Category: The Gospel of the Grace of God / Paul’s Gospel

Satan and Dispensationalism #20

Sunday, October 25, 2015

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:” (Ephesians 3:1,2 KJV).

Satan knows that Dispensational Bible Study is the key to understanding God’s Word. Thus, he denies it and corrupts it every chance he gets!

Unfortunately, my beloved brethren, until the Lord returns, the book of Acts will always be a battleground of confusion and nonsense. Some hold to one extreme, clinging to Acts chapter 2 as the beginning of our program. Others hang on the other extreme, adhering to Acts chapter 28 as the beginning of our program. One does not go far enough, the other goes too far. Neither is a dispensational boundary. We need not be confused by either tradition of men.

Paul is our “pattern” concerning salvation unto eternal life (1 Timothy 1:13-16). The Gospel that saved him is the Gospel of Grace that saves us in the Dispensation of Grace. There was always only one gospel in Paul’s ministry. That gospel was available to all men, the whole world, during the Paul’s Acts ministry (Acts 13:46-48; Acts 17:30; Romans 1:5,14; Romans 16:26; 2 Corinthians 5:19). That “all-men message” is true even today, after Acts. Paul’s epistles cover one dispensation and one program, not two dispensations and not two programs. Paul’s epistles in no way depend on Israel’s covenants, either during Acts or after Acts.

Israel had no special status during Paul’s Acts ministry (Romans 11:11-14; Galatians 1:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16—all written during Acts). The only advantage a lost Jew had was joining the Body of Christ via Paul’s Gospel. Israel still lacks any special status before God. The middle wall of partition—no distinction between Jew and Gentile—was abolished long before Acts ended. Paul’s earliest epistle, written during Acts, says there is no difference between “circumcision” (Jew) and “uncircumcision” (Gentile) in the Body of Christ (Galatians 5:6; Galatians 6:15). That is true even today, after Acts.

Our dispensational boundary, the Dispensation of Grace, is found in Acts chapter 9, when the Church the Body of Christ began, and when the Gospel of the Grace of God began. We need not complicate God’s Word, beloved!

NOTES: My dear friend, if you are struggling to understand Paul’s “Acts” ministry, please see our study here. Struggle no more!

Also, within the next two days, as our special-edition Bible Q&A #200, due to repeated requests, we will be releasing a massive Bible study project. It is a 60-page full-length study, a 25-page abbreviated study, and five one-hour teaching videos. This project will address the corrupted system within the Grace Movement known as “Acts 9/28 Hybrid Theology.” Please stay tuned.

Satan and Dispensationalism #19

Saturday, October 24, 2015

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:” (Ephesians 3:1,2 KJV).

Satan knows that Dispensational Bible Study is the key to understanding God’s Word. Thus, he denies it and corrupts it every chance he gets!

Pauline dispensationalism is the method whereby we determine God’s will for us today. The books of Romans through Philemon, the 13 epistles of the Apostle Paul, are our primary instructions books for Christian living. We consult them first because they are God’s Word to and about us. Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles” (Romans 11:13), the Lord Jesus Christ’s spokesman to us. Whatever Paul’s epistles are silent about, we consult the rest of the Bible. Never do we throw away any of the 66 Bible books. We simply recognize their place in the program of God, and how those non-Pauline books do not describe God’s current operations.

There is the temptation to take Pauline dispensationalism to the extreme and thus destroy it. Because people needlessly struggle with Paul’s “Acts” ministry, wondering why he did all those “Jewish” things, they erroneously conclude that his “Acts” ministry must have been a continuation of Israel’s program and covenants. Hence, they say Paul’s epistles written during Acts—Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and 1 & 2 Thessalonians—have no relevance to us. Some “grace” people encourage us to toss those six epistles out entirely! (Heresy!) They say Paul quit working in Israel’s program when Acts ended, and that only his seven post-Acts (prison) epistles apply to us—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. (Heresy!)

Paul’s “Acts” epistles and his “prison” epistles are not two dispensations—one dispensation not for us and one dispensation for us. They are one dispensation, and that dispensation is given to us through Paul, for Paul wrote them all (today’s Scripture). The “Acts” epistles are the basic doctrines of the Dispensation of Grace while the “prison” epistles are the more advanced doctrines of the Dispensation of Grace. Again, we need to quit the nonsense and stop complicating God’s Word. Satan does that enough in denominational circles!

Satan and Dispensationalism #18

Friday, October 23, 2015

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:” (Ephesians 3:1,2 KJV).

Satan knows that Dispensational Bible Study is the key to understanding God’s Word. Thus, he denies it and corrupts it every chance he gets!

As aforementioned, Acts is historical not doctrinal. In it, Luke documented Israel’s persistent rejection of God’s Word, how God was just (right) in setting her aside. During the first seven chapters, Israel largely ignored the preaching of Peter and the 11 apostles. From Acts chapter 9 onward (the beginning of Paul’s ministry onward), Israel again largely ignored God’s Word. She persecuted Paul as she had mistreated Peter and the 11.

During Acts, Paul wrote: “…the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is [present tense] come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). God’s wrath had fallen on Israel. She had no special spiritual status anymore. These angry, unbelieving Jews persecuted Paul for preaching that he, not they, was reaching all—not some—Gentiles for JEHOVAH! Israel fell during Acts, not at the end of or after Acts. Romans 11:11-13,28—also written during Acts—makes this abundantly clear.

Until they learned of that new divine revelation, Israel’s 12 apostles faithfully continued their ministry they had received from Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 15, Paul taught them about the new program (mystery), the new message (Gospel of Grace), and the new agency (Body of Christ). Thereafter, Israel’s little flock was sealed off to new members. Its members eventually died off. Israel’s apostles released themselves from their commission to preach to lost Jews and Gentiles (Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 1:8). Collectively, lost people were “heathen”—equally hell-bound. Peter and the 10 agreed that these “heathen” were Paul and Barnabas’ responsibility to convert into the Body of Christ (Galatians 2:6-9). The Body of Christ, which had started with Paul in Acts chapter 9, then gained preeminence.

Satan and Dispensationalism #17

Thursday, October 22, 2015

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:” (Ephesians 3:1,2 KJV).

Satan knows that Dispensational Bible Study is the key to understanding God’s Word. Thus, he denies it and corrupts it every chance he gets!

Israel had a small believing remnant during the opening chapters of Acts. The 12 apostles’ preaching was largely ignored: most Jews persisted in unbelief and rebellion. Lost Israel was hopeless! God’s all-consuming wrath was about to fall on Israel when they blasphemed the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 7.

But, God in His grace suspended Israel’s prophetic program. Consequently, He was able to create a whole new arrangement of how to deal with lost Israel and lost Gentiles. That dispensational change—“the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (today’s Scripture)—occurred especially to save and use Saul of Tarsus, the most defiant sinner at the time, and make his salvation our “pattern” (1 Timothy 1:13-16). Once Saul was saved in Acts chapter 9, he literally became the epitome of God’s grace. The same grace that saved him, he was now to preach as a new Gospel message. It was Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for all people’s sins (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:14-21). Salvation would reach Gentiles through Paul’s ministry, without Israel (Romans 11:11-13). Also, Paul’s Gospel meant all those lost Jews like Saul had one last chance to escape God’s impending wrath.

From Acts chapters 7 through 15, Israel’s apostles were mostly unaware of any dispensational change. Peter got a glimpse in Acts chapter 10 when dealing with Gentile Cornelius, but he and the other apostles did not fully comprehend it until they met with Paul and Barnabas (chapter 15). Paul’s account of that Jerusalem Council is Galatians chapter 2. Galatians says Israel’s apostles finally discovered the radical dispensational change. See, the dispensational change did not come in late Acts or post Acts. Paul learned about it from Jesus Christ in Acts chapter 9, and Israel’s apostles learned it about 20 years later in chapter 15. Paul taught them, all about that delay in prophecy. Let us heed Paul’s testimony and not get confused ourselves!

Satan and Dispensationalism #3

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

Dispensational Bible study is the key to believing a clear Gospel message and understanding the Bible canon, so Satan seeks to hide or corrupt it, that he may keep the masses in his snare!

Recently, my 10-year-old niece told me of a somewhat troubling conversation she had with her teacher, an employee of a private “Christian” school. My niece knows the Gospel of the Grace of God by heart. Unlike many preachers, she can quote it with ease, “Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.” When she asked her teacher, “What is the Gospel of the Grace of God?,” the teacher admitted she had no idea!!

It is sad to say, but I am afraid that the Gospel is hidden from lost people and a lot of “Christians” today as well! There are 40,000 different “Christian” denominations all preaching different Gospel messages. The dominant crowds are preaching: “Get water baptized and keep the commandments!,” “Ask Jesus into your heart!,” “Make Jesus Lord of your life!,” “Confess your sins and ask God to save you!,” “You must be born again!,” or “Repent and say the sinner’s prayer!”

The way Satan keeps lost people lost is to use Israel’s law-performance system (works-religion). Yes, he uses the Bible to deceive. Not only are these lost people blinded by sin, they are misguided when it comes to properly interpreting the Bible. They grab John 3:3, Acts 2:38, Romans 10:9-10, Mark 1:15, Matthew 19:17, James 2:24, Revelation 3:20, or Mark 16:16, as though these are verses written to and about our salvation. They are not!

If lost people want a clear dissertation of the Gospel of the Grace of God, they should read the first five chapters of the book of Romans. No clearer Gospel tract has ever been written to Gentiles in our Dispensation of Grace!

Satan and Dispensationalism #2

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

“…God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Dispensational Bible study is the key to believing a clear Gospel message and understanding the Bible canon, so Satan seeks to hide or corrupt it, that he may keep the masses in his snare!

Friend, have you ever wondered about God’s will for your life? Now that you have read today’s Scripture, you need not search any longer. It discloses God’s will for non-Christians and Christians. The God of the Bible has done everything needed to save mankind from his sins. Why? He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The God of the Bible became the God-Man, Jesus Christ, to shed His rich, royal blood to atone for every person’s sins. “Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:6). He wants all people to be saved, that they not go to hell! Lost people need to trust Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork alone, that they go to heaven!

Verse 7 continues, “Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” When was the “due time” for Jesus Christ’s crosswork to be “testified” as available to all people? It was Paul’s apostleship, Acts chapter 9 onward! This is the dispensational aspect of God’s will, the “coming unto the knowledge of the truth” that God wants for Christians. He wants them to recognize the special ministry and message the risen, ascended, and glorified Lord Jesus Christ gave Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul. In Paul’s epistles, we find a clear Gospel message and the doctrine needed for a functional Christian life.

Satan obviously does not want God’s will fulfilled. So, his religious system confuses the various Gospel messages and divine instructions given throughout the Bible. This makes it nearly impossible for any lost person to become a Christian, and nearly impossible for a Christian to become a mature believer. Such people under his control are usually very resistant to hearing God’s truth!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How long should I keep witnessing to the same person?”

Satan and Dispensationalism #1

Monday, October 5, 2015

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 KJV).

Dispensational Bible study is the key to believing a clear Gospel message and understanding the Bible canon, so Satan seeks to hide or corrupt it, that he may keep the masses in his snare!

Beloved, as grace believers, as Pauline dispensationalists, we have an awesome responsibility to teach God’s Word to all people, confused Christians and confused lost people. Satan has taken them captive, skillfully and tirelessly fighting to keep them imprisoned. In accordance with his will, he keeps them blinded. Lost people (religious and non-religious alike) have no idea about soul salvation and forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ. They are going to a devil’s hell forever. They need to hear a clear Gospel message that can save them! Denominational Christians are so focused on manmade theologies that their service is unacceptable and offensive to God. They are going to heaven, but have not a clue as to what the God of the universe is doing today. They are too busy working in religion to please God. They need to hear sound Bible study to stabilize their souls!

God did not create man to die and go to hell. God did not create Christians to grope about in spiritual ignorance. Alas, man dies and goes to hell, and Christians grope around in spiritual ignorance! How awful! They must “recover themselves” (today’s Scripture). Their minds and hearts must be corrected by divine truth. God has already revealed in His written Word, the answers they need to escape their dire situations. Whether they look in the Bible on their own, or we gently teach it to them, it is ultimately their responsibility to apply by faith the verses applicable to their circumstances. Lost people do not have to stay lost and go to hell. Denominational Christians do not have to stay confused and defeated. Oh, what good news right division literally brings!

Lewd Fellows of the Baser Sort

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

“But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people” (Acts 17:5 KJV).

Our King James Bible abounds with interesting phraseology. Today’s Scripture is no exception. As a pastor friend often comments about the verse, “You may not understand that expression ‘lewd fellows of the baser sort’ but you at least know it does not sound good!” We will analyze the phrase and learn just how “bad” it really is. Context first, though.

While Paul and Silas were conducting Paul’s second apostolic journey, they came to Macedonia (northern Greece), to a city named Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. For two or three weeks, Paul reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. He used the Old Testament to prove that Jesus was Christ. Some in the audience believed the Gospel of the Grace of God—Christ Jesus died for their sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Luke writes in chapter 17 of Acts, verse 4, a great multitude of religious Greeks and many chief women believed unto eternal life. Today’s Scripture picks up the account. Satan was very upset!

Unbelieving Jews who followed Paul everywhere, became envious that God was now working amongst and saving the pagan Gentiles. In response to Paul’s ministry triumphs in Thessalonica, these lost Jews gathered a mob of the worst people they could locate. These men were “lewd” (wicked), but to make it worse, they were “of the baser sort” (the worst of the worst!). That mob then caused a riot in Thessalonica. It physically attacked a Christian, Jason, and his household. After that intense day, Paul and Silas by night barely escaped to nearby Berea with their lives (verses 6-10)!

Saints, may we learn this simple lesson. Let us brush off the silly and snide comments, awful frowns, and rude gestures from the lost world. After all, the Bible says Christians have been assaulted (literally) “by worse!” 🙂

The Truth of the Gospel

Monday, September 14, 2015

“But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified” (Galatians 2:14-16 KJV).

What is “the truth of the gospel?”

The Gospel of the Grace of God is how God’s grace is manifested to us through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork. “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). “Being justified [declared righteous by God] freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:24,25).

“The truth of the gospel” (today’s Scripture) is that we are saved today by simple faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary alone. Works are not the issue (water baptism, dietary laws, confession, commandment-keeping, and so on). Had our works been enough to give us a right standing before God, Jesus could have stayed in heaven!

Peter’s error in today’s Scripture was that he encouraged Law-keeping among Paul’s Gentile converts. Paul’s converts were under no such legalistic commands. Neither are we. “Ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14b). Paul rightly rebuked Peter. In our Dispensation of Grace, God has abolished Israel’s system of works, and ushered in the system of grace. Paul would sadly rebuke many Christians today, those who incessantly mix law and grace. His words to Peter would echo throughout Christendom, “Ye walk not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel!”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain Galatians 2:11-16?”

Paul and Dispensationalism #20

Thursday, August 27, 2015

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:15-18 KJV).

What else can the Apostle Paul teach us about dispensational Bible study?

The only verse that tells us to “study” the Bible tells us how to study it. It is found in the last Bible book Paul wrote. We must “rightly divide the word of truth.” Confusing ourselves with Israel and stealing her passages will cause major problems, both in this life (today’s Scripture) and in the next.

Ignoring dispensational Bible study will affect everyone in eternity. Most Christians will arrive at the Judgment Seat of Christ with worthless information in their inner man. They did not follow Paul’s instructions, but preferred religious tradition, philosophy, non-dispensational Scripture, et cetera. That “wood, hay, and stubble” will result in loss of reward (1 Corinthians 3:9-15). Many lost people will wake up in hell because they grabbed a Gospel for another dispensation as though it applied to them (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Matthew 19:17, et cetera)!

Friends, may we believe the right Gospel right now. It is not about “repenting,” “turning over a new leaf,” “asking Jesus into your heart,” et cetera. It is about trusting Jesus Christ’s shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection as complete payment for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Paul’s Gospel is the only valid Gospel message today, the Gospel that will save us unto eternal life and guarantee us a place in heaven. We do not have to go to hell!

Brethren, may we study all of the Bible, Genesis through Revelation. May we recognize Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, apply directly to us. Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13). May we take those grace doctrines in Paul’s books and apply them to life by faith. This is the “gold, silver, and precious stones” that will profit us in eternity (1 Corinthians 3:9-15). We do not have to stay confused and defeated! 🙂

-FINIS!-