Abstract
In dealing with the power of the keys in the Reformed Church in
this thesis,the approach is as follows: there are six chapters. In
the Introduction, the main passages in the New Testament on which this
doctrine is based and the way in which they were interpreted by the
Apostolic Church are considered. During the centuries preceding the
Protestant Reformation this doctrine underwent several changes, there¬
fore, an assessment of these is given in order to see the position at
the time of the Reformation.
In the second chapter the Reformed position as found in the teach¬
ing of John Calvin is examined. This necessitates a summary of the
main points in his teaching on the meaning of justification by faith.
Then, in order to see the misconceptions which the Reformed teaching was
trying to correct, and the background against which it had to work, a
comparison is made with the teaching of the Council of Trent on this
subject.
The third chapter deals with the application of the Reformed
doctrine of the exercise of the power of the keys as practised in
Geneva in the time of Calvin and under his leadership. Two points in
particular are brought out: first, the place of Christian instructionpreaching,
teaching, and pastoral care—in the exercise of the power of
the keys; and secondly, the position of the Church in the exercise of
ecclesiastical discipline, as well as the aims which this duty is meant
to achieve.
The fourth chapter deals with the teaching and emphasis of the
Reformed Church in Scotland on this subject. This involves an examination of the subordinate standards of this Church, especially the relative sections of the First Book of Discipline and the Order of Excommunication and of Public Repentance; the changes effected by the advent
of the Second Book of Discipline and of the Westminster Confession are
noted. This chapter also deals with a question which caused much controversy
in the seventeenth century, namely, the depository of the
keys.
The fifth chapter is concerned with the means used by the Reformed
Church in Scotland for carrying out her mission in the exercise of both
the kerygmatic act and the .judicial act of the power of the keys. An
assessment of these is made, and the conclusion is that while the
was
Reformed Church in Scotland was as sincere and zealous in endeavouring to perform faithfully what she believed to be her solemn duty in regard to
the exercise of the power of the keys, and although many of her efforts
in this regard were highly commendable, yet in some respects, chiefly
in the matter of church censures, she was guilty of re-introducing
what amounted to practices against which the Reformation had been a
revolt; furthermore, the type of censures she used was almost sure to
give the average church member a wrong understanding of the nature of
justification.
The final chapter draws some conclusions from the foregoing and
makes comparisons with the conditions in which the Church has to work
today.
