“Praying for forgiveness,” “committing one’s life to Jesus,”“
this is what God has called me to do,” and “saying a sinner’s prayer” are just
a few of the phrases that used to haunt me as a preacher.
- I would preach to others, sharing the necessity of praying for forgiveness, but would later ask myself “How is it possible to ask for forgiveness for sins already forgiven?”. How can we be sealed, yet have a tainted “relationship” with God. That’s the slogan, right? “Confess your sins to God so you can restore your relationship.” Where there was a lack of Scripture references came an influx of denominational metaphors and illustrations. I was constantly questioning myself and my denomination.
- I would talk about how important it was to “commit your life to Jesus” and the necessary procedures of follow-up, such as baptism for and outward sign and a public profession before you were a “member” of the local church; how can we make up such standards when Scripture makes it clear that we are righteous before God by faith(Romans 4:5, Ephesians 2:8-9), not by acts or "commitment?"
- I am guilty, in the past, of using the phrase “This is what God has called me to do” or God’s will for my life is ______.” Mostly good intentions are mixed in with these phrases, but once again, these are habitual responses formed by denominational jargon, not dispensational bible study. We know God's will today because of His Word, not because of our emotions or circumstances. For a long time, I had a mental block in bible study; I was reading principles and instructions that sounded wonderful, but I knew for a fact that I was not "experiencing" or witnessing the things I was reading. I was often angry because I could not fill in the gap. I was desperate for understanding, but yet I preached as I had always been mentored to: "Spiritualize the literal and you can make anything fit."
- I clearly remember preaching one night on how we are saved the moment we trust the Gospel; I did not offer an “altar call” or “hymn of invitation” at the end of the message and by the looks on the faces of some of the older individuals, you would have thought I had committed sacrilege. Maybe the message was not as understood as hoped for. I listened to a Calvinist Professor at NOBTS speak on altar calls about a year ago. He reasoned that the “elect” would be saved regardless of the message or the protocol that followed. Although I disagree with Calvinism, I do point out that a person is not saved when he or she “prays the prayer,” but when the individual believes the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 4:25) and trusts (Ephesians 1:13) in it alone for salvation. Also, the elects are not individuals of the church, but always Jesus or Israel.
All of the things listed above are, without a doubt, issues that came up in my life because I was ignorant and unaware of how to study my bible. I was constantly paralleling everything, but never viewing Scripture within its dispensational context. There were moments of absolute chaos in my head during preaching because I felt as if I was expounding in areas that I had no clue about.
Sadly, I must admit that many of my sermon outlines were coming from other preachers and other ministries because I was all dried up. My desire and passion for preaching and teaching had subsided to finding outlines online and putting a personal twist on each point. This dilemma was due to my inability to make scripture match 2000-whenever. I felt as if I were reading a history book, but watching the church act out a play with pretend props and stage lights, using the bible as the rehearsal script. Nothing was genuine. I was literally a pawn in a spiritual game of fake chess.
I had questions...
I asked these questions to a variety of people: pastors, friends, deacons, seminary professors, Sunday school teachers, online sites and even read books thicker than a courthouse column. I was stuck. What is worse than being confused? The answer is being confused and finding out you are not the only one. By that I mean, no one had the answers to the question I asked either. I studied, quite literally, day and night. Every moment of free time I had was absorbed in my bible or a type of commentary.
I found direction...
I had not only talked to my denomination's men, but had entertained conversations on a regular basis with local ministers who were, in all terms of the meaning, doctrinal "enemies" of the theological atmosphere that I had grew up in and surrounded myself with. The main group of ministers I had found myself interrogating were "Church of Christ." This particular belief pattern differed from that of my own in so many ways. Some of the ideas included baptism, works, church membership, loss of salvation, repentance, but there is one thing that stuck out beyond the rest; the one thing that was not separate or different, but the exact same as "almost" every other Christian denomination on planet earth. That one item of interest can be described by this phrase: "The church, the body of Christ, started in Acts chapter two."
That was it!!! That was the missing piece. EVERYONE I had ever met who studied their bible for any length of time concluded that the church start-up was pinnacled in early Acts. My gears were not only turning, but something unexplainable was taking place. For the FIRST time in my "spiritual" life, I was about to actually do something that I always taught. I was about to ask myself a
question, concerning that very passage of Scripture. The question now, I submit, has changed my life:
"If today's church started in Acts 2, then does that not mean EVERYTHING moved from God working with Israel to God operating with Jews and Gentiles alike, because that is the definition of the body of Christ?!"
---cricket sounds and pen drop---
That was it!!! I had figured it out! That was the answer to the biblical riddle... I had to pay attention to the audience. No one can understand the rush of emotion and joy I had. I, by asking one question, had entered into a whole new arena of personal understanding. I, for the first time ever, understood the distinctions that were in my bible.(I knew the distinctions were there, I just could not handle them. Without being dishonest that is...)
Am I crazy and alone?
As excited as I was to make this personal discovery, I needed to know if I was the only one seeing this... I asked the question to seminary peers, professors, and even a few local pastors. Here is the crazy part: every single one of them saw the distinction. I was excited, but they were stagnate. Their reaction, in unison, was one with question. "I see your point, but what is this supposed to mean?"
Well... it means a lot, actually. It changes everything. It addresses the confusion found in every denomination. We are not in Acts 2. Something more intense than that statement would be the fact that I would also say we are not in the four gospels. If that is not enough, I began to conclude that even some of the epistles and other parts of Acts were not body of Christ instruction manuals.
"Am I the only one that is seeing this?" I found myself Googling for answers to my question. Surely I was not crazy. There has to be someone else seeing this! I simply typed in "Gentiles not in Acts 2" into the search engine. The search pulled up many different sites. Some of which it only took me a minute to see that this was not it. I then typed in "the church did not start in Acts 2." From that search, something I had NEVER seen of or heard of popped up. The top few search results had the phrase "Mid-Acts Dispensationalism." I browsed a few of the pages and light bulbs began to go off!
I then went back to the search bar and entered in "Mid Acts Dispensational Questions and Answers.."
This was the one. It immediately brought up exactly what I had been searching for. Oh, to answer my question from before: "No! I was not the only one." It was from that website, Graceambassadors.com,
that I realized I was not a "complete nut." I was a "complete in Jesus Christ, nut(Colossians 2:10)."
I realized that I no longer had to spiritualize the "hard parts" of scripture, because there really was clarity to be had. I did not know that my life was about to change in the way that it has, but I do know one thing for sure: the Bible has no errors, but many contradictions. The bible from page one, on, is filled with accounts of changing instructions.
It is important to be biblical, but it is more important to be dispeansationally biblical. You have to be in the audience for the instruction to apply. Dear friend, if you have questions, just know that rightly dividing the Word of truth has answers.
Thanks for reading,
Alan Jaynes.
Sadly, I must admit that many of my sermon outlines were coming from other preachers and other ministries because I was all dried up. My desire and passion for preaching and teaching had subsided to finding outlines online and putting a personal twist on each point. This dilemma was due to my inability to make scripture match 2000-whenever. I felt as if I were reading a history book, but watching the church act out a play with pretend props and stage lights, using the bible as the rehearsal script. Nothing was genuine. I was literally a pawn in a spiritual game of fake chess.
I had questions...
I asked these questions to a variety of people: pastors, friends, deacons, seminary professors, Sunday school teachers, online sites and even read books thicker than a courthouse column. I was stuck. What is worse than being confused? The answer is being confused and finding out you are not the only one. By that I mean, no one had the answers to the question I asked either. I studied, quite literally, day and night. Every moment of free time I had was absorbed in my bible or a type of commentary.
I found direction...
I had not only talked to my denomination's men, but had entertained conversations on a regular basis with local ministers who were, in all terms of the meaning, doctrinal "enemies" of the theological atmosphere that I had grew up in and surrounded myself with. The main group of ministers I had found myself interrogating were "Church of Christ." This particular belief pattern differed from that of my own in so many ways. Some of the ideas included baptism, works, church membership, loss of salvation, repentance, but there is one thing that stuck out beyond the rest; the one thing that was not separate or different, but the exact same as "almost" every other Christian denomination on planet earth. That one item of interest can be described by this phrase: "The church, the body of Christ, started in Acts chapter two."
That was it!!! That was the missing piece. EVERYONE I had ever met who studied their bible for any length of time concluded that the church start-up was pinnacled in early Acts. My gears were not only turning, but something unexplainable was taking place. For the FIRST time in my "spiritual" life, I was about to actually do something that I always taught. I was about to ask myself a
question, concerning that very passage of Scripture. The question now, I submit, has changed my life:
"If today's church started in Acts 2, then does that not mean EVERYTHING moved from God working with Israel to God operating with Jews and Gentiles alike, because that is the definition of the body of Christ?!"
---cricket sounds and pen drop---
That was it!!! I had figured it out! That was the answer to the biblical riddle... I had to pay attention to the audience. No one can understand the rush of emotion and joy I had. I, by asking one question, had entered into a whole new arena of personal understanding. I, for the first time ever, understood the distinctions that were in my bible.(I knew the distinctions were there, I just could not handle them. Without being dishonest that is...)
Am I crazy and alone?
As excited as I was to make this personal discovery, I needed to know if I was the only one seeing this... I asked the question to seminary peers, professors, and even a few local pastors. Here is the crazy part: every single one of them saw the distinction. I was excited, but they were stagnate. Their reaction, in unison, was one with question. "I see your point, but what is this supposed to mean?"
Well... it means a lot, actually. It changes everything. It addresses the confusion found in every denomination. We are not in Acts 2. Something more intense than that statement would be the fact that I would also say we are not in the four gospels. If that is not enough, I began to conclude that even some of the epistles and other parts of Acts were not body of Christ instruction manuals.
"Am I the only one that is seeing this?" I found myself Googling for answers to my question. Surely I was not crazy. There has to be someone else seeing this! I simply typed in "Gentiles not in Acts 2" into the search engine. The search pulled up many different sites. Some of which it only took me a minute to see that this was not it. I then typed in "the church did not start in Acts 2." From that search, something I had NEVER seen of or heard of popped up. The top few search results had the phrase "Mid-Acts Dispensationalism." I browsed a few of the pages and light bulbs began to go off!
I then went back to the search bar and entered in "Mid Acts Dispensational Questions and Answers.."
This was the one. It immediately brought up exactly what I had been searching for. Oh, to answer my question from before: "No! I was not the only one." It was from that website, Graceambassadors.com,
that I realized I was not a "complete nut." I was a "complete in Jesus Christ, nut(Colossians 2:10)."
I realized that I no longer had to spiritualize the "hard parts" of scripture, because there really was clarity to be had. I did not know that my life was about to change in the way that it has, but I do know one thing for sure: the Bible has no errors, but many contradictions. The bible from page one, on, is filled with accounts of changing instructions.
It is important to be biblical, but it is more important to be dispeansationally biblical. You have to be in the audience for the instruction to apply. Dear friend, if you have questions, just know that rightly dividing the Word of truth has answers.
Thanks for reading,
Alan Jaynes.
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