12 Cor 3:6-9

There is a common error, known as Dispensationalism, which in its classic form posits a very sharp distinction between Old and New Testament to the point of suggesting that God has two people: the Jews and the Church, and that the way of salvation for these two groups of people are different. The Jews, they say are saved by observing the law, while Christians are saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a dangerous doctrine which amongst other things, often leads to blatant antinomianism, or a denial that Christians are obliged to keep the laws of God.

Our Catechism teaches us that although there is a distinction between the Old and New Testament, the way of salvation since the Fall is provided under the Covenant of Grace and remains the same across the testaments.

Under the Covenant of Works, abundant and eternal life was obtained by personal, perfect and perpetual keeping of the commandments of God. But with the Fall of Adam, all men fell with him and no one descending from him by natural generation is able to obtain life by the provisions under the Covenant of Works anymore. Yes, the Covenant of Works was not abrogated and therefore remained in force but no one could or have fulfilled its requirements except the Lord Jesus Christ, the God-Man. The Lord Jesus Christ as we saw earlier came not only to pay for the penalty due to us for being covenant breakers, but also to fulfil the covenant of works on behalf of His elect. Also, unbelievers continue to be condemned under the curse of the broken covenant though none can obtain life through it.

Eternal life since the Fall, is enjoyed by God's elect by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, our representative head in the covenant. This mode of salvation is the same whether the elect lived under the Old Testament or under the New Testament.

The only difference is that the covenant is administered differently under the two testaments. We will look at how it is administered under the two economies in more details in the next two questions; but for now we get a sense of the difference from the apostle Paul's comparison in 2 Corinthians 3:6-9. We may tabulate the differences in this way:

Now, we should note that the difference is not one of substance but of administration. For example, Christ is the object of faith in both economies, but while he was represented in animal sacrifices in the old economy, he is worshipped as one who has died and risen again in the new economy. So while the signs and seals of the covenant under the old economy involved blood, namely circumcision and the Passover, the signs and seals under the new covenant are bloodless, namely baptism and the Lord's Supper. Again, grace is the grand theme in both economies, but grace is shown largely through pointing out our unworthiness in the old economy, whereas under the new economy, the emphasis is on the greatness of Christ's sacrifice. Or again, though the covenant people of God must keep the commandments of God under both covenants, old covenant people were taught that such as fail to keep the law are condemned while new covenant people are taught that we must keep the law of God in gratitude and love.