Evangelical Presbyterian Church (United States)
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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 2005, there are approximately 175 churches in 29 states, representing about 70,000 members.
[edit] 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). Perhaps the main 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 Trinitarian views of the Christian faith to become pastor of one of its churches. Also, issues regarding social action and sexuality over the previous 20 years prompted these conservatives, increasingly despairing of gaining significant influence in the UPCUSA (or PCUS), to look for alternative expressions of their traditional faith.
The first general assembly of the church met in late 1981, drafting a list of essential beliefs.
[edit] 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)"
As its name and the doctrinal points above strongly intimate, the EPC is a thoroughly conservative evangelical denomination, associating mainly with 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 PCUSA has.
The EPC is distinct from the PCUSA because of its conservatism on matters such as theology and personal behavior. However, it is distinguished from more conservative bodies such as the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church because it allows more latitude with respect to Calvinism, allows the ordination of women to the offices of elder and deacon, and is more tolerant of the charismatic movement than these older bodies. Its motto is "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."
