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The Presbyterian Church to See If Its Doctrines and Teachings Are in Accord with the New Testament

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The Presbyterian Church to See If Its Doctrines and Teachings Are in Accord with the New Testament THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUS ANSWERING DENOMINATIONAL DOCTRINES “Presbyterian Church” Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing: THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Ben Bailey. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17). Welcome to our study of answering denomina- tional doctrines. In this series of lessons we have been examining the doctrines of various religious groups under the scrutiny of Scripture. Does the design of these doctrines add up to the design that we see in the church in the New Testament? Are the doctrines of those denominations in accord with the doctrine of Christ as found in the New Testament? And should we be a part of any of these religious groups? Today we will be examining the Presbyterian Church to see if its doctrines and teachings are in accord with the New Testament. We must remember that we need God’s authority for everything we say and do in life. As Paul said in Colossians 3:17, whatever we do “in word or in deed” must be done by the authority of Jesus Christ. Today we are searching for Bible authority—book, chapter, and verse—for everything we do. Let’s begin by asking, “When did the Presbyterian movement begin?” History tells us that it began somewhere between the time period of 1535 and 1560. There is nothing inherently wrong with those years in and of themselves, except that they do not represent the time period, according to the New Testament, when the Lord’s church was to be established. When did God say that His Son’s church would start? According to Isaiah 2 and Daniel 2, God said that He would establish a new kingdom from Jerusalem in the time period of the Roman emperors. According to Mark 9:1 and Matthew 16:18, that occurred in the first century. The Presby- terian religion cannot be the church about we read in the Bible because it began far too late. If we want to be a part of the Lord’s church, we need to go back to the original move- ment that, according to the Book of Acts, was started by Jesus Christ Himself. Then we can be sure that we will be a part of the church for which Jesus died—which is the Lord’s body. We next need to ask, “Where did the Presbyterian Church start?” History tells us that it be- gan in Germany under the thinking of John Calvin, and later was moved to Switzerland where it became the state religion under John Knox. Germany and Switzerland, in and of themselves, carry no bad connotations. But in the Scripture they are not given as the start- ing points of the Lord’s church. In Acts 2:5 we see devout men gathered in Jerusalem, and in Acts 2:47 we are told that, for the very first time, the Lord “added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Isaiah 2:3-4 prophesied that the house of God (the temple of the Lord) would be established in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the place where the church began—not Germany or Switzerland. The Presbyterian Church did not begin in the right time period. Nor did it start in the right place. It began thousands of miles from the place where the church described in the New Testament began. Where is the official headquarters of the Presbyterian Church? One segment (the Presby- terian Church USA) is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, while another segment (the Presbyterian Church of America) is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The church’s head- quarters were originally in Westminster in London, England. As we can see from history, -2- the church has had multiple headquarters. But we need to ask, “According to the Bible, where is the headquarters of the church about which you read in Acts?” The headquarters of the church is found in Heaven itself. According to Hebrews 1:3-5, Jesus, the Head of the church, is seated at the right hand of God. Thus, the headquarters of the church is in Heaven. We need no earthly headquarters because there is no authority for it, and be- cause God’s Word has already settled the matter (which means that there is no need for us to institute an earthly headquarters so that we can make it appear as if we are in con- trol). Jesus is the Head of the church, and the church’s headquarters are in Heaven. John Calvin, in 1533, founded the Presbyterian movement. It then was popularized by John Knox in 1560. Who founded the church of which we read in the New Testament? Do we find John Calvin or John Knox mentioned as we turn through the pages of the Bible? No, we do not. But we do find the following statement from Jesus Christ: “I will build My church” (Mt. 16:18). Jesus is the Founder. The Bible says, “No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11). The Presbyterian Church does not meet the criteria set forth in the New Testament for the origin and design of the New Tes- tament church since it has the wrong founder(s). If Jesus did not start the church, then He will not be coming back to receive it, and you do not want to be a part of it (1 Cor. 15:24). Another important question we need to ask is, “What is the authority for the Presbyterian Church?” As with most denominations, an appeal is made to the Scriptures as the church’s authority. However, in order to be a faithful Presbyterian, a person also must acknowledge the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism as authoritative. This means that Pres- byterians will say that they believe in the Bible, and will accept the Bible as their authority. But a person cannot be considered as a faithful Presbyterian until he or she is willing to sub- mit to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism. That is the book by which Pres- byterians go, and they turn to it as much as they do the Bible for doctrine and things of that nature. We need to realize, however, that there is no such in the Lord’s church as having “the Bible plus….” Rather, we must have the Bible alone. Jude 3 says that we are to “con- tend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered.” The Bible is the final Word of God, and we must not go beyond what is written in it (1 Cor. 4:6). How did the Presbyterian Church get started? It had its roots in a revolt against Catholi- cism. Martin Luther, a German priest and professor, started what is known as the Protes- tant Reformation when he posted a list of 95 grievances against the Catholic Church on the door of the church building in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517. Some twenty years later, John Calvin, a French theologian, further refined the reformers’ way of thinking about the nature of God and God’s relationship with humanity in what came to be known as Reformed the- ology. John Knox, a Scotsman who studied with Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland, took Cal- vin’s teachings back to Scotland. Then, other Reformed communities developed in England, Holland and France. Thus, the Presbyterian Church traces its ancestry back primarily to Scotland and England where people were revolting against Catholicism. While Catholicism’s doctrine is indeed depraved and not according to the New Testament, we must realize that Presbyterianism did not leave enough of it behind. We will see today why the Presbyter- ians’ doctrines will not hold up to scrutiny under the light of New Testament teaching. Is what Presbyterians teach found in the Bible? Or, do Presbyterians also teach and demand that traditions of men be followed? As we examine the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church, we will find ourselves examin- ing the fundamental teachings of John Calvin, which is often defined via an acrostic known as “TULIP.” -3- Total Depravity Unconditional Election Limited Atonement Irresistible Grace Perseverance of the Saints Let’s begin with total depravity. As Calvin went to the Scriptures, he developed the idea that people are totally depraved, meaning that people in their natural, unregenerated state do not have the ability to turn to God. Rather, it is the grace and will of God, working through the Holy Spirit, that causes men who are dead in sin to be reborn through the Word of God. That language may be confusing to you, but basically it is saying that from the moment of a person’s birth, he or she is depraved. When you come into this world, you do so dead in sin. And unless something is done for you as a baby, you will die and go to Hell. Presby- terians often do not care to admit such, but that is the logical conclusion of Calvin’s teach- ing. Do the Scriptures teach that when a person is born, he or she is totally depraved and “born a sinner”? Not at all. The Bible actually refutes such a doctrine in multiples places. Ezekiel 18:4 says, “The soul who sins will die.” Babies have not sinned. So why would they die spiritually? Babies are not amenable to Ezekiel 18:4. Another passage that teaches that Calvin’s concept of total depravity is not true is found in Ezekiel 18.
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