Disputations on Hermeneutics - 6

Below is the conclusion of the comparison of the affects that different hermenutical systems have on the doctrine of justification.

Classic Dispensationalism – Justification of Old Testament Saints

Grounds:           Christ’s passion (life, death, resurrection).

Means:              the gospel of the Law.

Instrument:        faith one’s own ability to fulfill the commands of Old Covenant Law, which obedience was made possible through the mediation of the priests in the sacrificial system.

Revised Dispensationalism – Justification of Old Testament Saints

Grounds:           Christ’s passion.

Means:             The proclamation of a very limited understanding of the New Testament gospel hidden under the veil of the Mosaic shadows.

Instrument:        faith in Father God in general—knowledge or belief in the sufficiency of the sacrifice of the coming Messiah was superfluous to one’s justification.

Covenant Theology – Justification of Saints in Every Age

Grounds:           Christ’s passion.

Means:              the gospel of grace proclaimed.

Instrument:        faith alone in Christ alone (the degree to which an individual understood who Christ was, was dictated by the progression of special revelation through the accumulation of covenantal knowledge.