The Joy of

Joining the RPCUS

By Pastors Jeffery M. Black & Henry E. Johnson
of Trinity Presbyterian Church
Editor's Note: On the Jveekend ifFebrttary 22-23,2002,
Covenant Pres1?Jtery if the Rejormed Pres1?Jterian Church
in the United States (RPCUS) met at Trinity Pres1?Jtetian
Church in T azeJve!1, Virginia and, qfter examining its
o/jicers, accepted it and its mission work in WYtheville,
VA into the RPCUS. Henry Johnson was the organiiing
pastor if Ttinity Pres1?Jtetian Church and has served there
. 23 years. He is a graduate if Westminster Theological
Seminary. Providence Refotmed Preslytelian Church, the
mission Jvork in WYtheville, Virginia, began in 1997 and is
served 1?J Trinity Associate Pastor JiffBlack. Jiffpreaches
there and hopes to assist in its eventual organization as a
church. The congregants if Providence currentlY have their
church memberships under the care if Trinity.
W
hat a privilege to take our stand
with the godly elders, deacons and
congregations of the Reformed
Presbyterian Church in the United States
(RPCUS). A stand firmly planted upon the Word
of God, the Bible. A stand unashamedly founded
upon the Rock of Ages, our Lord Jesus Christ. A
stand determinedly fixed upon the faith once for
all delivered to the saints. A stand deliberately
resolved upon the Westminster Standards as an
accurate and glorious summary by godly men of
what the Scriptures teach. To join the RPCUS
has been the express desire of our Session for
many years. God has granted this prayer in His
good time and we rejoice together with the whole
congregation.
Covenant Presbytery graciously traveled to
meet with us here in Tazewell, Virginia to examine
our Associate Pastor, the Reverend Jeff Black; our
two Ruling Elders: Mr. Bill Alicie and Dr. Eric
Shrader; and our Deacon, Mr. Larry Lambert.
We enjoyed wonderful fellowship before,
during and, after the exams, experiencing what
the Psalmist describes in Psalm 133:
Behold, how good and bow pleasant it is For brothers
to dJvel1 together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, Coming dOlJJn
upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard, Coming
down upon the edge if his robes.
It is like the dew if Hermon Coming down upon
the mountains if Zion; For there the LORD
commanded the blessing-life joreveJ:
As we witnessed the exams, we were reminded
that indeed the Word of God is truth and the
only standard of truth. Our hearts were thrilled
to hear the great old truths of the reformed faith,
Biblical Christianity, being declared by these dear
men, both the elders examining and those being
examined. The truth of God and His revelation
of Himself in Holy Scripture made our hearts
burn within us as it did the disciples on the road
to Emmaus when the Lord Jesus was expounding
the Scriptures and declaring His glory to them as
recorded in Luke 24.
We also had some good laughs during
the weekend. Covenant Presbytery had met
on Friday evening to hear Pastor Jeff Black's
examination, which he passed with flying colors.
Our other officers were anxiously awaiting their
own exams on Saturday. The officers were not
the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 9
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preslDyte'ry 1
exactly sure what to expect and the long night of
waiting was finally over as the exam began for Dr.
Eric Schrader and Mr. Bill Alicie, ruling elders;
and Mr. Larry Lambert, deacon. The three were
examined as a group regarding Christian experience
and systematic theology. The first question was put
to Mr. Bill Alicie by the Rev. Joe Morecraft III who
asked, 'In the light of the ontological trinity would
you please explain the hypostatic union of the
natures in Christ?' Bill looked somewhat surprised
when he heard the question but quickly recovered
and responded, "We don't speak in tongues here."
The exam con-
tinued throughout
the morning and the
officers were com-
mended for their
Scriptural knowledge
and faithfulness as
they defended Bibli-
cal and confessional
doc-trines. The bulk
of the exam consisted
of going chapter by
chapter through the
Westminster Confes-
sion of Faith, asking
questions.
After these men had been sustained in their
exams and a vote had been taken to receive them
into the RPCUS, one of them was overheard saying,
"I rejoice to be in a denomination that takes the Bible
more seriously than Robert's Rules of Order." Some
comments were made concerning the Rules for
Discipline. It was noted that there were only three
paragraphs pertaining to this and that there were
no rules regarding dates and postmarks on official
letters. This was answered by someone pointing
out that the RPCUS desires no rules or regulations
which cannot be derived from the Scriptures.
Further, it was pointed out that the length of the
Rules of Discipline is inversely proportional to the
trust which the men have for one another.
1 0 the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON
The remainder of the afternoon was free and the
various men spent the time either in fellowship or
resting with the exception of Pastor Joe Morecraft,
who had an appointment to video tape an interview
in which he was asked many questions concerning
the history of and answering objections to Calvinism
and the doctrines of grace. This was arranged by
Jerry Johnson who is spearheading a project for Reel
to Reel Ministries' President Eric Holmberg. Eric
and Jerry are interviewing several leading Reformed
men in order to produce a brief video on the His-
tory of Calvinism which they hope will be useful for
communicant classes and for evangelism.
At 7:00 PM, John
Otis reconvened
Covenant Presbytery
for a glorious event:
A worship service in
which the Trinity con-
gregation was officially
recognized as having
been received into the
RPCUS. Charges were
given to the officers
and the congregation
to be faithful to our
great God. The cove-
nant vows were renewed by the officers in a moving
and solemn declaration of "I do." Then, Pastor Joe
Morecraft proclaimed God's Holy Word beginning
a four part series on "Christian Hope." What an en-
couragement and blessing to be a people who have
hope, real hope in our Lord Jesus Christ with all His
glorious promises.
The meeting with Covenant Presbytery culmi-
nated the action taken by the congregations ofTrin-
ity Presbyterian Church and its daughter mission
work, Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church
of Wytheville, VA, when, in a congregational meet-
ing on Sunday evening, December 30, 2001, they
unanimously voted to leave the Presbyterian Church
in America (PCA) and overwhelmingly to join the
RPCUS.
,
I .
I 1 "i
preslbYfery.
By God's grace, in years to come, the weekend of our joining the RPCUS will be remembered not only
as a great milestone for our congregation but also, we pray, for the furthering of His Kingdom throughout
southwestern Virginia and beyond. We praise God to be a part of a denomination that actually lives out
the motto that ought to be in every faithful church: "True to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith
and True to the Great Commission"*. The Trinity Session prays the Lord will yet bring many of the
other churches of our former Westminster Presbytery (PCA) to join with us in this faithful and godly
denomination, the RPCUS. May God in His mercy keep us so.
* For more information about this former motto rf the PCA and about the RPCUS please rifer to my article, I
Want to join the RPCUS,)) in the special denominational isme rf the Council rfChalcedoll, dated jlllle/ jllb 1999 (Available
online soon at 2vlvlv.chalcedon.org/
Stated Meeting
Covenant Presbytery, Reformed Presbyterian Church in
the United States (RPCUS), held its stated meeting on June 21
and 22, 2002 at Chalcedon Presbyterian Church in Cumming,
Georgia. The presbyters in attendance were Teaching Elders
John Otis, Joe Morecraft, Robert Lester, Chris Strevel, Paul
McDade, Donald Crowe, Wayne Rogers, Henry Johnson, and Jeff
Black as well as Ruling Elders Jess Stanfield and Lenny Auton.
Brian Abshire Received
One of the highlights of the meeting was the examination
of Teaching Elder Brian Abshire for admission into the RPCUS.
Brian's examination in the areas of personal testimony and
Christian experience and .commitnlent to the Westminster
Standards as the system of doctrine taught in the Scripture was
moved and passed to be sustained as a whole. Btlan was received
into the RPCUS with permission to labor out of bounds of
Presbytery as pastor of Highland Reformed Church in Spokane,
Washington. John Otis administered a reaffirmation of ordination
vows to Brian and Paul McDade prayed on his behalf.
Resolutions Passed
The other highlight was the unanimous adoption of two resolutions. The first resolution, submitted by Joe
Morecraft, is entitled "With Reference to the 'New Perspective on Paul' Movement". The second, submitted
by Paul McDade, Jeff Black, and Henry Johnson, is entitled "A Call to Repentenance." I t was also unanimously
approved that these two resolutions be made public and be communicated to the appropriate courts of
jurisdiction and to the men themselves along with the offer to provide substantiating materials to the courts
upon their request. The Resolutions are reproduced on the follOJving two pages.
the COUNSEL ofCHALCEDON 11
With Reference to the
"N ew Perspective on Paul" Movement
BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
Any doctrine of justification that denies that faith alone,
sola fide, as a resting upon Christ alone for salvation, is the
only instrumental means of justification is contrary to the
Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of justification by faith that defines faith as
faithful obedience to God is contrary to the Bible and the
Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of justification that denies the forensic
nature of justification is contrary to the Bible and the
Westminster Standards. Therefore to define "to justify"
as "to make righteous" and not "to declare and constitute
as righteous" is contrary to the Bible and the Westminster
Standards.
Any doctrine of justification that teaches that justification
is a process beginning with baptism, which is contingent
upon continual obedience to the Law of God, which
can be lost by apostasy, and which is not completed
until Judgment Day is contrary to the Bible and the
Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of justification that does not teach that
immediately upon believing in Jesus, God instantly
imputes the perfect righteousness of Christ to that
believing sinner, so that on that basis he stands forgiven
and accepted by God forever is contrary to the Bible and
the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of justification that blends justification and
sanctification, or the imputing of righteousness and the
imparting of righteousness, into one is contrary to the
Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of the atoning death of Christ that does not
teach that the death of Christ was a satisfaction of God's
justice and a propitiation of His anger by the merits of
Christ's life and death as the substitute of God's elect is
contrary to the Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of baptism that teaches that all who are
baptized with water are by that baptism incorporated
into Christ and are recipients of all the benefits of Christ's
accomplished work, e.g., regeneration and justification, is
contrary to the Bible and the Westminster Standards.
12 (he COUNSEL of CHALCEDON
Any doctrine of baptism that explains water baptism as
the moment in which we are regenerated or as the point
of transfer from death to life is contrary to the Bible and
the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of election that teaches that the elect can
apostatize or that baptism is the proof of election is
contrary to the Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine that believers in Jesus can lose their
justification and salvation is contrary to the Bible and the
Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine that teaches that God accepts less than
perfect obedience by Christ in behalf of the elect for
fulfilling the conditions of salvation is contrary to the
Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine that denies the Covenant of Works is
contrary to the Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine that denies that the covenant oj grace was made
with Christ as the second Adam, and in Him with all the elect
as His seed is contrary to the Bible and the Westminster
Standards.
Any doctrine of the covenant that denies that the Lord's
Supper is to be served onlY to such as are ojyears and ability
to examine themselves or that all ignorant and ungodlY persons, as
thry are unfit to el!fqy communion Jvith him, so are thry umvortf?y
oj the Lord's Table, and cannot, without gl'eat sin against
Christ, while thry remain such, partake oj these holY mysteries,
or be admitted thereunto is contrary to the Bible and the
Westminster Standards.
Any doctrine of Biblical revelation that denies the
propositional and systematic nature of the verbal and
written revelation of God is contrary to the Bible and the
Westminster Standards.
Any ridiculing of the doctrines of sola gratia, sola fide, solo
Christo, sola scriptura or Soli Deo Gloria is ridiculing the
teaching of the Bible and the Westminster Standards.
Any ridiculing of the Westminster Standards as being
a Greek and Hellenistic, and therefore inadequate,
interpretation of the Bible is ridiculing of Biblical
Christianity in it purest human expression.
- Adopted unanimously by Covenant Presbytery,
Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States,
June 22, 2002.
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the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON 13