For Latter-day Saints who
interact with Protestants, the following definitions of important terms will be
useful. What follows is taken from
Fred A. Malone, The Baptism of
Disciples Alone: A Covenantal Argument for Credobaptism Versus Paedobaptism (rev
ed.; Cape Coral, Fla.: Founders Press,
2008)
The analogy of faith. This means that the final authoritative interpreter
of a specific Scripture is the rest of Scripture, i.e., the whole counsel of
God. Scripture interpreting Scripture is the best friend of the
literal-grammatical-historical method. This places Scripture over man’s
tradition, church history, science, or ecclesiastical pronouncements. It also limits
the unbounded paedobaptist application of good and necessary inference when it
contradicts God-given revelation concerning an instituted sacrament. (p. 30)
The perspicuity of Scripture. This means that Scripture is sufficiently
clear upon essential matters of faith and practice, even in modern language
translations, to guide the common Christian in faith and life. This does not
deny the need of gifted teachers to explain God’s Word, but it does affirm that
the Scripture is clear enough that the common Christian should be convinced of
their beliefs from the Scripture alone without blindly following respected
teachers. (p. 30)
The finality and clarity of the New Testament. The New Testament is the final and clearest revelation
of God to man, and men must not add to it by alleged further revelations. The
New Testament is clearer than the Old Testament because it finally and authoritatively
interprets Old Testament types and shadows, not because the Old Testament was
unclear as a revelation of God. (p. 31)
The priority of the New Testament. Because “the Old is in the New revealed,”
there must be a final dependence upon the New Testament revelation to determine
how the Old Testament is fulfilled in it. This is a necessary corollary to the
concept of progressive revelation and biblical theology and is an essential prerequisite
to a sound systematic theology. (p. 31)
The typology of Scripture. Typological exegesis is a necessary principle
to understand when interpreting Old Testament prophecy and New Testament
fulfillment, i.e., the New Covenant prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31-34. This is true
especially when good and necessary inference from the Old Testament is the
justification for a New Testament instituted sacrament. According to Bernard Ramm,
typology has been a major area of disagreement between dispensational and covenantal
scholars (Ramm, Protestant, 239-241).
Classically,
dispensationalists have required an Old Testament prophecy to be fulfilled in
the exact literal form of the prophecy, thus projecting elements unfulfilled exactly
and literally in the New Testament into a future millennium containing a future
temple with sacrifices in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 37;26-28). More covenantal
interpreters understand the New Testament quotations of Old Testament
prophecies as biblically fulfilled literally in the New Testament quotations of
Old Testament prophecies as biblically fulfilled literally in the New Testament
if there is a historical correspondence and a heightened fulfillment. For instance,
Jesus literally fulfilled and abrogated the temple sacrifices, then entered the
better heavenly tabernacle, negating the necessity for another earthly one
(Hebrews 9). Also, the church fulfills the Ezeiel 37:26=28 prophecy, according
to literal New Testament revelation (2 Corinthians 6:16), thus eliminating the
inferred need for another physical temple to fulfill the prophecy. God dwelling
in His people is a heightened fulfillment far superior to the building of
another physical temple on earth.
However,
paedobaptist covenatalists make the opposite error. They erroneous attempt to
make the Old Testament “church in the wilderness” virtually identical to the
New Testament church. This includes the placement of the covenant sign upon
infants, ignoring principles of typological exegesis, as well as ignoring the
fact that infants were not circulated in the wilderness. The church in the
wilderness is simply the typological shadow of the New Testament revealed form,
not requiring literal correspondence in every element, as dispensationalists
require. After all, one should remember that dispensationalists often interpret
the church in the wilderness as evidence for the “carnal Christian” doctrine of
the modern day.
Typological
exegesis places the priority upon the New Testament as the final authoritative
interpreter of the Old, rather than turning to the Old as the final interpreter
of its own new Testament fulfillment. (pp. 32-33)
Further Reading:
Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura
