A Truly Christian Nation: The Covenanters

*VIDEO NOTES: Corrections, resources, affiliate links etc. Correction - at around 5:50 this video, I say the Bible AND the Word of God. I meant to say the Bible AS the Word of God.
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[@pastormattbell]

Their ideas are not only unpopular with secularists and progressivists, but also, unfortunately, most evangelical Christians 🤦‍♂. Christ have mercy.

[@JesusBothLordandChrist]

Sadly yes.

[@austinrothjr]

Yes. The false doctrine (even by Jefferson’s standards) of separation of church and state runs deep in the US.

[@peterverhelst95]

The Covenanters had a correct view of things. The issue is the brokenness of life.

[@darrelbolen5908]

They were postmill that was their worldview

[@deutschamerikaner]

Based and Christ-pilled

[@JC-sj2pd]

Prediction Matthew and his church goes full RPCNA

[@derekf85]

It’s people like him that have saved the PCA and continue to transform it into a powerhouse of orthodoxy.

[@austinrothjr]

@@derekf85Powerhouse of orthodoxy is maybe a bit strong.

[@unit2394]

I have wondered if he may end up RPCNA for a while.

[@user-fk1rf4jm2j]

Christ is already King over all the earthly kingdoms and His body. We are not to take up arms to overthrow the nations He has established.

[@umaikakudo]

We are to take up the Sword of the Spirit and make willing disciples of everyone possible baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Christ commanded ( including all the commands directed to magistrates and judges ). These are the standing orders of the church. We have forgotten that the Sword of the Spirit is the only offensive weapon issued and it is the most powerful weapon in all of creation.

[@user-fk1rf4jm2j]

@@umaikakudo Of course it is. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, the gospel. It is not carnal. Rev. 13:7 And it was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.

[@LucasFilipes]

Excellent introduction! Can’t wait for the full version.

[@troyanderson1650]

Love and admire the Covenantors greatly! Thank you brother for putting this together and can't wait for the full video!

[@PhilLarson1956]

So wonderful to hear this sound doctrine. I was so excited when I first read Symington's Messiah the Prince.

[@jamesascott7040]

Great video. They seem great. Hopefully you can re-upload so we can see the whole thing too 😊

[@MatthewEverhard]

It's coming out on Friday. This is sort of like a preview for the larger one.

[@johny.6134]

@@MatthewEverhard Will you be addressing how the covenanters would respond to our current governments here in NA? Would they simply counsel the church to address failures of government in sermons? Would they expect formal letters from churches to the government? At what point would they act on their right to revolt? As you said in the video, they've aimed high in their ideals. I'm curious to know how they would implement their high ideals in our current society. Thanks!

[@timharris2291]

Just a quick note re the list at beginning -- exclusive psalm singing was not a Covenanter distinctive, as most if not all branches of the Reformed family did so at that time. However, it is true that they have maintained that practice, unlike many others.

[@blackukulele]

The old Scottish Presbyterians were fiercely loyal to a royal house that hated them and their principles. James Vi (No Bishop, No King), Charles I (Civil War) and Charles II (the Killing Times -- oops, James VII) each strived to rule the church absolutely by divine right. Yet, most Scottish Presbyterians held to the National Covenant and Solemn League until the late 19th century. The Free Church of Scotland regained property denied them by the United Free Church because the Free Church maintained the constitution of the original Free church and the Establishment principle.

[@ByzantineCalvinist]

These are the people who educated my late father in Cyprus some eight decades ago. When I was growing up he used to receive regular newsletters from the National Reform Association (the other NRA). a group founded in 1864 by Covenanters.

[@pherrera75]

Matt this is a well timed video. I look forward to the full video. I am struggling how this view differs from theonomy. I have an RPCNA friend who things that Theonomy is a cancer within the cnurch, but holds to this covenanter view. I fail to see how they differ. I hope you get into this in the full video.

[@johnking9161]

Most Theonomist are Federal Vision heretics. Most Covenanters seem to focus on piety and Traditional Reformed Christian doctrine. Theonomists usually reject the weightier matters of the Law like the first table.

[@thomasprefontaine5023]

Whoa... were they.. gasp! Christian nationalists!?

[@thereformedreader]

Very much looking forward to the full video. I am starting a masters on the descending obligation of the covenants in scotland. This will likely intersect with your own position in the atates on civil government. All the best. Christ is King.

[@ffrock1901]

I'm preaching a sermon series on political theology in the fall, so this subject has been on my mind a lot. I'm not Presbyterian, but I appreciate the work they've done in the area of political theology. Personally, I'm sympathetic to the Covenanters' view of things-particularly Christ's mediatorial kingship-but I can't help but think their understanding of church/state relations is somewhat contradictory. It seems strange to me to argue on the one hand that the church and state should be separate, and then to go on and argue for all sorts of duties the state has toward the church. Further, it would seem to me that history is clear that such unions between church and state never end well, despite the best intentions of those who promote such a union. Currently, my conclusion is that the church should be a prophetic voice to the state and seek to promote righteousness in the civil sphere, proclaiming the gospel and teaching Christ's lordship over every area of life. But, I haven't yet arrived at the conclusion that our goal should be to establish a "Christian nation" in the sense described here, although I'm open to having my mind changed by the Scriptures. Thanks for the video!

[@BedtimeBen]

While there are certainly differences, this basically Christian nationalism.

[@victormote13]

Great introduction to the Covenanters' views. To clarify one issue, the framers of the U.S. Constitution did not in general view themselves as creating a nation, but rather a strong confederation of nations. Any covenant between God and the people would have been (and was) a state issue. The U.S. Constitution was instead a covenant between the states, promising, among other things, not to allow the federal government to interfere with such covenants. The First Amendment was a restriction on Congress, the federal government. The Enlightenment-inspired Fourteenth Amendment pushed that restriction onto the States, not only suppressing any such covenants, but paving the way for the federal government to establish its own anti-Christian religion.

[@theverylovelychannel4498]

Has anyone seen an effective classification of which OT laws are moral vs civil vs ceremonial? Kind regards.

[@nickspitzley8539]

Pastor matt that was great. This resonates with me deeply. I get accused of wanting a theonomy. Can you explain how or if this differs with the modern theonomy view?

[@DrGero15]

Where is the whole video available?

[@cullenkenneth5980]

Dr Everhard, what do you make of the modern 2 Kingdoms doctrine as taught by R Scott Clark and David vanDrunen?

[@maceawilder]

Deleted my reply because a quick google search reminded me that two kingdoms theology is not about Kingdom of Heaven vs Kingdom of God. For those that don’t know, it is a reformed and Lutheran doctrine which separates the secular world from the spiritual world.

[@tropicalpines4585]

The distinctions between different types of two kingdoms theology and theonomists do seem to be getting more relevant every day. Some in the radical two kingdoms camp set themselves against theonomy in very stark contrast, but they seem to separate the church and other spheres of life from each other so much that the classical two kingdoms position (John Calvin) and theonomy (Doug Wilson, Joel Webbon, etc) seem to have more in common with each other than they do. I would love to hear pastor Everhard’s thoughts.

[@PennySmart]

The Covenanters were so right. Here in France the State regulates churches: for instance, it stipulates the way the compulsory annual general assembly must be organised, and so on. I have twice seen this system being misused: once to oust a pastor who was loved by the congregation but not by the elders when he was talked into designating an elder as president of the church association. I believe it's one of the reasons why French evangelical churches are so weak and their testimony so feeble. Money given to the church can only be used for worship purposes. Another association is required if the church wants to evangelise, etc.

[@bryantmoreno4290]

Dr. Everhard, is this mediatorial kingship view common among all the Covenanters, or particularly among those who are the followers of Richard Cameron and their theological descendants: the RP’s?

[@Ratlegion]

Video seems trimmed. No intro.

[@timsanduleac1646]

It’s part of a longer video on the Covenanters which will drop later this week.

[@MatthewEverhard]

Correct. I'm on vacation this week so I clipped this to sort of prime the pump for the longer video on Friday. That's all I've got for you all this week folks!

[@AlexanderLongacre182]

Hey Matthew, It seems like there was more to the video, will you be uploading a longer video?

[@MatthewEverhard]

Yes. This is a preview clip for Friday's full length (40 minute) history of the Covenanters. I am on vacation this week, so I really only had time to do one good video. :-)

[@Yesica1993]

@@MatthewEverhard Enjoy!

[@danielsanchez9891]

How do the Covenanter beliefs line up with general PCA sentiment?

[@darrelbolen5908]

@@danielsanchez9891 it depends on if they’re Amill or Postmill