By TJ Gentry PhD, DMin, PhD Candidate
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Several questions have been submitted to Bellator Christi’s website related to the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant. Dr. TJ Gentry will engage these questions in a series of articles–this is the first of that series.
Covenant of Democracy
The President of the United States recently chose an interesting term to describe the American system. He said, “We must remember that democracy is a covenant.”[1] Though he did not go on to offer a detailed definition of a covenant, the remainder of the President’s remarks reveal that he means a covenant is an agreement between two parties, and his use of the term is essentially correct.
In the instance of the President’s speech, the parties to the American covenant of democracy are the rule of law and the American people. For a democracy to thrive and endure, the parties to its covenant must be in agreement, in covenant. In the case of the covenant of democracy, one party (the rule of law) is absolute, and one party (the American people) is the beneficiary of that absolute. As far as democracies go, the people benefit when they submit to the rule of law, and the rule of law benefits the people.
Biblical Covenant
Covenant is also a term with profound significance beyond the realm of political discourse, especially concerning its use in Scripture. Gleason L. Archer explains that a covenant “denotes a gracious undertaking entered into by God for the benefit and blessing of humanity, and specifically of those who by faith receive the promises and commit themselves to the obligations which this undertaking involves.”[2] In the Old Testament, the word used for covenant is the Hebrew berit; and in the New Testament, the word used for covenant is the Greek diatheke.[3] Both the Hebrew and Greek terms convey the sense of a pact or agreement, but the biblical use of covenant is not reducible to a merely contractual relationship between equal parties.
Covenant Versus Contract
As Scott Hahn explains, “It is incorrect to view a [biblical] covenant simply as a contract. Generally, a contract involves the exchange of goods, whereas a covenant involves the exchange of persons . . . covenants are not merely civil but sacred bonds.”[4] For example, when I purchased my zero-turn mower, I made a contract with the finance company. In that instance, the company agreed to provide the mower in exchange for a certain amount of money paid by installments. Buying a mower on installments constitutes a financial agreement, not a sacred bond involving an exchange of persons. A biblical covenant is much, so much more than a simple contract.
To capture the elevated sense of the covenantal idea in the Bible, consider the further insights of Hahn, who writes that a covenant is “a kinship bond between two parties, established by an oath or its equivalent . . . . Covenant is also the master-theme of the Bible, which records the various ways throughout history that God has drawn humanity into a familial relationship with himself through divine oaths.”[5] Thus, from a biblical perspective, covenant is a fundamental aspect of God’s revelation to and relationship with humanity. To speak in the language of covenant is to speak in the language of the Bible.
In the next article in this series, I will offer an answer to the question: What is the Abrahamic Covenant? Thereafter, I will consider the question: What is the New Covenant? In the final article, I will ask: What is the relationship between the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant?
About the Author
Dr. Thomas J. Gentry (aka., TJ Gentry) serves as the pastor of First Christian Church of West Frankfort, Illinois, the Assistant Editor of Bellator Christi Ministries, and the former Executive Editor of MoralApologetics.com. Dr. Gentry is a world-class scholar holding 5 doctorate degrees and 6 masters degrees. Additionally, he is a prolific writer as he has published 7 books including Pulpit Apologist, Absent from the Body, Present with the Lord, and You Shall Be My Witnesses: Reflections on Sharing the Gospel. Be on the lookout for two additional books that he will soon publish. In addition to his impressive resume, Dr. Gentry proudly served his country as an officer in the United States Army and serves as a martial arts instructor.
Notes
[1] Joseph R. Biden, “Remarks by President Biden on Standing up for Democracy,” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/11/03/remarks-by-president-biden-on-standing-up-for-democracy/.
[2] Gleason L. Archer, “Covenant,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed., Walter A. Elwell, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001), 299-301.
[3] בְּרִית, in Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1285/nkjv/wlc/0-1/; and διαθήκη, in Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g1242/nkjv/tr/0-1/.
[4] Scott W. Hahn, “Covenant,” in Catholic Bible Dictionary, Scott W. Hahn, ed. (New York: Doubleday, 2009), 168.
[5] Ibid.
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