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301 results for “Of the Church”
WCF
Westminster Confession of Faith
31
Of the Church
The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error: and some have so degenerated, as …
Of the Church
This catholic Church hath been sometimes more, sometimes less visible. And particular Churches, which are members thereof, are …
Of the Church
There is no other head of the Church, but the Lord Jesus Christ; nor can the Pope of …
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 Church Censures
For the better attaining of these ends, the officers of the Church are to proceed by admonition; suspension …
Of the Church
The catholic or universal Church which is invisible, consists of the whole number of the elect, that have …
Of the Church
The visible Church, which is also catholic or universal under the Gospel (not confined to one nation as …
Of the Church
Unto this catholic visible Church Christ hath given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering …
Of Church Censures
To these officers the keys of the kingdom of heaven are committed: by virtue whereof, they have power …
Of the Holy Scripture
Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness, …
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 Baptism
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, ordained by Jesus Christ, not only for the solemn admission …
Of Synods and Councils
As magistrates may lawfully call a synod of ministers, and other fit persons, to consult and advise with, …
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 whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, …
Of the Holy Scripture
The Old Testament in Hebrew (which was the native language of the people of God of old), and …
Of Providence
As the providence of God doth in general reach to all creatures, so after a most special manner, …
Of Christ the Mediator
It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, …
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
Beside this law, commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the people of Israel, as a …
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 the Civil Magistrate
The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the Word and sacraments, or the power …
Of Marriage and Divorce
Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a …
Of Marriage and Divorce
Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments unduly to put asunder those …
Of the Sacraments
Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ …
Of the Lord’s Supper
Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein He was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of His body and blood, …
Of Synods and Councils
For the better government, and further edification of the Church, there ought to be such assemblies as are …
Of Synods and Councils
It belongs to synods and councils, ministerially to determine controversies of faith and cases of conscience; to set …
WLC
Westminster Larger Catechism
28
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 which the members of the invisible …
The communion in glory which the members of the invisible church have with Christ, is in this life, …
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 …
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, …
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 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 prophet?
Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church, in all ages, by his …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
What is a sacrament?
A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ in his church, to signify, seal, and exhibit unto …
What is Baptism?
Baptism is a sacrament of the New Testament, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing with water in the …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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, …
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 …
WSC
Westminster Shorter Catechism
1
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 …
BCO
Book of Church Order (PCA)
241
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 …
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 …
24-6
24-6. The day having arrived, and the Session being convened in the presence of the congregation, a sermon …
25-11
25-11. While a congregation consists of all the communing members of a particular church, and in matters ecclesiastical …
5-2
5-2. Ordinarily, mission churches are established by Presbyteries within their boundaries. a. Initiatives to which the Presbytery may …
13-9
13-9. The Presbytery has power to receive and issue* appeals, complaints, and references brought before it in an …
14-1
14-1. The General Assembly is the highest court of this Church, and represents in one body all the …
Preliminary Principles
II. PRELIMINARY PRINCIPLES The Presbyterian Church in America, in setting forth the form of government founded upon and …
21-4
21-4. Ordination Requirements and Procedures a. An intern applying for ordination shall be required to present a diploma …
5-3
5-3. The mission church, because of its transitional condition, requires a temporary system of government. Depending on the …
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, …
46-2
46-2. When a church member shall remove his residence beyond the bounds of the church of which he …
14-6
14-6. The General Assembly shall have power: a. To receive and issue* all appeals, references, and complaints regularly …
25-7
25-7. If a particular church is incorporated, the provisions of its charter and bylaws must always be in …
36-6
36-6. Excommunication is to be administered according to one or other of the two modes laid down for …
5-5
5-5. The temporary government shall receive members (BCO 12-5.a) into the mission church according to the provisions of …
11-2
11-2. The jurisdiction of Church courts is only ministerial and declarative, and relates to the doctrines and precepts …
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 …
39-3
39-3. While affirming that the Scripture is “the supreme judge by which all controversies of religion are to …
56-4
56-4. Before baptism, the minister is to use some words of instruction, touching the institution, nature, use, and …
3-4
3-4. The power of the Church is exclusively spiritual; that of the State includes the exercise of force. …
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 …
15-6
15-6. The General Assembly shall have power to commit to a commission, consisting of not less than three …
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 …
38-4
38-4. When a member of a particular church has willfully neglected the church for a period of one …
46-1
46-1. When a church member shall remove his residence beyond the bounds of the congregation of which he …
57-5
57-5. The time having come for the making of a public profession, and those who have been approved …
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 …
19-2
19-2. Examination for Licensure. The examination for licensure shall be as follows: a. Give a statement of his …
21-5
21-5. The day appointed for the ordination having come, and the Presbytery being convened, a sermon suitable for …
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 …
27-4
27-4. The power which Christ has given the Church is for building up, and not for destruction. It …
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 …
The Constitution Defined
III. THE CONSTITUTION DEFINED The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, which is subject to and subordinate …
1-1
1-1. The scriptural form of church government, which is representative or presbyterian, is comprehended under five heads: a. …
1-5
1-5. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction is not a several, but a joint power, to be exercised by presbyters in courts. …
2-3
2-3. It is according to scriptural example that the Church should be divided into many individual churches.
3-1
3-1. The power which Christ has committed to His Church vests in the whole body, the rulers and …
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 …
11-3
11-3. All Church courts are one in nature, constituted of the same elements, possessed inherently of the same …
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 …
13-12
13-12. The Presbytery shall meet at least twice a year on its own adjournment. The Moderator shall call …
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 …
25-6
25-6. A particular church which is not incorporated, desiring to elect trustees, may select from among its membership …
26-5
26-5. Full organic union and consolidation of the Presbyterian Church in America with any other ecclesiastical body can …
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 …
1-4
1-4. The officers of the Church, by whom all its powers are administered, are, according to the Scriptures, …
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 …
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 …
4-1
4-1. A particular church consists of a number of professing Christians, with their children, associated together for divine …
4-3
4-3. Its jurisdiction, being a joint power, is lodged in the church Session, which consists of its pastor, …
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 …
15-2
15-2. Among the matters that may be properly executed by commissions are the taking of the testimony in …
16-3
16-3. Upon those whom God calls to bear office in His Church He bestows suitable gifts for the …
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 …
19-3
19-3. Questions for Licensure. If the Presbytery be satisfied with the trials of the applicant, it shall then …
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 …
24-1
24-1. Every church shall elect persons to the offices of ruling elder and deacon in the following manner: …
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 …
26-2
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 …
26-4
26-4. In voting upon an amendment to the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in America, the Presbyteries may …
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 …
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 …
36-2
36-2. Church censures and the modes of administering them should be suited to the nature of the offenses. …
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 …
3-6
3-6. The exercise of ecclesiastical power, whether joint or several, has the divine sanction when in conformity with …
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. …
9-6
9-6. The deacons may, with much advantage, hold conference from time to time for the discussion of the …
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 …
11-1
11-1. These assemblies are altogether distinct from the civil magistracy, and have no jurisdiction in political or civil …
12-4
12-4. Associate or assistant pastors may substitute for the pastor as moderator of the Session at the discretion …
12-6
12-6. The Session shall hold stated meetings at least quarterly. Moreover, the pastor has power to convene the …
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 …
14-7
14-7. Actions of the General Assembly pursuant to the provision of BCO 14-6 such as deliverances, resolutions, overtures, …
15-3
15-3. Presbytery as a whole may hear a case, with or without process (BCO 31-38), a reference (BCO …
15-5
15-5. a. In the cases committed to it, the Standing Judicial Commission shall have the judicial powers and …
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 …
19-7
19-7. The Holy Scriptures require that some trial be previously made of those who are to be ordained …
19-10
19-10. When an applicant is approved for internship, the moderator of the Presbytery shall offer a prayer suitable …
19-11
19-11. When any intern shall have occasion, while his internship is in progress, to remove from the bounds …
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 …
21-6
21-6. The candidate having answered these questions in the affirmative, the presiding minister shall propose to the church …
21-7
21-7. The people having answered these questions in the affirmative, by holding up their right hands, the candidate …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
32-19
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 …
34-8
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.
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 …
40-2
40-2. In reviewing records of a lower court the higher court is to examine: 1. Whether the proceedings …
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 …
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 …
47-6
47-6. The Lord Jesus Christ has prescribed no fixed forms for public worship but, in the interest of …
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 …
53-6
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 …
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 …
58-4
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 …
59-6
59-6. Marriage is of a public nature. The welfare of civil society, the happiness of families, and the …
60-1
60-1. The power of the prayer of faith is great, and Christians therefore should make entreaty for the …
62-2
62-2. Fasting and thanksgiving may be observed by individual Christians; by families; by particular congregations; by a number …
62-3
62-3. It should be left to the judgment and discretion of every Christian and family to determine when …