이 세상에서 사람들이 여러 가지로 생각한 결과 ‘이것이 하나님의 선이고 의다’ 한다면, 거기에 하나님이라는 이름을 붙이긴 했지만 그것은 한 개의 철학에 불과한 것입니다. 그런데도 예수를 믿는 사람들이 그것을 따른다면 철학자가 가장 이상적이라고 생각하는 바 선하고 의롭다는 것을 그대로 따라 나아가는 것과 같이 되고 마는 것입니다. 예컨대 어떤 철학자가 ‘나는 이것을 선으로 규정하고 이것을 신이라고 생각한다’ 하는 반면에, 기독교인은 ‘신이란 이러이러한 분으로서 나는 선이나 의를 이렇게 생각한다’고 말한다면, 거기에 하나님이라는 이름이 붙기는 했을지라도 사람들이 나름대로 생각하여 자기가 이리저리 그렇거니 하는 것에 불과한 것입니다. 그런 것은 절대로 참된 하나님의 선과 의의 자태가 아닌 것을 알아야 합니다. 생각에 불과한 것이라면 그것은 철학입니다. 거기에 종교적인 요소를 가미한다면 결국 종교적인 선일 뿐입니다.

어떤 도덕가가 말한 교훈과 비슷한 이야기를 성경도 말했다고 이야기한다 해서 그것으로 하나님의 선미(善美)의 특성을 드러내게 되느냐 하면 그것은 아주 생각을 잘못하는 것입니다. 많은 경우에 교사들이 하나님의 선미의 특성을 드러낸다고 하면서 성경을 인용하여 이야기를 하는데 그 이야기를 듣고 보면 성경을 모르는 세상의 도덕군자나 철인(哲人)들이 한 말과 비교할 때 더 나을 것이 별로 없는 말이 되고 맙니다. 우리는 이 문제를 언제든지 신중하게 생각하고 명확하게 바라볼 필요가 있습니다.

하나님의 영광을 위해서 살라는 말씀은 여러분이 아주 잘 아시는 말씀입니다. “그런즉 너희가 먹든지 마시든지 무엇을 하든지 다 하나님의 영광을 위하여 하라”(고전 10:31)는 말씀은 종교적인 친구들끼리 모여서 음식을 내놓고 식사 기도를 할 때 붙이는 정도의 말씀이 아닙니다. [...] 먹고 기운을 내서 나중에 좀 더 종교적으로 봉사를 함으로써 먹는 것이 하나님의 영광을 위한 것이 된다는 식으로 생각한다면 천만의 말씀입니다. 먹고 기운 내서 무엇을 하는 것은 믿는 사람이나 안 믿는 사람이나 마찬가지입니다. [...] 먹고 마시는 항다반의 생존 방식들은 선하고 악한 문제가 아닙니다. 먹는 것 자체야 선하다든지 악하다든지 할 것이 없습니다. [...] 사람의 생존에 기본으로 필요한 생리적인 작용을 하나님이 주셨는데 그것은 선하다든지 악하다든지 하는 도덕적인 문제로 평가할 대상이 아닌 것입니다. [...] 그러면 먹고 마시는 것을 가지고 하나님의 영광을 위하라는 말씀은 무슨 뜻입니까? 생존을 위해 그러한 기본적인 방식이 필요한 사람으로서 너는 숨쉬고 식사하고 잠을 자는 항다반의 생활 방도까지 하나님의 영광을 위한다는 목적 의식하에서 취하라는 말씀입니다. 어떤 일에서 너는 선하고 어떤 일에서는 악하다 하지 않고 그처럼 가장 기본적인 자기의 생존 방도조차 어떤 도덕적인 평가를 할 위치에 놓아둔다면, 그 여타의 문제는 더 말할 것도 없이 확실한 도덕적인 평가를 받아야 하는 것입니다. 다른 말로 하면, 먹는 것조차 우리가 하나님의 영광을 위해서 한다 할 것 같으면 먹고 기운을 내서 쓰는 것은 두말할 것도 없이 하나님의 영광을 위한 것입니다. 먹는 것 자체가 하나님의 영광을 위한 것이니까 그렇습니다. [...] 요컨대 우리의 도덕적인 기저 혹은 자리는 이 세상 사람의 도덕적인 위치와 같은 차원이나 같은 터 위에 있지 않음을 가르치고 있습니다.

가령 ‘부지런해라, 게으르지 말아라, 무엇을 열심히 해라’ 하는 말을 했다 할지라도 그것도 항상 별다른 차원 위에서 하는 이야기입니다. 이 세상 사람이 부지런해야 하듯 너희도 부지런해라 하는 말도 아니고 이 세상 사람이 생각하는 식의 게으름을 갖지 말라는 이야기도 아닙니다. 성경에서 우리에게 말하는 여러 가지 것들이 다 독특한 차원에서 하는 이야기입니다.

그리스도께서 우리에게 하시는 말씀은 자리를 달리하고 베푸시는 말씀입니다. 그런 의미에서 그리스도인이 가지고 있는 도덕의 평가의 자리 혹은 행동할 수 있는 기초는 세상이 생각하는 그것과는 전연 다른 것입니다. 그러므로 그리스도인의 도덕 판단의 자리는 세상의 도덕적 교훈과는 전연 다르다는 것을 발견해야 합니다. 그렇지 않고 도덕 교훈을 이야기할 때 이 세상의 도덕과 비교해서 좀 더 낫다든지 못하다든지 하는 식으로 해석하는 것은 부정당한 것입니다. 세상의 도덕은 소극적인데 이것은 적극적이다 하는 식의 이야기는 사실 의미 없는 이야기입니다. 소극적이라든지 적극적이라든지 하는 것과 상관없는 딴 세계의 이야기인 것입니다.

항상 이런 점을 우리가 먼저 명심하고 성경이 가르치는 많은 실천 사항의 문제를 생각해야 합니다. 성경이 가르치는 말씀은 그것을 실천할 사람의 자격이나 능력만이 아니라 그 사람이 가지고 있는 본체를 세상 사람과 다른 위치에 놓고 하는 이야기입니다. 불신자보고 ‘부지런하여 게으르지 말고 열심을 품으라’ 하는 말을 하지 않는 것입니다. 그것은 불신자에게 해당되는 도덕 교훈이 아니라는 말씀입니다. 신자가 가지고 있는 인간의 정열을 쏟아서 부지런하고 게으르지 말고 열심을 내라는 이야기도 아닙니다. 이런 점을 특별히 생각하면서 좀 더 공부해 나가십시다.

기도

거룩하신 아버지, 주께서 저희를 새로운 생명으로 지으시사 새사람으로서 새로운 세계인 하나님의 나라에서 무엇이든 생각하고 행동하고 말하고 또 길을 가게 하셨사옵나이다. 저희에게 주신 모든 거룩한 교훈들이 새 세계의 규칙이지 결코 묵은 옛 세상에 있는 규범이 아닌 것을 저희 교우들이 잘 깨닫고 터득해서, 여러 가지 현실적인 듯한 하나님의 말씀이라 할지라도 그냥 보통의 인간적인 능력으로 그것을 시행하라는 것이 아닌 것을 절실하게 느끼게 하여 주시고, 그리하여 주께서 저희에게 요구하시는 참된 도덕적인 위치에서 늘 떠나지 않게 하시옵소서.

예수님 이름으로 기도하옵나이다. 아멘.

Introduction of the Independent Reformed Church (in Korea) (III)

- The Sixth Assembly of the ICRC, 12-19, October, 2009, Christchurch -

Rev. Heon Soo Kim

Esteemed Chairman and brothers and sisters in the Lord,

The Independent Reformed Church in Korea, IRCK, has known about this International Conference of Reformed Churches since 1997, when you had meeting in Seoul. Recognizing the same faith as you, we had fellowship with you by sending visiting delegations in 2001 and 2005.[1] And now in 2009, we are here with an anticipation of your accepting us, the IRCK, as a member of the ICRC. The IRCK is federated with four congregations in Korea with a total membership of about six hundred and twenty people under the pastoral care of five ministers and one licentiate. Since the early history and some characters of my federation have been presented to you in previous meetings, I would like to focus on new developments.

The year 2009 has a similar meaning for the IRCK as 1559 had for John Calvin who was born in 1509. As a result of Calvin’s life-long faithful ministry, in 1559, the Reformed Churches of France had held their first general synod, the Geneva Academy was established, and the definitive Latin edition of the Institutes of the Christian Religion was published. Similar events occurred this year for the IRCK, which was established in 1964 after a serious schism in the largest Presbyterian denomination in 1959 over the issue of the ecumenical movement represented by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The IRCK held its first General Synod with the ministers and elders on August 29 to revise its constitution and decided upon the establishment of a Theological Academy.

As an aside, have you ever heard of the term “Reformed Episcopal Church”? This is a different term from Reformed Episcopalism which means to reform the Episcopal Church. You may know that the Reformed Churches in Hungary have had an Episcopal form of church government, yet there ‘was’ another church that had the same polity. The IRCK for the past 45 years has had this Episcopal form of church government. Of course, this is fundamentally different from the Roman Catholic’s hierarchical polity and the term “episcopos” is exactly the same word as referred to in English as “overseer” in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim 3:1). Overseer in the IRCK was literally, primus inter pares, as the Latin proverb goes. The IRCK adopted this form of church government, not because it only knew of the Pastoral Epistles while being unaware of great Reformation history in the sixteenth century. We studied and translated “the Form of Presbyterial Church Government” in the Westminster Standards and the Church Order of Dordt. We have learned much from them. However, when the church was first established, we had an Episcopal form of church government.

We started with one church in 1964, and at that time it was very difficult to install a biblically qualified eldership. Therefore, the pastor had to voluntarily carry a very heavy burden, and thus this Episcopal form of church government was established. By the mid-1990s, after one generation, three young ministers were ordained and installed, and important decisions regarding the churches were made at the pastors’ meeting. But we needed more time to install elders who would be able to take spiritual care of church members in their home visitations. Only by the grace of our Lord, we were able to have such elders after one and a half generations. Therefore, in August of 2009, we held a General Synod comprised of pastors and elders to revise the constitution’s Episcopal form of church government.

I am not saying this to make any excuses for the IRCK. What I would like to say is that regarding church governance, each church has unique traits and cultural backgrounds, and especially in those regions which have had a form of oriental monarchical rule and not having a representative tradition, it takes some time to establish a Reformed or Presbyterian form of church governance. Even if a good system of church order would be implanted, a good Reformed or Presbyterian church does not automatically come about. Although it may take generations, we should teach the word of God well from the pulpit to help a church to stand on its own. I mentioned a part of the history of the IRCK to convey this message.

The four churches of the IRCK are seemingly dwarfed in comparison to Korea’s so-called “mega-churches.” However, you have acknowledged these small churches as Christ’s true churches and invited us for introduction. Your acceptance of this small number of congregations would be an enormous encouragement for us.

We think of the IRCK’s membership in the ICRC as the Lord’s gift [Gabe] as well as our task [Aufgabe]. In particular, I would like to note that in 2013, the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches will be held in Korea, which has been received as good news to Pentecostal, Methodist, and even many Presbyterian churches. A thanksgiving service for Korea’s selection as the host of the assembly was held in a five star hotel and attended by most of the leaders and moderators of the Presbyterian denominations. For a welcoming meeting attended by over eight hundred people, a congratulatory video message was sent by the President of the country, and also the Chairman of the National Assembly, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Prime Minister, all gave addresses of welcome in person. This is the evidence of complicity between the secular and religious authorities and, I believe, a clear sign of apostasy. Of course, some confessional churches take this seriously, but most churches welcome the hosting of the WCC Assembly. Most national daily newspapers in Korea have welcomed it with the expression of “Christian Olympics” in 2013, which is similar to the 1988 Olympic Games in Korea. To our great regret, many believers in my country lack the spiritual wisdom to discern the good and the bad, and though they have zeal, their knowledge about God and the church is seriously lacking. In a country where “mega- churches” are highly esteemed, and in an age when false ecumenism is gaining more power with help of government and public media, we want to stand up as a witness for the Biblical and Reformed faith. False ecumenicalism seeks an institutional unity, but we seek a true unity on the basis of confessions. We want to be one in true faith, just as the Father and the Son are one (John 17: 21-23). We believe that the ICRC is pursuing true ecumenicity in obedience to the priestly prayer of our Lord, and we want to join you in this spiritual battle. And we hope the ICRC would pay more attention to, and fight against the false ecumenism, which is spreading influences subtly among the so-called “two third Third World.” I believe that pursuing the true ecumenicity is the real vitality of Reformed Faith, since this gathering work is being done by the exalted Christ through His Word and His Spirit (Lord’s Day 21 of the Heidelberg Catechism).

To fulfil our mission in my country we have our own publication, the Holy Covenant Press. Our press has published 105 titles, which have sold a total of around four hundred thousand copies. One of our best and steady sellers is the Heidelberg Catechism, which has sold fourteen thousands copies over last five years.

In regards to ecclesiastical relationships, the IRCK has entered into a limited sister church relationship with the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands since last year, and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (lib.) has put the IRCK on the list of official contact churches. Thankfully these two churches have sponsored our membership in the ICRC. The Lord has heard our prayer for the North Korean, and has opened a way to support an OPC missionary who is working among the Korean and Chinese in the north-eastern part of China.

In my country, we have a very close ecclesiastical tie with the Independent Reformed Presbyterian Church in Korea, which is composed of eight congregations with a membership of around six hundred souls. The IRCK support the IRPC with good and solid Reformed materials and encourage them at the Bible conferences that we have held together two times a year since 1994. To educate our future ministers and to reach other Reformed Christians in my country, our last General Synod in August has decided to start a Theological Academy from 2010.

I would like to thank you again for acknowledging these four small churches as the Lord’s true churches, and inviting us to introduce ourselves again, particularly with a view to take us as a member of the ICRC for the sake of His glory alone.

Thank you for your kind attention.

On behalf of the Independent Reformed Church,

Rev. Heon Soo Kim

- The Sixth Assembly of the ICRC, 12-19, October, 2005, Pretoria -

Rev. Heon Soo Kim

Mr. Chairman and esteemed brothers in Christ,

At the last ICRC conference in Philadelphia, the Independent Reformed Church (in Korea), for the first time since her formation in 1964, was introduced to other churches. In our introduction, we submitted to you our confessional basis (the ecumenical creeds, Westminster Standards, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dordt), along with our history and background as a church. For your convenience, we have included this in a pamphlet which we wish to make available to you during this meeting.

After our short presentation, you, our Presbyterian and Reformed brothers, warmly welcomed us for being faithful to the Bible as summarized in the historic confessions. Some brothers from the continental reformed background, as part of their interest in the Reformed church in Korea, wished to know the precise meaning of the first word of our federation, “Independent.” In church history, “Independent” has been associated with the congregational form of church government. In the Korean language, however, “Independent” has the same connotation of “liberated” or “free.” The meaning of this word may become clearer to you if you understand how we began as a church. In the late fifties and early sixties of the last century, the Korean Presbyterian churches were in great turmoil, partly because of the ecumenical movement represented by the World Council of Churches (WCC). After several schisms, some churches sent delegates to the WCC, others to the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC), and yet others to the Reformed Ecumenical Synod (RES). Regrettably, there was very little theological discussion on what the word “ecumenical” meant. More regrettably, the alluring prospects of financial support from abroad through personal relationships with foreign missionaries, and the deep-rooted provincialism of the Korean churches, were the real factors that underlay most decisions. In a time of national economic destitution, material support from a missionary was quite tempting. The founding minister and charter members of the IRC, however, wished to express their “independence” from overseas financial support, domestic church politics and native provincialism as a church that depended solely on the triune God.

Since the background, early history and church government of the IRC were set forth in detail at the last conference, permit me to say a few words about the grace that our Heavenly Father has granted us over the last four years.

In July 2003, the founding minister of the IRC, Dr. Hong Chun Kim, was called to be with the Lord after finishing his service on earth. To start a reformed church in Korea, God equipped him with many gifts – for example, deep insight into the Word, powerful delivery of sermons, a comprehensive knowledge of law, history and music, and organizational ability. Though his absence has been a great loss to us, the church of the Lord is going forward steadily. The IRC wants to be a church that depends not on a man but only on God.

The ministers of the IRC, now under the leadership of the Rev. Nack Jae Choe of the Riverside Church, meet every other week to conduct preaching sessions, translate confessions and forms, and discuss various matters in the congregations. The Weekly Assembly of the Ministers, Elders, and Deacons of the church order of Geneva, I believe, will give you a good idea of these proceedings.

Four years ago, the IRC was a federation of three congregations; in 2005 the fourth congregation was organized after ten years of planting work. The IRC now consists of four congregations under the guidance of five ministers. The churches number 552 souls, of whom 310 are communicant members.

We are currently taking care of some Korean Christians in Canada in the hopes of their becoming a church. God has called another man to be a candidate of the ministry of the Word; he has just begun his study of the Word and theology.

Concerning the means of grace in our congregations, let me say that on every Lord’s Day, the Word of God is preached and the members receive the preached Word as the Word of God (1 Thes. 2:13). We strive to preach the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27); to that end, we also preach on the Heidelberg Catechism every Lord’s Day and teach it in the catechism classes, where candidates for baptism and public profession of faith learn the catechism by heart in order to confess their faith with knowledge and confidence.

Our worship is conducted decently and in good order according to the biblical regulative principle. Preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit has been and is a means of grace to the members; thus discipline is done with love and authority. Participation in Holy Communion is granted to the members and visitors who make their profession of faith to the consistory. In the restricted communion of the Independent Reformed congregations, the Lord’s Table, I believe, is kept holy. By using some of the liturgical forms of both the Church Order of Dordt and the Presbyterian tradition, we have made more explicit the unity among the congregations. And some congregations have started part time schools for their covenant children.[1]

We have done our best to explore and preach the riches of the Word and publish them for our fellow Christians in Korea. Since 1973 our press has published seventy five titles, with total sales somewhere around three hundred seventy thousand copies.

The final matter I would like to touch on today concerns the hymns we sing in praise to God. The IRC uses its own hymnal, Hymns for Worship, the entire contents of which the late Dr. Kim composed.
In the report on his visit to Korea in 1998, the late Dr. J. Faber of the Theological College of the Canadian Reformed Churches wrote, “the hymns we sung in the worship service have a Scriptural, Trinitarian content.”[2]

These Scriptural and Trinitarian hymns are arranged in an order similar to the Ordinarium in the ancient churches. This order is followed in the worship on every Lord’s Day. The Service begins with a Prelude, the purpose of which is to lead the congregation to the heavenly throne. The first hymn is the Gloria, to sing the glory of God. This is followed by the Sanctus, to praise God in three persons, the Holy Trinity. The third kind of hymn we sing is the Worship, through which we bless the redeeming and creating work of the triune God. Next in order is the Offertorium, through which we confess that all we have is God’s, and through which we give ourselves and all that we have unreservedly to God. The other parts of worship – the reading of the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer, the pastoral prayer, the reading of Scripture, and the preaching of the Word are well arranged within the order of the hymns to lead the congregation to deeper covenantal fellowship with the triune God. The last hymn is the Doxology, which is followed by the benediction.

We believe that these hymns are a precious gift to us, something that we would like to share with other churches abroad. This hymnal, currently in the process of being translated into English, contains 133 selections of the Gloria, Sanctus, Worship, Offertorium, and Doxology, along with some Psalms and biblical hymns, as well as one Oratorio. The latter is based on the book of Ruth and is favored for special occasions. Dr. Kim composed twenty four Preludes for worship, all of which have been collated and published as a separate book.

The author of all of these hymns, Dr. Hong Chun Kim, concentrated on piano and composition early in his life and devoted his musical and literary talents to the praise of God. It might be of interest to you to know that in 1951, he received an honorary Doctor of Music from the Central Conservatory of Chicago.

It was during the severe persecution of the Korean people under the Japanese that Mr. Kim, convinced that God should be praised always and everywhere, began to compose hymns to the glory of His Name. During the last stage of its occupation of Korea, the Japanese colonial government compelled Koreans to bow down to Shinto shrines, and to the East, towards Tokyo, where the Japanese King was living, at the beginning of worship in church and the beginning of each school day. Disobedience to this edict meant the closing of churches and schools and the confiscation of one’s ration card. To our shame, the General Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Korea submitted to this edict in 1938. During this dark time, ecclesiastically and nationally, biblical and Trinitarian praise was being offered to our Heavenly throne at Mr. Kim’s house. In the pamphlet we are making available to you today, we have included Worship I and Sanctus I, both composed in 1941,as clear examples of this reverent praise. The earth was full of darkness, distress, and the roaring of the adversary, but the Kim family appealed to God’s covenantal love and praised the Holy One seated on the heavenly throne (cf. Is. 5:30-6:3).

Four fifths of Dr. Kim’s hymns were composed after the establishment of the IRC in 1964. Gloria VIII, Offertorium IV, and Doxology II, included in this pamphlet, have been used since 1965. As your Psalter is one of the means as well as the fruit of the Reformation, so our hymns have been essential to the reformation of the churches in Korea. In a worship that is focused on our triune God, not our sentimentality, worshippers in the IRC come to the heavenly Jerusalem through these hymns. Most hymns were composed in four parts; the melodies are not difficult to follow and are very beautiful. The hymns listed in your pamphlet were recorded in a special meeting at the Riverside Church. You can read the musical score, listen to the attached CD, and join us in praising the Lord.

We admire your Psalters and hymns. The Holy Grace Church, of which I am a minister of the Word, has begun to learn to sing the Genevan Psalter. So far, we have translated seventy Psalms and other biblical hymns into Korean. Since we are all called into one holy catholic church by God’s word and Spirit, your hymnal tradition is ours, and, I believe, the biblical and Trinitarian hymns of the IRC are yours (cf. Rev. 7:9).

Mr. Chairman and beloved brothers in Christ, thus far the IRC has been conscious of being in a developing state, concentrating on her build-up rather than pursuing ecclesiastical fellowship with other reformed churches. In God’s providence, however, during the last four years, we have had at least one guest preacher or lecturer from the Canadian Reformed Churches, the Christian Reformed Churches in the Netherlands, the Reformed Churches in New Zealand, the Free Reformed Church in Australia, and the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), respectively. Some of our guests are here, and, I believe, they could bear witness to the IRC. In His mercy and guidance, I hope that the IRC can enter into ecclesiastical fellowship with you, the member churches of the ICRC, as well as the ICRC itself.
May God bless your churches and our churches that His light may shine on both apostate assemblies and the unbelieving world.

Thank you for your kind attention.

On behalf of the Independent Reformed Church,

Rev. Heon Soo Kim

[1] Heon Soo Kim, “Introduction of the Independent Reformed Church (in Korea) (I)”, Sungyak Press Letters, 37 (Mar 2003).

[2] J. Faber, “Our Korean Connection”, Clarion, 47 (1998), pp. 556-558.