Our Covenant God

From the pen of David McKay:

Most Christians, if they have heard of Covenant Theology at all, think of it as cold, obscure, speculative, old-fashioned, artificial, a straitjacket imposed on the Bible. It is tragic that that is the case. No doubt there have been proponents of Covenant Theology who at times have been obscure, speculative, and many other undesirable things. Covenant theologians are, after all, fallible human beings, and sinners too, (although, we trust, saved sinners). At its best, however, Covenant Theology is faithful to the Word of God and full of the warmth of the love of God. When God makes a covenant with his people, it really is ‘a bond of love’, that brings salvation and an eternal hope to people who were dead in sin, ‘without hope and without God in the world’ (Ephesians 2:12).

Covenant Theology does not in any way minimise or overlook the wrath of a holy God on sin, but its focus is on the loving relationship which God in his infinite love establishes with those he takes to be his people. ‘I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people’ (Leviticus 26:12) is a promise to fill the Christian’s heart with joy, and one to make those who are not Christians reconsider what they are missing by living as they do. Could anything be more beautiful than the gracious covenant which the Lord makes with saved sinners?

The theme of God’s covenant with his people runs all the way through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and relates in one way or another to every area of theology. In the course of this study, therefore, we look at subjects ranging from the nature of God, through the provision of salvation in Christ, to the ‘last things’ in what is known as ‘eschatology’. We will try throughout to listen to what Scripture says, without forcing it into a preconceived framework or attempting to make its teaching neater than it actually is. We believe, however, that the approach adopted by Covenant Theology serves to show the wonderful unity of God’s revelation to us, without in any way hiding its rich diversity. To see the way in which the Lord deals with his people by means of a covenant stirs wonder and evokes worship.*

Soli Deo Gloria!


*McKay, D. (2001). The Bond of Love: Covenant Theology and the Contemporary World (7–8). Fearn, Ross-shire, UK: Christian Focus Publications.