Commitment to Doctrinal Integrity

We are united in doctrine, each minister and elder of the church subscribing to grammatical-historical principles for the interpretation of Scripture, and subscribing, without equivocation, to the plain and normal meaning of the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms.

We are united in requiring each ordained minister and officer of the church to annually renew his commitment to these principles publicly; we are united in accountability to Christ the Head of the Church and in commitment to one another in maintaining doctrinal integrity.

We are committed to the doctrine of creation of the heavens and earth in six literal, 24-hour days. Scripture is its own interpreter, and its words have meaning in context. The meaning of the word translated "day" in the Genesis creation record is clear from the context and from its usage elsewhere in Scripture. But the Orthodox Presbyterian church, for example, has adopted what it calls a "hermeneutic of trust" where it is permissible to say that the "day" of Genesis chapter one is anything from a literal day to billions of years — as long as a minister says that he subscribes to the doctrine of "creation in the space of six days" contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith.

This is a prescription for doctrinal anarchy. The words of the Bible give meaning to church doctrinal standards, not vice versa. If the creation 'day' means anything men want, then they can say the same about other words of Scripture that define doctrine such as regeneration, justification, and sanctification. Any doctrine of the Bible becomes fair game for revision according to human standards. By God's grace, we desire to stand for doctrinal integrity from the beginning of the Bible onward.  [Next] [Previous]