IT IS LATER THAN WE THINK

Well may the words of the Prophet Isaiah; “Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?” Isaiah 21:11 be of full significance to us as we see the day approaching whereof the apostle Paul wrote to his son Timothy, 2 Timothy 4:3, 4: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

The World Council of Churches has made great progress; and the day of Reformation has taken a great blow especially in the Netherlands, as the Reformed Church in the Netherlands established by the late Honorable Dr. Abraham Kuiper, Dutch theologian, Professor, and Prime Minister, have on October 31, joined the World Council of Churches. Dr. G. C. Berkouwer and Dr. H. H. Ridderbos, Reformed theologians, have been advocating this step for some time. This is again a consolidation with the Church of Rome, the enemy of the true Church of Christ. We can accept, that for many of the members of this church it is a regrettable mistake. What influence this will have on the Christian Reformed Churches in America, which have been in close correspondence with the Reformed Church in the Netherlands must closely be observed as there is also here a tendency to a move to this Ecumenical movement.

According to NEWSWEEK the Congress on Evangelism met September 8–13 in Minneapolis, where some forty-five hundred delegates represented ninety-three denominations. The following delegations presented themselves; Mennonites, Nazarenes, Salvation Army Officers, five kinds of Baptists, four kinds of Lutherans, Wesleyan Methodists, Free Methodists, United Methodists, two distinct Churches of God, various Assemblies of God and a host of Churches of Chirst. There were also representatives from the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches including some seventy-five members of the Christian Reformed Church, and many others. It is indeed a lamentable fact that a church whose doctrinal standards were based upon the infallible Word of God, is being carried away by many of its leaders, and oppose these teachings for which our fathers died, in the early days of the Reformation.

Is it not a gross offence to our Reformed heritage which God has given that we now see a mockery made of the day of Reformation? Our forefathers described the Church of Rome as follows:

1. The Church of Rome is erroneous in its doctrine.

2. The Church of Rome is arbitrary in its discipline.

3. The Church of Rome is presumptuous in its claims.

4. The Church of Rome is iniquitous in its practise.

5. The Church of Rome is cruel in its Spirit.

6 The Church of Rome is worldly in its policy.

7. The Church of Rome is selfish in its motives.

8. The Church of Rome is idolatrous in its worship.

9. The Church of Rome is absurd, ridiculous, and blasphemous in its pretensions.

10. The Church of Rome is insulting to the Word of God.

11. The Church of Rome is inimical to freedom.

12. The Church of Rome is unholy in its influences.

13. The Church of Rome is comparatively modern in its origin, principles, and customs.

The Church of Rome is still the same today.

Should not this breach within the Churches of the Reformation awaken us to alertness? Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? Let us not look with disdain to the followers of this Ecumenical church, which are but a forerunner of the mark of the Beast. For the Lord has spoken in Jeremiah 23:1 “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.” But may the prayer of the Prophet Joel be our petition Joel 2:17 “Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?”

May we learn to love the truth of the Reformation ever more sincerely, and pray God that we and our seed may remain faithful to its teachings, and not be carried away with the venomous deceit of the false Ecumenical church. 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he stand take heed lest he fall.”

C.F. Boerkoel, Sr.

When I consider how the goodness of God is abused and perverted by the greatest part of mankind, I cannot but be of his mind, that said, “The greatest miracle in the world is God’s patience and bounty to an ungrateful world.” Oh! what would God not do for his creature, if thankful, that thus heaps the coals of his mercies upon the heads of his enemies? But think not, sinners, that you shall escape thus. God’s mill goes slow, but it grinds small; the more admirable his patience and bounty now is, the more dreadful and insupportable will that fury be which ariseth out of his abused goodness. Nothing blunter than iron; yet, when sharpened, it hath an edge that will cut mortally; nothing smoother than the sea; yet, when stirred into a tempest, nothing rageth more: nothing so sweet as the patience and goodness of God, and nothing so terrible as his wrath, when it takes fire.

Gurnall

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen