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Ask FGBC #22: What is the New Covenant in the Reformed Baptist view?

Jim Butler · 2024-11-11 · 726 words · 5 min

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Summary

Qa

The New Covenant is the sole historical expression of the covenant of grace, ratified in the blood of Christ, in contrast to both Paedo-Baptist equations of the covenant of grace with the Abrahamic or Mosaic covenants and the Dispensationalist framework that fragments redemptive history along ethnic and dispensational lines.

The New Covenant in Reformed Baptist theology is identified as the historical expression of the covenant of grace, ratified in the blood of Christ and offering salvation to God's elect through faith in Jesus Christ. Unlike many Paedo-Baptist positions that locate the covenant of grace in the Abrahamic or Mosaic covenants, the Reformed Baptist view holds that only the New Covenant is that historical expression, with the earlier covenants serving as types and shadows pointing forward to it. Dispensationalism, by contrast, structures redemptive history around distinct divine dealings with Jews and Gentiles, tends to resist the theological covenant framework of redemption, works, and grace as extra-biblical categories, and anchors its New Covenant reading in a literalistic hermeneutic. Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8 and 10, and the institution of the Lord's Supper together ground the Reformed Baptist insistence that the New Covenant begins with Christ's death and resurrection.

Key quotes

The New Covenant is the historical expression of the covenant of grace. It's ratified in the blood of Christ.
We believe that you're always saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.
The RB or Particular Baptist Second London Confession approach to the covenant of grace, is dissimilar to what you find in Dispensationalism.

Applications

  1. Ground your understanding of salvation in the covenant of grace as the New Covenant, not in the types and shadows of the Mosaic economy.
  2. Examine how your hermeneutic shapes your reading of the New Covenant — whether you interpret Jeremiah 31 through a literalistic lens or through the interpretive framework of Hebrews 8 and 10.
  3. Resist any framework that divides the people of God into distinct ethnic tracks across redemptive history, since the covenant of grace runs consistently through the whole of Scripture.

Questions this sermon answers

What is the New Covenant in Reformed Baptist theology?

The New Covenant is the historical expression of the covenant of grace, ratified in the blood of Christ, offering salvation to God's elect through faith in Jesus.

How do Reformed Baptists differ from Paedo-Baptists on the covenant of grace?

Paedo-Baptists typically identify the covenant of grace with the Abrahamic or Mosaic covenants, whereas Reformed Baptists hold that only the New Covenant is the covenant of grace, with earlier covenants serving as types and shadows pointing forward to it.

How does the Reformed Baptist view of the New Covenant differ from Dispensationalism?

Dispensationalism structures history around distinct divine dealings with Jews and Gentiles, tends to reject theological covenants as extra-biblical categories, and anticipates a future millennial phase for ethnic Israel, whereas Reformed Baptists see one continuous covenant of grace historically expressed in the New Covenant.

Do Dispensationalists affirm the theological covenants of redemption, works, and grace?

Many Dispensationalists reject these categories as extra-biblical terminology, preferring a literalistic hermeneutic focused on passages like Jeremiah 31 rather than the theological covenant framework.

When does the New Covenant begin according to Reformed Baptists?

The New Covenant begins with Christ's death and resurrection, as taught by Hebrews 8 and 10 and the institution of the Lord's Supper.

The New Covenant Question

Next question is related to the last one. What is the New Covenant in the Reformed Baptist view? And how does this Reformed Baptist view compare to the Dispensationalist view of the New Covenant? I guess this could be a long answer, so we should maybe not go too long.

I can answer to what the new covenant is in Reformed Baptist thought.

Reformed Baptist View of the New Covenant

We would say that the covenant of grace is the new covenant, is the historical expression of the covenant of grace. In chapter 7 of our confession, Paragraph two describes what the covenant of grace is and what is offered to sinners and it's salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him that they may be saved and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, his Holy Spirit to make them willing and able to believe. And so it is God's mercy towards his elect and that he offers salvation unto them, which we would agree with our Paedo-Baptist brothers and sisters, but we disagree on how it's, the outworking of it, how it's packaged. And so

Contrast with Paedo-Baptist Positions

many Paedo-Baptists would say that the Abrahamic covenant is the covenant of grace, and many would say the Mosaic covenant is the covenant of grace. Whereas we recognize that only the New Covenant is the covenant of grace. The Abrahamic points ahead, the types and shadows of the Mosaic point ahead to the New Covenant, but the New Covenant is the historical expression of the covenant of grace. It's ratified in the blood of Christ.

Christ says, this is the blood of the New Covenant. And so that is where we see that historical outworking, namely by way of the covenant of grace in that new covenant. And then

Dispensationalism Compared

as far as dispensationalism is concerned, it's again tough because there's been a lot of iterations of dispensationalism. So it started off in the 1800s under Darby and who's the other guy? Schofield. Schofield, yeah.

But arguably it's been modified, shifted, changed quite a bit such that you have progressive dispensationalism, you have old school dispensationalism. So, it's really sort of difficult to nail it down, but basically, dispensationalism, at least historically, looked at the various dispensations in the Bible as God's ways of dealing with people. So, you had, you know, basically law for salvation in the old dispensation. So, no Reformed Baptist would ever argue that.

We believe that you're always saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Another thing that is very absolutely crucial for dispensationalism how this touches on the covenant of grace, I'm not sure, but I do think it's important to understand the distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles. So, without that, you don't have dispensationalism. So, basically,

Dispensationalist Israel and the Church

God deals with the Jews in the Old Testament basically cuts them off because they rejected Jesus who offered himself as a king and then God turns his attention to the Gentiles. So, it would really be hard to maintain the covenant of grace sort of approach throughout, you know, redemptive history. And then, of course, once the Gentile church phase is over, that church will be raptured into Heaven and then begins the Millennial Kingdom where God specifically has in mind blessings upon ethnic Israel. So, you know, I don't know.

I haven't been a dispensationalist. I guess I should talk more to them, but

Theological Covenants and Dispensationalism

would they affirm the theological covenants, covenant of redemption, covenant of works, covenant of grace? I'd like to think they do, but the RB or Particular Baptist Second London Confession approach to the covenant of grace, is dissimilar to what you find in Dispensationalism. There's, you know, a lot of differences there. Pete It's like you said, I think there's a lot of differences.

Hermeneutics and Jeremiah 31

I think many would, as I understand, reject some of the more theological terminology, covenant of grace, redemption, and works, because it's not found in the Bible. And so, certainly there are literalistic, hermeneutic plays a part in that as well. And so I think that's why they would focus in on Jeremiah 31, which we focus in on Jeremiah 31 as well, but Hebrews 8 and 10 is very clear that it's, and then the institution of the Lord's Supper is very clear that that starts with Christ's death and resurrection.

Scripture References

  • Jeremiah 31
  • Hebrews 8; 10

Study notes

Confessions & catechisms

  • 1689 LBCF 7.2

Theological terms

  • Covenant of Grace×9
  • Covenant of Redemption×2
  • Covenant of Works×2
  • Dispensationalism×6
  • Literal Hermeneutic
  • New Covenant×10
  • Paedo-Baptist×3
  • Particular Baptist
  • Progressive Dispensationalism
  • Types and Shadows

People cited

  • C. I. Scofield
  • John Nelson Darby