Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)

Infobox Christian denomination
name = Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)


caption =
main_classification = Protestant
orientation = Reformed Evangelical
polity = Presbyterian
founder =
founded_date = 1981
founded_place =
separated_from = United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
parent =
merger =
separations =
associations =
area =
congregations =
members =
footnotes =

The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) is an American church body holding to presbyterian governance and Reformed theology, expressed in an orthodox, conservative vein.The motto of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is "In Essentials, Unity. In Non-Essentials, Liberty. In All Things, Charity."The Office of the General Assembly is located in Livonia, Michigan, near Detroit. As of 2008, The EPC consists of a little over 225 churches and about 85,000 members. [ [http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/ About the EPC] ]

History

The EPC began as a result of prayer meetings in 1980 and 1981 by pastors and elders increasingly alienated by liberalism in the "northern" branch of Presbyterianism (the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., which merged with the Southern and border-state Presbyterian Church in the U.S. in 1983 to form the present Presbyterian Church USA). An important catalyst of their separation was the decision of a Maryland presbytery to permit a minister of the United Church of Christ who did not forthrightly affirm the divinity of Jesus to become pastor of one of its churches. Another important catalyst was another presbytery refusing to ordain a graduate of seminary, who, in good conscience, declared that he would refuse to participate in the ordination of a woman, although he affirmed that he would willingly serve in a pastorate with ordained women on the staff. Such issues as social action and sexuality had prompted opposition by conservative pastors for a number of years; many of these and some laity began to believe that evangelicals and social conservatives were being systematically excluded from the UPCUSA's system of pastoral training on account of their views dissenting from national policy.

The first general assembly of the church met at Ward Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Michigan in late 1981, drafting a list of essential beliefs. This list was intentionally short in order to help preserve the unity of the church around the essentials of the faith in theology, church government, and evangelism [ [http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/history/ Evangelical Presbyterian Church > History ] ] .

Doctrine

The EPC declares all Scripture to be "self-attesting and Truth, requiring our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God's redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks". From this premise, the EPC derives the following "Essentials of faith":

1. "We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise forever!"

2. "Jesus Christ, the living Word, become flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator."

3. "The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption."

4. "Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God's free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life."

5. "The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord."

6. "Jesus Christ will come again to the earth—personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. 'Even so, come, Lord Jesus.' (Rev. 22:20)"

7. "The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to 'Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.' He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. 'For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.' (Eph. 2:10)"

Explanatory Statement to “Essentials of Our Faith”

The EPC has adopted the following explanation of the relationship between the "Essentials of Our Faith" and the Westminster Standards:

"The Westminster Confession of Faith is a confessional statement oforthodox Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith is ourstandard of doctrine as found in Scripture. It is a positive statement ofthe Reformed Faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith constitutes asystem of biblical truth that an officer of the Evangelical PresbyterianChurch is required to believe, acknowledging that each individual courthas the freedom to allow exceptions which do not infringe upon thesystem of the doctrine in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

“Essentials of Our Faith” is an irenic statement of historicevangelicalism. The purpose of “Essentials of Our Faith” is to definecore beliefs of the Christian Faith. It expresses historic Christian beliefscommon to all true believers and churches throughout the world.“Essentials of Our Faith” is not intended to be the exclusive test oforthodoxy for ordination. It is not intended to be used as an explicitstandard for minimal core beliefs for candidates, ordination orministerial examinations. It is not to be construed as a substitute for theWestminster Confession of Faith.

"Both the Westminster Confession of Faith and “Essentials of OurFaith” are important documents in the Evangelical PresbyterianChurch. The Westminster Confession of Faith and “Essentials of OurFaith” are not alternative statements of truth, nor are they competitivestatements of truth. They each serve important and harmoniouspurposes within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The WestminsterConfession of Faith preserves our commitment to the historicorthodoxy of the Reformed Faith. “Essential of Our Faith” preservesour commitment to historic evangelicalism."

Place in American Presbyterianism

The EPC is decidedly more conservative than the PC(USA), associating mainly with evangelical and Reformed bodies holding similar or identical beliefs regarding Christology, ecclesiology, and ethical/moral stances. As with practically all orthodox Presbyterian bodies, the EPC holds strictly to Biblical interpretation governed by the Westminster Confession of Faith, steadfastly refusing to supplement Westminster with other confessions, as, for instance, the PC(USA) has.

At the same time, the EPC is decidedly more moderate than the other two major conservative Presbyterian bodies in the United States, Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. For example, its Calvinism is less stringent than the PCA and OPC. It also considers the ordination of women to be a "non-essential" issue, leaving it up to the individual church sessions. Also, the EPC is far more tolerant of the charismatic movement than these older bodies; indeed, some of the more prominent charismatic Presbyterian churches in America belong to the EPC.

Ethos

The EPC has been described as the modern-day version of New School Presbyterianism, while the PCA & the OPC are essentially the modern-day equivalent of Old School Presbyterianism. The way that this is expressed is in the motto of the denomination: "In Essentials, Unity; In Non-Essentials, Liberty; In All Things, Charity. Truth in Love." Functionally, this works out with a three-tiered approach to theological issues. These may be thought of as "A," "B," & "C" issues.

"A" issues are those which have to do with the "Essentials of Our Faith." This is a summary of those issues which are foundational to Christian faith. In the EPC, there is no allowance for disagreement among church officers (ministers, elders, & deacons) on these issues. Indeed, it is expected that all members will affirm these tenets of the faith.

"B" issues are those issues which are essential to the Reformed understanding of the faith, such as the so-called "Five Points of Calvinism," Covenant Theology, Presbyterian government, etc. The definition of "B" issues for the EPC is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith & in the Larger & Shorter Catechisms. As these issues aren't as foundational as the Essentials of Our Faith, the EPC allows minsters, elders, & deacons to state exceptions to the Westminster Standards, so long as these exceptions do not violate the system of doctrine contained therein. It is understood that the teaching position of the EPC is found in the Westminster Standards.

Finally, "C" issues are those on which Reformed, orthodox Christians can disagree, & which do not violate the system of doctrine of the EPC. As stated above, this would include the issues of women's ordination & the charismatic movement, as well as issues such as eschatology (views on the End times), worship preferences, liturgy, etc.

Current Issues

As of the 2007 General Assembly, the EPC has created [http://www.epc.org/general-assembly/EPNews2007/EPNews_6.28.07.html] a non-geographic "New Wineskins Presbytery" (NWEPC) to provide a home for churches associated with the New Wineskins Association of Churches (NWAC) [http://www.newwineconvo.com/] that are seeking to find a new denominational home after finding that their current home in the PC(USA) is no longer suitable to them theologically, organizationally, or missionally. For more information on this, see the article on the New Wineskins Association of Churches.

References

External links

* [http://www.epc.org/ Evangelical Presbyterian Church Website]
* [http://www.epc.org/general-assembly/BkOrder-2006Web.pdf Book of Order for the EPC]