FEB 10

Ephesians 1:10
Memorise Proverbs 4:2
“…nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine…”

As we are Reformed in our Doctrine, the Bible Presbyterian Church holds to Covenant Theology. Covenant Theology and Dispensational Theology differ in several areas, and we will discuss only some of them. Covenant theologians believe that some of the parts of the Bible are symbolic in nature while the Dispensationalists believe every portion is to be taken literally. This has affected how each has understood the Bible. For instance, Covenant theologians believe that in many portions of Scripture, “Israel” refers to the spiritual Israel, namely the church. The Dispensationalists believe that Israel always refers literally to the nation of Israel. These different interpretation styles have resulted in 2 different beliefs on how God deals with mankind over history. Covenant theologians see continuity through Scripture, in that God deals with mankind in only two covenants, the Covenant of Works in the time of Adam and the Covenant of Grace after Adam’s fall. Dispensationalists on the other hand see a discontinuity in how God deals with mankind, and segment history into 7 “dispensations”, one for each epoch in history. In each dispensation, God deals differently with His people. They use verses like Ephesians 1:10 to support their argument. In this verse the word ‘dispensation’ means plan, and thus the verse means that when the time has come according to God’s plan, Christ will rule over all heaven and earth. However the dispensationalists take it further to mean that there will be an epoch of time, or dispensation, in the future and therefore there must be more than just the two epochs as the Covenant theologians believe.

Until Christ returns, believers will remain imperfect. We will continue to struggle with sin and our understanding of God’s Word, particularly with the more difficult doctrines. As a result, different people will come to different understandings of certain portions of Scripture. Some feel that this is evidence of an imperfect God. But this is not true. God is perfect, it is man who is imperfect. God has given us His perfect inerrant Word; however, it is man who is unable to perceive it correctly because of sin. But God is gracious. He has granted us the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth! With the right principles of interpretation, and diligently studying God’s Word, we can come to the right understanding of His truth. Will you put in the effort?

Thought: Only God can help us possess correct doctrines.
Prayer: Father, give us the wisdom so that we will not be in error.