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599 results for “Chapter 3: The Nature and Extent of Church Power”
WCF
Westminster Confession of Faith
72
Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience
And because the powers which God hath ordained, and the liberty which Christ hath purchased, are not intended …
Of Church Censures
For the better attaining of these ends, the officers of the Church are to proceed by admonition; suspension …
Of the Holy Scripture
Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, …
Of Church Censures
To these officers the keys of the kingdom of heaven are committed: by virtue whereof, they have power …
Of the Church
This catholic Church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less visible. And particular Churches, which are members thereof, are …
Of the Church
The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation as …
Of the Church
The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error: and some have so degenerated, as …
Of the Church
There is no other head of the Church, but the Lord Jesus Christ; nor can the Pope of …
Of Christ the Mediator
The Son of God, the second person in the Trinity, being very and eternal God, of one substance …
Of Church Censures
The Lord Jesus, as King and Head of His Church, hath therein appointed a government, in the hand …
Of Church Censures
Church censures are necessary, for the reclaiming and gaining of offending brethren, for deterring of others from the …
Of the Church
The catholic or universal Church which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have …
Of the Church
Unto this catholic visible Church Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering …
Of Effectual Calling
All those whom God hath predestinated unto life, and those only, He is pleased in His appointed and …
Of Christ the Mediator
The Lord Jesus, in His human nature thus united to the divine, was sanctified and anointed with the …
Of Christ the Mediator
This office the Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake; which that He might discharge, He was made under …
Of the Holy Scripture
The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, …
Of the Civil Magistrate
The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the Word and sacraments, or the power …
Of Christ the Mediator
Christ, in the work of mediation, acteth according to both natures, by each nature doing that which is …
Of Synods and Councils
It belongs to synods and councils, ministerially to determine controversies of faith and cases of conscience; to set …
Of Baptism
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission …
Of the Law of God
Although true believers be not under the law, as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified, or …
Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof
Every sin, both original and actual, being a transgression of the righteous law of God, and contrary thereunto, …
Of Free Will
Man, by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any …
Of the Perseverance of the Saints
This perseverance of the saints depends not upon their own free will, but upon the immutability of the …
Of Christian Liberty, and Liberty of Conscience
The liberty which Christ hath purchased for believers under the Gospel consists in their freedom from the guilt …
Of Creation
After God had made all other creatures, He created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls, …
Of Providence
God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, …
Of Creation
It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal …
Of Christ the Mediator
It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, …
Of the Sacraments
Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ …
Of the Sacraments
The grace which is exhibited in or by the sacraments rightly used, is not conferred by any power …
Of the Holy Scripture
The books commonly called Apocrypha, not being of divine inspiration, are no part of the canon of the …
Of the Holy Scripture
The authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon …
Of the Holy Scripture
We may be moved and induced by the testimony of the Church to a high and reverent esteem …
Of the Holy Scripture
The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and …
Of God, and of the Holy Trinity
In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the …
Of Providence
As for those wicked and ungodly men whom God, as a righteous Judge, for former sins, doth blind …
Of Providence
As the providence of God doth in general reach to all creatures, so after a most special manner, …
Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof
They being the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death …
Of the Fall of Man, of Sin, and of the Punishment thereof
This corruption of nature, during this life, doth remain in those that are regenerated; and although it be, …
Of Christ the Mediator
To all those for whom Christ hath purchased redemption, He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the …
Of Free Will
Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom and power to will and to do that which was …
Of Effectual Calling
Others, not elected, although they may be called by the ministry of the Word, and may have some …
Of Repentance unto Life
As every man is bound to make private confession of his sins to God, praying for the pardon …
Of the Law of God
God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, by which He bound him and all …
Of the Law of God
Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a …
Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-day
The light of nature showeth that there is a God, who hath lordship and sovereignty over all, is …
Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath-day
As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart …
Of the Civil Magistrate
God, the supreme Lord and King of all the world, hath ordained civil magistrates, to be, under Him, …
Of the Civil Magistrate
It is the duty of people to pray for magistrates, to honour their persons, to pay them tribute …
Of Marriage and Divorce
Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments unduly to put asunder those …
Of the Lord’s Supper
That doctrine which maintains a change of the substance of bread and wine into the substance of Christ’s …
Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of …
The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonour: the bodies of …
Of the Last Judgment
God hath appointed a day, wherein He will judge the world in righteousness, by Jesus Christ, to whom …
Of the Last Judgment
The end of God’s appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of His mercy, in …
Of Providence
The almighty power, unsearchable wisdom, and infinite goodness of God so far manifest themselves in His providence, that …
Of Free Will
God hath endued the will of man with that natural liberty, that is neither forced, nor by any …
Of Synods and Councils
As magistrates may lawfully call a synod of ministers, and other fit persons, to consult and advise with, …
Of God’s Covenant with Man
This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the gospel: …
Of God’s Eternal Decree
As God hath appointed the elect unto glory, so hath He, by the eternal and most free purpose …
Of God’s Eternal Decree
The rest of mankind God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of His own will, whereby He …
Of Providence
Although, in relation to the fore-knowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass …
Of Free Will
When God converts a sinner, and translates him into the state of grace, He freeth him from his …
Of Repentance unto Life
By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of …
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
A vow is of the like nature with a promissory oath, and ought to be made with the …
Of Lawful Oaths and Vows
No man may vow to do anything forbidden in the Word of God, or what would hinder any …
Of Marriage and Divorce
Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a …
Of the Lord’s Supper
Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein He was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, …
Of the Lord’s Supper
Private masses, or receiving this sacrament by a priest or any other alone; as likewise, the denial of …
Of the Lord’s Supper
The outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, have such relation …
Of Synods and Councils
For the better government, and further edification of the Church, there ought to be such assemblies as are …
WLC
Westminster Larger Catechism
77
Can they who have never heard the gospel, and so know not …
They who, having never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be …
What do we pray for in the second petition.?
In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom come,) acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature …
What are those aggravations that make some sins more heinous than others?
Sins receive their aggravations, 1. From the persons offending: if they be of riper age, greater experience or …
What is the communion in glory with Christ, which the members of …
The communion in glory with Christ, which the members of the invisible church enjoy immediately after death, is, …
What is the communion in glory which the members of the invisible …
The communion in glory which the members of the invisible church have with Christ, is in this life, …
Are all they saved who hear the gospel, and live in the …
All that hear the gospel, and live in the visible church, are not saved; but they only who …
What is the visible church?
The visible church is a society made up of all such as in all ages and places of …
What are the special privileges of the visible church?
The visible church hath the privilege of being under God's special care and government; of being protected and …
What is the invisible church?
The invisible church is the whole number of the elect, that have been, are, or shall be gathered …
What special benefits do the members of the invisible church enjoy by …
The members of the invisible church by Christ enjoy union and communion with him in grace and glory.
What is the communion in grace which the members of the invisible …
The communion in grace which the members of the invisible church have with Christ, is their partaking of …
What is the communion in glory with Christ which the members of …
The members of the invisible church have communicated to them in this life the firstfruits of glory with …
How many sacraments hath Christ instituted in his church under the New …
Under the New Testament Christ hath instituted in his church only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's supper.
Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God?
It was requisite that the Mediator should be God, that he might sustain and keep the human nature …
How many persons are there in the Godhead?
There be three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three …
How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of …
Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that as God-man he is …
How was Christ exalted in his resurrection?
Christ was exalted in his resurrection, in that, not having seen corruption in death (of which it was …
What rules are to be observed for the right understanding of the …
For the right understanding of the ten commandments, these rules are to be observed: 1. That the law …
What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
In the sixth petition (which is, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,) acknowledging, …
Who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment?
By father and mother, in the fifth commandment, are meant, not only natural parents, but all superiors in …
May any who profess the faith, and desire to come to the …
Such as are found to be ignorant or scandalous, notwithstanding their profession of the faith, and desire to …
Of what use is the moral law to all men?
The moral law is of use to all men, to inform them of the holy nature and will …
What is required of superiors towards their inferiors?
It is required of superiors, according to that power they receive from God, and that relation wherein they …
What is effectual calling?
Effectual calling is the work of God's almighty power and grace, whereby (out of his free and special …
What are we to believe concerning the resurrection?
We are to believe, that at the last day there shall be a general resurrection of the dead, …
What is the honor that inferiors owe to their superiors?
The honor which inferiors owe to their superiors is, all due reverence in heart, word, and behavior; prayer …
What are the sins of superiors?
The sins of superiors are, besides the neglect of the duties required of them, an inordinate seeking of …
How is our Baptism to be improved by us?
The needful but much neglected duty of improving our Baptism, is to be performed by us all our …
What is God?
God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, …
How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
Christ was exalted in his ascension, in that having after his resurrection often appeared unto and conversed with …
What are the duties required in the eighth commandment?
The duties required in the eighth commandment are, truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between man …
What is Baptism?
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water in the …
How doth it appear that the Son and the Holy Ghost are …
The scriptures manifest that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God equal with the Father, ascribing unto …
How did God create man?
After God had made all other creatures, he created man male and female; formed the body of the …
What misery did the fall bring upon mankind?
The fall brought upon mankind the loss of communion with God, his displeasure and curse; so as we …
Why was our Mediator called Christ?
Our Mediator was called Christ, because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost above measure; and so set …
How doth Christ execute the office of a king?
Christ executeth the office of a king, in calling out of the world a people to himself, and …
How doth Christ make intercession?
Christ maketh intercession, by his appearing in our nature continually before the Father in heaven, in the merit …
What is sanctification?
Sanctification is a work of God's grace, whereby they whom God hath, before the foundation of the world, …
May not true believers, by reason of their imperfections, and the many …
True believers, by reason of the unchangeable love of God, and his decree and covenant to give them …
How do the sacraments become effectual means of salvation?
The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not by any power in themselves, or any virtue derived from …
What is a sacrament?
A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his church, to signify, seal, and exhibit unto …
What do we pray for in the third petition?
In the third petition (which is, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,) acknowledging, …
How doth it appear that there is a God?
The very light of nature in man, and the works of God, declare plainly that there is a …
How doth it appear that the scriptures are the word of God?
The scriptures manifest themselves to be the word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent …
Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consisteth in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want …
How is original sin conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity?
Original sin is conveyed from our first parents unto their posterity by natural generation, so as all that …
Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be God and man …
It was requisite that the Mediator, who was to reconcile God and man, should himself be both God …
How did Christ humble himself in his death?
Christ humbled himself in his death, in that having been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his disciples, scorned …
Wherein consisted Christ's humiliation after his death?
Christ's humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried, and continuing in the state of the dead, …
How is Christ to be exalted in his coming again to judge …
Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world, in that he, who was …
What shall be done to the righteous at the day of judgment?
At the day of judgment, the righteous, being caught up to Christ in the clouds, shall be set …
How is the word of God to be preached by those that …
They that are called to labor in the ministry of the word, are to preach sound doctrine, diligently, …
Unto whom is Baptism to be administered?
Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, and so strangers …
Wherein do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper agree?
The sacraments of baptism and the Lord's supper agree, in that the author of both is God; the …
For whom are we to pray?
We are to pray for the whole church of Christ upon earth; for magistrates, and ministers; for ourselves, …
What doth the preface of the Lord's prayer teach us?
The preface of the Lord's prayer (contained in these words, Our Father which art in heaven,) teacheth us, …
What doth the conclusion of the Lord's prayer teach us?
The conclusion of the Lord's prayer (which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the …
Why was it requisite that the Mediator should be man?
It was requisite that the Mediator should be man, that he might advance our nature, perform obedience to …
Why is the word Remember set in the beginning of the fourth …
The word Remember is set in the beginning of the fourth commandment, partly, because of the great benefit …
What do the scriptures make known of God?
The scriptures make known what God is, the persons in the Godhead, his decrees, and the execution of …
Are there more Gods than one?
There is but one only, the living and true God.
What are the personal properties of the three persons in the Godhead?
It is proper to the Father to beget the Son, and to the Son to be begotten of …
What hath God especially decreed concerning angels and men?
God, by an eternal and immutable decree, out of his mere love, for the praise of his glorious …
What is the work of creation?
The work of creation is that wherein God did in the beginning, by the word of his power, …
How did God create angels?
God created all the angels spirits, immortal, holy, excelling in knowledge, mighty in power, to execute his commandments, …
What are God's works of providence?
God's works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures; ordering …
What is God's providence towards the angels?
God by his providence permitted some of the angels, wilfully and irrecoverably, to fall into sin and damnation, …
Who is the Mediator of the covenant of grace?
The only Mediator of the covenant of grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son …
How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Christ the Son of God became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, …
How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church, in all ages, by his …
How did Christ humble himself in his life?
Christ humbled himself in his life, by subjecting himself to the law, which he perfectly fulfilled; and by …
Where is the moral law summarily comprehended?
The moral law is summarily comprehended in the ten commandments, which were delivered by the voice of God …
What are the duties required in the second commandment?
The duties required in the second commandment are, the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such …
Why are superiors styled Father and Mother?
Superiors are styled Father and Mother, both to teach them in all duties toward their inferiors, like natural …
What are the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits …
The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation, are all …
For what things are we to pray?
We are to pray for all things tending to the glory of God, the welfare of the church, …
WSC
Westminster Shorter Catechism
17
What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?
All mankind by their fall lost communion with God, are under his wrath and curse, and so made …
Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin …
God having, out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life did enter …
What is God?
God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.
What is the work of creation?
The work of creation is, God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in …
What are God's works of providence?
God's works of providence are, his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and …
Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?
Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they …
What is sin?
Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.
What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate …
The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the …
Wherein did Christ's humiliation consist?
Christ's humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing …
Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?
The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam's first sin, the want …
To whom is Baptism to be administered?
Baptism is not to be administered to any that are out of the visible church, till they profess …
What doth the conclusion of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer, which is, For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the …
How many persons are there in the Godhead?
There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three …
Did all mankind fall in Adam's first transgression?
The covenant being made with Adam, not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from …
Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?
The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.
Who is the Redeemer of God's elect?
The only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, …
How did Christ, being the Son of God, become man?
Christ, the Son of God, became man, by taking to himself a true body, and a reasonable soul, …
BCO
Book of Church Order (PCA)
433
3-1
3-1. The power which Christ has committed to His Church vests in the whole body, the rulers and …
3-4
3-4. The power of the Church is exclusively spiritual; that of the State includes the exercise of force. …
3-2
3-2. Ecclesiastical power, which is wholly spiritual, is twofold. The officers exercise it sometimes severally, as in preaching …
3-3
3-3. The sole functions of the Church, as a kingdom and government distinct from the civil commonwealth, are …
3-5
3-5. The Church, with its ordinances, officers and courts, is the agency which Christ has ordained for the …
3-6
3-6. The exercise of ecclesiastical power, whether joint or several, has the divine sanction when in conformity with …
56-4
56-4. Before baptism, the minister is to use some words of instruction, touching the institution, nature, use, and …
25-6
25-6. A particular church which is not incorporated, desiring to elect trustees, may select from among its membership …
38-4
38-4. When a member of a particular church has willfully neglected the church for a period of one …
24-6
24-6. The day having arrived, and the Session being convened in the presence of the congregation, a sermon …
39-3
39-3. While affirming that the Scripture is “the supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to …
21-5
21-5. The day appointed for the ordination having come, and the Presbytery being convened, a sermon suitable for …
27-4
27-4. The power which Christ has given the Church is for building up, and not for destruction. It …
11-3
11-3. All Church courts are one in nature, constituted of the same elements, possessed inherently of the same …
The King and Head of the Church
I. THE KING AND HEAD OF THE CHURCH Jesus Christ, upon whose shoulders the government rests, whose name …
15-5
15-5. a. In the cases committed to it, the Standing Judicial Commission shall have the judicial powers and …
59-6
59-6. Marriage is of a public nature. The welfare of civil society, the happiness of families, and the …
Preliminary Principles
II. PRELIMINARY PRINCIPLES The Presbyterian Church in America, in setting forth the form of government founded upon and …
13-9
13-9. The Presbytery has power to receive and issue* appeals, complaints, and references brought before it in an …
21-4
21-4. Ordination Requirements and Procedures a. An intern applying for ordination shall be required to present a diploma …
25-7
25-7. If a particular church is incorporated, the provisions of its charter and bylaws must always be in …
14-1
14-1. The General Assembly is the highest court of this Church, and represents in one body all the …
14-6
14-6. The General Assembly shall have power: a. To receive and issue* all appeals, references, and complaints regularly …
11-2
11-2. The jurisdiction of Church courts is only ministerial and declarative, and relates to the doctrines and precepts …
24-1
24-1. Every church shall elect persons to the offices of ruling elder and deacon in the following manner: …
5-9
5-9. A new church can be organized only by the authority of Presbytery. a. A Presbytery should establish …
12-5
12-5. The church Session is charged with maintaining the spiritual government of the church, for which purpose it …
5-2
5-2. Ordinarily, mission churches are established by Presbyteries within their boundaries. a. Initiatives to which the Presbytery may …
13-10
13-10. When a Presbytery determines to dissolve a church, it shall give no less than sixty (60) days …
37-4
37-4. When an excommunicated person shall be so affected with his state as to be brought to repentance, …
36-6
36-6. Excommunication is to be administered according to one or other of the two modes laid down for …
15-2
15-2. Among the matters that may be properly executed by commissions are the taking of the testimony in …
15-6
15-6. The General Assembly shall have power to commit to a commission, consisting of not less than three …
57-5
57-5. The time having come for the making of a public profession, and those who have been approved …
19-2
19-2. Examination for Licensure. The examination for licensure shall be as follows: a. Give a statement of his …
1-5
1-5. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is not a several, but a joint power, to be exercised by presbyters in courts. …
13-12
13-12. The Presbytery shall meet at least twice a year on its own adjournment. The Moderator shall call …
26-5
26-5. Full organic union and consolidation of the Presbyterian Church in America with any other ecclesiastical body can …
1-4
1-4. The officers of the Church, by whom all its powers are administered, are, according to the Scriptures, …
4-3
4-3. Its jurisdiction, being a joint power, is lodged in the church Session, which consists of its pastor, …
14-7
14-7. Actions of the General Assembly pursuant to the provision of BCO 14-6 such as deliverances, resolutions, overtures, …
16-3
16-3. Upon those whom God calls to bear office in His Church He bestows suitable gifts for the …
27-1
27-1. Discipline is the exercise of authority given the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ to instruct and …
27-3
27-3. The exercise of discipline is highly important and necessary. In its proper usage discipline maintains: a. the …
36-2
36-2. Church censures and the modes of administering them should be suited to the nature of the offenses. …
19-3
19-3. Questions for Licensure. If the Presbytery be satisfied with the trials of the applicant, it shall then …
26-2
26-2. Amendments to the Book of Church Order may be made only in the following manner: 1. Approval …
26-3
26-3. Amendments to the Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms may be made only in …
9-6
9-6. The deacons may, with much advantage, hold conference from time to time for the discussion of the …
11-1
11-1. These assemblies are altogether distinct from the civil magistracy, and have no jurisdiction in political or civil …
12-6
12-6. The Session shall hold stated meetings at least quarterly. Moreover, the pastor has power to convene the …
19-7
19-7. The Holy Scriptures require that some trial be previously made of those who are to be ordained …
19-11
19-11. When any intern shall have occasion, while his internship is in progress, to remove from the bounds …
21-6
21-6. The candidate having answered these questions in the affirmative, the presiding minister shall propose to the church …
21-9
21-9. In the installation of an ordained minister, the following questions are to be substituted for those addressed …
21-10
21-10. The candidate having answered these question in the affirmative, the presiding minister shall propose to the church …
26-6
26-6. If by reason of the failure of a number of Presbyteries to act, or to report action, …
27-2
27-2. All baptized persons, being members of the Church are subject to its discipline and entitled to the …
27-5
27-5. Scriptural law is the basis of all discipline because it is the revelation of God’s Holy will. …
40-2
40-2. In reviewing records of a lower court the higher court is to examine: 1. Whether the proceedings …
47-6
47-6. The Lord Jesus Christ has prescribed no fixed forms for public worship but, in the interest of …
60-1
60-1. The power of the prayer of faith is great, and Christians therefore should make entreaty for the …
62-3
62-3. It should be left to the judgment and discretion of every Christian and family to determine when …
25-11
25-11. While a congregation consists of all the communing members of a particular church, and in matters ecclesiastical …
5-3
5-3. The mission church, because of its transitional condition, requires a temporary system of government. Depending on the …
46-2
46-2. When a church member shall remove his residence beyond the bounds of the church of which he …
5-5
5-5. The temporary government shall receive members (BCO 12-5.a) into the mission church according to the provisions of …
11-4
11-4. For the orderly and efficient dispatch of ecclesiastical business, it is necessary that the sphere of action …
12-1
12-1. The church Session consists of the pastor, associate pastor(s), if there be any, and the ruling elders …
25-2
25-2. Whenever it may seem for the best interests of the church that a congregational meeting should be …
38-3
38-3. a. When a member or officer in the Presbyterian Church in America shall attempt to withdraw from …
5-1
5-1. A mission church may be properly described in the same manner as the particular church is described …
5-8
5-8. It is the intention of the Presbyterian Church in America that mission churches enjoy the same status …
25-8
25-8. The corporation of a particular church, through its duly elected trustees or corporation officers, (or, if unincorporated, …
36-7
36-7. The censure of deposition shall be administered by the moderator in the words following: Whereas, ____________________, a …
37-3
37-3. When the court shall be satisfied as to the reality of the repentance of an indefinitely suspended …
46-1
46-1. When a church member shall remove his residence beyond the bounds of the congregation of which he …
9-2
9-2. It is the duty of the deacons to minister to those who are in need, to the …
16-2
16-2. The government of the Church is by officers gifted to represent Christ, and the right of God’s …
23-1
23-1. When any minister shall tender the resignation of his pastoral charge to his Presbytery, the Presbytery shall …
24-7
24-7. Ordination to the offices of ruling elder or deacon is perpetual; nor can such offices be laid …
25-12
25-12. If a church is dissolved by the Presbytery at the request of the congregation and no disposition …
26-1
26-1. The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, which is subject to and subordinate to the Scriptures …
28-1
28-1. The spiritual nurture, instruction and training of the children of the Church are committed by God primarily …
33-1
33-1. Process against all church members, other than ministers of the Gospel, shall be entered before the Session …
36-5
36-5. Indefinite suspension from office or the Sacraments should be administered after the manner prescribed for definite suspension, …
46-4
46-4. Associate members are those believers temporarily residing in a location other than their permanent homes. Such believers …
52-2
52-2. Then, after singing a psalm, or hymn, it is proper that, before the sermon, there should be …
1-1
1-1. The scriptural form of church government, which is representative or presbyterian, is comprehended under five heads: a. …
2-3
2-3. It is according to scriptural example that the Church should be divided into many individual churches.
5-7
5-7. Mission churches shall maintain a roll of communicant and non- communicant members, in the same manner as, …
6-1
6-1. The children of believers are, through the covenant and by right of birth, non-communing members of the …
6-4
6-4. Those only who have made a profession of faith in Christ, have been baptized, and admitted by …
7-2
7-2. The ordinary and perpetual classes of office in the Church are elders and deacons. Within the class …
8-3
8-3. It belongs to those in the office of elder, both severally and jointly, to watch diligently over …
8-4
8-4. As the Lord has given different gifts to men and has committed to some special gifts and …
8-6
8-6. When a teaching elder is appointed to the work of an evangelist in foreign countries or where …
9-4
9-4. The deacons of a particular church shall be organized as a Board, of which the pastor shall …
9-5
9-5. Deacons may properly be appointed by the higher courts to serve on committees, especially as treasurers. It …
12-3
12-3. When a church is without a pastor, the moderator of the Session may be either a minister …
13-8
13-8. The Presbytery, before receiving into its membership any church, shall designate a commission to meet with the …
16-1
16-1. Ordinary vocation to office in the Church is the calling of God by the Spirit, through the …
20-2
20-2. Every church should be under the pastoral oversight of a minister, and when a church has no …
20-3
20-3. When a congregation is convened for the election of a pastor it is important that they should …
20-6
20-6. Form of call: The terms of the call shall be approved by the congregation in the following …
21-1
21-1. No minister, licentiate or candidate shall receive a call from a church but by the permission of …
22-5
22-5. In order to provide necessary changes in pastorates, a temporary relation may be established between a church …
28-2
28-2. The home and the Church should also make special provision for instructing the children in the Bible …
28-3
28-3. The Church should maintain constant and sympathetic relations with the children. It also should encourage them, on …
30-3
30-3. Suspension from Sacraments is the temporary exclusion from those ordinances, and is indefinite as to its duration. …
30-4
30-4. Excommunication is the excision of an offender from the communion of the Church. This censure is to …
31-4
31-4. Every indictment shall begin: “In the name of the Presbyterian Church in America,” and shall conclude, “against …
37-5
37-5. The restoration of a deposed officer, after public confession has been made in a manner similar to …
46-8
46-8. When a Presbytery shall divest a minister of his office without censure, or depose him without excommunication, …
57-1
57-1. Believers’ children within the Visible Church, and especially those dedicated to God in Baptism, are non-communing members …
1-2
1-2. The Church which the Lord Jesus Christ has erected in this world for the gathering and perfecting …
1-3
1-3. The members of this visible Church catholic are all those persons in every nation, together with their …
1-7
1-7. This scriptural doctrine of Presbytery is necessary to the perfection of the order of the visible Church, …
2-1
2-1. The Visible Church before the law, under the law, and now under the Gospel, is one and …
2-2
2-2. This visible unity of the body of Christ, though obscured, is not destroyed by its division into …
4-1
4-1. A particular church consists of a number of professing Christians, with their children, associated together for divine …
4-4
4-4. The ordinances established by Christ, the Head, in His Church are prayer; singing praises; reading, expounding and …
4-5
4-5. Churches without teaching elders ought not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, but should be convened …
5-4
5-4. Pastoral ministry for the mission church may be provided: a. by a minister of the Presbytery called …
5-6
5-6. Mission churches and their members shall have the right of judicial process to the court having oversight …
6-3
6-3. All baptized persons are entitled to the watchful care, instruction and government of the church, even though …
7-1
7-1. Under the New Testament, our Lord at first collected His people out of different nations, and united …
7-3
7-3. No one who holds office in the Church ought to usurp authority therein, or receive any official …
8-7
8-7. A Presbytery may, at its discretion, approve the call of a teaching elder to work with an …
8-8
8-8. A Presbytery may, at its discretion, approve the call of a teaching elder to work as a …
8-9
8-9. As there were in the Church under the law, elders of the people for the government thereof, …
9-7
9-7. It is often expedient that the Session of a church should select and appoint godly men and …
10-1
10-1. The Church is governed by various courts, in regular gradation, which are all, nevertheless, Presbyteries, as being …
10-2
10-2. These courts are church Sessions, Presbyteries, and the General Assembly.
10-4
10-4. A clerk or clerks shall be elected by the Session, Presbytery, and General Assembly to serve for …
12-2
12-2. The pastor is, by virtue of his office, the moderator of the Session. In the pastor’s absence, …
12-8
12-8. Every Session shall keep an accurate record of baptisms, of communing members, of non-communing members, and of …
13-6
13-6. Ministers seeking admission to a Presbytery from other Presbyteries in the Presbyterian Church in America shall be …
14-8
14-8. The whole business of the Assembly being finished, and the vote taken for final adjournment, the moderator …
16-4
16-4. Officers in the Presbyterian Church in America must be above reproach in their walk and Christlike in …
18-5
18-5. For the development of his Christian character, for the service he can render, and for his more …
18-7
18-7. The Presbytery may, upon application of the candidate, give a certificate of dismission to another Presbytery. The …
19-1
19-1. To preserve the purity of the preaching of the Gospel, no man is permitted to preach in …
20-7
20-7. If any church shall choose to designate its ruling elders and deacons, or a committee to sign …
20-10
20-10. A congregation desiring to call a pastor from his charge, shall, by its commissioners to the Presbytery, …
22-4
22-4. The relationship of the associate pastor to the church is determined by the congregation. The relationship of …
24-2
24-2. The pastor is, by virtue of his office, moderator of congregational meetings. If there is no pastor, …
24-3
24-3. All communing members in good and regular standing, but no others, are entitled to vote in the …
25-3
25-3. The quorum of the congregational meeting shall consist of one-fourth (1/4) of the resident communing members, if …
25-4
25-4. The pastor shall be the moderator of congregational meetings by virtue of his office. If it should …
25-10
25-10. The provisions of this BCO 25 are to be construed as a solemn covenant whereby the Church …
26-4
26-4. In voting upon an amendment to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, the Presbyteries may …
28-5
28-5. All non-communing members shall be deemed under the care of the church to which their parents belong, …
29-1
29-1. An offense, the proper object of judicial process, is anything in the doctrines or practice of a …
30-1
30-1. The censures, which may be inflicted by church courts, are admonition, suspension from the Sacraments, excommunication, suspension …
30-2
30-2. Admonition is the formal reproof of an offender by a church court, warning him of his guilt …
31-1
31-1. Original jurisdiction (the right first or initially to hear and determine) in relation to ministers of the …
31-3
31-3. The original and only parties in a case of process are the accuser and the accused. The …
33-4
33-4. When it is impracticable immediately to commence process against an accused church member, the Session may, if …
36-1
36-1. When any member or officer of the Church shall be found guilty of an offense the court …
37-9
37-9. In the case of the removal of censures from, or the restoration of, a minister, jurisdiction shall …
38-2
38-2. A minister of the Gospel against whom there are no charges, if fully satisfied in his own …
43-1
43-1. A complaint is a written representation made against some act or decision of a court of the …
63-6
63-6. In the supreme task of religious education, parents should co-operate with the Church by setting their children …
1-6
1-6. The ordination of officers is ordinarily by a court, except in the case of ordination by a …
4-2
4-2. Its officers are its teaching and ruling elders and its deacons.
5-10
5-10. Upon organization, the newly elected session should meet as soon as is practicable to elect a stated …
6-2
6-2. Communing members are those who have made a profession of faith in Christ, have been baptized, and …
8-2
8-2. He that fills this office should possess a competency of human learning and be blameless in life, …
8-10
8-10. Elders being of one class of office, ruling elders possess the same authority and eligibility to office …
9-1
9-1. The office of deacon is set forth in the Scriptures as ordinary and perpetual in the Church. …
9-3
9-3. To the office of deacon, which is spiritual in nature, shall be chosen men of spiritual character, …
10-3
10-3. The pastor is, for prudential reasons, moderator of the Session. The moderator of the Presbytery may be …
10-5
10-5. Every meeting of the Session, Presbytery and General Assembly shall be opened and closed with prayer, and …
10-6
10-6. The expenses of ministers and ruling elders in their attendance on the courts shall be defrayed by …
12-4
12-4. Associate or assistant pastors may substitute for the pastor as moderator of the Session at the discretion …
12-7
12-7. Every Session shall keep an accurate record of its proceedings, which record shall be submitted at least …
12-9
12-9. Meetings of the Sessions shall be opened and closed with prayer.
13-1
13-1. The Presbytery consists of all the teaching elders and churches within its bounds that have been accepted …
13-3
13-3. Every ruling elder not known to the Presbytery shall produce a certificate of his regular appointment from …
13-11
13-11. The Presbytery shall keep a full and accurate record of its proceedings, and shall send it up …
13-13
13-13. Ministers in good standing in other Presbyteries, or in any evangelical church, being present at any meeting …
15-1
15-1. A commission differs from an ordinary committee in that while a committee is appointed to examine, consider, …
15-3
15-3. Presbytery as a whole may hear a case, with or without process (BCO 31-38), a reference (BCO …
17-1
17-1. Those who have been called to office in the Church are to be inducted by the ordination …
17-2
17-2. Ordination is the authoritative admission of one duly called to an office in the Church of God, …
18-1
18-1. A candidate for the ministry is a member of the Church in full communion who, believing himself …
18-2
18-2. Every applicant for the ministry must put himself under the care of Presbytery, which should ordinarily be …
18-4
18-4. The candidate continues to be a private member of the church and subject to the jurisdiction of …
18-8
18-8. An applicant coming as a candidate from another denomination must present testimonials of his standing in that …
19-4
19-4. The applicant having answered these questions in the affirmative, the moderator shall offer a prayer suitable for …
19-5
19-5. When any licentiate shall have occasion to remove from the bounds of his Presbytery into those of …
19-10
19-10. When an applicant is approved for internship, the moderator of the Presbytery shall offer a prayer suitable …
19-12
19-12. Presbyteries should require interns to devote themselves diligently to the trial of their gifts; and no one …
19-14
19-14. An intern, who, during his internship, is to serve a congregation in the capacity of the minister …
19-15
19-15. Restrictions. The intern may be asked by the moderator of a Session temporarily to chair the meeting …
19-16
19-16. Where circumstances warrant, a Presbytery may approve previous experience which is equivalent to internship. This equivalency shall …
20-1
20-1. Before a candidate, or licentiate, can be ordained to the office of the ministry, he must receive …
20-8
20-8. Prosecution of call: One or more commissioners shall be appointed by the church to present and prosecute …
21-3
21-3. No Presbytery shall ordain any intern to the office of minister of the Word with reference to …
21-7
21-7. The people having answered these questions in the affirmative, by holding up their right hands, the candidate …
22-6
22-6. Such temporary relationships can take place at the invitation of the church Session to the minister of …
23-2
23-2. The Presbytery may designate a minister as honorably retired when the minister by reason of age wishes …
24-8
24-8. When a ruling elder or deacon who has been released from his official relation is again elected …
25-1
25-1. The congregation consists of all the communing members of a particular church, and they only are entitled …
25-5
25-5. A clerk shall be elected by the congregation to serve at that meeting or for a definite …
25-9
25-9. All particular churches shall be entitled to hold, own and enjoy their own local properties, without any …
28-4
28-4. Adult non-communing members, who receive with meekness and appreciation the oversight and instruction of the Church, are …
30-5
30-5. Deposition is the degradation of an officer from his office, and may or may not be accompanied …
31-2
31-2. It is the duty of all church Sessions and Presbyteries to exercise care over those subject to …
31-5
31-5. An injured party shall not become a prosecutor of personal offenses without having tried the means of …
31-10
31-10. When a member of a church court is under process, all his official functions may be suspended …
32-3
32-3. It is appropriate that with each citation the moderator or clerk call the attention of the parties …
32-15
32-15. When a court of first resort proceeds to the trial of a case, the following order shall …
32-19
32-19. No professional counsel shall be permitted as such to appear and plead in cases of process in …
33-3
33-3. If after further endeavor by the court to bring the accused to a sense of his guilt, …
34-4
34-4. a. When a minister accused of an offense is found contumacious (cf. 32-6), he shall be immediately …
34-5
34-5. Heresy and schism may be of such a nature as to warrant deposition; but errors ought to …
34-7
34-7. When a minister, pending a trial, shall make confession, if the matter be base and flagitious, such …
34-8
34-8. A minister under indefinite suspension from his office or deposed for scandalous conduct shall not be restored, …
34-10
34-10. Whenever a minister of the Gospel shall habitually fail to be engaged in the regular discharge of …
35-14
35-14. An officer or private member of the church refusing to testify may be censured for contumacy.
35-15
35-15. If after trial before any court new testimony be discovered, which the accused believes important, it shall …
36-3
36-3. The Censure of Admonition should be administered in private by one or more members of the court …
36-4
36-4. Definite suspension from office should be administered in the presence of the court alone or in open …
37-1
37-1. A person who has been definitely suspended from office shall be restored by the court at the …
37-2
37-2. After any person has been indefinitely suspended from the Sacraments, it is proper that the rulers of …
37-6
37-6. When a ruling elder or deacon has been absolved from the censure of deposition, he cannot be …
39-1
39-1. The acts and decisions of a lower court are brought under the supervision of a higher court …
41-5
41-5. Although references are sometimes proper, in general it is better that every court should discharge the duty …
43-5
43-5. The court against which complaint is made shall appoint one or more representatives to defend its action …
43-10
43-10. The higher court has power, in its discretion, to annul the whole or any part of the …
46-3
46-3. Members of one church dismissed to join another shall be held to be under the jurisdiction of …
47-3
47-3. The end of public worship is the glory of God. His people should engage in all its …
47-4
47-4. Public worship is Christian when the worshippers recognize that Christ is the Mediator by whom alone they …
47-7
47-7. Public worship differs from private worship in that in public worship God is served by His saints …
48-2
48-2. God commanded His Old Testament people to keep holy the last day of the week, but He …
49-3
49-3. Let the people upon entering the church take their seats in a decent and reverent manner, and …
51-3
51-3. It is recommended that Psalms be sung along with the hymns of the Church, but that caution …
53-2
53-2. The subject of a sermon should be some verse or verses of Scripture, and its object, to …
53-6
53-6. No person should be invited to preach in any of the churches under our care without the …
54-1
54-1. The Holy Scriptures teach that God is the owner of all persons and all things and that …
56-5
56-5. The minister shall then read the covenant promises: For to you is the promise, and to your …
57-3
57-3. When unbaptized persons apply for admission into the Church, they shall, ordinarily, after giving satisfaction with respect …
57-4
57-4. It is recommended, as edifying and proper, that baptized persons, when admitted by the Session to the …
57-6
57-6. Persons received from other churches by letters of dismissal as well as those being received by reaffirmation …
58-3
58-3. It is proper that public notice should be given to the congregation, at least the Sabbath before …
58-4
58-4. On the day of the observance of the Lord's Supper, when the sermon is ended, the minister …
58-8
58-8. As past custom has been found in many parts of the Presbyterian Church, our congregations are urged …
59-1
59-1. Marriage is a divine institution though not a sacrament, nor peculiar to the Church of Christ. It …
59-3
59-3. Marriage is only to be between one man and one woman (Gen. 2:24, 25; Matt. 19:4-6, 1 …
62-2
62-2. Fasting and thanksgiving may be observed by individual Christians; by families; by particular congregations; by a number …
The Constitution Defined
III. THE CONSTITUTION DEFINED The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, which is subject to and subordinate …
8-1
8-1. This office is one of dignity and usefulness. The man who fills it has in Scripture different …
8-5
8-5. When a man is called to labor as a teaching elder, it belongs to his order, in …
13-2
13-2. A minister shall be required to hold his membership in the Presbytery within whose geographical bounds he …
13-4
13-4. Any three ministers belonging to the Presbytery, together with at least three ruling elders, being met at …
13-5
13-5. Ordinarily, only a minister who receives a call to a definite ecclesiastical work within the bounds of …
13-7
13-7. The Presbytery shall cause to be transcribed, in some convenient part of the book of records, the …
14-2
14-2. The General Assembly, which is a permanent court, shall meet at least annually upon its own adjournment. …
14-3
14-3. When an emergency shall require a meeting of the General Assembly earlier than the time to which …
14-4
14-4. Each commissioner, before his name shall be enrolled as a member of the Assembly, shall produce appropriate …
14-5
14-5. Any one hundred (100) of these commissioners, of whom half shall be teaching elders and half ruling …
15-4
15-4. The General Assembly shall elect a Standing Judicial Commission to which it shall commit all matters governed …
17-3
17-3. As every ecclesiastical office, according to the Scriptures, is a special charge, no man shall be ordained …
18-3
18-3. The applicant shall appear before the Presbytery in person, and shall be examined by the Presbytery on …
18-6
18-6. The Presbytery shall require every candidate for the ministry under its care to make a report to …
19-6
19-6. The license to preach the Gospel shall expire at the end of four years. The Presbytery may, …
19-8
19-8. An applicant for internship must be a candidate and may be a licentiate in the Presbytery in …
19-9
19-9. Examination for Internship. Before the applicant begins his period of internship, he shall give to the Presbytery …
19-13
19-13. At the end of the period of time set by the Presbytery for his internship, an intern …
20-4
20-4. Method of voting: The voters being convened, and prayer for divine guidance having been offered, the moderator …
20-5
20-5. On the election of a pastor, if it appears that a large minority of the voters are …
20-9
20-9. When a pastor desires to accept a call to another Presbytery, he must be examined and approved …
20-11
20-11. If the congregation or other field of labor to which a minister, licentiate, or candidate is called, …
20-12
20-12. A candidate or licentiate found fit and called (in accordance with BCO 20-1) for missionary service by …
20-13
20-13. A missionary who is an ordained teaching elder in another denomination found fit and called (in accordance …
21-2
21-2. When an intern has completed his internship to the satisfaction of the Presbytery, and has accepted a …
21-8
21-8. After the installation, the heads of families of the congregation then present, or at least the ruling …
21-11
21-11. In the ordination of interns as evangelists the same questions are to be propounded as in the …
22-1
22-1. The various pastoral relations are pastor, associate pastor, and assistant pastor.
22-2
22-2. The pastor and associate pastor are elected by the congregation using the form of call in BCO …
22-3
22-3. An assistant pastor is called by the Session, by the permission and approval of Presbytery, under the …
23-3
23-3. A minister, being medically disabled or honorably retired, may be elected pastor emeritus by a congregation which …
24-4
24-4. The voters being convened, the moderator shall explain the purpose of the meeting and then put the …
24-5
24-5. On the election of a ruling elder or deacon, if it appears that a large minority of …
24-9
24-9. When a ruling elder or deacon cannot or does not for a period of one year perform …
24-10
24-10. When a deacon or ruling elder by reason of age or infirmity desires to be released from …
29-2
29-2. Offenses are either personal or general, private or public; but all of them being sins against God, …
29-3
29-3. Personal offenses are violations of the divine law, considered in the special relation of wrongs or injuries …
29-4
29-4. Private offenses are those which are known only to a few persons. Public offenses are those which …
31-6
31-6. When the offense is general, the case may be conducted either by any person appearing as prosecutor …
31-7
31-7. When the prosecution is instituted by the court, the previous steps required by our Lord in the …
31-8
31-8. Great caution ought to be exercised in receiving accusations from any person who is known to indulge …
31-9
31-9. Every voluntary prosecutor shall be previously warned, that if he fail to show probable cause of the …
31-11
31-11. In the discussion of all questions arising in his own case, the accused shall exercise the rights …
32-1
32-1. It is incumbent on every member of a court of Jesus Christ engaged in a trial of …
32-2
32-2. Process against an offender shall not be commenced unless some person or persons undertake to make out …
32-4
32-4. The citation shall be issued and signed by the moderator or clerk by order and in the …
32-5
32-5. In drawing the indictment, the times, places and circumstances should, if possible, be particularly stated, that the …
32-6
32-6. a. When an accused person shall refuse to obey a citation, he shall be cited a second …
32-7
32-7. The time which must elapse between the serving of the first citation on the accused person, and …
32-8
32-8. When the offense with which an accused person stands charged took place at a distance, and it …
32-9
32-9. When an offense, alleged to have been committed at a distance, is not likely otherwise to become …
32-10
32-10. Before proceeding to trial, courts ought to ascertain that their citations have been duly served.
32-11
32-11. In every process, if deemed expedient there may be a committee appointed, which shall be called the …
32-12
32-12. When the trial is about to begin, it shall be the duty of the moderator solemnly to …
32-13
32-13. In order that the trial may be fair and impartial, the witnesses shall be examined in the …
32-14
32-14. On all questions arising in the progress of a trial, the discussion shall first be between the …
32-16
32-16. Either party may, for cause, challenge the right of any member to sit in the trial of …
32-17
32-17. Pending the trial of a case, any member of the court who shall express his opinion of …
32-18
32-18. Minutes of the trial shall be kept by the clerk, which shall exhibit the charges, the answer, …
32-20
32-20. The accused or a member of the court may object to the consideration of a charge, for …
32-19
32-19. In any instances involving a personal offense (BCO 29-3), the court shall attempt to inform the …
33-2
33-2. When an accused person is found contumacious (cf. 32-6), he shall be immediately suspended from the sacraments …
34-1
34-1. Process against a minister shall be entered before the Presbytery of which he is a member. However, …
34-2
34-2. As no minister ought, on account of his office, to be screened in his sin, or slightly …
34-3
34-3. If any one knows a minister to be guilty of a private offense, he should warn him …
34-6
34-6. If the Presbytery find on trial that the matter complained of amounts to no more than such …
34-9
34-9. When a minister is deposed, his pastoral relation shall be dissolved; but when he is suspended from …
35-1
35-1. All persons of proper age and intelligence are competent witnesses, except such as do not believe in …
35-2
35-2. The accused party is allowed, but shall not be compelled, to testify; but the accuser shall be …
35-3
35-3. A court may, at the request of either party, or at its own initiative, make reasonable accommodation …
35-4
35-4. The testimony of more than one witness shall be necessary in order to establish any charge; yet …
35-5
35-5. It belongs to the court to judge the degree of credibility to be attached to all evidence.
35-6
35-6. No witness afterwards to be examined, unless a member of the court, shall be present during the …
35-7
35-7. Witnesses shall be examined first by the party introducing them; then cross-examined by the opposite party; after …
35-8
35-8. The oath or affirmation to a witness shall be administered by the Moderator in the following or …
35-9
35-9. All testimony shall be recorded (transcription, audiotape, videotape, or some other electronic means) and witnesses informed of …
35-10
35-10. The records of a court or any part of them, whether original or transcribed, if regularly authenticated …
35-11
35-11. In like manner, testimony taken by one court and regularly certified shall be received by every other …
35-12
35-12. When it is not convenient for a court to have the whole or perhaps any part of …
35-13
35-13. A member of the court shall not be disqualified from sitting as a judge by having given …
35-16
35-16. If, in the prosecution of an appeal, new evidence be offered which, in the judgment of the …
37-7
37-7. When a person under censure shall reside at such a distance from the court by which he …
37-8
37-8. In the restoration of a minister who is under indefinite suspension from the Sacraments, and/or his office, …
38-1
38-1. When any person shall come forward and make his offense known to the court, a full statement …
39-2
39-2. When the proceedings of a lower court are before a higher court, the members of the lower …
40-1
40-1. It is the right and duty of every court above the Session to review, at least once …
40-3
40-3. It is ordinarily sufficient for the higher court merely to record in its own minutes and in …
40-4
40-4. Courts may sometimes entirely neglect to perform their duty, by which neglect heretical opinions or corrupt practices …
40-5
40-5. When any court having appellate jurisdiction shall receive a credible report with respect to the court next …
40-6
40-6. In process against a lower court, the trial shall be conducted according to the rules provided for …
41-1
41-1. A reference is a written representation and application made by a lower court to a higher for …
41-2
41-2. Among proper subjects for reference are matters that are new, delicate or difficult; or on which the …
41-3
41-3. In making a reference the lower court may ask for advice only, or for final disposition of …
41-4
41-4. A reference may be presented to the higher court by one or more representatives appointed by the …
41-6
41-6. When a court makes a reference, it ought to have all the testimony and other documents duly …
42-1
42-1. An appeal is the transfer to a higher court of a judicial case on which judgment has …
42-2
42-2. The only parties entitled to an appeal are those who have submitted to a regular trial, those …
42-3
42-3. The grounds of appeal are such as the following: any irregularity in the proceedings of the lower …
42-4
42-4. Notice of appeal may be given the court before its adjournment. Written notice of appeal, with supporting …
42-5
42-5. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the lower court to file with the clerk …
42-6
42-6. Notice of appeal shall have the effect of suspending the judgment of the lower court until the …
42-7
42-7. If a lower court shall neglect to send up “the Record of the Case” or any part …
42-8
42-8. After a higher court has decided that an appeal is in order and should be entertained by …
42-9
42-9. The decision of the higher court may be to affirm in whole or in part; to reverse …
42-10
42-10. An appellant may represent himself or be represented as provided in BCO 32-19.
42-11
42-11. An appellant shall be considered to have abandoned his appeal if he fails to appear before the …
42-12
42-12. If an appellant manifests a litigious or otherwise un-Christian spirit in the prosecution of his appeal, he …
43-2
43-2. A complaint shall first be made to the court whose act or decision is alleged to be …
43-3
43-3. If, after considering a complaint, the court alleged to be delinquent or in error is of the …
43-4
43-4. Notice of complaint shall not have the effect of suspending the action against which the complaint is …
43-6
43-6. It shall be the duty of the clerk of the lower court to file with the clerk …
43-7
43-7. The complainant shall be considered to have abandoned his complaint if he fails to appear before the …
43-8
43-8. Subject to the provisions below, after the higher court has decided that the notice filed with its …
43-9
43-9. At the hearing, after all the papers bearing on the complaint have been read, the complainant and …
45-1
45-1. Any member of a court who had a right to vote on a question, and is not …
45-2
45-2. A dissent is a declaration on the part of one or more members of a minority, expressing …
45-3
45-3. A protest is a more solemn and formal declaration by members of a minority, bearing their testimony …
45-4
45-4. An objection is a declaration by one or more members of a court who did not have …
45-5
45-5. If a dissent, protest, or objection be couched in temperate language, and be respectful to the court, …
46-5
46-5. (Vacated) [see 38-4]
46-6
46-6. When a Presbytery shall dismiss a minister, licentiate or candidate, the name of the Presbytery to which …
46-7
46-7. No certificate of dismission from either a Session or a Presbytery shall be valid testimony of good …
47-1
47-1. Since the Holy Scriptures are the only infallible rule of faith and practice, the principles of public …
47-2
47-2. A service of public worship is not merely a gathering of God’s children with each other, but …
47-5
47-5. Public worship must be performed in spirit and in truth. Externalism and hypocrisy stand condemned. The forms …
47-8
47-8. It behooves God’s people not only to come into His presence with a deep sense of awe …
47-9
47-9. The Bible teaches that the following are proper elements of worship service: reading of Holy Scripture, singing …
48-1
48-1. “The fourth commandment requireth the keeping holy to God such set times as he hath appointed in …
48-3
48-3. It is the duty of every person to remember the Lord’s Day; and to prepare for it …
48-4
48-4. The whole day is to be kept holy to the Lord; and to be employed in the …
48-5
48-5. Let the provisions for the support of the family on that day be so ordered that others …
48-6
48-6. Let every person and family, in the morning, by secret and private prayer, for themselves and others, …
48-7
48-7. Let the time not used for public worship be spent in prayer, in devotional reading, and especially …
49-1
49-1. When the congregation is to meet for public worship, the people (having before prepared their hearts thereunto) …
49-2
49-2. Let the people assemble at the appointed time, that all being present at the beginning they may …
49-4
49-4. All who attend public worship are expected to be present in a spirit of reverence and godly …
50-1
50-1. The public reading of the Holy Scriptures is performed by the minister as God’s servant. Through it …
50-2
50-2. The reading of the Holy Scriptures in the congregation is a part of the public worship of …
50-3
50-3. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments shall be read from a good translation, not …
50-4
50-4. How large a portion shall be read at once is left to the discretion of every minister; …
51-1
51-1. Praising God through the medium of music is a duty and a privilege. Therefore, the singing of …
51-2
51-2. In singing the praises of God, we are to sing in the spirit of worship, with understanding …
51-4
51-4. The leadership in song is left to the judgment of the Session, who should give careful thought …
51-5
51-5. The proportion of the time of public worship given to praise is left to the judgment of …
52-1
52-1. It is proper to begin the public worship in the sanctuary with the Doxology followed by a …
52-3
52-3. Ordinarily there should be prayer after the sermon having relation to the subject that has been treated …
52-4
52-4. Ministers are not to be confined to fixed forms of prayer for public worship, yet it is …
52-5
52-5. All prayer is to be offered in the language of the people.
53-1
53-1. The preaching of the Word is an ordinance of God for the salvation of men. Serious attention …
53-3
53-3. Preaching requires much study, meditation, and prayer, and ministers should prepare their sermons with care, and not …
53-4
53-4. As a primary design of public ordinances is to unite the people in acts of common worship …
53-5
53-5. By way of application of the sermon the minister may urge his hearers by commandment or invitation …
54-2
54-2. It is both a privilege and a duty, plainly enjoined in the Bible, to make regular, weekly, …
54-3
54-3. It is appropriate that the offerings be dedicated by prayer.
55-1
55-1. It is proper for the congregation of God’s people publicly to confess their faith, using creeds or …
56-1
56-1. Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed; not to be administered, in any case, by any private …
56-2
56-2. It is not to be privately administered, but in the presence of the congregation under the supervision …
56-3
56-3. After previous notice is given to the minister, the child to be baptized is to be presented, …
57-2
57-2. The time when young persons come to understand the Gospel cannot be precisely fixed. This must be …
58-1
58-1. The Communion, or Supper of the Lord, is to be observed frequently; the stated times to be …
58-2
58-2. The ignorant and scandalous are not to be admitted to the Lord's Supper.
58-5
58-5. The table, on which the elements are placed, being decently covered, and furnished with bread and wine, …
58-6
58-6. Since believers are to act personally in all their covenanting with the Lord, it is proper that …
58-7
58-7. The minister may, in a few words, put the communicants in mind: Of the grace of God, …
59-2
59-2. Christians should marry in the Lord; therefore it is fit that their marriage be solemnized by a …
59-4
59-4. The parties should be of such years of discretion as to be capable of making their own …
59-5
59-5. Parents should neither compel their children to marry contrary to their inclinations, nor deny their consent without …
59-7
59-7. The minister should keep a proper register of the names of all persons whom he marries, and …
61-1
61-1. The services proper for such an occasion are: a. The singing of appropriate psalms or hymns; b. …
61-2
61-2. The funeral services are to be left largely to the discretion of the minister performing them, but …
62-1
62-1. The observance of days of fasting and of thanksgiving, as the dispensations of Divine Providence may direct, …
62-4
62-4. Public notice should be given a sufficient time before the appointed day of fasting or thanksgiving, that …
62-5
62-5. There should be public worship upon all such days; and the prayers, psalms or hymns, the selection …
62-6
62-6. On days of fasting, the minister should point out the authority and providences calling for the observance; …
62-7
62-7. On days of thanksgiving, he should give information respecting the authority and providences which call for the …
63-1
63-1. In addition to public worship, it is the duty of each person in secret, and of every …
63-2
63-2. Secret worship is most plainly enjoined by our Lord. In this duty everyone, apart, should spend some …
63-3
63-3. Family worship, which should be observed by every family, consists in prayer, reading the Scriptures, and singing …
63-4
63-4. Parents should instruct their children in the Word of God, and in the principles of our holy …
63-5
63-5. Parents should set an example of piety and consistent living before the family. Unnecessary private visits on …