More ignorance of rightly dividing the Word

QUESTION:

Paul contradicts himself saying even dead in sin your saved by grace then he says after knowing the truth if you sin there is no longer a sacrifice for sin. Why can't Bible thumpers see Paul's lies?

ANSWER:

You draw attention to this supposed contradiction because you appear to be unaware of rightly dividing the Word of truth. There are two parts to God’s redemption plan. Prophetic (Israel’s doctrine) and Mystery (Paul’s doctrine). These two parts (doctrines) are unique and distinct, and they cannot be merged (or blended) together, as you clearly are doing in your question. On the other hand, if you keep the two doctrines apart, everything falls into place.

“No longer a sacrifice for sin” is part of the prophetic doctrine for Israel. If they turn from their faith during the tribulation, which is the period the book of Hebrews is written for, they effectively turn towards the Antichrist. Denying the Jewish faith is siding with the Antichrist in the tribulation. If this is done, there is no more sacrifice for sin, and they are doomed. Jesus Himself preached, “anyone who puts their hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God”.

“Being dead to sin and saved by grace” is part of the mystery doctrine for the Body of Christ. By means of the cross of Christ, members of the Body of Christ are transferred from the ministration of Adam into the ministration of Christ; from death to life, from condemnation to justification and forgiveness, from sin to righteousness. The moment a person is saved by grace they are imputed the righteousness of Christ and are ‘dead to sin’ (positionally), meaning that God does not account sin against them due to grace. Sin is still penalized in the flesh, as what you sow you will reap, but our position in Christ remains secure.

In order to make sense of the scriptures, one cannot simply pick out verses all over the place and assume that they are applicable to you. God’s redemption plan is FAR, FAR greater than the part you play in it. There are scriptures in the Bible that have nothing to do with the dispensation we are living in today. Israel belongs to a different dispensation that has different principles and conditions. The Body of Christ likewise has a different doctrine provided to us by the revelations that Paul received from the risen and glorified Christ. We can learn the scriptures of Israel so that we can discover what their purpose and part is in the redemption plan of God, but when it comes to the faith we study and apply, it comes from the epistles of Paul, the mystery doctrine addressed for us today.

Paul tells us to rightly divide these two programs. If we do, we can correctly interpret scripture. If we do not, we end up mixing things up, creating a false narrative and a man-made doctrine that sows confusion and corruption. We must be very careful in handling God’s Word correctly. It is a two-edged sword that can cut into and expose valuable truths from God, but in the unskilled hands of the unsaved and the babes in Christ, it can cut up and destroy the faith of people and taint the mystery doctrine.