WHAT IS NCT AND WHAT ARE SOME OF ITS MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS?
By Gary D. Long

A. Presuppositions.
  • The Existence of God is a first truth, “for he who comes to God must believe that He is” (Heb. 11:6). 
  • The Scriptures are inspired, infallible, relevant, authoritative revelation from the triune God; therefore, the Bible as His written “word is truth” (John 17:17).
  • The final revelation of God the Father is in the eternal Son of God (Heb. 1:2), Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, full of grace and truth (John 1:1, 14, 17); therefore, no one can “know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27).
  • There is no authentic leading of the Holy Spirit that is not contextually wedded to the words of the Bible (Acts 17:11; Rom. 8:14; I Cor. 2:10-11; I Thess. 1:5; II Tim. 2:15; see II Pet. 1:20-21).

B. The Need.
There is a need for New Covenant Theology (NCT) in proclaiming the gospel of Christ. Its principles of interpretation (its hermeneutic) are as old as the New Testament (NT) itself. The way it interprets Scripture is based upon how Christ and the writers of the NT understand and use the Old Testament Scriptures in explaining the coming to pass of God’s will on earth (Matthew 6:10). But as a theological system in America it is a recent development having different explanations. The time has come for those who hold to the need for NCT to unify and explain what it is. It is in agreement with much that is taught in the theological system of Reformed or Covenant Theology (CT), especially with its teaching on the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, the doctrine of God and creation, the doctrine of man, and the doctrine of the person and work of Christ. It agrees with much that is taught in the theological system of Dispensational Theology (DT), especially its teaching on the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, the doctrine of God and creation, the person of Christ, and the understanding of Pentecost as the formation of the Church as the body of Christ. However, there are significant differences with the theological systems of both CT and DT to warrant the development of NCT as a distinct theological system. The following provides a brief description and listing of some of the major characteristics of NCT as understood by this writer.

C. NCT Described.
New Covenant Theology is a developing system of theology that provides a more biblical way to interpret the Scriptures by questioning key theological presuppositions which undergird the hermeneutics (principles of interpretation) of CT and DT. NCT is based upon a redemptive history approach to understanding the fulfillment of God’s eternal kingdom purpose on earth. Its principles of interpretation are based upon a biblical theology that stresses the theology of the Bible itself, especially upon the NT understanding of the OT. NCT challenges the basic theological presuppositions of the one Covenant of Grace system of Covenant Theology, including its understanding of the “moral law” of God and the nature of the Church. NCT also challenges the two redemptive purposes of Dispensational Theology, one for the Church and one for Israel, and it challenges some of DT’s presuppositions and literal hermeneutic for understanding key elements of Bible prophecy. The driving motive of NCT is “back to the Bible.” NCT emphasizes the inductive study of the Bible. A major objective of NCT is that its hermeneutic will help bring doctrinal unity in this sin-wrecked world by breaking down the middle walls of doctrinal partition that exist within the theological systems of Covenant Theology and Dispensational Theology.

D. NCT Characteristics.
The following lists some of the major NCT characteristics. NCT teaches that:

    1. The discernment of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for accurately handling the Word of God (I Cor. 2:13-14; II Tim. 2:15) and that the most important principle of interpretation is “contextual exegesis.” Contextual biblical exegesis demands grammatical/historical/theological principles of interpretation.
    2. The imputation of Adam’s first sin to all mankind (Rom. 5:12d, 18a-19a), the elects’ sins to Christ (II Cor. 5:21), and Christ’s righteousness to the elect (Rom. 5:18b-19b) are vital for the Christian faith. Without the doctrine of imputation the whole doctrine of the substitutionary atonement and justification by faith alone in Christ alone are undermined (Rom. 5:12-19).
    3. God’s plan of salvation is revealed and administered through the unfolding of biblical covenants in the flow of redemptive history, not through the theologically deduced system of CT’s Covenant of Works/Covenant of Grace/Covenant of Redemption schema.
    4. The Law of God is both absolute and covenantal (Matt. 5:17-20). God’s “absolutelaw” is innate, written on the heart of man created in the image of God. It is God’s unchanging standard of righteousness. God’s “covenantal law,” however, is written and changeable according to the covenant being administered.
    5. The love of God and the love of neighbor are the two greatest commandments (Matt. 22:36-40) upon which the whole Law and the Prophets hang. This means that the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue, hang upon these two greatest commandments, not the reverse as CT teaches.
    6. The Ten Commandments are a covenantal outworking of the two greatest commandments in redemptive history not the reverse. They were given through the hand of Moses to the nation of Israel first at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20).
    7. The Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath commandment, being the sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:15-17), is not a creation ordinance as taught by CT.
    8. The Ten Commandments are not eternal moral law first written in the heart of man at creation and forever binding upon all mankind as CT teaches in its confessions of faith e.g., the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647-1649) and the Second London Baptist Confession (1689). In fact, the term “moral law” does not occur in the Bible. Although under any given covenantal administration, man is morally obligated to obey all of God’s commandments, yet the Bible does not separate God’s law into three parts: moral, ceremonial and civil. Historically, this threefold separation was not substantially taught until the time of Thomas Aquinas in the 13 th century and in the 16 th century by Calvin.
    9. The Decalogue is not “transcovenantal” and, therefore, does not function outside the Old Covenant as a unit as much of CT teaches.
    10. Christ came not to destroy the OT Scriptures but to fulfill them, which includes the Decalogue. The New Covenant law is called the law of Christ which is distinguished from Mosaic law and from the Gentiles who do not have a written revelation of God’s law (I Cor. 9:20-21).
    11. The law of Christ is not to be equated with the Decalogue. Although the law of Christ, the law of the NC people of God, is related to the Decalogue in that it incorporates nine of the Ten Commandments. The law of Christ is a better law than the law of Moses (Matt. 5:21-48; Heb. 7:19) in the sense that (1) it is a higher revelation of the righteousness of God (Matt: 5:20); (2) it is based upon a higher standard of love (Matt. 5:44); and, (3) Christ’s inauguration of the New Covenant brings in things that are qualitatively “newer,” expressed in developing the theological significance of such basic concepts as new wineskins, new teaching, new commandment, new creation, new man, new name, new song, new Jerusalem and all things new (Rev. 21:5).
    12. The OC Sabbath commandment is typologically fulfilled by Christ for the people of God who rest in Him by faith (Heb. 4:9-10).
    13. New Covenant believers are in-lawed to Christ; they are not under the OC law of Moses but under the grace of the NC (Rom. 6:14). NCT does not equate the law of Christ with the Decalogue as do many holding to CT.
    14. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the norm for Christian living. NCT does not teach that the Ten Commandments are the only objective standard for evaluating the Christian life. Rather, NCT emphasizes that it is the Spirit who enables the Christian to have a godly walk (Rom. 8:4; Gal. 5:16-18).
    15. Christ merited righteousness for the elect only and that it is imputed to them based upon His total obedience to the will of the Father in His life and death (Matt. 3:15; Rom. 5:19).
    16. The Church, which is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18), was first formed in history when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost not in past history under the OC. Most holding to CT see the Church existing in the OT before Pentecost. NCT does not. Contrary to DT, NCT sees only one redemptive purpose for the people of God, which is the Church, the good olive tree (Rom. 11), the body of Christ (Eph. 2:13-22; 3:1-12).
    17. The ordinance of water baptism is the pledge of membership in the New Covenant for believers alone and the sign of the New Covenant is not baptism, rather the sign is the cup, which memorializes the New Covenant in Christ’s blood (Luke 22:20; I Cor. 11:25).
    18. The “now-not yet” principle of interpretation is essential to understand the teaching of the NT. The Christian experiences the commencement of “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3), yet he stills awaits the consummation of these blessings at Christ’s return. The End has come! The End has not come! The whole theology of the NT is qualified by this tension: between the “already” or “now” and the “not yet” (I John 3:2).
    19. The “recapitulation” principle is essential to understand the NT prophetic Scriptures (Matt. 24:4-14 and 24:15-31; Rev. 11:15—12).
    20. The “blessed hope” will occur when Christ returns (Titus 2:13) to earth bodily and visibly (Acts 1:11) at the Second Advent to resurrect, judge and consign the saved to heaven and the lost to a Christless eternity (John 5:28-29).

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Gary D. Long is the Faculty President of Providence Theological Institute located in Belton, Texas. Providence Theological Institute’s website is www.ptitx.org.