Biblical Studies / Covenants

  • David’s Fallen Booth Restored

    Amos 9:11–15

    All the aforementioned blessings were originally promised to Israel for obedience to God’s law (Deut. 28:1–14). That they would enjoy these blessings in the restoration points to a day when the people would obey the Lord fully ...Read More

  • Covenant Curses

    Leviticus 26:14-39

    Just as the Lord sent covenant curses on the old covenant church to call it to repentance, He will also allow His new covenant church to feel trouble as a means of disciplining us for our sin. We cannot equate ...Read More

  • Unspoken Conditions

    Jeremiah 18:1-10

    Without question, God knew that the Ninevites were going to repent long before He sent Jonah to preach to them. In fact, because the Lord has ordained even our responses, He always knows how we are going to respond when ...Read More

  • Covenant Conditionality

    Genesis 17:1-2

    Though we must meet certain covenant conditions, salvation is ultimately all of grace because God elects only some to salvation, giving them the ability to trust Him, which is not ours by nature as Adam’s fallen children. Nevertheless, the ...Read More

  • God’s Word to His Covenant People

    Romans 9:1-3

    God’s Word is delivered to all of the members of the visible covenant community. But the members of the invisible covenant community show themselves to be His elect people by taking the warnings about staying in faith seriously, repenting ...Read More

  • The Mysteries of the Gentiles

    Ephesians 3:6

    That God has made those of us who are Gentiles fellow heirs of all His covenant promises should not make us arrogant. We have done nothing to deserve this grace, and our remaining sin should always remind us how far ...Read More

  • The Apostolic and Prophetic Word

    Ephesians 3:5

    The nature of the fuller revelation under the administration of the new covenant means that we must always interpret the Old Testament in light of the New Testament. As much as possible, we read the old covenant revelation through the ...Read More

  • The Revelation of Mystery

    Ephesians 3:3

    Cults commonly claim to have special teachings that are available only to a few who are wise enough to understand them or have enough money to buy this knowledge. This is far different from biblical Christianity, which assumes that God ...Read More

  • Separated from Christ

    Ephesians 2:12a

    In the modern world, it can be easy to think our non-Christian neighbors are not really all that bad off because many of them enjoy a high standard of living. Yet, to be separated entirely from the covenants of promise ...Read More

  • Creation Ordinances

    Genesis 1-2

    In this day and age, there is a great temptation for the church in the United States to think that its mission is coextensive with the platform of one or more of the political parties in this country. Yet while ...Read More

  • The Distortion of Lawlessness

    Romans 6:1-14

    Of all the types of antinomianism, we are perhaps most prone to look for loopholes in the law of God. So, for instance, we may excuse certain behaviors because there is no express command in Scripture against them, even though ...Read More

  • Appearances Can Be Deceiving

    Colossians 2:23

    God’s law is good, but in itself cannot put the flesh to death because the problem is not simply that we do not obey the Lord but that we do not want to obey Him apart from the grace ...Read More

  • Shadow Versus Substance

    Colossians 2:16-17

    We might envy the old covenant saints because we do not usually see great seas parted, manna falling from heaven, and other “spectacular” displays of God’s power. But we are in a far better position than the old covenant ...Read More

  • Faith and the Means of Grace

    Colossians 2:11-12

    Baptism may, at its administration, mysteriously “increase the grace of God in the heart, if present, but may also be instrumental in augmenting faith later on, when the significance of baptism is understood” (Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, p. 642). Believers ...Read More

  • The Riches of God’s Mystery

    Colossians 1:27

    It is all too easy for us to think of other people as lesser Christians than we are because of the way they dress, what they eat and drink, how knowledgeable they are about the finer points of theological arguments ...Read More