A Brief Introduction to the Act of Secession or Return
We, the undersigned Overseers and members of the Reformed Congregation of Jesus Christ at Ulrum, have for a considerable time noticed the corruptionin the Netherlands Reformed Church, in the mutilation or denial of the doctrine of our fathers founded on God's Word, as well as in the degeneration of the administration of the Holy Sacraments according to the ordinance of Christ in his Word, and in the near complete absence of church discipline, all of which are marks of the true church according toour Reformed Confession, Article 29.
By the grace of God, the congregation received a Pastor and Teacher who introduced us to the pure doctrine of our fathers according to the Word ofGod and who applied it, both in its particular aspects and as a whole. As a result, the congregation became more and more motivated to be guided inconfession and walk by the rule of faith and of God's Holy Word (Gal. 6:16; Php. 3:16), and also to distance itself from that worship of God which is according to human precepts, since God's Word tells us that thisis vain (Mat. 15:9), and at the same time to guard against the desecration of the signs and seals of God's eternal covenant of grace.
Through this, the congregation was living in peace and quiet. However, this peace and quiet was disturbed by the extremely unjust and ungodlysuspension of our Pastor and Teacher who was loved and respected everywhere. This was because of his public testimony against false doctrine and polluted public worship services. So far the congregationwith their Pastor and Teacher have behaved quietly and calmly. Several most reasonable proposals were made, both by our Pastor and Teacher and bythe rest of the Overseers of the congregation. More than once, an investigation and a judgment on the basis of and according to God's Word was requested. But it was all in vain.
Classical, Provincial, and Synodal Boards of the Church refused this most reasonable request and instead demanded repentance and sorrow without showing wrongdoing from God's Holy Word, as well as unqualified submission to Synodal regulations and prescriptions without showing that these are founded on God's Word in every respect.
By doing so, this Church Board of the Netherlands has made itself like the Papal Church which was rejected by our fathers: not only is the aforementioned corruption being noticed, but, on top of that, God's Word is being rejected or rendered powerless through ecclesiastical laws anddecisions (Mat. 15:4; 23:4; Mark 7:7,8), and she persecutes those who want to live devoutly in Christ Jesus according to his own prescriptions recorded in his Word (Mat. 2:13; 5:11,12; 10:23; 23:34; Luke 11:49; 12:12;John 5:16; 15:20; Acts 7:52; 9:4; 22:4,7; 26:11,14,15; Rom. 12:14; I Cor.15:9; Gal. 1:13,23; 4:29; Php. 3:6; I Thess. 2:15; Rev. 12:13; Mat. 5:10; 13:21; Mark 10:30; Acts 8:1; 13:50; Rom. 8:35; I Cor. 5:12; 2 Cor. 4:9;12:10; Gal. 5:11; 6:12; 2 Thess. 1:4; 2 Tim. 3:11,12), and the conscience of the people is bound. Finally, a teacher of the Church who is widelyknown among us, Doctor H.P. Scholte [2], Reformed teacher at Dovren and Gindren [3] in the land of Heusden and Altena, in the province of North Brabant, was forbidden to preach the Word of God by authority of the Provincial Church Board. Also, the communal gatherings of believers whichwere held openly were punished with fines.
With all of this put together, it is abundantly clear that the Netherlands Reformed Church is not the true but the false Church, according to God'sWord and Article 29 of our confession, wherefore the undersigned declare in conjunction with these that they secede from those who are not of the Church, in accordance with the office of all believers (Article 28), and thus do not wish to have fellowship with the Netherlands Reformed Church anymore, until the latter return to the true worship of the Lord.
At the same time they declare that they wish to exercise fellowship with all true Reformed members and that they wish to unite with every assembly that is founded on God's infallible Word at whatever place God has broughtthem together, testifying with these that we abide by our time-honoured Forms of Unity in all things, that is, the confession of faith, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of the Synod of Dordt held in the year 1618-1619. Our public worship services will conform to thetime-honoured liturgy of the Church, and as regards worship and government, for the time being we will abide by the Church Order drafted by the aforementioned Synod of Dordt. Finally, we hereby declare that we continue to recognize our unjustly suspended Preacher as our lawfully called and ordained Pastor and Teacher.
Footnotes
1. <RETURN > Translation of "Acte van Afscheiding of Wederkeering". My source for the Dutch document: G. Keizer, De Afscheiding Van 1834: Haar Aanleiding, Naar Authentieke Brieven en Bescheiden Beschreven (Kampen: Kok, 1934),575-576. Keizer also includes a lithographic reprint of the handwritten original, dated 14 October 1834, with signatures of the elders, deacons, and members of the congregation at Ulrum, which has slight variants fromthe first printed copy (which was dated 13 October!). I have shortened many sentences, and paragraph division is mine -trans.
2. <RETURN > The Dutch here has "de WelEW : Zeer Gel : Heer H.P. Scholte". The adjective "weledelzeergeleerd" is used to address one who holds a doctorate degree -trans.
3. <RETURN > I.e. "Doeveren" and "Genderen" -trans.
<RETURN > A brief note about the translation: this is the first time that the Act of Secession or Return has been translated in full. Parts have appeared here and there, but this is the first full English translation. It appears courtesy of the diligent efforts of John Smith, a fourth-year student at the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches in Hamilton, ON.
Wes Bredenhof