ITS IN THE BOOK! - By Robert E. Hanna ...

IT'S IN THE BOOK!

By Robert E. Hanna

... a dispensational exposition

Scripture Reading: Proverbs 30:5, 6

How often do we hear defense of a doctrine or an interpretation in the declaration, "THE BIBLE SAYS". And how frequently do we encounter those who justify their denominational stand with, "Every promise in the Book is mine". By the same token, how staunchly do these same zealots affirm, "We obey every commandment of God". One cannot help but wonder at the number of various and sundry and divergent sectarian divisions. For if all of the above convictions are valid, why need there be but one persuasion - that of total compliance with every instruction to be found in the entire body of scripture?

"Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him. Add thou not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar" (Proverbs 30:5, 6). What shall we do, then, with: "HEAL THE SICK, CLEANSE THE LEPERS, RAISE THE DEAD, CAST OUT DEVILS..." (Matthew10:8)? And how shall we regard the instruction to "MAKE THEE AN ARK OF GOPHER WOOD; ROOMS SHALT THOU MAKE IN THE ARK, AND SHALT PITCH IT WITHIN AND WITHOUT WITH PITCH" (Genesis 6:14)? The obvious answer of course, is that in neither example was God commanding you and me to do these things.

In the first instance referred to above, Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry ["I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matthew15:24).], was dispatching His twelve disciples to perform a miraculous ministry for which He was empowering them and equipping them specifically. And the other instruction was given to Noah exclusively and related only to the circumstances of Noah's generation.

What is the significance, then, of that terribly frightening word -DISPENSATIONAL1SM'? It simply defines the application of God's own instruction to His saints: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH" (II Timothy 2:15). Detractors will do well to heed God's admonition rather than the shackles of tradition!

  
KEEPING THE SABBATH!

　
Scripture Reading; Exodus 31:16, 17

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8). Obedience to this commandment of God is the hub and focal point of more than one religious denomination claiming the truth of Holy Scripture as their doctrine. Truly, this is a direct commandment - a stern and severe declaration. "...Whosoever doeth work therein SHALL BE PUT TODEATH. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day" (Exodus 35:2b,

How uncomfortable this would be in the winter time. "See, for the Lord hath given you the sabbath...abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Exodus 16:29). Confined to quarters with no heat, and non-compliance to be punishable by death! "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" (Exodus 31:15).

Indeed, this would appear to be quite a predicament. However, it becomes even more confusing when we read elsewhere in the Word of God: "Let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, OR OF THE SABBATH DAYS" (Colossians 2:16). Does God contradict Himself? Is God inconsistent? Does the Psalmist lead us astray? "The law of the Lord is perfect...The testimony of the Lord is sure...The statutes of the Lord are right ...The commandment of the Lord is pure..." (Psalms 19:7, 8).

By what means can our strict religionist friends find verification of their deep-seated conviction regarding the keeping of the sabbath? Shall they abide by "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy"? Or shall they observe the admonition to "Let no man judge you in respect of the sabbath days"? There is but one solution to such a dilemma. He must resolve the seeming contradiction by "Rightly dividing the Word of truth". In giving the commandment. God said, "THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL shall keep the sabbath, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign BETWEEN ME AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL for ev

HOW MANY BAPTISMS?

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 4:5

Should the Christian believer be sprinkled or immersed? Should the ceremony be performed as a means to salvation or as a testimony for Christ or to "follow Christ's example?" Should the water be drawn from a tap or imported from the river Jordan for the sake of authenticity? Such questions have been the source of much contention and conflict among and between church organizations for centuries. It is one of the most divisive issues in the history of Christianity. John the Baptist baptized the Lord Jesus Christ in water. The apostle Peter declared, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38).

But another apostle spoke of water baptism. To a congregation of saints of God, he declared, "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (I Corinthians 1:17). Shall we be disobedient to Peter and refuse water baptism? Or shall we ignore the statement of Paul, minimizing the significance of the practice, and submit to it?

In considering the instruction by Peter to "be baptized every one of you", let us ask ourselves whether we are members of the house of Israel who "dwell at Jerusalem". Were we present in Jerusalem "when the day of Pentecost was fully come" and "that which was spoken by the prophet Joel" was miraculously fulfilled in part? Of course, we were not. Therefore, Peter was not speaking to you and to me.

On the other hand, the apostle Paul made his statement as "the apostle of the Gentiles" (Romans 11:13). He explained his ministry as being "according to MY GOSPEL, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY, which was kept secret since the world began" (Romans 16:25).

Peter did not mislead the Jews at Pentecost. Paul was faithful in his words of instruction to his hearers who were not of the house of Israel but were saved under the dispensation of grace, even as you and I.

ONE BAPTISM - WATER OR SPIRIT?

Scripture Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:13

Having been accepted in the Beloved One, and knowing that we are members of the Body of Christ, we are assured by our apostle (Paul) that we are "of His flesh, and of His bones" (Ephesians 5:30). "For by ONE Spirit are we all BAPTIZED into ONE body." Can this be water baptism? "Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). Can this be water baptism? "One Lord, one faith, ONE BAPTISM" (Ephesians 4:5). Can the ONE baptism by the ONE Spirit into ONE body - can this be water baptism? Surely this was not accomplished by a humanly-ordained human minister of the gospel in the sanctuary of a human church organization!

Paul besought the Galatians to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty where-with Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). Every shackle has been struck from our limbs. Every fetter has been loosened and cast aside. We cannot work to obtain salvation. We cannot work to retain salvation. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7). Can this washing be that of physical baptism in water?

Under the law there were many washings. But - "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4). "If by grace, then is it no more of works" (Romans 11:6). It is the human tendency to want to "do something" in our own strength. But under the dispensation of the grace of God there is no provision for this self-indulgent approach. "For BY GRACE are ye saved...NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Our freedom was bought - purchased in blood by the suffering of the living God. Enjoy it!

　 

WHY MATTHIAS - WHY NOT PAUL?

Scripture Reading: Acts 1:21, 22

The distinctive ministry of the apostle Paul has been much misunderstood by laymen and theologians alike. Many insist that Paul should have replaced Judas as the twelfth apostle, that the choice of Matthias was man-made and that Paul preached the same message as did the Twelve. That a replacement for Judas must be appointed was prophetically established. "Let another take his office" (Psalms 109:8). However, the choice was governed by specific qualifications.

Selection of candidates was made according to these qualifications, namely, that they "have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us." Note that the chosen replacement "must be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection." Paul later makes reference to the fact that "He rose again the third day...and was seen OF THE TWELVE" (I Corinthians 15:4, 5). This would indicate completeness of the twelve, including Matthias.

While both of the candidates (Justus and Matthias) were fully qualified, Paul was not. Paul had not been among the company of apostles at any time, much less for the entire duration of Christ's ministry from baptism to ascension.

The ministry of the Twelve was based upon the instruction directly received from Christ as He walked with them in the flesh. Paul's ministry was a message revealed only to Him from the risen Christ when Paul "was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter" (II Corinthians 12:4).

That Paul's message was different from that of the Twelve, is evident from his own report. "And I went up [to Jerusalem) by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles...When they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter...(Galatians 2:2, 9).
　

"GREAT" OR "GRACE" COMMISSION?

Scripture Reading: II Corinthians 5:18, 19

On every hand we hear the admonition by pastors, teachers and layman to obey "The Great Commissiort". By definition, "The Great Commission" is the instruction by Jesus Christ toHis eleven (later restored to twelve) apostles immediately prior to His ascension.

"And He said unto them. Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover" (Mark 16:15-18).

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and / teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." (Matthew28:18-20).

Supposing that you or I were to witness to an unbeliever and that individual were to become saved. Shall we then expect that he will thereupon cure the insane, suddenly become fluent in some language other than his own and heal sick people by the touch of his hand? And shall we then insturct the new convert according to all the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ to His apostles when He walked the shores of Galilee?

Many, many evangelistic witnesses for Jesus Christ expect these very things to occur. And when (notice, WHEN - not IF) the anticipated miracles do not take place, there is great disappointment and self recrimination.

How shall we resolve the dilemma? By RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH, of course. Through our own apostle we know that OUR "Great Commission is THE WORD OF RECONCILIATION, which we are to minister and teach as a pure work of gra

THE END OF THE LAW-CURSE!

Scripture Reading: Romans 10:4

Those professing Christians who today live under the law, have failed to understand and/or accept the significance of Calvary. Such was the condition in the church at Galatia when the apostle Paul was moved to upbraid them for their faithless behavior. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written. Cursed is every one that con-tinueth not in all the things which are written in the book of the law to do them...Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse FOR US: for it is written. Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:10, 13).

The attempt to "follow Christ" by striving to emulate His earthly walk, is a totally futile effort. He did not minister to us at that time, but to Israel. And He said to them (the Jews) at that time, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law...I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." He was born under the law, He lived under total obedience to the law. He ministered the law. This is not the Christ that we know in this present dispensation of grace. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

When ministering to Israel, He admonished them, "One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew5:18). But through the apostle Paul, the risen, heavenly seated Christ declared to the Church which is His Body, that He has "forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross" (Colossians 2:13, 14).

Like the foolish Galatians, untoM numbers of Christians still labor under the law, thinking to please God. But He has told us, "By GRACE are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8, 9). "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1).

FORGIVEN FOREVER!

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:3-7

Paul, our apostle, has exhorted us to "Pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17). And he has diligently set the example for us. "Without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers" (Romans 1:9). "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith..." (I Thessalonians 1:2,3). "...Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers..." (II Timothy 1:3). But never do we find Paul praying for forgiveness of sin; never do we find him instructing us to pray for forgiveness of sin. And yet he continually enjoins us to live spiritually, to be continually thankful for all things - even for our suffering.

To most praying saints, the focal point of their petition is to beg God to forgive them for their sins. It would shock and dismay many such devoted and faithful ones, were they to be advised that this is not honoring to God. Why should we not plead with God to be forgiven of our sins? The apostle answers this question frequently throughout his epistles. A notable example is this exhortation: "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as GOD FOR CHRIST'S SAKE HATH FORGIVEN YOU" (Ephesians 4:32). Past tense! God HATH forgiven you!

When one is saved by God's grace, one's position is one of completeness. "For in Him [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. AND YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, Who is the Head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:9, 10). Complete in Christ, "Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree..." (I Peter 2:24). He suffered, He bled, He died. And as He died, the last words He uttered were "IT IS FINISHED" (John 19:30).

We do not pray to God for forgiveness, because we are already forgiven! "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who HATH blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies...HATH chosen us in Him...HATH made us accepted in the Beloved One. In Whom we HAVE redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grac

OBEDIENCE - STRONGHOLD OF FAITH!

Scripture Reading: Romans 6:16

The very crux of faith is obedience. The ultimate relationship with God is the product of faith in Him and the exercise of that faith. Obedience requires commitment, and commitment requires knowledge of that to which obedience is due. The broad term, "faith in God" has blinded many seekers of truth by the interpretation: "believe that God is". It is essential that one should believe God, to believe that God's Word is true. But there is one more step to the understanding that leads to the true faith which brings the peace that satisfies the hungry soul.

Miles Coverdale has said it well: "It shall greatly help ye to understand the Scripture if thou mark not only what is spoken or wrythen, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goeth before and what followeth after."

By the use of these guidelines we are well equipped to carry out the Lord's own exhortation to "Study to shew thyself approved unto God...rightly dividing the Word of Truth" (II Timothy 2:15). Thus do we find how we are to be obedient. Paul clarifies the principle of proper obedience in our textual verse: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"

By our rule of right division, we find that Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13). He further instructs us that we must emulate him as he directs in recognition of his spiritual authority (I Corinthians 11:1). He reminds us of Christ's obedience at Calvary (Philippians 2:8), and he commends those who obey his teaching: "Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you."

Faith is manifested by obedience. The apostle affirms "the just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17). Having been justified "freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24), we are to live in obedien

COVENANTS ARE OF GOD!

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 1:16-20

Any valid covenant ever made between God and man, was made on God's terms. We cannot "make deals" with God. When God makes a covenant. He establishes all the conditions. Agreement between God and man consists of man's acceptance of God's demands, not a compromise arranged through discussion. The only decision which rests with man is the choice of whether or not to submit to the will of God. We are not in a position to offer enticements or to barter with God.

How often have we heard well-intended believers relate how they have promised God that they would do this or that for Him, if He would only do this or that for them! And all too often the end of the story is said to be that God came through with His part of the "bargain", thus proving Himself deserving of the recipient's reciprocation.

When God spoke to iniquitous Judah regarding their waywardness. He said, "Come now, and let us reason together." This did not mean that there was to be a mediation process wherein two opposing viewpoints were to be considered and moderated. God was instructing His people and warning them of the consequences of further misbehavior. They were being told that they must be reasonable - to listen to reason and heed the words of their Holy God.

The instruction: "Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil."

The terms: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT."

No provision here for counter-discussion! God ordains, man accepts or rejects and is rewarded or punished accordingly. This principal of operation has never changed. But God's manner of dealing DOES change. And today He simply offers the free gift of His finished work, which we may accept or refuse. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23).

PAUL HAS THE LAST WORD!

Scripture Reading: Colossians 1:25-27

Those who contend that "Every promise in the Book is mine" cannot possibly know "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" to the extent that they would if they were truly aware of their position dispensationally. Where is the assurance, if one is continually frustrated with attempting to resolve apparent inconsistencies?

"Peter said unto Him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them...when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew19:27, 28). How can anyone but the twelve apostles claim this promise? There will be only twelve thrones!

"And God said to Solomon,...! will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour.. (II Chron. 1:11,12). Who but King Solomon can claim THIS promise? And what of God's promise to "make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones" (Isaiah 54:12)? Only the nation Israel can claim this one.

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew21:22). "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or. What shall we drink? or. Wherewithal shall we be clothed?...

For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew6:31, 32). Were we to literally abide by these promises today, we would have no need of employment - or even the expenditure of sufficient energy to perform ordinary household duties.

The apostle Paul pled with the Lord three times to be relieved of his almost intolerable suffering. The Lord's answer;"My grace is sufficient for thee". And if we are not to be concerned with food and clothing, why does Paul affirm that "if any would not work, neither should he eat" (II Thessalonians 3:10)? Once again, we must rightly divide the Word of Truth!

THERE IS ONE MEDIATOR!

Scripture Reading: I Timothy 2:5, 6

Petitioning God through a human intermediary is a persistent tendency of the penitent. This practice persists even to the extent of regarding such men as holy and addressing them as "Father". And yet, Christ Himself (Who is very God) has said, "Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven" (Matthew23:9).

"There is ONE God, and ONE mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." The apostle Paul instructs us as to prayer. "We know not what to pray for as we ought: but the Spirit Himself maketh intercession for us...and He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:26, 27). If no man is to be called "Father" except God Himself, and if Christ is the only mediator between God and men, and if our intercessor is the Holy Spirit alone, then how can there be any possible role for a human agent in the process?

"Verily the FIRST covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God. But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people" (Hebrews 9:1-3, 6, 7).

So much for the FIRST COVENANT! But what has that to do with you and me? "For by ONE OFFERING He [Christ] hath perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14). "He nccdcth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for His own sins, and then for the people's: FOR THIS HE DID ONCE, WHEN HE OFFERED UP HIMSELF" (Hebrews 7:27).

GRACE - THEN AND NOW!

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:22-24

"Noah ifound grace in the eyes of the Lord" (Genesis 6:8). "By faith, Noah...became heir of the righteousness which is by faith" (Hebrews 11:7). "Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" (Romans 4:3). Both Noah and Abraham lived before the law of Moses was imposed.

"David also describeth the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works" (Romans 4:6). David lived under the law of Moses. Salvation, then, is proven to have always been by grace through faith. And yet we make a great distinction between the dispensations prior to the dispensation of the grace of God and the dispensation of the grace of God per se. Since we know that God has always dispensed grace, and righteousness has always been attained through faith apart from works - why the controversial issues regarding the distinctive dispensation of the grace of God?

The basic difference lies in the revelation of the risen Christ to the apostle Paul: the revelation of the mystery. Paul explains the contrasts between doctrines. He establishes the responsibilities and privileges of the believer in this present age. He defines the one true Church which is the Body of Christ and charges the members thereof in their work and witness.

God required works and ordinances, rituals and washings, ceremonies and sacrifices, tithings and offerings and the keeping of the law. All these things He demanded of previous generations - but not of the members of the Body. "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

All that went before was in preparation for the completeness which was to be established by the finished work of Christ at Calvary. No longer does God impose the law and works upon His people. "And ye are complete in Him, Who is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:10). All works are now to be works of love, and the only law is the law of Christ.

Grace Bible Church  (Click Here)

Transformed By Grace #1 - Unity in Christ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qca95hwMWQk&feature=player_embedded

Transformed By Grace #2 - One Body in Christ

hps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lch03dYG99Q&feature=player_embedded

Transformed By Grace #3 - The Apostle of Grace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-zbHErkLB4&feature=player_embedded

Transformed By Grace #4 - The Gifts of Christ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQiWaVlBYzQ&feature=player_embedded

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Israel’s Future! - John D. LaVier

Israel’s Future!  

 By  John D. LaVier

 When the Lord Jesus was here as a minister of the circumcision, sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He often warned them of what would be the result of their perverseness and unbelief. One such occasion is narrated in Matthew 8:5-13 when a Roman centurion came to Him on behalf of his servant who was ill. This Gentile showed such faith as to Jesus’ person and power that the Lord was filled with wonder. We read: “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said unto them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” The Gentiles mentioned here are not any Gentiles saved in the present dispensation of grace who become members of the Body of Christ, for their hope is not to sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When the gospel of the kingdom is again preached, as by the 144,000 in the tribulation, a great multitude of Gentiles will be saved out of all nations, and these will indeed come from the east and the west and will sit down with Israel in the kingdom. Having mentioned these Gentiles the Lord continued to speak and foretold the judgment that was to be visited on the favored nation when He said, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Cast out into darkness is the spiritual condition of Israel today. Is this to be permanent? Some would say yes, in spite of the fact there are scores of Scripture passages which state clearly and plainly the regathering and restoration of Israel to a future far more glorious than anything ever enjoyed in their past. The blindness, and the darkness, is only for a season and the cry will soon go out, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”(Isaiah 60:1). In Romans 11:1 the question is asked: “Hath God cast away his people?” and the answer is given, “God forbid.” These two words ought to settle it.True, the once favored nation is now the forsaken nation. True, Israel is now Loammi, not acknowledged by God as being His people. True, they are scattered among all the nations of the world, and the few who have a toe-hold in Palestine are surrounded by their enemies, while they talk about peace when there is no peace. But all this is to end. Israel’s banishment and fall began with the ushering in of the dispensation of grace. When this dispensation is concluded with the Church raptured home to glory, God will begin again to deal with Israel. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left” … “And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me” (Isaiah 11:11 and 12:1).

In the contest with Pharaoh, when God was to bring His people out of thehouse of bondage, He said, “That ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exodus 11:7) and all during Israel’s history in the Old Testament God continued to put a difference between them and the other nations. If Gentiles desired the knowledge and blessing of God they had to come to Israel and become proselytes, or Jews by religion. That difference was still there in the New Testament when Jesus of Nazareth was here in Israel’s midst. There was certainly a difference when a Greek woman came pleading for her demon-possessed daughter and Jesus told her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs” (Mark 7:27). There was surely a difference when He told the Samaritan woman, “Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22), and there was still a difference when He sent forth the twelve apostles and instructed them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). This was all changed, though, when God raised up the Apostle Paul and brought in the dispensation of grace. For many years there had been a difference between Jew and Gentile, but no longer. Paul wrote: “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:12-13). That grand word “whosoever” takes everybody in, and any person regardless of place or race, realizing their sin and their need, has only to call upon the name of the Lord and He will hear and answer and meet their need.

During the past centuries Israel has been in disfavor with God. Soon, however, God will have completed His purpose in the present dispensation, the Church will have been raptured home to glory, and God will begin working toward the restoration of Israel to its former place of ascendancy. Before the nation assumes this role there must be a period of preparation. In the passage in Ezekiel 22:17-22 God charges the nation with having become dross and declares it will be put in the fire and melted down. A like passage in Zechariah 13:9 reads: “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” Israel will be put in the fire during the time of their trouble, the Great Tribulation; the rebels will be purged, and out of it shall come an elect, select, and purified remnant who will govern the nations in the kingdom.

A preacher once told of getting off a train at a station in Maryland and his curiosity was aroused when he saw them taking a large basket of birds from the express car. He went over and observed the express agent and his helper making a record of the time; then they opened the basket and released about fifty pigeons. The birds rose into the air, circled round and round, and then, as if by common consent, started in a straight line for home. The agent said they came from a point in New Jersey exactly one hundred miles away and it would take three or four hours to get there. Israel is a nation of homing pigeons. They have been scattered for years but the day is coming when the world will be amazed to see them heading for home and they will have to acknowledge this is the hand of God. God has promised such a homecoming. He said, “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again into this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely” (Jeremiah 32:37); and again, “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:24-26).

The nation will be born again, born of water and of the Spirit. God’s Word cannot fail. Viewing Israel today all must acknowledge that the scattering of the nation was actual and literal, and most certainly their regathering will be just as actual and literal.

The prophet Ezekiel had a vision which graphically pictures the present condition of the Jewish nation and then also their future. In the opening verses of the 37th chapter of his prophecy we read: “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about; and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.” Get the picture: a valley full of old, dried-up bones. This is certainly descriptive of Israel today, a nation devoid of spiritual life and their national hopes dried up. But something happened to those bones in Ezekiel’s vision, and that which happened portrays that which will happen in the future to Israel. In verses 7-10, as the prophet watched, the bones came together, sinews and flesh came up upon them, and skin covered them. Then breath, or the spirit of life, came into them and there was a resurrection; they lived, and became an exceeding great army. What a picture of Israel’s future. Israel is now dead and lifeless insofar as God is concerned but there will be a resurrection, life from the dead, and in the hand of God they will be an exceeding great army to bring all nations to the feet of King Jesus. Many other passages could be quoted which speak of the restoration and blessed future of Abraham’s seed, the nation Israel. A most beautiful passage is Isaiah 62:1-4, which reads: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, unto the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”

God’s purpose for the nation Israel was, and is, that they should be blessed and then in turn become a channel of blessing to all the world. This was inheritent in the covenant God made with Abraham concerning him and his seed. Peter referred to this in his message in Acts 3:25-26, “Yes are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Israel was to be the channel through which the blessing would flow out to others, but the channel is blocked because of Israel’s sin and unbelief. The day is coming, though, when the channel will be cleared, when Israel will again be blessed of God and the means through which the other nations will be blessed. Meanwhile God has opened a new channel through which His blessings flow out to all mankind; that channel is His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessings we enjoy today as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, do not come to us on the basis of any covenant. The covenants belong to Israel (Romans 9:4) and we are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. Our blessings come freely from God’s throne of grace and they come from the One who is Head of the Church, His Body, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” and we stand before God complete, accepted, and perfect in HIM.

One purpose of these lessons has been to show it is of the utmost importance to rightly divide the Word of truth. The various portions of Scripture are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is only when we get each piece in its proper place in relation to the others that we see the beautiful picture; God’s perfect plan of the ages and where we fit into the picture. The following quotation is from the book, How to Study the Bible, written by Dr. I. M. Haldeman. He was a great man of God, a devoted servant of Christ, and for nearly fifty years pastor of a great soulwinning church in New York City. He wrote: “No matter what may be the equipment of the Christian, no matter what intellectual, moral, or spiritual endowment he may have, unless he understands dispensational truth he will never fully lay hold of Bible doctrine; while many of the wondrous testimonies of the Word will be unto him but as the tangled threads in endless labyrinth.”

Our attention has been called to the fact that Israel had a commission but failed to obey it and the result was disastrous for them. What about our commission as members of the Church of this dispensation of grace? We have been commissioned as ambassadors for Christ, sent to a world lost in sin with a message from the court of heaven. We are not to settle down at ease as if this world was our home. We are here as pilgrims and strangers and we are to deliver the message. We are to preach the Word, not just to members of the household of faith, for our main message is to the worldlings around us. We are to go to them with the gospel of Christ, warning them to flee from the wrath to come, pointing them to the Saviour who died to save them from their sins. We are to be instant in season, out of season, beseeching men to be reconciled to God. This is our commission. One may give much time to community service or to civic affairs, which may be good, but if that one has not been making the gospel known to others they have not obeyed their commission.

We close with another quote from Dr. Haldeman in which he refers to the Apostle Paul, of whom he writes: “In dealing with the world’s evil he relied wholly on the gospel. He did not stand on the public corners and arraign the municipal corruption of Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, or Rome. He did not take the field for clearer and more popular government. He neither acted the part of a secret detective nor a political partisan. He saw the whole world given over to sin. He saw vice in its most tempting form; he saw it in statues, sculptured in marble, and painted on canvas. He knew that virtue was the exception and vice the rule. Lasciviousness and wantonness touched him on every side, yet he never thought of lifting a crusade against them. Whether it was corruption in office, the squandering of the people’s money, or the shameless, open sin in temples of Venus, he did one thing, and one thing only; he preached the Gospel of Christ, declared that it was the power of God unto salvation, and by it ploughed the furrows of truth so deep that the temples of sin fell into them, were buried, and forgotten.” Would that all of us, like Paul, would be found faithfully preaching the Gospel of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and beseeching men to be reconciled to God.

Also Read 

The Person of The Lord Lesus Christ - John D. LaVier 

The Work of The Lord Jesus Christ - John D. Lavier 

God Speaks Through Patriarchs and Prophets - John D. LaVier 

God Speaks Through His Son and the Twelve Apostles - John D. LaVier 

God Speaks Speaks Through the Apostle Paul - John D. LaVier 

Israel's Kingdom Hope - John D. LaVier 

The Law Given to - Israel - John D. LaVier 

Israel's Past - John D. LaVier

Grace Bible Church  (Click Here)

Recovery Of Truth - O'Hair - YouTube

How God Saves Men

Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.

Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.

ead Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4

Read the KJV BIBLE in large print (Click Here)

(A 10 Minute Video)

Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)

 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com

E-mail this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends 

Important Recall Notice! - Author Unknown

The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured, regardless of make or year, due to the serious defect in the primary and central component of the heart. This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype unit code named Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all subsequent units.

This defect has been technically termed “Subsequential Internal Non- Morality” or more commonly known as SIN, as it is primarily characterized by loss of moral judgment. Some other symptoms are:

Loss of direction
Foul vocal emissions
Amnesia of origin
Lack of peace and joy
Selfish or violent behavior
Depression or confusion in mental component
Fearful

The manufacturer, who is neither liable or at fault for this defect, is providing factory authorized repair and service FREE of charge to correct the SIN defect. [The number to call in your area is F-A-I-T-H. Simply believe that Christ died for your sins, was buried and rose again, and your unit will be regenerated. No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, Christ will repair and replace it with]:

Forgiveness
Love
Joy
Peace
Longsuffering
Gentleness
Goodness
Faith
Meekness
Temperance

Please see operating manual HOLY BIBLE for further details on the use of these fixes. [See sections I Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 1:7; and Gal. 5:16-26].

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human unit without correction voids the manufacturer’s warranty, exposing the owner to dangers and problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being permanently impounded. [For free emergency service before it’s too late: call upon the Lord Jesus Christ who loved us and gave Himself a ransom for our sins].

DANGER: The human units not receiving this recall action will have to be scrapped in the furnace.

This action was authorized by the Creator.

Recovery Of Truth - O'Hair - YouTube

How God Saves Men

Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.

Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.

ead Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4

Read the KJV BIBLE in large print (Click Here)

(A 10 Minute Video)

Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)

 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com

E-mail this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends 

Israel’s Future! - By John D. LaVier

Israel’s Future!  

 By  John D. LaVier

 When the Lord Jesus was here as a minister of the circumcision, sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, He often warned them of what would be the result of their perverseness and unbelief. One such occasion is narrated in Matthew 8:5-13 when a Roman centurion came to Him on behalf of his servant who was ill. This Gentile showed such faith as to Jesus’ person and power that the Lord was filled with wonder. We read: “When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said unto them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” The Gentiles mentioned here are not any Gentiles saved in the present dispensation of grace who become members of the Body of Christ, for their hope is not to sit down in the kingdom with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. When the gospel of the kingdom is again preached, as by the 144,000 in the tribulation, a great multitude of Gentiles will be saved out of all nations, and these will indeed come from the east and the west and will sit down with Israel in the kingdom. Having mentioned these Gentiles the Lord continued to speak and foretold the judgment that was to be visited on the favored nation when He said, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Cast out into darkness is the spiritual condition of Israel today. Is this to be permanent? Some would say yes, in spite of the fact there are scores of Scripture passages which state clearly and plainly the regathering and restoration of Israel to a future far more glorious than anything ever enjoyed in their past. The blindness, and the darkness, is only for a season and the cry will soon go out, “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee”(Isaiah 60:1). In Romans 11:1 the question is asked: “Hath God cast away his people?” and the answer is given, “God forbid.” These two words ought to settle it.True, the once favored nation is now the forsaken nation. True, Israel is now Loammi, not acknowledged by God as being His people. True, they are scattered among all the nations of the world, and the few who have a toe-hold in Palestine are surrounded by their enemies, while they talk about peace when there is no peace. But all this is to end. Israel’s banishment and fall began with the ushering in of the dispensation of grace. When this dispensation is concluded with the Church raptured home to glory, God will begin again to deal with Israel. “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left” … “And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee; though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me” (Isaiah 11:11 and 12:1).

In the contest with Pharaoh, when God was to bring His people out of thehouse of bondage, He said, “That ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel” (Exodus 11:7) and all during Israel’s history in the Old Testament God continued to put a difference between them and the other nations. If Gentiles desired the knowledge and blessing of God they had to come to Israel and become proselytes, or Jews by religion. That difference was still there in the New Testament when Jesus of Nazareth was here in Israel’s midst. There was certainly a difference when a Greek woman came pleading for her demon-possessed daughter and Jesus told her, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs” (Mark 7:27). There was surely a difference when He told the Samaritan woman, “Ye worship ye know not what; we know what we worship; for salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22), and there was still a difference when He sent forth the twelve apostles and instructed them, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:5-6). This was all changed, though, when God raised up the Apostle Paul and brought in the dispensation of grace. For many years there had been a difference between Jew and Gentile, but no longer. Paul wrote: “For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:12-13). That grand word “whosoever” takes everybody in, and any person regardless of place or race, realizing their sin and their need, has only to call upon the name of the Lord and He will hear and answer and meet their need.

During the past centuries Israel has been in disfavor with God. Soon, however, God will have completed His purpose in the present dispensation, the Church will have been raptured home to glory, and God will begin working toward the restoration of Israel to its former place of ascendancy. Before the nation assumes this role there must be a period of preparation. In the passage in Ezekiel 22:17-22 God charges the nation with having become dross and declares it will be put in the fire and melted down. A like passage in Zechariah 13:9 reads: “And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The Lord is my God.” Israel will be put in the fire during the time of their trouble, the Great Tribulation; the rebels will be purged, and out of it shall come an elect, select, and purified remnant who will govern the nations in the kingdom.

A preacher once told of getting off a train at a station in Maryland and his curiosity was aroused when he saw them taking a large basket of birds from the express car. He went over and observed the express agent and his helper making a record of the time; then they opened the basket and released about fifty pigeons. The birds rose into the air, circled round and round, and then, as if by common consent, started in a straight line for home. The agent said they came from a point in New Jersey exactly one hundred miles away and it would take three or four hours to get there. Israel is a nation of homing pigeons. They have been scattered for years but the day is coming when the world will be amazed to see them heading for home and they will have to acknowledge this is the hand of God. God has promised such a homecoming. He said, “Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again into this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely” (Jeremiah 32:37); and again, “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you” (Ezekiel 36:24-26).

The nation will be born again, born of water and of the Spirit. God’s Word cannot fail. Viewing Israel today all must acknowledge that the scattering of the nation was actual and literal, and most certainly their regathering will be just as actual and literal.

The prophet Ezekiel had a vision which graphically pictures the present condition of the Jewish nation and then also their future. In the opening verses of the 37th chapter of his prophecy we read: “The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass by them round about; and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.” Get the picture: a valley full of old, dried-up bones. This is certainly descriptive of Israel today, a nation devoid of spiritual life and their national hopes dried up. But something happened to those bones in Ezekiel’s vision, and that which happened portrays that which will happen in the future to Israel. In verses 7-10, as the prophet watched, the bones came together, sinews and flesh came up upon them, and skin covered them. Then breath, or the spirit of life, came into them and there was a resurrection; they lived, and became an exceeding great army. What a picture of Israel’s future. Israel is now dead and lifeless insofar as God is concerned but there will be a resurrection, life from the dead, and in the hand of God they will be an exceeding great army to bring all nations to the feet of King Jesus. Many other passages could be quoted which speak of the restoration and blessed future of Abraham’s seed, the nation Israel. A most beautiful passage is Isaiah 62:1-4, which reads: “For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, unto the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth. And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate; but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”

God’s purpose for the nation Israel was, and is, that they should be blessed and then in turn become a channel of blessing to all the world. This was inheritent in the covenant God made with Abraham concerning him and his seed. Peter referred to this in his message in Acts 3:25-26, “Yes are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Israel was to be the channel through which the blessing would flow out to others, but the channel is blocked because of Israel’s sin and unbelief. The day is coming, though, when the channel will be cleared, when Israel will again be blessed of God and the means through which the other nations will be blessed. Meanwhile God has opened a new channel through which His blessings flow out to all mankind; that channel is His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessings we enjoy today as members of the Church, the Body of Christ, do not come to us on the basis of any covenant. The covenants belong to Israel (Romans 9:4) and we are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise. Our blessings come freely from God’s throne of grace and they come from the One who is Head of the Church, His Body, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been “blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” and we stand before God complete, accepted, and perfect in HIM.

One purpose of these lessons has been to show it is of the utmost importance to rightly divide the Word of truth. The various portions of Scripture are like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and it is only when we get each piece in its proper place in relation to the others that we see the beautiful picture; God’s perfect plan of the ages and where we fit into the picture. The following quotation is from the book, How to Study the Bible, written by Dr. I. M. Haldeman. He was a great man of God, a devoted servant of Christ, and for nearly fifty years pastor of a great soulwinning church in New York City. He wrote: “No matter what may be the equipment of the Christian, no matter what intellectual, moral, or spiritual endowment he may have, unless he understands dispensational truth he will never fully lay hold of Bible doctrine; while many of the wondrous testimonies of the Word will be unto him but as the tangled threads in endless labyrinth.”

Our attention has been called to the fact that Israel had a commission but failed to obey it and the result was disastrous for them. What about our commission as members of the Church of this dispensation of grace? We have been commissioned as ambassadors for Christ, sent to a world lost in sin with a message from the court of heaven. We are not to settle down at ease as if this world was our home. We are here as pilgrims and strangers and we are to deliver the message. We are to preach the Word, not just to members of the household of faith, for our main message is to the worldlings around us. We are to go to them with the gospel of Christ, warning them to flee from the wrath to come, pointing them to the Saviour who died to save them from their sins. We are to be instant in season, out of season, beseeching men to be reconciled to God. This is our commission. One may give much time to community service or to civic affairs, which may be good, but if that one has not been making the gospel known to others they have not obeyed their commission.

We close with another quote from Dr. Haldeman in which he refers to the Apostle Paul, of whom he writes: “In dealing with the world’s evil he relied wholly on the gospel. He did not stand on the public corners and arraign the municipal corruption of Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, or Rome. He did not take the field for clearer and more popular government. He neither acted the part of a secret detective nor a political partisan. He saw the whole world given over to sin. He saw vice in its most tempting form; he saw it in statues, sculptured in marble, and painted on canvas. He knew that virtue was the exception and vice the rule. Lasciviousness and wantonness touched him on every side, yet he never thought of lifting a crusade against them. Whether it was corruption in office, the squandering of the people’s money, or the shameless, open sin in temples of Venus, he did one thing, and one thing only; he preached the Gospel of Christ, declared that it was the power of God unto salvation, and by it ploughed the furrows of truth so deep that the temples of sin fell into them, were buried, and forgotten.” Would that all of us, like Paul, would be found faithfully preaching the Gospel of Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and beseeching men to be reconciled to God.

Also Read 

The Person of The Lord Lesus Christ - John D. LaVier 

The Work of The Lord Jesus Christ - John D. Lavier 

God Speaks Through Patriarchs and Prophets - John D. LaVier 

God Speaks Through His Son and the Twelve Apostles - John D. LaVier 

God Speaks Speaks Through the Apostle Paul - John D. LaVier 

Israel's Kingdom Hope - John D. LaVier 

The Law Given to - Israel - John D. LaVier 

Israel's Past - John D. LaVier

Grace Bible Church  (Click Here)

Recovery Of Truth - O'Hair - YouTube

How God Saves Men

Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.

Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.

ead Acts 16L31 Romans 1:16, and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4

Read the KJV BIBLE in large print (Click Here)

(A 10 Minute Video)

Jesus is JEHOVAH The One True GOD (Click Here)

 Posted By Cecil and Connie Spivey
cspivey1953@gmail.com

E-mail this BIBLE STUDY to all your friends 

The Law Given to Israel! - By John D. LaVier

The Law Given to Israel!

John D. LaVier

The first word of 2nd Timothy 2:14 is the word “study.” This is the Greek spoudazo and means to give diligence, to labor, etc. For what are we to givediligence, to be ambitious to attain? The answer is that we are to earnestly striveto stand approved before God, and not to be a workman who is negligent and whoblushes for shame. However, if we want God’s approval it is important that weknow what it is that He desires and expects of us, and there is only one place toacquire this knowledge and that is the Word of truth. We may therefore aptlyapply this word “study” to the Holy Scriptures. We are to be diligent students ofthe Word, gaining an intimate knowledge of it and walking in obedience to it.Further, this verse tells us we are to rightly divide the Word of truth. What is meant by that? It means we are to recognize there are certain divisions in the word, called dispensations, and the instructions given to God’s people in one dispensation may not be binding on His people in another.

Perhaps the word “dispensation” may not be too familiar to some, although it is a Bible word. A more common term would be the word “administration.” All are aware that when there is a change of the administration at Washington there may be changes in the laws governing the conduct of the citizens. What may have been the law of the land under one administration may no longer be valid in another. Thus it is with the dispensational distinctions in the Word. The laws which govern the Lord’s people in one dispensation may not be binding on His people when the dispensation has changed and a new set of rules has been given. We are not to assume that wherever we open the Bible to read the Lord is speaking directly to us. We must take into consideration the time, or dispensation, and the ones who are being addressed. All Scripture is for us, and profitable, but not all Scripture is addressed directly to us. There are some things common to all dispensations, while other things may be quite different. In rightly dividing we are the test the things that differ and certainly two things that differ greatly are law andgrace. This present lesson will deal with the former, the law, and will note whatthe Scripture has to say in its regard. The law in view is the law given to Moses at Sinai for the children of Israel. Many think only of the ten commandments whenthe law is mentioned, but it included much more, it also embraced the ceremonial law with its multitudinous rules and rites and ceremonies.

The holy writerdescribed this law program when he said, “Which stood only in meats and drinksand divers washings (baptisms), and carnal (fleshly) ordinances, imposed on themuntil the times of reformation” (Hebrews 9:10). Paul refers to it as “the Jews’religion” (Galatians 1:13).

Romans 5:13-14 refers to a period from Adam to Moses. This covered the first 2500 years of man’s history and during this time there was no law. About 1490 B.C. the law entered (Romans 5:20) and this was shortly after Israel’s deliverance from the Egyptian bondage. The opening verses of Exodus 20 relate to this: “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.” God is here speaking to Abraham’s seed, the nation Israel. God never brought any Gentiles out of the land of Egypt so He is not speaking to them. Here God gives Israel the commandments judgments and ordinances which were to govern the national, moral, social and religious life of the nation.

Sin was in the world prior to the entrance of the law, but the law was not givento take away sin. Quite the contrary. The law was given that the offence might abound (Romans 5:20) and that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful (Romans 7:13). All the law could do was to show man his sinful condition and his inability to attain by his own doing to the righteousness whicGodemands. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). God’s glory has been revealed in a perfect law and in the only perfect Man who ever perfectly kept that perfect law. Measured by either of these all have come short. “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” (Romans 3:20). Notice, by the law is simply the knowledge of sin. By Adam was the entrance of sin, by Moses the knowledge of sin, and by Christ alone is the forgiveness of sin. The law was like a mirror. A mirror reveals a dirty face but another cleansing agent is needed to be rid of the dirt. The law reveals man’s sin but the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is needed to be cleansed from that sin.

The law was given to Israel and included the whole legal system with its commandments, rites, offerings, sabbath keeping, etc. No Gentiles were ever under the law. The law was Israel’s schoolmaster (pedagogue) or child conductor to bring them up to, or until, Christ. The law was never intended to be permanent. Galatians 3:19 says it was added and verse 26 states it was only needed until Christ. To what was it added? It was added to the promises and the covenant made with Abraham and his seed, and it was only to be in force until the advent of Messiah. When Messiah came the pedagogue, child trainer, would no longer be necessary. Sadly, when Messiah came the nation did not receive Him, and as a result have experienced this long period of rejection when they are Lo-ammi, not recognized as God’s people.

When the Lord Jesus was here in the flesh as Israel’s long-awaited Messiah and King, He was here as one under the law. Galatians 4:4 reads: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” In Luke 2 we have the story of His birth and in that chapter the law is mentioned five times. When Jesus was eight days old He was circumcised according to the law. Forty days after His birth He was taken to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and this was according to the law. He was a firstborn son and so an offering was required, and they brought either a pair of turtledoves ortwo young pigeons. Why did His parents bring this particular type of offering? In Leviticus 12:8 we read: “And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two turtles, or two young pigeons.” Because they brought the latter it is evident they were poor, and this indicates the Magi had not yet visited them, bringing their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Later, as Jesus was about to begin His public ministry He came obediently as one under the law to be baptized of John at Jordan. When John remonstrated, Jesus replied, “Suffer it to be sonow; for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” He was careful to fulfil all the righteous requirements of the law. We discern from Luke 4:16 that His custom was to worship at the synagogue on the sabbath day as prescribed by the Mosaic law. Those under the law were to be obedient to their religious leaders and Jesus reminded His listeners of this. “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat; all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do” (Matthew 23:1-3).

In the reference to Moses’ seat the word for seat is kathedra, a seat or throne of authority. It is true that Jesus was here under the law, but we are not under the aw and we do not follow Him in any of these things.

They were under the law administration at that time and we are not.

The mistake made by many is to assume that the death and resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit brought an end to the dispensation of law and ushered in the dispensation of grace. This is certainly not so. The dispensation of grace for us Gentiles did not begin with Peter on a Jewish feast day preaching to a Jewish audience and using the keys to open the door to kingdom blessings. In his salutation in Acts 1:1 Luke says, “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” What Jesus began in the gospel account He continued, at least for a season, to do inthe book of Acts. The law regime continued in operation. Many years after Pentecost the Apostle Paul visited Jerusalem and the church elders there said to him, “thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe;and they are all zealous of the law” (Acts 21:20). Most of these Jews were perhaps among the thousands converted at Pentecost and later through the ministry of Peter and the Twelve. They were zealots for the law, following Moses, but they were believers. They believed that Jesus of Nazareth, who died on the cross and was raised from the dead, was their rightful King. They were saved under the gospel of circumcision and entertained a kingdom hope in which they continued. Meanwhile, Paul had been sent with the gospel of the uncircumcision to the Gentiles and this twofold program continued during the remainder of Acts, the transition period, with the one fading out and the other expanding.

It is important that we distinguish between that which was done at the cross and that which was done by the cross. Certain things were done at the cross; things done once and for all and never to be repeated. Other things were done by, or as a result of, the cross, and some of those things were not made known until much later. With the Apostle Paul the Lord brought in a new program, the calling out of the church, sinners saved by grace, baptized into Christ and made members of His Body. Through Paul the Lord revealed some wonderful things accomplished for us by His death on the cross. One of these is that in the cross of Christ we died, not only to sin and to the world, but we died to he law as well.

“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto god” (Romans 7:4). As a result we are no longer under the law, but under grace (6:15). By His death on the cross the Lord Jesus Christ did away with the law, as stated in Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” A few verses further (vs. 17) it says that the handwriting of ordinances, that whole religious system, was nothing more then
a shadow of the good things to come. We have the good things so let us leave the shadows and glory in the substance, which is Christ. He took that law, which was against us and contrary to us, and nailed it to His cross. Let us not get a crowbar and try to pry it loose, but leave it there, and begin to rejoice in the glorious liberty of the children of God. The renowned Dr. I. M. Haldeman wrote many years ago: “In the far East when a mortgage is to be canceled, it is taken and nailed up over the door of the house and then blotted out, madeillegible; so that every passerby may know that it no longer has any claim on the resident.

Precisely so, in that far day on the cross, the Son of God for us and our salvation,took this law and all its ordinances of condemnation and restriction, and nailed them to His cross, blotting them out in the blood which, answering to every demand of justice against us, cried, ‘It is finished.’ That old law is crucified to every Christian, and buried in the grave of Jesus Christ, from whence we have risen withHim in the liberty of the Spirit and of life, above all ordinances for the flesh.”

Does the fact we are not under the law mean that we are lawless? Certainly not. There is another law now operating in our members that controls our life and conduct. It is the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. We read of this in Romans 8:2-4, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” There was something the law could not do; not that there was anything wrong with the law, but the trouble was with us because of the weakness of the flesh. What the law could not do was to enable us to attain either to salvation or sanctification. Now this new law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, is working in our members, energizing and enabling us to live in the revealed will and Word of God. Many are struggling with the law and endeavoring to live the Christian life when they really have no life to live. When truly saved by the grace of God through faith in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ we come into possession of a new life, the very life of Christ Himself. Then we may truly say, “For me to live is Christ” and “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, what a blessed law by which to be governed. The Pauline epistles show us our high and holy position, and they also inform us that our condition should correspond to our position. The exhortations addressed to us are as much to be obeyed as were the thunderings of Sinai to be obeyed by Israel, but unlike them we have been given the empowerment needed to obey.

Run, John, and do, the law commands;
And gives him neither legs nor hands.
But better news the gospel brings;
It bids him fly and gives him wings.

Following the church age there will be on earth a time of trouble such as never was before. This is the 70th week of Daniel’s great prophecy, the latter half of which is the Great Tribulation. The false Christ will be on the scene. He is referred to in 2nd Thessalonians 2:8, “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” This is the personal antichrist of the end-time, called here “that Wicked” or the marginal reading is “that lawless one.” It will be a time characterized by lawlessness, but it will be in the main a rebellion against the lawsof the Godof heaven. It will be puny man shaking his fist toward heaven and saying, “I’ll do it my way.” As the black clouds foretell a coming storm so the lawlessness abroad today presages the fearsome end-time. On every hand there is a rising tide of rebellion against all rule and authority, a refusal to be governed by any laws or values, just do as one may desire. As a result there is anarchy in the streets, the home, schools, and the workplace. Alas, this spirit has also invaded our churches, with members unwilling to accept the spirit of our Lord and Master. Christians need to be on guard against the increasing spirit of lawlessness that prevails, all of which stems from a revolt against God and an unwillingness to submit to Him and His laws.

It has been said that it is darkest just before the dawn. The Great Tribulation will certainly be the darkest period in human history but the return of Him who is the Bright and Morning Star will herald the dawn of a new day. Christ returns to banish those who have defied His laws, and to usher in His millennial reign. In that day those who enter the Millennium will have God’s law in their hearts. “After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

Those born after the beginning of the Millennium will be born sinners, even as today, and will need to be born again, hence sin will be possible but will be summarily dealt with. The Millennium is not the golden age; that will follow in the eternal state with the new heavens and the new earth. The Millennium is the iron age. The Lord will be King and ruling with a rod of iron. The earth will have its Divine Dictator and lawlessness will not be tolerated. Man believes Satan’s lies and has two delusions: 1) that he can save himself, and 2) that he can govern himself. Thank God the true Governor is coming and He will bring in a truly great society when righteousness will prevail. “Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy; for thou shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth” (Psalm 67:3-4).

Also Read 

 

The Person of The Lord Lesus Christ - John D. LaVier 

The Work of The Lord Jesus Christ - John D. Lavier 

God Speaks Through Patriarchs and Prophets - John D. LaVier 

God Speaks Through His Son and the Twelve Apostles - John D. LaVier 

God Speaks Speaks Through the Apostle Paul - John D. LaVier 

Israel's Kingdom Hope - John D. LaVier 

The Law Given to - Israel - John D. LaVier 

Israels Future - John D. LaVier

How God Saves Men

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