Covenant of Works

Harrison Perkins On Difference Between The Covenants Of Works And Grace In 10 Minutes And 16 Seconds

by on April 27, 2020

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise (Gal 3:10–18; ESV). Continue reading →

What Are The Two Kinds Of Covenants In Scripture? Harrison Perkins Explains in 7 Minutes and 24 Seconds

by on April 23, 2020 | 3 Comments

Bible readers have always noticed that God made covenants explicitly with Noah, Abarahm, Moses, and David. Several second-century Christians wrote at some length about the covenant that God made with Adam after the fall (Gen 3:15) and since before Augustine Christians have seen that Scripture implicitly records a covenant with Adam before the fall. Then, of course, there is the New Covenant. How should we think about these covenants and how should we understand their relation to one another? Dr Harrison Perkins explains. Continue reading →

New HB Resource: Articles, Books, Podcasts And More On The Covenant Of Works

by on December 26, 2019

We might say that the Reformed doctrine of the covenant of works, or better, adherence to the doctrine, is recovering from an illness. The doctrine itself is fine. It is what it has long been but from the early 20th century until . . . Continue reading →

What Social Media Teaches Us About Law, Gospel, Forgiveness, And Grace

by on September 27, 2019

Carson King is a 23-year old Des Moines man who held up a sign at a televised college football game announcing, “Busch Lite supply needs replenished.” It was a joke but people began sending him money via the Venmo appl. When he . . . Continue reading →

Some Practical Consequences Of Reformed Covenant Theology

by on August 14, 2019 | 8 Comments

In Matthew 16:18 he promised to build “his church” and that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church. He gave the “keys of the kingdom” (16:19) to Peter as a Christ-confessor an anticipation of his office as apostle. In . . . Continue reading →

Are Believers Under The Law As A Schoolmaster?

by on April 26, 2018 | 5 Comments

For confessing Protestants, there is no question whether believers are under the civil and normative uses of the law. To deny the normative use (the third use) is the definition of antinomianism, a scourge which Martin Luther opposed in the 1520s, against which the Lutherans confess in the Book of Concord (1580), and which the Reformed have always opposed. The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) organized the Christian faith under three headings: Guilt (Law), Grace (Gospel), and Gratitude (Sanctification). The third part of the catechism contains an exposition of the moral law of God, the decalogue (Ten Commandments). The Westminster Standards also affirm and explain the moral law and apply it to the Christian life not in order that we might be keep it and thereby be justified and saved but because we have been justified and saved by grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone. Continue reading →

Social Media Testifies To The Covenant Of Works

by on April 7, 2018 | 3 Comments

In Colossians 2:8 Paul warned the Colossians Christians not to be taken captive by unbelieving ways of thinking (philosophies) nor by “the stoicheia (στοιχεῖα) of the world.” The noun stoicheia is usually translated with something like “elemental principles” or the like. That . . . Continue reading →

Our Secular Life Is A Covenant Of Works

by on June 22, 2017 | 7 Comments

It is vital for Christians to understand that, for their standing with God (justification) and their gracious and gradual conformity to Christ (sanctification), i.e., for their salvation from the wrath to come and their deliverance from the bondage of sin, they are . . . Continue reading →

Believer, You Are Being Graciously Sanctified

by on June 20, 2017 | 2 Comments

An HB reader writes to ask “in what senses are we under the covenant of works?” I reply Christians are in no sense under the covenant of works for our standing with God or for our salvation. Our justification and our sanctification . . . Continue reading →