COMPARING HYPER DISPENSATIONALISM WITH PAUL'S EPISTLES

By Pastor Art Watkins of Coden Bible Church (Coden, Alabama)

April 25, 2011

Many Christians today are not aware of the doctrines of hyper dispensationalism. Many have never even heard the term “hyper dispensationalism”. They are not aware of what this religious movement teaches and how it contradicts 28 books in the New Testament written by the apostle Paul. All hyper dispensationalists claim to follow the doctrines taught by Paul in his epistles. They emphasis this over and over again in their writings and preaching.  But yet they contradict, deny, and even oppose what Paul wrote over and over again. They all claim to “rightly divide the word of truth” when in fact they deny, ignore, contradict, change, and reject the word of truth.

What you are about to read is not true of all those who rightly divide the word of truth and follow Paul writings. There are many who follow Paul’s doctrines and they are consistent in what they preach and teach. This is about people who say they follow Paul and rightly divide the word of truth while at the same time they contradict and even deny what Paul said in the word of truth.  Keep this in mind as you read this article.

(When you read the name “Paul” in the following contrasts it refers to his epistles. When you read the names “they or these people” it refers to the hyper dispensationalists.)

Paul commanded men to repent when they believed the gospel, but these people (hyper dispensationalists) will tell you that repentance is not necessary and if you preach repentance they will accuse you of preaching works for salvation.

Paul told us three times in Romans 10 to call on the Lord to be saved and to confess him with our mouth, but these people will tell you that calling on the Lord is not necessary, nor confessing him with your mouth.  In fact, some will tell you that calling on the Lord is works!

Paul said that if any man preaches a gospel that is different from his he is accursed of God.  But these people will tell you that at the same time God sent Paul to preach the gospel of grace, he sent Peter, James and John and the other apostles to preach a gospel of works and God did not curse them.

Paul tells us that God chastises believers for their sins under grace, but these people will tell you he does not.  They teach people that no matter what they do or what sins they commit as a Christian, God will not chastise them!  They will look you straight in the face and tell you God has never and will never chastise them for sin!

Paul tells us to judge and confess our sins to escape chastisement, but these people will tell you not to judge and confess your sins.  Some even teach it’s a sin to confess sin!

Throughout his epistles Paul based many church doctrines on the Old Testament, but these people will tell you that if you base doctrine today on the Old Testament you are guilty of wrongly dividing the word of truth.

Paul claimed many promises God originally made to Israel in the Old Testament, but these people will tell you that if you claim them you are stealing promises that do not belong to you. They will call you a “Bible bandit” if you claim any promise God made to Israel.

God ordained Paul to be a minister of the New Covenant and he preached the blessings and promises of the New Covenant, but these people will tell you the church does not partake of the blessings of the New Covenant.

Paul told us to observe the Lord’s Supper till he comes again, but many of these people refuse to observe the Lord’s Supper. I have seen them get up and walk out of a service in defiance of the Lord's Supper.

Paul said that in Christ we are counted as the seed of Abraham and heirs to the promise and promises of Abraham, but many of these people deny they are the seed of Abraham or that Abraham is their father. They will tell you to your face that Galatians 3:29 is not true of them.

The people Paul wrote to were born of the Spirit (Gal. 4:29) but many of these people do not preach the New Birth.  Some don’t because it is found in the four gospels and others because they say the New Birth is physical resurrection even though all of the apostles wrote their epistles to people who were born again. I have even heard them mock those who preach the New Birth and say they had never met anyone who was born again!

Paul says many promises, blessings, rewards are based upon works today, but many of these people will tell you everything is free under grace.

Paul says we can lose many promises, blessings and rewards under grace, but these people say we can’t lose anything.

Paul said there are laws and ordinances under grace, but these people will tell you there are no laws or ordinances under grace.

Paul told us to fear God throughout his epistles, but these people say that there is no reason to fear God under grace.

Paul tells us in no uncertain terms that God does indeed see the believer’s sins today and that our sins grieve the Spirit of God, but these people will tell you he does not see our sins.

Paul tells us that we are made nigh to the Jews in commonwealth of Israel, (Eph. 2:12-13) but these people deny our relationship to them even though we are one body with them.

Paul said the church is built upon the foundation of the prophets and is edified by prophecy, but these people will tell you that prophecy pertains to Israel only.

Even though Paul preached the Kingdom of God throughout his ministry and said it is the inheritance of the church in his epistles, these people say the Kingdom is for Israel only and the church has nothing to do with the “Kingdom program”.

Paul said that the coming of Christ to gather the church unto himself is not at hand, but is preceded by certain events, but these people will tell you Jesus can come back at any moment even before you get through reading this article.

Paul said the Law of Moses has been abolished forever by the death and shed blood of Christ and was replaced with a New Covenant, but many of these people say God will resurrect the Law of Moses in the future and put people under it again.

Even though Paul preached many of the same doctrines Christ preached in the four Gospels, these people say the four gospels are off limits to the church and do not contain church doctrine.

Even though Paul said the church began when God made Christ its head when he set him at his right hand in heavenly places (Eph. 1:19-23) these people say it began with Paul in Acts 9, or 13 or 18 or Acts 28 (They can’t even agree among themselves).

Even though Paul said those who are in Christ are in the body of Christ, many of these people will tell you a believer could be in Christ, Christ in him and be one with Christ and not even be in the body of Christ!

Even though Paul said the heavenly city New Jerusalem is the mother and hope of the church, these people say the church has no part in the heavenly city New Jerusalem.

Even though Paul said Peter was justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law like him (Gal. 2:14-16), these people say Peter was saved by works.

Even though Paul said Peter and the other apostles were in Christ before him and part of the foundation of the church, these people say they were not in the body of Christ. 

I am not making up the next five statements.

----Even though Paul said there is one hope of resurrection, these people say there are two or three hopes.

----Even though Paul said our hope is the second coming of Christ, these people say there is a second coming after the second coming.

----Even though Paul says the church will be resurrected at the last trumpet, these people say there is a last trumpet after the last trumpet.

----Even though Paul and John say the resurrection of the church is the first resurrection, these people say there is a first resurrection before the first resurrection (I kid you not).

----Even though Paul describes the last days before the second coming of Christ in his epistles, these people say there are last days after the last days.

Paul said he persecuted the same Church of God he ordained elders in and wrote his epistles to. But these people insist the Church of God he persecuted was not the body of Christ even though Paul said it was in 1 Cor. 12:13. In other words there are two Churches of God!

Even though Paul asked God to curse any man who preached a gospel different from his, these people say that in the tribulation God will send men to preach a gospel different than Paul’s.

Even though Paul said the church is appointed to suffer tribulation (1 Thess. 3:3-5) and must suffer tribulation before it enters into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22) these people say the church will not suffer tribulation. One said that Christ would never allow the church to suffer tribulation because it is his wife and bride.

Even though Paul rebuked Peter for disobeying his gospel (Gal. 2:15-16), these people say God never sent Peter to preach his gospel.

Even though Peter and Paul wrote epistles to the same people, (2 Peter 3:15) these people say Paul could not and did not write a book to the Hebrews.

Even though Paul said that gentile believers are grafted into the good olive tree of Romans 11, these people will tell you they are not grafted into the good olive tree.

Even though Paul says that gentiles are made partakers of Israel’s spiritual things (Rom. 15:27) many of these people say they do not partake of Israel’s spiritual things today.

Even though Paul said that the son of perdition who is the anti Christ will appear before Christ comes to gather the church unto himself (2 Thess. 2:1-9) these people insist the church will not witness the coming of the antichrist.

Even though Paul said all believers he wrote to were under grace, (Rom. 6:14-15) many of these people say the so called “Acts believers” were not because the dispensation of grace began in Acts 28.

Even though Paul said the fall of Israel took place before he was saved, many of these people say it did not take place until Acts 28.

Even though idol worshipers were saved throughout Paul’s ministry and were in every church Paul founded, many of these people say that God did not save idol worshipers until after Acts 28.

Even though Paul wrote his epistles to the house of God, (1 Tim. 3:15), these people say Hebrews through Revelation are not written to the church today even though they are written to the house of God. (1 Peter 4:17) In other words God has two houses!

Even though Paul called the words that Christ preached in his earthy ministry “wholesome words”, (1 Tim. 6:3) these people say they are not so wholesome and if you follow them you are walking unworthy of the Lord and in ignorance (I am not making this up).

Even though Paul says the flesh in 2 Cor. 5:14-17 is our flesh that was crucified with Christ, these people say it is Christ’s flesh and his earthy ministry that we do not know and should not follow.

Even though many of the mysteries Paul reveals in his epistles were in the prophets, and many prophecies were mysteries, these people say that mystery excludes prophecy and prophecy excludes mystery.

Even though Paul preached justification by faith and the gospel of Christ from Moses and the Prophets, these people say they are found only in Paul’s epistles.

Even though Paul said the justification of heathen gentiles by faith was promised to Abraham in Gen. 22:18 (See Gal. 3:8) these people say it was not written down prior to its revelation.

Even though Paul said the coming of Christ and the so called “rapture” of the church will fulfill prophecies made by the Prophets, (See 1 Cor. 15:54-55) these people say it was unknown to the prophets or anyone prior to Paul.

Even though Paul said the coming of Christ for the church will be accompanied with the blowing of a loud trumpet, shouts, voices, the appearance of millions of angels and saints along with the Lord and the dead being raised up out of their graves, these people insist it will be a secret silent event!

Even though Paul preached the same hope of resurrection throughout his epistles, many of these people say he preached a different hope of resurrection after Acts 28.

Paul preached the remission of sins by the death and shed blood of Christ. (Rom. 3:25) Believe it or not these people say that remission of sins is not forgiveness, but it means your sins are covered and hid somewhere until the second coming of Christ when they are forgiven.

Even though Paul said that Christ is our Great High Priest, these people say he is not their High Priest.

Even though Paul told us to come unto the throne of grace to find help in our time of need, I have actually heard some of these people say we don’t have to go to the throne of grace today.

Even though Paul and Matthew say that Christ preached unto the gentiles (1 Tim. 3:15, Matt. 12:17-21) they say Christ did not preach unto the gentiles.

Paul said that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh (1 Tim. 3:15), but some say they are God manifest in the flesh (I kid you not).

Even though Paul said that when he died he would depart and be with Christ, (Philp. 1:23) many of these people believe the false doctrine of soul sleep just like the Russelites and other cults.

These people (hyper dispensationalists) teach that Paul preached the eternal security of the believer but at the same time Peter taught believers they could lose their salvation.

They say Paul preached salvation by grace through faith without works, but at the same time God sent Peter to preach salvation by faith and works.

They say Paul preached a present tense salvation while Peter preached a future tense salvation. They say those who believed Paul were saved upon believing, but those who believed Peter’s preaching will not be saved until the second coming of Christ, if they endure unto the end.

They say that when Paul preached the blood of Christ he told sinners their sins would be forgiven and taken away, but when Peter preached the blood of Christ he told sinners that their sins would not be forgiven, but covered up and hid somewhere which is what Moses said about the Old Testament animal sacrifices!

What you have read is a sample of the doctrines of hyper dispensationalism and how they contradict the very man (Paul) they claim to follow. They all say they rightly divide the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15) when in truth they deny, ignore, contradict, change, and reject the word of truth.

I was once a part of this religious movement, but years ago when I began to take an honest look at its doctrines and saw how they contradicted the clear teachings and doctrines of the Bible and especially Paul’s epistles, I came out of it. I asked myself this simple question: How can any movement be of God when so many of its doctrines are wrong and unscriptural?

I don’t say this lightly but I believe the hyper dispensationalist religious movement has become another in a long list of cults that claim to believe the Bible and quote the Bible while at the same time it contradicts and denies what it says. If you are in it, my advice is come out of it today!