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LESSON 7, REVIEW K. BLADES
Romans 11:25
ISRAEL & THE MYSTERY = THE GREAT DISPENSATIONAL CHANGE.
This second essential doctrine is vital for our understanding today. Why? We must understand and appreciate how the dispensation of grace affects, and impacts, God’s program with the nation Israel. Chapters 9, 10 and 11 of Romans, explains this dispensational (program) change. Ignorance of this doctrine causes a lot of problems. Even for those of us who rightly divide.
1. Paul is teaching us, there are some common misunderstandings of this doctrine. Paul has been tasked by God to deal with the trouble that arises out of misunderstandings. The goal of the SPOE Is to keep the Bible believer biblical, but not dispensational, scriptural but not “rightly dividing,” a Bible student that is “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Saved, justified unto eternal life, but misunderstanding the great dispensational change, thus observing/advancing Israel’s kingdom program. (2 Tim 2:15; 1 Tim 3:7).
2. The misunderstanding of this doctrine is just what SPOE wants for the believer today. Satan does not what to take the Bible out of your hands. He does not want the teacher/preacher to quit teaching or preaching. No! SPOE wants you to keep studying, and the teacher keep on teaching, but Satan does not want you to ever learn to rightly divide the world of truth. Thus, keeping the believer ignorant of the truth. Misunderstanding what God is really doing in the dispensation of grace, and what we should be doing as co-labors with God. And where does this misunderstanding come from? It comes from prior knowledge, prior erroneous, corrupt knowledge, corrupt doctrine. Misinformation!
3. Prior knowledge is the information a learner (believer) already has before they learn new information. A believer’s understanding of godly edification, education can be improved upon by taking inventory of their prior knowledge, before teaching them new knowledge. If prior knowledge is correct and consistent with new information being taught, the effect on learning is positive. However, if prior knowledge clashes with new information, (which is often the case) the effect on new learning can be negative. And Paul was always assessing pre-existing knowledge before he taught new information.
4. This brings us to the (1) First misunderstanding: What has happened to Israel? Rom. 9:6-8; “Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect” or (returned to God void, concerning Israel). Paul is pulling down this stronghold of misunderstanding/human viewpoint. That did not happen! NEW INFO: God’s word was/is going to accomplish with Israel the “calling out” of the “seed” that would inherit the Kingdom, not just the physical seed of Abram. The word was going to call out the spiritual seed of faith, the children of promise, to
enter into the earthly Kingdom, in the last days. God’s word has been indeed taking effect, or doing his job, forming the children of faith. To inherit the Kingdom on earth. (Isa. 2:1-4). The ignorance of this truth has blinded many today.
5. The (2) Second misunderstanding came in (Rom.9:14); “Is there unrighteousness with God?” Paul’s response is to cast down this vain imagination too. God forbid! (certainly not!) That is the thinking of the adversary! The short answer is, God is a God of mercy. The reason God accursed Israel from Christ and turned to the Gentiles (Israel broke law contract) and God Reserved the right to exercise his goodness, his grace, his mercy, his compassion, and his peace, outside of that law contract. Jehovah-ness!
6. The (3) Third misunderstanding (vs 19) Paul is casting down another stronghold, another vain imagination that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, based on prior knowledge, human view pt. “Why does he God yet find fault? Who has resisted his will? Paul responds with the question, “Has not the Potter power over the clay? The Potter has power to make of the same lump, one vessel to honor, and another to dishonor? The short answer again, Israel is being accursed from Christ, they were in a dishonored state (Law contract). But the Gentiles are being treated by God as a vessel of honor. Why? Because God is omnipotent, and omniscient, and the clay has not right to question the Potter!
7. The (4) So what has happened Israel? Paul shows us how to look at the existence of the Gentiles and the existence of Israel. (vss. 30-33) The Gentiles did not pursue righteousness, salvation, and a right relationship with God, nevertheless they obtained righteousness by faith. Israel followed the law of righteousness. They failed because it was based on works and not by faith. So, Israel was responsible for their own stumbling over Christ.
1 Timothy 4:1-3 Paul is describing the Satanic attack of CBOC, until the end of the Disp. Of grace. The goal of SPOE is to lure the MCBOC back under Israel’s program with misinformation, unsound doctrine. Some shall depart the faith & go back under the law. Why? They will be seduced by the doctrine of devils (ministers of Satan, bringing things that pertain to Israel, over into disp. of grace (things that appeal to the flesh, emotions, & feelings, (such as) miracles, wonders, signs, spiritual gifts, extra biblical revelation, visions, dreams, forbidding to marry, abstaining from eating meats (dietary laws meant for Israel prg.)
8. Paul says their “conscience has become seared with a hot iron.” What is the conscience? It is the seat of our inner man by which we judge what is right and wrong info, & make value judgments. It operates on information that we except as authoritative. Telling us what is right and what is wrong. In other words, the conscious has been injured, and received destructive damage, Why? because of prior corrupt knowledge, wrong spiritual information, bad doctrine. What a hot iron does to the flesh, bad doctrine does to the conscience. (It’s surface is burned, charred, & hardened. A crust of tissue (scab) is formed over the conscience, in which there is no longer any feeling. Searing (scorching) of the mind with bad information, makes it incapable of feeling. It is numb, and unresponsive to sound doctrine/new info.
Excepting any other authority over Pauline authority and godly edification, rightly divided, Sears, burns, scorches the conscience, and numbs it to recieving new information. it is vital to understand Romans 9,10, & 11, to renew your mind with truth, and get the misunderstanding, the callous of prior, corrupt information removed & replaced with godly edification. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; That blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles become in.“
Colman J. Gilliland 