Joachim Rieck
I am not really qualified to write a
biography on the life of this remarkable man, but I do wish to make a start,
hoping that someone qualified will be stimulated to pick up the pen and give us an
authoritative biographical sketch on the life and times of Nico van der Walt.
He must assuredly not be forgotten.
Rex Jeffries did that for us in 2020
when he wrote a biography on the life of Martin Holdt. This biography was
published almost 10 years following Martin's death on the 31st December
2011[1].
Nico van der Walt and Martin Holdt were good friends and frequently ministered
together on various platforms. In fact, together they were a truly formidable
pair. Both were Reformed, Confessional, Covenantal Baptists. Both subscribed to
the historic 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith. Both loved the Lord Jesus and
His finished work on the cross. Both loved the work of proclaiming His glory.
And they both did it so well, not boasting in themselves, but in Jesus alone.
I realize that I actually knew Nico
far too little. But I do know enough to say this: Nico has touched the lives of
many, including my own. He was a remarkable man.
My life in Namibia and his very busy life in South Africa only really intersected when we met at various Pastors conferences and Prayer fraternals in South Africa, and sometimes he would visit us in Namibia.
I came to know him best in the founding of
SOLA 5 - An Association of God-centered Evangelicals in Southern Africa.
Nico and I among many others were Founder members. I would call Nico van der
Walt "the Visionary Voice behind the SOLA 5 Movement". SOLA 5 was actually born out of the Spurgeon
Prayer fraternal. This is what happens when pastors unite in prayer, and so it
was, that in 2004, this movement was conceptualized and solemnized. Nico van der Walt was passionate about such a
body and therefore as such he wrote the introduction to the SOLA 5 Handbook.
This Handbook contains the Constitution, Core Values and Confession, and it was
put together with the efforts of a number of esteemed
brothers. This Association gave an
identity to a group of essentially Reformed Baptist churches in Southern
Africa, embracing Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique,
Swaziland and Botswana.
A few weeks before Nico went home to
His Maker, knowing that he had only a very short time to live (he had a very
aggressive form of leukemia) , he sent a
moving farewell message which many of
you may have seen. As I watched his 10 minute farewell I saw an essentially
contented man, filled with hope and assurance. Christ was clearly in possession of his heart.
Nico's biography is best contained in
his own words, which I found on his blogsite[2].
Here follows a translation of his own autobiographical information
from that blog:
“... I believe (with a broken heart),
that a shockingly large part of the institutional church of our day has largely
lost her course. In certain cases, she has even forsaken the concept of saving
faith. The church, without delay, desperately
needs to return to the fundamentals of the Reformation: Scripture alone, Grace
alone, Christ alone, Faith alone, and all to the Glory of God alone.
I subscribe to the historically
respected 1689 Baptist Confession as well as to the Confession and Core Values
of Sola 5, an Association of God-centered Evangelical Churches, found in more
than half a dozen Southern African countries. In addition, I am an active
member of the Spurgeon Fraternal, a nationwide prayer circle of Reformed
Baptist brothers.
I was born on 28 September 1945 in
Middelburg, in the Cape Province. From the age of eight we lived in Aliwal
North, in the North Eastern Cape. I matriculated in 1963 at the local high
school. After military service, I studied at the University of Stellenbosch,
where I obtained a degree in Civil Engineering. I was involved in several major
water projects, including the Boland Project, the Orange River Project and the
Kunene Project.
At the age of twenty-eight, my life
was changed as I experienced a Christ-centered repentance. Nothing was the same ever
since. Soon thereafter I undertook some theological studies at the Potchefstroom
University for Higher Christian Education. Whilst studying, I also lectured for 4 ½ years in the field of engineering. From 1983 and onward I have been permanently engaged
in a pastoral and teaching, gospel ministry. After years in the Vaal Triangle,
I was founding pastor of the Antipas Reformed Baptist Congregation in Pretoria,
and from 1998 onwards I served there for ten years.
For about a decade-and-a-half I have
been a permanent lecturer at the Lynnwood Ridge Bible School in Pretoria.
I remain amazed at seeing the fruit
of the written text of my sermons (sent out by e-mail)
in Afrikaans and English.
I am married to Soniah du Toit, a
university sweetheart. She grew up on a farm near Hartswater in the Northern
Cape. We have 4 grown daughters, two wonderful sons-in-law, and seven
grandchildren. Currently, Soniah and I live in Randburg.
But that's not all that's true of my
life. My Curriculum Vitae obscures my real struggles with sin. It obscures my
countless failures whilst negotiating that narrow road. I have experienced long
dark tunnels of depression. I have regrets with respect to a number of poor interpersonal relationships.
I have regrets with respect to my reluctance in the fulfilling of my calling - in
short, the poverty of my discipleship has made me groan countless times before
this Thrice-holy God. But, the most significant fact remains this: I have fled to Jesus Christ .... and I still
continue to hide in Him. I have appropriated God's promises to myself. They
have been given to me by Christ my great Prophet. I have entrusted myself to Him as my great
High Priest. I have dedicated myself to
Him as my great King. But despite this, my faith is often characterized by
stammering and stumbling, rather than by victory. Therefore, I know, that the
fruit that may be there is due to the fact that it Christ who works in me to
will as well as to work after His good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13).
“And I heard
a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in
the Lord from now on." "Blessed indeed," says the Spirit,
"that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!" [Revelation
14:13]
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