Covenant Theology¶
We've crafted an unofficial, source-cited, non-commercial index of Dr. R.C. Sproul's publicly available teachings, weighted by how many independent sources corroborate each point. The content is authored by Dr. R.C. Sproul and published by Ligonier Ministries (a few items are third-party YouTube re-uploads); see the Methodology & Rights page for more info. Quotations are brief, linked to their source, and reproduced for study under Ligonier's Copyright Policy (ligonier.org/copyright-policy). This site is humbly offered for personal use only, out of love and respect, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Ligonier Ministries or St. Andrew's Chapel.
104 positions — 17 corroborated across multiple sources.
Well-attested positions¶
Independently stated in two or more of his messages.
The covenant of redemption is a theological concept describing the eternal harmony and unity of purpose among the three Persons of the Trinity regarding the work of redemption.
The covenant of redemption is a theological concept that refers to the harmony and the unity of purpose that has been in existence from all eternity in terms of the mutual relationship and agreement of all three Persons of the Trinity.
Corroborated across 4 sources: The Basis of a Christian Marriage (Ligonier article) · The Blueprint of Redemption (Ligonier article) · What Is the Covenant of Redemption? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 4:50
The covenant of works was God's promise of blessedness contingent on obedience before the fall, while the covenant of grace is the ongoing promise of redemption after the fall.
The covenant of works refers to the covenant that God made with Adam and Eve in their pristine purity before the fall, in which God promised them blessedness contingent upon their obedience to His command. After the fall, the fact that God continued to promise redemption to creatures who had violated the covenant of works, that ongoing promise of redemption is defined as the covenant of grace.
Corroborated across 4 sources: The Covenant of Works (Ligonier article) · The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier) · The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier) · Freed from the Law (Ligonier)
The covenant of redemption was a mutual agreement involving both obligations and rewards between the Father and the Son.
The covenant of redemption was a transaction that involved both obligation and reward. The Son entered into a sacred agreement with the Father. He submitted Himself to the obligations of that covenantal agreement. An obligation was likewise assumed by the Father—to give His Son a reward for doing the work of redemption.
Corroborated across 3 sources: The Blueprint of Redemption (Ligonier article) · What Is the Covenant of Redemption? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 9:03
Semi-Pelagianism holds that grace is offered to everyone, but the sinner must cooperate with it or reject it.
However, what grace does is this, that grace is offered to everybody, but it is still left for the sinner to cooperate with that grace or to reject it.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 36:32 · R.C. Sproul @ 36:03
Because the eternal covenant was honored and never violated, believers benefit from its promises as heirs of God.
Because God honored the eternal covenant of redemption, Christ became the heir of His Father’s promises. Because this covenant was never violated, we reap its benefits as heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Blueprint of Redemption (Ligonier article) · What Is the Covenant of Redemption? (Ligonier article)
Science and theology are both complex fields whose relationship must be studied closely and deeply to find ultimate harmony.
Science is a complex enterprise. So is theology. Their relationship is to be studied closely and deeply if we are to discover an ultimate harmony between them.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Christian and Science (Ligonier article) · Christians Need Not Fear Scientific Inquiry (Ligonier article)
A biblical covenant is a public commitment with formal legal requirements, not a private contract between two people.
Biblically, there is no such thing as a private marriage contract between two people. A covenant is done publicly before witnesses and with formal legal commitments that are taken seriously by the community.
Corroborated across 2 sources: God’s Will in Marriage (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 20:49
The signing of a marriage certificate is essential because it formalizes a covenant, which requires public witnesses and legal commitments to protect both partners from sin and harm.
The signing of a marriage certificate is an integral part of what the Bible calls a covenant. A covenant is made publicly before witnesses and with formal legal commitments that are taken seriously by the community. The protection of both partners is at stake; there is legal recourse should one of the partners act in a way that is destructive to the other.
Corroborated across 2 sources: Is Marriage “Just a Piece of Paper”? (Ligonier article) · R.C. Sproul @ 17:03
Baptism is a sign of the new covenant God makes with His people.
Whatever else it is, baptism is the sign of the new covenant that God makes with His people.
Corroborated across 2 sources: What Is the Significance of Baptism? (Ligonier article) · What is the significance of baptism? (Ligonier Q&A)
The promise of the covenant is transmitted through the generations, culminating in Christ.
And the promise of the covenant that God had made with His people was then transmitted from father to son and to grandson and down through the generations that were fulfilled in the coming of Christ.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 0:44 · The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier)
In the ancient world, covenants were made and sealed by a binding cutting rite, not merely written.
In the ancient world, when truth was at stake, and when a promise was to be made, that was to be absolutely binding—sacrosanct—that promise was made and sealed in the form of a covenant. And in those days you didn't write a covenant, so much as you cut a covenant
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 38:13 · R.C. Sproul @ 20:28
Entering into marriage establishes a new, covenant relationship with God, which brings a set of stipulations by divine authority.
When I enter into a marriage relationship, I am not simply obligated to the church. I am not simply obligated to the state. I am now under a new, covenant relationship with God. A whole new set of stipulations comes upon me by divine authority.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00 · Put on Christ (Ligonier)
The covenant of works, established with Adam and Eve, dictates that righteous works are required for life and that the only way to satisfy God's demands is through good works.
In other words, if their works were righteous, they would live. If their works were evil, they would perish. I don’t know if there is anyone in this world who has labored more in our day on behalf of the Reformed doctrine of justification by faith alone than I have. I speak as a fool, but as much as I believe in the doctrine of justification by faith alone, I tell people: “Remember, at the end of the day, there’s only one way to be justified in the sight of God, and that’s by works.”
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 9:30 · The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier)
God is inherently a covenant keeper whose Word is absolutely true, while humanity is naturally a covenant breaker.
The basic difference between me and God is that God by nature in His purity is a covenant keeper. His Word is absolutely true. His is always yea and amen, where I am a fallen creature. And by nature, I’m a covenant breaker who speaks with a forked tongue.
Corroborated across 2 sources: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00 · The Crucifixion (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Christ's works are perfect and fulfill all the requirements of the covenant of works, unlike the original Adam's failure.
Our works will never save us, but Christ’s works are perfect, and they meet all the requirements of the covenant of works. The new Adam arrives in history to fulfill that which the original Adam failed so miserably to do.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier) · The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
God guarantees His covenant promises by swearing by His own eternal being and character.
God was saying to Abraham: “Abraham, if I don’t keep this promise, may I be cut in half, may the immutable God suffer a mutation, may the eternal God become temporal. Abraham, I’m not promising on My mother’s grave. I don’t have a mother. I’m not promising by the temple or the earth, which is My footstool. I am promising by My own being, My own character. My eternal Godhead is on the line. You want to know if I’m going to keep My word? I’m pledging you by My very deity.”
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Benedictus (Part 2) (Ligonier) · The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier)
The sign of the covenant, whether circumcision or baptism, is a sign of God's promise of salvation to all who believe, not the means by which salvation is achieved.
Baptism conveys salvation no more than circumcision did in the Old Testament, but it is a sign of the promise of God, and our Lord Jesus received the sign of the covenant of circumcision as an infant.
Corroborated across 2 sources: The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier) · Song of Simeon (Ligonier)
Further positions¶
Drawn from a single high-trust (official transcript) source.
The covenant structure of redemption is not limited to the fifth book of the Pentateuch but continues throughout the entire Old Testament.
The covenant structure of redemption does not end in the fifth book of the Pentateuch. It continues throughout the Old Testament.
Source: Ancient Promises (Ligonier article)
The biblical concept of covenant requires that all covenants be made in the presence of witnesses.
Every covenant is undertaken in the presence of witnesses. This is why we invite guests to our weddings. It is so they will witness our vows—and hold us accountable to keep them.
Source: The Basis of a Christian Marriage (Ligonier article)
Pelagius rejected monergistic grace and substituted it with synergism, which requires cooperation between God and humanity.
Pelagius rejected the doctrine of monergistic grace and replaces it with a view of synergism, which involves a work of cooperation between God and man.
Source: The Battle for Grace Alone (Ligonier article)
Prophets acted as divine prosecuting attorneys, declaring God's judgment and controversy with the people when Israel violated the terms of the covenant.
The announcement and pursuit of this controversy by reason of law had the prophets speaking not as priestly defenders of the people, but rather as divine prosecuting attorneys pronouncing God’s judgment and wrath upon them.
Source: Covenant Prosecutors (Ligonier article)
Covenant theology emphasizes the unity of redemption through the continuity of covenants throughout history, contrasting with dispensationalism's view of distinct time periods.
Over against this diversified view of redemptive history, covenant theology seeks to present a clear picture of the unity of redemption, which unity is seen in the continuity of the covenants that God has given throughout history and how they are fulfilled in the person and work of Christ.
Source: The Covenant of Works (Ligonier article)
The covenant of grace promises salvation even when people fail to meet the obligations set forth in creation.
The covenant of grace indicates God’s promise to save us even when we fail to keep the obligations imposed in creation.
Source: The Covenant of Works (Ligonier article)
The first major debate concerning the Sabbath is whether it remains obligatory in the context of new covenant Christianity, particularly as an Old Testament ordinance.
The first great debate about the Sabbath is whether, as an Old Testament ordinance particularly emphasized in the Mosaic covenant, it is still obligatory in the context of new covenant Christianity.
Source: Defining the Debate (Ligonier article)
From a biblical perspective, cohabiting without the covenant bond of marriage is considered sexual immorality.
Cohabitation without marriage is seen by God as sexual immorality.
Source: Divorce (Ligonier article)
Jesus warned that on the day of judgment, many people will claim a relationship with Him based on their works, but He will reject them.
But Jesus says, “And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ ” (Matt. 7:23).
Source: A False Sense of Assurance (Ligonier article)
Reformed theology is a comprehensive worldview that extends beyond the mere five points of Calvinism, encompassing covenantal, sacramental, and cultural transformation aspects.
In this article I am giving the bare-bones approach to the doctrine, reminding Tabletalk readers that Reformed theology so far transcends the mere five points of Calvinism that it is an entire life and world view. It is covenantal. It is sacramental. It is committed to transforming culture. It is subordinate to the operation of God the Holy Spirit, and it has a rich framework for understanding the entirety of the council of God revealed in the Bible.
Source: The Fine Points of Calvinism (Ligonier article)
The covenant pledge of God to those in a relationship with Him is a key theme of Scripture, exemplified by God's promise to Jacob.
When He committed Himself to Jacob, for example, He said, “I will not leave you” (Gen. 28:15). This covenant pledge of God to those who are in a relationship with Him is a key theme of Scripture.
Source: Learning from the Judges (Ligonier article)
When God's covenant people repent, God will rescue and preserve His church.
No matter how badly God's covenant people fail, our Lord is quick to rescue His church when she repents.
Source: Learning from the Judges (Ligonier article)
Genesis 15 is a key passage demonstrating God's commitment to fulfilling His covenant promises to Abraham.
When I’ve sought a reminder of our Creator’s commitment to truth and His faithfulness to keep His covenant promises, I’ve often turned to Genesis 15, where God swears by Himself to fulfill His pledge to Abraham to give him innumerable descendants.
Source: The Reformed Doctrine of God (Ligonier article)
The tithe principle, which was originally instituted to support the Levites, continues in the new covenant to support the work of building up people in truth and reaching sinners with the gospel.
Under the new covenant, the tithe continues to support the work of building up people in the truth of God and reaching sinners with the gospel.
Source: What Does the Bible Say About Christian Tithing? (Ligonier article)
A covenant made by God is fundamentally different from a Greek testament because God never cancels His promises and His people do not have to wait for Him to die to inherit the blessings.
When God makes a covenant with His people, He can punish them for covenant breaking, but He never cancels the covenant promises He has made. Another difference between the Greek understanding of diathēkē as a testament and the Hebrew understanding of berith as a covenant is that in the Greek world, the benefits of the testament, or diathēkē , did not accrue until after the testator died.
Source: Terms for the Covenant (Ligonier article)
Reformed theology emphasizes covenant theology because the Bible is the sole infallible authority for Christian faith and practice.
We should expect as much because of our doctrine of sola Scriptura, which says that the Bible is the only infallible authority for Christian faith and practice. Therefore, we want to structure all theological understanding according to Scripture. This demands covenant theology, since covenant is an organizing principle in Scripture.
Source: Terms for the Covenant (Ligonier article)
The Septuagint translators and New Testament authors rejected the Greek word synthēkē because it implied an agreement between equal parties, which contradicted the understanding that God's covenants are between a superior and a subordinate.
The Jewish translators wanted to maintain that the covenants that God makes with His people are made between a superior and a subordinate, not between two equal parties. So, the word synthēkē was rejected.
Source: Terms for the Covenant (Ligonier article)
The Greek word diathēkē is suitable for describing God's covenant because its original meaning relates to sovereign disposition, reflecting God's sovereign determination in making promises.
A diathēkē had to do with an individual’s disposition of his goods orproperty for himself; that is, it referred to his sovereign determining of his heirs. To this day, that’s how we understand the concept of a testament or will. That aspect of disposition is an element that reflects the Hebrew concept because in His covenant, God sovereignly determines to give promises to whom He will give promises.
Source: Terms for the Covenant (Ligonier article)
Because God's covenant is a sovereign administration with an unequal party, the responsibility for fulfilling the covenant's promises rests entirely on God.
Because it is God’s sovereign administration with an unequal party, the onus for the fulfillment of the covenant's promises is on the greater party—the Lord Himself.
Source: Terms for the Covenant (Ligonier article)
The ritual described in Genesis 15:17 illustrates the making of a covenant, which is an oath by God's own being.
Genesis 15:17 tells of a garish and gory ritual in which God commanded Abraham to cut animals in half and place the halves opposite each other, forming a pathway in the middle. A dread came upon Abraham in a vision, and in the darkness, while he was asleep, Abraham saw “a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces.”
Source: What Was the Burning Bush? (Ligonier article)
God legislates to the new covenant church on two bases: divine natural law and divine purpose.
Reformed theologians said that God legislates to Israel and to the new covenant church on two distinct bases: on the basis of divine natural law and on the basis of divine purpose.
Source: Which Laws Apply? (Ligonier article)
The new covenant requires a greater commitment to financial stewardship than the old covenant, making the tithe the foundational minimum for Christian giving.
If anything, the structure of the new covenant requires a greater commitment to financial stewardship before God than that which was required in the old covenant. That is to say, the starting point of Christian giving is the tithe.
Source: Will Man Rob God? (Ligonier article)
The sign of the covenant was given to Abraham only after he had faith and repented.
But not only is this sign of circumcision, which indicates all that's contained in the promise of redemption, is given to Abraham after he has faith and has been repentant and all the rest and is regenerate and so on, God not only permits, but explicitly commands that the infant son of Abraham receive the sign of this same covenant.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 13:49
A person cannot possess what the sign of the covenant signifies without having faith.
You can have the sign without faith, but you can't have what the sign signifies without faith.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 17:09
The New Testament covenant is superior to the Old Testament covenant because it is more inclusive.
One thing it tells you is that, as the New Testament labors over and over and over again, the New Testament's a better covenant than the Old Testament. And one of the ways in which it's better, or at least different, is that it is obviously more inclusive rather than less inclusive than the old covenant.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 23:55
The speaker questions why the practice of including children of believers in the covenant sign would be suddenly repealed in the New Testament without explicit instruction.
Now it just seems strange to me that if in general terms, the new covenant is more inclusive than the old covenant, why would a practice of including the children of believers in the reception of the sign of the covenant of redemption that is in practice for two thousand years would suddenly be repealed and abrogated in the New Testament without a single word?
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 24:59
The concept of being 'unclean' primarily referred to being outside the covenant, numbered with the unbelievers, or being a stranger to God's promises.
Do you ever hear that word in the Bible, "unclean"? What is the primary reference of the concept of being "unclean" to a Jew? To be outside the covenant, to be numbered with the unbelievers, to be numbered with the Gentiles in Israel, to be a foreigner and a stranger to the covenant promises of God.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 34:34
The language used to describe being outside the camp is manifestly covenant language, consistently referring to those in a covenant relationship with God.
And Paul said, "I will not have the children of unbelievers be unclean, because now they are holy." Now what I am submitting to you is that that is manifestly covenant language. It is the language that is used consistently throughout the Bible to refer to those who are in a covenant relationship with God.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 35:13
God determines who receives the covenant promise, not human choice.
But one of the remarkable things is that it's God's choice as to whom the covenant promise belongs. And I think if I can speculate for one second before I stop, because my time is up, that had it been left to Jacob, Joseph would have received the inheritance. But God chose Judah, and it was from the loins of Judah that Christ was born.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 26:30
The Catholic view holds that the righteousness of Christ is appropriated by the individual through the sacramental infusion of grace, requiring cooperation and assent.
Well, again, Rome answers this by the sacramental infusion of the righteousness of Christ into the individual soul; then the individual has to cooperate with and assent to this infused grace to such a degree that they become actually righteous.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 11:43
God regulates marriage by instituting it in a specific format and creating it as a covenant.
I've seen them say -- everyone acknowledge that marriage is instituted and ordained by God, but I have yet to have a couple express that marriage is regulated by God's commandments, which of course, is an integral part of the traditional ceremony, where we acknowledge that not only does God create marriage and give marriage to us as a gift, but when He gives it to us for our well-being, He does not abandon thereby His sovereign authority over marriage. God regulates marriage, and He institutes it in a certain format.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 19:18
Biblical covenants required stipulations or provisions that had to be maintained for the covenant to remain valid.
Now in biblical terms, every covenant had stipulations. It had provisions -- rules, if you will -- that had to be kept for the covenant to stay intact.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 20:57
All theological controversies must ultimately be resolved by Scripture.
and that all controversies over doctrine and theology must be settled in the final analysis by Scripture.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 11:22
The final outcome of the covenant relationship is a restoration of God's steadfast love, changing the declaration from 'not my people' to 'my people.'
So that the last statement, the end of the story is not lo-ammi, but ammi – you will be my people and I will continue my steadfast love, my loyal love to you.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 15:20
God promises to remarry the covenant relationship in spite of the people's adultery.
But I will betroth you to me forever. Yea I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in lovingkindness and mercy. I will get engaged to you again. I’m going to remarry you in spite of your adultery. My hesed will triumph in
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 16:29
Saving grace is entirely a gift from God and is not based on human merit or works.
And a grace that is given on the basis of human merit is not grace. A grace that is dispensed on the basis of human works,
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 30:32
The basis for God's covenantal and redemptive relationship with Israel is His 'hesed,' which is a steadfast love that manifests as grace.
the basis for that covenant, the basis of that redemptive relationship that Yahweh enters into with Israel is God's hesed, His love, His love that manifests itself in terms of grace, and it is a love that is steadfast
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 5:35
God's love is steadfast, loyal, and immutable, maintaining its loyalty even when people violate the covenant.
It speaks to the steadfast love of God -- the love of God that is loyal, the love of God that does not vacillate, the love of God that doesn't pass away with every infraction, but it is this love that maintains its loyalty.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 6:00
The verse Genesis 15:17 is a powerful reminder of God's covenant with Abram.
And it came to pass that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between the pieces.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 18:15
A covenant is defined as an agreement based upon promises.
And what is a covenant? It's an agreement based upon promises.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 20:04
Apostasy refers to someone who was previously within the covenant community who later rejects their profession of faith.
An apostate is someone who makes a profession of faith and then later repudiates that profession of faith. That is, an apostate can only be someone who is within the covenant community, within the visible church.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 12:05
All human beings, regardless of their affiliation, are inherently participants in a covenant relationship with God.
All men, everywhere are at all times participants in a covenant relationship with God.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:00
The foundational covenant God established with all humanity was made with Adam, representing the entire human race.
The first covenant that God made with mankind was made with Adam. And it is that covenant with Adam in which Adam represents the whole human race, in that covenant, the covenant of creation, God entered into a contractual relationship with man not as Christian or a man not as Jew, but as man qua man.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 1:55
While humans can violate or deny the covenant, they cannot escape it.
We can deny it. We can violate it. We can repudiate it. We can be hostile towards it, but we cannot undo it.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 2:57
Reformed theology is often called covenantal because it views the structure of covenant as a crucial framework for understanding the entire plan of redemption.
the reason why Reformed theology is often called covenantal is that because it sees the structure or format of covenant in the Bible as being a crucial element in which the whole plan of redemption works out and becomes kind of a key to understanding and interpreting the whole of Scripture.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:12
All people have failed to keep the original covenant of creation, making the whole world populated by covenant breakers.
All of us have failed to keep the original covenant of creation. All of us have failed to perform what every creature's duty is to perform--to glorify God, to honor Him as God, to be grateful to Him, and to obey His law. So the bottom line is that the whole world is populated by covenant breakers.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 14:06
God instituted the covenant of grace after the failure of the first Adam, promising redemption through a Savior.
But instead He condescended to cover their nakedness and to promise them redemption through One who would act as their Savior. And so that God then at that point institutes the covenant of grace, which is given to Abraham, which is given to Moses, which is given throughout the Old Testament--the promise that God would redeem His people who were guilty according to the covenant of works that He would save His people through another way.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 15:24
Breaking the covenant of works requires restoration to God's fellowship through His mercy and grace, not through human works.
But once a person breaks a covenant of works the only way he can possibly be restored to fellowship with God is by God's mercy not by His justice, by His grace not by our works.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 17:32
The covenant of grace is not limited to the New Testament but has been active since the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis.
No, the covenant of grace is working ever since the third chapter of Genesis, and it's all through the Old Testament and into the New because it is based upon God's free grace to needy sinners.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 22:10
The goal of studying theology is not academic achievement, but rather deepening one's personal relationship with God through understanding Him.
The reason why we want to understand theology, the reason we want to understand doctrine is not so that we can make an A on a theology exam. We want to understand the doctrine of God so that we can understand God, so that we can meet the living God in His Word, and understand Him and deepen our personal relationship with Him.
Source: R.C. Sproul @ 0:09
The initial covenant made with Adam and Eve established eternal life as a benefit, but warned of death if the terms were disobeyed.
God promised eternal life, the benefit and blessing of this covenant of creation, if Adam obeyed the provisions and the stipulations of the covenant. The negative sanction, however, was this: “If you disobey the terms of this covenant, you will surely die.”
Source: The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier)
The blemishes on the soul cannot be hidden by human efforts, but only by the covenant of grace and the righteousness of Jesus.
There is no napkin in the world, however, that can hide the spots on my soul, the blemishes that would be there indelibly, unless the covenant of grace and the righteousness of Jesus, the Lamb without blemish, could remove those spots from my soul and from yours.
Source: The Baptism of Jesus (Ligonier)
The foundational structure of all history and revelation is the structure of covenant, which is the basis for entering into worship and a salvific relationship with God.
How can you read the Bible and not see that the basic foundational structure of all the history of redemption, of all the unveiling revelation of God Almighty, is the structure of covenant? That is the basis by which we enter into worship with God and into the salvific relationship that we have with Him, because He, apart from us and for us, unilaterally, made a promise of redemption, which promise cannot fail.
Source: The Benedictus (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The Christian life is characterized by a covenant promise, which was given to Abraham and continues into the new covenant.
but they do have the promise of God given to Abraham and renewed throughout the history of the old covenant and into the new covenant. We are the people of the covenant.
Source: The Benedictus (Part 2) (Ligonier)
The Bible's structure is best understood through the framework of covenants, which contrasts with dispensationalism's method of dividing history into separate timeframes.
The structure in which the Bible is written to us is the structure of covenant. It is all through the Scriptures.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The covenant of works established that humanity could live forever if they were obedient, but they would perish if they were disobedient.
In that covenant, He set before them the promise of blessedness: They could eat of the Tree of Life and live forever if they were obedient. But in that probation, they were told that they must not touch the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, lest they die.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The significance of Christ's perfect obedience is lost if either the covenant of works or imputation is removed.
Do you see the connection there between the covenant of works and imputation? If you take away the covenant of works, if you take away imputation, you take away the significance of the perfect acts of Jesus’ obedience.
Source: The Doctrine of Imputation (Ligonier)
The covenant of grace promises redemption through the ministry of someone who keeps the law, not through keeping the law itself.
The promise of the covenant of grace is that you will be redeemed not because you will keep the law—because you cannot keep the law—but you will be redeemed through the ministry of the One who does keep the law.
Source: Freed from the Law (Ligonier)
Justification is ultimately achieved through the works of Jesus alone, who fulfilled the terms of the covenant of works.
But I reminded you when I said we were justified by works alone that we are justified through the works of Jesus alone, who kept the terms of the covenant of works.
Source: Freed from the Law (Ligonier)
When Paul speaks of sanctification in the context of mixed marriages, he is using Jewish covenantal language to mean that the unbelieving spouse is ritually set apart and allowed within the covenant community.
When he says, “The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the believing wife,” he means that the unbelieving husband is set apart, consecrated, not sent outside the camp, not considered unclean, but is ritually clean and allowed to be involved within the congregation of the faithful.
Source: Healing of the Leper (Ligonier)
Children are considered holy and within the covenant community not because they are righteous, but because they are ritually consecrated or sanctified within the covenant community.
They are holy not because they are righteous, but because they are considered as consecrated or sanctified inside the covenant community.
Source: Healing of the Leper (Ligonier)
The Old Testament promise for Pentecost applies to all who are in the covenant by faith.
It does not understand that the Old Testament promise for Pentecost is that the outpouring of God would not be given just to some but to all who were in the covenant by faith.
Source: The Holy Spirit to the Gentiles (Ligonier)
Romans 9 is the most definitive and persuasive passage in Scripture regarding the doctrine of God's grace in salvation.
With all the biblical testimony to the sovereignty of God’s grace in salvation, there is no segment or section of Scripture that more definitively sets it forth or more clearly, persuasively, and convincingly lays it out before us than the Apostle does in Romans 9.
Source: Israel's Rejection of Christ (Ligonier)
The covenants and the law were given to the Israelites, not to the gentiles.
To the Israelites belong the covenants. The covenant with Adam, the covenant with Noah, the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the covenant with Moses, the covenant with David—these covenants that we inherit all come from the Jews, not from the gentiles.
Source: Israel's Rejection of Christ (Ligonier)
The promise to Abraham implicitly included the idea that non-Jews (gentiles) would eventually participate in the blessedness of God's covenant.
Implicit in that promise is the idea that at some point the non-Jews—the gentiles—would participate in the blessedness of this covenant that God makes with Abraham as the father of the faithful.
Source: Israel's Rejection Not Final (Part 1) (Ligonier)
God's redemptive action is based not on Israel's rejection of the covenant, but on His covenant, promise, and electing grace.
Why? Because He owes them a second chance? Not at all. It is because of His covenant, because of His promise, because of His electing grace: For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.
Source: Israel's Rejection Not Final (Part 3) (Ligonier)
Grace is entirely independent of human works; if it were based on works, it would cease to be grace.
And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
Source: Israel's Rejection Not Total (Ligonier)
The discourse regarding Jesus' will versus the Father's will presents a difficult theological tension.
In Jesus’ prayer, we find a difficult-to-understand tension between His description of His will and the will of the Father.
Source: Jesus at Gethsemane (Ligonier)
The covenant sign of circumcision indicated that while the Jew received promises and blessings, they were also subject to curses if they violated the law.
The negative side of the sign was that the Jew bore in his body the sign of the covenant that had promises, benefits, and blessings, but also curses. In Deuteronomy, when God explained the significance of circumcision, He said to them, “If you keep My law, and you keep My covenant, blessed are you in the country, blessed are you in the city, blessed are you when you sit down, blessed are you when you stand up, blessed are you when you’re in the gate, blessed are you in the living room, blessed are you in the family room, blessed are you in the kitchen, blessed are you all over the place.” “But if you break My covenant and violate the law,” then what? “Cursed are you in the country, cursed are you in the city, cursed are you in the living room, the dining room, the family room, the kitchen. Cursed are you wherever you are.”
Source: The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier)
While external signs of the covenant are necessary for the world to see, they do not provide salvation.
Jesus made it clear that we were to use the signs of the covenant for the world to see. But we must always remember that they do not save us through the working of the work.
Source: The Jews Are as Guilty as the Gentiles (Ligonier)
Groups that prioritize fellowship over doctrine will struggle to maintain unity when confronted with theological issues.
The only way they could keep their unity was to leave their doctrine behind. So, they began to enjoy a fellowship without doctrine, without the Word, and they called their fellowship “Spirit-filled.”
Source: Life in the Early Church (Ligonier)
The sacrifice required by the new covenant is not physical animals but the whole person, offered as an act of worship.
The sacrifice of the new covenant is not a sacrifice of bulls and goats but a sacrifice of the people of God, for we are called to give ourselves to the service of God as an act of worship.
Source: Living Sacrifices to God (Ligonier)
Jesus established a new covenant through His blood, which was the ultimate Passover.
He said: “This is the new covenant now, which is in My blood. This new covenant in My blood is by the shedding of My blood for the remission of your sins. Tonight, we are eating and drinking the ultimate Passover.”
Source: The Lord's Supper (Ligonier)
The benefits received in the new covenant are greater than anything the people of Israel ever dreamed of, implying continued obligations.
If anything, the New Testament labors the point that the benefits we receive from God’s hand in the new covenant are far greater and far richer than anything the people of Israel ever dreamed of.
Source: Lying Donors (Ligonier)
God revealed His covenant to Moses, reminding him that He is the Lord who will bring Israel out of bondage and establish Himself as their God.
I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord ; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as My people, and I will be your God.'
Source: The Beheading of John the Baptist (Part 2) (Ligonier)
Leprosy was a severe condition that resulted in the individual being pronounced unclean and cast out of the covenant community.
If you were found to have leprosy, you were determined not only to be unwell, but you were pronounced unclean. Leprosy was not able to be healed in the ancient world, and it had to be cleansed.
Source: Jesus Heals Many (Ligonier)
The Bible records multiple instances of theophany, such as the burning bush and the covenant ceremony with Abraham.
In Exodus 3, when Moses saw the burning bush in Midianite wilderness such that the bush was burning but not consumed, and then God spoke to Moses out of that bush, that was a theophany, a visible appearance of the invisible God.
Source: Jesus Walking on Water (Ligonier)
Being delivered to the Gentiles was equivalent to being sent outside the covenant community, outside the presence of God.
To be placed in the hands of the Gentiles was to be sent outside the covenant community, outside the camp, outside of where the presence of God was concentrated and focused.
Source: Kingdom Climbers (Ligonier)
The permanence of marriage is established by God from the beginning of creation, making it a covenant that man cannot separate.
But from the beginning of the creation, God made them ‘male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Source: Marriage and Divorce (Ligonier)
Jesus used the covenant names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to prove that God is the God of the living, not the dead.
He said: “Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.
Source: The Resurrection (Ligonier)
John the Baptist belongs to the old covenant in terms of redemptive history, even though he is mentioned in the New Testament.
We read about him in the New Testament, but this is still the period of the Old Testament. The New Testament hasn’t started yet.
Source: Message from John the Baptist (Part 1) (Ligonier)
The current covenant and situation are superior to previous ones.
The covenant that we are in, we are told, is a better covenant. The situation that we are in is a better situation.
Source: Message from John the Baptist (Part 2) (Ligonier)
To accommodate the new reality of the covenant, one must adopt a new approach or structure.
You must have a new aspect if you’re going to fit into the new covenant, and by extension, you can’t have Christ and squeeze Him into your old life and expect that to work.
Source: New Wineskins (Ligonier)
Historically, gentiles were considered without hope because they were unclean, defiled, and outside the covenants made with Israel.
In previous generations, it was assumed that the gentiles—who were unclean, defiled, impure, not consecrated, and outside the scope of the covenants God had made with Abraham, Moses, and so on—were without hope.
Source: Peter's Vision (Ligonier)
The Pharisees were a group of people who were conservative and sought to restore covenant purity to Israel by focusing on righteousness.
They were that group of people who were tired of the secularism of the Jews. They were the conservatives. They were the evangelicals. They were the ones that wanted to restore covenant purity to Israel.
Source: From Slaves of Sin to Slaves of God (Ligonier)
The principle of family solidarity regarding covenant signs remained intact and was never repealed, requiring children of believers to receive the sign of the new covenant.
That principle of family solidarity remained intact and was never abrogated or repealed. That is why it is very important, and not optional, that the children of believers receive the sign of the new covenant, which is the sign of the promise of salvation to all who believe.
Source: Song of Simeon (Ligonier)
The new covenant, symbolized by the cup, is superior to the old covenant's purification water because it is based on Christ's own blood.
This is the cup of the new covenant. This is the cup of the New Testament. This is a cup that goes beyond the purification water of the Old Testament, because now this cup is My blood.
Source: The Wedding Feast (Ligonier)