FOR PROTESTANT REFORMED YOUTH

4

~ - - ~

VOLUME XXVll NOVEMBER 1967 NUMBER 7

Published nlorithly, except J u n e and A u g u s t CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: by the Federation of I'rotestant Rcir ,rr~~rtl YOUII?: Itci-. I:ul,err I l ; ~ r b ; ~ c l ~ ................ . 1 . rut11 re. Error People's Societicj. Ats tha 1,uhbet-s ........................ ... ....... Critiqtte

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ED! TORIA? PC: roac-cd oy .nr- tn-n.y - A N

FEATURES So!, Deo Gior a - tht. Boll; o; Our Doxology - R L ~ D H Ku~per 2

'Nhot'> Rtght With It? - M~is D~onnc H a ~ c k 6

Co.:n -r,e ' i ~ ion1 - Mr V-r-on G r o ~ or 7

7RU:H . z ERROR 9

ASSURANCE N u r t ~ r ~ d and Mo nlotnq d - Re. Rob, re C Ho-bn:n

OPEN FORUM Ch~lrier E Kr-gel, Jr

CRI-IQUE Pr.n: p cs lo- Teach ng B~ali. con1 - Ag-tho Lubb r

CURRENT EVENTS AND COM?AENTS h'ork Hoekremo

REPROACHED BY THE ENEMY l'llc nations rage and tllr people i~nngine

a vain tlGrig, whcr~ h;is this not been the case? The spa rages iu the stor111 ar~tl the nlirc is cast c~p. at arhicl~ time hns tllis not been the case? \\Tars plagr~e the continents, and rt,llnors ol w;rr ~ R L I S C all 111~11 LO [nint in thcir escrtions for carthly pcace, how mud1 lnore this will be the case in the latter days! T ~ I I I I ~ people, loc~k around yo~irsrlves ;kt the i~ctivitics of Intm on the face of the c;~rth - it is all rnovc tileant today. And csamine the anarclry that is in our irnn~rdintr sit~~ation (the Ti' tul)cs arc full of it) for wc live in a country \vhicl~ has endless ambitions for a ivorld pc=;1ce, this is a &e;rm that gro\vs almost daily. 'l'l~e U~litecl States government has a great desire to spreail "denlocracy" to all nations. It also tlesirc~s to control 11ot only people ge~~erally but also thrir goods, t l~r ir educi~tion, their propnl-:ntion, their fin;lncrs, the scienc1.s so that the elements of the earth :Ire at their comnrand. Collsitler the educational struc- tures with tllcir terlcbts of unifor~rlitnriar~ phi- losopl~y and its evolutionary prir~ciples. : h d briefly view the clrurcli \\,hie11 is so f ~ l l l of the deiid strivcrs of the brc.cd of b:sau, \\rho hate thc trutl~ and Ll~ose w l ~ o 1)ropag;ltc it.

Y o u ~ ~ g pc.oplc, forget your job for ;I fttw minutes, the cur, that movie, that party and those pl;~ns \vliich yon h : ~ \ ~ e for ir~crc;~si~lg your position in the world u ~ ~ t l study that \vorld tlrrough thr eytbs \vhicl> arc, en- liglltenc*d t1~1t yoti Inay know \\'hat is thc hope of your calling. T11;tt is the o~lly way you will see Ill;~t tllc:se t l l i~~gs arc5 the rcvcla- tion of the counsel of God. \\'c know that ;111 these things tend to tllc. end \vhich God IIRS set; that is, thc glory of His NAhl ll and the \~intlicatiorr of I [is covc.nant. And in this situation which esists 110ru: \\hat is yorrr. con- fession? Is it silence; or is it co~nproniise; or is it contradiction and juclg~nent? We I~ope ttlat it is the confession of lllc I'stll~llist \vho wrote, "As the hart pantetli after the water I~rooks, so pirntetl~ my so111 after thee, 0 God. Xly soul tllirstetll for Cod, for the living God: tchen s11:tIl I come ; ~ n d appear hefore God? hly tears have been nly ttleat day and night, while they continually say

unto me, \\%err is thy God?" (Psaln~ .12:1-3) So we reat1 of the ex~erienccs of one \%rho uuderstood that tlie living God w:ls his portion a11t1, tllercfore, to kno\v Him \bras to him life. Young peoplc, if this is indeed our cxpericnce allel drlight, tlrcn wc shall s d e r the afllictions of Christ in the present age. .And t l ~ i ~ t is our desire accorclir~g to tllr new inan.

\\'<a read in the abovc that this Psalmist even thougl~ he sought to be faithful to Got1 \{-as certainly not received as one o l the representatives of God in t l ~ e worltl. In- deed, to our t~mazement, it b just tlle con- bar?.! They say to him in their gross haughlinrss :tnd htrlbborn prirlc, "\\'llc.re is thy God?" tind we rend in verse 10 that that repronch entered the bones of the Psalmist as a sword. (This is centrally the subjective cspericnre of Jesus Christ and as Ilis pcoplc arc creatctl in His inlagc they suffer the same reproach.) - h ~ d as a result of this particular reproach the Psalmist was so pricked that in verse 2 of the nest Psalm that he asks the Lord, "IVhy dost thou cast nlr off? \\Thy go I mourning bect~llse of the oppression of the cnem>-? ' Is this the case, that t l ~ r Lortl has indecd cast ofi his people? The apostle asks the same quc:stion UI Itom. 11: l ant1 answers it thus, "God forl>itl! . . . Coil llath not cast nw:y his peol)le which Ile foreknew-." This is also tlw case today \vllen it seems that truth is vancl~tished lor tl~c. main part ilrld that Cod app:~rently continr~es to sleep even tl~ougl~ his people flee from tllc. battle. (-)trc can scarcely open his mouth and he is criticized by tlie nominal pc.ople of God wit11 words such as these: "011, you have a monopoly of the truth-heh?," "Such a Cod I cannot conceive of!," "\Ve will see how long ye111 last!," "Oh you know so much about tllis God, why docs 11r not tle;rl with thr, gross social iniustices and the wars?" All these and m;iny niore arcs perpetually on the lips of ollr enemies. I f you do not belicvc- it tell those around you once that we are the people who confess that God is not only Sovereign h ~ l t that 1lE curses these things to conle about and that the only purpose

BEACON LIGHTS One

is to glorify his o\m S.%!lE in effectually gathering his people. The clcct or~ly, and that tllat is the purpose of preaching the gospel from a positive viewpoint. ~UI! then you will see how ready the world a11tl 111c modern churcli is to receive the Christ and to cro\t7n him Lord of all. You \ \ i l l begin to see pliiirdy that e\len tliougl~ Irl;1n i t 1 thrir eyes is always developing, he still 11atcs the God of our fathers and is not rencly to leave his life of comlption at ;ill.

But \vhy are there these two warring fac- tions on the earth? Only for one real pur- pose and that is that the people of Cod may learn to say in the midst of the spiritual battle, "\\'hen shall I see Cod, the living Cod?V\'hen? That is the qr~estion. So grie\recl is the man of Cod by these things that lie can no longer find any satisf;~ction in the present life. Further, every il;~y and

night his tears become his meat so dis- coiisol,~te is Ilc. His soid groans from the spirih~al battle of life and groans for the final deli\-erance. He can think of one thing only: "\\hen shall 1 appear before the living God?"

\Vhen shdl I see Him who is my life? \Vhen shall that Cod, my Cod, vin- dicate me in the fact* of all his and my enernies? Ant1 that young pcople is our experience in the world. And I~ow wcll we h o w that in this place \\.here it seems that all mcn go mad in their pursuit of the un- godly mammon, which shall surely perish. Yet, in spite of all this, we say with the Psalmist, "Why .art thou cast do\m, 0 my soul? and why art tho11 disrp~irted in me? Idope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance."

A.N.

FEATURES

THE BASIS OF O U R DOXOLOGY, Soli Deo Gloria This speech was given by Rev. D. H. Kuiper at the 1967 Young People's

Convention Outing at Newton Hills, South Dakota.

\Vhy should young people pri~ise Cotl, and God alone? \\ hy shoultl theology, and especiillly Protestant Ileformed tlic*ology, concern itself with the honor and glory of God? \\'hy do you a5 young gcople devote an entire convention to this s~~\>ject? 111 ~ h c anstvering of these cluestion\, we \\.ill at once produce the ground or Insis for our do solo^^. l'hcrc are, I think, p r i~ i i ,~ r i l~~ hvo.

In the first place, it is incumbel~t 11po11 us to praise Cod, onr Creator, due tn our \-ery creation. 1-0 see this cli.iirly wv better go back 6000 )ears to Paratlisr. .-2i1~111 i111c1 Eve, in the state of rectih~dc, rnadc in h e image of Cod, possessing ;untl enjoyilrg true kno\vledge, righteonsness, a11d holiness, tiid nothing but raise one continl~ot~s antllcnl of praise to Cotl. That was altogethrr 11rope1. for tlbem. Got1 placed Adam in P;rratlise to rule, and to be senpant. Stnt~ding nt the acme of creation. hc \vas tlic m o ~ ~ l l ~ ] ~ i r c c througll which the entire creation r*~pressed the praise of its l l d e r . To this task lie was

totally consecrated in the perfect senice of love. That was his task, his mandate. ,411 this I ~ e c a ~ ~ s e of the lmsitio~~ it) \vhich he. the creature, stood in respect to God the Creator. This applies to us of course. Sin nllcl t11c f;dl clitl not change Illat. \Ve iis \\feu as ;ill rational, moral creatures must senre, and laud, and :idore the one -4ln1ighty God of hca\~en ant1 rnrth. \Ve are IIis crcatllres; it is His prerogativi, to drtermine what w c shall do. And according to all Script~~rr, Hc h:id detenliined that the works of His hands shall praise Hir~r. So it is the very prlqmse of our esistenci. to be \.essels of p~.;lise 11nto Cod.

In the second place, and for us tonight, nlucl~ Inore to the point, the I~asis for the ascription of praise to Cod is the work of the Cod of all grace, that is, the work of Cod through Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly it is ~ h c work of Cod in Christ Ihnt Peter has in niind in versc ten. .4nd it is the considera- tion of that \\rock which causes him to end

Two BEACON LIGHTS

is thoroughly pernicious, mtl is well prac- ticed. . r

This adversary Peter calls ";I roaring lieu who goes abor~t seeking \\-horn he may tlr- vour." \\'hat a fitting pich~re! The 1ti11.q of the beasts, covered with sinew and muscle, strong of toot11 and cln\v! 'I'l~c lion whose roar is e n o ~ ~ g l ~ to stop the I~c.art, wllo is 6 l l ~ l with cunning, and who is able to tlo pretty much as he pleases. And notice he roars. That roar i~~tlicatcs both firrcc. anger and enormous ;~ppetite. He is angry because he has been cast out of heaven ant1 must I I ~ N , limit his ~~t*fxrions t ~ n r k 1.r1 the sphere of this earth. He hi~s sufferccl one defeat after another - his massive pritlc is hurt. IIe is roaring nli~cl! Ant1 I~r~ngryl I.Iis appetite \sill not be satisfied until he h;rs tle- vourrtl all the sheep of Christ. Oh, 1 know, the devil will cat ulost a~~ytlling he C ~ ~ I I I get his hands on, but ovcr the years Ilc 11.1s developed a special appetite for spiritu;llly healthy, Christian young people, for yo~lng pcoplc such as you. Yorr he seeks to devour.

You kno\v, it \vouldn't be so bad yet if Satan ultcays roared. The text c1oc.s no1 lllrlrt to say that his method is :11\vays that of a roaring lion. The Dutch have ;I si~ying sonlething likr this: tlrc. devil doesl.~'~ cone on n,ooden shoes. Yo11 dori't al\v;iys hear him clr~nlping up to yon. Ile also knows how to tip-toe. He knotvs, CIO(.S tl~is rlebil, ho\v to appear as a Iamb. In~agir~e! The father of the lie can appear :IS t n ~ t l ~ ; the prince of darkness as tllc ligllt. 13111 rtrsrcr- theless, the o\~c.rall elrect and r~et resl~lt is that he is a roaring lion.

The question that \ve mr~st 11o\v S:lce is: why is he our adversan? 'Th;~t cluestion takes on atldecl significance when wt. re- ~nemlwr that he is the prince! of this \vorld, and \ve arc of this world. Due to tllr fall and our sin, we arc his rightflrl and loyal wl~jects. .As you and I arc. hy nnturc, we are of our fi~ther thc devil. Don't forget that. Hut \vhy then is he our aclvcrsar)-. and \r.l~y sllor~ld he seek to rlc\~or~r IIS? Tlic test says, "But the Cod of all pace \\:ho hns called you. . . ." That calling has established the adversity bet\vvc~r~ tht: rlcvil ,and us. As \ve were hy ~ x ~ t ~ ~ r c , \ve were in the dark jungle with the roaring lion, we ran with l1ir11 and tlelightcd in his strengtl~. We \sdowed in the dark, miry s\r.;~mps of sin. That was our natural habitat. and \rvc lovecl

it. But the Gwl cf all grace ~ l l l e d ub! Out of that i~mgle of sin :~nd deatl~, IIe callccl us into Ilis eternal glory. That is, by Iiis \fVorcl, out of purc gmcc. and through Jesus Christ. Ile actt~iilly n~orcrl us: Ile callctl us into Ilis mancllous ligltt. Do yo11 sec the picture? The picture is that of a great, dark, rlcnse j~~rlgle. In the n~idst of Ihe jungle is :I littlc clearing, and thnt tiny clearing is bathc~tl in light. In th:: beautiful, dazzling light of God's c-ternal glory! 111 the light of Truth, ;~nd of lIis re\rclation ontl fello\vship! In that bright circle of light st:~nd you and I. Thr calling 112s placrtl us tlrc*re. And all around us? Darkness, and the ro:~rinp of the lion. That is al\\.ays the pictl~rr of the churc~l~ in the rnids: of tlre worltl. Thrrc~fore it is Ircnusc~ of the calling, thnt pi~cious act of Cod in Christ that illr~minatcs our hearts and nlinds ant1 pl~tccs 11s in the light of Cod's presence - it is I>ecausc: God has set IIis lovc upon us -because IIe has formed 11s for Iiis pcculiar prople - that tlrc devil esteenls us as most tlclcctable food. He is our advcrsav bc~ausc hc hates God, orltl 11' hates Christ, u11c1 bzcol~se lie sees in yon the life of Christ.

That's thc enemy. Certainly nothing that \vc. can t:tke lislrtlp. .J\ ronr i~~g lion is not sornetlring that yo11 play around \vith, not if yo11 h:~ve an ollnce of sense. Idons, and clr\ils, play for keeps. For tllc devil k~~o\\,s that he has but a little while to \tin you over. Ile knows that the end is near when I~is dcbfeat shi~ll be tot;11 i~ntl nhsoli~te. I have purposely skc?tched this drcdful picture of the adversary at length in order Ih;tt wc. might see our gracio~~s prosemtion for ~ v h i ~ t it is. It is frorn that tsnemy that we are kept safe! IVhilt does tlrat mean?

Docs it ~ n c a r ~ that the roaring lion has no acctVss to us? That he cannot touch us at ;ill? Don't you ever belicvr that! It is ccrtail~ly the esperiencc- of c.vc.ry chiltl of Cod, nncl of young people especially, that the devil is able to to11c11 us t1nc1 affect u s . To continue ill the Iangu;lgc. of the figure, the lio~r is able to claw us a hit, to put his teeth marks or1 us. IIe is able to tempt us, :~nd lo cause 11s to fall into sill ~cmpororily. That's just what he wants you to do here at HIIII. He tloem't \want this convention to be ;I spiritu:ll mile-post in yorlr lives, but rather ;I time of empty f ~ m . So he placrs in your minds the idea that now that we're

BEACON LIGHTS

a\v;ly fro111 1Io1n and Dad we can kck up done. \\re never commit the sin unto dcnth. our heels :I bit. Those tho~~rrhts are ol' the But ratllc*r, L ~ I I I ~ and timr again. \ye :Ire - devil! IIc doesn't \\f;~nt this cont~entio~l to be :I rlenlonstrntion of the unity of faith i111d l o ~ c which w c poss:ss together, but r;~ther he is \vorking in yo11 to ciitlse tli\risior~ and he:~rtachc ant1 pain. IIe \vi~nts you to shun certain people, to Ile a respec1c.r of per- sor~s, to make a Trw f ( ~ . l liko outsitlcrs. That too is of the drvil! Just Ict me rcullark llcre tilait if there is on(: per sou^ that comcs to this convcwtion ant1 is left out in the cold, is ignored, is not cal~ght 1111 in all the activ- ity and joy ant! f ~ ~ n , then this convention is a failure. And Satan's purpose \+rill hive been accclmplisllctl.

Fnrthcr, that tlevil may be a!dc to cause our faith to \valver in its conscio~~sness. He might even he so st~ccessful that we begin to ask ot~rselvc+s the cluestions: 110 I 11rrl;e faith? Am I in Christ? 130 I I~elong to IIim? Have yo11 ever ~skccl thost! rl~uc~stio~rs? I haw. That devil c,an touch us.

But, yo1111g pc-ople, that's as far :IS he can go! Oh, hc is po\verf~~l, b t ~ t he is not omnip otent. Tllcre is one infinitely prc.;ttcSr than he. That is thc God of all grocc ant1 all glory! All powc8r ant1 (lominion is His1 By Hini kings nllc :l~lcl princes tlecrcc! And by Him the devil roars iuld scbelis to devonr! The Cotl of our text, orlr Cod is it1 sov- ercign control of rvcry person i111c1 c v e ~ l t Ant1 thus Satall hilllsc!lf, 1111wi1ling scrvi~nt though 11c be, can only s e n e the purpose of our Fathcr's will. \\rl~:~t fruslrntio~l tlrat r~rrust c-wse thc clevil - no nlatter what he docs or wllat stratagem lie tric-s-hc fails, arld lie serves Gorl's purpose. No \vondcr Ile roars! - b d what I,lessed comfort this trruth presents us! Our 17atller \\']lo loves us co~~trols the roaring devil!

klow does this prcscrvation come about? Ln order to revc;rl His pact., (;otl has given all ;t~~thority in healven aultl 011 eartl~ to Christ, ollr Lord ant1 Savio~~r. T l~us it is Christ tlii~t sustains 11s ill the l'aitl~ :lnd keeps us. I-Ie is the 1,ord from hrarven. I-Ie is greater thau every foe. He tlwells in us with Ilis mighty Spirit so that our faith in its essence never fails; we arc not de- vourcd. AIICI thilt Spirit is never t~tken anray from us! So we nevcr plunge o~~rselves to everlitsting clestr~~ct io~~, as surely woultl be the case if we had to meet thc accuser

.. . rene\ved unto repentance auld sorrom over sin. .And fini~lly, I)ec;t~~sc that Spirit of Christ is in IS, the roaring and the attacks of the devil can oldy senre to tlrive 11s clost!r to Christ a ~ l d closer to God! The mort, the de\*il seeks to swallotv us up, the Inore we are driven into the nnns of Jehoviuh! Jcho- vah, who is a strong to\\-er into wllich the righteons may rlun alnd be safe! \Vllat a blcssed truth thalt is! I tl~rill every time I think of it! Cod uses Sataln to bring us close to Himself. That's His gace , ad His \\risdom . . . and His glory!

To us t11at might srrln like a strange \way to \vork. But tl~at's 1)ecanse we do~l't un- derstnnd Cod's tl~ougl~ts - they arc too high for us. Srvertl~eless, God uses the clcvil, temptations, all these bloody encotuntcrs, in order to perfect the work which He has kg1111 in 11s. H(! llscs a111 thrse to heal clo\vn our pride, for we are prm~d. until finally and at long last it has hern rrducrtl to nothing. Then we cry out: the Cod of all grace is All and I am nothing! \\'hen we oilrselves .Ire weak, i~nd \\-hen \ve see our- selves to br nothing, then is our faith strong! .hcl then is God glorified!

\\'hich is, of course, the glorio~~s purposr. TIle purpose of our \vhole lives, of every- thing. Even. step of thc: \vay through \vlkh Cad leads us affords 11s abundant reason to glorify Him. I~lr has callrd us into I-li. cterrlall glory and cal~sed 11s to tastc the blessedness of His covemnt. He works in us to perfect us, to shblish, strenptl~un. settlc us. Even the dcvil himself must scorvt. that \vork. h g a i ~ ~ and again \ve arc mndc to see that wr cannot st;und on our o\\n t\vo feet, but that \\'e need Ilirn! Every ex- pericnce of life is desig~ied to teach ub that.

-4s \ve see that, and as nre leanu that. then the tlosology Soli Dco Gloria becomes our dosolop. For then \ve see that God is God, that He ),;IS done ant1 is tloing wonclro~ls things! For even though we ~llust suffer for a ivllile, yet UI the way of t l~at sufFt.ring Ile is leading llis church into the perfection of His co\?en:lnt. \\'hat then is thr basis for our dosology? The grace of God, as i t is revealed to us ill Jesus Christ our Lord! I-Ie is worthy of dl praise both now- and forever more! I thank you.

BEACON LIGHTS

WHAT'S RIGHT WITH IT?

By MISS DIANNE HAUCK

\\'hat's wrong \vitli tlie worltl today? Slore specifically. what's wrong with this generation of 1-oung People? I'm sure we've all heard this many times, "\Vc would never have thought of doing the things tlie\r kids do \\-hen were that ;~ge." I 11i1cl l~eard it so many times that I stopped listening

until suddenly I discovcrecl they wrre partly right. No one can drny that the tvorld \ve live in today m ~ \ ~ c s ; ~ t a much ftlctcr pace or that the people, yollng or old, Iiavr more freedom than ever before. Therein lies pnrt

of tlie reason for this trcncl. Notic13 I tlidri't

say cscuse, because there is none.; I said reason. \\re are still cornm,mded to live

according to God's &wide for us, liis \Vorcl.

Since I've come to knout at lea\t i l l pcxt what it mc-ans to be chosen by Cod, tllere have been Inany times when it would be much easier if I didn't hnve to facc i~t~odier clay, line\\-ing I coulcln't I~egin to t111 n~hat I \\as cominanded. Ho~\~rver h i s is a despair- ing outlook and my object is not to d~.press yon but to tell how \vor~tlerful it ~ , I I I Ile to

rn;~i;e a corlscious effort to live i l l Ili~rmony with onr Father's \vill.

\\'hat's tvrong with it? This is the ques- tion foremost in our ~rli~ltls \ ~ I I I > I I \vc are told we cannot participate in or tlo a partic-

ular thing we \\-ould like to do. "So," say our parents, "you must not do tl~o?l~. things for they arcs of tlie worltl."

"\Veil, \\,l~at's wrong \vith then^," is too often our clr~estion. Usually our parcents give us reasons \vc li;i\-e hctartl many timt,s I~eforc: ;and therefore we don't really listc~l, or say-, "But that dwsii't apI1ly to us. \ire arc. not going for the same reason as those of the \\-orld. \\'e see all of this t l ~ r o ~ ~ g l ~ :I

Cl~ristian vie\\point." I sl~rely cnnnot arpic

whether one individual really belic\.es tliis, but participation in this way seems near to

Six

impossible to me. This is the negative at- tilr~tlc.

It is t n ~ e that the Bible does not say

specifically, in regard to modern entertain- ~nent and lifc, that yo11 cannot do this or t11;it. This is my wvholc point. It does not

trll you what is wrong with sonietliing. On the contrary it emphasizes the positive by tc~lling us how we are to live. Proverbs is a

I)ook rich in practical tests to be applied to lifc. Ho\v often have we sung Psalter No.

32.7 which is so plainly made for us.

\\!itl1 God's \\'ord as your g~iidc: to life, then ask not what's wrong with my doing

tliiit. but n~lint's right with it? In \vh:it way will it increirsc my kno\vledge of Cod? In

wlint way \ \ r i l l it stre1igthc:n my iaitll? \\That \\,ill 1 gain fro111 this esperience? IZemem-

ber, God is with His people wherever they are. Urould we want God to see us pur- posely going against His \Vortl? Xlany of

tl~ese things \ve \vould never c-\'eli \\-ant our parents to know or find out about. I Ioa 11luc11 \vclrsc that God kno\vs. IIe does you

I < I I ~ \ \ ~ . Lest 1 sound like a hypocrite or give you

tlie idea that I'm judging, please note; the o ~ ~ l y reason I dare to say this about us is

th;~t 1 cun pi~rt of todi~y's y o ~ ~ t h ant1 know too \\.ell what happens when a friend says, "\\'ant to go to the pli~y with rile?" Right

iI\vay I start rationalizing the situation to mnkr it okay in my own mind. I t takes a

while to rea1ii.p \\-hat I'nl doing and stop. XIany times I'm too weilk and canriot rcsiss.

Ilorit clo tl~is for me or anyone else. but

lor yourself. The 11est. time you're. faced with a situation like this, look for your an- h\ver in Cod's \i'orcl ant1 pray that Ile will sI111\v you the Lvay. Ask yoursclf \vl~nt's right \vith nly doing this. If yon can answer that question truthh~liy: I feel you \\ill find a

pence one cnnnot describe.

BEACON LIGHTS

CATCH THE VISION! By MR. VERNON GREASOR

The I3erlin Sportpalast (Sports 1'ill:tce) is packed to capilcity. Fro111 tho~~saritls of voices rises a cotrbtant din. Thcrc is an air of excitement, eq)ectancy and eagerness. I'eople ol ever). age ant1 clilss ,Ircc here, the young, the old, the micldlc aged. the factory worker, the office girl, the doctor, the stu- dent, the nurse :uld Inany Inorv. In short, this is n cross scclior~ of the C C ~ I I I ~ I I I people in 1933. The hall lights darken and every- one becomes silent. From the front of the Sportp;~lilst a spot light tl~rows ;I narrow h e m of brilliilnt light down to the rear cn- trance. Trumpets blare ;IS small man \\.it11 ;I little nrustacl~c. appears. Illumit~i~ted by the spotlight he w:~lks slo\rly down the aisle to mount the pl;ttform. At first, scarcely audible, one begins to hc-ar a chant, then louder, ever loutlcr lnrtil lhc* wholc Sports Palace tll~rndcrs! "Sirg Ileil!" "Sicg Hell!" "Sieg tlcil!" (H:lil to victory.) The people l,ecomc hysterici~l, and some wolneli faint. hloul~titrg the ~)l;~tfor~n, Iircing tlrc endless sea of faces, the little man bo\vs and smiles. He holds up his htlnd, the roof shaking. "Sieg IIcil!" stops 11s t l io~~gh by 1.1111gic. I-Ic begins to speak in a slow tenor voice. The t reah of \'ersaillrs is an oritrage, the misery of the Ckarrnan pc.ople is ~~nbcari~l) l r . Cer- many never lost the war on the I):~ttlefielcl, the fatherland \vns stabbed in the back I)y the Jews and socialists. I t is t l ~ c Jew w l ~ o is belri~lcl every plot to enslave o ~ ~ r l ~ c o p l ~ . His voice slo~vly rises to ;I high pitch. Sow he shouts and screams, his voice I~ecomes Ilo:lrse i~ntl passionate. "l)o\r~r~ ~ v i t l ~ tllc ill- ternation:ll socialist! Down with the inter- national bankers! Down wit11 Sovicbt Russia! Down with thc dirty J r n ! De~~tscl~land Erwaclle! (Gemmany wakc up!)" lie does not reason wit11 them - he appeals to their hate. tllc.ir desire for revenge and their na- tior~al pride. 1311t he doesn't stop lrcre on il

negative note. \\'orcls like F:~therland. Ironor, loyalty, de\*otion, sacrifice come pouring out of his t11ro:tt. Gerinilny m ~ ~ s t rcsume her rigl~tf~rl pli~cc in t l ~ c worlcl. Only a strong Ccr~nany will b r rc*spectetl. He drives his points home writ11 frantic gest1trcs\, \va\lir~ji Iris right arm, 11;1cking thc air, unconsciously and repeatedly brllshing back his unruly lock of hair as h e rants and

raves. "Gernlany \ d l awake from her long sleep ancl strike dotwr aU her oppressors! \\'c are the Herren \rolk! (\laster mce) and \rill take our rightful clotninate place in the world! Sieg I.lcil!"

Hlpnotized, the audicnce drirtks in cvcry word. \\'hat he thinks, they think, what he believes, they I~rlieve. one heart, one mind! Said one of thc i~udience, years Iirter, "Sorlle- thing I couldn't ~mderstand swept over me - I \\.as exalted - I gave Ilim my soul. This was thr elil gcnius Atlolf I-Iitlcr, culd the Gennan people - caught the vision - and they gave him their soul.

Less than 600 miles anray in ;tnother city. time and placc, large 11umbcrs of citizens have gilthered. The prlblic hall of a certain small city is lxlcked to capacity. IIerc too voices are raisctl, angry voices, healed argu- met~ts are hrard. The city council is under attack for enforcing certain detested Ia\r.s. \Vhat I;tws? Each family must attend ch~~rclr regularly exccpt for sickness or other valid reasons. A 1 servants ant1 help must be sent to church whe~t ever possiblc ant1 no citizcm may neglect tlivine worship. rill chiltlrcn must receive instruction in catechism reg- ularly. Tavert~s are to be closed di~ring pablic tvorship. Drunkenness is forbicltlct~. Penalities i n c l ~ ~ d e fuies, in~prisonnrent, pl;rcc- ment in the stocks in the public square etc. Hlasp11cm)- a1111 cursing carr); a stiffer ~ C ' I I -

alty, !line clay\ on bread ancl w;rtc.r, rcb- peatcd offenders can even be whipped, and Lhc. incorrigible can be banished from the city or put to tleadr. Nitrr clays in jail on bread and water for ;~cl~tlter?-, rrpeatrd of- fenders ~ ~ u l d I>e behraded and some were. 1,aughing clrtri~rg the wrnlon cot~ld mcsitn tlirec clays in jiril. To make a long m'lttcr short not only were the citizens of this small city con~pc.lled to learn the Rible from covcr to cover, but thcy \\,ere compelletl to lire \vhat they were taught or rlse! 'I'llis little city \\,as a republic, they had elected its officii~ls, emeed to its ordin.unces, : I I I ~

s\r-orcs their allegiance to the magistrates. Little did they suspect that the officials

actually \\.auld enforce these laws, that is some of them (lid not. The L i l ~ e r h e s a ~ ~ d Patriots confused freedom with license. Freedom to them meant, to bc able to

BEACON LIGHTS Seven

gamble, to fornicate, to drink, to engage in all the li~sts of tlre flcsh. Urete tlley 11ot saved hy grace, so that they wele no longer nnder the la\\.! Away then wit11 t h s legalism, ho\v dare the authorities imprison Slaclame Perrin for tLr~cing ant1 rc-vc*lry! The city of 200 wrrc split into hvo factic~rls, the Rrformers seeking to estahlislr it CoJ- centered c~mnnlnnit y and the I'.ltriots iuld Libertines seeking to live the life of the flesh while paling only lip sen-ice to God. They ilrgued back arltl forth. "liepc.itl the laa.s!," cried t l ~ e Lil>ertines, "we itrr ired of tyranny!" "Retain the laws," insixled the Hefonners, "Honor Cod!" They argued back and forth. neither party giving and inch. Finitlly some one cried - "An appeal to arms!" Scabbartls rzrttled. s\vortl.; were dralvn. Never hat1 ilny session of tlrc city council been more tn~multuous, tllc. partics \t7ean of speaking began to appeal to arms. Suddenly out of no\vhere appears a &.n slight figure of a man. He is pale and o~rc can sce at a dance he is in ffrcl)lc~ I~ealtl~. He h.1~ a finely chisled face, a W I ~ I I - ~ O I I T I C ~ molrth, pointed beard, blnck hair, :I prom- inent nose, a lofty forehead and flaming eyes. Some one cries "Kill him!" Ile folds his annr and looks his agitators fixedly in the fi~cr. Sot one of thcn~ dare\ lo strikc him. Then ad\lancing thm tlre miclst of the group, he tears open his shirt expoqinp Iris boney chest and cries "If you want I)lood, there :ire still a feu, tlrops here, strikcu ~l~en!" So t .nr am1 is misetl. Ile slowly ~ I S C L ~ I I ~ ~ tlrr stainvi~y to the col~ncil of 200.

The llall was on the point of hcing drenched with hlood. s\x-nrds \trert. fl;~\hinc. So\v the weapons are lowered. Taking the .Imr of one of the eol~nc~lors, 111. tlr\ccnd\ the stairs and cries out to the pcclple that he ~vishes to address them. He spc-ilks \\it11 feeling and love, he tells them of tllr eternal city \\,hose 1)uilder ant1 maker is God. He tells thcm of the mercy of Cod tvllo gave his only begoiten Son to die for tllcair sins. He cshorts them to live a life of grntitude to Cod for all his benefits and to love tl~pir neiglrbors as themselves. -Are wc I I O ~ of the l~ousel~old of f'rith, lrott- CII~ I~rothrr kill l~rother? If one cannot love Iris 11ciyh11o1 \\.horn he has seen, how can Ile Iovc Cot1 \r.honr he has not sern? The people look

Tears flow from their eyes, writpons are put nsitlo, they rnml)rircc each ot11c:r.

'I'll($ little sickly Frenclnnan was John C;ilvin, the city - the Republic of Geneva. They caught the vision- ant1 gave God tl~txir soul.

possi1)le to susiaii~ the sola scr ipt~~m priru3ple tcitl~o~rt infallibility. Dcnicrl of it brings iir~to

seriocts jeopardy the entire el~isloi~ological base of Christiunity. Terlrrlliotr sl)okc truly: 'crctlitrrt sine scriptrrris. ut cretlrlr~t cidcersus script~rras.' Stanrlk~g outside tlrc iorlbrena of

Scripttire is not a pricilege of Christian

fri~edoin: it is the fool's paratlisc of rational- isrir. For it docs not place o11c i l l tlte clearcr light of direct reeelation, brrt iir the inky i~~rrrk!l blackness of no recelntion at an. This

darki~ess iir tire e i d redrrces tltc, rchole trni- r.c,ruc to ail i i~lrrri~~ar~ maclriiir~ ~citllorrt per-

horurl origins, crr~tl condeir~r~~ lrrrir~cri~ life to

tragic: futility. A Gospel imodirlatc~l to the

pitclr of trcentirtlr cenf~rnj tl~orrgl~t lcin not ill tlle c~rrrl ease t l ~ e prob/ci~l o i c o ~ ~ l n ~ r r r ~ i c ~ ~ - tioil. It xi// orrly r )~~r te the sotrrtcl of rere1tr- ti011 itself orld erltl rrp irt tutu1 silencg. The

'tlc~rth of Cod' nloven~ent is or~l!~ another ri~itr~css to tire tragic d e c t s ~ I ~ I L being ex-

~~eric~i~cecl ill the iorrke of (I tlci~irrl of Biblical

ir~f~~llil~ility." (From A I~EFESSE OF I~IULIC-IL Lv- F.ILI.IIIII.~, t ~ l - Clark 11. Pinnock. p. 3'2)

at one another, they 1)l11sl1 with shame, somc one stirrts cning, soon they are irll wctbping.

Eight BEACON LIGHTS

ASSURANCE: Nurtu

The kdft and grace of assilrallce is re- ceived, nurttuc:cl elitl ~~iaintaincd tl~rot~gli a Iroly, godly anti righteous life, and not othen~isc. It is ;ur outright gift ;ind blessing of Gotl's unco~rditional covena~lt. Ancl, "whereas in all covenants, there ;Ire cou- tauied t\vo parts," God's part in this cnsr being tlle settlilig of assuriince in thr 11e;trt by the gift of true faitl~, ilncl III;III'S p;~rt being the obligation "to new ol)ediencc., namely that \vc clea\,e to this oiir Cod, 17nther, Son all11 lloly Spirit; t11nt \\'r trust in Him, and lovia IIim with ;ill ollr hearts, with all our s o ~ ~ l s , \\it11 all our r~rind, ;lncl with ;ill our strength; tlliit \\re fors;lke thc: worlcl, crucify our old n~iture, a ~ ~ c l wiilk in ;I new and holy life" (Form of I3aptisni). 'I'lris shows that ;issnrancr is the effrct of righlaoi~stless. Tire ~urtinir~g is Il~nt assur- ance is nraintaitlctl in thc \\ray of rigliteous- ness. "'l'he effect of ripl~tc~ol~sne~s (shall be) quietness i~nd nssill,itnce forever" (1st~. 32:l'i). l l i g l ~ t e o ~ ~ s ~ ~ e s s reclriires t l ~ c k e r p i ~ ~ g of t l ~ c "heart with all diligence" (Pro\,. 4:23), \\latching and prilying, "I(-st yc. c ~ ~ t e r into tcniptat ion" (\I;il.k 14:3H), taking "het~tl, brcthrerr, lest therc be ir l any of you arl evil hcnrt of unlwlief, in departing from the living C:ot17' (IIel,. 312).

All this is easy to put tlow~i it) n~i t ing. The pr;lctice of it is another thing, a very stre~luorls task. 'So i1lustr;ite: a Inan who hacl calmcd his nerves iuicl grr-t~tly ini- proved his gener;~l health \vith proper pro- messive \wight c-lercise \\~ishcscl to attain

vs. E R

by REV. ROBERT

red and Maintained

R O R

C. HARBACH

accortling to his capacity to massive r~ii~s- cdar size. Physically incapable of doing "sq~~ats," the nr\t best esercisc \\.us pre- scribed - parallrl bar dips. To do tlicse properly, every ounce of \\-ill i~ncl vigor \auld have to be mustered, ant1 tlrat \voulrl hat- to be the outlook and pr.lctice, or abandon the \vliole idea. The plan callcd fnr \~orkinq 1113 to Gfteen sets of clips, using heavy \\*eights tied aroilnd the \vaisf ;~d- vancitrg to onc hundred pounds, '111d trying for two liundrc*tl. "Begin \xith ;I irrod::r;~tc \\.eight for fi\,e rrpctitions. .Add weight ant1 do five more rtsps. Then procecd to yollr best \c-caiglrt for three sets of five repetitiolrs. Eecp forcing the poundage; ;~cld weight every \vorkout. Crit your teeth and make it a t the 111oment the moht important thing in your life." Nowr perllilps you may .~p- precinte more \\,hat is involx-ed in tire prac- ticr of mau's pnrt in the coven;~nt, viz., thc cutting olf of t11c right h;lnd, and the pl11ck- inrr out of the right eyc (Slatt. 529). All- itinrnce from even7 form of evil is required (I Th. 52.2). "Enter not into the path of the tvicked, culd go not in the w;~y of evil mm. :\void it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass a\vay" (Prov. 4:lU). "Fight the good light of faith" (I Tim. 6:12) is litrr,tlly, :\gonizr the good agony of tl~c. faith.

The Christian ought to be living above doi11,ts and sla\,ish fears. You say, thc onc lacking assurance does not fear death, I~iit only that after death one \<--ill not be rcb- cqivecl into Glory. \\'h;~t does such a onc

BEACON LIGHTS

show! There is a belieling in Christ which savcs (I.leb. 10:39), ancl a bclic~\~irag in IIim which does not save. For "u~any werc. trusting in His n;une . . . but Jesus was not trusting I~Iimsc~If to them" (John 2:23f, Gk.). The latter is the faith of Judits, of ,\1;1grls, of many! Therefore take nothing for granted, but hc sure yola have tlle faith of God's elect.

To tl~is end \vta may again ilasist, "Ex- amine yourselves \vlrcthcr ye I I O i l l tllr faith; prove your own sclvc*s. Know ye. not your o\\m selves, how that Jesus Christ is in yola, escept ye be reprol~atcs?'' (I1 Cor. 135). The Christii~n is exhortetl, !inow your ourn self, that, Jcs~ls Christ is in yotr, aaot, 'l)c!licve that Christ diet1 for you." 'I'lic Christi;~n can k~iotv that he Ilas faith of God's elect by disccr~~ing Gcitl's law \vritlcn upon his heart ( I lcb. lO:l(i) : I I I ~ by his tlrlight it1 thilt law ( llom. 7:29). So he call know that Christ died for I~im only ira i~scertaining \vhctl~cr "Christ livcth in me," whether Ilc has nai~de mr 3 llew creatl~rc in M~II I , \vlletller I come to I lim, bow 1 0 His sceptro (one of righteousness), take IIis yoke, ancl forsake all to follow Him.

But let us go back to the onc who wants to 11c al~le to si~y "111tj Gotl." yet feels it \vonltl bc lying to t l e l so. It is plain to 11in1 that "your Father" il11t1 Utjo~rr I~rcthren" ill Matt. .5:4.5, 47 do not mean tll;lt God is the Father of all nlilic:, the evil r ~ ~ a t l the goocl, of 11otl1 the just :ultl the uraj~~st; a ~ i d tl.tat all nlrn :Ire brethrrn. He wants to hay, "nay Father," but he ciul hardly sve I~eyond thca fact that by naturc he is a child of \vr;lth. He wiir~ts the goocl iund thc 11011c-st hc;irt of the goor1 gourld Ileilrer, but I l c * lr:as lenrnetl that Iris heart is t1~:ceitfill ahovr all things. He prayed for a holy life, lxtt immediately after, his concluct revealed t11i1t hc. ditl not mean \vh;tt he seitl. fIe has tl~a~lketl Gocl

for mercies and hlrssings, yet has com- plainecl \vhm the providence of God wi~s not to his liking. \Vhen it is si~icl of the new crei~htre that old things have passed away, he finds a mass of com~ption in him- self. Ile can t n ~ l y say, "For t11:~t \v11icl1 1 do I rr~lrler.sfur~d not (Gk.); for wllat I rcould, th;tt do I not; but what I hate. t l icrt Jo I!" (Rom. 7:15). Here is one who be- lieves that "the work of (Christ's) right- cousnccss is peace" (Isit. 3'7:15), yet 11as no peace, for altl~ougll hr would heed the coni- mand "give diligence to makc your calling and elect ion sure" ( I1 Pet. 1 : 10 ) , he has not yet found the comfort of the Spirit's bearing witness \\lit11 our spirit t l~a t \vc arc, the cllil- dren of God (Rotn. 8:16). Yet although these Inany inadequncic~s are not to be con- doncd, they are not incompatible with I11t. regener;~lc stat(,. Abral~am knc:w Ilr wils but dust and ashcs (Gen. 18:27), Solomon the "plague of his own heart" ( I Kings 8:3S), baiah that he \\*as a nlan of unclean lips (6:3), Il;~niel lan~enlecl that his comeliness was turr~cd into corrl~ption (10:s) and PLIIII the chief of sinners confessed, "0 wretchetl man thi~t I an]!" Still .\braham was tllc friend of God (James 223). So lo~~~ol l was brlovtcl of his Cod (Keh. 13:26), Isaid] was purified ((i:i), Daniel was a man greatly be- lo\.ed (10:lY) and Pi1111 Yi~bOred more al>un- dantly than they all" and in nothing was he I~ehintl the very chiefest of apostles ( I Cur. 13:lO; 1211; 11:s). Some speak of h a v i n ~ att3inc:tl "the victorious life," h;iving gottcsn out of I~omans 7 into Romans 8! But not only does the Christian in Ron1;lns 7 poan, the Christiin~ in Ijoanans 8 groans, too. For onrsel\,cs ;also \vho Iiil\~e the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within our- selves (v. 23). Rcatl the same in I1 Cor. Z-1, 5. This is the Spirit's c\,itlcnce that we arr the children of Cod.

OPEN FORUM Dear Xl;irk, It XIS mentioned that '-we as Protestiant

In ,tns\ver to an article \vrittv~i by Hogcr Refonned people must not support the war Kal~lphr~is in tlre At~jitlst-Scpte~~alicr issue of in Vietnam." I \voaald point out that we os Beacon Ligl~ts, I arould like to present a incli\iduals, whether l'rotcstant HcEormed or few suggrstions on the subject o f tlre \v.lr in not, are entitled to our osrn opinious on the lTietnam. \var. Tllcrc is nothing in our Protestant Re-

BEACON LIGHTS hen

formed doctrine c.itller supporting or con- tion? This could not 11e an abrupt pull-out demning the war in Vietnam. I wo~~lt l ;~lso I I I I ~ ;I vrry slow, griitl~lal proc*c.ss. emphasize, Ilo\\~e\~er, that the vl111rcl1 ill- stitute has no calling in the ~natter. The calling of t11c church is to pre;~cli the 11-ord, administer the sacrame~lts, and ex- ercise Christian discipline.

It was also presented as i ~ n argtument by the miter thi~t there "arc too I I I ; I I I ~ 1)roI)- lems in our own country to do so~nethit~g about." IAat 11s assume that onc of the things to \vhich the writer refer5 to is riots. since he mentions them in two tlifierent places i11 11is article. I will col~cetle that riots in the United States citics ilrc a major probleni tod;~y. But I woulcl i~slc, \\~hich came first, t l ~ c big riots or the I~ ig war in Vietnam? .ind even if I should conct.tle that riots should be tended to first, along \\'it11 other internal problems, how coulcl the United Sbtes get out of \'ic.tn;un quickly enough \\,itI~ol~t making a mess of L I I ~ . situn-

Jlr . Kamphuis nlsc~ ~nentioned that the \trilr in 1'ietnam "is tvlly there are so marly riots going or1 today." This is perfectly trt~c, I,ut this is no reason to condemn the \var in \-ietnam. Rather we sllould con- t11.lnn the rioters \vl~o rebel against the i~ilthority placed over them hy Cod by prolcsting the wlr throttgh viole~~cr.

Finally-, I \vould like to say that this war directly aUccts us as indi\iduals becnnr of thi* fact that many of our friends are fighting ill Vietnam and .we, too, Inny soon be figl~ting there. Ho\vc.ver we rnnst 11ot get so in\~ol\,ecl in our opinions that wr I~ecome trottblecl 11s Christinns nnd forget h a t these things must surely I~appen before Christ conles again.

Yours in Christ, CIIARLES E. ICREGEL, Jr.

CRITIQUE AGATHA LUBBERS

PRINCIPLES FOR TEACHING BIBLE (cont.)

The st~~tlrnts in Protc:sta~~t 1ieformc:tl Christian schools \vho are to be tliscipli~~ecl by and in tile truths of the Scriptures u e members of God's Church, ilnd Covenant. They are those \\rho have been ingr;~ftecl in- to the Christian Church by \vork of the Holy Spirit. Of this baptisrn is ;111 ur~tloul~terl sign and sell. The clddrc~t t l l i ~ t i~ttrncl the Protestant Heformed Christian schools arc disting.l~ishecl fro111 the children o f unbe- lir\,ers. It is true that not everyone who is of Israel is an Israelite but thr appro;lch of the teacher totvard the childrer~ of the cov-

I I I ~ I I ~ is a \lastly clilfc.rc.nt approach from that of the infidel tou~ard his cl~iltlren. Tllc ap- proitcl~ of the teacher to the children of the covenant is not dict;~tetl by those \vho are not ingr,afted by a true faith into Christ ( t l~c teacher cannot tlo anything in nncl of I~ir~ls~lf about these) but the approach is al- \v:~ys dictated by those who are ingrafted into Christ and His church as living mcm- bers. The attitude tow.~rd these children is never tllat they are potential candidates for heaven or hell! They are sinners but they nrc nevertheless saints who are sincerely

Ttceloe BEACON LIGHTS

sorry for tllcir sins, who must 11c ~.c*~nindcd to be sorry for they are siiluc~rs. \vllo con- fess their sins, and nus st be rc~~~intlecl to confess their sills. Therefore. t l ~ c Clrristian v i m ~ e of confession must not be ncrrlected

u

in the school bnt must always be cr~ltivuted. The Heidelberg Catechism in spe;lki~lg of

the reasons for the baptisnl of infants gives spiritual directives for the ;~tlitl~clcs of teachers towt~rtl the child of the- covc~~~ant as this rcl;~tes to llrc i~rstmction ol lllc I3il)lc.

". . . sirlctc, tl~cy, as \veil as L I I ~ L etlult, arc incl~~tlt.tl in the ~ O \ ~ ~ * I I : I I I ~ and cl~urch of God; and si~lcc rr~rlc~rr~ption fro111 sin by the blood of Christ, and the Iloly Ghost, the alithor of faith, is pron~isc?tl to them no less than to the ailr~lt; tl~ey must therefore hy I3;rp- tibnl, n siql of the co\;t*n;~~~l, be also admittrtl into the Christior~ c l ~ ~ t r c l ~ ; i~ncl l>r tlisting~~ishcd from the cllildren of unl)~lirvc!l.s as w;+s done i l l 1111. old covcn;1111 or testament 1)). circr~m- cislon. . . . "1

John Calvin in his incomparable lt~stilrrtes of the Christic~t~ Religion, Book I\', Clli~pter LT71. paragr;~plls 6, 7, 8, and 9, is very con- vincing in his argr~nlents concerning the baptism of i~lfirnts. I submit that it is the calling of Christian tcachers to be cnnstantly verv aware of the fact that thc str~dcnts who the). t r :~cl~ c;lc11 clay arcs ~ncb~nl>c*rs of God's coven:u~t; this being signified ancl sealed by tllc s;~crament of holy I):iptism which is upon tl~cir foreheads. Such an awareness will elicit from the tc.;~cl~cr a methorlology \\4iicl1 is \\-l~olly tlistinctive and thoror~gllly Scriptural. I also suggest that chiltlren in IJrotestant Reforn~cd Clrris- tian schools itrc, llrose \vlio bo ti111gI1t not simply from 1110 I,rir~oiple, "I I~clic!vo there is a Gocl" - lint "I believe in Cotl, l l ~ c t cov- enant God, \vllo is the slunc Jr*lrov:~l~ tlr;~t gave and kopt Ilis covenant pron~isc~s to the Old Testament saints." The prrpil is not merely approacllcd as one who knows that there is a Crcbiltor but as orlc who kno\\,s ~ v h o is his Crcntor.

The cliiltl in the Prolrstar~t Ill.for~~lccl Christian school ~rcccls a perlngog~~o - one \vho underst;ul(ls the nleasurc of intl~llijicncc, mah~rity and 11;iture of a child. r\ child does not h ~ ~ v e an integrated nor conlpletc Lnowledge of the tnro books in \vhicll Cod can be lino\r.n. The child is not sinlply a miniature adr~lt. 'I'he child does 1101 Ila\.e a complete kno\\~lcdgc of tlle creation or of thc holy divine \\'ord of God. 1 1 ~ . is one

who needs to be led because of I l ib lirllitcd e ~ ~ e r i e n c e . Ev1.11 thougl~ lle can't lit . ~ l l the parts togethcr he can be lecl to 5cc that all the parts fit, and that they all tcll one grand story. Gratlually, as the child nlatlrres intellech~ally ;ind spiritually the pieces I=- gin to fit: he begins to see the tre1.s as so many parts of one grand and beautiful forest. The cldd is olrc \\?ho can urlderst.l~ltl in an ever increa\i~~g meilsure the unfoltli~~g of the whole co~unsc.l itnd promise of C:otl its Ihis appears in thc \\lord of God in all i t \ suc- cessive stages. As a Ho\ver is openc.cl by tlre \mrm rays of the sun and the tlc\v that falls; so the mind of the child is gr;ltlu:rlly opened by the tloly Spirit to know the meaning and irltrnt of the Scripture-s. He can grasp and put together the r\renls its so many parts of the puzzle whicll com- bine to I I I : I ~ C * one mea~lingfid picturr..

'Tile sr~l~jt'ct matter to be taurht i ~ r s Bible course is the \\rod of Cod. The sourctS book for study of sacred history, proplrecy, and literature is the holy, infallible, clivi~lely inssired \\'ord \vhich was delivered to holy mln of old \vho \\,ere inspired by tht- Spirit of Cod lo write Lhi~ings relating to thr eternal joy of the citizens of the kirrgtlom of heaven ;~nd to reveal \%,hat sllnll I I ~ the eternal rew;lrd of those who lln\,c. turncd their faces ilgi~inst the Lord of heavc!n and earth.

\\:e confess that this \\'ord of Cod \\.as not sent, nor deli\.ered I)y tllc \\,ill of man hut that holy men of Cod sp::ke ;IS Lhry \\.ere moved I)y the Holy Ghost, its the apostlc Pctrr snitl~. . h t l t l~ i~ t i~fter\\~arcls Gocl. fro~n it spc3ci:ll citrc, which lle has for 11s i~nd our strl\,;~tion, comn~anded his scv\v:~nts, the gropllcts ant1 apostles, to corn~nit llis rt.vc.;~lecl \\ford to writing; i~ncl Ilr hi~nsrlf \ v r ~ t e with his o\\n finger, the two tal)les of the la\\-. Tht-rrfore \ve call such \\,ritings l~oly ant1 clivine Script~~res.:'

The holy, canonical books of the in- spired Scriptiircs are declared by Paill to be "profitable for cloctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in rightcot~sncss: that the I I I ~ I I I of God may bc pcrfcct. thorougi~l>- f~~r~i ishet l unto all good. work^."^ This Scripture \\rhich is able to "rn;lke one \rise unto sal\:ation" when applied to the lwlie\;er's heart by the Spirit of Cod is the subject miittrr in tlle Bible course of l'rot- cstant Refonncd Christian schools. It is a record of Cotl's working in tune, redcc~l~i~lg

BGACON LIGHTS

fallen men from sin, revci~li~rg Ilimself 35 a God wlio is righteous ant1 gr;~ciotrs, As a just Cod lie punishes all transgresbors of his commandments but he is also truly merciful and gracious in the sill\.ation \vhicll he initiates and completes in those \\,horn he has elected unto everlasting life. It is a record of the creation of ;rll things by Cod. This stor). of the \vhole creation which was absolrrtely perfect at its inception Ilut fell into sin because of tlie fall ant1 disol,edience of Adam, the legal and represer~tative lleaii of tlie whole creation, is contirined in the \\lord of God. The \\'ord of Cod contains a record of all things from Ce~iesis be- ginning) to the He\-elation concerning tlie last things. The Word of Cocl presents tlie history of the covenant Cod made with I~is people and the pronouncement ol tlie laws from hlt. Sinai. He conti1111c5 to rst;tl)li~h tliis covenant by making the Ibraelites a niltion, a Theocracy, after 11;1vi11g let1 them, a conglonierate, grumbling gro11p out of the land of bondage and sin, Egypt. He s m -

CURRENT EVENTS In The Ymrng Calrit~ist of Nove~nber,

1967, there appeared an articlr giving the resttlts of a s~irvcy taken irt the. Calvinist convention held last August. The article said, "\\-hen asked about their favorite vocal ~ T O I I ~ , (and) the most popular secular song . . . thry listed 41 vocal groups, 62 pop- 11lar songs. . . . The top riinki~~g voc:~l groups \\,ere (in order) :

1. 'Ilie llonlrees 2. l i eman and the Hemiits 3. Peter, Paul and Mary 1. The Beach Boys 5. The Associations

Ar~~ong the top songs listed were "Silence Is Golden," tlic theme song of thr niovie "Bor~i Free," along with otllcrs.

Did this part of the survey 1i;rve a part in tlie srlnfey as a whole? It eviclently did, othenvise it \vould not have bccn ir~cluded. These secular groups ant1 songs must play a part in the lives of the Christii~n Reformed young people. Such interests, however, have no place in the Christian's life, ancl if they do, it should be pointed oirt that this is not

bolizc~l this covenant by cor~~ing to live among them in the Sheki~i.il~. 'I'lie cloud and pilliir of the fire of Cotl's presence ccntrillized itself in, arourid and above the tabenlacle. IIe protected IIis people even though they \\,ere not satisfied with His plan for them. There was always n remnant ac- cording to tlie election of gr.lcc even though h e y fell into sin as a natio~i iincl as a na- tion d ~ e y were carried irw.ry into captivity. Tlrcy wcrc. the chosen p c o ~ l c ~ ot Cocl. Cod reveillwl Ilimself as a God ot mercy for 11e rernc.nibered His people in the lulness of times and serit His only begotten Son into the \vorltl to save that elect race of people. IIe it is that camed the s\vord of division. To some His name means tleath and to others it means eternal life.

1. Ilciclclbcrg Catechistn, 1,ord's Day SS\~11, Question and Ansu.c.r 74.

2. The Belgic Confession of I'aitlr, Article 111.

3. 11 Timothy 3:16.

AND COMMENTS l i v i n ~ the antithesis. I do not condone these ut as .t (As," . :IS l'he h r t g C~alcittist calls them; tlierc sl~onld be no need for srlch a survey even to I,e taken becirllsc these things slioultl have no place in thc Christian's life.

\\'I: are often so quick to criticize and point o l ~ t thc faults of otllcbrs, particularly tlrosct of tlic Christian Reformrtl C l ~ ~ ~ r c h . , > Illis is not necessarily \vrong or 11:trmful. But I \vender. are Protcstirllt Reformed y o ~ ~ t h m~ilty of this, too? Slior~ltln't \\-e take out thc bcam from our O\VII eye before we pick out the mote in son~ebotly else's? -Are WE guilty?

A recent Associated Press ;rrticle appear- ing in the Grand Rapitls I'rcs.~ portrayed I'ol'ca I';u11 \71 and Patriarclr r\thcnagoras, 1e:rtlc.r of tlie Orthodox Chl~rcllcs, as em- I>r:~cing at the entrance to St. I'cter's Ixtsilica in Rome. The occasion \$.as tlre h s t visit made by 'an Orthodox Patriarch lo a Roman Catholic Pope since 1504, "a ~nilcstone meet- ing on the road to Christian nnity." It was indeed a step toward unity. b11t not toward Cliristiiin unity. Besides b e i ~ ~ g liypocriticd

Fourteen BEACON LIGHTS

exhibitionism, the sentimental carq-ings-on of these two leaclcrs itrc syml~olic of the kind of unity for which they are working. It is the i~~crmsingly-cot~~~non out\\,ard unity so prevalent today in the ecumenical move- ment. It is just another step on the ro;d toward t l~e coming of anti-Cl~rist.

-4 group of 16 Calvin Collcgc stt~dcnts, sponsored by the school newspapc?r Cit;mes and led by Joel 11. Broulver, took part in the rccsent an t i -Vi r l~~:~~n war l~ci~cc: 111;lrch on the I'cntugon. .4111ong otllcr como~cr~ts, Brouwer had t l k s to say to t11c Grc111d Rapicls Press: "It's the first time I knonr of that people marcliecl 0111 of purely itlealistic mrl- tives. 'I'hrrc was n o practical purpose, such as you saw in the civil rights ~narches of a few years ago."

It is e;uy to spei~k in platitutlcs, but what

are these "idealistic n~otives"? Do they arise from a Cl~ristian dcsirc for truc peace. the desire for the realizi~tion of God's kindom. or is this a desire for a XI-orltlly pseudo- pace? The phrase Ius a pleasant ring, but what tloes it mean? An idealistic person, by the meaning of the word, is one wl~o has ideas. According to \\'eb>tcr, an iden can be "a standard or perfection, a plan for action, whatever is known or supposed regarding ;III object, or an indefinite or nn- for111ed conception." In this case, the 1i1st meaning fits. These "idealistic ~notives," supportetl by at least nominal Calvinists, ;Ire nothing more than indefinite or unfomied concept ions.

Or pcrliaps "misconceptions" is a more appropriate \\-ord.

hi:iRK IIOEKSESIA

NEWS from, for, and about our churches by JUDY LUBBERS

Miscellaneous On hionday cw~c~~~ing. Octol~c~. 2, 1967,

Doon's conpregntion surprisetl t l~ t~ i r n1i11- ister and family \rith a special prograrn honoring their pastor on his second anni- versary ;is a minister of God's \\7ord nnd ;IS

Doon's pastor.

On Fricli~y, Octol~cr 6, 1967, the Sorth- west iowa Prot. Ref. School \\,as clrclicated with ;I special progrilm in the Doon Church. SIeml~cr\ of the Doo~r and 11 1111 congrega- tionc \\,it11 \,isito~s from Edgc.rlon heard Rev. Decker speak on Deut. 6:7. Special numbers wt.re presented by the 39 shidrnts of the ncw school. After the program, op- portunity \vi~s given Lo visit the sr.11001. lirs. Ed Van Egclorn :u~tl Sir. Fred 1-Ialko are the teacl~ers.

Adams Strert Christi;tn School begar1 its classcs on \Veclnrstl:~y, Septr.ml~c,r 6. 'I'hc Ladies' Circle met Scpt. 7 at tllc. scl~ool.

Con\,ocation escrcises of thc Edgerton Prot. 1Zcf. Chr. School were hcld on Turs-

day evening September 5 and cl.lsses began on Tuesd;~y morning of Septetn11c.r 6. Thr 1,rdies' Circle mc3t on Septen~bcr 8 at the school.

Catehisni classes 11;1ve begun mc~eting for another year along with the variol~s societies.

Oak La\vn is brginnina an Adult Bible Class to replace the hlen's and Ladies' So- cieties.

The Bcacorz Lights sponsored a sinz- spiration at Huclsonvillr on Septenlbcr 2.1. Slr. ilrnolcl Llykstra led d ~ e singing of an enthusiastic i~~tdience which fillcd the c1111rch to capacity.

The l ' o ~ ~ n g Pcoplr of Oak Lnn.n l~elcl a special program on Sunday, October 29, for the adult members of their congregation to celebrate the 450th hniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

BEACON LIGHTS Fiftec II

Membership

Sliss S11:1ro11 Kuiper 11;1s transferrt-tl Ircm Edgerton to I-lope.

Slrs. Leon Lamps (nee \\~illiirr~~s) has trcinsferred from Southeast to H~~tlsonville,

Slr. ancl SIrs. Gerald \'anden I\crg ha\v transferreti from Holland to Hope.

The b.lptisma1 certificate of \\rilliam C. Glein has been reccivctl by k111tls11nville from Doon.

-4 menibershil~ certificate \\.as sent to 1 Irs. tjo\vard \'erh;age (nee Darlene Slencl~) from Iludsonvillc upon hcr request.

Edgerton has receivcd the iiicrnbership papers of Slrs. Rodney Sliersma (ner Sharon \'an Dyke) from the Bethel Heformed Church of Leota, .\li~~riesota.

IIolland has received the membership papers of blr. and llrs. David Dykstra and one baptized child ancl hlr. ancl Mrs. Pl~ilip Dykstra and one baptized ehiltl Iron1 thc Ninth Street Christian Refonnctl Church, I Ioll,uld.

Public corlfession of faith has 11cr11 rnrde by SIiss J:ine Schippcr of Holln~~cl or1 Oc- tober -79.

On September 10, \In. Terry \'rlting of First ~iiaclr public corlfcssion of faith ;~nd \teas also 1)aptized.

Soutli 1loil:md tias received t l ~ r niem- bership papers of blrs. Steve Poortinga ((nee Phelps) from the United Churcll of Christ.

Sliss Cl~ristine Fi~l,cr and .\liss Karlaie Oomkes have transferrt.d from First to South IIolland.

Slrs. ];~rlice Kuiper (~lcc: Lottcrlniin) has transferred from Southwest to Nol~r.

Servicemen

Bob Slicdema of Ilope was holne fnr :I

week and then left i ~ s i i n for eve~r t~~nl duty in Vietnam.

The current address of Seal Buitcr of Oak I,a\vn is:

Pfc. C. Buiter U.S. 548-14-592 2 9 t h A\-S Co. .&PO San Francisco, California 96316

'Phe new address of Richard \'an Beek is: Pvt. Hichard Van Beek EH 17766141 Co. "C" 1st Bn. U.S.A. Xledic. Class No. 89 Fort Sam I.Iouston, Tesas 78234

Births

A son, ~licllnel John, to hIr. and Mrs. Roger King of Hope.

boys. Daniel George and David Brnjimin, to blr. and Slrs. Dick Ecrdemans of Hope.

Marriages

Sliss Sanc1r;i Carvelink and l l r . Richard I.10ilholt on September 29.

Sliss Kathy Lubbers arid Sir. Roger Berens on Xovember 3.

tlon e ~ t tlrcolopicrrni - tchiclr fornrerly gace ilrcology its miional, is noc~: fell to be too coi~strictit~g. This sliiff is an ottcr~rllt to

rrtake peari, rcitlr tlre plrilosophical n~ood of tlre f~cntic?li century. Rrrt hucirrg forfeited its right to appeal to Scri)~trrre for r rtrtli, n~oclern theology lras surretrdered its right to speak at (IN. The 'clec~th of God' tlreology is the legitinrote oflspritrg of its libcrcll ~)c~rcrtts rcho fetl rr/lorl t11e foclr/er of o i~on-nbiectire dicii~e rerclutioir. The 'potent catrse of tnotlern trthelief' (IJebett) is

not belief it, Biblical itrfollibility, brrt a

cc,iiitrry of disbelie~irrg it."

(From A DEFLVSE OF I~IBLICAL IN- E * A L I . I B ~ , by Clark 11. Pinnock,

P. 7)

BEACON LIGHTS