Covenants or Dispensations?
I started as an accidental Dispensationalist. I didn't even really know what it meant, nor did I understand that it was an overarching view that informed how I approached the Bible when I finally began to read it. I would have classified myself as a Dispe simply because of my view of the end times (rapture, seven-year tribulation, etc.). But, I hadn't come to those through a study of the Bible but through osmosis and the ever-popular "Left Behind Series."
As I actually spent more time in the Bible, reading it from cover to cover over the course of 10 or so years. I began seeing the connections from start to finish, my views began to shift, and God's covenantal work began to take center stage. After the 2nd or 3rd reading of the Bible, I totally abandoned a view of the Dispensational end times. Little did I know it then but my whole understanding of the Bible, much of which had been caught not taught, was becoming much more Covenantal.
I still wasn't reading about these things. I had no idea there was a different approach to the Scripture, or even a different view than the "Left Behind" view of the end times. But, it wasn't long before I began to learn and found the two predominant views, Covenantal and Dispensational Theology. The Covenant camp focuses on God's work through the covenants. The Dispensational camp focuses more on time periods and the way God is working in those times.
I quickly realized I didn't fit in the Dispe camp. But, I also found what I believed the Bible taught about the church and baptism, I didn't fit in much of the covenant world either. Even among Reformed Baptists, the view and use of the Old Testament Law was somewhat bothersome in light of New Testament teaching, Galatians for example. It wasn't until I came across Stephen Wellum and Peter Gentry's book "Kingdom through Covenant" did I find my "theological home."
This view lands somewhere between the Dispensational and Covenantal camps, it has been called "Progressive Covenantalism." As I understand the Scriptures, this approach best summarizes what God has been doing in the world among and through His chosen people. But let me encourage you not to just take my word for it. Study it, not to prove yourself right and someone else wrong, but seeking to know the God who's working in the world.
To help you get started, I'm sharing some images (click here) from the book "Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies: Four Views on the Continuity of Scripture (Click Here for the Book).
But, I also want to share the source where I got these images. So, I'm sharing a link to an article written by Andy Nasalli (another previous dispensationalist turned PC). In it, He shares these tables but highlights some of the reasons for his shift as well.
As I actually spent more time in the Bible, reading it from cover to cover over the course of 10 or so years. I began seeing the connections from start to finish, my views began to shift, and God's covenantal work began to take center stage. After the 2nd or 3rd reading of the Bible, I totally abandoned a view of the Dispensational end times. Little did I know it then but my whole understanding of the Bible, much of which had been caught not taught, was becoming much more Covenantal.
I still wasn't reading about these things. I had no idea there was a different approach to the Scripture, or even a different view than the "Left Behind" view of the end times. But, it wasn't long before I began to learn and found the two predominant views, Covenantal and Dispensational Theology. The Covenant camp focuses on God's work through the covenants. The Dispensational camp focuses more on time periods and the way God is working in those times.
I quickly realized I didn't fit in the Dispe camp. But, I also found what I believed the Bible taught about the church and baptism, I didn't fit in much of the covenant world either. Even among Reformed Baptists, the view and use of the Old Testament Law was somewhat bothersome in light of New Testament teaching, Galatians for example. It wasn't until I came across Stephen Wellum and Peter Gentry's book "Kingdom through Covenant" did I find my "theological home."
This view lands somewhere between the Dispensational and Covenantal camps, it has been called "Progressive Covenantalism." As I understand the Scriptures, this approach best summarizes what God has been doing in the world among and through His chosen people. But let me encourage you not to just take my word for it. Study it, not to prove yourself right and someone else wrong, but seeking to know the God who's working in the world.
To help you get started, I'm sharing some images (click here) from the book "Covenantal and Dispensational Theologies: Four Views on the Continuity of Scripture (Click Here for the Book).
But, I also want to share the source where I got these images. So, I'm sharing a link to an article written by Andy Nasalli (another previous dispensationalist turned PC). In it, He shares these tables but highlights some of the reasons for his shift as well.