What the Bible Says About the People of God

Dispensationalism (reference only)

8 Responses to “What the Bible Says About the People of God”

  1. Chris says:
    August 14, 2007 at 7:48 am

    Nathan,

    What a great polemic concerning Dispensationalism. I honestly can understand someone being Arminian before a Dispensationalist.

    Also, my brother wrote an article, and I would appreciate if you could comment on it. Your comments would be an encouragement.

    Chris

  2. pitchford says:
    August 14, 2007 at 6:45 pm

    Chris,

    I agree that Dispensationalism is hard to swallow, but I’m not sure it’s worse than Arminianism. It’s more complicated, so I can see someone being genuinely confused by it, whereas Arminianism is more or less straightforward, and the texts combating it are legion. Thanks for the comment though :) . I’ll be glad to look at your brother’s article.

    Nathan

  3. pitchford says:
    August 16, 2007 at 6:08 pm

    Update: For any e-sword users, Andrew Groves has made both the Doctrines of Grace and Dispensationalism scripture lists into .top files for use on e-sword. With them, you can read the lists in multiple versions, etc. If interested, let me know, and I’ll get the file to you.

  4. Bob Hayton says:
    August 16, 2007 at 8:45 pm

    COOL! Great list, too.

  5. pitchford says:
    August 17, 2007 at 6:03 am

    Thanks, Bob!

  6. Chris says:
    August 17, 2007 at 7:12 am

    Can you send it to me Nathan? Thx.

  7. SherryC. says:
    November 4, 2007 at 9:24 pm

    Please note that Romans 9 – 11 are about the ethnic Jews through Abraham’s son, Isaac. It concerns the covenant of Jeremiah 31.It is Paul’s answer to Jewish unbelief. Whenever you see names mentioned, such as the House of Jacob, you can know that it is speaking of the ethnic Jews. I could not completely agree with half the points made concerning dispy beliefs. Perhaps I am progressive. But please don’t confuse us by those in our camp who are believing the heretical pre-wrath rapture. It is a combination of Covenant and dispy bible interpretations concerning the time of the rapture. It is an awful belief and it is being embraced as quickly as all the other heresies going around. Please watch out for it. And I have been to dispy sites that lump all covenanters into the Kingdom Now/Dominionists camp. Unbelievable. I say that because there seems to be either a lack of knowing the truth or the desire to put the beliefs one disagrees with in a bad light so as to put one’s own beliefs in a better light. As you point out the errors of dispy beliefs stay as true to their beliefs as you can. I think you did fine in this article because you did give a disclaimer after the listed points. God bless all you do for His Kingdom, by His power and for His glory, Nathan.

  8. pitchford says:
    November 15, 2007 at 10:37 am

    Sherry,

    Hi, I just got back from a two-week trip without e-mail, so that’s why I haven’t responded. Good point about being careful not to misrepresent opposing viewpoints: I was giving the details of the specific dispensationalism that I was taught at bible college (all of those points were given to me in class by various professors) but I recognize that many out there who claim the name do not hold to all of those same points.

    I agree that Romans 9-11 is largely dealing with the question of ethnic Jews, but two observations are in order: first, the key term for arguing for a great future revival among ethnic Jews is found in 11:26, and whether that particular usage is to be restricted to ethnic Israel alone is not so cut-and-dried. I believe both Sam Storms and Robert Reymond (maybe O Palmer Robertson as well, from his book, Christ of the Covenenants) have some good exegesis of the passage which arrives at a different conclusion.

    But secondly, whether or not you see that term as referring to ethnic Israel, the typical dispensational reading of a renewed working with the nation of the Jews as a people of God distinct from the Church is nowhere implied. In fact, it cuts against the tenor of the whole passage, which speaks about being cut out and grafted back into the same body of which Gentile believers have become a part. Maybe in the future God will do a mighty work among the Jews, so that national Israel does come to accept Christ, in whom their “Gentile” brothers have already become accepted, and in whom there is no longer Jew or Greek. But that’s not the same thing that most Dispensationalists assume that this passage means.

    Thanks for the interaction, and keep pressing on! I know you are following Christ and seeking his truth from the scriptures: eventually we’ll all arrive at a perfect understanding, when we see Christ in all his glory. Until then, let’s keep helping each other out!

    In Christ, Nathan

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