CovenantKeeper

Let us study the Word, truthfully (Acts 17:11; 2 Timothy 2:15), for Jesus says, “Sanctify them in the truth; Your Word is truth" (John 17:17).

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

In light of events unfolding in Europe and the Middle East, I believe we may be living in the very closing moments of the last days. The Door is closing. More than ever, this should compel us to study Scripture more faithfully, and know Christ truly.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Amen. It's important not only to see salvation in Scripture, but to see Christ in every book of Scripture. We must remind ourselves that Jesus was not only a future type or shadow awaiting fulfillment. When Scripture is understood rightly, we see that, by virtue of God's unified plan of redemption, through the eternal covenant of promise, Christ was actively at work in the hearts of Old Testament believers. Peter writes:

"Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully... inquiring what person or time the THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST IN THEM [Old Testament saints] was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories" (1 Peter 1:10-11).

The same Spirit of Christ who indwells believers today was at work in the saints of old, directing their faith toward the Christ, the one who is and to come. From this perspective, we must get out of the thinking that the Old Testament was primarily for Jews and the New Testament primarily for Gentiles.

Scripture reveals one unified redemptive plan, one people of God, centered on Christ. To divide them in this way diminishes the authority of Christ and the glory of God.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Wonderful. If we are truly raised in Christ, as Colossians 3:1 teaches, we will seek the things above and not the things on earth. That means, not only growing in holiness, but also having a desire to lead others at home and in other nations to Christ. We are reminded by Jesus Himself,

"Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:32-33).

Let this be our burning passion, to love God more and make disciples of the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). Congratulations.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

We always thank God that to those in whom redemption is accomplished in eternal counsel of God is now applied by the Spirit in history. I'd highly recommend, reading "redemption accomplished and applied," by John Murray. If we are truly recipients of this, than, God will use His Spirit to leads us into all truth from the Word (John 16:13) and at the same time, that same Word is the instrument of our sanctification, Jesus declares "sanctify them in truth, Your Word is truth."

Holiness or sanctification are central motifs in the Old and New Testaments. It's depicted in temple and tabernacle imageries, ultimately pointing to the dwelling (Greek, 'skenoo' lit, 'to tabernacle') of a holy God's inwardly in His people.

I don't need reminding you that studying Scripture isn't just an intellectual exercise. Much more important than that, is the more we immerse ourselves in it, we grow in a true knowledge of Christ, leading to a deeper and more intimate relationship with God, and at the same time we mature in holiness. Hebrews offers a sober warning: "Strive for holiness, without which no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

There are some who argue that water baptism itself saves inwardly. However, Acts 10:47 presents a different order; "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"

The Gentiles had already received the Holy Spirit before they were baptized with water. This iimplies that the inward washing and renewal of the Spirit (Titus 3:5) preceded the outward rite of water baptism.

As I've argued before, water baptism is unquestionably, vitally important, but it functions as an outward sign and public witness to the Spirit's inward work.

From this perspective, water baptism doesn't itself save effectually. On top of this, if water baptism guaranteed final salvation, how do we explain the many professing believers who have been baptized but later fallen into habitual/crippling sin or even turned away from the faith altogether?

The outward sign, therefore, while important in obedience to Christ, is not the same thing as the inward reality to which it points. True salvation is ultimately the work of God inwardly through the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Of course. Like many, I was also religious, but didn't know Him personally or savingly. That changed when, by His grace and mercy, He justified me and revealed Christ inwardly through the Holy Spirit. Then, as the Spirit began to work He led into all truth (John 16:13). The Bible is no longer a disjointed book, but a unified revelation of God's redemptive purpose. From Genesis to Revelation, I began to see that, through the eternal covenant of promise, of which Christ is the Head, one plan of salvation and one people of God, from both Jews and Gentiles and united in Christ; the spiritual descendants of Abraham according to promise (Galatians 3:28-29), "the Israel of God" (Galatians 6:16)

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Thank you. We can be assured that even in the most difficult times, God is with us. The God who promised never to leave nor forsake His people as they marched towards Canaan (Hebrews 13:5 cited from Deuteronomy 31:8) also promises to never to leave or forsake the descendants of Abraham according to promise (Galatians 3:28-29). In the final equation, those earthly deliverances pointed to a greater redemption in Christ, who delivers His people from sin and leads them into the eternal inheritance, of which earthly Canaan was a temporary and imperfect picture.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

@JingoJungleNL @wendelltalks If you're looking scientific evidence, there are a lot reputable creation science resources exploring the case for God's existence and concurrently, the improbability of life and the universe arising by chance.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Exactly. The Old Testament declares that "there is none righteous, no, not one" and repeatedly emphasizes that God ultimately does not delight in sacrifices and offerings apart from a heart devoted to Him. This shows that the sacrificial system was never intended to save. Rather, the sacrifices functioned as earthly types and shadows pointing forward to a greater reality; the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ and His eternal priesthood.

Viewed in this light, we can already see the gospel foreshadowed in the Old Testament. The shadows anticipate the substance, and the types point to their fulfillment in Christ. From this backdrop, the Bible reveals one unified plan of redemption, one redeemed people of God, and one covenantal story culminating in Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, believers are saved by the same grace, through the same Savior, and united in the same eternal inheritance

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Thanks for the advice, but I prefer to be reassured by the internal testimony of the Spirit over and above human reasoning. God's Word assures believers that "the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Romans 8:16).

Having been raised with Christ, we can therefore take comfort in His promise that the Holy Spirit will guide His people into all truth (John 16:13).

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

When Jesus declared, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (John 8:58), He was affirming His eternal nature. Christ was not just a historical figure who first appeared in the New Testament. As the eternal Son, He was present and actively working throughout the Old Testament, accomplishing His redemptive purposes among the elect.

This helps explain why Jesus could say, "Abraham rejoiced to see My day; he saw it and was glad" (John 8:56), and why He also declared that "Moses wrote of Me" (John 5:46). The gospel did not begin in the New Testament. Rather, it is rooted in the eternal Covenant of Promise, of which Christ is the Mediator and fulfillment.

Peter confirms this when he writes that the prophets were searching and inquiring about the salvation to come, because "the Spirit of Christ in them [Old Testament saints]" was testifying beforehand concerning Christ's sufferings and glory (1 Peter 1:10-11). From the beginning, it was Christ who was at work in His people by His Spirit, revealing, sustaining, and applying the promises of redemption long before His incarnation.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Creation science provides not only compelling arguments for intelligent design, supported by evidence from physics, astronomy, archaeology, and historical attestations, but equally as compelling is the unity and harmony of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation.

One clearest examples of this is the biblical pattern of types and shadows woven in the Scriptures. Many Christians view events such as the flood, the exodus, and other Old Testament events purely as historical deliverances and leave it there. While they were certainly real historical acts of God, a closer study reveals that they also functioned as earthly pictures of greater spiritual and consummate realities.

When we begin to see these sophisticated patterns and symmetries , the Bible discloses one unified story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation, one people of God, one plan of salvation, and one eternal inheritance, all united under the headship of Christ.

No secular work, which often appears fragmented and contradictory, comes close to the unity, depth, and harmony of Scripture.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Respectfully, the church councils did not claim to alter God's Word, but to recognize and affirm the books already received and used by God's people. The unity of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation, revealed through types and shadows, covenantal continuity, theological harmony, and the consistent testimony of Christ in all books of Scripture, is one of the most compelling evidences of its divine integrity.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Amen. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone. At first glance, faith might seem to depend on human effort, but Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches otherwise, "And this [faith] is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Even the faith by which we believe is ultimately God's gracious gift.

Therefore, all glory belongs to Him from beginning to end. Let us continually give thanks for God's everlasting mercy, remembering that "His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-23).

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

@DuckImaCanucK @DrFrankTurek Not at all. I would simply encourage you to revisit my posts and compare them carefully with Scripture. My position isn't based on setting aside God's Word, but on seeking to understand it in light of the whole counsel of God.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Paul tells us that "all Scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." When we understand that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we begin to see that God's redemptive plan did not suddenly begin in the New Testament. Because Christ is eternal and God's Covenant of Promise has always centered on Him, every book of the Old Testament reveals truths that applied to the elect in Christ before Christ's coming and continue to apply to us who are saved by Christ in the church age.

When we read Scripture through this lens, even passages that seem obscure, difficult, or unrelated to Christians come alive because it applies to us, Jews and Gentiles, united in Christ.

When we therefore read Old Testament passages that speak of the everlasting blessings and inheritance promised to Israel and Jacob, we must interpret them in light of the New Testament's teaching. The apostles make a clear distinction between the people of God according to the law, through which no one is justified, and the people of God according to promise, whose inheritance comes through faith (Galatians 3; Romans 4; Romans 9:6-8; Galatians 6:16; Luke 1:33).

From this perspective, the promises of everlasting blessing and inheritance find their fulfillment not in ethnic descent, but in Christ and in all who belong to Him. Therefore, these promises rightly apply to believing Jews and Gentiles alike, for all who are united to Christ by faith are Abraham's spiritual offspring and heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:28-29). The covenant blessings spoken of throughout the Old Testament ultimately therefore belong to the one people of God, gathered from every nation and saved through the promised Seed (Galatians 3:15-15), Jesus Christ.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Amen. Too many Christians speak as though Jesus is only the way to God during the church age. But Jesus said, "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). That includes all people, in every age, without exception.

So how were Old Testament believers saved? By the same Christ. Christ is eternal, and the Covenant of Promise is centered on Him. Scripture reveals that He was actively at work among the elect long before His incarnation. Peter writes that the prophets had the "Spirit of Christ" in them (1 Peter 1:10-11). This is why Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day, and why David in Psalm, 51 understood that God desired not sacrifices and offerings but a transformed heart.

Even in the Old Testament, salvation was never through the Law itself, but through Christ working by His Spirit, writing His law on the hearts of His people over tablets of stone(2 Corinthians 3:3; Jerermiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27). From Abel onward, all the redeemed were saved by the same grace, through the same Christ, the one eternal covenant of promise and unto the same eternal inheritance.

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

Amen. Indeed, God is not ultimately seeking buildings to occupy. Contrary to those who insist on perpetuating the Old Covenant shadows, the tabernacle and temple functioned as earthly, visible types that pointed forward to a far greater reality; God's spiritual dwelling in and among His people.

Throughout Scripture, we are repeatedly reminded that God does not dwell in temples made with human hands (Acts 7:48; 17:24). The earthly sanctuary served a temporary and typological purpose, foreshadowing the true dwelling place of God in Christ and, through Him, in believers by the Holy Spirit. As Paul writes, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The temple made with hands was a shadow; the temple made without hands is the reality. What the tabernacle and temple anticipated finds its fulfillment in Christ, the true Temple, and in His people as the living temple of God. Ultimately, this reality reaches its consummation in the New Creation, where God will dwell with His redeemed people forever, and "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple"(Revelation 21:22).

[CovenantKeeper @CalvinistHub]

@Ligonier @RCSproul @RefBibleCollege Amen. May the ministry continue to go from strength to strength. I am deeply grateful to Ligonier Ministries and Dr R.C. Sproul, whose faithful teaching of God's Word helped open my eyes to the riches of Scripture.