The communion and fellowship of man with God, was first founded on a covenant of works made with Adam in paradise. If he did obey, and did not eat of the forbidden fruit, he should have life both for himself and his . . . Continue reading →
Covenant Theology
Explaining the Nine Points of Synod Schereville
In 2007 the Synod the United Reformed Churches in North America adopted a statement of pastoral advice concerning the self-described “Federal Vision” theology. One of the main matters of business at Synod Schereville was to address an overture brought by Classis Michigan regarding the Federal Vision theology. As part of dealing with that overture Synod took two actions. First it re-affirmed and strengthened the language first adopted at Synod Calgary regarding justification by faith alone (sola fide). Continue reading →
Caspar Olevian And The Substance Of The Covenant Now $10.00
Caspar Olevianus (1536–87) was an influential figure in the development of Reformed (as distinct from other versions of) covenant theology. He was a student of John Calvin (1509–64) and Theodore Beza (1519–1605). Like them, he was a Roman Catholic humanist scholar who . . . Continue reading →
Should We Talk About Breaking The Covenant Of Grace?
Introduction Two correspondents have written in recent days to ask about whether those who confess the Reformed confessions (e.g., the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Westminster Standards) and the Reformed confession, which is a broader category . . . Continue reading →
Walter Marshall: Abraham Is Not Moses
The end which God aimed at in giving the law of Moses, was not, that any should ever attain to holiness or salvation by condition of perfect or sincere obedience to it; though, if there had been any such way of salvation . . . Continue reading →
Owen: Christians Are In The Same Church As Abraham (3)
And this doth and must determine the difference between the Jews and Christians about the promises of the Old Testament. They are all made unto the church. No individual person hath any interest in them but by virtue of his membership therewith. . . . Continue reading →
Owen: Christians Are In The Same Church As Abraham (2)
It remains, then, that the church founded in the covenant, and unto which all the promises did and do belong, abode at the coming of Christ, and doth abide ever since, in and among those who are the children of Abraham by . . . Continue reading →
Owen: Christians Are In The Same Church As Abraham
And herein is a solemn prefiguration of the implanting of believers of all nations into the covenant and faith of Abraham; for this name he received upon the solemn establishment of the covenant with him, as the apostle explains the place, Rom. . . . Continue reading →
New HB Resource: Articles, Books, Podcasts And More On The Covenant Of Works
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 →
Heidelcast Minute: What Are The Conditions In The Covenant Of Grace?
Resources Heidelcast 98: Salvation, Good Works, And Conditions Resources On Conditions In The Covenant Of Grace (Updated) Resources On Norman Shepherd Resources On The Federal Vision Theology
Good News! The Dividing Wall Is Gone
Like a lot of American evangelicals, the faith I was taught as a teen-aged convert was a sort of Dispensationalism. There were no charts that I recall but I did learn that Jews are God’s earthly people and that the church is . . . Continue reading →
Ligon Duncan On Patristic Covenant Theology (1995)
Some Practical Consequences Of Reformed Covenant Theology
It is exciting to discover what are sometimes called “the doctrines of grace,” i.e., the teaching that even though by nature we are dead in sins and trespasses, we came to faith because God loved us in Christ from all eternity and . . . Continue reading →
John Owen: The New Covenant Is The Abrahamic Covenant Renewed
18. Thus under the old testament, when God would take the posterity of Abraham into a new, peculiar church-state, he did it by a solemn covenant. Herein, as he prescribed all the duties of his worship to them, and made them many . . . Continue reading →
Some Practical Consequences Of Reformed Covenant Theology
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 →
For Whom Is Christ Mediating?
If you are an adult you know about mediators. It is not uncommon now, when one signs a contract, to agree to “binding arbitration” or to “mediation” either in lieuof going to court or before going to court. A mediator, then, . . . Continue reading →
Office Hours With Ligon Duncan On Covenant Theology and More
Dr J. Ligon Duncan III is Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, where he is also the John E Richard Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology. He was senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Jackson, Mississippi for 17 years . . . Continue reading →
Yes, The Reformed Churches Do Baptize On The Basis Of The Abrahamic Promise
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the largest evangelical Christian denomination in the USA reporting a total membership of 14.8 million (of whom 1/3 attend weekly). The SBC is Baptist in name and practice but about 99% of the other 45 million . . . Continue reading →
Video: The Abraham Paradigm
Friday and Saturday of this past week I had the privilege of speaking to congregation of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) and to their guests in Ft Worth, TX on “The Abraham Paradigm.” They were very gracious and patient with me. It is . . . Continue reading →
Does Romans 8:9–11 Require Believer’s Baptism?
A reader writes with a question about biblical interpretation and baptism: I was going through Colossians 2 when I read the footnote from the Reformation Study Bible… which sent me to page 41 for a more in-depth explanation. Infant baptism seems to make . . . Continue reading →