# Another Letter Of Jacob The Chandler, Written In Prison And Sent To Pouwel Van Meenen, One Of His Fellow-Ministers In The Gospel Of Christ, In Answer To A Letter Which He Had Received From Him.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: ANOTHER LETTER OF JACOB THE CHANDLER, WRITTEN IN PRISON AND SENT TO POUWEL VAN MEENEN, ONE OF HIS FELLOW-MINISTERS IN THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, IN ANSWER TO A LETTER WHICH HE HAD RECEIVED FROM HIM.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

The eternal, incomprehensible God, who is alone
wise, grant you his grace, mercy, and peace,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, and fill you with
all wisdom, knowledge and understanding, through
the Holy Ghost, that you may walk worthily before
God, to do his will, to the praise of his holy name,
to the edification of his church, and to the salvation
of your soul; this I wish, my much beloved and
very dear brother Pouwel, as a friendly greeting
and for a parting farewell.

After all proper greetings, I inform you, my dear
brother, that I understood from your letter, that
you request of me, that I should write to you, for
a remembrance, concerning all the articles of faith;
which I would willingly do for your sake, but I do
not think that I shall have the time. In the second
place, I understood, that after the writing of the
first letter you saw the articles of faith which I
briefly wrote to my children.

In the third place, I understand from the little
note which you wrote subsequently, that you particularly
desire to know my views as to what is to
be done with persons who will not avoid those
whom the church has excommunicated according
to the Scriptures, and are not willing to confess to
guilt in the matter. I am greatly astonished that
this spirit also manifests itself; but I fear that he is
different in his nature from what he pretends to be;
for the avoidance is very much in the way of Satan,
yet the apostle teaches that it is a good means to
make the excommunicated ashamed, that is, to
bring him to humility or repentance. 2 Thess. 3:14.
But now I hear that the defect in regard to this
avoiding lies chiefly, not with those that are
avoided, but with those that should avoid. From
this it is quite evident, that the reason why they
will not avoid, lies with them, and not with those
that are avoided, which also appears so to me,
since I have noticed and feared that there was a
covetous, self-seeking spirit with many, so that the
mind was far more exercised in temporal business,
traffic, and the like, than in godliness; yea, that
they sought more to lay up treasures on earth,
than in heaven. And this avoidance is often greatly
in the way of this spirit, for it inconveniences him
sometimes in his business; hence one begins to
consider, whether this cannot be set aside, and this
with Scripture; for this spirit is of such a nature,
that he does not like to make himself known; but
he seeks to cover himself with the cloak of righteousness.
He is also not reproved much in the
church, or if he is to be reproved, he must be called
by another name; for he is sometimes reproved as
a heretic, sometimes as a juggler, sometimes as an
idolater. And this is the reason, that he can conceal
himself so well, but yet manifests his nature in
this wise; for wherever he goes he does not go to
be idle. Hence the apostle writes: “The love of
money is the root of all evil.” 1 Tim. 6:10.

The apostle further writes: “Now we command
you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that
walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which
he received from us.” 2 Thess. 3:6. And he further
writes: “If any man obey not our word, signify
that man by an epistle, and have no company with
him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not
as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
2 Thess. 3:14,15. With this the apostle indicates,
that the church is as much bound, to have nothing
to do with the disobedient, as she is bound to withdraw
herself from such as walk disorderly, even
though the word withdraw might be understood
only with reference to excommunication; for as the
church must withdraw herself, lest she should be
leavened or defiled by such persons, so she must
have nothing to do with them, that they may be
ashamed. Again, the church defiles herself, when
she does not avoid, since this is commanded and
taught her by the apostle, for he taught this, that it
should be done, as may be perceived in his epistle
to the Corinthians; for he writes: “I wrote unto
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you in an epistle not to company with fornicators.”
1 Cor. 5:9. From this it seems that he had written
them before that time; but as they did not observe
it, he explained it to them more fully, for he says;
Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world,
or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters;
for then must ye needs go out of the world.
But I have written unto you, not to keep company
with these. See, he says again: I have written
unto you.

From this it can well be seen, that he repeats it,
in order that they should observe it better, than
they had done before; for they did also not observe
excommunication, because they could not avoid;
for where no excommunication is, there is also no
avoidance, for avoidance springs from excommunication.
Hence he reproved them as being puffed
up, and that they did not mourn that such heinous
deeds were committed among them; and determined
concerning him that had done this deed,
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, when they
were gathered together, with his spirit, and with
the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver him
unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the
spirit might be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus.
Hence it is evident from this, that for whatever excommunication
is good, avoidance is also good,
and that they serve the same purpose. For the
apostle says, that he delivered him to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh, that is, for the mortification
of the flesh; and concerning avoidance he says:
And have no company with him, that he may be
ashamed. Mark, for what this shame serves; for
it serves a woman to wash herself when she is told
that she is begrimed; a man, also, that is disrobed,
does not want to be seen in his nakedness, for he
is ashamed; hence, when some one comes that
would see him, he immediately puts on his clothes,
that he should not be seen in his nakedness. As
Adam, when he knew that he was naked, he forthwith
sought to cover himself, for he was ashamed;
and he made an apron of fig leaves, to cover his
shame. Now we must, according to the words of
the apostle, avoid the excommunicated, that they
may become ashamed; for if we withdraw ourselves
from them, and avoid them, they have cause to
consider why this is done, and through this considering
to know their nakedness; and become
ashamed before the Lord their God, against whom
they have sinned, and are thus smitten in their conscience,
so that in this condition they dare not appear
before the Lord, and hence seek a means to
cover their nakedness, but not with fig leaves, as
did Adam, but with the skin of the Lamb Christ
Jesus, who must be received through faith with a
broken and contrite heart. As Adam, when he
humbled himself, God put a coat of skins on him,
to cover his nakedness. Thus, dear brother, excommunication
and avoidance have the same purpose,
and they are not contrary to each other;
hence the apostle says: Yet count him not as an
enemy, but admonish him as a brother. Admonition
is not contrary to avoidance, for admonition
serves to amendment, even as avoidance and excommunication
serve to it. Hence the apostle does
not prohibit it, but teaches that they are to be admonished
as brethren; for all that is not contrary
to them, namely, excommunication and avoidance,
they do not prohibit; but where excommunication
is, there must also be avoidance, for it proceeds
from excommunication. Hence, when he wrote to
the Corinthians, how they should deliver the fornicator
to Satan, and purge out the old leaven, he
also wrote to them: “But now I have written unto
you not to keep company, if any man that is called
a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner;
with such a one no not to eat. For what have I
to do to judge them also that are without?” Mark,
he says, judge; yet he had not written anything
from which they might have understood, that the
world should be excommunicated; but he had written
that they should have no company with fornicators,
and in order that they should not understand
it with reference to the fornicators of the world,
that one should have no company with them, he
says: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this
world, or with the covetous; for then must ye needs
go out of the world. For what have I to do to judge
them also that are without? See, he calls it judging,
that, as he said, one should have no company with
them; although avoidance is not excommunication
or the judgment itself, but it confirms the judgment;
for when I say: You must have nothing to do with
that man, I thereby declare that he is excommunicated,
and all that avoid him show that he is judged.
Hence he says: “Do not ye judge them that are
within? But them that are without God judgeth.
Therefore put away from among yourselves that
wicked person.”

From this we can well perceive, that avoidance
is as well founded in the Scriptures as excommunication;
hence those who now reject avoidance, reject
the Scriptures, since it is founded in the Scriptures.
Therefore, they that will not avoid, sin, not
against men, but against the Lord; hence the church
may not tolerate such, who so sin against the Lord,
and will not confess to guilt; for they are servants
of the Lord, to punish all disobedience.

Now we perceive, in the first place from the
words of Christ (Matt. 18:15), that if any one sins
against his neighbor, by any transgression, he must
be reconciled to his neighbor, or he cannot, after
sufficient admonition, remain a brother, but he must
be regarded as a heathen man or publican, who
was excluded from the covenant of the Lord, and
with whom the Jews would have no fellowship. John
4:9. And since they must be regarded as persons
that are excluded from the covenant of the Lord,
because they have only through weakness sinned
against their neighbor, and will not confess to guilt;
how much more shall they be regarded so who sin
against the Lord, and transgress his doctrine—which
is frequently done through heedlessness, or self-interest,
or for the sake of friends or relatives—and
yet will not become reconciled to the Lord?

In the second place Moses writes, that if any one
touched a dead body, and would not wash himself
the third and the seventh day, he was to be cut off.
Yet the dead had to be touched, for they must be
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buried; and yet, if they would not wash themselves,
they had to be cut off; and the priest might not
defile himself with any dead person; he was not
allowed to go to any dead, for he had the anointing
oil on his head. Num. 19:11; Lev. 21:1; 8:12;
Ex. 19:10. Hence, if they in Israel had to be so
punished, who would not wash themselves with
water, from a pollution which was caused by necessity,
how shall they now be tolerated in the church,
who without necessity, yea, often for the sake of
gain, or through the prompting of flesh and blood,
defile themselves with these dead, after they have
been separated from the church, and yet will not
wash themselves, or bear or confess their guilt?
These people may not thus be tolerated, according
to the view which I have from the Scriptures; and
if they are allowed to go unreproved, it must be
declared as a liberty, and then perhaps to-morrow
already another will arise and demand the abolishment
of excommunication, and will prove to you,
that you have just as much power to maintain
avoidance, as you have to maintain excommunication;
and then you will be beaten with your own
staff, and thus the hedge will be completely broken
down, and the wild boars will run into the vineyard
of the Lord, and root it up. Ps. 80:13; Is. 5:5.
O dear brother, take heed; blow the trumpet on
Mount Zion; let Israel hear the word of the Lord;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering. Joel
2:1; 2 Tim. 4:2.

With the simple that are led astray in understanding,
deal in a fatherly, long-suffering manner,
if God may haply yet enlighten them by his Spirit.
Bind up the wounded; seek the erring; break not
the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax.
Is. 61:1; Luke 10:34; 15:4; Is 42:3. Always take
heed unto yourselves, and to the flock, over which
the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed
the church of God, which he hath purchased with
his own blood. Acts 20:28. Hence feed the flock of
Christ not by constraint, but willingly (1 Pet. 5:2),
and remember that the apostle says: “Woe is unto
me, if I preach not the Gospel! For if I do this
thing willingly, I have a reward; but if against my
will, a dispensation of the Gospel is committed unto
me. 1 Cor. 9:16,17. Hence he also says: “Though
we might have used authority, as the apostles of
Christ, we were gentle among you, even as a nurse
cherisheth her children; so being affectionately desirous
of you, we were willing to have imparted
unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our
own souls, because ye were dear unto us. 1 Thessalonians
2:6–8. And he said, that as a father admonishes
his children, so he had exhorted, comforted,
and charged them, that they should walk
worthy of God. vs. 11, 12; Philip. 1:27; Col. 1:10.

Thus, my dear brother, take heed to your sheep,
and tend to your flock with a ready mind, and,
when the chief Shepherd shall appear ye shall receive
a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1 Peter
5:4; Jas. 1:12. Thus, my dear brother, be watchful,
and do the work of a true preacher; make full
proof of thy ministry (2 Tim. 4:5) and say like the
prophet: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the
righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the
salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.” Is. 62:1.
Be on your guard, and watch over their souls, as
one that must give an account thereof. Heb. 13:17.
If you see the sword coming, blow the trumpet, and
warn the people in the name of the Lord, that the
drowsy may awake, and the feeble knees make
straight paths, and the hands which hang down be
lifted up, and you be free of their blood. Hebrews
13:17; Ezek. 33:3; Heb. 12:12,13; Ezek. 3:19,21.
To this end may the Lord grant you his grace, and
strengthen you by his Spirit, that you may receive
the end of your faith, even the salvation of your
soul. Amen.

I pray you, dear brother, receive my brief exhortation
in good part, for it has been written out of
love; and here you have my simple views with regard
to avoidance, and briefly what is to be done
with those who do not avoid, and will not confess to
guilt. I should have written more fully concerning
it, but there was no good opportunity. Herewith I
will commend my dear and much beloved brother,
whom I love with all my heart, and his dear wife,
to the Lord and to the word of his grace. Pray the
Lord for us. I thank you heartily for what you
sent me; thank Peter very much in my name, this
I ask of you. Written on the 17th and 18th of May
by me, Jacob de Roore.

I wish that you would send a copy of this letter
to one of the ministers at Armentiers, or to my wife
for this is my desire. Dear brother Pouwel, if you
desire anything further, and I have the time, I am
at your service, though there is little to be obtained
from me. Greet your ministers very much in my
name, and all them that fear and love God, where
it is convenient.

Alle die lijden na den wille Godts, wilt hierop mercken,

Die bevelen haer Zielen den getrouwen Schepper met goede Wercken.

1 Pet. 4:19





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