Christ's Love and the New Believer - Part 3
This is a continuation of Christ's Love and the New Believer. Please do well to visit my profile to read the connecting article to have a more organized understanding of it.
PURGATORY
THE Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory, Pardons, Worshipping, and Adoration, as well of Images as of Reliques, and also invocation of Saints, is a fond thing vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.
MINISTERING IN THE CONGREGATION
Any man who accepts the position of public preacher or sacrament minister in the congregation before being officially called and sent to carry out that duty is in violation of the law. And those who have been chosen and called to this job by men who have been granted public authority in the congregation to call and send Ministers into the Lord's vineyard are those who we should regard as having been legitimately called and sent.
THE SACRAMENTS
The SACRAMENTS that Christ ordained are not merely symbols or badges of men's profession as Christians; rather, they are certain witnesses and powerful indications of God's grace and his good will toward us, through which he works invisibly in us to not only quicken but also to strengthen and confirm our faith in him. Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two sacraments that Christ our Lord established in the Gospel. Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction are the five things that are commonly referred to as sacraments, but they are not to be included among the sacraments of the gospel because they are states of life that are permitted in the church and partly grew out of the Apostles' corrupt following.
Even though the good and the evil are constantly mixed together in the visible Church, and sometimes the evil has primary authority in the administration of the Word and Sacraments, we are still able to use their ministry when hearing the Word of God and when receiving the Sacraments because they don't act in their own names but rather under the authority and commission of Christ. The Sacraments are effective because of Christ's institution and promise, even though they are administered by evil people. Their effect is not weakened by their wickedness, nor is the grace of God's gifts taken away from those who, through faith and proper action, receive them. However, it is necessary for maintaining church discipline that inquiries against corrupt Ministers be undertaken, that they be charged by those who are aware of their transgressions, and that, if found guilty, they are duly removed from office.
BAPTISM is not only a mark of distinction that distinguishes Christian men from those who are not christened, but it is also a sign of regeneration or new birth, by which those who correctly receive baptism are grafted into the Church; the promises of sin forgiveness and our adoption as God's children by the Holy Spirit are visibly signed and sealed; faith is strengthened and grace is increased through prayer directed to God. In any case, it is recommended that the Church continue to practice infant baptism because it is most compatible with the institution of Christ.
References
Churchofengland, 'Articles of Religion' (online) <https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion#II>.
