Another great article this morning…I guess I’m becoming Confessional.
It is about the gospel: Is justification freely given by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, or by grace and works, or by grace and cooperation with grace? That is the question. If you believe what we confess, then you know the answer.
Unhealthy doubt, fear, and anxiety fueled by works righteousness will not do your congregation any good, and that is what the Federal Vision is selling. They want your congregation to be good. So do you. They think they can get your congregation to be good by putting them on the hook for their justification (whether in this life or in the next), by teaching them that all baptized people are at least temporarily united to Christ and have a temporary election, justification, adoption, etc. that must be retained by grace and cooperation with grace. They teach that if a baptized person perseveres (by doing his part), he will turn out to have been eternally elect. They do not seem to realize that this scheme was tried for more than one thousand years before the Reformation and that it did not produce the expected results: sanctity. See the reports from the Roman church herself at the turn of the sixteenth century when a council complained about corruption “in head and members.” The gospel mystery of sanctification, to borrow a phrase, is that God the Spirit uses the good news to sanctify his people. This is one reason Paul called preaching the gospel “foolishness.”
The link at the end may be useful.
In our Bible Study Zoom class we are studying Ephesians and as I’ve mentioned before in parallel I am listening to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-John’s extensive sermons on the book.
To quote a few verses:
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Eph 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Yes, there is a good works teaching in many places in Scripture but it’s not condition to our salvation. Btw, the Bible speaks to the way of good works like this.
2Ti 3:10 But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience,
2Ti 3:11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.
2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
2Ti 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
2Ti 3:14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;
2Ti 3:15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Rainbow Trout 
A couple of quotes from the 2nd link, the 2013 article..
The FV movement was (and is) disparate. Some of the leaders lack formal theological education (e.g. Doug Wilson). Some have PhDs (e.g. Peter Leithart and Jeff Myers). Their original claim to be recovering historic Reformed Christianity is no longer tenable, so now they generally claim to be discovering a “more biblical” form of Christianity, to be carrying on the work of Reformation. The claim to have discovered something new and interesting and to be more biblical, of course, attracts attention from, if I may be blunt, naive evangelicals who don’t know the Reformation or the history of Reformed theology and exegesis in the first place but who are perhaps attracted to the doctrine of predestination and disposed toward novelty already.
The difficulty with the claim to be reforming the Reformed churches, of course, is that the FV ends up advocating views already considered and rejected by the Reformed churches. Most of what the FV is peddling is little different in substance from what the medieval church taught and from what the Remonstrants taught in reaction to the Reformation doctrine of justification sola gratia, sola fide.
Over the years I’ve had a number of posts from young people who were initially enamored of the FV who, after time and reflection, have come to reject it for the reasons given here. As my old friend Norman Hoeflinger used to say about Shepherd’s theology (Hoeflinger was on the WTS/P board and voted against Shepherd in 1981): It just isn’t good news.
“Here’s a gift and here’s what you have to do to keep it” isn’t good news for sinners who cannot do “their part,” not even with the help of grace. If “grace and cooperation with grace” is such good news, why not skip the FV and simply become Roman Catholic? Honestly? That’s been the consistent Roman doctrine since the early middle ages. It’s been the official Roman doctrine since the session 6 of the Council of Trent.
According to the Reformed understanding of Scripture, Jesus has kept the law for all his people fulfilling the promise he made to his Father. Christ’s obedience in fulfilling Adam’s duty is the basis for God’s declaration to and about all those who trust in Christ alone and in his finished work: you are righteous. That’s good news and that’s the biblical covenant theology and doctrine of justification. The covenant of grace isn’t just another covenant of works with a little grace drizzled on top. No, the covenant of grace is really gracious. It’s free. You can’t earn anything with God. It’s unconditional. In justification, faith isn’t trusting and obeying. It’s only trusting in Christ and in his finished work for sinners.
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
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Here is another avenue for study, particularly on Dr. MLJ’s sermons about faith. This of course is before the whole FV issue arose.
https://sheeplywolves.com/the-just-shall-live-by-faith-martyn-lloyd-jones/
The larger sermon file is 33 sermons.
https://www.mljtrust.org/sermons/faith/
I have not done this study yet.
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