Help me find resources to deepen my understanding of Covenant Theology/paedobaptism

[Paul1976]

Hi all,


In brief, I am currently credobaptist but would sincerely like to explore the paedobaptist position.

I'm still relatively new to reformed theology, having drifted towards it beginning around 5 years ago and considering myself broadly reformed for less than 3 years. I'm broadly familiar with the argument on both sides of the baptism debate. One thing I learned when discarding my dispensational eschatology for a cautious amillennial outlook is that you couldn't judge a theological system by simple arguments or just looking at a few passages. I needed to see the entire book of Revelation presented over an 82-sermon series before I could appreciate the position.

I suspect something similar is the case with paedobaptism. To understand the position, I doubt I could look up (say) ten key passages and suddenly see the issue as mature paedobaptists would. I also doubt any number of posts or arguments would change my mind. Rather, I think I should start by trying to deeply understand covenant theology. Is this correct?

I read "Sacred Bond; Covenant Theology Explored" recently. I was surprised to find little I would have disagreed with as a dispensationalist (I must not have been a very good dispensationalist). However, I think a more in-depth treatment would be more helpful. Can I get some suggestions for an extended sermon series that could help me to understand covenant theology in sufficient depth that I would be able to properly appreciate and understand paedobaptist arguments? Due to limited reading time, and a pretty full stack of books urgently needing read, it would likely take me years to get to longer books on the subject (but feel free to make suggestions). However, I can listen to sermons for 50 minutes per day.

 

[Jake]

A good book that critiques Dispensationalism and starts to lay the groundwork for Covenant theology from a Presbyterian perspective is Dispensationalism: Rightly Dividing the People of God by Keith Matthison.

Matthew McMahon, one of the founders of the PuritanBoard, has some good introductory works on Covenant Theology.

http://www.puritanshop.com/shop/a-simple-overview-of-covenant-theology/ -- This is the introductory work. It is simple to read and relatively short.
http://www.puritanshop.com/shop/covenant-theology-made-easy/ -- This is a longer book that is still easy to follow.

Both were helpful to me when I was starting at what sounds like a similar point to you: new to Reformed theology and from a Baptist and Dispensational background.

 

[Andrew P.C.]

O Palmer Robertson's Christ of the Covenants helped me.

 

[Clark-Tillian]

Start with the basics and then move forward. Morton Smith's Harmony of The Westminster Confession and Catechisms is unrivaled as a good starting point. You can read the documents side by side and get a feel for the logic behind much of the thinking you'll find on the PB.
RC Sproul's Truths We Confess is an accessible exposition of the Confession. Once you get your feet wet (pun intended) grab JV Fesko's Word, Water and Spirit.

I think you responded to a thread I recently started that was related to this subject and quickly got heated. Ergo, I'd like to point out that our Reformed Baptist brethren, in the main, also adhere to a version of Covenant Theology with its own nuances--see the LBCF.

 

[Miss Marple]

I think "Studies in the Covenant of Grace" is a beautiful, simple, wise book. Author, Neilands. Out of print but available on Amazon or what have you? I got pretty much my whole understanding of the Covenant from it.

 

[Rev. Todd Ruddell]

Rutherford, in his Covenant of Life Opened, has a section on Paedobaptism.