S. Spence wrote:
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Horton's view on the Mosaic covenant is actually the same as 'classic' covenant theology.
Very briefly put, under the Mosaic Covenant salvation was by grace as it is in all ages, however the national promises such as land etc were only to be fulfilled if Israel kept faithful to the law. So Horton does see the Mosaic covenant as a reinstatement of the CofW with respect to land but not with respect to salvation. When Israel sinned and broke God’s law we see her being carried away into captivity but even in captivity we see a faithful remnant, saved not by keeping the law but by grace.
I’ve written this in a bit of a hurry but I hope that helps.
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R.Scott Clark wrote:
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As Mike Horton acknowledges in his recent work on covenant theology, one of the more difficult issues in covenant theology is how to relate the Mosaic covenant to the earlier Abrahamic and the New Covenant. Complicating matters is the old Dispensational doctrine that there are different ways of salvation under different "dispensations." I recognize that the more modern Dispensationalists abandoned that doctrine but the damage has been done. Not only is it virtually impossible, rhetorically, for Reformed folk to use the word "dispensation" (even though we used to use it regularly and it's quite useful word in describing the progress of redemptive history) without creating suspicion and confusion but there are lots of folk out there who read the Bible atomistically (chopping it up) and who think that we Christians have nothing to do with Abraham! Dispensationalism has also created a layer of difficulty by generating a reaction against Dispensationalism which has caused reluctance among some Reformed folk to recognize any differences between the Old (Moses) and New (Christ) Covenants. In their own ways, both the Dispensationalists and those who react against it flatten out the hills and valleys of redemptive history. The short story is that the continuity in the Bible is not so much between Moses and Christ (2 Cor 3; Heb 4-7) but between Abraham and Christ. Moses belongs in that continuity insofar as those under the Old Covenant also participated in the covenant of grace.
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Here is one of the main problems with Klinean covenantalism. Notice how the Mosaic covenant is on the one hand affirmed as being part of the covenant of grace (but only in a strange technical sense). Yet, after that affirmation is made, it seems to be rejected and we are told that the Mosaic covenant is a re-publication of the covenant of works. This is how it basically works. The reason that the Mosaic covenant is said to be part of the covenant of grace is that it occurs during the administration of the Abrahamic covenant! Notice how Dr. Clark says that the real continuity is between Abraham and Christ, not Moses. Furthermore, Dr. Horton says that the Mosaic covenant (of works) simply didn't annul the promise made to Abraham (of grace). Therefore, the question that the Klinean covenantalists (like Dr. Horton and Dr. Clark) need to answer is whether or not the mosaic covenant ITSELF was part of the covenant of Grace, apart from it's being delivered during the Abrahamic Covenant. They seem to think it was part of the covenant of grace simply because someone during it's adminstration was saved by faith, not because of the Mosaic covenant, but because of the Abrahamic. Therefore, with that logic, the Mosaic covenant, ITSELF, was part of the covenant of works. But, that covenant of works didn't negate the covenant of grace given to Abraham. Notice again what Dr. Clark says:
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The short story is that the continuity in the Bible is not so much between Moses and Christ (2 Cor 3; Heb 4-7) but between Abraham and Christ. Moses belongs in that continuity insofar as those under the Old Covenant also participated in the covenant of grace.
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According to Dr. Clark the only thing that makes the Mosaic covenant part of the Covenant of Grace is that those who participated in that Covenant were saved by the grace promised in the Abrahamic covenant. Therefore, the Mosaic covenant itself was not part of the covenant of Grace, it was simply administered during the era of the covenant of grace!