2. Denominationalism: If right division of the word were embraced, if Paul’s apostleship to us were accepted as true, the first thing that would go would be water baptism. Yet, every group in Christendom holds to some type of water baptism, so every group would literally fall apart! Tithing (forced giving), Sabbath-day keeping, so-called “healing” services, confession of sins, prayer books, so-called “praise and worship services,” so-called “anointed preaching,” bodies of scholarship, and so on, all of that would have to go as well. They would recognize what they would have to abandon and they grow angry because they are too much emotionally attached to their ideas.

In their minds, their particular denomination teaches exactly what God would have them do. They equate loyalty to their church with loyalty to God. “I want to follow Jesus in ‘believer’s baptism.’ I want to follow Him in ‘healing the sick,’ ‘raising the dead,’ and ‘handling snakes!’ I want to ‘love my neighbor as myself.’” On and on they go. They sincerely think that by following the denomination in “obeying” Matthew through John and early Acts, they are following Jesus Christ. When they hear teaching contrary to what they have heard in their local church for years, when they hear about “Paul” the man with “words of divine authority,” they see that new information as an infringement upon “God’s instructions” to them. They feel threatened so they erect a wall. Their emotions have been breached (see point #1), their conscience has been pricked, and now they feel they must defend themselves! They blurt, “I follow Jesus. I do not follow Paul, a mere man!” All the while they are following men leading the denomination, obeying the traditions of men.

Although they have already erected a wall to “tune you out,” inside, they have reached a crossroads. Having seen dispensational Bible study, having heard the Bible rightly divided, they may struggle to “make the break from religion.” For most, the pull toward religion is just too irresistible. There is far too much to lose, so they stay with the denomination they have known for all those years. There is a great desire to retain the religion Mama and Daddy believed and died with. Again, they view you as “maligning their deceased loved ones.” In fact, they may still have relatives and friends in that church so they do not want to lose fellowship with them. Considering the great losses, they turn a blind eye to God’s Word.

Please understand, not all of these people are deliberately being dishonest. Unfortunately, some people utterly refuse to embrace the truth. Sometimes, they know good and well that they are teaching wrong, but they keep their traditions. There are Bible teachers who are much aware of Pauline dispensationalism but don’t not want to fully embrace it because: 1) he was a Baptist and he wanted to hang on to his water ceremony, and 2) he did not want to upset the Baptist church and all his relatives. Remember, you cannot make a living in a denomination unless you sign a contract affirming that you agree with their doctrine. You can’t embrace dispensational Bible study and expect your salary (income) and your relationships to remain fully intact.

3. Socialization: Remember, all things seem to fall apart in the religious system if dispensational Bible study is embraced and upheld. This is especially concerning “friendships,” “marriages,” and “peers.” You may lose your personal business, your spouse, your “friends,” everything. My wife and I know this all too well.

People are going to have to start disagreeing with their “alma maters” (the “higher learning” institutions from which they received their education/training and advanced degrees). For example, a man feels indebted to his denominational college or seminary. To embrace dispensational Bible study means he must part with his “academic heritage.” That means disappointing his former professors, jeopardizing his friendships with former classmates, losing his endorsements, losing his reputation as a “champion” in that group or denomination, and so on. He will endure a string of very painful names; you’re a “heretic,” “apostate,” “church splitter,” “traitor,” “troublemaker,” “fanatic,” “Paul-worshipper,” “Bible-worshipper,” and much nastier words too vulgar to repeat here! Note Jesus’ words here in John 9:19-23:

“they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? 20His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 22These words spake his parents, because they feared the [legalistic] Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.”

Jesus had indeed healed that blind man, but his parents refused to speak about it, fearing excommunication from the synagogue! And, of course, the capstone of it all is John 12:42-43: “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: ⁴³For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

Friends, human nature hasn’t changed one bit in the 2,000 years since John 9 and 12. Often, people are just not willing to give up their “prestigious” positions in their community. This can be with respect to professing Jesus Christ as Saviour, professing to believe the King James Bible, professing to be a Pauline dispensationalist, or professing to be a Bible-believing creationist; BUT they will have to endure the “stigma” of “someone who believes things that very few people believe.” In the first installment of His great commission of His 12 apostles, the Lord Jesus warned, “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake…” (Matt. 10:22). People really do not hate us. They hate Jesus Christ whom we serve. Let’s not give into the temptation of giving up Jesus Christ just so we can have the “praise of men.”

Gal. 1:10: “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.”

4. Salvation: We might as well face it. There are some people on their way to hell and they don’t realize it. This is because they have been taught a false Gospel and have false security in their religious organization rather than Christ alone. There’s absolutely no soul salvation is the so-called ‘sinner’s prayer.’ There is absolutely no soul salvation in a ‘water baptism,’ church membership, tithing, a visit to a confessional booth, a partaking of some “holy meal,” growing up in a “Christian” home, and so on. Following Paul’s epistles and understanding that they are to and about you, will automatically divorce you from the Jewish mandate of “Repent and be baptized” (Acts 2:38). It will automatically separate you from “faith without works is dead” (Jas. 2:26). Unfortunately, people will hang on to these verses as part of their “Gospel message.” Rather than admit that their church tradition is wrong, that they have been taught wrong for so long, they will keep these misplaced and therefore misconstrued verses. It will result in their eternal damnation for so many ‘nice’ people. They would rather just continue in “hope” that those verses apply to them. This leads us to point #5.

 5. Regulations (rules of law): Another reason why people dislike dispensational Bible study is that it removes works as a requirement to please God. Religion is very popular because it allows you to do things “in the flesh” (Rom. 7:5). You get a false sense that you can do things to make God happy with you. It may be a water baptism, a church membership, a series of prescribed prayers, a monetary donation, whatever. Then, you can brag about your “goodness.” Religionists have been so indoctrinated that they believe their Christian life cannot function without “the Law.” They believe the Law (especially the Ten Commandments) can help them manage their sin. They think it can help them quit bad deeds and help them start doing good deeds.

Gal. 5:18: “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law!” The Bible says that the Holy Spirit never leads any believer to be under the Law today. Whoever teaches you to place yourself under the Law today, he or she is not led by God’s Spirit, and God’s Spirit is not leading you to place yourself under the Law! These works-based religionists don’t understand that God’s indwelling grace in the person of “the Spirit of the Lord” Himself… teaches us how to live. Law tells us to live righteously, but never provides us with the power to live righteously. On the other hand, grace tells us to live righteously because … we have the power of Christ in us… to live righteously. Righteous living is the outward manifestation of the set-apart position we have “in Jesus Christ.” Romans 6 makes clear our co-death … as partakers of new life in union with Christ.

Paul’s Titus 2:11-14: “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, ¹²Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; ¹³Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; ¹⁴Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

6. Misinformation: It is so sad to say it, but some people have been taught absolute nonsense in the name of “dispensational Bible study.” I have met some people who have given dispensational Bible study an extremely bad name. Not having a good grasp of dispensational Bible Study themselves, especially the critical transition book of Acts, they have confused and perverted others. All in the name of “dispensational Bible study,” they give more ammunition so our critics can use it against us. This is also why some people dislike right division. All they have to do is hear the word “dispensationalism” and “right division” and they shut down and start with emotional objections. They need to be taught true dispensational Bible study. It may be that they have never heard a clear dispensational Bible presentation in the first place. They need us to tell them, so, brethren, let us be gentle and loving as we do it.