What Are Presbyterians?
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The Alliance links 75 million Christians in 218 different denominations in 107 countries. The churches in this Alliance follow both Presbyterian and congregational forms of government. Membership in the Alliance is open to:
"Any church which accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, holds the word of God given in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the supreme authority in matters of faith and life; acknowledges the need for the continuing reformation of the church catholic; whose position in faith and evangelism is in general agreement with that of the historic Reformed confessions, recognizing that the Reformed tradition is a biblical, evangelical and doctrinal ethos, rather than any narrow and exclusive definition of faith and order . . . ."
Article II of the Constitution of the WARC
What Is Different about Presbyterians?
Although the title of this section may sound like the beginning of a bad joke, it is a very common question. Although, we prefer to spend our time concentrating on what we have in common with other Christians, it is occasionally useful to stop and remember what it is that we bring as a denomination to the larger Church's understanding of God and of the ministry congregations can have.
There are two areas which distinguish Presbyterians from other denominations.
- We follow the system of beliefs that is known as Reformed theology which is usually associated with John Calvin. This theological system is known for
- its belief in the centrality of Scripture,
- its belief in salvation completely through God's grace and not by human effort, and
- its belief in the depravity of human nature that makes all human actions suspect of unworthy motives and hidden agendas.
- We follow a system of church government that encourages the participation of clergy and lay members in representative bodies. It is central to our theology that the more authority and responsibility is shared and balanced, the less chance there is for any one person or group to abuse power. This form of government is a direct response to our belief in the depravity of human nature.
What Presbyterians Believe
First and foremost, Presbyterians hold the Bible in a unique and authoritative place above all other writings. We interpret the Bible using the theological lenses of historic creeds. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) recognizes the following creeds. You may notice that they fall into three categories.
- Those in the early church that helped define Christianity,
- Those in the Reformation period (early 1500s to mid 1600s) which define what we now call Reformed Theology, and
- Those more recent statements that are helping us understand what the church means in our world today.
We believe that God continues to teach us truths that may not have been understood or accepted by earlier generations. We believe these creeds are important landmarks of what certain people of faith believed at one particular period in history.
Teaches how Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit relate to God |
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Teaches the doctrine of the trinity |
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Teaches how we are saved and why we have a church |
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Teaches what we believe about the Lord's Table |
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Teaches what we believe about baptism and the covenant |
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Teaches the sovereignty of God and the authority of Scripture |
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Teaches the lordship of Jesus Christ and the limits of external authority |
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Teaches the need for reconciliation and inclusion in the church |
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Teaches a summary of faith |