Vol 32 Issue 13

March 7, 1956 Classis West convened at Edgerton, Minnesota, Wednesday, March 7, 1956. The meeting was held in the Runals Memorial Hall, where our Edgerton church conducts its service.

Dear Rev. Hoeksema:  I am writing you in behalf of the Adult Bible Class of the Protestant Reformed Church in Randolph. They have the following question for which they desire some clarification, providing your busy schedule permits time for an answer. If so, feel free to answer directly or in the Standard Bearer. 

This is the third and final article we write on this. subject in which we continue our quotations from The Contender, a paper edited by the Rev. Malcolm R. MacKay of Nova Scotia, an independent Presbyterian minister. Rev. MacKay, so we have seen, agrees with the Rev. H. Hoeksema that the three points of 1924 on common grace is really a triple breach, that the well-meant offer of grace in the preaching of the gospel is the doctrine of Arminius.

The interrogation of family visiting must cover every phase of life. In addition to the civil and social sphere, discussed in our last writing, the following should be considered: 

Article 8. For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation: that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation,

We introduced our preceding article with the observation that great significance was attached to the sacrament of Baptism during this second period of the history of the Church of God in the New Dispensation. By it both original and actual sins (committed before baptism) were removed. That this power was ascribed to this sacrament appears from several quotations. We concluded our preceding article with the promise that we would quote Augustine in connection with his views on this subject.

In the sphere of Presbyterian church government there exist chiefly two conceptions as to the length of time to which an elder is elected to serve in the office. On the one hand, there are those who maintain that an election to the office of elder constitutes a permanent appointment. Under this conception one elected to the office of elder remains an elder for life, or until such a time when he ceases to be a member of that particular denomination.

Let us continue in our exposition of I Cor. 2:6-9 in this essay. In our former article we might discuss, rather in detail, the “pedagogical approach” of Paul here in this polemic with the church of God at Corinth. We shall not repeat, nor shall we lose sight of this implicit pedagogy of Paul in this letter. 

7. Who art thou, O great mountain—The reference is to a lofty mountain outside of Judea in contradistinction to Mt. Zion that in comparison with it was but a little hill. But on Mt. Zion dwelt Jehovah in His holy temple. Hence, Mt. Zion was emblematic of the church and the great mountain symbolized the mighty world-power the final appearance of which will be the antichristian world-state, the Babylon of the book of Revelation. At the time of our prophet this worldpower had taken on flesh and blood in the persons of the kings of Persia.

Chapter 2: God’s Sovereignty Over Temptations