PCA Presbytery Endorses Federal Vision

Gods Hammer ^ | 10/Jan/2011 | J Meyers

[Cronos]

This past week the Missouri Presbytery exonerated Jeffery Meyers on all counts basically denying that he is a Federal Visionist. This in spite of the fact that Meyers, along with his assistant pastor Mark Horne, was a signer of the Joint Federal Vision Profession of Faith. You can read the MO Pres’ statement clearing Meyers here.

In every instance the MO Pres concluded there was “insufficient evidence to raise a strong presumption of guilt that TE Meyers is teaching contrary to the Westminster Standards.”
So, for a quick review of just a few of the many notable exceptions to the Westminster Standards which no one in the MO Pres will hold him to, Meyers asserts in his profession of faith:

All who are baptized into the triune Name are united with Christ in His covenantal life, and so those who fall from that position of grace are indeed falling from grace.

according to Meyers a person can be united with Christ and yet “fall from that position of grace

Meyers continues:

We deny that the faith which is the sole instrument of justification can be understood as anything other than the only kind of faith which God gives, which is to say, a living, active, and personally loyal faith. Justifying faith encompasses the elements of assent, knowledge, and living trust . . . We deny that faith is ever alone, even at the moment of the effectual call. Notice, Meyers denies justification by faith alone and says so. He denies “that faith is ever alone, even at the moment of the effectual call.”

[Cronos]

PCA

[Cronos]

from the article

Notice, Meyers believes that one can have genuine faith in Jesus Christ while denying the Reformed doctrine of sola fide. Make sense, because he certainly does.

[driftdiver]

Baptism is a profession of faith. Being baptized does not ‘save’ you. Accepting Christ as your savior is the only way to be saved.

I always thought the PCA was doing it right. Does this mean they are as screwed up as the Methodists and PCUSA?

[DeaconBenjamin]

As opposed to the view that saving faith does not sanctify, and does not result in works?

[Cronos]

The PCA may one day re-join the PCUSA.

[Cronos]

It’s not very clear what Meyer’s believes. The article does go off the wall with it’s accusations against him.

[tgusa]

The entire session and half of the diaconate (I was one) left a PCA church precisely because the presbytery turned a blind eye to deviations from the Westminster Standards by our TE, then failed to perform its mandated functions as stated in the Book of Church Order (now Chapter 13). It was a very sad time for all of us.

[DeaconBenjamin]

The church chose the TE over the session? That seems strange.

[The Grammarian]

We deny that faith is ever alone, even at the moment of the effectual call. Notice, Meyers denies justification by faith alone and says so. He denies “that faith is ever alone, even at the moment of the effectual call.”

There's a difference between denying that faith is ever alone ("faith without works is dead," to quote St James) and denying justification by faith alone.

[tgusa]

It was VERY strange, believe me. Don’t want to go into more detail because many of the principals are still out there. The majority of the families who left, left the PCA as well.

[driftdiver]

In other denominations its done in small steps. In a PCUSA church there was actually discussion as to the church’s stance on abortion and having homosexual lay leaders.

The Pastor informed the elders he wouldn’t perform a marriage for gays. A few of the elders were more concerned about what their places of employment would think.

[driftdiver]

“The PCA may one day re-join the PCUSA.”

Perhaps they have already taken that step. Either you are on Gods side or you are against. The label doesn’t really matter if you have chosen the latter.

[tgusa]

In this case things came to a boil after a multitude of small steps, which both the session and the TE kept below the congregation’s radar horizon. When forced to choose, my family chose the session, who after all had been unaminously elected by the congregation. Again - it was a very sad time, and there were no ‘winners’.

[driftdiver]

It certainly is sad. It turns people away from Gods grace which is the greatest tragedy.

[tgusa]

Agreed. ‘Drama’ like this is an unnecessary distraction.

[fishtank]

I go to a small "p" presbyterian church (i.e. it's a small evangelical denomination, with a very big "R" Reformed theology coming from the pastors).

I'm a member, I'm not an elder. But the pastors often effectively deny "sola fide" in their statements, often identical to those in this article.

Jody (Joseph) Dillow's book "The Reign of the Servant Kings" is one of the best explanations of the free grace theology.

The free grace position is necessary for true small "r" reformed theology to move out of the Roman position, and into a true Biblical understanding of grace, faith, salvation and assurance.

[Alex Murphy]

Let me know when the Catholic Church endorses Federal Vision theology.

[Campion]

It'll be the other way around, actually.

The two statements in boxes at the top of the page are closer to Catholic doctrine than their authors' original Calvinist position was.

[Cronos]

Thank you for that. I will look up that book

[Cronos]

It’s like asking when will the Congregationalists or Amish endorse Federal Vision — FV theology is Presbyterian in origin and is really for Presbyterian circles to decide.