Sam Waldron, president of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary, has publicly affirmed two conclusions that converge with the basic tenets of 1689 Federalism: that the New Covenant is the Covenant of Grace, and that the Old Covenant is, in some sense, a covenant of works. In his post "1689 Baptist Covenant Theology,"1 it is interesting to note how Waldron finds the response of those who equate the New Covenant with the Covenant of Grace "satisfying." He writes:

"…The question has been discussed among those who subscribe the 1689 whether this means that the New Covenant is the Covenant of Grace. I have come to that opinion myself. It is only in the New Covenant that the types and shadows pass away and the Redeemer and His redemptive work are accomplished. The difficulty with this view is that it seems to say that the covenant of grace was not in operation during the Old Testament. Since the 1689 plainly says that people were only ever saved by the grace of the Covenant of Grace, this is a problem. The response of those who equate the New Covenant with the Covenant of Grace is, however, satisfying. It is simply that the grace of the New Covenant was applied retrospectively by God in the Old Testament."

"Not only are the two covenants made with two different peoples, they also are different kinds of covenants. I think it is clear that in some sense the Old Covenant must be described as a covenant of works. In using this language I do not at all intend to say that it was a republication of the Covenant of Works… I think that the characterization of the Old Covenant as a kind of covenant of works must be qualified in all sorts of ways, but I do not think that it can be avoided. Exodus 19:5–6 and Jeremiah 31:31–34 clearly distinguish the Old and New Covenants as two different covenants."

The retrospective application of the New Covenant in the Old Testament, and the characterization of the Old Covenant as, in some sense, a covenant of works — these are conclusions that 1689 Federalists have consistently drawn from Scripture and the framers of the 1689 Confession. Here are some representative quotes:

"The redemptive-historical focus of 7.3 informs much of this chapter. Paragraph six gathers up another of its threads… affirming that His work is retrospective, applied to the elect who lived before the time of incarnation. All who are saved receive forgiveness and life in the same way… Salvation for those who lived before the cross was by prospective faith, looking forward to the time of fulfillment."

— James M. Renihan, Baptist Symbolics, Volume 22

"Old covenant saints, therefore, were not saved by the Old Testament covenants with Israel (Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic), but by Christ and His work in the new covenant, which is what God promised through the revelation of the old covenant. Another way of putting it is that there was a retroactive application of the redemptive benefits of Christ for the old covenant believer that they received in their day."

— Tom Hicks, What Is a Reformed Baptist?3

"The covenant of grace is the in-breaking of the covenant of redemption into history through the progressive revelation and retroactive application of the New Covenant… Where God's grace extended into the past, it came by way of covenant, wherein Christ's blood of the New Covenant was retroactively applied to those who believed in the promise…"

— Samuel D. Renihan, From Shadow to Substance4

Those statements from James Renihan, Samuel Renihan, and Tom Hicks show that believers under the Old Covenant were saved only by the New Covenant retroactively applied to them. This means that long before the death of the Mediator, they were forgiven, regenerated, and justified. They did not need to wait for the coming of Christ to receive the benefits of His redeeming work. What a blessing!

That the Old Covenant is a — not the — covenant of works is affirmed by the Particular Baptists themselves:

"In this mode of transacting it, the Lord was pleased to draw the first lines of that form of covenant relationship in which the natural seed of Abraham was fully stated by the law of Moses, which was a covenant of works with its condition or terms, 'Do this and live.'"

— Nehemiah Coxe, Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ5

"This covenant in which God elected to Himself the body of Israel and by which He separated them to Himself from all the Nations of the Earth, is clearly a Covenant of Works."

— Thomas Patient, The Doctrine of Baptism, and the Distinction of the Covenants6

"Based on the laws, the promises, and the threats of the covenant, the Mosaic Covenant was a covenant of works for life in the land of Canaan."

— Samuel D. Renihan, The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom7

"True, there was another Edition or Administration of it [the Covenant of Works] given to Israel, which tho' it was a covenant of works, i.e. Do this and live, yet it was not given by the Lord to the same End and Design, as the Covenant was given to our First Parents, viz. It was not given to justifie them, or to give them eternal Life."

— Benjamin Keach, The Everlasting Covenant8

"…the Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai, Exod. 19. 20, and that in the Land of Moab, Deut. 29. as also the Covenant of Circumcision made with Abraham, Gen. 17. are plainly proved to be three several Editions of the Covenant of Works…"

— Hercules Collins, Believers Baptism from Heaven, and of Divine Institution9

The Particular Baptists generally affirmed that the Old Covenant is a temporal and typological covenant of works for life in Canaan. This cannot be denied or avoided when one considers the very nature of the Old Covenant and its contrast with the New. Waldron himself acknowledges that it "cannot be avoided."

This affirmation from one of the leading Reformed Baptist seminaries is truly an advancement in recovering the Particular Baptist covenantal heritage. I hope that more will come to this understanding, as it not only helps us respond to our Presbyterian brethren but enables us to better understand the glorious work of the only Redeemer of God's elect — the Lord Jesus Christ — both in the Old and the New Covenants.

To the Triune God alone be the glory.

Footnotes

  1. Sam Waldron, "1689 Baptist Covenant Theology", Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary. ↩

  2. James M. Renihan, Baptist Symbolics, Volume 2 (Founders Press, 2022), pp. 115–116. ↩

  3. Tom Hicks, What Is a Reformed Baptist? (Founders Press, 2022), p. 33. ↩

  4. Samuel D. Renihan, From Shadow to Substance (Christian Focus, 2018), pp. 256–257. ↩

  5. Nehemiah Coxe, Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ, ed. Ronald Miller, James Renihan, and Francisco Orozco (RBAP, 2005), pp. 90–91. ↩

  6. Thomas Patient, The Doctrine of Baptism, and the Distinction of the Covenants (1654), p. 30. ↩

  7. Samuel D. Renihan, The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom (Founders Press, 2019), p. 110. ↩

  8. Benjamin Keach, The Everlasting Covenant, A Sweet Cordial for a Drooping Soul (London: H. Barnard, 1693), p. 7. ↩

  9. Hercules Collins, Believers Baptism from Heaven, and of Divine Institution (London: J. Hancock, 1691), p. 4. ↩