Vol 47 Issue 04

It seems that the big item in the news in many of our churches a couple of weeks ago was that of public lectures. In the Loveland Community Building, on October 29, Rev. Engelsma spoke on “a theme related to the great Reformation of the Church, which is commemorated on Reformation Day. “And, in connection with that lecture, we read further that, “as advertisement of the Reformation Day speech, we will soon send out about 2000 copies of a pamphlet by the pastor entitled, ‘What is a Protestant?’ This is the Reformation Day speech which the pastor gave last year.

[Editor’s Note: This is the text of an address delivered. at the annual meeting of the Reformed Free Publishing Association on Sept. 24, 1970 at the Southwest Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids. This address will appear in two installments.]. 

The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head;  And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever.  I Kings 2:44, 45

In the first installment of this series it was shown that all spiritual blessings go to the elect, and only to the elect, and that all blessings flow from the one fountain of election. Now hear Calvin on this point. “We shall never be clearly convinced as we ought to be, that our salvation flows from the fountain of God’s free mercy, till we are acquainted with His eternal election, which illustrates the grace of God by this comparison, that He adopts not all promiscuously to the hope of salvation, but gives to some what He refuses to others.

Freedom is a big word among the youth.  It has become the shibboleth to the NOW generation. 

A Question About “Believers And Their Seed” From a reader in Wyoming, Mich. comes the following question:  “I am confused by the article “Believers And Their Seed” by Rev. Herman Hoeksema in the Aug. 1, 1970 article of the Standard Bearer. 

Dear Rev. VanBaren: We are grateful for your kindness in publishing our letter concerning your account of “Father Groppi at Calvin College.” We also appreciated your reply, which we feel has done a great deal to clarify the differences between us. We must now observe, however, that in stating those differences you have perhaps inadvertently attributed to us a number of things which we did not say—and these we feel should be publicly clarified as well in the light of the differences between us to which you point. 

[Note: In the previous issue attention was called to the symbolism of the heart, to the identity of the heart—sovereign predestination,—and to the importance of the heart and its beat.]

We goofed! If I believed in gremlins, I would say there was a bad gremlin sitting on my typewriter when the last issue was prepared, and that he traveled to the typesetter’s office and to the print shop. I refer to the obvious mistake on the cover of the last issue. At least that mistake and a couple of others in the contents were obvious enough to be recognized as mistakes. And mistakes like that have this benefit, that they help to keep one humble!

“For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”  II Corinthians 4:15