Belhar Resources: A Belhar Alternative

Not Another Confession in the CRC: A Belhar “Alternative” by Aaron Vriesman, pastor of North Blendon CRC in Hudsonville, MI

 
Pastor Aaron Vriesman, of the Christian Reformed Church, creates a modified edition of the Belhar Confession that he believes more adequately speaks to the Biblical vision of justice and reconciliation. Vriesman’s alternative edition highlights the two problems with the Belhar. In places it goes beyond the Biblical vision of justice (e.g. that God is, in a special way, the God of the poor and oppressed) and at other times it does not adequately express the grounds for Biblical justice (the reason for Vriesman’s additions). What is most notable about Vriesman’s additions is that he is attempting to compensate for the Belhar’s failure to clearly ground the Christian’s mandate for justice and racial reconciliation in the salvific work of Christ. Here are several additions that Vriesman makes to this end (** denotes addition, [ ] subtraction): 

**– that God sent his only begotten Son to suffer and die on the cross to accomplish this justice and peace (Matt. 12:18-21; Isa. 42:1-4); that as sinless man and perfect God, Jesus Christ’s suffering and death on behalf of sinful humanity amounts to the greatest injustice of all time (Isa. 53:5-6, 8-10; Luke 20:9-18, 23:41; Acts 8:32-35);**

**– that God, by the cross of Christ, condemns all injustice in sinful humanity (Rom. 8:3); that God, by the resurrection of Christ, shows his salvation to triumph over injustice (Php. 2:5-11; Isa. 53:11-12);**

**– that God desires and calls people from all nations, tribes, backgrounds, ranks and status to his salvation through Christ (1Tim. 2:1-4; Rev. 14:6); that all believers everywhere are called to face injustice for the sake of Christ, not seeking their own justice (Deut. 32:35; Rom. 12:19), but taking up the cross and following Christ in suffering injustice (Matt. 16:24; 2Tim. 1:8; 1Pet. 2:19-23, 4:1), thereby considering it an honor to suffer injustice for the sake of Christ (Matt. 5:10-12; Acts 5:41; 1Pet. 4:12-19);**

In the below paragraph, Vriesman adds "in Jesus Christ" to stress that the unity of God's church is the unity of those who are effectually called by God and united to Christ through faith. He also subtracts the misleading clause "anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted". While the apostle Paul does desire the unity of the body, he also calls Christians (and especially leaders in the Church) to defend the faith and to turn away from those who promote error (e.g. 1 Timothy 6 and 2 Thessalonians 3:6). Unity is never at the expense of the truth, something that the Belhar fails to make clear.

"that this unity **in Jesus Christ** must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred [between people and groups] is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that [anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted] **the church is called to focus on Jesus Christ who is the head of his church and the sufficient healer of all human divisions** (John 17:20-23 **; Matt. 10:2-4**)"

While no changes will actually be made to the Belhar by the Christian Reformed Church, one may still find Vriesman's exercise instructive.