Apostasy and the VIsible Church

[Regarding Dt. 29:29] “It is revealed to us that Christians can fall away from the covenant. It is not revealed to us who was predestined to do so, and who was predestined to remain—although everyone in the covenant is in one or the other category. The latter is there not to be the basis of our pastoral warnings. The former is.”

The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 477

The Secret Things

“When we say that the reality of the decrees should not be allowed to trump the covenant, we are saying that it is right and appropriate and proper and good for a minister to warn a congregation against falling from grace, or trampling underfoot the blood of the covenant by which they were sanctified, or failing to bear fruit as a branch in the vine. We are talking about how we function, how we warn, how we admonish. The covenant is given to us. The decrees are made concerning us. It is not our job to parse the decrees. It is our job to live in terms of the covenant. We affirm that the decrees are there. We deny that we should preach or admonish someone in particular based on a presumed knowledge of the content of the decrees with regard to that person.”

The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 477

Origin of the FV Statement

“The FV statement that we issued was motivated in part because of our recognition that we bore some responsibility for the confusion. Consequently, we issued a statement that made very clear what the center of FV agreement was, and the statement also included a number of items where we differ among ourselves.”

The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 475

Denying the Simarils

“Those in the Reformed tradition who have sought to accommodate the anti-magisterial bent of the American system of theology have done this by means of making sacraments the means of secondary graces, instead of secondary means of grace. They got the adjective in the wrong place is all. Fine. Let them do that. But them when they go on a rampage and start accusing those people who still hold to Westminster the way it was written of denying the gospel, denying sola fide, and denying the Three Silmarils, it gets a bit thick and a response is required. As I said earlier, many fine Christians don’t hold to Westminster. Great. Fine. But if you don’t hold to Westminster, it is not possible to still use it as a club.”

The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 472

Like It or Not, It Is What the Standards Say

[Regarding WSC #91 & WLC #161] “We are talking about the baptized regenerate. The blessing of Christ, and the working of the Spirit, enable someone who receives the sacrament in true evangelical faith to rightly consider those sacraments to be numbered among the effectual means of their salvation.”

The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 466

A Real Mystery

“Remember that the whole imbroglio started with a Morecraftian heresy trial on the cheap, and a ‘may God have mercy on their souls’ dismissal of us, followed thereafter by a massive internet slander campaign. Someone gave a signal, and one portion of the Reformed world began heaving tin cans, bottles, dead cats, mature vegetables, and old boots at another portion of the Reformed world. ‘Heretics! Deniers of the gospel! False teachers!’ Then halfway through the barrage, another signal was given and in the lull that followed, another argument was thoughtfully advanced. ‘Gee, why are you guys so defensive?’”

The Auburn Avenue Chronicles Vol. 2, p. 465