Progressive Covenantalism by Wellum Stephen J.;Parker Brent E.; & Brent E. Parker

Author:Wellum, Stephen J.;Parker, Brent E.; & Brent E. Parker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion/Christian Theology/Systematic
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2016-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Progressive Covenantalism and the Doing of Ethics

Stephen J. Wellum

How should Christians apply the whole Bible as our ethical standard? Today this question is important for at least two reasons: First, in a growing secular and pluralistic age, we need to articulate God’s moral standards as necessary, good, and objectively true. Second, in response to various unbelieving critics, we need to demonstrate that Scripture’s ethical teaching is consistent across the canon because it is grounded in God’s unchanging nature and will.

Covenant theology has sought to do ethics and establish the basis for moral law by following the venerable tradition of dividing the Mosaic law into three parts: moral, civil, and ceremonial.467 With the coming of Christ, the law’s civil and ceremonial parts are now fulfilled and abrogated, yet God’s eternal moral law as revealed in the Decalogue remains unchanged.468 A direct equation is made between the Decalogue and eternal moral law469 and a general hermeneutical rule is followed: unless the NT explicitly modifies or abrogates the Mosaic law (as in the ceremonial and civil parts), it is still in force today. This rule becomes the principle by which moral law is established across the canon.

There is much to commend about this approach, and it is important not to exaggerate the differences between progressive covenantalism and covenant theology in doing ethics. In the end, both views arrive at similar conclusions regarding God’s moral demands today. However, the difference lies in how we arrive at our conclusions given progressive covenantalism’s rejection of the tripartite distinction of the law as the principle by which moral law is biblically established. This difference is also illustrated in the ongoing debate over the present-day application of the Sabbath command—a debate that functions as a crucial test case for how the biblical covenants are “put together” and moral law is established.470

In this chapter I will outline in five steps how progressive covenantalism seeks to determine what the moral law is and thus establish the biblical norm for doing ethics. Given our rejection of the tripartite distinction, what is our alternative approach? How do we escape the charge of being antinomian? How do we establish God’s moral norms, especially in our secular and pluralistic age, as those who now live under the new covenant?

1. All Scripture Is Authoritative and Thus Provides the Norm for Christian Ethics

What is our standard for ethics? How do we establish moral norms? The simple answer: all of Scripture is our standard, and it alone establishes moral norms. In this regard, 2 Timothy 3:15–17 is a crucial text. Paul describes Scripture, specifically the OT, as God’s breathed-out word and thus fully authoritative for Christians. In other words, the entire OT, including the law covenant, functions for us as the basis for our doctrine and ethics. Although Christians are not “under the law” as a covenant, it still functions as Scripture and demands our complete obedience.471

At the beginning of our discussion, we want to establish that all Christians ought to confess that God’s nature and will are the objective standard of morality, and as creatures we know this standard by revelation.

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