I was recently asked how can you share the message of Paul's gospel and rightly dividing Scripture with others who are Bible-studying Christians who don't know this truth. I could go to a church who believes as I do, however, I choose to be amongst those who don't fully understand the truth of the mystery so that eventually I will have an opportunity to share it with them. The following is part of my journey I am sharing so that I can encourage some of you who are in a similar position.
My story is a bit of a crooked path. I heard the gospel from a young age (my parents were saved when I was five). I gave my life to Christ when I was 13, to be my Lord and Savior. I was raised going to a Grace Church, however, you would be surprised how poorely I understood this message. Things like, "Who is written to, who is it written for," were thrown around without me understanding what that meant. I remember this church as being dogmatic right fighters, exclusive and legalistic. (As I understood more of the grace message this confused me even more.) I remember that I didn't doubt my salvation, but I doubted how I saw it being lived out. I moved around the country and went to more churches than I can even remember. I was solid in my faith so this was a frustrating time as things just didn't sit right with me.
I started studying the Bible more and more and got more and more conflicting information. I knew God was a God who wanted to be known, however, why didn't more people know what the Bible was saying? I knew the Bible held the answers, so I began to study inductively. It was during a study on covenants that a lot of conflicting ideas began to surface. I started to piece a lot of the puzzling Scriptures together and with the help of my parents, I began to finally understand the instruction of my youth and it's impact. God convicted me that this revolutionary message about God's mysterious grace was meant to be shared. So I "bloomed where I was planted" and remained in my study groups and teaching positions. However, I knew that I didn't want to turn this awesome message of grace into legalism, right fighting or exclusivity. I studied unity in the Bible and found that the attitude I was to have was to be one of humility and selflessness (Philippians 2:1-8). So I remained and began slowly (as discussion allowed) to ask questions (mainly showing the discrepancy in Scripture). I let these questions marinade, never forcing the issue. I allowed myself to let a topic go unanswered or allowed people to leave without coming to my conclusions. Slowly, a few faithful studiers of the word started to see and understand, but not fully. These would come to me individually to ask questions. Eventually I had the opportunity to do a few dispensational studies focusing on the Book of Acts with interested individuals after I built up a lot of trust. These studies were well received to the point that they wanted the information I had so they could share it with others. So, I wrote a book and a blog to give people a format to share the grace message.
As far as your question about sharing this dispensation truth about the mystery of the age of grace with pastors, don't start there. I have not yet had any success with pastors. I try to respect their calling and not to use the church they lead as a format to teach ideas they would not fully be in agreement with. If they have trusted me to teach something in the church, I follow the curriculum with humility and try to skip over things I am not fully in agreement. Yes, there are times that a sermon is difficult, but I try to use those to challenge myself to defend my position and see if there is any application I can pull out. There are other's in our church who understand and get frustrated, but I try to emphasize a spirit of unity and humility within the church.
I hope this helps you! I tried to be as concise as possible. Thank you for your willing heart to take this message to a dry and thirsty land. It is a high calling, but with the right attitude can be a very fruitful journey! Please continue your journey, and let me know how it goes.
Natalie Smith
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