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For the Cause of the Son of God-2
The Missionary Significance of the
Belgic Confession
by Dr. Wesley L. Bredenhof
ISBN 9 780977 344253
Now available in print & PDF Ebook versions
Scroll Down for Endorsements & Author
Biography
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Book Description
Table of Contents
Biography on Wesley Lloyd
Bredenhof
Endorsements
Introduction to this book
Introduction to Reformed Mission History
Series
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Biography of Wesley
Lloyd Bredenhof
Wesley Lloyd Bredenhof was born in Taber, Alberta, Canada. He graduated in
1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the
University of Alberta in Edmonton. In 2000, he received the Master of
Divinity degree from the Canadian
Reformed Theological Seminary in Hamilton, Ontario. The following
year, he was granted the Diploma of Missiology.
In 2000, he was ordained to the ministry as a missionary to the native people
living in Fort Babine, British Columbia. He did this work under the
oversight of the Canadian
Reformed Church at Smithers, British Columbia. In 2005, he accepted a
call to serve as co-pastor of the Langley
Canadian Reformed Church, in Langley, British Columbia. Since
September 2009, he has served as the pastor of the Providence
Canadian Reformed Church in Hamilton, Ontario.
In April 2010 he was awarded a Doctor of Theology degree from Reformation
International Theological Seminary in Fellsmere, Florida. He did his
doctoral work under the supervision of Dr. L.J. Joosse (retired pastor of the
Reformed Church in Groningen-West, the Netherlands). The title of his
dissertation is: “For the Cause of the Son of God: the Missiological Relevance
of the Belgic Confession.”
He currently serves as the convenor of the synodically appointed Canadian
Reformed Website Committee. He is also serving on the Committee for Bible
Translation.
He has written numerous articles and reviews published in a variety of
publications including Clarion, Christian Renewal, Reformed Perspective, Modern
Reformation, The Westminster Theological Journal, Mid-America Journal of
Theology and The Confessional Presbyterian. He is the editor of a
compilation of creeds and confessions, We
Believe.
He and his wife have four children. His “extra-curricular” interests
include hunting, fishing, and aviation.
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Endorsements
Endorsement by Dr. Joel Beeke
The Belgic Confession has been a gospel witness sealed
in blood ever since its first edition was thrown over a wall to Roman
Catholic authorities inside the castle of Tournai.
Dr. Bredenhof sets the Confession at the intersection of
biblical, theological, and historical discussions over the church's
mission. He draws from
international scholarship and a broad array of academic disciplines in
providing a holistic challenge to the caricature of the Reformation as
an inward-focused neglect of the church's missionary enterprise.
Especially interesting is the connection Dr. Bredenhof draws
between the Confession and the suffering martyr-witness of the
confessing church to a lost world.
For the Cause of the Son of
God will be welcomed by those who love the Reformed confessional
witness to biblical truth and who are zealous for the world-wide
preaching of the gospel. --
Dr.
Joel R. Beeke, President of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary, Grand
Rapids, Michigan.
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Endorsement by Dr. Arland de Visser
It would be an understatement to say that Dr. Wes
Bredenhof has chosen a neglected topic for this book by studying the
missiologicalrelevance of the Belgic Confession. Many missiologists would consider
impossible topic! In our days the idea is widespread
that the Belgic Confession has no
missiological relevance at all. Yet, Dr. Bredenhof succeeds admirably in arguing that the Belgic
Confession has definite
missiological strengths even though it does not set forth a global
approach to mission work.
Written during a time of persecution, the Belgic Confession aimed to defend
and promote the Reformed faith — an evangelistic purpose! In addition,
Dr. Bredenhof shows that much of the content of the Belgic Confession,
with its emphasis on justification by faith and its Christological focus,
is surprisingly relevant for teaching in missionary situations today. What
makes reading of Dr. Bredenhof’s book all the more interesting are
various excursions into historical and contemporary developments, ranging
from the mission work of Johannes Megapolensis among the Mohawks
to the Christian Reformed Church’s endeavour to formulate a Contemporary Testimony.
-- Dr. Arjan de Visser, professor of mission at Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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Endorsement by Dr. Stephen Westcott
True biblical Christianity has always faced two imperatives: a) to
remain doctrinally sound, and b) to propagate that genuine, saving,
faith, as widely as possible. Church history demonstrates how often
these
two foundational requirements have drifted apart, to the great detriment
of the faith. In the centuries since the great Reformation it had often
been the case that theology has been the preserve of the learned and
the scholastic, whilst those with a zeal for missions have pressed ahead
‘without tarrying for any’, and often with a very defective
understanding
of the faith they wished to share. Dr. Bredenhof reminds us that this
was not always the case, and indeed, should never have been the case,
for it is far from the vision of the Reformers. In the fiery heat and
battle to re-establish Biblical Christianity the Reformers forged a
two-edged
sword: true Bible doctrine, and an urgent desire to spread that saving
truth to all to whom it might be presented. This is the strength of the
Belgic Confession (true Bible Doctrine) and the vision of its prime
author
Guido de Brès (that truth for evangelism and missions), in a day when
men faced the daily possibility of being called to die for their faith.
In this
magnificent study Dr. Bredenhof employs the Belgic Confession and its
history to call the church back to its Reformation vision, its
Reformation
zeal, and its Reformation commitment. May ‘For the Cause of the Son
of
God’ be widely read, for it has a message desperately needed by the
Church today!
--
Dr. Stephen P. Westcott, Author, Professor and Doctoral Member
Committee at
Reformation International Theological Seminary
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Endorsement by Dr. Jeffery K. Boer
For the Cause of the Son of God by Dr. Wes Bredenhof gives the
following definition of "Mission". "Mission is the official sending of the
church to go and make disciples by preaching and witnessing to the good news of
Jesus Christ in all nations through the power of the Holy Spirit."
Dr.
Bredenhof does a masterful job of demonstrating, through careful historical
study, that the Reformed confession of faith known as the Belgic Confession,
derived from the Scriptures, not only sets forth the proper content of the
Gospel that is to be preached, but also provides a primary motivating force
behind the missionary outreach of Reformed churches. Both of these factors
are necessary if trhe Reformed churches of our day are to continue to fulfill
the Great Commission properly. -- Dr. Jeffery K. Boer, Pastor of Sharon
Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Hialeah, FL (USA), former member of the OPC
Committee on Foreign Missions; Board member and Doctoral Committee member of
Reformation International Theological Seminary.
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Endorsement by Dr. Leen Joosse
In this study
Bredenhof has broken new ground. Using newer Reformation research methods
he has reopened the discussion on the link between the Reformers and mission. He has rightly left behind the
obsolete idea
that the Reformation was lacking in missionary character. Bredenhof
demonstrates how the Belgic Confession emerges from a perspective in
which its author and original adherents believed that they were
witnessing
to an unbelieving world. Moreover, he argues that the Confession’s
missionary character has to be considered in close connection with
the
phenomenon of martyrdom. Guido de Brès and his fellow Reformed
believers could have avoided martyrdom by keeping silent, but they
chose
to speak and their model is instructive for us today too. The study
goes on to show how the Belgic Confession can be an instrumental
part of
developing a Reformed missiology. Both its strengths and weaknesses
in
that regard are taken into consideration. We live in a time in which
many Christians want to move away from Scripture
and our creeds. We need to have our thoughts developed in a confessional way, also when it comes to
mission.
For the Cause of the Son of God
will be a great help in moving us in that direction, bringing us to a faithful
summary of the Bible’s teachings so that we can be more effectively
engaged in the task to which Jesus has called us. --
Dr. Leen Joosse, retired pastor of the Reformed Church of Groningen-West,
the Netherlands.
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Endorsement by Dr. Richard Knodel, Jr.
Wes Bredenhof has composed the best study of Reformed missions (both missiology and
missions) in print. It is quite simply essential
reading, and puts to bed (hopefully forever) the claim that the reformed
church has been deficient in its evangelical activity. Bredenhof’s scope
is
very broad so that one is sure to discover new things about the
Reformation and
its advance. Yet he focuses sharply on missions
and the advance of Christ’s church
from an originally Protestant and Reformed perspective. No one will
regret purchasing this book! --
Dr. Richard E. Knodel, Jr., Church Planter, Reformed Presbyterian Church
of North America, Cincinnati, Ohio; Adjunct Professor and Doctoral Committee member of Reformation International Theological
Seminary; former missionary to Scotland; former Orthodox Presbyterian
Church pastor.
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Endorsement by Dr. Frans L. Schalkwijk
Though often decried
as an inward looking church document, Dr. Bredenhof proves
clearly, both from internal evidence and
contemporary
sources that this confession by Guido de Brès was written as a ‘martyr’
document in the double sense of the word. In the first place, it is a clear
missionary witness (martyria) to those who needed the pure light
of the gospel of grace; besides that, conceived in a time of much persecution,
the author himself became a martyr and died by hanging because he
preached the simple Word of God. Very soon after its publication, this
pamphlet in 37 articles was embraced by many believers in the Low Countries
and adopted as the confession of all Reformed churches in that
region. Their leaders had a clear vision of their mission task for the
sixteenth-century world around them: to spread the gospel. As a retired
missionary of those churches, I do hope and pray that this profound study of
their oldest Reformed confession may serve to refocus the mission vision
of our churches for a biblical witness of the pure gospel of our Savior Jesus
Christ to our twenty first-century needy world. --
Dr. Frans L. Schalkwijk, author of The Reformed Church and Its
Mission in Dutch Brazil (1630-1654)
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Endorsement by Dr. William Boekenstein
For the Cause of the Son of God
provides a well-researched, respectful
and timely answer to the claim that
predestinarian, creedal theology is detrimental to missions. As the author demonstrates, this nagging
complaint against Reformation theology certainly finds no support in
Guido de Brès’
Belgic Confession. De Brès’ life beat to a missionary pulse, his martyr’s death sealed the
authenticity of his ministry and his great confessional contribution to
Christian thought abides as a summary of
the kind of religion that inspires
and enables men to do great things for
God. In shedding much-needed light
upon the relationship between
Reformed theology and God-honoring missions the author has done a
service to both. No one who is serious about theology or missions will
want to be without Rev. Bredenhof’s weighty contribution to the church.
--
William Boekestein, Pastor, Carbondale, Pennsylvania; Author of
Faithfulness under Fire: The Story of Guido de Bres
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Endorsement by Rev. Christopher J. Gordon
Wes Bredenhof’s detailed study of the Belgic Confession is brimming with
insights for those who want to understand better how the Reformed
confessions are crucial to the missionary activity of the church of
Jesus Christ. It has
generally been assumed that the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth
century are a hindrance to the advancement of the gospel to the ends of
the earth. Wes challenges
this assumption in this historical, lucid, and faithful study of the
Belgic Confession. This book
should be read by anyone who wants to better understand how the mission
of the church of Jesus Christ is never something that can be separated
from what she confesses. -- Christopher J Gordon, pastor, United
Reformed Church of Lynden, Washington.
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Endorsement by Rev. Geoffrey Donnan
It is somewhat embarrassing to admit that as a missionary since 1976, it never
occurred to me to think of a Confession of Faith as a
missionary statement. My mind has been given a serious
and well- needed course correction after reading For the Cause of
the Son of God by Dr. Wes Bredenhof. My hope is that many others who may
suffer from this same malady will also be enlightened by this profound work.
Its
reading and study should prove additionally useful in rectifying the
thoughtless addiction of many who mistakenly consider the Reformed
and Presbyterians as late-comers
to the outreach of missions. They will now be able to see more clearly
that the same Son of God who was the center of focus and force behind the Reformation was
also the same force that spearheaded what we now call modern day
missions initially through the early Reformed and Presbyterian churches. He must
remain so today in today’s missions and missionaries. --
Rev.
Geoffrey W. Donnan, President, Reformation Christian
Ministries; Co-Pastor,
King’s Reformed Presbyterian Church, Palm Bay, Florida
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