Pastoral Statement for Faith Presbyterian Church Reformed
Introduction: What is a “Reformed” Church?
The adjective
“Reformed” describes those Christians who affirm the distinctive biblical
doctrines recovered during the Great Reformation of the 16th and 17th
centuries and summarized in such comprehensive creedal statements as the Westminster
Confession of Faith and Catechisms. As a Reformed Church, we confess
the Living and True, Triune God who created all things to reveal His glory,
sovereignty and majesty. We believe that His written Word, the Bible, is the
supreme and final standard for faith and practice. We acknowledge our inability
to save ourselves and that God’s Holy Spirit must regenerate individual hearts
so that men can repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ alone for
salvation.
Reformed churches also believe that God is to be worshipped only as He
Himself has declared. Therefore we offer to Him only that which He requires;
i.e., the singing, reading, praying and expository preaching of His infallible,
inerrant Word, as well as celebrating His sacraments of Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper.
Usually, a “Reformed” church is also “Presbyterian.” The word
“Presbyterian” (from the Greek word πρεσβυτερος)
refers to a church governed by “elders.” Presbyterianism was one of three forms
of church government that grew out of the Reformation and was adopted by the
Swiss, German, Dutch and Scottish churches. However, sadly, not all
“Presbyterian” churches today are still “Reformed,” many adopting some form of
Liberal or Neo-Orthodox theology. As a result, many Christians withdrew from
these compromised churches and formed new bodies dedicated to being faithful to
the Bible. FPCR is a member of Hanover
Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church (http://www.rpchanover.org/).
The Reformed Faith is a comprehensive and consistent Biblical worldview
tying all of the Holy Scriptures together: proclaiming the crown rights
of King Jesus over every area of life. As a Reformed Church, we seek to build
godly, self-governed men who exercise self-sacrificial, loving headship in
their homes. We encourage wives to respect their husbands while rejoicing in
their role as wife and mother. We emphasize fathers training their covenant
children to grow into disciplined, Christian men and women dedicated to the
glory of God. We are committed to extending Christ’s reign in our lives,
families, work, and broader culture until “the knowledge of the glory of the
Lord covers the earth as the waters cover the sea…”
What Kind of Church is FPCR?
People join a church for a variety of reasons; some good, some not so good.
People leave a church for a variety of reasons; some good, some not so good. No
church can meet every Christian’s expectations, demands and desires; and while
a strong argument can be made that people today take church membership all too
lightly, the reality is that American Christians have a plethora of choices.
Ultimately, every person has to make a solemn decision before God about
where they will worship and serve Him. If a person is born again of God, then
his heart has been changed and he will want to belong to a local congregation
because he is a part of the body of Christ (1 Cor
12:1ff). Without connecting with a local body of believers, we can never find
the peace, joy and purpose He promises. Yet, with so many churches competing
for his membership, the average Christian can find it difficult to identify a
church where he “fits.” Sometimes, even sincere Christians can
unconsciously develop a consumer mentality where they “shop” for a church much
like they might for a new car; they are looking for the right combination of
features, price and service.
At FPCR, we believe it is our task to follow the vision God has laid on our
hearts, explain that vision to others, and that in His grace, God will bring
those He wants to be a part of it. In the providence of God, not every
Christian will share that vision. And since ultimately, each of us will stand
accountable to God for how we lived our lives, we must be gentle, and kind
toward those who have a different view from ours. Our task is to be faithful to
what we sincerely believe to be the will of God and give others the same grace.
It is our most fundamental belief at FPCR that God saves sinners through
the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, and that those who confess Jesus as Lord (and
their children) are part of His visible church. We see the church as the
community of those who have made that profession of Lordship, gathered together
by the providence and grace of God, covenanted together to worship Him and be
equipped for His service (Eph 4:11ff). We believe that the Lord Jesus has
gifted and appointed certain men as “under-shepherds” to protect, nurture and
govern His flock so that they can grow in love, wisdom and obedience.
Our task as a church therefore is to glorify God by helping each other
realize that Lordship in every area of life. We begin with encouraging
Christians to exercise godly dominion in the home by men anchoring their
households in secret and family worship as the means of staying close to King
Jesus. We believe that our health and power as a church flows from the personal
relationship that God establishes with each of us as godly men lead their own
families. The better we individually know Him, love Him, and learn how to bring
our lives into submission to His will, the sweeter our corporate fellowship,
the clearer our vision and the more potent our ministry in the world will be.
We believe that formal, public worship is the religious duty that every man
owes to God, giving Him the praise, glory and honor that is His due as Creator
and King. Jesus said that this worship must be in “spirit and truth.” Our God
is the true God and only the pursuit of truth honors Him. We strive to
understand His inerrant, infallible Word as the source of truth, “counseling
and teaching every man that we might present every man perfect in Christ…”
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At the same time, this pursuit of truth must be accompanied with grace,
kindness and waiting on the Holy Spirit to convict men of their sins (2 Tim
2:22ff). If even the Apostle Peter, after three years of intensive discipleship
at the feet of the Lord Jesus could state that the Apostle Paul’s writings were
sometimes “difficult to understand” (2 Pet 3:16) how much more ought we to be
kind and patient with one another, as we struggle to understand and apply all
the wondrous things God has revealed in His Word? The Apostle Paul warned us
about equating “knowledge” with sanctification (1 Cor
8:1ff); such an emphasis leads to arrogance, not love. Thus, as the Lord Jesus
works within His people, many will come to us who do not yet share our
understanding of His truth; we believe that we will win them, not just with
reason and good argumentation, but by demonstrations of Christ-like love,
compassion and service (Mark 10:45).
We believe that the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms,
developed by some of the godliest and wisest men in church history are
reliable, faithful and accurate summaries of the truths God wants us to know,
believe and practice. Yet, even the Westminster Assembly represented a spectrum
of views on certain issues. Therefore, we are committed to the doctrines of the
Confession and Catechisms, but not always to the interpretations and theologies
that other men have developed from them.
Membership Requirements:
A person wishing to
join us at FPCR does not have to understand or even accept all the Westminster
Standards (though officers such as deacons and elders must be committed to
them); however, he must agree to be taught them. Yet, our emphasis as a church
is never on complex, arcane and esoteric aspects of theology (especially the
further that such theology is based on nuances of nuances of Scripture) but
rather on basic Trinitarian Christianity, the gospel of faith alone in the
atoning work of Christ alone and submission to His Lordship (Rom 10:9-10) as
specified in the Moral Law (Ten Commandments).
We firmly believe that the Moral Law is the summary of how to love God and
one another and so fulfill our religious duty to Him. We believe that all the
commandments of God found in Scripture relate, in one way or the other, to the
Moral Law. Hence, we highly value the study of the Ten Commandments and its
implications so that we may bring every thought, word and deed captive to
Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5, Matt 28:19-20).
We believe that this emphasis on the Moral Law protects us from man-made
legalisms; where God has spoken, we must be firm. Where God has granted
liberty, we must not legislate. We believe that God alone is the judge of
conscience and that in His divine providence, He has allowed men the liberty to
make decisions that no human court, secular or religious, can judge. When
Christians with different convictions come together, they need to be charitable
towards one another, be kind and gracious and learn how to put one another’s
interests before their own (Phil 2:1ff). We believe that only the Holy Spirit
can convict a man of sin and change his ways (2 Tim 2:23ff); and that the
normal means of Him doing so is through the faithful teaching of His Word,
daily secret and family worship and the love, care and encouragement of His
people committed to living that Word out in their own lives.
Thus, the true “marks” of the church are not just in preaching the truth,
administering the sacraments or practicing discipline, but in building a
sincere, covenant community where people genuinely love one another, are kind
to one another, who forgive each other while bearing with one another, letting
“love cover a multitude of transgressions.” Sadly, there are those who call
themselves “Christian” who appear more concerned about power, than love.
Whispering, slandering, back-biting, tale-bearing, etc., are ways they seek to
control or even to destroy others while advancing their own agenda. These are
all violations of the Moral Law, and are the kinds of sins that must be
corrected, rebuked and if necessary, disciplined.
Authority and Government
As a Presbyterian
Church, we believe that God entrusts some of His authority to the church
elders. We are governed by a Session (or an Evangelist until Ruling Elders can
be identified and called), whose job is to “equip the saints for their work of
service” (Eph 4:11). The elders are governed by the doctrinal standards of the
church and the Form of Government. The “Teaching Elder” or Pastor or
Evangelist, has the primary task to declare the Word of God; the Ruling Elders
are to shepherd the people, counseling and helping them bring their lives into
submission to King Jesus. We believe that God calls a man to be an elder and
that the congregation (represented by male, heads of households) recognizes
this call in the character and gifts of a man, and elects him to govern in the
church and minister to the saints. However, the “Session” and “Presbytery”
(council of elders) does not micromanage individual Christian lives; instead it
examines and ordains the elders and helps resolve problems.
We believe that formal ecclesiastical discipline ought to be a rare thing,
reserved for flagrant, unrepentant violations of the Moral Law. Those who want
to find a judicial solution for every controversy or conflict will not find
FPCR an accommodating church. The elders have legitimate authority to govern
the church and members take solemn vows to seek its peace and purity and to
live in submission to its government. When a conflict arises (and until we are
all perfected, they will arise), our Presbytery assumes and requires that we
resolve it locally. Clear violations of the Moral Law are one thing; however,
ripping a church apart with schism and controversy because some people cannot
get their own way is something different.
Hence, at FPCR we make it just as easy to leave, as it is to join. We
warmly welcome those who share our vision; but if for any reason, a person
loses confidence in the leadership, then he has the right of departure. Our
hope and prayer is that someone would never leave because of unresolved
conflict or personal animosity; but the reality is that if God alone is the
Lord of conscience, we must allow people to believe what they are convinced
that God wants them to believe; and do what God wants them to do. We have the
right and the responsibility to debate, discuss and challenge one another; “iron
sharpens iron.” However, we do not need to quarrel or fight with one another.
This means of course, that the emphasis at FPCR is moved from an “imperial”
Session or Presbytery to individual responsibility and accountability. We
believe that the primary ministry of the church is declarative, not
domineering; in other words, we think our job is to declare the Word of God-it
is the member’s responsibility to apply it without the elders acting like
ecclesiastical tyrants threatening him with discipline if he does not apply it
the way we think it should be done! Our view of how a church should operate is maximum
liberty under God’s Law, therefore, inhibiting busy-bodies, troublesome
meddlers and those who want to run other people’s lives.
Family Friendly:
One application of
the above principle is that we as a church strongly emphasize the solemn duty
of heads of households to conduct regular “secret” and “family” worship. We
believe that the family is where God does His most powerful work in our lives
and that raising godly children is probably the most important ministry we can
have.
As a church, we are committed to providing our children with a thorough
Christian education and strongly encourage our families not to entrust their
children to public schools. We strongly support home-schooling and love helping
families discover how they can teach their children at home. We can and will
advise and counsel, but we cannot and will not compel. How one’s children are
educated is between him and God and no one else is competent to judge his
decision.
Finally, we have no youth groups, no Sunday school classes, nursery or
“Children’s Church.” Even our littlest ones worship with us on Sunday morning
because our “Dads” take their domestic duties seriously and are seeking to
raise, godly, self-governing children.
Conclusion:
Our vision for FPCR
is to create a community where imperfect people can worship the living God
together in peace and unity, growing in wisdom and obedience while graciously
and kindly helping and encouraging one another to love God and each other. It
took many of us years to understand the Reformed Faith (and we are still
learning); therefore we want to give others the same grace that the Holy Spirit
gave us. If a brother makes a good confession of faith in Christ (i.e.,
declares that Jesus is Lord and is not living in violation of the moral law),
and agrees to live under our system of government, we want him to feel welcomed
and loved, even if he does not yet understand all of our doctrine. And if as
time goes on, he comes to a point where either that doctrine or government is
no longer a blessing to him, then he may depart and seek the Lord in some other
fellowship; and he may depart with our warmest wishes and deepest affection even
if we disagree with his reasons for leaving.
We want to build a congregation where people can learn and grow together,
without being condemned or told they are not a “Christian” if they do not yet
have all their theological jots and tittles worked out perfectly. We want a
church where people help one another to know and love God, and know and love
one another. Since we are imperfect, we will fail one another, disappoint one
another, and yes, even sin against one another; but because God has forgiven us
in Christ, we want a church where forgiveness is freely granted so that we can
be truly reconciled with one another.
At FPCR, we believe that God has promised His people earthly victory, in
time and space, over His enemies. Therefore we work and minister, not just for
ourselves, but to extend that Kingdom according to our various callings, so
that future generations will see the blessings of the gospel. One implication
of that confidence is that we believe we have a responsibility to win the tens
of millions of broad evangelicals in our country to the richer, deeper walk
with Christ found in the Reformed faith as well as winning those outside the
kingdom to Christ. Yet, we believe that this is best done when the truth of
Reformed theology is adorned with kind, gracious and loving people who seek to
serve others, not lord it over them.
And if God grants us grace wherein we can build this kind of loving
community, never backing down from the truth, but preaching it and practicing
it with kindness and grace, we believe He will find us faithful servants and be
used by Him to extend His Kingdom for his glory, in our community.
God’s Kingdom is His righteous reign over every area of life. At FPCR, we
believe that our task as Christians is to work toward building His Kingdom, not
just a particular church. Since the reign of Christ begins with the individual
Christian who seeks to bring his own life into submission to King Jesus; we do
not focus on creating “programs” but on personal relationships through
discipleship.
Thus, we see the primary work of the church to “equip the saints” for
“their work of service” (Eph 4:11ff). We build the Kingdom by teaching and
encouraging Christians to love God and one another; thus our ministry is to
teach you how to do your ministry. Therefore, the emphasis is on self-governing
men, working at their callings and then, as God provides grace, gifts and
opportunities, extending the Kingdom through their own lives and ministries. We
encourage people to open their homes and their lives to others, as they let the
Word of Christ richly dwell within them so that they can teach and counsel one
another (Col 3:16).
Yet, God has also allowed us to have a broader ministry than just to our
own little congregation. As a church, we have been blessed to be able to
contribute to broader Kingdom building projects that serve the whole body of
Christ. Some of these ministries include;
Mission Work in Asia: we are strong supporters of Mission To Myanmar in