Statement of Subscription

We hereby receive and adopt the Westminster Confession of Faith 1647 as a subordinate standard of doctrine, believing its teaching to be in conformity with the Scriptures, subject to the following declarations.

The Confession states, “The civil magistrate may not assume to himself the administration of the word and sacraments, or the power of the keys of the kingdom of heaven: yet he hath authority, and it is his duty, to take order, that unity and peace be preserved in the church …. For the better effecting whereof, he hath power to call synods, to be present at them, and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God.” (Ch XXIII section III); and “As magistrates may lawfully call a synod of ministers ….” (Ch XXXI section II).

We believe that the civil magistrate has the duty to preserve peace and order in society but he does not have authority to call synods nor to oversee or interfere with their proceedings and decisions.[1]

The Confession states, “The man may not marry any of his wife’s kindred nearer in blood than he may of his own, nor the woman of her husband’s kindred nearer in blood that of her own” (Ch XXIV section IV).

We believe that the law’s prohibition of marriage within the same degrees of affinity as consanguinity remains in force for the New Testament church but that it does not prohibit marriage to one’s deceased wife’s sister.[2]

The Confession states, “There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ; nor can the Pope of Rome in any sense be the head thereof; but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ, and all that is called God” (Ch XXV section VI).

We believe that many antichrists have been and will be in the world until Christ returns, who are deceivers and deny that Jesus is the Christ and that He came in the flesh (1 Jn 2:18,21; 4:3; 2 Jn 1:7).[3]

The Confession states: “The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works” (Ch VII section II); and, “Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the Covenant of Grace” (Ch VII section III); and, “God gave to Adam a law, as a covenant of works, …” (Ch XIX section 1).

We believe that God’s bringing of Adam into covenant was an act of His grace even though Adam’s interest in God’s covenant blessing was made to depend at first on his obedience. When Adam disobeyed God’s commandment, the covenant was not revoked but Adam forfeited its blessing and became liable to its curse. The covenant was reaffirmed after the Fall and in the fulness of time was confirmed and established in our Lord Jesus Christ. The “second” covenant is, in reality, not other than the first, but entitlement to its blessing, and deliverance from its curse, is obtained through grace in Christ Jesus.

We believe that God’s covenant with Israel, delivered through Moses, was a confirmation and development of the covenant with Abraham. We reject the view that the Mosaic covenant was a continuation of the covenant of works as distinct from the covenant of grace.

The Confession states, “The catholick, or universal church, which is invisible ….” (Ch XXV section I); and, “The visible church, which is also catholick or universal under the gospel ….” (Ch XXV section II).

We believe that, although the church has visible and invisible aspects, there are not two distinct churches visible and invisible.

The Confession states, “There be only two sacraments ordained by Christ our Lord in the gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord; neither of which may be dispensed by any but by a minister of the word, lawfully ordained” (Ch XXVII section IV); and, “the party is to be baptized … by a minister of the gospel, lawfully called thereunto” (Ch XXVIII section II).

We believe that the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper should be observed with the preaching of the Word of God and that the primary responsibility for their administration rests with the ministers of the Word of God (also called preaching or teaching elders); but that ruling elders may also administer the sacraments.

The Confession states that the Lord’s Supper should be administered to the congregation of God’s people “but to none who are not then present in the congregation” (Ch XXIX section III).

We believe that, in cases where Christians are confined for a long time by sickness and prevented from being present in the regular assemblies of the church, the Lord’s Supper may be administered for their benefit in the presence of elders and members representing the whole congregation.

The Confession states, “After God had made all other creatures, he created man, male and female, with reasonable and immortal souls” (Ch IV section II); and, “they fell from their original righteousness, and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body” (Ch VI section II); and, “The bodies of men after death return to dust, and see corruption, but their souls (which neither die nor sleep,) having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous” (Ch XXXII section I).

We understand the term “soul” to refer to the spirit. We believe that man was created through a union of body or flesh and spirit a living being. It is more in keeping with the language of Scripture to speak of the inner, spiritual aspect of man’s being as the spirit. The immortality of the spirit is given by God, who alone has immortality, so that the spirit of man does not die or sleep.

[1] The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales’ Book of Church Order declares, “that the civil magistrate does not have control over presbyteries in matters religious or moral.” Similarly, we note for example that the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America’s Testimony states, with respect to Chapter XXIII Section III, “We reject the portion of paragraph 3 after the colon.” With respect to Chapter XXXI Section II, the Testimony states, “We reject paragraph 2 of the Confession of Faith.” This is consistent with the Belgic Confession 1561, Article 36.

[2] This sentence has not received the universal assent of Presbyterian churches. The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales’ Book of Church Order states that “the forbidding of marriage to a relative of a deceased spouse any nearer than to those of one’s own relatives is a matter for the interpretation of individual elders and sessions.” The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America’s Testimony declares, “We reject the last sentence in paragraph 4 …” and “The prohibition of marriage with a deceased wife’s sister is not warranted by Scripture.” This Section IV seeks to preserve the sanctity of marriage by prohibiting incest. Justification of the sentence in question depends on two crucial issues: first, whether the law prohibits marriage within the same degrees of affinity as of consanguinity; and second, whether the provisions of the Mosaic law in this respect remain in force for the present age. On the first point, a man may not marry a close blood relative; the law similarly prohibits marriage to a close relation of one’s wife (Leviticus 18:16-18; 20:11-21; Deuteronomy 20:30; and 20:11-12. However, it is not clear that the degrees of affinity are identical to the degrees of consanguinity. Scripture teaches that husband and wife become one flesh, which explains why marriage to close relatives of one’s wife are not allowed. However, the correspondence is modified: whereas Leviticus 18:9 prohibits marriage to one’s own sister or half sister, Leviticus 18:18 limits the prohibition of marriage to one’s wife’s sister to the time when one’s wife is alive. This modification is consistent with the provisions for levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) given to Israel in the land of Canaan in order to preserve each family’s inheritance. On the second issue, it appears that the law prohibiting incest continues in force for the New Testament church: it does not arise from Israel’s particular circumstances but has a general, permanent character; and the apostles Paul required its observance (1 Corinthians 5:1-5: a man may not marry his father’s wife, his step-mother). However, Paul did not expect the church to impose the death penalty prescribed in the law, but to excommunicate the offender, expecting severe divine chastening to accompany this act of discipline by the church.

[3] The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales’ Book of Church Order declares, “that though the claims of the bishop of Rome to be the head of the church and his legislating on false worship mean that the papacy should be recognised as part of the antichrist, the identification of the antichrist exclusively with the papacy is a matter of individual interpretation.” The Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America’s Testimony states, “Many antichrists will be present in the world throughout history. Prior to Christ’s coming the final man of lawlessness will be revealed. He will be destroyed by Christ.”