Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

made."matter."you."Relation of Church History to Preaching(Continued from page 279)which makes direct appeal to the New Testamentchurch, as though there had been no interveninghistory of nineteen hundred years. Such a "history-Jess"conception of the church and its work, hasserious implications on the attitude and preaching ofthe church as it faces individual,social and politicalproblems today.In the Reformed tradition we need to be onguard against making the error of overlooking thesignificance of history. As John H. Drommingawrote recently in the Reformed Journal (July-Aug.1955, p.6) "If we,accuse Fundamentalists of makinga long jump back over many important centuries tothe New Testament time, we are better only in degree if we make a smaller jump back to the sixteenthcentury. The length of the leap is not so importantas the fact that a leap is beingTo apply this to the particular problem of theCovenanter ministry, we must be increasingly awareof the heritage of the history of the Body of Christfrom its beginnings, and of the Reformed traditionfrom the 16th Century. In addition to this, however,to make our preaching effective we must rememberthat we live and work and proclaim the gospel, whichis unchanging, in a world which is changing. Wemust furthermore be willing to undertake the grueling discipline of mind and spirit which must distinguish the unchanging truths from the changingconditions which require a faithful application of thefull-orbed gospel. It is in this modern setting that wefind it necessary to maintain a vital and dynamicsense of history.An acquaintance with the social and politicalconditions of the period of Constantine throw lightupon the Nicene Councils and the definitions of theDoctrine of the Trinity and the Person of Christ.Just so an introduction to the period prior to theCivil war makes meaningful a relationship betweenthe earlier evangelical revivals and the religiousand social unrest in the face of human slavery.A knowledge of history will continue to be anecessary element in effective preaching of theSovereign God and His infallible Word in the faceof such problems as:The place of the Covenanter church in Inter-Church Movements of the mid-twentieth century._The importance of doctrine as an expressionof revealed truth. Dr. Kromminga tells of the difficulty of getting a discussion of doctrine, "It becomesimpossible, even at a meeting of seminary professors(such as one held in Chicago in connection with theWorld Council of Churches) to a hearing for thequestion of what the seminaries are to teach and thechurches to preach. Only the how seems toThe moral and social implications of the problems of racial tensions, of intemperance, of humanistic education ; all these in the light of the Word ofGod, and not merely on economic and social bases.The claims of the Lord Jesus Christ to thenation and the nations as He proclaims His salvationto man in his environment.The challenge of preaching remains the sameas that of the first century. An appreciation of history, is essential if we maintain the standard, ". . .that we may present every man perfect in ChristJesus."282SIN OF USELESSNESS . . . from front pageflattery, more babying,more petting than all of thefruitful members of the church combined. They arethe ones who find the most fault; they are the onesoffended. The average fruitlesswho are most easilyChristian seeks to justify himself by being a criticand a faultfinder. He becomes antagonistic to allplain preaching of the Word of God.Cut It DownThis is the inevitable result of fruitlessness,and it invites disaster. The Lord called for extermination of the fruitless tree. The fact that the order forthe destruction of the fruitless life is delayed is nosign that destruction will not come.God not only wants you to repent of murder,fornication, blasphemy, etc., but He wants you torepent of the uselessness of your life ! He wants youto engage in worth-while service. He wants you to befruitful."Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forthand that your fruit should remain : that whatfruit,soever ye shall ask of the Father in My Name, HeJohn 15:16.may give itUsed by permission of Herald of His Coming, Box 3457Terminal Annex, Los Ageles 54, Calif.*Rev. Webb is the speaker on the Back to the Bible Broadcast.GLEANINGS . . . continued from page 274ALCOHOL RELATED ARRESTS IN 1954Based on FBI Uniform Crime ReportsDrunkenness 713,837Disorderly conduct 167,571Driving while intoxicated 84,600Liquor law violations 34,276TOTAL 1,000,248"Alcohol related arrests totaled 59.2 per cent of all arrests for all offenses in 1954."The arrests tabulated above do not include assault, rape,murder, and offenses against family and children in whichalcohol is so frequently a major or contributing factor."Cedric Adams in a recent news broadcast reported thatin the state of Minnesota taxes on liquor sales for August1955 were $1,034,000 as against only $600,000 in Augustone year ago.BATTLES OVER CYPRUSNorthwestern PilotAmericans may be mystified as to why mobs in Turkishcities could be stirred to riot against the Greeks over Cyprus.To fully explain the mob violence, it's necessary tolook farther back in history. Good relations between Turkey and Greece have existed only for the past 30 years.Before that, they battled for centuries, and the TurkishEmpire held Greece in enslavement from the fall of theByzantine Empire in 1460 down to 1827.Since 1827, Turkey and Greece have fought several warsthe last as late as 1921, when the Greeks tried to takeSmyrna and territory in Asia Minor from Turkey.Northwestern PilotCOVENANTER WITNESS