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1 t L F, PRO T EST ANT THE 0 LOG CAL J 0 URN A L REF 0 R M E D Ths Jounal s publshed and dstbuted n lmted quanttes, at no chage, by the Theologcal School of the Potestant Refomed Chuches. nteested pesons desng to have the names on the malng lst should addess the Edto, Pof. H. Hanko, at the addess of the school, 4949 vanest Ave., S.W., Gandvlle) Mchgan THEOLOGCAL SCHOOL of the PROTESTANT REFORMED CHURCHES Gandvlle, Mchgan F l May, Volume V, No. 2

2 ( F l F ' TABLE OF CONTENTS Edtoal Notes v & v Pof. H. Hanko The Kngdom Of Heaven l Pof. R. D. Decke James Daane's THE FREEDOM OF GOD (A Revew) Pof. H. C. Hoeksema F) ( F, f'l.. f"1 p;!

3 pn F' m' publcaton. Edtoal Notes -- Pof. H. Hanko Wth ths ssue of the Jounal we complete seven yeas of Ou subscpton lst has, n the meantme, gown beyond anythng we had antcpated. Snce we ae sendng the Jounal to ou subscbes fee of chage, and snce the cost of publshng the Jounal has contnued to se untl t has become a elatvely expensve poject, we want to be sue that all who eceve the Jounal ae nteested n t and want to contnue ecevng t. We ae theefoe, ncludng n some ssues of the Jounal a fom to be flled out by you and etuned to us. f ths fom appeas n you ssue and you want to contnue ecevng the Jounal, kndly fll out the fom and etun t to us as quckly as possble. f we do not eceve a etun fom, we wll assume that you ae not nteested n ecevng the Jounal and want to be taken fom the subscpton lst. Those of ou eades who do not have such a fom enclosed wll automatcally contnue ecevng the magazne. Thee s anothe enclosue n ths ssue whch lsts the cuent Semnay publcatons along wth the pce. You may ode these by addessng the School. Please enclose a check snce ths saves on bookkeepng. Geneally speakng, about 4% of the cost should be added to cove postage and handlng. Although the pces of some of ou publcatons have gone up, we ae stll sellng them at cost to us. All of ths emnds me that ou Semnay addess has been changed; and we ask all ou eades to take note of the change and make use of t n any coespondence to us. Ths change of addess s because ou Semnay s now located n new quates whch ae beautful and commodus and whch the Semnay has now enjoyed fo the last semeste. The new addess s: Potestant Refomed Theologcal School, 4949 vanest Ave., Gandvlle, MChgan v -

4 f"1"1 j f1"j We welcome to ou Jounal Pof. R. Decke who joned the Semnay faculty last Fall. He wll be wtng fom tme to tme n these pages and wll be contnung hs sees on the kngdom fom the vewpont of an exegetcal study of the Semon on the Haunt. '01 We have eceved ove the yeas a numbe of equests fo past atcles n the Jounal. Host of these equests we have?een unable to fll because ou supply of the Jounals s soon exhausted. Some of ou eades have offeed to pay to have the atcles coped. We ae theefoe, ncludng a lst of all past atcles whch have been publshed. f any of you dese these atcles, we wll them coped and maled to you. The cost wll be lo a page. The Scptual Pesentaton of God's Hated (H.C.H.) Wsdom n Povebs 8 (H.H.) Phlp Melanchthon (D.E.) The Synoptc Poblem (H.H.) Book Revew: Enftlh\1g;s 'tde Helge (H. C. H. ) The Oganc Development of Dogma (H.H.) On The Theoy of Common Gace (Rev. H. Hoeksema) The Genealogy of Jesus Accodng to the Flesh (D.E. ) Contnuaton of Bekhouwe's book (H.C.H.) The Relaton Between the Luthean and Calvn Refomaton (H. H. ) As To The Doctne of Holy Scptue (H.C.H.) The Chst of Hstoy (H. H. ) As To The Doctne of Holy Scptue (2) (H.C.H. ) The Chst of Hstoy (H.H. ) As To The Doctne of Holy Scptue (3) (H.C.H.) The Authoty of Scptue (H. H. ) As To The Doctne of Holy Scptue (4) (H.C.H.) The Old and New Man n Scptue (H.H. ) As To The Doctne of Holy Scptue (5) (H.C.H.) dcompetent to CO'.lnsel P --A Ctque (H.H. ) Pastoal Counsellng (C.H.) Summay of Confeence on Counsellng (H.C.H.) The Old and New Man n Scptue (H.H. ) Famly Vstaton (H.C.H.) Holy Spt Baptsm--A Refutaton of Pentecoltalsm (R.D.) The Holy Spt: Futs The Old and New dan n Scptue Oeco1ampadus, Refome of Basel Hs Pesence, Powe and (G.V.B.) (H.H. ) (M: H. ) have 26 pp. 22 pp. 23 pp. 22 pp. 18 pp. 14 pp. 26 pp. 12 pp. 17 pp. 21 pp. 14 pp. 18 pp. 18 pp. 19 pp. -18 'pp. 23 pp. 17 pp. 16 pp. 18 pp. 23 pp. 13 pp. 14 pp. 24 pp. 20 pp. 21 pp. 12 pp. 24 pp. 31 pp. Please let us know whch atcles you wsh to have sent. - v -

5 ' THE KNGDOM OF HEAVEN An Exegetcal Study of Matthew 5-7 ( Decke-- --Pof. Robet D. ffl'l F F m! f"m f!'\"l. Matthew 5: 1-9: The Ctzens of the Kngdom Thee has always been a good deal of dscusson wthn the chuch on the concept of the Kngdom of Heaven. Neve has thee been unanmty of opnon among theologans on questons such as: just what s the Kngdom? How shall the Kngdom be ealzed? What s the callng of the ctzens of God's Kngdom hee and now n ths wold? Of athe ecent date ths whole dscusson has ntensfed among chuches of "Dutch Refomed" pesuason both n Noth Ameca and the Nethelands. Ths dscusson has been povoked by tthe phlosophy of the law dea' pomulgated by two Fee Unvesty of Amstedam pofessos, Heman Dooyeweed and D. H. Th. Vollenhoven. These vews have been developed and populazed by a Toonto based goup known as the Assocaton fot the Advancement of Chstan Scholashp (A.A.C.S.). We do not ntend to add to the vast amount of ctque of ths movement and ts phlosophy. Rathe, t s ou pupose n ths and seveal succeedng ssues of the Jounal to examne the teachng of Jesus n Matthew 5-7 fom a postve pont of vew. Ths whole dscouse of the Savo deals wth the concept, the Kngdom of Heaven. We ae convnced that a pope undestandng of what ou Lod says n these chaptes goes fa towad g1v1ng us the tuth concenng Scptue's teachng on the Kngdom. Cetanly, anyone wshng to know what the Bble says about the Kngdom of Heaven can ll affod to gnoe Matthew 5, 6, and 7. Because ths s ou pupose we shall not be gvng a vese by vese exposton of these chaptes no wll we be dealng wth the '7ctcal" questons of just when Jesus spoke these wods and whee, s ths dscouse the same as the one ecoded n Luke ff, etc. We ae nteested n the contents of the Savo's Wod tself and that especally fom the pont of vew of what we may lean of the Kngdom of Heaven. Veses one and two gve us the settng of ths semon. Jesus, upon seeng the multtudes ascends the mountan. Whch mountan s meant we cannot detemne fo ts exact locaton s not ndcated. Pobably the mountan s n the vcnty of Capenaum of - 1 -

6 F'! '" f'" Gallee. Ths at least would seem most n hamony wth the last secton of chapte fou whch speaks of Jesus' ealy mnsty n that egon. The text nfoms us that when "he was set" o seated. Hs dscples came to Hm and He began teachng them. theefoe, s ths: The scene, Jesus s suounded by an nne ccle of Hs dscples who n tun ae enccled by the geat multtude fom allove that egon (Chapte 4: 25). Qute unfotunately ths mavelous dscouse s emembeed by a wong name. t would be much bette to call ths "The Semon On The Kngdom tl athe than "The Semon On The Mount. f The Kngdom of heaven s eally the theme and contollng concept of the ente dscouse ecoded n these thee chaptes. Ths s n pefect hamony too, wth Scptue's descpton of ou Lod's Gallean mnsty gven n chapte 4: 23, ff.: "And Jesus went about all Gallee...peachng the gospel of the Kngdom... ff Seveal elements may be noted concenng ths theme. pogesson o development of thought n the semon. Thee s both unty and That s, what we ae gven n these chaptes s not a mee collecton of unelated sayngs o some pofound thoughts of Jesus on the Kngdom just thown togethe. EveYhng the Savo says s n amplfcaton of that cental thought, The Kngdom of Heaven. n the boadest of tems the development of ths motf, the Kngdom of Heaven,s along the followng lnes: 1) n chapte 5: 3-16 Jesus descbes the ctzens of the Kngdom of Heaven. Jesus speaks of the sptual chaactestcs, the pesecuton, and the callng of the Kngdom ctzens n ths wold. Because they ae the poo n spt, etc., they must expect to be pesecuted and hated of the wold just as the pophets wee befoe them. They must ejoce n ths, howeve, fo geat s the ewad n Heaven. They may be encouaged, theefoe, n the callng to manfest the heavenly ctzenshp as the "salt of the eath" and the "lght of the wold. ff 2) Next, Chst expounds the Law of God, the same law whch was gven to Moses on the two tables of stone at Sna and whch sets foth the ghteousness of the Kngdom. Ths ghteousness must exceed that of the Scbes and Phasees; n fact, ths ghteousness s n dect antthess to :the ghteousness of the Scbes and Phasees." Ths secton concludes wth the well - 2 -

7 F" ; '" ('$ known exhotaton: "Be ye, theefoe pefect, even as you Fathe whch s n heaven s pefect. ' (Chapte 5: 17-48) 3) Chapte 6: 1-18 ecods the Lod's wod concenng the elatonshp of the ctzens of the Kngdom wth one anothe; the duty to gve alms, pay, and fast. All ths the Savo emphaszes must be out of the heat n antthess to the hypocsy of the Scbes and Phasees: "who love to pay standng n the synagogues.. " Veses of the sxth chapte speak of the callng of the ctzens of the Kngdom to seek fst the Kngdom of God, ejectng Mammon. They ae to do ths n complete tust n the heavenly Fathe Who knows the need. They must not even woy about such bascs as "what shall we eat? o, What shall we dnk? o, Wheewthal shall we be clothed?" (vese 31) 4) Chapte 7: 1-12 may be summed as: flove you neghbo as youself. l The chapte closes wth the Savo's exhotaton to ente the Kngdom. 1/ 5) Jesus concludes the ente dscouse wth the famla paable of the wse and foolsh buldes whch llustates the dffeence between those who meely hea Hs wod and those who do the wod. (7: 24-29) Fnally, by way of geneal ntoducton, we must undestand that Chst s n no sense of the wod teachng a mee "socal gospel" n these chaptes. He does not gve us some helpful,moal teachngs whch f obseved guaantee good elatonshps among men. Chst s most emphatcally peachng the Kngdom of Heaven whch s conceved by God n Hs etenal counsel, ealzed n the coss and esuecton of Jesus Chst, and pefected n the new heaven and eath. Ths Kngdom of gace' s adcally opposed to and dffeent fom the kngdom of ths wold. n fact, Scptue teaches that ths Kngdom ultmately cushes the kngdom of ths wold. Tunng to the ntoductoy secton (chapte 5: 3-9») commonly called "The Beattudes,t we note: 1) The maked emphass on the BLESSEDNESS, the happness o joy of the ctzens of the Kngdom. Nne tmes (f we nclude veses 10-12) n quck successon Jesus exclams, "Blessed. " Aleady at ths pont we ae mpessed by the shap antthess pm1-3 -

8 F" \ between the ctzens of the Heavenly Kngdom and those of the kngdom of ths wold. By evey evajuaton of the wold these ctzens ae not blessed. Accodng to the wold's standads the poo n spt, they that moun, the meek, etc., ae judged not happy but wetched. But Jesus declaes wth fnalty: no matte how wetched o mseable the wold may consde Hs dscples to be, they ae genunely happy. 2) Each of these "beattudes ll contans thee elements. Thee s the statement of the blessedness of the Kngdom ctzens, a descpton of the sptual chaactestc of the one ponounced blessed, and the Savo states the eason fo the blessedness of. each. 3) We may dscen a defnte elatonshp among these. These ae not just solated statements but vey obvously they belong togethe. Notce that they ae athe natually dvded nto two goups of thee wth vese 6 the tanston fom the fst to the second. The fst thee: the poo n spt, they that moun and the meek, all chaacteze the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven fom the pont of vew of hs NEED o lack. Vese 6, the tanstonal statement, speaks of the fact that the ctzen of the Kngdom hunges and thsts afte ghteousness. They seek the fulfllment of the need. The last thee: the mecful, the pue n heat, and the peacemakes pesent the Kngdom ctzen fom the pont of vew hs need beng suppled and the esultant fut. He s full of mecy, pue n heat and a peacemake. As to these chaactestcs as such thee ae thee fundamental pncples whch ought to be undestood. 1) Jesus s speakng of the vtues whch chaacteze evey sant, evey ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven. Chst s not descbng extaodnay Chstans, no does He speak of of the people of God. Evey sant, though t be n vayng degees, s maked by eveyone of these chaactestcs. One who s a ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven s poo n spt, a moune, meek, and the est. 2) These chaactestcs must be manfest n the lfe of the Kngdom ctzen. They ae not meely what he confesses to be. But the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven appeas as poo n spt, etc., n the mdst of the wold

9 F F"1 F'1! f""1 3) Fnally, these ae n no sense of the wod natual chaactestcs. All men ae not poo n spt, the ungodly cannot be meek o mecful. To put t anothe way, as poo n spt the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven stands oveaganst the ungodly. As gaced wth these chaactestcs (and they ae just that, gfts of gace) by God n Jesus Chst though the Spt and Wod of Chst, the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven s a stange n the wold whose ctzenhp s n heaven whence also he expects hs Savo (Phl. 3: 20, 21). Ths s pecsely why Jesus emphaszes that element of pesecuton n veses The ctzens of the Kngdom of Heaven ae pesecuted exactly because as poo n spt, etc., they stand antthetcally opposed to the ctzens of the Kngdoms of ths wold. Tunng to the"beattudes" themselves we fnd that Jesus descbes the ctzens of Hs Kngdom as poo n spt;ftblessed ae the poo n spt: fo the's s the kngdom of heaven." (Vese 3) One s stuck mmedately by the adcal dffeence between ths judgment of Jesus Chst and that of the wold. Jesus calls the poo n spt blessed, lteally happy. The wold cetanly would not say that. The wold judges happness by one's wealth, hs nfluence, and hs powe. As fa as the wold s concened povety s a geat evl. Vast amounts of money and hous ae spent by the wold to eadcate povety. The wold consdes the poo, not happy, but wetched and most mseable. The poo have no eason fo joy accodng to the judgment of the wold. But Jesus ponounces them happy. They ae blessed because the Kngdom of Heaven belongs to them and not to the wealthy, the hgh and mghty, the ch and poweful of ths wold. The tem "poo," n the text s deved fom a veb whch means to be thooughly fghtened, to cowe o hde one's self n fea and ths tem caes the noton of one who slnks o couches n utte wetchedness. Hence, the poo ae educed to beggng and n the povety they ae completely dependent on othes. Ths povety must not be taken n an eathly sense. Eathly povety s not necessaly a vtue and n tself t does not nsue one of entance nto the kngdom. Jesus emphaszes that these ae poo wth espect to the spt. He does not mean, howeve, sptual povety as such. All men, godly and ungodly alke, ae povety - 5 -

10 ( f"" t f"" stcken n that sense. All ae dead n tespasses and sns and ths suely s no eason fo blessedness. n fact ths s the deepest cause of man's msey. The poo wth espect to the spt ae those who ecognze the sptual povety. They know the wetched state and condton. They know the sns not only, but they know the snful natues accodng to whch they can do nothng at all pleasng n the sght of God. t s at ths pont that one obseves one of the most fundamental dstnctons among men. Only the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven ecognzes hs own lack. Only he confesses hs sn and stves aganst hs snful natue and ts nclnatons. The ungodly neve do. They love the sn and hate God. And lovng sn they evel n wckedness. t s chaactestc of the mnd of the flesh that n hs hated aganst God and nablty to be subject to the law of God that he magnes hmself to be ndependent and qute self-suffcent. Not so the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven. He s poo wth espect to the spt. He s ponounced blessed. The eason fo hs happness s: "...the's s the Kngdom of heaven. t Thee ae thee emphases n Scptue concenng the Kngdom whch ought to be noted at ths pont. 1) The fst s that Scptue speaks of ths Kngdom as the Kngdom of God. t s God's because He conceved of ths Kngdom n Hs etenal counsel. God detemned ths Kngdom n all of ts detals. God detemned that Hs Kngdom would cente n and be ealzed though Hs only begotten Son n the flesh, ou Lod Jesus Chst. He chose Hs people n Chst befoe the foundatons of the wold (Ephesans 1: 3,ff.) and deceed the way of sn and gace, the fall and edempton though the coss and esuecton of Chst, as the way to the fnal pefecton of Hs Kngdom. God also detemned the fnal ealzaton of the Kngdom n the new Ceaton whch wll be the pefect manfestaton of Hs etenal gloy. Not only so, but God detemned all thngs wth a vew to the ealzaton of Hs Kngdom, even the devl and the epobate ungodly cannot fustate the cause of the Kngdom of God (cf. saah 43 and 45). t s the Kngdom of God also n the sense that God alone ules the Kngdom, He s ts Kng. Whle He ules the SUbjects (the poo n' spt) by Hs gace so that they - 6 -

11 F"" ' F'1 F '! wllngly seve Hm n love, He ules all thngs: geat and small, good and evl, ndvdually and collectvely seve the ealzaton of the Kngdom. 2) Scptue stesses that ths Kngdom of God s the Kngdom of Jesus Chst. The ghteousness of the Kngdom s establshed n the atonement accomplshed by the suffeng and death of Chst on the coss. The Kngdom s pncpally ealzed n the esuecton of Chst and ts pefecton wll come when He etuns at the end of the ages. t s the Kngdom of Jesus Chst because God gave Hm all authoty to ule n Hs Kngdom. God Chst ules the Kngdom. n the name of Jesus spoke of that moments befoe Hs ascenson and n the context of Hs gvng the chuch "the Geat Commsson": 1\ All powe s gven unto me n heaven and n eath. (Matthew 28: lsb) The nsped Apostle Paul sums ths fact beautfully n Phlppans 2: passages n the ente New Testament: 5-11, one of the most pofound "Let ths mnd be n you, whch was also n Chst Jesus: Who beng n the fom of God, thought t not obbey to be equal wth God: But made hmself of no eputaton, and took upon hm the fom of a sevant, and was made n the lkeness of men: And beng found n fashon as a man, he humbled hmself, and became obedent unto death, even the death of the coss. Wheefoe God also hath hghly exalted hm, and gven hm a name whch s above evey name: That at the name of Jesus evey knee should bow, of thngs n heaven, and thngs n eath, and thngs unde the eath; And that evey tongue should confess that Jesus Chst s Lod, to the gloy of God te Fathe. Ths passage teaches that God exalted Chst to the place of hghest gloy n the Kngdom though the way of the deep humlty of the suffeng of the death of the coss. Now Chst has a name above evey name and as Lod of lods and Kng of kngs He ules God's Kngdom. t s Chst Who speaks the Wod of the Kngdom and econcles the Kngdom-people to God; and, t s Chst Who ules the Kngdom by Hs gace and Spt. t s Chst too, Who s the Judge of the Kngdom. Jesus spoke of ths when He gave us the Paable of the Last Judgment (Matthew 25: 3l,ff.): twhen the Son of Han shall come n hs gloy, and all the holy angels wth hm, then shall he st upon the thone of hs gloy: And befoe hm shall be gatheed all natons: and he shall sepaate them one fom anothe, as a shephed - 7 -

12 F' f"'1 m f'1\"l pm dvdeth hs sheep fom the goats: fuld he shall set the sheep on hs ght hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the Kng say unto them on hs ght hand, Come, ye blessed of my Fathe, nhet the kngdom pepaed fo you fom the foundaton of the wold... ' The holy Apostle wans: "We must all appea befoe the judgment seat of Chst; that eveyone may eceve the thngs done n hs body, accodng to that he hath done, whethe t be good o bad." ( Conthans 5: 10) The Kngdom of God, theefoe, s the Kngdom of Jesus Chst. 3) Thdly, Scptue emphaszes that the Kngdom of God and of Hs Chst s the Kngdom of Heaven. Whle we ntend to etun to ths concept n the couse of these atcles let t be sad that ths facto cannot be ove emphaszed n ou tme. n spte of all knds of evdence n hstoy and especally ecent hstoy to the contay (to say nothng of the Bblcal and Confessonal evdence) the old post-mllenal noton of an eathly ealzaton of the Kngdom pessts n a vaety of foms n ou day. Oveaganst all such deas s the emphass of these chaptes and all of Scptue on the fact that the Kngdom s of heaven. Ths means that the Kngdom of God has ts ogn n heaven. But t also means that the Kngdom s heavenly n chaacte. Most emphatcally the Kngdom s not of ths wold. The Savo spoke of ths planly n answe to Plate's questons concenng Hs kngshp: lmy kngdom s no t of ths wold: f my kngdom wee of ths wold, then would my sevants fght, that should not be delveed to the Jews: but now s my kngdom not fom hence." (John l8>; 36) t s the kngdom of Heaven because t s the Kngdom of sptual blessngs: lfe. of gace, of ghteousness, peace, and of evelastng t s the kngdom of Heaven because t stands oveaganst kngdoms of ths wold. Thee s constant conflct between the two as Satan, the pnce of the powes of the a and the ule of the chlden of dsobedence, attempts to destoy the cause of the heavenly Kngdom of God and of Hs Chst. Jesus chaactezes the ctzens of ths Kngdom as "the poo n spt" and He ponounces them blessed, happy because "the's s the kngdom of heaven. n Notce, Chst says they ae blessed because the kngdom s the's. Chst efes to a pesent joy and not to somethng whch les only n the futue fo the ctzens of - 8 -

13 f"l f'l' f1'!1 P'1'l Hs Kngdom. These ae happy now because the pde of the snful heats has been humbled by the mghty gace of God n Jesus Chst so that they know the povety and God's geat mecy. They ae blessed now because the coss of Chst maked the judgment of ths wold so that the doom of Satan and the chlden of dsobedence and all the foces of evl and death s sealed. Now they ae happy because the fst pncple of the esuecton lfe of Jesus Chst s n them by egeneaton. They have a hope whch shall neve put them to shame. Thus the joy of salvaton whch they possess can neve be affected o dmshed by the ccumstances of lfe n ths wold. Though the whole wold stand aganst them, though they be tempted, sconed, pesecuted and hated of all men fo the sake of the gospel they ae stll full of joy. Fo they lve n the joyful antcpaton of the comng of the kngdom n the pesonal etun of the Savo. And, they know that nothng can be aganst them o sepaate them fom the love of God whch s n Chst Jesus. All thngs must wok fo the good and salvaton because God n Chst s dectng all thngs geat and small, good and evl, towad that fnal, geat consummaton of all thngs. They ae blessed and they shall be blessed. When, at the appeang of Jesus Chst) the heavens and the eath whch ae now ae destoyed n the fe of God's just wath and the new heaven and eath ae ceated n whch ghteousness shall dwell (cf. Pete 3: 10-13) they shall be blessed. That shall be the end of all the snnng fo they shall be ased up n mmotal, ncouptble, sptual bodes ( Co. 15). God shall wpe away all teas fom the eyes and thee shall be no moe death o pan o soow o cyng (Revelaton 21 and 22). The poo n spt shall lve togethe wth Jesus Chst n pefect fellowshp wth God. Chst contnues speakng of the ctzens of Hs Kngdom n vese fou: HBlessed ae they that moun: fo they shall be comfoted." One cannot help but be mpessed wth the "wholly othe" chaacte of the ctzens of God's Kngdom. Ths s evdent fom two ponts of vew. The statement tself appeas to be an utte contadcton n tems. Happy ae they that moun? How can that be? Soow and happness ae antonyms. Gef pecludes joy. n addton to ths s the fact that ths statement of Jesus s f"t\' - 9 -

14 f""'"! ' "'"J completely contay to the wold's evaluaton of thngs. n the kngdom of the wold they that moun ae not consdeed to be blessed. Exactly the opposte s tue. The wold judges them that moun to be wetched and most mseable. Ths s pecsely what we mean by the antthetcal natue of these beattudes. The tuth of the Kngdom of Heaven oveaganst the le of Satan s ths: "they that moun" ae blessed. n ths fundamental espect the ctzens of the Kngdom of God ae adcally dffeent fom and stand opposed to the ctzens of the kngdom of ths wold. Agan, theefoe, n spte of all appeaances to the contay only they that moun ae blessed. These ae full of joy fo only these shall be comfoted. Those, howeve, to whom t s gven to know the mystees of the kngdom of God undestand the Savo's meanng. Thee s a sense n whch all men moun. Lfe on ths sde of the gave s "nothng but a contnual death" (Fom fo the Admnstaton of Holy Baptsm, the Psalte). All people eveywhee, whethe they admt t o not, and no matte the staton n lfe; ch o poo, healthy o sck, all suffe gef. That soow s of mmense popotons. n fact t s well ngh mmeasuable. Man s bon only to de. Really he s bon dead; dead n tespasses and sns (Ephesans 2: l,ff.). Death stalks hm fom the moment of hs bth. t causes hm the soow of unealzed deams, unattaned goals, and unsatsfed ambtons. He expeences the soow of pan and sckness and s gmly emnded by these of the gave's ultmate vctoy. He geves wthout hope when loved ones ae emoved fom hs fellowshp by death. Fnally he geves etenally when though physcal death he s foeve banshed fom the favo and fello\jshp of God. The oot cause of ths unvesal soow s sn. The shadow of the just judgment of God and the cushng buden of gult hang ove the whole human ace. The powe of sn's coupton gows and pevades man's whole exstence. Ths s becomng nceasngly obvous n ou day. The vey foundatons and stuctue of socety ae cumblng all about us so that lfe n ths wold apdly eaches the pont of beng mpossble. Ths s obvous n evey sphee of human exstence: state, famly, educaton, chuch, busness and the economy. Eveythng s n a state of vtual chaos. Man embaked on ths dsastous couse way

15 "' f't"t ' back n the begnnng when n Adam he ejected the tuth of God and embaced the le of the devl. Thee s no escape. Han has and stll does look almost fantcally fo elef. He looks to educaton, to scence and technology, to the phlosophes of hs fellows but thee s no answe. He may attempt to down hmself n a sea of fogetfullness by madly pusung the pleasues of sn o by ndulgng n dugs o alcohol but ultmately he always fals. Man has no genune happness. He lacks joy even though he soows ove sn. The Scptue says, Hthe soow of the wold woketh death. " ( Conthans 7: 10) Han can neve get out fom unde the cuse of God's just wath and punshment on account of sn. Qute obvously Jesus cannot mean these by Lthey that moun. \ These ae neve blessed. Chst means the ctzens of the Kngdom of Heaven. The same ones t-lhom He chaactezed as Pea!, n spt." He means Hs people whom He saved fom sn 01atthew 1: 21). These, the kngdom ctzens, ae lthey that moun" n a vey unque sense. They moun, as paadoxcal as t my sound, pecsely because they ae the edeemed of the Lod. They lve out of the pncple of the new man n Chst and, theefoe, they see the own sn and snful natues. They stuggle aganst the evl lusts of the flesh evey day. ndeed, the moe they gow up nto Chst the moe they become awae of the fact that they have but a small begnnng of the new obedence. t's n the depth of that ntense stuggle that the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven ces wth the Apostle Paul, O, wetched man that am!"? (Romans 7: 24) The mounng of the ctzen of the Kngdom of Chst s a gevng ove hs sn. No s t a mounng because of the consequences of sn, ths s the soow of the wold whch woks death ( Co. 7: 10). The mounng of the ctzen of the Kngdom s a gevng ove sn because t s offensve to the holy God. That gef s manfest n the lfe of the Kngdom ctzen. He takes hs sn vey seously and s neve caeless o flppant about t. Daly he stuggles aganst hs evl natue and daly he confesses hs sn befoe God. Fevently he pays fo the gace of the Spt of Jesus Chst that he may walk n

16 f"' holness befoe hs God. Ths mounng s evdent too, n that "they that moun!l seek wth all the heat and soul and stength the Kngdom of God and Hs ghteousness. The moune knows that he does not belong hee n ths wold. Ths s not hs pemanent home. As a ctzen of the Kngdom he s a stange n the eath and a plgm. The deepest longng of hs heat and the geat am of hs lfe s to be whee Chst s, n the fellowshp of the God of hs salvaton. Hs ctzenshp s n heaven whence also he expects hs Savo. (Phl. 3: 20, 21) Hence he longs fo the day when he shall be delveed fom the body of ths death n ode to pase God wth all the sants n the penected Kngdom n gloy. As long as he must stll eman n ths lfe and do battle aganst hs sn he mouns. But he shall be comfoted. The vey fact that Jesus pomses the mounes comfot s the souce of the comfot hee and now. Ths s tue fom evey pont of vew. They that moun have the comfot that the sns have been fogven and that they shall suely be peseved blameless unto the day of the Lod. Even n all the tumol of ths wold: ts lawlessness and all ts msees and soows; the ctzen of God's Kngdom s comfoted. Fo he knows that all these thngs ae fo hm and nothng can be aganst hm. And they that moun have but one pospect fo the futue. That s gloy. They shall be comfoted. The thd qualty dstngushng the ctzens of God's Kngdom s meekness: Blessed ae the meek: fo they shall nhet the eath. ft (vese 5) The tem tself means gentle o mld. ts use n the New Testament ndcates that meekness s the vey antthess of aogance bon of a poud spt and manfest n a selfsh, domneeng atttude. Gentleness out of t1e humlty of the love of God manfest n a lowly, sevant atttude; ths s meekness. (Fo a moe detaled teatment of the tem, cf. Theologcal Dctonay Of The New Testamen 01. V, pp ) James 1: teaches that meekness :.., caes the dea of feadness to hea and do the Wod of God> Y; ths n dstncton fom the poud spt whch speaks out a ganst the v.tod:

17 Jm>1! F"! f'l1":l ' F m F! "Wheefoe, my beloved bethen, let evey man be swft to hea, slow to speak, slow to wath: Fo the wath of man woketh not the ghteousness of God. Wheefoe.lay apat all flthness and supefluty of naughtness, and eceve wth meekness the engafted wod, whch s able to save you souls." The Savo summons those "babes to whom the Fathe has evealed the thngs of the Kngdom: (Matthew 11: 25,ff.) "Come unto me, all ye that labo and ae heavy laden, and wll gve you est. Take my yoke upon you, and lean of me; fo am meek and lowly n heat: and ye shall fnd est unto you souls. Fo my yoke s easy, and my buden s lght.: (Matthew 11: 28-30) Meekness theefoe, s fundamentally a thus too, s eflected n those fo whom He the ctzens of the Kngdom of Heaven. Qute obvously meekness s not a vtue of Jesus Chst and lad down Hs lfe, natual chaactestc of man a vtue whch can be cultvated and developed. Apat fom gace thee s no meekness n men. Agan the antthess between the ctzen of God's Kngdom and the ctzen of the kngdom of ths wold stands n shap elef. The v10ld wll neve say) l Blessed ae the meek... H Man apat fom gace s full of pde. And that pde comes to expesson n all of hs lfe as snful man always seeks hmself. He s quck to stke out n evenge and bold to asset hs lnalenable ghts." Hs whole lfe s ooted n the pncple of self-pesevaton. The touble s tha.t he s alenated fom God. Man has tuned hs back to God and efuses to submt hmself to the Lod's Wod. He hates God and opposes God n all hs lfe and fo that vey eason he hates hs neghbo too. Thus, t s that the ente decton of hs lfe s spent n the attempt to satsfy the evl lusts of hs depaved natue. n the wold s only fegned. What meekness thee s What s moe, the Scptues teach that snful man lacks the ablty to be o do anythng else. Hs mnd s hated aganst God and t s not subject to the law of God and t cannot be subject to the law of God. (cf. Romans 8: 7) t s pecsely ths hoble fact whch explans the lawlessness and tumol whch chaacteze ou tmes

18 " [, '" f"'j '" F"! F'l f"'l F pm The meekness of whch Jesus speaks s a sptual vtue. t s that vtue by whch the ctzen of God's Kngdom s able to bea shame and suffeng submssvely and calmly fo the Lod's sake. t s a vtue whch flows out of the unshakable convcton that God by Hs almghty powe dects all thngs accodng to Hs counsel fo'the good of Hs people. The ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven s cetan that the Kngdom of gloy wll suely come. pevent t. Nothng can hnde ts ealzaton much less Fo ths eason meekness always eveals tself n the lfe of the Kngdom ctzen as a the wll of God as evealed n the Scptues. submssve followng of The ctzen of God's Kngdom s undstubed by the theats, the feas, and anxetes of lfe. Meekness, theefoe, s stength. t must neve be confused wth weakness. wthout evlng agan, as Jesus dd. The meek endue evlng Slently they bea the epoach and the scon that go wth beang the name of Chst. Slently, not because they ae weak and cannot o do not dae to asset themselves and gan evenge; but because as the meek they know that the kngdom s not of ths eath. They emembe the wod of Chst Who sad: lthey that take the swod shall pesh wth the swod." (Matthew 26: 52) They know the battle s not aganst flesh and blood. (cf. Ephesans 6) Hence the meek count all thngs loss fo the excellency of the knowledge of Chst Jesus the Lod. (cf. Phlppans 3) Meekness s not then ndffeence to one's ghts o pvleges no s t cowadlness. t s athe sptual couage bon of the assuance that God wll suely avenge the cause of Hs Name, people and Hs Kngdom. One eadly undestands the adcal dffeence between the ctzen of ths wold and the ctzen of the Kngdom of Heaven. t takes a stong am and a had, unmecful heat to deal blows; t takes meekness to eceve those blows. Hs t takes pde, ambton, and lust to fght one's way to the top n ths wold; t takes the meekness of Jesus to deny one's self, take up Hs coss and follow Hm n ths wold. Thus, n dect contast to the pde of the ctzen of the kngdoms of ths wold the meek who shall nhet the eath ae manfest as the

19 m J ' ('!'J t J F plgm-stanges whose ctzenshp s n heaven. These love not the wold nethe the thngs that ae n the wold ( John 2: l5ff.). They ae the soldes of the coss of Chst who ae amed wth the whole amo of God so as to be equpped to fght not aganst flesh and blood, but aganst pncpaltes and powes and sptual wckedness n hgh places (Eph. 6) Jesus ponounces these meek blessed, fo they shall nhet the eath. l. The veb,!shall nhet," means: to eceve as an nhetance, o to eceve an alloted poton, o to eceve as one's own possesson. That alloted poton o nhetance of whch the meek shall be the possessos s "the eath." Note that the Savo expessly says: lthe eath and He does not say 'heaven.! f Jesus had sad: "Blessed ae the meek: fo they shall nhet the blessngs of heaven," we would have no dffculty undestandng the meanng. But ths s pecsely what Jesus dd not say. Ou Lod pomses that the meek shall nhet the eath. Vaous ntepetatons have been offeed whch do not meet the test of the Scptues. t s sad, fo example, that Jesus meant ths eath, the eath n whch we now lve. God's people by the execse of Chstan vtue and though a Chstan nfluence wll so pemeate all aeas of lfe and socety that eventually they wll become the possessos of the eath. By the powe of the gospel peached by the chuch and exhbted n the lves of God's people ths wold wll be ovecome and the meek wll then nhet the eath. n othe wods the Kngdom of Chst wll come on ths eath. Thee ae vaatons on ths theme but bascally those who would exegete lthe eath \; to mean ths pesent eath teach some knd of eathly ealzaton of the Kngdom of God. Ths vew must be ejected. The passage unde consdeaton Matthew 5-7, knows of ho such eathly ealzaton of God's Kngdom. n fact, mmedately afte chaactezng the ctzens of the Kngdom the Lod speaks of the fact that these must expect pesecuton n ths wold (vss ). Besdes, the Scptues nowhee teach an eathly ealzaton of the Kngdom. The vey opposte s emphaszed thoughout the Wod of God

20 m Ths s not to say that the Kngdom has not come. t cetanly has. The Kngdom came by pomse aleady all though the Old Dspensaton; n fact,.t came eally moments afte the fall of man nto sn: God announced the comng of Hs Kngdom n what has often been called the t1 mothe pomse, of Geness 3: 15: nand wll put enmty between thee and the vjoman, and between thy seed and he seed t shall buse thy head, and thou shalt buse hs heel. : f'"l1 All though the Old Tesament Scptues God eveals that Kngdom n eve nceasng lght. He gves us a pctue of the fnal destucton of the wold of sn n the flood, He speaks of the chlden of the Kngdom and the fathe of beleves, Abaham to whom also the Lod gave the sgn and seal of the ghteousness whch s by fath 1 ccumcson. Thee s the typcal ealzaton of the Kngdom n the naton of sael, especally at ts zenth dung the egns of Davd and Solomon. Fnally, the eathly gves way to the heavenly when n the fulness of tme God sends Hs Son nto the wold. The Kngdom came, to be sue, n the Peson of the Son of God n human flesh. The kngdoms of ths wold wee cushed pncpally at Hs coss and the ghteousness of the Kngdom was establshed thee and sealed n Hs esuecton fom the dead. The Kngdom has come too, n the heats of the people of God by the wonde of the new bth. Yet, t must be sad that the Kngdom s stll comng and wll fnally come n the pefecton of the new ceaton. The Kngdom has come and the Kngdom s manfest as well hee and now. But t shall be ealzed at the end of the ages. t shall not be pefected on ths eath. Ths eath s unde the lodshp of Satan. Ultmately the wold wll develop nto the kngdom of Antchst only to be destoyed at the appeang of the Lod Jesus Chst..The eath': vlhch Jesus pomses as the possesson of the meek can only efe to the new eath. Ths s the hope of the meek. On ths eath they may only expect pesecuton, suffeng fo Jesus' sake. They must neve expect to have any postve nfluence fo good. They must neve be deceved nto thnkng that the powe of the gospel wll tansfom ths wold nto God's

21 n F F Kngdom. ndeed, they wll have to do battle aganst false teaches and on account of the hope n the pomse of Jesus' etun they wll be sconed (cf. Pete 2 and 3: 1-4). But they shall nhet the eath, the new eath! They know that the day of the Lod s comng as a thef ln the nght and when that day comes the heavens ae gong to pass away wth a geat nose. The elements wll melt wth fevent heat, and the eath too wth all ts woks shall be buned up. But out of that teble destucton God s gong to ceate a new heavens and a new eath, n whch dwelleth ghteousness! (cf. Pete 3: 10-13) Ths s the hope of the meek, ths s the nhetance. Fo ths eason Jesus says, they ae blessed. The meek must suffe and t wll not be long befoe they wll endue the geat tbulaton spoken of by the Lod n Matthew 24. But they ae blessed. They have a peace the ungodly can neve know and a hope that shall neve put them to shame. The futue s most blessed. They shall egn wth Jesus Chst ove all the woks of God's hands n the new ceaton. And whle they wat patently fo that fnal ealzaton of all thngs they know that nothng can sepaate them fom God's love n Chst. These then, togethe wth the poo n spt and they that moun ae the ctzens of God's Kngdonl. Consdeng these thee chaactestcs once moe one cannot help but be mpessed wth the shap dffeence between them and the wold's ctzens. These suely ae not the wse o the mghty o the noble of ths wold. They belong to the poo, the foolsh, the weak, and the despsed. So t must be! t s dvne necessty fo: n God hath chosen the foolsh thngs of the wold to confound the wse; and God hath chosen the weak thngs of the wold to confound the thngs whch ae mghty; And base thngs of the wold, and thngs whch ae despsed, hath God chosen, yea) and thngs whch ae not, to bng to nought thngs that ae: That no flesh should gloy n hs pesence. - ( Conthans 1: 27-29)

22 P'" m! James Daane's THE FREEDOM OF GOD (A Revevl) - Pof. H.C. Hoeksema - [THE FREEDOM OF GOD, A Study of Electon and Pulpt, by James Daane; Wm. B. Eedmans Publ. Co., Gand Rapds, Mch. 208 pp., $5.95] n an ntoducton to hs book, the autho nfoms us that hs book deals wth the easons fo an alleged slence of Refomed pulpts on the theme of God's gacous electon. slence the autho..wtes: Concenng ths tvhen the sound of electon s no longe head n the pulpts of chuches ceedally commtted to the tuth of electon, the stuaton would appea to Haant an nvestgaton to dscove whethe the pulpt o the doctne s at fault. Ths book s an effot to uncove the eason fo ths stange slence. Thee ae two pats to the answe. One eason s that Refomed theologans have dffeed among themselves about electon so pofoundly that contovesy has often deeply dstubed the chuches. n eacton, fo the sake of peace, thee has been a tendency to mute the sound of electon n the pulpt. Second, as the tuth of God's electon was efned moe and moe by nfluental Refomed theologans, electon became nceasngly unpeachable. (p. 6) pn t s wth the second of these two easons that Daane's book deals chefly. And he clams that "the theologcal featues and emphases that endeed electon lagely unpeachable ognated tn the decetal theology of seventeenth-centuy Potestant scholastcsm." Fancs Tuetn s pesented thoughout the book as the eptome of such "Potestant scholastcsm.. Daane clams that Refomed decetal theologans geneally theologzed fom a commonly accepted noton of an all-compehensve dvne decee that 'accounts fo all that happens n the wold.' fo He goes on to clam concenng what he calls thoughout hs book ;.decetal theology' the followng: All thought that God's etenal pupose n Chst must be defned wthn the tems of God's all-nclusve decee; the Bblcally stated etenal dvne pupose n Chst dd not, n the thought, decsvely detemne the natue and pupose of God's decee. What God etenally puposed n Chst was left to be defned n the lage context of anothe moe expansve decee. vllateve dsageements thee wee among these theologans occued only wthn ths basc commtment. (p 0 7) The autho then sets foth the pupose of hs book, as follows: Ths book attempts to elucdate the dffeences between the scholastc vew of God's decee and the Bblcal vew of

23 f"'1 pm God's etenal pupose as deceed n Chst. We shall see how the scholastc veson of God's decee govens most of the ecent atculate poponents of Refomed theology and how ths pesstence of decetal theology accounts fo the pevasve slence concenng the doctne of electon n Refomed pulpts. Although we shall be lookng closely at the theologcal statements of some ecent exponents of seventeenth-centuy cecetal theology who demonstate that such a doctne of God1s decee cannot be peached, ou chef ntent s postve, not ctcal. Ou man concen s to demonstate that God's only decee s the gacous and electve pupose that He n dvne feedom puposed n Jesus Chst, and that ths decee can be peached because t can be beleved. Daane then goes on to clam fo hs vew the followng F'! F Ths book pojects a vew of GodYs decee undestood as an act of Hs feedom n Jesus Chst. t s a vew that dffes sgnfcantly fom the dvne decee that scholastc theologans see as fomulated as outsde of and antecendnt to God's pupose n Jesus Chst. The scholastc decee contans and accounts fo eveythng, ncludng sn. The decee of Godts pupose n Chst does not account fo sn but savngw tumphs ove t. (pp. 7, 8) And whle the book Lmakes no petense to theologcal fnalty,. the autho clams fo t that Ut opens a wndow on a cleae bblcal vew of electon than that offeed by decetal theology, a vew that can help etun electon to the pulpt." The lttle ntoducton succeeds n settng foth the sum and substance of Daane's book. t also succeeds n mentonng just about evey pont on whch ths evewe fnds hmself n dsageement wth the autho and ctcal of hs book. n Daane's ntoducton thee s pobably but one statement wth whch ths evewe can agee. t s the statement of the autho "that have not pobed all the bblcal heghts and depths of electon, no acheved a teachng about electon.,; theologcally neant eflecton of the Bble's And n the opnon of ths evewe ths statement s, to say the least, an undestatement. Postvely put, Daane has acheved a one that s nethe Bblcal no Refomed. thooughly eant vew of electon, Moeove, he has poduced an unfa and dshonest cacatue of what he calls pejoatvely "decetal theology.,. One can ecognze n Daane's

24 F F, book nethe the tue pctue of 11decetal theology" n hs descpton theeof, no the tue, bblcal and Refomed doctne of electon n Daane's vew ove aganst ths "decetal theology.f To ctcze Daane's book n detal would eque a book of even geate length than Daane's But such a book would be lagely negatve and apologetc, and) n ou opnon, not woth wtng. n ths evew we shall ty to summaze as clealy as possble some of ou man objectons to Daane's pesentaton. We dffe, of couse, as to Daane's clam concenng the slence of Refomed pulpts on the theme of electon. Pehaps what Daane wtes on ths scoe s tue of hs own denomnaton and of othes; by expeence, ths evewe can say wthout qualfcaton that Potestant Refomed pulpts ae not slent on ths theme. We dffe wth Daane also as to both easons whch he adduces fo ths alleged slence of Refomed pulpts. We dffe especally wth hs clam that the Refomed tuth of electon (and t must be kept n mnd that Daane hmself ecognzes tnoutstandng Potestant Refomed theologan as havng most consstently developed ths tuth n the manne of whch Daane s ctcal)--we dffe wth the clam that ths Refomed doctne of electon became nnceasngly unpeachable. to vje dffe, futhe, wth Daane's c lam that all Refomed decetal theologans thought "that God's etenal pupose n Chst must be defned wthn the tems of God's allnclusve decee." Ethe Daane has neve undestood the theology of Heman Hoeksema, o he s gulty of delbeately msepesentng t. f ths evewe undestands the theology of Heman Hoeksema, he neve taught that Hwhat God etenally puposed n Chst was left to be defned n the lage context of anothe moe expansve decee." The contay s tue. Some of these basc dsageements wth Daane we shall touch upon n the couse of ths evew. And although Daane's book s pedomnantly ctcal, even n those chaptes n whch hs own vew s supposed to be developed, we also pupose to consde the queston whethe Daane's own vew can at all be classfed as bblcal, Refomed, and peachable

25 Afte a bef chapte on 'The Sum And Substance Of The Gospel t Daane tuns mmedately to hs ctcsm of the Refomed doctne of electon, whch he chaactezes as ldecetal theology" and Potestant scholastcsm. ' As we sad, the lagest pat of F' f"""l '""1P. pm! f"'l'.1 F F F" Daane's book s devoted to a ctcsm and a polemc aganst ths l'decetal theology. 1 Even n the chaptes n whch Daane s supposed to develop hs own vew, he fnds t dffcult to stck to hs SUbject, and he wandes off epeatedly nto enewed ctcsm of the Refomed doctne of electon. Now t s of the utmost mpotance that when one ctczes a vew, and especally when one ctczes a vew of so mpotant a doctne as the doctne of electon, and moe especally when one ctczes a vew whch he hmself admts to be the tadtonal vew, that s, the vew held ove a long peod of tme and by the majoty of Refomed theologans, then he must be accuate, fa, and honest n hs pesentaton of the vew whch he ctczes. Fo one thng, he must not pesent a cacatue of that vew, but the vew tself. Fo anothe, he ought to be caeful to allow the epesentatves of that vew to speak fo themselves, and not to pesent hs chaactezaton o hs slanted and pejudced pesentaton of the vevts of those epesentatves. Ths also mples, of couse, that when he quotes othes, he should quote them accuately and fully. Stll moe, when such a ctc attempts to potay that whch s tadtonal, that whch belongs to the man lne of hstoy, that whch s a tend, he should be caeful to choose and to call attenton to that whch s genunely epesentatve and not meely to some abeatons. f n hs ctque and hs polemc an autho fals n these espects, hs ctque becomes suspect, hs elablty s mpeached, and hs polemc, of couse becomes valueless, due to the fact that t s a polemc aganst a staw man. Now t s the clam of ths evewe that Daane's book falls shot pecsely n the above-mentoned espects. And of ths we can poduce clea evdence. D. Daane consdes the late Beman Hoeksema to be the most consstent epesentatve of l:decetal theology. n n hs ctcsm of twenteth centuy epesentatves of 1ldecetal theology 5 ' Daane "" - 21 _.

26 ' f"l" F' P'l efes to Hoeksema moe often than to any othe theologan. t s but natual that ou nteest n ths connecton s chefly n Daane's pesentaton and ctcsm of Hoeksema's theology wth espect to electon and epobaton. And t s wth ths theology that we ae best acquanted, and theefoe also n a poston to judge whethe Daane pesents ths theology accuately, faly, and honestly. And t s ou judgment that f the manne n whch D. Daane pesents the theology of Heman Hoeksema s a sample, then Daane s not to be tusted when he pesents the theology of any so-called decetal theologan n hs book, whethe that be Van Tl, Bekhof, Tuetn, Beza, o Calvn hmself. Ths evewe, fo one, cannot ecognze the theology of Heman Hoeksema and of the Potestant Refomed chuches n the pctue whch Daane daws both by quotaton and by dect efeence. And although ths may seem a heavy chage, we fnd t dffcult to beleve that the msepesentatons made by D. Daane ae mee mstakes and msundestandngs. The msepesentatons ae too obvous and Hoeksemas wtngs ae too plan fo ths to be beleved. Let us check on ths. On page 26 Daane wtes as follows: Agan, Hoeksema contends that when God speaks to man, He speaks not so much to man as to Hmself. God's Wod spoken n Chst s less spoken to man than to Hmself. (Hee thee s a footnote efeng to Hoeksema's Refomed Dogmatcs, pp ) f God spoke to man edemptvely n Jesus Chst, God would be espondng to a condton lyng outsde of Hmself. Fnally, Hoeksema contends that when God loves man, Hs love s not at bottom a esponse to the ealty of man but to Hmself, fo n lovng man God loves only Hs own mage n man, and thus Hs love fo man s pmaly an act self-love. At the end of the above quotaton thee s anothe footnote, whch eads as follows: f any dvne esponsve acton s seen as a condtonal acton, and f t s ejected on that account, what meanng s left to Godls judgment on sn and Hs wath aganst the snne? Hoeksema eples by etenalzng the wath of God. n ode to do that dvne wath must be seen as ntenalzed wthn God, wth the esult that t s

27 f"l f'!' pm f"l seen as an attbute of God, apat fom any extenal object of wath. Such a God s n Hmself a God of wath. What s ejected hee s fa moe than the condtonalty found n Amnansm. Condtc.nalty as defned and ejected by decetal theology s an ovekll of Amnan theology, an ovekll that exacts ts pce wthn decetal theology. Cf. Hoeksema, Refomed Dogmatcs, pp n the above quotaton and the two footnotes thee ae no less than thee msepesentatons of Hoeksemas poston. efeence s to Hoeksema's t ntoducton To Dogmatcs, n s speakng of the pncples of the knowledge of God. The fst whee he consults Hoeksema's own language on the pages efeed to, he But f one cannot fnd any such statement as Daane attbutes to Hoeksema. Wth not a wod does Hoeksema say that llgod speaks not so much to man as to Hmself. Wth not a wod does Hoeksema say, llgod' s Wod spoken n Chst s less spoken to man than to Hmself. Hoeksema does ndeed emphasze that we must emembe that also 1n ths Wod of God to us, but of Hmself and to Hmself. tl ad exta He does not speak n the fst place But ths s by no means the same as Daane's statement concenng Hoeksema's contenton n ths secton. Ths s the fst msepesentaton. The second s Daane's next sentence: ;;f God spoke to man edemptvely n Jesus Chst, God would be espondng to a Hmself. l condton lyng outsde of Daane leaves the mpesson as though ths s Hoeksema's teachng, and theefoe as though Hoeksema does not and cannot teach that God 'spoke to man edemptvely n Jesus Chst. \ Nothng could be fathe fom the tuth. Hee s the second msepesentaton. But the most seous msepesentaton s that found n the footnote concenng the wath of God. Hee Daane fals to quote Hoeksema at all. One would cetanly expect that fo such an mpotant pont Daane would funsh poof n the fom of a dect quotaton. But of all that Daane wtes n ths footnote, and especally of the dea that Hoeksema ntenalzes God's wath, and above all of the dea that Hoeksema pesents God's wath as an attbute of God,--of all ths Daane offes absolutely no poof. Meanwhle) by hs efeence to pp of Refomed Dogma:cs he leaves the mpesson that ths s ndeed Hoeksema's theology. And, of couse, the vey suggeston that wath s an