FEDERAL VISION AND

COVENANT THEOLOGYA Comparative Analysis

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Federal Vision, ed. Steve Wilkins. ISBN 0975391402!

Reformed is Not Enough, by Douglas Wilson. ISBN 1591280052!

The Call of Grace: How the Covenant Illuminates Salvation and Evangelism, by Norman Shepherd. ISBN 0875524591!

The Kingdom & The Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church, by Peter J. Leithart. ISBN 0875523005!

The Federal Vision and Covenant Theology, Guy P. Waters, 2006. ISBN 1596380330!

The Auburn Avenue Theology: Pros and Cons, eds. E. Calvin Beisner, Florida: Knox Theological Seminary, 2004.

TIMELINE

October 2001! Schlissel’s Lecture!

January 2002! ! Auburn Avenue Pastor’s Conference!

June 2002!! ! RPCUS Calls for Public Repentance!

fall 2002! ! ! Wilson, Reformed is Not Enough!

January 2003! ! Auburn Avenue Pastor’s Conference!

August 2003! ! Knox Colloquium

THE PLAYERS

Doug Wilson

Peter Leithart

James B. Jordan

Pastor of Christ Church, Moscow, ID (CREC)!Founder and faculty member: New Saint Andrews College!Helped start the Logos School

Senior theological instructor at New St. Andrews!PCA, though serving in CREC!Longtime associate of James Jordan

1982-1987 Pastor Westminster Pres, Tyler, TX (ARC)!MA and ThM from WTS, Phila.!Various newsletters and self-published books

THE PLAYERS

Steve M. Schlissel

John Barach

Ralph Smith (No Photo)

Steve Wilkins

Pastor of Messiah’s Congregation, !Brooklyn, NY (formerly CRC, now !independent)

Pastor of a URC church in Alberta!Heavily influenced by Norman Shepherd

CREC minister serving in Japan!No photo, because I don’t know him, and therefore can’t find one

Senior Pastor of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church !(formerly PCA, now CREC)

THE PLAYERS

Rich Lusk

Joel Garver

Mark Horne

Former Assistant pastor of AAPC!Now Pastor of Trinity Pres, Birmingham, AL

Officer in PCA (Phila.)!Assistant Prof. LaSalle U (Philosophy)

Assistant pastor, Providence Pres, St. Louis, MO!Well-maintained website promotes the Federal Vision

DEFINITION OF COVENANT

Classical Definition: A covenant is a binding agreement or compact between two or more parties; in legal terms, it is a formal sealed agreement or contract. Biblical covenants are generally established in a non-parity situation.!

Federal Vision Definition: Covenant is, in its essence, a relationship. While few would deny any legal dimensions to the relationship, the emphasis is very much weighted to the personal/vital sense. FV proponents “illegitimately privilege the marriage metaphor at the expense of the total witness of the biblical data.”

COVENANT OBJECTIVITY

“According to the Bible the privileges of covenant membership go far beyond opportunity, mere opportunity, or privilege. According to the Scriptures to be in covenant with God is to really and truly be swept up into the glorious communion and fellowship of the Triune God, and be part of His family. Being in covenant involves then a concrete, substantial reality, and thus the Apostles could declare the blessings of salvation that are true of everyone who is a member of Christ, and declare them to be true without qualification, even though they didn’t know the decrees.” (Wilkins, quoted on p. 13)!

This will have ramifications for doctrine of Justification; Children.

COVENANT OBJECTIVITY

“What is under question is how any member of the covenant of grace at any time may regard himself and his standing before God; and how members of the covenant of grace are to be addressed by and regarded in the public teaching of the church.” (p. 14)!

I.e., not the Jailer’s question (and Luther’s), but the law as gospel ... “What does God require?”

COVENANT OBJECTIVITY

FV contends “that covenant is an objective relationship independent of the covenant member’s subjective considerations of the strength or nature of his membership”!

And a covenant is also objective, like your marriage. It’s there whether the members of the covenant feel it’s there, or believe it’s there, whether they even believe in the covenant or not. If you were to stop believing that you were married, you would still be married. Your marriage exists. (John Barach)!

p. 14

COVENANT OBJECTIVITY

The chief consequence of covenantal objectivity is that a premium is placed on that which is visible, external, tangible.!

As in the old covenant, so in the new covenant. There is an objective covenant made of believers and their children. Every baptized person is in covenant with God and is in union, then, with Christ and with the triune God. 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, just being in the sphere of the covenant. The Bible speaks about the reality, the efficacy of baptism. Every baptized person is truly a member of God’s covenant. (Barach)!

p. 15 ... what about Romans 2:28-29; 9:6-8?

COVENANT OBJECTIVITY

FV tends to reject the traditional view that the apostles address believers according to a “judgment of charity” (cf. 1 Pet 5:12; 1 John 2:19-20 & Matt 7:22-23)!

FV tends to reject the traditional distinction between communicant and non-communicant members

COVENANT AND THE TRINITY

FV Defines the Trinity “Relationally” and (begging the question) therefore sees an ontological ‘covenant’.!

This is grounded on language such as “love”, “righteous” and “faithfulness” for God’s self-disclosure with regard to covenants. But this cannot necessitate covenant at the core of the trinity, since “mercy” is also used.!

For FV, what unites the 3-in-1 is a covenantal bond of love. Claiming to safeguard the doctrine of the trinity, they attenuate unity, sliding dangerously close to tritheism.

COVENANT AND THE TRINITY

Smith argues that “when we have the elements of a covenant, we have the covenant.” However, since he defines covenant as relationship, “when the Bible speaks of a relationship in which there is a hierarchy, responsibility, commands and stipulations, and a promised blessing, the Bible calls that relationship a covenant”.!

Smith then points to some passages from John proving the covenant of redemption. But he fails to justify the assertion that this covenant must be identified with the eternal, intratrinitarian relationships. In fact, it cannot be, as it involves inequality of relations as well as forgiveness.

COVENANT AND THE TRINITY

We may grant with Berkhof that “the archetype of all covenant life is found in the Trinitarian being of God, and what is seen among men is but a faith copy (ectype) of this.” Smith however, speculatively appears to understand this relationship in terms of identity, not analogy.

CONCLUSIONS

Federal Vision abandons the traditional understanding of a covenant as a contract, a pact, an agreement, and understands it, instead, as relationship itself.!

Federal Vision then reads the origin of all biblical covenants back into the nature of God himself, and understands the three persons of the trinity to be covenantally united.!

This will have dramatic effects on their understanding of the history of redemption, justification, the nature of the church, etc.!

We will see that, just as they have eliminated the distinction between the visible and invisible church, they will eliminate the distinction between the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. For them, the gospel is the law. They are not a new heresy. It’s still justification by works. In this sense, FV is very close to NPP, which we may have occasion to look at soon.