The Reading Room - History

Historical Backgrounds of The Bible Presbyterian Church

Introduction • Early Tensions • Growing Pains • Reunion of Estranged Brothers
A Succession • Another Thread • Conclusion & Sources

By: Christopher K. Lensch (Associate Professor of OT - WRS)

A Succession of “American Presbyterianism”

After the 1927 Presbyterian assembly, concerned conservatives were all of a sudden in the minority in the PCUSA. In the wake of a series of ecclesiastical trials against them by the liberal bureaucratic machine, the Bible Presbyterian Church came into existence ten years later.

The Bible Presbyterian Church often has been compared to the Presbyterian New School tradition. More than a comparison, there is a patently clear historical link. From the 19^th century New School tradition the 20^th century Bible Presbyterian Church inherited emphases like the following:

1. A patriotic nationalism⁴ as opposed to the Old School’s emphasis on the superiority of Christ’s present spiritual kingdom. While not denying Christ’s present spiritual kingdom, premillennial BPs look for the consummation of God’s plan in Christ’s messianic kingdom and beyond. They can hardly be accused of being pessimistic ostriches with their heads in the sand as they practice a spirit of “occupying until Christ comes”;
2. Involvement in national moral reforms. Key concerns for the New School of the 1800s were abolition and prohibition, and for the BPC it has been the latter issue;
3. A general preference for doing the work of the church through independent agencies rather than denominational boards or commissions;⁵
4. A willing desire to cooperate with other conservative denominations outside of our confessional tradition,⁶ especially in efforts to counterbalance apostate and compromising church bodies; and
5. Revivalism, the hallmark of the New School. BPs have always made a conscious effort to appeal in preaching to unregenerate hearts, and have occasionally used evangelistic rallies. There has been a move away from “altar calls” that shift the focus from the work of God’s Spirit to the decision of the troubled sinner. Of late there also has been an effort to balance revivalism with an emphasis on covenantalism. The biblical promises of the covenant as articulated in the Westminster Confession emphasize God’s dealing, not just with individuals, but with families, and corporate spiritual families (congregations).

Another Thread in the Tapestry

Yet the BPC is not the product solely of the New School tradition. There are also similarities to the Old School. First of all, the BPC is a confessional church. It cherishes the Westminster Confession⁷ and insists on systematically teaching the Confession and Catechisms. At the founding of the denomination there may have been some elements of dispensational theology; in recent years the BPs passed a synodical resolution disapproving dispensationalism.

Secondly, the BPC has always required a thorough and exacting education for its ministers. In line with the Princeton Seminary tradition, BP seminary students have had a steady diet of Calvin’s Institutes, Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology, and studies of the Westminster Confession. While many modern theological institutions have dropped Hebrew requirements and eviscerated their Greek programs, BPs have always required extensive study of Hebrew and Greek to prepare their ministers as independent exegetes of the Word.

The Bible Presbyterian Church does have some roots in the Princeton tradition. While Princeton Seminary was aligned with the Presbyterian Old School, it often took a mediating position between the Old and New Schools.⁸ With regard to revivalism, the professors supported biblical revival and evangelism that was God-centered. Archibald Alexander, Princeton’s first professor, was himself an itinerant Presbyterian evangelist in Virginia in the late 1700s. Also of interest is the fact that Princeton, traditionally postmillennial in eschatology, produced several notable preachers and educators who were premillennial.⁹ The lines between the Old and New traditions were not always clearly drawn, and Princeton Seminary generally reflected the best of both schools.

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