| introduction |
Section
1- Overview IV |
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IV.
What is your commitment?
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A. The five membership vows
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Vows are promises made in public that are
covenantal in nature and focus on issues of faithfulness and
reliability. When a man and woman marry, they make wedding vows; when an
elected official accepts the responsibilities of his/her office, s/he
makes a vow; when a man enters the gospel ministry, he takes and
ordination vow. In the same way, membership vows are promises made
before Christ and His church. In the Presbyterian Church in America, the
membership vows are these: |
1. Do you
acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God, justly
deserving His displeasure, and without hope except in His sovereign
mercy? |
| 2. Do you believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of sinners,
and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is
offered in the Gospel? |
| 3. Do you now
resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy
Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as is proper for the followers of
Christ? |
| 4. Do you promise
to support the church in its worship and work to the best of your
ability? |
| 5. Do you submit
yourself to the government and discipline of the church, and promise to
study its purity and peace? |
B. The structure of the vows
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 | Commitment:
Each one of the vows is a commitment made to Christ and His church.
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Requirements:
The first two vows have to do with the requirements for church
membership, i.e., what must be true of a person’s belief to be a
member of His church.
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Expectations:
The last three vows focus on the expectations that the church
rightly places on its members. These are analogous to “family
rules” in that following them does not make you a member of the
family, but they are to be observed because you are part of the
family. |
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