What can the righteous do?


The information that we provide is not only intended for concerned members in the Reformed Churches (liberated)in the Netherlands (GKV- Gereformeerde Kerken Vrijgemaakt) but also for the members of the DGK- De Gereformeerde Kerken (RCNr). Also for them it is good to receive information. For the call applies to us as well: Let us repent! In 2003 we publicly declared our liberation with this call – which shows that we did not look only at ecclesiastical assemblies and their decisions.

At the information meetings it was a special delight, that we as concerned members of the GKV and as church members of the DGK could be together, could sing our psalms together, and also join together in prayer.

The foundations torn down?

The title of this article is taken from Psalm 11.

If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

That is the first of three places in Scripture that I would like to elaborate upon.

It is about the situation that the foundations, the foundation pillars, are destroyed. And then follows: what must the righteous do?

Firstly: Is it really so, that the foundations have been destroyed? What are these fundaments, these foundations?

Particularly in the New Testament it is made clear that the foundation of the church and thus also of our entire life is: that of apostles and prophets, that is God’s Word, Eph. 2:20. And then particularly the entire word of God.

 

It has been repeatedly pointed out that today in the GKV all sorts of decisions and developments concern the foundations.

If a foundation is not strong, a house will sink; there are clear signals of this in several churches. People experience this in Groningen and surroundings! 1)

Appropriately so, everyone is concerned about this. But what about the real foundation of our entire life?

After all the deviations in the area of ethics, views on the church, the liturgy, the preaching, now there is a new concern: namely that of the place of man/woman in the church.

I am not telling you anything new when I point out to you that these developments arise from the fact that the Bible, no longer unabridged, from cover to cover, is recognized as the Word of God.

All deviations stem from Scripture criticism.

 

In 1926 Scripture criticism was rejected by the Reformed Churches when Dr. Geelkerken’s views about the speaking of the serpent and therefore many more miracles in the Bible, were denied. Although in the GKV the doctrinal statement of 1926 regarding Holy Scripture has not been officially withdrawn as is the case in the synodical churches, it is however openly criticized, even by teachers at the Theological University in Kampen. And Scripture criticism is increasingly being broadly applied to all kinds of contents of Scripture. It continues to work its way through and then as a final product we hear that the offices in the church must be opened to women; what the Bible says about this is not the Word of God in our time, but only flows from views of the past, that have long been outdated. That’s the motto: we must keep up with the times! Again and again we hear that we must adjust to modern culture. And that works its way into the church in all areas.

This is defended by striving not to put any obstacles on the path to the church, which would happen by holding on to the validity of Scriptural commandments precisely in our time. Due to broad changes in culture it is believed the commandments need to be adjusted to the culture of our time.

In fact this means that two clear truths are no longer considered: firstly that the Lord already knew about our time and cultural changes long in advance before they came to realization and yet gave His commandments for all ages.

Secondly that the Lord also in advance has said that the gospel of the Lord would not only be an offense and foolishness in the time of the apostles, but especially so towards the end of time. The Lord Jesus Christ has said Himself that if that time would not be cut short no one would be saved.

 

On the other hand the influence of the evangelical movement is becoming increasingly stronger in the GKV.

This is partly due to speaking about one’s own choice for Jesus: I have accepted Jesus in my heart.

I have chosen Him and have a personal relationship with Him.

Thereby the covenant that the Lord established with believers and their children is totally neglected. It means that those who think this way, no longer live out of the strength of God’s promise. He was and is the First in our lives. He Himself has said: before they call, I will answer.

It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, He seals in the baptism what we have in Christ.

This then naturally leads to the rejection of infant baptism and leads to the so-called rebaptism. This is taking place more and more often. But what is disturbing is: this is being tolerated more and more within the GKV.

 

If the church no longer confesses the truth of God’s Word, but adjusts its interpretation and effect to the culture of today, then the foundations become unstable. Yes, they are even torn down. And that not only for the church members, but also for entire society.

The tragedy is that precisely this unfaithfulness of the church and its heresy has its effect in culture. For the church has a message for the world.

The reversal of all values in society, in politics, is the result of the lie in the church. That culture becomes more and more secular, more and more unchristian, yes even becomes anti-Christ, is the church’s fault, since it does not banish the deadly poison of scripture criticism.

 

This is what Psalm 11 says: the foundations are destroyed.

We see so much false prophecy, that destroys the church. Also the churches that were dear to us, brothers and sisters that we love, we see them fall prey to the forces of deformation.

We grieve because of this, precisely because of our love for them.

Our warnings stem from that love.

It is good to emphasize this once more. Indeed, we repeatedly receive the accusation that the love for those who are straying is lacking and that we only rigidly defend the doctrine under the motto: it’s all or nothing.

But our Lord Jesus Christ wills that we love Him and therefore also love each other, and that must show, says the Saviour, in the fact that we keep his commandments!

What can the righteous do?

But now that second piece of Scripture in Psalm 11:

What can the righteous do?

Is this question in Psalm 11 applicable to the situation of today?

 

Firstly, does that really apply to us? Can we call ourselves righteous? Is this not arrogant?

Righteous people are often spoken of in the psalms. And yes, we may apply that to ourselves. Not in the sense that we are satisfied with our own piety, but in the sense of Lord’s Day 23 of the Catechism, namely that we are righteous through faith, insofar as we accept all the benefits of Christ with a believing heart.

 

What can the righteous do? In the Hebrew language there are only two words for this: ‘what - do’. This can be translated in several ways: what can the righteous do, what shall he do, what must he do? A nice translation is this: what can the righteous otherwise do? And that points back to verse 1: In the LORD I put my trust.

That is a short summary of what we all must do: put our trust in the LORD. In anxiety and distress I lift up my soul to you.

When you are called to liberate yourself – then that is the effect of what Psalm 11 says about the command of the Lord to sanctify His name.

And in the same time to keep yourself from straying.

 

This brings me to the second text: 2 Tim. 2:19.

This comes from the second epistle of the apostle Paul to Timothy, Paul’s spiritual son. First Timothy is warned which sad developments he should expect. The false prophecy will multiply; the attempts of the devil, the father of lies, by which he especially aims at the believers, will be more and more crafty; unless those days were shortened, nobody would be saved. This applies even more so for our time.

 

But then Timothy is comforted and we as well:

Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal:

That is a seal with the inscription:

‘The Lord knows those who are His’.

This ‘knowing’ means that He will take care that we are preserved from all the errors. This comfort may lead you when you think about this promise: The Lord cares.

Depart from the iniquity

But then you also need to think about the second part of that seal ( 2 Tim. 2:19b):

‘Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity.’

This is a word we find in various places in the Bible and each time it means: leave, no longer go along, Acts 12:10, 15:38, 19:9!

There we hear the deepest motive for coming to liberation. It is about the name of the Lord; His honour; in remembrance of His great deeds.

Because it is our calling to make mention of the name of the Lord! The Lord wants us to remember His deeds; the wonders that He has done and still does; to live out of this and to speak about this and thereby make mention of His name, Is. 26:13. In our entire life, our thoughts, words and actions, we must hallow His name. That is the first petition in the prayer Christ Himself taught us.

 

But we can only do that if we also listen, if the Lord tells us to break with iniquity, yes He even once said to His people: Depart! Depart! Go out from there, touch no unclean thing, Is. 52:11

That is the first and foremost motive for liberation. Would it not be burdensome, despite your protests, to take part in those sins of departure of Scripture? And to be guilty as well of the dishonoring of the holy Name of our God?

Flee these things

And now the third piece of Scripture: 1 Tim. 6:11.

But you, O man of God, flee these things.

There we hear that the Lord calls us to the obedience of faith, to preserve us. To pluck you from the fire!

Perhaps you may ask yourself: am I acting responsibly if I liberate myself? Should I not continue to fight and in that way try to turn back the deformation and achieve restoration?

But then you must especially consider that you may call for a partial return to Scripture, but it is precisely about the basis: the Scripture criticism. It is about the foundation!

 

Therefore we must recognize: the past has clearly taught us that continually calling for revision has led to a path that is impassable. Also a path that is dangerous. Think about the youth! Yes, think about yourself! It is a real danger to become accustomed to the deformation of the church. If you are honest and think back to the past, must you not come to the conclusion that you went further down the path of deformation than you ever thought possible and that you weren’t planning on? That is the danger of becoming accustomed to sin.

This applies to you today as well: for the sake of your lives, come out of her!

Fleeing from those temptations is not cowardly but rather the path that the Lord Himself has directed.

This is not because we would like to grow, small as we are. But because we desire to share in the riches and the security and the joy and the safety, for you and your children, in the church of Christ. That you also may enjoy, each Sunday and every day, the sanctifying work of the great Shepherd of the sheep, Christ- through His servants, the undershepherds, in the communion of saints.

 

No, we are not a perfect church. We also must wholly live out of grace.

Far be it from us to take pride in our church obedience.

We profess that it is the Lord who set us free and brought us to obedience. We continually need the Lord to preserve us by His Word; and to allow ourselves to be built up on that foundation alone.

 

In the exile in Babylon, Zephaniah says they were far away from the festive gatherings, far from Jerusalem. But the Lord brought back His people. As a meek and humble people, Zeph. 3:12, 18. After Ezra’s arrival in Jerusalem from exile in Babylon, he lists the names of those who returned – oh, what a paltry number! So many chose to stay behind. But then Ezra professes: As many whose spirits God had moved, arose to go up and build the house of the LORD. Ezra 1:5.

This is the way we profess our liberation as well : it was not our work, but the work of the Lord.

This is what you need to pray the Lord for; to also work this in your heart.

 

The complaint in Psalm 102 (vs 1 and 13) is very applicable:

 

Hear my prayer, O Lord,

And let my cry come to You.

You will arise and have mercy on Zion;

For the time to favor her,

Yes, the set time, has come.

 

Lastly I would like to impress upon your heart that you can only come to such a decision when you know for certain: ‘This is what the Lord asks of me. This is the way the Lord is directing me.’ How can you come to such certainty? Well, you know the answer: He desires your prayers (Ps. 25:2, rhymed version):

 

Show Thou unto me, Thy servant,

All Thy ways and teach Thou me,

So that, by Thy Spirit guided,

Clearly I Thy paths may see.

In Thy truth wilt Thou me guide.

 

If you pray this uprightly, peace will dwell in your heart.

 

Because you also know: The Lord is a hearer of prayers.

What joy does the Lord then give! About the brothers and sisters that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, to a city in ruins, to their properties that strangers had taken possession of, to devastated cities, about those the Lord says beforehand:

So the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Is. 51:11.

 

Everlasting joy - it is about the future of the church. It is about your future and that of your children. Gladness despite hardship and sadness- because liberation comes with that as well, we know that already beforehand. It is a narrow path. But it is the path following Christ, He goes ahead of us.

The Lord says: you must weep as though you do not weep. Because we may now already enjoy the marriage feast of the Lamb. The joy that fills our lives and will remain.

Cling to His promises.

Yes the Lord comes to liberate and the redeemed shall return home, praising the name of the Lord.

 

Yes, God’s people shall safely live and the future generations shall always enjoy His peace.

 

1) With this, dr. Van Gurp points to the housing situation in Groningen, where small earth tremors – caused by gas drilling – damages many homes.