Today (at the time of this writing—just before Christmas) I was reminded once again of Elijah the Tishbite, that colorful and fearless prophet who dared to risk his neck in telling wicked Ahab what God had to say to him—and I was reminded more particularly of how the Lord kept the prophet alive, first at the brook Cherith, and later on at Zarephath on the coast of theMediterranean at the home of the widow whose jar of meal wasted not, and neither did her cruse of oil fail . . .
Let me tell you why.
In telephone conversation this morning with the Reformed Fellowship office, I was informed of the gratifying receipts of membership dues and of contributions (these have been running from small amounts to $300, $400, and even some of $500) all of which is so sorely needed if we are to stay out of the red in publishing THE OUTLOOK at no increase in the subscription price in this time of inflation, and in sending one-year free subscriptions to about 4,000 consistory members who responded to our offer to make these available upon their request. And then before the morning was over I found among my own mail, received at home, a check for $100 for THE OUTLOOK—no letter, no note, just the one word “Donation.”
You see, since the Reformed Fellowship took the risk of offering those free subscriptions to elders and deacons and were then so snowed under by requests that it became necessary to set a cut-off date to the offer, fears cropped up to suggest that we might be close to teetering on the brink of insolvency.
But it must be that Elijah‘s God did not want it to be so; and, with His blessing, our appeal for extra support did not fall on deaf ears. A hearty word of thanks is due to all tho!’ie faithful dues-paying members of Reformed Fellowship; also to all those generous donors for their financial contributions, whether large or small; and, not the least, to all who must have remembered this cause at the throne of grace. And, by all means, to our gracious God be all the praise!
Of course, it would be intolerable presumption for even the boldest conservative among us to now regard himself as a peer of that rugged and fearless man of God, Elijah. In his Beacon Lights of History, john Lord has this to say about that great prophet:
“He was the only one of all the prophets of his day who dared to give utterance to his convictions. Some four or five hundred there were in the kingdom, all believers in Jehovah; hut all sought to please the reigning power, or timidly concealed themselves. . . . There was needed someone who under all circumstances would be undaunted, and would not hesitate to tell the truth even to the king and queen, however unpleasant it might be. So this rough, fierce, unlettered man of few words was sent by God, armed with terrible powers” (Part II, pp. 248, 249).
No, amid all our present needs for reformation and revival, we see no such a giant-prophet at hand or on the horizon. Instead we see those professing the Reformed faith aplenty who are conservative enough in the security of their own immediate bailiwick; but who, beyond that, dare not boldly and openly buck the relentless tide of apostasy as it threatens to engulf us.
Pussy-footing and‘ pusillanimity is so often the name of the game of so many who shirk their corporate responsibility as to important issues and in the affairs of the denomination and the church at large. It has been well said that the penalty for ignoring the mistakes of history is to have to repeat them. The history of oncc-upon–a-time sound churches, now become apostate, has so much to teach us if only we are willing to learn.
No, we have no Elijah in Sight today.
However, the God of Elijah is still alive and He is still as powerful and as willing to save as He was in that day long ago. And so we still pray to Him to bless our feeble efforts, and we also praise Him for not allowing our jar of meal to be wasted or our cruse of oil to fail.
The New Year 1977 has begun. The time is therefore opportune to restate and to redefine our goals and objectives. Without these a religious journal will ride off in all directions and may very well do more harm than good. Pity the readers who look to such publications for leadership and receive no clear and consistent sense of direction so sorely needed.
It is no secret that THE OUTLOOK is avowedly a position–paper. Briefly stated on the cover of every issue, our commitment is simply this: Devoted to the Exposition and Defense of the Reformed Faith. And it is to this commitment that we will be true also in 1977, D. V. (Deo volente or the Lord willing). Allow me to attempt to give sharpened expression to this commitment under the following points:
1. The Lord willing, we will in 1977 try before God and by His grace to be worthy of all the financial, moral, and prayer support that so many concerned Christian friends, throughout the CRC especially, are extending so generously. Treason is an ugly word, but to be remiss in doing this would be nothing less. May the God, whom we serve, graciously spare us from that.
With the above in mind, it is in order to invite you who have been led to identify yourselves with our cause to express yourselves if at any time you know how we may improve our loyalty to our sacred trust. As you undoubtedly know, THE OUTLOOK must constantly face the challenge of carrying on without the benefit of a denominational quota.
Every dime received for the survival and progress of our publication is voluntary and must come from those in whose hearts it enjoys a precious place. Under God, the only stock–in–trade we have is His grace and the good will of subscribers, members of Reformed Fellowship, and friends of the cause. It is also for this reason that you should feel at liberty to have your say as often as you believe you have something that ought to be said.
2. The Lord willing, we will in 1977 increase our efforts to measure up to our mandate and commitment to provide an exposition of the Reformed faith. It is our conviction that in so doing we must seek to promote both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. A bit of explanation may be in order.
Orthodoxy (from the Greek) means straight, correct doctrine and practice. We use it here particularly in reference to the former. Religious teaching or doctrine is orthodox only in as far as it conforms to Scripture. The Reformed faith claims, and rightly so, that it is orthodox in this respect.
The calamities of Israel in the days of the prophet Hosea were explained by Jehovah in this brief and pithy word: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Has. 4:6).
That hits the nail squarely on the head for the church of our day also. Indoctrination is being set aside for entertainment, TV, bowling; and other sports have made Men‘s societies for Bible study, largely defunct, barring some rare exceptions. Satan is too cunning to fulminate in a diatribe against Bible study as such. No, but he is clever enough to keep church members so busy with everything else that there is simply no time left for it. When those who call them. selves Christian remain doctrinally uninformed and illiterate, it is no wonder that they soon begin to fall for anything and everything and they stand for nothing.
It is therefore gratifying to announce that a feature to appear in THE OUTLOOK for 1977 will be on What We Believe. Employing the old-fashioned question and answer method (formerly used so effectively in Bosma‘s Reformed Doctrine), this series will present as simply and as clearly as possible the basic teachings of the Reformed faith.
Orthopraxy (also from the Greek) means straight, correct, or orthodox life and practice. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy, to be genuine, are as closely related to each other as the two sides of a coin. Our life and practice are straight and correct only in as far as they also conform to the plain teaching of the Bible.
Even as THE OUTLOOK has concerned itself in the past with today’s ongoing efforts to give respectability to practices that Scripture clearly condemns, it is our intention to continue this in the time to come.
Easy divorce, permissive marriage guidelines, abortion on demand, homosexuality, and who knows what next; as well as open communion, the acceptance of lodge members as church members, and women in church offices—these and other evils that may confront us are issues not to be avoided.
3. The Lord willing, we will in 1917 continue the admittedly difficult task of rousing leaders in the church (ministers, elders, professors) to show themselves and also to make themselves heard as faithful and fearless watchmen on the walls of Zion in a time when attacks on the Reformed faith are increasingly being tolerated among us. Unless our leaders are minded and also willing to speak in warnings loud and clear as the future of the CRC is being threatened, for example, by open attacks on the inerrancy of Scripture, we may lose the Reformed faith by default sooner than we think—and woe to those who will be called to account for letting this come to pass!
When watchmen on the walls of the church fall asleep, it is time to prod them to take another look at the tragic end of that indulgent old father Eli of whom the Bible tells us that, wicked as his sons were, “he restrained them not” (I Sam. 3:14).
These sleepy watchmen might be startled out of their complacency and slumber if they would really take to heart Jehovah‘s blistering denunciation of the faithless watchmen among Israel in the time of Isaiah. It should be enough to make one shudder to hear the Lord say:
“His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber” (Isa. 56:10).
John Foster Dulles, Secretary of State under President Eisenhower, as he had to deal with those hostile to the U.S. and as he observed the detached and indifferent attitude of those who should have been aroused, was known to say that “to be neutral is immoral.” The same applies to those in the church who choose to be neutral when the faith is being assailed.
Blind watchmen! Dumb dogs that cannot bark! Jehovah minces no words about such phony leaders who leave the sheep to be the prey of wolves and robbers. May our gracious Lord shock such into a realization of their awful responsibility before the day of reckoning comes! By all means, let us pray fervently for our leaders, prod them, challenge them, and press them with no let-up until by God’s mercy they become aroused and stand firm at the post of duty.
4. The Lord willing, we will in 1977 continue to promote and encourage the organization of Reformed Fellowship Chapters throughout the CRC and also heartily welcome concerned members from other churches into such fellowship.
It has been my privilege to meet with and also to address meetings sponsored by such chapters in Canada, in Michigan, in California, in Washington, and in Iowa. It can be heartening and exhilarating to fellowship with these grass-roots people enthusiastically committed to the Reformed faith as they join together for mutual encouragement and for action also. At such a time one rejoices to hear “the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees” (II Sam. 5:24) and that’s time to sing: “Lead on, O King eternal, The day of march has come . . . .”
At such a time One may take the well-known words of Henry David Thoreau and put his own meaning into them: “If a man does not keep pace with his companions perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”
It is good to continue to receive requests from far and near for information on how to go about organizing a local Reformed Fellowship chapter. It is our conviction that the sorely-needed reformation and revival in the CRC must arise, under God, from the grass-roots members as they become increasingly Reformed and concerned as to what is taking place. Information about the organization of local chapters will be gladly sent upon your request addressed to Reformed Fellowship, Inc., P. O. Box 7383, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49510.
Someone reminded me the other day that I used to talk about polarization and that he is hearing no more about it now. Well, it is good to see this idea of polarization in action now in the growing number of Reformed Fellowship members and in the growing interest in the organization of local Reformed Fellowship chapters.
For such polarization no apology is needed. To those who criticize we may well reply as concerned young David did to the scorn rebuke of his older brothers while the Philistine giant Goliath was blaspheming the God of Israel: “Is there not a cause?”
The kind of polarization for which we plead is unity around the inspired, infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God and our doctrinal standards, a unity that comes to expression in an organization for mutual encouragement and also effective action when needed. If some deride such polarization as divisive and reprehensible, let them make the most of it. When those who profess to be friends of the Reformed faith are content to be bedfellows with those who show themselves to be hostile to that faith let them beware lest they be found sleeping the sleep of death.
The Lord willing, we will in 1977 not become weary in well-doing as we carryon for the cause to which we are committed.
Someone reminded me the other day that already some years ago I said that “the ballgame was over for the CRC,” and I can’t deny it. It has often been said that no church after it once tends to become modern or liberal has ever returned to the faith.
However, in recent days we have seen what we thought was impossible happening in the 2.7 million member Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Under bold leadership, there has been a drastic housecleaning at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and the removal of other leaders from their positions in their church. Indeed, with God, all things are still possible! In that faith, the Lord willing, we will carryon unless and until He directs us to change our course.
Lead on O King Eternal, Till sin’s fierce war shall cease And holiness shall whisper The sweet Amen of peace.
