GAFCON's influence on Scottish Presbyterianism

Discussion in 'The Commons' started by Scottish Knight, May 17, 2012.

  1. Scottish Knight

    Scottish Knight Well-Known Member

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    I found this comparison of the Jerusalem declaration and the confessing churches covenant within the national church. The similarities are striking.

    The full article makes interesting reading

    Source:http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=424

    Confessing Churches Covenant Jerusalem Declaration (Scottish in bold)
    In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit:
    We, as congregations of the Church of Scotland, express our loyalty to Christ Jesus, the only King and Lord of the Church. We affirm the eternal gospel of the kingdom as the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation from sin for all who believe, and we embrace the commission of Jesus to his church to make true disciples, calling people to repentance and faith in his gospel, and teaching them obedience to all that he has commanded through his apostles.
    We covenant to stand together in promoting and protecting the biblical gospel, and our mission to Scotland and to the world, solemnly declaring the following in reaffirmation of our historic identity as the Church of Scotland

    In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit:
    We, the participants in the Global Anglican Future Conference, have met in the land of Jesus’ birth. We express our loyalty as disciples to the King of kings, the Lord Jesus. We joyfully embrace his command to proclaim the reality of his kingdom which he first announced in this land. The gospel of the kingdom is the good news of salvation, liberation and transformation for all. In light of the above, we agree to chart a way forward together that promotes and protects the biblical gospel and mission to the world, solemnly declaring the following tenets of orthodoxy which underpin our Anglican identity.

    1. We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.
    1. We rejoice in the gospel of God through which we have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because God first loved us, we love him and as believers bring forth fruits of love, ongoing repentance, lively hope and thanksgiving to God in all things.

    2. We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.
    5. We gladly proclaim and submit to the unique and universal Lordship of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humanity’s only Saviour from sin, judgement and hell, who lived the life we could not live and died the death that we deserve. By his atoning death and glorious resurrection, he secured the redemption of all who come to him in repentance and faith.

    3. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written, and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is therefore to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.
    2. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God written and to contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is to be translated, read, preached, taught and obeyed in its plain and canonical sense, respectful of the church’s historic and consensual reading.

    4. We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church, and the Westminster Confession of Faith as agreeing with Scripture and expressing the true doctrine of our Church, as its subordinate standard.
    3. We uphold the four Ecumenical Councils and the three historic Creeds as expressing the rule of faith of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
    4. We uphold the Thirty-nine Articles as containing the true doctrine of the Church agreeing with God’s Word and as authoritative for Anglicans today.

    5. We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity. We are mindful of our particular responsibility to the people of Scotland, and are committed to seeing living churches planted, nurtured and matured through the proclamation of the gospel, and a new generation of evangelists, pastors and missionaries sent into the harvest field for the advance of the Kingdom of Christ.
    9. We gladly accept the Great Commission of the risen Lord to make disciples of all nations, to seek those who do not know Christ and to baptise, teach and bring new believers to maturity.

    6. We celebrate the God-given unity in diversity among those devoted to the true gospel of Christ. We are therefore committed to fellowship with all those who love and obey the Lord Jesus Christ, and to building authentic ecumenical partnerships with all congregations who cherish and proclaim the transforming and liberating gospel of Christ.

    12. We celebrate the God-given diversity among us which enriches our global fellowship, and we acknowledge freedom in secondary matters. We pledge to work together to seek the mind of Christ on issues that divide us.
    11. We are committed to the unity of all those who know and love Christ and to building authentic ecumenical relationships. We recognise the orders and jurisdiction of those Anglicans who uphold orthodox faith and practice, and we encourage them to join us in this declaration.

    7. We acknowledge our calling to shine as lights in the world, demonstrating the true life of the Kingdom of God within our churches, and also our responsibility to love our neighbours and to be good stewards of God’s whole creation. We therefore embrace our duty to society, to promote that which is good, healthy and just in public life, and to oppose that which is harmful to individuals and damaging to the welfare of our communities as a whole.
    10. We are mindful of our responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation, to uphold and advocate justice in society, and to seek relief and empowerment of the poor and needy.

    8. We recognize God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We acknowledge the great harm that has come from our failures to maintain this standard, and we repent and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.
    8. We acknowledge God’s creation of humankind as male and female and the unchangeable standard of Christian marriage between one man and one woman as the proper place for sexual intimacy and the basis of the family. We repent of our failures to maintain this standard and call for a renewed commitment to lifelong fidelity in marriage and abstinence for those who are not married.

    9. We reject the authority of those who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.
    13. We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed. We pray for them and call on them to repent and return to the Lord.

    10. We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.
    14. We rejoice at the prospect of Jesus’ coming again in glory, and while we await this final event of history, we praise him for the way he builds up his church through his Spirit by miraculously changing lives.