Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. 25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
PART
TWO Let me talk
briefly about different dispensations. Some commentators believe that God has
dealt with different people at different stages of man’s existence in different
ways and that rightly dividing the word of truth requires that we
identify that while we can make a spiritual application to every verse not all
verses doctrinally apply to the age in which we live. A spiritual application
would be a verse’s or a passage’s or a book’s significance to me personally. A
doctrinal application would ask how that the verse or passage or book applied
to people in general or the Christian church in particular. For instance we
might ask the question dispensationally how you got saved in Abram’s time as
opposed to Paul’s time seeing as Christ had not appeared or been crucified and
risen from the dead. To say, well, both just had to believe God does not solve
the problem of the fact that salvation now is predicated upon belief in
Christ’s crucifixion for our sins and in His resurrection when Abram had no
such opportunity. Or think of this, the Jew had to offer sacrifices to be
obedient while the work of God for Christians is to believe on Christ.
You
can take dispensationalism too far, though, as hyperdispensationalists do. Some
people believe you should only read the words in red in the gospels if your
Bible underscores Jesus’ words that way or they think you should only follow
Paul’s letters to the church when there is an abundance of wisdom in every
verse in every book of the Bible that we dare not dismiss.
As
this section is linked together it is clear that he is talking about Israel and
this dispensational truth is given to the Jewish Apostles. This is not a
statement that can be claimed by any priest or pastor today. It is so clearly
embedded in the doctrinal application apparent here to the Jewish apostles who
are sent forth into all the world then and in the Tribulation to come which
would have come then had the Jewish leaders accepted Christ but we’ll save that
for Acts. It is real simple. You must learn how to separate doctrinal truth
from spiritual or practical truth. The Bible is written mostly to the Jews
doctrinally. Much of the Old Testament under the Law and before, the Gospels
still under the Old but in transition, and Acts shows the development of the
early church. Then, the church age begins with Romans and ends in the General
or Catholic Epistles as they are called, and then finally Revelation of the end
times.
You
can apply any verse to the Christian doctrinally from the Church Age letters
and any verse from any book doctrinally to you that doesn’t contradict the
doctrine in those letters. Any verse anywhere can be applied to you practically
or spiritually and it is important to find out how a verse may apply to you
today. It’s important to read the entire Bible over and over to see this clear
division. It’s not rocket science but quite simple.
Doctrinally,
specifically, the Church Age letters apply to me. Doctrinally, specifically,
any other verses may apply that don’t contradict the doctrine in the Church Age
letters. Every verse in the Bible applies to me in some way, usually in a
practical way that helps me draw close to God if I can pray to the Holy Spirit
to teach me. However, I am not called to kill Canaanites and just because I
forgive someone doesn’t mean that they are right with God and I am never going
to make Mount Rainier slide into the Pacific Ocean with prayer.
Literally, and doctrinally,
the Mount of Olives will move when Jesus comes back.
Zechariah
14:4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is
before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst
thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great
valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it
toward the south.
Literally,
and doctrinally, a mountain falls into the sea during the end time struggle.
Revelation
8:8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with
fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
You
can make all kinds of spiritual applications to a Christian, making the
mountain an obstacle in your life, but doctrinally you need to face facts and
quit this accusing sick people of not having enough faith to be healed. This is
nonsense and wickedness.
Commentators
who believe in a dispensational application of the Bible will say to look at
verse 24 and dispensationally and doctrinally link it with another verse
written for the same dispensation.
James
4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon
your lusts.
And
another.
1
John 5:14 ¶ And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15 And if we know that he hear us,
whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
And
another.
1John
3:22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
And
another.
Proverbs
28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall
be abomination.
False
preachers and confused “Christian” denominations who wrench these verses out of
Jesus’ time on earth when He called His disciples to follow Him to persecution
and even death, dropping everything to walk with Him to the Cross, and apply
them now destroy the faith of many. The spiritual application for a Christian
in the church age is you must live in obedience to the truth that Christ has
given you to have that sweet communion with God and to have any consistent
answer to prayer. However, you will not physically move any physical mountains
of dirt and stone with your faith.
Verse
25 and 26 are more verses that are misused. This is doctrinally applicable to
the Jews under the Law. They are now true if you want that fellowship with
Christ that fills you with His glory. However, you are already forgiven as a
Christian.
You
are forgiven and are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Read Ephesians through very
carefully. Even if you don’t do one single work because you are a lazy, useless
Christian.
Romans
4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the
ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
If,
after being saved, you get conned out of your faith by a charismatic individual
or the education your parents have sacrificed you to and/or you become confused
about what you believe. Remember, Christ’s Spirit is in you and you are sealed,
as you saw in Ephesians.
2Timothy
2:13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Many
young Christians have been sacrificed through the fire to Molech in a
figurative sense by being sent to government schools for brainwashing and
propaganda and grow up and out of their faith. Their parents will answer for
that at the judgment seat of Christ if they themselves are indeed saved.
One
of the greatest sins of modern Christian pastors and teachers and the reason
why the greatest impediment to real revival in our churches is usually the
pastor himself is their forcing the Bible to contradict itself because they are
unable or rather unwilling to rightly divide the word.
2Timothy
2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
My point is, whether you believe in
dispensations or not, is that if you take every verse in the Bible and apply it
literally to your situation you will become confused as some passages will seem
to contradict others. Also remember that 95% of the Bible is written, in
context, to Jewish people. This also applies, according to some commentators,
to the people in the Tribulation to come after the Church has been removed,
translated, or raptured from the earth. (Translation is the Biblical term.
Think of the Medieval “Relic Translation” where the bones of supposed saints
were moved from their original location to a better location.)
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