Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 29:3 (Fall 2025)
Article: Editorial: Discussing Differences Among Covenantal Views
Author: Stephen J. Wellum

Editorial: Discussing Differences Among Covenantal Views

Stephen J. Wellum

Stephen J. Wellum is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. He received his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and he is the author of numerous essays and articles and the co-author with Peter Gentry of Kingdom through Covenant, 2nd edition (Crossway, 2018) and God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology (Crossway, 2015); the co-editor of Progressive Covenantalism (B&H Academic, 2016); the author of God the Son Incarnate: The Doctrine of the Person of Christ (Crossway, 2016) and Christ Alone—The Uniqueness of Jesus as Savior (Zondervan, 2017); the co-author of Christ from Beginning to End: How the Full Story of Scripture Reveals the Full Glory of Christ (Zondervan, 2018); and the author of The Person of Christ: An Introduction (Crossway, 2021), Systematic Theology: From Canon to Concept, vol. 1 (B&H Academic, 2024), and It is Finished (Union, 2025).

At the national meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in 2023, there was a session devoted to Baptist covenant theology. Harrison Perkins, as a Presbyterian, began the session as an “outsider” looking in, as he represented traditional Reformed covenant theology. Harrison offered his assessment of two Baptist covenantal views represented by progressive covenantalism (PC) and 1689 federalism respectively. His analysis was helpful in that it allowed Baptists to hear how non-Baptists view, understand, and evaluate Baptist covenantal viewpoints. In addition, Richard Lucas, who represented the PC view, offered a helpful analysis of the similarities and differences between 1689 federalism and the PC view. Daniel Scheiderer represented the 1689 federalist view, offering reflections on his view, his analysis of the PC view, and overall thoughts regarding Baptist covenant theology. After these three presentations, a panel discussion ensued with all three presenters

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along with me, as a representative of the PC view, and Robert Howell, who also served as a representative of the 1689 federalist view.

Overall, the discussion was irenic, constructive, and helpful for all those involved. In this issue of SBJT, we have published the presentations of Harrison Perkins and Richard Lucas, along with two articles by Zach Maxcey, who writes from another Baptist view, namely New Covenant Theology (NCT). Zach’s articles were presentations given at a conference in Franklin, Tennessee in 2023, where Zach sought to discuss the similarities and differences between NCT and PC. We have published Zach’s articles here in order to further the con...