All Articles For The Lord Gave the Word

As our readers will recall from our previous article, Mr. Boer is writing on the subject of “Election and Missions” in the Reformed Journal. He makes a plea for the doctrine of election and also advocates that election should be a part of the contents of the preaching on the mission field, since we are to follow the example of Paul to preach the whole counsel of God. This we find highly commendatory, except for the fact that Mr. Boer does not believe in election, neither as it is taught in Scripture nor as it is maintained in our Confessions.

We turn now to the question of preaching predestination on the mission field. As you will recall from our previous discussions on this subject, Mr. Boer, who is discussing this in the Reformed Journal, is of the firm conviction that election (Boer does not agree with the doctrine of double predestination, or reprobation) should be included in the preaching of the Gospel in the mission field as well as in the established church. 

As I promised you a few months ago, there is still one more report that will appear in this column before it is presented to Synod. This is the Long Range Report on Foreign Mission Work. 

Missions is the official task of the Church to preach the gospel to all nations in obedience to the injunction of Christ given immediately before His ascension into heaven: “standing on the mount Jesus said to His disciples and thus to His Church: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway even unto the end of the world.

In the March issue of the Reformed Journal, Dr. Harry R. Boer writes about “The Doctrine Of Reprobation And The Preaching Of The Gospel.” He is chiefly concerned about the doctrine of reprobation and the preaching of the gospel from the missionary point of view; more specifically, as he adds, “from that of a missionary charged with the training of pastors for the emergent Church in Nigeria.” 

In the April issue of the Reformed Journal, Dr. Harry R. Boer continues his discussion on Predestination and Mission Preaching under the heading, “Reprobation in Modern Reformed Theologians.” Boer does not believe in predestination in the Reformed sense of the word, but regards especially the doctrine of reprobation as pure rationalism, based on inferences which are contrary to the teaching of Scripture that unbelief is the sole fault of man.

We are discussing the five points of Calvinism in connection with missions. The question comes down to this: Can mission work be carried out on the basis of the five points of Calvinism’? In that connection we are compelled to ask: Can a missionary preach sovereign predestination, total depravity, limited atonement, efficacious grace, and the preservation of saints? This really amounts to placing ourselves before the question: Can a Calvinist preach his convictions on the mission field? And that is the same as asking: Is Calvinism the truth of Scripture, or isn’t it? 

When we speak of mission labors in the old dispensation, or the spread of the Gospel beyond the pale of Israel, we quite naturally think of Jonah and his message to Nineveh, upon which Nineveh repented. Therefore we pause a moment to consider this unique missionary venture of the Old Testament.  Let us just briefly call to mind some of the detail of Jonah’s preaching and Nineveh’s repentance upon that preaching. 

Anyone who has had the opportunity to read through the Agenda for our next synod will realize that mission work will take up a lion’s share of the discussions. It so happens that this year we have no examination of candidates, nor any (other matters that will demand a lot of synod’s time and effort. This may be advantageous. As one of the ministers expressed it, this will give our synod ample opportunity to make a thorough study of all the problems involved in our present mission program.  The matter of domestic missions appears on the Agenda. 

“Did God then create man so wicked and perverse?”