6 The Government Of The Local Church -- By: Anonymous

Journal: Central Bible Quarterly
Volume: CENQ 04:2 (Summer 1961)
Article: 6 The Government Of The Local Church
Author: Anonymous


6 The Government Of The Local Church

A. The Unscriptural and Man-made Systems of Church Government:

1. The Autocracy of the Papal System.

a. The Roman Catholic System (and largely Greek Orthodox Catholic).

b. Absolute authority centered in an alleged infallible Pope (Greek Catholic exception).

c. A graded Ministry: Cardinals; Bishops; and Priests, most inferior.

d. Seven Sacraments administered to communicants.

2. The Pure Oligarchy of the Episcopal System.

a. The system of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

b. The Methodist Episcopal Church system the same.

c. Many denominations modify this system.

d. The College of Bishops are the “Superior Clergy.”

e. The Superintendents and Pastors are the “Inferior Clergy.”

f. The individual church members are privileged to obey only, and pay.

3. The Presbyterian-Oligarchy System:

a. The Presbyterians especially are the pure example.

b. Many denominations following “Reformed Theology” use this system or a modification of it.

c. Gradations in the Presbyterian obligarchy are:

(1) The Session, composed of the pastor and elders, rulers of the local church.

(2) The Presbytery, composed of representatives of the churches, rule a given district of churches.

(3) The Synod, rules the still larger district of churches and owns them all.

(4) The General Assembly, rules, as the highest authority, the whole denomination of local churches.

Note: THE GRAVE DANGERS OF THESE MAN-MADE AND UNBIBLICAL SYSTEMS:

First and foremost, the local church property, in each and every case does not belong to the people of the local church, but rather it belongs to a super-organization that could forbid the local church the use of what they think is their own church building. (Also, this super-organization grants, holds, and can demand the ordination papers of the pastor.) e.g.

For example, the denominations belonging to the National Council hand down to the denominational churches their Annual Program; and they hand down the educational materials which print the National Council’s new Revised Standard Version of the Bible; they also name the missionary objectives for the local church. Any church refusing such cooperation is legally liable to be refused the right to use its property if that church belongs to any of the non-Roman Catholic systems explained above.

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