Vol 22 Issue 18

The Northern Baptist Convention: Several thousand delegates and guests met in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to attend the Northern Baptist Convention, from May 21 to May 26. The sessions were held in the large Civic Auditorium, which has a seating capacity of over 5000. Among the distinguished guests who were to address this assembly was the Hon. Harold E. Stassen, former governor of Minnesota, but who was compelled to cancel this speaking engagement because of the national railroad strike. The president of this large church Convention was a woman, a certain Mrs. Leslie E. Swain of Craigville, Massachusetts. It is indeed...

Call it a digression if you will, but the contributor of the next few articles for this department intends to use the allotted space for a brief discussion of our Form for the Baptism of Infants, as we find it in our Psalters. An apology for this digression is hardly required. The Form itself is significant and rich enough to warrant a discussion at any available opportunity. The subject matter is always of fundamental importance, and is especially timely today while a new interest is being aroused by the discussion of this subject both in the Netherlands and in our...

The Philistines fought, “and Israel—so we saw—was smitten, and they fled every man to his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.” So had the Lord made a beginning of performing against Eli all things which He had spoken concerning his house (chap. 3:12). What the sacred writer relates in the immediate sequel shows that Eli, however deserving of punishment on account of his failure to restrain his wicked sons, was nevertheless, in...

*Address delivered on the occasion of the graduation of Candidate James Howerzyl. Christ gave to his Church key power, that is, the right and duty to preach the gospel and to excommunicate out of the Christian church. The church, that is, the church as institute, is the only organization on the face of the earth that administers the word, preaches the Gospel, officially. There are other organizations and institutions, several of them, that make it their business to instruct men out of the Scriptures. Societies are formed for the purpose of the study of God’s Word. And our Christians schools...

Eternally, therefore, the Spirit searches the depths of God, and knows the mind of God, “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” 1 Cor. 2:11 Besides, also the work of creation is ascribed to this Spirit of God, as well as to the Father and to the Son. In the beginning “the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters,” Gen. 1:2. And “by the Word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all...

The Idea of Conscience in the Epistles of Paul* *Paper delivered at the Conference of Protestant Reformed ministers in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The subject assigned to me is of an exegetical nature. However, the purpose is not the exegesis of certain passages of Scripture, particularly of the Pauline epistles, but rather the arrival at certain synthetic conclusions with respect to the idea of the conscience as defined in these passages. We approach the passages that apply to our subject with certain definite questions in mind. What is the conscience? Is it a distinct faculty of the soul? Or is it...

I received the following communication: Dear Editor of the Standard Bearer, In recent discussions with the brethren the question has arisen whether the “sufferings of this present time” have any spiritual value in the plan of God and as a means to our salvation and eternal glory? To clarify the point, allow me to state the following: Some passages of Scripture speak directly of suffering for Christ’s sake, e.g. I Peter 2:19ff. Other passages speak of falling into divers’ temptations which serve to the trying of our faith as in James 1:2. But (here is the point in question) does...

THE CHURCH POLITICAL ASPECT: As might be expected, the hierarchical tendency and character of the Synod of Utrecht, 1943-1945, reached its climax, and expressed itself most clearly in the deposition of officebearers, ministers and elders. The Church Order stipulates rather definitely that this belongs to the jurisdiction of the consistory. Thus we read in Art. 79: “When ministers of the divine Word, Elders or Deacons, have committed any public, gross sin, which is a disgrace to the Church, or worthy of punishment by the Authorities, the Elders or Deacons shall immediately by preceding sentence of the Consistory thereof and of...

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:16-18 This is that! The “that” is the promise, spoken centuries before, and preserved in the Holy Scriptures of the old dispensation. And...