If resignation or receiving into a new body exempts an individual from church censure, the Church abdicates half of the keys of the kingdom. Such a policy implies the ability to remit sins but not to retain them, violating the principles outlined in WCF 30.

The impetus for this piece is this statement from the PCA’s Central Florida Presbytery.

Imagine a man resigning his membership in a church in which the resignation was not received by the session due to an investigation. Imagine further that the man was subsequently received into membership of another church. Is the man now out of reach?

Ramifications

If the mere act of resignation were sufficient to dissolve ecclesiastical jurisdiction, then any individual deserving of censure could effectively immunize himself against discipline through a timely withdrawal. Similarly, if the mere act of joining a new body nullified the authority of the original session, the process of correction would be nullified. Given these necessary implications that undermine biblical shepherding, it follows that neither mere resignation nor being received into new membership can exempt an individual from God’s means of appointment to reclaim a wayward sheep. Something else is required.

The Dilemma

How to be catholic and not sectarian is always a challenge. So, how might the knot be cut if it cannot be untied? Before proposing a solution, this statement deserves careful examination:

“Central Florida Presbytery deems these excommunications improper, disruptive to the peace of the Church, detrimental to those under our pastoral care, and without ecclesiastical effect within the Presbyterian Church in America.”

The term “improper” is ambiguous. If it merely means the independent church violated PCA rules of discipline and purported jurisdiction, such irregularities do not necessarily constitute disruptive or detrimental acts. However, if “improper” means the original church’s actions violated biblical principles, that is a different matter, to which we will turn momentarily.

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