W e have seen something of what it means to trust in Jesus alone as Savior, and of what it means to live for him. Now we come to the final question in the form for public profession of faith in which we learn see God's provision for my safekeeping through the government of the Church. In order to understand what is involved in this vow, we first need to have some understanding of the Presbyterian form of church government. These elders govern in a system of church assemblies, namely, session, presbytery and general assembly. Since all authority really belongs to Christ, the only king and head of the Church, no church assembly is higher and no church assembly can have any ultimate or final authority.
Some churches are congregational in government.
Churches with this form of government do not recognize any governing authority except what exists in the local church. The great weakness in this form of government is that there is no right of appeal against decisions made in a local church if they are unbiblical. We believe this conflicts with the clear teaching of Acts chapter 15. This portion of the Bible proves that there was the right of appeal in the apostolic church. The general assembly had the authority to settle matters which could not settled in the local church.