The WESTMINSTER LARGER Catechism

WLC 30. Doth God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?

A. God doth not leave all men to perish in the estate of sin and misery,1 into which they fell by the breach of the first covenant, commonly called the Covenant of Works;2 but of His mere love and mercy delivereth His elect out of it, and bringeth them into an estate of salvation by the second covenant, commonly called the Covenant of Grace.3

Proofs

11 Thes. 5:9; 2Gal 3:10, 12; 3Tit 3:4–7; Gal 3:21; Rom 3:20–22

We have already been introduced to the Covenant of Life in WLC 20. It is, we saw a covenant which God made with all mankind represented by Adam, in which man may enjoy life everlasting upon condition of personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience. Here, the same covenant is called the Covenant of Works to distinguish it from the Covenant of Grace wherein salvation is granted entirely by grace.

Because all men "transgressed the covenant [of works]" (Hos 6:7), in Adam, all men deserve to be left to perish in the estate of sin and misery (cf. Gal 3:10-12). But thanks be to God, He "hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thes 5:9).

By the pronoun "us", the apostle Paul obviously does not mean all mankind, for elsewhere he tells us that amongst men, there are "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction" (Rom 9:22), that is to say that there are men "appointed to wrath." Clearly, by "us" he is referring to the elect, or such as have been "chosen… in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him" (Eph 1:4).

As all men fell in Adam as our representative in the Covenant of Works, so we are granted life in Christ as our representative in the Covenant of Grace. We shall learn more about the covenant of grace in the questions following, but for now let us take note that our membership in this covenant is not by descent (as in the first covenant) or by merit (as if we have to qualify for it), but entirely by God mere love and mercy.

The apostle Paul tells us that we have been "in love, predestinated… unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Eph 1:4-6). We are, in other words, elected not according to any merit in us, but according to the sovereign will and good pleasure of God. And we are beloved and granted life eternal on account of our being represented by Christ, the beloved son of God, who would live and die on our behalf. This also means that we do not become members of the covenant of grace because of our faith, but rather we have faith as a gift of God because we are elected to be members and beneficiaries of the Covenant of Grace.

But lest anyone complain that God is unfair in that He did not choose all to be saved, let us realise that His salvation is entirely by His grace and mercy. In fact, the apostle Paul was is answering the charge of unfairness in God when he says:

"Is there unrighteousness [or unfairness] with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy" (Rom 9:14-16).

What Paul is essentially saying is that we all deserve God’s curse and wrath, and so there is no question of fairness. Fairness would demand justice upon all, but God in his grace and mercy chose to save some. How could anyone charge him for unfairness? Rather let every mouth be stopped, and let the child of God rather be filled with awe and wondrous gratitude that he should be included in Christ’s covenant at all.