Review: Dispensationalism

Dispensationalism
Charles Ryrie

Available from Amazon here
Available from Logos here

Dispensationalism, by Charles Ryrie, has long been considered the classic, definitive apologetic for the dispensational system. Dr. Ryrie begins his book with a general defense of dispensationalism as a help toward understanding the Scriptures and living the Christian life. In this first chapter, he outlines several attacks against the Dispensationalist position, most of which are dealt with in later chapters. He then outline several way sin which Dispensationalism helps answering the need of Biblical distinctions, the need for a philosophy of history, and provides consistent hermeneutics.

In the next chapter, the author discusses what a dispensation is. Dr. Ryrie begins with the definition given in the original Scofield Reference Bible, which he considers inadequate, and works through definitions given by various dispensational writers. He discusses the Scriptural uses of the word dispensation, and then considers the relationship of progressive revelation to the concept of a dispensation.

In The Number of Dispensations, the author considers whether or not it’s important to hold to a specific number of dispensations to be considered a dispensationalists (his answer is no), and how different dispensational thinkers have divided the dispensations. He discusses each dispensation, and arrives at a “normative” set of seven dispensations. Dr. Ryrie then considers the origin of dispensational thought –a crucial point to consider given many of the attacks on dispensationalism revolve around the relatively recent systemization of dispensational thought. He lays this argument to rest by showing the dispensational thinking of many great Christian thinkers going back to the Patristic fathers, and even back to Paul himself.

Hermeneutics is the next target on Dr. Ryrie’s agenda. Chapter five discusses the hermeneutics of dispensational thought, and how it differs from the hermeneutic used by other theological systems. He focuses here on a consistently literal reading of the Scriptures, along with a consistent separation between Israel and the Church. The addendum on the Sermon on the Mount is quite helpful in sorting through the various ways of approaching this teaching, and the results of those approaches.

Salvation in Dispensationalism, chapter six, discusses the means of salvation within dispensational thought. This is another important subject because one of the most common attacks against dispensationalism. Dr. Ryrie makes a case for the object of faith remaining the same, but the content of faith changing. In chapter seven, Dr. Ryries covers the church within dispensationalism. It’s important to show the distinction between the Church and Israel. He makes several points, including the church’s distinct character and the church’s distinct time. He then considers the church’s relationship to the Kingdom, saints of other ages, Israel, and apostasy.

In Dispensational Eschatology, Dr. Ryrie discusses the relationship between dispensational thought and a pretribulational, premillennial view of the future. In this chapter, he deals with the charge that a premillennial view of history minimizes the importance of the Cross, and the spiritualization of the Kingdom. Chapter nine works through progressive dispensationalism, detailing the origins and beliefs of this theological system. In chapter ten, Dr. Ryrie moves to covenant theology, and in chapter eleven, ultradispensationalism. He ends Dispensationalism with a plea for open and civil conversation within the Church.

Dispensationalism’s strengths lie in Dr. Ryrie’s careful analysis of the meaning of dispensations, his defense of dispensationalism’s origins, his explanation of salvation in the dispensational system, and finally in his overview of progressive dispensationalism and covenant theology. His work in finding and explaining references to dispensations in the work of God, starting with Paul, and moving all the way through the Church Fathers to the times just before Darby’s initial systemization of dispensationalism makes a strong case against the charge that dispensationalism is recent.

By drawing a distinction between the content of faith and the object of faith, Dr. Ryrie provides a solid argument against the idea that the means of salvation must change if dispensations change. His ability to bring the charge back into the camp of the Covenantal believers is a masterful stroke. If believers must be saved by different means in different dispensations because the content of revelation has changed (progressive revelation), then what must the Christian make of God’s giving of the Mosaic Law, and his insistence that the sacrifices of the Law actually provide a covering for sin? The only way to make sense of this situation is to accept progressive revelation within different economies of time.

The weaknesses of Dr. Ryrie’s work revolve around his treatment of hermeneutics and his treatment of the Mosaic Law. The chapter on hermeneutics primarily focuses on using a consistently literal reading of the text, but in more recent times Covenant theologians and Progressive Dispensationalists have laid a claim to literal hermeneutics as well. The Dispensational system can no longer be defended by simply insisting on differentiating between the Church and Israel –strong positive arguments must be provided to lead the reader to this separation from the text itself.

Dr. Ryrie does start down this road with his work in examining how fulfilled prophecies have been fulfilled, and what this means for the fulfillment of future prophecies, but this work needs to be carried farther if it is to be effective. Dispensationalists need to develop a full blown hermeneutic, including a full justification from the Scriptures supporting that hermeneutic, working from all the words of God, and not just from prophecy specifically. When God said, “let there be light,” frogs didn’t appear –light did.

A fully developed hermeneutic would also help to develop a fully Dispensational theological system. Today, dispensationalism is essentially a subcamp within Reformed theology –but the primary Reformed thinkers are consistently trying to push Dispensationalism out of the camp, and into the wilderness. It’s not enough to simply find a way to cling to a Reformed heritage, Dispensationalists need to rise up and build complete systematic and Biblical theologies they can call their own if they hope to survive in the modern Church.

For instance, Dr. Ryrie’s treatment of the Mosaic Law falls short of working well within a fully dispensational theology. Instead, the argument given falls within a primarily Reformed framework while trying to deny the Covenental leanings of that framework. He argues from Galatians 3 that the Law was never given to cover sin, but God, himself, states the sacrifices cover sin throughout the entire Tanach. Dispensationalism needs to handle this better in order to provide a convincing defense; perhaps a deeper differentiation between positional sanctification and experiential sanctification would help to build a necessary understanding of the Mosaic and Millennial sacrificial systems.

Overall, Dispensationalism has been helpful in building a better understanding of the Dispensational system, and the state of Dispensational thought. There is much here that is good, and yet much work to be done.