WCF 7.3

7.3. Of God’s Covenant with Man

Man by his fall having made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace; wherein He freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto life His Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe.

Proof texts

• Gal. 3:21 — [21] Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
• Rom. 8:3 — [3] For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
• Rom. 3:20, 21 — [20] For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. [21] But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it —
• Gen. 3:15 — [15] I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
• Isa. 42:6 — [6] “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
• Mark 16:15, 16 — [15] And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. [16] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
• John 3:16 — [16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
• Rom. 10:6, 9 — [6] But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) [9] because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
• Gal. 3:11 — [11] Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
• Ezek. 36:26, 27 — [26] And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. [27] And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
• John 6:44, 45 — [44] No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. [45] It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me —

For discussion

1. The Assembly cited Gal. 3:21 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
2. 11 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
3. WSC Q20 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
4. WLC Q31 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?

Read alongside

WSC Q20 · WLC Q31 · WLC Q32 · WLC Q30 · BC 5.2 · BC 5.3 · BC 5.4 · BC 5.5 · BC 5.6 · HC Q29 · 1689 7.1 · 1689 7.2 · 1689 7.3 · SD 7.1 · SD 7.2 · SD 7.3 · SD 7.4 · SD 7.5 · IAR 4.5 · SC60 2.2 · SHC 2.3 · SHC 2.4 · IAR 5.1 · IAR 5.2 · IAR 5.3 · IAR 5.4 · IAR 5.5 · SC60 3.1 · SHC 3.2