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This covenant is revealed in 
the gospel, first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by 
the seed of the woman, and afterward by farther steps until the full 
discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament. And it 
is founded in that eternal covenant transaction that was between 
the father and the son about the redemption of the elect. 
And it is alone by the grace of this covenant that all of 
the posterity of fallen Adam that ever were saved did obtain 
life and blessed immortality, man being now utterly incapable 
of acceptance with God upon those terms on which Adam stood in 
his state of innocency. Amen. I suspect that when we 
came in here this morning, few of us gave any thought whatsoever 
to the blueprint for this particular building. Lester, Doug Lutain, 
most of us probably don't think about those sorts of things, 
but we would certainly be aware of that if we came into the building 
and it was crooked or it was wobbly or there was something 
wrong with it. we would suspect that there's 
a problem with the foundation. And sometimes people say, what 
is the purpose for covenant theology? Why should I be concerned about 
this? Because it is the blueprint upon 
which the whole theological enterprise is built and structured. If you 
have a problem with the foundation, you are certainly going to have 
a problem with everything subsequent to that. Perhaps many of the 
errors that attach themselves to the preaching of the gospel, 
to the preaching of the law, to the preaching of the things 
of God revealed in the Old and New Testaments have as their 
taproot either a lack of understanding of covenant theology or a faulty 
understanding of covenant theology. So if you might think, well, 
you know, it's not that big of a deal for me, at least be thankful 
that there are people who have considered this particular important 
doctrine in the scripture. and have sought to articulate 
it. Because in many respects, especially as Reformed Christians, 
we are the benefactors of a lot of work that has been done in 
terms of covenant theology. In terms of, or just a basic 
description of what we mean by covenant theology or the importance 
of it, Jim Renahan says, we believe that the structure of scripture 
is properly defined by what has been designated as covenant theology. To grasp this fact is to grasp 
the central architecture of the entire Bible. Again, those who 
are not familiar with covenant theology, those who don't give 
any attention to it, might think that this is a reach, or an overstatement, 
or perhaps hyperbole. But I don't believe it is. If 
you don't have a proper understanding of these things, you're going 
to falter. No, I'm good. With reference to the law, with 
reference to the gospel, and probably both. Many in the church 
have observed this. To get these things wrong does 
not go well for a man in terms of his theology. Now, the most 
basic definition of a covenant is found in the children's version 
of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It asks, what is a covenant? 
The answer is, a covenant is an agreement between two or more 
persons. That's as simple and as basic 
as one could get. Nehemiah Cox fleshes this out 
a bit more, and he says, the general notion of any covenant 
of God with men, considered on the part of God or as proposed 
by him, may be conceived of as a declaration of his sovereign 
pleasure concerning the benefits he will bestow on them, the communion 
they will have with him, and the way and means by which this 
will be enjoyed by them. I think that's a very accurate 
and helpful description of what we mean by covenant. Now if you 
look at the Confession of Faith in chapter 7, this is a place 
where I believe our particular Baptist brethren demonstrated 
genius in terms of some modifications and some additions and some subtractions 
in terms of this chapter. with reference specifically to 
the Westminster Confession of Faith. Paragraph 3, I think, 
is a demonstration of that genius or of that particular wisdom. 
But just an overview, we have a general necessity for covenant 
in paragraph 1. The distance between God and 
creature is so great that although reasonable creatures do obedience 
unto him as their creator, Even apart from covenant, the creature 
owes obedience to his creator. Apart from covenant, God is the 
sovereign and man stands relative to him and that does necessitate 
obedience on his part. Goes on to say, yet they could 
never have attained the reward of life but by some voluntary 
condescension on God's part. which he hath been pleased to 
express by way of covenant." So God takes the initiative in 
bringing man to himself, and we see that even more developed 
in paragraph 2. This is specifically with reference 
to the covenant of grace. So we have the general necessity 
of the covenant, paragraph 1, We have the covenant of grace 
in paragraph 2, and then significant features of the covenant of grace 
in paragraph 3. And as I said, that's where we'll 
spend the bulk of our time this morning. But notice with reference 
to paragraph 2, we see the fall of man. This serves as the backdrop. It says, moreover, man having 
brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall. So what God does in Genesis chapter 
2 is he puts Adam in what has been called the covenant of works. 
Now our chapter here does not indicate a particular paragraph 
concerning the covenant of works. That has led some to say that 
the Baptists rejected the concept, but that's simply not the case. 
This is affirmed throughout the Confession of Faith. The Covenant 
of Works is specifically mentioned here in this chapter, not with 
those particular words, but the concept is present. It is well 
is in the Confession in chapter 19, chapter 20, as well as in 
chapter 6 in paragraph 1. So the Covenant of Works was 
not a construct that was rejected by the particular Baptist brethren. It was embraced, it was dealt 
with, they understood the necessity for affirming it, and we likewise 
must do the same. But in terms of the Covenant 
of Works, I think the Westminster Confession does describe it well. It says, the first covenant made 
with man was a covenant of works wherein life was promised to 
Adam and in him to his posterity upon condition of perfect and 
personal obedience. I think it was the last time 
that we were in our studies in the Confession, Pastor Cam, I 
think explain the covenant of works to some degree or other. 
We have dealt with that in the past. If you're interested, email 
me. I can send you an argument as to why the covenant of works 
is certainly biblical. But that's what's being alluded 
to here in chapter 7, paragraph 2. Moreover, man having brought 
himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the 
Lord to make a covenant of grace, wherein he freely offereth unto 
sinners life and 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." So we see the initiative 
here. When we talk about covenants, 
and we look at covenants in the Bible, and we think about covenants 
between men today, oftentimes they are men agreeing with one 
another, that basic definition, an agreement between two or more 
persons. And that is accurate. But when 
we come to consider this covenant of grace, we need to understand 
what's called a unilateral imposition. It's God who initiates. It is 
God who defines. It is God who calls men. into 
covenant with him. He is the initiator, he is the 
sovereign, he is the one that has orchestrated this. It's not 
as if Adam after his fall said, you know, how am I going to fix 
my condition? It's not as if Adam appealed 
to God and said, how about if we make an arrangement and you 
send your son to redeem us from our sins? No, Adam ran And Adam 
hid, and Adam covered himself. He was ashamed before a holy 
God. He had broken the law. He became a subject to death 
and condemnation and every bad thing that man could imagine. 
It was God who sought him out. And this is the very thing we 
need to understand in terms of this whole idea of covenant. 
It's not a piece of dry theology that is only for the theological 
nerds or geeks in the context of the local church. I think 
if you actually grasp what is going on, you will see it as 
a means by which Christ in his redemptive work looks even that 
much more glorious. God sought man out. God makes the covenant. It says 
it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace. Notice specifically, 
the Westminster Larger Catechism says, with whom was the covenant 
of grace made? The covenant of grace was made 
with Christ as the second Adam and in him with all the elect 
as his seed. So ultimately when we talk about 
the covenant of grace, we are participants, we are benefactors, 
we are blessed recipients of all the things promised therein, 
but the covenant head or the mediator or the surety or the 
one with whom God covenanted was the Lord Jesus Christ. And 
then it says, as the second Adam and in him with all the elect 
as his seed. As Thomas Manton said, God bringeth 
all sufficiency to the covenant. We bringeth nothing but all necessity. I think that's accurate, and 
I think it's glorious. Notice, with reference to the 
covenant of grace, the blessing offered. It says, wherein he 
freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ. So you see the scene. Adam sins 
against God. Adam runs, and Adam hides, and 
Adam wants to guard himself from God. God comes to him. and makes 
a promise concerning the coming of his son. There's going to 
be a second Edda. There's going to be another one. 
There's going to be another covenant wherein those who are attached 
to this covenant, Ed, are going to receive all of the blessings 
given. And then it says, requiring of 
them faith in Him that they may be saved. Now I'm sure we've 
discussed this many times in our discussions here in the study 
of the Confession. We ought to speak of, or we ought 
to make sure we understand, that when we talk about faith as being 
a condition of the New Covenant, or a condition of the Covenant 
of Grace, we need to explain what we mean. There have been 
some in the church that have taken that language and ran to 
the wrong extreme. They say, well, since faith is 
a condition of the covenant, I need to have faith in order 
to get God to bless me with these covenant blessings. That's not 
accurate. In fact, the confession goes 
on to indicate that it's the Holy Spirit that makes them willing 
and able to believe. So if we properly understand 
how faith is a condition, then we should be able to use that 
terminology. But because of abuses in the 
church, it is helpful that if somebody were to say to you, 
well, I understand faith is a condition of the new covenant or of the 
covenant of grace, it would be helpful to say, yes, I believe 
that, but let me tell you what I mean. It is the means by which 
we are brought into union with the Lord Jesus Christ, justification 
by faith. But it's not a condition in the 
sense that the sinner, unaided by the Holy Spirit, is able to 
proffer or offer up that faith in order to turn on the covenantal 
blessings. Does everybody get the distinction? 
You need to understand this. As I said, there are those. They're 
called Armenians. They were called Sicilians. They're 
called Baxterians or Neo-Baxterians. That means new Baxterians. You 
say, well, I don't even know what an old Baxterian was. What 
about these new ones? Richard Baxter was a man who 
was a Puritan, and he was very faithful in terms of pastoral 
ministry. He has a very popular book called 
The Reformed Pastor. But when it's called The Reformed 
Pastor, that does not speak to his theology. That does not speak 
to his understanding of justification by faith alone. Baxter had a 
view that faith and repentance were evangelical works or acts 
of obedience that we proffer in order to receive the benefits 
of God's saving mercies. And that's simply not accurate. 
So faith is a condition properly qualified, properly nuanced, 
properly understood. And that's what the confession 
highlights, requiring of them faith in Him. Face it, no one's 
going to go to heaven without faith, belief, in the Lord Jesus 
Christ. That is condition, that is a 
condition, isn't it? But it's not a bare condition 
in the sense that any sinner has the ability to sort of develop 
this faith in Christ. It's not as if the sinner brings 
faith to the bartering table or to the arbitrating table, 
and then God meets that faith with his covenantal blessings. 
The confession is clear, promising to give unto all those that are 
ordained unto eternal life. This shouldn't surprise us, this 
language. Remember, chapter 7 follows chapters 
3 and 4 and 5 and 6. Chapter 3 highlights of God's 
decree. Chapter 3 indicates this ordination 
unto eternal life, so that when we get to Chapter 7, we're ready 
for this. We don't believe for a moment 
that a sinner who has not been ordained unto eternal life has 
the ability or the power to cultivate a faith in himself to bring to 
the table so that God will meet him with covenant blessings. 
That's simply not the case. So faith is a condition, but 
it's nuanced and qualified in this particular paragraph, promising 
to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life his 
Holy Spirit to make them willing and able to believe. You see, 
sinners are dead in their trespasses and sins. This is what we inherit 
from the covenant of works. In Adam, all die. So dead sinners cannot cultivate 
faith in and of themselves. Dead sinners can't choose for 
Jesus. Dead sinners can't accept Jesus 
into their hearts. Dead sinners can't even make 
a motion toward that table. It must be God who initiates, 
it must be God who orchestrates, and it must be God who ultimately 
brings to completion this covenant of grace. So the confession is 
clear in this regard. In terms of faith, again, the 
London Baptist later on in chapter 11, paragraph 2, Faith thus receiving 
and resting on Christ and His righteousness is the alone instrument 
of justification. It's an instrument. It's not 
the cause. It's not the reason for. By grace you have been saved 
through faith. It's not by grace you have been 
saved, because of faith. We looked at that passage several 
weeks ago in Ephesians chapter 2, and there I indicated that 
whenever this convention appears in the New Testament, it's never 
because of faith. It is by faith. It is through 
faith. It's not because of our faith 
that we come into redemptive privilege, but it is the instrument 
by which God brings us into union with his beloved son. The Westminster 
Larger Catechism explains even more concerning this covenant 
and faith. It says, how is the grace of 
God manifested in the second covenant? The grace of God is 
manifested in the second covenant, in that he freely provides and 
offers to sinners a mediator, and life and salvation by him, 
and requiring faith as the condition to interest them in him. promises 
and gives his Holy Spirit to all his elect to work in them 
that faith with all other saving graces, and to enable them unto 
all holy obedience as the evidence of the truth of their faith and 
thankfulness to God, and as the way which he has appointed them 
to salvation." You see, there it indicates this idea of works. But when it comes to justification, 
those works are not counted part of it. the works evidence that 
there's a true and lively faith. It is the faith alone by which 
we are in this redemptive privilege. Westminster Larger Catechism 
clarifies, not clarifies, but adds to it in number 73. How does faith justify a sinner 
in the sight of God? Faith justifies a sinner in the 
sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always 
accompany it. This is very important. Please 
get this because there are those in our day called the federal 
vision that it's our covenantal faithfulness. That is the means 
by which our justification comes or you've heard of the new perspective 
on Paul and he write a very popular. a scholarly man who's written 
many, many books, and from what I understand, he gets Jesus and 
the Gospels right, but he gets Paul and justification drastically 
wrong. And in my mind, I don't like 
to eat a salad if there's only one slug in it. I'd rather have 
a fresh, clean salad with no slug. And in my mind, if you 
mess up justification by faith alone, You are eating a salad 
that has oodles of slugs in it, all under the guise, well, there 
is some lettuce in here, too. No, there's other men that are 
good on the New Testament and on Jesus as well. J. Gressa Machin, 
I think, would be a better one to read, because he not only 
gets Jesus and the Gospels right, he gets Paul and justification 
right. But you know, Jesus and Paul 
agree perfectly, and they are in harmony as well in terms of 
this idea of justification. But notice, how does faith justify 
a sinner in the sight of God? Faith justifies a sinner in the 
sight of God not because of those other graces which do always 
accompany it. or of good works that are the 
fruits of it, nor as if the grace of faith or any act thereof were 
imputed to him for his justification, but only as it is an instrument 
by which he receives and applies Christ and his righteousness. So in other words, we are not 
ultimately accepted by God on that day of judgment because 
of our justification and subsequent sanctification. God doesn't say, 
God isn't a Judaizer. He doesn't say, wow, you began 
with Christ and you continued well, therefore I'm going to 
let you in. We enter into God's presence 
solely and alone based on the doing and the dying and the rising 
of Jesus. The confessions make that absolutely 
clear. Protestants have always made 
that absolutely clear. A departure from that is a departure 
into very dangerous waters. When you deny the doctrine of 
justification by faith alone, it won't be long until you're 
swimming the river Tiber and you're bowing to the Pope of 
Rome. This is absolutely a heretical do not do it. I mentioned Rick 
Warren the other night in our studies in 1 Samuel 2. He is 
openly propagating the Pope of Rome, calling him Holy Father, 
referring to him as our Pope. James White, in his good criticism 
or good critique of him, said, what about the Reformation? What 
about Protestant theology? What about the doctrine of sola 
fide, justification by faith alone? This is not a plan or 
a track or a trajectory that a man wants to be upon. So we 
need to be aware of this. This is a mark. We say we like 
those five solas of the Reformation. To deny sola fide is to deny 
the Reformation itself in Protestant theology as we know it. So let's 
look at some significant features of the covenant of grace. The 
revelation of the covenant in the gospel, first of all. Notice 
paragraph three. This covenant is revealed in 
the gospel, first of all, to Adam and the promise of salvation 
by the seed of the woman, and afterward by farther steps, until 
the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament. 
Again, the genius of particular Baptist theology is seen in this 
paragraph. You may not fully understand 
it or appreciate it now, but stick with us for a few years. 
And hopefully, at one point, the light will turn on and you'll 
say, Wow, I get it, I understand, there's a great degree of wisdom 
in this particular paragraph. But look at the first promise. This covenant, we're talking 
about the covenant of grace that the Lord was pleased to make. 
is revealed in the gospel, first of all, to Adam in the promise 
of salvation by the seed of the woman. The proto-gospel, the 
proto-promise, the first statement concerning God's redemptive plan 
through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Genesis 3.15. You can 
turn there just to refresh your memory as to what is going on 
in the particular chapter. Remember, they fall, they break 
the covenant of works, they run, they hide, And God comes and 
he speaks to them. And to the serpent specifically, 
he makes this promise in verse 14. Because you have done this, 
you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast 
of the field. On your belly you shall go and 
you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put 
enmity. Again, God's initiative. You 
see, God does this. I will put enmity between you 
and the woman. between Satan and the people 
of God, there will exist enmity. You see, it wasn't just Jesus' 
statement in John 15. It says, if the world hates you, 
realize or know that it hated me first. The world has hated 
the people of God since the giving of the promise of eternal life 
by a Redeemer. This is a God-wrought enmity. When you bumble around in this 
world today and you see the aggression of sinners against the Lord Jesus 
Christ, again, it's good to be surprised at the way and the 
means by which they try and carry this out. But do not be surprised 
as if nothing in the Bible prepared you for this. There's a God-wrought 
enmity between the people of Satan and the people of God. It starts in the garden. It starts 
with the first promise. And it makes absolute sense. 
If dead sinners or if in Adam all die, when those who come 
who have eternal life and those who come who are pursuing the 
things of a righteous and holy God, those who are dead in their 
trespasses and sins don't like this. I don't know if you've 
seen in the news, but apparently some atheist groups, and I think 
it's a couple of southern states, or it might just be one of the 
southern states, a big billboard that says, dear Santa, all I 
want for Christmas is to not have to go to church, because 
I don't believe in fairy tales. That's typical of the way the 
atheists proceed. But did they stop and think for 
just a moment that they couch it in a fairy tale? They're writing 
to Santa? We're supposed to take this seriously, 
you know, this idea, but people are up in arms about this. And 
again, we ought to be. It's horrible. It's an assault. 
It's an attack upon Christianity and upon Christian theism. But 
there ought to be a part in our heart of hearts that we're not 
surprised. We're not surprised at the type of reviling that 
goes on. We get to John chapter 3 and 
Jesus says the darkness hates the light. The darkness doesn't 
want to come to the light. Why? Because the evil deeds will 
be exposed. Yes, it's horrific and it's terrible 
the way that the Pharisees opposed our Lord Jesus Christ. But in 
light of Genesis 3.15 and subsequent revelation, it doesn't surprise 
one that there's going to be this God-wrought enmity between 
the godly and the ungodly. I will put enmity between you 
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise 
your head, and you shall bruise his heel." The Lord Christ would 
bruise the head of the serpent. He would crush it. In the midst 
of the crushing activity of the head of the serpent, his heel 
would be bruised. There would be suffering. There 
would be sorrow associated with this coming deliverer. What we 
have in this promise is a promise of a deliverer that would be 
a man. You see, early on the Jews were 
taught to look for a man that would come to save them from 
their sins. As well, the deliverer would 
accomplish his work through suffering. You shall bruise his heel. The deliverer would have a great 
victory over the powers of darkness. He shall bruise or crush your 
head. I mean, face it, what would you 
rather have happen today? A bruised heel or a crushed head? I would opt for the bruised heel. 
I mean, if I could have my prerogatives, I'd want neither. That's not 
the case. So what we have here is the statement 
that the deliverer would achieve a great victory over the powers 
of darkness. And as well, there is an implicit reference to the 
virgin birth in this statement. I mean, subsequently, as we look 
back on this promise of the garden, who does he associate the deliverer 
with? And between your seed and her 
seed. going to come from a woman. When 
we get to the New Covenant Scriptures, and when we get to the promise 
of the Savior, or the statement concerning the Savior's birth 
in Matthew 1 and 2, and in Luke's gospel, we see it would be virgin 
born. So at least there's a hint, or 
an evidence, or an idea there. And the exclusivity of this, 
it will be between your seed and her seed. The seed is the 
Lord Christ. He is the one that brings decisive 
victory against this opponent. So we have in paragraph 3, this 
covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to Adam in the promise 
of salvation by the seed of the woman. Now notice what it goes 
on to say, and afterward by farther steps. afterward by farther steps. Here's how I think we ought to 
understand this, afterward by farther steps. The promise is 
given in Genesis 3.15, and then that promise runs through the 
Old Testament. That promise is administered. 
That promise is helped along by. That promise is furthered 
by other historical covenants that God is pleased to make with 
his people. The first being the Noahic. the 
covenant made with Noah. And that's a very important covenant. 
It is a covenant that provides the theater or the context, at 
least in terms of what we'll call a common grace, for the 
operation of God's special grace. In other words, God's promise 
not to ever destroy the world again. That then secures this 
world as the theater for the outflowing of God's special grace 
in this promise made by God to Adam or concerning Adam's Eve 
seed in the Garden of Eden. The second is the Abrahamic covenant. God made a covenant with Abraham. 
a covenant of promise, a covenant that broadens the scope, if you 
will, in terms of who are the benefactors of these privileges. It's in Abraham, all the nations 
of the earth will be blessed. In many respects, there should 
have never been a hyper-Jewish exclusivity. If they had understood 
the promise made to Abraham, if they had understood the book 
of Ruth, if they would have understood various things along the way, 
they would not have had this hyper-exclusivity. Because in 
Abraham, all the nations of the earth are going to be blessed. 
Paul tells us that the seed of Abraham in whom this promise 
is fulfilled is Jesus Christ in Galatians 3. Now the Abrahamic 
covenant was a two-part covenant. The promise flowed through Abraham, 
but as well there was an aspect of a very conditional, very national, 
very ethnically oriented part of that covenant. had two sons. You see, the Paedo-Baptist brethren 
are simply not right to say the covenant made with Abraham was 
the covenant of grace. What happens when they say the 
covenant made with Abraham was the covenant of grace? Now they 
can sprinkle their babies. The covenant of grace comes to 
its fruition, as we'll see in this particular chapter, in the 
new covenant with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's Jesus who defines 
the subjects of baptism, not Abraham. We want to be Christocentric 
rather than, what's the word? I can't say it. Abrahamocentric. Abrahamocentric. Hammo. That's kind of an interesting 
name. When we were younger, when the kids were younger, we used 
to have hamburger hash. One of the kids called it Ham-O-Hash. 
So just kind of brought me back there for a moment. Ham-O-Hash. 
Abrahamocentrism. You see, when you are Abrahamocentric, 
you are going to sprinkle your babies. That's just a necessity. You see why they emphasize this 
particular feature. Next time we go around, Cam can 
explain all this stuff more. We're just doing a flyby in this 
regard. Thirdly, we have the Mosaic, 
or the Old Covenant, made with the nation of Israel. At Sinai, 
ratified on the plains of Moab, God entered into covenant with 
the people there. Again, the promise made in Genesis 
3.15 is still running concurrently. It's still going through. Under 
Abraham, there's still people blessed, not by virtue of the 
covenant with Abraham, but by virtue of the promise concerning 
the Lord Jesus Christ. When we get to the Mosaic or 
the Old Covenant, people are saved, people are blessed, people 
receive new covenant blessing, not by virtue of the Sinai Covenant 
in particular, but by virtue of the covenant made with Jesus. 
That's the way of salvation through all the ages. The Mosaic Covenant 
is a big topic. There's a lot to consider in 
it. Just suffice it to say, when we get to this chapter, And in 
this paragraph especially, as I said, the Baptist divines took 
a departure from the Westminster Confession. The Westminster Confession 
says there is one covenant of grace under two administrations. One covenant of grace administered 
in the Old Covenant, administered in the New Covenant. Well, there 
were a lot of divines, a lot. There were some who said that 
the old covenant, the Mosaic covenant, was not the covenant 
of grace. It was not an administration 
of the covenant of grace. I happened to be one of those 
particular persons. John Owen, who wasn't a Baptist, 
nevertheless, did not see the Mosaic covenant as the covenant 
of grace. Samuel Petto did not see it this 
way. Most of them saw that at Sinai, 
And again, this is debatable in terms of the some sense. But 
in some sense, at Sinai, there was a republication of the covenant 
of works given to Israel. And one of the primary reasons 
for that was to continue to teach Israel of their need for the 
seed of the woman that would bring salvation. In other words, 
the law, the publication, or the republication of the Covenant 
of Works and the Mosaic Covenant was a means by which to tutor 
the people so that they would be looking for the Lord Christ 
who would come and save them from their sins. And there were 
other reasons for the law in that old covenant system. They 
were a body politic. They were a civil society. They needed a law to regulate 
them. But see as well, when we look at that Mosaic Covenant, 
I'm not comfortable with saying there was nothing in terms of 
grace in that covenantal arrangement. No, the promise is running concurrently 
and God makes in that system a means by which sinners find 
acceptance with God. It is through the son, it is 
through the seed of the woman, it is through the one who will 
come to break the back of the oppressor, but the whole sacrificial 
system was another means to teach them of that redemption that 
would come by Jesus Christ. They would go to the tabernacle, 
they would go to the temple, they would bring their animal, 
they'd cut its throat, they'd lay their hands upon its head. 
On the day of atonement, the high priest would lay his hands 
upon the scapegoat, and he would confess the sins of Israel, and 
he would send that scapegoat out into the wilderness. So you 
see, the promise is moving along concurrently, and what God is 
doing is fleshing it out or highlighting or typifying the fullness or 
the fruition of that particular promise. And then, of course, 
you have the covenant made with David. David in 2 Samuel chapter 
7, Psalms 89 and Psalm 132. What we find is that from David's 
seed, there would be a king. From David's seed, there would 
be one who would sit upon his throne and would build a house 
for God. And that house would endure forever. We sought to see in Matthew 16, 
several weeks ago, Jesus said, I will build my church. and the 
gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." In the context where 
he has pronounced Messiah, or Christ, and he is called the 
Son of the Living God. Believe there, Jesus is highlighting 
and indicating that house-building function, that the king whom 
God would send would engage and there would be no end to that 
particular kingdom. So you see, these are the farther 
steps that sort of help along further, manifest more, or give 
us some more information concerning that promise made in the garden 
to our first parents. Samuel Pettus sort of expresses 
it, not sort of, he expresses it this way. He says, all the 
ancient covenant expressors, don't know if that's a word, 
but I like it, expressors, probably expressions, All the ancient 
covenant expressers run jointly to Jesus Christ and also to believers, 
which are his seed. The promises to Adam, Abraham, 
David, and et cetera were not so many distinct covenants of 
grace. They were but various gradual 
discoveries of the same covenant. We've got the promise made, and 
it's furthered along, or gradual discoveries, and we see that 
movement in the confession. And afterward, by farther steps, 
until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament. 
So when you were living under the Abrahamic covenant, you saw, 
wow, Gentiles are going to be included. Faith is absolutely 
crucial. Abraham believed God, and it 
was accounted to him for righteousness. When you lived under the Mosaic 
economy, you said, wow, sacrifice. is something that we ought to 
be looking for. Blood atonement is something we ought to be looking 
for. When you were living in the days of David, and you heard 
this covenant made with David, you said, wow, there's a king 
coming, and he's going to be the one that brings us in. Well, 
the full discovery is made when Jesus comes, right? The full 
discovery is when Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread 
and took the cup. He says, this is my blood of 
the new covenant, which is shed for the remission of sins for 
many. I think Peto's on the right track here. They were but various 
gradual discoveries of the same covenant. According to the variety 
of occasions in the several ages, every new one being for some 
new end and bringing with it a further degree of manifestation 
and all run to Jesus Christ and us. All those covenants run to 
Jesus Christ and us. That's why it's important that 
you understand what's going on with Noah. What's going on with 
Abraham? What's going on with the nation 
of Israel? You see, we live in good days, brethren. Theological 
and biblical illiteracy or ignorance is really inexcusable today. 
I mean, we need to be people that have a working understanding. 
Tonight in second Corinthians chapter eight, Paul assumes that 
the Corinthians understood Christology. in an appeal to have them give 
money to the famine relief in Judea, for you know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your 
sakes he became poor." What does Paul assume? He assumes that 
the people of God know something of Christology. They know something 
of his preexistent glory. They know something of a self-emptying 
in the act of incarnation. They know something of these 
things. And what is really peculiar and unique to, I hope, our understanding 
later on tonight is that it's in a context of practical Christianity. Paul doesn't manipulate them 
through guilt. Well, you've got lots of money 
here in the Western world, and there's poor people suffering 
and dying over in the Sudan. You better dig deep. That's guilt 
manipulation. He doesn't show them pictures 
of emaciated children and say, you better dig deep. It's not 
the way you move the people of God. You move the people of God 
with theology. You move the people of God with 
Christology. For you know the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your 
sakes became poor, so that you, through his poverty, might become 
rich. What's the implication? Get your 
wallet out and send some money to the churches in Judea. Right? Christology is practical. Covenant theology is practical. The church today is dying because 
we look at practical Christianity as being 15 principles for that, 
10 principles for that, and 48 principles for that. Practical Christianity flows 
from doctrine. The more you understand who God 
is, the triunity of God, the glory of Jesus Christ, the Bible 
envisions that people who know their God will then live in light 
of that and do what they're supposed to do. We move men, and we seek 
to move men by the Spirit, to be sure, but through the truth. 
Sanctify them by thy truth, Jesus prays in John 17. Not sanctify 
them. by guilt manipulation, not sanctify 
them by making them feel this way, but sanctify them by thy 
truth. So we need to understand something 
of covenant theology, not only because it's really important, 
but there's such a practical benefit. I'll tell you, it's 
covenant theology that should get us out of bed in the morning. 
Because of this fact that God was pleased to make a covenant 
of grace with us, Peto also interestingly makes this statement concerning 
Genesis 3.15. He says, thus he primarily, speaking of Christ, 
was the seed of the woman that was promised to break the serpent's 
head. He is that seed of Abraham in whom all the nations are blessed. 
He is the royal seed of David to be enthroned, of whose kingdom 
there shall be no end. You see that? seed in Genesis 
3.15, seed in Abraham's covenant, seed in David's covenant. You 
see, there is this theme running throughout the scripture, so 
that when we come to paragraph 3, we ought not to say, wow, 
this is just some logical construct that these divines imposed on 
the scripture. No, this is good and necessary 
consequence. This is theology done right and 
proper. This covenant is revealed in 
the gospel first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by 
the seed of the woman and afterward by farther steps until brings 
us to the full discovery until the full discovery thereof was 
completed in the New Testament. Now if I were to say where in 
the Bible, where in the Old Testament does the Bible tell us there's 
a new covenant promise that God will make with the house of Israel 
and Judah? I hope and pray that everybody, 
I haven't prayed that, but I maybe will add it to my prayer list 
if I think about it this week. Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. Behold, the days are coming, 
says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house 
of Israel. Not like the covenant that I made with them before, 
which they broke. That's a viable covenant, the 
mosaic or the old, they broke it. God promises specific features 
that will be in that covenantal arrangement. That everybody in 
the covenant will know the Lord. Everybody in the covenant will 
have the forgiveness of sins. Everybody in the covenant will 
know communion with God and have the law of God written internally 
upon their hearts. But you know what goes even before 
that? On the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy chapter 30 verses 
1 to 10, as far as I'm concerned, he is doing everything that Jeremiah 
will do in Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah wasn't innovative in 
Jeremiah 31, 31 to 34. Ezekiel speaks of the New Covenant, 
Isaiah speaks of the New Covenant, all these brothers spoke of the 
new covenant. Well it has its inception obviously 
in the plan and in the will and in the mind of God its first 
revelation is in Genesis chapter 3 but on the plains of Moab in 
Deuteronomy chapter 30 verses 1 to 10 essentially God says 
you're going to go into the land you're going to break every law 
that I've written you're going to be judged you're going to 
be exiled but there are days coming when I'm going to bless 
you. There are days coming when I'm going to do good things for 
you and to you. And then, of course, Matthew 
26, 28, those words from the supper, the institution of the 
supper, where Jesus highlights the blood or his blood is the 
blood of the new covenant, which is shed for the remission of 
sins for many. Now, notice what the confession 
goes on to do. It shows us the covenant of grace 
relative to the covenant of redemption and the covenant of works. Notice 
right about the middle, with reference to the Covenant of 
Redemption, and it is founded in that eternal covenant transaction 
that was between the Father and the Son about the redemption 
of the elect. That is also called the Covenant 
of Redemption. The Covenant of Redemption, as 
Moeller says, it emphasizes the eternal, inviolable, and Trinitarian 
foundation of the Covenant of Grace. So what we have is the 
father promising the son a seed. We have the son covenanting and 
willingly coming into this world in order to secure their redemption. So what we have in the covenant 
of grace is Christ's obedience to the covenant of redemption. We need to understand the covenant 
of grace is gracious for us, but for Christ, it was works 
in terms of the covenant of redemption, and it was works in terms of 
the covenant of works. On this covenant of redemption 
and this whole idea of obedience, R. Scott Clark and David Van 
Drunen write, when Jesus Christ earned the righteousness to be 
imputed to his people, he was fulfilling not only the historical 
covenant of works as the second Adam, but also the covenant he 
made with his father. Louis Burkhoff, in his systematic 
theology, says, though the covenant of redemption is the eternal 
basis of the covenant of grace, and as far as sinners are concerned, 
also its eternal prototype, it was for Christ a covenant of 
works rather than a covenant of grace. For him, the law of 
the original covenant applied, namely, that eternal life could 
only be obtained by meeting the demands of the law. As the last 
Adam, Christ obtains eternal life for sinners in reward for 
faithful obedience, and not at all as an unmerited gift of grace. See, for Christ, It was works 
for Christ. It was effort for Christ. It 
was exact, entire, perpetual, and personal obedience to the 
law of God. And what he has done as the representative 
and surety of all his people, they are no more in duty bound 
to do. The work has been done, the reward 
is merited, and believers are made partakers of the fruits 
of Christ's accomplished work through grace. And it is founded 
in that eternal covenant transaction that was between the father and 
the son about the redemption of the elect. And then notice, 
the covenant of grace relative to the covenant of works. And 
it is alone by the grace of this covenant that all of the posterity 
of fallen Adam that ever were saved did obtain life and a blessed 
immortality. man being now utterly incapable 
of acceptance with God upon those terms on which Adam stood in 
his state of innocency. You see, for those who say, well, 
the Baptist dropped the section on the covenant of works. They 
didn't drop the theology of the covenant of works. Notice, upon 
those terms on which Adam stood in his state of innocency. That 
is the covenant of works. That is that arrangement, pre-fall, 
that God made with Adam, with the positive stipulation that 
if you eat of the knowledge of good and evil, dying you shall 
die. So we see in this that Christ 
obeys, Christ serves, Christ does, and by means of that, this 
is the only way of life and blessed immortality with God. The covenant of grace is not 
only the work of Christ in obeying the covenant of redemption, but 
it is also Christ's obedience to the covenant of works. Pastor 
Barcelos used a term, he quoted something recently, and I loved 
it. And I asked him where it came from, and he said it was 
Sam Renahan. I checked with Sam Renahan. He 
said, it didn't come from me, but it's somewhere in one of 
these Puritan brothers or one of these Reformed brothers, probably 
in the 17th century. It says, the covenant of grace 
is the covenant of works kept for us. That's a great summary. The covenant of grace is the 
covenant of works kept for us. So if you're writing that down, 
you can put a U.N.K. Sounds Ohlinian to me. Sounds 
like it come from any number of these these brothers of these 
divines. Of course, Romans 5, 14, and 
19 highlights this death in Adam, and it highlights this life in 
Christ, covenant of works, covenant of grace. Brian Estelle says, 
Christ is the federal head of the covenant of grace, just as 
Adam was the federal head of the covenant of works. Christ 
has rendered a passive and active obedience that is full of perfect 
merit. The sins of the people of God 
have been imputed to their Redeemer. The satisfaction of Christ meets 
the demands of justice. Christ has paid the penalty for 
the sins of the people. Moreover, He has earned the reward. God has graciously supplied the 
Mediator. All demands and obligations have 
been met and fulfilled completely in the Savior. And now the righteousness 
of Christ is imputed to His people. Those who are in Christ have 
been brought into fellowship and communion with God. So as we began, you probably 
never think about blueprints when you walk into buildings. 
You may not always think about blueprints when you hear preaching. 
But you should take notice of the fact that there is a structure. There is an architecture upon 
which solid theology is built. And if the foundation is faulty, 
if the foundation is weak, if the foundation is shaky or confused, 
probably the finished product is not going to be good either. Well, let's pray. And then if 
anyone has any questions, you can ask. Father, we thank you 
for this study and the confession. We thank you for covenant theology 
and for the fact that it pleased you to make the covenant of grace. Thank you for Jesus as the surety. Thank you for Jesus as the mediator, 
as the one who obeys perfectly, the one who dies as a sacrifice, 
the one who rises again, as the Apostle says, for our justification. We ask that you would go with 
us into worship. We ask that you would go with 
us into this coming week, and may the things of God, may theology 
proper, may covenant, may all these things truly encourage 
us to live in a manner that is worthy of your gospel. And we 
pray these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.