1997 Issue 6 - Brothers Because of Bloodshed - Counsel of Chalcedon

8/12/2019 1997 Issue 6 - Brothers Because of Bloodshed - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/16

Froln theist to

Christian Minister

My

hean

has ever been prone

to

wander away from my

God

-

ever since my conception.

Shortly after my birth,

lwas

baptized and sealed

iIl

the Name

of the Triune God

-"

as His

property. Then I

was

raised in

the Roman Catholic Church by

my religiOUS yet unconverted

mother. For the first seven

years of my life, I went

to

church daily. Yet, underm:y

atheistic father's influence - I

myself, when only eight,

completely broke with

Christianity.

Thereafter, 1 dedicated

all my talents

to

the

furtherance of the false

religion of atheism. 1

avidly smdied rationalistic

books on palaeontology,

archeology and

anthropology. By the

time 1 was a teenager,I waS;

most convinced and articUlate

evolutionist. 1 openly laughed

at Christians

for

I thought they .

were trying

to

tell me that all the

world's problems started when a

mythical Eve munched an apple

once

upon

a time some 6000

.

years

ago.

During my early teens I

smdied astronomy, chemistry,

languages, chess, poker, bridge,

and even 'Buddhism. Yet hone

of these satisfied my restless soul

for very long.

G.oing

on

to

university, l majoredin law,

intending

to

enter politics

via

my legal practice -- and thus to

dedicate my

life

toward

ameliorating human conditions.

To

help me get ahead in .

politics, 1 bought a

Bible

and

started reading it. Six

weeks

,later, during a univerSity

. summer vacation job, while

trapped in a goldmine,

God

suddenly and dramatically

converted

me to

Christ. There

and then I promised Him that

if

it pleased

Him

to spare

my life,

I

would dedicate all

my

energies

to His service.

Delivering

me,

. God then sent

me

home, where 1

had the great joy of leading both

of my parents to Christ Then

He led me to jOin a Bible

believing denOmination, and

thereafter sent me

to

a Seminary.

. . .

'.

Since then, God gave me the

grace to work for and acquire '

many university degrees,

including the

Th.D

. in

Systematic Theology and

the

Ph.D. in Christian Philosophy

ahdComniunist Philosophy (to

which latter I

am

of course

squarely opposed). During and .

since that time, I have pastored

c:ongregations and been a

college

professor -- and am currently

both teaching and preaching.

Today, in the words of

the

Westminster onfeSsion (II: ),

I

believe that Jehovah Elohim,

the

Creator,

is

the only God.

Contemplating His blessed

attributes is

the

most profitable

activity in which any man can

ever engage. For there is but

only livtng and true

God,

Who

is:

infinite in being and

.. t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

J u l y

997

perfection; a mOSt pure spirit,

. invtsible, withoutbodyparts or

passions; lnimutable, unmense,

eternal, mcompnmensible,

alIIiighty,

mOst wise,

most holy,

. most free,most absolute; .

working allthiogs accordmg

to

the counsel of

His

ow

.

immutable and most

will

for His

own 'glory,mOst

lovtng, gracious, merciful,

long-suffering, abundant in .

goodness.and truth, forgivtng

iniquitY, transgression, and Sin;

the Rewarder of them that

diligently seek Him; and withal

most just and terrible in

His judgnients; hating all

sin; and Who will by no

means clear the

guilty

.

To me, this

means God

alone

is

the only .

worthwhile object of

human adoration. And

my own heart was ever

restless, until it came

to

its own permanent rest in '

this glOriOUS Bemg

(Matt.

.

11:28).

Now this God Jehovah

Elohim is the Father,

Son,

and

Spirit. In my adult life,He

has

fulfilled the promises sealed to

me in His Own Triune Name

when I was previously baptized

(Matt. 28:19).

To me, such

thinking

is

eminently practical.

For, like everybody else, I am'

often

faced

with making

decisions regarding priOrities as . .

to what is my most important

duty.

Is

it my obligation:

to

the

municipality, to my state or ' .

province, or

to my

federal

government?; to lIly ,

congregation,

to

my presbytery,

or

to

my general assembly?;

to

my wife,

to

mychildten, or to

myself;,

to my

denOmination,

to


2/16

my

fellow

Christians irrespective

of denomination or nationality, .

or to my country? Here, the

Dr. Nigel

Lee

doctrine of the Trinity helps

me

to give due consideration to the

interests of all these entities.

For in the Trinity, there

is

a

basic unity of nterests amid the

Diverse

Persons.

No

one

Person is ever more important

than the Others, nor than the

Triune Divine Community as a

whole. Neither is that ' .

Community more important

than the distinct personalities of

each of

the

three Persons.

Now

all things in

the

universe are meaningless:

save

when regarded

as

creatures of

the Triune Lord. States the

onfession

II:2): God hath

all

life , glory, goodness [and

blessedness

in

and of

Himself;

and is alone in and unto Himself

all

-

suffiCient,

not standing in

need of any creatures which He

hath made, nor deriving any

glory from them -- but only

manifesting

His

own

glory

in,

by, unto, and upon them. He is

the alone Fountain of all being

of Whom, through Whom, and

to Whom are all things; and

hath most sovereign dominion

over them to do by them, for

them; and upon them,

whatsoever Himself pleaseth.

This means, quite frankly, that

everything we see and

do is

ultimate

ly

absurd -- except

insofar as we consdously

believe it is in the Triune

God alone that all these

things cOnsist (Col. 1:17).

Only this lmowledge

gives

real purpose to my life.

To me, faith in the

Triune God alone is very

important. Without it , life

would be impossible to me

now. For

"w

ithout faith, it

is impossible to please Him;

for he that

comes

to God, must

believe that

He

is and that

He

rewards those who diligently

keep on seeking Him" (Heb.

11:6).

Only once after my

conversion have I ever doubted

my saved status before God,

That

was

when

I

became

uncertain whether

my

"faith" in

Christ was really and truly

saving faith:

Mercifully,

however. God soon showed me

thaUt is not

by

faith that

I

am

saved -- but by grace (and only

through faith). Moreover.

even that instrument of faith -- is

not from

myself.

For it

is

a free

gift of God (Eph.

2:8).

So

I now

have

no trust in my

experiences about

my faith.

I

put all my trust only in Christ

Himself, irrespective of my

experiences of

Him.

I have no

faith in

my

faith . I have faith

only in Christ. And by regular

Bible

study, prayer, church

attendance. and the use of the

sacraments -- God srrengthens

such faith .

See

the onfession

XIV:l.

In spite of

my

many personal

sins and wealmesses, and even

though I do distinguish berween

central and peripheral matters.

I

certainly hold srrong convictions

about many things. This is

because, realizing the fragility

and relative worthlessness of my

own views.

I

am convinced

utterly that God's views alone

have any ultimate value.

So I

am now determined

to think

God's revealed thoughts after

Him.

I t is only in the light of

His Infallible Word. the 66-book

Bible,

that I see the light about

everything and anything.

s

the

onfeSSion correctly states. "a

Christian believeth

to

be true

whatsoever is revealed in the

Word -- for the authority of God

Himself speaking therein

[XIV:2j .. .. The whole counsel

of God concerning

all

things

necessary for His own glory,

man's salvation, faith, and life -

is

either expressly set down

in

Scriprure,

or

by good and .

necessflry consequence may be

deduced from SCriprure: unto

which nothing at any time

is

to

be added, whether by new

revelation of the Spirit or

rraditions of man (1:6). For, as

the

Larger atechism

(Q.

5)

declares. the Scriprures

principally teach what man is

to

believe concerning God -- and

what duty GOd requires of man,

To

me, then, Scripture is

given not only to make us wise

unto salvation but also to

furnish us thoroughly unto all

good works

(II

Tim.

3:15-17) -

even unto the good works of

Christianeducation, Christian

medical practice, Christian

business ac tivity, Christian

farming. Christian housework,

and Christian everything-else

July, 1997 TIlE COUNSEL

of

halcedon

;:

5


3/16

(Gen.

1:2628

/St Ps.

8).

This

does not mean that

the

Bible

is

a

handbook

for. all

of

the

special

sciences. Yet It does mean that

the

Bible

is

indeed

the

Sourcebook for evelYthing.

Indeed, no special sciences

are

to be srudied coillrarywise to the

clear teaching

of

Scrlpmre. For

although, as the Confession

declares

I:6)

, "there

are some

circumstances ..common to

human actions and

societies,

which are to be ordered by the

light of namre and Christian

prudence" --

tl\is is always to

be

done "according

to the

general

rules of

the:

Word,which

are

always

to

be

observed.

EvolutioniSIIl, which I

previously championed,

is

therefore not just unacceptable

even for the birds."

It is also

not even for the creeping

things." For

God made

all

of His

.

creamres "after their kind:

Gen.

1:11f,21.

Sometimes I

am asked

about

my thoughts

on

life after

death.

Here I believe with the

Bible CPs.

51:5

st Eph.

3:3 /Stjohn. 3:3-5)

that,

as

a result of man's

fall, all

men are now by namre

conceived in

iniquitY

and born

in

sin

-and

hence cannot even

see (and still

less

enter into) the

Kingdom of

God

, unless

they

be

born again. Until man

is

regenerated, he

is

nothing

more

than a lost soul under the.

righteous judgment and wrath of

a virme-loving and sin-hating

God (Eph.

2:12

/Stjohn

3:36).

Unregenerates

are

thus

on their

way

to

eternal separation

from

God

in a place called

HELL,

. .

where they are to suffer constant

agony in body and in soul.

-- for

ever. Mark

9:42-49 fit

Rev.

14:9-1

L

Yet I

also believe God so

.

loved

the world that

He

gave

His

only begotten Son, so that .

whosoever believes in Him

should not perish but

everlasting

life

(john

3:16).

Those who believe injesus

as

Lord

of their lives, inherit

eternal

bliss --

in three (triune)

stages. First, they

receive

Christ

here and now

--

and

thereby

enter into

the Kingdom of

Heaven

here on Earth (john

. 5:i4 .

Second,

when they die,

their souls go to HEAVEN -

where

they

enjoy conscious bliss

with]esus until His second

coming

(Rev. 4:1-11).

And

third, with Christ's second

coming

ba.ck

to

this Earth

to

transform it,

He

brings

Heaven

and

its

inhabitants with

Him -

so

that

Heaven

then

comes

down

to

Earth

(Rev. 21:1-2).

Then the

saved will get back

their immortalized

bOdies,

and

thenceforth perfectly

love God

'

and enjoy

Him forever

in

bOth

soul and body

I Cor. 15:35-58).

See here

the Catechtsm Q. 1.

Meanl;ime, I believe that

Christians

are

to

live

to

God's

glory

in

this

world here and

now. To

me,this means that

chrtstians must be

tri.unely

involved in three united and

r e ~ t e activities all

their

time.

First,

they

must subdue

the

Earth and

all

its fullness

w the

glory of

God the Father - .

pr

e

cisely

through serving

the

.

Lord in the ordinary practice of

their professional careers (Gen. .

9:1-6

St I

Cor

.

10:31). Second,

they

must

evangelize

the

Earth

and christianize

all

its nations

as

commanded by

God

the

Son --

.

and

get

them to

obey

all

things

whatsoever

He

has cOlllJ;Ilanded,

6 TIlE COUNSELof ChalcedOli Huly, 1997

even from Genesis

. hrough .

Revelation

(Matt.

28:19 : Mark

16:15). And

, hird, they must

promote the

coming of

the

Kingdom in

all

its

many

facets

-

with

all

their

might,

through

the

power

of God the

Spirit,

as all

history further unfolds

toWard

its divinely-predestinated

consummation. Luke

.

11:2 fit

Re\>

. 14 :13 . .

While

doing all

this between

Christ's

first and

second

comings,

I

believe

that

Christians are

to

seethe hand of

God

in

all

things, They are

to

thank

Him

for His blessed .

providence

even

in their

adversitIes

--

and also in

their

ordinary day-to-day

circumstances. AS

the

Heidelberg

Catechtsm

(Q

. 1 fit

Lord's

Day

10)

states, my only cotrtfon in .

life

and death

is

that I am not '

my

own but belong with body

and soul to my

faithful SaVior

jesus

Christ.

He

,

so

preserves

me

- mat withoutllie

will

of

my

heavenly

Father,

not a hair can

fall

from

my

head; yea, that all

things must

be subservient to

my

salvation.

"

This

blessed

providence

is

the

almighty and

everywhere:present power

of.

God, whereby

as it

were

by His

hand

He

upholds and

governS

'

,'

,

Heaveh and Earth

and all

creatutes:

So

: herbs and

grass,

rain

nd

dtought, fruitful'

and barren years, meat and '

..

drtnk, health and sickneSs,

riches and

poverty --

yea, and

things --

Gome

not

by

chance, .' '

but by

His fatherly

hand,

;

There

is

also

an

intensely

practicalres,ult

of

believing

all

of

this. For

thus

welearn how .to

be

patient

in

adverSity

: hankful


4/16

in prosperity; and that in

all

things which may hereafter

befall us, we place our finn trust

in

our faithfi)l

God

and Father -

that nothing shall separate us

from His love, since

all

creatures

are

so

in His hand that without

His will they cannot so much

as

move.

This, then,

is

my God-given

faith, dear reader. May the

Lord Himself grant, by His

great

grace, that it may also become

yours

tOo

'

-"

Dr.

Francis Nigel Lee

The

Lee

Family

in

South Africa

Mr.

William

Sydney Lee,

Uncle Syd" to his close friends,

was born in East London in

South Africa on the 29th of

September 1908. There he

lived

as

a small boy, and again

from age.32 until murdered in

his home when nearly 86.

His wife, Mrs.

Alice Maud

Lee (nee Smith), "Auntie Maud"

Mr Mrs Lee

to her friends, was born

in

England on the 31st of March

1908. There she married,

moving with her family

to her

husband's land of South Africa -

where she died when almost 89.

Their only child, Francis

Nigel -- General Lee" to his

close

fiiends --

was

born in

Kendal,

County Cumbria, in

Britain, on the 5th of December

1934. When

only

seven he

moved to South Africa witl). his .

parents. There he grew up.

After becoming a Christian, he

later became a Minister of the

Word and a Doctor of

Theology.

Afrer leading his father and his

mother

to

the Lord, Dr. Lee

emigrated

to

the United States in

1967; and thence to Australia in

1980.

Mr.

and Mrs. Syd

Lee

lived in

Barrydale (South Africa) for the

last quarter -century of their

lives. There they celebrated

their 61st wedding anniversary

in April 1994, as shown on the

accompanying photOgraph.

Three months later,

Mr.

Syd

Lee

was murdered in their

home, and then laid to rest in

the family grave (see below).

Mrs

. Maud Lee was then

hospitalized and later admitted

to

the Tomlinson Old

Age

Home. s

his

faithful wife, she

too was

finally laid

to

rest

alongside her husband - after

her son Dr. Lee preached at her

funeral service

on

the 14th of

OctOber 1996.

Prof Lee s Burial

Message

for

His

Father

(read out at simultaneous

worship services

in

South

Africa

and Australia)

t

has pleased the Holy

Triune God of life and death to

take my father, William Sydney

Lee,

to Heaven. This occurred

at about ten p.m.,

on

the Lord's

Day, the 17th of July 1994; in

the age of 85 years, 9 months,

and 18 days.

Uncle Syd, as his dear friends

in Barrydale (South

Africa)

Tombstone of Mr Mrs Lee

July, 1997 TIlE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 7


5/16

called

him,

was born at East

London

in

South Africa

on

29th

September 1908. After his

mother

became widowed when

he

and his

sister Dons were still

tiny, the family went to his

mother 's country of Britain,

where the toddlers grew up.

There he later married Alice

Maud Smith (Auntie Maud, as

the Barrydalers call her).

From the marriage, one child

was

born

-- Francis Nigel

Lee,

who later became the first Dutch

Reformed Minister at

Wmtenon

in

Natal (South Africa). Uricle

Syd's sister Doris married

Norman Levey, who is today

here at

the grave-side. Norman,

through

a faithful team of dear :

fello:w-believers

in

Barrydale, did

many and very appreciated)

works of love -

t9

enhance the

lives

of

Uncle Syd and Auntie

Maud, in their later years.

Shordy after the outbttakof

the Second World War, Uncle

Syd -- then

in

his thirties -- was

sent

back

by the British Navy

to

South Africa as the land

ofhis

birth. Based

in

Simonstown, as

Chief Radar Officer he was

respOnsible for the security of

theSouth African coast, and

sometimes even as

far

as

Trinidad in the West and Sri

Lanka

in

the East. During that

War,

his

son

seldom saw Uncle

Syd. But every time

he

came

home, the wholefamily 1,Jsed

to

clamber all over Table

Mountain . Always fond of

mountains:,

t

s also rio wonder

that the couple later retired

in

the mountainous Barrydale.

After the World War, Uncle .

Syd settled

in

the beloved land

of his birth, South

Africa

-- and

never

wanted to

leave

it.

Listen to these excerpts from

his

Meantime, his son grew up; by' ' last letters

to

me, about the grace

the

graCe

of God became a , of

God:

"

Christian;

had the great privilege Nov,27th 1993:

~ r

Nigel

ofleading both

of

his parents to and family .... Your mother "

the Lord; and became a Dutch ' is ..still the girl I iove, who bore

Reformed Minister.

U n c l ~

Syd ,me,a bdoved

son

for whom

i

1.

and Atintie Maud themselves th

nk

th L' d p . h 'e or .... ray or er,

later joined the Dutch Reformed that the Lord will

give her peace '

Church (Barrydale of mind, and thatsl:\e waits

on

Congregation), of which they ,His blessing . :. God's richest

thereaftei: remained lifelong blessings

to

you

all Do

not

CoJ1llliUnicant

Members -- even worry about us.

We

are.in the

after their only

chUd moved first Lord's hands, Jan. 4th 1994:"

to

America and then

to

Australia "Glad to

nQte

your trip

to

in

order

to

train i n i s t e ~ s of the Tasmania was

so

successful.

Gospel, overseas,

as aSem:inar'y.

, Praise the

LOrdi'"

Feb.

15th

P r o f e s s o ~

. 1994: "God bless you richly\"

.

On

account of sickness and . Feb.18th 1994: "We do hope

other heavy obligations, ,the sOri' . .

MieIde [my

daughter

could unfortunately not atterid Annamarie] gets a suitable

his father's funeral. He

but

' position soon.

tell her

that I

hoped to

go

to Barrydale the am sure the Lord

is on her

side,

12th-19th of September,

in

and that she believes this and

order

to

.thank the community :awaits

His

pleasure.

Thewrd

most cordially for their does indeed work

in

mySterious

long,lasting and loving care of ways .... I prayed

to

the Lord

to

his parents-- andalso to visit help....

Praise

the Lord "

.

his weakened mother (now in April 24th 1994: "God's

Swellendam), He had been richest blessings.... God bless

looking forward eagerly to you

all "

His last letter

to

me,

seeing his dear father once again

May

14th 1994, said: 'Just

hereon

earth

in

September,

on

received missionary letter, which

his.way

to

preach

in

Atlanta makes very interesting

U.S.A But the Lord had more reading . .. We can only

live

glorious plans

than

that

for

from day

to.

day

in

His grace,"

Uncle Syd --

in

spite of the

Grace

. Amazing "grace" -- my

murderous nature of his death. father's last word to.

me

For UncleSyd

is

now with .And

now,onJuly17th

1994,

Jesus

--not

because he could he his been tom away from us.

ever deserve

it

- even though

he

He

is

not heie

at

his grave, for

helped many people, and his soul has been res1.l,l;l:ected

especially the Coloured already - into Heaven Why

Coinmunity, fer many.years-- should we then seek ur living

but

because my father

ov( r

the brother

in

his empty

grave?

,For

years more and more trusted

in

later also

his

wife

and

then: child

the blood of Christ as the

o.nly

shall go.

to

him -- and then

ground

ofhis

.redemption.

always

ever

be

with out

Savio.ur

8 '" THE COUNSEL

o

Chalcedon July 1997


6/16

I can best express my

feelings In

the following words of a

great

South African hymn (which I

here translate from Afrikaans

Into Engllsh):

0 God,

your goodness Is

never praised enough Who is

not deeply impressed by

it?

How miserably thankless is that

person

who

does not lift up his

heart to You To You alone be

gratitude and honour --

may

.

that here be my desire and my

song

I

Never then

forget

the

Lord,

0

my soul For the Lord

never forgets me

"Remember, 0

man,

the

next

life - the Inheritance reserved

for

you

There, surrounded With

glory,

you

will

see

God

everlastingly

as He is

Rejoice then, my soul,

expectantly It cost the dearest

price -- the Lamb of God,

led

and slaughtered, ):las s;lved 1)5

from sin and guilt

"May then

Your

faithful

protection, 0 God, always

remain before my eyes

That strengthens my steps

toward the good, to devote

all

my life to You.

that

leads me forth In happy

days; that comforts me In the

worst need and teaches me,

without fear, to put up with the

ugly picture of death."

The Lord hath given; the

Lord hath taken

away;

blessed

be the Name of the Lord

Precious In the Sight of the

Lord

is

the death of His saints

Prof.

Dr. Francis Nigel

Lee,

Presbytertan Theological Hall,

Brisbane AUSTRALIA .

The Salvation

o

My

Father s Slayer

by Rev .

Prof.

Dr. Francis

Nigel Lee

In April 1994 I

was

Invited

to

fly

round the world and

expound the Lord's Prayer

In

the

U.S.A.

during September.

After

acquirlng the plane ticket, I

was

much looklng forward to visiting

my parents In

Barrydale

(near

Swellendam In South Africa) -

on my

way

from Australia to

Amertca.

However, inJuly 1994, my

father

Calmost

86)

was

robbed -

and left for dead In his home.

My mother (having lost her

mind and the use of some

of

her

bodily functions) was

permanently hospitalized. One

week after being assaulted, my

father died In the hospital - and

went

to

be with the

Lord.

Upon my arrival In South

Africa In September, I headed

for Swellendam -- where my

mother was still in the hospital

[until December 19941 . There,

I

was

amazed

to

hear that the

police had apprehended a young

man in connection with the

death of

my

father -, and that

the youth had signed a

statement alleging he alone had

attacked him. I also leamed

that my father, before dylng, had

given a descrtption to the police

of the young man. That

description

was

altogether

in

harmony with the appearance of

the accused. The latter

was

being held In jail precisely In

Swellendam while awaiting his

preliminary trial just one week

after

my

own arrival there.

I mmediately contacted the

jail, requesting

permiSSion

t O

.come and speak to the accused

Cof whom it was alleged he had

killed also someone else even

before attacking my father).

The police warmly supported

my request, but informed me

the accused had the right to

refuse to see me. He, however

-- upon being told who I was -

agreed and even requested to

meet with me.

On the 15th of September

[19941 I went to the jail. There

I was told to surrender my

camera and tape-recorder and

any

firearms I may have been

carrying. I was escorted to a

room where three armed

policeman and their officer were

doing clerical work. One minute

later, the accused was brought

through the door into the room

- and stood there in front of me.

He was a strongly-built

medium-sized man, answering

exactly to the descrtption given

by

my

father to the police. He

stood there, just looklng down

at the ground. I silently prayed

to

God for guidance about what

to

do

next. Then I got

up

from

my

chair; addressed him politely

by his full name; greeted him

Sincerely for granting me the

Interview; and requested him to

sit down before I again did so.

I then said, "Mr. Witbooi, are

you getting enough to eat here?"

He replied, "Yes, thank you." I

said, "Have you peace of mind

here?" He replied, "Sir, I am very

unhappy. I have been praying to

God

in my cell for the last three .

nights, but it's

as i

my prayers

bounce back

off

the ceillng and

don't get through."

I then said,

Mr. Witbooi, I

am the only child of the old man

July, 1997 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon I 9


7/16

who

was

left

for

dead behind the

front door of his home in

Barrydale. on the 10th of]uly _ o

whom you are

accused

of having

assaulted. I had been looking

forward to spending a

wet;kWtth

hini in September, but as

you

can see

this is

now Impossible,"

The young man nodded; looked

down; and said nothing.

I then continued,

"Mr.

Witbooi, my father was not a

Christian.many yeats ago . But

there came a

time

in his life

when he turned from his sins .

and received jesus as 'his Lord

and Saviour. That is why he is

now in Heaven,and waiting for

me

to

join

him.

"But

then one of the robbers

repented, turned to the other,

and said:

'We

are being

condemned justly. For we are

.

eceiving

the punishment due

for our

deeds.

But this man

Uesusl has

done nothing

amisS '

Then the penitent robber

said to

Jesus: 'Lord,

remember

me

when

Y6u come into Your

Kingdom,

'

So

Jesus said

to him: 'Truly

I tell

you, today you

shall be with

Me

in

Paradise '

"Mr. Witbooi,

do

you not see

yourself as one of

those two

robbers next to Jesus on

C a l v a r y will you die in

your

sins and

go

to Hell like the

The officer went galloping

out of he rOOin, and,

immediatelY returned with a'

Bible -_and put-it onto mylap

with

great respect.

I opened

it

.

at John

3:16, and

asked

Mr

. .

Witbooj whether he co,- ldread.

When he

so

indicated, I handed

him the

Bible

and asked him'to

read it.

tc.iu41y

and clearly, he .

read it out, and then said,' "I.

am

too big a

siiIDer "

But I

replied;

"Mr. Witbo()i, it says here ':

'

whOSOever':'" and

that includes .

you toO

, irand when

you

pur

your trust in

Jesus."

The atmosphere was

electric.

All in ihatrobfu felt the .

"Let

me

assure you, Mr.

Witbooi, that if you make

your peace with God-

whether you die right now

of a heart attack; or are put

' Let

me assure you.

Mr.

\Vithooi, that

if

YOlt 111akc

your

peace with

(fo

cl

-

whether YUH die

right

now

of

a heart

atta

ck:

or arc lilt to oeath I'll ' Illlll cin ;

awesOlne

ptesence of God

the Holy Ghost.

The

"

silenCe

was

terrifying.

Then I said,"Mr. Wit JOoi,

will

you 'come to jesus?"

He replied, "I Will " .

to

death for murder; or die

naturally later

on--

you 'too

will go to

Heaven.

I also assure: :

you that my father, whom you

are accused

of

having murdered,

will

then be the firstto

welcome

you there. HQWe-


8/16

hand of fellowship. I

will

help

you in any way I can. Here is

my

address in

Ausrralia.

f

you

write to me, I promise to reply

to

every letter you

may

write, for

the rest of my life. When

is

your

trial?

He replied, "Thursday the

22nd of September." I

promised

to

pray

for

im

on that

day (when I would be

overseas),

that justice would

be

done and

that he would continue to

receive God's grace whatever the

outcome. I then again shook

his hand and left the jail --

to

the

astonishment of both the

grateful police and the

bewildered convicts there who

just kept on staring at

me

in

amazement.

Driving

back to

Barrydale,

I

praised God and sang His

Psalms

the whole time -

realizing anew that

God

is not

dead but

very

much alive on this

great planet Earth. For God

had revived my soul-- and, I

rrust, those of all in that room in

the jail at Swellendam.

Four

days

later, I visited

the

jail again. This titne

Mr.

Witbooi was waiting

for

me with

a

smile.

He

had been reading

the Bible since I last saw him,

and claimed

to

have peace. I

urged him to speak

to

the other

prisoners about what had

happened

to

him;

to

tell the

whole rruth at the mal; and to

work and wimess for the Lord

for

the rest of his earthly

life

be

it short or long). He then

prayed for both of us; thanked

God

for my visits; and boldly

asked

God

to bless me wherever

I went (that same day to

England and thereafter to

America).

The Lord heard is prayer.

In London, God spoke

powerfully -- through my

relating there the above events.

In America, the effect

was

electrifying and the

tape-recording of my account is

spreading l1ke wildfire and

prodUCing

awesome inquiries

and results. I used it there,

as

an illusrration, while preaching

on the fifth petition in the Lord's

Prayer

("And forgive us

our

t r e s p a s ~ e s

as we

forgive

those

who

trespass against

us ")

o that

God

would melt the

Heavens and

come

down, and

touch and

revive His

hard-nosed

children here on Earthl Dear

reader, do you have the certainty

that all your sins have been

forgiven, for Christ's sake? If

not, settle this matter forthwith

Sincerely in the Lord's

service, from a sinner saved by

grace.

1995 Letters from

and to alai

Mr

. Witbooi was kept in jail

at Swellendam

for

almost

fourteen months, while he

awaited his trial.

After

around

ten months, on the 24th of April

1995 he wrote the

following

letter [translation]:

"Commander, Correctional

ServiCes

3198, Private Bag X6,

Swellendam 6740.

Dear

Prof. Lee,

t

is

going well with me, in

the Name of the Lord Who

created us. Sir, I am thankful

and rejoice in the

Lord

that we

can write to one another, and

that He has carried us thus far.

Professor, I just wish

to

tell

you that I

have

now been

waiting here innocently for ten

months for my hearing. So I

ask you how one can be

innocent of a deed, and wait for

judgment. However, I shall

prove my innocence

fully.

But

pray together with me that the

Father will vindicate.

I

am

sorry for everything, and

wish to ask a favour of you.

Would you please help me with

R100, so that I can buy a few

necessary things for myself? I

would honestly appreciate this.

Sir, I am now going

to

close [this

letter] with great

love

.... Stay

with the Lord

From Kerneels [Cornelius]

Witbooi. God's blessing."

Thereupon Professor Lee

answered as follows

[translation] :

"Kerneels

Witbooi --

9471995,

C/O Commander Correctional

Services,

Private Bag

X6,

Swellendam

6740, Republic of South Africa, .

29th September 1996.

Dear Kerneels,

I

was

very grateful to our

Lord finally

to

receive your letter

to

me dated 24th April. It

seems to have been sent

to

me

by sea mail, and thus took more

than

five

months

to

reach me. I

am answering itnmediately, and .

indeed by air mail, Which of

course should be delivered to

you much more quickly.

I have already sent three

letters

to

you, since we met one

another there in the jail. I have

often wondered whether you

ever received my letters; or,

i f

July, 1997 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t


9/16

you indeed answered them,

whether your letters

were

sent

to

me. Thus, ', could do nothing

other than pray

for

you.

That I

indeed did many

times

- that

the Lord should

keep you

standing, come what

may

.

In the meantime I learned '

from my friends in

Barrydale

that your trial has constandy

been postponed. j .then realized

how hard it must be

for

you,

50

I

often prayed here: 0 Lord

May

Kemeels's trial soon begin;

find

him

eithet lnhocent and

acquit him; or

find

him guilty

and give

him

the punishment he

deserves;

but

may his trial soon

begin, and speedily fuush '

Only

last

week I woke up in the

middle of the night and once

again prayed

for you

thus.

And

today your letter arrived. Many

th nks

for

it.

I

rejoiCe

to hear

from you

that things are going

well

with

you in the

Name

of the

Lord,

and that

He

has carried you thus

far. You

say in your letter that

you are now innocently awaiting

judgment. Well, the

Lord

and

hopefully you too lmow

to

what

extent you may be guilty or

lnhocent of the number of

different crimes

Committed

in

my

fa\l:ler's

home, with which

you are being charged,

As

now requested

by

you, I

shall certainly pray together with

you that God

the Father stand '

by you. But

as

I .

also

told you a

while back in thejail:

if

you

are

found guilty by the Coun, I

would like you to get the

maximum puntshInent. I

am

enclosing

for

you, in

English,

my

report of our conversation in

the jail,

to

refresh our memories.

In

the

meantime I

too have

now been waiting

for more

than

a

year for

justice

[

prevail, and

that.

he

thug or

thugs who

broke into

my

eighty-five-year-old

father's

home at night and

mortally

attacked him and just

left

him

there,

will

righteously be

punished. As his only child,'I

have

now been waiting

for more

th n

a

year

that

also

a

gravestone

will

get

erected for

my late

father,

and that the

Lord will

be '

merciful to myoId motherftrst

in

the

hospital and now ,

elsewhere

- where she

constandy inquires

why

her

husband

does

not

come and

visit

her.

So

you

see,

Kerneels, I

too

have

to be patient with

the

disposition of this long-lilsting

matter. Thus, both of us

still

need

to

learn how

to

keep on

waiting upon the

Lord.

Please

read

Psalm

130 in your Bible.

I

note in your letter your

request that I send you RI

00, so

that you can buy

a

few

diings

you

need.

This

request

reminds

me

of

the

story of

Peier'; when

a

man asked him for money. You

will

remember that Peter

then

told the

man:

'I

do not have silver

and gold. But

what

1

do

have, that

1give t you

in the Name

ofJesus

Christ.' ActS 3.

Kerneels,

I

am giving you this

following Bible

text of the

same

Peter:

'You

know

that

you

have

not

been purchased by

tranSitory

things, silverOT

gold,

from your

tdle walk of if

handed

down by

the fathers, but

by

the precious

bloodo

Christ' Read

about this

in First Peter 1:18-19 in your

Bible.

Thus, I do not

believe it

12

THE

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon July, 1997

I will

have

mercy

on

whom 1

have

mercy,

and I

will have

compas-

_ 0

S10n o

whom I

have

compas

sion.

Romans 9:15


10/16

would be right

for me to

send

you

money. For

I only wish

to

help

you

along on the right road

ahead, and not to

cause

you any

further hardship.

Many

thanks, Kemeels, also

for your loving wishes

to me

and

my

family. By

the grace of God,

we will indeed remain with the

Lord

.

We

pray the same for

you and your dear

ones.

Once

again, I promise

to

answer every

letter which you send me.

Prayerfully in the service

of

our Saviour the

Lord Jesus

Christ,

Dr. Nik

Lee."

Almost a

year

of silence passed

after the above

was sent

to

Kemeels.

But

on 17th

September

1996 Cope

Town

he wrote the

following letter, which reached

Dr. Lee

.on the 3rd of October

1996

(the

day

before

his

mother

died in South Africa):

1

am uilty

o

the Crime "

"Rev. Prof. Dr. F.N

.

Lee, 17/

9/96

Dear Sir,

s regards

biological

activities, my body system

is

still

functioning positively, and I

hope

to

hear the same

from you.

Well, sir,

I got the maximum

sentence which the judge and

our heavenly Father rightly

decided

to

give

me. I

am not

dissatisfied, for the

Lord

is with

me.

He

protects me, and

hopefully will one

day

lead me

in the right path.

The

Lord

is

my shepherd. I shall not want.

And

therefore,

Mr. Lee, I do

not

lack both courage and guilt

to

write to you

tonight

--

in order

to

confess

my guilt and

to

acknowledge

to

you that I am

guilty of the crime

for

which I

am now serving out a sentence

of ten years of which two years

were suspended,

so

that

I

must

Lord, but my faith

is

too small.

Therefore I am asking you to

pray

for me. I

shall

also

pray

for you,

as

I have done many

times

in my prayers, and then

ask

forgiveness

for my sins.

Yet

it feels

to

me as if my prayers are

not being heard ...

I am still in the world, where

I

cannot escape without a

healing hand.

Sir,

I am tonight

again

praying for you, and I

shall ask that He must not leave

you. Mr.

Lee,

stay with the

Lord,

for His

ways

are good.

Read

Matthew 4, from

verses

1 to 11,

especially verse

10.

God

bless you and

your family.

oserO

LESOTHO

o urban

'For

this

reason,

I bend my knees

before the Father

of our Lord Jesus

Christ, from

Whom every

generation in the

now serve out eight (8) years in

prison.

Sir,

when you visited

me

in

Swellendam, I told you I was not

guilty

-- you

remember, the

time

when

I

looked

down

at the

ground. And

why? Because I

too indeed grew up in a home

with the Lord and with love, and

I was guilty and did not have the

courage to tell

you

that

I

had

committed the

deed.

That is

why

I

turned

my eyes away,

as I

knew within

me

that

I

lied

to

you and to

God.

Mr. Lee, I

then told the judge

the truth, and he

gave me

the

punishment ...

Sir,

I so much

want

to

give my heart to the

Heavens

and on Earth receives

its name, that

He

may

give

you

according

to

the riches of His

glory to

be strengthened with

power by His Spirit in the inner

man.' Ephesians

3:14-16.

Where shall my help come

from?

My help comes from the

Lord

Who made Heaven and

Earth. 0

Lord, be with us

always.

PrOtect

and guard us.

0

Lord,

lead

me

according

to

your

ways, and forgive us our sins,

where I have sinned

in

thoughts,

words and deeds. This I ask

not because I am worthy, but

because of

grace. Save

my soul

and open my

eyes

to be able to

distinguish between good and

evil. Amen "

J1\ly,

997

THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 3


11/16

May

I

ome

Visit . ou Again?

"QueensIarid Presbyterian

Theological

Hall

.

w i t h i n E m m a n i l ~ 1

C o l l ~ g e

Sir William

MacGregor Drive,

St.

Lucia 4067) .

Faculty Secretary:

Rev.

ProfeSsor Dr. ,F.N. l,ee

(Th.D., Ph.D;, D.

Min.,

S.T.D., D.RE" D.Ed., D;Hum,,

D.Jur.,

D.C.L.,

D.L.itt.)

3 Kenya SITeet, '?v'avell

Heights, Qld.4012,

A.USTRALIA.

Ph. (07)

3266-1688

Mr

.

CorrieJius

Witbooi, 7

l

October 1996. "

Dear Cornelius,

Many thanks'

for

your

wonderful letter 17th September

1996, which reached

me

at 4:30

p.m. on the 3rd

of

October.

As

you can see from 'he paper

attached, my de'lr mother died

the next day

(88

years old). She

was the old "

Mrs.

Lee"

of

25

Van

Riebee


12/16

Him.

That

is

my

prayer,

also for

you

With my very best brotherly

greetings,

till we

meet

again,

Nigel

Lee

Prof Lee Again

Visits His Brother

The above letter

was

not

mailed

to Cornelius, ut

handed

to him in jail by

Prof.

Lee

on

13th October 1996, the

day

before he buried his mother.

On October 13th,

Dr. Lee

together with the Swellendam

ideons

visited the

Buffeljags

Prison. Addressing hundreds of

prisoners, Dr. Lee preached on

Matthew

25:36

--

"I was in

prison, and you came to

Me."

Among

all

those prisoners, the

murderer of Professor

Lee's

father

was

there

too.

Prof.

Lee

was

then allowed

to

spend five minutes with

Cornelius (together with an

Officer)

and

to

hand

over

the

above

letter to the prisoner.

Professor

Lee

greeted

Cornelius;

told

him

that their

story had already gone around

the

world;

and said he planned

to write a book about it. The

prisoner

was

very agreeable for

Prof. Lee to take his photograph,

and then

to

use it in any book

he may

write about their

contacts.

But

the Officer could

not allow

Dr.

Lee to take any

photographs.

So

Cornelius then asked

Prof. Lee to

visit his own

parents,

Mr.

and Mrs. Kemeels

and

Katrina

Claassen

Qabourers for

Mr.

Jacques

Theron on his

farm

Helderkroon near Barrydale),

and to request them to provide

Prof. Lee

with a photograph of

Cornelius

for

that purpose.

This Prof. Lee

would do,

shortly after he had gone and

buried his own mother in

Barrydale the very next day .

(Monday

14th October 1996).

Professor

Lee

then put his

arm

round Cornelius, and

prayed.

He

thanked God

for

their reunion; asked the Lord

to

sustain Cornelius in the jail;

and

to

give

him the grace to

profess

and

live

out his

Christian convictions.

Professor Lee then said

goodbye to

Cornelius; thanked

the Officer;

and left the jail.

Prof Lee s Burial

Message

or

His Mother

It has pleased the Holy

Triune

God

of

life

and death

to

take

my dear mother,

Alice

Maud Lee, to Heaven. This

occurred around three o clock

July, 1997 THE COUNSEL ofChalcedon 15


13/16

Friday morning

the

4th of

October, 199q;

n the

ripe old ,

age of

eighty-eight

years,

six

months, and

foUr days

.

Auntie

Maud, as

her dear

friends

n Barrydale

called:her,

was born on

March

31st 1908 in

England - and married there.

She and her elder sister mta

were raised very strictly in the

Roman Catholic Faith,

SiIililarly, both sisters educated

their children in and for the

Roman Catholic Church. When

Auntie Maud

' Vas

expecting her

only child

Nigel,

she

gave him to

the Lord -- with the sincere

prayer that he.would later

become a priest in

the

Church of

Rome.

She raised

him

with this

n

mind.

It was when

Nigel was

six

years old that he last

saw his

Auhtie mta s three sons.

All

of

them,

togetheF

with

Nigel,

then

promised one another to serve

the Lord in

His

Church. mta s

children Peter and John and

Tony all studied

for

the Roman

,

Catholic priesthood. Their

cousin Nigel,

however"

when

seven years old, went with

his

mother Auntie

Maud to

South

Africa,

the land ofbts father s

birth. There

Nigel

grew

up;

became a Christian

by

the

grace

of God; had the

great

privilege

of leading both

of

his parents

to

the LordJesus; and then became

a Reformed Church

Minister.

.

After her conversion

to

the

Protestant Faitl1 at MUiieilberg

near CapeTown during 1958,

Auntie Maud started a .Sunday

School

n

her

garage for

children

of the Coloured Community

and al,so taught them many

Christian

Songs. She

often

also

gave some of

her son s

religious

tracts

to

interested

persons.

After their retirement, Auntie

Maud

and her husband

Uncle

Syi

settled down in Barrydale. .

There, in their

sixties, they

both

decided

to

be

come

Members of

the Dutch Reformed Church.

Auntie Maud's

catechist, the

Dutch

Refornied Minister of

Ilattydale, told her son at the

time

that

she was able to recite

every

answer of the Short

Compendium (or

Catechism)

by

heart. Thereafter both

Auntie

Maud and

Uncle

Syd remained

Communicant Members

of

the

Dutch

Reformed

Church

in

Barrydale,

even after their only

child

moved first to

America

and

.then

to Australia as

a

Seminary

Professor

in

Systematic

Theology,

to train

theolOgical

students

overseas for

the Gospel

Ministry.

On October 3rd, just a

few

hours after he learned

fr0111

her

doctor in

Swellenda111

that

Auntie Maud was terminally ill

,

her son received a letter

from

his

deceased

father s assailant

from

the

Bu{feljags River Prison.

That letter

came from

the

per

son

accused in 1994 of having

1 6 ~ Ul

COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon July, 1997

assailed

and killed the

deceased

Uncle Syd

Lee - the person

whom

Auntie

Maud's son

Dr

,

Lee had. n 1994 visited in

the

Swellendam

Prison and. hen

led

to

the

Lord.

n the

a,boveletter,that

criminal asked both Auntie

Maud's

son.and

God for

_

forgiveness

for

the murder he

, committed against her

deceased

husband,

After

her son had

,translated that letter

from

Afrikaans

into,

English

and

read

it out

to his theological

students ,

in farawayAusttalia on October

4th, mwe than one of them

was

visibly moved

to

tears. Ninety

minutes later, the son received

the

news

that his motherb.ad

j

died, and had left

Swe lendam

for

her Father s

Hcave,;'Jy

Home

above.

~ n d rheard

a

voice

from

Heaven saying to

me: Write -

Blessed

are the dead who

die in the

Lord

from

now

onwardl' 'Yes,

said the Spirit, 'so

that

they

may

rest from

their labours;

and

their

works dd

follow

theml'

Revelation 14:13,

A

Jew days

later,

Dr.

Lee

viSited Cornelius'S

parents

( : '

sister); tooktht :ir photograph;

:

was given by

them a photo

of

COrnelius:

Ms. Claassen

, Mrs : ,

Witbooi-ClaasSen, Mr. Claassen,

and Mr. C. Witbooi

The WitlJooH:;laasseIi

Fami y

, Visiting h e H t l d e r k T ~ o n FaT ll

A

few da

ys aftet-Dr.

Lee

, ., .

buried his mother on the 14th6f

Octobe,r

199 J,

he kept the

p r o m ~ e he Dlade

to

Cornelius

to

go and, visithisparents.

They

work on,

Mr.

~ c q u e s

Theron s

farm

Helderkroon, just outside

of Barryda1e.


14/16

Mr. Theron was

very

helpful.

He gave Cornelius s parents the

afternoon off, and put his own

office at our disposal. I then

went and introduced myself to

Cornelius s parents,

Mr

. and

Mrs.

Kerneels and Katrina

Oaassen.

Dr. Lee then explained he is

the only child of old

Mr.

Syd .

Lee, whom their son Cornelius

murdered in July 1994. then

mentioned that

was

with

Cornelius in the jail on the

previous Sunday; that then

spoke to him; that then also

preached to all of the convicts; .

and that had now

come to

visit

them precisely at the request of

their son.

then explained to them how

even King David, a man.after

God's

own hean, murdered

someone in a moment of

weakness -- but later sincerely

repented of this. Second

Samuel

11

and 12, with Psalm

51.

then told them that their

son Cornelius, on the basis of

faith in Christ which he now

professes, had been made just -

in the eyes of the Lord. Then

asked them whether things are

right also in their hean -- and, if

not, whether they did not wish

to settle the matter with the Lord

immediately.

Thereupon

all

three of us

got

down upon our knees.

Katrina

then prayed a passionate prayer,

in which she thanked the Lord

that He had now after

all

the

years sent His messenger t her

-- in order

to

show her too the

way to Heaven. Kerneels then

recited first Psalm 23 and then

the Our.Father and, after a great

battle, confessed faith in the

Lord. After that I myself

thanked

God for

the wonderful

privilege of kneeling with

Cornelius s parents at the foot of

the I TOSS ofJesus.

All

three of us then went to

the little farm cottage of the

Claassens,

where they gave me a

photograph of Cornelius which I

could use in my

new

book,

as

Cornelius himself had told me to

do. then took a photograph of

the couple, together with their

daughter (Cornelius s sister) -

and encouraged the

family

to

read the Bible every day.

After

I then said goodbye to

all

three of them, we parted

from one another with great joy.

Shortly thereafter, wrote to

Cornelius once again, and

remrned

to my wife

(and

family)

in Australia.

Telling Cornelius

about

His

Parents

Mr.

C. Witbooi, 21st

October, 1996.

Dear Cornelius,

It was good to see you on

Sunday the 13th of October, and

. to pray together with you once

again.

buried my late mother the

following day.

After

that went .

and visited your parents,

Mr.

and Mrs. Kerneels and Katrina

Oaassen, on Mr. Theron s farm

Helderkroon near

Barrydale

.

Mr.

Theron

gave

your parents

time off from work in the

afternoon, so that they could

speak

to

me

[in

his officel. I

spent almost two hours with

them, talking about you [and

telling them of my visit to you

in

jail again on Sunday the 12th of

October, and explaining to them

that you are still standing for the

Lord in jail, by the grace of

Godl.

.

All

three of us then prayed,

and explained to them how to

become a child of God - just

like explained to you in 1994

in the jail in Swellendam. After

that, went to your parents little

cottage.

There met your sister,

and photographed [her together

withl your parents. Your

mother was very happy, and she

gave

me a photograph of you

which shall take back to

Australia.

Yesterday, Sunday the 20th

of October, preached

in

your

congregation -- the Dutch

Reformed

Mission Church in

Barrydale. asked the brothers

and sisters to read a horne

Second Samuel chapters 11 and

12. then preached for them

from Psalm 51. I explained that

there was grace even for a

murderer like King David.

After that, I gave your Aunt

Maria

a copy of your most recent

letter

to

me, and of mine

to

you.

Cornelius, read Second

Samuel

[chaptersl11 and 12,

and Psalm 51.

Also

read

Acts

chapter 10. I would very much

like to hear from you again.

Pray for me, for yourself, and

especially for your parents.

With every blessing in the

Lord, Dr.

Lee

[TRANSLAnONl

Christmas essages from

and to the Prison

n

the middle of November

1996,

Dr

. Leefrom Australia

sent a number of documents

to

his father s converted murderer

Cornelius Witbooi in South

July, 1991 t THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t

7


15/16

Africa. Those

documents

comprised inter alia: a report

about

Dr

..Lee's October 1996

visit to Cornelius and others in

the

Buffeljags

Prison; the

burial

letter for the October funeral

of

Dr . Lee's mother in Barrydale;

snapshQts of Cornelius, and of

members of

the

latter's

farttily

whom Dr.

Lee

photographed ll

bct.at Barrydale; Dr.

Lee's

report on his Oct . visit 19 .

Cornelius'S

parents;'

Dr.

Lee's

21st Oct. letter

to

Cornelius, '

about the

above visits;

and a

photo of Dr.

Lee

and his

wife,

'

taken by their daughter, when '

he on the 3rd

of

November

1996 again arrived back home in

Australia. .

To the

above,

Cornelius

reacted at

once,

On the 9th

of

.

Dec. he wrote the following

letter, which Dr.

Lee

received

just before Christmas 1996:

[TRANSLATED]

Dear Dr. F.N.Lee,

I greet you in the beautiful

name of jesus .1 amplea.sed you

encouraged

me so

strongly

to

make

contact wifujesus. ' Sir, I ;

received the letter which you

sent

me

. Consequently, I

am

.

again feeling

like

a new

man-

full of hope; and trustiIig n our

Father,

My brother, I .

believe

that

you

will

pray

for

us here in Buffeljags

Prison. Remember, Mr. Lee,

1

am upholding you n prayer to

God. And

I

believe

the heavenly

gate has been opened

for

us

my dear brother in jesus.

Doctor, I am sure no man on

Earth but only the

Lord

knows

my

conscience. Yet

I am. happy

for

the sentence laid upon me. ,

Therefore I

do

not wish to talk

about that again. For God

has

tilken

all

my

burdens upon

Himself.

Consequently,

I

praise the

,

Lord

for all

His

good deedS

which He as our Saviour

keeps

On dedicating

to

us.' ,So, rejOice

together,with

me

For

when

He

comes -- I

shall go

to heaven

together with Him. Praise . he

Lord

. ,

Dr.

Lee,

1have a friend here

who would like to correspond

with

you

and

the Church,

His

name

and number is Heruirik

jansen, number 95714670.

He

sayS

that the

message

you

brought

us

here, touched him as

' ifhe

were

here

for

the

same

'

,

crime

[as I

am]

--although he

committed a different crime

[than murder]. But the words

were too

. rue. Praise

the

Lord

Dr. F.N. Lee,

thank you for

visiting my

humblefamily.

The

Lord shall praise all your work, '

even

though

we

cannot do so.

For nothing is impossible

for

God. Praise

the

Lord

Doesn't

man

have

a

struggle,

here

on

Earth? Thus I have inherited'

months

of

disappointment.

Isaiah 59:1-31

My life is in God, and

God

's

is in mine, my brother.

So

I

understand how you can

now

,

feel.

Youshall hear more from

me an,d

my

friend. We are

praying God's blesSing upon you

and the rest of the Church.

Stay

with

the

Lord

, no matter

what happenS.

God

shaU

provide. And greet your famUY

there

in

Australia. This

letter

comes

from

Mr. Cornelius

Witbooi:

brother inJesus.Till

we meet again

This Dr.

Lee

answered as

8 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon

July,

1997

follows [translated from

frikaans into

English)

:

Cornelius Witbooi -- 19th '

.

December

1996.

.

Dear

.Cornelius,

The

True Meaning of Christmas

. Inside

nd

Outside ofJail - '

1was very grateful toward

our

Lord yesterday

,.

to

get a; , .

letter from you dated the .9th

of

Dec. 1996. It

arrived here

right

before

Christn\as.lt re:Qlinded

meth;it

we mUSt

onj:e .

again

,

soon

thank

God

for His great'

Chrispnas

PreseiJ.t.

"For God

loved the wQrld,

that

He gave His

only-begotten

Son.- so

that .

everyone who

believes

in Him

should

not perish, but

have

everiqsttng

life "

john 3:16 .

Cornelius, I

am very

pleased

that

my

prison sermon on the

13th of O


16/16

words: 1

am happy

for

the

sentence laid upon me ....For

God

has taken

all

my burdens

upon

HimseU.

Consequently, I

praise the Lord for

all His good

deeds

which He

as

our Saviour

keeps on dedicating

to

us ....

My life

is

in God, and God's

is

in

min

....

Cornelius, the Lord has

placed you there in jail with a

wonderfui purpose. You should

not only wimess for the Lord in

word and deed

to

Hendrik and

the other prisoners, but also

to

the jailers. That

is

what

Paul

did

when he was in jail.

Read

his

letter

to

the Philippians.

Also

read:

Genesis

39

to

41, about

Joseph in jail; Daniel

6,

about

his experiences in the lion's den;

and

Acts

12, about

Peter

in jail.

They

all-- Paul, Joseph,

Daniel,

and Peter -- did wonderful work

for

the Lord also in j

ail. You

should do the same, by the

power of God

Please give

my very best

wishes

also to

Officer

Snyman -

and espedally

to

your parents, .

when you see them again.

Kindly

remind your parents

about their

fine

deCisiOns, which

they took together with me on

the 18th of Oct.,

to

serve the

Lord.

Your Aunt

Marta

too

was

so happy Please give my

greetings

to

her too.

I

close

by wishing you and

your dear ones the most blessed

Christmas. Thank

God

He

came

to save

us, jus t when

we were

hopelessly lost. Thanks be

to

God

for

the unspeakable

gift

of

His Son Second Corinthians

9:15

Your cO-servant

in our Lord

Jesus Christ,

Dr. Nigel Lee.

Reader,

Where do You

Stand?

Dear reader, in the above

pages you have been reading

something about the ancestors

and the descendants of this

writer. His great-grandfather

was a fiery preacher, whose

daughter became a Christian

only in her late-fifties. Her son

became an atheist. But the

latter's son led his parents back

to

Christ, and then became a

preacher

like

his great

grandfather. By the grace of

God, he raised two godly ..

children (the daughters of

Dr.

Frands

Nigel Lee).

Truly, God's ways are won

derful

For

He,

through His

servants, did rum the heart

of

he

fathers back to

the children - and

the

hean

of the children back

to

their

fathers."

Malachi 4:6 .

May

He do the same for you too

You have also been reading

something about the

life

of

my

father's murderer, and

his

family.

What a marvellous God

we worship -- Who

gave

me the

grace

to

lead not only my own

parents back

to

the

Lord

,

but

also my father's murderer and

later even the latter's parents

These two

families

-- one

White, and the other Coloured

-- would never have met at all,

but for the death of my father

Mr.

Syd Lee. More

importantly,

but for the death of Jesus, these

two

families

and all of their

members -- Mr. and

Mrs. Syd

.

Lee,

their son

Dr.

Nigel

Lee,

his

wife Mrs. Nellie

Lee, their

daughters

Misses

Johanna and.

Anna Lee; and Mr. it Mrs .

Kerneels Claassen and their

child Cornelius Witbooi -

would still be going to

Hell.

They are now brothers and

sisters of one another and all on

their way

to

Heaven through

bloodshed: through the shed

blood of our great Saviour, the

Lord Jesus Christ

"But now,

in ChristJesus,you

who

were previously far off,

have

been

made

nigh

by the

blood

of

Christ. For He

1$

our

peace ..

to

make in Himself, from two, one

new man, thus making

peace --

so

that He might reconcile both unto

God

in one

body by the

cross.

Ephesians 2:13-16.

It pleased the Father

that

in

Him {the

Lord Jesus

Christl

all

fullness should dwelL And, h/lvtng

made peace

through

the

blood

of

His

cross,

by

Him to

reconcile

all

things unto

Himself; y

Him,

I say,

whether they be things

in Earth, or

things

iit

Heaven. And you

who

were

in past

times

alienated,

and

enemies

in

your mind by

wicke(i

works -- you He has now

reconciled in the body of His flesh

through

death,

to

present

you

holy

and unblameable and

unreprovable

in

His sight." Colossians 1:19-22.

Dear reader, where do you

stand today?

May

you too join

the brotherhood -- because of

His bloodshed

Forgive Us Our Trespasses

"Forgive us our debts,as we

forgive

our

debtors .... For

if ou

forgive men their trespasses, your

heavenly Father will also forgive

you: But

if ou do not

forgive

men

iheir trespasses, neither will

your

Fatherforgive

your

trespasses "

-- Matthew 6:12-15

Jesus Uves,

3

Kenya

St.,wavell Heights,

QUEENSLAND

4012,

Commonwealth o Australia

CONTINUED

ON

P GE

24

July, 1997

$

THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

9

1997 Issue 6 - Brothers Because of Bloodshed - Counsel of Chalcedon

Documents

Transcript of 1997 Issue 6 - Brothers Because of Bloodshed - Counsel of Chalcedon