THE COVENANT OF GRACE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

From Adam to Abraham

Man had scarcely fallen into sin before God approached him with his overtures of grace. He promised Adam and Eve that he would send a mighty deliverer and redeemer. In Genesis 3:15 we have God's first revelation of the covenant of grace to man. God definitely promised man that there would be a conflict between Satan and the seed of the woman and that the seed of the woman would be victorious. "It [a descendant of Eve] shall bruise thy [Satan's] head, and thou [Satan] shalt bruise his [Christ's] heel." God manifested his grace here in two ways. First, he would make Adam and Eve enemies of Satan and therefore friends of God. Second, through the promised Redeemer God would break the power of Satan over men. When Christ died on Calvary's cross, Satan's power was broken. Wherever the gospel of the crucified One is preached with the blessing of the Spirit, Satan is powerless to enslave.

This covenant of grace to Adam gives us but a bare outline of God's plan of redemption. There is not revealed in this covenant all that we might like to know. It is rather general and indefinite. We might wish we knew just what kind of redeemer Adam and Eve expected. We might wish that we were told clearly the precise conditions that Adam and Eve had to fulfill before God regarded them as his friends once more. These details are not revealed. But of one thing we may be certain; God reveals elsewhere in his Word that "no man cometh unto the Father but by me [Christ]"; therefore, Adam and Eve must have trusted in the promised Deliverer for salvation, for otherwise they never could have become friends of God, reconciled to him.

From Abraham to Moses

The covenant of grace in the Old Testament comes to its clearest and fullest expression in God's covenant with Abraham (see Gen. 12:1-3; 17:1-14). This covenant may be summarized in the words of Genesis 17:7, "I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." In this covenant God is more specific as to the blessings that he will give. In this covenant, too, faith suddenly becomes more prominent as the condition which man must meet if he is to receive the promised blessings.

The blessings that God promised Abraham in this covenant were both temporal and spiritual, earthly and heavenly, external and internal. Abraham's temporal or earthly blessings consisted in a "seed," a "land," and in the promise that he would be the father of "a great nation." These promises were partly fulfilled in the giving of Isaac as the son of Abraham's old age, in bringing Abraham to the land of Canaan, and in making Abraham the father of the mighty Hebrew nation. It would be a serious error, however, to maintain that these temporal blessings of Abraham stand in contrast to the spiritual blessings of salvation in Christ. Bound up in these very earthly blessings were heavenly blessings. While "in the land of promise, as a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles," Abraham looked beyond this earthly land "for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God," even the heavenly and eternal Jerusalem (see Heb. 11:9-10). What is more, the true Seed of Abraham through which all the families of the earth would be blessed was not the Hebrew nation but Christ. Paul, writing to the Galatians, said, "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." The blessings that God promised would come through the seed of Abraham were not essentially material blessings but the blessings of eternal salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Not only were there heavenly and spiritual blessings bound up in the earthly and external blessings given to Abraham; at the very heart and center of God's covenant with Abraham was the promise of reconciliation and salvation. The most important element of God's Covenant with Abraham was the promise to "be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." This is the blessing without which all other blessings would be empty and worthless. God was at enmity with man because of man's rebellious unbelief and disobedience. God in his justice had placed all mankind under his holy curse. He had cut man off from himself. But now he will become reconciled to man and deal with him as a friend. "I will be thy God and thou shalt be my people" is the echo that reverberates through the Old Testament. He will restore man into his favor and fellowship once more. He will save men through his Son, "that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ" (Gal. 3:14). To that appointed Savior all the believers of the Old Testament looked for salvation and by that promised One they were saved. In the words of our Lord, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56).

There was one essential condition—and only one—that must be met if Abraham were to receive the promised temporal and spiritual blessings. Abraham must believe; he must have faith. This one condition Abraham met and by it laid hold upon the blessings of salvation in Christ. "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness" (Gal. 3:8; Rom. 4:3). Abraham believed that God would keep his promises, and thus he was regarded as righteous in God's sight.

God gave an external sign to Abraham to keep Israel in remembrance of this covenant and to confirm all he had said. Under the Old Testament administration of the covenant of grace all the male members of the covenant were to receive "the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faith" (Rom. 4:11). Later, the sign of baptism as a seal of the new covenant of grace was to supplant the sign of circumcision (see Col. 2:11-12).

This glorious covenant of grace that God made with Abraham was never revoked. It was never supplanted by another covenant. God was to add to this covenant but never to subtract from it. God was to unfold the meaning of this covenant more fully but never to change it essentially.

From Moses to Christ

As the history of God's people progressed, God added to the covenant of grace the law. This law was revealed to Moses on Mount Sinai and occupies a prominent place throughout the entire Old Testament (see Ex. 19:16 through Leviticus). It should be made very clear that God did not do away with the covenant of grace when he gave the law. The law is not a substitute for grace. God did not intend that thenceforth man was to be saved by keeping the law. "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Gal. 2:16). The law was added simply as a means of administering the covenant of grace more effectively. "The law was added because of transgressions" (Gal. 3:19). "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:30). These words of the apostle Paul make clear what the purpose of the law was. The purpose of the law was to increase Israel's sense of sin and thereby bring them to see their need of a Savior.

The laws by which the covenant of grace was administered from the time of Moses to the coming of Christ were of three different types. They were the ceremonial law, the civil law, and the moral law.

The ceremonial law, as set forth in the book of Leviticus, was composed of numerous symbols and types. A symbol is a material representation of some spiritual truth. A type is a symbol intended to foreshadow something that is to come in the future. The tabernacle was a perfect symbol and type of the work of Christ as the Mediator between God and man. The heart of the tabernacle was the Holy of Holies. Once a year on the Day of Atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and sprinkled the blood of a goat upon the mercy seat to make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. The high priest placed his hands on the head of another goat and confessed the sins of the people of Israel. The goat was then driven forth into the wilderness (symbolic of the taking away of their sins; cf. Lev. 16; 23:26-32; Num. 29:7-11). The epistle to the Hebrews makes it very plain that this ceremony on the Day of Atonement foreshadowed the entrance of Jesus, the great high priest, once for all "into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24; cf. 9:1ff.). Through Christ's sacrifice on the cross we come into the Holy of Holies of God's presence. These Old Testament ceremonies were done away with in Christ. They were but shadows of things to come. When Christ came, there was no longer any need for these types and shadows. He was the fulfillment of them. This is the main burden of the epistle to the Hebrews.

The civil law was that part of God's law that was to govern Israel as a nation and society. The civil law was the application of the moral law to the social and civil life of Israel. Israel was a theocracy (ruled by God). The laws of sanitation, for instance, were revealed by God and made binding on the people of Israel. These civil laws tended to emphasize the national, temporal, and external aspects of the covenant. God stood in covenant relation to Israel as a Jewish nation. Temporal or material blessings such as the promise of the land of Canaan are quite prominent. There is also an emphasis on external washings and observances. When Israel as a nation rejected their Messiah and the kingdom of God was offered to the Gentiles, Israel as a theocratic nation governed by the civil laws of Sinai was no more. Therefore, these civil laws are no longer binding, "further than the general equity thereof may require" (as stated by the Westminster divines; see also 1 Cor. 9:7-10).

There was one aspect of the law revealed at Mount Sinai that was never to pass away. That was the moral law summarized in the ten commandments. In the moral law is revealed man's duty to God and to his neighbor. The moral law has the same functions today that it did in the time of Moses. It is still God's means to convict men of their sin and to show them their need of a Savior. It still remains as a standard of conduct after we have accepted Christ as our Savior. Christ delivers men from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13) but not from the moral obligation to keep the law as an expression of faith in and love for Christ. When a lawyer came to Jesus seeking eternal life, Jesus confronted him with a summary of the Ten Commandments to convict him of his sin (see Luke 10:25-28). Paul in writing to the Christians at Rome set forth the commandments of the Old Testament as the guide and standard for Christian conduct (see Rom. 3:31, 6:15, 13:9).

From www.opc.org 

How is God's name profanely abused in hearing or reading his word ?

The third use of the law – the law as a guide for Christian gratitude to God for his saving grace is one of those important strands of Reformed theology. Take this strand out of Reformed theology and you end up with legalism, antinomianism, and a host of other tragic errors. Christians should know the law of God, most definitely. But they should also know the uses of it: to show them their sin, driving them to Christ, and to show them how to thank Christ in faith-filled obedience. The Puritans and the old divines taught this concept. Today it is almost lost in Christian life and the pursuit of holiness. They understood that a right understanding, (empowered by the grace of God) of the Moral Law of God aids the believer in his sanctification.

In the book Marrow of Modern Divinity the writer discusses the Moral law of God and its use in the Christian life. Here is a conversation between Neophytus, a young Christian and Evangelista, a minister of the gospel. This small snippet of their conversation was convicting and edifying. In this part of the dialogue Evangelista is giving the negative aspects of the 3rd commandment. This is a small part of that greater discussion.

Neo. And how is God's name profanely abused in hearing or reading his word?

Evan. God's name is hereby abused, when we hear it or read it, and do not understand it.
(Acts 8: 30) ; and when we hear it only with the outward ears of our bodies, and not also with the inward ears of our heart and soul; and this we do when we read it or hear it with our hearts full of wandering thoughts, (Ezek. 33: 30) ; and we read it, or hear it with dull, drowsy, and sleepy spirits ; and when in hearing of it we rather conceive it to be the word of a mortal man that delivers it, than the word of the great God of heaven and earth, (1 Thess.2:13) and when we do not with our hearts believe every part and portion of that word which we read or hear, (Heb. 4: 2) ; and when we do not humbly and heartily subject ourselves to what we read or hear, (2 Kings 22:19 ; Isa. 62:2)

1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith
on the "third use of the Law"

Paragraph 5. The moral law does for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof,10 and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator, who gave it;11 neither does Christ in the Gospel any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation.12

10 Rom. 13:8-10; James 2:8,10-12
11 James 2:10,11
12 Matt. 5:17-19; Rom. 3:31

Paragraph 6. Although true believers are not under the law as a covenant of works, to be thereby justified or condemned,13 yet it is of great use to them as well as to others, in that as a rule of life, informing them of the will of God and their duty, it directs and binds them to walk accordingly; discovering also the sinful pollutions of their natures, hearts, and lives, so as examining themselves thereby, they may come to further conviction of, humiliation for, and hatred against, sin;14 together with a clearer sight of the need they have of Christ and the
perfection of his obedience; it is likewise of use to the regenerate to restrain their corruptions, in that it forbids sin; and the threatenings of it serve to show what even their sins deserve, and what afflictions in this life they may expect for them, although freed from the curse and unallayed rigour thereof. The promises of it likewise show them God's approbation of obedience, and what blessings they may expect upon the performance thereof, though not as due to them by the law as a covenant of works; so as man's doing good and refraining from evil, because the law encourages to the one and deters from the other, is no evidence of his being under the law and not under grace.15

13 Rom. 6:14; Gal. 2:16; Rom. 8:1, 10:4
14 Rom. 3:20, 7:7, etc.
15 Rom. 6:12-14; 1 Pet. 3:8-13

Paragraph 7. Neither are the aforementioned uses of the law contrary to the grace of the Gospel, but do sweetly comply with it,16 the Spirit of Christ subduing and enabling the will of man to do that freely and cheerfully which the will of God, revealed in the law, requires to be done17

16 Gal. 3:21
17 Ezek. 36:27

Over-Righteous?

Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952) "Do not be over-righteous." Ecclesiastes 7:16

Some of our readers may be surprised to discover that there is such a statement as this in Holy Writ, and at first glance consider it an exhortation we do not need. Yet on second thought they should perceive that their hasty conclusion was wrong, for there can be nothing in the imperishable Word of God which is superfluous, and no precept which we can dispense with without suffering loss. Even in this day of abounding lawlessness, of rapidly increasing moral laxity, when there is such an urgent need for pressing the righteous claims of God upon one another, the Christian requires to give careful heed to this word: "Do not be over-righteous."

It is a question of sound interpretation, of rightly understanding the meaning and application of this Divine injunction. First, let us briefly point out what our text does not mean. "Do not be over-righteous." Those words have often been quoted in the past by empty professors against those children of God whose conscientiousness and piety condemned their looseness. They have said, "I do not feel that such carefulness and preciseness are required of us; you are altogether too punctilious over trifles: why make yourself and all whom you come into contact with, miserable? what need is there for so much denying of self, separation from the world, and acting differently from other people?" They argue, "Christ did everything for us which God requires of us." Anything which made real demands upon them, which called for the mortification of the flesh, for the laying aside of "every weight" which would hinder from running the race God has set before His people, they counted as "fanaticism," "puritanic," being "over-righteous." And their tribe is not extinct! But such is obviously a perversion of our text.

We cannot love God too much, nor keep His precepts too diligently. What, then, is the force of these words, "Do not be over-righteous"? First, let it be duly observed that our text occurs in the Old Testament. The Lord God knew the temper of the Jews, their proneness to lean upon their own works and trust in the sufficiency of them to secure their acceptance before Him; therefore did He place this word on record to warn them against indulging in the spirit of self-destruction, against pretending unto a greater righteousness than they actually had. In this very same chapter, only two or three verses later, He tells them plainly, "There is not a just man upon earth that does good and sins not" (v. 20). Thus the righteousness of Another is absolutely indispensable if any sinner is to find acceptance with the thrice Holy God. Beware, then, of thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think, and being proud in your own conceits. The need for such a word, and their utter disregard of it, was plainly evidenced by the self-righteous Pharisees of Christ's day, who trusted in their own performances and despised and rejected Him.

But the truly regenerated soul has been delivered from this fatal tendency of the unrenewed heart. He has been supernaturally enlightened and convicted by the Spirit of Truth. He has been shown how impossible it is for him to meet the high requirements of God, and has been made to feel that his best doings are but "filthy rags" in God's sight. What, then, is the legitimate application of this exhortation unto himself: "Do not be over-righteous"?

Answer: by assuming duties to which God has not called us, by undertaking austerities which God has not enjoined. We read of "the commandments and doctrines of men" with their "touch not, taste not, handle not" (Col. 2:21, 22), and to be brought under bondage to them, is being "righteous over much," for it is going beyond what God Himself has prescribed for us. The Jewish Rabbies and scribes invented a vast number of traditions and ceremonies over and above what God commanded, supposing that by observing the same they were holier than others; and even condemned the Lord Jesus because He declined to observe their rules: see Mark 7:2, 5; and let it be duly observed that Christ and His disciples refused to heed their scruples, though He knew they would be "offended" or hurt!

The same principle is operative among the poor Papists, with their invention of religious works: the "celibacy" of their "priests," their "Lenten fasts" etc. are examples. Nor is the same evil absent among Protestants: many of them have invented laws and rules, demanding that Christians totally abstain from some of the "all things" which God has given us richly "to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17), though not to abuse; compliance therewith is being "over-righteous!"

"Do not be over-righteous." This word has a manifold application to Christians today. Be not too rigorous in standing up for your "rights," but "in love serve one another." Refuse not to help the animal out of the pit, simply because he falls into one on the Sabbath day! Let your zeal in "service" be regulated by the rules of Holy Writ. Insist not upon your full "pound of flesh": having received mercy of God, exercise mercy towards others. Beware of paying more attention to the outward forms of religion than to the cultivation of the heart. "There may be overdoing in well doing" (Matthew Henry): some have wrecked their constitutions by over-study, over-fasting, and by refusing lawful means. Nothing is required of us but what God has enjoined in His Word

Evangelical Repentance a Consequence of Faith?

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Thomas Boston says the following question from Nomista the legalist [grounded on his idea that Neophytus had no warrant to believe, unless he had truly repented] “supposes that there is a kind of repentance, humiliation, sorrow for sin, and turning from it, which goes before faith…”

…let’s join the discussion on repentance, already in progress…

Nom. Why, I conceive that repentance consists in a man’s humbling himself before God, and sorrowing and grieving for offending him by his sins, and in turning from them all to the Lord.

Evan. And would you have a man to do all this truly before he come to Christ by believing?

Nom. Yea, indeed, I think it is very meet he should.

Evan. Why, then, I tell you truly, you would have him to do that which is impossible.

For, first of all godly humiliation, in true penitents, proceeds from the love of God their good Father, and so from the hatred of that sin which has displeased him; and this cannot be without faith. …No man can turn to God, except he be first turned of God: and after he is turned, he repents; so Ephraim says, “After I was converted, I repented,” 6 (Jer 31:19). The truth is, a repentant sinner first believes that God will do that which he promiseth, namely, pardon his sin, and take away his iniquity; then he rests in the hope of it; and from that, and for it, he leaves sin, and will forsake his old course, because it is displeasing to God; and will do that which is pleasing and acceptable to him. So that, first of all, God’s favour is apprehended, and remission of sins believed; then upon that cometh alteration of life and conversation.

Boston footnotes this section with a definition of and a description of the origin of true repentance…

True Repentance

True repentance is a turning unto God, a coming back to him again; a returning even unto the Lord, according to an usual Old Testament phrase, found, (Hosea 14:1), and rightly so translated, (Isa 19:22). …’Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince [or leader] and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins,’ (Acts 5:31). One would think this to be a sufficient intimation, that sinners not only may, but ought to go to him for true repentance; and not stand off from him until they get it to bring along with them; especially since repentance, as well as remission of sin, is a part of that salvation, which he as a Saviour is exalted to give, and consequently, which sinners are to receive and rest upon him for…”

Repentance-the Result of Regeneration and Grounded in Faith

This the Scripture teacheth, determining in the general, that without faith one can do nothing acceptable in the sight of God, (John 15:5), “Without me,” i.e. separate from me, “ye can do nothing.” (Heb 11:6), “Without faith it is impossible to please him”… Faith cometh of the word of God; hope cometh of faith; and charity springeth of them both. Faith believes that word; hope trusteth after that which is promised by the word; and charity doth good unto her neighbour.

What is Repentance – Baptist Doctrine

Baptist Catechism

Q 94. What is repentance unto life?

A. Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, does, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavor after, new obedience.

Rom 6:18 – “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”

Confer – 
Acts 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:25, Jeremiah 31:18-19, Luke 1:16-17, 2 Corinthians 7:10

Baptist Confession of Faith, 1689

(Sect 15.3) Saving repentance is a gospel grace* by which we are made aware of the many evils of our sin by the Holy Spirit. By faith in Christ we humble ourselves over our sin with godly sorrow, hatred of it, and self-loathing. We pray for pardon and strength of grace, and determine and endeavour, by [the power] supplied by the Spirit, to walk before God and to please him in all things.

*Confer – Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2Ti 2:25

Open Letter From Joel Beeke On Family Worship

Watch Your Conjunctions in Parenting – The Gospel Coalition Blog

Watch Your Conjunctions in Parenting – The Gospel Coalition Blog