All Articles For Contending for the Faith

THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION  VIEWS ON THE CHURCH  We concluded our preceding article with the remark that the main principles of the Reformation are usually considered to be two, namely the formal and the material principle. And we planned, the Lord willing, to look at these two principles in this article. 

Art. 28 of our Confession of Faith reads: “We believe, since this holy congregation is an assembly of those who are saved, and that out of it there is no salvation, that no person of whatsoever state or condition he may be, ought to withdraw himself, to live in a separate state from it; but that all men are in duty bound to join and unite themselves with it; maintaining the unity of the Church; submitting themselves to the doctrine and discipline thereof; bowing their necks under the yoke of jesus Christ; and as mutual members of the same body,...

We now continue with our quotation from the Second Helvetic Confession on the subject of the sacraments of the church of Christ. “And as in the old Church the sacraments consisted of the word, the sign and the thing signified; so even at this day they are composed, as it were of the same parts. For the Word of God makes them sacraments, which before were none: for they are consecrated by the Word, and declared to be sanctified by him who first ordained them. To sanctify or consecrate a thing is to dedicate it unto God, and unto holy...

On The Fruit Of Justificat1ion, That Is, On The Merit Of Good Works, And On The Nature Of That Merit

THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION  VIEWS ON THE CHURCH  FORMAL PRINCIPLE  (continued) 

The Roman Catholic view of the sacrament of Baptism is set forth in the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, adopted in the seventh session of this council, as follows: Canon I.—”If any one saith, that the baptism of John had the same force as the baptism of Christ: let him be anathema.” Canon II.—”If any one saith, that true and natural water is not of necessity for baptism, and, on that account, wrests, to some sort of metaphor, those words of our Lord Jesus Christ: Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost: let...

The Protestant view of the Church is certainly expressed in that article of the Apostles’ Creed which reads: “I believe an holy catholic church.” Calvin, in his Institutes of the Christian’ Religion, writing on the “Church,” and specifically setting forth the meaning of the article: “I believe an holy catholic church,” writes as follows (Book IV, Chapter I, paragraph II, and we quote: “That article of the Creed, in which we profess to, believe THE CHURCH, refers not only to the visible Church of which we are now speaking, but likewise to all the elect of God, including the dead...

In our preceding article we concluded our quotations from the Decrees of the Council of Trent as setting forth the Roman Catholic position of “Justification by Works.” We also quoted from John Calvin, in which he emphasized that we are justified solely by faith and not by works. We will now quote from our Reformed Symbols in connection with the truth of Justification. 

THE TIME OF THE REFORMATION  VIEWS ON THE CHURCH  FORMAL PRINCIPLE  (continued)