Carey Conference 2012 02

The Comedy of the Covenants

The second paper at Carey this year was from Martin Salter, an Oakhill graduate and an assistant pastor in Bedford. He gave us this outline to his helpful talk:

1. A covenant is ...

“A covenant of God with man, is an agreement between God and man, about the way of obtaining consummate happiness.” (Witsius)

"A covenant is a bond in blood sovereignly administered." (O Palmer Robertson)

"It is an oath-bound and oath-certified assurance of irrevocable grace and promise." (John Murray)

2. Story of the covenant ...

a. We traversed briefly the biblical story of the covenants

b. The newness of the new covenant

i. Calvin points up four antitheses from 2 Cor 3

external/internal; death/life; condemnation/righteousness; temporary/eternal
ii. Particularity and universality (Acts 2; Hebrews 8)
iii. Owen's five differences (Hebrews 8:6) - clearer, more gracious, immediate, spiritual, extensive.
"all with whom this covenant is made are effectually sanctified, justified and saved."
c. Dangers of reductionism or over-distinction within the "covenant of grace".

3. Signs of the covenant

Circumcision, baptism and the relationship between the two (Colossians 2:11, 12). This is the classic passage that is supposed to show that baptism of infants replaces circumcision. Rather Paul is talking about regeneration. Spiritual baptism replaces physical circumcision. One problem here is the fact that circumcision continued after baptism. 

4. Objections

a. Is God less kind? (Zwingli) But is it less kind? He misses the radical newness.

b. Acts 2:39 - the promise is for you and your children  The promise is that if we repent and are baptised we will be saved.

c. Warning passages (eg Hebrews 10). There are difficulties here but they are not suggesting that it is possible to fall from the covenant. God uses means to keep his children in line and it is the way language works that provides the key to such passages. (Cf 2 Peter 2:1).

5. Critiques

a. Everyone is a credo-baptist in practice

b. Consistency of paedo-baptists

The Larger Westminster Catechism is inconsistent.

Cf Stoddard's halfway covenant, Berkhof's "dual aspect", presumptive regeneration (Canons of Dort), federal vision.

6. Conclusions

A story which moves from one degree of glory to another -  a better story

A consistent covenant theology is a Baptist covenant theology

Perhaps the most helpful thought was that every covenant has a obligatory element (in the new covenant Christ meets it).