Carefully⤒🔗

In the Reformed Church Order, much attention is given to the question of who is or is not allowed to preach. The reason for that is not the preacher himself, but his task, namely the proclamation of and instruction in God’s Word. The Bible makes it clear that this task must be carried out carefully and must be entrusted to the correct people. In the course of history, all kinds of experiences have brought the church to the point of giving shape to these biblical givens in practical rules.

Reconciliation←⤒🔗

The mandate to preach is evident from Scripture. After the fall into sin, God came to people with his Word, and that speaking of God continues to resound throughout all of history. As well in the Old as in the New Testament, people are called to speak on behalf of the Lord, to the people of God, to individual believers, and to people outside the circle of the covenant. The nature of the message is described in the New Testament as the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-20).

The seriousness of this service elucidates why the church has always carefully overseen who might perform this ministry. Because the sermon is about the message that brings people into a reconciliatory attitude towards God, or leaves them outside of it, the demands placed on the proclaimer and on the proclamation are high. Throughout the ages, the church therefore demanded a theological education with a central place therein for homiletics and for a thorough knowledge of the languages and of the exposition from the Bible. The preacher is God’s ambassador and therefore he must know well what his Sender is saying and how he must transmit the message in a good way. Calvin even states that if the preacher does not himself first become a student of the Word, “it would be better if he would break his neck at the ascent to the pulpit.”

Eternal←⤒🔗

It is this high conception of the sermon that led the Reformed churches to set up precise rules for who could be admitted to the office of minister and who, because of dysfunctionality, had to be deposed from office. To these rules belonged the demand for a theological training, but Reformed Church Orders have also always held a path open for those who received special gifts from the Lord and therefore did not need, or only partially needed, such an education.

It was said thereby that the special gifts had to be tested by the church. This was described in Article 8 of the Church Order of Dort and from there, we recognize the title of “minister according to Article 8.” Later, brothers were added to that, who, in their congregation or in a specific region, were allowed to speak “an edifying word” (Article, 8 Church Order), a term that differentiates from the regular preaching of the Word. Also in such a case, testing is required, for the church guards the Word. The rule is thus a long road of thorough study, and that is not strange either. When I need to undergo heart surgery, I want a specialist to do it, and not someone who likes to watch medical documentaries. In the preaching, it is not about passing on the thoughts that a preacher has about the text, but it is about the message that comes from God and that is, for the hearer a message of eternal salvation or eternal judgment.