Abstract

Most modern evangelicals classify the Abrahamic covenant as unconditional. But the label is ambiguous. A review of the covenant passages strongly suggests that the blessings promised to Abraham were conditioned on his obedience – making the covenant, in this sense, conditional. On the other hand, once Abraham obeyed God’s commands, the covenant became prophetically guaranteed – and is, in this sense, unconditional.The nuance is more than theological trivia, for God’s dealings with Abraham have profound implications for us. Abraham received imputed righteousness by faith, without conditions of obedience. But his justification did not guarantee him historic/prophetic prominence. That flowed from his submission to Yahweh. I suggest that these twin principles are universal, applying to believers of every age.All scripture quotations are from the New American Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. Emphasis is mine in all scripture quotations