Heidelcast 104: Recovering The Covenant Of Works (4)

Heidelcast

on June 6, 2016 | 6 Comments

Remember our definition of the covenant of works. It was that legal arrangement into which God voluntarily condescended to enter and by which he promised eternal blessedness to Adam, on the condition that Adam by personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience should keep . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 103: Recovering The Covenant Of Works (3)

Heidelcast

on May 30, 2016 | 2 Comments

The doctrine of the covenant of works was taught by the Dutch, the Germans, the French, the Swiss, the English, the Scots, and the Irish. It was taught in the 1560s (it was arguably implied in the 1561 Belgic Confession’s phrase “commandment . . . Continue reading →

Vos: Whoever Has Historical Sense Can See The Covenant Of Works In The Earlier Reformed Writers

R. Scott Clark

on May 23, 2016

This overview is sufficient to show how the older writings can manifest the covenant doctrine in Reformed theology. But, one might perhaps say, that only applies to the covenant of grace. These historical data cannot prove that the covenant of works belonged . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 102: Recovering The Covenant Of Works (2)

Heidelcast

on May 21, 2016 | 4 Comments

For a doctrine that was almost universally held by Reformed theologians from the 1560s through the 19th century, and confessed explicitly twice in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1648), in the Westminster Larger Catechism, in the Savoy Declaration (1658), as well as . . . Continue reading →

Boston On Not Turning The Covenant Of Grace Into A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on April 22, 2016 | 1 Comment

ARGUMENT. V. Though the patrons of the doctrine of the necessity of repentance in order to the obtaining of the pardon of sin, do not aim at any encroachment on the doctrine of free pardon; yet, with all deference to those learned . . . Continue reading →

Berkhof: “Do This And Live” Is A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on April 19, 2016 | 1 Comment

2. THE PROMISE OF THE COVENANT. The great promise of the covenant of works was the promise of eternal life. They who deny the covenant of works generally base their denial in part on the fact that there is no record of . . . Continue reading →

Hodge: “Do This And Live” Is A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on April 18, 2016 | 3 Comments

1. The law of Moses was, in the first place, a re-enactment of the covenant of works. A covenant is simply a promise suspended upon a condition. The covenant of works, therefore, is nothing more than the promise of life suspended on . . . Continue reading →

Turretin: “Do This And Live” Is A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on April 16, 2016 | 1 Comment

A difference exists between a furnished and destitute state. The one is of the law considered in itself and its own nature; the other, in relation to us. The law was given to man in the beginning (before the fall) for life . . . Continue reading →

Pictet On The Similarities And Differences Between The Covenants Of Grace And Works

R. Scott Clark

on April 14, 2016 | 8 Comments

God having thus entered into covenant with our Surety Christ Jesus, was pleased also to enter into covenant with us in him. Now this covenant we define to be, a free and gratuitous agreement between an offended God and offending man, in . . . Continue reading →

Charles Hodge: The Covenant With Adam Before The Fall Was A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on April 2, 2016 | 1 Comment

This statement does not rest upon any express declaration of the Scriptures. It is, however, a concise and correct mode of asserting a plain Scriptural fact, namely, that God made to Adam a promise suspended upon a condition, and attached to disobedience . . . Continue reading →

Pictet: The Covenant Of Nature Was A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on March 30, 2016

With regard to the covenant itself, we must observe, what was the duty required by God; what was the promise made to the performance of that duty; what was the threat denounced against the neglect of it. Now the duty consisted in . . . Continue reading →

A. A. Hodge: Adam Was Clearly In A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on March 24, 2016

As to his legal relations, the Scriptures clearly teach that, at his creation, he was put under the equitable Covenant of Works for a certain probationary period. This just constitution provided (a) everlasting well-being on condition of perfect obedience, and (b) everlasting . . . Continue reading →

Heidelcast 100: Recovering The Covenant Of Works (1)

Heidelcast

on March 23, 2016

In contemporary Reformed Christianity, even in confessional churches, i.e., those churches where they not only formally hold the historic confessions but where they still profess to believe and seek to practice what we confess, two of the most disposable doctrines seem to . . . Continue reading →

Muller On The History Of The Exegesis Of Hosea 6:7

R. Scott Clark

on March 22, 2016 | 1 Comment

Adam in Hosea 6:7: generic or specific? An example of a different order is the exegesis of Hosea 6:7, where the medieval tradition had rested unquestioningly on the Vulgate rendering, “ipsi autem sicut Adam transgressi sunt pactum.” The text indicated, as virtually . . . Continue reading →

Turretin Defended The Covenant Of Works Using Hosea 6:7

R. Scott Clark

on March 21, 2016 | 1 Comment

VI. Episcopius, and with him the Remonstrants, deny that a covenant of nature was made with Adam (“Institutiones theologica,” 2.1 in Opera theologica [1678], p. 23); but it can be proved. (1) There are granted the essential parties of a covenant, God . . . Continue reading →

Berkhof: Hosea 6:7 Teaches A Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on March 20, 2016 | 5 Comments

…In Hos. 6:7 we read: “But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant.” Attempts have been made to discredit this reading. Some have suggested the reading “at Adam,” which would imply that some well-known transgression occurred at a place called Adam. But . . . Continue reading →

Van Til: The Covenant Of Works Was Not A Covenant Of Grace

Cornelius Van Til

on March 17, 2016

According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, Scripture thinks of man as a covenant being. It tells us that man was originally placed on earth under the terms of the covenant of works. It informs us further that man broke this covenant . . . Continue reading →

Kuyper: The Demand Of Sanctification Belongs To The Covenant Of Works. Sanctification Belongs To The Covenant Of Grace

R. Scott Clark

on March 15, 2016 | 1 Comment

And what is the reason for denying that sanctification is a mystery, i.e., the content of a dogma? The supposition that it is of human origin, that man is not totally unable, and that sanctification is betterment of character and life. Hence . . . Continue reading →

Brakel: Those Who Deny The Covenant Of Works Misunderstand The Covenant Of Grace

R. Scott Clark

on March 14, 2016 | 1 Comment

Acquaintance with this covenant is of the greatest importance, for whoever errs here or denies the existence of the covenant of works will not understand the covenant of grace, and will readily err concerning the mediatorship of the Lord Jesus. Such a . . . Continue reading →

The Consensus Of The Divines, Legalism, And The Covenant Of Works

R. Scott Clark

on March 13, 2016 | 8 Comments

The charge of legalism against the covenant of works is one of those allegations that seems persuasive at first because we all know that legalism is bad and that grace is good. It is almost instinctive to react to the charge by asserting the graciousness of the covenant of works. That is a trap, however, into which we ought not step. Continue reading →