For a long time members and friends of Reformed Fellowship have felt that the time has come to state succinctly and yet fully the positions which we believe to be biblica and confessional over against the many deviations which confront us.
Certain of our brothers in Northwest Iowa were found ready to try their hand at drafting such a statement. They have worked carefully and arduously on this assignment. The results of their labors are now before us.
Following completion of this document copies were sent to a number of Christian Reformed pastors, soliciting their support. The list of some 40 who have indicated willingness to stand with the signatories to this statement is appended. Let us hasten to add that persons so invited to sign this testimony were chosen without any intention of ruling anyone out. It is our hope that large numbers of Christian Reformed pastors will rise up to say, “we agree! Please. include our names in future issues of OUTLOOK as men who endorse wholeheartedly the things said in this testimony.”
We appreciate that not all Christian Reformed people agree with the positions taken. It is our prayer that by issuing this as our testimony we may call the whole church back to those things which were, in our opinion, the common faith for Christian Reformed people.
This is what we believe.
Again as so often in the past Christ’s church is facing dangers and difficulties. No company of Christian believers, including the Christian Reformed Church is immune to the influence of the times in which it lives. Everywhere the foundations of society are crumbling, and in the doctrinal and moral confusion which reigns many are losing their spiritual moorings. What men need is a clear and ringing voice which summons believers everywhere to return to “the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints” (Jude, vs. 4). Under such compulsion we as your brothers in Christ address “all them who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible” (Eph. 6:24).
Necessity is laid upon us by these trends which threaten the integrity and existence of the Gospel entrusted to the church.
False theologies, philosophies, and patterns of life have gained ascendancy in many communities and nations. These can only produce darkness of understanding, distress and despair of soul, together with everlasting death for all who forsake the Word, Our address, therefore, we regard as an act of humble obedience to the apostolic command that believers are to be “ready always to give answer to every man that asketh of you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15), This we attempt, with the prayer that many who share a common faith with us will rally around those things which are to be most certainly believed and consistently practiced by all who belong to our Lord.
Both individually and corporately, we believe, all Christians should address themselves to the issues which face God’s people in our day. Together with you as our brothers and sisters we would seek and set forth answers to certain inescapable questions. Are things well in Christ’s church today? To what is the believing congregation called by God in our times? Can deformation in a church and therefore spiritual and moral deterioration of the godly life be stemmed in days such as these? What can and must be done to strengthen the hearts of the faithful in this turmoil which assails us from every side? And how can we recapture the assurance and joy of letting our light shine as the Lord’s redeemed people?
Earnestly we plead with you to pray for revival and reformation, lest God in judgment remove the light from its candlestick. For unless He shines with truth and grace upon our lives, the darkness will grow ever deeper and we shall fail to discern the paths which are marked out for us, for our children, and for all who would rejoice in His salvation.
By addressing ourselves to these issues, we lay ourselves open to attack. Some may criticize us as accusers of the brethren. Others may contemptuously dismiss what we say as hopelessly outmoded and irrelevant to the issues which face both church and world today. Still others may brand us as self-styled reformers unworthy of a response. But none of this deters us. And while we speak first of all to those who with us belong to the Christian Reformed Church, which as a spiritual mother has in God’s providence nourished our lives but today shows undeniable evidences of unrest, uncertainty, and disunity, we affirm our deep and abiding concern for all God’s people everywhere.
To drift along without a sounding of the trumpet -as too long has seemingly been our situation will only yield the bitter fruit of increasing suspicion, alienation, and confusion of mind and heart especially among simple believers. Too much of the discussion and debate has had a debilitating and even paralyzing effect as far as joyful living under the Lordship of our blessed Savior-King is concerned. For unless the Spirit again invigorates and directs us, we also in our families, churches, schools, and other communal Christian enterprises will bring forth only leaves where fruit should be found.
In the light of the above we call upon all who love the Lord Jesus Christ and acknowledge His Word to be the sole rule for faith and conduct to rally around the following affirmations. These, we are convinced, must become the Cod-pleasing pattern for the renewal of our lives, for the witness which we give by word and deed to all men, and for the glory of God whose we are and whom we serve.
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ON THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
As Christian believers we focus first of all on the grace of God who has made us “a people for His own possession” (I Peter 2:9). Through Christ by the preaching of the Gospel and the persuasion of the Spirit He has joined us together as the company of those called unto Himself to serve in the “office of all believers” as prophets, priests, and kings to the glory of God.
This church, however, is no vague, ill-defined, ethereal spiritual reality; it, by Christ’s appointment through the apostles, assumes visible shape and form among the sons of men (Acts 2:42; 9:31; 13:1f; 14:23; Eph. 4:11).
Every believer, therefore, in company with fellow believers must discern before the face of the Lord the marks (distinguishing characteristics) of that instituted congregation to which he or she is joined. According to God’s Word only such a church may rightly expect His blessing where the Word is purely preached, the sacraments are rightly administered, and Biblical discipline is faithfully exercised. Although no congregation or group of congregations will ever manifest these marks without some stain in this life, yet the duty of all who belong is to promote these marks in love and loyalty to Christ. Only so is the authority of the Savior over the lives of His people truly honored and maintained.
Because of our mutual infirmities it has pleased Christ to ordain within His church the special offices of the ministry of the Word (I Tim. 5:17; II Tim. 2:2), the ruling of eldership (Acts 14:23; I Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5–9; I Thess. 5:12, 13; Heb. 13:17; I Peter 5:1-4), and the diaconate (Acts 6:1–6; Phil. 1:1; I Tim. 3:8–10, 12, 13) for our spiritual health and our corporate witness in the world. Those lawfully called to these offices and equipped by the Hoy Spirit do not constitute a spiritual elite; they are the servants of all for the Savior’s sake (Matt. 20:25–28). But through them He speaks and acts with that spiritual authority which derives from Him alone (Matt. 10:40; I Thess. 5:12, 13; Heb. 13:17). They should therefore be obeyed by those entrusted to their care so long as what is required faithfully reflects the demands of God’s Word.
In recent times these offices in Christ’s church have fallen into disrepute.
Thus the prophetic calling of the preacher of the Word has often been reduced to that of a psychological counsellor or of one who leads the congregation in “sharing” individual insights and experiences. This we deplore and call the church back to such preaching which affirms without hesitation “Thus saith the Lord,” lest there come upon us a famine of the hearing of the Word (Amos 8:11). We also fear that the high calling of the Gospel ministry, as set forth in Scripture, is becoming much obscured by assigning ordained preachers to tasks which are only indirectly related to the official preaching and teaching of the Word.
The kingly office of the ruling elder has also been undercut in these days by those who reduce the scope and authority of the discipline of the church. Here we express deep concern that family visiting, once a strength within the Reformed churches, is being grossly neglected or is degenerating into a social visit with only a few spiritual emphases. We call the church back to a ruling eldership which supervises the preaching of God’s Word, watches over the lives of God’s people entrusted to its care, and safeguards the Lord’s table in the face of the practice of an “open communion” which is increasing also among us (I Cor. 11:28–34; II Cor. 6:14–7:1).
Likewise the diaconate must be called to its Scripturally-ordained task of showing mercy and benevolence. We reject every view and practice which reduces this high office to that of fiscal control and accounting; also to that which sees this office as the training ground for the so-called “higher office” of the eldership.
We assert that these three offices in Christ’s church are not open to women. This is not to defend a sexual hierarchy or to affirm male superiority and female inferiority. Rather, we view this as a clear Biblical demand Bowing from the revealed principle of the headship of man over woman as set forth in the garden of Eden and reaffirmed by Paul in his inspired writings (I Cor. 11:7–12; 14:33–36; I Tim. 2:12–15). Therefore we repudiate any hermeneutical gymnastics which interpret Scripture according to views and notions widely held in todays’ world, in order thereby to approve the ordination of women to ecclesiastical office.
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ON HOLY SCRIPTURE AND ITS INTERPRETATION
From the above it follows unmistakably that central and basic to the life of the church is that Word which lives and abides forever (Matt. 10:7; 28:18–20; Acts 1:8; 6:7; 8:4; Rom. 10:8–15, etc.).
It is none other than the Bible, the Holy Scripture of both the Old and the New Testaments which constitute both the foundation and the norm for the church’s faith and conduct in this world. To it nothing may be added; from it nothing taken away (Rev. 22:18–20).
That Word, although coming to us in God’s condescension through human language and through human writers, we confess to be entirely and in all parts inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is both infallible and inerrant (Mark 13:31; II Tim. 3:16, 17; I Peter 1:25; II Peter 1:19–21).
We therefore reject as illegitimate and spiritually disastrous any attempt to make its authority and! or reliability dependent upon man’s understanding or scholarship. Although the human authors wrote within an historical situation which molded their understanding and language, any teaching which for such or similar reasons concludes that, since the Bible is time-bound (either in part or as whole) it therefore does not possess divine authority and relevance for our lives today, must be rejected out of hand. And any method of Scripture interpretation which destroys, limits, or otherwise denies the manifest sense of the words of the Bible, going beyond the boundaries of a confessionally Reformed hermeneutic, is anathema.
Such methods, no matter how impressively asserted with scholarly credentials, can only render Scriptural meaning unintelligible. In the end they undermine a childlike faith in the reliability of what God has spoken. From this follows clearly that we categorically reject both the presuppositions and the validity of that which is commonly called “higher criticism.” By faith we accept the doctrines of creation, the fall of mankind, divine providence over all men and things, and predestination as these are revealed in Scripture and clearly confessed in our Reformed creeds; including the factualness of the account given in Genesis 1 through 11 with its details, which have been attacked both openly and surreptitiously among us. And this affirmation we make concerning every passage of Scripture which addresses man in an inescapably plain and factual manner.
At the same time we are compelled to deplore the growing neglect and ignorance of the Bible which characterizes the lives of many professing Christians today. Too many by their preoccupation with favorite texts or topics (such as prophecy or doctrine or ethical commands or devotional material) do grave injustice to the unity of God’s Word. Nor may the use of any other writings—no matter how clear and helpful -ever obscure the high calling of all Christian believers to read, study, and meditate upon the Bible daily and diligently.
We affirm also that Scripture itself is to be the source for all faithful teaching in and by the church -in the pulpit, in the classroom, in pastoral calling and counselling, and no less in our evangelistic endeavors both in our lands and throughout the world. The Word and it alone establishes the content for the church’s message at all times (Luke 16:31; I Tim. 6:3–5; 11 Tim. 2:15f; 4:l–5). Therefore we condemn the prevalent idea and practice whereby the needs of the human situation dictate the content of preaching, teaching, and counselling. Such a problem-solving approach is man-centered and undermines the purpose, clarity, and efficacy of Holy Scripture. Likewise every approach, method, and program used to reach the unsaved and unchurched must pass the test of “the full counsel of God,” lest we depend on our efforts for a blessing instead of on the Spirit of the Lord who works in and with and through the Word (Zech. 4:6; Acts 12:24; 1 Cor. 1:18, 19).
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ON THE PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL
So that the good news of God and His salvation may be proclaimed to the ends of the earth, our Lord has laid upon the church as its primary responsibility the preaching of the Word. It alone. through the efficacy of the Spirit, confronts men with God’s self-revelation in Christ Jesus. Thereby He calls all who hear to a life of repentance, faith, and obedience (Acts 2:38; 10:43; Titus 2:11–14). This is the God-ordained means unto the salvation of sinful mankind (Rom. 10:8–15).
From this affirmation flow several inescapable consequences for the confession, the piety, and the practice of the congregation.
Each congregation, and therein especially those who hold special office. must remind itself repeatedly of the place which preaching is accorded by the Bible. Likewise it must avoid, also for the sake of its own spiritual well-being, all patterns and practices in its public worship and witness which allot a secondary and subordinate place to the official proclamation of the Word. The Gospel as preached must be central to all ecclesiastical activities without exception.
Full well we realize that complaints about preaching abound also in our churches. With those which obviously cannot pass the test of Scripture we need not concern ourselves. But many members of Christ’s church have little taste for sound instruction; they insist on personal inspiration or stirring of the emotions. Others disapprove of the time-honored method of catechetical preaching. Still others c1aim that in liturgical experimentation rather than in faithful presentation of the full counsel of God lies the hope for church renewal. In so far as these erroneous notions are perpetuated by pulpit and pew, to that degree will the Lord withhold His Word from us and bring spiritual famine upon the land.
Sorely needed today to renew and encourage God’s people unto consecrated living in every relationship of life is a more Biblical understanding of the nature and calling of the ministry of the Word. For this we have the right to look to our theological Seminary where those who aspire to this high office are being trained (II Tim. 2:2).
We urgently pray God to reinvigorate today’s prophets with that zeal which leads men to conviction of sin, godly repentance, and humble faith. Therefore we decry the professionalizing of the Gospel ministry that produces sterility in the church; we repudiate those forces which urge the church to see the ministry not as office but rather as function in inter-personal relationships; we are pledged to pray and labor uncompromisingly for the continuation of the prophetic and apostolic tradition once held in such high esteem among Reformed believers.
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ON THE CREEDS AND GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH
Because of growing misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the Bible, we acknowledge wholeheartedly the necessity and indispensability of creedal standards for the welfare of Christ’s church (I Tim. 2:15–16; 6:20, 21; II Tim. 1:13, 14). Drawn from and subordinate to the Word itself, these direct the church in its worship, witness, and work in the world.
As those belonging to the Reformed family of churches, we pledge our wholehearted commitment to the “Three Forms of Unity,” that is, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dort. We deplore the sad condition prevalent in those churches which, while officially committed to certain historic creeds, now tolerate or even defend deviations from their own standards. Nor dare we in good conscience before the Lord of all truth allow for ourselves or any office-bearer in the church the liberty to signify either in speech or writing adherence to these confessional standards with any mental or emotional reservations.
To safeguard the pure preaching of the Word and the integrity of the church’s witness to the world we believe that the Form of Subscription, which has served the church well for hundreds of years, should be maintained without alterations. Within the bounds of the standards there is room for difference of emphasis on some acknowledged points of interpretation. But no affirmation therein may be ignored, contradicted, or denied, unless it be demonstrated to the churches which have adopted these creeds that said affirmations are contrary to Holy Scripture itself.
In sum, we assert that these historic Reformed confessions can and therefore ought to serve as the boundaries within which the church does theology, interprets the Scriptures, and professes its truths. And since the history of the church bears out trustworthy confessional documents arise mainly when the church responds Scripturally to new challenges which provoke conflicts, we believe that the time is not at hand for the Christian Reformed Church to attempt the writing of an additional creed. Today it is far more necessary that preachers and people together renew their acquaintance with the creedal heritage which has been left to \IS in God’s good providence.
Also, in subordination to the Bible and to the creeds, we pledge our loyalty to and defense of the Church Order. By common consent it has been endorsed by all the congregations of the Christian Reformed Church as the regulations by which we bind ourselves; hence also classical and synodical rules as well as consistorial may not overshadow or supersede the principles of the Church Order as it seeks to apply the teachings of the Bible and of the confessions to the life of the churches.
We feel it necessary to warn against both a threatening independentism by which either an individual or a congregation decides in how far it is pleased to implement these regulations and against a tyrannical hierarchicalism by which classes and! or synods bind congregations beyond that which is either lawful or advantageous for local assemblies of believers. In both instances the faith which together we confess as the bond of our union and communion can too easily be manipulated to serve the ambitions of a few or the immediate desires of a narrow majority. And when boards, executive committees, or other church-appointed agencies put on pressures (whether financial or otherwise) to gain power over the congregations and their welfare, this is to be deplored and resisted. Here we would remind everyone that consistorial authority within the churches derives directly from Christ Jesus and is therefore basic and original; the authority of broader assemblies is delegated and derivative. Such assemblies, therefore, should take heed lest they Jay upon congregations burdens greater than Scripture would allow (Acts 15:28).
Although we recognize the duty of the church to address God’s Word to contemporary social, economic, and political issues, this address is fitting only from the pulpits of the church and among Christian believers in their common walk of life. At no time ought the church, by way of classis or synod, speak out with binding authority on matters of a non-ecclesiastical nature. To do so despises the power of the Word officially proclaimed, violates all historic Reformed practice and treads the dangerous path of going beyond that which the Bible plainly teaches as the faith once-for-all delivered to the saints.
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ON THE RESPONSE TO GOSPEL PREACHING
The primary purpose and aim of Gospel preaching, whether in the congregations or by means of mission outreach to the ends of the world, is to bring men, women, and children to personal repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. From this and this alone will spring that spiritual obedience which delights the God of our salvation.
Sin is first of all a matter of personal involvement; it incurs guilt and falls under Cod’s wrath and deserves His righteous condemnation. Hence without the renewal of men’s hearts and lives there can be no hope for reformation in the various relationships and structures which are so much a part of our life in this present age. That salvation to which God calls us by His Word is grounded in His eternal decree (Acts 13:48; Rom. 8:29, 30; Eph. 1:4, 5; I Peter 1:2). By this He has been pleased for reasons known only to Himself to display His mercy in saving some of the human race while passing by others in His sovereignty and condemning them justly for their sins (Rom. 9:22-24; I Peter 2:8). Yet the church has the commission to proclaim the Gospel to all men everywhere and without exception, declaring the sure promise of God that He graciously saves all who repent and turn to Him in faith (Acts 1:8; 2:38–40; 26:16–18, etc.). We therefore reject all views of man which minimize personal responsibility and teach that evil resides in the societal structures to produce human weakness and sinfulness.
When under Gospel preaching men come to such repentance and faith, they will in thankful obedience to their Savior and Lord unite themselves with a congregation which strives to demonstrate and defend the marks of the true church (Acts 2:42-47; 9:31). This demand the Scriptures lay upon all who name the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. To its discipline the believer is to submit himself willingly and cheerfully (Matt. 16:18–19; 18:17–20). In its on-going work he is to share with other believers the time, the talents, the material resources, and the opportunities which the Lord provides.
Where no such manifestation of the true church exists. the Gospel must be vigorously and persistently preached with the confidence that Cod will in this way call His own out of darkness into the light of His saving grace. Such believers then have the obligation and privilege to organize a congregation of the faithful in obedience to the pattern laid down in the Word.
We decry the apparent ease with which not a few professing Christians separate themselves from a manifestation of the true church in order to satisfy some purely personal ambitions, notions, or passing desires. Nor can one who confesses Christ separate himself from the believing congregation and be by himself except in peril of his soul’s salvation.
At the same time we recognize that since no congregation or denomination has attained to perfection, the call to church reformation and renewal is always in order. It is to be given in submission to the clear teachings of the Word and in the spirit of Christian affection and concern for the welfare of all. And when this call continues to go unheeded and a congregation or denomination walks in the way of deformation and deterioration, then true believers are obligated for the sake of Christ’s honor to separate themselves from such a company which will not correct its doctrine or pattern of life according to God’s Word.
(to be continued)
PETER Y. DE JONG
First Christian Reformed Church, Sheldon, Iowa
NELSON D. KLOOSTERMAN
Immanuel Christian Reformed Church, Sheldon, Iowa
JOHN H. PIERSMA
First Christian Reformed Church, Sioux Center. Iowa
JOHN R. SITTEMA
Christian Reformed Church, Sanborn, Iowa
HENRY B. VANDEN HEUVEL
Bethel Christian Reformed Church, Sioux Center, Ia.
We, the undersigned, express our wholehearted agreement with this TESTIMONY and pledge to implement it to the best of our ability;
Arthur Besteman pastor, North Street CRC. Zeeland, Mich.
Leroy G. Christoffel pastor, Bethel CRC, Oskaloosa, Iowa
Harold De Groot pastor CRC, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Alexander C. De Jong pastor, Kedvale Ave., CRC, Oak Lawn, Illinois
Peter De Jong pastor, CRC, Dutton, Michigan