Introduction: Our church musicians are working on a special number to go along with Psalm 26, and it's not ready yet, so I'm preaching a different sermon today. I have decided to preach about our denomination, the PCA. What makes us different from other denominations? There are five areas in which we are special:
I. Church Government
There are three general ways to run a church: episcopal, congregational, and presbyterian.
A. In the episcopal system, the power comes from the top down. The archbishop appoints bishops, who appoint local pastors. The people don't choose their leaders.
B. In the congregational system, the power comes from the bottom up. There are monthly congregational meetings in which the entire congregation makes decisions about the running of the church. Pastors and church officers are elected by the church members.
C. The presbyterian system is a combination. Pastors and elders are elected by the congregation, but after that there are few congregational meetings. Our Federal Government is modeled on the presbyterian system. We elect senators, but after that they do as they run the show.
D. We believe in the church being ruled by "presbyters" (Greek for elders), because that's in the Bible.
Titus 1:5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.
Heb 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.
E. With regard to church officers, it is also the position of the PCA that pastors, elders and deacons should only be men.
1 Tim 3:2 Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife,
1 Tim 3:12 A deacon must be the husband of but one wife
1 Tim 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man;
II. Doctrine
Our doctrine is generally called "Reformed." That just means that we hold to the doctrines of the Reformation, that were hammered out by John Wycliffe, Jan Hus, Martin Luther, John Calvin and others, and finally compiled in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Basically, Reformed means four things:
A. We uphold the authority of the Bible over reason or church tradition.
2 Pet 1:19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.
Other denominations today have repudiated that position, and rely on church tradition and their own rationalizations to formulate doctrine.
B. We believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone, not by works or ritual.
Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
Eph 2:9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Other churches believe in salvation by baptism, or by sacraments, or by holy deeds out-weighing bad deeds, etc.
C. We believe that God is sovereign over all things, including salvation. I will give you many verses about this, because we have been taught the opposite so many times:
Acts 13:48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
Eph 1:4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
Eph 1:5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--
Rom 8:33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.
Col 3:12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
1 Th 1:4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
1 Th 1:5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.
James 2:5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
John 6:36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
John 6:37 All that the Father gives me will come to me,
John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him...
D. We honor the Abrahamic covenant by baptizing infants.
In Genesis, God made a covenant with Abraham, and gave him the sign of circumcision for himself and for his infants. We believe that Christians today are children of Abraham, and that they are in the Abraham covenant.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Rom 4:16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
We baptize now instead of circumcize, because Jesus changed the sign of membership in God's family from circumcision to baptism when He gave the great commission...
Mat 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Mat 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
III. Evangelism and Missions
We do indeed believe in obedience to the Great Commission. We believe in preaching the Gospel in church. We believe in witnessing to our friends and neighbors, trying to win them to Christ. We believe in sending missionaries around the world to win people to Christ, not just to do works of charity and education. We believe that there is a Hell to avoid and a Heaven to gain, and we want to be tools in God's hands to bring others to faith in Jesus Christ. We do not believe that people can get to Heaven by sincerely following other religions.
1 John 5:11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1 John 5:13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Acts 4:10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.
Acts 4:11 He is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'
Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
IV. Modern Moral Issues
There are two moral issues that divide denominations today: abortion and homosexuality.
A. With regard to abortion, the PCA is always against it. We believe that killing an unborn child is a form of murder, and therefore it is sinful. Abortion should never be used as a method of birth control. In the era of modern medicine in which we live, it is never necessary to do an abortion to save the life of the mother. If the mother doesn't want her baby for some reason, there are people standing in line who want that baby, and who will love it and care for it no matter what. As Mother Teresa said, if you don't want your baby, give it to me. I will find someone who wants it. In 1978, the sixth General Assembly of the PCA issued the following statement about abortion:
"The Word of God affirms throughout the continuity of personhood both before and after birth. Abortion, the intentional killing of an unborn child, is to destroy that continuity. Abortion would terminate the life of an individual, a bearer of God's image, who is being divinely formed and prepared for a God-given role in the world...It would therefore be a willful act of defiance against the Creator intentionally to kill an unborn child...No child belongs only to man. He is God's child. And God's Word must govern the protection and care of that child both before and after birth...the unborn child is a person in the sight of God. He is protected by the sanctity of life graciously given to each individual by the Creator...We are convinced Scripture forbids abortion...We condemn the intentional killing of unborn children."
B. Homosexuality has been on the rise for the past thirty years, and now we are being bombarded with it on all sides. It is being promoted on TV shows, in magazines, in movies and it now permeates all of American culture to a large degree. Half a year ago a bill was introduced in Congress that would add a phrase to the Constitution, saying that marriage was between a man and a woman. That bill has stalled. The number of gay and lesbian pastors in the mainline denominations is growing, and the Episcopal church just a few weeks ago elected a gay Bishop, and declared that gay marriages were OK.
The Bible says that homosexual activity is sinful. We find the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. God rained fire and brimstone on those cities for their homosexuality. Paul the Apostle wrote to the Corinthian Christians:
1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
1 Cor 6:10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
The fifth General Assembly of the PCA declared:
"The act of homosexuality is a sin according to God's Word. Churches should actively seek to lead the homosexual person to confession and repentance that he might find justification and sanctification in Jesus Christ...In the light of the Biblical view of its sinfulness, a practicing homosexual continuing in this sin would not be a fit candidate for ordination or membership in the Presbyterian Church in America."
V. The gifts of the Holy Spirit.
A. Because we believe in the Bible, we also recognize that there are Spiritual gifts that God gives to His people, so that they can minister to each other and give a witness to the world.
B. There are several lists of these gifts in the New Testament, for example here is a list from Romans:
Rom 12:6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
Rom 12:7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
Rom 12:8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
C. However, the PCA believes that with the completion of the New Testament God stopped giving gifts of revelation. We do not believe it is legitimate any longer to speak in tongues, or to give a "God told me" kind of message in the church. We believe that the present day speaking tongues are explained by the training and emotions of the speakers, and are not from God.
D. We also believe that the miraculous gifts that characterized the Apostles were no longer given by God to the church after the Apostles died, because the purpose of those gifts was to authenticate the Apostles. There are no longer Apostles in the church, and there are no longer men and women who can do miracles as the Apostles did.
Acts 5:12 The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people.
Acts 14:3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders.
2 Cor 12:12 The things that mark an apostle--signs, wonders and miracles--were done among you with great perseverance.
We believe that people like Oral Roberts and Benny Hinn are false teachers, and that they are leading many people astray.
Conclusion: In these five areas, we see that the PCA has a special character....
Over all these things is the desire to live by the Bible, God's Word. The PCA considers the Bible to be infallible and without error. We are to study it, and live by it. We must let the Bible be our guide in our opinions about faith, the church, and the morals of our culture. Amen.