I have asked all the dispies where, in the Bible, do they find the doctrine of dispensations. I make the point that you can NOT find the word, 'dispensations' in the KJV.
Heh- heh.
No, you just find unicorns and cockatrice and people fetching compasses.
Heh- heh.
The KJV is not divinely inspired. It is not perfect, ergo it is wrong in some places. Nevertheless, it's a pretty good translation, as a whole. Unfortunately, it's not in a language we speak, today.
The word is "oikonomia." It's the word from which we get "economy," and it literally means "house rules." Personally, I much prefer the translation "administration." It just refers to how things are administered, in the context of how someone rules a household. The "administration of God's grace." It's not a complicated word. And yes, the word is in the New Testament, over and over again, particularly from Paul, who is the only author in the entire Bible to ever even refer to the Body of Christ.
YOU are a dispensationalist. You do not follow the "house rules" of Moses (or Abraham, for that matter). You do not think you should be stoned to death for picking up sticks on a Saturday. You do not think that wearing cotton polyester is a sin. You do not think that it is wrong to eat meat sacrificed to idols.
Or ... do you?
YOU, sir, agree that the rules for God's people change over time. And it is exceedingly important for any believer to know where they stand in the changing rules of God's administration of humanity and creation. Death penalty? Or no death penalty.
Don't eat meat.
Eat meat.
Don't eat some kinds of meat.
Eat any meat.
Don't eat some kinds of meat. (This last one is in Revelation, by the way. You tell me - is that "dispensation" past, present or future? Because it certainly came after Paul said eat anything you want.)
Which baptism(s) do you have? Repentance? Water? Spirit? Fire? Were you baptized into Moses? Or into the Holy Spirit? Or into Christ? Or all of the above? Personally, I have only one baptism; only one of the above. Which one(s) do you have?
What rules do you live by, biblically? Because the "house rules" in the Bible change, and that is undeniable, irrefutable. Pick up sticks on a Saturday in Moses' camp, and you will be excommunicated, banished from the camp and die with your sins upon you. I, however, am not baptized into Moses. I am baptized into Christ.
Thank God.
