Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Definition of a preconceived idea:  “to form (as an opinion, an attitude, belief, or impression) prior to actual knowledge or experience.”

 

            Please understand that it is not my intention to be critical or mean spirited in my writings.  Many, possibly most, of the errors I mention I have been guilty of myself.  I have spent most of my adult life believing errors that I have been taught since childhood.  It has only been since my recent understanding of right division that I have become aware of many misconceptions and have moved into a level of spiritual maturity that previously I had not known.  It is not my desire to criticize but rather to redirect your thinking and motivate you to not make the same mistakes that I have made.  Look into the scriptures yourself to determine what they say. 

            Most preconceived ideas happen rather innocently.  They are most often the result of what we have been told repeatedly to the point that they are just accepted without question as being true.  Many are in the form of clichés that we have heard from childhood spoken by parents, friends, teachers or even the clergy.  If a belief is never questioned then it becomes ingrained, and if it is in error it is never corrected.  Most preconceived ideas derived from clichés and slogans are innocent enough; however, when bible doctrine is concerned, the results can be devastating and have an everlasting effect.

 

 

            Some of the most disturbing preconceived ideas contain a measure of truth.  Quite often they assume the form of slogans. For example one slogan that contains a preconception goes like this: “You can go to hell for telling a lie, the same as you can for stealing.”  Today this is a false statement. But it does have its roots imbedded in truth.  During the dispensation of Law, Israel was under the mandates of 10 Commandments plus 106 ordinances.  One of the commandments stated “Thou shalt not steal” while another said “Thou shalt not bear false witness.”  So there was a time during a different dispensation when lying was as bad as stealing and both were unlawful for the Jew living under the confines of the Law.  I am not condoning lying and stealing.  I'm just telling you that under our dispensation of grace no one is condemned to hell for lying or stealing.  Hell (technically the lake of fire) is reserved for those who reject Jesus Christ as their only means of eternal salvation. 

            Another preconceived idea is that we (dispensation of grace believers) should follow Jesus in water baptism.  No where in the bible are we told that we should follow Jesus in water baptism.  As a matter of fact, it is impossible to do such a thing since the baptism of Jesus was very unique.  Jesus was baptized to fulfill the law (Matt 3:13:15), which required a water cleansing ordinance as a ritual (Num 19-20).  The Law required a man to be thirty years of age before he was eligible to serve in the priesthood (Num 4-23).  Hence, Jesus had just turned thirty at the time of his baptism.  His earthly ministry began at the age of thirty and ended some three and a half years later. Since none of us are capable of keeping the law (Rom 3:19-20), in part or in whole, it becomes obvious that we cannot follow Jesus in water baptism.  Neither are we a part of the priesthood.  It is reserved for the Jewish citizens of the future, earthly kingdom of Christ (Ex 19:5-6).  The reason believing Jews were being baptized while confessing their sins was to prepare them as a nation of priests to serve in the forthcoming kingdom (Mark 1:4-5; 1Pet 2:9).  Baptism and repentance were major requirements in the gospel of the kingdom (their plan of salvation) (Acts 2:38). 

            Quite the contrary, the scriptures tell us who live in the dispensation of grace, that water baptism is not a part of our gospel (our plan of salvation) (1Cor 1:14-17).  In fact the word of God says that we are not baptized into water but unto the body of Christ (Rom 6:3-4; Gal 3:27); not by a man standing in a pool of water, but by God the Holy Spirit (1Cor 12:13); that we are buried with Christ in baptism, and we know that Jesus did not drown on the cross nor was he buried in a watery grave (Rom 6:3-4).  Furthermore our Apostle Paul says that there is only one baptism pertinent to the dispensation of grace (Eph 4:4-6).  That one baptism takes place at the moment of faith when God the Holy Spirit places the believer into eternal union with Christ (Rom 6:5).

            Some of the most subtle erroneous preconceptions result from the people who published our bible.  Before we open our bible to the beginning of Genesis, we are immediately confronted with error.  The first words we see are, “The Old Testament.”  The Old Testament or Old Covenant refers to the same thing – The Law of Moses.  All of the book of Genesis, and the book of Exodus up to the nineteenth chapter, are not Old Testament.  The Old Testament actually has its beginning in Exodus 19:8 with the agreement to the Law by Israel (Ex 19:5-8).  Then when we open the book of Matthew, we encounter the words “New Testament.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The scriptures tell us that Jesus was born under the Law and came to fulfill the law (Gal 4:4).  Furthermore the book of Hebrews tells us that the New Testament / New Covenant could not begin until the death of the testator – Jesus Christ (Heb 9:15:28).  Therefore the accurate conclusion is that the New Testament had its historical beginning in Acts chapter two, after the death of Christ, when the New Covenant church received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).  Question:  If this was the beginning of the Church of Grace, as most teach, why did Peter say that it was the beginning of the Tribulation Period (Acts 2:14:21) and why is he teaching the kingdom plan of salvation (Acts 2:38)?  The popular belief that the dispensation of grace church had its beginning in the second chapter of Acts is obviously incorrect.  It is absolutely impossible because the mystery doctrine of the dispensation of grace was first given to the Apostle Paul (Rom 16:25; Col 1:25-27; Gal 1:11-12).  Since the Apostle Paul wasn’t saved until the ninth chapter of Acts, the dispensation of grace could not have begun before the ninth chapter.

            Although generally spoken with the best of intentions, for me personally, a couple of the most offensive slogans are “God bless you” and “I’ll pray for you.”  Actually when someone says “God bless you” it is a prayer for you.  It’s always so personal and in my face to have these slogans directed toward me.  They generally trivialize the blessings that have already come from God.  Inevitably, both phrases come on the heels of a physical complaint, in association with sickness, to conclude a disagreement, or something as inconsequential as a sneeze. To start with God did the most He will ever be able to do to bless us when He sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross to suffer and die spiritually for our sins.  Does God still bless us?  Yes He does.  Everyday, because He is omnipotent God, He adds to the most He can ever do to bless us.  But I personally no longer seek his blessing in the physical realm.  Neither do I pray for my own wellbeing or for the wellbeing of others.  I have learned that my Apostle Paul didn’t do it and now neither do I (2Cor 12:7-10).  “God bless America” is yet another slogan that really isn’t scriptural.  During the dispensation of grace, God is not dealing with nations.  He is dealing with individuals who trust in His Son for salvation.  When God blesses America (and He does) it is only a secondary effect of Him blessing those mature believers living within the confines of its borders.  Actually, we believers have already been blessed beyond all that we might imagine or request (Eph 3:20).

            Another slogan used to refer to certain believers is “prayer warriors.”  For the life of me, I can’t figure out who qualifies for such a title.  Paul says that we do not know how to pray or what to pray for (Rom 8:26-27).  I don’t know for sure where such an idea comes from, but maybe from the book of James (James 5:16).  But once again, James does not contain doctrine of grace instructions for the church of the dispensation of grace.  It was written to New Covenant Jews scattered though out the ancient world (James 1:1).

            Let me point out another development that I never use to see, but that has recently become fairly common.  That is the holding of hands around the dining table or the bedside of the ailing while a prayer is being said.  Although this custom is not mentioned in scripture, I suspect that it is derived from the words of Christ when He said that if two or more are in agreement their prayers will be answered (Matt 18:19).   It could also initiate from the book of James (James 5:14).  Of course this is more legalism from the Law and is not a part of the doctrine of grace.  One point that I am trying to make is that if it isn’t in the bible rightly divided, we probably should not make it a part of our doctrine.

            So often I hear it quipped “The bible says we should not judge others.  Judge not that ye be not judged (Matt 7:1; Luke 6:37).”  Again I point out the fact that these scriptures come from the Old Testament and were written for Israel under the Law.  But for Gentiles under grace, Paul says, “Judge all things – in the future you will judge angels” (1Cor 6:2-3).  Usually condemnation of judging is the result of accusing someone of sinfulness.  For Israel it was forbidden because it was the equivalent of condemning a person to everlasting punishment because of some sort of sin that they had committed.  Furthermore, under the Law, many sins were punishable by death; whereas, under grace, all are forgivable because of the work of Jesus Christ while on the cross (Col 2:13).  Because of the liberal attitudes prevalent in the contemporary world in which we live, there are many that wish to have certain sins overlooked, claiming that it is caused by illness (such as alcoholism) or that it is normal and permissible as being just another lifestyle (such as homosexuality).  But the bible in numerous instances condemns both as sin without excuse.  At the present time there are liberals in our government trying to pass legislation against so called “hate speech.”  This is just an attack on the freedom of speech in an attempt to silence Christians from calling sin, sin.

            Many people today latch onto the sincerity slogan that says, “It really doesn’t matter what one believes as long as he is sincere, because we are all trying to get to the same place – only using different ways of getting there” (Pro 16:25). Generally I view this attitude as coming from those who have no church doctrine that provides for a plan of salvation.  It’s about as near a nothing attitude as one can possibly have.  And, yes, there are some churches that have no plan of salvation.  They believe that once a person dies, his good deeds are weighed against his bad and whichever way the scales tilt determines one’s eternal destiny.  Consequently they believe that no one knows before the judgment takes place whether or not they are saved (John 5:28-29).  Of course this doctrine is only for Israel.  Paul says we in the dispensation of grace have knowledge and security of our salvation (Rom 8:38-39; 2Tim 1:12).

            I was taught, and I’d bet that most of you were too, that the plan of salvation has always been the same during every dispensation.  I was told that all of those people who lived before Jesus Christ were saved by looking forward to his death on the cross and trusting in Him for salvation.  And that we who live after Jesus Christ are saved by looking back to His dying on the cross for our sins and believing in Him for salvation.  Sorry folks, but it just isn’t true.  No where in scripture can you find such a preconceived opinion.  But we can find quite the opposite. 

            Let’s look at Abraham.  While he was yet an uncircumcised Gentile, ninety years of age and sexually dead, and living with his elderly wife who was in the same shape, God told him that his offspring would be as uncountable as the stars of the heavens.  He believed what God had told him and that belief was credited to his account as righteousness (Gen 15:5-6; Rom 4:3).  Notice that God said nothing to Abraham about him having a son who would come into the world and die to save sinners.     

            Concerning the nation Israel, over and over again God said “if you do this, I’ll bless you; if you do that, I’ll curse you (Ex 19:5-6; Ex 32:33).  There was nothing about trusting in a future Messiah that would die for their sins.  Israel was only to take God at His word.  That meant to believe what God said was true – no matter what He said.  Israel made a binding agreement with God to keep both the commandments of Law and the ordinances contained within the Law (Ex 19:8; Ex 24:3).

            Consider what the writer of Hebrews has to say about Israel.  Here you will find nothing about faith in Christ as savior.  Rather he says that those in the wilderness failed because an evil, rebellious heart of unbelief departing from the living God (Heb 3:12-14).  Furthermore we are told that obedience to persevere to the end was required or they would be rejected by God.  We have Christians today attempting to live (as a part of their Christian way of life) what they call the faith-rest life (as outlined in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4) in order to please God.  But this doctrine of claiming promises is not for us today.  It was for the Hebrew people of yesterday living in the wilderness and it continued throughout the dispensation of Law.  It was part of their plan for salvation.  In the future it will apply to the Jews of the Tribulation Period.  

            Look at Jesus’ twelve Apostles.  They spent some three years preaching the gospel of the kingdom, yet nearing the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus told them on numerous occasions of his impending death and they didn’t understand it (Mark 9:31-32; Luke 9:44:45; Luke 18:31-34).  If the gospel of the kingdom required belief in Jesus dying for their sins, how could the twelve apostles have been preaching the gospel without knowing about His death?  How could the disciples of John who had been preaching the gospel not have known?  They not only didn’t know about his death but also knew nothing about his prophesied resurrection until after the fact (Luke 24:25-34).  It wasn’t necessary for them to understand because the only belief required for the salvation of a kingdom Jew was to believe the words of Jesus and the scriptures that declared him as their promised Messiah and King.  Furthermore, if all that was required of Israel was to trust Jesus Christ as their personal savior, why did Jesus say baptism was necessary for salvation (Mark 16:16)?  Why did He say it was necessary to keep the Law (Luke 18:18-24; John 14:15), to do good deeds (John 5:28-29), to confess Him (Matt 10:32-33), to follow Him (Luke 18:22), to forgive others (Luke 6:37)?  I could go on and on, but surely you get the picture.  Israel under the administration of Law had a different plan of salvation than we Gentiles living under the administration of grace.  Their gospel of the kingdom was a plan of faith in Jesus as the Messiah plus works.  It is extremely important that everyone understand this concept.  To make God’s plan of salvation the same for all people during all dispensations leads to utter chaos in understanding the scriptures.  This, possibly more than anything else, has led to the myriad of heresies concerning salvation.  

            This shines light on another preconceived idea.  It is generally taught in traditional churches that Peter, James, John and Paul all taught the same gospel.  Of course they didn’t (Gal 2:7).  Peter, James and John taught the gospel of the kingdom which required faith plus works (James 2:24): belief that Jesus was the promised Messiah, (1John 4:15) plus water baptism (Acts 2:38) and confession of sins for salvation (1John 1:9) which could be temporary depending upon an individual’s perseverance (Heb 10:26-27; Matt 24:13; Rev 3:5).  Whereas the Apostle Paul taught the only essential for our salvation is faith alone in Jesus alone for eternal salvation (1Cor 15:3; Eph 2:8-9); believing that He did everything necessary for our eternal salvation while dying as our sin substitute on the cross (2Cor 5:21).  The Apostle Paul makes it abundantly clear that Israel was under the law for salvation (Gal 3:10).  Paul says, as he quotes Joel, (Joel 2:30-32) that for salvation (deliverance), Israel must confess Jesus and call on his name – Messiah (Rom 10:9-10; Rom 10:13).  None of these things are required for us living in the dispensation of grace.  Paul confirms that Christ assigned to Peter and Paul a different gospel and a different apostleship. Peter was assigned a gospel and an apostleship for the Jews; whereas, Paul was assigned a different gospel and a different apostleship for the Gentiles. The gospel and apostleship of the uncircumcision was for Gentiles under the administration of grace, and the gospel and apostleship of the circumcision was for Jews under the administration of Law under the New Covenant (Gal 2:7-9; Eph 3:8; 1Tim 2:7; Rom 11:13; Rom 15:16).

            Peter, James, John and the rest of the twelve apostles taught Jewish kingdom doctrine. It centered on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ as outlined in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. On the contrary, the Apostle Paul taught mystery doctrine of grace as revealed by the risen Jesus Christ. Paul says that we no longer know Christ after the flesh. Like Paul, we in the dispensation of grace know and follow the teachings of the risen, glorified Christ (2Cor 5:16).

            It is impossible that there is only one plan of salvation applicable to all dispensations because Paul states in numerous scriptures that the gospel of the dispensation of grace was a mystery, hidden from all other dispensations, until revealed exclusively to him (Rom 16:25; 1Cor 2:7; Col 1:25-27; Gal 1:11-12; Eph 3:1-10).

            To believe that there is only one plan of salvation pertinent to all dispensations negates grace. It puts us all under the law because the law was given before grace. To believe in only one gospel makes the church an extension of Israel. This renders our destiny to be the earthly kingdom of Christ rather than the heavenly kingdom. It makes us part of the Lord’s administration of the New Covenant during His 1000 year reign. This belief places us in the future temple making animal sacrifices along side of the Jews. It crowns us kings and priests to govern under the dictates of the New Covenant. To believe there is only one gospel makes everything the Apostle Paul said to be a lie and makes his apostleship illegitimate. It fills the scriptures with untold contradictions and takes away our blessed system of grace for salvation placing us under a system of works; persevering – overcoming – being faithful until the end, without knowledge or security of salvation. Belief that there is only one plan of salvation is the reason modern churches teach that one can lose salvation. This is why they believe in water baptism for salvation, good deeds for salvation, keeping the Ten Commandments for salvation, praying for salvation, confession of sin for salvation, morality for salvation, and almost any other thing they can find in the bible concerning salvation regardless to whom it was written.

            I have provided an abundant amount of scriptures to substantiate the claim of two gospels (two plans of salvation). There is one gospel for Israel under the Law and another gospel for Gentiles under grace. If you can show me any scripture that says the Jews (or anyone else) were saved by looking forward to the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ and trusting in Him for eternal salvation I would love to see it. But you can’t because it’s not in the Bible. It’s just another preconceived idea that has been stated so many times that many have come to believe it is true. As a matter of fact many never even question it. We need to get away from our preconceived ideas and learn to believe what God says in his Holy Word.

            In summary, I encourage you to beware of slogans, clichés and preconceived ideas where bible doctrine is concerned.  Don’t be mislead by traditional doctrines just because they are traditional. Look into the word of God for yourself to separate truth from fiction by learning how to rightly divide the word of truth.