During recent testimonies to the CRL commission the “two legs” of the mission was criticized. A video of this was published by News24 on the internet.
I was dumbfounded as to what could be the logic behind dragging this into the whole “Exodus” debate. The “two legs” that are referred to are confession of sin and a high standard of choosing the right marriage partner.
Let me first state that the main “leg” that the mission stands on is in my opinion neither one of the two, but rather obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ (and not Reverend Erlo Stegen, as many are believed to think). But for the argument let us evaluate these two legs.
Confession of sins or biblical counselling had always through the ages been one of the pillars of the Christian faith. Was David wrong in Psalm 34: 3-5 where he states that when he kept silent about his sins his bones wasted away as he silently cried to God, but when his sins came to the light through the prophet Nathan he received forgiveness? Was the prophet Malachi wrong to state that believers will again talk with each other (Mal 3:16)? Was John the Baptist wrong to baptize people with confession of sin (Matt 3:6)? Was James wrong to encourage believers to confess their sins one to another (James 5:16)? Was our Lord Jesus wrong in counselling His disciples? Was He wrong in giving them the great commandment to go and make disciples of all nations? Was His beloved disciple John wrong when he said we must be in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7)? Were great theologians throughout church history wrong to proclaim this great truth of counselling? Was the great church father Augustine wrong in his confessions? Was the great grandfather of the reformation John Wycliffe wrong? Or what about Luther and Calvin? What about Whitefield, Wesley or the great Moravian movement? What about Bonhoeffer, the great German theologian that dared to stand up against the evil of Nazi Germany? Shall we bring the Roman Catholic church into the debate because they teach that you need to confess your sins to a priest? What about countless ministers, pastors, priests or church leaders from many denominations that have helped countless fellow believers in counselling to overcome their doubts, questions, fears, failures and sins? Shall we condemn all of these as not been private confessions to God alone? Now, in wise counselling when Kwasizabantu counsellors refer you back to God and to seek answers from Him for your problems, does that make them a cult?
The second “leg” is the (presumably?) cultic arrangements of marriage. I myself bear witness of such a marriage, and no, it was not arranged by Reverend Erlo Stegen! Could it really be at our best interest to go the way of the world, be involved in one relationship after another, trying to the point of near impossibility not to get sexually involved? Especially if even spiritual leaders cannot guide us in how far we should go in relationships before marriage? Ask a thousand spiritual leaders to define the exact boundaries, and you will get a thousand different answers! What about the teachers in government schools? The only answer they have for children and teenagers is explicit sex education, condoms and abortions. Through all of this chaos we have to (thumb-suck) hope that one day we will make the right decision of marriage partner and that on top of all the emotional and physical baggage of previous relationships somehow it will not end up in the divorce court. Yes, we can trust God for our health, for our job, for everything else, but no, we cannot trust Him for our marriage partner and avoid the hurt and shame of broken relationships. Must we really believe that marriage is so important in God’s eyes that He installed that covenant before the fall of Adam and Eve, and yet now He abandons us in the evil and filth of this sexual immoral world to find our own way?! Genesis 24 gives us a clear example that there is a different way, a way in which God can be trusted. This is not a way of arranged marriages, but a much better way, a way in which both young men and young women in their obedience to God can ask Him for His guidance in their marriage partner of His choice. We do not have to “try before you buy”, but can trust God to make the perfect choice for us. Now, in wise counselling when Kwasizabantu counsellors refer you back to God to seek confirmation from Him for your marriage partner, does that make them a cult?
Thank you Kwasizabantu Mission for raising these standards for God and His Kingdom in these evil degenerate times that we are living in!
Gerhard le Roux
Onseepkans Mission