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Here is where right division is an absolutely essential operation if we are to keep our faith intact.
The fact is that, with all apparent discrepancies, the operative word is apparent. Some people seem to jump with glee upon any suggestion that the Bible may be contradicting itself in different places. No good will ever come out of that sort of attitude to the Word of God.
Rather, when we come across 'things that differ', we should adopt a humble and prayerful approach, for it is at these times that the Holy Spirit is able to reveal to us something which we have not appreciated before in Scripture. And there is no greater thrill in Bible study than being shown something which you had not seen before.
A prime example of this is that critics will say that the apostle Paul contradicts himself in his letters to the various churches, e.g. in the question of marriage. To the Corinthian church (in 1 Corinthians 7) he advised against marriage, but when writing to Timothy he said, in 1Timothy 5:14, "I will therefore that the younger women marry". Failure to rightly divide the Word of Truth causes an apparent contradiction by the apostle.
Rightly dividing Scripture, with reference to the time aspect, enables us to see that Paul's concern when writing to the Corinthians was most likely prompted by thoughts of the expected imminent return of Christ, when he deemed it advisable to be concentrating on that great event rather than getting involved in a protracted worldly pursuit. By the time that he wrote to Timothy, the return of the Lord had been put in abeyance and was no longer being looked for with any great expectancy.
This change in 'circumstances' is, in fact, the guiding principle which sorts out much of the confusion over what Paul wrote to churches while the return of the Lord was imminently expected, and that which he wrote later on when it was evident that the Lord's return was no longer on the horizon.
The tool then, with which right division is carried out, is called dispensationalism because the difference in the time aspect is brought about, we say, by a change in dispensation. But before we conclude this paper with a definition of the term 'dispensation', let us just look at the supreme authority which we have for carrying out this process called right division.
  
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