The Church Order of Dordt

In general one must say that the knowledge of Reformed church polity is very limited. In particular this applies to the knowledge of the Church Order ofDordt, which was established at the Synod of Dordt in 1618-1619. However, happily there is again a reviving of interest for this knowledge.

The word “church order” is not found in the Scriptures, but the matter itself is. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself already gave various provisions for the good order of the church, and the apostle Paul, led by His Spirit, supplemented these. He pointed out that all things in the congregation must be done “decently,” that is, becomingly, and “in order,” according to an established rule (1 Corinthians 14:40). There have therefore also been church ordinances from the time of the apostles, and these were also then soon put into place in the form of written rules.

A church order must at all times be subject to the touchstone of God’s Word, which prescribes the fundamental procedure for the church. In their church order the Reformed fathers of the above-mentioned Synod of Dordt have set forth the rules for the good order of the church in the way they have done because they were convinced that it was most compatible with the Holy Scriptures and also most subservient for the building up of the Christian church. We feel that the principles pronounced by them are still indispensable for the existence and well-being of the church of Christ, who is the King of His church upon earth.

I readily acknowledge that the church order is not a judicial book of laws, but an order of a brotherly nature. The rules of the church order are the shepherd’s staff for the church. They have an ecclesiastical binding authority, which is necessary to maintain good order in the church. Who of those who love God’s church shall not subject himself to it? Who of those who aim at the well-being of God’s church will desire to withdraw himself from it? “Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek thy good” (Psalm 122:9).

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