“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] 1954 Covenant Renewal of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
[2] In 500th Anniversary Year of Protestant Reformation, Reformed Church in America President the Rev. Daniel Gillett All But Swims the Tiber
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[1] 1954 Covenant Renewal of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America
A BRIEF COVENANT
DECLARATION OF FAITH
In this out Covenant, we are the members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) subscribe to the following declaration of faith.
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, the only rule of faith and life.
We believe in the one living and true God─Father, Son, and Holy Spirit─as revealed in the Scriptures; we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour from sin; and we acknowledge Him as our Lord.
We believe in and accept the standards of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America as being in agreement with and founded upon the Scriptures. In particular we believe in the Reformed faith, emphasizing the sovereignty of Christ, the Presbyterian form of church government, and the New Testament pattern of worship with its exclusive use of the Psalms, sung a capella.
CONFESSION OF SIN
We humbly confess that we have transgressed the Law of God, and have come short of performing out duty. We confess that we have not measured up to our Covenants. We confess that too often our faith has been weak, our works ineffectual, our loyalty wavering, and our love too cold. We confess that, knowing the right, we have too often done wrong.
COVENANT OBLIGATIONS
Accepting the Covenant of Grace we do understand the following obligations of this our covenant.
We do Covenant with God that we will seek to conform our lives to the teaching and example of our Lord Jesus Christ: we will endeavor to forsake all that is sinful and that would compromise our witness for him; that we will separate ourselves from all associations, especially secret societies, which would hinder the development of Christian character; and that we will encourage by our example temperance, love and godliness.
We do promise to avail ourselves of opportunities, public and private, for growth in grace and for Christian service, including worship, prayer, study of the Scriptures, keeping holy the Sabbath day, observing the appointed sacraments, giving regularly to the Lord’s work, and seeking to win others ti Him.
We do solemnly purpose to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness in all the relationships of life. We therefore oppose all the systems, religious and secular that undermine faith in the Scriptures, in the deity of Jesus Christ, and His redemptive work. We will continue to advocate the separation of church and state, and strive to bring each to the proper acknowledgement of Christ’s sovereignty. We therefore will not avail ourselves of those rights and privileges of citizenship that may tend to neutralize our testimony of the rights and claims of Christ over the nations.
We make this our profession of faith, confession of sin, and purpose of life in the presence of God, in humble reliance upon His grace, committing to the keeping of our souls to Him who is able to work in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. AMEN.
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Additional information about this covenant is available in the RPCNA 1954 Minutes of Synod:
http://www.rparchives.org/data/1954%20Minutes.pdf
and in an article in the April 21, 1954 Covenanter Witness by J. Boyd
Tweed:
http://www.rparchives.org/data/New/Covenanter_Witness_Vol_52_S.pdf
+ Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), 7408 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15208, 412-731-1177, Fax: 412-731-8861
[2] In 500th Anniversary Year of Protestant Reformation, Reformed Church in America President the Rev. Daniel Gillett All But Swims the Tiber
Westminster Confession of Faith - Chapter XXV - Of the Church – Section VI. There is no other head of the church but the Lord Jesus Christ. Nor can the pope of Rome, in any sense, be 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. [https://freechurch.org/assets/documents/2014/Westminster_Confession_of_Faith.pdf]
A 22 January 2017 Holland Sentinel article by Lori Timmer titled “Holland's Daniel Gillett has Emotional Interaction with Pope” reports that Reformed Church in America (RCA) President and lead pastor at First Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan, the Rev. Daniel Gillett while in Italy on 7 December 2016 on RCA business was given the opportunity to meet Roman Catholic pontiff Pope Francis during the pontiff’s weekly audience.
Gillett told the pope that several committees of the RCA General Synod had asked that he, Gillett, celebrate the Reformation and that he had refused. Gillett said to the pope:
"I will propose that we commemorate the Reformation and that we also apologize to our Catholic brothers and sisters for how we have treated them and use this time as a season of growing and serving together, and that this be a time of reconciliation.”
The pope then asked Gillett to pray for him.
+ Holland Sentinel, 54 West 8th Street, Holland, Michigan 49423, 616-546-4200, Fax: 616-393-6710, peter.esser@hollandsentinel.com
+ Reformed Church in America, 4500 60th Street Southeast, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512, 800-968-6065, questions@rca.org
+ Free Church of Scotland, 15 North Bank Street, The Mound, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 2LS, 0131-226-5286, Fax: 0131-220-0597, catherine@freechurchofscotland.org.uk
+ The Vatican, Città del Vaticano, Rome, Italy, 39-6-69-88-35-11, Fax: 39-6-69-88-54-47, Contact Page
