Rev. Richard J. Venema, pastor of the First Christian Reformed Church of Pella, Iowa, writes:
“Last year a member of our congregation donated $1,000 to Dordt College to sponsor an essay contest. This contest was open to all young people of the CRC with awards to be used as scholarships at Dordt College. Papers were to be written on the topic: “What Is Ahead for the Christian Reformed Church?” The donor’s primary interest was to promote an understanding of and appreciation for the heritage which is ours in the CRC. As a pastor I am grateful for such a positive attitude towards our young people . . . .
“This year $1,000 was given to our consistory with the intent that the young people of Pella I would be encouraged to participate . . .” First place winner ($400) was Mark Vander Hart, Pre-Seminary student at Dordt.
Rev. Venema’s cooperation in complying with our request to make these prize-winning essays available for publication in THE OUTLOOK is greatly appreciated.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:18, 21b).
Preaching—foolishness used by God to confound the wise and save the souls of men. In the above text Paul is saying some seemingly radical things. His tone seems to be almost anti-intellectual. But all that he is saying is that God uses simple things to redeem simple men and put to shame man’s wisdom. And He does it through the preaching or proclamation (kerygma) of the Word.
Hallmark of Christianity – It has been a distinctive hallmark of Christianity that, throughout her history, preaching has been one of the chief media which she has used to reach men. Our Lord Jesus Christ set the example for us when He “went about . . . preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:16–19; etc.). He read the Law and expounded the Gospel with authority. Furthermore, through His Word the Lord continues this proclamation today.
Peter Y. De Jong writes: “In 1544 Luther preached the dedication sermon at the Castle Church at Torgan. He urged that in preaching ‘our Lord Himself speaks to us through His holy Word.’ This aptly summarizes the affirmations of our Lord and His apostles as well as the convictions of the believing congregation in every age” (The Banner, Oct. 30, 1970, p. 4). Therefore, we can see that the Christian Reformed Church has received a heritage richly rooted in something Christ Himself has ordained.
After Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the apostles and upon the church for all time. This gave them both the courage and the ability to stand lip and preach the Word of God. And this led to three thousand souls being added to the church (Acts 2:41). This is how the early church grew. Paul and the Apostles travelled about the Roman world of that day, preaching the Gospel of Christ in the synagogues, in the public places. in private homes, wherever “two or three were gathered.”
God through the Holy Spirit used this “foolishness” of preaching to bring thousands to salvation in Christ. It became a regular practice for these early Christians to meet to hear preaching. Clement of Alexandria in the second century stated that “discourse about God” was the primary reason why Christians came together.
Corrupting influences – The Church, however, soon began to lose this emphasis on preaching the Word. After Christianity became the state religion, many corrupting influences began to enter and prevail in the church. The paganism of the old Roman religion dealt heavy blows to the early church. The simple church services soon became elaborate rituals centered around the Mass. Instead of hearing a proclamation of God’s Word, the congregation heard the mysterious chanting of Latin by oftentimes corrupt and illiterate priests.
The Roman Catholic Church throughout the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages zealously guarded the Bible from the common layman and left him virtually ignorant of the Word of God. It was during this medieval period that the monasteries performed a vital teaching function, keeping alive it flicker of hope. However, for the most part the Word was no longer preached, and the Bible “collected dust.”
Reformation a turning point – This deplorable situation began tn change significantly in 1517. A German monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 thesis to a church door in Wittenberg. The chain of events which this set in motion became one of the most important periods in both the history of the church and the history of the world. It was, of course, the Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation was several things. It was a reforming of Roman Catholic doctrines and church government. But most significantly of all, it brought the Bible to its rightful place in the church at the front and opened. And not only was the Bible merely put back on the pulpit, it was read and used! Men once again began to study and to preach God’s Word. God once again used the “foolishness” of preaching to save men and cause the Protestant movement to grow and flourish.
Preaching is so important today for us of the Protestant heritage that Roger S. Greenway writes: “Protestant Christianity stands or falls with its preaching. It was through biblical preaching that the Protestant Reformation began, and without such preaching there is little hope that the Protestant faith can survive” (The Banner, April 14, 1972, p. 6).
Another outstanding Protestant reformer was John Calvin of Geneva. Through his work and writings the Reformed churches have come into existence. Calvin placed heavy emphasis on the preaching of the Word; he himself preached often in a week’s time. Reformed churches to this day have generally sought to keep preaching primary, and so we of the Christian Reformed Church have also sought to keep up this tradition.
A sad decline – But the story of the Reformation in The Netherlands has not always been a good one. II is true that the Reformed churches there soon adopted the historic forms of unity of Reformed Christendom: the Belgic Confession (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Canons of Dordrecht (1618–19). But Arminianism, rationalism, and Labadism began to dilute the pure preaching of the Word.
A severe blow was dealt in 1816 when King William I of The Netherlands forced a new organization on the church. New ordination vows allowed ministers to preach practically anything they pleased (leervrijheid). Reformed preaching was seeing a low point.
Restoration in 1834 – A period of restoration began in 1834. On October 14 of that year, the Rev. Hendrik De Cock and his followers at Ulrum signed an Act of Separation. They sought to re-establish the marks of the true church. But the going was rough. The State church persecuted them, and the times were hard.
Consequently, many immigrated to America under the leadership of such men as Van Raalte and Scholte in 1846. There they established their churches. They decided to join the Reformed Church in America in June, 1849, unfortunately lacking the proper amount of information on what they were joining. It was soon discovered that the R.C.A. was neglecting catechismal preaching and teaching, among other errors. The break came in April, 1857, with four churches under the Rev. K. Vanden Bosch and the Rev. H. G. Klyn. It was a step back toward a purer church.
Preaching in the CRC – This is where we, the Christian Reformed Church, stand today. 111e preaching of the Word (or the lack of it) has had a long history. We can be very thankful to God that throughout our denomination’s history, we have zealously sought to preserve the pure preaching of God’s Word.
The early years were trying ones for us, due to a paucity of trained ministers. Our church fathers sought to correct this by establishing a theological school in 1876. This school, Calvin Seminary, has through the years given young men a scholarly, Reformed training, and this has been a great blessing to us and a source of our unity.
Catechism preaching – Another great source of unity is the strong tradition of catechism preaching. Article 54 of our Church Order requires the minister to regularly expound the fifty-two Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism. We do not preach on the Catechism only, nor do we hold the Catechism as being of divine inspiration. It is a systematized summary of doctrines contained in the Bible. ‘The great historian of the Christian Reformed Church, Dr. Henry Beets, discusses why we should continue this practice in his book, The Christian Reformed Church (pp.213–216):
1) It keeps a living contact with the past of our people.
2) Catechism-preaching constitutes a living bond of union between the different congregations of a denomination, and the different divisions of Reformed Christendom.
3) Catechism-preaching presents the truths of the Bible as a system.
4) Catechism-preaching safeguards the preacher from one-sidedness in his treatment of Bible truth.
5) The usefulness of Catechism-preaching is shown in the fact that unpleasant as well as pleasant things can be presented without shocking the congregation.
6) Catechism-preaching is useful because it magnifies religion as a living, soul-saving revelation, requiring personal embracing of God’s truth and God’s Savior.
7) The systematic preaching of the Heidelberg book equips a church-member for holding his ground and . defending and spreading his principles.
The Rev. R B. Kuiper once wrote: “I want to go on record as strongly favoring doctrinal preaching in general, preaching on the Heidelberg Catechism in particular” (As To Being Reformed, p. 158). He strongly suggests also that if catechismal preaching is neglected, Modernism will creep in and sweep our people away from the faith.
Similarly, Roger Greenway again writes: “Through the years, the most important characteristic of Christian Reformed worship services has been the maintenance of a consistently high standard of biblical preaching . . . . Preaching is central in Christian worship because preaching is God’s principal means of grace in men’s hearts” (The Banner, April 14, 1972, pp.6–7).
Our preaching, then, should contain four elements: proclamation, teaching, warning, and exhortation. The preacher should avoid a social gospel which leaves out the crucified Christ, and he should avoid a mere exposition of doctrine. Preaching is to be practical because Christianity is a life as well as a doctrine (Eph.4:12).
Contemporary innovations – Today, we are hearing many voices which say that we can remove the evening service and replace it with a film, a play, or some other “contemporary” innovation. Now, I doubt whether there are any among us that would deny that these forms can be used to proclaim the Gospel. I believe that they can be used effectively in the proper time and place, but they must never replace the simple declaration of preaching which says: “Thus says the Lord!”
Lester De Koster said it well when he wrote: “The power of the Church is the Word preached! This is no secret among us, and I repeat it here as a commonplace. We have always been a preaching denomination. We know sound preaching, good preaching, when we hear it; and across our denomination, week after week, we hear much of it. Let us thank God for it!” (The Banner, Oct. 16, 1970, p. 9).
May the Christian Reformed Church ever hold to the “foolishness” of the simple preaching of the Word!
“Last year a member of our congregation donated $1,000 to Dordt College to sponsor an essay contest. This contest was open to all young people of the CRC with awards to be used as scholarships at Dordt College. Papers were to be written on the topic: “What Is Ahead for the Christian Reformed Church?” The donor’s primary interest was to promote an understanding of and appreciation for the heritage which is ours in the CRC. As a pastor I am grateful for such a positive attitude towards our young people . . . .
“This year $1,000 was given to our consistory with the intent that the young people of Pella I would be encouraged to participate . . .” First place winner ($400) was Mark Vander Hart, Pre-Seminary student at Dordt.
Rev. Venema’s cooperation in complying with our request to make these prize-winning essays available for publication in THE OUTLOOK is greatly appreciated.
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:18, 21b).
Preaching—foolishness used by God to confound the wise and save the souls of men. In the above text Paul is saying some seemingly radical things. His tone seems to be almost anti-intellectual. But all that he is saying is that God uses simple things to redeem simple men and put to shame man’s wisdom. And He does it through the preaching or proclamation (kerygma) of the Word.
Hallmark of Christianity – It has been a distinctive hallmark of Christianity that, throughout her history, preaching has been one of the chief media which she has used to reach men. Our Lord Jesus Christ set the example for us when He “went about . . . preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23; Luke 4:16–19; etc.). He read the Law and expounded the Gospel with authority. Furthermore, through His Word the Lord continues this proclamation today.
Peter Y. De Jong writes: “In 1544 Luther preached the dedication sermon at the Castle Church at Torgan. He urged that in preaching ‘our Lord Himself speaks to us through His holy Word.’ This aptly summarizes the affirmations of our Lord and His apostles as well as the convictions of the believing congregation in every age” (The Banner, Oct. 30, 1970, p. 4). Therefore, we can see that the Christian Reformed Church has received a heritage richly rooted in something Christ Himself has ordained.
After Christ’s ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the apostles and upon the church for all time. This gave them both the courage and the ability to stand lip and preach the Word of God. And this led to three thousand souls being added to the church (Acts 2:41). This is how the early church grew. Paul and the Apostles travelled about the Roman world of that day, preaching the Gospel of Christ in the synagogues, in the public places. in private homes, wherever “two or three were gathered.”
God through the Holy Spirit used this “foolishness” of preaching to bring thousands to salvation in Christ. It became a regular practice for these early Christians to meet to hear preaching. Clement of Alexandria in the second century stated that “discourse about God” was the primary reason why Christians came together.
Corrupting influences – The Church, however, soon began to lose this emphasis on preaching the Word. After Christianity became the state religion, many corrupting influences began to enter and prevail in the church. The paganism of the old Roman religion dealt heavy blows to the early church. The simple church services soon became elaborate rituals centered around the Mass. Instead of hearing a proclamation of God’s Word, the congregation heard the mysterious chanting of Latin by oftentimes corrupt and illiterate priests.
The Roman Catholic Church throughout the Dark Ages and the Middle Ages zealously guarded the Bible from the common layman and left him virtually ignorant of the Word of God. It was during this medieval period that the monasteries performed a vital teaching function, keeping alive it flicker of hope. However, for the most part the Word was no longer preached, and the Bible “collected dust.”
Reformation a turning point – This deplorable situation began tn change significantly in 1517. A German monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 thesis to a church door in Wittenberg. The chain of events which this set in motion became one of the most important periods in both the history of the church and the history of the world. It was, of course, the Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation was several things. It was a reforming of Roman Catholic doctrines and church government. But most significantly of all, it brought the Bible to its rightful place in the church at the front and opened. And not only was the Bible merely put back on the pulpit, it was read and used! Men once again began to study and to preach God’s Word. God once again used the “foolishness” of preaching to save men and cause the Protestant movement to grow and flourish.
Preaching is so important today for us of the Protestant heritage that Roger S. Greenway writes: “Protestant Christianity stands or falls with its preaching. It was through biblical preaching that the Protestant Reformation began, and without such preaching there is little hope that the Protestant faith can survive” (The Banner, April 14, 1972, p. 6).
Another outstanding Protestant reformer was John Calvin of Geneva. Through his work and writings the Reformed churches have come into existence. Calvin placed heavy emphasis on the preaching of the Word; he himself preached often in a week’s time. Reformed churches to this day have generally sought to keep preaching primary, and so we of the Christian Reformed Church have also sought to keep up this tradition.
A sad decline – But the story of the Reformation in The Netherlands has not always been a good one. II is true that the Reformed churches there soon adopted the historic forms of unity of Reformed Christendom: the Belgic Confession (1561), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Canons of Dordrecht (1618–19). But Arminianism, rationalism, and Labadism began to dilute the pure preaching of the Word.
A severe blow was dealt in 1816 when King William I of The Netherlands forced a new organization on the church. New ordination vows allowed ministers to preach practically anything they pleased (leervrijheid). Reformed preaching was seeing a low point.
Restoration in 1834 – A period of restoration began in 1834. On October 14 of that year, the Rev. Hendrik De Cock and his followers at Ulrum signed an Act of Separation. They sought to re-establish the marks of the true church. But the going was rough. The State church persecuted them, and the times were hard.
Consequently, many immigrated to America under the leadership of such men as Van Raalte and Scholte in 1846. There they established their churches. They decided to join the Reformed Church in America in June, 1849, unfortunately lacking the proper amount of information on what they were joining. It was soon discovered that the R.C.A. was neglecting catechismal preaching and teaching, among other errors. The break came in April, 1857, with four churches under the Rev. K. Vanden Bosch and the Rev. H. G. Klyn. It was a step back toward a purer church.
Preaching in the CRC – This is where we, the Christian Reformed Church, stand today. 111e preaching of the Word (or the lack of it) has had a long history. We can be very thankful to God that throughout our denomination’s history, we have zealously sought to preserve the pure preaching of God’s Word.
The early years were trying ones for us, due to a paucity of trained ministers. Our church fathers sought to correct this by establishing a theological school in 1876. This school, Calvin Seminary, has through the years given young men a scholarly, Reformed training, and this has been a great blessing to us and a source of our unity.
Catechism preaching – Another great source of unity is the strong tradition of catechism preaching. Article 54 of our Church Order requires the minister to regularly expound the fifty-two Lord’s Days of the Heidelberg Catechism. We do not preach on the Catechism only, nor do we hold the Catechism as being of divine inspiration. It is a systematized summary of doctrines contained in the Bible. ‘The great historian of the Christian Reformed Church, Dr. Henry Beets, discusses why we should continue this practice in his book, The Christian Reformed Church (pp.213–216):
1) It keeps a living contact with the past of our people.
2) Catechism-preaching constitutes a living bond of union between the different congregations of a denomination, and the different divisions of Reformed Christendom.
3) Catechism-preaching presents the truths of the Bible as a system.
4) Catechism-preaching safeguards the preacher from one-sidedness in his treatment of Bible truth.
5) The usefulness of Catechism-preaching is shown in the fact that unpleasant as well as pleasant things can be presented without shocking the congregation.
6) Catechism-preaching is useful because it magnifies religion as a living, soul-saving revelation, requiring personal embracing of God’s truth and God’s Savior.
7) The systematic preaching of the Heidelberg book equips a church-member for holding his ground and . defending and spreading his principles.
The Rev. R B. Kuiper once wrote: “I want to go on record as strongly favoring doctrinal preaching in general, preaching on the Heidelberg Catechism in particular” (As To Being Reformed, p. 158). He strongly suggests also that if catechismal preaching is neglected, Modernism will creep in and sweep our people away from the faith.
Similarly, Roger Greenway again writes: “Through the years, the most important characteristic of Christian Reformed worship services has been the maintenance of a consistently high standard of biblical preaching . . . . Preaching is central in Christian worship because preaching is God’s principal means of grace in men’s hearts” (The Banner, April 14, 1972, pp.6–7).
Our preaching, then, should contain four elements: proclamation, teaching, warning, and exhortation. The preacher should avoid a social gospel which leaves out the crucified Christ, and he should avoid a mere exposition of doctrine. Preaching is to be practical because Christianity is a life as well as a doctrine (Eph.4:12).
Contemporary innovations – Today, we are hearing many voices which say that we can remove the evening service and replace it with a film, a play, or some other “contemporary” innovation. Now, I doubt whether there are any among us that would deny that these forms can be used to proclaim the Gospel. I believe that they can be used effectively in the proper time and place, but they must never replace the simple declaration of preaching which says: “Thus says the Lord!”
Lester De Koster said it well when he wrote: “The power of the Church is the Word preached! This is no secret among us, and I repeat it here as a commonplace. We have always been a preaching denomination. We know sound preaching, good preaching, when we hear it; and across our denomination, week after week, we hear much of it. Let us thank God for it!” (The Banner, Oct. 16, 1970, p. 9).
May the Christian Reformed Church ever hold to the “foolishness” of the simple preaching of the Word!