Christ’s church needs to be organized. It cannot exist in a state of anarchy, nor is it to be a dictatorship. Freedom and order, love and submission are to exist side by side - as they do in heaven. But on earth this is hard to achieve, because believers are sinful people. We have seen aspects of church order in previous chapters, but Articles 33-36 give us more. These may seem pedantic or irrelevant to the church today: in fact they offer important principles and details.
DISCIPLINE
Article 33 raises the issue of excommunication: officially barring people from receiving Holy Communion and thus cutting them off from the heart of church life and fellowship. The Article does not argue for or against excommunication - a practice of the ancient and mediaeval church - but assumes that it will sometimes be necessary. It is the most drastic of the forms of church discipline: not a popular subject today, but biblical and timely. As we consider excommunication we see principles which should govern all church discipline. To read more, click here.
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Thirty-Nine Articles: A Faith for Today: Articles 33 - 36: Organizing the Church
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