Chart: Dispensationalism vs Covenantalism, comparing the two theologies and providing a short list of proponents.
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Dispensational Theology |
Covenant Theology |
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Most are Arminian, but many are Amyraldian (4-point Calvinist). |
Usually Calvinist. |
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Usually does not accept the idea of the ‘Analogy of Faith.’ There are many systems of hermeneutics utilized by Dispensationlists from hyper-symbolic to hyper-literal. |
Accepts the idea of the ‘Analogy of Faith’ (allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture) |
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‘Israel’ always means the literal, physical descendants of Jacob (ethnic Jews). |
Depending on the context, ‘Israel’ may mean either physical descendants of Jacob, or “spiritual Israel” (who are people with faith in Christ like Abraham). |
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‘Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16 means physical (national, ethnic) Israel alone. |
‘Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16 means spiritual Israel, parallel to Galatians 3:29; Romans 2:28-29; 9:6; Philippians 3:3. |
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God has 2 peoples with 2 separate destinies: Israel (earthly) and the Church (heavenly). Many do not believe in God’s sovereign election. But for those who do believe that God has an elect, they divide the elect by ethnicity (ie Jew, Gentile). |
God always had only one people, the Church who gradually developed through the ages, in accordance with a Covenant worked out in eternity past between the “Three Persons of the Godhead.” (The Cov. of Redemption) |
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The Church was born at Pentecost after the Ascention of Christ. |
The Church began in the Garden of Eden and grew in the Old Testament with the OT covenants and reached fulfillment in the New Testament with the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. God has one family, one church, one flock, one baptism, one way of salvation whether before the Cross or after – by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. |
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The Church was not prophesied as such in the OT but was a “mystery”, hidden until the NT. |
Recognizes that there are many OT prophecies of the NT Church, and that the NT writers also affirmed this fact (1 Peter 1:10-12; Acts 2:16-35; 3:22-25). |
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All OT prophecies for ‘Israel’ are for the physical nation of Israel (ethnic Jews), not the Church. |
Some OT prophecies are for national Israel, others for spiritual Israel based on context. |
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God’s main purpose in history is national, ethnic Israel. |
God’s main purpose is His own glory, which is revealed in Christ and then through the Body of Christ – the New Covenant Church. |
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The Church is a parenthesis in God’s program for the ages. |
The Church is the culmination of God’s saving purpose for the ages. |
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The main heir to Abraham’s covenant was Isaac and literal Israel (ethnic Jews). |
The main heir to Abraham’s covenant was Christ, the Seed, and spiritual Israel which is “in Christ” (Galatians 3:16). Thus all who have faith in Christ (are “in Christ”) are the participants in the Abrahamic Covenant. |
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God’s program in history is mainly through separate dispensations. |
God’s program is history is mainly through related covenants, but all those covenants were derived from the eternal covenant that the Trinity made in eternity, the Covenant of Redemption. |
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Most teach that men in the OT were saved by faith in a revelation peculiar to their Dispensation. |
All men who have ever been saved have been saved by faith in Christ as their sin-bearer, which has been progressively revealed in every age. |
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The Holy Spirit indwells only believers in the Dispensation of Grace, not OT and not after the “Secret Rapture.” |
The Holy Spirit has indwelt believers in all ages, and He indwells the Body of Christ in a special way in the present NT era as an anointing upon the Church for ministry from the glorified Head of the Church who is established on the Throne in heaven, and the Spirit will not be withdrawn from God’s people. |
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Jesus made an offer of an earthly Kingdom that is defined nationally/ethnically to Israel. Since Israel rejected it, it is postponed till a future time when God will remove the Church from the world, and then God will reinstitute OT Israel via a Great Tribulation for seven years, and then Christ will return. At which time, God will send glorified OT saints to join living Jews on the earth to have national dominion over the world for 1000 years. Then Christ will judge the living and dead, destroy creation and make a new earth and bring a golden heaven down to sit upon it. |
Jesus’ Kingdom is not defined nationally/ethnically but morally and spiritually. That Kingdom was rejected by national Israel but has been accepted by spiritual Israel who are Jews and Gentiles who believe in Christ (Galatians 3:29). Christ rules and reigns over His kingdom now as King of kings and Lord of lords. His kingdom will be consummated and fully realized at the Second Advent, in which all the unbelievers will be judged and removed from the earth. The curse of the Fall will be removed from the earth resulting in a “new heavens and new earth” of which believers will enjoy as their inheritance for all eternity. |
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OT believers were not ‘in Christ,’ nor part of the Body or Bride of Christ even now. |
Believers in all ages are all ‘in Christ’ and part of the Body and Bride of Christ now. |
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God’s laws as given in the Old Testament are no longer in effect unless repeated in the New Testament. |
God’s moral laws are eternal and are thus in effect forever. OT laws for the government of Israel and temple activity are no longer useful since the inauguration of the New Covenant. |
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Proponents: |
Proponents: |
Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his generation of Christians and church leaders with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason graduated Central Private School (Central, LA) in 1990. He attended Liberty University for two years and graduated with a BGS from William Carey Univeristy (Hattiesburg, MS) in 1994. Jason earned his MDIV at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He planted Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
Nice chart, Jason – I just linked to it on the A-Team Blog. I’ll also second the motion for a Dispy, Porgressive Dispy, CT, and NCT chart when you get the time!
Let me add my own “Thanks!” for putting together this helpful chart of comparison. As a former dispy, I know they won’t like it, but then again it was resources like this that drew me away from dispy chaos and into a right understanding of covenant theology. So a heart “Well done!” to ya!
@Pete (Comment #901): No, MacArthur is in the right column. He’s a firm dispensationalist and infact virulently anti-ever-other-position. How else could he have the temerity to preach his sermon, “Why Every Self-Respecting Calvinist Is a Pre-millennialist” at the Shepard Conference. He even said that “if Calvin were here he would join our movement” because of Israel has lasted this long and is now being re-established as a nation. For an excellent response to John MacArthur’s inane dispy rant at the Shepard Converence, see: http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/a-reply-to-john-macarthur/
I appreciate your website greatly. Will read more. Keep up to marvelous work on it. Gracias
Thank you. I have been looking for an explanation to this that I could understand. you did a great job. Sometimes i think God gave me a heart to understand things but forgot to give me the brain for them. But you proved me wrong in this case:)
Steve,
Some good books that help see through the flaws in dispensational theology…
1. A Case for Amillennialism – Kim Riddlebarger
2. Man of Sin – Kim Riddlebarger
3. MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto – Sam Waldron
4. Goldsworthy Trilogy – Graeme Goldsworthy
Hope that helps! You can also check out this website http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/ for free resources.
And it ain’t Roman Catholicism…