Vol 30 Issue 11

In our last article we stated that we believed that the current practice of permitting the minister to decide calls received from other churches is correct. We base this upon the fact that the call is addressed to him and not to his consistory. It is a call for his person, gifts, talents and services. The calling church through its call-letter urgently requests him as an individual servant of Christ to come over and help them.

It need scarcely be mentioned that again the Canonsin this connection are infralapsarian, at least by implication. Strictly speaking, this article speaks of God’s work in time, of the fact that in time He graciously softens the hearts of the elect, and that in time He leaves the non-elect in His judgment to their own wickedness and obduracy. Nevertheless, it cannot escape our attention that this work of God in time comes forth from His eternal decree, and that therefore by implication the Canons present the infralapsarian conception of the decrees of God.

Having called attention in preceding articles to the views of the church father, Tertullian, with respect to the question of infant baptism, we wish to conclude this particular phase of the question of infant baptism by calling attention to the views of Origin and Cyprian, two of the most prominent men among the early church fathers.

False doctrine and a corrupt life!  Heresy and schism!  The lie and sin!  Since the day that the devil approached man in paradise till this very day these have always gone hand in hand.  Defending conditional theology and defending lawlessness are inseparably connected!  Deceiving with the lie of false doctrine and deceiving with misrepresentations of the facts go hand in hand!  A corrupt doctrine and walking in error belong together! 

These first ten verses of chapter 2 of first Peter are a continuation of the apostle’s instruction in the former chapter. There the apostle had instructed the churches of their new status in Christ by virtue of God’s elective grace as this was realized through the power of the resurrection in their hearts, so that they are reborn unto a living hope. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. And in hope we look for the renewal of all things in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The judgments of God in the whole earth. Isaiah 24-27.

Chapter 2: The Sword power and the Sixth Commandment (cont’d) And this position of the Reformed confessions is certainly based on the Word of God. Scripture certainly does not support the position that war as such is always and necessarily sin. Mark you well, we do not take up a defense for the wars of the world. It certainly is not our position that the wars of the world are always justified, that they are never sinful. But it certainly cannot be maintained in the light of the Word of God that war as such is always to be condemned.

 Seeing that at the time when this Standard Bearerleaves the press, I expect, the Lord willing, to be in Lynden, Washington and that, most probably I will have little opportunity to write, I offer the following instead.  There was a moment at Classis East in Apri1 1953 when the classis felt obliged to censure me because of certain expressions I made on the floor of the classis.  To this censure I replied in the following document. 

“By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.” Heb. 11:30