For when Scripture speaks of the sons of God, sometimes it has respect to eternal election, which extends only to the lawful heirs; sometimes to external vocation, according to which many wolves are within the fold; and though, in fact, they are . . . Continue reading →
That God did spiritually and mystically represent unto Moses the incarnation and mediation of Christ, with the church of the elect which was to be gathered thereby, and its spiritual worship. And moreover, he let him know how the tabernacle and all . . . Continue reading →
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 →
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 →
The Hebrew and Greek words for covenant occur hundreds of times in Scripture but for many Christians these concepts are unfamiliar and the idea of reading Scripture in light of what it says about covenant is unfamiliar. In a series of videos Dr Harrison Perkins, of London City Presbyterian Church, explains covenant theology simply and clearly. Continue reading →
We shall now be prepared to understand how the recognition, that the two worlds exist and have existed side by side from the beginning, enables the author of Hebrews to solve the chief problem of the history of redemption and revelation. For . . . Continue reading →
We are interrupting the Heidelcast series on the Doctrine of God, I AM that I AM to talk with the Rev Dr Harrison Perkins, (PhD, Queen’s University Belfast) about his new book on Archbishop James Ussher (1581–1656). He was primate of the . . . Continue reading →
Introduction Sean writes with a question that I have received at least once before. Thus, I take it that this is an argument that is mooted in Particular Baptist circles: The argument comes from Particular Baptists and in essence says that while . . . Continue reading →
Reformed theology teaches and the Reformed Churches confess that the Old and New Testaments are fundamentally unified in important ways. The triune God of the New Testament is the God of the Old Testament. The Apostle John says that God the Son, . . . Continue reading →
5. Now, if we choose to investigate whether it is right to administer baptism to infants, shall we not say that a man is talking nonsense or indeed raving who would halt with the mere element of water and outward observance, but . . . Continue reading →
a) Everyone will have to agree that for Adam, perfect keeping of the law for a fixed period of time was the means to acquire eternal beatitude that cannot be lost. When the covenant of works was broken, God could have rescinded . . . Continue reading →
What Augustine so strikingly formulated concerning the relation of the two historic economies of the history of redemption: “Novum Testamentum in Vetere latet, Vetus in Novo patet” [The New Testament hides in the old, the Old reveals itself in the New] permits . . . Continue reading →
I. It is a matter of the greatest moment, that we learn distinctly to consider the covenant of grace, either as it is in its substance or essence, as they call it, or as it is in diverse ways proposed by God, . . . Continue reading →
[5.] We on all accounts stand in need of a surety for us, or on our behalf. Neither without the interposition of such a surety could any covenant between God and us be firm and stable, or “an everlasting covenant, ordered in . . . Continue reading →
FIFTH QUESTION: THE UNITY OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE Was the covenant of grace one and the same as to substance under each dispensation? We affirm against the Socinians, Anabaptists and Remonstrants I. This most important controversy is waged by us with . . . Continue reading →
IV. IN WHAT DO THE OLD AND THE NEW COVENANT AGREE, AND IN WHAT DO THEY DIFFER? Since there is but one covenant, and the Scriptures speak of it as though it were two, we must consider in what particulars the old . . . Continue reading →
The Covenant of Grace Identical in both Old and New Testaments Question #1: When was this covenant of grace initiated? Answer: Due to a misunderstanding concerning the nature of the covenant of grace, the Socinians and Arminians, who are in this respect . . . Continue reading →
A Preface On Paradigms As Baptists and Reformed folk engage each other’s theological traditions two things need to happen to make that engagement productive: 1) They need to realize that each tradition is theologically distinct. Some Baptists have historical and institutional relations . . . Continue reading →