1. This covenant, called “the old covenant,” was never intended to be of itself the absolute rule and law of life and salvation unto the church, but was made with a particular design, and with respect unto particular ends. This the apostle . . . Continue reading →
Covenant of Works
Witsius: In Leviticus 18:5 Moses Repeated The Covenant Of Works
The same doctrine Moses repeated in his ministry. For he also inculcated the same precepts upon which the covenant of works had been built: he both repeated the same solemn saying, He who doeth these things shall live in them, Lev. 18:5 . . . Continue reading →
Sibbes: Leviticus 18:5 Is A Covenant Of Works
Quest. Now, whence comes this rootedness and firm stability of God’s children? Ans. Especially from this, that they are now in the covenant of grace, rooted in Christ, who is God-man, in whom they are firmly rooted. In Adam we had a . . . Continue reading →
Ursinus: Leviticus 18:5 Is Law Not Gospel
3. In the promises. The law promises life to those who are righteous in themselves, or on the condition of righteousness, and perfect obedience. “He that doeth them, shall live in them.” “If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Lev. . . . Continue reading →
Calvin On Leviticus 18:5: A General Statement Of The Law That Offers Reward To Those Who Obey Perfectly
LEV. 18:5. Ye shall therefore keep my statutes. Although Moses introduces this passage, where he exhorts the Israelites to cultivate chastity in respect to marriage, and not to fall into the incestuous pollutions of the Gentiles, yet, as it is a remarkable . . . Continue reading →
Usher: The Covenant Of Works Is The Sum Of The Law
How hath the Moral Law been delivered since the Fall? The Sum thereof was comprised in ten Words, (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 4:13.) commonly called the Decalogue or Ten Commandments; solemnly published and engraved in Table of Stone by God himself, (Deut. 4:14 . . . Continue reading →
Yahweh Preached The Covenant Of Works Through Moses
You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am Yahweh your God. You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am Yahweh. Leviticus 18:4–5
Heidelcast 104: Recovering The Covenant Of Works (4)
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)
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
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)
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)
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 →