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Editor's Notes Editor’s Notes You have in your hands the first issue of volume 48 of the Protes- tant Reformed Theological Journal. We begin our forty-eighth year of publication grateful to God for the opportunity to continue to publish our seminary’s free-of-charge journal, which puts solid, thoughtful, scholarly articles and book reviews in the hands of our readers. With some regularity the Reformers attended colloquies. A colloquy was a theological conference at which significant doctrinal issues were discussed—doctrinal issues over which there was often difference of opinion. The aim of the colloquies was the resolution of these differences, although this aim was not always achieved. One significant colloquy comes to mind: the Marburg Colloquy of 1529, which ended without Luther and Zwingli coming to agreement on the issue of Christ’s presence in the Lord’s Supper. This past summer the Protestant Reformed Churches in America (PRCA) and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Australia (EPCA) held a colloquy—a theolog- ical conference. The PRCA and the EPCA are in a “Corresponding Relationship.” The purpose of the conference was mutual encourage- ment in areas of agreement, as well as discussion in areas where there is disagreement. The main theme of the conference was the doctrine of God’s covenant. We are indebted to the four main speakers at the conference for submitting the written manuscripts of their speeches for publication in this issue of PRTJ. The articles call attention to important areas of agreement—the centrality of the covenant in Reformed theology, the covenant arising out of the intra-trinitarian life of God, the essence of the covenant as a bond of friendship and fellowship, the unilateral character of the cov- enant, and the place of the children of believers in the covenant. The articles also address areas of disagreement. One well-known area of disagreement is the EPCA’s permitting the remarriage of the “innocent party” after divorce or those who have been faithlessly deserted, in line with the teaching of the Westminster Confession of Faith (24.5, 6). This is the issue treated in Prof. Dykstra’s article. EPCA pastor, the Rev. David Torlach, presents a rather unique explanation of the so-called covenant of works—an explanation that Protestant Reformed Theological Journal is within the bounds of the Westminster Confession of Faith and is, at the same time, distinct from the traditional (objectionable) cove- nant of works view popular among most Presbyterian and Reformed theologians. Although the PRCA holds to a covenant with Adam prior to the fall, we prefer not to describe this covenant as a covenant of works, nor to speak of covenant “conditions,” since this term has been so misused. In addition, we would differ with Rev. Torlach’s presentation of the covenant at Sinai as the covenant of works and the covenant of works continuing to be in effect still today. At the same time, it must not be overlooked that Rev. Torlach rejects all possibility of Adam’s meriting with God. He insists that God’s covenant was not a mutual agreement between God and Adam, but rather that Adam was created in covenant with God. And he rejects the notion that Adam could have earned a higher life or righteousness with God. All that Adam could do by his obedience in the garden was to continue to live in the state of righteousness in which he had been created. If one insists on maintaining the covenant of works, and will yet be Reformed, these positions must be maintained. And Rev. Torlach goes beyond this, by insisting that Christ and the covenant of grace were not a second option, an afterthought made necessary by Adam’s fall into sin; rather, God had eternally purposed Christ and the covenant of grace with the elect. To that, we add a hearty “Amen!” And, don’t forget the book reviews. Solid, insightful reviews of recently published books that deal with the issues of the day—Federal Vision, justification by faith alone, the two kingdoms controversy, the conditional covenant, and more. Included is a very favorable review of one whose articles and translations have appeared frequently on the pages of PRTJ. I refer to Dr. Eugene Heideman’s review of 1834: Hendrik de Cock’s Return to the True Church, by Marvin Kamps. Thanks to all our contributors and book reviewers. Now, dear readers, enjoy! Soli Deo Gloria! —RLC 2 Vol. 48, No. 1 Covenant and Confessions The Covenant and the Confessions Nathan Decker Introduction Near and dear to the hearts of God’s people is the biblical truth of God’s covenant. Consideration of the doctrine of God’s covenant leads us to contemplate the very heart of the work of God’s grace for His people. All of God’s work to elect, create, regenerate, justify, sanctify, and preserve His people serves the purpose of bringing them into and causing them to enjoy covenant communion with Himself. That a sinful and undeserving people are in a covenant relationship with the infinite and glorious God of all things, that is to say, are friends of the living God, is soul-stirring. Near and dear to the hearts of God’s people are also the confes- sions. For Christians in the Presbyterian tradition, an official place is given to the Westminster Standards (Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, and Shorter Catechism) and for those in the Reformed tradition, an official place is given to the Three Forms of Unity (Hei- delberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dordt). The confessions certainly do not serve the purpose of replacing the Bible; the confessions do not even stand on a par with the Bible. Rather, the confessions are the work of the Spirit to lead the church, usually in response to the presence of false doctrine, to explain clearly and succinctly the truth of God revealed in the Scriptures. The confessions hold a prominent place in the history of the church. They are concrete manifestations of the Spirit of Christ’s work to “guide the church into all truth” (John 16:13), and they have been used by God to lead many of His people into a clearer and fuller understanding of the truth. The confessions of the church, therefore, are treasured by Reformed and Presbyterian believers. This paper concerns these realities that are near and dear to the hearts of Reformed believers, namely, the covenant and the confes- sions. It will set forth the biblical teaching of God’s covenant as it is expressed in the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dordt, the official confessional standards of the Protestant November 2014 3 Protestant Reformed Theological Journal Reformed Churches. The goal of the paper is certainly to lead us to better understand the doctrine of God’s covenant of grace from an intellectual point of view. It is, however, much more than that. The goal of this paper is also aimed at our hearts. The overarching pur- pose is to lead us to an even greater heartfelt thanks to God for the beautiful doctrine of this covenant and for the confessions that God has given to us as His church. More specifically, the purpose is to lead us to appreciate the Spirit of Christ’s work throughout history to lead the church of the Reformation to write and adopt confessions that teach, allow for, and are consistent with only one understanding of the covenant of God, namely, an unconditional covenant of grace. Covenant of Grace Defined At the outset of this paper, it is imperative to define clearly and explain briefly what is meant by God’s covenant of grace. It is necessary do this on account of the fact that there are in Reformed and Presbyterian circles many different ideas concerning the nature of God’s covenant. Any serious scholar of the Word of God readily acknowledges the fact that the truth of the covenant looms large in God’s revelation of Himself in the Bible. On that point, there is little disagreement. With respect to what is the meaning and central signif- icance of the covenant, however, there is much disagreement. Is the essence of the covenant an agreement or a relationship? Is the covenant established by God solely, or is it dependent in some way upon man? With whom is God’s covenant established? What is the place of the children of believers in the covenant? What is man’s responsibility in the covenant? What is the place of Christ in the covenant? Is the covenant a means to bring about a greater reality, or is it the end itself? These questions are all very important, and the answers given to them will vary significantly among churches, theologians, and pas- tors. Before we can set forth the covenant’s place in the confessions, therefore, it is necessary to give a working definition of the covenant for this paper. Having done that, we can then show how such an understanding of the covenant of grace is taught in and is consistent with the Reformed creeds. The following is a brief definition of God’s covenant: the cove- nant of grace is God’s relationship of friendship with elect sinners in 4 Vol. 48, No. 1 Covenant and Confessions Jesus Christ. Although brief, that definition gets at the essence of the Protestant Reformed view of God’s covenant of grace. On the basis of that definition, what we will do in the following is to explain several aspects of this view of the covenant of grace. That will be followed briefly by supporting passages and explanations from the Three Forms of Unity.
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