Clarification:
I have not written this to start an argument but to explain. I fully realize there are various views within covenant theology and I have made no effort to cover them all. Never the less I have covered some held by some. My goal was to express clearly the particular views of some in Covenant theology that I cannot accept.
1. They teach the “covenant of grace” is the unifying principle of scripture.
Problem: The bible never mentions a covenant of grace or a unifying principle.
Solution: If the bible needs a unifying principle, perhaps it’s “The Sovereign rule of God.” Is not God’s glory and honor paramount?
2. They teach that each new body of truth is another stage of the progressive revelation of Gods covenant of grace or program of salvation.
Problem: This would make the mosaic law another stage of Gods covenant of grace and program of salvation, however the mosaic law was never a way of salvation .
2 Cor 3:7-9 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
Acts 13:38-39 Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.
Rom 3:20 and 28 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.
Rom 4:15-16 because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all
Gal 2:16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
Solution: The progress of revelation involves new ways God is administering His rule of the world.
3. They teach the Mosaic covenant and the Abrahamic covenant are both a part of thecovenant of grace and essentially the same.
Problem: Scripture teaches they are not essentially the same.
Gal 3:18-19 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.
4. They teach the mosaic law covenant and the new covenant are stages of the progressive revelation of the covenant of grace so essentially the same.
Problem: Scripture teaches they are not essentially the same.
Jer 31:31-33 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Solution: The Mosaic, Abrahamic and new covenants are different ways of God administering His rule and executing His purposes.
5. They teach the church began in the Old Testament.
*They freely speak of Gods people of all ages as Gods covenanted people. They do it under the assumption that there is one covenant of grace that is progressively being revealed through other covenants.
Problem:
a. Jesus said He would build His church (future).
Matt 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
b. John the Baptist taught Christ would baptize believers into the body.
Luke 3:16 John answered, saying to all, “I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
1 Cor 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.
Acts 1:4-5 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Acts 2:1-4 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 11:15-16 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
c. The body cannot exist without its head, so the church did not exist until Christ was seated in heaven.
Eph 1:20-23 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.
22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Eph 4:15-16 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Col 2:19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.
Solution: God, the sovereign ruler has a distinct purpose for Israel and for the church.
6. They teach there will not be a literal 1000 years reign of Christ in the earth.
*In their way of thinking, since the purpose of history for the present earth is the redemption of elect human beings, what would be the purpose of a literal kingdom of God in this present earth. They only see the kingdom verses in scripture as being a spiritual Kingdom established through Christ’s first coming. He is seated at Gods right hand as king of this Kingdom.
Problem:
a. Daniel 2 & 7 teaches that there would be no co-existence of the Kingdom of God and gentile world domination.
*This must point to a future time and a physical kingdom.
b. Jesus distinguishes between His throne and His Fathers throne in
Rev 3:21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
c. Scripture teaches the Kingdom of God will be established by Christ in conjunction with his 2nd coming.
Matt 24:29-31 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matt 25:31-34 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Rev 19:11-20:4 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, “Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
19 And I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army. 20 Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Solution:
a. God in the beginning of time established a theocratic Kingdom, where God was King and his rule was administered by His representative Adam.
b. Satan overthrew Adam and they would to some degree come under his sway – the theocratic kingdom put aside.
John 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
1 John 5:19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
c. Jesus will take it back at His 2nd coming.
Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
d. Jesus will rule as King on David’s throne for 1000 years as Gods representative and again earth will be a theocratic Kingdom.
7. They teach that because Israel rejected Christ at His 1st coming, God has rejected Israel as a nation.
a. Individual Jews will be saved but He has no future program for Israel as a nation.
b. The Abrahamic land promises have been abrogated or annulled by Israel’s unbelief.
*CF 2 Sam 7:13-14 where it clearly teaches from the offspring of David one would establish a Kingdom forever.
2 Sam 7:13-14 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.
c. God has replaced Israel with the New testament church.
*the church today is the Israel of God and inherits the blessings God promised to Israel.
Problem:
a. God established a unique relationship with Israel.
Deut 7:6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
b. Samuel taught this unique relationship is permanent.
Sam 7:23-24 And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? 24 For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.
c. God promises to give ownership to the land of Canaan to Abraham and his biological descendants.
CF Gen 12:7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Gen 13:14-15 And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.
Gen 15:7 and 18 Then He said to him, “I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.” On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying:
“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates—
Gen 17:7-8, 19 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. 8 Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him.
1 Sam 12:22 For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.
Psa 94:14 For the LORD will not cast off His people, Nor will He forsake His inheritance.
1 Chronicles 16:13-18
O seed of Israel His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
He is the LORD our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel for an everlasting covenant,
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”
Jer 31:37 “ If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the LORD.
Acts 3:12-15 So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14 But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15 and killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
Acts 3:25-26 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”
Rom 11:28-29 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
*God has not rejected His people as a nation and will fulfill all His promises under His theocratic Kingdom. God has not replaced Israel with the Church. the Church is not god’s Israel today. God made all the promises or commitment in the establishment of the Abrahamic Covenant. There is no biblical record of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or the people of Israel making any promises of commitment in the establishment of that covenant. The only way that the people of Israel could break or abrogate that covenant is if they violate promises or commitments that they made when it was established. The fact that God alone made all the promises or commitment indicates that the covenant remaining in effect between God and the nation of Israel and its promises being fulfilled depends totally upon God being faithful to His word.
8. They teach you should baptize babies even as babies were circumcised as a sign of
the covenant in the Old Testament.
Problem: The bible never teaches baptism is a sign of the covenant. The bible has no certain examples of babies being baptized.
Solution:
a. Baptism was only done to those who believed Jesus is God’s Son.
Acts 8:26-40 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “HE WAS LED AS A SHEEP TO THE SLAUGHTER; AND AS A LAMB BEFORE ITS SHEARER IS SILENT, SO HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH. 33 IN HIS HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY, AND WHO WILL DECLARE HIS GENERATION? FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN FROM THE EARTH.” 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
*Babies can’t understand and believe, and parents have no biblical permission to stand in their place.
b. Baptism follows faith and repentance
Matt 3:1-6 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS: ‘PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD; MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’ ” 4 Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
9. They teach by reading the New Testament into the Old Testament. They see Christ where Christ is not. They spiritualize an allegorize freely many passages of Old Testament instead of simply taking the passage for what it says. It’s like they read it and say “Oh, it can’t mean that”, so they give it a meaning that is simply not found in the passage. This is especially true in prophetical passages but also true in finding Christ or redemption where it is not being taught.