All of us are accountable to God for it. Those who will say that at some level our individual righteousness must commend us to God in salvation, either through the ceremonial law, or through our keeping of the moral law. Why it is that you have to look away from your works and to look to Jesus Christ.”. Seek to be righteous before God in your own strength, and you will lose, unless you run from your works to the one man, the one work, the right man, Jesus Christ. He appointed Adam as our representative as the representative of all humanity. The Parallels Between the Broken Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Romans, chapter 5. I’m going to let him hack away at that ball on your behalf. You can’t even concede what an unfallen human being has with regard to intellectual and moral potential. Look again, verse 12: “Through one man death through sin entered the world.” Look again, verse 12: Through one man death spread to all men because one man sinned through Adam is the implication there. I don’t understand how it is that Adam does something and it’s imputed to me. 2:12). All of us are involved in the sin of Adam. I’d like to divide my answer in two parts. He knew exactly what he was doing. It’s just like the little boys, who want to go hunting on somebody else’s property. Thirdly, and finally, let me say that for unbelievers, there is often a voice that says, “That’s not fair, reject Him.” And I want to say that that voice has been heard before in human history. The biblical covenants form the unifying thread of God’s saving action through Scripture. This Covenant of Grace is where God promises eternal salvation to Man based upon the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. God gave him an express command, and Adam broke that command. Because He is concerned for justice and fairness. So we can’t say, O, Lord, we’re just innocent bystanders, victims here. Now Paul’s whole point in this passage is you flee from your works. Hang your hat on those three things as an outline for what we’re going to look at today. God is sovereign. Now let me also say in passing, seemingly problematically, Paul does an interesting parallel in this passage. And look at the progression of Paul’s thought. There are numerous Biblical examples that show us the principles of representation. And the young man started arguing with the professor. I. So this is one reason why Paul is doing this Adam-Christ parallel. But before you get to the 'that’s not fair,' let’s first think about what Paul is saying, because before you get to verse 18, six times Paul says the same thing. Francis Robert’s The Mystery and Marrow of the Bible. Some of you are saying, “That’s not fair.” I know that. Is Jesus’ righteousness imputed to you. You can’t even think there, your mind is darkened by sin. And, therefore, looking back, you can see that the covenant of works is fair. All of this is inseparably related to the biblical understanding of Jesus as the new Adam (Rom. Or, you’ve got to sink a put from the fairway. Poor, innocent me. The first covenant depended on man’s performance, but the second on Christ’s obedience. There is nothing less than our salvation at stake in this issue. Lord Sabaoth His name, from age to age the same, and He must win the battle.” What is Luther doing? Now why is Paul using three different terms to describe Adam’s sin? The Covenant of Grace is one of the three theological covenants of Covenant theology: the Covenant of Redemption, the Covenant of Works, and the Covenant of Grace.This third covenant, the Covenant of Grace, promised eternal blessing for belief in Christ and obedience to God's word. Dr. Lane G. Tipton describes the Covenant of Grace and its two administrations. 1-5)45 Terms You have to add some of your own obedience, some of your own moral rectitude in order to commend yourself to God.' He doesn’t say, “Okay, look, I’m going to sweep those sins under the closet. . Were you alive when Jesus was alive? The covenant of grace is like a court of Chancery, to relieve the sinner, and help him who is cast by the first covenant. I’m going to bring out Michael Jordan for you. Puritan teachings emphasized the biblical covenants: God's covenants with Adam and with Noah, the covenant of grace between God and man through Christ. It’s not fair that what he did would impact me. This is a faithful saying, that they which believe in God, be careful to maintain good works.' He has authored, co-authored, edited, or contributed to numerous books. And Paul is saying, “No, no, no. It is the obedience of Christ that is the ground of our salvation, both in His passive obedience on the cross and His active obedience in His life. For permissions, view our Copyright Policy. In Covenant theology, the Covenant of Works is the second of three theological covenants. . And others were saying, 'Yes, but it’s Christ plus keeping the Ten Commandments. Look at verse 12: “Through one man, sin entered into the world.” Look at it again. There is a “just as” for which there is no “so also” in verse 12. You’re not here to judge the judge. Because God shows meticulous concern for justice in His covenant of grace. We are not only representatively sinners in Adam, but Paul tells us in Romans 5:19 that we are actually sinners in Adam. Now to unbelievers, very briefly. But let me say this. Paul in this passage is telling us about our predicament. You don’t even have the capacity to think about what’s fair. Dr. Ligon Duncan Close up the church doors at home. The covenant of works says that to get to heaven you must do good works. They forgot to whom they spoke five minutes ago. Paul has already described it in you, especially at the end of chapter 1, chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3. Abraham obeys God and his descendants are blessed and become God’s chosen people for evermore. Your predicament, your culpability, and your only hope. But notice the perfect parallel. The CG takes the form of ancient land-grant treaties, in which a king would give land to a recipient as a gift, no strings attached. It’s like a person who is slipping into dementia being asked to work through problems for which he no longer has the capacity to contemplate. In this very passage, in other words, Paul makes it clear that the salvation of Jesus Christ does not extend to every last person, but to those who receive that salvation by faith. But He will, in fact we can say, He has won the battle. How does He do it? In other words you can’t talk about Adam and Christ and compare them without drawing out the bold contrast that exists between them. So for all those reasons, let me argue that it is perfectly appropriate to accept as fair, the imputation of Adam’s sin. The covenant of grace says to get to heaven it is by God’s grace and not by our works. Fourthly, as we’ve just said in looking at verse 19, it’s not simply that we are imputed the guilt of Adam’s sin. How is it that it is fair? And for all those reasons, I believe that your only wise response is to accept what God has said in His word, and flee to Christ for grace. He’s proud. They don’t have permission. The old Scofield Reference Bible defined dispensationalism in terms of seven distinct dispensations or time periods within sacred Scripture. So then, as through one transgression, there resulted condemnation to all men. Secondly, in this very passage we saw last week in verse 17, that Paul stresses that Christ’s salvation is not for every last person that ever lived. And as a result, that kind of sin nature pervades our race. GEO 303 Final Exam 31 terms. The mission, passion and purpose of Ligonier Ministries is to proclaim the holiness of God We’re all saved. Basically because Paul wants to sum up for you that Adam broke God’s law in about every way you could break it when he sinned against Him. Beyond the negative fulfillment of the covenant of works, in taking the punishment due those who disobey it, Jesus offers the positive dimension that is vital to our redemption. The apostle Paul makes it clear in verse 18 again that if you are trusting in your works in any way for your salvation, you are in a hopeless position. This is seen most importantly in the work of Jesus as the new Adam. The covenant of grace is, therefore, an extension and gracious fulfillment by Christ of the covenant of works for sinners who are in Christ. Do you believe in Jesus Christ? After Adam broke this covenant, God made a new Covenant of Grace with Abraham (Genesis 18-19). I think I will send frogs. When we understand Christ’s work of redemption in the New Testament, we focus our attention largely on two aspects of it. in all its fullness to as many people as possible. Let me ask you to do one thing. Though covenant theology has been around for millennia, it finds its more refined and systematic formulation in the Protestant Reformation. You can’t even get out of yourself to think in those categories. The Bible says that it is by grace we are saved, and not of our works. Covenant of Works Versus Grace. All of us are guilty for it, Paul says. You are involved in sin. So we are not only in a predicament, we are personally culpable. Indeed, Charles Ryrie has stated that a sine qua non of dispensationalism is a literal, normal or plain interpretation of Scripture.1 The hallmark of reformed covenant theology has been a Godward-oriented … a contract or agreement between two parties. You’re sitting here saying, “Well, this is not fair.” I want to say three things. It says, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and be saved'; but such as will stand upon their own inherent righteousness, free-will and merit, fall under the first covenant of works… Look at the first part of 19. . And again in verse 17: “If by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one.” You see in all of these clauses, Paul is stressing that one man’s sin, Adam’s, impacted everybody. And in the same way, the Bible certainly doesn’t speak of covenant there. David wins, Israel wins. So it’s not just breaking the law, it’s breaking of an explicit prohibition. Secondly, why is it that the imputation of Adam’s sin is fair? That is, in some way we bear a responsibility for that sin. Yes. For as through the one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.”. Separate two questions. Having done that, however, he now goes back to discuss the continuities or parallels between Adam and Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen. II. In her prayer meetings, Hutchinson discussed that the grace of God came from faith, not from simply doing good deeds. Where the Eternal Covenant was made between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Covenant of Grace is made between God and Man. Reformed covenant theology has traditionally seen in this passage a “covenant of works“ between God and Adam. Okay, well in giving Adam as our representative, it would be like you’re in a million-dollar contest at half time of the national championship game in April. The parties. And God says, “Look, you’re not going to have to take this shot in order to win salvation. Think about it. The belief that God made 2 personal covenants with humanity, the covenant of grace and the covenant of works. Yes. Covenant of grace. Where Adam failed to gain the blessedness of the tree of life, Christ wins that blessedness by His obedience, which blessedness He provides for those who put their trust in Him. But with this difference; that under the covenant of works, this condition is required to be performed by man himself; under the covenant of grace it is proposed, as already performed, or to be performed by a mediator. There was a car reck, and we just happened to see it. No, we were driving the vehicle. Why it is that you can’t save yourself. Why bother? | March 18, 2001, Romans 5:18-19 The Parallels Between the Broken Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. He wants to see how many army men he has. Goliath wins, Philistia wins. The covenant of works, as asserted in Reformed theology, involves four components: (1) parties, (2) a promise, (3) a condition and (4) a penalty. Even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. averydaly33. I think I’ll send frogs. Robert Reymond writes:. Also, the Bible says that if we are saved, it will be evident by our works. Covenant of Grace. After the fall, the fact that God continued to promise redemption to creatures who had violated the covenant of works, that ongoing promise of redemption is defined as the covenant of grace. You can’t even think about how you would have functioned as a non-sinful person. In other words, Paul is saying it was willful. But the distinction between the covenant of works and grace is getting at something that is of vital importance, as it has to do with the Gospel. Think again of Romans, chapter 3, verses 21 through 26. Who is it who receives the benefits of Jesus’ atoning work? First, you’re not in a position to judge. Absolutely. I’m going to bring out Tiger Woods to take that shot for you. The covenant of grace indicates God’s promise to save us even when we fail to keep the obligations imposed in creation. Covenant of Grace. Summary . Well, three reasons why Paul is not teaching that salvation has a universal scope or that the work of Christ results in the actual salvation of all men. Now look back at verse 12, just as through one man’s sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so death spread to all men. By Your spirit help us to understand and to respond to them in faith, belief, obedience and gratitude. And he wants to compare Adam to Jesus Christ so that we might understand, first of all, something of the web of sin that we’re involved in, and also some reason again for why we need to flee to Christ alone for salvation. In verse 19, he says something a little more: “For as through one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners.” Paul says, ‘Through Adam’s sin, you not only became representative sinful, you became actually sinful. They forgot what they ate ten minutes ago. COVENANT OF REDEMPTION IN THE THEOLOGY OF JONATHAN EDWARDS: THE NEXUS BETWEEN THE IMMANENT ... years of graduate work in the Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy Program at ... good things that helped them to grow in God’s grace during our stay in the United States. So Paul is resuming his argument here in verse 18. Look up at verse 12, you will see a “just as” in verse 12, but you’ll never see a “so also.” You’ll see protasis, but no apodosis for any of you grammarians out there. And that sin can be imputed – I don’t understand this whole representative principle. He can decide He’s going to wipe out the most powerful kingdom in the world. God’s condemnation is just.’. Now there’s a second thing I’d like to see here. He’s trying to draw their attention away from their singular acts, from their individual acts, from their individual righteousness, to think about one act, one obedience, one righteousness done by Jesus Christ. If we take away the active obedience of Jesus, we take away the imputation of His righteousness to us. They’ve got to do this ritual, they’ve to obey this command. The reality of the broken covenant of works and the consequences that lie behind it, remind us of our inability to save ourselves. Pharaoh opposes God. The covenant of grace is, therefore, an extension and gracious fulfillment by Christ of the covenant of works for sinners who are in Christ. Is Paul teaching that everybody is saved? That is a parallel of two alls. The Ligonier Ministries site requires Javascript, but you’ve got Javascript disabled. Now Paul not only speaks about our predicament, he speaks about our culpability. The apostle Paul we have said from Romans, chapter 1, verse 16 all the way to Romans, chapter 5, verse 11 has been laying the groundwork for explaining why it was that salvation was by grace alone, or more particularly, why we are saved by grace through faith alone in Christ alone; why we are justified by God’s grace through the alone instrument of our believing on Jesus Christ as He is offered in the gospel. The first covenant depended on man’s performance, but the second on Christ’s obedience. This salvation must be received by faith. the covenant of grace should be seen as providing the requisite redemptive provision as a second-level “covenantal overlay” upon the covenant of works. So the apostle Paul is saying that Adam involved himself in sin in just about every way you can involve yourself in sin all at once. Penguin216. That’s your representative. And others said, 'Well yes, Christ saves you, but it’s Christ keeping the ceremonial law of Moses.' You not only see the nature of Adam’s sin here, but you see the fact of our sinnerhood. But to the one man, the right man, Jesus Christ. Lab Final 54 terms. Salvation is for those who believe. We ask it in His name, Amen. Each had its advantages. Eve did not seduce him into this sin. But in the beginning of this verse, and that’s what I want you to concentrate on for a moment, Paul is asserting again that Adam’s one original sin resulted in the condemnation of all men.