My Comments on "Haak on Homos"

Keep Praying for Rain!

Although my wife and I have left the churches concerned, I still hope and pray for their reformation and revival. Especially during the past two years, while we were members of one of these churches we grew more and more concerned, and at times appalled with the things we read or heard. Fellow church members, however, were surprised with my outspoken criticism. One friend confided, “Aize, there are very few people who still dare to speak like you”.

Rev. Haak explains why this is so. People are embarrassed to speak for God, for they will soon feel alienated. Indeed, I was in some sense seen as alien to the world we lived in. Is it not sad that nobody dares to draw the obvious conclusion (sexual abstinence for true homosexuals) when it is recognized that a homosexual lifestyle is an ‘abomination’ in the eyes of God?

Is there no man of God in Israel? And is it not sad that a comment like “I cannot imagine that God would do this?” does not call for the reply from a fellow Christian that we’d better study the Scriptures to understand the mind of God, rather than seeking to kiss the idols of this age, like liberty, equality, and tolerance (of spiritually harmful ideas and actions).

Yet, it is not only in the Dutch churches that there is pressure to be politically correct. Traditional churches have (and had) their own version of this. And also in Reformed churches in Canada have I seen how people pursuing godliness were labeled as ‘holy rollers’.

I guess we could summarize the dilemma with the saying “They want to have their cake yet eat it too”. The church wants to be faithful to God, but not at the cost of being intolerant. They want to love God and His Word, yet they insist that loving homosexuals implies condoning homosexual practices.

It is refreshing and it gives me hope to read the article of Rev. Haak. Of course, he tries not to become stranded on an island, yet he does come to some devastating conclusions. If church members have been alienated from the Living God and His Word, it should not surprise us that their thinking is shaped by the godless world that has adopted the ideals of the French revolution in a less revolutionary, more gradual way.

God’s Word has ceased to confront the people in the pews. The church does not want to be radically different, for we have lost the salt that is supposed to save the world. The world wants liberty, yet Christians voluntarily offer themselves as living sacrifices to Christ. The apostles set the example by calling themselves slaves of the Lord Jesus. Appalling, no? Not if you realize that all people are slaves, yet Christ is God’s Son, who became like a slave to set us free from sin. Realizing such amazing grace, we demonstrate our love in submission, obedience, and sacrifice. It’s not about our freedom, our desires or needs. For saved people, it is about seeking God, serving God and submission to His will.

The church must not and cannot be an island in the world today? It must! It must look strange or even weird in the world today, so that for those who realize their loss of identity, they have a Solution, a Word of hope. Yes, all may come as they are, but those who are transformed by God’s grace will not remain the same. The greedy become generous, the hateful become loving, the vile will become pure, the deceitful will become trustworthy- not in perfection, yet it will be their new and true identity that shows.

Yet, we cannot survive as lonely prophets in the wilderness. But then, not all churches are on the slippery slope to liberalism. I hope to see a movement like The Gospel Coalition take root in Holland, so that there may be a place of faithfulness in teaching and preaching, so that churches and church members need not have the desperate idea that they are stranded on a lonely island but find support in a community that seeks to remain faithful to God’s Word, avoiding the pitfalls of traditionalism and liberalism.

The irony is that many churches want to be contemporary in order to be a bridge to the world. Yet, by being bold, speaking the truth in love, they will be blessed by God. Look around you! Where churches have taken a stand against the idols of the age and cast the liberals out, God has given blessings! Our enduring faithfulness (and this not the same as traditionalism) may isolate us at first from the world and many in the church, yet it will produce rich fruit. I see this in churches and denominations, which have bucked the trend; they have been growing in number and in Spirit. Two days ago, I spoke with my former professor in Greek Grammar. The faculty (of this seminary) had experienced its most difficult time when they sought to expel those who were promoting the new hermeneutic. Yet, when it was accomplished, enrollment soared and God poured out His blessings.