God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
For the Almighty God, who, as even the heathen acknowledge, has supreme power over all things, being Himself supremely good, would never permit the existence of anything evil among His works if He were not so omnipotent and good that He can bring good even out of evil.
Church officers must exercise…authority with a theology of the cross. As servants of Christ, they are servants of Chris’s people, and their power is for the building up of the church. That power is limited to what the Word of God commands, and temptations to add to or subtract from it must be resisted. The church has no right to bind consciences of its members without warrant from the Word.
