2 Timothy 2:15: Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
As we study through this first of the Jewish epistles, it is imperative to make sure that we understand what each verse says before we attach any meaning to it. As 21st Century Christians it is very easy to evaluate each verse in every chapter through our Christian experience, as opposed to the lens of right division. We must be careful not to our Christian experience into the pages of any book that is not directly written to us.
Remember, it does not mean that we cannot learn amazing spiritual truths from these books. We must first establish the context…the Who, What, When, Where, and Why of the book before we start Christianizing the text.
In reviewing Chapter One, we had remind ourselves of the key word of Hebrews – Better. In Hebrews 1:4, we see that Jesus is better than the angels! “Better” occurs 10 more times in this book, revealing more and more how much better a relationship with Jesus Christ is than anything this world has to offer. Jesus life and ministry is divided into three areas:
In his earthly ministry, He was a prophet. John 4:19. John 4:44
In his resurrection, He is our great High Priest. 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 4:14-16
In his return, He is coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. Revelation 19:11-16
As we read Chapter Two today, we discovered the first warning of five warnings given to these Jewish believers of the prophetic time of the tribulation. Of course, the Jews of the first century were also the audience.
Warning #One: Guard yourselves from drifting from the truth! 2:1-4
One key truth is that no one will escape God’s judgment. Hebrews 9:27
The issue is which judgment we will be standing at. From V.5-18 Paul carefully explains how much better Christ is than the angels. He was made a little lower than them for the purpose of bearing our sins in his own body on the tree, suffering for us all and being crowned with glory!
Colossians 2:13-15: And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;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;And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Philippians 2:5-11 spells out the mission of the Son of God so clear! I encourage you to take a moment and read this great scripture to remind you that one day all of creation will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Even though this warning in V.1-4 is given to the Jews doctrinally, we can be reminded that we, the saved of this dispensation of the grace of God, will face our judgment. It will be a judgment for our service, not our salvation. Our salvation is based on the finished work of Christ. It is a done deal! God imputes His righteousness to us at salvation and we are justified.
Romans 3:24, Romans 4:5, Galatians 3:21, Ephesians 2:5, 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5-7
We, on the other hand, make deposits of righteousness into our service account to be rewarded after the rapture of the body of Christ. Romans 14:10-12, 1 Cor 3:11-15, 1 Cor 4:1-2, 2 Cor 5:10, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Timothy 6:8, Titus 2:7-8
These two accounts are different. Our salvation account is closed based on the finished work of Christ. Our service account is open until the Day of Christ. We must make sure that we do not mix what we do with what He did. We do not work to be saved. We work because we are saved. The judgment seat of Christ is not about retribution. It is about reward!
Next Sunday, we will unpack Hebrews Three, and see how Christ is better than Moses. The second of the five warnings to these Jewish believers is issued in Hebrews 3:7-19 — Beware of the danger of disbelief! Please take a moment each day and read Hebrews Three in preparation for our study.
Your Fellow Student,
Ken Wooten
Micah 6:8
828-243-8234
rdtw.org
The three basic applications of Bible study:
Simple Treasure Historic Application (STHA): The events we read in scripture really happened to real people at a particular time in history. Understanding the historical context is vital to proper interpretation and to make the second application meaningful.
Personal Treasure Devotional Application (PTDA): We learn lessons from the real events. situations, and experiences of those real people in the historical application that we can apply devotionally / inspirationally to our own lives as we face similar situations and circumstances.
Deep Treasure Doctrinal Application (DTDA): Also known as the prophetic application, identifies what an event or situation in history foreshadows or pictures prophetic events yet to be fulfilled. It is the real teaching of the passage. Doctrine = teaching! This Application employs strict rules of Bible study to make consistent prophetic applications. 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Titus 2:1
Five Basic Bible Study Principles:
- The Law of non-contradiction – Two opposing doctrines, though true, cannot both be true at the same time. They are true for different groups at different times. (Contrast Acts 3:17-21 with Romans 16:25-27. Contrast Romans 4:1-5 with James 2:14-18. Contrast Romans 8:1-2 with James 2:10.) In all three examples, both statements are true, but not to the same group at the same time. Jesus fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17). We are not bound to the law because we are in the dispensation of the grace of God where all our tespasses are forgiven.
- The Law of trans-dispensational truth – Some truths are universal, in that they are true in more than one dispensation. Example: The definition of faith is the same regardless of the dispensation. Studying the Bible through the lens of the mystery of the dispensation of the grace of God helps us to understand what the writers of the Old Testament understood to be true, and how it impacts our understanding of the scriptures. Hebrews 11:1-6, 2 Corinthians 5:7
- Paul’s letters are the commands of Christ. 1 Corinthians 14:37, 1 Thessalonians 4:2 Do we follow what Jesus said before the cross, or what Paul said after the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Christ? The truth of the matter is: What Paul wrote is what Jesus commanded after his ascension. Galatians 1:1-2:16
- A change of dispensation brings a change of administration, and a change of administration brings a change of operation. Ephesians 3:1-12, Colossians 1:25-29
- The Law of double fulfillment. Historical events that occurred in the Old Testament that have a prophetic implication will occur again either in the tribulation or the millennial kingdom depending on the context of the event.
Definition of a Dispensation (House Rules)
A dispensation is an economy of time in which a stewardship of God’s grace and plan is dispensed to an individual or group through progressive revelation. God dispensed a new set of “House Laws or Rules” that needed to be followed and was the responsibility of those who lived under them to carry out and obey. (Ex: Presidential Administrations / executive orders) Each dispensation builds upon the previous dispensation revealing more of God’s plan to mankind. Belief / faith and obedience are the key ingredients to a healthy relationship with God in each dispensation. We are under “the dispensation of the grace of God.” This current administration is an administration of grace. The House is managed by grace. We are saved by grace, our walk is a grace walk, etc.. The letters of Paul provide us with our “House Rules” that we are to directly live by in this dispensation of grace.