14 October 1814 A.D. Cumberland Presbyterians “Arminianize” the Westminster Confession of Faith
14
October 1814 A.D. Cumberland
Presbyterians “Arminianize” the Westminster Confession of Faith
Archivist. “October 14: Cumberland Presbyterians & the WCF.” This Day in Presbyterian History. 14 Oct 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/10/october-14-2/. Accessed 14 Oct 2014.
October 14: Cumberland Presbyterians & the WCF
1. All men must be born again or perish.
2. All may be born again and not perish.
3. None who are born again will perish.
The first proposition, while it is accepted by all, means more to Cumberland Presbyterians than to others; for they believe that the soul’s salvation is made certain in the hour of the new birth, while Calvinists believe that this certain election of the soul to eternal life was made by divine decree before the foundation of the world, and Arminians hold that the soul’s decision or choice cannot be so made as to be secure from reversal or failure until after death—possibly not then.
The second proposition [above] Cumberland Presbyterians think is contradicted by the Calvinistic doctrine of election and reprobation, and the third [is contradicted] by the Arminian doctrine of apostasy.
Words to Live By:
On the one hand, we can be thankful that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church resolved to state their convictions in a written statement of faith. On the other hand though, we are saddened that their doctrinal statement falls far short of the Scriptural teaching on salvation. There is no contradiction between the gospel message and methods and the eternal call of God’s elect. Indeed, such a view as our Westminster Standards teaches is consistent and indeed comforting to the belief that God has chosen a people for His own from all eternity past. The inspired writer Luke understood this plainly when in describing the ministry of Paul to the Gentiles in Luke 13:48
stated in the last phrase, “as many as had
been appointed to eternal life believed.” (NASV) Both parts of this
last phrase are true. How do we know those appointed to eternal life? Answer:
They believe the gospel. Who are those who believe? Answer: As many
has had been appointed to eternal life. That one phrase is the great
comfort of those who share the gospel with all whom they come into
contact with in their day’s activities.
Archivist. “October 14: Cumberland Presbyterians & the WCF.” This Day in Presbyterian History. 14 Oct 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/10/october-14-2/. Accessed 14 Oct 2014.
October 14: Cumberland Presbyterians & the WCF
It was on this day, October
14th, in 1814, that the Cumberland Presbyterians adopted their
unique edition of the Westminster Confession of Faith. Taking our text from
George P. Hays, The Presbyterians, p.
470-471, we review today the Cumberland Presbyterian edition of the Westminster
Confession of Faith, as formerly adopted by that denomination on October 14,
1914. The full text of The Presbyterians is available
here.
“When Cumberland Synod was
formed in 1813, one of its first acts was to appoint a committee to prepare a
Confession of Faith. In the form of words adopted three and half years before,
in constituting Cumberland Presbytery, was this provision concerning doctrine:
“All licentiates and
probationers who may hereafter be ordained by this Presbytery shall be
required, before such licensure or ordination, to receive and adopt the
Confession and Discipline of the Presbyterian Church, except the idea of
fatality, which seems to be taught under the mysterious doctrine of
predestination. It is understood, however, that such as can clearly receive the
Confession without an exception shall not be required to make any.”
In forming the Synod a brief
doctrinal statement was adopted in which the points of dissent from the
Westminster Confession were thus stated: 1. “There are no Eternal reprobates.
2. Christ died not for a part only, but
for all mankind. 3. All infants dying in infancy are
saved through Christ and sanctification of the Spirit. 4. The Spirit of God
operates on the world, or as coextensively as
Christ has made the atonement, in such a manner as to leave all men
inexcusable.”
The committee appointed by the
Synod to prepare a creed, simply modified the Westminster Confession, expunging
what they believed unscriptural and supplying what they thought omissions of
vital truth. The chief changes were in chapters iii and x, and consisted in the
elimination of what is known as preterition, or what the fathers of the
Cumberland Presbyterian Church called “fatality.” The Presbyterian polity was
retained; also the Evangelical Presbyterian doctrines—such as the inspiration
and infallibility of the Scriptures, the fall and condemnation of the race,
total depravity, the salvation of believers through a vicarious atonement, and
the eternal punishment of the finally impenitent.
This revised Confession of Faith
was adopted by the Synod, October 14, 1814, and continued to be the accepted
creed of the Church until 1883, when a new revision was adopted in which the
same essential doctrines enunciated in the revision of 1814 are stated in
somewhat briefer form and with a more logical arrangement of subjects. The
creed of Cumberland Presbyterians, as it differs from Calvinism on the one hand
and Arminianism on the other, may be stated in connection with the doctrine of
the new birth—the central theme of the revival of 1800—as follows:
1. All men must be born again or perish.
2. All may be born again and not perish.
3. None who are born again will perish.
The first proposition, while it is accepted by all, means more to Cumberland Presbyterians than to others; for they believe that the soul’s salvation is made certain in the hour of the new birth, while Calvinists believe that this certain election of the soul to eternal life was made by divine decree before the foundation of the world, and Arminians hold that the soul’s decision or choice cannot be so made as to be secure from reversal or failure until after death—possibly not then.
The second proposition [above] Cumberland Presbyterians think is contradicted by the Calvinistic doctrine of election and reprobation, and the third [is contradicted] by the Arminian doctrine of apostasy.
Words to Live By:
On the one hand, we can be thankful that the Cumberland Presbyterian Church resolved to state their convictions in a written statement of faith. On the other hand though, we are saddened that their doctrinal statement falls far short of the Scriptural teaching on salvation. There is no contradiction between the gospel message and methods and the eternal call of God’s elect. Indeed, such a view as our Westminster Standards teaches is consistent and indeed comforting to the belief that God has chosen a people for His own from all eternity past. The inspired writer Luke understood this plainly when in describing the ministry of Paul to the Gentiles in Luke 13:48
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