Difficult Questions for Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology represent two distinct systems of biblical interpretation, especially regarding the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, God’s covenants, and eschatology.

Here are several questions that may challenge Dispensationalists but align more seamlessly with the framework of Covenant Theology:

What is the purpose of the Mosaic Covenant in relation to the New Covenant?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: Dispensationalists often see the Mosaic Covenant as a distinct dispensation with its own separate system of salvation or governance. How does this view account for the continuity of God’s redemptive purposes through Christ, who fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17)?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology views the Mosaic Covenant as part of the overarching Covenant of Grace, pointing forward to Christ. The Law served as a tutor leading to Christ (Galatians 3:24), showing the need for grace and faith in Him.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: The Mosaic Covenant is not viewed as a direct administration of the Covenant of Grace, as paedobaptists argue. Instead, it is seen as a covenant of works for Israel as a nation, typologically pointing to Christ and the New Covenant. The moral law (Ten Commandments) reveals God’s unchanging righteousness, while the ceremonial and civil aspects were types and shadows fulfilled in Christ (Galatians 3:19-24). The New Covenant is the Covenant of Grace in its fullness, established in Christ’s blood.

How does the Bible support a distinction between Israel and the Church as two separate peoples of God?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: The New Testament frequently identifies the Church as the continuation or fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel (e.g., Romans 9:6-8, Galatians 3:29). How does this align with the Dispensationalist view of two distinct peoples?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology sees the Church as the true Israel of God, composed of believing Jews and Gentiles, united in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-22). The promises made to Abraham are fulfilled in Christ and extend to all who belong to Him by faith.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: Like paedobaptists, Reformed Baptists affirm the unity of God’s people throughout redemptive history, rejecting the sharp distinction between Israel and the Church in Dispensationalism. However, they emphasize that national Israel served as a type of Christ and the Church, which is composed of all believers (Jew and Gentile) under the New Covenant (Ephesians 2:11-22, Galatians 6:16). The promises made to Abraham are fulfilled in Christ and belong to those united to Him by faith (Galatians 3:29).

If the Old Testament sacrifices are reinstated in the Millennium, how is the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement maintained?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: Dispensationalists often teach that animal sacrifices will resume during a future Millennial Kingdom. How does this reconcile with Hebrews 10:10-18, which emphasizes the once-for-all nature of Christ’s sacrifice?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology holds that Christ’s sacrifice fulfilled and rendered obsolete the Old Testament sacrificial system. Reinstating sacrifices would contradict the finality and sufficiency of Christ’s atoning work.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: Like Covenant Theology, Baptist Covenant Theology denies the idea of a reinstitution of Old Testament sacrifices. Hebrews 10:10-18 makes clear that Christ’s atonement is final and sufficient. Any suggestion of returning to the sacrificial system undermines the Gospel and Christ’s finished work.

Why does the New Testament interpret many Old Testament promises to Israel as fulfilled in Christ and His Church?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: Many Old Testament prophecies, such as the Davidic Kingdom (Acts 2:30-36) or the restoration of Israel (Amos 9:11-12; Acts 15:16-17), are interpreted in the New Testament as fulfilled spiritually in Christ. How does this fit with a strictly literal interpretation of Old Testament prophecy?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology emphasizes Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of all God’s promises (2 Corinthians 1:20). The spiritual realities inaugurated in Christ surpass the physical types and shadows of the Old Testament.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: BCT agrees that the New Testament consistently interprets the Old Testament promises as fulfilled in Christ and His Church (Acts 15:16-17, 2 Corinthians 1:20). However, Baptists may emphasize that these fulfillments are applied exclusively to the elect, as opposed to paedobaptist views that extend covenant membership to believers’ children. Reformed Baptists argue that the promises to Israel were typological and find their ultimate realization in Christ and His spiritual kingdom.

How does Dispensationalism explain the unity of God’s redemptive plan across Scripture?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: The emphasis on distinct dispensations can create the appearance of multiple plans of salvation or conflicting purposes in history. How does this fit with passages like Ephesians 1:10, which describe God’s unified plan to sum up all things in Christ?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology views redemptive history as a single, unified story of God’s grace, centered on the Covenant of Redemption. God’s plan from Genesis to Revelation is consistent, with Christ as its focal point.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: Reformed Baptists, like other Covenantalists, affirm the unity of God’s redemptive plan through the Covenant of Grace, progressively revealed from Genesis to Revelation. They reject the idea of multiple redemptive plans or dispensations. However, they may stress the New Covenant’s exclusivity to regenerated believers, distinguishing their view from paedobaptist Covenant Theology, which includes children of believers in the covenant community.

Why does Paul emphasize Abraham’s faith, not works, as the model for both Jews and Gentiles?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: Dispensationalists often separate the way God works with Israel under the Law from the Church under grace. How does this align with Romans 4:16-18, where Paul argues that both Jews and Gentiles inherit the promises through the same kind of faith as Abraham’s?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology sees faith as the unifying principle of salvation in all ages. Abraham is the father of all who believe, demonstrating the continuity of God’s plan of salvation by grace through faith.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: BCT agrees that Abraham’s faith serves as the model for all who believe (Romans 4:16-18). Reformed Baptists emphasize that the Abrahamic Covenant contains both spiritual and physical elements. The physical promises (land, nation) were typological, while the spiritual promises (blessing to the nations) are fulfilled in Christ. Only those who share Abraham’s faith are counted as his spiritual offspring, forming the New Covenant community.

How can a future physical Kingdom coexist with the New Heavens and New Earth?

• Challenge for Dispensationalists: Dispensationalism often teaches a future earthly Millennial Kingdom distinct from the eternal state. How does this reconcile with passages like Revelation 21-22, which describe the New Heavens and New Earth without mention of a distinct intermediate earthly kingdom?
• Covenant Theology Answer: Covenant Theology views the Millennium symbolically as the reign of Christ through His Church, culminating in the eternal state where God’s kingdom is fully realized in the New Heavens and New Earth.
• Reformed Baptist Answer: BCT typically holds to an amillennial or historic premillennial eschatology, rejecting the Dispensationalist view of a distinct earthly kingdom. Reformed Baptists believe the Kingdom of God was inaugurated at Christ’s first coming and will be consummated in the New Heavens and New Earth. The Millennium (if interpreted literally) is not seen as distinct from Christ’s ultimate reign, but rather as a phase culminating in eternal glory.

These questions often expose tensions in the Dispensational framework, while Covenant Theology provides a cohesive interpretation of Scripture that emphasizes the unity of God’s redemptive plan in Christ.