Dr. H. F. Kohlbrugge (1803-1875) Preacher of God's Free Grace (2)

In our previous article we saw that Kohlbrugge was not allowed to become a minister in the Restored Evangelical Lutheran Church in Amsterdam because of his strong opposition to erroneous teachings that were being proclaimed there. We also saw that he was denied a membership in the Reformed State Church because they were afraid that a sharp and bold preaching would cause trouble in their church.

Initially it seemed that Kohlbrugge could expect sympathy and support from the Reveil Movement in the State Church. This group did not want to separate, but to restore the church to its former faithfulness to the truth.

However, his sermon on Romans 7:14 resulted in a conflict with Isaac DaCosta, one of the leaders of the Reveil. Kohlbrugge was very outspoken in rejecting all religion of the flesh, and he was afraid of proud self-confidence in the believer. He warned against pious work-holiness, and he emphasized that grace is free and that our holiness is only in the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ the Savior. Kohlbrugge was sometimes very outspoken and blunt, and his expressions were sometimes misunderstood. This led to an estrangement from the Reveil people.

The Secession

However, in the meantime, in 1834, the Secession from the State Church had taken place. There were several reasons for this secession:

1. As a result of the Enlightenment, a spirit of tolerance to all kinds of errors prevailed within the State Church. However, there was no tolerance for those ministers who wanted to abide with our doctrinal standards and the teachings of the synod of Dordt, which many considered to be hopelessly outdated.

2. The regulations of 1816, which the government had imposed upon the churches, implied departure from our Reformed Church Order. By these regulations, the worldly government had much to say in the church.

3. Not only was there a general disregard of the confessions, but also a sad neglect of discipline to those who spread serious errors in the church.

Reverend H. DeCock and Kohlbrugge

In 1834, one of the young ministers who could not agree with the direction the State Church was going was Rev. Hendrick DeCock, minister at Ulrum. He came into conflict with the leaders of the church and was forbidden to preach. He finally seceded from the State Church in 1834.

It was at this time that Kohlbrugge himself experienced bitter disappointments and rejection by ministers of the State Church. Many expected that he would join the Secession. Even before it took place, some considered him to be the potential leader of a secession. Rumors in that direction were spread, and several gatherings in Utrecht where Kohlbrugge spoke an edifying word were violently disrupted. Hatred and scorn were his portion. Kohlbrugge even received a definite request to form a new church, which he respectfully declined.

After his return from Elberfeld, Kohlbrugge became acquainted with a little booklet written by Rev. DeCock, which was entitled, “The Sheepfold of Christ Attacked by Wolves and Defended by H. DeCock, Reformed Minister in Ulrum.” In this booklet he sharply attacked two of his colleagues, unorthodox ministers who despised those who loved the old Reformed doctrine.

On May 3, 1834, Kohlbrugge wrote a warm letter to the minister of Ulrum, who at that time already had been suspended from his office. He predicted that DeCock would experience the same injustice as he himself had experienced. He encouraged Rev. DeCock to ignore the suspension and to preach wherever he would be asked. Kohlbrugge stated that, had he himself been ordained in the ministry, he would have continued with preaching in spite of the suspension. However, at the closing of his letter he solemnly warned against the use of “carnal weapons, for this would be an abomination in the sight of God, and has always been harmful for the cause of the truth.”

Rev. H. P. Scholte and Kohlbrugge

However, Rev. DeCock was not the only leader of the Secession. Other young ministers joined him. One of them was Rev. H. P. Scholte, who some years later would emigrate to America and found the settlement in Pella, Iowa. Kohlbrugge knew him, because he also had been raised in the Restored Evangelical Lutheran Church in Amsterdam, where Scholte's father had been an elder.

Rev. Scholte also left this church, but he, in contrast to Kohlbrugge, was soon admitted as a member of the Reformed State Church.

There were some personal grudges between the two men, dating back to the time when Kohlbrugge was still studying. Rev. Scholte was strongly influenced by DaCosta, and he also accused Kohlbrugge of antinomianism. Not only Scholte, but also other Seceders had the same opinion as the men of the Reveil in their rejection of Kohlbrugge's sermon on Romans 7:14 and his doctrine of sanctification.

This led Kohlbrugge to the conclusion that the doctrine of the Secession churches “was not the doctrine of Christ.” He considered the work of the secession as “a work of the flesh.” Again we see that Kohlbrugge could be quite radical in his judgments, but we must not forget that he often felt deeply hurt and betrayed by those from whom he had expected support.

So Kohlbrugge lived in an isolated position in Utrecht. He spoke for some scattered believers, in conventicles, but for many years he did not come to the full ministry to which the Lord had called him.

Back in Germany

In 1845, Kohlbrugge, for health reasons, again stayed in Germany with his wife and child (he had remarried in the meantime). There he was again brought into contact with Elberfeld, where he had preached about twelve years previously, and where he had experienced his so-called “second conversion.”

In Elberfeld and its surroundings there was strong dissatisfaction and concern because of the proposal of the Prussian king to unite Lutheran and Reformed churches into the so-called “Union.” This implied that the new united church would have a common liturgy, the “Agenda.” A small group of people, very concerned about these developments, decided to leave these established churches and meet together privately.

After many requests, Kohlbrugge finally decided to honor their wish to conduct home worship services and catechism classes for them. However, people came from far and near, and the audience increased so rapidly that Kohlbrugge was forced to look for a more spacious location in which to gather. This ultimately resulted in the organizing of an independent church, which even obtained royal approval, under the name “Niederlandisch Reformierte Gemeinde.”

It was to be expected that the church leaders opposed him wherever they could. Sad experiences in the Netherlands, where no one had been willing to solemnize his second marriage before the church, now were repeated in Germany. Kohlbrugge could not find a single minister inside or outside the country who was willing to ordain him. He stated, “I asked seven ministers of different name and persuasion, well received by the godly, to ordain me, but they all refused.”

Finally, when there was no other possibility, he let the elders of the congregation ordain him in the ministry by the laying on of hands, according to 1 Timothy 4:14. Thus Kohlbrugge, after many trying years, became pastor and shepherd of a growing flock in Elberfeld. However, he always considered his congregation as a “temporary organization.”

Churches under the Cross and Kohlbrugge

Kohlbrugge felt an affinity with the so-called “Reformed Congregations under the Cross,” which, in contrast to the Seceders, had never asked for government recognition.

The well-known Rev. Cornelis VandenOever of Rotterdam sent an invitation to Kohlbrugge to preach for him. He even mentioned the possibility of becoming a minister in those churches. In a reply dated December 15,1845, Kohlbrugge wrote to VandenOever, that his “brotherly and confidential letter” had refreshed him for several reasons. He expressed that his heart still went out to the people among whom he was born. However, he could not leave the “prospering congregation” which the Lord had entrusted to him, but he wanted to leave this matter in the hands of the Lord and wait for His leading.

It is evident that Kohlbrugge's warm letter originated from the conviction that he had to deal with those who were of one spirit with him. Nevertheless, Kohlbrugge did not accept the invitation from the Churches under the Cross. He expected “not a half, but a complete deliverance of the Netherlands church.”

A lonely path

So Kohlbrugge joined neither the Secession nor the Churches under the Cross. He maintained an isolated position in the church life of those days. However, by means of his printed sermons, he became very influential, and many who loved the truth also loved his writings. Many recognized in them the clear proclamation of “by grace alone, and by faith alone.”

He lived in the time of the “brave- Hendrikken-theology,” an expression which means that good-willing people, with decent lives, perhaps living like the rich young ruler, were considered to be saved because of their good life before God. Kohlbrugge had powerfully experienced that all his righteousnesses were but as filthy rags before God. He knew that from this tree no fruit could be expected. He knew he was carnal, sold under sin. He understood Asaph when he said that he was as a beast before God. He vehemently rejected and unmasked the desire of man to be something before God and to contribute something to his salvation in a way of human efforts— also in regard to his sanctification.

Restoration and acknowledgment

In the way of God's providence, Kohlbrugge received a “partial restoration of honor” when in 1865 he received a call from the Reformed State Church of Zoutelande (Zeeland). Then Kohlbrugge exclaimed, “Now I see that God keepeth truth forever, for in the time I was persecuted and when they advised me to join the Secession, I said, 'God will do justice to me, even if it would be in the smallest village at the sea.'“ Zoutelande is, indeed, a small village at the sea.

Before this time he had already been invited to preach in the “Domkerk” in Utrecht, the city where, in earlier years, he had been despised and mocked. Near the end of his life, Dr. Kuyper gave him his Sunday evening service in the Southern Church in Amsterdam, where Kohlbrugge preached for more than three thousand people. The service started at six o'clock, but at four the church was already filled to capacity.

Though Kohlbrugge lived in an isolated position until the end of his life, his many sermons and expositions of Scripture were widely spread. They were of fundamental importance; they have given guidance in the lives of many believers and have influenced theological students and ministers.

Rest for a wearied pilgrim

Kohlbrugge had not only become a very influential theologian but had also received a place in the hearts of many who experienced their own bankruptcy and learned to trust in free and sovereign grace alone.

Kohlbrugge declined the call from Zoutelande, though he longed for rest. But God had provided better things for him, a city which had foundations, of which the Maker and Builder is God. Kohlbrugge was sure of that foundation. He lived what he had believed. The Word of God was his only hope and ground.

About the firmness of that foundation, the Word of God, he spoke several years before his death, at the end of a service in 1872, when he said, “I die upon that Word; and I recant of everything what I have written and you have in possession, not one jot nor tittle. I know that it is God's Word in pure gold and silver; I did not make it up, but from the depths of sufferings I declared it unto you.” Here we have a summary of Kohlbrugge's theology and beliefs.

In the morning of March 5, 1875, he died in the Lord and received the glorious inheritance prepared for all God's children.

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