Revisiting Covenant Theology — General Introduction
Covenant theology and the Reformed tradition
The Reformed have frequently been designated as "Calvinists." And then, further, "Calvinism" has been frequently equated with five doctrinal points relating to predestination. But this picture is unsatisfactory in many respects.
First, while John Calvin was undoubtedly the greatest of the early leaders in the Reformed faith, no Reformed tradition has followed him in every respect, or pretended to. (Calvin's robust advocacy of weekly communion, and his non-adherence to Sabbatarianism are but two practical examples where the tradition as a whole assigned little weight to his views.)
Second, without minimizing the importance (both biblically and in terms of the Reformed tradition) of the "doctrines of grace" relating to predestination, it must be observed that the doctrine of predestination was not originally seen as either Calvin's particular contribution, or that of the Reformed more generally. Martin Luther, in his powerful response to Erasmus, The Bondage of the Will, stated the doctrine of predestination more baldly and boldly than Calvin ever did; and furthermore, the Augustinian tradition of the Western Church had largely maintained the doctrine through most of its history. In truth, even the "Angelic Doctor" Aquinas had a rather robust view of predestination.
The reasons that predestination came to have such a strong association with the Reformed tradition are numerous, and cannot all be discussed here. But at any rate, it is fair to say that profound commitment to predestination was characteristic of the Reformed throughout the history of the tradition, but could not be described as its defining contribution.
If one can build a case for a defining contribution to the Church by the Reformed tradition, a strong case could be made for covenant theology. Although "covenant" was always a category in the Church's theology, it began to emerge into a place of focus most clearly in the debates of the early Reformed thinkers with Anabaptists. Unlike the Lutheran tradition, the Reformed leaned heavily upon covenantal issues in their defense of infant baptism. Thus, from the start, Reformed covenant theology has had a strongly sacramental cast to it.
When covenant theology is identified as the particular contribution of the Reformed, it is perhaps clear that we are talking about early Reformed thinking and practice. Since the days of later conversionistic emphases that struck many strands of the tradition, it would be very arguable to claim any centrality or even significant role for the doctrine of the covenant in many streams of the Presbyterian and Reformed world. (The existence of "Reformed Baptists" testifies eloquently to this. "Reformed Baptist" generally means little more than "predestinarian Baptist," and can hardly credit Reformed covenant theology with appreciable influence.)
This web site has been inaugurated under the conviction that a robust understanding of Reformed identity requires recapturing some of that early thinking which has been widely lost to us. By speaking of a "Reformed identity," the aim is not sectarian; the language simply arises out of the conviction that due prominence given to the doctrine of the covenant is a very significant gift which the Reformed can give to the Church catholic. Further, while biblical studies have not stood still (and should not have) since the sixteenth century, it is here maintained that in many respects the recovery of earlier Reformed ways of thinking about Scripture are very helpful to positioning ourselves in relation to God's Word, in our biblical interpretation, in our theologizing, in our preaching, in our congregational worship, and indeed, in our Christian living as a whole. This mini-site is thus devoted to promoting covenant theology, both by looking backward, to the rich Reformed heritage, and forward, to the Scriptures which ever confront us anew and challenge us to hear them more closely. Soli Deo gloria.
Bibliography
Disclaimer: inclusion of material in the bibliography implies neither endorsement of all views expressed in the material, nor that the author of the material endorses (or, if deceased, would have endorsed) the views of this web site. The criterion for inclusion of material in this list is genuine helpfulness to the discussion, not uniformity of viewpoint.
Peter A. Lillback: The Binding of God: Calvin’s Role in the Development of Covenant Theology. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.)