Having spent over thirty years in the Mainstream Christian Church, I’ve heard lots of catch phrases.
“Rightly Dividing the Word of God” is one of those phrases that gets used, but who really thinks about what it actually means??
I never thought much about it, until this morning.
Now being Torah observant, I spend much of my time trying to reach the mainstream with the truth.
They don’t seem to want the truth, but I keep trying anyway.
There is a woman who posts Mainstream Church doctrine in a Facebook group that I am in…
I’m talking P-R-O-L-I-F-I-C.
As in, post after post after post all day long.
Non-stop.
Does this lady ever go to the bathroom even???
We live in a semi-free country, though, right?
At least that is the illusion.
So I don’t mind and don’t care that she or anyone else posts all day everyday.
But here is the problem I have…
She posts mainstream hyper-grace gobbledy-gook doctrine.
Stuff I used to go along with, until Yahuah lifted my veil so that I could see truth, just as is described in 2Corinthians Chapter 3:12-18
Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
She teaches hyper-grace without obedience.
She teaches the promise of John 3:16 without the warning of John 3:36.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Good stuff, right?
However, the warning of verse 36 needs to fit into the puzzle in order to hear the whole truth (along with all of scripture).
John 3:36
He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
She teaches that the foot of the cross is where we go, to set up camp, and to stay there for the rest of our lives.
Where else would you want to be?
Grace just flows from the cross, right down to where you are sitting. Drip, drip, drip —- just like being on an IV.
It is quite the efficient arrangement.
Except for that pesky truth…
John 14:6
Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
Do you see the significance here?
Yeshua Messiah is not the destination.
He is merely the path.
Highly important? Yes. Absolutely. Critical.
But the cross is not the destination.
The cross is not the finish line.
It is the beginning.
It is the start of the narrow path.
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Anyway, I have been responding to her posts, showing the truth of scripture. Some of her followers are asking me questions, seeing the warnings in scripture, realizing there are both warnings and promises that make up a whole truth.
And she does not like it.
She does not like the fact that her fans are asking hard questions.
Instead of supporting her position with scripture, showing truth, she just keeps telling me I don’t know how to “Rightly Divide the Word of God.”
There’s that catch phrase…
I’ve never cared what it meant.
But now, I had to figure out what it means.
I never reject someone’s ideas without first taking a look at it.
I am always willing to seek truth, and admit I’m wrong if I can see it in scripture.
I didn’t have much to go on, because she didn’t sharpen iron with iron, as it should be done.
She simple said I don’t know how to divide the word.
So, I did what any good researcher would do…
I Googled it.
Many references came up, and I clicked on the very first one.
It was written by Creflo Dollar, of all people.
Well, this isn’t going to go well, is it?
Anyway, I wanted to know if I were missing out on some great understanding.
Here is Creflo Dollar’s summary of Rightly Dividing the Word of God:
A. There is a major difference between the Law in the Old Testament and the grace that Jesus established in the New Testament when He shed His blood.
- In the Old Testament, God repeatedly told the children of Israel that He would curse those who did not obey the Law, and His punishment would extend to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 34:7; Exodus 20:5; Numbers 14:18).
- All these Scriptures were written before Jesus went to the cross. After the cross, everything changed, and God promises us He will remember our sins no more if we accept His Son (Hebrews 8:12; Hebrews 10:17).
- Studying the Word helps us divide it correctly (2 Timothy 2:15, AMP).
- Analyzing it wrong has serious consequences.
- The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John focus on when Jesus walked the earth during which time the old covenant was still valid.
- We are perfect in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:28).
- Read in this way, the Bible is not a book that tells us how bad we are. It reminds us how perfect we are in Jesus, despite what we see.
- Christ in us enables us to live a different lifestyle.
- Although we are now under the new covenant, we should not discount the Old Testament (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).
- The entire Bible was written so that we may be perfected.
- We should respect all Scriptures, whether Old or New Testament (Romans 15:4).
B. There are seven guidelines for interpreting Scripture.
- Let Scripture interpret Scripture. There is no need to use a dictionary.
- We need to put Scriptures in context with other Scriptures, and with the rest of the chapter. In John 12:31, 32, Jesus was referring to the judgment of sin in the world, and the drawing of all sin to Him.
- Do not read anything into the Scripture that is not there. Read its true meaning. Romans 3:20-23 is one example.
- Analyzing verse 23 incorrectly makes it look like a condemning statement from the old covenant. Verse 20 tells us that the Law does not justify us in God’s eyes. Verse 21 refers to the covenant of grace, minus the Law. Verse 22 establishes that we need faith in Jesus to be made righteous—it says nothing about works.
- Read the meaning out of the Scripture, not into it.
- Taking 1 Peter 3:3, 4 out of context makes it seem like the Bible is saying women should not wear makeup or jewelry, or braid their hair. It actually means we should pay more attention to the inward person, not the outward appearance.
- Be consistent to the selected type of interpretation throughout the Scripture.
- If a lamb is a type of redemption in the first part of the Scripture, it should be a type of redemption in the last part.
- Two or three witnesses are needed to make a doctrine. It cannot be made from a single Biblical verse.
- Several Biblical sources are needed to confirm a teaching. Paul wrote about this in 2 Corinthians 13:1.
- Study to whom a Scripture is written, and what time it is written about.
- Hebrews 2:14, 15 was written to the Jews who were still living under the Law and feared death.
- Hebrews 10:26 was also written to the Jews, specifically the ones who continued to make animal sacrifices after Jesus made the one perfect sacrifice for all time.
- Notice how the finished works of Jesus affect the way we interpret the entire Scripture.
- We should read 1 John 3:20, 21 in light of what He did on the cross. If our hearts condemn us, we know that we are not operating under the new covenant. There is no condemnation in Christ.
I could spend hours delving into this, but I’ll just summarize instead:
Apparently, dividing the word of God means to throw out everything before the resurrection. Then we can make up new doctrine with what is written after the resurrection.
Oh boy, this causes so many problems.
Yahuah said in Torah that many things are perpetual, never-ending, forever, for all generations…
Apparently, rightly dividing the word of God means that forever doesn’t mean forever.
Apparently, it means that God is a liar.
Anyone who knows truth knows that Yahuah is not a liar.
Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Anyone who knows the truth knows that Yahuah does not change.
Malachi 3:6
““For I am the Lord, I change not…”
Anyone who knows the truth realizes that Yeshua’s message is that of the Father, and not His own new stuff.
John 7:16
Yeshua answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. “
Anyone who knows truth knows that Yeshua did not do away with the Torah instruction, the law.
Matthew 5:17-19
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
OK, I could do this all day…
Enough.
Is the reason for my post to beat up on a stranger on the internet?
No, it is not.
Is it to beat up on Creflo Dollar?
No, it is not.
The reason for this post is to show how “Rightly Dividing the Word of God” is just an excuse to ignore what scripture says, and to make up your own doctrine out of the parts you like.
I share this post to serve as a warning.
If you hear someone teaching mainstream [false] doctrine and defending their viewpoint by “dividing the word,” please keep this post in mind.
And pray for all who are still veiled.
They need our prayers and support, not our Facebook debates.
For those who ALWAYS go to the writings of Paul to explain their “grace without obedience” message, be sure to understand the warning giving about Paul’s writings in 2Peter 3:14-18
Therefore, loved ones, while you are looking for these things, make every effort to be found in shalom, spotless and blameless before Him. 15 Bear in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation—just as our dearly loved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom given to him. 16 He speaks about these matters in all of his letters. Some things in them are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist (as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures)—to their own destruction.
17 Since you already know all this, loved ones, be on your guard so that you are not led astray by the error of the lawless and lose your sure footing. 18 Instead, keep growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Yeshua the Messiah. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity! Amen.
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