The following chart compares four major covenant systems across the distinctives that define Modified Covenant Theology. MCT was articulated around 2004 and named by Brandan Kraft. The theological raw material came largely from Bob Higby and from Scripture. The framework was stress-tested against Dr. Richard Bacon and defended against Phil Johnson.
| # | Distinctive | Covenant Theology (CT) | Dispensationalism (DT) | New Covenant Theology (NCT) | Modified Covenant Theology (MCT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Order of Decrees | Infralapsarian (most) | Varies | Varies | Supralapsarian – the ONLY true supralapsarian system. God decreed all events from the end to the beginning. |
| 2 | Justification | At the cross or at faith | At faith | At faith | From eternity. God NEVER viewed His people as condemned. |
| 3 | Sanctification | Progressive | Progressive | Progressive | Positional / Continuous. Christ IS your sanctification. No progressive holiness. |
| 4 | The Law | Moral law binding (third use) | Law ended for church age | Law ended (varies) | ALL law ended. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. The believer is dead to ALL of it. |
| 5 | Liberty | Regulated by moral law | Free from Mosaic law | Free from Mosaic law | “Believe in Jesus and do as you please.” The Spirit writes the commandments on the heart. Rebuke imposers. |
| 6 | Federal Headship | Adam as legal representative | Adam as head of humanity | Rejected (varies) | Rejected. God creates each person sinful directly. No intermediary. No legal machinery. |
| 7 | Adam’s Nature | Created righteous, fell | Created righteous, fell | Created righteous, fell | Created sinful, not righteous. The fall revealed a nature already inclined toward sin. |
| 8 | Satan’s Origin | Created righteous, fell | Created righteous, fell | Created righteous, fell | Created evil, not fallen. Isaiah 14 is about Babylon, not Satan. Ezekiel 28 is about Tyre. |
| 9 | The Two Seeds | Not emphasized | Israel vs. church | Not emphasized | Ontologically different. Elect = seed of the woman. Reprobate = seed of the serpent. As different as a rock from an apple. |
| 10 | The Gospel | Offered to all | Offered to all | Proclaimed | Proclaimed, not offered. Faith is a gift, not a duty. No “human responsibility” concerning salvation. |
| 11 | Common Grace | Affirmed | Affirmed | Varies | Denied. God’s provision to the reprobate is common bounty, not grace. Calling it grace profanes Christ’s love for His bride. |
| 12 | Covenant of Redemption | Affirmed | Not emphasized | Not emphasized | Affirmed. The three persons of the Trinity covenanted for the salvation of the elect before the foundation. |
| 13 | Progressive Revelation | Progressive administration of one covenant | Progressive dispensations | New replaces old | Progressive RENDERING, not progressive covenant. The covenant was always present. The resolution increased. |
CT says you’re a member of a covenant class. MCT says you’re a specific, personal thought of God – an eternal promise made to YOU, not to a category you belong to.
Every other system requires a legal mechanism between God and His people. MCT says the mechanism IS the promise. And a promise from a timeless God to a thought in His own mind doesn’t need a courtroom. It just needs love.
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