Vol 40 Issue 06

The weekend of horror for the citizens of the United States led serious minded children of God to meditate upon the mysterious ways of God, as Rev. H. Hoeksema comforted his congregation in his Sunday evening sermon with the Scriptural truth that whereas President Kennedy was slain by human hands, yet behind that act was the inscrutable wisdom of God Who rules over all the affairs of men. Surely, “He removeth kings (presidents), and he setteth up kings.”Dan. 2:21. 

THE FCC AND RADIO BROADCASTING  Radio broadcasting, particularly religious broadcasting, has from time to time come under attack from one organization or another. Not so long ago the National Council of Churches made an attempt to gain control of religious broadcasting by asking for the right to approve all religious programs to be aired. Any program not approved by this liberal church body would then be kept from the air waves. 

Worship is the highest of all the functions of man. There is nothing physical or mundane in it, although it can and frequently is performed through the use of many physical media derived from the present world, Worship in its essential character is a thoroughly spiritual function of the entire nature of man in which he transcends the temporal and earthly and is consciously overwhelmed by the eternal realities of God. The creature who has been created in the very image and likeness of God Himself is brought into experiential fellowship with the Creator for the duration of worship.

Deviating Views (continued)  Before commenting on the various views referred to in the last issue, we want to quote further from the little book by Dr. N.H. Ridderbos, Is There a Conflict Between Genesis 1 and Natural Science? Immediately following his description, on page 45, of the “framework-hypothesis,” he writes as follows: 

We were discussing in our preceding article the negative statement of the Formula of Concord, the Lutheran Comession of Faith, setting forth the Lutheran conception of the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. The severity of the language of this confession must, of course, be understood in the light of the time when it was composed.

Others will write about it. In this issue of the Standard Bearer there will, no doubt, be columns written about it. We are citizens of this nation, even though the new man has his citizenship in heaven, according to Philippians 3:20. That, by the way, is the proper translation. 

We look for new heavens and a new earth where righteousness shall dwell. And these new heavens and that new earth shall really be new; the former things shall be remembered no more. We shall not return to the former paradise in which Adam lived; but we shall bear the image of the last Adam, the Lord from heaven! 

So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands.  And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. 

All emphasize that regeneration is entirely a work of God through the Holy Spirit. It is always powerful and efficacious, It is wholly effected without the will of man. And therefore they all must admit that logically regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit that precedes all other work of grace—the opening of the eyes to see, of the ears to hear, and the implanting of the seed of the new life in de heart of the elect.

It is high time that we return to our discussion of the article written by Prof. R.B. Kuiper under the caption “Is the Glory Departing,” written in Torch and TrumpetMay-June, 1963.  In our last article on this subject we were discussing the question whether the natural man, the sinner, can do good, especially in the light of the text in Luke 6:33, which was quoted by Kuiper.  On this we have a few more comments.