After the Synod of Dordrecht (1618-1619), many in the church had the idea that the Reformation was over. The Synod of Dordrecht was seen as the final part of the reformation. Others felt that it was only just beginning. The church may have been ,reformed,, but the people certainly were not! The ,doctrine, may have been pure, but so is the ,life,. This is how the movement of the Further Reformation was born.
The name Further Reformation
The Reformation was an ecclesiastical movement that wanted to return to the source: the authority of the Bible as the Word of God. Any human additions, traditions or statements could never have the authority of the Bible. That is why many matters that had crept into the Roman Catholic Church over the centuries and were not based on Holy Scripture were put to bed. This is how the church was reformed. The Reformation was about the three solas: sola gratia, sola scriptura and sola fide. (only by grace, only by the Word, only by faith.
The Synod of Dordrecht gave the Dutch Reformed Church (only called the Dutch Reformed Church in 1816) theological frameworks by offering the Dordrecht doctrinal rules (also called: the five articles against the Remonstrants), the provision of a church order, the DKO (Dordtse Kerkorde) and the revision and approval of the Dutch Confession of Faith and the Heidelberg Catechism.
However, many preachers saw very clearly the discord that existed among the (church) people between doctrine and life. The doctrine was ,reformed,, but there was little noticeable difference in the lives of everyone and everyday life. The preachers in question therefore wanted a continuing reformation that focused on practical religious life. They insisted on sanctification of life and a personal relationship with God. The reformation had to be ,closer,, stricter or more precise. If you like, more personal. Hence the term Further Reformation. According
to Prof. Dr. OJ de Jong, none of the preachers as a representative of this ecclesiastical movement, the name Further Reformation may be used. Even in the well-known church history of Ypey (around 1800), further Reformation is not mentioned when discussing this direction. Groen van Prinsterer and Kuyper also do not use this name. The first time, according to De Jong, that we encounter the term Further Reformation, albeit in a derived form, is in the book ,History of the Fatherland Church, by G.J. Fox Azn. from 1882. Vos literally writes the following: ,(…) Deeply saddened by the increasing deterioration of morals and the rapid decline of practical piety, some excellent preachers are developing a powerful and fruitful effort to further reform the Reformed Church along the lines of the ecclesiastical away…(…),.
In 1682, however, a ,Concept of Further Reformation in Doctrine, Order and Morals was published by the book printer and book seller Willem Clerck in Utrecht. Prepared by Ged éputeerde des Classis van Zuyd-Bevelant,. With the subtitle: ,To raise the teachers of the Netherlands, to promote the necessary Reformation,. So this is two hundred years before the publication of Vos’s church history. The title of this concept provides irrefutable proof that the term Further Reformation was indeed known.
The dating of the Further Reformation
GJ Vos Azn. In his book on national church history, this movement arose after 1651, i.e. in the second half of the so-called Golden Age. Nowadays, earlier preachers are also included in the Further Reformation. The beginning of this movement is dated immediately after the end of the Synod of Dordrecht, around 1620. People such as Amesius, Teellinck and Voetius are therefore also involved in this movement. Their writings also give reason to do so.
In general, Rev. Theodorus van der Groe (1705-1784) is considered the last representative of the Further Reformation. In this case, the following (very old) statement may be seen as illustrative: ,Van der Groe closes the gate.,
Fields of the Further Reformation
The field of activity, if we may call it that, of the representatives of the Further Reformation covered the entire society. We would like to make a threefold division:
- The church
- The family
- Government
The church
In the church they strove for experimental preaching, that is to say: preaching in which the emphasis was placed on the personal relationship with God, the qualities and characteristics of faith, the difficulties and unbelief with which the believer has to contend within himself and the sanctification (living according to God’s commandments) of life.
Then it was the task of the ministers of the church to see to the pure proclamation of the Word, to banish errors, not only from outside the church but also from within the church itself. That is why the term was coined: the Reformed Church must continue to reform itself. So an ongoing reformation. This does not mean that the church must be open to all changes, as if that were the intended ongoing reformation, but that the church should permanently ward off all errors and, if they have crept in, to get rid of them.
The Further Reformers also strove not only to have the ecclesiastical offices in the church councils (elders and deacons) held by wealthy people, as was customary, but to elect men, regardless of their social position, on the basis of faith and lifestyle. . Quite unusual for that time. The congregations where preaching as advocated by the Further Reformers did not make its mark continued to divide church offices in the old way.
The sacraments had to be kept ,sacred,, that is to say, members of the church who misbehaved in doctrine and life could be excluded from the use of the sacraments. In the Reformed Church they talk about the Lord’s Supper and Baptism.
Inseparable from the foregoing is the maintenance of church discipline. also called ecclesiastical censorship. Members of the church who publicly led an offensive and unchristian life could, after various warnings from the church council, not only be excluded from participating in the sacraments, but also be banned from the church. In most psalm books, at the back, after the confessions of the church, there is also the form regarding the expulsion (ban) from the church community. After confession of guilt, the church member in question could be reintegrated into the community of the church.
Everyday practice was unruly. For example, Rev. Van Lodenstein in his first congregation in Zoetermeer had major problems getting his congregation to attend a second service on Sunday. He also visited the local pubs on Saturday evenings to call the congregation members there looking for entertainment to order. Initially his performance had something surprising and as such had an effect. Over time, the church pub patrons were warned in advance when Van Lodenstein was approaching. They then left the pub through the back door until the minister had left and then returned.
The family
Families were seen as “incubators of godliness.” In other words, the family was the place in which children could (and should) be taught Christian doctrine, the doctrine that is according to godliness. The family was a church within the church. Every day had to start with Bible reading and prayer. The children had to memorize Bible passages and sing psalms and spiritual songs. The father, as priest of the family, had a very important task. However, the Further Reformers saw little result. For example, Rev. Petrus Wittewrongel in his Ecumenia Christiana (Amsterdam 1661) lamented his distress as follows: ,Man and woman show themselves to be nothing less than religious. The children fare worse than their fathers; manservants and maidservants live irregularly. Strength becomes little. of godliness among the members of the household, since the heights of sin are in full force. The papal holidays are even celebrated among the Reformed Christians without any concern. (…)What ungodly activities are there in the houses with the dice and cards and frivolous dances, so that the very homes of many members seem to have become veritable schools of dice and dancing. The plays and the schools of vanity are held in too great esteem, and the parents make no effort to remove their children from those soul-destroying places yes, they go there themselves (…).,
Government
In the view of the Further Reformation, the government had to promote Christian life and prevent sinful entertainment. This included theater plays, drunkenness, dancing, card games, dice, fairs and annual fairs, etc. The government also had the task of proclaiming prayer meetings or days of prayer in the event of adversity and disaster, so that the people could collectively turn to God.
Sunday rest was a tricky issue. The sanctification of Sunday was also part of the government’s program. This was actually due to the comments of members of the Synod of Dort, who came from England. When the decisions on doctrine had been made unanimously and the discussion of the catechism of the Palatinate had begun, the bomb exploded during the discussion of the fourth commandment (about the sanctification of the day of rest). The English delegates expressed their annoyance at the fact that in a country with such a sound confession, shops were largely open on Sundays, as if there were no day of rest. The English believed that the government had the task of reminding the entire society to keep God’s commandments.
The government was regularly reminded of its Divine task by the Further Reformers. The government was God’s servant and had to act as such. That is why the people were called upon to respect and obey the government established by God. The Dutch Confession of Faith speaks clearly about this.
Dichotomy
After 1720, the Further Reformation became less concerned with society and focused more on the church itself and especially on the individual believer. This aspect had certainly not been neglected by the earlier Further Reformers, on the contrary, but under the influence of the German theologian FA Lampe, who became professor in Utrecht in 1720, the emphasis increasingly lay on individual findings and religious struggles. The nation-wide program of the Further Reformation was abandoned. We could also count the preachers Verschuir and Schortinghuis as part of Lampe’s ,school,, who, like Lampe, were excellent psychologists and sensitive pastors. Verschuir is known for his book ,Truth in the innermost or experimental theology,. Schortinghuis wrote his well-known ,The Heartfelt Christianity,.
Influence
The Further Reformation was not only a Dutch movement, the Puritans also had roughly the same program in England and Scotland. Germany also had its Reformed theologians who exerted their influence in the Netherlands. Theologians from Embden and Bremen were also present at the Dodtse Synod. The impulse that emanated from German theology on the Dutch Further Reformation is best observed by the Bremen resident FA Lampe.
Some representatives of the Further Reformation
Without exception, the preachers who we consider part of the Further Reformation movement have published many theological writings, especially many written sermons. They are sometimes called the ,Old Writers,. These sermons are still widely read to this day, even in church services. Especially in holiday congregations in orthodox Protestantism, these sermons serve when an elder reads a sermon; the so-called reading services.
Below are some well-known Lower Reformers:
- Jean Taffin (1529-1602)
- Willem Teellinck (1579-1629)
- Godefridus Udemans (1582-1649)
- Theodore a Brakel (1620-1677)
- Gisbertus Voetius (1589-1676)
- Guiljelmus Saldenus (1627-1694)
- Jacobus Koelman (1631-1691)
- Herman Witsius (1636-1708)
- Wilhelmus a Brakel (1635-1711)
- Abraham Hellenbroek (1658-1731)
- Bernardus Smijtegelt (1665-1739)
- Wilhelmus Schortinghuis (1700-1750)
- Alexander Comrie (1706-1774)
- Theodorus van der Groe (1705-1784)