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Dispensationalism I - Lesson 5
Attached Audio:
- IMPORTANCE OF DISPENSATIONALISM (Continued)
- Dispensationalism Solves Many Apparent Contradictions
- Dispensationalism recognizes distinctions in what God has said to different people at different times. This distinction clears up what would otherwise be contradictions in the Bible for God does not always tell everyone the same thing.
- A rule to remember is this: All scripture was written for us but all scripture was not written to us. In other words, all scripture has a profit for us in our understanding and Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
See All...), but all scripture is not written as a direct command for us to obey. - Some examples of solved contradictions:
- Dietary laws
- Before the flood (Genesis 1:29-30 [29] And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
[30] And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
See All...) - After the flood (Genesis 9:2-3 [2] And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
[3] Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
See All...) - Under the law (Leviticus 11:1-47 [1] And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,
[2] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.
[3] Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
[4] Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
[5] And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
[6] And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.
[7] And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
[8] Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
[9] These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat.
[10] And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you:
[11] They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination.
[12] Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
[13] And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
[14] And the vulture, and the kite after his kind;
[15] Every raven after his kind;
[16] And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind,
[17] And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl,
[18] And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle,
[19] And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.
[20] All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
[21] Yet these may ye eat of every flying creeping thing that goeth upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap withal upon the earth;
[22] Even these of them ye may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.
[23] But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
[24] And for these ye shall be unclean: whosoever toucheth the carcase of them shall be unclean until the even.
[25] And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
[26] The carcases of every beast which divideth the hoof, and is not clovenfooted, nor cheweth the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that toucheth them shall be unclean.
[27] And whatsoever goeth upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso toucheth their carcase shall be unclean until the even.
[28] And he that beareth the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: they are unclean unto you.
[29] These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
[30] And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
[31] These are unclean to you among all that creep: whosoever doth touch them, when they be dead, shall be unclean until the even.
[32] And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatsoever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the even; so it shall be cleansed.
[33] And every earthen vessel, whereinto any of them falleth, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.
[34] Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water cometh shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean.
[35] And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean and shall be unclean unto you.
[36] Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which toucheth their carcase shall be unclean.
[37] And if any part of their carcase fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.
[38] But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcase fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.
[39] And if any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that toucheth the carcase thereof shall be unclean until the even.
[40] And he that eateth of the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: he also that beareth the carcase of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
[41] And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
[42] Whatsoever goeth upon the belly, and whatsoever goeth upon all four, or whatsoever hath more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them ye shall not eat; for they are an abomination.
[43] Ye shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping thing that creepeth, neither shall ye make yourselves unclean with them, that ye should be defiled thereby.
[44] For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
[45] For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
[46] This is the law of the beasts, and of the fowl, and of every living creature that moveth in the waters, and of every creature that creepeth upon the earth:
[47] To make a difference between the unclean and the clean, and between the beast that may be eaten and the beast that may not be eaten.
See All...) - Under grace (1 Timothy 4:3-5 [3] Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
[4] For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
[5] For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
See All...) - Sabbath-keeping
- Under the law (Exodus 31:12-18 [12] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
[13] Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
[14] Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
[15] Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
[16] Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
[17] It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
[18] And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.
See All...) - Under grace (Romans 14:5-6 [5] One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
[6] He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
See All...; Galatians 4:9-11 [9] But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? [10] Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. [11] I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
See All...; Colossians 2:16-17 [16] Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: [17] Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
See All...) - Dispensationalism Answers Many Doctrinal Heresies
- Many heresies are the result of trying to follow a teaching that was proper for another dispensation or obey a command that was given to someone else, but is not required of us today.
- A dispensation is a dispensing or a giving out of duties and responsibilities. The whole concept of dispensationalism is that God progressively changes His requirements of man as He moves time toward the end and brings glory to Himself.
- Sin entered into the world (Romans 5:12Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
See All...) - God’s choice of a people (Deuteronomy 7:6-8 [6] For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
[7] The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
[8] But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
See All...) - Law brought greater responsibility for sin (Romans 5:13-14 [13] (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
[14] Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
See All...) - Righteousness without the law revealed (Romans 3:20-22 [20] Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
[21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;
[22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
See All...) - Faith in Christ frees from the law (Galatians 3:23-25 [23] But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
[24] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
[25] But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
See All...) - Jew and Gentile one in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-18 [11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
[12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:
[13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
[14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
[15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
[16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
[17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.
[18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
See All...) - Some examples of heresies that can be corrected by a proper understanding of dispensationalism.
- Dietary requirements of another dispensation (already discussed)
- Any requirement that we live according to any command of the Mosaic law (Romans 6:14-15 [14] For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
[15] What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
See All...; Galatians 5:18But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
See All...) - Tongues and apostolic healing for today
- Dispensationalism Comprehends the Bible as a Whole
- Many systems explain one part of the Bible and leave other parts obscure. Dispensationalism makes sense out of every part of the Bible, whether Leviticus or Hosea or Acts or Revelation. Dispensational distinctions do not destroy understanding but rather puts everything into its proper place.
- By understanding the differences, the applications to today are much more clear
- All scripture becomes profitable (2 Timothy 3:16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
See All...) - All God’s precepts concerning all things are right (Psalm 119:128Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
See All...) - Dispensationalism Unfolds God’s Purpose in History
- Through history (and revelation) God reveals the mystery of His will which concludes with the dispensation of the fullness of times (Ephesians 1:9-10 [9] Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
[10] That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
See All...) - Man desires an overall understanding of history that can only be provided by God (Ecclesiastes 3:11He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.
See All...). - A proper philosophy of history will provide the following:
- An ultimate goal or purpose of history toward which history moves.
- An understanding of the things that differ in history and why they differ as they do.
- A concept of progress in the succeeding stages of history. These stages must work toward the ultimate goal of history.
- A unifying principle or principles which makes sense out of the succeeding stages of history.
- A connection between the past and the future with an understanding of where we have come from and where we are going.
- Dispensationalism Exalts God’s Glory as the Ultimate Goal
- Covenant theology accuses dispensationalism of having multiple purposes for God. Mostly, they criticize the belief that God has a plan for Israel on the earth and a plan for the redeemed in heaven. Covenant theologians prefer to combine God’s plan for Israel and the church into one and the same eternal salvation. However, in doing so, they destroy the clear biblical distinction between Israel and the church and lessen the importance of the actual words of the Bible.
- However, the dispensationalist does see a unifying principle in history. However, this principle is higher than the salvation of man. God has many other goals. He will establish the kingdom for Israel. He will judge the wicked. He will gather a people for His name from the Gentiles. But none of these acts as the unifying principle of history. That is the glory of God. History progresses toward the ultimate glory of God. There is no higher goal. (Isaiah 43:7Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
See All...; Proverbs 16:4The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
See All...; Romans 11:36For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
See All...; Revelation 4:11Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
See All...)
Proverbs 28:3
A poor man that oppresseth the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaveth no food.