Living with Federal Vision

Monday, January 28 2008 @ 09:01 PST

Contributed by: Christopher Meredith

Reed DePace has just written an open letter of sorts to Federal Vision advocates in the PCA. He writes it from a position of charity. In part, he writes:

Do you really want peace? Do you really want to get back to pursuing the first things, the proclamation of the good news of our Savior?
Consider whether or not now is time to withdraw, to withdraw only until such time as God in His providence: persuades us, persuades you, or persuades us both of something better.

This admonition, for FV advocates to leave and go where they're wanted, is not new. Now, however, it appears that those that have been making such suggestions may just get their way.

In my opinion, this will ultimately be a good thing even though I think in the short run, everybody loses. As Pastor DePace points out in his letter, there is a lot of arguing and not a lot of convincing going on. This particular fight does not appear to be winnable in the forum of debate.

So what then? Doug Wilson recently gave a conference here at Immanuel. During our church's conversation with him, in the context of questions about what is and is not permissible on the Sabbath, he suggested that we concentrate on robust Sabbath living and rejoicing in the Lord's Day and in 20 or 30 years, come back and ask questions about what is and is not permissible. The point he was making was that focusing on rules detracts from the Lord's Day as a day of rest, refreshment, worship, and joy.

I think that applies beautifully to the present conflict. The debate should continue, certainly. But while that is happening, the rest of us who take joy in the Reformed doctrines of covenant and all the attendant results should live it. We should teach our people what their baptisms mean; we should feed our children as soon as they are capable of eating; we should encourage robust covenant renewal worship and fellowship. We should levy our publishing houses, literary publications, Christian schools and universities, multimedia resources, and pastors' conferences to further this goal. Then in 30 years it will be abundantly clear whether treating our children like believers will cause them to presume themselves into damnation and whether feeding children from the Lord's Table will rain judgment down upon their heads.

In 20 or 30 years, the fruits of both rich covenant living and strict subscriptionism will be much clearer. In 20 or 30 years, when the children (who are now singing at the tops of their voices, raising their hands and drowning out the adults at the doxology, and feeding on Christ in the Eucharist week by week) have their own children who are doing the same and are doing it in joy, love, and admiration, we will have a vindication of a kind that could never come in an ecclesiastical court.

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