Dispensationalism

by Lewis Sperry Chafer

Publisher:

Dallas Seminary Press

, 1951

Overview

This is Chafer's classic account of dispensationalism. In just over 100 pages, Chafer gives the definition, history, context, and application of this doctrine. He addresses objections and clarifies what dispensationalism is using Scripture as a guide. As one of the first works on modern dispensationalism, Chafer's volume is especially important in the study and understanding of this influential principle.

Table of Contents

• Introduction to Dispensationalism
• The Creatures of God Viewed Dispensationally
• Scripture Doctrine Viewed Dispensationally
• A Future Hope
• Dispensationalism in the Light of Divine Grace
• Conclusion

Key Features

• Careful examination of doctrine by one of the most influential twentieth-century theologians
• Includes detailed table of contents
• Written by one of the key founders of modern dispensationalism

Contents

Top Highlights

“Three of these may suffice: (1) Any person is a dispensationalist who trusts the blood of Christ rather than bringing an animal sacrifice. (2) Any person is a dispensationalist who disclaims any right or title to the land which God covenanted to Israel for an everlasting inheritance. And (3) any person is a dispensationalist who observes the first day of the week rather than the seventh.” (Page 9)

“Out of the covenants Jehovah has made with Israel, five eternal features are dominant—a national entity (Jer. 31:36), a land in perpetuity (Gen. 13:15), a throne (2 Sam. 7:16; Ps. 89:36), a king (Jer. 33:21), and a kingdom (Dan. 7:14).” (Page 24)

“The Bible presents the origin, present estate, and destiny of four major classes of rational beings in the universe: the angels, the Gentiles, the Jews, and the Christians.” (Page 19)

“This thesis purports to demonstrate that so-called dispensationalists find the specific meaning of the Scriptures which God intended to impart and are therefore, by the most exacting proofs, found to be both reasonable and normal in their interpretations.” (Page 7)

“Believing the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the only infallible rule of faith and practice, no appeal is to be made to the creeds, confessions, or doctrinal standards which men have formed.” (Page 15)

Praise for the Print Edition

No subject was more dear to the heart of Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer than the teaching of the Scriptures on the spiritual life.

—John F. Walvoord, president of Dallas Theological Seminary

I welcome therefore this present book on these fundamental truths. Having had the privilege of seeing it in manuscript, I bespeak for it the candid attention of all who are concerned for the truth of God.

—C.I. Scofield, in the preface to the 1936 edition of The Kingdom in History and Prophecy

I am glad of the privilege of calling attention to a presentation of the way of salvation which is certain to lead all who read it earnestly to a living faith in Christ, and then to a constant joy because of the abundant and assured provision of God for the Christian life.

—W. H. Griffith Thomas, in the preface to the 1917 edition of Salvation

Product Details

• Title: Dispensationalism
• Author: Lewis Sperry Chafer
• Publisher: Dallas Seminary Press
• Publication Date: 1951
• Pages: 108

About Lewis Sperry Chafer

Lewis Sperry Chafer (1871–1952) was a Presbyterian clergyman, an educator, and the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary (originally Evangelical Theological College) in 1924, where he served as president and professor of theology until his death in 1952. Chafer was ordained in 1900 and traveled as an evangelist for 14 years before becoming a Bible lecturer from 1914–1924. Some of his most notable students include C. C. Ryrie, J. Vernon McGee, John Walvoord, and many others.

Chafer authored the eight-volume Systematic Theology, which was the first dispensational, premillennial systematic theology ever published. Several of Chafer’s other writings, such as Dispensationalism, Satan, and The Kingdom in History and Prophecy, can be found in the Lewis Sperry Chafer Collection (9 vols.). He also served as the editor of Bibliotheca Sacra, which was acquired by Dallas Theological Seminary in 1933.