All Articles For Vol 50 Issue 17 6/1/1974

The congregation of Edgerton has called Rev. Van Baren, from a trio which included also Rev. Heys and Rev. Moore. Rev. Harbach was installed as Home Missionary on May 8, in Hope Church. Rev. Van Overloop preached the sermon and Rev. C. Hanko read the “Form of Ordination of Missionaries.” Rev. and Mrs. Veldman, as you probably recall, spent the four Sundays of April in Maine. The May 5 bulletin carried the following note from Southwest’s pastor, on his return to Grand Rapids: “Needless to say, the pastor and his wife are happy to be back with you today.

“If ye be willing, and hear, the goodness of the land ye shall eat. But if ye refuse and rebel, by the sword ye shall be devoured; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” (Isaiah 1:19-20). The context shows that the Lord had very severely denounced His people Israel. Through the prophet Isaiah He had called them rebellious children, a seed of evil-doers, from head to foot totally corrupt. The heads of the people God called men of Sodom.

The New Christology Three issues ago we quoted from the RES Newslettera report which demonstrated how a Dr. H. Berkhof from the Netherlands denied the divinity of Christ. The quotation showed how Dr. Berkhof criticized the old Chalcedonian Creed for its “Greek/Hellenistic thought”; how we must think of Christ in terms of “function”; i.e., we must ask not what something is, but what something does. What does Jesus as liberator do in our world? The article quoted Berkhof’s personal confession on the matter in these words:

(This is actually the second article of Rev. Engelsma’s series. Due to a printer’s error, the THIRD article appeared in the May 15 issue and was called the second installment. Our apologies for the mistake. To get the proper connection, please read this article first, and follow up with the May 15 article. H.C.H.)

The undersigned was requested to write an anniversary article in connection with his rubric: The History of Doctrine. We comply gladly.  I repeat: we comply gladly. Why? There is a reason why we comply gladly to contribute an article to this anniversary of fifty years of our existence as Protestant Reformed Churches. There is something about this celebration that should thrill our people, thrill all those who love the truths of God’s infallible Word and Scripture. What is this cause for our joy and happiness? 

“Time,” it is said, “marches on.” Rather, one ought to insist that God’s counsel is in process of realization. That is impressed upon us especially at an anniversary. Then we remark about how quickly time passes. It also becomes the occasion of consideration of the past events. Such consideration is particularly significant when done by one who had himself gone through the events described. In Vol. 32 of our Standard Bearer the late Rev. G.M. Ophoff does that in an address commemorating the 40th anniversary of the late Rev. H. Hoeksema in the ministry.

[Note: This is a special edition of Question Box. My recent lecture in First Church, Grand Rapids, was followed by a question period. The question period, however, was not long enough for the answering of all the questions. The promise was made, therefore that any questions which were not answered at the meeting would be answered in writing in a later issue of the Standard Bearer. This prom-ise I now try to fulfill.

In the May, 1974 issue of The Outlook, Editor Vander Ploeg writes of his “dream” of a “Congress of Conservatives called together from across denominational lines.” Near the end of his editorial, he writes: “Smile if you will, ridicule this if you must, criticize and tear it all to pieces — but please don’t give up on the idea and bury it unless you can honestly say that you know a better way to do it.” And again: “Won’t you let me hear from you? And please let me know whether your letter may be used for publication or not.” 

“Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”