I’m really struggling reading the report by the PCA on the Federal Vision. I know that many others have already posted their views on this report, but the misunderstandings in it are so fundamental it’s hard to keep quiet.
2 pleas so far
1. Please realise that there is a difference between saying
(a) To be in the covenant is the same thing as to be elect
(b) Election is a “secret” matter, known only to God. Covenant membership is a visible matter. We can only know who is in the covenant, so we (in accord with Scripture) treat those in the covenant as elect.
I (for one), and most FV stuff I’ve read, affirm (b) but deny (a). A critique of view (a) is not a critique of the FV, unless I misread it.
It is interesting to note that in the report’s summary of the Westminster Confession‘s position on election, the one detail they do not expound is that election is a matter of God’s “secret counsel”.
2. Please realise that there is a difference between saying
(a) All those in the covenant receive blessings from God.
(b) All those in the covenant will receive the particular blessing of a place in the new heavens and the new earth.
Covenant membership brings many blessings; final salvation is one such blessing, even the greatest one. But we can assert that being in the visible people of God brings many blessings, without thereby collapsing the visible and invisible church into one. Again, I deny (a) but affirm (b).
Now, back to reading that report. How much more can I bear to read?
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