He is also the Mediator of a better covenant

— Hebrews 8:6

In our study so far, we have seen that the Bible teaches some type of covenant theology. Beginning in Genesis and God’s covenant with Abraham and his household, then the covenant with Moses and the Israelites, the new covenant spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31, and the new covenant that our Lord introduced in the New Testament, makes it clear that God dealt with man through covenants. But traditional ‘covenant theology’ has many flaws.

One of those errors is the idea that baptism (including infant baptism) is the covenant sign, the same as ‘circumcision’ was in the Old Testament. In our study, we have seen that the Lord’s supper is the covenant sign for believers today. 1 – The covenant was introduced by our Lord. 2 – The sign was the Lord’s supper. 3 – The penalty for violating the covenant could lead to sickness and death. 4 – God gave directives concerning His covenant. We also saw how God’s covenant with Abraham and with Israel had all four of those points.

Traditional covenant theology puts things into the Bible that aren’t there. I believe there is a better way (more accurate system) to study the Bible; but it certainly isn’t Dispensationalism. Here are some things that my Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary has to say about Dispensationalism.

C. I. Scofield, one of the fathers of Dispensationalism and author of the Scofield Bible, “divides the whole of time from creation to the judgment into seven dispensations.” It also states, “The modern theological use of the term (dispensation) as a period of time during which man is tested in respect to obedience to some specific revelation of the will of God (Scofield Reference Bible, page 5) is not found in Scripture.” Emphasis on words by the author.

Dispensationalism has also nurtured the teaching of the rapture which was based on a vision or dream that a McDonald girl in Scotland had around 1820. This vision may have been the beginning of Dispensationalism. So this type of theology is a fairly new way to study the Bible. It wasn’t around for over 1800 years. Many people believe that the doctrine of the rapture is not taught in Scripture. It must be put into the Bible by people who want to see it.

A lot of theologians believe that the ‘left behind theology should be left behind.’ For more information on the rapture and Dispensationalism see: “Where did rapture theology come from?” A YouTube video by Ben Witherington III. If you have to put something into the Bible to support the way you study Scripture, you are adding to God’s Word.

Next week, we will look closely at the texts of Scripture where the word ‘dispensation’ is used. We will also see that God is not referring to a period of time, but rather a task, a dispensing, a responsibility and an obligation to preach and teach the gospel.

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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published four books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016, Eye of a Needle in 2017, Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019 and A Bridge Between in 2023. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children’s book.