Covenant theology is a major component of Reformed theology. Every Christian should study this topic in order to better understand how the Bible is put together. How does the old covenant relate to the new covenant? Should we still follow laws of the Mosaic covenant? What is the place of children in the church? These are issues to which covenant theology speaks.
To help guide readers, I want to give a list of my top five books on covenant theology. But let me make a couple of qualifications as to how I chose these books.
First, I am not including books by Reformed Baptists in this list. Reformed covenant theologians adhere to a strong continuity between the old and new covenants and thus practice infant baptism, as children of believers were born members of the old covenant. Reformed Baptist works modify covenant theology to some extent. This is even more the case for newer Baptist views such as “new covenant theology” and “progressive covenantalism.” While I am glad to see broader Christianity move away from dispensationalism and closer to covenant theology, I am only recommending works with which I substantially agree.
Second, I have not read every work written on the subject of covenant theology. This is a massive field of study. There are many books on covenant theology that have been written, with many addressing specific topics. What I recommend here are mostly books providing an overview of covenant theology rather than focusing on one specific issue.
The Top Five Books on Covenant Theology
5. Covenants Made Simple: Understanding God’s Unfolding Promises to His People by Jonty Rhodes. This is a good short survey of covenant theology. It is not an in-depth work, but it is something you can hand to people in church.
4. Covenant Theology: The Key of Theology in Reformed Thought and Tradition by Peter Golding. This is a more sophisticated, yet relatively brief overview of covenant theology. The most helpful aspects of this book are the history of doctrinal development, explanations of different views of things like the covenant of works and the Mosaic covenant, and the section on the dual aspect of the covenant.
3. Christ and Covenant Theology: Essays on Election, Republication, and the Covenants by Cornelis Venema. This is a somewhat technical work, though very well written. It is not the first book a person should take up on covenant theology, but it is one of the best treatments of recent debates, covering the Federal Vision, N.T. Wright’s view of justification, the relationship between covenant and election, and the question of whether the covenant of works was republished in the Mosaic covenant (including two long chapters critiquing Kline’s republication view promoted in The Law Is Not of Faith). It contains 12 essays totaling 434 pages, but these can also be read in isolation if someone is looking to focus on a particular topic.
2. Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives by Waters, Reid, Muether (editors). This work by the faculty of Reformed Theological Seminary will become the standard textbook for covenant theology. Though having some disunity because of so many authors and having some notable omissions for a book of its size, each chapter discusses different views within covenant theology and mentions lots of resources for further study. I will not elaborate since I did a full review of the book.
1. The Fulfillment of the Promises of God: An Explanation of Covenant Theology by Richard Belcher. This is the kind of book I have been looking for and therefore earns the number one spot. Belcher both surveys the entirety of covenant theology (particularly that espoused by the Westminster Confession and Catechisms) and substantially interacts with those who hold different views from himself, including Meredith Kline, confessional Baptists, the novel progressive covenantalism (found in Kingdom through Covenant), and the Federal Vision (though Belcher unfortunately lumps the FV men together when discussing the benefits of covenant membership, 158).
Belcher defends the covenant of works, argues there is only one Noahic covenant (contra Kline), and critiques Kline’s view that the covenant of works was republished in the Mosaic covenant (though he confusingly uses Kline’s phrase “works principle” to describe the historic Reformed view that the moral law given to Adam was restated in the Mosaic covenant). Belcher even regularly implements dual aspect theology even though he does not use the phrase (45-46, 135-136, 245-249), and he critiques VanDrunen’s distorted use of natural law (which is based on Kline’s radical two kingdom view, 190-196). Belcher provides this rich content in only 270 pages. While the book is well written, it at times reads like a commentary and thus may lose the interest of some readers. This is not a perfect book, but it is the best I am aware of for a single-author treatment of covenant theology.
Honorable Mention
The Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson. Though dated, this is a classic work of covenant theology worth mentioning.
The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism edited by Gregg Strawbridge. This is a collection of essays from a Reformed covenantal view. Though this book is primarily about infant baptism, these essays cover a variety of topics related to covenant theology.
Unity and Continuity in Covenantal Thought: A Study in the Reformed Tradition to the Westminster Assembly by Andrew Woolsey. This is a longer work (550 pages) of historical theology that is good for those looking for more in-depth study.
