“I am not mono-covenantal . . . and I hold that there are two covenants—the covenant of creation and the covenant of grace. One, two.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 673
Breech of the Ninth Commandment
“If you have been in controversy like this one for five years, as I have, and have written hundreds of thousands of words about it, as I have, it is impossible to read through those Westminster quotations above and say, ‘Yep. I sure did all of that right.’ Specifically, I can say (and do say) that my purpose and intent was not to accuse any of the named individuals in this controversy with the sin of purposefully lying. But because I did not make this qualification carefully at that time, I believe that it would be quite reasonable for a reader not to see this, and that problem was my responsibility. I was not making a blanket accusation (for example) of flat-out lying against the men at Mid-America or Westminster West. I don’t believe that accusation to be true, but since my words could reasonably be construed that way, I need to seek the forgiveness of any FV critics affected by it. In short, any of the named Christian leaders, critics of the FV, who believed I was calling them liars simpliciter, please forgive me for my breech of the ninth commandment in this” ().
TheAuburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 671
Yet Another Disconnect
“How is it possible to disagree politely with giants in the faith on doctrine x, but when doctrine x appears in modern garb, denounce it as heresy? . . . We can’t claim to be Reformed and in the next breath reject half our fathers in the faith as heretics and scoundrels. And so we don’t reject them outright—we keep their names carved in marble in places of honor, and we keep their books on our shelves, and we reprint these commemorative editions to keep them in honorific libraries (without intending to actually read them). One of the central points that I made at the infamous Auburn Avenue conference was something I had learned from my Banner of Truth edition of John Murray’s works, which set had been given to me as a gift of gratitude by certain saints who now view me as a heretic—for having read and believed what they gave me as a present. Ah, well.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, pp. 664-665
An Odd Juxtaposition
“I agree that everything depended upon Adam’s obedience, but I am just baffled by Lane contrasting obedience and faith. In my mind, that is contrasting walking with legs.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 663
Denying It By How They Affirm It
“So the doctrine of justification by faith alone is as glorious as it ever was. It needs to be confessed, believed, cherished, and preached. But there are some who deny it by wearing it around their necks as a talisman; they are in grave peril because when the gospel is declared to them, they mutter to themselves that they are already children of Abraham and have never been in bondage to anyone.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 658
Sons of the Reformation
“Are you children of Calvin? Then do the works of Calvin. Don’t read us the words of Calvin in a monotone; don’t read them off the marble monument you set up in the lobby of the Reformed museum. And if you try to read them in that monotone, and I object, don’t try to make it appear that I have problems with his words. Preach them to the world in the open air; preach them in such a way that people start accusing you of being a madman, or drunk, or evil, or something. Preach them in such a way that people set up anonymous websites to destroy your reputation. Don’t pin his words to a poster board like a row of dead but orthodox butterflies.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 657
Westminster, Aye
“The Westminster Confession of Faith does not need constant fixing; the hearts of Westminsterians do need constant fixing. The problem is not Moses’ seat, but rather the Pharisaical bums ensconced there. I have been regularly surprised at the defenders of the Confession who cannot answer simple questions about what is actually in it. Their loyalty to the confession is loyalty to the idea of having it, and not to what it actually says.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, pp. 656-657
A Bomber’s Nose
“Thousands of hours of study without meeting with the principals face-to-face is thousands of hours of yelling up the wrong rain spout. Establishing committees that are as stacked as a WWII bomber’s nose is not the way to inspire my confidence. No, I haven’t gotten over the sheer brazenness of that study committee.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 653
Feed My Lambs
“I agree that the fact that we baptize infants does not obligate us to allow them to vote in church elections, or drive the bus to the family retreat. But what we are talking about, with regard to the Table, is food. All children who come into our households should have the privilege of food.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 647
Guards or Bouncers?
“All pastors and elders should want to protect the Table from corrupt use, but we should do so a posteriori. The approach to church purity taken here is that of hiring big, beefy security guards at the door to check everyone’s IDs three times. The approach taken to church purity by what I take to be a more consistent covenantal approach is to hire big, beefy bouncers.”
The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 644