Misapplying the Bible
By Arthur J Licursi
There are prayers and practices applied by Christians today that are not at all applicable to us today because they are undispensational, being based upon misapplied Bible verses. They are according to and wrongly based upon what Jesus of Nazareth spoke of in His earthly ministry to Israel, not to the Gentiles.
“But he (Jesus) answered and said, I am not sent but ("sent only") unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24)
Jesus of Nazareth came declaring that the long promised "kingdom" was "at hand" (Matt 4:17, 10:7, et al). In view of "the kingdom" Jesus came offering a foretaste of what will be the norm of the power of the blessings of the kingdom as witnessed by the "signs and wonders" that Jesus performed before their eyes (Matt 4:23). Jesus said "the kingdom of heaven is like..." 8 times in Matthew, while He spoke of "the kingdom" 99 times in the Gospels and He proclaimed to Israel what "the kingdom" requirements would be.
Jesus told a parable referring in it to Himself as "a certain nobleman" of Luke 19:12, was to go away into a far country and return with "the kingdom."
"He (Jesus) said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return." (Luke 19:12)
Jesus gave the disciples of Israel explicit instructions to "occupy till I come" (Luke 19:14). That is, they were to keep on doing what He did while He is gone away, that is to preach to Israel "the gospel of the kingdom," to "repent and be baptized" and to keep "the Law" (cf., Matt 5:17-18)
Jesus also spoke of what "the kingdom" in "that day" (John 16:23) would offer to the believers of the Nation of Israel... when that "kingdom" actually arrives on the earth at His second coming.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you (the believers of Israel), He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. (John 14:12-14, cf. 16:23)
These are powerful, wonderful, tremendous promises which are valid. And there were many more similar promises. But we should consider... when these promises shall apply, and ...to whom shall these promises apply.
The answer is these promises apply only to the believers of "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," and only in the time of "the kingdom" on earth with Jesus' 2nd coming. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
Yes, "the kingdom" was "at hand" in the time of Gospels, and then it was actually offered at Pentecost and in the in early Acts period. It was offered until Israel rejected the Holy Spirit unforgivably by stoning Stephen to death in Acts 7. With that act Israel has "fallen"; Israel and Christ's "kingdom" is now set in abeyance, paused "until the time of the Gentiles" is concluded by the Rapture of the "body of Christ. "With the body of Christ taken home, God will then turn to Israel and fulfill all prophesy; including the Tribulation wrath of God upon the world, and His return to set up His Millennial kingdom on earth, as described in Isa 65:17-25, and more.
Thus Paul writes;
"Let
their (Israel) eyes be darkened, that they may
not see, and bow down their back always. 11 I
say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God
forbid (only temporarily): but rather through
their fall salvation is
come unto
the GENTILES,
for to
provoke them to jealousy." (Rom
11:10-11)
"I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits;
that blindness in
part is happened to Israel, until
the fullness of the GENTILES be come in." (Rom
11:25)
There is a great scarcity of the knowledge of the truth of the Bible "rightly divided" (2Tim 2:15) as applying to this dispensational age of pure grace of God for “the body of Christ.” Today we are to live in a new relationship that the Bible is clearly distinguished from the time of the Old Testament on through the time of Jesus of Nazareth on earth, when Israel and the coming kingdom on earth was the focus of the Lord. Today we live in a Gentile age and have an entirely new relationship with God, different from that of Israel in the kingdom to come. In fact Paul says our destiny is not on earth but it is "eternal in the heavens" (2Cor 5:1b)¸which is our home.
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. (Philippians 3:20-21 (NIV)
I was myself at one time exposed to the teaching of some of the erroneous practices that have grown within Christianity over the past century, most commonly found among the so-called Charismatics who do not recognize the differences in dispensational times of the Bible. The false principles and practices I will address now herein have no basis in this age of the “dispensation of the grace of God.”
A prevailing undispensational approach to the Bible has led well meaning believers to the frustration and disappointment of unanswered prayer. This then often leads them to question, “What’s wrong with me?” when God doesn't answer their prayers as requested. Many are then erroneously told they need to tithe or they have sin in their lives. This is awful counsel and not at all applicable in this day of “the dispensation of the grace of God.”
The root of this problem comes from the mistaken idea that Christians can usurp the prayer promises of the Lord as given to Israel. Many today, under the grace gospel, erroneously try to stand those promises that Jesus of Nazareth gave only to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt 15:24) during His earthly ministry. Obviously then, Jesus' promises to Israel don't work out as promised for the church today.
There is an erroneous idea that "the church" today, which in fact is the unique “the body of Christ” (Eph 1:22b-23a) is now what some call “spiritual Israel.” This gross error crept in during the 2-4th centuries with Origen and Augustine of Hippo, which then became ensconced in Roman Catholic doctrine as now noted in its Catechism #877 (below).
Roman Catholic Church Catechism #877 (first line): “... In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as THE SEEDS OF THE NEW ISRAEL and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.
This great error was passed onto many of the Roman church's daughters, the Protestant churches at large. Thereby, many in the church today try to make the promises the Lord made to Israel work for them. They try to pilfer the blessings promised to Israel only, while of course being careful to avoid taking the promised curses of living under Israel’s “Law.”
Let’s now look further at some the erroneous ideas that spring from such misapplied Scripture.
Consider the matter of “two or more believers agreeing in prayer” to God will obtain the response or answer they seek. This again is rooted in this misapplied verse that Jesus of Nazareth gave in His earthly ministry to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
“Again I (Jesus) say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.” (Matthew 21:21)
These and other verses are misused as the root of the “name it and claim it” teachings espoused by so many Charismatic/Pentecostal preachers. Then there is the false doctrine called “positive confession” that many Charismatic faith teachers espouse. It a kind of mind over matter. I see many obvious holes in the "positive confession" doctrine. It is a false presumption upon the Lord. And in its more extreme forms it is idolatry, plain and simple. If a man believes that he can speak wealth and well-being into his life, or blessings that God alone can bestow, then he has put himself in the place of God Almighty.
So, is God today obligated to do anything just because some believer today wills it and prays it to be so? Its clear to me that many are taking scriptures that are true when they properly applied to Israel in the kingdom age yet to come, as if they belong them in this age of the dispensation of the grace of God (Eph 3:2). They twist these promises out of context, misapply them to this age of grace. Those who follow positive confession teachings are putting themselves in the place of God. They are arrogantly professing that they are “just like God” and can create their own realities. This closely resembles Lucifer’s original sin of pride expressed in his 5 "I wills"; ex., “I will ascend above,…I will be like the most High God, etc.”
When you pray for your children, family and friends, I would encourage you to do so in meekness and humility – asking in a mindset of trusting the Lord’s own wisdom and will for their lives. You may want to word your prayer something like this; "Asking in thanksgiving, I hold (you) before the Lord in thanksgiving for His undying love and grace upon (you).” By wording your prayer this way, you are expressing your trust in Him. You are thanking God for all His continual blessing upon you, your friends, or your child – entrusting them to Him.
We can let Him know our desires but we as believers at the same time should know from Scripture that the Lord often blesses His own through sufferings at times and that suffering and glory are linked (Rom 8:17). Paul epistles also teach us that we will suffer and that the Lord’s grace is sufficient. We trust in that we have the blessed hope of dwelling with Him “eternal in the heavens” (2Cor 5:1). We as Christians must clearly know and rely upon the fact that He loves us unconditionally and that "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) and that “... it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” (Phili 2:13), not according to our pleasure.
This humble trust in Christ then is quite different from the idea that some believers today hold, that they can and should command the hand of the Lord “by agreement of two or more.” They command God's blessing upon themselves, their children, or someone else. They essentially say; by believing in your heart you can create your own desired reality with your mind and tongue.
“Name it and claim it” prayers do not work in this age of grace because they are not meant to. We today live under the new paradigm taught us by Paul’s thirteen epistles. Now we see God’s all-sufficient grace given to us in the form of the indwelling Christ as our ongoing life supply, and then also by recognizing His Sovereign will in using all things for the good. We know that we already are "blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Eph 1:3)
Today we live in a time quite different from Israel’s relational economy as spoken by Jesus of Nazareth in the continuing Old Testament of the synoptic gospels. In them Jesus spoke words while “under the law” (Gal 4:4). He was yet living in His human body, so there was not yet a New Testament.
“For WHERE A TESTAMENT IS, THERE MUST ALSO OF NECESSITY BE THE DEATH OF THE TESTATOR. 17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. (Hebrews 9:16-17)
“Who also hath made us able ministers of the NEW TESTAMENT; NOT OF THE LETTER, BUT OF THE SPIRIT: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)
So Jesus of Nazareth lived in the time of the Old Testament and spoke to Israel accordingly, as under "the Law." The matter of “speaking the words of blessing over your house and to take authority of it in the name of Jesus” is an erroneous concept that today is commonly fostered by some. It's rooted in these misused verses where Jesus’ blesses of the children.
“he (Jesus) took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” (Mark 10:16)
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
Both verses are attributed to Jesus of Nazareth in His earthly ministry to Israel. Both are found in the synoptic gospels that make an account of His sayings and doings while He was on earth and still ministering to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
“Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision (Israel) for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers (of Israel):” (Romans 15:8)
Clearly Jesus of Nazareth came NOT for the purpose of ministering to the Gentiles. He emphatically told His disciples the same.
“These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go NOT into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6 But GO RATHER TO THE LOST SHEEP OF THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL. (Matthew 10:5-6)
Having established exactly to whom Jesus of Nazareth came to minister and to whom His words were directed, we can now look at His words and doings with some clarity, knowing Jesus’ words don't apply to the members of the predominantly Gentile “body of Christ.” You may note the Apostle Paul never once quotes a single word spoken by Jesus of Nazareth in Paul’s 13 epistles – and Paul is “THE Apostle to the Gentiles.”
So yes, Jesus came to minister and speak to Israel exclusively. But then also, it was the ascended Lord Jesus who saved Paul and sent Paul to be “THE Apostle to the Gentiles.” Remember it is Paul who writes to the members of “the body of Christ”; “For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am THE Apostle of the Gentiles…” (Romans 11:13a)
Paul’s words are the Lord’s commandments for us today.
“If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that THE THINGS THAT I WRITE UNTO YOU ARE THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD. (1 Corinthians 14:37)
Please realize that men of today will be judged according to Paul’s words of his grace gospel.
“In the day when GOD SHALL JUDGE THE SECRETS OF MEN BY JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO MY (PAUL’S) GOSPEL.” (Romans 2:16)
So let’s see if our Apostle, Paul, has anything similar to say in reference to these concepts that come from the gospels. Well, there are no corresponding verses in the thirteen epistles of Paul to say these concepts apply to the members of the “body of Christ” today. Astounding as it may sound, Paul actually writes that we are not to heed the words of Jesus of Nazareth, but rather to fully understand and enjoy the fruit of His sacrifice on the cross for us.
"... though we have known Christ after the flesh (in His earthly ministry), yet now henceforth know we him no more.(2 Corinthians 5:16 (KJV)
Paul says we do pray, but not in the manner as we see in the Jesus’ message in the gospels for Israel.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
Paul makes no assurance that we get what we want. Rather, Paul assures us of the “peace of God” that we will enjoy, keeping our hearts and minds... if and when we pray and leave every matter in the Lord’s hands.