Federal Vision

Characteristics of FV

• Denial of a prefall “covenant of works.”, 
• Blurring of the distinction between the law/gospel.
• Rejection of the imputation of the “active obedience” of Christ.
• Tendency to include “works” faith as part of justification.
• Baptismal union with Christ 
• Temporary possession of the benefits of Christ (election, justification, adoption, union).

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The FV movement claims 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. - R. Scott Clark