What is Baptist Covenant Theology (1689 Federalism)? | Theocast

What is Covenant Theology? Covenant theology is an essential growing part of understanding the purpose and flow of the Bible. Covenant Theology has been the biblical interpretive model for almost all of Christian history. How we understand God's word will determine how we apply it. Pastor Jon Moffitt helps present the historic 1689 Covenant Baptist perspective of Covenant theology. He explains the tri-covenantal framework of Scripture. That is the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace.

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#covenanttheology #reformedtheology #1689federalism

[alanhaskins]

Very many thanks dear brother for this wonderful overview of the Covenant of Grace. It puts us at the feet of Jesus in humble thanksgiving and praise; and it exalts our Saviour and gives Him all the glory. Worthy is the Lamb.
Alan, Northern Ireland

[ehudsdagger]

Learning about the word-concept fallacy was pretty helpful for me. Pretty amazing the allergy people have to certain words or phrases, actually.

[TL-yltp]

Thank you God for your mercy and grace 🙏

[ltfraser]

Thank you Pastor John for this wonderful channel, just wondering where I can watch you preach. God bless you and thank you once again 🙏🏽

[razzendahcuben]

I appreciate the candid, gentle, pastoral nature of your videos while propounding your beliefs.

The main point you touched on, namely that all of history can be summarized as "paradise lost, paradise regained, and everything in-between points to the cross" (as I have heard it paraphrased), is not unique to CT, so in that since I don't think you answered the question. You get closer when you talk about the over-arching "covenant of grace" that somehow subsumes all other covenants. This has three interesting implications: 1) Sinai was gracious. 2) The New Covenant doesn't seem essentially different from the Old Covenant. 3) Abrogating the Mosaic Law becomes unpalatable --- yet CTs still abrogate part of it (the ceremonial law).

Some CTs don't like the term 'abrogated', but I believe that this correctly describes the CT view of the ceremonial law.) In that sense, John Reisinger is correct that CT ought to be called "Old Covenant Theology" since it clings onto so much of the Old Covenant and insists its relevancy for today. As mentioned, the uniqueness of the New Covenant starts to fall away as a result, especially when combined with the CT claim that the Mosaic Covenant was gracious. I could never get over that hurdle, and that's why I ended up in New Covenant Theology --- which also is an imperfect system but, in my estimation, feels less like pushing a square peg into a round hole, which would describe my study of dispensationalism and then later covenant theology.

Nevertheless, I know that CTs differ widely on how exactly we relate to the Mosaic Law. (Admittedly, I think some of this is due to inconsistency --- I have talked to more than a few CTs who were NCTs when their feet were held to the fire but for a variety of reasons maintained the CT language and terminology.) Indeed, if I wanted to be inflammatory, I might even argue that Reformed baptists already have half of their foot outside of CT orthodoxy. ;) Anyway, I am interested in your personal views on these questions:

1. Do you consider the Mosaic Law to be "gracious"? If yes, then in what sense, given that Christ himself said that the Law came through Moses but grace and truth came through himself? And if the Mosaic Law is not gracious, how does not effect the idea of a monolithic covenant of grace?

2. Are there any essential differences between the Old and New covenants?

3. I am not sure how to write this out non-rhetorically, so I just won't: Doesn't it seem odd that we can abrogate part of the Mosaic Law and not all of it, given that Christ said that "not on jot or tittle shall from the law until all is fulfilled?" Regardless of what "fulfilled" means exactly, this statements indicates that the Mosaic Law is one unified whole.

[karenkraft]

Concise, thank you i will be sharing with people

[rickyhurkmans]

Very new to Covenant Theology. I came out of a Calvary Chapel Dispensational background. I have a book on Progressive Covenantalism. How is 1689 Federalism different than Progressive Covenantalism? And why is the word Federalism in the name of the position?

[janebekkema]

I am christian for 5 months now, so I stopped roc music, drincing and smocing, but today I had so manyproblems and have smoced again, is Jesus now angry?

[ArchDLuxe]

Paul is speaking of Jews(Israelites) in Ephesians when he says, "us" and, "we." Ephesians 1:12 makes this very clear.

[davidelliottsr.]

Please explain the covenant of redemption in common working man terms. I get Works vs. Grace, but don't understand the first one.

[lukehenderson]

Thank you! Question- is the law of moses part of the cov of works or grace? New to this thanks!

[daccaboy]

Explains at the beginning this is not about specific covenants…then goes on to explain that all the covenants relate to the arrival of Christ…

[woodshed_moments]

I don't know is it me, or is there a lot of shading between Calvinism and reformed theology? And there are distinct nuances between the 1689 confessional and classic calvinism, which Calvinism is not biblicocentric...

Now I'm studying for years, and I'll see one thing, whenever things get stirred up and there's confusion in the are people tend to go grabbing for what appear to be the most conservative balances...

People are going to be surprised to find out that there's no is or isn't in the word of god, there's certainly isn't in the gospel... And they are definitely going to be surprised find out who was elected, what they thought predestination was about?

Man's iniquity just creeps into everything...

[chriscomis]

All covenants that God established in time and space are of necessity created analogues to the triune covenant between the three persons of the Trinity. All that God is does all that God does. God is three persons who have always existed in perfect covenantal unity (or triunity), and therefore, every creative and redemptive and consummated act of our triune God must be analogically covenantal as well.

[hondoh]

“We don’t want to make a word concept fallacy because a word is not in the Bible”. Yet covenantalists immediately reject “rapture” on that basis which is Latin for the Greek harpazo translated in English as “caught up”. Enoch was one caught up permanently and Paul temporarily Ro 12:2-4. I am trying to reconcile elegant interpretations among brethren who speak to and of one another condescendingly which I find sad. Human intellect, try as it might, regardless of IQ will never capture the fullness of God. Is there a both/and somewhere here?

[sophia-ouqv]

how were people saved in the old testament..?

[ameliacoburn]

Promise does not equal "covenant". Making things a "covenant" that are not clearly so in Scripture complicates things and is largely based on reasoning rather than solely Scripture. You don't need three covenants to have a clear plan of Redemption. I have found New Covenant Theology to be a better explanation of God's plan of Redemption.

[carmensiekierke]

Jon, Baptists do not understand Abraham.
Dr. R. Scott Clark's Abrahamic Paradigm ( video series)