December 01, 2004

Antinomianism: The Seduction of Lawlessness

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'"
- Matthew 7:21-23, The Word of God.

Antinomianism (Gk. anti = against, nomos = law):
It is a fatal belief that because a Christian is under the grace of God, he/she can freely partake in sin because the law of God no longer applies in his/her life.

The Oxford Dictionary defines antinomianism as "a belief that Christians are released by grace from obeying moral laws."

3 types of Antinomianism:
a. Gnostic Spiritualism (believing one has special revelation which is not in accordance with the Word of God).
b. Libertinism (liberty with no restraint; perverted freedom).
c. Situation Ethics (doing what appears loving even if it means breaking God's law).

Obedience is not work! The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) coined the phrase "cheap grace". He taught that "only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes." Bonhoeffer believed that the teaching of cheap grace is the ruin of more Christians than any commandment of works. Yet, the Antinomians teach that obeying God is work, and thus obedience is unnecessary.

"Dearly loved friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the truth of the Good News. God gave this unchanging truth once for all time to His holy people. I say this because some godless people have wormed their way in among you, saying that God's forgiveness allows us to lead immoral lives. The fate of such people was determined long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."
- Jude 3-5 (NLT, the Word of God)

"To condone an evil is simply to ignore it, to treat it as if it were good...a man who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness."
- C. S. Lewis

12 Characteristics of Antinomian Churches

1. They preach a heretical type of grce whereby a Christian can freely partake in sin because the moral law of God no longer applies in his/her life.

2. The pastors and leadership tend to exhibit gnostic spiritualism with many special "never-heard-before" revelations. Their revelations usually run contrary to classical, mainstream, orthodox Christianity.

3. Because of unchallenged gnosticism, there usually is an inordinate admiration for the senior leadership by the church members.

4. An inordinate focus on "no condemnation" teachings with very little (or hardly any) teaching on sin, repentance from sin, crucifying the flesh, sanctification, holiness, obedience, commitment and discipleship.

5. An inordinate focus on "bless me" sermons, with very little emphasis on the members' responsibility for the Great Commandment and Great Commission. The messages revolve around pleasing self rather than pleasing God.

6. An inordinate amount of effort by the senior leadership to constantly explain why basic doctrines classically embraced by the Body of Christ have been "misinterpreted" and "misunderstood".

7. As members tend to view the grace of God as a license to sin, gross sins are rampant in the antinomian congregations more than other churches. Members may even celebrate sinning as a means to demonstrate and attain more grace from God.

8. Antinomian church members tend to be very limited in personal Bible understanding or basic Christian theology. They become easy prey for antinomian preachers to convince and impress because of their ignorance of the classical doctrines of the Bible.

9. Various shades of common Antinomian beliefs:
a. The Ten Commandments are no longer applicable to Christians.
b. There is no such thing as the struggle of the carnal flesh in the new creation.
c. Justification by faith means imputed righteousness and imputed holiness.
d. There is no need to confess your sins to the Lord, as doing that is being "sin-conscious" or "condemnation-minded".
e. An impression that the Old Testament is somehow inferior to the New Testament.
f. Some books and chapters of the Bible are not scripturally inspired, especially the epistles of James and John.
g. Paul's epistles contained more applicable instructions than the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John because Jesus lived before the Cross and didn't have the priviledge of post-redemption revelation.

10. Because of a lack of emphasis on the Great Commission, antinomian churches tend to grow their congregation by trying to 'convert' the believers of other churches rather than reaching out to the lost.

11. With the teaching of 'cheap grace', antinomian churches may be large, wealthy and influential. Like the hereti Marcion, there is also the tendency to use money to 'buy acceptance' from others.

12. Churches that challenge antinomian teachings are seen as legalistic, jealous and insecure. Antinomians tend to mock at other Christians for their lack of 'special revelation' and what they perceive as an 'over-commitment' to Christ and the Gospel.

Antinomians practise lawlessness and cheap grace in our age today. This teaching is rampant throughout the world, and must be fought, for the true Gospel cannot be undermined by such crazy doctrine which perverts and cheapens the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Martin Luther once said to Johannes Agricola, a teacher of Antinomianism:
"I know you, first-born of the Devil!"

The crazy doctrine of Antinomianism must be stopped.

City Harvest Church : Bible Seminar
"How Shall We Live?"
by Rev. Dr. Kong Hee.
gid posted at 15:03