Chapter 21

1. The liberty Christ has purchased for believers under the gospel is found in their freedom from the guilt of sin, the condemning wrath of God, and the severity and curse of the law.(a) It also includes their deliverance from this present evil age,(b) bondage to Satan,(c) the dominion of sin,(d) the suffering of afflictions,(e) the fear and sting of death, the victory of the grave,(f) and everlasting damnation.(g)  In addition, it includes their free access to God and their obedience to him, not from slavish fear(h) but from a childlike love and willing mind.(i)

All these liberties were also enjoyed in their essence by believers under the law.(j)  But under the New Testament the liberty of Christians is further expanded. They are free from the yoke of the ceremonial law to which the Jewish congregation was subjected; they have greater confidence of access to the throne of grace; and they have a fuller supply of God’s free Spirit than believers under the law usually experienced.(k)

2. God alone is Lord of the conscience,(l) and he has left it free from human doctrines and commandments that are in any way contrary to his word or not contained in it.(m) So, believing such doctrines, or obeying such commands out of conscience, is a betrayal of true liberty of conscience.(n)  Requiring implicit faith or absolute and blind obedience destroys liberty of conscience and reason as well.(o)

3. Those who use Christian liberty as an excuse to practice any sin or nurture any sinful desire pervert the main objective of the grace of the gospel to their own destruction,(p) and they completely destroy the purpose of Christian liberty. This purpose is that we, having been delivered from the hands of all our enemies, may serve the Lord without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our lives.(q)

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1. The light of nature demonstrates that there is a God who has lordship and sovereignty over all. He is just and good and does good to everyone. Therefore, he should be feared, loved, praised, called on, trusted in, and served—with all the heart and all the soul and all the strength.(a)  But the acceptable way to worship the true God is instituted by him,(b) and it is delimited by his own revealed will. Thus, he may not be worshipped according to human imagination or inventions or the suggestions of Satan, nor through any visible representations, nor in any other way that is not prescribed in the Holy Scriptures.(c)

2. Religious worship is to be given to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and to him alone(d)—not to angels, saints, or any other creatures.(e)  Since the fall, worship is not to be given without a mediator6 nor through any mediation other than of Christ alone.(g)

3. Prayer with thanksgiving is an element of natural worship and so is required by God of everyone.(h) But to be acceptable, it must be made in the name of the Son,(i) by the help of the Spirit,(j) according to his will.(k)  It must be accompanied by understanding, reverence, humility, fervor, faith, love, and perseverance. Prayer with others must be in a language that is understood.(l) 

4. Prayer is to be made for lawful things and for all kinds of people who are alive now or will live later.(m)  But prayer should not be made for the dead(n) nor for those known to have sinned the sin that leads to death.(o)

5. The elements of religious worship of God include reading the Scriptures,(p) preaching and hearing the Word of God,(q) teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord,(r) as well as the administration of baptism(s) and the Lord’s supper.(t)  They must be performed out of obedience to him, with understanding, faith, reverence, and godly fear. Also, purposeful acts of humbling with fasting(u) and times of  thanksgiving should be observed on special occasions in a holy and religious manner.(v)

6. Under the gospel, neither prayer nor any other part of religious worship is now restricted to or made more acceptable by the place where it is done or toward which it is directed. Instead, God is to be worshipped everywhere in spirit and in truth(w)—daily(x) in each family(y) and privately by each individual.(z)  Also, more formal worship is to be performed in public assemblies, and these must not be carelessly or deliberately neglected or forsaken, when God by his word or providence calls us to them.(aa)

7. It is the law of nature that in general a portion of time specified by God should be set apart for the worship of God. So by his Word, in a positive-moral and perpetual commandment that obligates everyone in every age, he has specifically appointed one day in seven for a sabbath to be kept holy to him.(bb)  From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ the appointed day was the last day of the week. After the resurrection of Christ it was changed to the first day of the week, which is called the Lord’s Day.(cc) It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  

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1. God, the supreme Lord and King of the whole world, has ordained civil authorities to be under him and over the people, for his own glory and the public good. For this purpose he has armed them with the power of the sword, to defend and encourage those who do good and to punish evildoers.(a)

2. Christians may lawfully accept and carry out the duties of public office when called to do so. In performing their office they must especially maintain justice and peace,(b) according to the wholesome laws of each kingdom or other political entity. To carry out these duties they are authorized now under the New Testament to wage war in just and necessary situations.(c)

3. Because civil authorities are established by God for the purposes stated, we should submit in the Lord to them in everything lawful that they require. We should submit not only for fear of punishment but also for the sake of conscience.(d)  We ought to make requests and prayers for kings and everyone in authority, so that under their rule we may live a quiet and peaceful life in all godliness and honesty.(e)

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1. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman. A man must not have more than one wife nor a woman more than one husband at the same time.(a)

2. Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife,(b) for the increase of humanity with legitimate offspring,(c) and for the prevention of immorality,(b) and to reveal the union between Christ and His church.(e)

 3. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.(f)

4. Everyone who is able to give rational consent may marry.(g)  Yet Christians are to marry in the Lord.(h)  Therefore, those who profess the true religion should not marry unbelievers or idolaters. Nor should the godly be unequally yoked by marrying those who lead evil lives or hold to damnable heresy.(i)

5. Marriage should not occur within the degrees of blood relationship or kinship that are forbidden in the Word.(j)  These incestuous marriages can never be made lawful, so that the individuals may live together as husband and wife, by any human law or consent of the parties involved.(k)

6. Children, from the moment of conception,(l) are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth.(m) Children are to honor and obey their parents.(n)

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1. The catholic—that is, universal—church may be called invisible with respect to the internal work of the Spirit and truth of grace. It consists of the full number of the elect who have been, are, or will be gathered into one under Christ her head. The church is the spouse, the body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.(a)

2. All people throughout the world who profess the faith of the gospel and obedience to God through Christ in keeping with the gospel are and may be called visible saints,(b) as long as they do not destroy their own profession by any foundational errors or unholy living. All locala congregations ought to be made up of these.(c)

aparticular (rendered “local” throughout this chapter)

3. The purest churches under heaven are subject to mixture and error.(d) Some have degenerated so much that they have ceased to be churches of Christ.(e) Nevertheless, Christ always has had and will have in this world to the very end a kingdom of those who believe in him and profess his name.(f)

4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the church. By the Father’s appointment, all authority is conferred on him in a supreme and sovereign manner to call, institute, order and govern the church.(g)  

5. In exercising the authority entrusted to him, the Lord Jesus, through the ministry of his Word,  by his Spirit, calls to himself out of the world those who are given to him by his Father.(h)  They are called so that they will live before him in all the ways of obedience that he prescribes for them in his Word.(i)  Those who are called he commands to live together in local churches, for their mutual edification and the fitting conduct of public worship that he requires of them while they are in the world.(j)

6. The members of these churches are saints by calling, visibly displaying and demonstrating in and by their profession and life their obedience to the call of Christ.(k)  They willingly agree to live together according to Christ’s instructions, giving themselves to the Lord and to one another by the will of God, with the stated purpose of following the ordinances of the Gospel.(l)

7. To every church gathered in this way, conforming to Christ’s mind as declared in his Word, he has given all power and authority that is in any way necessary to conduct the form of worship and discipline that he has instituted for them to observe. He has also given them commands and rules to use and carry out that power rightly and properly.(m)

8. A local church, gathered and fully organized according to the mind of Christ, consists of officers and members. The officers appointed by Christ are overseers (also called pastors or elders), and deacons. They are to be chosen and set apart by the church called and gathered in this way, for the distinctive purpose of administering ordinances and for carrying out any other power or duty Christ entrusts them with or calls them to. This pattern is to be continued to the end of the age.(n)

9. Christ has appointed the way to call someone prepared and gifted by the Holy Spirit to the office of elder in a church. He must be chosen by the collective vote of the church itself.(o)  He must then be solemnly set apart by fasting and prayer. The body of elders of the church must lay hands on him if there are any already in place. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of elder is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.(p) A deacon must be chosen by the same kind of vote and set apart by prayer and laying on of hands as well.(q)

10. The work of elders is to give constant attention to the service of Christ in his churches in the ministry of the word and prayer. They are to watch over the souls of church members as those who must give an account to Christ.(r)  The churches to whom they minister must not only give them all due respect but also must share with those elders who labor in preaching and teaching from all their good things according to their ability.(s)  They must do this so their elders who labor in preaching and teaching may have a comfortable living without having to be entangled in secular matters(t) and so they can show hospitality to others.(u)  This is required by the law of nature and by the explicit command of our Lord Jesus, who has ordained that those who preach the Gospel should earn their living by the Gospel.(v)

11. Although elders of churches must be engaged in preaching the word as a function of their office, yet the work of preaching the word is not totally restricted to them. Others who are also gifted and prepared by the Holy Spirit for it and approved and called by the church may and should preach.(w)

12. All believers are obligated to join themselves to locala churches when and where they have the opportunity. Likewise, all who are admitted to the privileges of a church are also subject to the discipline and government of it, according to the rule of Christ.(x)

13. Church members who have taken offense at the behavior towards them of other church members, and who have obeyed the instructions laid down in Scripture for dealing with such cases, must not disturb the peace of the church or turn away from the church. Instead, they should participate in church assemblies and the church ordinances and wait on Christ, acting through the church, to address the person who has offended them.(y)

14. Every church and all its members are obligated to pray continually for the good and prosperity of all churches of Christ in every place.(z)  They must also—at every opportunity within the limits of their stations and callings—exercise their gifts and graces to benefit every church. Also, when churches are raised up by the providence of God, insofar as they enjoy opportunity and favorable circumstances for it, they should have fellowship among themselves for their peace, growth in love, and mutual edification.(aa)

15. Cases of difficulties or differences—doctrinal or administrative—may arise, touching on the peace, union, and edification of all churches in general or an individual church. Other cases may occur when a member or members of a church are injured in or by disciplinary action that is not in keeping with truth and order. In such cases, it is according to the mind of Christ for many churches having fellowship together to meet through their messengers to consider and give their advice concerning the issue in dispute and to report their advice to all the churches concerned.(bb) Nevertheless, these assembled messengers are not entrusted with any church authority, strictly speaking. Neither do they have any jurisdiction over the churches themselves, to exercise any discipline either over any churches or individuals or to impose their decision on the churches or officers.(cc)

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