There is no hard and fast rule on which points are essential to the system of doctrine and which ones are not.
But we do have precedents in different presbyteries and different sessions.
We had a precedent in the LA presbytery of January 2007 saying FV views were not out of accord with the PCA constitution. Several brought charges against that, and the opposite view prevailed, as of the Feb. 9, 2008, LA Presbytery meeting.
When I was ordained a PCA elder in 1978, I had no exceptions, and when I was installed again in a different PCA church in 2007, I had none; but with a keener understanding from reading the debates on PB, perhaps I should amend my views and let my session know, and let them decide whether any exceptions are essential.
