» Opinion: Spotted on YouTube

» News: URCNA Synod Adopts Justification Declarations

The URCNA Synod, meeting this week in Palos Heights, IL, adopted the following statement concerning the doctrine of justiication on Thursday:

Synod affirms that the Scriptures and confessions teach the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone and that nothing that is taught under the rubric of covenant theology in our churches may contradict this fundamental doctrine. Therefore Synod rejects the errors of those:

1. who deny or modify the teaching that "God created man good and after His own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness," able to perform "the commandment of life" as the representative of mankind (HC 6, 9; BC 14);

2. who, in any way and for any reason, confuse the "commandment of life" given before the fall with the gospel announced after the fall (BC 14, 17, 18; HC 19, 21, 56, 60);

3. who confuse the ground and instrument of acceptance with God before the fall (obedience to the commandment of life) with the ground (Christ who kept the commandment of life) and instrument (faith in Christ) of acceptance with God after the fall;

4. who deny that Christ earned acceptance with God and that all His merits have been imputed to believers (BC 19, 20, 22, 26; HC 11-19, 21, 36-37, 60, 84; CD I.7, RE I.3, RE II.1);

5. who teach that a person can be historically, conditionally elect, regenerated, savingly united to Christ, justified, and adopted by virtue of participation in the outward administration of the covenant of grace but may lose these benefits through lack of covenantal faithfulness (CD, I, V);

6. who teach that all baptized persons are in the covenant of grace in precisely the same way such that there is no distinction between those who have only an outward relation to the covenant of grace by baptism and those who are united to Christ by grace alone through faith alone (HC 21, 60; BC 29);

7. who teach that Spirit-wrought sanctity, human works, or cooperation with grace is any part either of the ground of our righteousness before God or any part of faith, that is, the "instrument by which we embrace Christ, our righteousness" (BC 22-24; HC 21, 60, 86);

8. who define faith, in the act of justification, as being anything more than "leaning and resting on the sole obedience of Christ crucified" or "a certain knowledge" of and "a hearty trust" in Christ and His obedience and death for the elect (BC 23; HC 21);

9. who teach that there is a separate and final justification grounded partly upon righteousness or sanctity inherent in the Christian (HC 52; BC 37).

The statement makes no reference to current controversies by name, but the discussion concerned a possible response to the Federal Vision controversy that has been discussed in many reformed denominations. References to "HC" are to the Heidelberg Catechism, "BC" refers to the Belgic Confession, and "CD" refers to the Canons of Dort.

The advisory committee reported to the floor of Synod a recommendation not to adopt the RCUS report concerning Norman Shepherd; grounds were supplied, but RN does not have access to those at present. Synod agreed and the RCUS report was not adopted. The nine declarations above were considered and honed by the committee and approved by Synod leading some to argue that forming a committee to study the Federal Vision would be unnecessary. The committee also recommended against a study committee to study the Federal Vision. Cornelius Venema's arguments in favor of forming a committee set the tone for passage of the idea at the Synod level. A committee was appointed to study the Federal Vision only with regard to the issue of justification by faith. The committee will report back to Synod after a period of three years. The committee consists of 14 members; as soon as the names are released, RN will be able to report on the committee's makeup.

URCNA Posts Press Releases Online Daily

» News: Second PCA Pastor Responds to Nine FV/NPP Declarations

Previously, RN reported on Peter Leithart's letter written in response to the PCA's adoption of the recommendations of the General Assembly study committee concerning the "Federal Vision" and "New Perspectives on Paul". This week, Pastor Steve Wilkins (Monroe, LA) drafted a letter to the Louisiana Presbytery and made the letter public (pdf). The Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church's Federal Vision page contains a number of documents related to the Louisiana Presbytery's ongoing judicial case with the PCA's Standing Judicial Commission.

» News: Federal Vision Blog Zeitgeist

PCA FV/NPP study committee member Robert Mattes (Ruling Elder) has started a new blog wherein he discusses the FV controversy and engages in the online discussion concerning the FV. Mattes criticizes Douglas Wilson's book about slavery, drawing criticism from David Baly (PCA Pastor) and a response from Douglas Wilson. Mattes's followup is here.

In response to the passage of the Federal Vision study committee report's recommendations, Peter Leithart (PCA Pastor) drafted a letter to the Pacific Northwest Presbytery. Then, in a series of followup posts, Leithart has considered several related issues: infant baptism and saving benefits, infant baptism and the FV, paedocommunion and the FV, judgment according to works, academic freedom, the committee's procedures, justification by faith, the nature of what baptism confers, temporary salvation, sociology, judgment according to works (again), Charles Hodge on the same, Adamic merit, Gospel and judgment, Trinity and Judgment, Jesus as judge, justification and judgment, Leithart's own work on the topic of justification, freedom of inquiry, verdict and promise, sloganizing and controversy, faith and creaturehood, the covenant of life, assurance, promissary nature of baptism, a reading list of books influential to Leithart's thinking on these matters, catholicity and the PCA, and the theology of the cross.

In light of Leithart's letter and posts, accusations were made that implied he was "finally" expressing his true views on matters about which he previously dissembled - said R. Scott Clark (professor at Westminster Seminary California) "Here we have a clear indication that the FV/NPP committee was telling the truth and that, perhaps, like Arminius, some FV folk haven't been entirely forthcoming about what they actually believe." Another poster called Leithart's actions disingenuous. In response to these rumors, Leithart asked the Stated Clerk of the Pacific Northwest Presbytery, Robert Rayburn, to vouch for his honesty and plain dealing in their previous inquiries. Clark interpreted Leithart's letter as his "daring his presbytery to do something" - an interpretation he reiterated after being challenged by fellow members of the bbwarfield discussion group.

Leithart's letter is the first observable result of the passage of the Federal VIsision study committee's nine recommendations. We will report on any news concerning investigation by the Pacific Northwest Presbytery, or on any additional letters that may be published by pastors as a result of the study committee's recommendations.

Lane Keister (PCA pastor) has begun a series of responses to Leithart's work on justification here.

R. Scott Clark has posted several public letters (1, 2) calling upon elders, pastors, and laypeople in Reformed denominations to take action on the Federal Vision and against specific Federal Vision advocates. He writes, "GA has spoken and now the real work must begin."

Another noteworthy contribution to the current polemics of the FV issue is James Jordan's six-part essay "How to do Reformed Theology Nowadays". He writes, "So, the churches are miniature academies. People are not taught the Bible, but the confession of faith, over and over. When they go Back to Basics they study the book by that name and thereby get a course in systematic theology. I should have thought that the 'basics' were learning to chant all the psalms, getting a real practical knowledge of the laws of Exodus and Deuteronomy, and coming to be able to walk through every book of the Bible. But not for Calvinists. ... Now, what does this mean? It means that Calvinistic churches exist in a state of perpetual warfare. The Greek notion of truth as comparison and contrast reigns supreme. There is continual fighting over doctrine and continual suspicion of other Christians, especially those closest to us! The transformative purpose of the Church is virtually destroyed; hence pastoral counseling for damage control becomes an overwhelmingly large part of the church's effort."

One response to Federal Visioninsts that is easily observable on the internet is the alleging of a contradiction between the professed "high church" approach of the Federal Visionists and their not heeding the voice of many reformed denominations that have condemned the Federal Vision. A part of this argument concerns the CREC, the church to which many FV opponents call upon the FV men in their denominations to enter. It is alleged that the CREC is the creation of Douglas Wilson and that it represents a lack of catholicity and a further fragmentation within Protestantism. Douglas Wilson responds to these criticisms in a blog post, emphasizing the history of the CREC and its unique challenge of accommodating baptists and paedobaptists in the same church.

» News: PCA Adopts Recommendations of FV Study Committee

After rejecting a motion to postpone consideration of the report, the PCA General Assembly today adopted the recommendations of its Study Committee by a large majority. The committee report is available here (PDF). See our liveblogging below for a summary of the flow of the discussion.

We are making available an MP3 of the Federal Vision Committee Discussion: mp3 (20 MB).

» New: Friday News Roundup, Part 1

PCA: General Assembly meets next week, online webcast will be available, and RN will post a link when it becomes available. Currently, there are two websites - pcaga.com and pcaga.org - and the content appears to be spread across the two at this moment. As previously reported, a group of PCA ministers supportive of the GA FV committee published an open letter with an accompanying website. The website now has more content, including responses to specific objections to the report made by the earlier Open Letter by another group of ministers in opposition to the report. The writers of the "humble answers" document have solicited signatures to the letter, and we will link to the signature list once it is made available. RN has learned that the "30 Reasons" paper written by Jeffrey Meyers in response to the committee's report was mailed to every PCA session in the United States. Joel Garver has published a multi-part review and critique of the FV Study Committee Report: (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Covenant Radio has posted a podcast that consists of a roundtable discussion with PCA Pastors Mark Horne, Jeffrey Meyers, and Mark Duncan about the Study Committee Report (MP3). Attorney and PCA member Jordan Mark Siverd has released a legal analysis (PDF) of the FV study committee report. Siverd also has created an online petition asking the 35th General Assembly to recommit the report.

» News: Pastors Draft "Pastoral Letter" on PCA FV Report

A group of ten ministers has written a "pastoral letter" concerning the Federal Vision study committee report releasedto be considered in June at the PCA's General Assembly in Memphis, TN. This letter first came to our attention at the blog of PCA Deacon, Joel Garver. Download the letter here (PDF). The signatories are: Vito Aiuto, Matt Brown, Ray Cannata, Sam Downing, Josh Eby, John Haralson, Mike Khandjian, Iron Kim, Sam Wheatley, and Shayne Wheeler.

The letter divides its discussion into seven issues - the procedure of the committee's appointment, the issue of confessional interpretation, the issue of election, covenant theology, ecclesiology, baptism, and justification. The letter concludes, "Fellow presbyters, until the committee clarifies these issues, it would be premature for us to ratify their report. We encourage you to carefully and prayerfully think through these issues and not enter into this vote hastily. We are convinced that the report as it now stands lacks the quality and scholarship of a PCA General Assembly position paper. "

Vito Aiuto is the pastor of Resurrection Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Matt Brown is the pastor of Park Slope Presbyterian Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

Ray Cannata is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church of New Orleans, LA.

Sam Downing is the pastor of City Presbyterian Church in Denver, CO.

Josh Eby pastors at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, TN.

John Haralson is pastor of Grace Seattle in Seattle, WA.

Mike Khandjian is pastor of Chapelgate Presbyterian Church in Marriotsville, MD.

Iron Kim is pastor of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Orange, CA.

Sam Wheatley is pastor of Newsong Presbyterian Church in Salt Lake City, UT.

Shayne Wheeler is pastor of All Souls Fellowship in Decatur, GA.

Discuss the pastoral letter in our forums.

» Feature: Poll

more at twiigs.com...

» Opinion: Denying the Gospel

by Peter Leithart, leithart@leithart.com

Every week, I confess the Nicene Creed, and I actually believe it.

I also confess that sinners are saved by trusting in Jesus, God's Son, who saves out of sheer grace.

Yet I, with many of my friends who confess the same things, are accused of denying the gospel. What's the sense of that?

We can only make sense of this charge if we recognize that for a certain kind of Reformed theology, the gospel is not gospel unless it comes second. For all the talk of the "primacy of the gospel," this version of Reformed theology actually believes in the secondary character of the gospel. For the gospel to be good news, it must be added to something more foundational, and it has to be set off in contrast to that more foundational something. Usually, this foundational something is law, or perhaps the contrast is one of nature and grace, or demand and promise.

Whatever the formulation, it is assumed that the gospel cannot be gospel unless it stands in a binary opposition to that foundation. To deny the opposition is to deny the gospel itself, because the gospel is defined by that opposition. The Yes of the gospel only makes sense on the basis of a preexisting No. To deny that there was a preexisting No is to blur the pure gratuity of the Yes.

This sounds plausible enough on the surface of things. After all, the gospel is good news to fallen Adam and his seed, and is a response to the situation of the fall. It is historically secondary. Before God promised a redeemer, He had issued a command. Law comes first.

While this is true from a certain perspective, it ignores the prior words of God in Genesis. God spoke the world into existence by the Word of His power: Was that a Word of demand or promise, law or gospel? It seems clear that it was both. God's first words of command were simultaneously life-giving good news: "Let there be light" was a command, yet it was a command that brought light into existence. Before God prohibited Adam from eating the tree of knowledge, the Eternal Word had already spoken Adam into existence. Before God's No He had already spoken a preexisting Yes, and the Yes set the context for the No. The sheer fact that there is something rather than nothing is testimony to God's prior Yes.

Every No from that time on is set within the context of God's Yes: God says Yes to Noah, and then commands him not to eat blood. God says Yes to Israel in bringing them out of Egypt, and then issues the Ten Words. Every command that God issues presupposes His preexisting Yes, because unless God was committed to preserving a people He would not warn them off the way of death.

For a certain brand of Reformed theology, such talk amounts to denying the gospel because it denies what is thought to be the sub-stratum on which the gratuity of the gospel depends.

The Federal Vision controversy is, from this angle, more about creation than about soteriology or sacramental theology. Far be it from me to accuse those who oppose the Federal Vision of "denying creation," but they are, in my view, failing to work through a fully creationist theology. Dare I say, they have failed to think through a fully evangelical theology of creation.

Note: Reprinted by Permission from Peter Leithart's blog, original post here. We welcome any responses; please send editorial proposals or responses to refnews@gmail.com. Views expressed in editorials are not necessarily the views of the editor or staff of Reformed News.

» News: PCA Federal Vision / NPP Committee Report Modified

The Presbyterian Church in America's Federal Vision / NPP study committee report appeared on the news magazine By Faith Online on about the 7th of May (printout of original). This week, the PCA posted another draft, newly formatted, to the General Assembly website (pdf). The two drafts are nearly identical, content-wise, but the committee made at least one content change that some bloggers online have noticed.

In one section, the original report reads:

Furthermore, some FV writers have also denied that the covenant can be viewed from two different aspects. John Barach observed that "the Bible doesn't know about a distinction between being internally in the covenant, really in the covenant, and being only externally in the covenant." Likewise, Steve Wilkins argued that "all in covenant are given all that is true of Christ." Doug Wilson has implied that all baptized covenant members are participants in Christ in the same "strong sense," writing that "the person who did not persevere was not given less of Christ."

In response to this section of the report, Douglas Wilson notes that the writing referenced by the committee for this "implication" actually affirms the opposite. Likewise, the response of Jeffrey Meyers notes this error.

The revised report reads this way:

Furthermore, some FV writers have also denied that the covenant can be viewed from two different aspects. John Barach observed that "the Bible doesn't know about a distinction between being internally in the covenant, really in the covenant, and being only externally the covenant." Likewise, Steve Wilkins argued that "all in covenant are given all that is true of Christ."

The sentence regarding Wilson's views has been removed in the version of the report that will be distributed to GA commisioners in the General Assembly in Memphis this June. The questions some are asking online include: what motivated the change? which report is the official one? will further changes be made prior to the GA meeting?

In an attempt to understand the factors motivating the committee to change the report, RN contacted the committee on May 17th to inquire about the content change. Committee Chair, Paul Fowler provided no explanation and noted in an email, acquired by RN, to his fellow committee members, "Any suggestions on how to respond? Since we agreed not to respond to such sites, I am not sure what to do?" In the end, Fowler responded "We simply will not get involved in the blogs."

Previously, on May 16th, Fowler responded favorably to our request for a response from the committee concerning Meyers' paper, writing, "We will respond when we have opportunity to evaluate it."

We will continue to develop this story and keep you informed if Fowler or the committee releases further clarification.

» News: Mid-America Reformed Seminary Issues Theological Statement

Mid-America Reformed Seminary this week released a fifty-page statement titled "The Doctrinal Testimony Regarding Recent Errors" (pdf). According to the cover letter by Cornelis Venema, president of the seminary, the statement resulted from a request by the seminary's board to "to compose a clear statement concerning the doctrine of justification by faith with respect to current controversies relating to this doctrine, so that the Board may consider the statement for approval at its next meeting." Venema presents the statement as unanimously approved by the faculty and board of the seminary.

The statement clearly identifies the views it opposes - "New Perspectives on Paul" and "Federal Vision". The report states, "These errors are bringing about confusion within the churches, and are so egregious that they are undermining, even bringing about the abandonment of, the testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Mid-America, located in Dyer, IN, is an independent seminary in the Reformed tradition. Current faculty members include: J. Mark Beach, Nelson D. Kloosterman, Alan Strange, Mark D. Vander Hart, Cornelis P. Venema, and Charles K. Telfer.

Previous faculty engagements with these controversies include Venema's article Getting the Gospel Right, and Strange's article Understanding the "Federal Vision", both in the February 2007 issue of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's denominational magazine, New Horizons.

Corrections: 5/19/07 - corrected spelling of Venema's first name, changed second paragraph from characterizing the report as "targeting" certain views to "opposing" certain views in response to a reader's suggestion.

» News: PCA Minister Responds to GA FV Committee Report

Breaking News Today: Pastor Jeffrey J. Meyers of Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church (PCA) in St. Louis, MO has released a response to the GA committee's proposed report about the Federal Vision controversy. Meyers titled his response 30 Reasons Why It Would be Unwise for the PCA General Assembly to Adopt the Federal Vision Study Report and Its Recommendations.

Meyers previously served on the Missouri Presbytery's study committee (PDF of their report) that considered some of the same issues comprehended in the denominational study committee report.

Editorial Comment: We hope to arrange interviews with Meyers and with committee members if they are willing to discuss the '30 Reasons' provided by Meyers in his response. We'll also be monitoring the blogosphere to get a feel for the zeitgeist. As far as we are aware, there has been little to no discussion of the committee report so far. As always, send us links if we are missing any interesting or inspiring news in the Reformed world.

» News: PCA Federal Vision Study Report in Under the Wire

The PCA Federal Vision Study Report is currently available only at the PCA's denominational magazine. The General Assembly commissioner's handbook has been mailed out to participants and does not contain the report.

Committee member Sean Lucas reports that "the report will be part of the supplemental packet that all commissioners will receive when the register for GA. The committee literally worked until the very last day before the supplemental materials were to go to the printer. However, we wanted to make sure that commissioners had access to it prior to GA; that was why it was distributed first through ByFaithonline."

The lengthy report will be considered for adoption between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13 at the PCA's 34th General assembly in Memphis.

Editorial Comment: So far, there has been little debate of the report's content in the blogosphere. We will keep our ears to the ground and alert readers to discussions that develop.