rightly dividing the Word -- part 2

The Word for today:
Romans 11:11-24

The book of Romans is organized into three major divisions. Chapters 1-8 are doctrinal; chapters 9-11 are dispensational; chapters 12-16 are about duty.

Many of us are vaguely aware of the word dispensational, but we're not exactly sure what it means. Continuing what we started yesterday, over the next couple days we'll delve into dispensational theology, a system of biblical interpretation which (in this writer's judgment) has made the most successful attempt to integrate every word of the Word of God.

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God is a giver. He gave his all, to all:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

But God sometimes chooses to dispense gifts to some and not to others. For example, since the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is given permanently and generally--to all believers. But in the Old Testament the Spirit was given selectively--to particular people for particular purposes for a particular amount of time.

In the Old Testament, Israel was promised material blessings if they would obey:
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

But the church is never promised material blessings. Our blessings are spiritual:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his hearers that their forgiveness is contingent upon their forgiving others:
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. (Matthew 6:12)

But today our forgiveness is based entirely upon Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf, and we are exhorted to forgive others because we have already been forgiven:
Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)

How to account for these apparent discrepancies? Most seminaries, and the preachers they churn out, conveniently sidestep such issues. But the dispensationalists tackle them head on. Though dispensational theology does not answer every question to everyone's satisfaction, it comes far closer to presenting the Bible as a coherent whole than any other interpretive system.

Tomorrow we'll look at a few of the principles that have kept dispensational thinkers on track.

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