"The Covenant of Grace" Part II by Charles Hodge

Part II

Different Views of the Nature of this Covenant

It is assumed by many that the parties to the covenant of grace are God and fallen man. Man by his apostasy having forfeited the favour of God, lost the divine image, and involved himself in sin and misery, must have perished in this state, had not God provided a plan of salvation. Moved by compassion for his fallen creatures, God determined to send his Son into the world, to assume their nature, and to do and suffer whatever was requisite for their salvation. On the ground of this redeeming work of Christ, God promises salvation to all who will comply with the terms on which it is offered. This general statement embraces forms of opinion which differ very much one from the others.

(1) It includes even the Pelagian view of the plan of salvation, which assumes that there is no difference between the covenant of works under which Adam was placed, and the covenant of grace, under which men are now, except as to the extent of the obedience required. God promised life to Adam on the condition of perfect obedience, because he was in a condition to render such obedience. He promises salvation to men now on the condition of such obedience as they are able to render, whether Jews, Pagans, or Christians. According to this view the parties to the covenant are God and man; the promise is life; the condition is obedience, such as man in the use of his natural powers is able to render.

(2.) The Remonstrant system does not differ essentially from the Pelagian,.so far as the parties, the promise and the condition of the covenant are concerned. The Remonstrants also make God and man the parties, life the promise, and obedience the condition. But they regard fallen men as in a state of sin by nature, as needing supernatural grace which is furnished to all, and the obedience required is the obedience of faith, or fides obsequiosa faith as including and securing evangelical obedience. Salvation under the gospel is as truly by works as under the law; but the obedience required is not the perfect righteousness demanded of Adam, but such as fallen man, by the aid of the Spirit, is now able to perform.

" The Greek Language and the Christian Ministry" by F.F. Bruce

Christian theology is based upon the firm belief that God; the Maker of heaven and earth, has revealed Himself to mankind as a righteous God and a Saviour, and that this revelation, at first conveyed partially and variously through those whom He called to be His spokesmen, has been perfectly  communicated in Jesus Christ His Son. The preparatory and consummating stages of the revelation have been recorded respectively in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. To these sacred writings, Evangelical theology in particular attaches unique importance, believing that they constitute the standard of faith and practice, that they contain all things necessary for salvation, and that nothing must  be pressed upon men as of the essence of Christian belief and life which cannot be established from them.

The Christian theologian, particularly if he calls himself Evangelical, must therefore pay the most painstaking attention to these writings. He must realize that sound theology rests upon true exegesis, and true exegesis requires a  number of preliminary disciplines, of which linguistic study and textual criticism are two of the most important. The Biblical theologian―and do we not all call ourselves  Biblical theologians nowadays!―cannot be content with a second-hand approach to his foundation documents, by reading them in another man’s translation. He will, no doubt, consult and value many translations, but he will wish to control them by regular, direct reference to the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. “True,” says one reader, “true so far as the theological specialist is concerned. But I am no theological specialist; I have no ambition but to be a parish clergyman, charged with the cure of souls. I have neither the time nor perhaps the inclination to pursue linguistic study.” But, my friend, that very vocation to which  your life is dedicated, makes you a theological
specialist. Not a theological  specialist among theologians, admittedly, but a theological specialist among laymen. To whom should your  parishioners turn for an expert ruling on some point of theological or Biblical interpretation if not to you, their true pastor? Must you, like them, depend on other men’s translations and other men’s explanations for an answer?  No doubt you will have access to many more translations and explanations than they; but your answer will still, in some important respects, be second-hand.

"The Doctrine of the Covenant in Reformed Theology" by Geerhardus Vos

 At present there is general agreement that the doctrine of the covenants is a peculiarly Reformed doctrine. It emerged in Reformed theology where it was assured of a permanent place and in a way that has also remained confined within these bounds. It is true that towards the end of the seventeenth century this doctrine was taken over by several Lutheran theologians,2 but this apparently took place by way of imitation, the doctrine being unknown within the genuine Lutheran framework. With the Reformed theologians, on the other hand, its emergence occurs in the period of richest development. With full force it lays hold of theological thinking, which in many cases it bends in a distinctive direction.

The last-mentioned phenomenon has caused some to be of the opinion that the doctrine of the covenant was something new which did indeed grow up in Reformed soil, but which nevertheless first came to light in Cocceius and his school. Cocceianism and covenant theology would then amount to the same thing. If that is taken to mean that Cocceius was the first to make the covenant idea the dominant concept of his system, then there is some truth to this opinion. Yet even then it cannot be fully agreed with. Cloppenburg and Gellius Snecanus3 had already come up with a covenant theology in the Netherlands, and the same can be said of Olevianus in Germany. What was new in Cocceius was not his covenant theology as such, but rather the historical conclusions for the economy of redemption which he drew from the covenant concept. When these conclusions became apparent, the struggle against Cocceianism was on.
If we are looking only for the covenant concept itself, rather than for a covenant theology, we can go back a lot further. Many Reformed theologians had in their systems a locus on the covenant or on the testaments. Trelcatius, father and son, Junius, Gomarus, and others taught the covenant in this sense. With them the concept remained rather subordinate, so that they cannot be called federalists in the later sense of the term.

So, Which is it? "Go" or "Preach?"

Just what is being emphasized in this verse?
              Is it "GO" or "Preach?"


 "And he said unto them, Go (1) ye into all the world, and preach (2) the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15 KJV



(1) Greek- πορεύομαι
English Spelling-poreuomai
Pronounced-por-yoo'-om-ahee

Definition- Middle voice from a derivative of the same as G3984; to traverse, that is, travel (literally or figuratively; especially to remove [figuratively die],
live, etc.): - depart, go (away, forth, one’s way, up), (make a, take a) journey, walk.

" THE GOSPEL MYSTERY OF SANCTIFICATION" By Walter Marshall-Chapter 3 or 14

Chapter Three

The way to get holy endowments and qualifications necessary to frame and enable us for the immediate practice of the law, is to receive them out of the fullness of Christ, by fellowship with Him; and that we may have this fellowship, we must be in Christ, and have Christ Himself in us, by a mystical union with Him.

" THE GOSPEL MYSTERY OF SANCTIFICATION" by Walter Marshall-Chapter 2 of 14

Chapter Two

Several endowments and qualifications are necessary to enable us for the immediate practice of the law. Particularly we must have an inclination and propensity of our hearts thereunto; and therefore we must be well persuaded of our reconciliation with God, and of our future enjoyment of the everlasting heavenly happenings, and of sufficient strength both to will and perform all duties acceptably, until we come to the enjoyment of that happiness.

"The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification" by Walter Marshal-Chapter 1 of 14 total.

Sanctification in the believers life is of the utmost importance.  Any tool we can find that aids in our growing in grace and in the knowledge of the Son of God is a tool we cannot afford to ignore.  I often post articles on Sanctification, by the Puritans, early Reformers and myself.  For the next several days I will be posting one chapter a day from the book "The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification" first published in 1692 and written by Walter Marshall.  Many believe this book to be the single best work on the believers Sanctification. 

"Of Justification by Faith" by John Calvin (1509-1564)

1. I trust I have now sufficiently shown how man's only resource for escaping from the curse of the law, and recovering salvation, lies in faith; and also what the nature of faith is, what the benefits which it confers, and the fruits which it produces. The whole may be thus summed up: Christ given to us by the kindness of God is apprehended and possessed by faith, by means of which we obtain in particular a twofold benefit; first, being reconciled by the righteousness of Christ, God becomes, instead of a judge, an indulgent Father; and, secondly, being sanctified by his Spirit, we aspire to integrity and purity of life. This second benefit, viz., regeneration, appears to have been already sufficiently discussed. On the other hand, the subject of justification was discussed more cursorily, because it seemed of more consequence first to explain that the faith by which alone, through the mercy of God, we obtain free justification, is not destitute of good works; and also to show the true nature of these good works on which this question partly turns. The doctrine of Justification is now to be fully discussed, and discussed under the conviction, that as it is the principal ground on which religion must be supported, so it requires greater care and attention. For unless you understand first of all what your position is before God, and what the judgment which he passes upon you, you have no foundation on which your salvation can be laid, or on which piety towards God can be reared. The necessity of thoroughly understanding this subject will become more apparent as we proceed with it.

"The Best Way To Run The Goats Out Of The Church" by D.J. Ward

"Feed My sheep." John 21:17

"Feed the flock of God entrusted to you." 1 Peter 5:2

The best way to purify the church and keep it pure—is to get rid of all the goats! And the best way to run the goats out of the church—is to feed them 'sheep food'. God's sheep will grow in grace under the preaching of grace—but goats will go hungry because they choke on 'sheep food'. They will soon leave and go somewhere else. Preach sovereign grace!
“Now I commit you to God and to the message of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all who are sanctified." Acts 20:32

"The Small Church Pastor" by Shane C. Montgomery

" For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."        Isaiah 55:8-9 (KJV)

What is the criteria for handling God's Holy Word?  How much training is required before a man can expound God's Will?  

"The Apostle Paul in Romans 7 and What Does It Mean to the Modern Believer?" by Shane C. Montgomery

  15 "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good."     Romans 7:15-16 (KJV)

  Maybe a better title for this blog post would be "Caught between Antinomianism and Legalism."  I believe there comes a time in every Christian's life where they find themselves in a struggle, a struggle to stay on the narrow path and not to wonder of course and find themselves in either the Antinomian camp or the just as dangerous Legalist camp.   Maybe this is not the case for you but for most of us, those who desire to grow in grace, we do struggle with this, it doesn't help any that Paul makes Romans chapter Seven more confusing than Chinese algebra!

"TULIP- The Flower of Truth Hated by Most Christians!" by Shane C. Montgomery

  Just what is it about this TULIP that makes so many Christians red in the face?

   Five short statements.  Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, Perseverance of the Saints.  These five little, quick statements seem to be a declaration of war to many believers.