Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church

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Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church
Classification Evangelical Protestant
Orientation Orthodox
Theology Reformed
Polity Presbyterian
Associations International Council of Christian Churches, American Council of Christian Churches
Region United States
Origin2008
Congregations9 (2015) [1]

The Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church (FPBPC) is a Reformed Christian denomination formed in 2008 by conservative Presbyterian clergy and churches who disassociated from the Bible Presbyterian Synod. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Contents

Faith Presbytery continues in the same spirit and stand taken by the Bible Presbyterian Church since its founding. FPBPC separated from the BPC because of the latter's decision to enter a relationship with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which had recently decided to accept theology that was seen as being against sola fide .

History

The Bible Presbyterian Church (BPC) emerged in 1937, formed by a group of churches that separated from the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Many of the Bible Presbyterians were Premillennialists, a view barely tolerated by many in the OPC. The OPC was predominantly Amillennial. Also, Bible Presbyterians believed it was important to warn their young people against the use of alcohol, drugs and various worldly practices. Some in the OPC believed this was the sin of “adding to Scripture.” Years later, some of these same OPC men even opposed condemnation of abortion, saying that such amounted to adding to Scripture. [2] [6] [4]

In the 2000s, the BPC Synod narrowly voted to establish relations with the OPC, at a time when the OPC was tolerating ministers whose teaching was seen, even by some of the fathers of the OPC, as adding works to the all-important doctrine of justification by faith alone. [7] [8]

This was unacceptable to a sizable minority of members of the BPC. On March 28, 2008, the South Atlantic Presbytery of the BPC voted to amicably disassociate from the BPC Synod, by a vote of 72%, and adopted the name "Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church" [3] [9] [4]

Doctrine and Government

Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church, believes the Bible to be inspired by God, infallible and inerrant, and that it is our "only infallible rule of faith and practice." In addition it subscribes to the Westminster Confession of Faith, Westminster Larger Catechism and Westminster Shorter Catechism as its secondary standards. It is governed by the Form of Government and Book of Discipline of the Bible Presbyterian Church.

Interecclesiastical Relations

The denomination is a member of the International Council of Christian Churches and the American Council of Christian Churches. [10]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Report on Presbyterian Denominations in the United States". Tateville. February 15, 2014. Archived from the original on November 11, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  2. 1 2 Horn, Thomas; Putnam, Cris (2012). Petrus Romanus (PDF). Mibckerala. p. 198. ISBN   978-0-98482561-5. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-06-06. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  3. 1 2 "The South Atlantic Presbytery of the BPCGS left by a vote of 72%". The Trinity foundation. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 "History of Faith Presbytery". The church in America. Vol. 4. The early Twentieth century. Tulsa Christian fellowship. p. 96. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  5. Anderson, Robert W. (2014). "Fire in the Haymow: Justification by Faith Alone : the Justification Controversy in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church" . Retrieved 2022-06-08.
  6. "History of the Bible Presbyterian Church". História da Igreja. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  7. "2020 Orthodox Presbyterian Church General Assembly Report" (PDF). OPC GA minutes. December 31, 2019. p. 284. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  8. "South Atlantic Presbyterian Church separate of BPC". GA junkie. August 21, 2008. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  9. "History of the Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church" (PDF). June 17, 2009. p. 1. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  10. "The Faith Presbytery of the Bible Presbyterian Church unanimously voted to join the CIIC and CAIC" (PDF). RTT publications. Retrieved June 1, 2021.

Redeeming the Time magazine is edited by those in Faith Presbytery, Bible Presbyterian Church: www.rttpublications.org