The Peaceable Fruit of Biblical Ecumenism

In the Message to all Churches of Jesus Christ throughout the world, (See December 7) the First General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (though it was called originally National Presbyterian Church)  had specifically stated that they invited “into ecclesiastical fellowship all who maintain our principles of faith and order.”  It was at the Fifth General Assembly of PCA, meeting in Smyrna, Georgia, that the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod sent a communication requesting closer relationship and engagement of cooperative ministries.

Two assemblies later in 1979, a small committee with a long name, namely, “The Ad Interim Committee to Discuss Areas of Agreements, Differences, and Difficulties with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Evangelical Synod (RPCES), and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America” was constituted by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).  They would meet many times in the two years of discussion with representatives of the various Presbyterian churches.

In June of 1980, at the Eighth General Assembly of the PCA, that body issued invitations to the aforementioned denominations to join the PCA.  The invitation was not to be a long courtship but rather a quick “tying of the knot” by simply merging into the PCA by a common commitment to the subordinate standards of the Westminster Assembly and the Book of Church Order.

The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, citing exclusive psalmody and other considerations, pulled out of the discussions.  The invitation to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church come up to a vote of presbyteries in both bodies.   It failed by a narrow margin to arrive at the necessary vote by both assemblies, first by the PCA and then by the OPC.  Fraternal relations continue between both bodies with each other.

For the remaining two denominations of the Presbyterian Church in America and the Reformed Presbyterian Church Evangelical Synod, joint General Assemblies were scheduled for their next national meetings at Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The pivotal vote of the RPCES on June 14, 1982  accepted the union by a majority vote of 322 – 90.  Elected as moderator was former RPCES scholar and minister, Dr. R. Laird Harris, from Covenant Theological Seminary.

By this union, the PCA received 164 churches, 416 ministers, 20,615 communicant members, 6,139 covenant children, Covenant Theological Seminary, Covenant College, a direct line to the Scottish Covenanters from the Reformed Presbyterian Church branch of the former RPCES, and the God-given experience of  recognized theologians, teaching and ruling elders in both churches.

The “marriage” has lasted now  30  years (as of 2012), with continued prayers and work to make it a lifetime of married bliss.

Words to Live By:
Here is true biblical ecumenism.  We ought to unite together on the basis of the Word of God and the Westminster Standards with all churches which have that common basis.  By it, the Church is strengthened to meet the secular challenges of the age in which we live; the divisive character of too many a religious body in the eyes of the watching world is removed, and God’s people are built up in the holy faith.  Work where God has placed you to make this a reality more and more.

This brief message originally appeared in an old publication titled THE PRESBYTERIAN ADVOCATE, and was later reproduced on the back cover of a tract titled TEN REASONS FOR BEING A PRESBYTERIAN. An image of that back cover is show at right.

TENDENCIES OF PRESBYTERIANISM.

ALL the tendencies of the Presbyterian system of doctrines and government have been often demonstrated to be good, adapted in the highest degree to promote the temporal and spiritual welfare of individuals, families, communities, and nations. The evidence of this fact is found in its effects in all parts of its history, in ancient and in modern times. Wherever Presbyterianism unadulterated by foreign influences has prevailed, there have morality, purity, industry, intelligence, virtue, and piety been found shedding a hallowing and purifying efficacy upon the people. For the correctness of this statement we appeal to the earliest days of the church, to the churches of the valleys of Piedmont, to the Reformed churches of France and Switzerland, and to the churches of Scotland. It is true that most of the governments under which these saints lived, recognized not their character, and desired to exterminate their teachers. Against them were arrayed power, prejudice, fraud, craft, the sword, the faggot, and red-hot chain. But in spite of all these, their characters came forth only the more eminently precious for their trials, and more clearly vindicated from all charge of wrong. Their virtue, faith, patience, and love of freedom were too precious to be consumed by the fire of persecution, and their history stands a blessed illustration of the influence and tendency of our religion.—Presbyterian Advocate.

Adoption Act of Subscription Exceptions Added to PCA Book of Church Order
by Rev. David T. Myers

Can a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America be permitted to honestly express his reservations with  sections of the Westminster Standards to his Presbytery which do not strike at the essentials of religion before ordination? That was the question raised in the denomination, with some presbyteries allowing it and others not providing liberty for it.  The issue was settled with the following section being added upon favorable vote to the Book of Church Order’s Form of Government on June 12, 2003 at the Thirty-first General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America.

“While our Constitution does not require the candidate’s affirmation of every statement and/proposition of doctrine in our Confession of Faith and Catechisms, it is the right and responsibility of the Presbytery to determine if the candidate is out of accord with any of the fundamentals of these doctrinal standards and, as a consequence, may not be able in good faith to receive and adopt the Confession of  Faith and Catechisms of this Church as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures. (cf. BCO 21:5, Q.2; 24:5, Q. 2).

“Therefore, in examining a candidate for ordination, the Presbytery shall inquire not only into the candidate’s knowledge and views in the areas specified above, but also shall require the candidate to state the specific instances of which he may differ with the Confession of Faith and Catechisms in any of their statements and/or propositions.  The court may grant an exception to any difference of doctrine only if in the court’s judgment the candidate’s declared difference is not out of accord with any fundamental of our system of doctrine because the difference is neither hostile to the system nor strikes at the vitals of religion.”

The key phrase of this Adoption Act is in the last sentence “. . . only if in the court’s judgment the candidate’s declared difference is not out of accord with any fundamental of our system of doctrine because the difference is neither hostile to the system nor strikes at the vitals of religion.”  Time will tell, in this contributor’s opinion,  whether “the court’s judgment” of our presbyteries will defend the faith once delivered unto the saints or allow all sorts of various doctrinal differences to slide in unnoticed into the church.

Words to Live By: How important it is to pray for the teaching and ruling elders of our Presbyterian churches that they will hold solidly to the Reformed faith, not allowing any weakening of “the vitals of religion.”  We have with sadness watched the gradual slide of other mainline Presbyterian churches into departures from the faith.  Let us not imitate them, but resist the temptation of the world, the flesh, and the devil and  stand firm and hold true “the vitals of religion.”

STUDIES IN THE WESTMINSTER SHORTER CATECHISM
by Rev. Leonard T. Van Horn

Q. 13. — Did your first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.

Scripture References: Gen. 3:6-8,13; Eccles. 7:29; II Cor. 11:3; Ps. 5:4.

Questions:

1. What was the “estate” in which man was created?

The estate was innocence, the state in which God had placed man and in which he had pure fellowship with God.

2. What is meant by the freedom of the will?

The freedom of the will was a liberty to choose or refuse of its own accord, without any constraint or force from anyone.

3. Were our first parents able to follow the way of perfect obedience unto God?

Yes, they had perfect knowledge and were holy in their hearts for God had made them in this way.

4. How was it then possible for man to sin?

It was possible because at creation man had a freedom both to good and evil. His natural disposition was to good but because he was a mutable (subject to change) creature he, through temptation, submitted himself to evil.

5. What is man’s state today in regard to freedom of will?

A distinction must be made as to the type of man. Unregenerate man “by his fall into a state of sin, hath wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation” so that he can neither “convert himself, nor prepare himself thereunto.” (Confession of Faith, IX, 3). Regenerated man, by God’s grace, has the freedom to do that which is spiritually good, but he does not do it perfectly for he is sometimes inclined toward evil. (Rom. 7: 15, 19, 21).

6. Who was responsible for the first sin?

Man was responsible for he freely yielded to the temptation of the devil. When our first parents willfully chose to obey the word of Satan rather than the word of God, they were guilty of sinning against God. Man had been put on trial, the trial of simple obedience, but man failed the test. It should be recognized that God is not the cause of sin. This can be proven from the testimony of Scripture, (Gen. 1:31. Ps. 5:4).

This can also be proven by the facts taught by Scripture that God is perfectly good and holy and that God punished all sin severely. The fall of Adam is the efficient cause of original sin both in himself and in his posterity.

SINNING AGAINST GOD

One of the greatest dangers facing the church of today is the trend toward emphasizing sin as being against men rather than the fact that sin is first and foremost against God. This is especially noticeable in the prayers of many ministers and laymen. Their prayers are full of the fact that men sin against men, especially in a social sort of way, but are almost void of the primary fact that men sin against God. If you will read once again the great Episcopal General Confession [see below] you will note that the thrust of the confession is aimed at offending the holy laws of God.

It is true that when our first parents sinned in the Garden of Eden they certainly sinned against each other in that their sin affected one another. And their sin certainly affected the whole human race as it was naturally passed down to all. But the important point of our Catechism Question is that Adam and Eve sinned against God. This is the message we should keep in our minds. This is the message we need to remember as we live our daily walk before God as Christians saved by grace.

Probably our difficulty is that though we know our sins are against God, we do not make enough effort to resist, to overcome temptation. A faithful preacher of God’s Word used to tell his people time and time again, “Brethren, you must practice being careful of how you live before the Almighty, Sovereign God!” Thomas Goodwin gave four rules to the Christian regarding keeping away from sinning against God:

1. Keep thyself from evil thoughts, for they defile the man (Matt. 15:18-20).
2. Keep thyself from evil speeches, because “evil words corrupt good manners” (I Cor. 15 :33).
3. Take heed of ill company, for that will defile the man.
4. Take heed of all occasions of evil abuse of things lawful, even they also will make thee impure, because it is a means to draw out the impurity of thy heart.

Such thoughts are excellent for us as we strive to live to the glory of God. It is also excellent for us to realize and to remember that our sins are against the Holy God, He who sits on the Throne of Heaven. (I Cor. 10:12-13)

Episcopal General Confession:
The original form in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is:

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father;
We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts.
We have offended against thy holy laws.
We have left undone those things which we ought to have done;
And we have done those things which we ought not to have done;
And there is no health in us.
But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders.
Spare thou them, O God, who confess their faults.
Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen.

Ministering to Wounded Soldiers
by David T Myers

It is a joy to this author to be able to post an article in This Day in Presbyterian History to his father, the Rev. Dr. David K. Myers. Dr. Myers was a Princeton Seminary graduate in 1929, studying there just before the liberals took control of that historic theological seminary. He went on to minister in the PCUSA churches in the Far West, eventually planting a Bible Presbyterian church in Lemmon. South Dakota, where I was born in 1940. It today continues to minister as a PCA congregation.

Of his many and varied ministries in South Dakota, he also served his country as an Army chaplain in World War Two through the Korean War Conflict. The following is taken from his autobiography “Preaching on the Plains” and tells of his ministry to wounded soldiers at the 156^th Army General Hospital in England in 1944 – 1945.

“When I was a lad in Austin High School in Chicago in the waning days of and after WWI, I had been a High School R.O.T.C. Cadet for three years, a Cadet Lieutenant, my last year. When a student at the outset of my Army training at Harvard Army Chaplain’s School, things were not exactly strange.

“Then I was assigned to an Army hospital unit training school . On June 10, 1944, my birthday, our unit left Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, and sailed with the 156^th General Hospital Unit to England. We were situated near another General Hospital south of Hereford on a manorial estate in southwest England, not far from the Welsh Border.

“Soon we began taking the wounded in increasing numbers from the fighting in France just after the landings in Normandy. I found myself visiting wounded soldiers morning, noon, and night. Many were there. It was hard to get from one end of the 1500 bed hospital to the other, because some of the less seriously wounded would be discharged and on their way either to America, or back to the front line. During the Battle of the Bulge, we were crowded to capacity.

“I felt a great opportunity for bedside visitation. There they would be, an entire ward, and ward after ward. They would all be lying (waiting for) a visiting chaplain, and my endeavor was to visit them all personally. I cannot remember a one who refused my visit.

“Unsaved were given a challenge to receive Christ. An unusual number indicated their conviction that conversion to Christ came to them when they were at the front lines. I sought to conserve this by pointing out their duty to become true witnesses, and to be related to their home church, if it was a Bible-believing one. I also sought to point out the difference between those (churches) which were Bible-believing and those which were not.

“Our nightly prayer meetings were fruitful. Walking wounded would come, and men of the hospital medical service.”

Rev. Myers came home after WW2, served briefly in his civilian church in South Dakota, then re-entered the Army chaplaincy where he was to serve his Lord and Savior through the Korean War as a chaplain. Two of his sons became ministers of the gospel, eventually serving congregations of the Presbyterian Church in America.

Words to Live By:
My father is now in heaven, but his spirit lives on through the faithful military chaplains seeking the spiritually lost in our nation’s military. Pray for chaplains today ministering the Word of God faithfully. Their calling is getting harder and harder to fulfill biblically. And if your congregation has not “adopted” a military chaplain, contact the Presbyterian and Reformed Chaplain’s Ministry in Atlanta Georgia, to support such a one in prayer and encouragement. They will appreciate it. And you as an individual and congregation will be ministering through them to our men and women in the Armed Services of our nation.