When I was scrolling facebook a couple days ago, I came across a (super obviously Ai written) post about confession from a page called “Gospel of Grace- Rightly Divided”. I read through the post and decided to comment the actual meaning of confession (I went over that in this post) and when I went to send it was hit with one of those rule blocks. Groups that don’t allow you to comment unless you adhere to their rules and get approved always kind of give me the ick anyway, but this one was ridiculous:
They had a lot of rules you had to agree with- the most red-flag ones:
- We ONLY allow KJV and do not allow other translations
- We hold the position that the Church the Body of Christ started in Acts chapter 9 – NO DEBATE!
- This is the ONLY GOSPEL by which you can be SAVED TODAY ✝️ in this Dispensation of Grace. Found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4 (KJB)
I don’t know about ya’ll, but when I see people talking in all capitals online, it makes me think aggression, and I immediately am turned off of wanting to read what they have to say.
But– I still always check things out for myself. So let’s look at the doctrine of “Rightly Divided” groups.
What They Believe
The “Rightly divide” antinomian (anti-law) group bases their belief on a verse from 2 Timothy:
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God a workman that needs not be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth”
– 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
I can see how, by total focus on this one verse and going strictly by KJV, this could lead to the conclusion that one part of the bible is for Jews and the other is for Christians. That’s putting it bluntly, but that’s the gist of what this group believes.
As stated above, they believe the start of the church happens in Acts 9, where Shaul is converted to following Yeshua and becomes Paul- and their interpretation is that Paul stops being a Jew and becomes a Christian, therefore no longer abides by ‘Jewish’ Laws.
Did Paul “Stop being a Jew” ?
No, he did not- and there are many examples of this:
- Acts 18:18– Paul takes a Nazarite vow and shaves his head (Number 6)
- Acts 15– as part of the Counsel; declared circumcision as not necessary for salvation* (more on that below) and gives immediate Torah requirements for Gentiles
- Acts 15:21– future Torah instruction in synagogues (Acts 18:4)
- Acts 21:20-24 James refutes the rumor that Paul teaches against Torah; he says he walks orderly and keeps the law
- Acts 23:6– Paul identifies as a present, not past, Pharisee
- Acts 24:14– Paul says he believes all things which are written in the law and in the prophets
- Acts 25:8– Paul says he hasn’t offended the law of the Jews (and again in Acts 28:17)
Circumcision
*In Acts 15 the Jerusalem counsel addresses whether circumcision is necessary for salvation; Their conclusion was largely due to Peter’s testimony that God had already given the Spirit to uncircumcised Gentiles, (Cornelius in Acts 10), making no distinction between them and Jewish believers. If God Himself granted covenant inclusion apart from the physical sign, the assembly reasoned they should not impose it as a requirement for salvation. This went against prevailing oral tradition – but not against Torah because it wasn’t a new idea:
Genesis 17– Circumcision was never a means to justification; it was a visible “sign” of the Avrahamic Covenant, that eventually functioned as an ethnic boundary marker for Jewish men, but it did not create righteousness.
Acts 16:3– Paul performs circumcision on Timothy; not because it was necessary for salvation, but because Timothy had a Jewish mother and Greek father. An uncircumcised Jewish man would be viewed immediately as covenant-breaking in orthodox communities, which would create barriers in synagogues. Paul’s mission strategy was synagogue-first (Acts 17:2) because he wanted to lour Jews away from oral law and back to Torah, as Yeshua taught.
Galatians 2:3-5 Titus is Greek and thus not urged to be circumcised
Galatians 5:2-4 In Galatia, they were being told by certain Jewish sects that circumcision was necessary for justification in Messiah. Paul tells the Galatians if you choose circumcision as a covenant marker for righteousness, you are choosing the Sinai covenant structure as your ground of standing – and that system requires full obedience; failure under it brings curse.
Romans 2:25-29 Paul is addressing hypocrisy in the Jewish believers thinking being circumcised made them more righteous. He tells them it has value in complete obedience however heart circumcision is the show of deeper covenant (Deut 10:16; 30:6)
Romans 3:1-2 He goes on to say that circumcision retains covenant value; they are the people who received divine instruction and are still entrusted with it.
(Romans 4:9-12) He explains Avraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised, making circumcision the visible sign of already credited righteousness. The promise itself rested not on human performance, but on the faithfulness of God, who bound Himself to His word.
Dispensation of Grace
The term “dispensation of grace” comes from Ephesians 3:2- KJV:
“If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward”
The word dispensation literally means- a general state or ordering of things; But over time the theology made it more of a distinct era or age in which God dealt with humanity in a different way
The word in Greek is “oikonomian“- meaning stewardship, administration; the management of a household.
So the verse is not saying that a new “Age of Grace” began with Paul, or that God changed His method of salvation. It is saying that Paul was entrusted with the stewardship of proclaiming that grace to the Gentiles; that they are fellow heirs of the same promise. The household did not change; the steward did.
Why only allowing King James Version is problematic
The King James Version (1611) was translated using a very limited pool of Greek manuscripts available in the 1600s.
At that time, the translators primarily relied on the Textus Receptus– a printed Greek text compiled by Erasmus in the early 1500s. Erasmus had access to only a handful of late Byzantine manuscripts- some from as late as the 1100s–1500s. In a few places (like the end of The Revelation), he even had to back-translate from Latin into Greek because he lacked complete Greek copies.
Since the 1600s, however:
- Thousands of additional Greek manuscripts have been discovered.
- Most date to the 2nd-4th century
- Today we have over 5,000 Greek New Testament manuscripts, plus early translations and quotations from early believers
Modern translations use a broader manuscript base, comparing thousands of sources rather than the small handful that was available in 1611.
King James wanted to use simple, declarative English that felt “authoritative”, but this wasn’t always precise. KJV uses literal wording, but not literal grammatical nuance. Because of this, it tends to smooth over the actual verb tenses of what is found in the Greek manuscripts.
For example:
Hebrews 10:10 in the Greek transliteration
- “By that will having been sanctified (hēgiasmenoi) we are through the offering of the body of Iesou Christou once for all.”
That’s using a perfect participle. But the KJV skips the verb tense and says:
- “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Which is a Aorist participial. This is where it takes more knowledge than I have about verb usage- but the gist is
- Present participial: Present, ongoing, continuous action
- Aorist participial: simple, undefined action; translated as past action
- Perfect participial: action completed in the past but with results continuing into the present
KJV often renders perfect participles as aorist or passive; The result is that “cut and dry” style which flattens any nuance. Problematic to say the least when studying.
Modern translations (TLV, NASB, ESV) tend to preserve the perfect verb aspect.
What does “Rightly Divide” really mean?
“Rightly divide” in Greek- orthotomeó, meaning
- To cut straight
- To handle correctly
- To teach rightly
The surrounding verses of 2 Timothy 2 emphasizes faithfulness, sound teaching and avoiding quarrels over words- its not about creating new categories. So the context is that Paul is telling Timothy to study scripture carefully; in its proper understanding; avoid twisting verses to suit an agenda; and recognize continuity.
Hasten yourself approved to present to God a workman not ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth.
– 2 Timothy 2:25 (Greek transliteration)
Truth Over Tradition
The goal is not to argue over which translation “feels” right or to settle for a doctrine that isolates parts of Scripture from the rest. True understanding comes from testing every teaching against the Word itself, comparing the original language, context and manuscripts, and letting the text speak for itself.
The KJV has traditional weight, but no translation can replace careful study of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures.
We’re after understanding- at the end of the day, all the “thee’s” and “thou’s” in the world won’t help if we miss what the text is actually saying.
We must remain vigilant, for there are teachers who twist words to fit their agendas and claim authority where Scripture gives none. Let us be workmen approved by The Most High, rightly handling the Word of truth- not guided by tradition, fear or preference, but by diligent attention to what the text is actually saying.
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