Grace Life – Rev. Mitchell Dick

• Morning Glories

News From Our Churches – Mr. Benjamin Wigger

·  Varia

Meditation:

Rev. James Slopsema

Rev. Slopsema is pastor of First Protestant  Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Happiness of Those  Whose Hope Is in the Lord

      Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.  Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.  Psalm 146:3-5

      The beginning of a new year is an occasion to look forward.

      From a purely human point of view, the future is very uncertain.  We are at war in Afghanistan and Iraq.  The American economy is weak, leaving many people financially strapped.  Our society is morally rotten, evidenced by the breakdown of marriage and the family.  And these are only some of the troubles we face.

      It is very easy to become apprehensive about the future.

      Those who have the God of Jacob for their help, and whose hope is in the Lord, have no reason for anxiety.  Their future is secure.  

      Put not your trust in princes or in the son of man.  In them there is no help.

      Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

      The God of Jacob!

      Princes, who are merely the sons of men.

      What a contrast.

      Princes are the rulers of this world.  Israel dealt with many foreign princes in her history.  Some wielded tremendous power, such as the rulers of Egypt, Syria, Assyria, Babylon, and Persia.  Most of them opposed Israel; some were willing for a price to help her against her enemies.

      We can speak of princes also today.  They are in high places of government, and by virtue of their position they wield great power.  Often in history these princes have been antagonistic to the church, even persecuting the church.  Others have been benefactors to the church, allowing her room to live in peace. 

      But then there is the Lord, who is the God of Jacob.

      This terminology views God as the God of the covenant.  He is the God of Jacob.  It was with Jacob that God established His covenant, as He had with Jacob’s father, Isaac, and grandfather, Abraham, before him.  The God of Jacob, therefore, is the God of the covenant.  Besides this, God is identified here as Lord.  Wherever there is “Lord” in the KJV, the name “Jehovah” is found in the original.  And Jehovah is God’s covenant name.

      In the Old Testament the nation of Israel belonged to this covenant of God.  They were the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Jehovah was their covenant God. 

      Also today Jehovah is the covenant God.  His covenant is with all those who belong to Jesus Christ by faith.  God’s covenant is with Abraham and his seed.  This seed is not a natural seed but a spiritual one.  All those who possess the same faith that Abraham had and by that faith belong to Jesus Christ are counted as the seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:7, 29).   Jehovah is their God, just as surely as He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

      Put not your trust in princes.

      Hope rather in Jehovah.

      To trust someone is to confide in him.  When you have a burden or a concern, you take it to someone and tell him about it, trusting that he will help.  The idea of hope builds on that kind of trust.  It emphasizes expecting help from someone so that you wait for his help.  You hope in those in whom you trust. 

      Israel was not to put her trust in princes.  She often did.  In spite of repeated warnings, she turned again and again to Egypt for help when enemies from the north threatened.  And there were others in whom she trusted.  Here again Israel was reminded by the Psalmist not to do this.

      This also applies to us.  We face many potential evils in the future.  As citizens of a nation we face the threats of war, terrorism, and economic recession.  As members of the church we face the threat of apostasy and persecution.  We are warned here not to put our trust in the princes of this world to deliver and protect us.  Certainly we may make use of the protection of our government.  Government is an institution of God, ordained for the welfare of the church.  Rightfully the church uses the protection the government provides for all her citizens.  But as she does so, she is not to put her trust in princes so that she depends on them to keep and preserve her.  Her confidence for the future must not rest on the princes of this world.

      The church must rather put her trust in her covenant God to help her.  Her hope must be in Jehovah, the God of Jacob.  When there are wars and rumors of war, we must trust in Jehovah to keep us.  When there is persecution and threat of violence for the church, we must confide in the God of Jacob.  When there is poverty and scarcity, we must hope in the Lord.  And certainly as we begin the year 2004 we must look to our covenant God, confide in Him, and expect our help from Him alone.

      Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.

      It would often appear that there is help in princes.  Princes often hold great power.  Some have tremendous ability.  The history books are full of illustrious princes who have done great things.  They have led massive armies.  They have conquered mighty nations.  They have persuaded the masses with a golden tongue.  And so many look to them for help in the time of need.  Their hope is in their prince.

      But the fact is that there is no help in princes.  Any help they provide is very limited in scope and of short duration.  And any lasting help that provides for our real needs is not found in princes.

      The obvious reason is that they are merely the sons of men.  And being the sons of men their breath goeth forth, i.e., they expire.  They die.  They return to the earth, i.e., at death they go to the grave, where they return to the dust of the ground.  In that very day their thoughts perish.  By thoughts are meant all their dreams and schemes and all that they accomplish.  In the day that they die, the thoughts of the princes of this world all perish.

      What true, lasting help can they provide?

      On the other hand, we have every reason to put our trust in our covenant God.

      For as the psalmist makes clear in the rest of this Psalm, Jehovah is able to care for our every need.  He it is that “made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is” (v. 6).  As the great Creator, Jehovah also reigns over all forever.  “The Lord shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations” (v. 10).  There are two ideas here.  First, Jehovah, in His almighty power, controls all things.  There is not a thing, great or small, that God does not rule absolutely.  Secondly, Jehovah God does not rule only for a few years, and then pass away.  He rules forever, so that His thoughts do not perish but are realized and stand forever. 

      Certainly, the God of Jacob is able to help us in all our needs.

      And being our covenant God He is willing to help. 

      The basic idea of the covenant is friendship.  As our covenant God, Jehovah is our friend.  As our sovereign friend, Jehovah God loves us and will care for us.  It is His eternal desire and purpose to care for us in our every need.  So intent is He in this purpose that He gave His only begotten Son to the agony of the cross to secure our salvation and eternal welfare.  In verses 7-9 the psalmist gives an indication of the kind of care Jehovah provides for us in His covenant.  He executes judgment for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, looses the prisoners, opens the eyes of the blind, raises them that are bowed down, loves the righteous, preserves the strangers, and relieves the fatherless and widow.  There is nothing that our covenant God will withhold from us.  It is all designed to keep us safely in this life as well as to bring us to Himself in eternal covenant bliss in a better life to come.

      Certainly, our trust and our hope are well placed in Jehovah, the God of Jacob.

      Happy is he that has the God of Jacob for his help.

      Certainly those who put their trust in princes will not be happy.  There is no help in princes.  Those who rely on them will be without help.  The hope they have as they wait for help is a false hope.  Their hopes can only be dashed again and again.  After repeated disappointments, those who trust in princes will ultimately perish in their misery.

      But those who have the God of Jacob for their help shall be happy.  For there is help in the God of Jacob.  There is help in Him alone!  And all those who both trust and hope in Him will receive His help. 

      Where is your trust?  In whom do you hope?

      In this New Year and for every year of your life, put your trust in Jehovah and your hope in the God of Jacob.

      Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.  

Editorial:

Prof. David Engelsma

Precious Assurance

     For a long time, I have wanted to write on the assurance of salvation.  God willing, this editorial is the beginning of a series of articles on Scripture’s precious doctrine of assurance and, based on this doctrine, the Christian’s precious experience of assurance.

      Assurance is a prominent teaching in Holy Scripture.  The apostle teaches the assurance of the elect believer in Hebrews 10:19ff.   We have “boldness” to enter the holiest.  We are called to draw near to God “in full assurance of faith.”  There is an urgent warning against “wavering,” casting away our confidence, and drawing back. 

      Assurance is precious.  Certainty that I am saved in the love of God my Father in Jesus Christ is dear—dearer than earthly life.  Doubt is dreadful—worse than death.

Distinctively Reformed

      Assurance is a distinctive blessing of God in the lives of Reformed Christians.

      Obviously, there is no assurance of salvation in the unbelieving world and in the pagan religions.  As there is salvation only in Jesus Christ, so there is assurance of salvation only in Him.

      But neither do members of the other churches enjoy assurance.  The reason is that the other churches have a false gospel.  Assurance is, and can be, a reality only where the gospel of salvation by the sovereign grace of God alone is proclaimed and believed.

      There is no assurance in the Roman Catholic Church.  It is Roman dogma that there is no assurance in the Roman religion.  Apart from special revelation given only to a few, no one may be certain of his justification, election, salvation, and everlasting blessedness in heaven.

         No one, moreover, so long as he is in this mortal life, ought so far to presume as regards the secret mystery of divine predestination, as to determine for certain that he is assuredly in the number of the predestinate; as if it were true, that he that is justified, either can not sin any more, or, if he do sin, that he ought to promise himself an assured repentance; for except by special revelation, it can not be known whom God hath chosen unto himself.

         So also as regards the gift of perseverance, of which it is written, “He that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved,” … let no one herein promise himself any thing as certain with an absolute certainty.

         If anyone saith, that he will for certain, of an absolute and infallible certainty, have that great gift of perseverance unto the end,—unless he have learned this by special revelation:  let him be anathema (“The Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent,” Decree on Justification, Chapters 12 and 13; On Justification, Canon 16, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom, vol. 2, Harper & Brothers, 1890, pp. 103, 113, 114).

      Likewise, all who believe the doctrines of Arminianism, that is, the teachings of universal, ineffectual, conditional grace, lack assurance of salvation.  These include most evangelicals and fundamentalists.  They can be sure, they say, that they are saved today, when they choose to believe in Christ.  But they cannot be sure that they will be saved tomorrow, or everlastingly, because they may choose not to believe tomorrow.  A salvation that depends upon the free, sovereign will of the sinner is highly uncertain.  The Arminians themselves frankly admit their doubt.  At Dordt, the Arminian party expressed the inescapable implication of their gospel of salvation by the will of man in these words:

         True believers are able to fall through their own fault into shameful and atrocious deeds, to persevere and to die in them; and therefore finally to fall and to perish.

      Indeed, the Arminians declared that assurance of salvation was of no great importance to them.

         A true believer can and ought indeed to be certain for the future that he is able, by diligent watchfulness, through prayers, and through other holy exercises, to persevere in true faith, and he ought also to be certain that divine grace for persevering will never be lacking; but we do not see how he can be certain that he will never afterwards be remiss in his duty but that he will persevere in faith and in those works of piety and love which are fitting for a believer in this school of Christian warfare; neither do we deem it necessary that concerning this thing a believer should be certain (“The Opinions of the Remonstrants [Arminians]:  The Opinion of the Remonstrants with Respect to the Fifth Article, which concerns Perseverance,” Articles 4, 8, in Crisis in the Reformed Churches, ed. Peter Y. DeJong, Reformed Fellowship, 1968, pp. 228, 229; emphasis added).

      The cause of all lack of assurance of salvation among Arminians is the same as the cause of the lack of assurance on the part of Roman Catholics:  They believe the false gospel of salvation conditioned upon something in the sinner.  In the language of the apostle in Romans 9:16, Roman Catholics believe that salvation depends upon the sinner’s running, or working; Arminians believe that salvation depends upon the sinner’s willing.  There is no assurance in a message of salvation depending upon the sinner.  There cannot be.  The sinner—man—is not dependable.  He is unstable as water. 

      God will not bless such a message with assurance.  He will give assurance only by the message of salvation that casts the needy sinner wholly upon His grace in Jesus Christ.  Again, in the language of Paul in Romans 9:16, this is the message that salvation depends only upon God who shows mercy.  This is the message of the Reformed faith.

Reformed Doubters

      Nevertheless, there are also Reformed and Presbyterian churches that have gone grievously wrong in the matter of assurance.  This too makes our treatment of assurance timely.  The result of their error is that these Reformed and Presbyterian churches are filled with members who lack assurance of their salvation.  What is even worse, these members suppose that their doubt is normal and right.

      Not all Reformed churches and ministers agree with the theme that will sound, and resound, loudly and gloriously through this series of articles on assurance:  Assurance is God’s will for all His children.  Some Reformed churches and theologians teach that assurance is the will of God for only some of His children, indeed very few of His children.  Even the few are taught by their churches and ministers to come to assurance only after a long period—perhaps most of their life—of doubt and uncertainty.

      These are churches and theologians, especially in the Dutch Reformed tradition and in the Scottish Presbyterian tradition, who are influenced by certain of the Puritans.  The Puritans were mainly English theologians in the latter part of the sixteenth century and in the seventeenth century who strove for the doctrinal soundness and liturgical purity of the church and for the holiness of the lives of the members of the church. 

      Some of the Puritans placed inordinate emphasis on religious experience.  One’s religious experience was more important than the truth of Christ in sound doctrine.  In addition, the highly regarded and much sought-after religious experience was seriously misrepresented.  Rather than the sober experience of faith in Christ, consisting of sorrow over sin, trust in the Savior presented in the gospel, the consciousness of the forgiveness of sins, and the desire to love this gracious Savior by doing His will, the religious experience urged by these Puritans was supposed to be an enthusiastic, mystical, mysterious, ineffable feeling. 

      Bound up with this strange “experience,” according to these miserable physicians of the souls of men, was one’s assurance of his salvation.  For assurance, these Puritans encouraged an unhealthy introspection, a spiritual “navel-gazing.”  Rather than to look away from one’s guilty, depraved self to the crucified Savior, the wretched people—confessing Calvinists—were taught to rummage around in their own soul for the proper experience.  As if this were not bad enough, as soon as a poor soul dared to find some spiritual experience within himself that might prove his salvation, the Puritan minister would question the validity of the experience:  “Are you sure that the sorrow for sin is genuine?  that the trust in Christ is true faith?  that the love for God is real?”

      The result, inevitably, was doubt—lifelong doubt, doubt on a huge scale in the congregations, doubt handed down from generation to generation.

      Whereupon the old Puritan teachers cheerily concluded, as their modern disciples conclude today, that assurance is the will of God only for a few of His children.  Even the favored few expected to struggle with doubt for many years, although it is remarkable that most of the teachers exempted themselves.

      In the paper he read at one of the old Puritan and Reformed Studies Conferences at West-minster Chapel in London, recently published in volume one of the Puritan Papers, J. I. Packer freely acknowledged that the Puritans taught that assurance was the will of God for only some of His children.  He quoted the Puritan Thomas Brooks:  “Assurance is a mercy too good for most men’s hearts….  God will only give it to his best and dearest friends.”  Brooks is quoted again:  “Assurance … is a … crown that few [Christians] wear.”

      The Puritan Thomas Goodwin taught that the few privileged children obtain assurance only after a long time of doubt:  “Assurance is not normally enjoyed except by those who have first laboured for it and sought it and served God faithfully and patiently without it”  (J. I. Packer, “The Witness of the Spirit:  The Puritan Teaching,” in Puritan Papers, vol. 1, P&R, 2000, p. 20).

      The error of this doctrine of assurance stares one in the face in the last quotation.  No one can serve God faithfully, much less acceptably, who lacks assurance of salvation.

      Those Reformed and Presbyterian churches that are influenced by this Puritan thinking on assurance are filled with members, including old members, who lack assurance of salvation.  Ask them whether they believe the Bible to be the Word of God, whether they believe the gospel to be true, whether they believe Christ to be the Son of God in human flesh and the only Savior, whether they are in great need of salvation, and they answer “yes” without any hesitation. 

      Ask them whether they are assured of their own salvation, and they answer “no,” also without hesitation.  They never come to the Lord’s Supper.  They live and die unsure whether their eternal destiny will be heaven or hell—dreadful condition—although all their life they are faithful at church, defenders of the Reformed faith, regular in their conduct, students of Scripture, and, by their own testimony, desirous of salvation and assurance.

      The truth about assurance, which they are not being taught, should be precious to them.

      To a believer who, for a time, struggles with uncertainty, good instruction about assurance is vitally important.  What explains this miserable condition?  May he certainly expect deliverance from his doubt?  How will he come to have assurance?

      The truth about assurance is precious also to us who enjoy the assurance of salvation. 

      It is reassuring to be assured from Scripture and the Reformed confessions that assurance is the will of our heavenly Father for all His children.

Letters:

Anon. No Longer

   We do so appreciate your fine magazine, and are blessed by the thoughtful articles and your solid stands.

         On page 85 of the November 15, 2003 Standard Bearer, attributed to “Anon.,” is a verse of one of our favorite hymns.  It was written by the Scottish pastor, Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne, in 1837.  The verse you have quoted is verse 3 in most hymnals.  The other verses are:

When this passing world is done, when has sunk yon glaring sun,
when we stand with Christ in glory, looking o’er life’s finished story,
then, Lord, shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe.
 

When I hear the wicked call on the rocks and hills to fall,
when I see them start and shrink on the fiery deluge brink,
then, Lord, shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe.
 

(then your verse 3, followed by):

When the praise of heav’n I hear, loud as thunders to the ear,
loud as many waters’ noise, sweet as harp’s melodious voice,
then, Lord, shall I fully know, not till then, how much I owe.
 

Chosen not for good in me, wakened up from wrath to flee,
hidden in the Savior’s side, by the Spirit sanctified,
teach me, Lord, on earth to show, by my love, how much I owe.
 

      Again, thank you for the blessed work you are doing.

Karl and Linda Rudolph
Hiddenite, NC 

Understanding the Times:

Mr. Calvin Kalsbeek
Mr. Kalsbeek is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan.      (Preceding article in series:  November 1, 2003, p. 56.)

Eastern Ideas (4): Their Influence on the Church

      “And the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.”  I Chronicles 12:32

      “We must rethink our ideas about God; we should place less emphasis on Christ as a person and a redeemer.  We should put the Bible away for 20 years while we radically rethink our religious ideas."[1]   Those words were spoken by Roman Catholic priest Father Thomas Berry, in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York.  In 1994 in that same cathedral the then Vice President, Albert Gore, proclaimed, “God is not separate from the earth."[2]   Mr. Gore said this during a service in which nature was honored by parading a camel and elephant up and down the aisles while worshipers carried a bowl of compost and worms in a procession to the altar.

      From the previous articles we have written about Eastern ideas, it should be clear that the references in the paragraph above have obvious Eastern overtones.  Could it be that the Eastern ideas, which are becoming so much a part of mainstream American society, are also influencing the church?  If so, what effect is it having?  How could this have happened?  Should these developments concern modern-day Issachar?   

The Church under the Spell of the East

      It is not difficult to demonstrate that the nominal church, along with Western society, has fallen under the spell of Eastern mysticism.  In his book Spirit Wars, Peter Jones writes,

 

         Does the average Christian know what is going on in our ostensibly civilized society?  Pagan ideology, sometimes of the most radical and anti-Christian nature, is taught in university departments of religion, theological seminaries, mainline church agencies, feminist networks and wicca covens across the land. It adopts the name of Christianity, but will render our world unrecognizable.[3] 

      From Jones’ perspective the average Christian does not know what is going on, and even if he did know, he is not prepared to present a viable challenge to it.  Let’s allow Jones to speak for himself:

         Unfortunately the average couch-potato Christian, so often consumed by the great American materialistic dream and nurtured by that moronic national baby sitter, TV—itself controlled by materialists and humanists serving New Age goals—would seem to be no match for the sleek, vegetarian, highly spiritual, well-read, occult-driven conspirators of the Aquarian Age.[4]  

      Could it be that Jones is seeing that which does not exist, and without justifiable cause is crying “wolf, wolf”?  The evidence from some additional sources would suggest otherwise:

         Liberal theologians are of course ready to join hands with channelers and the astrologers of this age, believing that spiritual experiences are of equal value.  The Reverend Gene Seely, an ordained United Methodist minister, says he is quite ready to climb out on a limb with Shirley MacLaine—at least most of the way.  One cannot watch her growth, he says, without recalling the parable of Christ about the new wine in old wineskins.  Only stretchable wineskins can accommodate the ferment of new truth.

         The minister says we must allow for the fact that God may be revealing Himself through experiences such as that of the famous actress.  After all, he asks, “How then is the church to deal with such things as reincarnation, trance channeling, out-of-body experiences, clairvoyance, extraterrestrials, telepathy, intelligent energy fields, and non physical entities?"[5] 

      A few pages deeper in their book, Lutzer and DeVries further establish Eastern influence on the church when they write:

         We should not be surprised to find that Schuller (Rev. Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, ck) has now taken the next step and accepted the techniques of Hinduism to find satisfaction and results through positive thinking.  He argues that the meditation found in different Eastern religions is quite compatible with the Judeo-Christian religion.  Both, he says, desire to overcome the distractions of the conscious mind.  He regards these methods, regardless of their origin, as neutral from a religious point of view and hence beneficial to all. “The most effective mantras employ the ‘M’ sound.  You can get the feel of it by repeating the words, ‘I am, I am’ many times over….  Transcendental meditation is not a religion nor is it necessarily anti-Christian."[6]

 

      After reading that, it does not surprise us when we also hear of Rev. Schuller’s conciliatory meetings with Muslim leaders.  In fact, in a meeting with Iman W. Deen Mohammed, Schuller is reported to have said to the Muslim leader that if he was absent from the earth and came back after a hundred years to find his descendants Muslim, it wouldn’t bother him—so long as they weren’t atheists.  Remember now, this is from a graduate of Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan.  Remember, too, that Rev. Schuller reaches twenty million viewers from his Crystal Cathedral. 

Effects of this Eastern Influence

      As this openness to Eastern religions has increased in the churches, so also have many Eastern worship practices become more prevalent.  For example, those who live in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area (and we suppose in many other areas around the nation) have observed over the years a significant interest in Taize worship services. These services have no preaching, only prayer, song, and Scripture and are “intended to awaken one’s inner spirituality.”  As reported in the Grand Rapids Press, numerous Taize services were held in Western Michigan last year.  A few snippets from the Press article will give a taste of the Eastern flavor of these services:

         Taize (pronounced ta-zay) worship services, named after a Christian community in France, are growing in popularity across America.

         A Taize chant and time of silence will be part of the annual community interfaith Thanksgiving service.

         The repetitive choruses of Taize and its emphasis on personal reflection incline worshippers toward deeper prayer….

         It’s  kind of a way to center yourself, to go deeper within yourself to feel God’s presence….[7] 

      Gene Edward Veith connects the Eastern influence on the churches to the increasing decadence of Western culture in general and the mainline churches of the West in particular.  Veith writes:

         As Christianity becomes less of a presence in our culture, the ancient pagan religions are rushing in to the void.  Pro-gressives had always assumed that once Christianity faded, people would do without religion entirely.  But this was naïve.  Without an advanced religion like Christianity, people are reverting to what came before, to nature worship, neo-animism, and primitive superstitions.

         …the culture’s moral shifts may be a cultural reversion to paganism, which sometimes used prostitution and homosexuality as means of religious awakening and which often tolerated euthanasia and infanticide.[8] 

      A rise in paganism in America does appear to be evident.  As our society seeks more and more to distance itself from anything that would connect it to Christianity, it has been adopting practices that have their roots in paganism.  The example of “The Burning Man” practiced every Labor Day weekend in Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada is a case in point:

         Severed animal heads are roasted over a flame; people dressed as demons perform pagan rituals; men and women dance nude before fiery idols as a starry night softly illumines the flat desert around them….  The festival is called “The Burning Man,” so-named because of the celebration’s centerpiece: a towering, 40-foot, wooden, faceless being erected in the middle of the pagan campground and burned on the final night….

         The festival’s finale is on Saturday night, as the attendees observe and participate in a drama which celebrates the knowledge that they will all one day enter hell. The crowd follows the actors from one huge structure to another, simulating their descent into the abyss.[9] 

      As bazaar as it may appear, “The Burning Man” is a growing phenomenon in “Christian” America.  The celebration has grown from 10,000 participants in 1997 to 30,000 in 2000 with other “Burning Man” celebrations beginning to take place in other parts of the country.  Furthermore, many of the participants once professed Christianity, but now have turned their backs on God.           

      While the movement toward paganism is growing in the United States, Veith believes that “the main religious shift in American culture is not so much to overt paganism as to syncretism, the attempt to combine a biblical faith with a pagan one."[10]   In agreement with Veith is Peter Jones, whose book The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back emphasizes that same point, and demonstrates how today’s conflict with the New Age movement is very much like the ancient church’s struggle with gnosticism; thus the title of his book.  Veith, however, makes the point that this syncretism is manifesting itself on an institutional level as well.  To illustrate the point, he informs us of the Agape International Spiritual Center in suburban Los Angeles.  This organization of some 7000 members calls itself a church but “makes no pretense of being Christian at all."[11]   Rather, Agape International is a multi-religious group of Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Buddhists.

      Closer to home, Veith assesses the ecumenical movement.  In so doing he notes that in the 1960s the ecumenical movement “…tried to reconcile various Christian traditions.  Today, it tries to reconcile the various world religions.”  Closer still, Veith writes, “Even many ostensible evangelicals are showing signs of pagan flirtation.  The ‘openness of God’ theologians are jettisoning the attributes of the transcendent God who has always been worshipped by Christians in favor of a lesser god who is not all-knowing, outside of time, or all-powerful."[12] 

      If that is representative of New Age influence on the national religious scene, what does it look like on the international level?  Even worse … at least if half of what Mr. John F. McManus writes in The New American is true!  McManus describes an organization called United Religions, which “would have all faiths abandon their core beliefs and join together in a worship-the-earth form of religiosity."[13]   McManus further informs us that “Support for the entire undertaking came from former UN Assistant Secretary General Robert Muller, now chancellor of the University of Peace in Costa Rica.”  The organizers, with its more than 700 supporters from leaders of the world’s religions, hope to have the United Religions fully functioning by 2005.  Rather ominously, Mr. Muller has remarked that peace among the world’s religions “will be impossible without the taming of fundamentalism through a United Religions that professes faithfulness only to the global spirituality and to the health of the planet."[14]   (SB readers may want to check out the progress of this movement on the Internet.)

      How must modern-day Issachar view these Eastern influences on the church?  Lutzer and DeVries may very well be on target in viewing it as part of Satan’s strategy to deceive the nations of the world:

         To do this he must redefine mankind’s definition of God.  Rather than thinking of God as the personal Creator, Satan would like man to think of God as everything that exists.  Then man can think of himself as God too.

         Second, Satan wants to redefine death so that people think of it as a pleasant transition without any accountability to a personal God.  You just go around as many times as you need to, and eventually you will get to nirvana.

         Third, he wants us to come to our own definition of what is good and evil.  Moral relativism serves his purpose because it breaks down the fiber of a nation and leads to personal emotional entrapment.

         Fourth, he promotes esotericism, the belief that reality can be reduced to a personal experience of enlightenment.  Man can feel initiated as an enlightened one if he has the right mystical encounter.[15] 

…to be continued. 

      1.   Fred Gielow, You Don’t Say (Boca Raton, Florida: Freedom Books, 2000), p. 63

      2.   Gielow, p. 64.

      3.   Peter Jones, Spirit Wars (Escondido, CA: WinePress Publishing, 1997), p. 35.

      4.   Peter  Jones, The Gnostic Empire Strikes Back (New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1992), p. 96.

      5.   Erwin W. Lutzer and John F. DeVries, Satan’s Evangelistic Strategy For This New Age (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Books, 1989), p. 114.

      6.   Lutzer, p. 120.

     7.   Matt VandeBunte, “Hearing God’s Voice,” The Grand Rapids Press, p. 23 Nov., 2002:B 1.

      8.   Gene Edward Veith, “A God in Their Own Image,” World 6 May, 2000: 16.

      9.   AFA Journal, September, 1997: 6.

      10.  Veith, p. 16.

      11.  Gene Edward Veith, “The New Multi-faith Religion,” World 15 December, 2001:16.

      12.  Gene Edward Veith, “A God in Their Own Image,” World 6 May, 2000:16.

      13.  John F. McManus, “United in Godlessness,” The New American 14 April, 1997:44.

      14.  McManus, p. 44.

      15.  Lutzer, p. 28.

All Thy Works Shall Praise Thee:

Mr. Joel Minderhoud

Mr. Minderhoud is a teacher in Covenant Christian High School and a member of Hope Protestant Reformed Church, Walker, Michigan.

The “Being, Shape, Form, and Several Offices” of Nitrogen

      Article 12 of our Belgic Confession of Faith begins “We believe that the Father, by the Word, that is, by His Son, hath created of nothing the heaven, the earth, and all creatures as it seemed good unto Him, giving unto every creature its being, shape, form, and several offices to serve its Creator; that He doth also still uphold and govern them by His eternal providence and infinite power, for the service of mankind, to the end that man may serve his God.”

      This article of the Belgic Confession is significant because of the many valuable truths of Scripture it brings to our attention.  We could look at the truth of Scripture that God created all things by the second person of the Trinity — the Son; that is, that the creation was created by Christ and for Christ.  Or we could focus on the truth that God created all things out of nothing — a truth denied by those who hold to any form of evolution.  Another perspective of the article that we could consider is the sovereignty of God shown in His creating of all creatures so that nothing can claim to be independent of His work.  God’s sovereignty is further demonstrated in that He created “as it seemed good unto Him.”  In wisdom He determined how each creature should look and function.  Although one could consider Article 12 from many doctrinal points of view, we hope in this article to focus on the truth that God created the entire essence of every creature for the ultimate purpose of His own glory.

      It is of no small significance that Article 12 points the child of God to the truth of God’s creating all things, including His giving to each creature its “being, shape, form, and several offices (roles or functions, JM).”  The idea of the word “being” is that God gave to each creature its existence (read Job 38:1-12; Ps. 33:6, 9; Ps. 139:13-16).   By the word “shape” we should understand that God gave to each creature its structure and unique characteristics.  And by the word “form” we should understand that God gave to each creature its own unique nature and mode of existence (read Job 39:13-25; 40:15-24; Ps. 139:14).   These first three words that Article 12 uses have the intent of communicating to us that the entire essence of the creature is created and maintained by God — even its offices, or its roles and duties in the creation (read Ps. 104:10-24).   God led our church fathers to make such a statement and summary of the teaching of Scripture to teach us to look more closely at God’s work of creation in the light of Scripture, in order that we might grow in our knowledge of Him and so worship Him.

      To study the “being, shape, form, and several offices” of various creatures is also important because too many in the church world today might confess that God created each creature, that is, gave it its being, but deny that He is sovereign in giving to each creature its shape, form, and calling within the creation.  Many will attribute these other aspects to some evolutionary process.  I believe that many of the ethical issues we observe in the scientific community and in society at large result from an evolutionistic and humanistic perspective that is in utter rebellion against the Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth, who with wisdom beyond that which we can fathom gave to each creature its being, shape, form, and several offices.  For this reason, too, I think it is vital for us to observe the creation and, using our “Spectacles,” look to see in each creature the hand of our Almighty Father.  We need to do this more often than we do.  We are not immune to the temptations of our natures to view issues from a perspective that denies the work of God in creating every aspect of a creature’s essence.  We do well to be reminded of God’s complete work in the creation of all things.

The Being, Shape, and Form of Nitrogen

      Generally, when we consider God’s creative work of giving to each creature its being, shape, form, and several offices, the things we readily see with our eyes, such as, ants, bears, or trees come to mind.  But to appreciate God’s wonderwork in some of His tiniest creatures is to appreciate it in all of His works.  Thus, I think it is valuable to share with you the being, shape, form, and several offices of one of God’s microscopic creatures, the element nitrogen and its compounds, that in the study of such a tiny creature we might stand in greater awe of God’s creative work! 

      Without going into an extensive study of the characteristics of nitrogen and its compounds, we should look closely enough at it to see that God not only gave to nitrogen its existence, but also gave it all of its special characteristics in order to fulfill specific purposes.  Two main characteristics of nitrogen atoms and its compounds are significant.  Nitrogen, different than most elements, is designed by God to receive many electrons or to give up many of its electrons.  This characteristic gives nitrogen the ability to make a large range of compounds.  The second major characteristic of nitrogen is that two of its five outer electrons are often not used in bonding with other atoms (bonding is a sharing of electrons between atoms).  Many compounds formed from nitrogen have two electrons that are not shared with its neighboring atoms.  This outer, lone pair of electrons becomes significant in terms of the various unique properties that the compounds will then exhibit.  For example, these two electrons are a part of the reason why some nitrogen compounds dissolve well in water.  These two characteristics constitute a small beginning of an understanding of the shape and form of nitrogen and begin to help us see the marvelous work of God in creation — a work we too often fail to examine closely.

The Place and Functions of Nitrogen in the Creation

      The air that we breathe contains several important molecules.  Obviously, we recognize that air contains the molecule oxygen.  Without it we would perish in minutes.  But another important molecule exists in the air we breathe.  About eighty percent of air molecules are nitrogen gas molecules.  Because of their makeup, these molecules cannot be used directly by our bodies for any of our living functions.  Nevertheless, our bodies are indirectly dependent upon them.  The need that our bodies have for nitrogen warrants a closer study as to how God “fits” nitrogen to be used by us and in service to us that we may honor His name.

      The nitrogen gas molecules in the creation are part of a God-ordained cycle that man has named the nitrogen cycle.  God has placed the nitrogen gas molecules in the air as a rich storehouse of nitrogen that is needed in other places of the creation.  These nitrogen gas molecules are used by creatures within the creation for basic living processes and are returned to the air when the organism dies, completing the cycle.

      Nitrogen in its many roles is found throughout the creation.  Nitrogen atoms bonded with oxygen atoms form a group of atoms called “nitrate ions.”  Nitrate ions are a vital form of nitrogen that God uses to provide plants with the source of nitrogen they need to grow and develop.  These ions are taken into the plant via its roots and are used to make larger molecules, such as amino acids and proteins.  Nitrogen atoms bonded to three hydrogen atoms form ammonia.  Ammonia is used in preparing a variety of useful things such as fertilizers, fibers, plastics, and even explosives.  In addition to those uses, most mothers know from their everyday experiences that ammonia is also an excellent household cleaner.

      Nitrate ions and ammonia molecules demonstrate some of the tiny compounds in which nitrogen is found.  However, nitrogen is also found in very large molecules of hundreds of atoms.  Just over 50 years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick wrote about their model of the double helix of DNA, the massive molecule that carries genetic information and is crucial to our understanding of modern genetics.  Basic to their work on the structure of DNA was an understanding of what things were necessary to form DNA.  Scientists had learned that special molecules containing nitrogen (nucleotides) were the structures that tied one “ladder” or helix of DNA to another.  Even the massive molecule of DNA was designed by God to be put together by structures that have nitrogen atoms as their key component.        

      Not only are nitrogen atoms used to make DNA, but other large molecules, such as amino acids and proteins, are dependent on the presence of nitrogen in their structures.  Amino acids are put together within living organisms to make larger molecules called proteins, which contain many nitrogen atoms.  We can begin to understand the importance of proteins when we realize that they are a vital molecule found throughout all living organisms.  Proteins are found in certain body tissues, such as cartilage, bone, and muscle.  Proteins are found in hormones, which regulate many of the bodily functions of plants, animals, and humans.  There are also proteins in antibodies which protect us and animals from disease.  Even enzymes, which control certain complex chemical reactions, are proteins.  Is it not amazing how God created nitrogen atoms to be used by our bodies to make everything from muscle tissue, to hair, to components of our blood — even to DNA, the basic genetic molecules of our body!  This emphatically demonstrates the value and importance of nitrogen atoms.  Simply put, we could not live without it.  We can only marvel at the vast amount of uses God has for such a small element within His creation, and how it displays His providential care over us and all creatures.            How amazing!  God gave to nitrogen and its compounds all of their various characteristics, and He upholds them in their functions every moment of every day.  God gave this creature such “being, shape, and form” that it has a tremendous impact on all living substances as it is weaved into the very fabric of all living things.  We ought to be humbled to see how mighty God is and how in His wisdom He makes our earthly existence dependent, in part, upon such a tiny creature, which He sovereignly controls and directs.  We see the work of a sovereign God in the movements and roles of these molecules.  This is obviously not the work of any mere creature, nor the happenstance of some evolutionary process.  We see the deliberate and providential hand of a sovereign Ruler.  May we bow before Him as we see His power and wisdom in the intricate movements and activities of each molecule.  May God give us grace to see more and more His handiwork displayed in all of His creatures.  May we rise each day and take more time to consider how other creatures have been given their being, shape, form, and functions by God.  May we grow in awe of our Creator God, who gives to each creature its work and upholds all of them by His providence for our service and care that we may serve our God.  

In His Fear:

Rev. Daniel Kleyn

Rev. Kleyn is pastor of First Protestant Reformed Church in Edgerton, Minnesota.  (Preceding article in series:  November 15, 2003, p. 90.)

Love for the Church (3)

        God loves His church — so must we.  The church is precious to God — so ought she to be to us, her members.  The question is, How can we actually love the church?  In what ways can we show our love for her?

      To love someone or something involves seeking the welfare of that person or thing.  That is how it must always be with the object of our love.

      A husband who truly loves his wife seeks her welfare.  He does this by providing for her needs, especially her spiritual needs.  He strives to be the spiritual head he must be in marriage and seeks, above all else, to guide and strengthen her in her life as a child of God.