Post by ambassador on Aug 22, 2009 0:32:15 GMT -5
“Rightly Dividing” the Scriptures: The Defense of Mid-Acts Dispensationalism
DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY IS EXTREMELY CRITICAL TO YOUR UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
• I speak from experience when I claim that most church members know absolutely nothing about dispensational Bible study; consequently, the Bible has become a burden to them amidst all the confusion. While this is what the devil wants, God did not intend for this to happen! Once you rightly divide the Scriptures, the Bible becomes so PROFOUNDLY clear. It becomes the exciting Book God wants It to be for you!
• The Apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). This word “rightly dividing” is an essential word in the King James Bible, as the Greek word translated “rightly dividing” is “orthotomeo,” meaning “to dissect correctly” (literally, “to cut straight”).
• Modern English Bible versions have dropped “rightly dividing” and replaced it with the Latin Vulgate term “correctly handling”—how foolish, as we see the pitiful results of confused church members today! “Study” is another word that has “magically disappeared” from modern Bible versions: could this be the reason why people do not STUDY their Bibles? Hmmm…. an interesting possibility.
• Dispensationalism was not invented in the 1800s—the Bible has been instructing us to “rightly divide” for the past 2000 years! The word “dispensation” has always been in the New Testament manuscripts in the form of the Greek word “oikonomia” (from which we get “economy,” having a similar pronunciation and definition). “Dispensation” only appears four times in Scripture—all of these instances are found in the Pauline epistles (1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2; Colossians 1:25)!
SO WHAT EXACTLY DOES DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY ENTAIL?
• A “dispensation” is defined most simply as “a specific period of time in which God deals with man in a specific way.” Why does God deal with man in different ways at different times? Man changed, thus changing the way God dealt with man. Again, no contradictions, just a change in program, with each program having its own unique instructions and circumstances.
• According to Ephesians 2:11, in “time past,” the Lord dealt with Israel (“Circumcision”) on the basis of the Old Testament covenants (Romans 15:8). At that time, God had no covenants with the Gentiles (“Uncircumcision”), so these non-Jews had “no hope” and were “without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). In unbelief, Israel fell from their privileged position, and now salvation is come to the Gentiles, us the non-Jews (Acts 28:28; Romans 11:11-12; Ephesians 2:13). We—the Church, the Body of Christ—are totally and completely separate from Israel. The Church has NOT replaced Israel, and Israel has NOT been eternally set aside. The Kingdom on Earth promised in the Old Testament to Israel has been postponed for 2000 years now, but after the Rapture (the end of the Dispensation of Grace), God will return to His dealings with Israel (Romans 11:25-26).
• Since the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Paul the Apostle), God has been dealing almost exclusively with the Gentiles (non-Jews) and the Church, the Body of Christ. Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles is NOT an extension of the twelve apostles’ ministry, because Peter and the eleven apostles ministered to Jews (Matthew 10:5-7), and Paul went to Gentiles (Romans 11:13). Israel’s “Gospel of the Kingdom” slipped away (Matthew 9:35), and now, the “Gospel of the Grace of God” (Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) has been preached these past 2000 years.
• The Lord entrusted the Apostle Paul with the “Dispensation of Grace” (Ephesians 3:2). Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13)—PAUL IS THE APOSTLE GOD SENT TO YOU! Everything that God has to say to you today is found in the 13 books of Romans through Philemon. The Pauline epistles contain the “revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25), meaning these Grace Age doctrines for the Church, the Body of Christ, CANNOT be found in any portion beside these 13 books of Romans through Philemon. The Rapture, the Gospel of Grace, and the term “body of Christ” are exclusively found in Paul’s books.
• You cannot ingest your neighbor’s prescription drugs without dire consequences because that medicine was not prescribed to you! Along the same line of thinking, you cannot take God’s directions to Israel and try to force their legalistic (Law-keeping) doctrines on us in the Grace and Mystery Program. IT WILL NOT WORK! And if you try to apply the Mosaic Law to us in the Dispensation of Grace, remember the warning of “dire consequences.”
ARE DISPENSATIONALISTS “BIBLE BUTCHERS?”
• Dispensationalists are falsely accused—we are only doing what the Bible tells us to do; the nondispensationalists are those who are carelessly God’s Word, and just have not been taught correctly.
• As I wrote moments before, “rightly dividing” means “correctly dissecting;” a dissection is a careful separation of distinct individuals. In this case, we NEATLY and CAREFULLY separate Israel’s prophetic program from the Body of Christ’s mystery program. God told the Nation Israel one thing under the Mosaic Law, whereas God tells us something entirely different because we are under Grace (Romans 6:14-15). Israel had temple worship, tithing, kosher food laws, Sabbath day-keeping, water baptism, and the priesthood. NONE of that applies to us today in the Dispensation of Grace. No contradictions, just a change in program; because man changed, the mode by which God dealt with man changed!
• It is impossible to follow every single instruction given in the Bible. On one hand, Adam and Eve could only eat things that grew naturally; on the other, Noah was told to eat anything he wanted, as long as he could catch it. Under the Mosaic Law, Israel was forbidden to eat certain types of creatures; the Body of Christ today under Grace is told to eat anything we want, provided that we give the Lord thanks! We cannot combine all these dieting directions given in the Bible, because they are all different—given to different people, at different times, under difference circumstances.
DO DISPENSATIONALISTS THROW AWAY THE OLD TESTAMENT? DO THEY EXALT PAUL ABOVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?
• Are dispensationalists trying to take away from what Jesus Christ said in the Four Gospels? Opponents argue that we dispensationalists exalt Paul above the Lord, but this is NOT the case. What Jesus said in the Four Gospels was to Jews under the Law (Romans 15:8). Not only are we non-Jews, but also under Grace, not Law (Romans 6:14-15).
• Just as God sent Moses to Israel, God sent Paul to us Gentiles (Romans 11:13)! The Jews did not exalt Moses above the Lord, but rather followed the directions Moses received from the Lord; the same applies to dispensationalists and Paul. When you “rightly divide” the Scriptures, you are not exalting Paul, you are having faith in God’s Word written directly to you as a Gentile in the Dispensation of Grace.
• While ALL Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is God-breathed, it was not all written TO you; the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, and the books of Hebrews through Revelation are written FOR you to learn (Romans 15:4).
DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY IS EXTREMELY CRITICAL TO YOUR UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES
• I speak from experience when I claim that most church members know absolutely nothing about dispensational Bible study; consequently, the Bible has become a burden to them amidst all the confusion. While this is what the devil wants, God did not intend for this to happen! Once you rightly divide the Scriptures, the Bible becomes so PROFOUNDLY clear. It becomes the exciting Book God wants It to be for you!
• The Apostle Paul wrote to young Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV). This word “rightly dividing” is an essential word in the King James Bible, as the Greek word translated “rightly dividing” is “orthotomeo,” meaning “to dissect correctly” (literally, “to cut straight”).
• Modern English Bible versions have dropped “rightly dividing” and replaced it with the Latin Vulgate term “correctly handling”—how foolish, as we see the pitiful results of confused church members today! “Study” is another word that has “magically disappeared” from modern Bible versions: could this be the reason why people do not STUDY their Bibles? Hmmm…. an interesting possibility.
• Dispensationalism was not invented in the 1800s—the Bible has been instructing us to “rightly divide” for the past 2000 years! The word “dispensation” has always been in the New Testament manuscripts in the form of the Greek word “oikonomia” (from which we get “economy,” having a similar pronunciation and definition). “Dispensation” only appears four times in Scripture—all of these instances are found in the Pauline epistles (1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2; Colossians 1:25)!
SO WHAT EXACTLY DOES DISPENSATIONAL BIBLE STUDY ENTAIL?
• A “dispensation” is defined most simply as “a specific period of time in which God deals with man in a specific way.” Why does God deal with man in different ways at different times? Man changed, thus changing the way God dealt with man. Again, no contradictions, just a change in program, with each program having its own unique instructions and circumstances.
• According to Ephesians 2:11, in “time past,” the Lord dealt with Israel (“Circumcision”) on the basis of the Old Testament covenants (Romans 15:8). At that time, God had no covenants with the Gentiles (“Uncircumcision”), so these non-Jews had “no hope” and were “without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). In unbelief, Israel fell from their privileged position, and now salvation is come to the Gentiles, us the non-Jews (Acts 28:28; Romans 11:11-12; Ephesians 2:13). We—the Church, the Body of Christ—are totally and completely separate from Israel. The Church has NOT replaced Israel, and Israel has NOT been eternally set aside. The Kingdom on Earth promised in the Old Testament to Israel has been postponed for 2000 years now, but after the Rapture (the end of the Dispensation of Grace), God will return to His dealings with Israel (Romans 11:25-26).
• Since the conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Paul the Apostle), God has been dealing almost exclusively with the Gentiles (non-Jews) and the Church, the Body of Christ. Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles is NOT an extension of the twelve apostles’ ministry, because Peter and the eleven apostles ministered to Jews (Matthew 10:5-7), and Paul went to Gentiles (Romans 11:13). Israel’s “Gospel of the Kingdom” slipped away (Matthew 9:35), and now, the “Gospel of the Grace of God” (Acts 20:24; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4) has been preached these past 2000 years.
• The Lord entrusted the Apostle Paul with the “Dispensation of Grace” (Ephesians 3:2). Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13)—PAUL IS THE APOSTLE GOD SENT TO YOU! Everything that God has to say to you today is found in the 13 books of Romans through Philemon. The Pauline epistles contain the “revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25), meaning these Grace Age doctrines for the Church, the Body of Christ, CANNOT be found in any portion beside these 13 books of Romans through Philemon. The Rapture, the Gospel of Grace, and the term “body of Christ” are exclusively found in Paul’s books.
• You cannot ingest your neighbor’s prescription drugs without dire consequences because that medicine was not prescribed to you! Along the same line of thinking, you cannot take God’s directions to Israel and try to force their legalistic (Law-keeping) doctrines on us in the Grace and Mystery Program. IT WILL NOT WORK! And if you try to apply the Mosaic Law to us in the Dispensation of Grace, remember the warning of “dire consequences.”
ARE DISPENSATIONALISTS “BIBLE BUTCHERS?”
• Dispensationalists are falsely accused—we are only doing what the Bible tells us to do; the nondispensationalists are those who are carelessly God’s Word, and just have not been taught correctly.
• As I wrote moments before, “rightly dividing” means “correctly dissecting;” a dissection is a careful separation of distinct individuals. In this case, we NEATLY and CAREFULLY separate Israel’s prophetic program from the Body of Christ’s mystery program. God told the Nation Israel one thing under the Mosaic Law, whereas God tells us something entirely different because we are under Grace (Romans 6:14-15). Israel had temple worship, tithing, kosher food laws, Sabbath day-keeping, water baptism, and the priesthood. NONE of that applies to us today in the Dispensation of Grace. No contradictions, just a change in program; because man changed, the mode by which God dealt with man changed!
• It is impossible to follow every single instruction given in the Bible. On one hand, Adam and Eve could only eat things that grew naturally; on the other, Noah was told to eat anything he wanted, as long as he could catch it. Under the Mosaic Law, Israel was forbidden to eat certain types of creatures; the Body of Christ today under Grace is told to eat anything we want, provided that we give the Lord thanks! We cannot combine all these dieting directions given in the Bible, because they are all different—given to different people, at different times, under difference circumstances.
DO DISPENSATIONALISTS THROW AWAY THE OLD TESTAMENT? DO THEY EXALT PAUL ABOVE THE LORD JESUS CHRIST?
• Are dispensationalists trying to take away from what Jesus Christ said in the Four Gospels? Opponents argue that we dispensationalists exalt Paul above the Lord, but this is NOT the case. What Jesus said in the Four Gospels was to Jews under the Law (Romans 15:8). Not only are we non-Jews, but also under Grace, not Law (Romans 6:14-15).
• Just as God sent Moses to Israel, God sent Paul to us Gentiles (Romans 11:13)! The Jews did not exalt Moses above the Lord, but rather followed the directions Moses received from the Lord; the same applies to dispensationalists and Paul. When you “rightly divide” the Scriptures, you are not exalting Paul, you are having faith in God’s Word written directly to you as a Gentile in the Dispensation of Grace.
• While ALL Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is God-breathed, it was not all written TO you; the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, and the books of Hebrews through Revelation are written FOR you to learn (Romans 15:4).