Origin and History

Among the earliest of the “Protestant Reformers” was John Calvin who lived from 1509 until 1554. He was born in Noyon, France to Roman Catholic parents. Calvin was converted from Romanism in 1533. Trained in law, Calvin attempted to construct a systematic theology for Christianity. He first published “Institutes of the Christian Religion” in 1536, and published the final revised copy in 1559.

The same year he published his systematic theology he passed through Geneva, Switzerland and was persuaded by a Protestant minister to remain there. The Protestant churches, which developed independently of Luther’s work, were known as Reformed Churches to distinguish them from Luther’s followers, known as Lutherans. In Geneva, Calvin found a thriving, but unorganized, reform movement. Banished for a time, he returned to Geneva in 1541 and applied his administrative ability to church affairs.

While Calvin began his work in Geneva, Switzerland it quickly spread to other parts of the world. Some of his earliest followers were known as “Huguenots” in France. In Holland, the followers of Calvin started the “Dutch Reformed Church.” But the greatest impact of Calvinism was felt in Scotland and was the result of the work of a man by the name of John Knox. Knox was trained as a Catholic Priest but had already converted to Protestantism in 1545.

John Calvin was able to convince Knox to accept Calvinism and Knox became Calvin’s most influential follower. After his return from exile, Knox began to teach Calvinism and was able to win the hearts and minds of the Scottish people. Eventually, Calvinism became the official religion of Scotland. In 1592, the Church of Scotland (later known as the Presbyterian Church) adopted Calvinism.

However the spread of Calvinism did not stop with Scotland. In 1643, the Westminster Assembly met in England to write a standard “confession” for the Presbyterian faith. They had met over a period of six years with 1,163 separate meetings. The final result is known as “The Westminster Confession of Faith.” Scotland adopted this confession in 1647 and England adopted it in 1648.

The larger and shorter catechisms were also written in 1647 — the larger one for pulpit preaching and the shorter for teaching children. This became the doctrinal standard for both English and American Presbyterianism. Some parts of the Westminster Confession have been rejected in recent years (the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. has rejected the idea of limited atonement), but it still remains the main document of the Presbyterian faith.

John Calvin followed a simple worship in his churches. There was congregational singing, a departure from his early experience in the Roman Catholic Church. They used no instruments of music, for Calvin opposed such as a departure from New Testament worship. He believed those who used mechanical instruments of music borrowed it from the Roman Catholic Church. He broke away from the altar worship pattern and placed reading and preaching in the central place. Strict moral discipline was exercised against such things as cursing, adultery, spending time in taverns, marrying a Catholic, and wife beating, etc.

Francis Makemie is considered the founder of American Presbyterianism, for he organized the Rehoboth Presbyterian Church in Maryland in 1684. The Presbyterian Church exists today in a number of doctrinally distinct divisions — Cumberland Presbyterian, Presbyterian U.S.A., Presbyterian Church in America, Orthodox Presbyterian, etc. There have been seventeen distinct segments of Presbyterians from near the beginning of the movement. We can certainly agree that Calvin and Knox possessed good courage, great intellect, outstanding abilities, and motives that were noble. However, we ask why they did not go all the way back to the Bible and restore the church of the New Testament?

The Organizational Structure of the Presbyterian Church

Presbyterian Churches are governed largely according to the organization developed by Calvin in Geneva and expanded by the Huguenots in France. The word Presbyterian comes from the Greek word (presbuteros—elder); hence elders govern a Presbyterian Church. There are two kinds of elders (presbyters) — teaching elders (ministers or preachers) and ruling elders. Ruling elders are selected by their church and together with the preacher administer the affairs of the church.

This organization is called the session. Several sessions in an area are united in a presbytery, which is a body made up of all the ministers and one elder from each church within the district. The presbytery ordains ministers and hears any complaints brought before it. Several presbyteries are united in a synod, composed of an equal number of preachers and elders. The highest voice of authority is the General Assembly that meets every year. The chief executive officer of the General Assembly is the Stated Clerk. A Moderator is chosen each year to preside over the Assembly.

There is no such organizational structure found in the New Testament. Each church was independent of all of the other churches and each church was overseen by men called elders, presbyters, bishops, overseers, and pastors (Acts 14:23; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-8). There were no distinctions between these men serving as elders.

Doctrines of Presbyterian Churches

While some doctrinal points of Presbyterianism are in harmony with the teachings of Jesus Christ, many are not. In fact, many are in stark contrast to God’s word. The cornerstone of the Presbyterian Church is the five points of Calvinism, easily remembered by the word “TULIP.” It is necessary to point out that not every Presbyterian Church holds to all of the following tenets, though all hold to some and most hold to the majority of these beliefs. The following points are from John Calvin:

T—Total Depravity

Adam’s sin is passed on to succeeding generations at birth and thus man is so depraved that he can no longer choose between right and wrong or respond to God without direct supernatural intervention from God. However, the Bible is crystal clear that “the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son” (Ezek. 18:20). Sin is an act and cannot be passed on to another. The Scriptures also use children as examples of purity and innocence (cf. Matt. 18:3; 19:14) not depraved sinful beings as taught by Calvinism.

U — Unconditional Election

Calvinism teaches that God arbitrarily decreed from eternity which individuals would be lost and which ones would be saved. Because one is born totally depraved then one does not have any choice in being saved or lost. Nothing can be done to change God’s sovereign decree. This certainly makes God a respecter of persons even though the Scriptures are clear that He is not (Acts 10:34-35). Furthermore, many passages teach that man is responsible for his own actions (Ezek. 18:20) and will be judged according to his own deeds (2 Cor. 5:10).

L — Limited Atonement

Since only the elect will be saved (those God arbitrarily predestinated before the foundation of the world to be saved), then Christ died only for the elect. He did not die for the non-elect or those predestinated to be lost. Again the Bible is crystal clear that God desires all men to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4) and is “not willing that any should perish” (2 Pet. 3:9); that He sent His Son into the world to die for all men (2 Cor. 5:14) so that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Rev. 22:17). Again, John is very clear, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

I — Irresistible Grace

Because man is totally depraved then God must come to the rescue of the elect by supernaturally bestowing grace on them by the direct operation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus died for the elect, as seen above, and His death must not be wasted upon those elect who do not choose to be saved. The elect cannot overthrow the sovereignty of God; therefore the elect cannot resist the power of the Holy Spirit. But, Paul stated, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11-12). Therefore, if this doctrine of “Irresistible Grace” is true then we must have universal salvation because the “grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.” Yet, Jesus was very clear that not all people would be saved (Matt. 7:13-14). Even though Calvin taught that the Holy Spirit couldn’t be resisted, Stephen said the Holy Spirit could be resisted. “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did” (Acts 7:51).

P — Perseverance of the Saints

Since Jesus died for the elect and God has supernaturally bestowed salvation upon the elect then the elect cannot be lost. The elect will persevere to the end and be saved. This doctrine has been stated as the doctrine of “once saved, always saved” or the “impossibility of apostasy.” Therefore, this doctrine of John Calvin really means, that if God did not choose or elect you to be saved, then you cannot be saved — but if God chose you as one of the elect, then you cannot be lost.

It is strange that one would ever believe this doctrine because on nearly every page of the Bible there is some warning or some example of the possibility of apostasy. The Bible teaches that we can fall short of the grace of God (Heb. 12:15). Paul warned that one could fall (1 Cor. 10:12). Paul again wrote, “You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace” (Gal. 5:4).

No, my friend, our heavenly Father is not a respecter of persons. Just as the apostle Peter said, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him” (Acts 10:34-35). Any person desiring to be saved and willing to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ will be saved (Matt. 11:28-30).

Other Teachings and Beliefs of Presbyterian Churches

Regarding baptism, the Presbyterian Confession of Faith declares there are three baptismal modes; but immersion is not necessary, one may be sprinkled or poured. Infants of one or both believing parents are to be baptized. The Bible clearly teaches that baptism is a burial (Rom. 6:3-4; Col. 3:12) and nowhere speaks of three modes of baptism. Only those capable of hearing, believing, repenting, and confessing Christ were baptized in the first century. There are other teachings that are in conflict with the Bible such as the necessity of submitting to the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Supper is not to be observed weekly, etc.

Even though the Presbyterian Church was started from genuine motives, it originated in the mind of man and not in the mind of God. The doctrines on which the Presbyterian Church was built and by which it continues to exist even today are contrary to God’s word.

Our Sincere Plea to Our Presbyterian Friends

We plead for our religious neighbors in the Presbyterian Church to study these matters in light of God’s word and in the same spirit of love in which they were written. Please realize that the existence of the Presbyterian Church, along with the other denominations, is keeping sincere believers divided and separated from one another and this is contrary to the Lord’s prayer: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21).

We will be happy to discuss these thoughts with anyone. If there is a reputable preacher for the Presbyterian Church willing to defend the Presbyterian doctrine in an open forum or public debate we will be happy to work out the arrangements.

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