November 2007 - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

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as to identify covenant and election.”* But more troublesome is T. David Gordon’s insistence that God has a plurality of covenants—no fewer than 12 (including the covenants of redemption, works, and grace; and the various covenants of God with men in the Old Testament). He argues that the term “the covenant” (singular) is rarely used in the Bible, and when it is, usually the Scriptures identify the covenant to which the term refers. This prompted me quickly to search the KJV, in which I found 102 instances of “the covenant” (singular), 51 of “my covenant” (singular), 18 of “his covenant” (singular), and only three times where the word “covenant” is found in the plural. So I find it hard to swallow the argument that Murray’s view that God has one covenant with His people has generated the heretical views of Shepherd, Bahnsen, and Auburn theology. White and Beisner’s chapter is troublesome because it argues that conditions played a role in the covenant administrations of God in the Old Testament. According to them, Adam in the state of perfection could merit eternal life by his obedi- Book Reviews ence. The seeds of Noah, Abraham, and David enjoyed temporal, earthly blessings (accompanied by temporal curses) on the basis of the obedience of these men. These blessings were temporal and earthly only, and not everlasting and spiritual, because the obedience of these men was not perfect. The authors speak of the Mosaic covenant as “bilateral, conditional” (p. 160). White and Beisner are clear that the covenant of God with His people in the new dispensation is not conditioned on any works that we do, but is founded on the person and work of Christ. But the thoughts expressed in the chapter undermine the idea that God’s covenant with His people throughout history is one covenant; that it was always based on Christ; that all the blessings of that covenant were blessings bestowed by grace, not earned by works. Scriptures such as Romans 4:13-16 and others contradict the ideas set forth in this * David J. Engelsma, The Covenant of God and the Children of Believers: Sovereign Grace in the Covenant (Jenison, MI: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 2005), p. 176. November 2007 109
Protestant Reformed Theological Journal chapter—the blessings to were always justified by faith Abraham and his seed were alone given by faith, and by grace, not If we will argue that God of works, not even of Abraham’s once allowed for personal merit works. on the part of men in His covenant Because the book presents dealings with them, how a wrong view of the doctrine of can we now stand strong against the covenant, it can answer the the notion of justification by challenges to the doctrine of faith and man’s works justification only to a point. Defending the biblical If God does not have one teaching of one, unconditional covenant with all His people in covenant will make for a more time and history, who can say consistent and solid defense of that God’s covenant people justification by faith alone. ■ Faithful Journey, by Warren Lamb. Enumclaw, WA: Pleasant Word (a division of WinePress Publishing), 2007. Pp. xiv + 241. $17.99 (paper). ISBN-10: 141 4108223. ISBN-13: 978-141 4108223. [Reviewed by Ronald L. Cammenga.] Faithful Journey is a unique retelling of the events of the book of Acts, including especially the establishment of the early apostolic church and the missionary labors of the apostle Paul. The book is in the form of a novel, containing portraits of the lives and times of the people who played leading roles in the history that is recorded in 110 Acts. The author follows closely Luke’s account, but adds elements of fiction in an effort to make the characters and events come to life. Written in the first person, the book presents the history of Acts from the point of view of those who were the main figures in this history. Each chapter is named after the main character from whose point of view that chapter is told—the “I” of the chapter. Of the thirty-seven chapters of the book, seventeen are devoted to Saul/Paul. Multiple chapters are also devoted to Luke (five) and to Peter (four). Single chapters are devoted to John, Vol. 41, No. 1
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November 2007 - Protestant Reformed Churches in America

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