Thatdoes not necessarily hurt, of course.But then he adds, “There are also pointswhere some difference of opinion canbe discerned.” Of course, the moreoverlap, the more variation and differ-ence of opinion becomes apparent.

It sounds nice to say that “there isenough room for the reader to draw hisown conclusions, and make up his ownmind.” It is, of course, true that con-frontation with a variety of opinions canbe very helpful in making up your ownmind, but it may not always be that sim-ple, especially since all these authorsemphasize that their position is basedon Scripture.

This makes me wonder about theseso-called “Biblical building blocks” inthis book. The publisher claims “Thisbook provides Biblical building blocksfor instituting sound church govern-ment today.” That sounds wonderful,

but the question is, do all these variousblocks fit together? If you want to buildsomething you better make sure thatyour blocks and bricks do fit, other-wise your building might not be sosolid. If the blocks in this book don’t fitvery well, it may become somewhatcomplicated to build sound churchgovernment with them.

Church historical context For the most part the church his-

torical context, or background of thevarious contributions is lacking. Thisis a weak point in the presentation ofthis material. Except for some generalindications and a little biographicalinformation about the contributors thereader is not informed about the moreprecise church historical circum-stances from which these articlesarose. Researching the background isdifficult for the book does not give usthe original (Dutch) titles, nor the placeand year of the first publication of thismaterial. It may not be such a terribleomission, but it would be helpful if this

information could be inserted in a sub-sequent edition.1

This context is essentialThe articles in this book should

have been presented in a clear and con-crete historical framework, not just be-cause it would be interesting to learnmore about the background, but ratherbecause the opinions explained and de-fended in them can be better under-stood in a historical context. Whoeverwants to think and speak about properorder in, and proper government of,the church of Jesus Christ must startwith a biblical basis. It is also important,however, to realize that church polityis not just general theory, but that we al-ways practice church polity in con-crete historical situations which influ-ence the manner in which the churchpolitical principles are applied. Churchpolity shapes church history and churchhistory shapes church polity. Thus, thehistorical context is essential to under-stand and to appreciate the differencesin opinions and choices, as well as thevariation in emphasis in the way inwhich the various authors apply theBiblical data. In this book this historicalcontext is almost completely lacking,and for many readers will be unknown.Therefore, some of the contributions,especially if compared, evoke morequestions than they answer.

Proper use Taking these writings out of their

church historical context, runs the riskof applying them (or parts of them) ac-cording to what is convenient today,addressing other questions in anotherchurch historical situation.

An example of this can be foundin the discussion between Dr. J.Boersma and Dr. J. De Jong in Clarion(Vol. 45, p.517-519 and p.537-538) onthe matter of ecclesiastical unity. Theywere discussing what local churchescan do and how far they can go in ex-pressing ecclesiastical unity withchurches of a different background

BOOK REVIEW

By J. De Gelder

Bound Yet Free (second of two parts)


without the approbation of the otherchurches in the federation.

Dr. Boersma defended his positionthat in this matter the local church is notdependent on the federation. Amongother things, he referred to what Prof.Greijdanus wrote in his essay whichnow appears in Bound Yet Free. In hisresponse Dr. De Jong, emphasizingthat the local church must not walkahead in these things, but that the fed-eration is to determine the speed inthese developments, refers to the arti-cle of Dr. Kamphuis in the same book.

In both cases the references are cor-rect. The problem is that references andquotations are first isolated from thespecific church historical context, andsubsequently are used to address a mat-ter in a totally different church histori-cal situation. The impression is giventhat Prof. Greijdanus and Dr. Kamphuisare each others opponents, thoroughlycontradicting one another. I am not sosure, however, that there would havebeen such a contrast or even disagree-ment between Prof. Greijdanus and Dr.Kamphuis if they would have beenconfronted with the question Dr.Boersma and Dr. De Jong were busywith in the specific situation of ourchurches today.

S. Greijdanus in the fortiesIs there not a substantial difference,

then, between the lines of thinking in thearticles of Prof. Greijdanus and Dr. Kam-phuis? I think there is, definitely. The dif-ference of opinion the editor refers to inhis preface comes out sharply in thesetwo chapters. But to understand and toappreciate these differences, and at thesame time to put them into proper per-spective, these essays must be read inthe light of the church historical cir-cumstances of their own time.

Dr. Greijdanus often speaks withmuch reluctance, or even hesitation,about the need and the importance ofan organized federation of churches.He emphasized that the spiritual unitybetween the churches is much more im-portant than any organizational unity.He believed that external, visible rela-tions and organized coherence are notreally necessary to be able to speakabout ecclesiastical unity. His dislikefor hierarchy made him stress sostrongly the aspect of the autonomy ofthe local church, that he hardly left anyroom to speak with much appreciationabout the federation of churches, andabout the mutual responsibilities thechurches have accepted within the fed-

eration. Seriously warning of the dan-gers of a strong bond between localchurches, Prof. Greijdanus did not saymuch about the benefits of such a bond.

We must not forget that shortly be-fore this was written Prof. Greijdanushad been suspended and deposed asoffice bearer without any grounds, aftermany years of faithful service as ministerand professor. He had experienced per-sonally the humiliation and the pain,caused by the hierarchical violence of ageneral synod which went far beyond itsauthority. Small wonder, then, that youhave a sharper eye for the dangers thanfor the benefits of major assemblies.

Dr. Kamphuis in the sixties Dr. Kamphuis, on the other hand,

wrote his articles in the sixties in a to-tally different situation in church life. Itis good to realize here that the peoplewho gathered after the Liberation of1944 to continue the Reformed churcheswere not really all of one mind. That isto say, they were very much united intheir rejection of what had happened inthe forties, but their motives for this re-jection were quite different.

There were those who had liberatedthemselves mainly because of the doc-trinal decisions, but there were otherswho were more indignant because ofthe abuse of power of the general synod.Others felt forced to go this way forboth reasons, but there were also peoplewho joined the Liberated churches formerely personal reasons. Some wereconvinced that this abuse of power by ageneral synod proved that major assem-blies as such were useless, and alwaysa danger for the churches.

These differences did not show upright away, as long as the people werefocused on dealing with the past. It be-came visible when in later years moreand more the attention was focused onthe future of the churches. When, forinstance, in the Synodical Reformedchurches the doctrinal decisions of1942/43 were first replaced (in 1946),and a few years later put aside (in 1959),the reactions within the Liberated Re-formed churches were quite diverse.

Among the Liberated churches dur-ing the Fifties and Sixties some openlydiminished the mutual responsibility ofthe churches, living together in one fed-eration. Others denied, or at least ques-tioned the usefulness of the Church Or-der, and the role of major assemblies.

This was not motivated by hierar-chical actions of the major assemblies,but it did lead to the concrete danger

of independentism. The aim was aloose bond of autonomous churches,without a real commitment, whichwould give up the congregations to thehierarchy of local consistories and of-fice bearers. In this climate Dr. Kam-phuis wrote his articles in de Refor-matie, stressing that the LORD himselfrequires organizational unity in the fed-eration of churches. The whole dis-tinction between a spiritual unity andan organizational unity was rejected byhim as flimsy and unworkable.

VarietyHow much variety there can be in

the practical use of Scriptural datacomes out clearly in the manner inwhich some of the authors work withthe exegesis and implications of Acts15, the famous chapter about the Coun-cil meeting in Jerusalem.

It goes beyond the scope of a bookreview to go further into the explana-tion and the use of this chapter in thechurch political literature. After all, mypoint is not to determine who is right,but I have tried to show how importantit is to distinguish very carefully inthese matters. It is significant to recog-nize how the application of what wefind in the Bible as church politicalprinciples is influenced by the concretechurch historical context in which weare living. That was true for Prof. Grei-jdanus and Dr. Kamphuis; it is alsotrue for us today.

Dr. Kamphuis and Rev. ViseeThis becomes somewhat sharper,

when we realize that what we read fromDr. Kamphuis in Bound Yet Free is onlythe second part of his original series. Thearticles have been written in a discus-sion with the Rev. G. Visee, who hadwritten about the matter of the churchfederation in the magazine Opbouw.

In the beginning of his reaction Dr.Kamphuis responds directly to the state-ments and arguments of Rev. Visee.This part has not been translated andpublished in this collection. It was con-sidered less relevant for the readers ofthis book, because of the limited ques-tion Dr. Kamphuis dealt with. As such Ican agree with the editor, who explainsthis in his introduction, but the disad-vantage is that in this way we lose againpart of the historical context.

Rev. Visee wrote about what he sawas the very significant contrast betweenfederation in a spiritual sense and in achurch political sense. If you would gointo his thoughts and verify his argu-


ments you would find out that he refersseveral times to what Prof. Greijdanushad written in his essay, now presentedin this anthology.

Dr. Kamphuis vehemently resistsVisee’s annexation of Prof. Greijdanusto support his independentistic views onthe church federation. And rightly so.He points out that in the same brochureProf. Greijdanus says other things aswell. For instance, the local churchesare bound before God to enter into com-munion with each other (46). He de-scribes church federation as a divineobligation (34), or a divine calling (47).These aspects of Prof. Greijdanus’ posi-tion are not mentioned by Rev. Visee.

And yet, in my eyes Dr. Kamphuis isnot really conclusive in defending Prof.Greijdanus. In fact he glosses over tooeasily the arguments Rev. Visee putsforward from Prof. Greijdanus’ booklet.In this way he does not do justice tothe tension which is present in the writ-ing of Prof. Greijdanus. It cannot bedenied that in Prof. Greijdanus’ essay,there is a remarkable tension betweenthe spiritual unity and the organiza-tional unity of the church; between thedivine calling to form a church federa-tion on the one side, and the little value,the relative insignificance, and eventhe dangers of such a federation on theother hand.

Flexibility and variationAgain, within the framework of this

book study it is not the issue to deter-mine who is right. We can learn, how-ever, that the history of Reformedchurch government is characterized bya constant tension between hierarchyand independentism. Walking the nar-row path between the two, we mustlearn not to read more into the Biblethan what it says – but not less either!Within the framework of the Scripturaldata there might be more flexibility andvariation possible in the practical orga-nization of the federative way of livingtogether as Reformed churches than wehave been used to and than we some-times think. We can learn from Prof.Greijdanus that more significant thanany practical structure is the total sub-mission to Christ as the only head of thechurch. If that is lacking then the bestfederative structure will fail. Even theChurch Order of Dort in its most purifiedform will not be able to prevent that.

What can we learn?This can help us (and with ‘us’ I mean

the Canadian Reformed churches) to

have a great deal of understanding thatmany of the (formerly) Independent Re-formed churches, after their experienceswith the hierarchical structures of theCRC, at first have been very hesitant toenter right away into a new federation. Itcan also teach us patience when we getthe feeling that those now United Re-formed churches still seem to need a lotof time (in our eyes, that is!) to find aproper form for their federative structure.

At the same time we can learn inour contacts with Presbyterian churches(I think of the Free Church of Scotlandand the Orthodox Presbyterian Church)to understand and appreciate the factthat their church political structure isdifferent from ours. Here too churchhistory has shaped the manner in whichScripture has been applied to establishchurch government.

Would it be impossible that at acertain time confrontation with other(new or old) church historical devel-opments would open our eyes for pos-sible weaknesses or perhaps a one-sided emphasis in the way in whichwe have applied the same Biblical datain our own church polity?

HelpfulThe remarks do not mean that I am

not pleased with the translation of thesecontributions from the history of Dutchchurch polity. On the contrary, it is avery valuable collection of material forevery one who wants to become morefamiliar with the Dutch sources of Re-formed church government.

There is also another reason why Iam happy with the availability of thesearticles in the English speaking ecclesias-tical world. It means that now this mate-rial as also accessible for office bearersand members of Presbyterian churches.

We know that there are various dif-ferences between our Church Orderand the Presbyterian Form of Govern-ment, especially with regard to some ofthe issues discussed in Bound Yet Free.The relation between the local churchesand major assemblies, and the authorityof a Presbytery and a General Assem-bly compared to our major assembliesare differences which come to mind.

I trust that this review has madeclear that I, by no means, want to sug-gest that with this book the Reformedlight has finally shone into the Presby-terian darkness. That is definitely notthe case. Rather, I see this translationas a welcome means to show our broth-ers in the OPC and the FCS not onlywhat the differences are, but also from

where they come. This may help themto appreciate our position in these mat-ters as well.

Timothy or TitusAs far as the translation as such is

concerned, I do not dare to say toomuch, being relatively Dutch myself. Idid check several passages of the trans-lation with the Dutch original and it ismy impression that the translator did afine job. He did make a little but re-markable mistake, though. On p. 240it states that according to Galatians 2,the apostle Paul refused Timothy to becircumcised. But in Acts 16:3 we readthat Paul did circumcise Timothy be-cause of the Jews. Galatians 2 speaksabout Titus, who was indeed not cir-cumcised, also because of the Jews.Here the translator got mixed up, forDr. Kamphuis (in the original, quotinga letter from K. Schilder) is correct inreferring to Titus. This point may gen-erate interesting exegetical questions,but they have nothing to do with thisbook review.

1The speech of F. L. Rutgers is the first onein the report of the Gereformeerd KerkelijkCongres, with the title, Het Juk der TweedeHierarchie, published in 1887 byJ.A.Wormser in Amsterdam. Shortly afterthe Liberation, S. Greijdanus wrote hisbrochure, Schriftbeginselen Van KerkrechtInzake Meerdere Vergaderingen, publishedby J. Boersma in Enschede. In 1946 J. vanDalen’s booklet De Schriftuurlijke Beginse-len van het Kerkrecht was published byOosterbaan & LeCointre in Goes. The con-tribution of C. Veenhof was originally pub-lished as a long series of articles in the mag-azine Dienst, starting in volume 2 (1948),p.65. The final article, written by J. Kam-phuis appeared for the first time as a series ofarticles in the magazine De Reformatie, vol.38 (1962/63), and was recently re-pub-lished in a selection of Dr. Kamphuis’ es-says Begrensde Ruimte, Oosterbaan &LeCointre, Goes 1996, p.133 - 186.

CHURCH NEWS

DECLINED to Redeemer CanadianReformed Church of Winnipeg

Rev. P.G. Feenstraof Owen Sound, ON


Additional staffMERF is very thankful to the Lord

that two ministers have been found will-ing to join the staff of MERF and sharewith Rev. Atallah the additional re-sponsibilities which have come with thegreatly expanded facilities. As of Janu-ary Rev. D. Buchanan from the UnitedStates has assumed the role of coordi-nator of local ministries and residentinstructor. Pastor Thabet Megly fromEgypt is now assisting with the growingArabic broadcast work.

Saudi believers cling to ChristSaudi Arabia is the only country in

the world which officially bans the exis-tence of any structure for Christian wor-ship. There is not one single churchbuilding in the entire nation; expatriateChristian workers are unofficially al-lowed to worship within diplomatic mis-sion compounds. Legally, all Saudis areconfessing and practicing Muslims.Non-Muslim guest workers are consid-ered infidels and are not allowed to getnear the “holy” city of Mecca. Yet, theGospel is having impact on many Saudilives. The Gospel can be heard over theradio throughout the country. There areindications that many Saudi men andwomen are listening and thinking. Aleading Muslim clergyman wrote an ar-ticle in a local newspaper in which heexpressed concern over the impact radiobroadcasting and Christian literaturewas having on young people. He calledfor more organized efforts to persuadeMuslims in Saudi Arabia and elsewhereto “cease from listening to Christianpropaganda or reading infidel publica-tions.” He added: “The very presenceof such voices and publications in theArabic language is most disturbing.” Theconversion of a young Saudi like F.S.indicates that the clergyman’s fears arewell-founded. F.S. says: “Brothers, Ihereby declare that I have embracedthe Christian religion. . . . The onlyChristian I have met is from Sudan. He isconsidered by all here an unclean per-son. This is how they all view Christians.

Now I am one like you; I believe thatChrist is the Son of the Living God. . . .”

Reformed witness amongPalestinians

In Jordan, there are a few Palestin-ian families of Reformed persuasion butthere are no Reformed congregations.In Gaza, the West Bank and within theborders of Israel there are quite a fewsmall Arab evangelical groups, mostlyArminian and/or Dispensationalist. Atleast four of them show a growing in-terest in doctrines of grace. MERF seeksto help them. In Gaza a young man ofReformed persuasion, converted whilestudying in Egypt, is conducting a smallBible study group. This work was initi-ated by an elderly man who trained atMERF’s study center in Larnaca. Aswell, a growing number of PalestinianMuslims are responding to Gospelbroadcasts.

First impressions of a volunteerlibrarian

What follows is taken from a reportwritten by Veronica ‘t Hart (from Aus-

tralia) who has volunteered her ser-vices to help organize the library.

. . . The congregation has a“core” of around 40 persons, whocome from a variety of countries.Some of these work for MERF, othersare expatriates who either work inCyprus or are married to a Cypriot,and some are from the local Cypriotpopulation. On each of the five Sun-days that I’ve been here, however,there have always been visitors, ei-ther from abroad or from peoplewho live here. The Church is adver-tised well, and is known by many inthe community, and it’s wonderfulconsistently to see people comingin “off the street.” I’ve spoken toquite a few who did so previouslyand have stayed, recognizing thisChurch to be the one where the Lordand His Word is proclaimed in truth.It’s wonderful to hear their stories ofGod’s work in their lives, and it’s ourprayer here that many more willcontinue to come to be fed by the“bread of life.”

We have been discussing the sig-nificance of the “bread of life” at the

NEWS from MERF-Canada

Participants (pastors and their wives from Egypt) of the 90th study term. Back row,at left, guest instructors, Rev. L. Eyres (from the US) and Rev. E. Hempenius (fromthe Netherlands). Back row, at right, Ben Vandervelde (from Australia) and SimonKooistra (from the Netherlands) who served on the house parent team.


Dreaming, Planning, Building in CalgaryBy John Hoogerdijk

(English) Bible Study evenings, heldevery Thursday (there’s also an Ara-bic Bible Study each Wednesday).Also in this way the Lord feeds Hispeople here. Rev. Atallah has beendiscussing the miracles of Jesus, asthey are recorded in the Gospel ofJohn. In connection with these wehave spent several evenings diggingdeep into the treasures of John 6,which contains so much that’s nec-essary both for doctrine and life. Onething that has stood our for me in

this study has been Rev. Atallah’s re-peated insistence that, unlike theJews of Jesus’ time, we should notseek after “signs and miracles” – forearthly, personal benefit – but weshould feed off Jesus, the “bread oflife,” who has revealed himself inhis Word. We do not need special(extra-Biblical) revelations of theSpirit, faith healing, or even enter-taining worship services, as thecharismatic and evangelical circleswould have us believe, but we

should always focus on what Godhas revealed in Holy Scripture. Godfeeds us through His Word.

This is also the aim of MERF: “re-vealing the whole counsel of God.”My main task here is to set up the li-brary at the John Calvin Centre. It isour hope that the library will be ofmuch benefit for those who comehere to study the Reformed faith. . . .The work of “revealing the wholecounsel of God” requires peoplewith different gifts and talents, and itis a wonderful privilege to play (asmall) part in this.

We are grateful that we in Canada mayalso play a small part in God’s churchgathering work in the Middle East withour prayers and financial support. In aletter Rev. V. Atallah writes: “We praiseGod for the faithful support of his peo-ple and are glad to know of the prayerswhich are an important part of this spir-itual battle.”

Thank you for your continuedsupport!

If you would like to make a personaldonation please make your chequepayable to MERF-Canada and send it to

MERF-Canada 1225 Highway 5, R.R. #1Burlington, ON L7R 3X4

On behalf of MERF-Canada,Rev. J. Mulder, chairman

Mrs. J. Van Dam, secretary

Rev. and Mrs. V. Atallah with two Sudanese elders and their wives who came fromKhartoum to participate in the October 1997 study term at the John Calvin Centre.

May 1, 1998 in Calgary dawned as a typical spring day onthe prairies with a crystal clear blue sky, warm breezes, andthe signs of spring growth teeming everywhere. This idealprairie weather was to be a perfect setting for the opening ofthe home of the congregation at Calgary. The second instanceof a growing trend in our churches, the new facilities arehome to both the church and Tyndale Christian School.

Just after 7:30 pm, the master of ceremonies for theevening, Br. Henry van den Hoven, invited the congrega-tion and guests to assemble and begin the celebration ofGod’s blessings and steadfast love in our congregation.During the course of the evening, Br. van den Hoven read anumber of letters of congratulations from churches and for-mer members and pastors.

As one of the few charter members of the congregation, Sr.Judy van Ellenberg presented a brief history of the congrega-

Chairman ofthe Board –

JohnHoogerdijk –

presentingChairman ofconsistory a

Bible – on behalf of the

school board.


tional life since institution in 1964, out-lining that though the church had arather transitory nature and membershipfluctuated, it still enjoyed the blessings ofthe LORD throughout its history.

Br. Bill Dekker, as the chairman ofthe Building Committee, reviewed thehistory of the building process, taking usthrough several years of dreaming,planning and building. Towards the endof his presentation, he invited all pastmembers of planning, building andfund-raising committees to come for-ward to demonstrate the number ofpeople involved, and indeed, a goodportion of the congregation was repre-sented. At the end, Br. Dekker pre-sented a plaque commemorating thefirst service held in the building on De-cember 25, 1997.

The Ladies Aid also got into the act,demonstrating their mastery of poetryand their superb vocal talents.

As this evening also celebrated theopening of the school, the Chairman ofthe School Society presented a pulpitBible to the church, observing that thearchitectural reality of the school resting

on the foundation of the church wasalso the spiritual reality.

The children attending TyndaleChristian School, led by Br. O. Bouwmanand Sr. K. van Ellenberg, also showedtheir abundant talents, providing the au-dience with a short Easter program.

There were also a number of guestswho offered their congratulations. Rep-resentatives from Coaldale and Taberwere present and congratulated the con-gregation, suggesting that Calgary’scentral location will help strengthen thebond of the churches in the Classis of Al-berta/Manitoba. They also exhorted thecongregation to look beyond the wallsof the church with respect to our placein the world around us.

Along with numerous letters of con-gratulations from former pastors, for-mer members, and many churches inthe federation, the congregation re-ceived gifts – the church receivedvideos for office bearer training from thechurch at Ancaster, and the school re-ceived a globe and a map from Coal-dale Christian School.

There were others: Mr. Ron Taylorextended congratulations on behalf of

the Government of Alberta, Departmentof Education, and Mrs. Marianne John-son, Principal of Rundle College Ele-mentary, from whom the school hadrented classroom space in the forma-tive years, congratulated the commu-nity with their new facilities.

Br. E. Vanderveen, as chairman ofthe Joint Operating Committee, re-vealed the plaque commemorating theopening of the building. Lastly, Rev.Eikelboom closed the evening withprayer, and invited the audience toview the facilities.

It was a joyful evening, for the con-gregation, not only because we finallyhad our own building, but primarilybecause of what we learned through thewhole building process. Through thiswhole process, we saw in very con-crete ways that our Father in Heavenguided us – no significant injuries weresustained, and the resources we re-quired, both financial and otherwise,were there when we needed them. Weknow that the LORD will continue toprovide for us, and enable us to usethese facilities for His service, to theglory and honour of His name.

Some sisters of the congregation making a presentation.

Tyndale students rejoicing.

Tyndale and future Tyndale students.

Enthusiastic students with eager props.


BOOK NOTICES

URCNA and CanRC

I have some comments on the speechmade by our delegate at the Synod of theUnited Reformed Churches of North Amer-ica (URCNA). All the communicant mem-bers in the CRC and URCNA should knowwhat happened in the Netherlands 1942-1944 and why they are members of theCRC and URCNA and not of any other Re-formed Church(es). The Lord in his mercysent to western Canada in the late 1940’sand early 1950’s the brothers De Haas andBarendregt. They were in Canada for morethan a year before they instituted the truechurch of the Lord in Canada in April 1950.That was about 6 months after the infamousletter of Dr. Danhof, stated clerk of theSynod of the Christian Reformed Churchesin North America. His ideas about thechurch were then exactly as he showed usin 1949. (Classis and Synods are a higherauthority than the local consistories. Do notlet Prof. Dr. K. Schilder on the pulpit.) Any-body who wants to know when a truechurch becomes a false church, that wasthe time and date.

My father hesitated to join the churchin Coaldale - Lethbridge right after wecame to Canada. We joined in September1950, six months after we arrived as immi-grants. At that time we were invited to jointhe Christian Reformed Church in Noble-ford. Now here comes the reason, why hejoined the church in Coaldale - Lethbridge.We were supposed to sit on the same Lord’s

Supper table with our former brothers andsisters who either stood passively by, oractively helped to throw us out of thechurch (GKN) and keep our mouth shut.

Now we are talking and debating withthe same people or their descendants. Ifirst want to hear an admission from themthat they and their parents were wrong andthat the things which happened in theNetherlands should not have happened. Ifthey can’t or won’t do that, we should stoptalking with them. If they do admit it then Ican really call them brothers and sisters inChrist. And do not come with any changesin doctrine or Books of Praise, etc.

As for me personally I know that I amin the true church of the Lord in Calgaryaccording to Art. 28 and 29 of the BelgicConfession.

Martin Van Bostelen Calgary, Alberta

Editorial note: The CanRC have never re-quired an apology from the CRC regardingthe past history, only a commitment to theReformed doctrine today. It is telling that af-ter the CRC declared that the Conclusionsof Utrecht (1908) no longer had the statusof a binding doctrinal declaration, the onlyobstacle remaining was the CRC’s rela-tionship with the “Synodical” ReformedChurches in The Netherlands. (See Acts ofSynod of Orangeville 1968, Art. 134.) Dr.J. Faber put it well. “God gathers a churchof true Christian believers. He does not

gather a church of church historians” (TheChallenge of Church Union, 169).

The Ice Storm

Undersigned read with interest your ar-ticle about the ice storm ‘98. Members ofthe CanRC who are 65 years and olderhave a very good insight of what you andyour family went through. This is what youcan call “an act of God.” We went throughthe same thing the winter of 1944-45 inthe northern part of the Netherlands ex-cept at that time it was strictly political.We not only had no power, no drinkingwater and very little heat, but in the westernpart also very little food. In Canada it lastedfrom 10-30 days. We went through it formore than 6 months. Most times it was notvery cold but it was wet and damp. Andthe Lord carried most of the people throughthat terrible winter. Then we could notchange anything. Now people in easternCanada can do a lot of things, so they willnot be stuck again. Buy a good wood stoveand make sure you have some coal oil andmatches. And buy a good 5000 watt gen-erator for your power needs. Rememberthere is a Dutch saying, “Een ezel stoot zichin’t gemeen niet twee maal aan dezelfdesteen.” Freely translated, “a donkey doesnot usually let itself be hurt twice.”

Martin Van BostelenCalgary, Alberta

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Please mail, e-mail or fax letters for publication to the editorial address.They should be 300 words or less. Those published may be edited for style or length.

Please include address and phone number.

By C. Van Dam

CELEBRATING SALVATION

Clarence Stam, Celebrating Salvation.Winnipeg: Premier (One Beghin Ave,Winnipeg, Manitoba R2C 3X5). Paperback; 301 pages $ 15.75 Can or $ 12 US.

After more than 25 years in the min-istry of the gospel, Rev. Cl. Stam, min-ister of the Cornerstone Canadian Re-formed Church in Hamilton, has puttogether in this book material “usedmostly in preparing sermons for festive

occasions” (p.3). The author covers thehigh points of the ecclesiastical calen-dar, namely, the birth, death, resurrec-tion and ascension of our Saviour andthe outpouring of His Spirit at Pente-cost, by devoting five to eight chapterson each area. In addition, he has writtenabout the return of Christ by providing asection of four chapters with an exposi-tion of Revelation 20.

This book is a pleasure to read! Rev.Stam correctly concentrates on what theLord our God has done and is doing forthe redemption of His people, while atthe same time reminding us of our re-sponsibilities. There is awe at God’swondrous ways and joy for His redemp-

tion in this book! Indeed, as minister ofthe gospel, the glad tidings, Rev. Stam isclearly in a sermonic mode as he takesthe reader through the great saving worksof God in Jesus Christ. Aspects and de-tails are pointed out that may have es-caped the casual reader of Scripture andone cannot but be challenged, enriched,and comforted by the knowledge of sal-vation when going through this book.There is some repetition and overlap,due to the fact that more than one chap-ter deals with the topic at hand, but theBiblical material presented here deservesto be savoured and reflected on.1 Rev.Stam also applies the text to today and so


shows how the great deeds of salvationshould impact on our lives now.

This book is very easy to read andcan be used with great profit for per-sonal enrichment and meditation on theWord of God. It will also serve well forstudy purposes at Bible study groupsand societies. Highly recommended!

1There is a confusing inconsistency thatshould be corrected in an eventual reprint.On p. 268 the author identifies himself as amillennialist but on pp. 285ff he calls his op-ponents millennialists.

By G.Ph. van Popta

CREDO

CREDO: An Overview of the Church’sConfession as Summarized in the ThreeForms of Unity; by Jack De Jong; Pre-mier Publishing, Winnipeg; 182 pages,softcover, CDN $9.75

Dr. J. De Jong, professor at our The-ological College, has produced a finebook on the Three Forms of Unity. It wasspecifically designed for those who wishto make a public profession of faith. Inan orderly way, it reviews the contentsof our Reformed confessions and givesstudents exposure to their confessionalheritage. Credo does not go through theBelgic Confession article by article, al-though in its main lines it follows theflow of the Confession while bringingin parallel sections of the HeidelbergCatechism and the Canons of Dort. In28 chapters, it deals with what Scrip-tures teach and we confess about God,man, Christ, salvation, the church, andthe last things. Each chapter gives thestudent a brief explanation of a topic.This is followed by an assignment fromScriptures and the three confessions,some questions for homework, and extraquestions for deeper reflection and dis-cussion. The section of chapters whichdeals with the application of salvationand its fruits ends with five chapters ex-plaining the Canons of Dort.

This is a useful book and highly rec-ommended to ministers and others whoare called to the pleasant task of takingcatechism students one more timethrough the basic teachings of the Re-formed faith as they have been set forthin the Three Forms of Unity. Credo willhelp the teacher ensure that the studenthas sufficient knowledge of the teach-ings about our Triune God whom thestudent desires to profess publicly be-fore God and the church.

By G.Ph. van Popta

LET’S STUDY PHILIPPIANS

Let’s Study Philippians; by Sinclair B.Ferguson; The Banner of Truth, Carlisle,PA, 138 pages, softcover, US $9.99

Let’s Study Philippians, by Dr. Fer-guson, professor of Systematic Theol-ogy in Westminster Theological Semi-nary, Philadelphia, is the first in a seriesof commentaries written to encouragepeople to read, understand and applyGod’s Word. This is not a technicalwork; however, it does explain the text.While not listing off all sorts of applica-tions, it does speak of how the teachingof Scripture does affect and changelives. It seeks to help one understandthe Biblical message and apply it. It doesnot have in view a reader who is inter-ested in all the scholarly questions rele-vant to a book or text; however, behindthe explanation lies scholarly and re-sponsible work. It is laid out very wellin 27 chapters of four or five pages each.Each chapter explains about four verses.A very valuable feature is a group studyguide. Following the schedule as it islaid out, a Bible study group couldmakes its way through this letter in thir-teen sessions. For the benefit of theleader, an introduction containing somesound principles for Bible study andgood suggestions for getting and keepinga discussion going are included.

Many commentaries have beenwritten on the letter of the Apostle Paulto the Philippians. This is a worthy ad-dition to the shelf. Dr. Ferguson has avery clear, pleasant and engaging wayof writing. Let’s Study Philippians canbe used with profit in individual studyor a group setting.

By G. Nederveen

St. Augustine, The Confessions. London:Hodder & Stoughton, 1997. Paperback,416 pages. Cost: approx. $20.00 Cdn.

Augustine’s Confessions have beenavailable in print for a long time, butthis volume is the first one that I haveseen with scripture references and ex-planatory history notes on nearly everypage. This book offers a fresh translationby Maria Boulding OSB. She used asprincipal text the one of Lucas Verhei-jen, O.S.A., in Corpus Christianorum,Series Latina, Volume XXVII (Turnhoult,

1990). Maria Boulding has managed togive a very readable rendition indeed.Also helpful is the Introduction by thetranslator. The book is well worth theprice of $20.00 Cdn.

James G. McCarthy, The Gospel Ac-cording to Rome. Eugene, Oregon:Harvest House Publishers, 1995. Pa-perback, 397 pages. Cost: $20.00 Cdn.

James McCarthy is from Irish stock,and was raised a staunch RomanCatholic. About 20 years ago he left theRoman Church when he “became con-vinced that the teaching of the CatholicChurch could not be reconciled withChristianity as taught in the New Testa-ment” (p.12). He wrote this book to helpother Roman Catholics understand whatthe church teaches. The strength of Mc-Carthy’s contribution lies in the fact thatdoes two things. First, he documentsthe teaching of Rome on issues relatingsalvation, worship, devotion, and au-thority. He uses the numbering system ofthe latest Catechism of the CatholicChurch to help you check on the accu-racy of his work. Second, he suppliesample scripture proof to refute theclaims of Rome. The author also makesuse of detailed charts to help youthrough the maze of Roman theology.

I recommend this book with the ex-ception of Appendix A on Infant Bap-tismal Justification. For the rest, it con-tains a wealth of information, and thewhole book is written in a very lucidstyle. It will open your eyes to what theRoman position is, and the author doesso in a compassionate manner. Thisbook will help you in conversationswith people of Roman Catholic back-ground who are not sure of what theybelieve. Which is the case for most! Mc-Carthy calls them more dutiful than de-vout. They don’t ask much of theChurch, and the Church doesn’t askmuch of them (p. 316).

One unfortunate and oft recurringannoyance in the book is that McCarthykeeps on referring to members of theRoman Church as Catholics and otherChristians as non-Catholics. Maybe hedid this to distance himself from hispast, but it overlooks the fact that thecatholicity of the church is not thecopyright of Rome. If this book receivesa reprint – and it deserves one – I hopethat this mistaken reference to Catholicsand non-Catholics will be cleared up.Having said that, I suggest this book isan asset to anyone’s library.


The Coming Evangelical Crisis, John H.Armstrong, General Editor (Chicago:Moody Press, 1996), 269 pages, $27.50CDN.

This book is a compilation of es-says by fourteen pastors and scholarswho are concerned about the currentstate of affairs within the world of evan-gelical Christianity.

In the introduction, the editor, JohnArmstrong sets the tone for the book. Hestates that “deeply disturbing emphasesare shaping the present direction ofevangelical Christianity” (page 18). Heargues that modern evangelicals havedrifted away from the sola fide of Scrip-ture and older evangelicalism into “asea of subjectivism” (page 23).

In chapter one, R. Albert Mohler, jr.shows how the term “evangelical” hasbecome increasingly problematic. No-body is really sure anymore who is andis not an “evangelical.” It seems thatthe term is now sufficiently elastic to ac-commodate many positions formerlyassociated with liberal theology. Evenpeople who reject “everything the Re-formers taught and believed” are ac-cepted as “evangelical.”

Dr. Robert Godfrey, well-known inthe Reformed community, offers a help-ful essay in which he traces the progressof Luther’s thought on the supreme au-thority of Scripture. In his strugglesagainst Romanist deviations, Luthergradually came to realize that appealsto history and tradition were notenough. In the Leipzig debate with Eckin 1519, Luther recognized the supremeauthority of Scripture over the Fathersand over tradition.

Chapter three is entitled, “DoesTheology Still Matter?” Written by GaryL. W. Johnson, this essay is in itselfworth the price of the book. Johnsonargues that “a healthy Christianity can-not survive without theology, and the-ology must matter today, especially inour mindless and irrational culture”(page 57). Johnson places himself in

the same line as David Wells whosetwo books No Place for Truth and Godin the Wasteland offer a bleak assess-ment of the current evangelical scene.

Johnson, Wells and many other ob-servers comment on the astounding the-ological illiteracy combined with actualhostility to doctrine among evangelicals.In place of a theological focus, says John-son, an ill-defined and unquestioned“spirituality” has become the dominantinterest. Ministers and seminary profes-sors who put a high priority on theologi-cal knowledge are considered out oftouch with reality and do not have agood understanding of the needs of lo-cal churches or the culture (page 59).

“An undogmatic Christianityis no Christianity at all.”

When theology is downplayed, theresults are inevitable: outright error (e.g.77% of evangelicals believe that “humanbeings are basically good”); preoccupa-tion with entertainment in worship(drama, even comedy skits replacepreaching); impatience with preachingitself; stress on musical style that attemptsto evoke an emotional response simplyfor its own sake; relinquishing culturalauthority to pop psychology (Christianstoday often revel in terms like co-depen-dence, dysfunctional but often haven’t aclue what is meant by propitiation or jus-tification); a demand for practicalpreaching (practical here doesn’t mean“in practice,” but “readily achievable,”“easily followed advice”). Johnson’sbottom line? This: an undogmatic Chris-tianity is no Christianity at all (page 67).

In chapter four, R. Fowler White ex-plains how many today believe that Godcontinues to reveal Himself through thegift of prophecy. This thinking used to beconfined to Pentecostal sects, but hasnow become part of evangelical main-stream thinking. White shows that thisconflicts with the age-old confession ofthe Church that God has spoken His

Word, once-for-all, in Christ and inthose whom Christ authorized and em-powered by His Spirit (Heb. 1:1-2; 2:3-4; Eph. 2:19-20). White fears that theconfession of a closed canon is in jeop-ardy and that all the excitement aboutalleged prophecy is diverting attentionaway from the Scriptures.

Written by R. Kent Hughes, chapterfive is a plea for Christ-centered preach-ing and contains some good remindersfor both preachers and listeners. Of thelatter, he says, for instance, that “the willto concentrate one’s hearing is funda-mental” (page 101). And: “you cannotlisten to God’s Word the way you listento TV.” He also applauds “scribblinghands” during the worship service. Ap-parently, one of the curious by-prod-ucts of a previous reformation was asudden interest in shorthand! Renewedhearts make for busy hands (page 101).

In chapter six, R.C. Sproul wondersaloud if the Protestant “protest” againstRomanism is over. Several signs point inthat direction, says Sproul. If the protestis over in the name of peace, tragedylies ahead, since the heart of the Gospelof justification by faith alone is at stake.Chapter seven by S. Lewis Johnson jr.highlights current objections fromwithin evangelicalism to the doctrineof substitutionary atonement.

Chapter eight offers a fine theologi-cal essay by Robert Strimple of West-minister Seminary (California). Heshows how the “new” thinking of ClarkPinnock, Richard Rice and JohnSanders is really only the “old” thinkingof the Socinians of the 16th century.According to these authors, God is notomniscient. God neither foreordainsnor has foreknowledge of the deci-sions of human-beings with free will.Ultimately, all God can do is react tohuman choices. Again, Strimple makesclear that this is not simply an abstrusedoctrinal question. Rather, the gospel isat stake. If theologians such as Pinnockcan be accepted as “evangelical,” onemay wonder if words mean anything.

BOOK REVIEW

By R. Schouten

Has the (Evangelical) Church Lost its Way?


The last chapters of the book offerinvigorating treatments of topics likeworship, music, counseling and spiri-tual warfare. In each area, the case ismade that the Gospel has been com-promised by contemporary trends.

This book is a strong effort to steerevangelical Christianity back to its re-formational roots. Reading this bookwill help Reformed believers to be pru-

dent about the offerings of the generalevangelical world. It will also intensifytheir appreciation for their own doctri-nal heritage and their own regulatedworship. The book should not make Re-formed people feel smug – as if all iswell in our midst and as if we have noproblems. Complacency will lead todisaster. However, this book offersstrong hints about where we should be

looking for renewal and reformation,not to the latest trends of evangelical-ism, but to our own history as well asour own distinctively Reformed doc-trine and worship. Instead of giving into the lust for respectability in the Chris-tian world, let’s rejoice in what God hasgiven to us. This book is available atyour local Christian bookstore. Takeand read!

PRESS RELEASE

Press Release of the Classis Pacific West of theCanadian Reformed Churches Meeting in Cloverdale,BC on March 31, 1998

On behalf of the convening church, the Church atCloverdale, Rev. J. Moesker read from Matthew 21: 1-13 andasked the brothers to sing Hymn 25: 1,3. He welcomed allthe delegates and made mention of the fact that this is thefirst meeting of the newly constituted Classis Pacific West.He mentioned one highlight, namely that he had acceptedthe call to the Church at Carman, Manitoba.

The Church at Cloverdale reported on the credentialsand stated that they were found to be in good order. Twochurches had instructions.

Classis was declared constituted and the following offi-cers were appointed to act as executive:

Chairman – Rev. C. VanSpronsenVice-Chairman – Rev. J. VisscherClerk – Rev. E. Kampen

The agenda was updated and adopted.Classis took note of the decision of Regional Synod

West held on Dec. 10, 11, 1996 (Acts, Article 6, E and F.).An appeal was received, discussed and answered.The call of the Rev. J. Moesker to the Church at Carman,

Manitoba, was approbated and he will be released from hisduties in Classis Pacific West on June 15, 1998. The chair-man thanked the Rev. J. Moesker for his work in this classi-cal resort during the last ten years.

The Church at Cloverdale requested and will receive pul-pit supply for one Sunday per month.

Classis Pacific West decided, based on a submission ofthe Church at Willoughby Heights, to adopt provisionallynew Classical Regulations. These will be finalized at thenext classis.

The Church at Surrey asked advice in a pastoral matterand this was given.

The Treasurer of Classis Pacific, br. R. Leyenhorst, reportedto Classis Pacific West and was thanked for his efforts.

The Committee for Needy Churches submitted its report.The Church for the Inspection of the Archives submitted

its report.Question Period according to Article 44 C.O. was held.The following appointments were made:

a) The Convening Church for the next Classis: the Churchof Houston, B.C.

place: Houstondate: June 15, 1998 (alternate date: Oct. 6, 1998)

b) The proposed Executive:Chairman: Rev. J. VisscherVice-Chairman: Rev. E. KampenClerk: Rev. J. Louwerse

c) Committee for Examinations: Rev. C. VanSpronsen andRev. J. Visscher

Examiners:Exegesis OT – Rev. E. KampenExegesis NT – Rev. C. VanSpronsenDoctrine and Creeds – Rev. J. VisscherKnowledge – HS – Rev. J. LouwerseChurch History – Rev. J. LouwerseChurch Polity – Rev. E. KampenEthics – Rev. J. HuijgenDiaconiology – Rev. J. Huijgen

d) Church Visitors – Rev. J. Huijgen, Rev. E. Kampen, Rev. C. VanSpronsen (c), Rev. J. Visscher, (Alternate: Rev. J. Louwerse).

e) Church for the Archives – Smithersf) Church for Inspection of Archives – Houstong) Treasurer – Mrs. B. Meintsh) Audit Church – Smithersi) Committee on Financial Aid to Theological Students –

M. VanDriel, C. VanDelft, J. Winkel(c).j) Committee on Financial Help to Needy Churches –

H. Leyenhorst, P. VanderGugten(c), H. VanDelden.k) Deputy for Preaching Arrangements Vacant Churches -

Rev. E. Kampen.l) Counsellor for Vacant Churches –

Rev. C. VanSpronsen for the Church at Cloverdale.m) Appointed to represent Classis Pacific West at the

farewell of the Rev. J. Moesker: Rev. C. VanSpronsen.Personal Question Period was held.Censure ad Article 34 C.O. was not necessary.The Acts were adopted and the Press Release was ap-

proved.The Chairman requested the brothers to sing Psalm 134:

1,2,3 and led in prayer.The Classis was closed.

For the Classis, J. Visscher, e.t.


Dear Busy BeaversDo you remember the last time you watched a baby get

baptized in the Church? Did you know that when you wereborn, you also were baptized? Do you know why you arebaptized? Well, many years ago, when the Lord Jesus was onearth, He sprinkled lots of children with water, and told themthat they were children of the Father in heaven. Althoughmany of these children didn’t understand any of these words,later on their Dad and Mom explained to them what thismeant.

The same happened to you. You didn’t understand any-thing about baptism when you were baptized. But later onyour Dad and Mom told you why you were baptized. Youare a child of the Lord because He chose you as His child.

EARLY CHURCH WORKERSMany people in the New Testament were known for

something they did for or to the early Church. Match the per-son with what he or she did.

ADD-WORDSTo complete each of the Biblical place-names below,

add a word of the number of letters shown by dots and towhich a clue is given in brackets.

1. SUC . . . H (small bed)2. G . . . R (series of years)3. B . . . . . (girl’s name)4. . . . . TUS (distance)5. GIL . . . (snake)6. B . . . AN (tree)7. . . . AH (male sheep)8. LAO . . . . A (small cubes)9. B . . . A (before)

10. . . . IOCH (insect)11. . . . HAN (shortening of Dorothy)12. GI . . . . (metal)

BIRTHDAYS FOR MAY

GOD MADE SPRINGBy Michelle DeBoer

D A F W A R M W E A T H -E R DB E R A I N C O A T S T -G B VS B E N T U L I P S -P L A N KL H I I S K J L B I K -I N G GI F O A D K S R A H -B U D S ND J H R K W E S N T S -G S V IO F G Z T J E H N T R -R D B TF B F X D S D G S E -V A E L N

F E -F A P Q S W G -B I R D S AA E H R U B -B E R B O O T S L

D S I P E H G T C S -G T S F PFind the following words:

BEE BIKING BIRDS BUDSDAFFODILS LEAVES PLANTING RAINRAIN COATS RUBBER BOOTS SEEDS SHORTSTULIPS WARM WEATHER

OUR LITTLE MAGAZINE

By Aunt Betty

3 Andrea Vanderhorst7 Amanda deBoer9 Caitlin Meints

13 Kevin Viher14 Rachel Smeding16 Amanda Feenstra

18 Michelle Linde21 Tamsen Lodder21 Charlene Barendregt21 Jonathan Kingma27 Chantal Lodder27 Angela Brasz

1. Peter, Acts 2:14-41

2. Timothy, Acts 16:3

3. Rhoda, Acts 12:12-13

4. Dorcas, Acts 9:39

5. Lydia, Acts 16:13-14

6. Sapphira, Acts 5:1, 8-9

7. Matthias, Acts 1:26

8. Stephen, Acts 7:59

9. Paul, Acts 13:2-3

10. Ananias, Acts 9:17-18

a. Prayed with a group ofwomen

b. Served as a missionaryc. Was chosen to replace

Judasd. Paul’s helpere. Lied to the Churchf. Preached and about 3,000

came to know Jesusg. Recognized Peter’s voice

and forgot to open thegate

h. Restored Paul’s sighti. Died for his faithfulnessj. Made clothes for needy

people

AUNT BETTY

c/o Premier Printing Ltd.One Beghin Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R2J 3X5


With thanks to our heavenly Father, we are pleased to announce thebirth of our daughterJACLYN DEBBIE Born April 19, 1998 A sister for Jason, Kelly, Nikki, StaceyJames and Yolanda DeBoer (nee Jongsma) RR 2, 6566 Sixteen Road, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

With thanks to God for His constant care and abiding love, we proudlyannounce the birth of our son and brother CHAD WILLIAM Born April 13, 1998, on his late opa’s birthday. 25th grandchild for Mrs. R. Bartels 18th grandchild for Mr. and Mrs. B. Van AndelBill and Annette BartelsStephanie, Keleigh, Graham and DeniseRR 1, Dunnville, ON N1A 2W1

For Thou didst form my inward parts, Thou didst knit me together in mymother’s womb. Psalm 139:13With thankfulness to the Lord, who provides the blessing of new life atHis appointed time, we would like to announce the birth of our sonJOEL GEORGE Born April 9, 1998 Henry and Carolin Bosscher (nee DeBoer)A brother for NathanRR 8, Owen Sound, ON N4K 5W4

And He shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in themajesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, fornow he shall be great to the ends of the earth. Micah 5:4Our Gracious Father has entrusted into our care another of Hislambs, His covenant childBENJAMIN WILLIAMBorn April 20, 1998 A brother for LaurenWilliam and Tracy Ravensbergen 7467 Reg. Rd. #20 RR 1, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

Know that the LORD is God! It is He that made us and we are His. Psalm 100:3aRejoicing in the wonder of new life, we praise our gracious God for Hisgift, blessing our family and entrusting to our care another sonMATTHEW DAVIDBorn March 31, 1998James and Miriam Slaa (nee den Hollander)A brother for Daniel and TimothyBox 57, Site 2, RR 1, Elora, ON N0B 1S0

With great joy and thankfulness to the Lord we announce the birth ofour daughter ANNALISE Born April 29, 1998 A little sister for Tiffany and Joseph John Luke and Diane Jonker (nee Smith) 135 Fourth Avenue, Shelburne, ON L0N 1S1

Great is Thy faithfulness O Lord!On April 9th we were blessed with the birth of another covenant child,a second son and brother. We named him IAN JOEL VANDENBERG (after his opa, Ike Vandenberg). Albert and Chris Vandenberg (Oosterhoff)Julianna and Calvin Box 701, Vineland, ON L0R 2C0

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.Proverbs 3:5,6With great thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has brought us to-gether, weHILARY DYKSTRA and RICK SLUMPjoyfully announce our engagement.April 24, 199818948 87A Avenue, Surrey, BC V4N 3G5

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Phil. 4:4With thankfulness in our hearts to God for guiding our lives in Hisinfinite way, weBERNARD JOHN KOTTELENBERG and JOANNEKE DEN HOLLANDERtogether with our parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Kottelenberg and Rev.and Mrs. W. den Hollander joyfully announce our marriage.The ceremony will take place, D.V. on Saturday, June 13th, 1998 at 1:00p.m. in the Bethel Canadian Reformed Church of Toronto, Ontario.Father of the bride officiating.Future address: RR 5, Ingersoll, ON N5C 3J8

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105With thankfulness to our heavenly Father, we ANDREA REININK and KEVIN VANDERZWAAG together with our parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. Reinink and Mr. and Mrs.B. Vanderzwaag, joyfully announce our marriage. The ceremony will take place, the Lord willing, on June 20th, 1998 at11:00 a.m. at the Maranatha Canadian Reformed Church, Fergus, ON.Rev. J.G. Slaa officiating.Future address: 459 St. Patrick Street East, Fergus, ON N1M 1N1

CLARION ADVERTISEMENTS

Births

Engagements

Weddings


1958 – June 6 – 1998Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, asChrist loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacri-fice to God. Ephesians 5: 1,2With great thankfulness to our heavenly Father who has guided themand kept them in His care, we may celebrate, D.V., the 40th Wed-ding Anniversary of our dear parents and grandparents BOB and PEARL JAGER (nee Salverda)Their thankful children and grandchildren:Burlington, ON: Ron and Anne Jager

Anjelynn, Robert, Katie, Kyle, CassiaDunnville, ON: Ken and Liz Jager

Stephen, SeanSmithville, ON: Rob and Marcia Jager

Virginia, Jacqueline, Stephanie, Matthew, Jessica

Wellandport, ON: Debbie and Rick Feenstra, Melissa, Loretta, Christopher, Sharri, Ashley, Ryan

Smithville, ON: Linda JagerBeamsville, ON: Diane and Carl Evink

Michael, Joshua, MarkBothwell, ON: Monica and Don Bos

Tyler, EricRR 1, 7761 Highway 20, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

1973 – June 1 – 19981 Corinthians 7:29-31With thankfulness to the Lord we announce the 25th Wedding An-niversary of our parents JOHN and BETTY SCHOLTEN (nee Helder)Guelph, ON: Melanie and David Niezen

Heidi and MikeAmandaRebeccaRickCurtis

Open House Saturday June 6, 1998 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 47 Dakota Drive, Guelph, ON N1E 1J6

With thankfulness to the LORD for the blessings He has showered uponus, weHENK and SUSAN HOLTVLUWERtogether with our children and grandchildren, hope to celebrate our40th Wedding Anniversary on June 10, 1998, D.V.Smithers, BC: Bert and Cathy Holtvluwer

Nikki, ShawnNepean, ON: Ann and Henk Cazemier

Laura, Michael, Kendra, JenniferKanata, ON: Diane and Rick Haaksman

Stephanie, Benjamin, MatthewBinbrook, ON: Jane HoltvluwerManotick, ON: John HoltvluwerBinbrook, ON: Peter and Erica HoltvluwerManotick, ON: Stephen Holtvluwer and Carolyn McCloskey

Brittany1031 Manotick Station Road, RR 1, Manotick, ON K4M 1B2

1958 – June 21 – 1998Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. Psalm 118:1With thankfulness to our Heavenly Father who has richly blessed ourfamily, we celebrate the 40th Wedding Anniversary of our dearparents and grandparents,GEORGE and GRACE VAN ANDEL (nee Bultje)Their children and grandchildren wish them many more years in theLord’s service.Hamilton, ON: Ronn and Annie-Lynn Van Andel

Andrew, Leah, Larissa, BradenThornhill, ON: Phil and Terri Van Andel

Joel, Meagan, Joshua, Karina, StephenSmithville, ON: Mark and Helen Van AndelHamilton, ON: Deanna and Jake Ruggi

Daron, Kristin, Heather, ColinAttercliffe, ON: Annette and Bill Bartels

Stephanie, Keleigh, Graham, Denise, ChadSmithville, ON: Carolyn Van AndelWe invite you to join us in this celebration. The LORD willing, an openhouse will be held on Saturday, June 20, 1998 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00p.m., at their residence, or in the Smithville church annex, in case of rain. RR 1, Smithville, ON L0R 2A0

1973 – June 16 – 1998We hereby announce with great thankfulness that the Lord in Hisgrace, has given our parentsBERNARD and BARBARA VAN RAALTE (nee van Dam) twenty-five joyful years of marriage in His service.Smithers, BC: PaulBurlington, ON: DaveSt. Albert, AB: Jeff

Brad51 Glenmore Crescent, St. Albert, AB T8N 0S6

1933 – May 11 – 1998The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forever-more. Psalm 121:8 With thanks unto our heavenly Father for keeping our dear parents,grandparents and great-grandparents (also brother and sister-in-law)in His care, we gratefully announce their 65th Wedding Anniversary GERARDUS and CATRIENA MECHELSE (nee de Koning)Shalom Manor: Miss Sarah MechelseVineland Station, ON: Ann and Henry VanderscheerSt. Catharines, ON: Dirk and Hilda MechelseGrimsby, ON: Audrey and Herman RustenburgSt. Catharines, ON: Tina and Paul VanVlietLouisburg, NS: Ron and Linda MechelseBeamsville, ON: George and Willy MechelseBinbrook, ON: Nancy and Henry BartelsShalom Manor, 12 Bartlett Avenue, Grimsby, ON L3M 2N5

Advertise in the

Anniversaries


January 8, 1909 – April 26, 19981 Corinthians 15:49And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, So shallwe bear the likeness of the man from heaven.The Lord called home His child, JOHN SMIDour father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather. He is lovingly remembered by his children:

Strathroy, ON: Maynard and Susan Smid,Guelph, ON: Marguerite and Will Dalinga

Katrina, Eric, Jonathan, RachelToronto, ON: John and Annette SmidStrathroy, ON: JanineLondon, ON: Kate and Bill Buist

Michael, Joshua

Ridgetown, ON: Arend and Willa Dale SmidToronto, ON: Charles SmidToronto, ON: John Arend SmidRidgetown, ON: William

Matthew

Burlington, ON: Florence† and John DykstraBurlington, ON: Janice and Bruce Schwantz

Nicole, Helena, Patrick, GregoryAncaster, ON: Theresa and John HullemanBurlington, ON: Katherine and Sean O’Hara

KassandraAbbotsford, BC: Chadwick and Frances DykstraBurlington, ON: John Maynard

Henrietta and RogerAndrew

Strathroy, ON: Theressa and Bert LantingToronto, ON: HenryStrathroy, ON: John

DerekNeerlandia, AB: JeanStrathroy, ON: Geraldine and Paul

MaynardBrentFrancine

Mount Hope, ON: Peter and Grace SmidBeamsville, ON: Janet and Jason Van Vliet

CurtisMount Hope, ON: John and Erica

GaryDeannaCaleb

Predeceased by his wife Jandine Buurma in 1987

Obituaries

Psalm 25: 1,2To Thee, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, in Thee I trust.

In His unsearchable wisdom, after a very short illness, the Lord pro-moted to glory on Sunday, April 26, 1998, His covenant child, ourbeloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfatherGERRIT JAN HEYINKat the age of 88. We are thankful for all that the Lord gave us in him.

In loving remembrance:Chatham, ON: Hendrika G. Heyink (nee Kistemaker)

Vergennes, Vt: Herman and Gretta BuzemanAndrea and Matthew Lenig Teena, John, Karla

Watford, ON: John and Joanne BorkMichele and Adrian Tamminga, Denise, AlisonLori and Ian Hulzebosch, MackenzieMike and Janet, Scott, Tracy and Mark

London, ON: John and Thea HeyinkDavid and Wendy, Laura, Kevin, Trevor, James, Nathan

Chatham, ON: Gary and Linda HeyinkBrian, Brenda, Janice, Emily

Henry and Judy HeyinkKaren and Paul Koomans, BrandonBecky, Sarah, Amy and Jerry

Patricia and Clyde PilonDaniel, Amanda, Krista

London, ON: Christine WolskiShawn and Karen, Rena and Dan,Ryan and Beth, Derek

Croton, ON: Harry and Lynn HeyinkSandra, Chris, Steven

Chatham, ON: Diane and Bob ChantlerKrystal, Eric, Robert, Deanna, Kyle

Rita and Rick RipleyNatasha, Alana

Blenheim, ON: John and Elaine HeyinkDarrel, Wendel, Katrina, Shelby

Jerry and Trish Heyink

Also lovingly remembered by:Albert and Janet VanRaalte, Philip, VictoriaJerry VanRaalte, Darcy, Marcella, Deanna, MadisonWilma and Kevin Armstrong, Robert, Cheryl

Predeceased by his first wife Geertruida (1947), a son William(1971), a daughter Minnie (1988) and a son-in-law William VanRaalte (1990).Mailing address:7985 Confederation Line, RR 4, Watford, ON N0M 2S0


Come to the Beautiful ValleyEbenezer Canadian Reformed School of Smithers and Houston, BC, is in need of a temporary (August - November)GRADE 4/5 TEACHER and a permanentKINDERGARTEN TEACHER (half time).We have two possible openings for HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERSin the Arts subject area.There will also be openings for TEACHER ASSISTANTS in thespecial ed. department. This position could be combined with thekindergarten position.We offer an attractive remuneration and benefit package.For information contact H. Van Beelen at (250) 847-3492 (school)or (250) 847-5924 (home) or (250) 847-3912 (fax).Applications should be directed to the Secretary of the Board,Mr. Walter VanGrootheest, Box 3700, Smithers, BC V0J 2N0PLEASE NOTE: Our e-mail address has been changed to:[email protected]

Due to our plans to add High School, Coaldale Christian School invites applications for HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERSEspecially those with Math, Science, or English are requested to apply. For more information, please contact the principal, Mr. Joop Harthoorn (403) 345-4055 (school); (403) 345-4891 (home) Send your application to the Board of Coaldale Christian School 2008 - 8 Street , Coaldale, Alberta T1M 1L1

The Canadian Reformed School Society of Winnipeg, Inc. has a vacancy in the MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVELof the Immanuel Christian School.* Duties to commence August 1, 1998* Applicants should be able to obtain or be willing to work toward ac-

quiring a Manitoba Teacher’s Certificate.Immanuel Christian School has 12 full-time teachers and an enroll-ment of 190 students in the grades K-12.Interested applicants can obtain information from:Mr. H. van Delden, Chairman of the Board, phone 204-224-1620 (home)Mr. A. Gunnink, Principal, phone 204-661-8937; 204-224-9206Please forward your application to:Immanuel Christian School, 215 Rougeau Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2C 3Z9Fax No. 204-669-7013; Email: [email protected]

In my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so I wouldhave told you! John 14:2Our dear father DOEDE DEWITT born March, 27, 1905 passed away April 27, 1998 Beloved husband of Hiltje deWitt (nee vanderVelde)Their children:Smithers, BC: †(Sjoerd) and Tina deWittFergus, ON: Harry and Mary deWitt

Johanna and Jim StienstraAlbert and Baukje deWitt

Guelph, ON: Hiske and Tony vanTolFriesland, the Netherlands: †(Siebe) deWittFergus, ON: Siebe and Donna deWittElora, ON: Luitsen and Annie deWittFriesland, the Netherlands: †(Trijntje) deWittGuelph, ON: Doede and Fran deWittand grandchildren, great and great, great grandchildren.Corresponding address:Mr. and Mrs. J. Stienstra, 572 Walker Street, Fergus, ON N1M 3J2

After a rich and full life her wish has been granted to be with herLord and be promoted to glory. Our dear mother, grandmother,great-grandmother and great-great grandmother HENDRIKJE KLOS (nee Vos) died May 1, 1998 at the age of 93 years.Predeceased by her husband Hendrik Klos, June 1990.We praise God and give thanks to Him for the rich blessings He hasgiven us in our mother.

Allie BruinsmaGerrie Hamelink (Van Wijk)Rie and Wiecher BeugelinkBert and Eke Klos (nee Van Assen)Annie Van DasselaarHenry and Clasina Klos (nee De Jong)Rita and Jake Kuik

A memorial service took place May 6 in the Langley CanadianReformed Church with the Rev. Dr. James Visscher officiating.312, 20265-54A Avenue, Langley, BC V3A 3W6

Teaching Positions

The Canadian Reformed School Society of Neerlandia, AB invites applications for a TEACHERin the Junior/Senior high grades for the 1998/1999 school year. Preference will be given to teachers with the specialization inEnglish and Social. Others may apply as well. For more information please contact the principal: Mr. A. DeLeeuw Phone: 1-403-674-4774 (school); 1-403-674-2531 (home) Applications should be sent to: Covenant Canadian Reformed School, Box 67, Neerlandia, AB T0G 1R0or fax: Mrs. Margaret Otten 1-403-674-6031

REQUEST

The Church at Fergus, Ontario requests that any ministers that may be in the vicinity during the

months of July and August and are willing and able topreach in Fergus at that time to please contact:

J.D. Gansekoele – Phone 519-843-3560Fax: 519-843-1600


BURNHILL REALTY LIMITED

JOHN MEERVELDAssociate Broker

1(905) 639-33551(905) 528-21771(905) 563-4185

FAX 1(905) 639-7852CAR 1(905) 572-0677

Call me at noobligation

l TO LIST l TO SELL l TO BUY

PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS

Serving the COMMUNITY SINCE 1980Burlington, Waterdown, Flamborough

Grimsby and Beamsville Area

Open:Monday-Saturday – 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

5205 Harvester Road #2Burlington, ON L7L 6B5

Tel./Fax (905) 631-19291-800-376-7199

T H E M U S I C G R O U PWillem Van Suydam, General Manager

• CONTENT CHURCH ORGANS• DOMUS HOME ORGANS ($6,995.00)• DUTCH CD’S and TAPES• LESSONS• NOW ALSO PRE-OWNED PIANOS

EBENEZER VILLA Stone Church Road East

Hamilton, OntarioFor your enjoyment we offer: 35 apartments for seniorcitizens with rent subsidy possible, if available.Rewarding atmosphere, close to all amenitiesAudio/Video linkup with the Cornerstone CanadianReformed Church.For further information, please contact

Ike Vanderwoude (905) 639-8110 Tony Vanderhout (905) 692-3986

Consider Winnipeg BeforeYour Next Move• Location of hundreds of tourist attractions• 1.5 hour drive to your choice of lakes• 40 minutes from one end of the city to the other in the

heaviest traffic• Home of Immanuel Christian School, K-12• Average 3 bedroom bungalow $85,000• Average Executive 2 storey $152,000OR TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY ASSOCIATE NETWORK FOR

Brandon, Carman, Portage la Prairie and AlbertaFor more information call:

JANNES WIERSEMAPhone 1 (204) 989-1500Fax 1 (204) 989-1535Your Winnipeg Realtor

• BLUE BOMBERS • MUSEUM OF MAN AND NATURE • PLANETARIUM • WHITESHELL • GRAND BEACH • FALCON LAKE • OLD MARKET SQUARE

•TH

EFO

RK

S•

AR

TG

ALLER

Y•

PO

RTA

GE

AV

ENU

E•

PO

LOP

AR

K•

SY

MP

HO

NYORCHESTRA• CONCERT HALL • BIRDSHILL PARK • ASSINIBOINE ZOO • CHILDREN’S MUSEUM • OAK HAMMOCK MARSH • MANITOBAT

HEA

TRE

CEN

TER

•2320

HO

URS

OF

SU

NSH

INE

•CA

TFIS

HCA

PIT

AL

OF

THE

WO

RLD

NNNNeeeewwww –––– NNNNeeeewwwwBeautiful CD of

“Hymns for Little Children”By Sunbury Junior Singers from Australia

‘Best Seller Down Under’

Enjoyable for both children and adults.

Great Gift ItemOnly $21.95 each plus GST

FREIGHT FREEYou may pay by VISA, Mastercard, AMEX or cheque.

Christian Book& Record13042 - 82 StreetEdmonton, AB T5E 2T5Ph. (403) 478-2798Fax (403) 478-2002

Premier School Agendas, a Franklin Covey Company, requires a

RESEARCH ASSISTANTfor its Marketing & Development Department.

The individual we are seeking would perform a variety of taskswithin a team environment. Good communication & research skillsrequired. Familiarity with Macintosh programs desirable.This is a career entry position suitable for someone with a diplomain Marketing or Communications from a community college.Excellent company benefits provided.

For further information, please contact Harold Ludwig at (604) 857-1707; email: [email protected] resumes and applications to Premier School Agendas, Unit 200, 5510 - 268th Street,Langley, B.C. V4W 3X4

CLARION, MAY 29, 1998

What is the real meaning of Christmas, Good Friday, Easter,Ascension, and Pentecost? What will happen before Jesus Christ

returns? “Celebrating Salvation” discusses those Biblepassages that deal directly with the great facts of salvation

concerning the ministry of Jesus Christ. It may help tounderstand what really happened and how Christ today

lives as Head of his church.

Soft cover, 302 pages …………………………………$15.75ISBN 0-88756-066-0

Soft cover, 182 pages ……………………………………$9.75ISBN 0-88756-068-7

Place your order with your local bookstore or distributor, or order directly from

PREMIER PUBLISHING, ONE BEGHIN AVENUEWINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA R2J 3X5

CelebratingSalvation

byClarence Stam

SPEND YOUR SUMMER IN BEAUTIFUL B.C.

For Rent from July 11 - August 2

5 bedroom home in Smithers, B.C.

Minutes from swimming, fishing, and hiking.

$250 per week.

Phone K. Kort: 250-847-9135

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT/SALES SUPPORTOur importing company requires an energetic person

to coordinate all internal functions for our

Mississauga, ON

office and showroom.

In addition to a Business diploma or sales exposure,you have well developed interpersonal,

communication, and organizational skills.

You enjoy a challenge, are innovative, and work verywell without supervision.

MS Word and Excel experience preferred.

Please send resume to

Globe Hotelware Agency Inc., c/o Bert Knol

2169 Headon RoadBurlington, ON L7M 3W7

CCRREEDDOOAN OVERVIEW OF THE CHURCH’S CONFESSION AS

SUMMARIZED IN THE THREE FORMS OF UNITY

by Dr. J. De Jong

Documents

Clarionclarionmagazine.ca/archives/1998/253-276_v47n11.pdf · 254 CLARION, MAY 29, 1998 Judge not This is what our Lord Jesus Christ tells us. You can find itinMatthew 7:1 and Luke