The entire Bible is written for us, but not every verse is addressed to us or written about us.
Rightly dividing the word of truth does not insinuate cutting off Scripture from our profit! Instead it is like the division of a book into its index, or a speech into its outline. By separating the parts into their appropriate context we are in a better position to understand the whole.
The Importance of 'all Scripture'
There are many who attack dispensational Bible study by claiming that it eliminates most of the Bible as applicable to us. Even many dispensationalists develop a false fear of reading or applying truth from ‘old testament’ passages. However, this is a grotesque misunderstanding of what it means to ‘rightly divide’ the Scriptures.
In no sense, would students of the Bible be better off by ignoring certain books, or rejecting books as beneficial to our profit and application!
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“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” – 2 Tim 3:16
How would we know sin if it were not by the law? (Romans 3:19, 7:7, 1 John 3:4)
How would we know of our imputed righteousness if we could not read what ‘Abraham our Father, pertaining to the flesh, hath found?’ (Romans 4:1-3)
How could we know the obedience that God requests, unless we read the example of how Israel lusted after evil things in the wilderness? (1 Corinthians 10:6).
It is from our own apostle that we read:
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“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” – Romans 15:4
Right Division
What is gained from an understanding of right division is the proper interpretation of each verse into its appropriate dispensational context. While every book and testament is written for us, not every book and testament is written to us or about us.
Surely we can agree that when God told Noah to build an ark, he was speaking to Noah and not to anyone in the 21st century. Once realizing the proper interpretation, we can understand the limits of its application. While we may learn about Noah’s righteous obedience as an example, or his faithful diligence despite being persecuted, we would be wrong to go and build an ark because ‘since God said it, I believe it’.
However, many would use this method to support applying any verse of Scripture to their daily situations as if it were talking about them. We would be wise to first interpret every passage in the Bible into its dispensational context, before attempting to apply it as if it were talking directly about us.
Choosing not to rightly divide a passage into its appropriate dispensational context is the root of every Biblical misinterpretation and error taught today. Dividing passages into their appropriate dispensational context allows us to understand easily certain instructional contradictions.
Consistent interpretation
Everyone understands how to rightly divide naturally, but the inconsistency of its application produces doctrinal confusion. If we were to attempt to obey every word in the Bible without respect to the context then we are faced with a serious dilemma - oh, the contradictions!
For example, concerning our zealous missionary efforts, do we go to Gentile nations to preach the gospel? Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 10:5 to ‘Go not into the way of the Gentiles”, but in Acts 22:21 the same Jesus tells Paul:
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“Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. “ – Acts 22:21
It is only by ‘rightly dividing’ the word of truth that we can see with clarity the thread of God’s purpose throughout the Bible and the enormous profit it sows in every area of our life.
