TESTIMONY FOR REFORMATION DAY
31 OCTOBER 2000

WHY THIS TESTIMONY?

Our calling and sense of responsibility compel us to testify, to provide a Christian perspective and to carry out a message of hope.

We feel a particular need to testify on Reformation Day 2000, because

• the authority and authenticity of the Bible are being challenged,

• the uniqueness of the salvation through Jesus Christ is in dispute,

• the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is being queried

• our Christian faith is at risk,

• our society is afflicted by shocking moral offences, and

• some believers are becoming disheartened and increasingly confuse

WHAT IS THE SUBSTANCE OF OUR TESTIMONY?

We deem it necessary to testify publicly at this point in time on

• a number of key dogmas of our Christian faith, and

• relevant moral issues.

Holy Scripture

• We testify that Holy Scripture is the authoritative Word of God and adequately explains the will of God and the doctrine of salvation. Through the Holy Spirit and in a reliable manner, God has given us his Word in the language of humans. We therefore accept Scripture as the source of and norm for the church, theology and Christian life.

• We reject the idea that Scripture is an unreliable document of faith or merely a book which reflects people’s thoughts and experiences about God.

• We reject all abuse of the Bible to lend authority to human prejudices and views.

• We deem it important, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to understand Scripture properly, interpret and explain it purely, apply it in a valid manner, and demonstrate all this faithfully and obediently in our daily lives.

Uniqueness of Jesus Christ

• We testify that, according to Scripture, Jesus Christ is the only Saviour, the only way to the Father, the only Mediator between God and the people, and that no other name has been given through which God wishes us to be saved.

• We reject the idea that there are many roads to the true God and that each one will be saved according to his or her own faith.

• We pray that the great commission to the church, namely to proclaim the Gospel to all the peoples of the world, will always be carried out eagerly and diligently.

• We do not pass judgement on people who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ but leave their destiny in the hands of the Lord who will judge each person fairly.

Resurrection of Jesus Christ

• We testify that, according to Scripture, Jesus Christ is the crucified and resurrected Lord and Saviour; that this same Jesus who had been crucified, was indeed raised from the dead, was delivered over to death for our sins and was resurrected for our justification.

• We testify that the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ actually happened and constitute part of the essence of the Gospel. Our Christian faith, the Gospel, the church and the Kingdom of God will have no meaning without the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

• We reject any public or covert reinterpretation of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ in terms of which the actual events are regarded as unreal or a figment of the imagination. The resurrection of Christ is not the product or outcome of the faith of the early church; on the contrary: the church is the outcome of the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection.

Respect for God

• We believe that respect for, and reverence and obedience to God and his Word will have a positive influence on the morality and lifestyle of society.

• We firmly believe that respect and love for God should precede respect for life, our neighbour, other people’s possessions and culture, and the environment.

• We grieve about every form of blasphemy.

• We pray that the Name of God will be hallowed.

Respect for life

• We testify that all people have been created in the image of God, that the life of every person is precious in the eyes of God, and that a drastic change should occur in our society so that people will have respect for the lives of others.

• We testify that prenatal life is in fact life given by God.

• We reject abortion on demand.

• We grieve about all the hate, violence, murder, rape and all other rejections of God’s commandment which prohibits any form of killing, and we are deeply concerned about the dimensions of these crimes.

• We expect the authorities to do even more to protect the lives of people and to punish crime.

• We pray that people will love one another.

• We ask that special attention be given to the circumstances of the poor and that their needs be addressed so that they may live with dignity.

• We request government and all society to approach the Aids epidemic, especially Aids sufferers, with profound empathy, responsibility and insight.

 Respect for fellow human beings

• We testify against all acts through which people do injustices to others, prejudice their interests or display a complete lack of respect for them; for instance:

• Abuse of power instead of service

• Corruption instead of honesty

• Bribery and fraud instead of integrity

• Theft, gambling, greed and materialism instead of honest toil and generosity.

• We desire and wish to cooperate in a great effort to combat unemployment and poverty and fight the present culture of violence.

Respect for marriage

• We testify that marriage is an institution of God and should be respected as such, and that sexuality should have its proper place within this relationship.

• We disapprove of premarital and extramarital sex as being contrary to the will of God.

• We believe that the Aids epidemic can best be combated and prevented by means of a highly moral lifestyle in which sexuality is practised within a marriage.

Respect for the environment

• We advocate respect and appreciation for the creation of God and for the wonderful country in which we are priviliged to live and work.

• We testify that al forms of environmental pollution and unnecessary spoiling of nature are contrary to God’s purpose with his world.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF THIS TESTIMONY?

Christian hope

• We testify that, despite the realities of a broken world, Christians should approach the future with genuine hope and great expectations, without fear, without pessimism and without retreating from reality.

• We pray that God will enable us to fulfil our calling and responsibility.

Involvement

• We believe that the children of God have been called to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world and the leavening of society.

• We are deeply conscious of the great task facing us all in the rebuilding of South Africa.

• We wish to share in the building of an orderly, peaceful and just society with a high moral system of values.

Attitude

We offer this testimony with full acknowledgement of our restricted human insight and with confession of our shortcomings and failure to observe the demands of God’s law at all times. This testimony was born out of our of love for the church of God and for society and our urge to care for them.We trust that this testimony will encourage and comfort fellow believers and contribute to the coming of the Kingdom of God.We pray and believe that the Spirit of God has led us to self-examination and the presentation of this testimony in love, to admonish believers in the spirit of Jesus Christ and to encourage and comfort them to hold on to genuine hope.

SIGNATORIES

De Klerk, BJ

Denkema, F

Du Plooy, A. le R

Janse van Rensburg, Fika, J

Jordaan, GJC

Krüger, PP

Van Rooy, HF

Van Wyk, JH

Venter, CJH

Viljoen, FP

Vorster JM