Q. Are people guilty of schism in leaving the OPC and PCA to form the ERPC?

A. In order to answer this question we need to understand what constitutes schism. It is the spread of another gospel and the abandonment of Scriptural authority that are dividing the church. It is neo-liberals, not conservatives, who have brought division. They have overthrown the peace and unity of the church by destroying its doctrinal purity. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said:

It is important that all due care should be taken to see that none of us ever causes schism in the body of Christ. God forbid that any of us should be guilty of this terrible sin; but it is important for us to note exactly what constitutes schism. From I Corinthians 11:18-19 and the whole of chapter 12 we learn that it consists in a separation where vital truths concerning the way of salvation and the life of the church are not involved. At Corinth there had been needless division simply over the personalities of certain preachers and concerning the relative importance of the various spiritual gifts. St. Paul ruthlessly condemns any such state of affairs. Elsewhere, however, he has no hesitation in condemning those who ‘preach another gospel’ or in commanding separation from those who do not follow the apostolic teaching. (See, for example, 2 Thess. 3:6; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 2 John 10-11, and, indeed, the whole of John’s First Epistle.)

[D. M. Lloyd-Jones, “Maintaining the Evangelical Faith Today” in Knowing the Times: Addresses Delivered on Various Occasions 1942-1977 (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1989), 47. Though these addresses were given many years ago, several of them are highly relevant to the present crisis.]

Elsewhere in his writings, Dr. Lloyd-Jones directs the church’s attention to Romans 16:17-18:

Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

Schismatics are those who teach things contrary to sound doctrine, not those who mark them and avoid them. There are still churches in the denominations that stand without compromise for authentic Biblical Christianity. But they exist an in an overall environment of deepening error on foundational doctrine.

This is not a situation involving minor matters, or disagreements on issues where faithful men within the body of Christ may legitimately differ. On the Gospel and the authority of Scripture, there can be no differences within Christ’s church.