The sermon, delivered by Eric Bechler, focuses on the covenant of grace as explained in the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. It highlights the progression of this covenant from its initial revelation to Adam in Genesis 3:15, through its unfolding in the Old Testament covenants, and its full revelation in the New Testament. The sermon explains the three major covenants: the covenant of works, where God required perfect obedience from Adam; the covenant of redemption, made between God the Father and God the Son for the redemption of the elect; and the covenant of grace, where salvation is offered through faith in Christ. The covenant of grace is founded upon the covenant of redemption and is the means by which all descendants of Adam can receive eternal life, as they are incapable of fulfilling the covenant of works. The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding these covenants to fully grasp God's plan for salvation and the grace offered through Jesus Christ.

Our reading this morning from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 comes this morning from chapter 7 of God's covenant paragraph 3. This covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman and afterwards by farther steps until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament and it is founded in that eternal covenant transaction that was between the Father and the Son about the redemption of the elect. And it is alone by the grace of this covenant that all the posterity of fallen Adam that ever were saved did obtain life and blessed immortality, man being now utterly incapable of acceptance with God upon those terms on which Adam stood in his state of innocency. So this is our third and last week to discuss of God's covenant, chapter 7. Last week, I summarized the three major covenants that are interwoven throughout time in scripture, the covenant of works, the covenant of redemption, and the covenant of grace.

As a reminder, the covenant of works, God made a covenant with Adam and therefore all of mankind requiring perfect obedience to his commands. His promise was eternal life. The penalty for failing was death. This was a covenant that Adam and all of us are unable to fulfill. The covenant of redemption.

God the Father made a covenant with God the Son before the creation. In this, the Son agrees to redeem the people chosen by the Father through his life, death, and resurrection. From this the Son is exalted. The covenant of grace. God made a covenant with his people.

In this covenant, his people must have faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit applies the redeeming work of the Son to those whom the Father has chosen. The reward is eternal life. Our paragraph this morning has its focus on the covenant of grace. We will see where this covenant is revealed, upon what it has founded, and its impact on the posterity of Adam.

Let's start with its revelation. In the first section of this paragraph, this covenant is revealed in the gospel. First of all, to Adam in the promise of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament. This covenant is revealed to Adam way back in the book of Genesis chapter 3 in verse 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy head, and thou shall bruise his heel." Matthew Henry comments on this verse.

Notice his given concerning Christ, one, his incarnation, or coming in the flesh. It speaks great encouragement to sinners that their Savior is the seed of the woman, bone of our bone. His sufferings and death pointed at, in Satan's bruising his heel, that is, his human nature, and Christ's sufferings are continued in the sufferings of the saints for his name. The devil tempts them, persecutes and slays them, and so bruises the heal of Christ who is afflicted in their afflictions. But while the heel is bruised on earth, the head is in heaven.

His victory over Satan thereby, Christ baffled Satan's temptations, rescued souls out of his hands. By his death he gave a fatal blow to the devil's kingdom, a wound to the head of this serpent that cannot be healed. As the gospel gains ground, Satan fails." So our first indication of the covenant of grace comes as early as back in chapter three of Genesis where we are given that promise of salvation. Where it says, and afterwards by farther steps until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament. We read in Ephesians 3, 5, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.

We read in Hebrews 1 verses 1 and 2, God who at sundry times and diverse manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the world. And in Romans 16 verses 25 through 27, now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. To God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen." In looking at this phrase revealed by farther steps, I was, as I looked into this, I was reminded of the idea of an iceberg. What you see initially is above water.

It doesn't come close to actually what's under the surface of the water. There's a lot here. There's a lot of different positions associated with the covenant of grace across both the Old and New Testament. I'll do my best here to cover some of the other covenants with the mindset of how they point to Christ's redeeming work. I'll be referring to a number of comments from an article on covenants in scripture by Robert Rothwell from Ligonier Ministries.

We see the covenant of grace between God and His people expanded and unfolded over time through scripture. The Noahic covenant, God covenanted with Noah to preserve the earth and never again send the flood to destroy all life. This is described in Genesis 8, 20 through 9, 17. This covenant of continuation or preservation assures the people of God that he will uphold the created order until his elect have all been redeemed. In the Abrahamic covenant found in Genesis 12, 1, and 3, 15, 17, and Genesis 22, Romans 4, Galatians 3, God made a covenant with Abraham in which he promised to bless the world through one family, his, and through one son, Jesus, from that family.

This covenant of promise gave Abraham many descendants, a good name, a good land. Abraham shows us that salvation comes through faith alone in the promises of God. When he believed God, it was counted to him as righteousness. As Paul explains, this means we are ultimately declared righteous because of the obedience of Christ is imputed to us through faith in him alone. In the Mosaic covenant, God covenanted with Moses and the people of Israel, which included extensive legal regulations in the sacrificial system.

Its history, terms, blessings, and curses can be found particularly in Exodus 19-24 and throughout all of Deuteronomy. The Mosaic law reveals to us that we cannot keep the law and it points us to Jesus who kept the Mosaic covenant on our behalf, fulfilling also the covenant of works. In the Davidic covenant, God promised David an everlasting throne, a son to build him a temple. Ultimately, David's family would give rise to one son of David, in particular Jesus, who would atone for the sins of David's line and indeed for all of God's people. Finally, we have the New Covenant.

The Covenant of Grace itself is fulfilled in the New Covenant made by God in Christ with his people. The New Covenant is announced in Jeremiah 31, inaugurated in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, and continued in the ministry of the church and consummated at the return of Jesus. So we have a covenant of grace revealed initially in Genesis 3, followed by a progression or unfolding of it until it was fully revealed. And our paragraph here says, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the New Testament. In the next section of our paragraph, it is founded in that eternal covenant transaction that was between the father and the son about the redemption of the elect.

The covenant of grace is founded upon the covenant of redemption. It is in fact the historical outworking of that eternal covenant between the Father and the Son made before the world began to redeem the people chosen by the Father through his life, death, and resurrection. We read from Paul's second letter to Timothy 1, 9, who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purposes and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. We read more support for this from Paul's letter to the Ephesians in Ephesians 1, 3 through 11. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us 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, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath abounded towards us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will.

We finally read the last part of our paragraph dealing with the impact of the covenant of grace on the posterity of Adam. It is alone by the grace of this covenant that all the posterity of fallen Adam that ever were saved did obtain life and blessed immortality, man being now utterly incapable of acceptance with God upon those terms on which Adam stood in his state of innocency. What is that place where Adam stood in his state of innocency? We remember that Adam was created good. He was righteous until the fall.

Prior to the fall, he was perfectly obedient. After the fall, he was spiritually dead, unrighteous. He was removed from God's presence. He was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. He was no longer able to keep the covenant of works.

All of Adam's posterity also are unable to keep the covenant of works. Or as the paragraph states, man is or we are utterly incapable of acceptance with God upon those terms, perfect obedience. In Psalm 51, 5, we read, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. In Romans 3, 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If we lived only under the covenant of works, we would be doomed as we deserve.

But God, before the creation, set in place a plan of redemption for his people, not for everyone, but for those whom he had chosen in eternity. Through Christ's atoning work as our mediator in the covenant of grace, we are saved through faith in Him, and that faith is not from ourselves but the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit. In Acts 412, Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. In Ephesians 2 8, For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves is the gift of God. In 2nd Timothy 1 8 through 10, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest in the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." Well, why would we need to include a section in the confession that deals with covenants?

Understanding the major covenants of Scripture make it clear that first of all, we cannot meet the covenant of works. We cannot follow all the parts of the law. There is none that doeth good, no, not one, and we deserve death. Knowing about the covenants of redemption and grace show us that God had a plan to save those he had chosen in eternity. And God sent his son not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

We are saved in Christ through this covenant of grace. This is what we believe, this is what we find in Scripture, and this is important for us to understand and to confess. Amen.