Moving now from a simple Gospel message, we progress to the “understanding” part. Remember, “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.” From the moment of our first trusting Christ onward, we should continue walking in the light we have. The same genuine interest we had in being saved unto Heaven, we should continue to have in Bible understanding. There is more for us in Scripture than salvation from the penalty of sin. We also find salvation from the ‘power of sin’ through our co-death and co-resurrection “with Christ.” (cf. Rom. 6:3-4).

Apart from Paul’s epistles (Romans through Philemon), we read much in Scripture about Law-keeping as part of the Old Testament believer’s life. So, unless we are careful to “rightly divide the word of truth,” keeping Paul separate from the rest of Scripture, we likely will abandon God’s grace and return to “the Law.”

Today, only Paul’s “Gospel of the Grace of God” enlightens the soul. If we continue walking in the light of God’s grace, we will live by that light through faith, and “the Law” will be seen as redundant, unnecessary. That external law is superseded by the indwelling “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:2a).

To begin in the grace of salvation by God freely giving it to us through Christ’s crosswork, and then reverting to the Law is incompatible. The performance-based acceptance law system is only found in the non-Pauline books of the Bible, yet it is still promoted by most Christians religious organizations today.

Sadly, Christians seem to appeal to Paul’s epistles for “the Gospel of the Grace of God,” but then conduct their lives by grabbing the legalistic, non-Pauline Scriptures. But, grace and law do not mix!

Light and Lenses:

We come to Paul’s “Gentile” ministry and epistles to learn about God’s “ALL-men” (worldwide) message of grace. Likewise, for Christian living, we must look to the heavenly ministry of Jesus Christ that is seen through the lenses of Paul’s words.

“⁵For though I (Paul) be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. ⁶As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so (also) walk ye in him: ⁷Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” (Colossians 2:5-7).

How did we “receive Christ Jesus the Lord?” It was “by grace through faith” alone (Eph. 2:8-9). Likewise, our conduct is to be based on “faith in Christ” to live His life through us. So, we “walk” likewise, by faith in “Christ, who is our life” (Col. 3:4).

“²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; ²⁴Being. justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” We have been “redeemed,” purchased out of and freed from the penalty of sin (“the Lake of Fire”). Hence, we no longer ‘have to’ serve sin. God’s grace is now our ‘master,’ and by faith in Pauline revelation of the ‘power of the cross’ where we died “to sin,” we now reign in the light of His message of grace, as seen in Romans 6:3-7.

Since 1994, when I first learned of dispensational Bible study, it quickly clarified so many obscure Bible matters for me personally. Such growth in knowledge is like changing to eyeglasses of increasingly higher magnifications. The believer’s hunger and willingness to learn the truth determines; 1.) the rate at which those eyeglasses are traded up, and 2.) the size of the leaps between successive magnifications.

Our focus improves as when camera lenses are adjusted. The sincere Christian soul then progresses in Bible understanding. As time passes it now causes that which was vague to become sharper. However, without right division of the Scriptures, God’s preferred method (2 Timothy 2:15), Bible clarity is lost, the light is diffused or nonexistent, and Christian growth stops.