When contemplating more specifically the precise character of each divine economy, it is essential that the nature, extent, and scope of God's grace shall be carefully estimated. At least three aspects of the doctrine of grace are involved, namely:
4.1
The Divine Freedom to Act in Behalf of Sinful Men
Unlike His wisdom, power, and glory, which could be manifested in creation, the grace of God could be manifested only as there were fallen beings toward whom He could be gracious. It is difficult to believe that the exercise of this essential part of His nature would be suppressed forever, or that, when it is expressed, it would not be on a plane as perfect and as worthy of Him as are all His works. In verses 4 and 5 of the context of Eph_2:1-10, which context is the central passage of the Bible on divine grace, three closely related words appear mercy, love, and grace. A distinction is here indicated: Love is the affection or compassion of God for sinners; mercy is that in Him which devised and provided a redemption through the death of His Son; while grace, in its outworking, is that which God is free to do on the ground of that death. God might love sinners with an unutterable compassion and yet, because of the demands of outraged justice and holiness, be precluded from rescuing them from their righteous doom. The essential revelation contained in the gospel of our salvation is this fact that God is now free within Himself to act in grace toward sinners through the death of Christ for them. Since no other freedom to act in behalf of sinners has been secured, it is to be concluded that all God has ever done or will do for sinful men is wrought on the sole basis of Christ's death. Even though Christ has died and God is thus free to act in grace, the question of whether He does little or much for men will be determined only according to His sovereign purpose. This freedom He will always exercise as He has exercised it in past ages.
4.2
The Divine Purpose in this Age A Complete Demonstration of Grace
As stated above, whatever God has done in behalf of man in any age, being based on the death of Christ, is a manifestation of grace; but the present, unforeseen age is unique in this that its divine purpose is, to a distinguishing degree, the supreme demonstration of God's grace. Had this distinction been observed, a number of misunderstandings regarding dispensational truth would have been obviated. Because it is believed that this age is peculiarly one of divine favor does not militate against the belief that God's grace is abundantly exercised in all other ages. Proofs that this is an age in which God is manifesting His grace are many indeed. Two of these will suffice: (1) In Mat_13:1-50 the present age is in view under seven parables. They treat of a divine economy when "the field is the world," which breadth of view did not obtain from Abraham to Christ. Three elements are to be distinguished in these parables, namely, (a) that which is good, designated as "wheat," "good seed," the "pearl of great price," and the "good fish"; (b) that which is evil, designated as "tares," evil "birds," "leaven," and "bad fish"; and (c) the "treasure" hid in the field, which so evidently refers to Israel, as the "pearl of great price" so evidently refers to the Church. Thus three elements appear in this description of the present age, namely, that which is good, or the heavenly people; that which is evil, or the unregenerate masses; and the earthly people, Israel. Two New Testament passages add much to this revelation. In 2Th_2:7 it is disclosed that the Restrainer, who many expositors agree is the Holy Spirit, goes on restraining until He is taken out of the way. This important passage records the fact that the Spirit, who is ever omnipresent but specifically resident in the world in this age, will leave the world. However, according to Joh_14:16-17, the Church in which He now dwells cannot be separated from Him. Thus it is demonstrated that the agepurpose is not the cessation of evil, but rather the completion of the Church. This truth is even more clearly presented in Rom_11:25 where Israel's present blindness (Isa_6:9-10; Mat_13:14-15; Joh_12:40; 2Co_3:14-15) is declared to continue until the "fulness of the Gentiles be come in." "The fulness of the Gentiles" is a designation which is explained in Eph_1:22-23 as "the church, which is his body." Thus we observe that of the three elements which characterize this age, neither Israel's program, nor a victory over evil is the purpose of this age, but that each of these is waiting until the Church is called out. (2) In Eph_2:4-10 it is directly stated that salvation, as now provided through Christ, is secured by faith alone, with the purpose in view that in the ages to come God may by means of it "shew the exceeding riches of his grace." Of three motives assigned to God for His present saving grace (cf. Eph_2:7; Joh_3:16), the fact that by the present exercise of saving grace He will make a demonstration to all intelligences of the "exceeding riches" of His grace, is that which surpasses all else in the measure in which God is greater than man. Of no other age those recorded in history or those anticipated in prophecy could it be said that its primary divine purpose is the making by God of a specific demonstration, all satisfying to Himself, of His grace. Likewise, in no other age could it be said that those who are saved are "accepted in the beloved"; yet this very acceptance, which is divine favor drawn out to infinity, is said to be "to the praise of the glory of his grace" (Eph_1:6). It may be concluded that the present primary agepurpose of God is the demonstration of His grace, which belief in no way precludes one from recognizing the gracious acts of God in all other ages. What worthy Bible expositor has ever contended for aught else than this concerning the grace of God?
4.3
God's Grace in Covenant Form
Whatever God declares He will do is always a binding covenant. If He in no way relates His proposed action to human responsibility, the covenant is properly termed unconditional. If He relates it to human responsibility or makes it to depend on cooperation on the part of any other being, the covenant is properly termed conditional. It may be contended that there is no unconditional, or conditional, covenant which God has made; but it must be admitted that, contemplating these propositions even hypothetically, they do represent principles which can in no way combine. A covenant which is unconditional cannot be conditional and a conditional covenant cannot be unconditional. While all the covenants God has made with men cannot be treated here, it is essential that these fundamental elements in the divine economy shall be emphasized.
4.31
An Unconditional Covenant
Because of the fact that human obedience is indirectly related to some aspects of the unconditional divine covenants, confusion seems to exist in the minds of certain writers. It is identically the same confusion which hinders many from recognizing the present marvels of salvation by grace and prompts men to get the "cart" of human works before the "horse" of faith, or, in some instances, the horse is in the cart or even under the cart as fancy dictates.
As before stated, whatever God does for sinful man on any terms whatsoever, being made possible through the death of Christ, is, to that extent, an act of divine grace; for whatever God does on the ground of Christ's death is gracious in character, and all will agree that a divine covenant which is void of all human elements is more gracious in character than one which is otherwise. These distinctions apply only to the divine side of any covenant. On the human side a theme yet to be considered there is no exercise of grace in any case; but the human requirements which the divine covenant imposes may be either absolutely lacking or so drastically imposed as to determine the destiny of the individual. When any person becomes the beneficiary of God's unconditional, unalterable promise apart from any consideration of human merit, his obligation for righteous conduct becomes that of adorning, or walking worthy, of the position into which the covenant has brought him. If God has made a covenant declaring what He will do provided man does his part, it is conditional and the human element is not one of walking worthy of what God's sovereign grace provides, but rather one of being worthy to the end that the promise may be executed at all. When the covenant is unconditional, God is limited in what He will do only by the knowledgesurpassing bounty of His infinite grace. When the covenant is conditional, God is restricted by what man is able or willing to do. As an efficacious appeal, the obligation to walk worthy, though in no way conditioning the sovereign purpose, secures more normal and spiritual response than all the meritorious systems combined. The human heart is far more responsive to the proposition couched in the words "I have blessed you, now be good," than it is to the proposition couched in the words "Be good, and I will bless you." The element of human conduct thus appears in each form of the divine covenant but in such a manner that one is rendered unconditional and the other conditional.
One further distinction is essential before turning to an evaluation of three unconditional covenants, namely, God's unconditional and sovereign dealing with Israel is to the end that they are an elect nation. Concerning the nation as an entity, it is said, "For the gifts and callings of God are without repentance" (Rom_11:29). And this context cannot be of any other than national Israel. But this national election does not extend to every Israelite. That it does not, the Apostle proves in Rom_9:1-24. On the contrary, the individual Israelite, when under the Mosaic Law, was, in the matter of his personal blessing, under a secondary, meritorious covenant with gracious provisions in the animal sacrifices for the covering and cure of his sins and failures. In sharp distinction to this, the Church is, in respect to her corporate whole, an elect people also (Rom_8:33), but her election and sovereign security is extended to every individual in that body (Joh_5:24; Joh_6:37; Joh_10:28; Rom_8:1, A.R.V.[There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. ASV]). While Israel anticipated much of her blessings, the Church now possesses "every spiritual blessing ... in Christ" (Eph_1:3, A.R.V.[Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:]; Col_2:10). Distinction should also be made between the blessings and privileges within the covenants and the terms of admission into the covenants. In the case of the Israelite, entrance into the covenants was by physical birth; while in the case of the Christian it is by spiritual birth. The gospel terms upon which a Christian has entered into a grace relationship with God are no more a part of the believer's positions than the physical birth of an Israelite was a part of the covenants under which he lived. The unconditional covenants to be considered are:
4.32
The Abrahamic Covenant
Though in part it was repeated to Isaac and Jacob, the full detail of the Abrahamic Covenant as given to Abraham is found in five passages of Scripture: Gen_12:1-3; Gen_12:7; Gen_13:14-17; Gen_15:5-21; Gen_17:1-8. This covenant provides for a blessing to extend to all the families of the earth; it provides for one great nation Abraham's seed after the flesh; it deeds a vast territory to that nation as an everlasting possession; and assures a personal blessing to Abraham himself. The feature of this covenant which concerns the land is amplified by the terms found in the Palestinian Covenant (Deu_28:63-68; Deu_30:1-10) and, while the everlasting possession of the land is declared, other Scriptures reveal that there were to be three dispossessions of the land and three restorations. It is also evident that the nation to whom this land is deeded is now, as a divine chastisement, suffering the third and last dispossession of the land; but will, in the faithfulness of Jehovah, be returned to her land, never again to be removed from it. It is recognized that great numbers of the Israelites have gone back into the land in unbelief within recent years, and by so much prophecy is fulfilled. The Abrahamic Covenant, aside from that portion which is addressed to Abraham personally, could be executed only as Jehovah in sovereign power commands the destiny of all future generations of the human family. Thus, since any human terms which might have been imposed could apply only to individual men and to their own generation, the covenant is, of necessity, unconditional; and the statement of it incorporates not one human condition, but rests altogether on the oftrepeated sovereign "I will" of Jehovah. Added to all this, the ratification of the covenant as described in Gen_15:5-21 is most significant. In response to Abraham's appeal for a ratification, Jehovah instructs Abraham in the preparation of the carcasses which, when half was put over against half, formed a passageway between, through which the covenanting parties passed; but Abraham is depressed into a very deep sleep while Jehovah, in the appearance of a burning lamp, passes through alone. The reason for this is that Abraham covenanted nothing; it is the ratification only of Jehovah's sovereign oath (Gen_26:3).
Recent extensive arguments have been advanced in an attempt to prove that since the human element appears in a covenant, there is no such thing as an unconditional covenant. The ineffectiveness of these arguments lies in the failure of the writer to distinguish between that form of conduct which belongs to one already secure in all that the covenant provides, and, on the other hand, the direct conditioning of Jehovah's faithfulness upon human rectitude. The Abrahamic Covenant is sealed by the rite of circumcision, which seal can be no more than the individual's personal recognition of what Jehovah has promised. Failure thus to recognize Jehovah's covenant imposed a penalty on the individual, but did not alter Jehovah's covenant reaching out to the nation and to all families of the earth. The charge which Jehovah makes against the offender is not that he hath broken our covenant, but, rather, "he hath broken my covenant" (Gen_17:14). It has also been asserted that the Abrahamic Covenant was made conditional upon Abraham's faithfulness. Only two passages might thus be misconstrued. Gen_17:9-14 does not present a condition restricting Jehovah's "I will" to Abraham's conduct. It rather instructs Abraham in the manner of life which becomes one for whom Jehovah undertakes so much. In like manner, Gen_26:5 is not addressed to Abraham, but is rather Jehovah's declaration to Isaac extending to him the sovereign, unconditional covenant made to his father Abraham. Isaac is admonished to live a faithful life under the covenant "because" of the example of his father. In this connection, the exact reading of Gen_18:19 is significant. In this context Jehovah says: "For I have known him [as a factor in my gracious purpose], to the end [or result] that he [Abraham] may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham [in personal blessing] that which he hath spoken of him" (A.R.V.)[Author's quotation, author's braketed insertions]. In the contemplation of these important issues, two outstanding, qualifying facts should be observed: (1) No human element appears in any feature of the Abrahamic Covenant as it is announced by Jehovah, and (2) that both Abraham's position in Jehovah's covenant to him and Abraham's imputed righteousness (Gen_15:6) are secured to him apart from meritorious works. Rom_4:1-22 declares that Abraham's blessings both concerning imputed righteousness and his position as "heir of the world" (Rom_4:13) were wholly secured before he was circumcised (Rom_4:10). Thus, also, it is asserted that, in contrast to the "works principle" which the Mosaic system introduces, Jehovah gave Abraham the inheritance contained in the Abrahamic Covenant by "promise," namely, what He alone did promise by an oath to do (Gal_3:13-18). All of this bears vitally on the present offers of salvation by grace which are not by works (Eph_2:8-9), but by promise (Gal_3:22; cf. Rom_4:23-25; Gal_3:9). Thus the Apostle Paul declares that to intrude the element of human works into the Abrahamic Covenant, or as a ground of that righteousness which was imputed to Abraham, is to intrude works into the present plan of salvation by grace. To do this is no small error indeed, for it makes the promise of "none effect" when God has made it "sure" (Rom_4:13-16). In the light of all these revelations, what subtle Arminianism infests the doctrine of those who claim that Jehovah made His covenant with Abraham on the ground of the fact that Abraham was one who "obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws" (Gen_26:5). The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, else, by such logic as only the Apostle could use, a passage like Eph_2:7-10 becomes null and void.
4.33
The Davidic Covenant
2Sa_7:16 with its context records the covenant Jehovah made with David. David's own interpretation of it is written in 2Sa_7:18-29 and in Psa_89:20-37. This covenant, without imposing the slightest obligation upon David, does bind Jehovah with an oath (Act_2:30) to the perpetuity of the Davidic house, the Davidic throne, and the Davidic kingdom. Again, Jehovah reserves the right to chasten the sons of David, but with the express declaration that the covenant cannot be abrogated (2Sa_7:13-15; Psa_89:30-37). This covenant is unconditional, even into eternity to come. It declares what Jehovah in grace will do for David and all who share in the Davidic blessings. The covenant is of an earthly throne related to a people whose expectation is earthly. There is no evidence that David foresaw an earthly throne merging into a spiritual reign, yet David was given a perfect understanding concerning the divine purpose which the covenant designated. Nor is this kingdom and throne established in heaven. It is established on the earth when the Son of David returns to the earth (Mat_25:31-32; cf. Mat_19:28; Act_15:16-17; Luk_1:31-33; Mat_2:2). In the light of the unqualified statements of the Scriptures, is it not pertinent to inquire whether, had Jehovah intended to establish a Davidic throne and kingdom on earth with David's Son as the eternal occupant of that throne, He could have employed language with any more clearness and precise meaning than He has employed to set forth the covenant made with David?
4.34
The Gospel of Divine Grace
Many worthy expositors combine the present offers of salvation, as being the outworking of the New Covenant made in Christ's blood (Mat_26:28), with the longpredicted New Covenant yet to be made with Israel (Jer_31:31-40; Heb_8:8-13; Heb_10:16-17), and on the ground that the term new covenant is used of both and because it is believed that the term is broad enough to include all that God accomplishes directly through the blood of Christ. However, there are such important differences between that which God is doing for the heavenly people over against that which He will yet do for Israel and the Gentiles on the earth in the kingdom age, that the two, even though they might be parts of one grand whole, should be considered separately.
As cited above, the absolute, unconditional character of the Abrahamic Covenant and the fact that all that Abraham received was by promise, concerning which Abraham did no more than to believe, is declared by the Apostle to be the norm or pattern of the saving grace of God for the believer of this age (Rom_4:1-25; note Rom_4:23-25; Gal_3:13-29).
Dr. Allis (Evangelical Quarterly, Edinburgh, Vol. VIII, No. 1, p. 29) criticizes the late Dr. Scofield for distinguishing at least four uses of the word gospel. Since Dr. Allis centers this criticism upon the distinction between the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of the grace of God and suggests that to recognize a difference between them is "unfortunate" and "dangerous," attention is called to four out of many important differences between them: (a) The gospel of the kingdom as preached by Christ, by John the Baptist, and by the Apostles is declared and amplified in an extensive body of Scripture (cf. Mat_3:1-12; Mat_4:17; Mat_10:5-42; Luk_3:7-14). Its distinctive "good news" is the announcement of the presence of the longexpected Messiah and His predicted blessings for Israel. Over against this, the gospel of the grace of God is even more extensive and announces a plan of perfect salvation for Jew and Gentile alike. (b) The kingdom gospel, since it concerns Israel's national hope, was properly restricted to them. The heralds of this gospel went not to Gentile nor Samaritan, but only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Mat_10:5-7; Mat_15:24, Mat_15:26); whereas the gospel of the grace of God is to be preached to all nations and to the uttermost part of the earth, (c) The one and only requirement on the human side which the kingdom gospel imposes is repentance, while the only requirement in the gospel of the grace of God is faith or believing. A covenant people return to the blessing of their covenants, when these have been lost through sin, by repentance and its outward expression confession (Psa_32:5; Mat_4:17; 1Jn_1:9). On the other hand, the requirement on the human side for present salvation is belief in Christ as Savior, which belief includes all the repentance (which is a change of mind) that a spiritually dead person can produce. John's Gospel, written that men may be saved through faith in Christ, and the Epistle to the Romans, which is the very structure of the plan of salvation, do not use the word repentance as a separate act in salvation, nor is anything added, nor could anything be added reasonably, to the one and only requirement believe. However, believing as related to the Messiah must be distinguished from believing unto salvation. Since the first preaching of the kingdom gospel called for repentance only, it is evident that it was addressed to a covenant people, and it is to be noted that Israel was the only covenant people in that day. It is also evident that this gospel call was not for the salvation even of Israel, but was for their revival and restoration, (d) Since according to Mat_10:7-8 signs were to accompany the kingdom preaching healing, cleansing of the lepers, raising of the dead, and casting out demons, and this they did (cf. Luk_10:17) this seal is an inseparable feature of kingdom preaching. On the other hand, though certain miracles were wrought by the early preachers of the grace gospel, no signs were ever promised as an accompanying seal. Similarly, what place has Mat_10:22 or Mat_24:13 in a Calvinistic conception of salvation? The question may be asked in all kindness of Dr. Allis and all men of his school of interpretation: How many men have been led to a saving knowledge of a crucified and risen Savior by calling on them to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand? And has this preaching been accompanied by the designated miracles which are the seal of a kingdom ministry?
According to this norm and in exact harmony with its every feature, the Christian's salvation and safekeeping, which are in the sphere of the very perfections of Christ, are vouchsafed to him on the most absolute unconditional promises (cf. Joh_5:24; Joh_6:37; Joh_10:27-30; Rom_3:21-31 - Rom_4:1-25 - Rom_5:1-11; Rom_8:1, Rom_8:28-39; Eph_1:3-6; Col_2:10). Faith is itself the opposite of works, since its essential element is confidence in what Christ had done and can do; but, as has been seen, the condition of entrance into a relationship is no part of the relationship itself. The very fact that present salvation is declared to be to the end that a full demonstration of the exceeding riches of divine grace may be wrought out, necessitates its being altogether a work of God and, therefore, unconditional.
4.35
The New Covenant for Israel
A new covenant for Israel is anticipated in Jer_31:31-40; Heb_8:8-13; Heb_10:16-17. This is not to supersede the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants which continue forever, but is put over against that Mosaic Covenant which Jehovah declares that Israel "brake" (Jer_31:32) and in which they "continued not" (Heb_8:9). The contrast is emphatic, and in no respect more so than in the fact that the Mosaic Covenant was subject to human conditions concerning which Israel failed, while the New Covenant for that people is declared in the most explicit terms to be unconditional. We read: "After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer_31:33-34). According to Deu_30:1-10, the execution of all that this covenant promises is related to the return of Christ; in Rom_11:26-27 to the Deliverer who comes "out of Sion"; and in Jeremiah it is related to the eternal existence of the nation Israel (Jer_31:35-37). No human condition can be forced into this great declaration of Jehovah's concerning what He will yet do for Israel, nor can it be demonstrated that such promises have ever been fulfilled for Israel, nor that they even remotely apply to the Church.
When a parallel is drawn between the New Covenant now in force for the Church (Mat_26:28) and the New Covenant yet to be made for Israel (Jer_31:31-34), it is found that all that is promised Israel is now vouchsafed to the Church and that the range of blessing for the Church far exceeds the restricted provisions for Israel, (a) Jehovah's law will be written on the heart of the Jew, but God by His indwelling Spirit is now working in the believer both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Php_2:13; cf. Rom_8:4). (b) Jehovah will be Israel's God and they will be His people, but the Christian is now in Christ and his life is now "hid with Christ in God" (Col_3:3). (c) All Israel shall know the Lord, but the Christian is in the most vital union and communion with God as Father, (d) Israel's iniquities will be forgiven and her sins remembered no more, but for the one in Christ judicial forgiveness is secured to the extent that there is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom_8:1), and they have been forgiven all trespasses (Col_2:13).
The theological term the Covenant of Grace is not found in the text of the Scriptures. From the literature bearing upon it, it is to be concluded that it is believed by many that all that God does for the benefit of man from the fall of Adam to the end of time is incorporated into one "Covenant of Grace." This supposed covenant, though not identified in its beginning, course, or ending, is seldom declared to be unconditional. In considering this theological conception, it is well to observe that any covenant in which God is free to act on the ground of Christ's death has the element of grace in it, and any covenant which publishes God's sovereign declaration of what He will do for sinful men apart from their merit or demerit is specifically a grace covenant. The term the Covenant of Grace implies that there is but one such covenant, whereas the Scriptures, as demonstrated above, present various, wholly independent, and diverse covenants which are both sovereign and gracious to the last conceivable degree. Grace on the part of the First Person, secured and made righteously possible by the Second Person, and administered by the Third Person, has been and must continue to be the attitude of the Triune God toward lost men until the divine purposes in grace are realized. If the term the Covenant of Grace refers to an agreement of the Three Persons of the Godhead between themselves concerning the part each would assume in the plan of redemption, as some contend, such an agreement is conceivable, but is not clearly revealed in the Scriptures. If, as others contend, this covenant refers to the abiding purpose of God to act toward sinners in grace, it can be classed as a covenant only in so far as a purpose of God can be considered to be a covenant. If this latter conception is accepted, it must be conceded that the working out of this one abiding purpose is expressed in various, diverse, and wholly independent ways.
4.36
A Conditional Covenant
The phrase the Covenant of Works is another theological conception which by some is claimed to be an agreement between God and Adam concerning Adam's conduct in the Garden of Eden, and, since Adam's failure secured the ruin of the race, all are included in the condemnation. However, man still has an inherent obligation to be in character like his Creator, and in one subsequent covenant, at least, which God has made with man, the human element is such that it determines the entire course of the covenant's blessing. This latter covenant is conditional, and, though of the same nature as the covenant with Adam, is wholly separate from and independent of it.
A conditional covenant is formed when God, to any degree or in any form whatsoever, makes His blessings to depend on human faithfulness. At first thought it might seem to some that, since various major covenants, cited above, reach out in unconditional promises and provisions to Abraham's seed, both physical and spiritual, and to all the families of the earth, that there could be no sphere left in which any conditional covenant might be formed. It will be observed, however, that the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants, which reach out to Israel and the nations for all time to come, do not, beyond certain men Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, David's immediate sons, and David's Greater Son, Christ enter into any personal or individual issues; but concern the larger entities of families, thrones, kings, and nations. This fact necessitates the recognition of a sphere wherein God deals with individuals about their personal conduct. This He did with individual Jews and this He does with individual Christians. His attitude toward a nation or corporate body is one thing, whereas His requirements of the individual within these groups is quite another thing.
Again, a distinction should be observed between the basis on which God placed individual Israelites regarding personal conduct and the basis on which He places the Christian. The national covenants with Israel do not extend to the individual; they guarantee the perpetuity of the race or nation and its final blessing. When under the Mosaic Law the individual Israelite, it will be seen, was on an unyielding meritorious basis. Over against this, the divine purposes for the whole Church as a body do extend to the individual believer and every one predestinated will be called, and every one called will be justified, and every one justified will be glorified (Rom_8:30). God will present each one faultless before the presence of His glory to His own exceeding joy (Jud_1:24). The believer's motive for right conduct grows out of the fact that he already has an eternal heavenly calling and a destiny which sovereign grace has designed and will execute to infinite perfection. Thus, in like manner, the Mosaic Law, even if observed, never had the function of creating Israelites; it was given as a consistent rule of life to those who were Israelites by physical birth. As has been seen, the blessings proffered to the individual Israelite under the law were in two classifications:
(a) For faithful observance of the law which included the remedial value of the sacrifices, they were promised immediate prosperity and tranquility. This truth appears in almost every statement of the Mosaic Law, and nowhere more clearly than in Deu_28:1-62 where both the blessings and curses which the law imposed are set forth.
(b) For faithfulness under the law they were promised a share in the future glories which Jehovah, with unconditional sovereignty, covenanted to the nation. Not every Israelite will enter the earthly kingdom (Eze_20:33-44; Mat_24:48-51; Mat_25:1-13, Mat_25:14-30). Nor will every Israelite have right to eternal life (Dan_12:2; Mat_7:13-14; Luk_10:25-28). Since human faithfulness of whatever degree could never be the exact compensation or exchange for the values of eternal life or for unending blessings in the kingdom, there is a very large measure of divine grace to be seen in the salvation of the elect earthly people.
What is identified as a spiritual remnant in Israel, seen in all her generations from Moses to Christ, is none other than those who through personal faithfulness claimed the immediate blessings which the law provided. Some Israelites did live on a very high plane and were in very much personal blessing. To this a multitude of Old Testament saints bear witness (Heb_11:1-38) and none are more conspicuous in their worthy conduct than Daniel. When looking back upon his experience in Judaism, the Apostle Paul could say that he had then been, as "touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless" (Php_3:6). This did not imply sinless perfection, but rather that he had always provided the requisite sacrifices. On that basis the faithful Jew lived and was accepted of God in the Mosaic system. Who, indeed, are the "ninety and nine just persons who need no repentance" cited by Christ according to Luk_15:7? And why were other covenant people classified as "publicans and sinners"? After a new order is established through the death and resurrection of Christ, men like Nicodemus, the Apostles, and Saul of Tarsus were saved by a new birth, not because they were utter failures in Judaism, but because a new and vastly different relation to God was provided. Why should Saul who before the law was blameless need to be saved at all? Why should three thousand covenant people be saved on the Day of Pentecost? After the new gospel of grace with its offers of a perfect standing in Christ apart from human merit was established, the Apostle complains that unsaved Jews, who as he confessed had a great zeal for God, were still going about to establish their own righteousness and were not through faith coming under the perfect merit of the imputed righteousness of God (Rom_10:3). In this connection he declares, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom_10:4).
The conclusion is that blessing under the Mosaic economy was conditioned on individual faithfulness to the law. This economy formed a secondary covenant which was meritorious in character secondary in the fact that it was restricted to the problems concerning the individual's conduct and in no way compromising the primary covenants which determine the destiny of the nation. In contrast to this, the Christian, while given a rule of life which is in no way meritorious though his faithful service will win a reward or divine recognition (1Co_3:12-15; 1Co_9:19-27; 2Co_5:9-11), is in regard to his personal salvation like the corporate whole to which he belongs both secure and safe and destined to eternal glory from the moment he believes.
The Mosaic Covenant of works, which Micah perfectly epitomized was an ad interim economy: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Mic_6:8). It was preceded by a peculiar divine freedom and reign of grace by which they had reached the very heart of God (Exo_19:4), and it came to its determined end with the death of Christ (Joh_1:17; Rom_3:21; Rom_6:14; Rom_7:2-6; Rom_8:3-4; Rom_10:4; 2Co_3:7-13; Gal_3:19-25). The Word of God everywhere harmonizes with the revelation that the Mosaic economy as a rule of life came to its end with the death of Christ. However, this statement involves a long discussion with a recognition of the various uses of the word law as found in the New Testament. Space precludes the introduction of such a study as a feature of this thesis. It is true that Jehovah had determined the law as the rule of life for the Israelites, yet it is equally true that they embraced this law and assumed their part in a conditional covenant when they said, "All the words which the Lord hath said will we do" (cf. Rom_9:30-33); and it is significant that this people, who before had been drawn to the heart of God, found Him, after their consent to this covenant, hidden behind an unapproachable fire and surrounded by blackness and darkness (Exo_19:8-25; cf. Heb_12:18-24). They found themselves standing on a covenant of works, but without the requisite merit. The gracious provisions for healing and restoration which were in the sacrifices became their only hope.
If the Mosaic Covenant was not one of works and conditioned by human merit, as some have claimed, what was the "yoke of bondage" (Gal_5:1; cf. Act_15:10)? What covenant was "cast out" (Gal_4:19-31)? And what is the old covenant said to have been given to them when they came out of Egypt and which they "brake" (Jer_31:31-34; Heb_8:7-13)? It is opposed to truth to claim that the law is no longer a means to justification. When was it ever a justifying agency? True, men became "just" men by its observance (cf. Luk_6:1-5), but that is far removed from the Christian's absolutely perfect justification apart from law works (Rom_4:5-6; Rom_5:1) in Christ Jesus. It is equally unwarranted to impose the meritorious Mosaic Covenant of works as a rule of life upon a people who already stand in the finished work of Christ (Gal_2:16; Eph_1:6). Much that is vital in the law system is restated and incorporated in the principles which instruct the believer in his manner of life under grace, but this fact does not place the Christian under law. It is probable that certain features of the law which governed the thirteen colonies under English authority were incorporated in and adapted to the legal system which afterwards became the law of the United States, but that fact would not be sufficient ground for the claim that the United States is now under the rule of England.
The rule governing the conduct of Israelites is in two principal divisions, namely, (a) that which obtained from Moses to Christ, or the Mosaic Law, and (b) that which determines entrance into and conditions life within the future kingdom on the earth. The terms of admission into the kingdom as set forth in Mat_5:1-48 - Mat_6:1-34 - Mat_7:1-27 are, in reality, the Mosaic requirements intensified by Christ's own interpretation of them. The contrasts which He draws between the former interpretation of these laws and His own interpretation (Mat_5:21-44) does not tend to soften anything in the interests of grace, but rather binds with greater legal demands than any unaided person in the present age could hope to achieve. Why are the plain injunctions of Mat_5:39-42; Mat_10:8-14 and Mat_24:20 so universally ignored today if it is not that it is so generally recognized that these injunctions belong to conditions obtaining in another age? Will not the exalted demands of the Sermon on the Mount be more easily obeyed when earthly conditions are changed, as they will be? The Church will be removed and Israel advanced to a position above all the nations of the earth with Jehovah's Law written in their hearts and the Spirit poured out on all flesh. Satan will be bound and in the abyss; the present worldsystem will have been destroyed; the bondage of corruption now resting upon creation will be lifted; and Christ as the glorified Son of David will be reigning on David's throne out from Jerusalem and over the whole earth. The effect of that reign will be that righteousness and peace shall cover the earth as waters cover the face of the deep. These conceptions are drawn from a vast body of Scripture which could have no other meaning than that which is here set forth. When these great issues which are so definitely related to Israel are applied to the heavenly people as some apply them, there are insuperable conflicts created in doctrine which lead one to inquire (and the questions will be confined, in the main, to the problems that arise from the careful consideration of but one book of the Bible):
1. As a title, what is the meaning of the designation, The Christ?
2. Why was Christ born of the Davidic line?
3. Is such a birth essential if His kingdom is spiritual?
4. Why should He be designated "THE KING OF THE JEWS"?
5. Was the ministry of John the Baptist in anticipation of a spiritual kingdom?
6. Why was the kingdom message restricted to Israel?
7. What is the "hope" of Israel?
8. Into what kingdom does any man enter by personal righteousness?
9. Are the heavenly people referred to as "the meek" who are to inherit the earth?
10. How can Mat_5:7 be reconciled with Eph_2:4-5?
11. How can Christians who according to Joh_10:28 are safe in Christ be in danger of the hell fire mentioned in Mat_5:22, Mat_5:29-30?
12. Will a Christian, who is promised a glorious body like unto Christ's resurrection body (Php_3:20-21), nevertheless enter heaven "halt" and "maimed"? See Mat_5:29-30; Mat_18:8-9.
13. What is the doctrinal relation between Mat_5:17 and Rom_15:8-9?
14. Can Mat_5:20 be reconciled with Tit_3:4-7?
15. How can the difference be accounted for between Mat_7:21-23 and Joh_6:29?
16. How can Mat_10:32-33 be reconciled with Rom_8:30; 2Ti_1:12; or 1Jn_2:1-2?
17. How can Christ appear as prosecutor in Mat_10:32-33 and as defender in 1Jn_2:1-2?
18. How can Mat_7:1-2 be reconciled with Joh_5:24?
19. Why is the "golden rule" of Mat_7:12 related to "the law and the prophets"?
20. Are Christians referred to as "children of the kingdom" in Mat_8:12 (cf. Mat_24:50-51; Mat_25:30)?
21. According to the context, what kingdom is in view in Mat_6:10?
22. Is Mat_6:14-15 to be reconciled with Eph_4:32; Col_3:13; 1Jn_1:9?
In his article on "Modern Dispensationalism" (Evangelical Quarterly, Vol. VIII, No. 1) already cited, Dr. Allis objects to the notes in the Scofield Reference Bible bearing on the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer. The specific note in question reads as follows: "This is legal ground. Cf. Eph_4:32, which is grace. Under law forgiveness is conditioned upon a like spirit in us; under grace we are forgiven for Christ's sake, and exhorted to forgive because we have been forgiven. See Mat_18:32; Mat_26:28 note." Similarly, Dr. Allis objects to Dr. Scofield's citation of Mat_18:32-33 and Eph_4:32 together as Dr. Scofield does in his summary on forgiveness (p. 1038), when pointing out the principle of human forgiveness. Dr. Allis objects to the use of
