Is the Covenant of Grace Conditional?

 

A question that has confused and intrigued some divines is whether or not we ought to speak of the covenant of grace as conditional or not. Turretin explains a few distinction to help resolve this controversy. 

[1]. A condition is either viewed a priori (when the performance of the condition gives man a right to the reward) or a posteriori (when the condition is used as a means or disposition in the covenant). 

[2]. Conditions are either natural or supernatural, the latter of which depends upon and is given by divine grace.

[3]. The covenant promises are twofold: concerning the end (salvation) and the means (faith and repentance).

If by "condition", we mean an a priori condition (meritorious and impulsive), then in that sense the covenant of grace is not conditional. 

But if by "condition", we mean it in the a posteriori sense, where "condition" refers to the instrumental cause and the disposition of the subject, then in that sense the covenant of grace is conditional. 

Some have thought that if conditions in any sense are to ascribed to the covenant of grace, that it would then be confounded with the covenant of works and the law. However, the promises of these two different covenants remain distinct in a number of ways: (1) The legal condition is perfect obedience to the law, but the "evangelical condition", so to speak, is faith. (2) The legal condition depends upon nature, while the evangelical conditions depend upon grace. (3) The legal condition has the relation of a meritorious cause, while the evangelical conditions (faith and repentance) are the gifts of God's free grace. The conditions of the covenant of grace are produced by the efficacy of grace. 

How Faith is a Condition

Faith is a condition of the covenant of grace in an instrumental sense, in that it apprehends and applies Christ and His righteousness. Faith is opposed to righteousness and obedience, not that they do not subsist with each another (since true faith wills always be followed by good works and evangelical righteousness), but they do not stand together causally in the same way. Righteousness is meritorious and principle, whereas faith is instrumental.

"Second, the condition is either antecedent to the acceptance of the covenant (which holds the relation of the cause why we are received into it) or subsequent (holding relation of means and the way by which we go forward to its consummation). In the former sense, faith is the sole condition of the covenant because it alone embraces Christ with his benefits. But in the latter sense, holiness and obedience can have the relation of a condition because they are the mean and the way by which we arrive at the full possession of the blessings of the covenant." (Francis Turretin)