Rightly Dividing The Word
According to the apostle Paul, anyone teaching or preaching the Word without rightly dividing It will at some point be ashamed ( 2 Tim.2:15 ). Do you want to be the one who has to apologize to your congregation one day because you were too hasty to form a doctrine or opinion on a subject without rightly dividing it? Here are some ways to ensure that you are rightly dividing the Word if followed, and if not, to ensure that you will err in your doctrine.
1. Who are the people being addressed?
It can only be one of three groups: Jews, Gentiles, or the Church. Two good examples of erring here are Acts chapters two through seven and the book of James. Although no Gentile appears in Acts two to seven as a member of the Church, there are those that demand that Gentile believers today follow the same " patterns " as these Jewish converts. This is an impossibility, as my article " Just Like The First Church " explains. Another example is Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven. Although this chapter is about the future restoration of the nation of Israel, men still err by referring to this chapter as " revival in the Church ". The third example is concluding that the word " brethren " in James 5:19 means " a Gentile believer " who becomes lost and thus needs to be " converted " again. One only has to look at the introduction to the book of James to know this is a false conclusion. The book was written to the " twelve tribes of Israel ", not to Gentiles. If you do a word study of the use of the word " brethren " by Jews, you will find that " brethren " can be any Jew, whether saved or lost.
2. Words mean what they say
Some affirm that the word " baptize " or " baptized " always means water baptism. It does not. The definition of the word is " immersion ", not " immersion in water ". Any student of the Bible knows that it is possible to be immersed into numerous things. 1 Corinthians 12:13 teaches that we are immersed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Entire denominations are founded upon the false interpretation of the three letter word " for " in Acts 2:38. They demand that this word is a definite preposition ( has only one meaning ) and means " in order to obtain ". There is a word that in fact means " in order to obtain " ( hina ), but it was not used in Acts 2:38, therefore it cannot mean what certain people demand that it means. Lastly, some read " 1000 " in Revelation 20:1-7 and conclude that it means " a large, indefinite number ", i.e. " the Church age '. That's not what the writer concluded, though. The word is " chilioi ", and means....1000 ( our word " kilo " comes from this ). Had John meant to say what certain people falsly conclude that he said, he would have used the same word that he had already used in Revelation 5:11; " murias ", which actually is rendered " a large, indefinite number ". He did not use this word in Revelation 20: 1-7, therefore the error.
3. Context
An example of Scripture used out of context is Malachi 3:8-10. I actually heard a local teacher start out his " study of tithing " in this chapter. Obviously he believed this Scripture applies to the New Testament Church, even though verse nine suggests otherwise. This person was taking something that applied exclusively to the nation of Israel and applying it to the Church today. It was taken " out of context " to reach a conclusion that the Bible rightly divided does not reach; that a member of the Church today is obligated to tithe. There is no Scripture that places the Church under the obligation to tithe or keep the Sabbath. Anyone teaching otherwise is teaching error.
4. Time periods
If we don't keep time periods in perspective ( rightly divide ), we will err in our doctrine. For example, both the Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself predicted a future time of the Messiah's reign on the earth. Both Isaiah 11 and Jeremiah 31 predict such a time period. Jesus talked about a future time concerning Israel in Matthew 19:28 when He promised his faithful disciples that they would " sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel ". This has not happened as of yet. When the disciples asked Jesus a question concerning the kingdom being " restored to Israel " ( they had been talking about it for forty days ), Jesus understood it to be a logical question and answered " now is not the time " ( paraphrased , Acts 1:1-7 ). Do you want to be a teacher or preacher who does not have to be ashamed when you realize your error, and most importantly, when you stand before God at the Judgement Seat of Christ? Then start rightly dividing the Word.
Soteria Dia Christo Sola!
According to the apostle Paul, anyone teaching or preaching the Word without rightly dividing It will at some point be ashamed ( 2 Tim.2:15 ). Do you want to be the one who has to apologize to your congregation one day because you were too hasty to form a doctrine or opinion on a subject without rightly dividing it? Here are some ways to ensure that you are rightly dividing the Word if followed, and if not, to ensure that you will err in your doctrine.
1. Who are the people being addressed?
It can only be one of three groups: Jews, Gentiles, or the Church. Two good examples of erring here are Acts chapters two through seven and the book of James. Although no Gentile appears in Acts two to seven as a member of the Church, there are those that demand that Gentile believers today follow the same " patterns " as these Jewish converts. This is an impossibility, as my article " Just Like The First Church " explains. Another example is Ezekiel chapter thirty-seven. Although this chapter is about the future restoration of the nation of Israel, men still err by referring to this chapter as " revival in the Church ". The third example is concluding that the word " brethren " in James 5:19 means " a Gentile believer " who becomes lost and thus needs to be " converted " again. One only has to look at the introduction to the book of James to know this is a false conclusion. The book was written to the " twelve tribes of Israel ", not to Gentiles. If you do a word study of the use of the word " brethren " by Jews, you will find that " brethren " can be any Jew, whether saved or lost.
2. Words mean what they say
Some affirm that the word " baptize " or " baptized " always means water baptism. It does not. The definition of the word is " immersion ", not " immersion in water ". Any student of the Bible knows that it is possible to be immersed into numerous things. 1 Corinthians 12:13 teaches that we are immersed into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. Entire denominations are founded upon the false interpretation of the three letter word " for " in Acts 2:38. They demand that this word is a definite preposition ( has only one meaning ) and means " in order to obtain ". There is a word that in fact means " in order to obtain " ( hina ), but it was not used in Acts 2:38, therefore it cannot mean what certain people demand that it means. Lastly, some read " 1000 " in Revelation 20:1-7 and conclude that it means " a large, indefinite number ", i.e. " the Church age '. That's not what the writer concluded, though. The word is " chilioi ", and means....1000 ( our word " kilo " comes from this ). Had John meant to say what certain people falsly conclude that he said, he would have used the same word that he had already used in Revelation 5:11; " murias ", which actually is rendered " a large, indefinite number ". He did not use this word in Revelation 20: 1-7, therefore the error.
3. Context
An example of Scripture used out of context is Malachi 3:8-10. I actually heard a local teacher start out his " study of tithing " in this chapter. Obviously he believed this Scripture applies to the New Testament Church, even though verse nine suggests otherwise. This person was taking something that applied exclusively to the nation of Israel and applying it to the Church today. It was taken " out of context " to reach a conclusion that the Bible rightly divided does not reach; that a member of the Church today is obligated to tithe. There is no Scripture that places the Church under the obligation to tithe or keep the Sabbath. Anyone teaching otherwise is teaching error.
4. Time periods
If we don't keep time periods in perspective ( rightly divide ), we will err in our doctrine. For example, both the Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself predicted a future time of the Messiah's reign on the earth. Both Isaiah 11 and Jeremiah 31 predict such a time period. Jesus talked about a future time concerning Israel in Matthew 19:28 when He promised his faithful disciples that they would " sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel ". This has not happened as of yet. When the disciples asked Jesus a question concerning the kingdom being " restored to Israel " ( they had been talking about it for forty days ), Jesus understood it to be a logical question and answered " now is not the time " ( paraphrased , Acts 1:1-7 ). Do you want to be a teacher or preacher who does not have to be ashamed when you realize your error, and most importantly, when you stand before God at the Judgement Seat of Christ? Then start rightly dividing the Word.
Soteria Dia Christo Sola!
