The Aquila Report has received permission from the coordinator of a Web Log that is reporting on the URCNA synod now underway in London, Ontario, Canada on the campus of the University of Western Ontario.

During the Friday morning session of the 2010 Synod meeting of the United Reformed Church of North America, the Justification/Federal Vision Study Committee presented to Synod a clear and strong report rejecting Federal Vision and all of its associated points as error.

The advisory committee which dealt with the report was pleased with the report but made changes to make it stronger. That report was presented to the assembly late in the morning.

There were many delegates that rose to express their appreciation for the soundness and clarity of the defense in the committee’s work, and a small handful who wondered why another refutation must be made since the URCNA has already made refutation. Procedurally, the motions that were made were amendments to wordsmith in an effort to come up with the strongest and most clear and document possible. After a few rounds of wordsmithing, the question was called.

Shall the motion before the floor be adopted? All those in favor, say aye. “Aye”s were heard all around the plenary hall.

All those opposed, say aye. Not a peep. The motion carried, adopting the report as perfected without dissent

Someone in the back visitor section of the hall clapped, and applause broke out throughout the hall. Synod broke from its business to sing “Jesus, With Thy Church Abide” and eat lunch.

The following is the text of the report of the Review Committee. A full copy of the completed, approved report will be published when it is received. To read an analysis of the report presented by the study committee, go to: http://bit.ly/b3INlg [Editor’s note: the original URL (link) referenced is no longer valid, so the link has been removed.]

Recommendations:
1. That Synod London grant the privilege of the floor to Rev. Brian Vos (secretary), and to Dr. Cornelis P. Venema (substitute for the chair) as well as any other members of the Committee present during the discussion of this report.
Grounds:
1. These two brothers were present during our deliberations and would be able to give a fuller defense and explanation of the recommendations from the Report that the committee has proposed to adopt.
2. This is consistent with rule 5.4.2 of the Regulations for Synodical Procedure.
The chairman so orders
2. That Synod London encourage all office-bearers to repudiate Federal Vision teachings where they are not in harmony with the following teachings of the Three Forms of Unity (with underlining emphasis added).
Grounds:
1. It is in keeping with the original intent of the Overture to address the Federal Vision controversy from the perspective of the confessions.
2. Urging office-bearers to refute FV teachings where they are not in harmony with the specific citations of the confessions strengthens the report, and thus serves the churches in a way that avoids controversy.
3. The highlighted articles and statements pertain to the theological teachings which the Federal Vision movement has affected as noted in the Report.
4. Our Form of Subscription requires us to refute all errors that militate against our confessional documents.
5. In addition, see Point C (Recommendation 3).
a. Motion is made and supported to amend the recommendation by replacing “teachings of” with “statements from.” Adopted
b. Motion is made and supported to amend the recommendation by deleting “London” and replacing “encourage” with “urge.” Adopted
c. Motion is made and supported to amend the recommendation by changing “statements” to “articles” for the sake of consistency. Adopted
d. The recommendation now reads:
“That Synod urge all office-bearers to repudiate Federal Vision teachings where they are not in harmony with the following articles from the Three Forms of Unity (with underlining emphasis added).” Adopted without dissent
Canons of Dort I, Article 7
Election is the unchangeable purpose of God, whereby…God has decreed to give to Christ to be saved by Him, and effectually to call and draw them to His communion by His Word and Spirit; to bestow upon them true faith, justification, and sanctification; and having powerfully preserved them in the fellowship of His son, finally to glorify them …
Canons of Dort I, Article 8
There are not various decrees of election, but one and the same decree respecting all those who shall be saved, both under the Old and New Testament; since the Scripture declares the good pleasure, purpose, and counsel of the divine will to be one, according to which He has chosen us from eternity, both to grace and to glory, to salvation and to the way of salvation, which He has ordained that we should walk therein (Eph. 1:4, 5; 2:10).
Canons of Dort I, Article 15
…Not all, but some only, are elected, while others are passed by in the eternal decree; whom God, out of His sovereign, most just, irreprehensible, and unchangeable good pleasure, has decreed to leave in the common misery into which they have willfully plunged themselves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and the grace of conversion…
Canons of Dort I, Rejection of Errors, Paragraph 2
[We reject the errors of those] Who teach: That there are various kinds of election of God unto eternal life: the one general and indefinite, the other particular and definite; and that the latter in turn is either incomplete, revocable, non-decisive, and conditional, or complete, irrevocable, decisive, and absolute. Likewise: That there is one election unto faith and another unto salvation, so that election can be unto justifying faith, without being a decisive election unto salvation.
For this is a fancy of men’s minds, invented regardless of the Scriptures, whereby the doctrine of election is corrupted, and this golden chain of our salvation is broken .And whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified (Rom. 8:30).
Canons of Dort, V, Article 1
Those whom God, according to His purpose, calls to the communion of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and regenerates by the Holy Spirit, He also delivers from the dominion and slavery of sin.
Canons of Dort, V, Article 6
But God, who is rich in mercy, according to His unchangeable purpose of election, does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from His own people even in their grievous falls; nor suffers them to proceed so far as to lose the grace of adoption and forfeit the state of justification, or to commit the sin unto death or against the Holy Spirit; nor does He permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge themselves into everlasting destruction.
Canons of Dort V, Article 7
For in the first place, in these falls He preserves in them the incorruptible seed of
regeneration from perishing or being totally lost…
Canons of Dort V, Rejection of Errors, Paragraph 7
[We reject the errors of those] Who teach: That the faith of those who believe for a time does not differ from justifying and saving faith except only in duration.
For Christ Himself, in Matt. 13:20, Luke 8:13, and in other places, evidently notes, beside this duration, a threefold difference between those who believe only for a time and true believers, when He declares that the former receive the seed on stony ground, but the latter in the good ground or heart; that the former are without root, but the latter have a firm root; that the former are without fruit, but that the latter bring forth their fruit in various measure, with constancy and steadfastness.
Belgic Confession, Article 22
Therefore we justly say with Paul, that we are justified by faith alone, or by faith apart from works. However, to speak more clearly, we do not mean that faith itself justifies us, for it is only an instrument with which we embrace Christ our righteousness. But Jesus Christ, imputing to us all His merits, and so many holy works which He has done for us and in our stead, is our righteousness. And faith is an instrument that keeps us in communion with Him in all His benefits, which, when they become ours, are more than sufficient to acquit us of our sins.
3. That Synod affirm the following teachings of Scripture and the Three Forms of Unity.
a. Motion is made and supported to amend the grounds of the recommendation by replacing “special status” in the first ground with “binding nature.” Adopted
(This is reflected below by placing the new words in italics and striking out the deleted words.)
b. Motion is made and supported to amend the grounds of the recommendation by striking the first clause of the fourth ground. Adopted
(This is reflected below by placing the new words in italics and striking out the deleted words.)
c. Motion is made and supported to amend the grounds of the recommendation by inserting at the end of the first ground following clause:
“The Scriptures, Ecumenical Creeds, and Three Forms of Unity alone may serve as grounds in matters of discipline.” Adopted
(This is reflected below by placing the new words in italics.)
d. Motion is made and supported to amend teaching 13 below by striking out “are obligated to attest the presence of such” and replacing it with “shall make public profession of.” Adopted
(This is reflected below by placing the new words in italics and striking out the deleted words.)
e. Motion is made and supported to amend teaching 14 below by striking out “is an ordinary fruit of” and replacing it with “springs from.” Adopted
(This is reflected below by placing the new words in italics and striking out the deleted words.)
f. Motion is made and supported to amend the second clause of teaching 14 below by replacing “Though” with “Although” and striking the word “may.” Adopted
(This is reflected below by placing the new words in italics and striking out the deleted words.)
g. On the recommendation and grounds, as amended: Adopted without dissent
Grounds:
1. Clearly distinguishing direct quotations from the Confessions from the formulations of the 15 points respects the binding nature special status of our Confessions as our doctrinal standards. The Scriptures, Ecumenical Creeds, and Three Forms of Unity alone may serve as grounds in matters of discipline.
2. Moving the affirmations as proposed in Overture 1 diminishes the weight of the statements addressing the Federal Vision errors.
3. Overture 1’s proposal to move these affirmations to summary statements would disrupt the coherence and logical flow of the report.
4. With regard to the concerns about extra-confessional statements raised in Overture 1, the churches have a responsibility to address contemporary theological errors in a language that is applicable to those errors.
1. In God’s unchangeable purpose, He elects His chosen ones to salvation and effectively draws them into fellowship with Christ through His Word and Spirit, granting them true faith in Christ, justifying, sanctifying and preserving them in Christ’s fellowship until He glorifies them (Canons of Dort, 1.7).
2. The election of God is of one kind only, and is to everlasting life, and not to a mutable relationship dependent on the good work of man, which can be forfeited (Canons of Dort, 1.8). Those who finally fall away have not forfeited their election, but demonstrate they never were elect, though members of the covenant community (Canons of Dort, 5.7).
3. Some members of the church or covenant community “are not of the Church, though externally in it” (Belgic Confession, Article 29).
4. Those who are truly “of the Church” may be known by the “marks of Christians; namely, by faith, and when, having received Jesus Christ the only Savior, they avoid sin, follow after righteousness, love the true God and their neighbor, neither turn aside to the right or left, and crucify the flesh with the works thereof” (Belgic Confession, Article 29).
5. Adam was obligated to obey “the commandment of life” in order to live in fellowship with God and enjoy His favor eternally (Belgic Confession, Article 14; Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 3).
6. All human beings have fallen in Adam, are subject to condemnation and death, and are wholly incapable of finding favor with God on the basis of obedience to the law of God (Belgic Confession, Article 14; Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 3, 24).
7. The work of Christ as Mediator of the covenant of grace fully accords with God’s truth and justice, satisfies all the demands of God’s holy law, and thereby properly “merits” the believer’s righteousness and eternal life (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 5-7, 15, 23-24; Belgic Confession, Article 22; Canons of Dort, Rejection of Errors, 2:3).
8. The entire obedience of Christ “under the law,” both active and passive,
constitutes the righteousness that is granted and imputed to believers for their justification (Belgic Confession, Article 22; Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 23).
9. Faith is the sole instrument of the believer’s justification, so that believers may be said to be justified “even before [they] do good works” (Belgic Confession, Article 24).
10. The good works of believers, though necessary fruits of thankfulness,
contribute nothing to their justification before God since they proceed from true faith, are themselves the fruits of the renewing work of Christ’s Spirit, are imperfect and corrupted by sin, and are performed out of gratitude for God’s grace in Christ (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 3, 24, 32, 33; Belgic Confession, Article 24).
11. The justification of true believers is a definitive and irrevocable blessing of Christ’s saving work, and therefore cannot be increased by the good works that proceed from true faith or be lost through apostasy. (Canons of Dort, 1:9; Rejection of Errors 1:2, 2:8, 5:7; Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 20, 21)
12. The sacrament of baptism does not effect the believer’s union with Christ or justification but is a confirmation and assurance of the benefits of Christ’s saving work to those who respond to the sacrament in the way of faith (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 25, 27).
13. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is a means to strengthen and nourish the believer in Christ when it is received by the “mouth of faith” and therefore the children of believing parents shall make public profession of are obligated to attest the presence of such faith before receiving the sacrament (Belgic Confession, Article 35; Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 28-30).
14. The assurance of salvation springs from is an ordinary fruit of true faith, which looks
primarily to the gospel promise and the testimony of the Holy Spirit as the basis for confidence before God. Although Though good works may confirm the genuineness of faith, they are not the primary basis for such assurance of salvation (Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Days 7, 23, 32; Belgic Confession, Article 22-23; Canons of Dort, 5:8-13).
15. According to God’s electing purpose and grace revealed in the gospel, true believers may be confident that God will preserve them in the way of salvation and keep them from losing their salvation through apostasy (Canons of Dort, 1:12, 5:8-10)
4. That recommendations 2 and 3 above be Synod’s answer to Overture 1, points 1&2.
Adopted
5. That Synod reaffirm the reminder of Synod Schererville: “That synod remind and encourage individuals that, if there are office-bearers suspected of deviating from or obscuring the doctrine of salvation as summarized in our Confessions, they are obligated to follow the procedure prescribed in the Church Order (Articles 29, 52, 55, 61, 62) and the Form of Subscription for addressing theological error” (Acts of Synod 2007, Art. 67.4).
a. Motion is made and supported amend the recommendation by striking the introductory clause.
Adopted
(This is reflected below by striking out the deleted words.)
b. The recommendation as amended is: Adopted
6. That Synod London: 1) distribute sections 1-5 of the study committee report together with Synod’s decisions on this matter to all the consistories of the URCNA, commending it for study; 2) post the study committee report together with Synod’s decisions on this matter on the federation website; and 3) instruct the Stated Clerk to mail copies of the study committee report together with Synod’s decisions on this matter to those denominations with whom the URCNA enjoys ecumenical relations. Adopted
7. That Synod London publish the study committee report together with Synod’s decisions on this matter within six months of Synod 2010, separate from the Acts of Synod, for the sake of greater accessibility to the churches. adopted

These are edited extracts from the Blog. For more details visit: http://urcnasynodreports.wordpress.com/