- Feb 5, 2002
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This past weekend, a Calvinist explained to me that she left the Methodists after concluding that they weren't a church, since they didn't preach the pure word of God. To Catholic ears, this sort of claim can sound pretty strange, so I wanted to explain what Calvinists mean by this, and why it's wrong.
In the Sixteenth Century, the Reformers faced a serious problem. They believed, as John Calvin wrote in Book IV, Chapter I of Institutes of the Christian Religion, that beyond the pale of the Church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for. Since Calvin and others were breaking away from the visible Church, this doctrine posed a serious hurdle. After all, they appeared to be condemning themselves with their own words.
So what they did is redefine what Church means. The clearest example of this is from the Dutch Calvinist Belgic Confession (1567):
Continued- What Are the Marks of the True Church?
I. What's Meant
In the Sixteenth Century, the Reformers faced a serious problem. They believed, as John Calvin wrote in Book IV, Chapter I of Institutes of the Christian Religion, that beyond the pale of the Church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for. Since Calvin and others were breaking away from the visible Church, this doctrine posed a serious hurdle. After all, they appeared to be condemning themselves with their own words.
So what they did is redefine what Church means. The clearest example of this is from the Dutch Calvinist Belgic Confession (1567):
The Belgic Confession
The true church can be recognized if it has the following marks: The church engages in the pure preaching of the gospel; it makes use of the pure administration of the sacraments as Christ instituted them; it practices church discipline for correcting faults. In short, it governs itself according to the pure Word of God, rejecting all things contrary to it and holding Jesus Christ as the only Head. By these marks one can be assured of recognizing the true church-- and no one ought to be separated from it.
So it's only the true Church if the preaching of the Gospel and administration of sacraments are pure, and church discipline is used for correcting faults. Calvin only believed in two marks of the Church: the preaching of the word and the observance of the sacraments. He argued that to lose these two marks would destroy the true and genuine distinction of the Church:
Continued- What Are the Marks of the True Church?
