Reddit reviews The Christ of the Covenants

This is similar-but-different, but a 50,000 foot view of the storyline particularly with a theological angle on the history of covenants -- "The Christ of the Covenants," by O. Palmer Robertson.

So my comments above show my linking skills, but I will do my best in advance of the report coming out monday (already advance reviews are mixed to break down this issue...

As regards the Covenant of Works ("COW"), was it, in any sense, "republished" in the mosaic covenant? Republicationists say yes (hence there name). However, if you have read any John Murray, you'll know he objected to the very term COW in favor for a Covenant of Life, between Adam and God. The reason being is that Murray and his spiritual successors in the anti-repub camp see a Grace element in EVERY single of the covenant administrations (for more on the various covenants, please see O Palmer Robertson's classic work.) By calling it a covenant of works, they feel, runs the risk of downplaying the grace in the COW. Republicationists do not deny a grace element in the COW, nor any of the subsequent covenants, but you can see the problems from this short paragraph, when one side won't even allow for a COW, when our standards refer to it in those exact terms.

I refer to above again to the idea of no smoking gun in this case. In other words, one can claim a repub position, or an anti-repub position, and maintain themselves as orthodox reformed.

And as some are talking about Kline, it could be reduced to that in its simplist form, if you don't want to get into the covenant issues. Are you for Kline (like me?). Then you like repub (he advocated it). Against Kline, you probably argue against it.

Whether Repub is Biblical or not, is of course the question at hand. There's a lot to this. For Kline's more important work, one should work through his lectures on their commute or something, they are worth it, I have gotten through quite a few of these. I have [his book] (https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Prologue-Foundations-Covenantal-Worldview/dp/1597525642) in my own personal archives, but anyway, that is the best I can frame all this. Any of you want to correct or add, please feel free. Love to all the reformed redditors! Read the report on Monday when it comes out, and we'll see how accurate I am haha

The Christ of the Covenants.

According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible.

Both of those are classic expressions of Reformed covenant theology.

This is really quite the question. You'll undoubtedly get some really insightful response from guys way smarter than me!

So let me contribute my widow's mite to the conversation. Grab a couple of books and read them slowly and thoughtfully. I think this deliberate lingering look at the subject that your post shows you've obviously given much thought to, will serve you better than a paragraph or two here in reddit - be they ever so clear!

If I may recommend two for you?

You've got to read the seminal work by O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants

Then follow that up with Michael Horton's book Introducing Covenant Theology for a more modern look at the subject.

Both of these you can buy used at Amazon for right around $5. I think they will be great tools for you as you work through the thoughts you outline above.

Forgive the lack of 'crunchy' in this post by skirting an answer with book recommendations!

Traditional Dispensationalism:

http://www.amazon.com/Dispensationalism-Charles-C-Ryrie/dp/080242189X/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344919159&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=DiSoensationalism

http://www.amazon.com/There-Really-Difference-Comparison-Dispensational/dp/0915540509/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Things-Come-Study-Biblical-Eschatology/dp/0310308909/ref=pd_sim_b_9

Progressive Dispensationalism:
http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Dispensationalism-BridgePoint-Books-Darrell/dp/0801022436/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344919422&sr=1-1&keywords=progressive+dispensationalism

http://www.amazon.com/Three-Central-Issues-Contemporary-Dispensationalism/dp/0825420628/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Covenant (sorry, my seminary was staunchly dispensational so I am less knowledgeable here):
http://www.amazon.com/Christ-Covenants-O-Palmer-Robertson/dp/0875524184/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344919539&sr=1-1&keywords=christ+and+the+covenants

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Dispensationalists-Vern-Sheridan-Poythress/dp/0875523749/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y

Hope this helps.

A good book on this topic is Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson

Couple of good books on Covenant Theology:

• The Christ of the Covenants
  
• God of Promise
  

Out of curiosity, why do you want modern?

I've been reading Covenant Theology: From Adam to Christ recently. It might be the best book on CT from a baptistic perspective out there, though its 300+ years old. Alternatively The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology is excellently done, scholarly and modern. It can be a bit tedious, since it was originally written in French as a master's thesis.

From a presbyterian perspective, I read The Christ of the Covenants and found it excellent and winsome. A number of reformed colleges and seminaries use it as a textbook.

You should be able to get any of those from the Christian Book Nook, or I can lend them to you at church on Sunday if you'd rather save some cash.

O' Palmer Robertson's Christ of the Covenants is your best bet.

This helped me a lot - https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Covenants-Palmer-Robertson/dp/0875524184

Here is a fine short book on covenant theology.

https://www.amazon.com/Far-Curse-Found-Covenant-Redemption/dp/0875525105

This is also great.

https://www.amazon.com/Christ-Covenants-Palmer-Robertson/dp/0875524184

> How is the New Covenant a better Covenant (according to Hebrews 8) if it is just the same covenant as the Old but administered in a different way?

Again, the question assumes "old" means "Abrahamic", but Hebrews 8 refers to Moses, not Abraham. The old covenant in this context is referring to the Law of Moses, not the covenant God makes with Abraham. I don't know of anyone who believes the Law of Moses is the covenant of Grace. The Law was "added because of transgressions" (Gal 3:19). Check out Galatians 3 for a full explanation.

> Why are the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants often considered unconditional when...?

Regarding Abraham, it seems to me that Paul tells us this is how we should understand the covenant. Romans 4 talks a lot about this, here's an excerpt:

> 13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Romans 4:13-17

Regarding David, keep in mind that 2 Sam 7 is not purely national in the immediate sense, and not purely Messianic. There are elements of both! So when God warns Solomon, this is in keeping with the covenant with David: "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men." But the Messianic aspect is not conditioned on Solomon's obedience, or anyone else's. Note that Jeremiah explains it while telling all Judah about their impending captivity as punishment for disobedience. Here's a partial reiteration (see Jer 33 for details):

> For thus says the Lord: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel Jeremiah 33:17.

You also asked

> Why does the presence of promises of Christ and God’s Kingdom in the future necessitate the previous covenants being administrations of the Covenant of Grace?

Because of the language God uses along the way when making these covenants. God makes "an everlasting covenant" with Abraham (Gen 17:7), that Peter refers to in Acts 2:39, and Paul describes extensively in Galatians and Romans.

Also notice that each successive covenant in is always an extension of the one before it, which stresses the significance of the continuity. God tells Moses that he's bringing Israel out of Egypt as he promised, when he established the covenant with Abraham (Ex 6). David didn't just decide to build the temple, this was set up in advance by God when the Law of Moses was being delivered (Deut 12:5-18). Jesus was specifically killed at Passover and instituted the Lord's Supper at that time (Luke 22).

I highly recommend watching this video by Ligon Duncan and reading O. Palmer Robertson's excellent book The Christ of the Covenants. The video is about infant baptism, but he gets you there by way of his explanation of covenant theology.

I hope that's helpful!