The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland came into separate existence as a result of the passing of the Declaratory Act by the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1892. This Act affirmed the full authority of the church to determine what doctrines enter into the substance of the Ref faith. When the 1893 Assembly failed to repeal it, two ministers, Rev. Donald Macfarlane and Rev. Donald Macdonald, left the Free Church, together with many officebearers, members and adherents, to form the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The first presbytery meeting was held in August 1893, when a Deed of Separation was drawn and subscribed. The church now has five presbyteries in the United Kingdom: one in Africa; one in the antipodes, embracing congregations in Australia and New Zealand; and extensive missionary activities in Zimbabwe and Kenya. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland’s supreme standard is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God; its subordinate standard is the Westminster Confession of Faith. In its public worship, the only version of the Bible used is the Authorized Version; it insists on having worshippers stand when addressing God in prayer; it does not admit the use of instrumental music, and its manual of praise is the psalms of David. It supports the Establishment principle acknowledging Christ as “King of Nations” and regards the state as under a divine obligation to support and maintain the Christian religion. It seeks to uphold and teach biblical morality. It is strongly opposed to abortion except in the rare cases where the life of the mother may be at risk, and it advocates the return of capital punishment for the crime of murder. The church is postmillennial in outlook and firmlybelieves that the whole earth shall yet be “full of the knowledge of the Lord,as the waters cover the sea.”
The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland came into separate existence as a result of the passing of the Declaratory Act by the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1892. This Act affirmed the full authority of the church to determine what doctrines enter into the substance of the Ref faith. When the 1893 Assembly failed to repeal it, two ministers, Rev. Donald Macfarlane and Rev. Donald Macdonald, left the Free Church, together with many officebearers, members and adherents, to form the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The first presbytery meeting was held in August 1893, when a Deed of Separation was drawn and subscribed. The church now has five presbyteries in the United Kingdom: one in Africa; one in the antipodes, embracing congregations in Australia and New Zealand; and extensive missionary activities in Zimbabwe and Kenya. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland’s supreme standard is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God; its subordinate standard is the Westminster Confession of Faith. In its public worship, the only version of the Bible used is the Authorized Version; it insists on having worshippers stand when addressing God in prayer; it does not admit the use of instrumental music, and its manual of praise is the psalms of David. It supports the Establishment principle acknowledging Christ as “King of Nations” and regards the state as under a divine obligation to support and maintain the Christian religion. It seeks to uphold and teach biblical morality. It is strongly opposed to abortion except in the rare cases where the life of the mother may be at risk, and it advocates the return of capital punishment for the crime of murder. The church is postmillennial in outlook and firmlybelieves that the whole earth shall yet be “full of the knowledge of the Lord,as the waters cover the sea.” 