A series of articles exploring “The Distinctives” of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster to coincide with our 75th Anniversary. The purpose of these articles is to identify our key beliefs and practices, our identity as a Church and the behaviours to which we must be held to account as Christians.
In this second article on the distinctives of the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, Peter McIntyre sets forth a concise summary of Reformed theology. It highlights the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith as articulated in the Westminster Confession of Faith, establishes a distinctly Christian worldview, and concludes with a clear presentation of the doctrines of the grace of God.
For the first article on the series outlining why distinctives are so necessary:
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”(Romans 11:33-36)
Theological Purity
The Church of Christ must guard herself against the encroachments of false doctrine. Once this fountain is corrupted, the message from the pulpit becomes uncertain, and the gospel itself is compromised. Doctrinal purity, therefore, is the foundation—the solid ground upon which the Church must stand.
The Queen of Sciences
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of theology in the life of the Church. Theology, properly understood, is the queen of all the sciences. Where anthropology examines man, where cosmology studies the stars, where biology is the science of life – theology is the study of God. Another word for theology is doctrine. Ultimately theology and doctrine are all about what we believe. Every Church has statements of faith which define and underpin the teachings of that particular fellowship. It is vital, within our denomination, that every Christian is familiar with these statements of faith and why we believe as we do. It is this emphasis upon doctrine which motivates us to teach our Sabbath School pupils the Westminster Shorter Catechism, a most excellent summary of truth. Churches go astray when they depart from biblical doctrine, and as a result they become impure. Purity of doctrine is the first and fundamental building block of a biblical church.
A Christian Worldview
Living as we do, in a society dominated by secular humanism and its denial of God, a sound understanding of biblical theology has never been more vital. Theology understands this world as God’s creation with all things being subject to His power and influence. Such an understanding recognises that humanity is responsible and accountable to Him and that we are being directed towards the day of judgement. God, however, has given His depraved and wicked creatures hope through the merits of His Son, who died and rose again for our redemption. Such an understanding of God, of humanity and of the world is our only hope for the future and must form the core presentation of the Church.
Such a worldview also informs our lifestyle and our response to the moral innovations of this generation. If God has given us His Word and if He is our Creator then we have the wisdom necessary when confronting the sexual degeneracy and confusion which dominates the moral landscape. Departure from God’s truth generates an environment which is akin to shifting sand because man can never quite make up his mind as post modernism with its astonishing claims that there is no absolute truth. Without truth there is no stability. The Bible Christian, however, will remain constant, fixed to the permanent truth of a holy God. This is the real benefit of a biblical theological and philosophical framework.
Reformed Doctrine
The Free Presbyterian Church is a Reformed Church. This term is historic. The Reformation leaders were known as Reformers because they reformed the errors that had crept into the Church under the Papacy. The term Reformed is also doctrinal. The Reformation Churches were divided between those who followed the teachings of Luther and those who became associated with Calvin’s teachings in Geneva. Calvin’s theology became known as Reformed and those who followed his teaching are known as the Reformed Churches. These Churches are also called Calvinistic by some. Calvin helped to recover and systematise biblical truth. Therefore, it is unfair to the man and his beliefs to associate them with him alone. The Reformed Faith is a system of Bible Doctrine. Doctrine is vital because it is the foundation of the church. Paul taught that scripture is profitable first of all for “doctrine”.[1] The clearest statement of the Reformed Faith in the English Language is the Westminster Confession, which we call a subordinate standard (in conjunction with our Articles of Faith) in that it is subordinate to Scripture. The Westminster Confession of Faith, we consider to be a concise statement of the doctrinal position of our church. Presbyterian Churches generally adopt the Westminster Confession. The confessions of the Baptist and Congregational Churches are also reformed. They are largely based upon the work of the Westminster Confession, with a few alterations in the areas of Church Government and Baptism. Therefore, in considering the Reformed Faith we are beginning with the true foundation of a Protestant Church.
The Sovereignty of God
At the heart of this Reformed theology is the doctrine of God Himself.
Biblical revelation reveals a Sovereign God who is absolutely in control of all events throughout the world and the universe. “God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions”.[2]
God’s Attributes
These are His essential characteristics, aptly summarised in Westminster Shorter Catechism:
“God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.”.[3]
God’s Trinity
While there is only one God He subsists in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Ghost.[4] Therefore, Christ is both the Son of God and God the Son and the Holy Spirit is a person as opposed to being a mere benevolent influence.[5] [6] The Arian perspective which denies Christ’s Deity (the Jehovah Witnesses and the Unitarians are Arian) is a denial of the Trinity. The teachings of Irish Presbyterian, Professor Davey, were also an attack on this truth. Davey denied, among other doctrines, the virgin birth of our Lord and His essential deity as the Son of God. He blasphemously recorded his views, “There is no omnipotent, omniscient and independent Christ in John”. It was a tragic reflection of the sharp decline in spirituality and theological awareness, and ultimately of faith itself that Davey was acquitted of a heresy charge by the General Assembly in 1927, 707 votes to 83.[7]
God’s Purpose
The triune God has a purpose for our lives and for the universe that will not be thwarted. Indeed, He is working out all events at all times with a view to accomplishing his plans.[8]
The Sufficiency of Scripture
Inspiration by the Spirit
The Bible is not the work of men but is the word that God himself has breathed.[9] Therefore the Scriptures in their original languages are without error because they are a divine product; “The authority of the holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, dependeth not upon the testimony of any man or church, but wholly upon God (who is truth itself), the Author thereof; and therefore it is to be received, because it is the Word of God”.[10]
Revelation for Man
The Scriptures were inspired by God for our benefit. “The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man” (answer 3, Shorter Catechism). Romanism challenges the authority of Scripture by elevating tradition to a place of equality. Pentecostalism and the Charismatic Movement, likewise, challenges Biblical sufficiency by claiming revelations apart from Scriptures. Both are to be rejected as they undermine the Bible as a complete revelation.
Preservation by God
The God who inspired His Word for our benefit has also miraculously preserved the Scriptures in their original languages. This is a key argument for maintaining the Authorised Version, which is based on ancient manuscripts used by the early church and therefore preserved for her benefit. The alternative is the manuscripts used by the majority of modern versions which were unused, therefore discarded and not preserved for the church. We will return to this subject in the next article which will address our use of the Authorised Version.
The Doctrines of Grace
At the heart of Reformed Theology is the grace of God. This basically claims the salvation of souls as a work that God accomplishes for man and in man without any assistance by man. “Salvation is of the Lord”.[11] As a consequence of the teachings James Arminius (Dutch Reformed Professor) in the 17th Century some Protestant Churches, including the Wesleyan Movement of the 18th Century, departed from the Reformed view of God’s Grace. Arminians today deny the absolute sovereignty of God, they claim that man has the ability to choose salvation as he is not completely depraved, and that a believer may either become perfect in this life or he may fall from grace. While Arminians clearly present the Gospel their doctrinal emphasis upon Free Will detracts from the absolute sovereignty and grace of God in the matter of salvation.
What are the Doctrines of Grace?
Depravity – The Need
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Man is so completely depraved, in his spiritual deadness and corrupt inclinations, that there is nothing he can do to save his soul.
Election – The Choice
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Ephesians 1:4)
God out of His own free and sovereign love chose a particular people unto eternal life before the foundation of the world. Salvation, therefore, has its conception in the choice of God. Man, therefore in his depravity cannot choose Christ. Election is also known as the Eternal Covenant of Grace, where God gave His people to His Son upon condition that His Son accomplish their redemption.
Redemption – The Purchase
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” (Ephesians 1:7)
In accomplishing His choice God sent His Son to take the punishment, that the sins of His people deserve, to shed His blood and in so doing redeem sinners. Therefore, the terms of the Covenant of Grace were met and all those for whom Christ died will be saved. His death is victorious accomplishing all that was intended.
Regeneration – The Transformation
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:6-8)
The Father and the Son send forth the Holy Spirit to grant new life to the elect people. They are enabled to choose Christ only after the Holy Ghost makes them a new creation and they are born again. This conversion occurs when sinners respond to the free offer of the Gospel. God uses the preaching of the Gospel to bring His people to repentance. Therefore, the Church must proclaim the Gospel freely to all men, giving all men opportunity, knowing that God uses this means to bring men and women to faith and repentance.
Justification – The Declaration
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:24-26)
Justification is legal act, whereby God declares the sinner to be righteous and without sin, their sins not being imputed to them. While regeneration changes a person morally, it does not deal with the guilt of the sinners at the bar of God’s justice. Only justification absolves the sinner of all guilt and gives him or her a standing within the family of God.
Adoption – The Acceptance
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15)
Adoption, likewise, is a legal act, whereby the Christian is entitled to all the privileges and covenant promises that pertain to God’s children.
Sanctification – The Continuation
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
The work of the Spirit commenced with regeneration, continues through sanctification as the Christian grows in progressive holiness, being enabled to die unto sin and live unto righteousness. Sanctification is not completed in this life but is an ongoing continuous work, developing until we die and reach glory.
Perseverance – The Security
“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,” (Jude v24)
The people of God are kept by the power of God; therefore, they are enabled to persevere to the end. While the Christian may and does backslide, the Holy Spirit reawakens the conscience, creating a deep dissatisfaction with the world. No true believer can remain in a state of wilful disobedience without guilt and misery and eventual restoration. Therefore, the elect of God will persevere through life to inherit the kingdom of heaven.
[1] 2nd Timothy 3:16
[2] Shorter Catechism, Question 11, Westminster Standards
[3] Shorter Catechism, Question 4, Westminster Standards
[4] Isaiah 42:8
[5] John 1:1-3
[6]Matthew 28:19
[7] Free Presbyterianism Why? S.B. Cooke, Mourne Free Presbyterian Church.
[8] Romans 11:36, 8:28
[9]2nd Timothy 3:16
[10] Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 1 Section 4
[11] Jonah 2:9
Clogher Valley Free Presbyterian Church 
Leave a comment