I Love Christmas!

Rev. J. de Jonge. Trowel & Sword. Dec. 2010

Preamble: Christmas can mean many different things for different people. In this article Rev. de Jonge takes us through his own experiences growing up and ultimately, what Christmas means for the Gospel story and the message of salvation.

I Love Christmas!

“For [God] chose us in [our Lord Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.
Ephesians 1:4

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16

“The time came for the baby to be born, and [Mary] gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:6b,7

In recent memory there can’t be many Christmases that haven’t been high on my list of favourite times in the year, and often, highest. So why is that? Some obvious reasons that quickly come to mind include:

  • Christmas celebrations with family and friends. 
  • Extra public holidays and annual holiday in January most years.
  • More time to spend with family and friends over bbq’s, outings, activities, etc,
  • Less midweek deadlines in the average working week eg no Session meetings, catechism, etc.

But then, as I think back to my earliest memories of Christmas, it has always been that way. As far back as I can remember I have always loved the Christmas season.

One of my earliest memories of Christmas involves a church activity. It must have been a Sunday school breakup or Christmas Carols evening, probably at Toowong Reformed Church, with Rev Westra (I think) giving the kids each a box of Jaffas. It’s connected to another memory – maybe the same event, maybe another – of spending much of my time ducking behind the pulpit from one side to the other for the best vantage point on the different activities happening on the stage in front of us. I must have been about four or five years old.

Other early memories involve family events and traditions. The first thing that comes to mind is a family habit of opening Christmas presents soon after returning home from the Christmas church service, now in Inala church, probably aged six and older. Those memories include hot, sticky Christmas services in the muggy, Queensland, December weather. Afterwards we would head home, change into something more comfortable, enjoy a quick morning tea, and spend whatever time it took to take turns unwrapping present after present that dad or mum handed out from under the tree until they were all opened.

Other family traditions my parents started that quickly come to mind and still give Christmas season a special aura include putting out milk and oranges on Christmas Eve for Santa and the Reindeers. They were always gone the next morning, and I even vaguely remember Dad once finding the empty cup sitting on one of the ceiling fan blades.

And some years we would spend Christmas afternoon at a favourite park where there was a playground to enjoy, kangaroos, wallabies and emus in an enclosure, and big sprawling trees to climb. I can still remember how the park looked as you topped the last rise in the road approaching it, probably burned into my memory by the anticipation of arriving in a few seconds for another happy couple of hours play.

These kinds of activities, routines, and traditions have left me with hundreds of happy memories of my childhood Christmases. And as a parent now myself, my wife Nicky and I have consciously included elements like these in our family celebrations of Christmas, hopefully giving our children hundreds of similar happy memories to look back on in their years to come.

Some people who study these things conclude that happy memories of family and church are vitally important in the faith formation of children, and as I think back on my memories, I can understand why that might be true. An interesting thing in all of this is that memories of Christmas church events seem to date back further than those of family, although I strongly suspect that family influences have ultimately played a stronger role in my faith formation than church – not that I am minimising the positive influence of Church at all.

And one thing that surprises me a lot is that the Christmas story, and the gospel message, seem to be missing from those early memories altogether. It all seems to be about Jaffas, milk and oranges, opening presents, and visiting the park, etc. And as I talk to my wife, she feels some guilt at having to admit the same thing. We feel that it shouldn’t be that way, but if we’re honest, it is.

On the other hand, as I think about it, the Christmas story and the gospel message do underpin those memories. I only attended Christmas church events, because my parents were committed Christians. And the family traditions we enjoyed and remember were built on a gospel understanding of the meaning of Christmas, even if Santa played a part. I have extended family members who worry that those of us who don’t include Santa at the heart of Christmas are depriving our children, ‘How is Christmas going to be anything special? How is it going to mean anything special?’ But that definitely wasn’t a concern in our family. Family life generally, including Christmas celebrations, revolved around devotion to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, God come to earth in the flesh, to save his people from their sins. And later memories I have confirm that without any doubt. And so, paradoxically, I believe that ultimately the strongest influence in the shaping of the child I was and the person I am today is ultimately the thing I remember least in those earliest memories – the gospel message at the heart of a true understanding of Christmas.

Recently in our evening church services, based on the Belgic Confession, we have been considering the amazing message that Christmas really is, without actually applying it to Christmas itself.

God, the Creator of every created thing, the King of the universe, who continues to sustain and control it all by his awesome power – from galaxies down to atoms, in the second person of the Trinity stepped down from his perfectly holy and glorious throne in heaven, and took on human nature, becoming like us in every way except for sin. And so Jesus, God and yet also man, was conceived in the virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And on that first Christmas Day he was born as a baby, in an animal shelter, and laid in their food trough – the humblest of the humble. He grew, and matured into a child and then a man, with his purpose and destiny from eternity past that he die on a cross, the righteous that we might be made righteous, the sinless for the sins of others. And he rose again on the third day to new life, so that in him, believing sinners might have new life, having been atoned for, redeemed, made right with God, declared by God to be holy and blameless in his sight. And ultimately, we will share in his glory for all eternity, transformed into his likeness.

When you think about it like that, isn’t the Christmas message an amazing message of Gods’ generous love, mercy, and grace to us who least deserve it? Where else do you find a message like that? Does atheism offer a message like that – with it presenting us as the products of random chance in a chaotic, disorderly universe, with no purpose to our lives, and nothing to look forward to after death? Of course it doesn’t. Does any other worldview, religion, or ideology offer a message that comes even close? And they don’t. The only other message on offer is a works gospel – save yourself, pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, with no guarantee that you can, and no assurance that you will. The Christmas message – the gospel message – stands alone as a message of hope and grace when it comes to the big questions and ultimate issues of life.

And so, at a superficial level, I can say that I love Christmas because of the perks that come with the season and great times with family and friends. But after some rambling thought, at a deeper level, I’ve got to admit that there’s much more to it than that. I love Christmas because God first loved me. I love Christmas because he worked out his love in an amazing way that we will never fully understand or comprehend. I love Christmas because he has included me, through faith in Jesus Christ, in the message of hope and grace that is the only one on offer. I love Christmas!

John de Jonge

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Christianity or Churchianity?

Rev. J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1955

Preamble: This is the last of four articles John Westendorp looked at in his walk back through history. In it Rev J.W. Deenick responds to the suggestion by an unnamed but apparently well-known Christian worker that the world needs Christianity but not the plethora of denominations which existed even then and has literally exploded in number in more recent times.

Christianity or Churchianity?

An Inconsistent Statement

A few months ago an outstanding Christian worker visited New Zealand, and interviewed by the Press he stated that he had come to spread his conviction that what men and women want today is Christianity not churchianity. That might seem to be a real good statement.

In these days of confusion we need Christianity in the original beauty and purity of its faith and life. As for the church, men and women of the twentieth century cannot expect any real answer to their modern-day problems from that quarter. You hardly know where to find the church of Christ in these days. There are plenty of denominations but where is the church? Although thousands and thousands of so-called clergymen and other full-time workers are giving the best of their ability for the glory and welfare of the denominations, although millions and millions of English pounds and American dollars are being spent daily for numberless local churches, nevertheless the influence of the church is hardly perceptible in western life. How many people go to their pastor for help in their family problems? How many adolescents expect support from their ministers in the difficulties and temptations of their young life? Let us be frank. The cinemas are playing a more prominent and a more influential part in present-day life than the churches.

The churches have lost their influence.
We need Christianity, not churchianity!
Do not you think, that is a wise and consistent statement?
It is neither wise nor consistent.

I can quite understand how people came to lose their expectations with respect to the Christian church. You do not need a very deep insight into the present situation to discover how disappointing church life very often is, but even that does not justify the pronouncement, that we need Christianity instead of churchianity. What sort of “Christianity” is meant? In the bible “Christianity,” Christian faith always includes loyalty to the church of Christ. In the bible the Lord Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of His Body, the Church, who has given us [in the n.t.] very clear and distinct commands concerning the organisation of His Body, His people on earth. When preaching “Christianity” I can easily avoid such particular parts of God’s word, which deal with the life and the organisation of the church of Christ. I can easily invent a self styled gospel including e.g. justification and sanctification and a little bit of the Christian home. But nobody can claim that “Christianity”,  curtailed and mutilated that way, is identical with the Christianity of the bible.

Christianity without “churchianity” is no Christianity at all.

He who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, will also love the Church of our Lord, not only with a platonic sort of love, which dreams of a church in the skies, but with an active and fruitful love, that is serving the church of Jesus in that visible and local church which an uncurtailed gospel is preached and a Christian discipline faithfully maintained.

Where shall I find the Church?

However, where shall I find the church, where I can trust the gospel preaching and where the Body of Christ is kept holy? Imagine that I happened to be born from a Roman Catholic father and a Methodist (or Uniting) mother, and that I am “christened” in the Methodist (Uniting) church. By attending an Anglican Sunday School I became related to the Church of England in which I am confirmed as a communicant member. I married a Presbyterian girl, which made the situation still more complicated. After some deliberation however, I decided to join the Presbyterians also, for the sake of unity in the family. Without any difficulty I was accepted in the Presbyterian communion and we were quite happy in the Presbyterian Church until some very deplorable troubles with the pastor occurred. After these incidents we could not very well stay and we did not know what to do, until some very intimate friends invited us to their Baptist congregation, where we have found a really enjoyable spiritual home so far by means of an open membership.

As for our family, my brothers and sisters are scattered about the various churches in this country. Leaving out of consideration two of them, who are not very church-minded at all, one of my brothers is a missionary for the “open-brethren” in China, one of my sisters regularly attends the meetings of the Salvation Army, the army hall being very near to where she lives. Only one of us, a sister, a very remarkable woman, stayed in the Methodist Church all her life. She is an out and out Methodist. She is even overdoing it a little bit, for in her opinion nothing in the world is as good as the Methodist Church. If that is our situation, where shall we find the one church, that remained true to the gospel and to the commands of the Lord Jesus?

Two present-day remedies

In order to save Christianity (“by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed”) from total destruction, I hear two remedies recommended, one by the evangelical movement, another by the ecumenical movement.

The evangelical movement

I very often hear the advice: Do not worry about the church! Preach the gospel! That is what really counts: gospel-preaching and soul-winning. Christ is the Head of the Church, certainly, but that church is invisible and consists of all God’s born-again children, gathered from all the denominations. The invisible church is the only church we believe in. She is one in Christ. As a rule the visible denominations are more a hindrance than a help to the actual coming of the Kingdom of Christ.The Lord has always achieved His most striking results outside the churches. Spiritual revival only very seldom originated from the denominations.

What we need today is evangelists, men and women zealous for gospel-preaching and soul-winning. The days of the denominations are gone. Interdenominational evangelism is the only answer to the problems of the Christian church. Many of my readers might tend to accept this way of reasoning as very true. Is it not right that the only church we consistently can believe in, is the invisible church of God’s own people and that the present situation requires an extensive evangelisation movement in disregard of the denominations?However, I am afraid, some very serious questions still remain unanswered.

What gospel are we going to preach and what bible are we going to use? I cannot preach the whole of the Word of God when I have to avoid speaking about the church permanently. I have to leave my new testament closed in relation to the epistle of Paul to Titus and to the Book of Revelations, chapters 3 and 4. I cannot preach about Titus I: 5, 3:10, Rev. 2: 15, Cor. 5: 1,2, Cor. 16: I and so many other texts, without expounding what the N.T. church was and still has to be. The church of  the n.t. was a visible church and an organised church, a church with elders and deacons, with discipline and even with excommunication. I cannot be an obedient child of the Lord Jesus, when I disregard His clear and categorical commands for the life of His church. And what about the apostle Paul? You would like to call him the great evangelist of the early Christian church?

You are right. But was not he the great organiser of the early visible church as well?Therefore when someone states that what we need today is: Christianity not churchianity, I open my English bible and look up how many times in my N.T. the word church is used, and how many times it is used to indicate the visible organised church.

The ecumenical movement

Another remedy is recommended however: the panacea of church-union. What we need is an intensive church-union movement, and the reconciliation of the controversies among the denominations. The world wants: One Christian church. We cannot go on quarrelling about minor points. When we all agree in the main articles of the Christian faith, when we all profess the Lord Jesus Christ to be our God and Saviour, why should we not unite as Christians within one national church and ultimately within one ecumenical church?

It is all very well to be a Methodist, or a Presbyterian or a Baptist, but Methodism and Presbyterianism and the Baptist conviction are no more than varieties of the one Christian faith. If we could only achieve combining within one national church the Methodist emphasis on justification and holiness of life, the Presbyterian heritage of free grace and church-discipline, and the Baptist message of personal regeneration and testimony, our united forces would appear to be strengthened unproportionately (sic) in the fight against secularisation and unbelief. They would, indeed. But what if the Presbyterians have lost their heritage, the Methodists forgotten their emphasis and if we still cannot accept the Baptist rejection of the covenant of grace in which the children of God’s people are included?

The problem with every church-union is, that when there is no real spiritual unity the spiritual power of the united church will rather be weakened than strengthened. When there is no unanimity in the conception of the Christian faith, a perfect Babel of theological and religious tongues will enter the church. One part of the church will continue to pull down what the other part has built up. Therefore we are all for church-union when it establishes a real unity of scriptural faith and reformed practice, when the command of Paul is obeyed, that no pastor, who is a “heretic”, will be tolerated within the united churches and that wicked person who puts the church to shame will be rejected from among God’s people.

Christ’s command

The only answer to our problems, I read in the bible, is that we should take up the reformation and sanctification of the church. That is the command of Christ. We should repudiate the shameful destruction of the church of Christ by those who oppose the gospel and reject the authority of the Word of God. This faithful fight for reformation will very often result in being cast out from the “tolerant” church, and other secessions will happen, “making it still harder for modern man amidst splintered church life to recognise the will and purposes of the One True God.” But let us not be afraid of these consequences, if they lead to new strength and a better missionary impact.” (Rev. J. Vander Bom).

What men and women need today is Christianity instead of churchianity, it may be said. I would rather say: what men and women need today is the Church of Christ, as visible as she appears to be in the n.t. and as true to the commands of Jesus. The world needs a church we can trust, that does not contradict itself continually and is not divided against itself internally. A church that preaches the whole of the gospel. To such a church parents will come with their problems and adolescents with their difficulties and doubts.

Rev. J.W. Deenick

We look forward to receiving feedback about any of our posts. We also encourage you to share our posts with family, friends and acquaintances; in fact anyone you think may appreciate and/or benefit from the knowledge and wisdom handed down to us from the past.   To view previous posts visit our website at www.tsrevisited.com

Be on the look out for “Trowel & Sword Special Edition”, December 2025 which has been sent out to all churches last week in both hard copy (limited number) and electronic versions (unlimited numbers through a dropbox link).

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Catechism Classes

Rev. Prof. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb. 1965

Preamble: This is the third instalment of John Westendorp’s look back through time in 1995, “This Month in Trowel And Sword History” and he found that thirty years earlier, in the Jan/Feb. 65 edition, Prof. K. Runia wrote this article about Catechism classed. In it Runia asked, “Do WE still realise the importance of this work?” Today, in 2025 we could ask the same question. How many churches still conduct catechism classes for their younger members; and of those that do, how many are still run by the minister? It would not surprise me if many would say, “We no longer need them because we now have Christian Schools.” The counter argument would be that Christian Schools do not teach the things we learned in catechism classes. So, are we, as a Church, still fulfilling the promise we make every time a child is baptised to help in the upbringing of that child in the Lord? In 1965 Prof. Runia thought it was of vital importance. Do we?

Catechism Classes

About this time of the year catechism classes commence again in all our churches. In the churches of the Reformed tradition this aspect of church work has always been regarded as of the greatest importance. In fact, it has been one of the main reasons for the strength of these churches.

It is one of the greatest weaknesses of many Australian churches that they have neglected this work. In most cases the churches leave the instruction of the children largely to the Sunday school and afterwards to the youth clubs. Recently a Church of England minister told me that in most Anglican churches the young people, at the age of 13 or 14, receive some basic instruction during SIX WEEKS prior to their confirmation. This is all the official teaching they receive! As an Evangelical this minister insisted on a training period of six months, but, said he, “I cannot possibly keep them any longer”.

Do WE still realise the importance of this work? The young people of today are the church of tomorrow. What will this church be like? Will it be a vigorous, dedicated church, well aware of its riches, well instructed in the doctrine of the Scriptures, well prepared for its witnessing task to the world around it? The answer depends on the work of today! For this reason it may be good for us all to give some thought to this work at the beginning of the new year. We mention the following points.

1. The minister should always keep in mind the REAL PURPOSE of this work. The first aim is not to impart cold facts merely to be memorised but rather to share with the young people the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus for their eternal salvation and unto the glory of God.

2. For this reason the teaching should be charged with ENTHUSIASM AND CONVICTION. Children immediately feel whether the minister does his work with a warm heart ,or whether it is a matter of mere routine. Enthusiasm and conviction are not TAUGHT but CAUGHT. The love for the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s self-revelation in Him should burn in the heart and words of the minister. He should make it crystal clear to the young people why we are REFORMED, and in connection with this also why the establishment and continuation of our Churches were and are a necessity. These matters should be impressed on their minds, when they are still wide open for such impressions. And these convictions must be communicated with LOVE. Love is contagious, but – it will last only when it is based on a solid foundation of knowledge and appreciation.

3. The minister should PREPARE HIMSELF carefully and painstakingly. This applies equally to the young, inexperienced and to the old, experienced minister. There is perhaps no greater danger for catechism work than the idea: “I know how to do it, therefore I can skip preparation”. At the beginning of the year the minister should have ready a working plan for the whole year. In fact this should be part of a much wider plan that covers the whole period of catechetical instruction say from the age of 12 – 20). The plan should be concentrical, so that throughout the years the material is studied in ever wider compass. Personally I prefer a working plan based on the Heidelberg Catechism. I still  believe that the practical approach of our Catechism (what is your only comfort? what does it profit you? etc.) is the best starting point for a really spiritual discussion. In this way we will not only deal with the doctrines of our faith, but also with the ethical implications (the Ten Commandments) and the devotional aspects the Lord’s Prayer).

The minister should further aim at an ACTIVE PARTICIPATION of his class in the work. It might be helpful to prepare two or three questions, which the young people discuss among themselves during the last quarter of an hour. In our youth clubs and camps we use this method and it proves to be very helpful in getting them all ‘engaged’ and ‘involved’. Anyhow, let every minister examine his own method and ask himself, whether it needs any revision. Once again, keep clear of routine!

4. We should insist on REGULAR ATTENDANCE. Here the parents have a great task. Do not be tricked by your children, when they complain about schoolwork or other duties. In most cases it is nothing else than an excuse. Remember what you promised at the baptismal font: “to instruct these children… and cause them to be instructed…”. Ministers should have cards to be sent to parents every time a boy or girl is absent without notice. I did this in one of my congregations in Holland and within two months the attendance of my catechism classes jumped from 50% to 95%! And it stayed there too!

At this point I also mention the duty of the session members to visit the classes regularly. At the beginning of the year a schedule should be prepared. Every elder should attend at least one of the classes once a year. The minister should appreciate this and encourage it. Catechetical instruction is actually the work of the whole session!  Why not at the same time make a schedule to visit the youth clubs?

5. Catechism work is the ‘school work’ of the church. This means that the young people should have a fixed portion of HOMEWORK every week. I do not mind in what form it is given, as long as it is being done. Our boys and girls will never take this work seriously, if they have nothing to do for it. Let a minister use a book that contains questions to be studied (and answered in writing!) at home, or let him prepare questions. Exercise books are still rather cheap. And let the parents see to it that this work is done at home. If the minister finds out that the children neglect this work, he should again inform the parents, e.g., by a printed notice. I can guarantee him that this works miracles!

6. All this work should be surrounded by PRAYER. The minister should never commence a catechism class without first having prepared himself in personal prayer. In our homes we should offer prayer for it. In this way our boys and girls know that we carry it on our hearts.

7. Finally, let us all READ Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and 20-25, and Ps. 87:1-8.

K. Runia

We look forward to receiving feedback about any of our posts. We also encourage you to share our posts with family, friends and acquaintances; in fact anyone you think may appreciate and/or benefit from the knowledge and wisdom handed down to us from the past.   To view previous posts visit our website at www.tsrevisited.com

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The Agony Of Our World and Our Lifestyle

Rev. J.J. Van Wageningen. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1975

Preamble: In Jan/Feb 1975, the second decade of John Westendorp’s walk back through history, we encounter this offering by Rev. J.J. Van Wageningen which even today gives us much to think about. Did we get caught up this weekend in the great money splurge euphemistically referred to as Black Friday, (Did they even have “Black Friday” in 1975), to be followed by the great pre-Christmas spending spree? In this article we get a sober reminder not to follow the ways of the world, but rather, to follow the way of the Lord.

The Agony Of Our World and Our Lifestyle

Give us today our daily bread.”  Matthew 6:11
“But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Tim. 6:8

We pray as the Lord Jesus taught us, “Give us today our daily bread.”

We want however a little more, for we live in a “welfare” state. We live in one of these highly industrialised countries with mass production. And mass production demands mass consumption. We cannot help it. In all possible ways it is impressed on the public. One needs this, and one cannot live without something else – and life is worth living only if one buys the advertised goods. The more people consume, the more manufacturers produce, the more employees earn and spend, the more money comes in circulation. The more consumption, the more production, the bigger the Gross National Product; hip, hip, hurrah! In between the T.V. commercials we see the pictures of starving people: skeletons with swollen bellies; old and young people; parents and children; fellow human beings.

“Give us today our daily bread.”

The developed countries however need almost all the resources for the production of so many things which are not really needed. It is a thoroughly wasteful exploitation, but we are used to it. We think we really need all these things in order to live a happy and full life. Gradually we begin to realise that somewhere along the line something must be wrong, but what can we do about it? That is something for the government, the United Nations, etc. The government however cannot do much, because it has to please the electorate, and both are dancing around the golden calf of the Gross National Product, and every one craves for a bigger slice of the welfare cake.

Can we as Christians, as children of God, say that our attitude, our life-style is essentially different? We try to help. At Christmas we give generously to World Relief. It helps to soothe our consciences, in case we feel any pangs.

To what extent is our life-style influenced by the world around us, and by our old Adam? To what extent is our life-style genuinely Christian, in harmony with the Gospel of Christ? To what extent do we show Christ’s image? If we have “food and clothing”, are we content with that? In other words, are we content with a simple life-style?

The apostle writes to Timothy about it. “Nourishment and shelter”, these two words imply all that we really need to fulfil our calling, to live and work as disciples of Christ. It is the same as our daily bread. Luxuries are not included.

This is a very burning issue. First of all because this is the pervasive teaching of the New Testament. The Lord Jesus warns us that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”, (Luke 12:15). “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:19-21, 24).

It is a burning issue also because of the conditions in the world, the agony of millions. The word “agony” is not an exaggeration. There is a depth and extent of human suffering, of both bodily and mental distress, of both material and spiritual need, which goes far beyond our imagination.

“Darkness shall cover the earth and thick darkness the peoples.” (Isaiah 60:2). This is a spiritual darkness as well. “Without God and without hope” (Eph. 2:12). Let us not, because of the material misery and physical sufferings, lose sight of the spiritual need.

In Lausanne the (evangelical) International Congress on World Evangelisation (held in July 74, with participants from 150 nations) issued a statement in the form of a solemn covenant with God and with each other. In point 9 dealing with “The urgency of the evangelistic task”, we read that more than 2,700 million people, which is more than two-thirds of mankind, have yet to be evangelised. And it goes on. “We are ashamed that so many have been neglected; it is a standing rebuke to us and the whole church. The goal should be, by all available means and at the earliest possible time, that every person will have the opportunity to hear, understand, and receive the Good News. We cannot hope to attain this goal without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices which cause it. Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple lifestyle in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism.”

Have we a duty to develop a simple life-style? Maybe you object – and this objection is valid – that God’s Word does not condemn riches, the possession of material goods as such, only the love of money, the desire to get rich, an undue attachment to and trust in the things you possess. Should we not thankfully enjoy all the gifts of God’s grace, also the material blessings?

Yes, indeed, but thankful enjoyment is the opposite of selfish enjoyment. Not our own dear self, and our own small group, but God and our neighbour must be in the centre. God’s grace, that brings salvation, has appeared to all men. We have celebrated Christmas. “It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:11-14).

The world becomes smaller and smaller. Through our daily papers, radio and T.V. broadcasts we get the whole world in our living-room. The circle of our neighbours becomes bigger and bigger. Do we greet them with love and compassion, all those neighbours, close by and far away? Do we realise our calling to love them with a true, Christian love?

“Give us today our daily bread.”

Then we see that the duty to develop a simple life-style is more urgent than we thought it to be. It is not just a matter of giving something now and then. A life-style is something permanent and total. It concerns our whole life. A simple life-style is a matter of being content with “food and clothing”, with the real necessities, in order to contribute more for the agonising needs of this world. Such a life-style must be developed.

Father in heaven, Thy Name be hallowed, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done; Give us today our daily bread; And let us be content with it. For the sake of Christ and the true welfare of our neighbours.  Amen.

J.J. VAN WAGENINGEN

We look forward to receiving feedback about any of our posts. We also encourage you to share our posts with family, friends and acquaintances; in fact anyone you think may appreciate and/or benefit from the knowledge and wisdom handed down to us from the past.   To view previous posts visit our website at www.tsrevisited.com

Feedback re-New Zealand Elders Conference Labour Weekend 1984, from Sarah: I have put these questions in our last newsletter of the year in hopes that as a small – mainly elderly church we continue to strive for growth, not just in numbers but in all aspects of our church services and community involvement. Thank you for your work in posting these gems, they are a wonderful resource and are deeply appreciated.

To our subscribers and all members of the CRCA. We are in the final stages of producing a special edition of Trowel & Sword to mark 15 years since the last printed edition. We expect it to be available by mid December. D.V. Thank-you for your continued support.

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New Zealand Elders Conference Labour Weekend 1984

Jack E. de Graaf. Trowel & Sword. Jan/Feb 1985

Preamble: In 1995 Rev. John Westendorp looked back through old Trowel & Sword magazines to see what had been written about back then. Ten years earlier T&S reported on a New Zealand Elders conference and the wide variety of topics discussed make for interesting reading. It makes one wonder how many of those topics could again be on the agenda of an elder’s conference, a classis meeting or a synod today. We suspect, quite a few.

New Zealand Elders Conference Labour Weekend 1984

This conference was attended by some 30 elders and a few ministers as well. The aim was to discuss items of common interest and concern as well as fostering unity and understanding. The meeting place was Wellington and the meetings lasted all day Saturday and Monday morning. It was a truly memorable occasion.

The conference was opened by the host congregations’s minister, the Rev. Kevin Rietveld, who meditated on Ezekiel 34 which deals with the subject of shepherds who are accountable for the security of the flock until that flock is eternally secure – a beautiful but responsible task.

Keith Sewell of Wellington gave the first address on “Reflections on the History of Calvinism.” This was an excellent address on the history of the church and the influences the church has been subjected to over the ages.

It is not often realised that Luther actually set out to reform the church from within and never set out to the be founder of protestantism. Until that time Scripture was regarded as a book containing abstract doctrines of God where the thinking patterns of Aristotle were confirmed by men like Thomas Aquinas and carried official papal approval.

The Reformation changed all that when men like Luther and Calvin said that the Scriptures are the oracles of God and that God is just and faithful in His dealings with men.

Calvin wrote his famous Institutes which were meant as an aid and an introduction to the study of the Scriptures.

After Calvin, however, things slipped back to Aristotle-inspired logic which resulted in reformed scholasticism. The Synod of Dordt would be described by some as an example of this, where it has been claimed that logic prevailed rather than the influence of the grace of God.

This also became the age where religion and science became less and less related.

The speaker urged us to continue working with the Calvinistic view on Scripture, to do more reading, and to improve our knowledge of Church History. We realised that we may live together in the one denomination where both Princeton and Continental influences are meeting together. It is important that we discuss together, but more important still that we pray together before we discuss.

Gerard Haverland of Christchurch addressed us on The Training and Calling of Office-bearers. He mainly confined his address to the calling of ministers.

Very thought-provoking questions were asked.
Should our churches have a “wise committee” to nudge certain ministers and churches in certain directions?
It could also investigate if various ministries are fruitful and if not – why not?
Should vacant churches advertise the vacancy? Would there be a minister bold enough to answer?
Is any call a call from God? What about a declined call?

Arthur Snoek from Wellington then introduced Worship and the Worship Service. Worship is done by those who know they are redeemed. It is dialogue between God and His people.

How can our worship be more meaningful? Are there any changes required? The speaker suggested that the main change should be a change of attitude.

Do we know why we do things in our worship service? Are we not so used to being entertained that this is our attitude when we go to church to worship God? We are not to be spectators but to be very much involved!

Our worship should be orderly. Any change in the order of worship is to be orderly and while variations are good, surprises should be avoided. The matter of kneeling for prayer was raised, as well as the congregational ‘Amen’ after prayer. Scripture reading must be done clearly and with reverence.

We should also be very much aware of the fact that we come to worship and not criticise. Are we bound by traditional restrictions which are unscriptural?

Addresses on The Future of our Churches were presented by Frank Gouman of Balclutha, who viewed this from a small congregation and by Wim Weeda of Hamilton, who viewed it from a large congregation. Some problems are the same. Again many questions were asked.

Do we and our children know why we established the Reformed Churches?
Is there a firm conviction?
Is there faithful preaching and does it include application?
Are the moral issues of the day addressed?
Is there a faithful exposition of the doctrines and are we able to defend them?
Do we encourage the young to serve?
Is there not too much criticism at home of ministers and elders and if so, how can we expect our children to become any different?

The small churches suffer from the drift to the cities for education or work. Sometimes only a small core remains with many reading services. Involvement in the community is easier in smaller centres, but this is not necessarily always a good thing as it can be the wrong type of integration. If a large congregation loses some members they are able to carry on as usual, but in a small congregation this can be traumatic and a real test of faith.

On Monday Martin Kuitert of Avondale addressed us on the subject of Church Discipline. The term has a sour taste mainly because it has often been wrongly applied in history. Laws for church discipline are set out in Matt. 18:15-18 and John 20:21-23. Its purpose is to keep the church pure and should be carried out to give glory to God only; the purpose is to win the sinner. Ruling elders are called to rule in love, not lord it over the flock but shepherding.

When we set about to exercise discipline, are we acting as a ‘clobbering machine? Ideally session should be the last to be involved in discipline as first of all discipline should be exercised by the membership as a whole.

If a church finally ex-communicates we do not cut off a person from the Kingdom – he/she was never in it in the first place, and this is confirmed by ex-communication.

This is a comforting thought for sessions that have to impose the final step of church discipline!

It was a good conference and I apologise for the semi- telegram style of reporting but this allowed a fair coverage. There have been many questions asked to encourage readers to think and maybe react.

Jack E. de Graaf

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This Month In Trowel & Sword History

John Westendorp. Trowel & Sword. February 1995

Preamble: Was this the fore-runner of Trowel & Sword Revisited? Thirty years ago John Westendorp, as the editor of T&S must have thought it would be interesting to look back through past T&S’s to see what was being written about in the February of 1955, ’65, ’75 and 1985, giving a brief outline of one or two of the articles appearing in each of those editions. If it was good enough for John it is good enough for us, so for the next few weeks we will be going back to those articles mentioned by John and reprinting them in full. Did John do this more than once? We don’t know, but it does make us wonder whether it was coincidence (luck?) that out of a mountain of magazines we happened upon this one, or was it God’s providence that guided us to this one page, and if so, to what end? And if that is the case was it also God’s providence that guided John to write such an article in the first place for us to find thirty years later? These questions could make for a very interesting discussion.

10 Years ago

The cover featured God Squad leader, John Smith, who had just been involved in a week of outreach at Mt. Evelyn, sponsored by the Reformed Church there. Jack de Graf reported on an Elders’ Conference in N.Z. at which Keith Sewell gave an opening address. ‘Reflections on the History of Calvinism’. He called those present to implement the Calvinist view of Scripture in the various spheres of life rather than allow a separation of, for example, religion and science, as happened during the period of reformed scholasticism.

20 Years Ago

The late Revd. John Van Wageningen continued a series of meditations on lifestyle. Under the heading, “The Agony of the World and our Life-style’, he asked whether we have learnt to be content with food and clothing. He called readers to avoid the pressures of a consumer society and develop a simple life-style. The Revd. Keith MacPhail lamented the Government’s decision to spend 4.6 million dollars on works of art (remember ‘Blue Poles’?) while spending only one hundred thousand on aid to Ethiopians in Eritrea. He called the church not only to set its own house in order but also to be the salt and light by calling the government to task for its wrong priorities.

30 Years Ago

Prof. K. Runia reminded readers that Catechism classes would soon be commencing again. He gave six pointers to effective church education.
1. The purpose is not to impart cold facts but to share with young people the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus
2. Hence teaching of the love of God and Reformed distinctives should be with enthusiasm and conviction.
3. Preparation should be thorough and aim for effective involvement of the young people.
4. We should insist on regular attendance as a fulfilment of vows made at the baptismal font.
5. Since this is the church’s ‘school work’ some homework each week is not only desirable but essential.
6. All this should be surrounded by prayer.

40 Years Ago

The Revd. J.W. Deenick took to task a prominent Christian worker in New Zealand who had claimed that what people want today is Christianity and not Churchianity. He protested that in the New Testament the Christian faith always includes loyalty to the church of Jesus Christ, which is His Body. Christianity without Churchianity is not Christianity at all. He went on to point out that the answer to the problems in the church is not to dismiss the church but to work for its reformation and sanctification. In the same issue was a report about a recent Synod of the Reformed Churches of Australia announced the setting up of the Reformed Theological College.

John Westendorp

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Christmas – Its Origin And Its History

J.W. Deenick. Trowel & Sword. December 1963

Preamble: Once again the countdown has begun – “ONLY SIX WEEKS TO CHRISTMAS”. “Avoid the last minute rush and get your Christmas shopping done early”. Cost of living crisis? There’s no such thing when it comes to Christmas – that comes later when the credit card has to be paid off. For many people that’s Christmas in the twenty-first century. In the 1960’s the pressure was not quite so intense. Even so, Rev. J.W. Deenick considered it important enough to try to bring some perspective, and “sanity” to the celebration of Christmas. As Christians, it may serve us well in this pre-Christmas period to give some thought to how and why (if at all) we celebrate Christmas this year, and in the years to come.

Christmas – Its Origin And Its History

Christmas customs differ from country to country, from home to home. They are often pagan in origin, some are tasteless, some have been promoted by purely commercial interests. And we do not seem to be able to get rid of them. The Christmas card with a little romantic church in the snow complete with mistletoe and fir-tree seems to die just as hard as Father Christmas himself in his entourage of garlands and a blasphemous “Silent Night”.

Through the centuries the Christian Church has tried to do away with such popular misuse of the Christmas cycle. Two different methods have been used to that end. Mostly the Church tried to Christianise the celebration of the day. But sometimes the Church tried in disgust to abolish Christmas as a Christian celebration altogether. Neither method was very successful. In this connection it is interesting to study the history of Christmas.

Its Origin

It is difficult to establish in which way the celebration of the Lord’s birthday commenced in the early Church. It seems certain that it was comparatively late before people began to think of it. This is not so strange if we consider that no corresponding festival was presented by the Old Testament as in the case of Easter and Pentecost. Moreover the day and the month of the birth of Jesus are nowhere stated in the gospel history and cannot be certainly determined. Again, the Church concentrated first of all on the death and the resurrection of Christ, and made these the centre of the weekly worship and the church year.

Particularly the question of the date of Jesus’ birth gave considerable difficulty and gave occasion to a great deal of confusion. Clemens of Alexandria, who lived in the second half of the second century suggested as the date of the Lord’s birth the 18th of November. Others proposed the 24th of April or the 25th of May. The Eastern Church celebrated at the time a festival which they called the Feast of Epiphany, i.e. on the 6th of January. This was not meant however as a commemoration of Jesus’ birth in the first place, but rather of his “epiphany”, his public appearance and his baptism. In the Church of Armenia this festival is still celebrated instead of our Christmas.

How came the 25th of December to be considered as the date of Jesus’ birth?

This again is uncertain. Two explanations are offered, which do not actually exclude each other. There is an old tradition that reckons the 25th of March to be the day of Jesus’ immaculate conception. Now this date marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, and was also considered to be the day on which God created heaven and earth. The same date was chosen for the commencement of God’s work of recreation and redemption. The actual birth of the Saviour would then have occurred nine months later, on the 25th of December. A second explanation for this date points to the great pagan festival celebrated on the 25th of December, in honour of Sol Invictus Mithras, the invincible God of the Sun, whose victory over the darkness of winter was then commemorated. It is suggested that the Church, clashing head on with the Mithras religion, chose on purpose this date to place the message of the birth of Christ face to face with the inventions of heathenism. But both explanations make it quite clear that nothing is known about the actual date of Jesus’ birth and that the 25th of December was chosen for other reasons.

Its History

Although the date for Christmas was rather arbitrarily chosen the early Christian Church certainly did its utmost to have the day celebrated in a Christian style, and after Constantin’s conversion the civil magistrate assisted the Church wholeheartedly in this. Civil law demanded that the day be observed as a day of rest, even for slaves, and no fasts, no public or secular festivities were permitted. There is no doubt about the joy and sincerity with which the early christians observed their Christmas celebrations.

Soon Christmas was one of the main festivals of Christianity. It was called the feast of the nativity. In old French the “dies natalis”, the birthday of Christ came to be called “na-el”, “nou-el” or “noel”, which is still used in English today.

Still, no matter how sincere and strict early Christian observance of the day may have been, in later years various old pagan and superstitious customs, which had remained popular among nominal Christians and unbelievers, began to penetrate the church celebrations of the birth of Jesus and during the Middle Ages Christmas too often became a “Kermis”, a ball and fancy fair business, that gave the church authorities many a headache and against which the General Councils and the civil magistrates availed very little.

Calvin And Christmas

It stands to reason that the reformers were not very keen on retaining the many Roman Catholic festivals that had contributed so considerably to the decline of the Church and the decay of public morality. Luther for instance originally favoured the abolishment of all holy days except the Sunday. In 1520 he wrote: “I would that God gave that no holy days were left in Christianity and that all the feasts of the women and of the saints were held on the Sunday.” Later he changed his opinion and did away with all specifically Roman festivals alone and those not based on the gospel and the Apostles’ Creed.

In Switzerland Zwingli retained a few festivals apart from those based upon the Apostles’ Creed, but others did away with all celebrations apart from the Lord’s day. So did Farel and Viret at Geneva. When Calvin arrived at Geneva no Christmas or any other holy day was observed there and he did nothing to have them re-introduced. Later, when they had been re-instituted during the years of his banishment from Geneva, he did nothing to have them abolished. He himself writes about this in 1551 in a letter to Bullinger: “After my return, when through my influence I could have abolished whatever was established during my absence, I quietly acquiesced in the situation. I so restrained myself that I even kept back those who clamoured for the abolishment of these days. We accepted a middle road namely that people would keep their shops closed and rest during the morning, but that they would do their normal work after midday. This was so decided nine years ago. But even so the controversies did not stop.” Later the City Council abolished again all holy days but Calvin writes to Bullinger that this was not done at his request and that it was not fair that people blamed him for measures for which he was not responsible.

There is a story according to which Calvin never preached a Christmas sermon. That is not correct. There is for instance a Christmas sermon on the first half of Luke 2 which he preached on a Christmas day. But this Christmas day coincided with an ordinary Sunday and after the sermon the Lord’s Supper was celebrated. It is difficult to asses whether or not Calvin ever preached a Christmas sermon on a Christmas day that was not also a Sunday. Calvin preached every day of the week in the early morning service; 6 a.m. in summertime, 7 a.m. in the winter. We know that on the 25th of December 1555, which was not a Sunday, he preached on Deut. 21 and that he did not even mention Christmas in that sermon. He had preached his Christmas sermon on the Sunday before. But that was in 1555 when the authorities had abolished the Christmas day. From the fact that Calvin preached Christmas messages in the Christmas period we may well conclude that he preached on the message of Bethlehem on Christmas day when according to the ruling of the Council this day was still observed in Geneva.

In Later History 

In the years after the reformation there was little enthusiasm for holy days. The Reformed Church of Scotland allowed no other holy day but the Sunday. A century later the Westminster directory for public worship still stated, that festival days, having no warrant in the Word of God, are not to be continued.

In the Netherlands the National Synod of 1574 decided that the message of Christmas was to be preached on the Sunday before. But four years later Synod ruled that where the authorities maintained the day the churches should instruct their people on the doctrine of Jesus’ birth. The National Synod of Dort 1616-1619 simply ruled that the Christmas day and two or three other days had to be observed. I would say that ever since the Dutch church. has celebrated the day as a special day for gospel preaching on the subject of Jesus’ birth, although neither Christmas day nor Ascension day were ever sanctified in the same sense or on the same level as the Sunday, the christian sabbath.

It is remarkable however that although the Reformed fathers of Dordt and the Westminster divines did not see eye in eye in this point they never broke up their fellowship.

Our Reformed Churches in Australia and in New Zealand follow the ruling of Dordt. We have our Christmas day and most of our people observe it with real joy. They are fond of the traditional Christmas services with the hymns and the sermon for the occasion. It is around the church services that the celebration of Christmas centres. It is the task of the sessions to see to it that the Christmas day is observed in good style, not in cheap sentimentalism, but in the strong and worthy manner of a church that has a message for the world, a message for every day, for every Sunday, for every Christmas: that Jesus Christ of Bethlehem lives.

J.W. DEENICK

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Reflections On Life And Faith

Harry Burggraaf. Trowel & Sword. August 2000

Preamble: What does the future hold? This question may well have been on the minds of Adam and Eve as they were “shown the gates” of Eden. It may also have been on Harry’s mind as he wrote this reflection. Does Leonard Cohen, (I’ve heard of him), have the answer? Do the Indigo Girls? (I’ve never heard of them). I still remember the uproar among the youth of our church when Rev. Groningen criticised the Seekers song “A world of our own”. But I digress. Here’s Harry.

Reflections On Life And Faith

“Behold I am coming soon… I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” (Jesus Christ) 

“I’ve seen the future, baby: it is murder” (Leonard. Cohen)

Usually the talk at our dinner table is fairly mundane: ‘How was your day’? ‘What will the weather be like tomorrow’? ‘Teachers who set a lot of homework should be strangled’. ‘Do we have to eat sprouts again’? ‘My friend Wendy bought a new CD today’, and more of such trivia. Sometimes the conversation is a little more elevated and we discuss more substantial issues: ‘Is John Howard a better Prime Minister than Paul Keating was’? ‘Is work for the dole a good thing’? ‘Are safe injecting houses justified’?

The other day we really scaled the dinner chat heights and discussed, or argued, about the shape of the future. Much of the conversation seemed to focus on future gadgets and things, but, with a little leadership from the olds, we did manage to reflect on what society and life might be like in the next twenty years and beyond. Mind you, we were soon back to the favourite television programme for that evening. Serious reflection, it seems, is hard to sustain. 

The future does make for interesting discussion. It has generated some vigorous theological debates.

Futurist books have become best sellers. Alvin Toffler’s books ‘Future Shock’, ‘Third Wave’ and ‘Power Shift’ have sold millions of copies. Hugh McKay, one of Australia’s foremost social analysts, sells well when he writes about the future shape of Australia. Futurology is big business. Successful companies are into ‘future needs assessment’ and ‘contextual forecasting’ to make sure that they capture an increased share of the future market.

Christians should be discussing the future and praying about it. Reflecting on the future and, what has been dubbed a ‘post modern’ age, we are faced with a challenging picture. There is all the potential of the information and communication explosion, fascinating technological advances, economic development, international co-operation, biotechnological innovation. Yet at the same time there is a terrible lostness, shattered memories, burnt out ecology, economic anxiety, technological overload, dehydrated imagination, and above all the fragmentation of world view, where there is no shared understanding about the great questions of life, no framework for truth.

This lostness and fragmentation is so cogently captured in some of the popular music of our day:

“Things are going to slide in all directions. 
Won’t be nothing
Nothing you can measure any more
The blizzard of the world
has crossed the threshold
and it has overturned the order of the soul.’
(The Future. Leonard Cohen)

“I am trying to tell you something about my life
Maybe give me insight between black and white…
The less I seek my source for some definitive
The closer I am to fine.” (Indigo Girls)

 Cohen’s image of people in a postmodern age being trapped in a blizzard, where there is total disorientation, no sense of direction, no clear way forward, no boundaries, no coherent ‘story’ or framework to give life meaning, stands in stark contrast to the Biblical picture of the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the sovereign God, Jesus the Lord of heaven and earth, in charge of the future and providing hope and direction.

Brian Walsh, a challenging author and scholar, suggests that in this age of confusion and loss of meaning Christians must be in the business of ‘sensitive discernment’, ‘critical discrimination’ and ‘redemptive engagement’. What the future needs is a ‘re-imaging of world view and the great ‘story’ or narrative’ of the Christian faith must be communicated and lived in a fresh, dynamic way. The Bible presents us with that great unfinished drama of – Creation, the Fall, Israel, Jesus, the Church and the Eschaton. To a culture that has ‘lost the plot’ Christians must provide the story line. This is a challenging task for church, home, Christian school, individual Christians. God has not provided us with a day-by-day script to live by, nor should we try to re-live the old script of the past. 

With the conviction that God is in charge of the future and directs the course of history and, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we are invited to make innovative and courageous responses to the problems and issues the future brings in technology, the economic order, social structures, business and the market place, the legal system, work and leisure and everyday life.
Edna St Vincent Milloy captures the challenge for Christians vividly:

“Upon this gifted age, in its dark hour
Rains from the sky a meteoric shower of facts –
they lie unquestioned, uncombined.
Wisdom enough to leech us of our ill is daily spun,
but there exists no loom to weave it into fabric.”

Ecclesiastes reminds us that the overall pattern of the fabric is God’s.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they can not fathom what God has done from beginning to end”.

He has provided the loom and we have the privilege of being weavers in the task of faithful improvisation.

Harry Burggraaf

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Sheep and Shepherds

John Westendorp. Trowel & Sword. June 1999

Preamble: While he is obviously trying to make a point, John’s opening statement that, “The Lord God isn’t paying us a compliment when He calls us ‘sheep’, would seem to be rather unfair, not only to sheep, but also to His people. Yes, in the 20th/21st centuries, sheep do require a lot of work. But we should also remember that when God created sheep he called them “very good” along with the rest of creation. They would also have been very different in Jesus day. Created sheep were very different to the sheep we have today. Marino sheep, specifically bred by selective breading by John Macarthur in the early 1800’s have large skin folds and fine, dense wool (to increase the wool clip), and are susceptible to lice and fly strike, so a lot of that extra work John refers to is largely due to man’s intervention in God’s original created “kind”. John’s assessment of sheep as “incredibly stupid is also rather unfair. Consider that whereas most animals have some sort of defence system against predators, sheep have none. They need to be protected; hence the need for shepherds in times past. Unfortunately, in todays profit driven world the welfare of the sheep is often secondary to the desire to maximise profit. So flock sizes have increased from hundreds to thousands, and shepherds have been replaced by fences, dogs and motorbikes. It is little wonder that sheep today are the way they are (Neurotic?). So yes, the imagery of Psalm 23 is beautiful, but it makes much more sense when viewed through David’s eyes than through the eyes of a 21st. century sheep farmer.

Sheep and Shepherds

The Sheep

The Lord God isn’t paying us a compliment when He calls us ‘sheep’. The memories of my childhood include vivid images from the sheep station in central Victoria where we grew up as children. In fact, our first ‘home’ in this land was a shearing hut – temporary residence of the shearing crews that would annually come and relieve the sheep of their heavy fleeces. The nearby shearing shed was a mixture of non-too-pleasant smells. Sheep droppings, tallow, greasy wool, and sheep dip.

Over the years we became familiar with the routines. Two things stood out. The first was that sheep needed a lot of work. Unlike the cattle, which were let loose in the back paddocks and largely left to fend for themselves for most of the year, the sheep were forever being rounded up for some sort of attention. Not only was there the annual shearing time – a highlight on the sheep station calendar. The sheep would also be brought in for foot-rot treatment. Then there would be the crutching, as wool was trimmed from the posterior to minimise fly infestation, and of course the dreaded sheep dip, as sheep were made to swim a foul smelling channel laced with chemicals that staved off a variety of plagues.

Lambing time required extra work – not only to rescue the ewes, making sure that the problem of orphan lambs was minimised, but that tails (and certain other body parts!) of the lambs were appropriately docked- all to aid the production of the nations wool and mutton.

Today I understand a little better why the Lord calls His people ‘His sheep’ and not ‘His cattle’. We, who live life under His care and who want to produce something worthwhile for the Master, need a lot of TLC. The rot of sin repeatedly needs to be cut out of our lives with the sharp knife of His discipline. His grace and Holy Spirit constantly guard our lives from the maggoty infestations of the evil one – more effectively than any sheep dip protects our four-legged namesakes. When we get ourselves Into the rut of depression, HIS loving and gentle hands lift us out. When things go well and pride rears its ugly head we need to be directed once again into the right paths of humility.

The Lord’s sheep sure do take a lot of work. Anyone who takes an active role in the life of the church quickly becomes conscious of need after need in various members of the flock. There is so much to do for so many people.

Before God we are sheep – creatures with many needs and with a certain helplessness and dependency about us. We may not like to acknowledge that but this is the Lord’s comparison: We are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. (Ps.95:7).

A second thing that stood out was that sheep are not the most intelligent creatures on earth. One is even tempted to suggest that they are really incredibly stupid. Put a Border Collie sheep dog in amongst a flock of Sheep and when it comes to intelligence there is no contest. Sheep also tend to follow the leader unthinkingly. Many are the times I have watched a flock of sheep unwilling to go through a gate. They balk at going through the narrow opening and instead mill around, waiting for the nip of the sheep dog to drive the first sheep though the opening. But when one is through there is no stopping the rest. The whole flock then moves with the same relentlessness that drives lemmings over the face of the cliff. Again the Lord’s comparison of His people to sheep seems appropriate. We too so often do not want to be where it is best for us to be. Too many of the flock frolic on the sports oval when it’s really much better for them to gather in a worship service. Too often we resist going where the Lord wants us to be – up to the point where the nip on our heels convinces us that we have little other choice. And as for the peer pressure that reflects the herd mentality…? Most of us have experienced at one time or another the hard way that following the crowd is not always the best policy.

The Lord isn’t complimenting us when He calls us ‘the sheep of His pasture’, rather for our own good He is giving us a picture of what, in reality, we are.

The Shepherd(s)

The Lord comforts and encourages us when He calls Himself the Shepherd. For many years I thought shepherds didn’t exist in Australia or New Zealand. That seemed to be one of the big differences between our contemporary situation and that of Jesus and Bible times. The Biblical picture is one of shepherds taking personal care for the flock and personal responsibility for each individual sheep. Their life’s duty revolves around leading the sheep out to pasture… bringing them back to the pens at night… rounding up strays… attending to wounded and sick animals.

Here we do it a little differently. Where I grew up thousands of sheep were scattered over many square kilometres of land. After shearing they were let loose to roam the paddocks and fend tor themselves. While the farmer counted them before they were let back into the paddocks, he did so in the knowledge that the crows would pick the eyes out of sick animals and that foxes would make short work of lambs that strayed too far. All too often a walk through the paddocks would bring one across a straggly heap of wool and bones – all that was  left of yet another casualty. Of course the farmer was concerned – especially if too many casualties were taking place – but he learned to live with a certain percentage of loss.

Many years later, in the Tasmanian Highlands, we discovered for the first time that in this part of the world too we have professional shepherds. People who do a little more than just bringing the sheep in for shearing and dipping. Yet even they fall far short of the shepherding imagery God adopts as Shepherd of His flock.

The beauty of that imagery in Psalm 23 is unsurpassed. Here is the Shepherd who makes sure that we are in need of nothing. This Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures and leads us beside still waters. And the greatest blessing is that because of our Shepherd we will ‘dwell in the house of the Lord forever’.

The Lord Jesus Christ applied that imagery to Himself. He not only told us about a God who cares so much that He leaves the ninety-nine in the fold to go and hunt for that one lost sheep but He called Himself the Good Shepherd who would lay down His life for His sheep. That’s a far cry from driving the sheep out into the paddocks until the next round-up.

As if all that was not enough grace and mercy for the sheep the Lord has also appointed under shepherds’ over His flock. God’s pastoral care for us is personal and intimate. Through Jesus that pastoral care is life-saving. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit we are nurtured in an ongoing way. But the Lord also ministers His Shepherd’s care through those whom He appoints to the task of pastoral care in His church.

God’s people are quick to see in their minister God’s ordained pastoral carer. We even call him ‘Pastor – a reflection of his pastoral task and calling. Many of us are far less likely to see our elders in the same way. Some of us may even wonder why these men come around every year with their questions to pry into our personal affairs. Yet the reality is that they are Gods gift to His church, appointed to shepherd the flock. To put it even more strongly: the Good Shepherd extends to us sheep His own pastoral care through those whom He has commissioned to shepherd the sheep. The apostle Peter’s words are very much to the point: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, ….be shepherds of Gods’ flock that is under your care.”  (IPeter 5:1,2).

It’s more than a little sad when the elders are not welcomed with open arms into our homes as God’s under-shepherds because the Good Shepherd is extending His pastoral care through them. Of course our elders too are frail creatures of dust who often grieve their Lord. But no matter how well we know the short-comings of an elder, that does not excuse us from declining his request to come in Christ’s name. To turn down a request for a family visit from your elders is worse than shooting your self in the foot. It is to deprive yourself and your loved ones of the pastoral care God provides to us, needy sheep.

The Lord comforts and encourages us when He calls himself our Shepherd. And He comforts and encourages us even further when He brings into our lives the care and concern of His under-shepherds. Let’s not rebel against that sort of pastoral care.

JW

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Hudson Taylor

Dr. K. Runia. Trowel & Sword, August 1959

Preamble: Books! Ecclesiastes 12 tells us that… “of the making of books there is no end”. If that was true 3000 years ago, assuming that its traditional authorship and date are correct, how much more true is it today? With so many books to choose from, how does one decide which book to read and what to set aside? One popular way it to read books that come highly recommended by someone we trust. On this basis, “Hudson Taylor – The Man Who Believed God” comes within that category. You may ask, who was Hudson Taylor and how much do I know about him? Let Dr. Klaas Runia whet your appetite.

Hudson Taylor

Have you ever heard of Hudson Taylor? I would not be surprised, if you had not. It was the same with me, before I read the small, but precious book, that one of our New Zealand readers kindly sent me. The title of the book is: “THE MAN WHO BELIEVED GOD”, The Story of HUDSON TAYLOR, written by Marshall Broomhall.

I must say, it is a long time ago since I have read a book, that captivated me so much and also strengthened my own faith so much.

Hudson Taylor was the father of the China Inland Mission. As a young man of 21 years he left England in 1853 to sail for China. Officially he was sent by the Chinese Evangelisation Society, but in actual fact he had to do all his work on his own responsibility. Little help, both financial and spiritual, was given to him. But this young man was filled with a burning zeal for his Lord. He had but one passion: to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Chinese nation. His soul was burdened with a nearly unbearable burden, when he thought of the fact that “every day 33.000, every month 1.000.000 subjects of the Chinese Emperor pass into eternity, without even having heard the Gospel”. And he has spent all his life in bringing the message to China. In the first part of his life by personal mission work, in the last 25 years the builder of the organisation of the China Island Mission.

In all these activities he indeed was the man, who believed God. When you read this book, you see a man, who earnestly believed (and practised!), that we should hold God to his Word. More than once he himself stated that his life and his life’s work, were founded upon three facts, namely, that:

“There is a living God.

“He has spoken in the Bible.

“He means what He says, and will do all He has promised”.

Somewhere he wrote the following: “The living God still lives, and the living Word is a living Word, and we may depend upon it; we may hang upon any word that God ever spoke, or ever caused by His Holy Spirit to be written. Forty years ago I believed in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. I have proved them for forty years and my belief is stronger now than it was then. I have put the promises to the test. I have been compelled to do so, and I have found them true and trustworthy”.

“We want to impress upon you that the Word of God is God’s own Word. If I did not believe in the inspiration of a Bank of England note, if I was not quite sure whether the note that professed to be for £50 would be cashed for £5 of £50, it would not be worth very much to me…. What would you have thought if I had been foolish enough – nay, I might say dishonest enough – to part with it for less than it represented? I wish that I could say that I have been as faithful to the Word of God. Oh, how often I have discounted God’s promise and been surprised, almost, at getting a small part of that promise fulfilled, instead of expecting and claiming all”.

“But we can tell you something more than this. We have found that when our faith has broken down, even in God’s own Word, His faithfulness has not broken down, and that when we have been poor children, we have had a very kind Father, that when we have been unworthy servants, we have had a glorious Master. ‘If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful, He cannot deny Himself”.

It is striking that this man, who in our human opinion was so faithful, writes this about himself: “Oh, how often I have discounted God’s promise….”  For this is the man who in all his cares depended upon his God. When he had only a few shillings left and did not know how to maintain himself for the first couple of his days, he nevertheless gladly gave that money to somebody in need, expecting that the Lord would provide. And He did! When he needed fellow-labourers in the enormously vast Chinese field, he prayed to his Lord, and continued his work, trusting, even more: being certain that God would give them. And again He did.

Would that all our readers were going to buy this booklet. It is not expensive and yet so precious. I am sure that we of the Reformed Churches can learn much from this man, Hudson Taylor. In his life we see many truths of the Bible verified and realised. It would be a great blessing, if this same spirit, which is the fruit of ThE SPIRIT, also invaded our Churches. Many of our ‘regular complaints would disappear as snow before the sun.

We intend to Quote some of Hudson Taylor’s most striking words in the coming issues of “Trowel and Sword”. And we do hope that all our readers, both in New Zealand and in Australia will study them, reflect upon them and. take them to heart. 

K. Runia.

*Editor’s Note: This “small booklet” (264 pages) can still be purchased – both new and pre-owned. If you are interested, ebay would be a good place to start looking.

We look forward to receiving feedback about any of our posts. We also encourage you to share our posts with family, friends and acquaintances; in fact anyone you think may appreciate and/or benefit from the knowledge and wisdom handed down to us from the past.   To view previous posts visit our website at www.tsrevisited.com

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