All Articles For Decency and Order

In our last article we called attention to the position of the Christian Reformed Church in regard to Lodge Membership as expressed by Monsma and Van Dellen in their Church Order Commentary. We noted that officially the stand is that lodge membership and church membership are incompatible and therefore, those who join the lodge and refuse to break with it are the proper objects of ecclesiastical censure. We further explained that consistency would demand that the church take the same position with regard to membership in worldly or so-called neutral labor unions. This the Christian Reformed Church does not do because, as has...

In our last article we stated that Article 60 of the Church Order requires the recording of four things in connection with baptism. These are: (1) the name of the one baptized, (2) the names of the parents, (3) the birth date of the one baptized and, (4) the date of baptism. We also gave the reasons, according to Rev. G.M. Ophoff, that the recording of this data is important. To these reasons we will now add a few others. 

“At the close of the classical and other major assemblies, censure shall be exercised over those, who in the meeting have done something worthy of punishment, or who have scorned the admonition of the minor assemblies.”  ―ARTICLE 43, D.K.O.

“No one shall be admitted to the Lord’s Supper except those who according to the wage of the church with which they unite themselves have made a confession of the Reformed religion, besides being reputed to be of a godly walk, without which those who come from other churches shall not be admitted.”  Article 61, D.R.O.

It is quite impossible to compose a complete list of concrete sins that require the application of Christian discipline by the church. We have already discussed the matter of membership in worldly organizations and we intend to mention a few other things yet before leaving this subject. In this connection The Church Order Commentary by Monsma and Van Dellen mention the evil of worldliness as expressed in the sphere of amusements. The Synod of the Christian Reformed Church in 1928 passed a series of resolutions regarding worldliness, which also concern the matter of discipline. The Synod had dealt with this problem already...

The 44th Article of our Church Order reads as follows:

The Consistory of the First Protestant Reformed Church, we wrote last time, overtured the Synod in 1959 to revise Article 69 of the Church Order so as to make room in our churches for the singing of a select number of hymns as approved by the synod. Five grounds, which we also quoted, were given for this overture. Briefly we would comment concerning these grounds as follows: As to the first ground, viz. “that Article 69 has lost all significance for us in its present form,” it may be said that this could be remedied by simply eliding those parts...

One of the requirements, according to Article 61 of our Church Order, for admission to the Table of the Lord is that the participants shall make a confession of the Reformed Religion. This refers first of all to those who are members of the church by baptism although it applies also to those who come from churches other than those of Reformed persuasion. Confessing the Reformed Religion applies to the practice that is commonly denoted in our circles as making confession of faith.

(Article 44 D.K.O.) 

According to our Church Order, one of the requirements for admission to the table of the Lord is that a confession of the Reformed religion be made by the applicant. This means that in Reformed Churches the principle of “closed communion” is maintained. Only those who are believers in confession and life have the right to the sacraments.