Theological development

In my theological development, I can distinguish different stages. It was a great discovery for me that the Lord offers grace in the gospel. The difference between law and gospel means that all people are condemned by the law, but also that the gospel is preached to everybody. Everyone is invited to come to Jesus. God is in earnest with sinners. It was not self-evident for me. But the discovery of this aspect of the gospel gave personally much joy and influenced my first sermons very strong.

The forementioned development made my preaching somewhat one-sided. I preached the law and I preached the gospel. But I had not so much attention for the work of the Spirit in the soul of a human being. Every sermon had the same contents. I closed with a strong appeal to come to Jesus by faith.

A second discovery for me was the existence of the triune God. I remember that I had to preach to first time from the Heidelberger Catechism on the Trinity in sunday 8. I was a very bad sermon. That gave prayer in my life for a clear understanding of the mystery of God. By study and prayer to Lord teached me. By now I see that mentioning the name Christ means that He is send by the Father and anointed with the Holy Spirit.

Especially the Person and the work of the Holy Spirit got attention in my sermons. It was also in that time that I wrote a book on the work of the Spirit. I saw that it is right to preach the work of the Spirit in the soul of human being. Especially the Psalms and also the book of Solomon Song of Songs give us the freedom to deal with the inward work. Marks of christianity are scriptural. Church history makes us clear that the Lord has blessed the preaching of the marks of a christian wonderful.

Speaking on the work of the Spirit means that our message is distinctive. There is not a gradual but a principal difference between the christian and the almost christian. Especially preachers as Edwards and Whitefield preached the power of godliness. Regeneration is not a certain way of living or certain convictions, but the indwelling of the Spirit. We are not bettered, but renewed. It is not enough to preach the invitation to faith, but we have to explain the essence of faith. It means that our hearts are broken, that we are rightless and helpless people. Living with Jesus is a dying life. We never independantly possess spiritual life, because it remains a mystery.

When preaching for the first time on the Catechism I had another problem also. In question 4 we read that Christ teaches us the law. I did not understand that. I thought that Christ was completely separated from the law. I was of opinion that there is a strong separation between law and gospel. We belong to the one or to the other. Now I see more distinctions. We are under the covenant of grace by birth. The law is given in connection with the covenant of grace. It is the grace to learn our sins. In justification the law only condemns us and the gospel is the exact opposite of the law in only giving. But in sanctification we have to do with the law. The law remains in our lives to show us our sins. Walking in the Spirit does not mean the end of the law, but fulfills the rigtheousness of the law (Romans 8:3-4).

The importancy of the covenant has given me a new view on baptism and infant-baptism. It teaches us that salvation is outside ourselves. Real spiritual life does not mean that we depend on our conversion (however necessary!), but on the eternal Word of God. If all comforts fail us, we may say with Luther: "I am baptised".

In connection with the foregoing theological insight, the Spirit led me in the meaning of Romans 7. This chapter is of crucial importance in reformed theology. This chapter has not to do with the beginning christian or the christian in a bad spiritual state, but with the powerful christian. He has a delight in the law of God (vers 22). It gave me much freedom that it is not necessary to be perfect in christian life. In all christian experience there is a cross. We are longing for the life with God. Then we will be perfect. This does not mean that there is no radicalism and seriousness in the christian life. We have to mortify our flesh.

There is another field in which I have struggled with much problems. Coming from the Old Reformed Congreations I wondered what is the real church of God in the Netherlands. In the history of these congregations there was a longing for going back to the Dutch Reformed Church. Convinced of the necessity of unity in the church I saw my way in this church. Especially because the standards of this church are still reformed.

The last years the Re-union with the Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland en de Evangelisch Lutherse Kerk put anew the question in my heart after the church of God. The big problem with this SOW-process is the leaving of the reformed standards and the adaption of liberal documents. By the study of Calvin I saw that the doctrine is as the soul of the body of Christ. We cannot compromise in the confessions of faith. The christians in the first centuries were allowed to be christian if they only offered to Ceasar. The refused that, because they could not deny their Lord and Saviour. I am of opinion that the standards of the church are a confession of Christ. Signing liberal standards means a denying of Christ.

At the moment I am busy with my doctrate thesis on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the revivaltheology of Jonathan Edwards.