Why I am a dispensationalist with a small "d"

Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Sep 1998 by Bock, Darrell L

Some who are skeptical of these developments think that this was the goal all along--namely, to recast dispensationalism in a way that made it more acceptable to outsiders and that in the process no longer made it dispensationalism. They also are uncomfortable with the new rapprochement found with those of other positions, seeing truth compromised for the sake of a false unity. But those who react to these developments only with a desire to exclude and dismiss risk hurting themselves by separating themselves from a potentially fruitful discussion.

2. The broad scope of salvation. Recent developments in dispensationalism focus on God's call to reform humanity in all their relationships as a result of salvation in Christ. True reform outside of Christ is an impossibility. The reintroduction of the study of the gospels and the prophets for their ethical thrust within dispensationalism makes this possible. The new focus moves beyond an appeal to the demands of being made in the image of God. It emphasizes giving consideration to both how God calls people to relate to one another and how that now becomes possible, but only in Christ. It insists that salvation and sanctification are not only issues of a private vertical relationship to God but also involve a corporate reconciliation in a variety of life's contexts. Involvement in these corporate spheres protects us from two false emphases.

One false approach basically withdraws from the world and its issues, leaving them largely unaddressed. In effect the choice is to leave the secular person to sink in their own mire as society degrades around us, going for change of heart instead. But how can one see where the heart is unless the issues of the choices of life are put up to Biblical scrutiny? God risks being made irrelevant to whole areas of human endeavor.

The second false emphasis also risks a dangerous dualism by subtly suggesting that the mere passage of certain laws or the raw exercise of political clout will improve society. Israel had the best law heaven could provide, and yet at points her society was also thoroughly corrupt. To march into the arena of the public square without offering God's grace risks presenting only one side of God that ends up being an ugly distortion of him. Alongside attempting to call transgression sin and seeking to raise the standards of our society, we must also hold out the hope of God's forgiveness and grace.

What a salvific focus brings is a stress on the fact that the place where God's activity is to be most evident in modeling is in the Church. If genuine reform is possible only in Christ, then it should be seen in and among Christians. The fresh dispensational emphasis on the current authority of Christ in this era and the recognition that he is said to be pouring himself into the Church means that all of these implications of our involvement in the world need to be worked out sensitively.

VII. DANGERS FOR DISPENSATIONALISM

There are pitfalls in all of this. One must be careful that strengths are not overplayed into disappointing and damaging weaknesses. I therefore want to name three potential dangers of the tradition.