Doug Wilson Says We ‘Were Declared to be Heretics’

“On June 22, 2002, Covenant Presbytery of the RPCUS declared that certain teachings at a pastors’ conference presented by Steve Schlissel, Steve Wilkins, John Barach and, as the Victorians would have put it, the present writer, involved a ‘fundamental denial of the essence of the Christian Gospel in the denial of justification by faith alone.’ Consequently, the four of us were declared to be heretics.”¹ — Doug Wilson

OPINION: Doug Wilson, along with three others, was declared a heretic by the Covenant Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States in 2002. Since the beginning of this controversy, a total of five denominations and one seminary have publicly voiced their concerns regarding an unbiblical teaching Doug helped popularize called Federal Vision. And not just any denominations, but specifically Reformed Presbyterian denominations, which Doug himself claims as his sect of Christianity.² The institutions’ investigations were thorough and should not be lightly dismissed. We would all do well to take heed of their warnings:

“Covenant Presbytery of the RPCUS declares that the teaching presented in the 2002 Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Pastors Conference involves a fundamental denial of the essence of the Christian Gospel in the denial of justification by faith alone…the teaching of the various speakers: Douglas Wilson, Steve Schlissel, John Barach, and J. Steven Wilkins, has the effect of destroying the Reformed Faith through the introduction of false hermeneutic principles; the infusion of sacerdotalism; and the redefinition of the doctrines of: the church, the sacraments, election, effectual calling, perseverance, regeneration, justification, union with Christ, and the nature and instrumentality of faith.” — Covenant Presbytery of Reformed Presbyterian Church in the United States, 2002: https://web.archive.org/web/20220328140236/https://flockalert.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/what-is-the-federal-vision-is-it-heresy/

“…the teachings of the Federal Vision herein reviewed and critiqued seriously undermine the testimony of the Gospel and are substantially at odds with the Christian gospel…if Wilson is going to be clear of heresy he must renounce his errors and confusion and truly affirm the historic protestant doctrine of justification by means of faith alone apart from works of any kind—including the work of baptism!” — The Reformed Church in the United States, 2006: https://web.archive.org/web/20240509165428/https://rcus.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/RCUS-Position-Federal-Vision-2006f.pdf

“…the ‘New Perspectives on Paul,’ and the ‘Federal Vision,’ are in conflict with the teaching of Scripture and as such they are unacceptable.” — Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, 2009: https://web.archive.org/web/20221006145752/http://arpchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Minutes-of-Synod-2009-Web.pdf

“…the Committee also offers the following recommendations in order to promote the purity, peace, and unity of the church concerning the doctrine of justification…That the General Assembly recommend that presbyteries, sessions, and pastors be proactive in addressing teaching of the New Perspective on Paul and of the Federal Vision and other like teachings that compromise the purity of the gospel.” — Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 2006: https://web.archive.org/web/20220524152347/https://opc.org/GA/justification.pdf

“The Committee views the FV position as ultimately leading to presumption or despair, not assurance. At the heart of their belief is the view that water baptism serves as the means for uniting each participant to Jesus; those baptized receive all the benefits of Christ’s mediation except final perseverance. Our concern is that some of those who are baptized will simply presume on God’s grace, ‘continuing in the covenant’ without ‘apostatizing’ but also without justifying faith (cf. Matthew 22:1-14); others will be driven to despair, working for a salvation out of ‘covenant faithfulness’ instead of resting and receiving Jesus alone for their salvation.” — The Presbyterian Church in America, 2007: https://web.archive.org/web/20231211234041/https://www.pcahistory.org/pca/studies/07-fvreport.pdf

“…the FV movement has not only contributed to confusion in the churches but also failed to guard the gospel of free justification on the basis of Christ’s work alone from serious error. We agree with those Presbyterian and Reformed churches that have issued similar reports, and that have called FV proponents to repentance, urging them to proclaim and promote the biblical truths of the Reformation. Only in this way will the churches be built up in the most holy faith, once for all entrusted to the saints, and God be glorified in the salvation of His people.” — United Reformed Churches in North America, 2007: https://web.archive.org/web/20240430083758/https://www.urcna.org/urcna/StudyCommittees/FederalVision/Federal_Vision_Study_Committee_Report.pdf

“…we humbly but resolutely stand against the theological errors now current, propagated by certain teachings of what has become known as the Federal Vision” — Mid-America Reformed Seminary, 2007: https://web.archive.org/web/20231207134042/https://www.midamerica.edu/uploads/files/pdf/errors.pdf

In 2009, Doug wrote that “in some places the controversy [regarding Federal Vision] has just gone away. And where it continues, for the most part it has settled down into a robust debate, and in some sectors it has even turned into a discussion.”³ I find this statement odd because that same year, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church released another position paper condemning the dangerous errors of Federal Vision.⁴ When I asked him if any of the reports by the five denominations had been resolved or retracted, he said he didn’t know of any that had been resolved.

Why has this controversy gone on for so long? Why hasn’t it been resolved? I confronted Doug on this point in particular. He has radically changed his theology over the years,⁵ yet for some reason, he will not budge when it comes to Federal Vision. Why does Doug continue to teach Federal Vision theology when so many have come forward to declare it to be unscriptural and dangerous? Even he admitted that the theology had “caused some to stumble.”⁶ Why then has he not recanted anything specific regarding this controversial theology? While he has tried to distance himself from the title “Federal Vision,” he has made it clear that it was not because he had changed his beliefs.⁷ He continues to believe Federal Vision and its “understanding of the objectivity of the covenant to be a theological breakthrough.”⁸

I personally agree with these position papers—that the teaching of Doug Wilson regarding Federal Vision is unbiblical and dangerous. My prayer is that Doug will see that he has indeed strayed from Scripture in his teaching and advocacy of Federal Vision theology, and that he would repent and pull anything that teaches this flawed theology from circulation.

Want More Context?

Here are some links to other blogs and podcasts dealing with this and other issues in more depth:

https://heidelblog.net/2024/07/what-the-confessional-reformed-churches-have-said-about-doug-wilson/

https://theocast.org/is-doug-wilson-a-false-teacher/

https://heidelblog.net/2017/10/resources-on-the-controversy-over-final-salvation-through-works/

https://heidelblog.net/fv/

https://bredenhof.ca/2023/07/03/doug-wilson-the-bad/

https://bredenhof.ca/2023/07/10/doug-wilson-the-ugly/

Footnotes