PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH
Brief History of Bible Presbyterian Church
Article from Christian Beacon of August 31, 1939
At The Beginning
On the evening of June 4, 1937, a small but prayerful group of men met in one of the assembly rooms of the St. James Hotel in Philadelphia. After earnest conference together those present formed themselves into "The Bible Presbyterian Synod."At this meeting there was drawn up a document entitled "Articles of Association" which were signed by those present and, within a short time, by a few others. The original document contains the signatures of seventeen ministers and three elders. The "Articles of Association" are as follows:
Articles of Association
"For the sake of fellowship in the principles for which we stand, and as a testimony to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and because of the official apostasy of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., and because of the departure of the Presbyterian Church of America from the historic position of American Presbyterianism, we, a group of ministers and ruling elders do associate ourselves together in the Bible Presbyterian Synod."We believe the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. We reaffirm our faith in the system of doctrine set forth in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms in the form in which they stood in the constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in May, 1936. We propose to amend those standards in any particular in which the premillennial teaching of the Scriptures may be held to be obscured. We affirm our belief in the fundamental principles of Presbyterian Church polity.
"We appoint as a convening committee for the next meeting of the Bible Presbyterian Synod the ministers in the Philadelphia area who are signers of this document, and this committee shall have power to represent and act for us, ad intirim, in ecclesiastical matters, such as the receiving and organizing of Presbyteries connected with the Synod, the receiving and disbursing of funds, and other related matters, with the provision that their acts in this capacity shall be subject to review at our next Synod.
"We heartily reaffirm our faith in and support of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, and join in the vigorous testimony of that Board against modernism and unbelief of all kinds.
"We are persuaded that the great battle in the world today is the faith of our fathers versus modernism, compromise, indifferentism, and worldliness. With all our hearts we throw our strength into the great task of winning lost souls to Jesus Christ by the Gospel of the Grace of God."
Separation
Those ministers who framed these articles had been ministers of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. who had withdrawn from that body, and elders who were in a like position. They had also been members of the body then known as "The Presbyterian Church of America," now called "The Orthodox Presbyterian Church." They had withdrawn from the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., because of its official apostasy and the recognition of their duty not to remain in fellowship with a Church dominated by unbelief. They had entertained the then Presbyterian Church of America in the hope that it would carry on the true spiritual succession of American Presbyterianism.This latter hope, those who formed the Bible Presbyterian Church felt, had been frustrated by tendencies within the then Presbyterian Church of America which formed more or less clear expression, both in official and unofficial ways, at the Third General Assembly of that body held from June 1st to 4th, 1937. Without impugning the sincerity of those who dominated the then Presbyterian Church of America, in was felt by many that, due to a peculiar combination of circumstances, there was no possibility that that body would ever become a widespread or effective witness to the great spiritual succession of American Presbyterianism. It seemed to them that the body was dominated by a small clique who were determined to control it totally. This group represented, doubtless in all sincerity, a point of view concerning the return of our Lord and concerning the use of intoxicating liquors which it was felt by many was both contrary to the Word of God and calculated to prevent that Church from ever awaking a wide response in the hearts of American Christians. So, for the sake not only of the principles at stake, but also with a view to the need for the establishment of a great nation-wide witness to the Word of God, there were many who believed that the then "Presbyterian Church of America" as it had existed up until that time represented a "false start." In order to accomplish the result originally intended, to which they had been bound by most solemn promises and by their loyalty to the truth of God, they felt required to unite themselves in a testimony which would be scriptural and which further would not offend the consciences of American Christians by viewing with approval practices which the Holy Spirit had led American Churches in the past emphatically to reject. The men who had worked together until that time in the then Presbyterian Church of America parted from their brethren who felt differently, not in anger, but in the profound conviction that they could not remain in that fellowship and expect the full blessing of God upon their labors.
The Founders
The founders of the Bible Presbyterian Synod blew no trumpets and beat no drums. They desired only God's providential leading and to lay the foundations for His work in the future with a prayerful dependence upon His grace. Without much to go on in the way of material resources, quiet ground-work was laid between June, 1937, and September, 1938, when the Bible Presbyterian Synod met in the Bible Presbyterian Church of Collingswood, New Jersey. There, after a thorough consideration and much prayer, the Synod adopted a Confession of Faith, a larger and Shorter Catechism, a Form of Government, and, provisionally, a Book of Discipline. Concurrently the Synod resolved itself into "The First General Synod of the Bible Presbyterian Church. It erected Presbyteries and took other steps for the promotion of the cause of the Gospel as God should send the means.
The Christian Beacon
Readers of the Christian Beacon are already undoubtedly familiar with the fact that the First General Synod kept the promise indicated in the "Articles of Association" to amend the Confession of Faith and the Catechisms wherever the Scriptural truth of the premillenial return of the Lord Jesus Christ. These changes will be found in another part of this issue of the Christian Beacon. The Synod also adopted strong resolutions recommending total abstinence from the beverage use of intoxicating liquors. The Form of Government as adopted also guaranteed forever the right of congregations to own their own property and to withdraw from the Church if they so desired without having to surrender their property to any ecclesiastical machine. Many members of the First General Synod declared both during and after the sessions that the happy fellowship they found there was one of the great experience of their lives.
The Work Continuing Today
There are at the present time nine Presbyteries, namely: Philadelphia, New Jersey, Great Lakes, Chicago, Great Plains, Iowa, Southern California, Pacific Northwest, and Puerto Rico. These Presbyteries contain in their membership approximately sixty ministers, and churches scattered over a wide area. The Presbytery of Puerto Rico was formerly an independent church in that island named the "Iglesia Cristiana Puertorriquena." The names of four of its ministers are on the roll as printed elsewhere in this issue of the Christian Beacon but there are other ministers of that Presbytery whose names have not yet been officially entered on the roll of the General Synod.
Missionary Efforts
The work of missions has been on the heart of the Bible Presbyterian Church since its inception. In foreign missions it recommends to the people and churches under its care the support of the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, the Board whose uncompromising and loyal testimony to the Gospel caused it to be attacked by the machine of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. The First General Synod commended the Independent Board and urged its support by those who love the Gospel. The office of the Independent Board is located at 505 Otis Building, Philadelphia, Pa., and contributions for its work, now needed more than ever before, may be sent to Roland K. Armes, Treasurer, at that address.The home mission work of the church is being carried on, although limited sharply by the funds available, through the Committee on National Missions of the General Assembly. At the present time the Committee is assisting financially either in whole or in part, eight home missionaries in the following states: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Oklahoma, all of whom are diligently and fruitfully laboring for the salvation of souls. The Treasurer of the Committee on National Missions, to whom gifts may be sent for the work carried on by the Committee, is Mr. James Greely, Jr., 8200 Arlington Avenue, Highland Park, Upper Darby, Penna. The Committee is in great need of contributions to carry on its work even on a modest scale.
