If we build our hope and faith on anything other than Jesus Christ clothed in the gospel, then we are building our faith on sinking sand. The moment a church hurts you, a pastor fails you, or the church fails in living out the gospel in the world, your faith will be shaken because you have built it on these things (sinking sand).

Deconstructing1 and departing from the Christian faith appears to be a popular conversation right now. It should be noted that the problem of apostasy and sin within the church is not a new phenomena. The total depravity of man and deceitfulness of sin have been with man since the Fall. With that being said, Paul Maxwell’s recent “Joe Rogan” like interview with Anthony Bradley brings this conversation up again.
Dr. Paul Maxwell was a popular young theologian/ philosopher who left the Christian faith a year ago. He has written numerous journal articles, was a contributor to TGC and Desiring God, and has studied under some notable Reformed scholars. Also, his dissertation was recently published: The Trauma of Doctrine. By all accounts, Paul appeared to be a rising scholar, who many men in evangelicalism flocked to due to his straightforward writing and podcast at Self-Wire. Given these details, it is to no wonder that Paul’s “sudden” departure from the Christian faith was unsettling to some.2
In light of Paul’s recent interview explaining his “journey from Calvinism to atheism,” I want to offer a few observations on the interview itself, and then move to how these observations give Christians a timely reminder.
Observations
First, there is no doubt in my mind Paul Maxwell has dealt with some real hurt in his family upbringing and experience within the church and academy. Certainly, the hurt in the former shaped how he received and dealt with the hurt the in latter.3
Second, what is telling throughout the interview (“Maxwell’s” deconversion story) is that Maxwell came to “evangelicalism” out of a deep need of belonging and finding love due to his poor home life- where love was contractual. As he describes his “conversion” at age sixteen, there is little to anything said about the gospel and his need for reconciliation with God. It appears he found a warm home with Christianity because “love” could be found there. Christianity gave him a way to live to be loved by God and others.
Paul’s draw to Christianity appears to be something other than the gospel. This further plays into how he dealt with hurt from those within Christianity. This is neither an excuse for those who “actually” did hurt Paul nor is it placing blame solely at Paul’s feet. The point is that what drew Paul to Christianity likely became his foundation and identity of what being a Christian means. A Christian identity or belief built on something other than the gospel will always erode and crack under the pressure. Jesus’ parable of the seed and the sower is helpful on this point.
Third, there is a real sense in the interview that he pursued academic theology divorced from the local church and the foundation of the gospel. He pursued knowledge and credentials to understand the trauma of his life and to further belong in “evangelicalism” as a “good solider.” This approach to theology is a foundation that is ripe for deconstruction and leaving the faith
Fourth, the last fifteen minutes of the interview are the most heart-breaking. As Bradley asks Paul about the advice he would give to young guys who are trying to understand where he is at, Paul goes on an pretty animated piece about how people should not waste their time emailing him, telling him why he is wrong, and that he is going to hell. He says that he has tried with more effort and energy to be a Christian than any of those young guys. He goes on to say no one has read more, studied more, and wrestled more with Christianity than he has.
The reality is Paul tried to be a Christian on the basis of his works and never really understood the gospel in the first place, which was highlighted early in the interview when he speaks of being a supporter of N. T. Wright. It is understandable why there would be relief and even “happiness” for someone who departed the faith after years of “trying to be a Christian” on their own merit. That is a miserable pursuit that always ends in ruin. Sin will ensure it and the law will expose it.
Reminders for Christians
Deconstruction is simply disbelief and a departure from Christianity, fashioned with fancy postmodern language. Our hearts should be broken and should lament for those who have left the Christian faith, praying for their salvation, but we should not be shaken by their departure.
First, it is evidence that they were not really among the people of God (1 Jn 2:19). Second, the security and assurance of our salvation and hope is rooted in the object of our faith and not our faith itself. Jesus Christ is a sure anchor for our souls, who secured salvation for us through mediatorial work as our high priest (Heb 6:19–20). Our hope and trust is fully in God alone (1 Pt 1:19–21), who elected us in eternity, redeemed us at the cross, and applied salvation to us at our conversion all according to God’s great mercy (Eph 1:3–14).4
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Psalm 128:2 mentions one of the many blessings of those who fear the Lord and who walk in His ways. The writer states, “You will eat the fruit of your labor.” This was written after or during a time of exile, when pagan nations swooped in and literally ate the produce that Israel had worked for. Once Israel returned to the land, they could enjoy the crops they raised. In general, what I see here is that job satisfaction seems to be a divine by-product of long, dedicated efforts.

Previously, I shared some observations about work from several of the minor prophets. Today, I thought it might be helpful to provide a brief summary of some of the observations about work from the Psalms that I have compiled in my book, Immanuel Labor – God’s Presence in our Profession.
The Psalms Show Us God as a Worker
We know that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and then rested from His work (Gen. 2:2-3). David declares that God’s work is reflected in His creation (Ps. 19:1.) (See also Ps. 102:25)
Moreover, God continuously works now to sustain His creation. Psalms 65:9–13 describes how God provides water, vegetation, and animals for His people through His care over the land He gave them.
Psalm 104:10-31 highlights in much greater detail all of the things that God provides for His people. In addition to what was mentioned above, he adds wine and oil, trees to build homes, temples, and other buildings, the moon and sun to mark off the seasons, and the sea which contains much food.
Additionally, in Psalm 111:2-7, we observe that God works to show His grace, mercy, providence, power, and faithfulness. In Psalm 143:5, David ponders all of the work that God has done throughout His own life. His deep understanding and experiences give him hope, causing him to continue to trust in Him.
The Psalms Take Us into the Work Environment
Throughout Psalm 107, we see God’s people stressed out by changes to the work environment. Some were looking for work. They wandered in the desert (vv. 4-5). God delivered them by providing for their needs in His unfailing love (vv. 6-9). Others made their living on the water. Storms at sea brought fears of losing personnel, boats, and goods (vv. 23-27). God delivered them by stilling the storm and bringing them to shore (vv. 28-32). In spite of these difficult situations that were beyond their control, God’s never-changing covenant love, faithfulness, and protection got them through.
Psalm 128:2 mentions one of the many blessings of those who fear the Lord and who walk in His ways. The writer states, “You will eat the fruit of your labor.” This was written after or during a time of exile, when pagan nations swooped in and literally ate the produce that Israel had worked for. Once Israel returned to the land, they could enjoy the crops they raised. In general, what I see here is that job satisfaction seems to be a divine by-product of long, dedicated efforts. I know that it is for me.
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A failure to grasp the relationship between the new covenant and prior covenants diminishes how the entire biblical storyline coheres and finds its culmination in Christ. Finally, a failure to misperceive that the new covenant has been already inaugurated through Christ is to obscure Christ’s work as the Last Adam, the definitive offspring of Abraham, the true and faithful Israelite, and the final son of David. Put simply, a proper appraisal of Christ’s work in inaugurating the new covenant magnifies the glory of Christ and the glory of God’s grace toward us in him.

This essay will seek to address the following three questions: How does the new covenant differ from the old covenant? How does the new covenant relate to God’s prior covenants with his people? Finally, in what sense did Christ fulfill the new covenant? These questions, while challenging for readers of Scripture, are necessary for us to have a right grasp of the Bible’s storyline, a right appreciation for Christ’s work on our behalf, and a right foundation for the church and the Christian life.
The New Covenant Transcends the Old Covenant
The descriptor “new” sets the new covenant in redemptive-historical contrast with the “old” covenant. The new covenant is new not merely in time but also in quality. As Hebrews 8 poignantly says it, the new covenant is qualitatively better than the old because it is founded on “better promises” (Heb 8:6). These promises are aptly summarized by Jeremiah 31:33–34, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” We can summarize these promises as the internalization of the law, an inviolable covenant relationship between God and his people, a community-wide knowledge of God, and the final forgiveness of sins. Each of these promises contrasts with Israel’s experience under the old covenant and evinces at least four ways in which the new covenant transcends the old.
First, under the old covenant God did not internalize the law within his people. God gave the law on tablets of stone, but he did not transform the hearts of Israelites such that they would receive the law and desire to obey it (see 2 Cor. 3:3). Put another way, old covenant Israel was circumcised outwardly but not inwardly. In contrast with Israel’s experience, the new covenant promise to internalize the law means that God would circumcise the hearts of the covenant members (Deut. 30:6) and put within them his Spirit so that they would desire to obey God’s commands from the heart (Ezek. 36:26–27).
Second, the old covenant did not provide a lasting covenant relationship between God and his people. Immediately after God ratified the Sinai covenant with Israel, Israel broke the covenant by worshiping the golden calf. The new covenant’s promise of a relationship that is “not like the [Sinai] covenant . . . that they broke” (Jer 31:32) strongly suggests that the new covenant relationship forged between God and his people will never be broken. Accordingly, at times the biblical authors will depict the new covenant as a “covenant of peace” or an “everlasting covenant” (Isa 55:3; Ezek 34:25; 37:26; cf. Heb 13:20).
Third, the old covenant community was mixed in that only some of the covenant members possessed saving faith, whereas the majority were characterized by unbelief. Shot through the Old Testament is the notion of a faithful remnant within the broader covenant community. This remnant was often keenly felt to be minuscule (e.g., 1 Kgs. 19:10; Jer. 6:13). The new covenant’s promise is that the entire covenant community would “know the Lord” savingly, even “from the least of them to the greatest” (Jer 31:34). This portrays a vastly different experience for the covenant community, not only in their relationship to God but also to one another.
Finally, through the sacrificial system, the old covenant provided forgiveness of sins for Israel (e.g., Lev. 4:26; 4:31; 5:10). At the same time, such forgiveness was only temporary and provisional, since Israel needed to offer animal sacrifices for their sins repeatedly. Even more, as Hebrews 10 notes, animal sacrifices cannot actually provide forgiveness of sins, but only served as a constant reminder for Israel of their need for forgiveness (Heb. 10:3–4). Embedded within the old covenant, therefore, was a system impotent to deal definitively with sin in the covenant community. Set in contrast to this system is the new covenant promise of final and definitive forgiveness, such that God would “remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34), thus abrogating the necessity of repeated sacrifices for sin (Heb. 10:18).
The New Covenant Fulfills All God’s Covenant Promises
A right understanding of the new covenant takes into consideration not only how it is set in contrast with the old covenant but also how it fulfills all of God’s covenant promises throughout redemptive history, including the covenant at creation and the covenants with Abraham, Israel, and David.
At creation God gave Adam and Eve life and joy in the Garden of Eden, where God dwelt among them. They lost this paradise when they failed to trust and obey God’s word, which led to their eviction from the garden and the concomitant loss of life and joy in God’s presence. The new covenant relates to this loss by promising that through the new covenant the paradise lost would become paradise regained. Particularly, in the new covenant God promised to pour out his Spirit, recreating and giving life to a new sacred community whose beauty would match that of the Garden of Eden. Coinciding with Jeremiah’s new covenant promises is a depiction of the entire new and expanded Jerusalem as holy to the Lord (Jer. 31:38–40).
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