Article 32 speaks of the Church Order and discipline. By the time of the Reformation, there was a vast and burdensome “canon law”. Our fathers rejected all of this and rather adopted a brief “Church Order” in 1619 at the Synod of Dordt. Our Church Order has 84 articles: (1) Arts. 2-28 treat the “offices”; (2) Arts. 29-52, the ecclesiastical assemblies; (3) Arts. 53-70, the doctrines and sacraments; (4) Arts. 71-84, censure and ecclesiastical admonition.
Our fathers followed the principle that we ought to honor only those things which Christ hath instituted, and reject all human inventions and laws.
We must have church discipline (1) to maintain purity of doctrine, (2) to direct members in a godly walk, (3) to maintain the purity of the church.
Article 33 introduces the sacraments: one of the two “means of grace”-the other is the preaching of the Word. The sacraments are “signs and seals” (Rom. 4:11). St. Augustine defined a sacrament as “a visible sign of an invisible grace.”
The Roman Catholics taught that the sacraments also effect and produce in the recipient the grace of God. These also insisted that there are seven sacraments.
The Old Testament had circumcision and the Passover. Now we have baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These present a visible evidence of God’s grace and serve to strengthen and nourish our faith. The preaching is the main means of grace. The sacraments confirm visibly what the Word proclaims.
QUESTIONS:
1. Was the Jerusalem gathering the first “Synod”? (Acts 15) Explain.
2. What are the “three steps of discipline”? (Cf. the Church Order).
3. Can one be disciplined for secret sins? Explain.
4. What is the purpose of Excommunication? (see form in back of the Psalter).
5. Can one who is excommunicated, go to heaven? Explain.
6. Why does the Netherlands Confession treat the sacraments so extensively?
7. List the seven Roman Catholic “sacraments”.
Baptism; Confirmation; Penance; Marriage; Holy Orders; Eucharist; Last Rites
8. What is a “sign”? A “seal”?
9. What determines which sacraments we must have?