No, that actually answers a question I had. Because a lot of good reformed preachers make a conscious effort to work Christ into every sermon and every passage they preach from. Sometimes I think it even sounds a little awkward. But I was wondering if, when you hear that, you are hearing someone who follows NCT. I guess the answer is no.
If the difference boils down to the idea that in NCT, you believe that the "law of Christ" or the Sermon on the Mount replaces the Law then I always thought the Sermon on the Mount taught what the Law really meant when spiritualized. In that case, while you have the beauty of Christ himself explaining how to understand the Law there is definitely no conflict of obsolescence suggested. I know often times people come up with "new" things to write about, which I guess is fine, but it almost seems, as much as it kills me to say it, that Austin might be right about it being a "nothing burger". Unless there is more to this still.
Kinda.
The idea with Dispensationalism is that Divine Economy is viewed through God's actions with mankind through different ages.
The idea with Covenant Theology is that Divine Economy is viewed through various covenants, of prime importance are covenants that are derived from Scripture rather than in the text of Scripture.
The idea with NCT is that Divine Economy is viewed through the New Covenant.
I understand you think it is nothing (it is only "something" insofar as Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology is "something"....we all read of "covenants" and "dispensation" in the Bible as well).
But I would argue that history shows us exactly how these "nothings" change the conclusions Christians reach.
That said, in and of themselves, these methods are not doctrines. They are approaches to Scripture.
I am not sure where you got the idea that NCT holds the Mosaic Law obsolete. The belief is that the Mosaic Law is fulfilled in Christ and
established by the New Covenant (the very opposite of obsolete).
In other words, the moral commandments of the Mosaic Law show us how our actions should be (the Law is a "school master" that shows us our sin). The New Covenant shows us
who we are to be.
Again, this is viewing Scripture through the lens of the New Covenant. Covenant Theology would claim NCT has it backwards, and NCT would claim Covenant Theology has it backwards. Where you see the Sermon on the Mount as explaining the Old Covenant Law I view the Sermon on the Mount as explaining the Law of Christ (the life in the Spirit).
And to be fair, regardless of where we draw the distinction a distinction must be drawn because the Bible tells us that the New Covenant itself is the righteous of God manifested
apart from the Law.
