The Covenant of Works
Richard Barcellos quotes some other professor from Westminster (Poythress? Gerstner?) as saying, "If you get the Garden wrong, you get everything wrong." Where this might be a slight hyperbole, the gist of the issue is true. How you interpret what takes place in the garden will affect the interpretation of everything else in Scripture. I also think it will display your personal theological bent as well (is sin a sickness or disease, or is it a judicial issue). Personally, I have wrestled so much with this doctrine, and I hope here to tease out the issue. There is so much riding on the concept of the Covenant of Works (CoW) that it seems almost foolish to me that we would permit such a doctrine that is so easily debatable. If the CoW is denied, then everything about Reformed Theology falls apart. Soteriology, the doctrine of justification, the doctrine of man, understanding the purpose of Christ, etc... all are affected deeply if the CoW is lost. ...