Let's open the evening with prayer. Our Father which art in heaven, as we come into thy holy presence, mindful of thy majesty and of thy glory, we do so confessing that we are a sinful people. We do so confessing that though thou hast established thy covenant of grace with us, though thou hast even given us new life in Jesus Christ, nevertheless, as a people, we still have that corrupt nature within. As a people, we still violate Thy law and Thy commandments. We transgress Thy covenant. So that even though we've been made to be the body and bride of Christ, nevertheless, we are often unfaithful. And not just as individuals, but as a church. As the church militant that's found on this earth. individual congregations that are manifestations of the body of Christ and as a denomination of churches. We humbly confess our own sinfulness and therefore we beseech Thee, Father, forgive us. Wash us in the blood of Christ. Release us from the responsibility to pay the debt that we owe for our sins. And look upon us not according to our sinfulness, but look upon us as those who are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And be pleased to continue to care for us as churches, even if that means chasing us in order to draws back unto thyself. For we recognize that this is a part of thy faithfulness to thy people, that in thy love thou dost discipline us at times. We pray that such discipline may have the good fruit of bringing us to repentance. Purify thy church, O God, so that more and more we reflect the image of our Savior Jesus Christ. Father, we're thankful for this opportunity to come together tonight to hear speeches concerning the Church of Christ and to enjoy fellowship as believers from throughout our denomination, especially from our Western churches. We pray that we might be edified through the speeches And we pray that we might be encouraged as we enjoy the communion of the saints. Hear now this prayer for Christ's sake. It's in his name alone that we pray. Amen. By way of introduction, I'd like to give an overview of the conference itself for those of you who were here earlier today. These are the same comments, but there are many who were not able to make it. earlier today, but who are here this evening, when as a council, we recognize we had the privilege of hosting a meeting of classes, we decided it would be good to also host an office bears conference to make it more worthwhile for all the delegates to travel here. And rather than picking a overall theme and then finding topics underneath of that, What the council did was really throw out different ideas for speeches. Things we would like to have treated and what we quickly recognized is that a great number of them all fit under the overall umbrella of the church of Jesus Christ. So first we chose the topics and then we chose the overall theme. That means Though there's a unifying theme, the speeches are somewhat different in that there's really two halves to this conference. We had the afternoon session concerning the government of the church and really looked at some of the basic principles and asked some difficult questions regarding the authority that Christ gives to the church. But now tonight we want to consider the sinfulness of the church. Because we are sinners. But the question becomes, In light of that sinfulness, how are we to view the church of Jesus Christ? What does that make us as a church? And that's what Reverend Jonathan Langorak is, excuse me, that's what Reverend Ron Hanco is going to address in the first speech this evening. And then the second speech this evening, Reverend Jonathan Langerak will speak to us about the chastening that sometimes comes upon the church because of her sinfulness and how we are to respond to that. So two speeches tonight. We'll have a brief intermission in between. We'll do a little bit of singing. Mr. Elder Ron Van Vorthuysen will come forward at that time and lead that. We'll sing a pair of Psalter numbers, have a chance to stretch our legs a bit, and then there will be some special numbers and then we'll go right into the fourth speech. So our first speaker tonight is Reverend Ron Hanco, an emeritus minister. He was ordained into the ministry in 1979. He had four different charges. He served in Wyckoff, New Jersey. Second, at Trinity PRC in Houston, Texas. Third, he was a missionary in Northern Ireland. And fourth, he served in The Linden Congregation in Northwest Washington. He currently lives in the Spokane area. Thank you, Rev. Henkel, for your willingness to come and speak tonight. Thanks to the council here in Redlands for inviting me. It's nice to know that even though one is retired, one is not entirely forgotten. So thank you very much. The subject, excuse me, the subject as it was given to me was a proper view of the church. And I changed that. to the question, mother or whore? And I think most of you understand why I selected that as my actual topic this evening. But even that question isn't really personal enough For you and for me, the question is not just mother or whore, but Redlands Protestant Reform Congregation, mother or whore, my congregation, mother, or whore, and of course, you can substitute the name of any of the congregations that are represented here this evening. And of course, along with that, the question, the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, mother or whore? It was Calvin who spoke of the church as our spiritual mother in several very beautiful quotes from his Institutes, and I want to read one of those. Calvin says, I will begin with the church, into whose bosom God is pleased to collect His children. Not only that by her aid and ministry they may be nourished so long as they are babes and children, but may also be guided by her maternal care until they grow up to manhood and finally attain to the perfection of faith. What God has thus joined, let not man put asunder. To those to whom he is a father, The church must also be a mother. This was true not merely under the law, but even now after the advent of Christ, since Paul declares that we are the children of a new, even a heavenly Jerusalem. Galatians 4 verse 26. And you understand that that's what the visible church the Institute church ought to be. She ought to measure up to what Calvin says in his Institutes. But that means that the question for us this evening, and that has to do with a proper view of the church, the question for us this evening is this, have the Protestant Reformed churches, including the congregation here in Redlands, gone so far away from that calling to be a mother to God's people that the churches together, or this congregation, can be called whore, even the great whore. I'm going to start this evening by telling you what I believe, and I believe that the Protestant Reformed churches including my own congregation in Spokane, are and have been mother, and will be that for the foreseeable future. In fact, I would go so far as to say that in all of the denominations and churches around, I know of no better mother. If I had to find another mother to take me under her wing, her spiritual wing, to take care of me and to instruct me, as Calvin said, I don't know of any denomination or of any church that would be to me a better mother than the Protestant Reformed churches have been and continue to be. Why do I say that? Is that just sentiment? Born and raised in the Protestant Reformed churches, I'm blind to their faults and weaknesses. And I'm going to consider the Protestant Reformed Church as my spiritual mother, for better or for worse. Is that all it is? For me? For you? Just sentiment. Or do I have a good reason for telling you that I believe that the Protestant Reformed churches are still my mother and a good mother to me? And the answer to that question is, that I believe that there is good reason not only for me but for each of you to look on the Protestant Reformed churches together and to look at your own congregations still as spiritual mother and a very good mother. What reason do I have? Well, I actually have three reasons that are called in our creeds the marks of the true church. The marks of the true church. The Confession of Faith, or Belgic Confession, as we sometimes call it, speaks of those marks of the church in Article 29. The marks by which the true church is known are these. If the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein, If she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ, if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin, in short, if all things are managed according to the pure word of God, all things contrary thereto rejected, and Jesus Christ acknowledged as the only head of the church, Hereby the true church may certainly be known from which no man has a right to separate himself. Now, if you talk to the members of other denominations, you'll find that there's not 100% agreement on the identity of those marks. Some include biblical worship. as a mark of the true church. Some, instead of speaking of biblical church discipline, speak of church government, biblical church government, as a mark of the church. But however you count the marks of the church, and however you name them, There is one thing that you and I have to remember, and that's of enormous importance this evening. There's one thing that you and I have to remember, and that's the fact that those marks of the church, however you count them, however you name them, are the marks of Christ's presence in the church. Don't ever forget that. In fact, it would be better to speak of them, not so much as the marks of the true church, as the marks of Christ's presence. in the church. And I think you understand why I say that, too. If the Word is purely preached, then what we hear in the church is Christ's own voice speaking peace to His people. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them. and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life. And when the sacraments are administered according to the Word of God, as they ought to be, then I see and taste in the sacraments the sweetness, and the beauty of Christ Himself. And when discipline is administered according to the Word of God, then Christ, the great and only Shepherd of the sheep, is doing that wonderful work of seeking and saving that which is lost. Christ is the one who seeks and saves His people when they stray. So those marks of the true church are the marks of Christ's presence in the church. And I think you can see where I'm going with that. If those marks of the true church are present here in Redlands Protestant Reformed Church and in the other congregations of the denomination, then this congregation And the Protestant Reformed churches may not be called whore, and certainly not the great whore. That's an insult. to Christ and comes perilously close to blasphemy. Christ, and I'm sure you'll agree with me on that, Christ does not associate with whores. And the great is associated, as you know so well from Revelation 18, Revelation 17, I'm sorry, the great horrors associated not with Christ, but with the beast. You and I may not even think of the church in those terms. In fact, this applies not only to the Protestant Reformed churches, but this applies to any denomination or church that has, to some degree or other, the marks of the true church, the marks of Christ's presence in the church. I not only may not You may not think of this congregation in those terms, but I may not think of the United Reformed Churches, the Netherlands Reformed Churches, the Canadian and American Reformed Churches, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, in those terms, as long as they have anything of the marks of the true church, I may not call them whore. A church becomes worthy of that name, any church, any denomination, where those marks of the true church are no longer visible. And then she really doesn't even deserve the name church anymore. But as the confession of faith says, is really just a sect. Does that mean that I want to be under the care and instruction of one of those other mothers? Does that mean that in good conscience before God, I can be under the care and instruction of one of those other mothers? No, it doesn't mean that. As I said at the beginning, I am convinced And that's why I'm a member of the Protestant Reformed Churches, that the Protestant Reformed Churches are not only mother, but the best mother under whose care and instruction I can possibly put myself by way of being a member of the visible church. Not whore, but mother. But does that mean that raises all kinds of other questions, you know? Does that mean that this congregation, Protestant Reformed churches as a whole, have those marks perfectly? Is the preaching such that Christ always speaks through the preaching? Although I would add to that that Christ can use some very, very poor preachers like I am to make Himself known to His people. because it's Christ who speaks through the preaching. But is the preaching in the Protestant Reformed Churches perfect? Is discipline always carried out exactly as it should be according to the Word of God? Do consistories, even classes and synods, make mistakes as far as discipline is concerned? Are the sacraments always, always administered according to the command of Christ, without any deviation from His command? Well, you know the answer to that. The answer is, of course, no. No church has those marks of the church and of Christ's presence perfectly. And as someone once said, if I ever found a church that was perfect, as soon as I joined it, it wouldn't be perfect anymore. There is no church here on earth that has those marks flawlessly and perfectly. What we find is a whole spectrum of denominations and churches that have those marks to a greater or lesser degree. Now, because those marks are the marks of Christ's presence, it is my solemn obligation before God to find the church which has those marks most clearly and most evidently. And it's my obligation before God to do that, because those marks are the marks of Christ's presence, and my calling always, everywhere, is to follow Him. But the Protestant Reformed churches do not have those marks perfectly. The discipline of the churches, of any congregation, has to be checked at a meeting of classes to make sure, if possible, that the elders Have it misapplied discipline to this person or that one? That they've shown in their discipline proper patience and love as well as concern for the well-being of the church and the testimony of the church. We don't believe. And that's evident when a discipline case comes to classes, that elders are infallible in their work of discipline. The preaching is far from perfect. I doubt very much that I have ever in the years I've been in the ministry, ever preached a sermon where I did not say something wrong out of ignorance, misspeaking, for whatever reason. And that's just one illustration of the imperfection of the preaching. The wonder is, of course, as I emphasized a while ago, that Christ still speaks to His people through the preaching, makes Himself known to those whom He loves, shows them, as He says in John 10, that He knows them. and loves them, and so causes them to follow Him. But the preaching itself is far from perfect simply by virtue of the fact that it's preached by weak and sinful men. In fact, Christ Himself often chooses those who from a human point of view are not in our estimation those who would make the best preachers of His gospel, but chooses them so that, as the Word of God says in 2 Corinthians 4, the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. And all of us, I am absolutely certain of that, have evidence of the fact that the churches to which we belong are far from perfect. And that's true of every church and every denomination. Is that biblical? I'm referring especially to what I just said, that when we look around us, what we find is not one denomination, one congregation of which we could say, this is the true church and everything else is fault. Everything else is the whore. Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. Everything else is that, but rather a whole spectrum of churches which display to one degree or another those marks of Christ's presence in the church. Is that biblical? And the answer to that question is yes. If you turn to Revelation 2 and 3, you'll find exactly that. And remember that those seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are called churches, are identified in chapter 1 as the candlesticks among which Christ walks, but include congregations such as Smyrna, against which Christ had nothing negative to say, as well as congregations like Sardis. at Laodicea. The latter, the congregation, still counted among the candlesticks that he was ready to spit out of his mouth. Not one denomination, one church, the true church of Jesus Christ, but a whole spectrum of churches that display the marks of the church to a greater or lesser degree. And you have the same picture drawn in the epistles. On one end of the spectrum, Ephesians. the Ephesians and the Colossians. On the other end of the spectrum, the troubled church of Corinth with all of its problems and difficulties, false doctrine, divisions, all the rest. You know the story of Corinth. What does Christ say through the Apostle Paul in the opening verses of 1 Corinthians? Remember, he's talking to a church. that had huge faults and difficulties. Does he say to the church of Corinth, you whore? You know he doesn't say that. Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours. Grace be unto you, and peace from God our Father. and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Not whore, not as long as Christ is present and makes His presence known in the church by those marks, but still mother. to God's people. Christ, you must understand that. Christ came to be the bridegroom and husband of His church, not because she was perfect, came to dwell in her and with her, not because she was perfect, but came to dwell with her and in her to make her perfect. And as long as Christ is pleased, that goes back to what we said a little while ago, as long as Christ is pleased to dwell in this church, in that denomination, and makes his presence known by what we call the marks of the church, I may not, without insulting him, and even blaspheming His name, call the church whore or even great whore, the great whore. Does that mean all of that that we've said so far? Does that mean that The Protestant Reformed churches cannot lose those marks of the church. Well, I think you know the answer to that, too. Where's Myrna today? And Ephesus, and Laodicea, and Thyatira, and Thessalonica, and Corinth. The church of Laodicea was in such sad condition that Christ pictures Himself in His words to the church of Laodicea, and that means she was that close. to losing the marks of the church, Christ pictures himself as being outside the door of the church. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. So a church, a denomination, a congregation can lose those marks. And because that's a danger to us, always, always a danger, because there is not one of us here who is not guilty of sin, and therefore not guilty by virtue of our mutual responsibility to Christ of undermining the well-being of the church as the church of Christ, not one. And because that's a danger, we have to hear what Christ says to the churches in Revelation. says that to every one of them. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore, and repent. Or to the church of Ephesus, which had lost its first love." Sad, isn't it, to hear Christ say that to one of His churches? You've lost your first love. To them, He says, remember therefore, from whence thou art fallen, and repent. and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." Never, ever in our foolish pride think that as a denomination or as a congregation, we are in no need of hearing what the Spirit says to the churches. But that does not change the fact that Christ is pleased to dwell in His church, weak and sinful as she is, to count her His own. to show His love for her, to speak lovingly to her as He does on every page of Holy Scripture. May never forget either that dwelling in His church, Christ is pleased in the preaching of the Word. in the administration of the sacraments, in the government of the church, to use weak and sinful men. To put that in everyday terms, do concessories always get things right? No, no, no. Do they sometimes bumble things and fumble things? Yes, yes. Sometimes very badly. Does classes always make the right decisions? No, no, no, nor synod. Sometimes it could take, as we know from experience, two, three synods to finally get things straight. But my dear friends, If Reformed church government is biblical, as I believe it is, and I trust you do too, if Reformed church government, as it's outlined in Scripture and in our church order, is biblical, then it's the way. that Christ rules his church. And if you throw that off, because synods make the wrong decisions, because the classist doesn't always get everything right, Because consistory sometimes fumble matters, if you throw it all off, then you're throwing off Christ's own rule in the church and the way in which He, the King of the church, is pleased to rule His people. And I don't think you can make any bigger mistake than that in the church of Christ. If He doesn't rule through a weak and sinful man, who does? It's sometimes the case that a church loses those marks of the church. But then my calling is in leaving that denomination or that church, still, still, still, always to follow Christ. for the eternal salvation of my soul, and to follow Him by finding a congregation or a denomination which has those marks of His presence. Before I talk more about that, however, there's another question. That goes back to that very first question, mother or whore. talked about the faults and weaknesses of our own denomination, our own congregation, our own concestories, our senates, our classes, are not, do not, those faults make the Protestant Reformed churches guilty of whoredom? Is not that behavior whorish behavior? And are not the churches then worthy of the name whore? The answer is first of all, And I hope you get that in your heart and soul. The answer is, first of all, that's sin. Whether you commit it, whether I commit it, whether we commit it together as a congregation or denomination, is always spiritual adultery, always. whoredom, because it's unfaithfulness to Christ. And it's good to see that, too. It gets us on our knees in the presence of God. But the fact that sin My sins, your sins, the sins of the churches are spiritual adultery and whoring. It does not mean that the church may be called whore. There is a difference, and I hope you understand that, by calling sin What it really is. And by calling the person or the churches that commit that sin, the whore. A huge difference. And there's biblical basis for that. Think of what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, to you and to me, don't ever call your brother a fool or you go to hell. That in a nutshell is what he said. I can't call my brother a fool? He does all these foolish things. Although if I look down, I find somebody who's a little more foolish than he is. But there's a difference between saying that that brother is guilty of doing what's foolish, not only in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of God, and calling him a fool, because when you call him a fool, You're saying that he is devoid of the grace and spirit of God, calling him, in effect, an unbeliever and one who has never seen the kingdom of God. And you may not do that. That's why Moses was forbidden to enter the promised land. Remember? He called the people of God rebels. The people who had rebelled at the Red Sea, at Mara, at Rephidim, at Sinai, at Kibra, at Kadesh, in the wilderness of sin, on the borders of the land of Canaan. He called them rebels and wasn't allowed to enter the land of Canaan. That wasn't the only reason. He struck the rock too, struck Christ. But he did that. also what he called the people of God rebels, something he should never have done, because that was saying, I've given up on you. There is nothing in you of the love and grace of God Almighty. You are not God's people. And none of us may make such judgments. And the same is true of that name whore. Guilty of whorish behavior always, always, always. And I, the worst of all, the chief of sinners, but not to voice of the grace of God and the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, in spite of the fact that I am forever guilty until I go to heaven of whorish behavior, I am not to be called by that name. Christ doesn't call me by that name. You understand? Not whore, but mother. What do I do when my denomination, my congregation is guilty of such behavior? Not hide my head in the sand, that's for sure. It's my mother. But what do I do? Well, first of all, I pray. We sang that. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray the prayer of Psalter number 219, Psalm 80. You pray it. O thou great shepherd of thy chosen race, who lead us like a flock, thy Israel dear. From out the cherubim reveal thy face before our hosts. Now let thy might appear Come thou, O God, to save us and restore. We shall be saved when shines thy face once more. Pray, pray, pray, pray. And then admonish your mother, too, if she needs to be admonished. But when you admonish her, remember who she is. and do it respectfully. Do it in a way that honors her. For the long years you've spent under her care and instruction, admonish her You must. But there's a right way and a wrong way to admonish your mother, whether your own flesh and blood mother or your spiritual mother. And don't, don't in admonishing her suggest with a name like that name whore, that she is without the grace of God and the presence of Jesus Christ. Not at least until she actually is without them. Seek church reformation. When that becomes necessary, you go wait for somebody else. You seek church reformation. But remember, when you think the church needs reformation, remember Gideon. Reformation begins. always begins in your own backyard. And you had better destroy the idols in your own backyard before you go out to fight the Midianites, who are always there in the church. And when you do go to fight them, then don't think Don't ever think that church reformation is our work. But remember, as Gideon was forced to remember, standing on in the hills with his 300 men, They had their swords and their torches, but as he was forced to remember that the battle is the Lord's. Reformation is God's work in the church, and if it's not God's work, if it comes, because I'm forcing it, then it's not Reformation, but schism. By all means, pray for the Reformation of the church. Pray for it always, because as that old Reformation slogan has it, the church is not only reformed, but always reforming. Pray for Reformation in this congregation, where it's needed, and throughout our denomination. That too. Pray. That's first and foremost. Admonish. Let your voice be heard. That was one of the speeches this afternoon. Seek reformation. Don't, don't, don't forget that the church belongs, not to you, but to Christ. Keep your eye on Him. And through all, how does that Him have it? through toils and tribulations and tumults of her wars. Keep your eye on Him to whom the church belongs. And don't act in the church out of frustration, because you have a personal grudge in the church of Jesus Christ, but keep your eye on Him to whom the church belongs. And remember, remember in the most difficult times what He said when He left us, the gates of hell will not prevail against you. I will build my church, the church that I died for, that I've loved from eternity, to whom I've given my own spirit and trust. That even in the darkest times, and there have been dark times for the church of Jesus Christ, that in the darkest times, Christ is still the King and Lord of His church and will not let His church perish. Trust not in men. nor in the arm of man. Put your trust in Him, always, as the one who purchased His churches His own, and who will never leave her or forsake her, but will soon be here to make her worthy You and I as her children make her worthy of a place with Himself in heavenly glory for all eternity. Mother or whore, I trust you know the answer to that question, those of you who are members here in Redlands, all of us as members of the Protestant Reformed churches. Not because we're anything in ourselves, but because the church is the church of Christ. Toils and tribulations and tumult of her wars. She waits the consummation of peace forevermore. Till with a vision glorious her longing eyes are blessed. The great church victorious becomes the church at rest. With that in mind, go forward. Thank you.