O. Palmer Robertson > Quotes

“The new covenant radically alters the Sabbath perspective. The current believer does not first labor six days, looking hopefully towards rest. Instead, he begins the week by rejoicing in the rest already accomplished by the cosmic event of Christ's resurrection. Then he enters joyfully into his six days of labor, confident of success through the victory which Christ has already won.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ Of The Covenants

“A covenant is a bond in blood sovereignly administered. When God enters into a covenantal relationship with men, he sovereignly institutes a life-and-death bond. A covenant is a bond in blood, or a bond of life and death, sovereignly administered.”
― O. Palmer Robertson

“The limitations of man's perception might seem to lead to despair. But the very fact that God has an overarching plan that embraces every human experience points in the opposite direction. You, your daily moment-by-moment circumstances, your final end are all "from the hand of God" (Eccl. 2:24). In this confidence you may deal with the vanity, the frustrations, the transitoriness of daily life.”
― O. Palmer Robertson

“If man will acknowledge fully the lordship of the Creator by obeying his word purely for the sake of obedience, he shall experience the consummate blessing of the covenant.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants

“The historical manifestations of the covenant of redemption can be categorized according to their specific emphases:
Adam: the covenant of commencement
Noah: the covenant of preservation
Abraham: the covenant of promise
Moses: the covenant of law
David: the covenant of the kingdom
Christ the covenant of consummation.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ Of The Covenants

“Because the various strands of hope for redemption converge on this single person, He becomes the unifying focus of all Scripture. Both “kingdom” and “covenant” unite under “Immanuel.”
It is not “the” blood of the covenant that he administers, as does Moses. Instead, he solemnly declares “this is my blood of the covenant…” (Matt 26:28). As kingly covenant mediator, he does not administer merely the laws of the kingdom. It is Himself that he administers to the people.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ Of The Covenants

“The other side of a proper response to law and covenant according to the prophets is faith. For in view of the condescension on the part of God in establishing the intimacy of a covenantal relationship, the great, great sin of Israel would be failure to trust him for everything necessary for life and salvation. In confronting Ahaz at the time of the Syro-Ephraimite invasion, Isaiah plays on the Hebrew word for “faith” (amen): “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all” (Isa. 7:9). Says J. A. Motyer: “Faith is the central reality of the Lord’s people, not just their distinctiveness but their ground of existence. No faith, no people.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Prophets: Abridged Edition

“Each time a group of believers in Christ celebrate the Lord’s Supper, they rejoice in their current experience of the blessings of the new covenant because of their fellowship with God achieved by the “blood of the new covenant” (Luke 22:20; I Cor. 11:25). These current covenant participants are in a more exalted position than Moses, because with unveiled face they always behold the glory of God, and so pass from glory to glory (II Cor. 3:18).”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants

“This broader understanding of the role of the Sabbath in the origin, the history, and the eschatology of the world provides the framework for understanding the significance of the Sabbath for the new covenant. To speak of the “abolishment” of the Sabbath under the new covenant does not involve merely the denial of the continuing significance of the Mosaic decalogue. It involves a breach of the very orders of creation, history, and consummation as revealed in Scripture. Instead of resisting the role of the Sabbath in redemption, the participant in the new covenant should rejoice in the privileges associated with God’s consummating Sabbath-ordinance.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants

“Therefore, it is fitting that the new covenant radically alters the Sabbath perspective. The current believer in Christ does not follow the Sabbath pattern of the people of the old covenant. He does not first labor six days, looking hopefully toward rest. Instead, he begins the week by rejoicing in the rest already accomplished by the cosmic event of Christ’s resurrection. Then he enters joyfully into his six days of labor, confident of success through the victory which Christ already has won.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants

“Law under Moses never was intended to function apart from promise.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ Of The Covenants

“The cumulative evidence of the Scriptures points definitely toward the unified character of the biblical covenants. God’s multiple bonds with his people ultimately unite into a single relationship. Particular details of the covenants may vary. A definite line of progress may be noted. Yet the covenants of God are one.”
― O. Palmer Robertson, The Christ of the Covenants