The Federal Vision was fine as the name of a conference on Reformed Covenant (“Federal”) Theology (“Vision”). As the name of an alleged movement it has been lousy. This was largely because the “movement” was simply made up by those looking for a cause to use to prove themselves or secure their prominence. (Recently, some of us who tired of being besmirched decided to release a joint statement (pdf); maybe that will help the critics take a turn toward accuracy, but it doesn’t look likely so far.)

But if it if one is to come up with a name for a teaching from Scripture, why would one want to use the term “federal vision”? What appeal does that name have? What meaning does it denote in the minds of most Christians?

The answer is not hard to find. “Federal Vision” only really moves people who care a great deal about covenant theology. Everyone else is on the outside trying to understand what is going on.

Why not use terms that have currency with a wider variety of Christians?  Kingdom and discipleship, it seem to me, would both be likely candidates.  And, for the latter, it wouldn’t be hard to show how the “FV” issues of interest are embedded in the Great Commission.  So why not start with Matthew 28 rather than Genesis 15?

Of course, it would be a good thing to introduce more people to the importance of the covenant because some passages really depend on an understanding of it.  But that is all the reason to become better communicators and use terms that people already know to introduce them to that which they don’t know as well.

It seems to me that if we are really confident that God plans to advance and expand his kingdom, that we ought to be really getting our language from the Bible rather than that of some era of Church history.  I realize that the word “covenant” is indeed in Scripture, but the emphasis in and background to “FV” is obviously found in a specific stream (or rather, a trickle, which is why I wonder what is the point in trying to launch anything in it) within Christendom.

I guess what it boils down to, for me, is that this impresses me more than this.