Dispensational Understanding of the New Covenant

Description

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah" (Jeremiah 31:31).

How should we understand the Bible's teaching about the new covenant? Scholars and theologians have debated this question for centuries without reaching a consensus. The three views in this book are all unified by a single idea: God will make His new covenant with Israel, not the church. Referring to papers first presented at the 2009 Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics, the authors discuss three ideas within traditional dispensationalism:

• the church is in some way a party to the new covenant,
• the church shares similar blessings to the new covenant, or
• the church has nothing at all to do with the new covenant.

Each viewpoint is supported by extensive theological, historical, and exegetical research, with responses and rejoinders for each view.

Reviews

The book is necessary because dispensationalists have never agreed about how the church is related to the New Covenant. Some think that the church has no legal relationship to the New Covenant. Others believe that the church is not a party to the covenant, but nevertheless stands in some relationship to it. Still others have believed in the existence of two New Covenants, one for Israel and another, different one for the church. Some have argued that the church is directly related to the New Covenant and has been brought in as a participant alongside Israel.

Of these views, the only one that is not represented in Stallard’s book is the Two-New-Covenants hypothesis. This exclusion was not deliberate, but the view has waned in popularity over the past few decades. No responsible defenders have put themselves forward within the Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics, and so the view was simply left out by default.

The other three theories, however, are advocated by vigorous and competent defenders.

While this book is not Sunday School material, it is reading that will repay the effort. It is substantial enough for professors of Bible and theology, but it is lucid enough for ordinary pastors. In fact, pastors may find the greatest benefit from it, for it will help them to understand how the ideas of dispensationalism hang together. It is a good book.

Dr. Kevin T. Bauder

This review is available in its entirety at SharperIron.org.

BibleExposition.net interview with Elliott Johnson

Author Bio