Christian Pure
Denominations Compared92 articles

Calvinism vs Presbyterianism: Are Presbyterians Calvinists?

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • Calvinism is a teaching about God’s grace in salvation; Presbyterianism is a family of churches governed by elders, named from the Greek word presbyteros, “elder.”
  • Presbyterian churches confess the Westminster Confession, which teaches the Calvinist doctrine of election, so by their own standards Presbyterians are Calvinists.
  • Officers in the PCA and the OPC vow to “sincerely receive and adopt” the Confession and Catechisms “as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures”; PC(USA) officers vow to receive “the essential tenets of the Reformed faith.”
  • The Cumberland Presbyterian Church, organized in 1810, is Presbyterian in government but rejected the Westminster doctrine of election and reprobation.
  • Not every Calvinist is Presbyterian: Reformed Baptists and Congregationalists hold the same doctrine of election under congregational government.
  • “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever” is the first answer of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, not a line of the Confession.
  • The Westminster Confession says predestination “is to be handled with special prudence and care” and should give “abundant consolation to all that sincerely obey the gospel.”

Presbyterians are Calvinists by confession, though not every Presbyterian church or member holds every point. Calvinism is a teaching about how God saves. Presbyterianism is a family of churches governed by elders, and those churches confess a Calvinist creed, the Westminster Confession. Not every Calvinist is Presbyterian: Reformed Baptists and Congregationalists hold the same doctrine under other church government. The two words meet in one scene. Paul called the elders of Ephesus to meet him at Miletus and told them,…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, via BibleGateway: Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28; Titus 1:5; Acts 15:6; Deuteronomy 29:29; Romans 11:33; 1 Thessalonians 1:4–5. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+20%3A17&version=KJV
  • The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapters 3.3, 3.5, 3.8, 17.1 and 31.1. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/wcf.html ; proof texts for 3.8 from Westminster Theological Seminary, https://wts.edu/wcf
  • The Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 1. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://www.opc.org/sc.html
  • About the OPC. The Orthodox Presbyterian Church. https://opc.org/about.html
  • Form of Government (ordination vows). The Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Book of Church Order. https://opc.org/BCO/FG.html
  • Westminster Confession of Faith (introduction, with the officers’ vow). PCA Administrative Committee. https://www.pcaac.org/resources/wcf/
  • Presbyterian Church in America, Book of Church Order 10-2 and 57-5. PCA Historical Center. https://www.pcahistory.org/bco/fog/10/02.html ; https://www.pcahistory.org/bco/dfw/57/05.html
  • The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Part I: Book of Confessions (2016), contents and Declaratory Statement (6.191–6.193). https://pcusa.org/sites/default/files/boc2016.pdf
  • “Question c – Reformed Faith” (ordination vow W-4.0404c and its study guide). Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Equip. https://equip.pcusa.org/mod/book/tool/print/index.php?id=13899
  • Confession of Faith of the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches (1984), preface to the 1883 Confession and sections 4.03–4.04. https://www.cumberland.org/gao/confession/confess.htm
  • About Us. Cumberland Presbyterian Church Center. https://www.cumberland.org/center/about-us/
  • Book of Confessions. The Church of Scotland. https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/about-us/our-faith/book-of-confessions
  • The Belgic Confession (1561), Article 30. Christian Reformed Church in North America. https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/belgic-confession
  • Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1677/1689), chapter 26. https://www.the1689confession.com/1689/chapter-26
  • “Documentary Sources of the Confession” (Westminster Confession, Savoy Declaration). Christian Classics Ethereal Library. https://www.ccel.org/creeds/bcf/source.htm
  • Church of England. Articles of Religion (the Thirty-nine Articles), Article XVII. https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/book-common-prayer/articles-religion
  • John Wesley. “The Question, ‘What Is an Arminian?’ Answered by a Lover of Free Grace” (1770). Society of Evangelical Arminians. https://evangelicalarminians.org/john-wesley-the-question-what-is-an-arminian-answered-by-a-lover-of-free-grace/
  • The United Methodist Church. “United Methodist Beliefs: Prevenient Grace.” https://www.umc.org/en/content/united-methodist-beliefs-prevenient-grace
  • Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article XI (Election). BookOfConcord.org. https://bookofconcord.org/formula-of-concord-epitome/article-xi/
  • Iglesia Nacional Presbiteriana de México: home page and “Nuestra regla de fe y conducta” (1 October 2024). https://www.iglesianacionalpresbiteriana.com/post/nuestra-regla-de-fe-y-conducta
  • Members. World Communion of Reformed Churches. https://wcrc.eu/members/
  • Sobre a IPB (doctrinal standards). Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil. https://www.ipb.org.br/sobre-a-ipb

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